Madam - where are you?

For the last five years, all that we have been hearing from Congress people in the state is that "Madam has a full grip of the Telangana issue. She will take the final decision and that decision will be a favourable one". That's all we have been hearing. Madam will decide, madam will decide.

Our esteemed Chief Minister loses no opportunity to heap praises on Madam. Never loses a chance to invoke the name of Madam. We were told that the 11:45pm announcement on Dec.9th was Madam's birthday gift. Recently, 13 Telangana ministers resign and send their resignation letters to the CM. Not to the CM, not to the Governor, but to Madam.

All these incidents led me to believe that Madam is the all permeating, super caring, ever vigilant saviour of my state. She is the only person in this entire country who is capable and eligible to solve all problems we all face. She is the ONE, the ONLY.

Today my state, that twice sent about 30 MP's so that Madam can be in power, is in distress. For the last one month, her favourite aam aadmi has been suffering the most, hooligans have decided to hold my state to ransom, making demands at gunpoint. No word from Madam. These hooligans are forcing shops to close, burning buses and damaging public property. Not a single word from Madam. Colleges are being closed, businesses are leaving AP, summits are being shifted. Still, not a single word from Madam. Fear gripped large sections of people, governance has literally come to a standstill. Yet ... (you all know what's coming)

Infact, we are now being told by our national media folks that it was PC who bungled this. Implying Madam had nothing to do with it. But then, that was not what we were told no ... We were told Madam is awesome and she will take the final decision.

Congress people keep on saying that because TDP said yes to a resolution, Congress okayed the Dec.9th announcement. Wait a minute - weren't we told that the caring Madam will take the ultimate decision?

We are sometimes also told that Madam's present strategy is also brilliant - this violence will stop over time and people will live happily ever after. If time heals, then what is the need for Madam?? My friend called me up on Sunday and asked me, "Who is Madam to decide all this?".

My question is a little different - Where is Madam? Will the national media care to ask?

That's all, Your Honour!:Dec.20-26

1. Now Sharad Pawar lays the blame for price rise on state governments and global warming. Acutally I am not suprised that he is blaming global warming for the crisis in agriculture. What is however very surprising is that he didn't use this as an excuse to go to Copenhagen and have some fun there. Strange are the ways they surprise us :D

2. Just couple of months after the central government enacted the farce of Austerity measures comes a bill through which any MP can take relatives along with him on flights and the government will pay for it. I mean, I understand paying for the MP's flight charges and maybe his wife's...but relatives too? Whatever happened to cost-cutting.

3. So after 12 full days of hectic negotiations, the Copenhagen climate summit finally failed. Some countries and newspapers diplomatically called the outcome as "not upto expectations". Whatever! Western world blames the eastern one, and vice versa. So we are back to square one. Some hectic last minute talks between the heads of the state of US, Brazil, India, China, and South Africa led to a some formal drafting of a document. As usual, US intepreted this document in one way and our country interpreted it in the exact opposite way!

4. Vijayawada MP, L.Rajagopal decides to escape from Vijayawada! 15 hours later, he turns up in NIMS, getting down from an auto and running into the hospital! In the meanwhile, P. Chidambaram says there is need for more extensive negotiations. With that announcement, the agitations in Andhra and Rayalseema regions stopped. But then when our clown KCR is around, will this issue ever die? He again announces that this is a betrayal, the movement will start again blah blah. They again call for a bandh, burnt some buses, pelted some stones and bought life to a standstill. Yet, the violence is being termed as a movement. Shame.

5. Speaking about shame, a young girl Ruchika was molested by an IPS officer in 1990. The officer started harassing her family after she filed a complaint. Ruchika committed suicide three years later. She was 17 then. And last week, a court handed the IPS officer punishment. Guess what - he gets a full 6 months in jail plus he has pay a whopping Rs. 1000/- as fine. 19 years after he molested, this is what he got. Ohh wait, in these 19 years, this guy went on to become the DGP of Haryana too. The media too woke up to this travesty of justice, and is now demanding proper justice. 6 months for child abuse?? If not now, when else would you want to apply the strictest of punishments?

6. By the way, AP's governor (now former) N.D.Tiwari felt that the people of the state are a little vexed up with the Telangana issue and decided to provide them some relief. ABN Andhra Jyothy channel carried out a sting operation and released nude pictures of this guy along with call girls right in the Raj Bhavan!! Expectedly, he resigned, but this crook needs to be given harsher punishments.

7. BJP apparently has decided to support Shibu Soren for CM in Jharkhand. So finally the party with a difference has emerged as a party with no difference. Shibu Soren of all people??

అదన్నమాట! : డిసంబర్ 20-26

1. తెలంగాణా, ఆంద్ర, రాయలసీమ, హైదరాబాద్ .... ఇలా విని విని మనకి విసుగు వచ్చింది అని రాష్ట్ర గవర్నర్ శ్రీమాన్ ఎన్.డి.తివారి గారికి అనిపించింది ఏమో.రాష్ట్ర ప్రజలకి కి కొత్త సమస్య ని ఏదైనా సృష్టిద్దాము అని అనుకునట్టు ఉన్నారు.. అందుకే అత్యంత నీచంగా ఏకంగా రాజ్ భవన్ లోనే రాస లీలలు కు పూనుకున్నారు. ఇటువంటి వ్యక్తులు అసలు ఈ వృతి కే పెద్ద కళంకం. ఈయన ఒకప్పుడు భారత రాజకీయాల్లో కీలకమైన వ్యక్తీ. ఇలాంటి దుర్బుది తో ఎంత మంది జీవితాల్ని ఎన్ని విధాలుగా నాశనం చేసాడో మరి.అవన్నీ నిగ్గు తేల్చాల్సిన సాయం ఇది. కాని కేవలం అయన రాజీనామా తో మనం సంతృప్తి పడిపోతాము. అదే మన దౌర్భాగ్యం.

