My problem with Shah Rukh Khan, and why I will not watch any films of his…

Ok, I can understand 99% of people given to not reading beyond the headlines will probably call this stand of mine as lunacy, but for those with enough sense to read on, allow me to expand on my reasons for this democratic protest, that in reality doesn’t harm SRK at all (he has like a billion admirers) but does save me from his mindless drivel.

First of all, I do not deny that in recent times SRK has been the only professional (notice, I do not call him an actor) to break into the incestuous film community. For that I respect him. He has achieved a lot in terms of money and fame, that is the truth and not subject to my acceptance of it. However, many people (perhaps including SRK) believe that this somehow makes him a ‘good’ person or someone who has knowledge about everything.  That cannot be farther from the truth, if being rich and famous were the criteria for being ‘good’, the names of several dictators come to mind that fulfil that criteria but were clearly bereft of all moral boundaries.

Anyway, just as an example of how this man will say literally anything to be considered intelligent can be found in the link below:

http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Shahrukh-Khan-review-lqnrolmqr

He claimed to have been selected into the IIT, but chose not to enter. However, I believe this lie was found out and he has never since mentioned his scientific achievements (or the lack of them).  I do not have any corroborative evidence since this is quite an old incident but will gladly remove this part if someone were to convince me.

My contention is that SRK has since in success veered more towards his religious affiliations instead of putting his country first. That, to me, is unacceptable.  From projecting a very secular imagine as recently as about 10 years back, he has increasingly indulged in Islamic references and clearly distinguishing himself from the culture of his hindu wife.

His strict adherence to his religion in itself does not bother me. He was born into a muslim family and (as is the case with most of us in all religions) decided to follow the religion of his parents. I wish him luck on his path. However, the recent foray into films like “My name is Khan” by him and his ‘close’ friend Karan Johar triggered the first doubt in my mind. My proverbial ‘bell’ rang a second time when he claimed to have been detained for several hours at some U.S. airport (the U.S. authorities said it was a little over half hour if I remember correctly).  He believed it was racial profiling, and it clearly was. But that isn’t wrong in itself since it is exactly this type of profiling that has allowed the U.S. to remain attack free since the 9/11 tragedy. I mean, if 99% (to borrow a useless statistic from Raul baba) of terrorists were from the Iyer community (for example), I would damn well want every Iyer getting on my plane to be racially profiled and searched. It is not ‘right’, but it is what works in combating the wanton terror that has been unleased upon us. I would expect SRK to feel embarassed about such profiling, rather than angry. I understand that this stand of mine is belligerent, but is it wrong, especially when you compare the security record of the U.S. versus India? My doubting antenna was next raised with SRK’s ‘close’ friend Karan made ‘New York’, an obviously loaded film about the Guantanamo Bay prison and how becoming a terrorist is justified under some circumstances. Another disturbing thing was SRK’s appearance in a toothpaste ad, where he describes germs as ‘Ravan’s army’, but mysteriously calls the toothpaste as ‘veer sena’…eh? Who was Veer (apart from a flop Salman film)? Why could he not say ‘Ram’s army’, is he so disgusted by the name of Ram that he will not utter it? It perhaps has a good reason, but the opposite (if I may) of Ravan is not some obscure ‘veer’, it is Ram and as a majority of the people in India believe, an incarnation of God.  It’s like this, in opposites, day vs. night, light vs. dark, man vs. woman, snake vs. mongoose, water vs. fire, black vs. white. If I suddenly said, no…black’s opposite is green, its not technically incorrect since black is a colour and anything non-black can be construed to be its opposite, but wouldn’t the questioner immediately wonder that I clearly had a problem with allowing the word ‘white’ to grace my lips?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzaV5VhXAjg

Anyway, none of these moves were technically ‘wrong’, but they did leave a bad taste in my mouth. Though I did save myself the pain of watching SRK in ‘MNIK’.

I now come to an interview given by SRK to NDTV, a channel whose loyalties at times appear misplaced to me atleast. I shall give the link and (self created) transcript first and then highlight the monumental objections I have with SRK’s views which are squarely an insult to every soldier fighting and martyred for India.

Transcript: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWWBd6MD0Ew

“Can I just say, I don’t know, am I wrong? Today there is some big controversy about some Pakistani gentleman’s picture in a government ad…Air Chief Marshal or someone…How is it?

I find it so strange that seven days ago all of us, what I am getting at I’ll explain to you, all of us reacted so vehemently that none of the Pakistani players were chosen, today we react vehemently when we had a Pakistani picture in one of the government ads.

You know…so do we love them? I think we immensely love them and why do we suddenly jump up and say this is not good, I think we have been misled by a lot of things that people say about us and them. And I truly believe they should have been chosen, as a matter of fact, I am not going to be the one who is opposite from what everyone else is saying, but, I wanted Abdul Razzak, I think it was in the newspapers even before the auctions started.

Pronnoy Roy: Lot of people believe in what you are saying right now…lot of people…

SRK continues: …and then he broke his wrist, the second part which I think has been explained is, for example, will I get into trouble for saying this, there is going to be a section of people who have suddenly gotten up and said, rightly or wrongly, it can be a different discussion but, “Australians will not be allowed to play”.

So here is a set of people who are spending 70,80,90 crore rupees on trying to win a tournament, and suddenly even if you say this much to me, I will be like “uh-oh, so should I take him, shouldn’t I take him?”

So tomorrow if we had known this, maybe even the Australians would not have been picked up. You know, so these issues always come on your heads. Stakes are very high, I am not giving an excuse, I truly believe, Pakistani players are the best T20 players in the world, they are champions, they are wonderful. But somewhere down the line there is an issue and we cannot deny it, there is an issue, we cannot keep on saying that “Oh, this was wrong”. Yes the way it was done maybe wrong, but you cannot keep carrying on saying “Ki koi issue nahin hain yaar, there are issues”, lets not deny it, everyday we blame Pakistan, everyday Pakistan blames us, and it is an issue.

And I have also the opposite of this. When my team had five Pakistani players in the first year. I still have Wasim Bhai as coach. People said “Aapke paas bahut sare Pakistani players hain”…come one man, sports should be left alone.

