Pride and Honour

One the most honourable end one can possibly achieve- die fighting for tickets of new Telugu movie. It should be a matter of pride that one is a part of such society.

What a great honour to die crusading for a movie tickets of favourite star.. no no demigod. This is what purpose of life means. The intelligentsia will never understand the adrenalin rush. Its a pity that they name it senseless, immature . Family, education, life itself .... a fitting tribute to all these. We have raised the standards. Now the movie's success will not be judged by its collections, hundred day centres, but by the count of the martyrs.

Producers and "Heroes"... poor people what can they do. Production costs and remunerations are skyrocketing. Is it sin to create hype. To compensate costs one has no option but to lobby for higher ticket prices. Netas and Babus .. they take their share but never co operate well. Even in such dire situations they pay ex-Gracia out of their own pockets. Government needs to do somehing about the deaths.

Now don't argue.It is outrageous, preposterous to ask fans to wait. How can anybody,.. even a "Hero" request his followers to restrain from watching the movie on the first day. It is denial of a fundamental right.

It is Distributors who bid high for the movie, there is always competition for quality. So obviously theater owners get the boxes at the premium prices. Now to get their share of returns, they are help less but to sell black tickets. Do you think this is easy, not at all. Manage police, fans associations, chota mota galli leaders.

Yeah they were mere unfortunate incidents, who can predict a stampede or an accidental electrocute. Yes yes bade bade deshon mein aise chote chote baatein hote rahte hain.

Idiosyncrasies of power shifts

Who is the next leader for Congress(I) ?--- Rahul Gandhi. A school going kid would have answered that. On the other hand many are scratching their heads trying to guess who could be the next after Advani in BJP. The electoral defeat and the ongoing internal differences in BJP have dented the ground of the party but it was back from the brink surviving such situations in the past. The fight for the future top position also hints a different point altogether.

When it comes to power transfer in political parties family is the best option. It is an established fact that in family run parties, an outsider can never aim for the top spot. On the other side in other parties transfer of power is neither smooth nor planned, mostly.

Is there any one who could be considered a future alternative for AIADMK after Jayalaitha. Murky feuds among its leaders marked Andhra Pradesh Congress for decades. Kanshiram to Mayavathi, MGR to Jaya could be considered as exceptions, but they are different for their own distinct reasons. It is imminent that parties like DMK, NCP etc would be led by Stalin, Supriya Sule, Abdullahs, Owaisis, and the list is ever increasing and endless like Hanuman's tail. Bingo that is the advantage with family, no confusion, great combination.

It is omnipresent, take Kennedys, Clintons, Bush clan in US of A, but we have championed it. After every election whatever might be the outcome they say, voters are intelligent and they can’t be fooled. We wishfully get fooled trying to choose a known exploiter to an unknown.

What everyone needs to understand about Telangana

Telangana has been drawing immense attention leading to a much heated debate in AP. Many of them if not all have presumptions and prejudice and this has stopped them from looking at it unbiased. To get a lucid picture we need to go through past times and conditions.

 

Before formation of AP:

Telangana and Hyderabad State: When rest of the country was fighting against British for freedom, there was a peasant rebellion against Nizam rule in Telangana region. Nizam rule exploited people filling the coffers and in turn paying huge amounts to British for military assistance. The brutal feudal landlord system reigned ruthless power over peasants. Telugu was given a second rated treatment and Urdu was the medium in education and governance. There were severe restrictions even to speak Telugu. Education was neglected. The agrarian crisis coupled with identity issues made people revolt against Nizam, which resulted in an armed rebellion against Nizam's Razakars (a force which could be equated to modern day Taliban).  After the police action, Hyderabad state was formed.

 Andhra region: Coastal Andhra was under Madras Presidency, and when the voice for separate state of Andhra was raised after the sacrifice of Potti Sriramulu, JVP (Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Pattabhi Seetaramayya) committee agreed upon a state, provided Andhra gave up its claim on Madras city. This led to formation of Andhra state with Kurnool as capital.Coastal Andhra with Krishna Godavari water was affluent compared to Telangana (but latter had more revenues because of high taxes.)

 Under these circumstances when a call for Vishalandhra (unification of all Telugu speaking people under one state) was made, there were voices of concern over Telangana. A region which has been neglected and denied of minimum privileges was being merged with a comparatively well off coastal region. Development, culture and dialect everything was again at stake. States reorganization committee (SRC) observed that Vishalandhra could be formed if 2/3 majority of Hyderabad state legislature supported it after 1961 general elections. This testifies that the concerns over merging were actually very much real. Telangana always suffered because its leaders never agreed on a single stand.  

