They are after Bloggers now....RUN!!!!

19 yr old blogger faces criminal proceedings as case is filed against him for hate content


(Pic Courtesy : iStockphoto)


I am really pissed off and angry too!

I recently read this article in a reputed daily ( I dare not write the name lest I be sued!)
It talks about how a young blogger from Kerala was made to face legal action and made to appear in court and explain his actions.

Click here to read the entire report

To quote from the report, it all boils down to one conclusion now :
"Bloggers may no longer express their uninhibited views on everything under the sun, for the Supreme Court said they may face libel and even prosecution for the blog content."

In simple words,

Our Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Speech is being taken from us!

The boy in the above mentioned report was made to face legal action just because he had started a community on Orkut against a certain political party and the comments on his community/blog indicated that the actions of the party were dividing the nation on the basis of region and caste! (What I really wonder is if one would start filing cases against these political parties on the basis of 'hate speech', 'hate content', 'violence' and so on...would all the courts of law of the world put together be able to give justice or keep the cases pending? )

In this country of ours, which is the largest 'DEMOCRACY' of the world, its citizens are not allowed to exercise their basic rights without being afraid of facing legal proceedings. This is the democracy that our great freedom fighters and leaders dreamt of!

A place where the common people would be forced to remain silent and adjust and adapt to the amazing bullshit thrown around by a bunch of imbeciles who label themselves as leaders of the nation and weave false dreams of " a stronger, taller and secure India".

The only right that the leaders/politicians want the common man of India to exercise is the Right to Vote. They say, choose responsibly the person you think is right. Choose a candidate who will take the nation ahead on the path of progress. (Now that the elections are near you will listen to this being thrown around by all politicos a dozen times a day!)

But then to speak of selecting a good candidate, we as citizens are given a choice from a select few. We do not select who stands for elections. It is like going to a stock clearance sale where your options are limited. You either buy the goods or you walk out without buying goods.

Coming back to the main topic of this post, these so-called protectors of culture and Indianness are now after us bloggers. I think they got bored of bashing up valentine couples and 'indecent' ladies in pubs. Now its the turn of the vile bloggers because it is they who still express their thoughts freely and write what they feel. Such people are potentially dangerous to their 'noble' activities of 'saving the nation' (what they really are after is saving and growing their vote banks).

I agree that indecent and abusive language should be restricted and not used against others on a blog. That should be curbed.
But what are we suppoesd to do when a blogger is booked under a certain section of the law while politicians and other big-wigs go scot-free in this land of ours.
Personaly, I think the complaint filed got much attention and fast response because it was done so by a member of a political party.

What should a common man do when these courts of law fail to punish our tainted politicians and other criminals while innocents are brought to book very quickly?
They say 'Justice delayed is Justice denied' . I do not think this holds true in India where people who file a case in their youth get the results on their death-bed. (or even after they are long dead). What do you expect if the courts waste their valuable time on such trivial matters?

( One of my friends had gone to a court to apply for his Domicile certificate. He saw a case being heard before one of the judges. It was filed by one man on his neighbour and both were arguing furiously and the judge was listening intently before doling out scoops of justice. Want to know what the case was all about? One man accused the other of stealing his plastic tumbler! You tell me if this is trivial or not!)

If you ask my opinion, the Supreme Court should have better work to do. I think it should set up a Quality Check Counter. Only those cases that the court deems fit to dedicate its time to should pass this counter.

While the culture-protectors and the language-protectors go on rightfully beating/killing fellow country-men the courts are busy punishing violators of law such as this young blogger from Kerala.

What will probably happen is that the young boy's spirit has been crushed after going through such proceedings at a tender age of 19. Or if he is a fighter and a tough one he will stand up and still continue to do what he believes in!

Today they have quashed attempts of one blogger tomorrow it could be all of us!

Rise blogger brothers, Rise!!

Pranjal Wagh






This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License

The ultimate publicity band-wagon called Indian Media

Malcolm-X once quoted ‘The Media’s the most powerful entity on the earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of masses’

Think over the above quote and it seems so true in the present scenario. The daily reports that we read in the news paper all abuzz about crime, extortion, ransom demand, forgery, cheating and many more, are all and all shaped by the media. Here media in particular refers to the print, television in primary and so on.

