EGG ON HIS FACE??????

Talk about starting with a bang and ending with a whimper and Amritsar Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu's antics surely come to mind...... The MP had made a grandiose announcement about going on a fast unto death as the powers that be in the Punjab government (read the badal father and son) were cold shouldering his parliamentary constituency and playing truant when it came to announcing development projects in the same....... What must be duly noted is the fact that none of the state or central BJP leadership was around to lend Sidhu a helping hand or supporting shoulder when he made this unilateral announcement; one is given to understand that the BJP party president Rajnath Singh did indeed have a telephonic conversation with Mr.Sidhu about the futility of his gesture and tried to dissuade him from doing the same, but then washed his hands off the entire unsavoury episode when the former test cricketer put his foot down........ And so began the tale of Navjot Singh Sidhu's much touted "fast unto death" that wound up within a mere six hours or so on Saturday evening with a letter expressly written by the Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal reassuring the Amritsar MP about the incumbent government's avowed commitment to making Amritsar only second to Chandigarh in terms of development and infrastructure related projects within the next eighteen to twenty four months or so......... One may do well to recall the fact that the deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had very recently reaffirmed his party's intention about making Amritsar "a model of modern development and historical antiquity" (whatever that meant) and also went on to say that tens of major and minor development projects amounting to thousands of crores were on the anvil in the next eighteen months or so......... Will the erudite and effervescent Navjot Singh Sidhu enlighten us as to why he did not take the son's announcement at face value when he was more than willing to wind up his his "fast unto death" within a mere six to seven hours after it's commencement as soon as he received a letter purportedly written by the chief minister of the riparian state......... Wasn't the very same Mr. Sidhu aware of the fact that the son was the real power centre in the coalition government and the father had all but entrusted the administrative responsibilities unto the shoulders of his much younger and far more capable son in view of his advancing years and old age related infirmities......... Whatever it was, the only thing that one can say with a degree of certainty is that Mr. Sidhu ended up with egg all over his face while the Badal duo walked away with all the credit and plaudits for bringing the much neglected Amritsar into the national glare and media limelight once again......... Or then was this amateurish attempt at a face unto death a desperate ploy by the Amritsar MP whose "wanted" posters were put up at many a vantage point by concerned constituents as the MP had been missing in action from his constituency for an inordinately long time on account of his numerous media and television related professional commitments........... One down, many more to come Mr. Sidhu, as this attempt to curry favour with your constituents ended with you falling flat on your face, reinvent yourself and ingratiate yourself with your voters real soon or you might just find yourself relegated to the already formidable number of former or ex Members of Parliament within the next six to seven months or so..........

PLUCKY WOMAN FIGHTS BACK..............

Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, New Delhi, Mumbai and now even Lucknow, will we ever see the ever increasing crimes against women quadruple, or then will the same reach saturation point with the people of this country saying "thus far and no further".......... In the latest monstrous atrocity committed on womendom in a country that allegedly reveres and worships it's womenfolk, a 20 year old US citizen had to jump off a moving auto/tempo after being molested by three men for over twenty minutes in a Lucknow locality late on Saturday night....... The doughty and fearless young woman boarded the already crowded tempo at the Tuliaganj area late on Saturday night and was the only passenger left in the tempo as the rest of them had disembarked at various places during the course of the journey........ Finding her alone, hopelessly outnumbered and supposedly defenceless, the tempo driver proceeded to inappropriately touch and feel and molest her for well over twenty minutes and also deigned to realise the volume of the music system in the vehicle in order to drown out her repeated entreaties for help......... Keeping her wits about her, the young woman who is pursuing a professional course at an institute on Gokhaley Marg and residing in a rental accommodation in Indiranagar somehow managed to evade the clutches of the offenders and jump off the moving vehicle at the Qaiserganj Chowk when it slowed down slightly while negotiating a turn........ This US citizen then made her way to a neighbouring police station on Sunday morning and refused to budge until the cops duly registered an attempt to rape and molestation case against the wannabe lotharios, she also provided the cops with the registration number of the tempo and a graphic description of the three offenders......... The police on their part, tried their level best to dissuade the victim and also negated her attempts to file a complaint initially, but they had little choice other than registering a complaint as desired by the victim when she threatened to take her case to the higher ups and also involve the US embassy staffers if required......... Subsequent to/following on from this rather dramatic turn of events, the local police station not only registered a complaint against the tempo driver Veeru and his two accomplices Rajan and Ayush but also managed to nab them from their respective residences within a few hours....... The trio are currently cooling their heels and libidos in a local police lock up and will be produced in an identification before the victim sometime on Monday afternoon......... Notch up a victory for womanhood and it's innate ability to fight seemingly insurmountable odds.......