Gentlemen's agreement was signed in Delhi by the representatives of both regions, which led to the formation of state of Andhra Pradesh. This agreement had some provisions like

>> Administrative expenditure should be borne separately by the two regions. 

>> Exclusive educational facilities should be provided for students of Telangana

>> Cabinet will consist of members in proportion of 60 to 40 for Andhra and Telangana

>> If CM is from Andhra, Deputy CM will be from Telangana and vice versa.

These were formulated to protect the interests of both regions.

But obviously the subsequent governments breached this agreement. They could not stand for at least a few of the promised provisions. This led to violent protests by students, but the protests were brutally suppressed.

 The reason why all these historical citations are given is that, one - the issue of Telangana is not a recent one, two - it has many a valid reason, and three I strongly believe that it has not stemmed from separatism as many say.

 

The recent times:

The issue which was under current for past few decades was again brought to the fore by the formation of TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samithi) a political party with only aim to form a separate state. It was welcomed with huge support because the issues and conditions during Nizams rule are still persistent. Suicides of farmers, handloom workers testify this. One has to look beyond Hyderabad and its hi-tech development to understand this.

The context differs; now we are a democratic country with elected representatives. If justice is still not done, the elected representatives and the people who do not question them are to be blamed first. Godavari and Krishna flow from Telangana towards Andhra. Irrigation is biggest requirement for agriculture, and Telangana farmer is still looking at skies for monsoons, because we failed to divert and utilize the water.  Nagarjunasagar dam though built in Nalgonda district of Telangana region mostly serves irrigation requirements for coastal Andhra districts of Prakasam, Guntur. Telangana is abundant in natural resources, but it did not help much towards the upliftment. Other key issues are lack of train routes connecting all major towns, no boost to industry despite of huge deposits of mineral resources, lack of enough political representation (cabinet portfolios) in state and center.

The cultural aspect- There are distinct cultural variations in various parts of Andhra Pradesh like multiple dialects, celebration of festivals etc. The dialect especially is still given a second rated treatment even today. Telugu movies in many ways lampooned Telangana. We are still not learning to co-exist respecting the nuances.

Because of all these and many other reasons TRS was able to clean sweep the elections right after its formation. KCR its founder got a whopping majority of more than 2lakhs during an election.

There is also another side to it.  If the power (say CM and key ministries) is vested with people from Andhra and Rayalaseema, all the contracts etc would be granted to the relatives of the people in power who also come from same region. Real estate business in Hyderabad is dominated by settlers from other parts. Such reasons are also contributing factors towards the support for separate state.

Our country is a land of political opportunists. KCR succeeded using the emotional aspects, but failed to realize that it is not possible to use the same trick all the time. People like Vijayashathi yesteryear actress (she can’t even speak the dialect well), who do not even understand the core of the issue also joined the bandwagon.  People supported them purely on the merit of Telangana and not because of their personal capabilities.

Telangana lacks netas with regional interests as a priority. PV Narsimha Rao served as Chief Minister of AP and Prime Minister of the country comes from Karimnagar district in Telangana region. Whole country is indebted to him for opening up the country towards liberalization and globalization, no significant developments happened in Karimnagar during his terms. On the contrast, Pulivendula the constituency of YSR is showered with grants for ring roads, industries. The latter is the definitely a case of regional chauvinism but the point here is, it is expected from politicians to focus on their home towns.

For a new state to be formed, it requires a constitutional amendment with simple majority in both the houses at centre. If we take a pragmatic view this might not be possible in near future, with Congress in rule at centre and state. 

The issues of survival like agrarian crisis take precedence over statehood. This alone is the reason why congress could win some seats in recent elections in Telangana because; people are hoping that irrigation projects started by YSR might some day finish.

But one has to remember that Telangana intellectuals and public still support the cause and no one can deny the fact that injustice is being done to this region. One is making a mistake if one is under the impression that Telangana is an issue which lost prominence. YSR or Chandrababu or KCR whoever it is, its high time ruling and opposition parties proactively get into the root of causes and try solving the issues. A separate status and grant coupled with proper  implementation is the need of the hour. I know it is over optimistic, but Telangana has been waiting for decades, with hope. 