2. కేంద్ర హొం మంత్రి శ్రీ చిదంబరం గారు ఈ వారం మళ్ళి ఒక కొత్త ప్రకటన చేసారు. తెలంగాణా రాష్ట్రం స్థాపించే చర్యలు తీసుకుంటాము అని ప్రకటన చేసినప్పుడు అన్ని పార్టీలు సరే అని చెప్పాయి, కాని ఆ తరువాత ప్రజల నుంచి వచ్చిన విపరీతమైన అసమట్టి ని దృష్తి లో పెట్టుకుని, తెలంగాణా అంశాన్ని ఇంక విస్తృతంగా చర్చించాల్సిన అవసరం ఉంది అని ప్రకటన చేసారు. ఇంక మన ఆరాధ్య హాస్య నటుడు శ్రీమాన్ కేసీఆర్ గారు ఎందుకు ఊరుకుంటారు! అయన ఎప్పట్లాగే నోటికి వచ్చినట్టు ఏదో వాగి, అన్ని పార్టీలని కలుపుకుని ఉద్యమం చేస్తాము అని మళ్ళి సెలవు ఇచ్చారు మనకి. ఇది కాకా, మళ్ళి 48 ఘంటల బంద్ అంట. మళ్ళి జన జీవనం అస్త వ్యస్తం. కాని శ్రీమాన్ గారికి ఇవెఇ పట్టవు కదా అండి. బస్లున్ని తగలపెట్టాలి, షాప్ల అద్దాలు పగలకోట్టాలి, ప్రజల్లో భయం పెంపొందించాలి ... ఇదే ఆయనకు తెలిసిన విద్య. రాష్ట్ర ప్రబుత్వం పూర్తి గా చేతులు ఎత్తేసింది. ముఖ్యమంత్రి గారు ఏదో నామ మాత్రంగా పని చేస్తున్నారు. కేంద్ర ప్రభుత్వం ఏమో అగ్గి రగిలించి, మంటలు తామంతట తామే చల్లరిపోతాయి అని వేచి చూస్తుంది. సామాన్య పౌరుడు మాత్రం నలిగిపోతున్నాడు.

3. విద్యార్దులని కలవడానికి వెళ్ళిన తెదేపా ఎంఎల్యే శ్రీ నాగం జనార్ధన్ రెడ్డి గారిని కొంత మంది కొట్టారు. ఒక ఎంఎల్యే నే కొట్టే స్థాయి కి ఈ అరాచకం వెళ్ళింది అంటే, ఇక ఎంత దిగజారిందో మీరే ఉహంచండి.

To, The Editors Guild of India

To,
The President
Editors Guild of India

Sir,

I rise to the call of the Editors Guild that "urged all stakeholders to join this endeavour to push for a clean and transparent media." I am glad that you decided to make 2010 as an year of campaigning against paid news scandal. While I don't mind waiting for the results of this campaign (given the fact that we wait for longer times to get normal justice delivered in this country), I have some particular questions in my mind right now.


1. Can you also have public forums in various cities wherein the ethics committee can directly take suggestions/complaints from the general public?
2. If I have a grouse against a particular editor/newspaper (based on content, not personal ;-) ), can I approach the Editors Guild?
3. How do I exactly contact the Editors Guild?

P. Sainath in his expose here, clearly states that Lokmat, Maharashtra Times and Pudhari have published the same report in all three newspapers. Vir Sanghvi openly berates Delhi Times and Bombay Times in his article here.

4. Were these editors also part of this meeting?
5. The statement by the guild says both the media organisation buying and the guy selling are guilty. From Sainath's piece, I infer that Ashok Chavan, Lokmat, Maharashtra Times and Pudhari are guilty. From Vir Sanghvi's piece, I infer that DT and BT are guilty. Why is the editors guild shying away from naming these people?
6. Why can't this report be made a good starting point for some immediate action instead of dilly dallying on framing some code of conduct?
7. How much binding is the code of conduct on all editors of this country? What if someone does not adhere to it? I hope we dont just stop at just issuing show cause notices like the EC does!
8. "In the coming months, the Guild plans to work with other media organisations to sensitise the media and civil society – including political parties and the Election Commission – on the need to eliminate this “unacceptable practice.” " How exactly are we going to sensitize political parties not to buy news? Political parties, in conjuction with media are killing journalism, and instead of calling for stricter norms, we are being content with trying to "sensitize" them?
9. Also sir, the media propaganda of AP is as worst as it can get. Can the editors guild please take note of this too.

It is with disappointment that I read Sainath's recent articles (1, 2, 3) wherein he clearly exposed the ugly dealings of many newspapers in Maharashtra. The usually alert media, which takes no time in claiming an exclusive corruption scandals of leaders and officers, finds this news not worthy of fitting in the "breaking news" slot. The news died in just one day. Theres absolute silence since then till yesterday when the editor's guild released a statement condemning the "pernicious practice of publishing paid news". Mere condemnation, sir, has become a fashion in our country (as we so often see). In the coming months, we hope to see that the national media can highlight corruption amongst its ilk with the same fervour that it exposes other scams.

Vir Sanghvi might think that we don't care, but clearly we do.

My experiments with Photography - Part 4

Shamly got a new camera and I tried some experiments with it! As always, presenting only the one I liked :D. Also, please note the dilapated condition that my phone is in :(

Also, you can click on the photography label below to see the results of the other experiments :)

So many points, so little time!: Dec 13-19

1. Mamta Banerjee released this report on the finances of railways in the past 5 years. She alleges that Lalu Prasad bloated and inflated the accounts to show good performance! Another scam, but the media is surprisingly quiet about this!

2. Ajmal Kasab is a very intelligent guy. He can quickly grasp messages from Pakistan and mould them according to his will. Last year, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari came up with this awesome term "non-state actors". Ajmal Kasab heard the word "Actors". And he began framing his defense based on that one word. In his statement recorded in the court last week, Ajmal Kasab tells us that he came to bollywood aspiring to join in films. He was arrested on November 25th itself for roaming around. The police killed actual Kasab and since looked like Kasab, the police have started framing him. Kasab also says he was interrogated by David Headley as part of FBI Intelligent guy, seems to be following the news too (NDTV broke the news that Headley was an FBI agent before). I am just waiting to see what story will come out from the next dose of his creativity.

