To Bhopal In Smaller Cars And Wider Roads

Sick and tired of the necrofest going on in the wake of the verdict given out by the court against those found responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy.

Media and the civil society have blamed the corporation, politicians,judiciary,police,administrative officials (in that order) for the worst industrial disaster ever. But the culpability must be shared more broadly across the spectrum and include the media,intelligentsia and the entire Indian middle class. The gas leak and its aftermath, up to until this day,is a comprehensive system failure.

Posted By Danish 12:58 AM

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Roar On The Web, Tigers Are Dying Out In Jungles

There are only 1411 tigers left, what are you going to do to save our national animal from extinction? This question was put to me by a friend of mine who had shown little concern for any social,environmental or wild life conservation cause, as of yet. Quite clearly his question was directed at me solely because he knew that I blog, tweet and facebook and the television commercials of telecom provider Air Cel calls upon viewers to use social media to help save the tigers from extinction. I have done my bit or may be my two-bits ( corresponds to exactly two retweets ) but refuse to be sucked into the media campaign. My problem is that I cant see how we can save a species from extinction by blogging,tweeting, facebooking or using any social media platform ?

Posted By Danish 3:14 AM

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Haiti Needs You

As most of the readers would already know, a massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the Western Hemisphere's poorest country, leaving behind what could perhaps go down as the one of the biggest natural disaster and humanitarian crises in recent history. But  before proceeding further, i should also mention that since i had been traveling the whole week and facing major connectivity issues, i wasn't very aware of the magnitude of the disaster until a couple of days back. However, this fact does not in any way, dilute my sentiments towards the victims or the disaster. In fact, a very few people can, IMHO, relate to the pain and suffering of the victims than those of us who have faced the super-cyclone that devastated Odisha (then Orissa) in 1999. It has been more than 10 years now, and i have still not been able to find words to express the experience. In nutshell, it was a nightmare..those of us who survived were mainly because we were relatively better off economically, socio-politically. Neither the government nor the media were able to capture the extent of damage.

Anyway, coming back to Haiti, the visuals,news reports coming in are more than just nightmarish! Haiti has has been devastated and its likely to take a lot of time and effort to get the Caribbean nation back on its feet. On the brighter side, this epic disaster has also shown how useful social media can be, in responding to major catastrophes as quickly as possible. Twitter in particular has not only been the main source of  getting the getting news and images from the ravaged country, it is also helping in coordinating rescue teams.  

If the sight of such human suffering depresses us, it is also heartening to find people all over the world extending their hands for the rehabilitation of the quake victims. Google has pledged $1 million for relief work and has also put up a special page, Google Crisis Response page with links and information on how you can do your own bit. You can Donate via Google Checkout or you can find links to donate to organizations like UNICEF , Care, Red Cross ,
Doctors Without Borders , Habitat for Humanity  and other organizations working to help the victim rebuild their lives and communities.

Mashable has put up a list of trusted organizations that you could donate to without having the nagging doubt if your money did reach the victims. However, if you wish to do more or feel you cant donate enough, there are ways you could help directly. For instance, you could Help map Haiti or help find missing people through Person Finder: Haiti Earthquake  or help identify missing people by comparing and matching photos. Let me assure you, you dont have to spend more time or resources than most of us already do in Farmville or Mafia Wars but the difference we could make is huge.

Inspired by : http://steal-ideas.blogspot.com/2010/01/bloggers-should-help-victims-of-haiti.html#ixzz0cuU4Af8Y

Posted By Danish 5:53 PM

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The Fourth Estate of India

ANGRY.
Thats the one word that sums up the prevailing mood across India in the aftermath of the horrific terror attacks in Mumbai. Terror attacks have evoked similar sentiments in the past but every time the emotion have died out in a very short period of time, especially after the political parties and the media are done extracting the mojo from it. But the sentiment this time is far more vehement than it has ever been which is quite understandable considering the magnitude of the attack both in terms of devastation as well as audacity. Talk to the common person on the street, 9.9 out of 10 people would hold politicians responsible for the attack on the nation’s sovereignty, and it is not just the politicians in the government that are being blamed, the people have been quite emphatic in holding the entire class of politicians as responsible. This sentiment is quite understandable when we see politicians squabbling among themselves for a share of the pie bought from the hard earned money of the tax-payer. What is worse is the fact that even after coveting the people’s property, politicians do not seem to realize that they have certain duties towards the very people whose money they are squandering away.