Before we react to any of these incidents, just hold back and say “yes there is an issue”. Both sides have a point so lets keep it easy, but let me be honest, I…my family is from Pakistan, my father was born there and his family is from there…I think all these issues…you are young guys, please,  trust me, can we just circumvent all that is said about India, Pakistan…by the politicians, by anybody else and say “It’s a great neighbour to have”, we are good neighbours, they are good neighbours, lets just love each other…”

*Thunderous applause from NDTV audience, I didn’t expect any better frankly*

My questions…

1)      How does SRK derive that all Indians love all Pakistani’s from a Paki picture mistakenly printed in and Indian govt ad? I would rather SRK spoke for himself, he loves Pakistani’s I don’t, and I am and Indian. Even if in SRK’s schizophrenic world all Indians did love all Pakistanis, a wrongful printing of a picture is certainly not the way to come to this conclusion? Or perhaps it is his superior IIT quality brain speaking?

2)      Pronnoy Roy should probably stuff it, has he taken a poll about what SRK is saying? How does he know a lot of people agree with him?! Clearly the communist intelligence agency is helping PR out here, right?

3)      My biggest opposition to this tirade by the IIT wannabe is his absolute refusal to saying anything bad (that is factual) about Pakistan without tagging the same thing to India first. Examples:

a.       everyday we blame Pakistan, everyday Pakistan blames us. Yes, we blame Pakistan and send evidence of it. I don’t think pakistan’s rantings about Balochistan should even be compared to that. The Pune bombings, the Mumbai bombings, the Gujarat train burning, the 3 wars that were heaped upon us, the support to Dawood…the list is endless is a fact. How dare this genius boy equate these real incidents to some things that India seems to have done in his own (perverted?) mind?

b.      sports should be left alone. I completely disagree with his. If your neighbour had just killed about half your family and then asked you to come out for a game of cricket with him, would you go? Probably not if you aren’t a sociopath, so why give Pakistan the leeway? The only reason anyone can say this is because SRK clearly does not consider Kashmiri Pundits that have been massacred to be his ‘people’, neither does he consider any of the other innocent men women and children who have died in Pak sponsored violence to be ‘his’.

c.       Both sides have a point. This is the most anti national statement he has made, to the best of my knowledge. He is acknowledging that in his twisted opinion Pakistan does have a point in what they are saying and doing. Is there a point to Pak sponsoring terror in India Mr. Khan? Clearly you think they do! Does Pakistan have a point in saying that Kashmir should be given to them, Mr. Khan? Clearly you think they do…you are saying it! I wonder if he got a moonlighted and got a PhD in international relations while he was pursuing his IIT? Such statements put even Rauls pearls of wisdom to shame! And that’s saying something…

d.      It’s a great neighbour to have. Right, this is just a blatant lie. Is Pakistan a great neighbour to have? We have had three wars, they massacred hundreds of thousands of hindus, they alone sponsor terror attacks in India. Is it a great neighbour? If I start bombing his beloved ‘Mannat’ everyday killing and maiming members of his family, will he call me a great neighbour to have? I can understand someone saying that it will be good to have good relations with Pakistan, but that’s future tense, to call them a great neighbour today (or a couple of years back), is nothing but a slap in the face of all the brave soldiers who die for a pittance to defend our country from the bombs and bullets SRK’s “great neighbour” fires across the border.

I personally believe that no right minded Indian should watch any SRK film, but I will not make that request. Simply because, people need to have enough pride in their ‘Indian-ness’ to do this on their own. I abhor all censorship, so I am not angry that SRK said all this, in fact its good, I learned where his real loyalties appear to lie. But its equally democratic to protest by not watching any of SRK’s films and refusing to fill the already overflowing coffers of a man, who probably places Pakistan above the country that gave him love and respect for the kind of films he unleashes upon us. 

“lets just love each other” seriously? Did he take a leaf out of Karan Johar’s “all about loving your parents” B.S.?

Barbershop…old school!

I like going to the barbers, in fact that is the only place apart from the airport that I can think of where I am unabashedly happy. The reason, these are the two places where I am not required to do anything…I can empty my mind and wander/ sit aimlessly for a little while before I re-enter the rat race. No expectations, no targets, just the tad helplessness of ‘being’ and leaving oneself in the hands of his maker (or his barber for that matter). Both places are then a spiritual experience, almost a pilgrimage one might say. This is the only true ‘time please’ left in real life.

Having being a patron at some of the most ‘exclusive’ salons in Europe and the Middle East, I can safely say there is no experience that quite bests the old school barbershop in India. Originally these places were owned by immigrants from Uttar Pradesh, that mantle eventually passed down to South Indians, especially those from the ‘tulu’ (better known as the shetty) community. The last few years have seen just about anyone opening these sacred places, but instead of diminishing the experience, these upstarts actually make the old hands more valuable to a connoisseur like me.

Me being a creature of habit have frequented only three such places in my life-time. The first one was a 5 seater extravaganza located near the Sane Guruji School. But this was in my child hood and the haunt was chosen for me my the assorted maids in my household with whom I’d be sent to get a haircut. I then shifted loyalties to a spin-off venture, one of the brothers (from UP, where else?) that ran the 5 seater place started a single seater shop near my house. I think I went there more because it was closer than anything else, till I eventually forgot the location of the place I used to go. This was not the best barbershop experience, my mane, which was quite flowing those days used to be inevitably crookedly cut and being a reserved kid I never asked for any different sort of a ‘cut’ or any additional services. In fact I never asked this guy anything, I don’t even know his name, and apart from the fact that he kept referring to his ‘muluk’, I don’t even know where exactly he was from.

The final place where I was eventually going to be ‘home’ is a place called ‘Deccan Hairdressers’ that is complete with the pictures of various hair cuts and film stars on its doors. This was also a more expensive place for me in my student days with a hair cut costs Rs25/- versus the Rs10/ at my old faithful. I was introduced to this place by a friend who used to get weird haircuts, but the importance of haircuts eventually waned for me with my hairline but the true potential of a old school barbershop was unveiled upon me by ‘Deccan’.

I love the smell of the place as soon as I enter. There is a ‘fresh’ smell of assorted lotions and potions and the shaving cream that I think is sold exclusively to old school barbers. There is the sound of surgical ‘snip-snip’ in the back ground that mixes in with a sound track that is forever stuck in the 60-70s time warp. Old film magazines, Star Dust from November 1999 et al, are strewn about as I take my seat in the waiting area. I almost only read these magazines here and am fascinated by the affairs of the filmstars. “Hum bewafa…hargiz na the…” plays in the background as I read about an actress…apt?

The place is filled with familiar faces, but in true bro-dition, this familiarity is acknowledged only by the slightest of nods of the head…over enthusiasm is not encouraged here. The owner is a ‘tulu’ (again, what else?) who probably came to Bombay wanting to be a film actor (judging by his hair stlye) but never quite made the ‘cut’ (pun intended). He clearly worked very hard to set this place up and now lords over at the ‘galla’ in shirts that can make you blind if you looked at them directly.