The issue of Telangana is more than that of statehood. It is a struggle for justice, development, preservation of language, culture, identity. It is a shame that many disregard it just as a political stunt.  It is  a serious and sensitive issue with gross injustice being done to a whole region questioning the values on which we built this nation and its constitution and it has to be treated like one such issue.

See it to believe it. Watch this video.

I have tried my best to portray a gray view, critique and comments are welcome.

Naxalism

Some headlines in recent days - encounter of senior cadres of CPI(Maoist) in Warangal, AndhraPradseh ; grant of bail for human rights activist Binayak Sen; political unrest in Nepal; the killings happening in Chattisgarh, these are not interdependent but share a common thing -Naxalism. New age citizen sees Naxalism an old topic without much relevance to the current times but in contrary alarming incidents of violence occured during the recently held elections trace their roots to Naxalism, not terrorism. Prime Minister Mr.Singh has rightly observed it as "the most serious threat to India's national security".

From what started as violent retaliation against landlords in Naxalbari (the name is derived from this village) in the leadership of Charu Mazumdar Shah, has undergone a lot of transformations in the past four decades.  Today they are spread from Andhra Pradesh to Nepal, controlling 20% of the nation's forests, popularly called the Red Corridor.  They are spread in the most neglected, underdeveloped parts, garner support from the discarded sections of the society. 

The Chattisgarh scenario --- Bastar region of this state is the epicenter of Naxal activities. Dantewada and the surrounding districts are rich in natural resources like iron ore, coal but the populace, mostly tribals are destitute.  The heartland of naxalism is marked by unaccounted killings by naxals, police and salwa judum. Salwa Judum (peace march) is a tribal force trained by Government to counter the insurgency. The idea is to sever all the support to naxals from villagers. Over the years this struggle has resulted in scorched villages and displaced people living in dire conditions in camps. Though the state government has been portraying Slawa Judum as right thing, human rights activists have been repeatedly crying out of the gross inhumanities. Scores of innocent civilians were killed, homes looted and villages vandalized. Most of the villagers are now homeless, without farms which used to be their only income source. Who is at loss after these many years of struggle? Is it Chattisgarh government which has signed deals worth more than a billion with firms to extract the resources or the naxalites who operate freely in the so called 'liberated zone'. No it is the devastated civilian.

 The picture in AP--- There was much praise for state government, police, their special wing grey hounds for successfully curbing menace to much extent. Barring a few, no major incidents were recorded in the state in past few years after Candrababu's regime, during which movement suffered a detrimental effect. AP is the only state to have peace talks, though abortive during YSR's previous term, but the way they were let free into the jungle is debatable. Chenna Reddy the then CM, lifted ban on them for about a year in 1990 in the state, which experts say corrupted them and adversely effected the movement. Absence of incidents doesn’t imply their non existence. To cite my personal experiences, my family was threatened over a land dispute by naxals who were involved in land grabbings. My uncle (a local politician) fled away from his village to Warangal town fearing a life threat. Such incidents elucidate the under current activity in the state and if not wiped out completely, it might very well resurface again.

 Only achievement in the history of Naxalism is their accession to power in Nepal, but political turmoil over there raises questions. It is universally agreed that such a thing is impossible in India. Most naxal recruits are from downtrodden sections and a few are middle class intelligentsia. The one widely accepted cause they fight for is the rights over land and forest for rural poor. After decades of struggle, it is understood that force alone is not sufficient. Root cause need to be identified and worked upon. The land reforms legislation of 1950 was brilliant in concept but failed to deliver. Forest rights, rural upliftment await reforms in the effected areas. Centre is formulating National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) , needs to see it through the end. State governments need to throw light on lack of co-ordination among them. Though many a enthusiasts are trying to spread the awareness through NGOs, blogging etc, media takes minimal risk and interest in bringing out the facts barring a few exceptions. Delhi needs to take keen interest, promote research by think tanks, and do everything possible (while preserving the interests of the rural and tribal sections) to annihilate naxalism.

చిల్లర చేష్టలు

వెతుకులాటలూ ఎదురుచూపులూ 

వెర్రి ఆశలూ కోరికలూ  

మాట మాట కూ counterలు  

పూట పూటకూ partyలు  

opposite sex ఓ తీరని దాహం  

ఎంత తాగినా కావలింకొంచం

పగలు కలలు రాత్రి కబుర్లు  

రోజు గడిస్తే అంతే చాలు

NRIPL !!!!