The recent terror attacks in Mumbai has actually catalyzed the situation so that the debate now goes beyond this dastardly act to the various commissions and omissions of the ruling class all along at the expense of the welfare and security of the nation. Martyrdom of the Mumbai terror attack like Hemant Karkare, Sandeep Unnikrishanan and others who in many ways represented the middle class Indians served as rude reminders of the fact that unless the common people take the charge, their basic security was at risk.

As the world continues to condense into a thoroughly connected global village, intellectuals, the tax-paying middle class, the students and even journalists have found on the Web and the TV, ways to express their anguish and call for a change. Social software tools like blogs, microblogs, syndicated content, forwarded emails etc and mobile penetration have provided not only a platform to participate in the social and political processes, voice their opinions but also form communities with like minded individuals. This is the Fourth Estate of the Indian state, the child of the information revolution, powered by information and communication technology of the 21st century.
This section of people is more dependable and least susceptible to corruption (in any form) simply because there are no personal gains or losses for them. No wonder, political that "lip-stick wearing, coat tie wearing" Indians should be entitled to political opinions. Naqvi may have belled the cat but he represents the deep-seated resentment that a lot of politicians across party lines have towards educated middle class Indians taking interest in politics. What more evidence do we need? Is it a coincidence that a Leftist CM of Kerala and National Vice President of the BJP, a Rightist, were speaking on the similar lines on the same day? In the past, we have seen all political parties bury differences and come when the question involves a raise or a decrement in salary and other perks granted to elected representatives. Even yesterday i.e. 03/11/08, when asked (by TimesNOW) why such a significant portion of the nation's security asset including the NSG commandos were being deployed for personal security of political leader who apparently had no serious threat to life, politicians from all parties were found to be defending the decision unanimously. Yet, a couple of minutes later, Arnab Goswami of TimesNow was left begging for a consensus between political parties (the Cong and the BJP) on how to deal with this latest terror attack.
There has been at least one positive outcome from this tragedy and that is the galvanizing effect it had on the people, rousing them from slumber and forcing them to stand up and take initiative. Turn on the TV and you could be witnessing a watershed moment, this attack can be taken as a wake up call to rouse a nation from its self-induced slumber.
Prasoon Joshi's poetry, "Is Baar Nahi", TimesNOW's slogan "Action not words", rallies in Mumbai and the chatter across nooks and corners of India indicate the growing assertiveness of a section of Indians. The Fourth Estate of India.

Prasoon Joshi's poem reflecting the sentiment of the aam Indian post Mumbai terror attacks.

Posted By Danish 1:23 AM

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Arushi murder case and the role of the media and the police

The Aarushi/Hemraj twin murder case refuses to die out unlike most sensationalist crime stories do. As of now I have been trying to restrain myself from commenting on the episode but shoddy investigation by the police and insensitivity of the media compels one to speak out. From the time the crime was discovered to this day, this double murder case and the subsequent investigation has been telecast more like a reality show than a news report. Gruesome murders of a 14 year old daughter and domestic servant of a urban doctor couple are themselves horrifying enough to catch the media's attention, the ensuing mystery regarding the identity and motive of the killer(s) made sure that news reports pertaining to this case continued to grab headlines . If the police bungled up with the investigation, the ever enthusiastic media tried to compensate it by going over-board. One has to admit the fact that without media's unblinking gaze on it, the case record would have been lying in a dusty shelf of some nondescript police station. But it is also a fact that the media sensationalized the ghastly incidence to such an extent that the demarcation between news reporting and reality show stands blurred. In fact, news channels reporting on Arushi murder case can now claim to have a higher TRP than some of the most popular daily soaps. It has been observed that Hindi soap operas thrive by playing up taboo topics for the titillation of a class torn between conservative paradigm and forces of globalism.