So our Indian media is capricious and at the same time can be intimidating at times. Indeed many do run away from it and at the same time many do run after it. To cut a long story short, the media especially the print and television have a great impact on the minds of people both in rural as well as urban India. A conspiracy, mishap, ‘kaand’ and so forth are the adjectives which would give a gleam of what exactly happens. It can educate the masses and at the same time it can corrupt the masses. It can make stand a Government to rule and it can make it defame to pieces. And in a democratic nation like India where there is a freedom of Speech and thought, media forms a vital role in the overall development. But do our media stand on its terms to shoulder the responsibility? Well this answer has a number of sub-branches and various aspects but to integrate and answer as a whole we have a sad but true answer and that’s ‘NO’

We come across many channels and many news papers which we refer daily to get into groove on the current happenings. The more recent matters have focused more on youth to channelize thoughts. They say young minds are the future of our society. I always failed to understand this. Over this the youth complains that the seniors have intertwined the system so badly and at the root level it’s unimaginable to refine and re-erect. I am of the opinion that our ‘smart’ and ‘intelligent’ media has all that what it takes on to bring our system on the right tracks. Take the case of a much acclaimed channel ‘The Aaj Tak’. I would refer to this as an entertainment channel rather than a news channel. The channel is a recipient of 6 awards for excellence, really wondering how, and yes it leads the charts in creating the cheapest news. The crew has that set of news which no one can ever think off. Amitabh Bhachan ko hua Julab and then Cheetah ko hua pyar, kya ban payegi inki jodi such kinds of titles just make it absurd and here they gain their fame. Rather than showcasing the proceedings of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha they are keener on knowing where M.S Dhoni is celebrating his valentine or when is Aishwarya planning for a baby?? This might seem silly for most of us residing in Urban India but the rural India does not take it that way and watches it ebulliently. For them the news is a matter of concern and a very factual content. Over this they (news-channel) have the capability to delineate and club the ideas with a hi-tech IT department, that one fails to appreciate the news and start enjoying it as an entertainment. This is where our media tends to divert minds from sense to non-sense, the priorities tend to fade away and on the whole fails to serve the purpose.

The bottom line is the channel keeps the people tuned to the TV and if not all, many people can change their inception and might go under a wrong influence. I always recall one incident which had made people affix in front of the TV, it was about our charming young fellow ‘Mr Prince’, who fell down in the pit. The Star News crew got to reach the destination first and the cameraman pulled down his camera and every inch of his movement was calculated. Was this all really needed? At such a painstaking situation for his parents, they interviewed his mother ‘What do you feel now?’ It was broadcasted and millions are watching them, yet his mother answered with broken courage. Surrounding village cited a commotion and everyone enjoyed the scenario. The authorities engaged in rescuing the boy must have had a good test for their patience. This is the potential of our media to create such hype and furore. This is not just one incidence; there are plenty to goad on.

‘Aaj Tak- Sabse Tej’, Star News, Zee News and many more which are show casted for 24hours wobble around the same bunch of news. Media is indeed our backbone and so can’t be given up completely. When we stroll around newspapers and news channels we always tend to keep a follow up on certain set of news, that is say sports or box-office reviews etc. Most of significant changes that took place in the law, amending of the bills, changes in policies, and reviews of fraudulent companies are brought to light by this media only. Our pace of development can be enhanced provided our media fulfils its duties and works in the vested interests.

One of the crucial changes was brought about by Times of India. They initiated the ‘Teach India’ program which was inclined to educating the masses dwelling in the slums. The management called up for working professionals from various backgrounds and setup a platform for those who are motivated to work for poor. Educated class stepped out of the doors, apart from their offices and workplaces and came forward to give a helping hand. Also one more spectrum of our intelligent media came to light when they collected funds for Tsunami victims, the Bhuj earthquake victims, the floods hitting Mumbai and many more to their credit.