I take my seat as ‘In aakhon ki masti…’ plays. I am ultra stressed with work, personal life and Raul baba’s new antics, this is going to take some work. I go in for the shave, hair trimming, face massage and the head massage. My ‘guy’ looks sufficiently impressed. He asks if I want the foam for the shave…hell no! I am here for the experience, if I wanted the foam, I’d do it myself at home. I am down for the shaving cream which is lathered on a small katori that was probably as old as the shop. The mandatory spraying of water, the damp towel around my neck as I rest my head with my eyes closed. Ahh…this is the life I think to myself, the song in the background is oddly “Apni to Jaise taise…” Raul baba, my business that is bleeding me, politics, relatives, all begin to fade in the smooth lather that is being applied to my week long stubble that begins to get scraped off with an authentic ‘ustra’. The best part about this is that the lather is applied twice! Foam would have been faster, would have been applied just once and would have left fewer cuts, nothing pampers a man like two applications of shaving cream, and I was here to be pampered. After the final dabbing off the water and remainder of the cream, my face is rubbed all over with a small soap made of alum. Alum is the stuff that is used to purify water and has some antiseptic properties. The world has moved on to after shaves and even non burning after shaves (which I consider a bit like non-alcoholic beer…its cheating), but my own personal time machine allows me the pleasures of alum.

My hair cut takes short work, partly because my ample mane ain’t so ample no more and partly because I have just had a cut 3 weeks ago, and we move on to the face massage. My shop has succumbed to modern tradition and after about 2 minutes of facial scrubbing I am lathered in some sort of a green cream and subjected to a machine that blows steam in my face. This isn’t very relaxing, I think to myself as “Kuch to log kahenge…” bawls in the background. It does get more and more odd as the ‘face mask’ (I learn its called) tightens with the steam and I am thinking “what is this happening?!” Apparently the thing dries up on my face leaving it stretched, in between I manage to open an eye and lean close to the mirror and the full extent of my discomfort dawns on me…I look like an idiot with my face plastered in goo. Oh well…this is my pilgrimage and if I choose to spend it looking like an idiot, its my choice. Anway, finally the mask comes off, and the next five minutes are spent rubbing two more lotions into my skin. Both are extremely cold and from the way they feel I surmise than the one that made my face numb must be a white cream with no lustre and the other one that felt so cold that it burned must be a transparent cream with the consistency of hair gel. Of course, these are my estimations and may be completely different to reality, but who is to know as these mysterious ingredients are hastily put away before my eyes can be open and focussed.

I then move to the head massage, my favourite part of the routine. Oh my attendant really gets creative with this one. He never uses the bland massage machine like the others, this hand are enough, pounding and kneading at my head. I play “maalish, yeh tel maalish in my head” as the 1920s radio in the shop is not obliging with a song like “jab bhi koi kangana bole…” I truly surrender to the experience here with the guy twisting my neck to crack it, bending my arms and shoulders and fingers to stretch and ‘crack’ the joints. I do wonder if this is risky as my neck is perched helplessly over his hand in an awkward pose, but too late…CRACCKKK! I finally draw the line when he asks if I would like my spine ‘dislocated’ (am sure that not what he means)…In God I trust…nobody else dislocates my spine. I consciously choose the normal parachute coconut oil for this exercise despite my barber offering a wide variety of medicinal oils, cool oils, hot oils etc…that would just ruin the experience.

Anyway, the gent asks me “Bas?” at one point, and I say Yes…too much of a good thing is also bad. I get off the chair in a daze, as the song “Saara zamana, Haseeno ka diwana…” plays in the background. I struggle to keep disturbing images of Amitabh lit up like a Christmas tree from my mind as I make my payment and drop the customary ‘tip’ in my attendant’s front pocket. I wonder what makes this simple experience so noteworthy, or is its simplicity what makes it note-worthy. In a world that needs to make movies that stretch credulity to entertain and politicians that stretch credulity as a matter of course, where I see people blowing up enormous amounts of money to buy cars or evenings in clubs to feel ‘complete’ to feel happy, it is indeed satisfying to having something so simple, so inexpensive amongst us that is so truly relaxing. That’s about the last thought I have as I open the stubborn door, step out in the blinding sun and am hit with the sound of a needlessly loud horn.

"Mee Nathuram..." (3) Nathuram's encounter with his ex-colleague turned traitor

(no intention to copyright infringement, only a translation to the best of my abilities of this brilliant, brilliant, brilliant play)

When in jail. Nathuram had a chance run in with Digambar Badge. Badge was a co-conspirator who had agreed to be the prosecution’s witness in exchange for his own freedom. In the play, Nathuram says that while the meeting seemed to occur by chance, he himself suspected it to be orchestrated by Inspector Sawant, the second in charge of the Parliament Street police station, where the FIR against Nathuram was registered.

The conversation went as follows:

DB: Pandit (referring to Nathuram)…I…(silence)…how are you? How is Tatyarao Savarkar? Is the Delhi cold bothering him? Else I can request someone to get some warm clothes for him. Hows Gopal? Hows Karkare? Madanlal Pahwa? All of you have ostracised me…you must all be very angry with me.

But Nathuram, you are very different, from all of us. You were aloof from ground realities always. Pain, loss of face, physical discomfort, you never felt. I even told Gopal one, that you are the embodiment of what Krishna said in the Gita. You are made of a different clay…no you are made of stone…clay can be fashioned anyway…you are rigid.

When yours and Gandhi’s eyes met for an instant before you pulled the trigger, he would have realised he is being assassinated by a worthy opponent.

But Nathuram, I am not a man like you, I am ordinary, or even less than that if you want to call me. You have no idea how I have been harassed mentally and physically. Well…you were also beaten…but that was out of emotional outrage…but trained physical pain inflicted on me was different.

The guard told me though…when he came to hit you, you looked straight in his eyes and he was unable to hit you at all. But I don’t have your eyes Nathuram, I could not hold my own in front of their sustained beatings. I was scared…scared of death. It was very easy to say things like “I am ready to die”, but the experience is not that easy. The mere thought that I might die was enough to scare me and the desire to live took over me.

Nathuram…I want to live, I want to live…at any cost. (starts crying)

No, you can all continue to blame me…I can carry this burden of sin…but I cannot give my life up. Because I am ordinary. Forgive me.

Nathuram: People who stand on two stones can never find their feet. When they look down they only see the deep valley and feel dizzy.

DB: Before you go, all I want to hear from you is that you have forgiven me.

