Kanhaiya Kumar: One Trick Pony Or Rising Political Star

JNU Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar has suddenly become a political sensation with prominent TV news anchors and journalists lining up to interview him and politicians across party lines giving sound bytes on live TV. Of course it followed his electrifying speech in JNU campus, hours after being released from jail which was broadcast by most TV channels and went viral with #KanhaiyaKumar trending globally on Twitter and his speech on YouTube, websites and other social media platforms getting millions of hits. Some pundits were quick to pronounce the birth of a new political star but one of the sanest voices in Indian media, Ravish Kumar actually asked the question, partly to Kanhaiya whom he was interviewing and partly to the viewers, if the student leaders new found fame is a flash in the pan or there is a possibility of it becoming something bigger. Though Kanhaiya made a brilliant and noble plea to delink personalities and individuals (especially himself) from battle between ideologies and principles, it is but a fact that it is because of his oratory skill that he is in the spotlight today,the political dynamics of the country have become too personality driven to be wished away.

Posted By Danish 12:24 AM

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From Aarushi To Sheena : Trial Or Lynching By Media?

Image Courtesy: Youtube 

So the Indian media has latched on to the ghastly and extremely tragic tale of the murder of Sheena Bora with a zeal that falls somewhere between responsible journalism and savagery of a lynch mob screaming for punishment at a medieval trial. The latter part is of course disguised in more civil and self-righteous statements and opinions but criticism by various eminent and less eminent members of citizenry now and then rip off parts of this disguise.  But then there always two sides to a story. It is true that without media coverage, it is highly unlikely that investigation into this crime would been as prompt but the way it has been handled by the media can be described in milder terms as cheap and immature. However some television channels, especially (but not exclusively), vernacular news channels have indeed removed all stops and gone all facetious, dishing out murky details on an hourly basis. After all, this sordid story has more ingredients than a typical Bollywood potboiler and prime time soap operas combined. A mysterious murder in a rich and influential family, a web of lies and deceit and purported evidence of sleazy activities are things these news channels would give anything for and in Sheena Bora murder case, they only have to sacrifice a little journalistic ethics.

Posted By Danish 4:00 PM

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Introspection On Gender-Equality In India

The mindset has to change,this has been repeated almost ritualistically after the heinous crime in Delhi that has left the nation ashamed. But how does it begin ? The underlying cause is the growing intolerance of independent women among a large section of people. From passing lewd comments,harassment in public place/transport/at work, the obnoxious custom of dowry, domestic violence and instances of honor killings are some of the other misdeeds and offenses arising out of the this misogynistic mindset prevalent which in worst cases leads to rape and brutalization of women. To ensure that such gruesome acts are never repeated it is necessary to find out the reason for the intolerance and a feasible solution to end it.

Posted By Danish 1:30 AM

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What Makes Indian Women So Vulnerable ?

Rancorous uproar for justice after every brutal crime  including and especially crime against women may represent popular sentiment but somewhere down the line they also reveal a hypocritical outlook. The demand for more stringent laws and strict enforcement being raised by people from across the spectrum; from the Parliament to the small town tea-stalls, is in essence retributive reflecting a mindset not much different from the mindset of the offenders. The shock, outrage and anger are genuine but it is not very clear if it arises entirely out of the wrong done to a young student or the fact that these offenders have glimpse of the monsters lurking within us. After all   these people must have been very much part of our society less than a week back. They might have taken part in anti-corruption movement and even joined the chorus denouncing rising rate of crime against women! One cannot really say.

Posted By Danish 2:30 AM

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The 23-Year Old Visionary :Bhagat Singh

Despite a recent surge in popularity triggered partly  by Bollywood movies,Shaheed Bhagat Singh continues to be ignored, misunderstood, misrepresented by the vast majority. The very first thing that comes to our mind when we hear the name is that of a young revolutionary who fearlessly and happily faced the gallows for the sake of the nation. But then, he was accompanied by his friends,fellow-revolutionaries, Sukhdev and Rajguru,who were executed along with him for the same offence. In fact, the list of his co-martyrs would include Chandrasekhar Azad, Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan and many more, why does Bhagat Singh's name stand out from the rest ?

Posted By Danish 8:48 PM

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