3. More than anyone, the common man is severly affected by the ongoing agitations in Andhra Pradesh. For about 10 days, it was Telangana that shut shop. And for 10 days after that (and still continuing) it is Andhra that has shut shop. I dont understand the concept of "voluntary bandh"... obviously people are closing their shops fearing destruction by unruly elements more than anything else. Not just bandhs, even rasta rokos create so many problems for normal people. Colleges are being shut. And while all this is happening, the powers that be really dont seem to be concerned much. CM still says Madam will decide. Madam as usual is not saying anything. And that clown KCR has started this rantings again. Congress is now blaming Naidu for this fiasco! I mean...agreed he is not able to control his party now, but yo - Congress people started the resignations first! Why blame Naidu for "flip-flops"? Amidst all this, Chiranjeevi has changed his stance and announced support for United Andhra.

4. As if the present chaos in Pakistan is not enough, the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) was declared null and void by the Supreme Court. According to this ordinance, corruption cases against some 8000 poiticians were struck off in 2007. SC struck off the ordinance. One amongst the 8000 politicians is the President of Pakistan - Asif Ali Zardari! Now corruption cases will be opened against him. Not just him, most members of the cabinet will be affected by this! Zardari ofcourse is unfazed by all this. He will not leave his post at any cost. Let the country go to dogs, he wants his post!

5. A new generational shift has finally happened in the BJP. Sushma Swaraj took over from L.K.Advani as leader of opposition in Lok Sabha. Nitin Gadkari took over as President of BJP. The next one year is very crucial for BJP. Am hoping it will rise well to become a credible and strong opposition.

అదన్నమాట!: డిసెంబర్ 13-19

అత్యంత విచారకరమైన విషయం ఏమిటి అంటే, ఆంధ్రుల భీమన హాస్య నటుడు శ్రీ కేసీఆర్ గారు మొదలు పెట్టిన సినిమా ఇంక క్లైమాక్ష్ కి చేరుకోలేదు. జోక్స్ పక్కన పెడితే, ఈ తెలంగాణా, సమైక్యాంధ్ర "ఉద్యమాల" పేరుతో బాగా నష్టపోతుంది సామాన్య మానవుడే. ఎక్కడ పడితే అక్కడ, ఎప్పుడు పడితే అప్పుడు, షాప్లు మూసేస్తునారు, బుసలు ఆపెస్తునారు, రాస్తా రోకోలు నిర్వహిస్తున్నారు, కాలేజిలు ఎలాగో మూసేశారు - జన జీవినం అస్త వ్యస్తం అవ్వడానికి ఇంత కన్నా నిదర్శనం ఏమి కావలి అండి? ఇలా ఎన్నాలు ప్రజల్ని భయ బ్రన్తులకి లోని చేసి, "స్వచంద బంద్" అనే మారు పేరు తో చిన్న వ్యపురులు ఇత్యాది వర్గాలను కష్టాల్లో పెడతారు అండి ఈ రాజకీయ నేతలు ? మధ్య కేసీఆర్ గారు వచ్చి "బెబ్బులి పులి" లాగ తిరిగి వస్తాను అని మళ్ళి ప్రగల్భాలు పలకడం మొదలు పెట్టారు. నోటికి వచ్చినట్టు వాగడం మళ్ళి మొదలుపెట్టారు. కాంగ్రెస్స్ అధిష్టానం ఏమో ఇది అంతా చంద్రబాబు నాయుడు తప్పు అని కొత్త వక్రీకరణ మొదలుపెట్టింది. నాయుడు గారు ఏమో అసలు ఏమి మాట్లాడడం లేదు. ఒకరి మీద ఒకరు విమర్శలను విసురుకోవడమే జరుగుతుంది తప్పించి, అసలు ఈ సమస్య కి పరిష్కారం వెతకడానికి మాత్రం తప్పుడు చేసిన పెద్దలు ప్రయత్నిస్తునట్టు అస్సలు కనిపించటం లేదు.

ముఖ్యమంత్రి గారు ఏమో నాకు ఏమి తెలియదు, అంతా అమ్మ చూసుకుంటుంది అంటారు. డిల్లి లో ఏమి అమ్మ మాట్లాడదు. మధ్యలో ప్రణబ్ ముఖర్జీ గారు వచ్చి అసలు అసెంబ్లీ లో తీర్మానం ఆమోదం పొందితే కదా ఏదైనా జరిగేది, కాబట్టి ఎందుకు ఇంత రభస చేస్తునారు అని ఎదురు ప్రశ్నిస్తున్నారు. అంటే మీ ఉద్దేశం ఏంటి ప్రణబ్ గారు - ఎలాగో అసెంబ్లీ లో తీర్మానం వీగిపోతుంది అనే ధీమా తో ఉన్నారా? అసెంబ్లీ లో తీర్మానం వీగిపోతే, అప్పుడు మళ్ళి తెలంగాణా లో గొడవలు మొదలు అవుతాయి కదా.. అప్పుడు ఏమి చేస్తారు మరి?

అసలు ఒక రాష్ట్రాన్ని విభజించే నిర్ణయం కేంద్ర క్యాబినెట్ తీసుకోవాలా? కాంగ్రెస్ కోర్ కమిటి తీసుకోవాలా?? పాటించవలసిన పద్దతులన్నీ తుంగ లో తొక్కి ఇప్పుడు ఏమో నాయుడు గారు అలా అన్నారు. చిరంజీవి గారు ఇలా అన్నారు అని మాకు చెప్పడం ఎందుకు? అన్నట్టు , మర్చిపోయా...చిరంజీవి గారు ఇప్పుడు సమైక్యవాది అంట! ఇలా తన మాట మార్చినందుకు నైతిక బాధ్యత వహిస్తూ ఎంఎల్యే పదవి కి రాజీనామా కూడా చేసారు. ఇప్పుడు వెళ్లి సీమాంధ్ర లో ఉద్యమాన్ని నడిపిస్తారు అంట. అక్కడ మీరు నడిపించేది ఏమి ఉంది ఉద్యమం?