In short we form a perspective, form our opinion, get biased and we are made to think on by this media. Commercials by Jago Grahak, jaagore.com, insisting people to be alert on fraudsters, insisting them to cast their vote etc, are a boon to our rural development. The media at one node testifies and also panders, covering a wide range of people, politicos, bollywood stardom, industrialists, organisations and many more. Media is a buttress to the stratum of our society, provided it works and accomplishes its responsibilities.

I do not criticize any particular agency, any form of channel but it should be stressed and taken in to account the importance of our media, for the media personnel themselves, for the governing party, and lastly for the common man.

Are You Going To Vote This Year?

Hi All,

The Lok Sabha elections are around the corner.
What? You haven't noticed it?
The stench of politicians preparing for their "Prachaar" (And our atyaachaar!) is already strong in the air! Petrol prices are coming down! The Sixth Pay commission has been announced and what not!

Many campaigns have been undertaken by student bodies and corporates which call for the people to 'wake up', drink a cup of tea and register for voting! (Actually voting toh sirf bahana hai...assal mein tumko sirf Chaai pilana hai!).

So, what I really want to know is how many of you are really planning to go voting this year round? How do you tell me that?
See that sidebar? To the right of this page? A Poll has been created in that sidebar. Vote in that poll.Do that at least, even if you are not going to vote for our 'responsible' and 'dutiful' political leaders.

Come on vote people!

Regards,

Pranjal Wagh


This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

1000 Hits...and going strong still !!

My Dear Readers,


I am glad to tell you that your favourite blog "A Rational Mind" has garnered a readership of 1000 + readers over a span of 2 and a half months ( To be precise, its 81 days and 21 posts later! :P)!

Thanks for the support!
I am now even more committed to provide you with articles that will cater to the taste of your 'reading' buds!

Thanks!

Regards,

Pranjal Wagh

VOTE FOR "A RATIONAL MIND"

Hey all,
First and foremost, thanks a lot my readers for their great support and readership!

I feel happy to tell you that your favourite blog "A Rational Mind" has entered a blog competition. Precisely, "BEST BLOG IN MUMBAI" which is being conducted by MumbaiBloggers.net

The link to my blog is
http://thoughts-of-a-rationalmind.blogspot.com/

I need your votes to make my blog win. Votes count for 75% of the marks awarded to each blog. SO please please , I request you to vote for my blog!

Well here is the link to the site:

http://www.mumbaibloggers.net/vote-for-the-best-blog/

Thanks!

I'll keep writing new stuff on the blog!

Happy reading,

Regards,

Pranjal Wagh
A Rational Mind

शेर शिवराज है !!!

Shivaji is the Tiger...........Excerpts from The ShivarajBhushan by MahaKavi Bhushan Tripathi



The ShivarajBhushan (The Ornament of Shivaji) by Mahakavi Bhushan Tripathi is a of nearly four hundred Brijbhasha poems written at the court of Shivaji Maharaj.This composition was made circa 1673 and with Shivaji’s ascent to the throne in 1674 makes it extremely likely that ShivarajBhushan was composed for the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The following poem is but a part of this splendid composition. It touches upon all the virtues of the great warrior and rightly compares Shivaji Maharaj with the Gods.

This poem is currently a part of the Title track of the Grand Marathi Serial, Raja ShivChhatrapati, which is aired on Star Pravaah every Monday-Friday at 08:30pm. Check out the poem, its meaning and then watch the video and read the poem alongwith the song. If you do not get an adrenaline rush.....talk to me then!

Here is the poem:

इन्द्र जिमि जृम्भा पर

बाडव सअंभ पर

रावण सदंभ पर

रघुकुल राज है !


पवन बारिबाह पर

संभु रतिनाह पर

ज्यों सहसबाह पर

राम द्विजराज हैं !


दावा दृमदंड पर

चीता मृगझुन्द पर

भूषण वितुण्ड पर

जैसे मृगराज हैं !


तेज तमअंस पर

कन्ह जिमि कंस पर

त्यों म्लेंच्छ बंस पर

शेर शिवराज हैं!!!!!!!!!!!