THE END OF INNOCENCE..........

How much worse can it get for the bruised, battered, careworn and world weary Indian woman; she is being raped, abused, attacked, dismembered in the name of so called honour and now to add insult to injury, she is being held in captivity against her will and randomly sold to various men as her captives look upon her as a medium through which they can enrich themselves in the shortest possible interim.......


A 19 year old girl/young woman was held in captivity for nearly a year and repeatedly "sold" to many suitors in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district, the 19 year old resident of Pipri village was abducted from just outside her humble abode by two men on the fateful day of November 13, 2012, she was firstly raped by her abductors on numerous occasions and things only got from bad to worse subsequently..........

She was held against her will in captivity ever since that fateful day, shifted frequently from one location to the other by her enterprising and shrewd captives and also "sold" off to many a suitor who handsomely compensated the devious duo handsomely for the use of the young woman's lissome and lithe body.......

The victim had deigned to visit her aunt's place in Bhojpur village when two male residents of her own village Pohri, Bablu and Pasiram happened upon the spot and duly informed her that her mother had been taken seriously ill and admitted to the local government hospital.........

Without trying to ascertain facts for herself and verifying their claims, the young woman set off for her village in the company of the two men with whom she was slightly acquainted...........

Her two male companions however had an entirely distinct agenda on their calculative and devilish minds and led her to a desolated, deserted and isolated place and then proceeded to force themselves upon her to their heart's content.......

And so began a tale of captivity, sordidness, brutality, the end of innocence and the worst imaginable from of bestiality which came to an abrupt and satisfying end for the victim when she managed to make good her escape from the clutches of her abductors and tormentors late on Friday evening on the pretext/excuse of answering nature's call..........

The doughty victim somehow managed to keep her wits about her and make her way to her aunt's abode in Bhojpur village in the wee hours of Saturday morning, she then narrated her tale of woe of horror to her aunt who accompanied her to the local police station so that she could lodge a complaint against her tormentors.............

Showing remarkable alacrity on their part, the local police duly recorded the victim's statement and proceeded to book cases against the two abductors, their female accomplice and the men to whom the victim had been sold under section 370 of the IPC pertaining to the forceful abduction of a woman against her free will with the intention of expoliting her.........

A massive manhunt has been launched to apprehend the absconding culprits at the earliest and the local police officials have exuded confidence about taking them into custody in the shortest possible time........

Cold crumbs of comfort for a devastated and grievously wounded soul??????

ONE MORE VICTIM BITES THE DUST.........

And so the recent spate of so called "honour" or then should I say "dishonour" killings continue unabated, with the fire spreading to Odisha this time around and the hapless victim (18 year old young woman) being charred to death this time around.........


One more innocent victim bites the dust, her only crime (?) being that she wanted to marry and settle down with a boy of her own choice and this assertion of her rights enraged her parents to the extent that they bound and gagged her, and then poured kerosene on her before setting her ablaze.........

A conscientious and caring neighbour Pramod Behera made a beeline towards the hutment in Balakati on the outskirts of the Odishan capital of Bhubaneshwar only to be abruptly stopped in his tracks by the parents of the victim who were looking to make good their escape from the spot, he somehow managed to elude them and pour buckets of water on the victim, alas, it proved to be a case of too little too late..........

The deceased/victim has been identified as Umabharati Mallick, her parents Radha Gobinda and Santilata mallick were duly handed over to the local police by the neighbours who beat them black and blue before doing so, the parents have duly confessed to their gruesome crime and attributed the same to the blossoming relationship between their daughter and one Nigamananda Mallick, a relationship to which they were vehemently opposed.........

