Carving their way into DU now as well

The recent events at Ramjas college pertaining to Umar Khalid can be best described as unfortunate. But is that the reality or has the truth been moulded and dissevered again by India’s highly intellectual journalists who are the sole flagbearers of torch of democracy ? Has the whole truth come out or has the truth been misconstrued again to serve a group of people?

Dissent is the very soul of democracy. Protest in democracy is not unheard of. It is this freedom to protest that makes us unique. So why is ABVP’s protest being termed as ‘murder of democracy’? Is that because it turned violent? Like it’s the first time when a protest has turned violent, right? Media intellects have maintained freedom of expression has been violated. I agree. Freedom of expression is violated when you air ‘anti-national views’ on your channels for days altogether and do not give a fair chance for the right people to voice their concerns. Imagine the plight of that poor soul whose heart is in the right place but he is called names and brandished as ‘bhakt’ for being the only one supporting the truth. Even after shouting, screaming and even exposing these antinationals in our country, your voice remains unheard. Lies triumph over truth, opinions prevail over reason, logic and reason is butchered in the name of freedom that is when democracy gets murdered. When being right doesn’t matter, that is when freedom of expression is violated. It’s not just about stopping a single person from giving speech or denying him entry, it’s about the disappointment, the frustration and dismay in our society’s acumen who make hero of people like Khalid. It’s the very idea of people like him roaming free, people who use pens instead of bombs that threaten to divide the very unity of this country, that hangs my head in shame when I see them being projected as the embodiment of freedom of speech. Give them platform to pollute young minds ? Give them freedom to spread poison among the unscrupulous and innocent university students who just think this is a fight for right of free speech?  So what did you expect? Sane people should just have their hands clasped together and warm their chairs? No sir, they protest. They protest to wake up people to this unprecedented evil. They protest to awaken people to open their eyes to reason and logic. They protest to expose the lies, the greed and lust.

And one day people will see the truth. They will see clearly that they have become part of such an uncanny tyranny that uses them as foot soldiers at their pleasure. People will see that they’ve been tricked into believing that it’s a fight for their right when in reality it’s a fight for someone else’s malicious agendas. It’s not just about freedom of speech anymore. It’s a revolution, against the media hounds, the anti-nationals , the intellectual bombs living amongst us, who have created a mockery of our reason and judgement  by disguising their anti national views under the garb of freedom of speech. They’ve been quick at capitalising at our mistakes and our busy-ness. We are resilient by force, not by choice. This recent incidence denotes exactly that . The frustration and helplessness of true Indians who can’t see the voice of reason being trampled everyday by such scrupulous minds. They have had it far too easy for far too long. 

Some facts

-Humans are the only animals who depend on other humans for food

-Facts shown in news don't matter.

-These days it's rare to find facts on news.

-We've been led to believe the more we have, the better we are.

-Humans are the animals that have the most impact on their surrounding environment

-We consider ourselves intelligent but truth be told, we are not much different from other animals. We continue to grow at the expense of our environment and other species.

-Natural selection doesn't work amongst humans anymore.

-All humans aren't gifted with same mind.

-Stressed spelled backwards is dessert

India is not going crazy

Much has been already said about the recent events which have, I think, really affected all of us on some level be it positively or negatively and much more is yet to come. And amidst this chaos I find cynicism, vengeance, vendetta, hypocrisy disguised as plain stupidity of self styled moral keepers of the society. Everybody is telling everybody else how to live, how to act . That is what happens when you let moral policing get out of hand. Congress advocating its views on RSS and BJP further copyright-ing its stand on Nationalism. But it's nothing new. aevrybody likes to preach. Things get out of hand when people who like to preach form large groups. It's a fashion these days to hold protests and hold the city to ransom. And these protests may seem chaotic but actually it's more of 'organised chaos'

Let me give you a brief recap  - 

1)The Nirbhaya march 

2) The Anna Hazare movement

3) Modi Wave

4) Intolerance

5) Nationalism

6) Jat reservation

These are a few from the long list which garnered nation wide attention. And all these were inappropriately handled by the former UPA government and current NDA government alike. 