మొత్తానికి రాజకీయ నాయకుల స్వీయ ప్రయోజనాల కోసం సామాన్య మానవుడు బలి అవుతున్నాడు. కాని ఇది పెద్దగ ఎవరూ పట్టించుకోవటం లేదు. అదన్నమాట!

"We the people"

Ok, I have a confession to make. When NDTV was the only private channel on air, I always used to wonder whether I will ever get to see Rajdeep do a "Big Fight" or ever get to participate in Barkha Dutt's "We the people". Well the former thought will never fructify, but the latter thought turned into a reality last saturday!

All the initial excitement of being on the show evaporated into thin air (or should I say cold air ;-) ) when I heard the panelists! The political panelists were either plain uninspiring or simply distressing. KCR's son KTR was at his rhetoric best, using every available opportunity to inspire only hatred and spread more negativity around. Add to that, there were about 10 hardcore supporters of his who were clapping at the drop of hat further irritating me!

MIM's Owaisi came to the show with a single point agenda. He sounded like he really doesn't care which way the state goes as long his "community" interests are protected. Now and then, he keeps saying that Hyderabad belongs to all and we should all respect constitution, but anyone remotely associated with Hyderabad politics know very well how much Owaisi respects law. On the show he even got angry at a section of the audience calling them a mob and telling them "when it comes to mob mentality, you very well how we are"! As expected this was not carried on TV.

J.C.Diwakar Reddy, MLA from Rayalseema and a hardcore factionist seemed very out of place and really did not care much, even asking us to learn from the example of Russia! Congress MP Madhu Yashki Goud just repeated his oft repeated stance;indutrialist B.V.R.Mohan Reddy represented the IT industry while Jyotirmayee sharma represented the academic world. Mir Alam Khan completed the list.

The debate went on for about 1 hour and 20 minutes and at the end of the show, neither did we learn anything new nor did anyone have the satisfaction of pushing the panelists into a corner. Before the audience could lap upto a point, the next point was being debated. The debate was never centred around why there is a demand for the state of telangana; what, if any, steps have been taken to address the concerns; do these concerns really warrant a new state; how fair is it to equate a violent agitation as a movement; how the congress blundered in giving into blackmail tactics; what kind of precedent does this action by UPA set etc. Instead the discussion centred around what will happen to India if smaller states come;what will happen to Hyderabad; what will happen to IT industry; what will happen to muslim community etc.

I believe the plot of the debate was lost the moment it started centering around Hyderabad and India. As one enlightened member of the audience rightly asked- Why are we talking only about Hyderabad. Barkha immediately picked it up and in no time was the discussion veered away from that topic! Barkha has this knack of picking up a line from the panel and then quickly moving onto another point. Unfortunately this topic was too serious and warranted a much better discussion than what actually took place. Added to that, there was this loud batch of about 10 people who were just plain restless in trying to voice their opinion. With such kind of agitated mentality, do they actually expect us to listen to their arguments?

The "icing on the cake" was Saina's interview. I guess that just summed up the whole mood of the debate: It took place because it had to. Nothing more. Nothing less.

PS: The link for the debate is here. I get to ask a Q at the 51st minute :)

I stand vindicated!

Woohoo! I stand vindicated people! The DGP of AP wrote this letter to The Hindu admonishing it for publishing a misleading headline! All that The Hindu does is “regret” the error! Actually, The Hindu’s headline is just the tip of the iceberg;you should see the way in which the local media is driving the whole thing.

A distraught political leader’s desperate attempt to revive his sagging political career gets tranformed into a violent agitation and the agenda driven local media projects it as a movement, assists openly in permeating the fear factor gripping people and they are not held a wee bit responsible? Are they not culpable in assisting the violence? How and when will the media be held accountable?

PS: My blog on a personal experience is here.

So many points, so little time!: Dec 6-12

1. Nearly at the stroke of midnight, (precisely aroung 11:45pm on December 9th, so that Madam's birthday is not missed), Home Minister P.Chidambaram announces thus: The process of intitiation of a separate state of Telangana will begin. Within the hour, KCR called off his fast, drank lime juice, cried in front of the media, and thanked one and all. All through the night all pro-telangana activists celebrated, and while their "success" was just beginning to sink in early on December 10th, the people of Andhra and Rayalseema region woke up to the shocking announcement of Chidambaram playing on the TV. And then all hell broke lose! Slowly, MLA's from all parties started resigning that by the end of the day, about 100 MLA's resigned. A few MP's also resigned. Public outcry began in Andhra and Rayalseema regions. Students took out protest rallies. Hooligans had their own field time, breaking as many buses as possible. Now, the story was not formation of Telangana but the unrest and the political turmoil the state has plunged into. And then slowly over the next two days, it was clear that even the CM of the state was not kept in the loop about the announcement! All along, the congress folks have been doing a "Madam bhajan" with the CM himself leading the pack. The anger over Madam's sudden decision was plain palpable across the state for ignoring the aspirations of the rest of the state, while giving inhe demands of KCR, just because he went fasting.

The crisis did not spare TDP too. More than half of their MLA's resigned too, and Chandrababu Naidu had to go on full defensive to explain the action of his MLAs. The midnight announcement without even the CM knowing also kind of brought back the "Telugu pride" slogan of the early 1980's. Only difference was that there is no NTR around :(. Taking nice advantage of this situation, MLAs of PRP, who have been waiting for a nice opportunity to resign, put in their papers too. With so many MLAs out, why would the ministers want to stay back? So now, ministers from Andhra and Rayalseema want to quit! CM got so much vexed, that he just went home and took rest, leaving everything to Madam. This kind of constitutional crisis was never witnessed before, but the policy of Madam is to again wait and watch, hoping that this violence and demands will subside on their own. Sycophant congress leaders even announced that this was Madam's birthday gift to the people of Telangana, but three days down the line, no one really cares about her birthday anymore. The buck has to stop at her door (oops, I said the unthinkable!), and the wait and watch policy is just spelling disaster for the state. Buck up madam, for unfortunately our CM is just waiting for guidance from you to run our state.