NG: There is no use for repentence, there is no use for it because the deed is already done. If you think you are doing some something wrong, remove that thought from your mind. To try to live, to struggle to save ones own life is not a crime…its your dharma (duty)…nay…its your first and primary responsibility. But while saving your own life, you must be cognizant that you are not taking another innocent persons life. If you had said you are not a Hindu, I would have been ashamed of you. But if your ‘confession’ only strengthens calls for my death, even then I will not be angry at you. Because I am willing to die. An eye for an eye is the law of nature. Gandhi is dead then Nathuram must also die. But only take care that your confession in 100% true. For even saving your life do not lie in court. Tatyarao is innocent…if someone is trying to implicate him through you, then you will not have forgiveness even in God’s court. Tatyarao is a diamond and we are just the setting for it, the setting should shape itself as per the diamond, not even try to eclipse it. You can leave now.

Who are we to worry about the Sun? When we think that the Sun is eclipsed, it is the defect in our sight…we are looking at the sun from a wrong place. When man goes to the moon, he will realise, the Sun is never eclipsed. 


(as a quick background, even though Veer Savarkar had nothing to do with Gandhi's assasination, he was arrested and allegedly Nehru tried to frame him. Veer Savarkar was so popular and fiery that Nehru was scared of his influence. In fact, when the arrest orders were issued, the policemen from the van that used to always tail him, were scared of arresting him in the afternoon, not wanting to disturb his siesta. Digambar Badge, was a coward in his own admission and decided to rat on Nathuram, Nathuram only cautoned him on falling to the governments ploy of implicating an innocent Savarkar in this matter. It is possible that this last 2 minute conversation made Digambar see the light and made him commit only the smaller of two mistakes. No evidence was found aginst Savarkar and he was released with no taint in this matter)

"Mee Nathuram Godse..." (2) Nathuram's meeting with Gandhi's son

(no intention to copyright infringement, only a translation to the best of my abilities of this brilliant, brilliant, brilliant play)

Another interesting meeting that Nathuram has as depicted in “Mee Nathuram…” was with Debidas Gandhi, M.K. Gandhi’s son. This was their second meeting, the first one being the day on which Nathuram was arrested. At the first meeting Nathuram, expressed sorrow at the personal loss of the Gandhi family and expressed regret at the circumstances which left Nathuram with no choice but to do what he did. He clarified that as a person he did not have a problem with Gandhi, what he did was purely for the country and a political necessity. He told Debidas then that he would elaborate on the motive at a later date…but Gandhi’s son never met him again for almost two years after that and showed up only 8 days prior to the hanging, proposing to re-open Nathuram’s case and argue for a lenient punishment. Notably at this time Nathuram was completely at ease with the idea of being hung and used to spend a lot of his time with the staff that was setting up the hanging post and discussing the procedure and if he could offer help in setting it up.

Anyway, the conversation between Gandhi’s son and Nathuram went something like this:

Debidas Gandhi: How can you be so aloof about your death?

NG: Because I am, I just am!

NG: How are you here today? You found time only after two years!

DG: I needed signatures on a few legal papers. Papers that say that I have accepted you as my client.

NG: Signature should be taken from clients, should a client not ask the reason why? Especially since I have argued my own case in court and my case is over and decided.

DG:  But you ignored some points. I can challenge your death penalty on those grounds.

NG: But I want to be hung!

DG: Why?

NG: Because I have taken a human life. A killer has no right to life. I do not wish to hand my case to you.

DG: Why?

NG: I knew what you wanted to say the moment you asked me to sign the legal papers. But I avoided going into details because I did not want to offend you. I will tell you now. Are you not going to argue on the lines of “Gandhi did not agree with himsa…so even his murderer should not be killed”? But that is not the law, is it not the lawyers duty to explain the law to his client before asking to defend his case? The law does not recognise emotions and personal jealousies or brownie points.

DG: Do you mean to say I am here for some selfish reason?

NG: I don’t ‘mean’ to say that, I am saying it. Debidasji, if you wanted to accept someone as your client, why did you not accept Tatyarao Savarkar, why not Nana Apte?! Why did you not stand up to protect these innocent people? You have chosen only Nathuram for your magnanimity, why? It is all a vain attempt on your part to somehow prove the relevance of your fathers belief of turning the other cheek, is it not?

Forgive me for saying so Debidasji, but the capacity to think of Gandhi as a ideology beyond the confines of his personal image is possible for me, not for you.

DG: So what have you thought about Gandhi as an ideology?

NG: I have thought a lot, but you have delayed asking this question by two years. Have you thought about this at all? I had told you when I was arrested that my motive was purely political and not personal, but you still are not convinced, and perhaps have come here to explore this further. But you found time for that only now…because you know in eight days…there will be no one here to answer your questions…and your mind will eat at you for the rest of your life. Sit. Should I call for coffee for you?

I am writing my will. Do you know what my first, last wish? That my ashes should not be immersed in the holy river till such time the Sindhu river is not brought back into my undivided India. I don’t care if my ashes have to be handed down through generations, but keep them safe.

Devidasji, you are aware that in the Hindu Dharma, ashes are immersed in the holy rivers on the 10^th day after death. Till that time they are kept at the door of the deceased house. Till the immersion takes place, it is believed that the soul is not free. But I want to keep my soul entangled on purpose, I do not want liberation.

Do you know why? Because just like Gandhi is your father, he is my nation’s father. Gandhi had said about his death, that his ashes should be immersed in all great rivers of India. But Pakistan refused permission to immerse his ashes in the Sindhu on the grounds that Gandhi was a hindu saint. Would the pure water of Sindhu be defiled by the touch of the Mahatma’s ashes?!

I had then written to the government of India, requesting them to keep atleast a small portion of Gandhi’s ashes safe. Because it is inevitable that the brave soldiers of this country will at some point drag the Sindhu back into the border of this country. The, Gandhi’s ashes should be immersed in the Sindhu. And this HAS to happen, because this country is of Bhaghirath’s, of people who are capable of pulling the Ganga to earth from the heavens. But my request letter was trashed. There is no doubt then that Gandhi’s soul is suffering over this last insult to him, his last wish being left unfulfilled.

I do not want Gandhi’s soul to suffer alone, hence I will not let my soul be free on the 10^th day after my death. There are no enemies beyond death, it is said. But there is only one Nathuram who actually sticks to the ideals that he has believed in his life, even in his death.

Debidasji, I had no personal enmity with your father, but to extinguish his physical presence was necessary for the benefit of my country. I may not be a genius, but I have spent a few years of my life in the company of brilliant people. I was never rich, but I always had enough to eat. I had a position in society, respect and standing. I knew I was giving all this up when I decided to assassinate Gandhi. I chose death, I could have run away after shooting Gandhi like a coward. I did not do that...so I could tell the world my side of the story, because I HAD a story to tell, I had my own independent thoughts and philosophy.