The action of students at JNU campus were act of children. Children I insist and they should have been dealt like that. Make them sit down, hear what they have to say, why do they feel victimised. And once you've understood their psyche, it will take a few kind words only to let them feel loved again and soon they will love their country again. .  Just a few kind words. Not lathis, batons, or arrests. Let them know that they are being heard and it will work wonders.They, if you look at it closely, represent their families, societies they are part of. So most of them might be reiterating what goes on in their homes. So imagine the impact of opening even one of these students to truth - He will influence his family/society in long run.
Words have more power than bullets. Despite being a nation of so many elders, I find it surprising why no one has done it yet. Accusations, blames, name-calling is going on and will go on forever but if political parties really wanted a solution then somebody from either side should have sounded the bugle of sensibility. Intelligence,and more importantly the 'intelligent', I tell you aren't lost in the cacophony. 

As far as issue of reservation is concerned, the government has set a very bad precedence- Just hold the whole state hostage and the government will listen to you. Well, no points for originality on that idea because everytime, a candle march is needed to make the government hear you. A very dangerous cocktail this is- Deaf government and defiant citizens. 

But at the end of the day, when all the voices have died down, all the abuses that flew from all the corners of the country have been paused for the next day and you feel cynical about the people of this country, know this that it's a moment of defining and deliniating the path of this nation. We are at a learning curve and these incidents will go a long way in defining what India will become in next 50 or 60 years. And the best part is- it can become anything but there will always be a guarantee that you will find debates, dissent and democracy in our country.

Not bad for a country that hallmarks the 'Unity in diversity' slogan. 

I AM NOT INDIAN

I am a muslim. I declare my god as supreme and other's god as just a puppet of a story. I can vandalise ,  I can make anti-national statements and I can start a whole riot if my demands aren’t met. Last year, with advent of Modi government I felt a little insecure about the rise of right wing politics. But Modi vowed to protect my rights at any costs. But my local MLA plus some big guns from other opposition parties told me otherwise. When the elections were due in Bihar, opposition said that there is an atmosphere of ‘intolerance’ in India. Although no untoward incident ever happened with me, I joined their chorus and rallied against the ruling party with utmost ferocity and vengeance. I heard about the Malda incident where it was said that Muslims were also at fault. But I don’t believe that at all. I refuse to comment on Malda incident. Let’s talk about Dadri lynching.

                I am a Dalit. My parents are government servants and they make a decent salary. We have a nice little hatchback at home. I live in Delhi in a 1000 sq ft government bungalow located at the poshest place of delhi. I studied at the most prestigious school of Delhi. Now I am in IIT delhi. I scored less than my Brahmin friend. He lives in a lesser known part of Delhi in a 650 sq ft bungalow with his parents, grand parents and two sisters. His father is also employed in Govt sector but at a low post.  So he doesn’t own a car as of yet but I am sure their life is going smoothly I never hear them complain. He studies in NIT. He has to pay full fees of the course . Meanwhile, 50% of my fees has been remitted under Dalit schemes by government of India. I buy nike shoes and branded clothes and though times are hard, I still manage to scoop out a little money for that trendy haircut.  