2. Amidst all this, news about the arrest and chargesheeting of David Headley in the US took a backseat. Within two months of arresting him, charges have been framed in a US court for being an accomplice in the Mumbai 26/11 attacks. His story is astonishing to say the least. Born to a Pakistani father and a US mother, David Headly a.ka. Daood Gilani was an under cover operative of the dreaded LeT and was actively involved in the planning of many terror attacks. The US courts might finish the trial and sentencening sooner than we complete our work on Ajmal Kasab here! If David Headley wants to live longer, he should perhaps request for trial by an Indian court!

3. I haven't read too much about the climate change topic, but the summit at Copenhagen seems to be heading towards a disaster! A leaked draft text confirmed the fears of many developing countries that the developed countries(read the US) are trying to impose unfair restrictions, and the draft has been rejected summarily. A recent investigative report also showed how data was manipulated to create the hype about Climate change too. Will just wait for the summit to end this week, to do some more reading :)

4. Well, Indian test team won the series against Srilanka 2-0 and is now the top ranked team in the world ( Please note that World here means 9 test playing countries:) ).

అదన్నమాట! : డిసెంబర్ 6-12

"అర్ధరాత్రి స్వాతంత్రం " అని ఒక చానెల్ పెద్ద పెద్ద అక్షారాల తో వివరించింది. ఇంకో చానెల్ అయితే "ఎన్నాలో వేచిన ఉదయం" అంటూ డిసెంబర్ పదో తారేకు ఉదయం మనకి తేల్చి చెప్పింది!ముందు రోజు అర్ధరాత్రి, శ్రీ చిదంబరం గారు, కనీసం మన ముఖ్యమంత్రి గారికి చెప్పకుండా తెలంగాణా ఏర్పాటు ప్రకిర్య ని మొదలు పెడుతునట్టు ప్రకటించారు. చాక చక్యంగా ఈ ప్రకటన సోనియా గాంధి గారి పుట్టిన రోజున వెలువడింది. ఒక పత్రిక అయితే ఏకంగా "పుట్టిన రోజు" కానుక గా కూడా అభివర్ణించింది. అర్ధరాత్రి జరిగిన ఈ విపత్కర పరిణామానికి ఉల్లిక్కి పడి లేచిన ఆంద్ర/రాయలసీమ ప్రాంత వాసులు ఒక్క సారి గా నిరసన గళం వినిపించడం మొదలు పెట్టారు. ఇంతలోనే ఎమెల్యేలు ఎంపీలు రాజీనామాలు ఇవ్వడం మొదలు పెట్టారు. రెండు రోజుల్లో 135 మంది ఎమెల్యేలు రాజినీమ ఇచ్చారు అంటే, పరిస్థితి ఎంత చెయ్యి దాటి పోయిందో అర్ధం అయ్యి ఉంటది మీకు ! రాష్ట్రం లో ఎన్నడు చోటు చేసుకొని విపత్కర పరిస్థితులు ఈనాడు ఏర్పడాయి.

ముఖ్యమంత్రి రోశయ్య గారు ఏమో ఇంక చేతులు ఎత్తేసారు. కేంద్రం ఎలా చెప్తే అలా నడుచుకుంటారు అంట! తెదేపా లో ముదిరిన సంక్షోభం నుండి నాయుడు గారు ఇంక తేరుకోలేదు. ఇది ఏదో బాగుంది కదా అని ప్రరప ఎమెల్యేలు కూడా రాజీనామా ఇచ్చేసారు! ఇలా ఎవరు పడితే వాలు, విచ్చలవిడి గా రాజీనామా ఇచ్చేస్తే మరి ఎవరు పరిపాలిస్తారు అండి? ఈ రాజీనామాల హడావిడి లో అసలు సోనియా గాంధి గారు ఎంత పెద్ద తప్పు చేసారో ఎవరు ప్రస్నిచడం మరచిపోయారే? రాష్ట్ర ముఖ్యమంత్రి కి కూడా తెలియకుండా నిర్ణయం ప్రకటించారు, ఇదేమైనా సబబు గా ఉందా? కేవలం మూడే రోజుల్లో నిర్ణయం మార్చుకునారే, ఇదేమైనా సబబు గా ఉందా? రాష్ట్రం ఇంతల అత్తుడుకుపోతుంటే, కనీసం మాటైన చెప్పటం లేదే, ఇదేనా 33 ఎంపీలు పంపిన రాష్ట్రానికి మీరు ఇచే మర్యాద? గౌరవం?

Violence as a movement??

The road from Sarathi Studios (in Hyderabad) till NIMS in Panjagutta (where KCR is getting treated) is about 4 kms long. This strech of road is one of the most busiest roads in all times. Multiple shopping complexes, commercial buildings, small time shops ensure that the road is always busy(thus making it frustrating to travel too ;-) ).

I was stuck in one of those shops on Saturday, the 5th of December when some 100/200 students took out a rally in support of KCR and Telangana. This was also the rally in which some hooligans amongst the crowd decided to pelt stones at shops onwed by Andhra/non-telangana people. Literally 10-15 minutes after they did this, I, along with my parents, walked back home on the exact same route these miscreants took to NIMS. We saw that the glasses of two buses were damaged, but there was no commotion around. People were just beginning to get back to normalcy.

We come back home and switch on the TV only to be shocked at the kind of hype the media channels started giving to this incident. Much after the rally passed through the places, we had reporters screaming "there is war like atmosphere here"! Barely 5 minutes passed since we walked through that exact same spot, we had this reporter shouting about a "war like atmosphere". Within two hours, the entire city was shut down. I am not kidding at all. A bunch of 10 hooligans could hold the entire capital city of Andhra Pradesh to ransom for not just that one evening but for the next two days.

The reason I have dedicated three paragraphs to this issue is to underline the immense impact the hyper reporting of the media has on public psyche. Instead of trying to cool tempers, the media has day in and day out sought to glorify these ugly acts of violence. The Hyderabad incident has created such fear amongst the resident/shop owners that for the next two days(a bandh was called on sunday and monday) they chose to remain indoors. And this fear permeated through the government circles and now the impression being created that there is a huge movement infavour of telangana. Wah! Justifying this violence by asking people to emphatize with the Telangana cause is simply the most attoricious reason one can think of.