DG: I am not saying this because he was my father…but he was a great man…

NG: There is not question of that! Of course, he was a great man! What is the truth, is the truth, it is not dependent on whether I agree to it or not. His daring fight against discrimination in South Africa is proof of that. On his return to India, this efforts to travel to rural India to understand the real Indian, is fully deserving of respect. Dandi March, Quit India, Salt March…all these agitations made me a worshipper of Gandhi. When Gandhi was arrested, I was one of the many protestors who shouted the slogan “Sabarmati no sant jail ma chhe” (The saint of Sabarmati is in jail).

DG: How could you still kill him?

NG: The ‘assasination’ was necessary, there was no option left. Gandhi’s decision to split India was avoidable. After that, the massacre of refugees and Gandhi’s cold response to that. After that, his childish tantrum on giving Pakistan money to buy weapons against out soldiers, when the battle was already on in Kashmir…all this…all this…was unforgivable.

DG: But he never saw people in terms of hindus or muslims…

NG: But Pakistan did! And that is the biggest sign of Gandhi’s failure. If you think Pakistan did not think in terms of religion, then why did they not allow Gandhi’s ashes to be immersed in the Sindhu? When Gandhi died, you are as aware as I am that the Pakistan National radio announced that a ‘hindu leader’ had died! This is all I was trying to tell Gandhi, that you are ours, but he insisted in saying.. NO…I am not yours, I am theirs.

DG: But he belonged to all humans…not to hindus or muslims or Indians or Pakistanis…he was everyones!

NG: Then why did he fight the British? Are they not human? Why did he fight the white people in South Africa? Arent they humans?

DG: You would have made a good lawyer.

NG: Your career advice is a little delayed now. But the reality is that much more than me, Gandhi’s alleged students and Gandhians are his real detractors. I shot him, he fell and at the last moment all he said was “Ah..”. But his students have spread the false rumour that Gandhi said “Hey Ram”.

DG: Do you mean to say, he did not say Hey Ram?

NG: No he did not. I was tortured at every stage to falsely confess in my declaration to the police, to the magistrate and in the court that Gandhi said “Hey Ram”. But they were unable to break me. If he did not take Rams name, then why should I lie! But if his minions keep harping on this and it gets incorrectly recorded in the history books, then this itself will be the biggest defeat of Gandhi and his ideals. Do you know why?

In life, this man never differentiated between Ram and Rahim, Krishna and Karim,  will such a person remember only Ram at his last moment? Why would he not take both names? And if he wanted to take just one name, he would have said Rahim…because Ram was always in his heart and Rahim was always on his tounge.

*On 15^th November 1949, Nathuram Godse and Nana Apte were hung at 8AM. They carried in their hands, a saffron flag, a map showing undivided India and a copy of the Bhagwad Gita. When the noose was placed around their neck, they both shouted “May undivided India be immortal” and “Vande Mataram” and then they went silent forever.*

Introduction to Mee Nathuram Godse Boltoy…

(no intention to copyright infringement, only a translation to the best of my abilities of this brilliant, brilliant, brilliant play)

Nathuram Godse is a much derided figure in India because he is only projected as a one-dimensional personality. Someone who was a killer, a clinically mad person, who took a gun and shot Gandhi. Its never as simple as that…or as Nathuram says in the play, “murders can be simple…but never assassinations. I assassinated Gandhi”. Society has since ensured that Nathuram’s point of view was never brought to light, that no one was able to hear both sides of the story and the concept of natural justice in society’s eyes, basically died.

The play “Mee Nathuram Godse Boltoy…” is a landmark play in that it attempts to bring out Nathuram’s point of view on the assassination. He highlights how in his view the assassination of Gandhi was inevitable and necessary for India to move ahead. It highlights how he had tried all other non-violent means endlessly before taking this route. While the play itself is unparalleled in artistic and ideological terms, just the introduction at the beginning of the play, given by Nathuram’s character, gives the viewer a good insight into context of the play. Whether one agrees or not with Nathuram, atleast he was a person who deserves more than to be written off by a politicians hand.

Despite violent protests by Gandhians, the play has done more than 600 shows in the last ten years, all of which were houseful. The play has been performed at various places ranging from metros to naxal affected places such as Chandrapur. The lead character (Nathuram) is played by Sharad Ponkshe who I believe is easily one of the best actors in India…and also the bravest. He once started the 2-2.5 hour play at 9 PM, but could finish it only at 6.30 the next morning. Reason, Congress that defended MF Hussain’s right to draw whatever he pleased, sent 150 goons to disrupt his show. Sharad stood his ground (unlike Hussain who fled from a mere court hearing and accepted citizenship of a country that has NO freedom of speech) and completed his show at the risk of death, and seeing this, none of his audience members retreated either. I am translating to English the introduction to the play so make it accessible to everyone who does not speak or understand Marathi.

…

“All your faces are unknown to me. Frankly speaking, the word ‘unknown’ itself is wrong as in the word itself, the presence of ‘knowing’ is felt. You faces are new to me. New…not unfamiliar. The young among you may not have been born then and the state regulated school textbooks have since described me to you as nothing more than a ‘hindu madman’. The middle aged among you may remember that period through which their parents that were fleeing the massacre of Maharashtrian Brahmins, wondered “who is this Nathuram? Why are our houses being burnt because of him?” Yes, but the very old among you must remember me. Many may have read my articles in newspapers, my editorials (and Nana Apte’s) in the Agarani newspaper, heard my speeches and even met me in person. But that meeting and this acquaintance, they have consistently denied since 30th January 1948!

But will they be here? Who will bring such old people here? So old?! My age-group? Do you know my age? I am 93. You will say I am lying…that I look much younger! But the secret of my ever-lasting youth is my death, untimely death. Don’t you think death is actually a boon that gives one ever lasting youth? Try thinking about someone close to you who is no more, someone who has died 20-25 years ago. Can you see wrinkles on her face? Her teeth must still be intact, her jet black hair must still be flowing in the wind…and your hair? Uh Uh…don’t touch your head…you may not find anything there at all!So your friend is young, because your friend is dead! The curse of old age is only for a living body.

This blessing of ever lastng youth was bestowed upon me by Tatyarao Savarkar (Veer Savarkar).

Tatyarao, I bow to you. The brilliance of the sun, the force of the wind, tenacity that would made an armour jealous and sharpness of intellect that will shame even Brihaspati (divine teacher of sciences and arts), the human personification of all these is the form of Tatyarao Savarkar.