                I am a dalit farmer. I don’t own any land. I work at someone else’s farm and he pays me just enough to feed my 4 children and wife. But it gets tough for me at the end of season because then I find it impossible to find any work. The school is located about 20kms from my village and it’s already running above its capacity. Besides I have 3 daughters. I had already married my eldest daughter when she was 10 and now we are waiting for her to turn 16 to send her to her ‘own’ home. My son gives me a helping hand in my work, so I really don’t see any point of sending him to school when he just has to work on farms like me. He should rather know about our business. I hear government is launching many schemes. One such is insurance cover. But the banker babu won’t even talk to me. He is always away and when rarely he comes to office, he keeps mostly to himself and have us kicked out. I hear my friend had successfully applied for the scheme but on the last step due to some missing document, he was denied the benefit of the scheme. With another scheme that entails my wife and daughter, I am entitled to some money for my daughter’s marriage. I have went many times to gram panchayat office but the secretary over there won’t enrol my name until I pay rs 5000 to him. The government is doing nothing for us Dalits. I feel powerless and helpless and have gone to opposition parties as well but they also don’t seem to have time for me. But when my friend committed suicide, everybody from congress president to even chief minister of Delhi came to our village and granted relief fund to his family. Sometimes, I also think that suicide is my only option. Atleast my death would ensure two square meals for my family.

                I am a Hindu. I take a bus to work daily. I live in a small but decent house in a fairly large city. I manage to provide fairly good education to my two kids. My wife stays at home and like everybody else she has her demands. I try to make a few extra bucks on the side by working overtime and on some occasions I take a meagre bribe of Rs200. Atleast that way I can take my family for outings on weekends. I have to send a part of my income to my parents living in the village but that’s alright. We make a fairly decent living and have very little left as savings. Last year, my wife got ill. She had to undergo a minor operation but even that proved costly for us. I had to break my pension fund to provide for her medical assistance. I get hit really hard with increasing prices of petrol and pulses. But still I manage to scrape through the month somehow. I don’t feel the government is responsible for such condition of mine. I am myself responsible because may be I am not working hard enough. Sometimes I feel inadequate when I meet my old friends and see they have got fancy cars. But now nothing much can change. I am bound to this daily drudgery. This stagnancy in my life makes me depressed sometimes. But it won’t even matter to anyone if I live or die except for my family. They will suffer the most if I leave them midway. I fall prey to market frauds and Ponzi schemes easily, not because I am unintelligent but because I am desperate.  I feel my children have the future ahead of them and they can really turn things around if they study well. I want my son to study in IIT. I don’t criticise the government each day with a newspaper in hand but yes I feel that politicians have destroyed this country. I have thought of contributing to government’s scheme of giving up LPG subsidy but with my income it’s impossible to do so. At my workplace, we have muslim co-workers and they also seem to be facing similar issues. They are intelligent and well mannered. Most of all they all are really nice and helpful. I don’t ever feel insecure with them and neither they do with me. It’s not like we concoct up harmony, it’s just very normal. We don’t even feel there is a difference between us. I therefore find it difficult to digest the polarising comments made by different political parties. Safe to say, I reserve my comments on these topics and stay away from politics. I have to look after my house first.

We are muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Dalits, Adivasi, tamilian, assamese, Punjabi, Sindhi. We doctors, lawyers, clerks afterwards. We are not INDIANS. We never were. Never will be.

EMAIL EXCHANGE WITH NESTLE

I wrote to nestle on maggi issue and well, I am atleast glad that they responded because in India nobody responds to email.

But I am not sure I am fully satisfied with their answer. Their answer is so twisted in words that I am not even sure I fully understand it.

Here’s the full conversation-

Sir/madam,

I have been following the events of the maggi fiasco and one thing i couldn't overlook was the fact that nestle had burnt packets of recalled maggi. It was in the headlines for quite some time. You reportedly spent around 30cr to burn maggi packets. That was just what i had read. Since this is a just general query and not any formal protest or something of that sort, I am not attaching any newspaper clipping with the email to back up my claim.
Nevertheless, i am inclined to know why did you burn those packets indeed if you claimed them to be safe?

Hope to you hear from you soon. 

 --------------

Reply from Nestle -

Dear Consumer,

Thank you for your email/query.

We would like to inform that we were asked by the regulator to recall the product and we have stopped selling it. In fact, before the order was issued, Nestlé India had announced it had stopped selling MAGGI Noodles. This is because concerns about the product led to confusion for the consumer to such an extent that Nestlé India felt it was necessary to take the product out of the market while we engage closely with the regulators and others to discuss the situation.