People's court is the ultimate decision making court in a democracy. Like it or not, they hand their verdict and for 5 years we are stuck with the verdict. In the latest election results handed out by the people just 6 months ago, all the political parties that supported a separate telangana had to bite the dust badly. TDP, PRP, TRS and the BJP all had to face embarassing defeats in multiple constituencies across the region. Isn't it clear enough that the majority people of the region have rejected the notion of a separate state by rejecting ALL parties that supported the cause?

Within six months of that decision, what really changed in the state so as to warrant a serious rethink about this issue? A bunch of hooligans? Ok, so some 3000\4000\5000 (ok fine, let's make it 10,000) people in a region of about 2-3 crores decide to boost up their sagging egos, and charter a course of violent reactions, we seriously rethink about the issue?

They decide to take law into their hands, impose a looslely existent separate state sentiment on the crores of people who don't give a damn, cultivate a fear in the minds of lakhs of innocent people watching on TV that they will spare no one, and we end up calling this a movement towrads telangana? From when did violent agitations start getting named as "movements"?

Every day, for the past 7-8 days, we have had leaders from the TRS trying to agitate the people with provocative statements and the state is just a mute spectator? KCR's son says thanks, on live TV, to those gaurding creamtion grounds in Nalgonda district for refusing to cremate/bury the bodies of those who opposed Telangana. Can it get any more sicker than this? MLA's provocate cadre by pouring kerosene on themselves, can it get any more cheaper than this? Students risk their careers for a person like KCR, can it get any more worse than this?

All along, the media was just more than happy to toe along the line of those agitating. Instead of denouncing the violent turn this whole plan has taken, the media is trying to project this as a genuine and impulsive outpour of emotions. The media is more than willing to lap it up! The media in AP does not just have a TRP agenda, but it has a huge political agenda too, so it is more sickening to watch channel after channel turn a 10 min stone throwing incident into a "war like situation."

The fact of the matter is that KCR alone is solely responsible for the mess the state is in right now. Just to revive his sagging political career, KCR raised the curtains for another drama, endangering the lives of scores of innocents, not knowing when to bring the them down. While he rests calmly in the ICU of NIMS, the common man/woman of telangana just hopes that saner sense will prevail upon these hooligans.

I wish to reiterate again. The people of Telangana region have overwhelmingly voted in favour of a united state just 6 months ago. We cannot allow a few thousand to hold the entire state to ransom. If that much cannot be understood by media/politcos/thinkers, it is a sad reflection of their mentality. The only thing that changed from then to now is the death of YSR. Buoyed by his absence, the clown KCR has taken up this farcial fast. It is time we denounce those who wish to classify violent agitations as "movements."

PS: Just imagine, if Telangana is okayed because of this kind of blackmail/violence, what kind of precedent is it going to set?

ఉద్యమమా ? అరాచకమా?

మొన్న చందన బ్రదర్స్ షాప్ లోకి ఇలా వెళ్లి, అలా కొనుకున్ని, ఇలా బయటకి వచ్చేదాం అని లోపలికి వెళ్ళా . అనుకునట్టే ఇలా వెళ్ళా, అలా కోనేసా, ఇలా కిందకి వచ్చేసా. ఇక్కడ కథ లో మలుపు.

కిందకి వచ్చేసరికి షాప్ షట్టర్స్ మూసేశారు ! ఎందుకు మూసేశారు అని అడిగితె, బయట తెలంగాణా విద్యార్ధులు ర్యాలి నిర్వహిస్తున్నారు, షాపుల మీదకి రాళ్ళు విసురుతున్నారు, అందుకే మూసేసాము అన్నారు. పది నిమషాల తరువాత బయటికి వదిలారు. బయట ఉన్న మా అమ్మ నాన్న తో కలిసి నేను ర్యాలి వెళ్ళిన దారిలోనే ఇంటికి వచ్చేసాము.

ఇంటికి వచ్చి టీవీ పెడితే, అక్కడ ఏదో పెద్ద స్థాయి లో అరాచకం జరిగినట్టు, మొత్తం జన జీవనం అల్ల కల్లోలం అయినట్టు, భయ భ్రాంతులు కలిగించే వాతావరణం ఉన్నట్టు మన టీవీ చానల్స్ ఆపకుండా ఢంకా మొగిస్తూనే ఉన్నాయి. అయుదు అంటే అయుదే నిమషాలు ముందు మేము నడిచి వచ్చిన చోటు నుంచి సాక్షి టీవీ విలేకరి అయితే, "ఇక్కడ యుధ వాతావరణం ఉంది " అని తేల్చి చెప్పేశారు! దీని ఫలితం - రెండు గంటల్లో రాజధాని నగరం మొత్తం మూతబడి పోయింది. మీడియా అందించిన ఈ అద్భుతమైన సహకారం తో రెట్టింపు ఉత్సాహం వచ్చిన తెరాసా పార్టీ, రెండ్రోజుల తెలంగాణా బంద్ కు పిలుపునిచ్చింది. ఒక అర గంట పాటు కొంత మంది అరాచక శక్తులు కొన్ని షాప్లు మీదకి రాళ్ళు రువ్వితే, మొత్తం రాజధాని నగరం, ఆ పై మొత్తం తెలంగాణా జిల్లాలలో జన జీవినం అస్త వ్యస్తం అయ్యిపోయింది.