I still remember that day, I was in jail and the enquiry was on. And without any proof or linkage, and with the sole purpose of harassment, this Bheeshmacharya (Savarkar) was arrested and brought to Delhi. I stood up the moment I saw him, I touched his feet. He blessed me saying “live forever”. I said…forgive me Tatyarao, but I don’t think I will be able to follow this order of yours! Tatyarao said, you don’t understand Nathuram, my blessing was not that you live a 100 years, my blessing is that you will live forever. And you have become immortal. The instant you pressed the trigger and Gandhi fell dead, that instant your name became immortal. Whether you killed Gandhian thoughts or not, is an issue open for debate, but you killed Gandhi and have yourself survived. Gandhi’s detractors, those hoping for a true Hindu Rashtra will place you on the thrones of their hearts, but even Gandhi’s supporters will make you immortal in his biographies. Just like no biography of Gandhi can begin without the mention of his parents, in the same way none of his biographies can be completed without mentioning you.

These were Tatyarao’s words…like etchings on a stone. Every word he spoke was an arrow that pierced souls and every word he wrote was like the Vedas, how could this blessing of his be wrong? So thus I am, a 93 year old, sent to the gallows at age 39, an untimely death. Untimely, but something that I had invited myself, something that I completely agreed with. But this everlasting youth…its like Ashwatthama’s. Ashwatthama is wandering till today looking for medicines to heal the deep wound on his forehead…my wound is in my heart, in my mind. How many blows I have taken, the riots in my country, the rapes of my mothers and sisters who are now refugees, the Rs550 million that we had to give away to Pakistan solely due to Gandhi’s childish tantrums and…the breaking up of my undivided Bharat and gifting of my Sindhu river to Pakistan. Ashwatthama wants medicines, all I want is to touch the pure water of the Sindhu. The longing for that touch is in my existence…for the last 50 years. I have written in my will, that my ashes should be handed down through generations, but unless all of the Sindhu river comes back into undivided Bharat, my ashes should not be immersed into the Ganga. (I want my soul to be tormented till then).

After reading my will, TS said, excellent Nathuram, you are the Dadhichi of modern India. Your ashes will become weapons. I said, Tatyarao, please don’t compare me to such a powerful person. It is true that Shivaji’s Bhavani sword was made of iron, but every piece of iron cannot become the Bhavani. But would he be Tatyarao if he could be rendered speechless by anyone?! He always had answers, not questions, he said, Nathuram, because the Maharaja touched the sword it become the Bhavani, the importance lies in the fist the wields the iron, not the iron itself. You aren’t keeping your ashes behind…you are keeping behind your thoughts and your intentions, these will evolve into weapons.

The only good thing in my life was that I went as iron to Tatyarao, and the alchemy of his touch made me into gold. All the bad habits, mistakes in my life are my own, but whatever good I have done is solely due to Tatyarao’s grace. He has no responsibility in anything wrong I have done. If gold ornaments go from a temple deity to a thief, it is not the fault of the gold is it?

So such as I am, Nathuram Vinayak Godse. My birth was in the first decade of the last century, 19^th May 1910. My father worked in the postal deparment, my mothers name is Lakshmi. You may have heard of several of Vishnu’s avatar’s, but Lakshmi’s avatar only for efforts and poverty, was in the Godse household. She died suffering from separation from her Son. Like Dasharatha, the same love, the same suffering, the same separation. But her Ram wasn’t going to the forest, he was ready for his journey to the next world.  Her Lakshman was rotting in another jail.

My fathers monthly wages were Rs15/-, in Rs10, he used to run to household and send Rs5 to his father. My parents had three children, none survived…they conducted prayers for a child, and I was born. I lived, to fulfil the both destinies, that of my parents not having a child and that of Gandhi getting assassinated.

After that my life was straight forward. I never stole in my childhood, so the question of asking forgiveness from my parents never arose. I never took the oath of celibacy…that, I was doing anyway. I wandered tirelessly among refugees and destitute. I helped them with food and clothes, but because they did not have enough clothes did not mean that I wanted to strip. I did not spin the charkha, I did not clean toilets, I never took a vow of silence till the day I was hung. In that sense, there is only one common point between Gandhi and me, I killed him, and because of that, I was killed. But there is a massive difference, he was willing to live for his ideals, but I was willing to die for mine.

Albeit, there is no reason for you to be interested in this life of mine is there? Who was Hirkani before she climbed the fort? Babu Genu lived in your memory only in the moment of his death where he stood in front of a truck carrying foreign goods. In that sense, Nathuram’s true biography starts from 30^th January 1948, after the assassination of Gandhi.

Frankly speaking, Nathuram’s life was only 655 days 30^th Jan 1948 to 15^th November 1949. My birth then happened on the day when the Indian cabinet agreed to give Pakistan Rs550 million…”

Significance of mantras (in my view)

The fundamental view of Hinduism is that the entire universe is made of exactly the same substance vibrating at different levels. Since vibration of a substance makes a sound (whether audible or not) the hindu view is that the universe can be seen as ‘sound’ itself. This is something that I have touched upon in an earlier post. It then followed that it is possible to do some friendly manipulation of the universe with certain sounds that acted as short cuts or key words or passwords to different dimensions. Hence the predominance of mantra’s and their the stress on their correct pronunciation in India and its vedic culture.

No other culture has worked so hard and so intelligently at these discovering these sounds and in some cases even creating specific sequences towards achieving certain goals. The stress on perfection in Indian classical music is another window to this view of the hindus. Sadly, this view is lost on Indians today. Surprisingly, this is perhaps increasingly becoming the view of modern physicists who are now working on a ‘string theory’ that echoes the ‘everything made of the same thing’ belief. It is not surprise that CERN agreed to install an idol of the Natraja, a form of Shiva that is moving in the unpredictable dance of creation and destruction of the existence, outside of their head-office in Geneva. It is notable that CERN that is possibly filled with atheists and agnostics have acknowledged the spiritual tradition that first visualised this form of Shiva.

I am not an expert on mantras, I am not even in the first grade in that department. But since this is my blog and I can write anything on it, I will! My only hope that the people who do read this become more aware of their ancestor’s traditions and are encouraged to explore various mantras for themselves. In fact most hindu religious texts (such as the Srimad Bhagwat) which discussed the original ‘string’ knowledge never asked for ‘faith’, they challenged the reader to test what was being told and accept only if it worked.