In Aarushi/Hemraj murder case the media made every effort to highlight the elements of illicit relationships, adultery, fornication, mystery and honour killing in a bid to challenge the popularity of daily soaps ( Ironically, a popular daily soap has actually included a plot identical to Arushi murder case) . With new revelations being churned out by the investigative agencies on a daily basis this macabre reality show/soap opera is being beamed incessantly into our drawing rooms for more than a month creating a record of sorts. As far as I can remember no other incidence has been able to keep media's spotlight on itself for such a long period of time. In this war of TRPs a section of the media was willing to stoop such a base level that it actually went ahead and reported unverified information casting aspersions on the character of the dead girl. The civil society needs to question if the media and all agencies involved should be allowed to get away after besmirching our memory of a 14 year old who cannot even defend herself from the accusations hurled at her.

This is not the first time that the media has been criticized for unprofessionalism, lately the Indian media has transformed into what I call, "reality circus of cheap thrills, sleaze and superstition". But in Arushi murder case it is the police and not the media that has transformed these gruesome murders into a hugely popular soap opera. Had the police swung into action the moment it was informed of Arushi's murder, this case might not have become so complicated. The fact that the body of Hemraj was found on the terrace 24 hours after Arushi's body had been discovered indicates that the police were simply uninterested in tracking the murderer. It is quite apparent from the media reports that there were enough evidences indicating foul play but conspicuously enough the police just couldn't see them.

Well, this is not an isolated case of police inaction, thousands of criminal cases all over the country suffer similar fate. At times when criminal investigations are not influenced by monetary incentives or political pressures they are left to die a lingering death purely because of the apathetic attitude of the police. However, the Indian police is not that inefficient when it comes to using force on the ordinary people. In a recent article in the Times of India, Santosh Desai, points out that identity of the Indian police revolves around the brute force that it loves to exercise, it is simply incapable of something as intricate as investigation. It should also be noted that despite the rate of convictions in criminal cases being abysmal, jails in India are over-crowded. This situation arises largely because when it comes to nabbing a person and sending him/her jail all that is required is brute force but investigation requires the use of reason and logic which the police either lack or unwilling to apply. It is not surprising to note that whenever there is a public demand for a proper investigation of a crime, the Central Bureau of Investigation has to be brought in. As of yet the CBI has been pretty efficient but this is not why the CBI was created and it cannot take up each and every case.

It is time that the Indian police are reminded that if the civil society grants them the power to use force and coercion it is solely for the safety and welfare of the society. If it casts aspersions on the character of a dead teenager instead of nabbing her killer it only proves Desai's contention that the Indian police is just a desensitized, coercive and brutal agent of the state. As the crime rate continues to rise, reforms and sensitization of the force should be the first step forward.

Update
After 5 long years, the CBI court has indicted Rajesh and Nupur Talwar in the murder of their only daughter. It is ironic that when the CBI sought closure of the case because of lack of evidence against Rajesh Talwar, it was the father and mother of the dead girl who asked for the investigation to be reopened to bring out the truth. Further, it has been alleged that the investigation has been far from being fair, the court passes judgement relying upon facts and evidences presented to it by the prosecution as well as the defence. In this instance the investigation should have been as thorough as possible simply for the fact that both the allegations were shocking to the core. If indeed the doctor couple killed their only daughter for the sake of "honor" it would be shocking but what if they didn't ?

It would be far more than "shocking" if the investigators and media had been erroneously accusing the parents. Having lost their only daughter in a gruesome murder would be devastating enough for any parent but casting aspersion on their moral character as well as of their murdered daughter and then accusing them of murdering her would be far too torturous to describe. Were the investigative agencies sensitive enough to keep this in consideration or acting as per their own prejudice, partly based on media reports ?  Here is a report which addresses these questions in depth
 http://www.tehelka.com/2013/06/framed-the-aarushi-hemraj-murder-case-an-investigation/

Posted By Danish 3:29 AM

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