The heinous and cold blooded manner in which the assailants set the victim ablaze has even taken the wizened and world weary cops by surprise, the father subdued the victim by initially sitting astride her and subsequently immobilising her limbs, while the mother firstly gagged her in an effort to stifle her screams before dousing her liberally with kerosene and setting her ablaze.........

According to sources close to the couple, Umabharati and Nigamananda had eloped from their original habitat in Balasore district a little over two months ago and settled down in a hutment in Balakati, the parents somehow managed to trace their whereabouts and managed to make an appearance at the same early on Friday morning.........

They calculatedly adopted a conciliatory approach and also made hollow promises about getting the young and oh so desperately in love couple at the earliest given opportunity thereby winning over the couple's confidence and affections..........

Putting their devious and well thought out cold blooded plan into action, they sent Nigamananda out of the house on buying a few articles for their breakfast and lunch before getting rid of their unsuspecting and trusting daughter in this blood curdling manner..........

They planned to make good their escape from the spot after executing their inhuman deed and foisting the blame for the same on Nigamananda thereby killing two birds with one stone, the alert and aware neighbours however poured water on their carefully thought out plans and handed them over to the local police not before meting out their own brand of instant justice........

All that a well meaning and caring person can do is hang his/her head in shame and despair over this rather sorry and alarming state of affairs as numerous rejoinders and instructions from the Supreme Court have done precious little about improving the situation on the ground as respective governments have dismissed the same as nothing more than breaths of hot air as paying heed to these instructions could end up costing them thousands of precious votes.........

Does anybody remember Haryana chief minster Bhupinder Singh Hooda's acerbic and telling comment about not meddling with local practices, customs and traditions as the same could cause large spread discontentment and consternation on the ground and more importantly costing them thousands of votes as the diktat of sarpanches and their likes runs riot over the minds and souls of innocent and illiterate villagers...........

As for a few hundred young lovers losing their lives at the altar of a misplaced sense of "honour" (?) and so called family prestige, do the lives and times of these young folks really matter??????? ;

NO WOMAN NO CRY!!!!!

It certainly seems to be going steadily downhill for the bruised, battered, harassed, vilified, chastised and deplored Indian woman; what with never ending rapes, sexual assaults, gropings, molestations, acid attacks, so called "honour" and "dishonour" killings, and last but not the least rampant female infanticide; yes there are a few bright sparks on a dreary and desolate horizon, but these are very few and in far between and at best offer stray crumbs of comfort to say the very least..........


It does not matter if the woman is handicapped, polio afflicted, physically impaired or then mentally incapacitated, the only thing that matters is that she is a woman and hence fair game for the deranged and delusional sexual proclivities of Indian men as this polio afflicted young woman realised to her horror and dismay.......

Our national capital certainly seems hell bent upon acquiring pride of place when it comes to the dubious art of committing untold atrocities against women; what with a crime being reported against every 18 minutes or so despite the much touted "Nirbhaya" law that keeps being touted as the panacea to all the sexual crimes being committed against Indian womenfolk..........

In the latest incident of spine chilling and blood curdling brutality, a polio afflicted young woman was brutally slashed and left for dead by her paramour and wannabe husband who had escorted the victim to the national capital of getting her a job, marrying her and providing her a life of succour and comfort.......

The assailant Amar (25), who is currently cooling his heels and ardour in police custody led the victim to the national capital posing as an IT professional from Noida; he promised the victim who had lost the use of her legs due to a polio attack during her childhood a "secure, comfortable and reasonably good life", but ended up brutally assaulting her, repeatedly slashing her face,body and limbs with a blade and then leaving her for dead on the roadside........

Thanks to her resilience and never say die spirit, the victim managed to drag her tortured and profusely bleeding self to the busy Govindpuri locality of the national capital before she lost her senses and collapsed in an ungainly heap........

This gruesome incident occurred in the early hours of September 15, and the victim who was rushed to the AIIMS trauma centre by relative strangers is currently our of danger and recuperating from the grievous injuries inflicted upon her by the assailant..........

According to police sources and the doctors attending upon her, the victim had deep gashes on her face, neck, hands, and torso as well as being brutally sexually assaulted on more than one occasion........