The most powerful mantras are called ‘beej’ mantras or seed mantras, these are the sounds on whose foundations more elaborate incantations were formed. But these by themselves are extremely powerful and for that reason dangerous given the possibility of mispronunciation. The most famous one of course if the sound of ‘AUM’, three distinct sounds (aaa, uuu, mmm) to be uttered for equal duration. Our religious/ spiritual tradition also considers AUM to be the first sound that was created with the very first vibration of creation. While I can perhaps append several studies to prove that chanting ‘AUM’ centres us, just one funded by the Government of India should be enough, given that the government that appears to project a image of wanting to discredit spiritual traditions of India (or replace them?) was unable to find fault with AUM. The study basically says that chanting AUM mimics the effect of medicines given to counter depression and epilepsy. There are several other beej mantras as just like AUM they do not have a meaning in Sanskrit, they are simply sounds like Hreem, Klim, Aiyem, Shreem, Dum, Hara, Hari…each for a specific purpose.

Anyway, several self-realised yogis devised their own mantras fashioned in the form of prayer to allow the busy householder to take advantage of these ‘keywords’ without the risk associated with mispronunciation. Some of these mantras are known as siddha mantras that have been infused by the life energy of its creator. Perhaps the most famous one is the Gayatri Mantra created by Rishi Vishwamitra. There are several others such as Ram Raksha stotra by Budha Kaushik Rishi and one of my favourites, the Maruti Stotra by Sant Ramdas. These are extremely powerful incantations whose benefits can be perceived by anyone who chants them correctly and regularly. In fact, one chant the Ram Raksha stotra is supposed to be equivalent to a thousand chants of the Vishnu Sahasranaam, another powerful prayer in its own right. The primary aim of the latter two mantras I mentioned is to protect the chanter from evil energies, bad thoughts and remove fear, each of which is much required today. It is also interesting to note that the Maruti Stotra was created by Ramdas when India was ruled by Mughals and young Shivaji was raising a small band of soldiers to fight them off. India finds itself in a similar situation today and regular chanting of Maruti Stotra should be compulsory for all Indian children in my view. In fact several of Shivaji's soldiers were trained by Sant Ramdas himself and no doubt his teaching of the Maruti stotra played a big part in the bravery that the Chhatrapati and his soldiers displayed in establishing a just, welfare kingdom.

This is only an introductory blog and I shall try to create related posts that explain the meaning of the stotras so that those interested can read and chant them perfectly with their meaning known.

The Violent Communal Bill?

Communal violence of any sort is to be abhorred. The loss of even one life is a loss of one too many. Communal violence in India has always had a historic context beginning with the brutal colonisation of the country beginning with the first Arab invasion. However, communal tensions have escalated much more in these supposedly secular and sophisticated times. Its not just in India but across the world that religious terrorism has reared its ugly head. India has in the past attempted to put into a strong legal system in place to tackle this new crusade, however her plans have always been scuttled with the compulsions of vote-bank politics. However, the new salvo by jhola brigade in cahoots with the minority friendly government in India is indeed taking things too far. The ambitiously titled “Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparation) Bill, 2011” is perhaps one of the most blatantly communal laws I am guessing the world has ever seen. Its is of side-interest to note that the bill has been tabled by the National Advisory Council chaired by Sonia Gandhi. So on one hand the woman who opposes the presence of civil society in framing the Lokpal Bill saying that such intervention subverts the democratic process is ok with such suggestions coming from what are perhaps private bodies with no legal accountability to the parliament?

Whether the Bill is eventually passed or not is a different matter (and I hope it is not passed in its current form), the fact that a pseudo-intellectual entity like the NAC had the guts to even introduce this malignant tumour in the Indian legal system is an indicator of what times India is facing today while people are busy with cricket and reality shows.

At the outset, I am not a lawyer and these questions, doubts, interpretations etc are from my reading of the actual bare Bill. I confess to have skipped some sections that I thought would be procedural and hence not contain anything out of the ordinary, but they possibly do and I am letting the Bill of easy on those counts. I also read a couple of other blogs for ideas and I don’t care who takes credit for this rant. It belongs to all those right-minded, nationalistic Indians who have blogged about this draconian Bill. If I have read something wrong, please feel free to point it out in the comments section.

Ok, my first complaint about the Bill is its general wishy-washy nature. It makes sweeping statements with no words on the procedure that needs to be followed. It does not outline any sort of tests to the applied to a lot of statements it says are offenses. A good (or is it bad?) example of this is the Section 3 (c):

communal and targeted violence” means and includes any act or series of acts, whether spontaneous or planned, resulting in injury or harm to the person and or property, knowingly directed against any person by virtue of his or her membership of any group, which destroys the secular fabric of the nation;

What constitutes the destruction of the secular fabric of the nation? Is a question that is left unanswered. Ok. So say a hindu pick-pocket, robs a muslim man who was dressed to reveal his religion (cap, beard et al), can that be construed to mean destruction of the secular fabric of the nation?

Another example: Lets say India defeats Pakistan (again) in the cricket world cup, a group of kids burst fire crackers, is that considered destroying the secular fabric of the nation?

My second and the BIGGEST objection to the Bill is that it itself identified Hindus as criminals in any act (violent or not) that violates the secular fabric of the nation (a statement that itself is frivolous as I mentioned above). Q) How does it do this? A) By first defining a ‘Group’ in section 3 (e):

“group” means a religious or linguistic minority, in any State in the Union of India, or Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes within the meaning of clauses (24) and (25) of Article 366 of the Constitution of India;

As can be read above, ‘Group’ means a religious (or linguistic) minority. The minority is measured based on State and not a locality of a region. So apart from J&K (BTW, J&K is conveniently excluded from the ambit of the Bill, the one state where Hindus have faced genocide) and Kerala a Group basically means only Muslims and Christians. Well, it also includes SCs/ STs but we all know who the Bill is *really* framed for, don’t we?

The next step in cementing the communal nature of the Bill is its definition of a ‘victim’ under the Act. This is done in the section 3(j)

“victim” means any person belonging to a group as defined under this Act, who has suffered physical, mental, psychological or monetary harm or harm to his or her property as a result of the commission of any offence under this Act, and includes his or her relatives, legal guardian and legal heirs, wherever appropriate;

So in any case of communal violence, Muslims and Christians will automatically be the victims and by corollary Hindus will be the criminals?

In fact, Section 6 to 12, which all outline the violent acts, all mention that the act has to be committed against the Group (Muslims and Christians) for the act to be considered as an illegal offense.