ఇంత మందిని ఇబ్బందులకు గురి చేస్తున్న ఈ వ్యక్తులు అసలు ఎవరు ? ఉద్యమం పేరు చెప్పుకుని అరాచకాలకు పాలు పడి, ఎవర్ని మోసం చేద్దాం అని ప్రయత్నిస్తున్నారు ? ప్రజా స్వామ్యం లో ప్రజలే తీర్పే శిరోధార్యం. నాకు ప్రజలు తీర్పు నచ్చలేదు, నేను రోడ్లేక్కి విర్ర వీగుతా అంటే ప్రజా స్వామ్యం ఎలా ఒప్పుకుంటుంది ? తెలంగాణా కి అనుకూలంగా తెదేపా, తెరాసా, భాజపా, ప్రరపా - ఈ నాలుగు పార్టీలు మద్దత్తు పలికాయి. ఈ నాలుగు పార్టీలు ఎన్నికల్లో ఓటమి ని చవి చూసాయి. ప్రజలు ఇంత నిర్ద్వందంగా తీర్పు ని ఇస్తే, కేవలం ఆరు నెలలలో కృంగిపోతున్న తన రాజకీయ జీవిఒతాన్ని పునరుద్ధరించడానికి కేసీఆర్ గారు ఆడుతున్న కపట నాటకాన్ని బయట పెట్టడం మానేసి, విచ్చల విడి గా పెట్రేగిపోతున్న అరాచక శక్తులకి మీడియా సంఘీభావం పలకడం అత్యంత దురదృష్టకరం. అరాచకాన్నిఉద్యమం గా చిత్రీకరిస్తూ మీడియా నడుపుతున్న ఈ బూటకపు ప్రచారాన్ని ముందు తప్పు బట్టాలి.

వైఎసార్ చనిపోయిన తరువాత ఇక తెలంగాణా కి అడ్డు ఎవరు అని బహుశా కేసీఆర్ భావించి ఉండవచ్చు. కాని రెండు-మూడు కోట్ల జనాభా ఉన్న తెలంగాణా ప్రాంతం లో కొన్ని వేల మంది చట్టాన్ని వాళ్ళ చేతి లోకి తీసుకుని విచ్చల విడి గా ప్రజలను భయ భ్రాన్తులకు గురి చేస్తే, దీనికి ఉద్యమం అనే పేరు పెట్టడం ఎంత వరకు సమంజసం? కేసీఆర్ గారి కొడుకు, శ్రీ కేటిఆర్ గారు టీవీ మీదకి వచ్చి, నల్గొండ జిల్లలో కాటి కాపరులు తెలంగాణా వ్యతిరేకుల శవాల్ని కాల్చారు అని చెప్పినందుకు వాళ్ళకి ధన్యవాదాలు తెలిపితే, ఇంత కన్నా నీచానికి ఎవరైనా దిగాగలరా అండి ? పొద్దున్న అనక, రాత్రి అనక, రోజూ తెరాసా నేతలు కార్యకర్తలను రెచ్చగొట్టే ప్రయత్నం చేస్తున్నారే, దీనిని ఉద్యమం అని పిలవడానికి మనసు ఎలా వస్తుంది అండి ?

ఇప్పట్లో తెలంగాణా వస్తే, అదీ ప్రజల తీర్పు ని అగౌరవ పరచడమే అవుతుంది. ఇలా చట్టాన్ని చేతుల్లోకి తీసుకుని రెచ్చిపోతున్న వారి డిమాండ్లకు తలోగ్గితే రేపు పొద్దున్న ఇంక ఎవరు పడితే వాళ్ళు, ఇలాంటి దండగ పద్ధతులకే పూనుకుంటారు. కేసీఆర్ ఆడుతున్న ఈ నాటకానికి ఇంకా తెర దించే సమయం వచ్చింది. నీకు ఏదైనా బాధలు ఉంటె, ప్రజల్లోకి తీసుకు వెళ్ళు, వారి మన్నలు పొందు, ఎన్నికలు గెలువు, అప్పుడు డిమాండ్ చెయ్యి. అంతే కాని నీచమైన రాజకీయాలకు పాల్పడి ప్రజల శాంతియుత జీవితాల్లో కలకలం సృష్టించి నీ ఆశయం సాధిద్దాం అనుకుంటే, అదీ జరిగే పని కాదు !

Must read Cover story by THE WEEK

Right from the "Letter from the managing editor" to the detailed interview with Vinita Kamte, this week's cover story of THE WEEK is simply awesome. The cover story is about covert operations by both IB and RAW to nab terrorists supported by ISI and operating from Nepal. Every article has insightful details of operations, how the ISI shamelessly pursued terror againt India, how innocent lives were rescued etc. I will present the link for each article and also will make some observations on each of them :)

1. Letter from the Managing Editor: Click here.

This is basically an intorduction letter tell us what to expect. Hats off to Senior Correspondent Syed Nazakat for piecing together the story on the operations. However, what caught my attention was this question by the editor - "did the widow of a martyr have to apply through the RTI for the postmortem report?". Isn't it a shameful reflection of the system that even post mortem reports have to be obtained in this way?

2. No Pals in Nepal. Click here.

This is the main story detailing various operations of RAW and IB in nabbing atleast 400 terrorists till now. Interesting pieces of information are all revealed here. For example, it is mentioned that there were 4 flights per week from Pakistan to Nepal and there was just no commercial justification for them. ISI was using these flights to transport weapons into Nepal!. Do read the entire article for extremely interesting points. I will stop here for now ;-)

3. Charge of the Tigress. Click here.

These are one of the most explosive findings of 26/11 and sadly most of the media are not presenting them threadbare to us. I really feel great about the work Vinita Kamte h done despite the loss of her husband in the most tragic circumstances. Some of her revelations about how politicians passed irresponsible statements make your blood boil. he same politicians are still enjoying power this day, while the families of martrys are still searching for answers. It is a real shame that our system plainly refuses to learn from mistakes. Please read and also forward the article to as many as possible.

4. Interviews.

Brief, but interesting, interviews have been conducted with the incharge of IB (click here), RAW (click here , I like his statement "It is a game of scoundrels played by gentleman" !), Nepal's Home Minister (click here) and of a Gorkha arrested in 2001.

I assure you, these articles are of great learning value. Special thanks to @centerofright in twitter for providing this story.