Narrating her tale of woe, the hapless victim says that she is paying the price for taking the overtures and offer of unconditional, selfless and life long friendship at face value, the assailant began to spin his web of intrigue and deceit some eight or so months ago by randomly calling her up on her mobile and also texting her at any and every given opportunity........

He soon took to stalking her whenever she left the house with the aid of her crutches and clandestinely befriending her making the optimum use of the opportunities being accorded to him; he soon managed to win the trust and heart of the victim who left behind her parents and six siblings in Bihar as Amar had promised her a life full of love and relative comfort.........

The only bright cloud on the horizon (if one can call it that) for the victim is the fact that an NGO and a few well meaning folks have voluntarily come forward and offered to counsel, rehabilitate as well as provide her with life sustenance skills; the victim on her part steadfastly refuses to go back to her family and says that she will make the best use of the cards that her fateful life has dealt her thus far and serve as a living example of the follies of trusting and believing relative strangers and taking them at face value without verifying their antecedents and credentials...........

HONOUR: HARYANA "ISHTYLE"..........

The more progressive, forward looking, emancipated and oh so modern we pretend to become, a gruesome, heinous, barbaric and inhuman incident puts paid to all our lofty expectations and pretences, thereby exposing us as a primitive, medieval, racist and caste ridden society that clings on to the age old irrelevant and impractical customs and traditions as if they were going out of fashion.........


We may be crying ourselves hoarse at every given opportunity; tom tomming our supposed virtues and oh so upwardly mobile mindsets and thinking, so much for pretences and the art of making a virtue out of blatant hypocrisy; the fact of the matter is that we are still bound by iron clad blood thirsty and stone ageic practices that place or hold the so called "honour" of the clan above the precious lives of their very own.........

Well, the so called "honour killing" industry seems to be alive and kicking what with a young man and woman who also happened to be college as well as life (?) mates being put to sleep in the most calculated, callous and blood curdling ,manner in a village in Haryana's hinterlands on Wednesday.........

Local police officials disclosed the fact that they were closely investigating and probing the deaths of Dharmender 23 and Nidhi 20, residents of Kalanaur village in Haryana's Rohtak district (about 70 odd kms away from the national capital) as their bodies were found under mysterious and perplexing circumstances within the village on Wednesday evening........

While the body of Dharmender was recovered in a dismembered state; with his head lying some distance away from the rest of his body at a spot in close proximity to his humble abode, the mortal remains of the girl (Nidhi) were cremated by her family members in a clandestine and hush hush manner after sunset on Wednesday evening.........

Neighbours however let the cat out of the bag saying that Nidhi's heart rending and piteous screams were heard by one and all a long distance away until her voice and screams were hushed for eternity; on being asked why they did not intervene and make an effort to save the tortured girl's life, the very same neighbours doeled out the excuse of the two deceased young adults being involved with each other in a romantic relationship and such relationships between two people from the opposite sexes are frowned upon by the all powerful khap panchayat as all young men and women belonging to the same village are brothers and sisters in their hackneyed opinion........

More importantly, none of the villagers was able to summon up the courage and wherewithal to raise their voice against and oppose this nonsensical diktat as doing the same would have led to a social boycott, ostracisation and last but not the least banishment from the village for life........

The families of the two victims have made good their escape from the hotspot and both their dwellings were found to be deserted according to neighbours and the very same police sources; the local police on their part have launched a massive manhunt to trace and apprehend the alleged culprits........

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the India of the 21st century, an India wherein sublime and heartfelt love is purported to be the most heinous crime of them all, and misplaced and stereotyped notions about family honour and prestige, the greatest "virtue" of them all..........

MINORS: A LAW UNTO THEMSELVES??????

And so the carnage and devastation by minors who are hell bent upon becoming a law unto themselves continues.........


In the latest instance of brutality and bestiality by minors, five of them combined and conspired to brutally gang rape a 12 year old girl in the Hatigaon area of Guwahati.......

The girl was waylaid and raped by these five beasts on late Sunday evening while her mother who work as a daily wage labourer was busy earning her keep for the day......