- महाकवि भूषण

Literal Translation and Meaning:

I have tried my level best to translate and decipher the meaning this piece of poetry. If any errors are found please do forgive me. Point out the errors and I will correct them faster than the speed of sound. Here goes:

Stanza 1:

Translation:

Like Lord Indra against the Demons Like Vamana against against King Bali Like the King Ram of the Raghu clan against the Lord Ravana of Lanka

Meaning:
(Shivaji Maharaj is:) Like Lord Indra who defeated the evil forces of the demons. Like small Vamana who was an avtaar of Lord Vishnu, defeated the mighty Asur King Bali by just asking cleverly for alms while the Yagna was on.

{The story is that Bali, the grandson of King Prahlada was a very valorous and mighty asura . By his penance and might, he conquered the whole world. Indra and other gods fearing that he and asuras would conquer all the three worlds, went to Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu was then born as a dwarf Vamana in the household of a Brahmana. He went to Bali on growing up and asked for alms during a yagna.

Bali was delighted to offer him anything he requested even though his priest warned him that it was Lord Vishnu.Vamana then requested for the amount of land that could come under three of his steps. Bali gracefully agreed. Lord Vishnu then grew in size and covered the earth and heaven in two stride. And due to lack of space, he put his third step on Bali himself and crushed Bali to the nether or the Patala loka(underground world), thus helping the Gods out.}

(Shivaji Maharaj is:) Like the King Ram great Raghu Dynasty who defeated the mighty forces of Lord Ravana of Lanka with the help of an army of monkeys!

Stanza 2:

Translation:

Like Lord Shiva against Rati's Husband, Kama Like Parshurama, the lord of Brahmanas, against Sahasrabahu

Meaning:

(Shivaji Maharaj is:) Like Lord Shiva who slew Rati's husband,Kama,the lord of desire by opening his Third Eye and burning him to ashes!
(Thus implies Kavi Bhushan, that it is Shivaji who will burn down the evil Mughals and Adilshah to ashes!) Like Lord Parshurama, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, who was the saviour of defeated the Haihaya King Kartavirya Arjuna also called as Sahasrabahu or Sahasrarjuna, as he had a thousand hands.

{Parshurama was the son of Sage Jamadagni and Renuka.Parshurama was so called as his favourite weapon was a Parashu (axe). Legend has it that King KartaVirya Arjuna was drunk with power and used to trouble the brahmanas by stealing away their cattle, disturbing their pennances and their yagnas. Once, The king KartaVirya Arjuna visited Jamadagni's ashram with his army. Jamadagni welcomed and fed the king and his army with the help of his cow, Kamadhenu. The king was amazed and asked Jamadagni for the cow. Jamadagni refused to yield as he would need the cow for religious practices. Angered, Arjuna destroyed the ashram and took away the cow forcibly. When Parshurama came to know about this, he killed the entire army of the king and then killed the King himself by cutting of each of the King's arms by using his axe. The King's sons retaliated and killed Jamadagni while he was meditating. When Parshurama returned and found his mother crying he asked her the reason for her sorrow. His mother did not reply but beat her chest 21 times. Angered, Parshurama vowed that he would take revenge upon the Haihayas 21 times. He killed all the sons of Arjuna and killed all the Haihaya-Kshatriyas of the world 21 times. Thus he conquered the whole earth and donated it to the brahmanas. Thus he ended the arrogance of Kshatriyas.}

Stanza 3:

Translation:

Like Fire which burns wood, Like a Cheetah against a herd of deer, Says Bhushana, (He is )Like a Lion against Hogs.

Meaning:

(Shivaji Maharaj is :) Like the fire which burns wood, he is swift and deadly like the Cheetah against a herd of deer. Kavi Bhushan says, (Shivaji is) like a lion against wild hogs.
Stanza 4:
Translation:
Like a ray of light through the darkness, Like the Child Krishna against Kansa, Has descended upon the clan of Mlecchas(Mughals and Adilshah) Shivaji, the Tiger!