We have always maintained that MAGGI Noodles are safe based on more than 3500 tests conducted by Nestlé India. Moreover, Food Standards Authorities of USA, Canada, UK, Australia, & New Zealand and Singapore have also declared MAGGI safe for consumption. 

Now, 100% samples of MAGGI Noodles have cleared additional tests for lead, done by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited labs in India, as ordered by the Hon'ble High Court of Bombay.  

 Test reports from the NABL accredited laboratories (https://www.maggi.in/result.aspx ) 

 Testing done by Nestlé India (https://www.nestle.in/aboutus/ask-nestle/answers/maggi-noodles-india-test-results ) 

 Read more about tests conducted by other countries. (https://www.nestle.in/aboutus/ask-nestle/answers/maggi-noodles-india-export)  

 We are committed to the safety of MAGGI Noodles and assure you that MAGGI Noodles have always been safe and will continue to be so. 

We thank you for taking out time to write to us and we shall definitely plan to include factory tours as part of our resurrection plan  

 Looking forward to your continued support. 

 With Warm Regards, 

 Chitra Ahuja  

 NESTLÉ Consumer Services

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And to those wondering to whom else I emailed, it was Hindustan times who I don’t think open their emails at all. And McDonald’s who in my opinion should be flogged all the way back to America!

Here’s my email complaint to McDonald’s India-

Sir,

I want to bring to your kind attention the poorest of the poor quality of your products being served in your restaurants. 
I bought McVeggie burgers today, which by the way are supposed to be your premium burgers but i was left aghast with what i had been served. Stale bun with oily patty and moreover the stale vegetables used inside the burger, i mean seriously who are you serving this for? And it's not the first time such thing is happening. The quality of Almost everything in your outlets has degraded substantially. 
I think it's high time for you to reevaluate yourself and focus on the customer base you want to attract. But the meal served t today was absolutely un-eatable. 
I have attached some pictures for your reference. And i am not complaining for today's incident only. This decline has been your trend from past several years. .
I hope McDonald's again reinstate their reputation by performing regular quality checks on every outlet.

---

Not heard from them till yet. It's been around 2-3 months. 

Seriously, what junk are they serving to Indians? And what kind of people are we Indians are accepting and enjoying such junk? Maggi is flying off the shelves and McDonald’s chain is growing faster than ever. I think we are a bit too attached to everything. Especially the bad stuff. Maggi is back. So is Lalu. Just can’t believe that a convict in fodder scam is an elected representative. Hail Indians! 

The true face of 'intolerance' debate

Amir khan, the brand ambassador for Incredible India, an avid social worker and a wise human being recently showed the true face of ‘intolerance’ debate going on and on and on, thanks to the sensational journalism by NDTV mostly.  The statement made by Mr. Khan emphasised specifically that intolerance has increased in last 6-7 months (time when BJP rose to power). And so has censorship.

          It is painful and rather awful that such a wise person would make so immature statement just out of his political views. This whole ‘intolerance’ debate is a political one. I personally want to hit these journalists hard on their head because they mooch out just a statement, not the justification. The journalists should ask “How is India intolerant?” or "did Amir khan faced any trouble personally in last 6-7 months?" Such politically motivated statements are highly indecorous.  

          What happened to India being “INTOLERANT” when M F Hussain left this country during UPA rule? Or when Shiv Sena shut down Mumbai for one whole day and jailed those who protested online? Wasn’t that intolerant? I am flabbergasted to see people igniting this intolerance debate only just now.

          The truth of the matter is, ever since the rise of BJP, first and foremost, many people had to close their shops who were thriving in congress rule. Plus, congress is being increasingly successful in projecting BJP not as pro-hindu but as anti-muslim. So, this whole ‘intolerance’ saga is more about tarnishing the image of BJP especially, PM Modi rather than any meaningful thought or discussion.