What is even more shocking, heart rending, grotesque and diabolic is the fact that the five boys aged between 12 and 16 were on more than friendly terms with the victim and used to play with her on a daily basis.......

As was their wont, the boys summoned the girl out of her humble abode on that fateful evening on the pretext of playing with her and subsequently proceeded with their nefarious plans and demonic actions/deeds.......

The victim informed her mother about the woeful fate that had befallen her while she was away; the mother in turn led her to the nearest police station in the vicinity and then proceeded to file a complaint of abduction and rape against the five assailants........

To their credit, the police swung into action almost immediately and successfully managed to apprehend all the five accused from the neighbourhood on Tuesday afternoon.........

All the five accused are slated to be produced in a juvenile court later today (Wednesday), while the victim has been shifted to a state run woman's shelter for the required counselling and rehabilitation after the customary medical examination.........

And so the carnage continues while the powers that be continue to prevaricate and dilly dally over the contentious issue of reducing the age of majority in the case of minors from the present 18 to the proposed 16.........

SEHWAG: TEAM INDIA"S NEW NUMBER FOUR????????

One has heard of the five supposedly wise men of Indian cricket, namely the selectors making many a demand on cricketers who have established themselves in the national team as well as those looking to break into the same; but an out of favour cricketer reversing roles and making a demand of the selectors is certainly a new one even for an old, decrepit and jaded soul like me..........


The cricketer in question is none other than the "Nawab of Najafgarh" Virender Sehwag and the demand (if one can call it that ) reiterated by him is a long standing one pertaining to his long standing desire of re-establishing his credentials as a middle order batsman of note........

In this context, it is certainly worth recalling the fact that Sehwag made his debut in team India colours as a number six batsman who was more than capable of delivering a few overs of seemingly fatal off spin as well.........

It was the then captain Sourav "Dada" Ganguly and coach John Wright who coerced Sehwag to don the mantle of team India's marauding test opener who more often than not would get his team off to flying starts and provide it with the much desired cutting edge in the first session of what essentially was a five day long affair............

To his credit, it must be said that Sehwag more than made the best of what was seemingly a thankless situation and went on to become team India's second most prolific opening batsman after the redoubtable Sunil Manohar Gavaskar.......

One must also not loose sight off the fact that Sehwag is currently 33 going on 34 and has never been a role model of pristine fitness at any stage of his decade long international career, the fact of the matter is that his reflexes are slowing down with advancing age and he also has been facing or experiencing considerable problems with sighting the red cherry and has even resorted to using contact lenses as well as spectacles in an effort to set right this anomaly........

The advent of Shikhar Dhawan and his meteoric accession to the opener's slot has also certainly added to Sehwag's discomfiture and made the seemingly insurmountable task of regaining his lost place that much more arduous and ponderous...........

Yes it is true that Sehwag has only batted in the middle order in 10 out off the 185 odd innings or outings that he has had at the crease in Indian colours and his average as a middle order batsman is nothing much to write home about; but one should also not loose sight of the fact that Tendulkar's retirement is just a matter of time and the same will certainly leave a gaping hole in India's middle order that can only be filled up with a batsman who has the experience as well as wherewithal to step into these gargantuan shoes......

Sehwag certainly more than fits into the mould and there is no earthly or cricketing reason why the selectors should not be taking a fresh and renewed look at him as India's next number four batsman for the next five to six seasons as a new kid on the block would require a minimum of 10-12 test matches to find his feet and establish himself at the highest level while Sehwag has already been there and done that...........

And who better than Sehwag knows what is best for him at this stage of his career, if he wants to don the role of a middle order batsman, so be it, the selectors and team management should certainly accord the opportunity to this proven talent.........

Will the selectors put their heads together and accord the Nawab of Najafgarh his due wish, or then will they continue to persist with their head in the sand attitude and ask him to continue in his already established role as an opening batsman of note, well your guess in this regard is as good as mine..........

MONSTERS IN KHAKHI...........