Meaning:

(Shivaji Maharaj is:)
Like a ray of light that shatters the darkness and he offers hope to millions of people oppressed by the cruel rule of Aurangzeb across India.
(He is) like the child Krishna who defeated his maternal uncle, Kansa in wrestling and killed him.
( This great warrior) has now descended upon the clan of Mlecchas, (Here the poet refers to Mughals and Adilshah who oppressed their Hindu subjects and tortured them in many cases. Although Shivaji Maharaj's kingdom was a Hindu State, he never forced religion on anyone. His was a state which practiced religious tolerance.) like a Tiger!

Here is the video of the title track of Raja ShivChhatrapati. Now try to recite the poem along with the title track and you will get the adrenaline rush!
The Link:

RajaShivChhatrapati Title Track
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpuzZGOAesY



Note:
The word Mleccha directly means a Muslim. Though the Poet has used the word in his work to portray the cruel tactics of the Muslim Rulers Aurangzeb and Adilshah and although Shivaji Maharaj established his kingdom to free the oppressed Hindu subjects from the tyranny of these two Muslim states, Shivaji never was against Muslim religion (and neither am I!). He was against the atrocities of Aurangzeb and Adilshah. Hence, I believe using the word Mleccha to denote a Muslim would be demeaning. Hence, I have not used Muslim as the literal translation for Mleccha but have used Mughals and Adilshah.

Let it be known to all those Hindu hardliners and the so-called Hindu fanatics that Shivaji Maharaj practiced, religious tolerance in his kingdom. He deeply respected Muslim religion and never demolished any Muslim place of worship.

On the contrary, his army had 1/3th part of it as Muslims. His navy had Ibrahim Khan and Maynaak Bhandari as the chiefs. He deeply respected and often sought blessings from Sufi saints like Baba Sharifuddin and also of Shaikh Yakub of Konkan.He called Hazrat Baba of Ratnagiri bahut thorwale bhau, meaning "great elder brother".

PS: Special thanks for this poem to my friend Tejas Thatte.Thanks, Chiknya!


This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

माझं कोल्हापूर .... लई भारी!!!!!!!

Friends, Indians, Countrymen, Lend me your eyes! This one is a different venture from me! For the first time I am going to publish someone else's work on my blog! This one's a short poem written by Marathi Singer/Musician Avadhoot Gupte for the Purepur Kolhapur (पुरेपुर कोल्हापूर). It is found written on their Menu Cards and I must say it takes you right into Kolhapur! It doesn't matter whether you have been to Kolhapur this poem will give you a feel that you are standing in Kolhapur while you read it. It made me nostalgic as I have been to Kolhapur and enjoyed the sights over there. Being a food crazy person and non-veg fanatic Kolhapur is like a seventh heaven for my taste buds (and me too!). This poem has made me nostalgic about Kolhapur. Read on and do make sure to inform me how you liked it via your comments!

PS:

• I was told by one of my friends that Avadhoot Gupte has written this poem but If anyone has confirmation about the poet, please do inform me about it!
• The credit for forwarding this poem to me goes to my friend, Ms.Latika Panjabi (No, She's not from Slumdog!).Thanks for the poem!

Here goes....... भावा, नाद नाय करायचा!!

तू.....

मनात तू,
हृदयात तू.
डोळ्यात माझ्या तूच तू
विचारात देखिल तूच!

जिथे जातो मी तिथे तू,
एखाद्या सावली सारखी माझ्या संगे असतेस तू!
पावलो पावली आठवतेस तू,
गल्ली बोळात देखिल दिसतेस तूच!

पहाटेच्या गारव्यात तू,
दुपारच्या कडक उन्हात देखिल तूच!
दिवसा स्वप्ने पाहतो मी त्यात देखिल तू,
रात्री झोप येत नाही ह्याचे कारण पण तूच!

डोंगर कपारीत फिरताना जाणवतेस तू,
राना वनात भासतेस तूच!
थकून थांबल्यावर पुढे जायला प्रोत्साहन देतेस तूच,
घामाच्या धारा पुसण्यासाठी बनलेला रुमाल देखिल तूच!