So many points, so little time!: Nov.29-Dec.5

1. P. Sainath of The Hindu did an awesome report this week. In this article here, he exposes the dirty nexus between the politicians and the media. He took up the case of recent Maharashtra elections, and clearly pointed out how the CM could get the same news report (verbatim) printed in three different newspapers on three different days. The article has much clearer details, but I wish to make another important point here. One of the newspapers Sainath mentions is Lokmat owned by a Congress MP. Lokmat and IBN have a tie-up in Maharashtra and they run a channel. Rajdeep Sardesai, who is the Editor-in-Chief on CNN-IBN pontificates on twitter that "media has to answer". Not just him, almost everyone from the self-righteus gloating national english media say that media should answer as if they are in some totally different profession! After repeated questioning by folks on twitter, Rajdeep Sardesai answers (to yours truly ;-) ) that the Editor's guild is meeting this month to discuss about paid news! Wah, when it comes to the media, all of them uniformly went silent and are waiting for some meeting to decide on future course of action! Anyways, let's wait till January 1st and take this up further.

2. There is this person in Andhra Pradesh who goes by the name KCR. Under his awesome stewardship, the party has lost multiple elections badly, the latest one being 2009 general elections. YSR's death turned everything around. KCR got some renewed energy and decided to do a fast unto death agitation. And as expected, he broke it the second day. Within hours, there was severe backlash and he had to resume it!! Imagine his plight. However, the supposed "movement" has taken ugly violent proportions. KCR is on "fast" for about 5 days now and there are a lot of student organisations truning violent in their protests. Even the TRS cadre is turning violent at will. And the state government is not able to control this violence. The local media is hyping up the violence as if it is some kind of impulsive reaction. How can violence such as this be justified at all? A bunch of hooligans can hold one-thirds of the state to ransom and we are calling it a movement? So you blackmail the government and you assume that your demands will be met? KCR, and KCR alone must be held responsible for this violence. He must be booked for disturbing the peace of the land, and be asked to keep quiet for his lifetime!

3. Ajmal Kasab's lawyer has been fired!! A new lawyer has been appointed. So now the new guy will have to get acquainted with the case. Basically, the case will get delayed more. Ultimately, Kasab gets more time to eat biryanis.

4. ULFA Chief Arabinda Rajkhowa and deputy commander in chief Raju Barua were arrested this week! Actually, the national media flashed saying that both of them surrendered! Both of the surrendering is a massive blow to ULFA, but within hours of flashing that news, the news channels announce that these people have actually been arrested. Both of them refuse to hold negotiations with handcuffs! Apparently Arabinda expected garlands it seems! Wonder what made him think that terrorists will be garlanded in our country ;-)

5. I happened to watch Question hour in Lok Sabha this week for two days. If atleast 80% of the time, the session can go such smoothly, I am telling you the respect on politicians will surely increase!

అదన్నమాట! : నవెంబర్ 29-డిసెంబర్ 5

ఆంధ్రుల అభిమాన హాస్య నటుడు శ్రీ కేసీఆర్ గారు ఈ వారం ప్రజల్ని తెగ ఇబ్బందుల్లో పడేసారు. ఇబ్బంది అనేది చాలా చిన్న పదం. అయన చేపట్టిన ఆమరణ నిరాహార దీక్ష వాళ్ళ రాష్ట్రం లోని తెలంగాణా జిల్లాల్లో పలు చోట్ల హింస చెలరేగింది. ఆదివారం చేపట్టిన దీఖ్స ను ఆయన సోమవారం రాత్రి కి విరమించారు. ఈ వార్త తెలియగానే విద్యార్ధి సంఘాలు ఊగిపోయాయి. ఇంత స్తే లో వ్యతిరేకత వచ్చేసరికి, కేసీఆర్ గారు మళ్ళి దీక్ష ప్రారంభించారు. అయితే అప్పటికే హింస మార్గం అనుసరించడం మొదలుపెట్టిన కార్యకర్తలు మరియు విద్యార్ధులు మరింత చెలరేగిపోయారు. బుసుల్ల్ని తగలపెట్టారు, షాపుల్ని మూసేశారు, అద్దాలని విరగోట్టారు ... పై పెచ్చు మీడియా కూడా ఈ ఉద్యమంకి మద్దతు చూపుతుంది! దీనిని ఉద్యయం అనడం కన్నా అరాచకం అనడం చాలా సబబు. అసలు కొన్ని అసాంఘిక శక్తులు ఇలా విచ్చల విడి గా ప్రవర్తించినంత మాత్రానా ఒక రాష్ట్రం వచ్చేస్తుంది అని అనుకుంటే, ఇంత కన్నా మూర్ఖత్వం ఏమి ఉంటాదో నాకు అయితే తెలిదు మరి!

ఇది ఇలా ఉండగా, ప్రజా రాజ్యం పార్టీ నుంచి మరో వృద్ధ నేత శ్రీ హరిరామ జోగయ్య గారు రాజీనామా చేసారు ! జై ఆంద్ర ఉద్యమం లో పాల్గొనడానికి రాజీనామా చేసారు అంట! ఏదో ఒకటి లే, మీరు ఉంటె ఎంత లేకపోతె ఎంత లెండి ప్రరపా లో!

నేను నమ్మిన వాళ్ళు మోసం చేసారు అంటూ చిరంజీవి గారు మొన్న ఆ మధ్య వాపోయారు. ఇప్పుడు ఎందుకు లెండి ఇలాంటి డైలాగ్స్ ... మీకు ఉన్న ఆ కొద్ది పాటి మర్యాద కూడా పోతుంది మీ పార్టీ కార్యకర్తలకి !

ఈ వారం కి ఇక్కడితో ఆపెస్తా.. కంప్యుటర్ చాల నెమ్మది గా ఉంది... కష్టం గా ఉంది రాయడానికి...

25 years later...

Anti-Sikh Riots took place in 1984. 3000 Sikhs killed. Thousands of families orphaned.25 years later,still no one is punished. Victims still waiting for justice.

Gas leak in Union Carbide plant in Bhopal in 1984.Termed as the World's worst Industrial Disaster. 15,000 killed. Gas leak still affects lakhs of people. 25 years later, still no one is punished. Victims are still waiting for justice.

Prime Minsiter Indira Gandhi was shot dead by two gunmen in 1984. One died soon, and the other was hanged. Her son became Prime Minister of India. 25 years later, her daughter-in-law is super PM and her grandson is being touted as the future PM.

25 years from now, will the situation change?