Crimes or then should I say sexual crimes against women by the men in khakhi who are supposedly meant to protect them and provide them with a modicum of succour and security are showing a quantum leap by the day....... In the latest instance of avarice, lust and quest to prove the superiority of the so called stronger sex over the weaker sex, a teenage girl was allegedly abducted and gang-raped by three Jammu and Kashmir police personnel in the state's Reassi district, some 70 odd kilometres away from Jammu....... The victim was allegedly abducted from the Talwara migrant camp late Thursday evening by Assistant Sub-Inspector Mahesh Mehta, personal assistant to the Reasi Senior Superintendent of Police Satvir Singh and Special Police Officer Karnail Singh...... A special or crack police team raided an abandoned and decrepit house in the Marhi area of Reasi district and managed to apprehend the SPO as well as the SPO while the personal assistant managed to make good his escape from the hotspot....... The raid was carried out based upon a complaint lodged by the hapless victim's parents and the victim was also rescued from the spot in the raid that was carried out in the wee hours of Saturday....... A massive manhunt has been launched by the Reasi police in order to apprehend the fugitive Satvir at the earliest given opportunity; a comprehensive and detailed medical examination of the girl in a government hospital has conclusively established the occurrence of the barbaric sexual crime against her......... Her statement was duly recorded in the presence of the Chief Judicial magistrate and cases have been booked under the applicable/relevant sections of the IPC against the assailants and the victim has been temporarily accommodated in a women's shelter where counselling and succour is being provided to her......... This grotesque and diabolic incident triggered spontaneous protests by the residents of the Talwara migrant camp and all the roads leading to the facility were blocked for hours as a result of the sit in and blockade....... And so the carnage and sordidness continues unabated..........

MORE DEFAMATION SUITS PLEASE!!!!!!!!

In what must be a dubious distinction or record of sorts, incumbent Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalaithaa has foisted of filed a defamation case for the twelfth (12th) time against her arch rival and bete noire K. Karunanidhi....... The twelfth defamation notice filed during her present two and a half year long chief ministerial stint pertains to an article allegedly written by Karunanidhi in his party's mouthpiece "Murasoli" alluding to the fact that Jayalalithaa was doling out official advertisements and other government publicity material in a favoured and whimsical manner in an effort to exercise "dictatorial" control over the same...... As is her wont, the Tamil Nadu chief minister has been unstinting witgh her defamation notices and suits this time around too ever since she assumed office in May 2011, the suits and notices are not only restricted to rival politicians, but fifty (50) such suits and notices have also been filed against newspapers, television channels (news channels) and media houses that have either printed or then aired news that was considered to be less than complimentary to her royal highness....... Political satirists too find themselves staring down the barrel of Jayalalithaa's gun and more than twenty such cases had been filed against them in various courts spread through the length and breadth of this vast country for their purported sins of omission and commission........ One may do well to remember or recall the fact that this is nothing new as far as Jayalalithaa Jayaram is concerned, more than 100 such cases were filed against her political rivals and so called "inimical" media houses, publications and reporters during her chief ministerial stint between 1991-1996........ However the same did a mysterious disappearing act just before the state elections in 1996 only to make a somewhat belated appearance in slightly reduced numbers (80 odd) during her next chief ministerial stint between 2001-2006...... Will, Ms., Jayalalithaa Jayaram go the whole hog this time around and sees all the defamation cases filed by her and on her behalf to their logical conclusion or then mysteriously or then should I say magnanimously withdraw the same just before the 2016 state elections? well your guess in this regard is as good as mine..........