माझ्या रोमा रोमात तू
नसा नसात भिनलीस तूच!
श्वासात तू,
उसासे टाकतो मी, त्यात देखिल तू,
माझं सळसळणारं रक्त बनून धावतेस देखिल तूच!

माझ्या हळव्या मनाला छळणारी तू,
मनाला कधी सुखावणारी तू,
वाट पहायला लावून मन बेचैन करणारी तू,
त्याच मनाला कधी उभारी देणारी देखिल तूच!

अशी फ़क्त जाणवणारी ती तू,
कधीही न भेटणारी ती तू,
दूर राहुनाही सगळ्यात जवळ तू
जवळ असून ही सगळ्यात दूर तूच!

-प्रांजल वाघ
०५ फेब 2009



This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

The Sandbag Millionaires...the government that is!

Shedding a little light on the mockery of security that is present in Mumbai.....

These days whenever you wherever in Mumbai the most common thing you find at every nook and corner is a sandbag post albeit abandoned. Tight Security supposedly!

Is Mumbai a battle-ground? Is it not supposed to be a City?


(A Paramilitary personnel mans a post at Mumbai CSt station. He is armed with a 5.56mm INSAS rifle and has a buller-proof vest but alas no protective head-gear!)

Moreover the policemen, if they do occupy these posts are 2 to 3 in number and have one SLR in between them! The others are armed with state-of-the-art lathis! Moreover they are not aware and trained of how to react to a Terrorist attack synonymous to 26/11!

Even if they are trained they still use riot-control helmets! And yes, their bulletproof vests are torn with the kevlar breastplates sticking out of the vests!

As for the sandbag posts ( or bunkers as the media choose to christen them! How many of them know the difference between a bunker and a post, God knows!) they are anything but safe for our police! As per a newspaper report, pests like mice and cockroaches have made these new posts their home!
(Good! Even if the government cannot rehabilitate the slum-dwellers atleast they do rehabilitate the gutter-dwellers!)
These little terrorists are now keeping the police-men busy! They have to face the butt of the SLRs and the lathi-charges inside the posts! Althought the BMC has promised to disinfect these posts who knows when that will happen?

Well, who can blame the poor police-men! I really pity them! They have to work through so many odd shifts!Keep the crime-rate below a level, protect the city and on top of that they are expected to combat terrorism?

In the police, I dare say, one man is forced to do the work of at least 5 people due to shortage of men!

And coming to the question of security, whatever happened to intelligence agencies? Have this politicians and police head honchos ever seen English movies based on the CIA or something? Whatever happened to good old electronic surveillance?

Are we even, 2 % of what they are as regards the level of intelligence?

Really do the politicians think that Sandbag posts and more number of police make a city secure? In fact they make the citizens feel insecure, like they are constantly under a threat!

One simple thing these guys have to understand!
What good is security inside your house when you have left the doors and wondows of your house wide open?

Is it really worth spending millions just to put up makeshift sandbag 'bunkers'or should they be spent on new equipment and most important, training!
Or how about increasing the salary of the poor chaps of the police department? I think that gesture is long overdue!
Come on, this is the least that the government can do for the cops! It would mean so much to them!

Think about this!

The only tragedy of being an Indian is that we need to be reminded by others of our shortcomings! Be it 1962 Himalayan Blunder, 1999 Kargil Intrusions, The numerous terror attacks and so on! And worst part is we never learn from our mistakes!


This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

Thinking About Her....

A Poem written by me in the rainy season..... :)




When I wake up in the morning
And I lie lazing in my bed
Listening to the sound of rain drops
Falling outside
I think of her
Everytime
And then my mind wonders
Will the rain be falling where she is,
Will she be lying in her bed
Looking ever more beautiful
And will she be thinking of me
And what i might be doing then?


When I am finding my way through a dense jungle
It reminds me of her long dark hair
It comforts me to think
That I am lost in the tides
Of her long and dark hair


When I finally find my way
And reach those mountain peaks
That seem to kiss the sky
Then I throw my sight from the top


And greedily devour the beautiful views
She comes to my mind
And I say to myself
Nature may be beautiful
But she is far more beautiful than Nature....




This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.