          People are entitled to their opinions. We have been gifted with a nice brain as well. Time we use it to distinguish between what is right and what is fabricated. Hear everything but don’t believe everything. 

The intolerant 'intolerance' debate

The abysmal debate fuelled by hungry journalists has reached a new low, with article by Ms. Barkha Dutt articulating her opinions on her recent interview with SRK. Now I am not going into all the details why it was wrong on every level but I am compelled to point out that SRK invited such reactions when he joined this debate in which he had no role to play. But he is an artist, and as such he will. No qualms about that.
Everybody is so gaga about this intolerance debate, some trying to pacify the situation by making the government a scapegoat of all the tension that had arisen in the first place. But the question is, are we really that intolerant as the journalists had told us so? What I think is, journalists are trying to stir up more than what’s in the pot. India’s picture is not as bleak as they have shown it to be. Some isolated incidents like dadri lynching and stuff can’t define the mood of a nation with 1.2 billion people.
But are we really intolerant? YES, we are. We have been born and brought up with a prejudiced mind. We have been trained to see only what we want to see with our limited knowledge and vision. We are intolerant towards gays and bisexuals, towards the poor and most of all towards modern thinking. A simple but quite impressive example was given to me by my neighbours who drove my senior out of this society because his ways of living were immoral. Indulging in activities within four walls of his apartment should have no consequence on the neighbours, right? But people did take an offence in that as well. Which is highly silly and pointless. But this is how we are. Our hypocritical personalities have been inbred in us from time immemorial. Socrates was hanged for his views. And so many other scientists and philosophers. Even galileo was disbarred from the society and placed on house arrest for his radical views that contradicted with views of church at that time.
So intolerance is nothing new. And it’s not a phenomenon restricted to only India. You see at the west, you’ll find Americans intolerant towards Blacks, Europeans intolerant towards migrants, Middle East and Egypt especially, on the verge of boiling. So India still has a far better situation than all these places. And if you want to see some silver lining to this intolerance debate, it’s good to see we’re evolving to more intellectual debates rather than something as mundane as water, electricity and food. This is actually progress. Only developed nations advocate dissent and free speech so openly.
I digress
The Indian version of debate has shifted its epicentre to communal lines. Muslims are like the younger siblings. Pampered and sensitive. So, the elder sibling will always get the scolding because he was elder and could’ve handled the situation. And the parents are always much more sensitive towards the younger sibling. Muslims are treated like that in India. In accordance with their wish or against their wish, their choice doesn’t matter. Living and witnessing their lifestyle with such close proximity, I can confidently say there is no more to the difference between Hindu and Muslim than there is between Jain and a sikh. It’s the political game that has given us a prejudiced mind only on paper I remind you, not anywhere close in real life.
The debate on intolerance in India started with writers returning their awards due to attacks on their community against those who advocated their opinions. But some unscrupulous minds have managed to polarise this debate as well on religious lines. The major question is not WHO is being targeted. The question no one is asking is why did it start all of a sudden now? The answer is it didn’t start all of a sudden. The seeds of the prejudice were already sown in our minds. The polarising politics by congress and BJP alike led to dissent among communities. Hindus felt neglected. When BJP rose into power, it couldn’t have possibly fathom that Hindu extremist would resort to such measures to voice themselves. Like a pressure cooker, the lid on the minds of such people lifted and all they had to give out was poison formed slowly and slowly through all these years. No offence to SRK, but he is just a puppet in the scheme of things. He didn’t have to take anything personally.
The debate is a healthy way of raising one’s concern. But making outrageous remarks aimed to defame and denounce someone’s religion is really extraordinarily insane. But how can we stop such people? Should government do something about this? Or CAN it do something about it? It can’t. People spreading hatred are doing their job. It’s the job of us civilised people to ignore such maniacs and not give them their 2 seconds of glory they don’t deserve. If we stop listening, who will then these anti-social elements talk to?