SINGH SAAB THE GREAT

The self styled. anointed and appointed are at it again and their latest victim is none other than Hindi film industry superstar Sunny Deol and his latest magnum opus currently titled "Singh Saab the great"........ One may recall that similar objections were also raised in the case of the Akshay Kumar blockbuster "Singh is King" and the Akshay Kumar production "Speedy Singhs"; where the Akal Takht as well as a few other Sikh fundamentalist groups had raised vehement objections to the usage of the term Singh in the title of the films as well as the portrayals of Sikhs in the same...... These raging storms in the proverbial teacup seem to be becoming the norm rather than the exception of late and the vociferous protest against the usage of the title "Singh Saab" really make one wonder whether these fundamentalist groups and organisations have nothing better to do or are then obsessed to the point of nihilism as long as it garners them their fifteen seconds of infamy and notoriety....... "Sahab or Saab" is more of a term of endearment in the northern part of the country and is commonly used to address a friend or person close to your heart; I am addressed as Chopra Saab by most of my neighbours and friends in both Delhi as well as the land of five rivers Punjab and for the hell of me cannot understand how addressing someone known intimately to you as Saab constitutes an insult to the Akal Takht or then the five Sikh jathedaars who exclusively enjoy the right and privilege of being addressed as "Singh Saab" if the mandarins inhabiting the Akal Takht are to be believed..... All and sundry are of the informed opinion that our nation is on a fast growth trajectory and that our conservative and prohibitive society is shedding it's dinosaur like behaviours at long last and slowly but reluctantly embracing the mores and practices of a rapidly growing nation and constantly evolving social stratum.......... The ground reality is however far different; self appointed and anointed groups or congregations of "super censors" dictate terms and conditions to the powers that be and more often than not get away with their unsavoury and tasteless shenanigans as they are perceived to sway public opinion in favour of one political party or the other and also control the purse strings to thousands of votes that can make the difference between victory and defeat in many a state as well as municipal election........ If that indeed is the case, then let the powers that be do away with the Central Board for Film Certification or Censor Board as it has come to be popularly called; one fails to understand the rationale and logic behind these extra constitutional bodies raising whimsical and arbitrary objections after the wise men and women who make up this august body have sat in judgement over the contents of a film and passed an unanimous judgement about it's suitability for public consumption or viewing......... Let's face facts and confront the ugly reality staring us in the face, the government of the day is going to do precious little apart from mouthing platitudes and singing hosannas as they are obsessed with vote bank politics and care a damn about the repeated suppression of the right to freedom of expression........... It is we the so called civil society and educated and enlightened folks who have to take up cudgels in order to guarantee the sanctity of the above mentioned constitutional right; will we do so or then will we continue to cower in fear before the diktats of self serving fundamentalists; well that is the million dollar or then should I say rupee question...........

JACOB HILLS

Just put down my very own copy of Ismita Tandon Dhankher's tour de force "Jacob Hills" and must say that it left me with plenty of food for thought, fuming at the nocturnal tendencies and idiosyncracies of a few army officers mentioned and above all salivating for more from this intrepid author who does not hesitate to speak her mind and put her money where her mouth is....... Set in the tranquil, serene and sylvan climes of Jacob Hills (an army officer training facility near the Himachali capital of Simla), this rambling tale is a fictitious account of the tragic, calamitous and heart rending events that unfold within this "isolated" environment during the span of one calendar year....... This book is essentially a fictional account of a period in the mid nineteen eighties, a period wherein Indian society was at it's repressive best and the inter mingling of the two sexes was not only looked down upon as an aberration but also actively discouraged and frowned at...... The hierarchical pecking order left behind by the erstwhile British army that continues to exist within the echelons of our very own Indian army, aristocratic drink and party culture furthered by a band of select army officers and their better halves hell bent upon furthering and nurturing the legacy of the British empire and the intercinine warfare amongst the officerial ranks for supremacy and one upmanship are the backbone and backdrop of this 260 odd page long litany or then should I say outpouring of a pained and wounded heart..... It all comes to a boil when the beautiful and conscientious Eva, the charming and effusive wife of Major Chandy finds herself at the heart of an unfolding murder mystery when the mortally wounded body of a young woman id found in a desolate, decrepit and deserted church that has been abandoned since the 1860's as many a tale about the malefic effects of a black cross adorning the church begun doing the rounds....... Episodes of incest, unimaginable extents of brutality and bestiality against the fairer sex, the totally unnecessary and unwarranted suicide of an up and coming Major and last but not the least perennial instances of junior officers prostituting their legally married wives in an effort to fast track their own fledgling careers round off the book and provide it with it's aura of intrigue, mystery and disturbing realism........ Priced at an extremely affordable Rs. 299/- (you can get the book at a whopping discount of 25-30% if you buy the book through Flipkart), this gut wrenching novel should surely abandon the shelves of all self respecting Indians who care for the country and are always willing to raise their voices against the decaying moral fabric of our society and fast vanishing humanity from our midst........