Cricket is more than just a sport, some say its a religion in the country. And here comes the second edition of the much awaited form of the game, T20 --- tantadantadannn --- IPL ( I feel Non Resident IPL would be apt, SAPL also is an alternative name, what say? ).  Its almost halfway through, the TRPs have fallen, but then organisers are happy. The viewers also seem to be contended, for I see everybody around me following it.

I feel something is lacking. The game is certainly an entertainer but much of the excitement and thrill originates from the roaring crowds. As the organisers say more the 90% of them watch the matches through television, but its not just the players who make them stick to the TV sets, its the atmosphere in the stadium, the feeling of the game held in our own cities and towns.  But do the organisers care for all this. IPL needs to learn  thing or two about managing sports from EPL, from which it is grossly inspired.

BCCI the richest board among the cricketing nations, wields indisputable power and influence in circles of ICC. How much thought has Lalit Modi or BCCI put in into the IPL? I wonder how political biggies in board like Sharad Pawar completely forgot about the General elections to be held this year. Because they were too busy making deals with sponsors, (IPL is estimated to bring in $1bn for BCCI alone in 5 to 10 years). The irony --- Sharad Pawar is one of the proposed Prime ministerial candidates. Annihilating ICL, blame game with the UPA are prioritised than the actual game. 

Government and the blame...! There is no doubt that in a democracy, elections come first. Few states were adamant about providing security, but they have got some right reasons if not all. Post Mumbai attacks ( and even before that to be frank) security in this nation is a cause of grave concern. No Government would take a chance, that too before elections. And it has become clear that we are still lacking the drive and the laws enacting stringent security measures, and all that reactions and emotions after the attacks are just out of impulse.

The international image of India which is already pathetic in this aspect has taken a beating beacuse of this whole tamaasha. The other international events (not just sports events) would be definitely effected by this. 

People associated with cricket, news media grandly declare that Cricket is the ultimate winner. Yes it is but at the cost of national reputation, at the cost of revenues that could be generated internally and the way cricket lovers are taken for granted, without a doubt I say at the cost of the sport itself.

Prostitution

Prostitution- civilized society avoids the mere occurrence of this word, leave alone acknowledging its presence. Putting aside the moral, ethical stuff surrounding it, lets look at the other rarely touched aspects. Prostitution as such is not illegal according to our laws, but yes commercialized vice(brothels), exploitation and trafficking are punishable. The current laws are ambiguous and are mostly put to use for wrong reasons. 

Is the current scenario really a cause of concern. First things first, we cannot ignore it, for there are close to 3 million sex workers in our country and is sort of a thriving industry.  Most of them work for brothels which is illegal and are missing in the mainstream. Most of them lead a miserable life both economically and socially and are exploited outright.

 I spoke with one such sex worker, here are a few vital facts about her. Payal comes from a small village in UP, and she works for different agencies and is rotated among them periodically. She is paid a salary of 12k per month, while the agency gets paid at least 80k for her services. The burden of her family of two children ( her husband died) forced her to take up this profession. She has faced a lot of abuse(both verbal and physical) from her employers, customers and police also. Most women in the profession have similar background. 

HIV/AIDS a global threat has prostitution as one of its major causes.  Thanks to various initiatives,  many are now aware of STD and safe sex but this is no reason for contention. More than 50% of sex workers in Mumbai are HIV positive.

Exploitation and extortion are part and parcel of prostitution, while we the citizens of India have promised ourselves the Right against exploitation through articles 23 and 24 of our constitution. Why should this fundamental right be denied to them, who are one of the worst victims.  

Families of sex workers are in abject poverty, which forces their siblings and children again into same profession which is a grave concern.  The other family members do not have a fair education and remain poor for all of their life. Also the number of sex workers has doubled in the past decade.

As it is not a recognised profession for obvious reasons, all the money that flows in the industry is unaccounted.

The primary act dealing with these issues, PITA has to be given more teeth. Issuing identity or license cards to sex workers would bring them out the darkness.  By this we are not promoting them, but acknowledging their presence. There would be hundred Muthaliks  and other so called fundamentalists who would create ruckus, but the Government should not give in to them.

If notoriously popular Amsterdam is slowly showing positive signs after reforms, why cant we replicate such reforms in Mumbai, Kokata or Bengalooru. By recognising the sex workers in the mainstream, their children will get a chance for education. Setting up rehabilitation camps, schools in the redlight areas will give definite results in the long run. NGOs and Government organisations working for such cause need encouragement.

We cant have all this vanished overnight, it could be fought against only by understanding it and working with it.