An example. A muslim majority in India, say Bhindi Bazaar or Malegaon, sees communal violence and a group of muslims (lets just call them misguided youth) assault a hindu woman, would it be considered as an act of communal violence under this Act? In my reading, no, it would not! The reason, Bhindi Bazaar and Malegaon are part of the Maharashtra State that (still) has a hindu majority and as such only hindus can be criminals.

Apart from these two explicit points the draconian, anti-majority nature of the Bill is strengthened by its wishy-washy nature, as I mentioned above. Some examples:

Section 3 (f) defines hostile environment (again only for Muslims and Christians). Hostile environment includes several points. But point no 5 is the most interesting one. It says, …includes any other act, whether or not it amounts to an offence under this Act, that has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment

Any act (?!), even if its not an offense under the law? So anyone humming the national anthem in Malegaon can be considered to be part of the any other Act? Anyone canvassing for the Amarnath Yatra can be a hostile environment? Anyone supporting the Common Civil Code, which is enshrined in our Constitution can be contributing to the hostile environment? What provisions are in place to ensure that this law is not misused?!

Section 4: A person is said to knowingly direct any act against a person belonging to a group by virtue of such person’s membership of that group where a) he or she means to engage in the conduct against a person he or she knows belongs to that group; or,(b) with the knowledge that the person belongs to a group, he or she means to cause injury or harm to such person because of the membership of such person to that group

Seriously? How does the law judge what a person ‘meant’ to do when he/she committed violence against anyone? What are the legal tests or procedures to prove this? Will we be taking on the clairvoyance services of Benny Hinn when we try to find out what a person was thinking (ie is someone mugging someone for money or because he thinks the ‘victim’ is a muslim?). No answers that I noticed here, please enlighten me.

There is more…

Section 13. Dereliction of duty.- When any person who is or was a public servant not removable from his or her office save by or with the sanction of the Central Government or State Government, as the case may be, authorized to act under any provision of this Act:

(a) exercises the authority vested in him or her colourably or in a manner otherwise than provided under law for the time being in force, which causes or is likely to lead to an offence of communal and targeted violence or by which he or she intends to screen or knowing it to be likely that he or she will thereby screen any person from legal punishment;

Again, perhaps I am stupid, but the terms ‘colourably’ and ‘likely’ are wide open to interpretation, especially given that the government has already pronounced Hindus as the criminals in the definition section of the Act itself.

What is the test for checking the public servant has exercised authority ‘colourably’. What colour? Saffron perhaps?

Similarly, What tests are in place to judge (and who judges?!) that the public servant will ‘likely’ commit an offence? Who defines ‘likely’?! For example, will they pre-emptively punish a police commissioner because he is a hindu and his religion in itself is a crime for which he is ‘unlikely’ to enforce this ridiculous law in his jurisdiction? Clearly, the law must have made provisions for pre-cogs like in the movie “Minority Report” (apt film title?) who can gauge what is likely to happen in the future. If people can be arrested by the NAC’s pre-crime division why do the jholas in the NAC protest when the police arrests someone who is likely to commit a terrorist act…or is it because that is the correct ‘colour’?

I noticed sections 4, 9 and 14 are adopted from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. I find that surprising because Government of India has consistently opposed the court . Is this a surreptitious attempt to bring India under Rome (figuratively, of course). Legal students will probably do a good job to enlighten me here.

The third most shocking part for me in this Act was its Section 20.

Section 20: The occurrence of organised communal and targeted violence shall constitute “internal disturbance” within the meaning of Article 355 of the Constitution of India and the Central Government may take such steps in accordance with the duties mentioned thereunder, as the nature and circumstances of the case so requires

It seems like a harmless section at the first glance, why, it even references the Indian Constitution! Should be pretty fool-proof till another blog hinted at the chapter under which Section 355 falls in the Indian Constitution. Its falls under something called “Emergency Provisions”. Now I again stress, I am not a lawyer, but I am guessing that the last time Emergency provisions were invoked, the excesses were carried out by the government itself! Section 20 empowers only the Central government to declare emergency conditions? It does not even specify what scale of violence would be needed, would 2 people killed in some state in some tragic violence be enough grounds to invoke section 355? Someone please advise!

Ok, there ridiculous sections go on an on. So I will try summarise. The Act calls for the formation of a pompously named National Authority for Communal Harmony Justice and Reparation (NACHJR). It appears that since the law has basically convicted Hindus before any trial of any sort the NAC had no hesitation in giving the NACHJR sweeping powers. After all, no risk of anyone from the ‘correct’ religion being caught since they are all victims anyway. Section 39 gives the commission power over public sevants (isn’t this the parallel government we were told about that Lokpal would bring?). It even brings the armed forces under this, thus undermining (IMHO) the only relatively honest institution that we have left in the country (e.g. would the army be guilt of destroying the communal fabric of the country if it carried out operations against terrorists?, Did the police upset the secular fabric when they killed terrorists in the Batla House encounter?). Section 58 makes all offences cognizable and non-bailable. So any offense, however small and frivolous will result in some majority community member going to jail without possibility of bail. Another section also appears to allow the government to gag the press, so ‘wrong reports’ are not circulated.

Section 74 is special in the sense it appears to change the basic structure of natural justice by presuming guilt unless innocence is proven…what?!

I will copy-paste the take of someone on a legal blog on this section:

“The biggest lacuna which exists in the Act is the presumption of guilt on the accused unless it can be rebutted by the accused. Section 74 however makes two fold presumptions which are against the very ethos of Criminal Justice System i.e. A person is deemed to be innocent unless proven guilty of an offence.

The first presumption is that the accused shall be guilty of an offence that he has been charged with, unless that can be proven otherwise. The second presumption is further discriminative as it states that Whenever an offence of organized communal and targeted violence is committed and it is shown that a hostile environment against a group exists or the offence of hate propaganda under section 8 was committed against a group, it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, that the said offence was knowingly directed against persons belonging to the group by virtue of their membership of the group.

The consequences may have a very negative influence on the entire state of affairs. For instance, a speech that was made in a politically sensitive area may be qualified as hate propaganda to be knowingly directed against the people of the minority group and shall attract a punishment of three years as per section 115 of the Act. The very presumption is devoid of rationality as the definition of the term Hate Propaganda is so wide that any act could be construed as being culpable in nature.”

Source: http://www.legallyindia.com/Blogs/Entry/the-ugly-truth-behind-the-communal-violence-bill-2011-please-forward-it-to-as-many-people-as-you-can

All in all, while a lengthy blog, I believe it raises some pertinent questions on not just this Act but also the intentions and motivations of people who have framed it. For a layman like me, if this Act is implemented with its open ended definitions and draconian Commissions, life for any majority community member would be impossible. We possibly had more secular laws under Aurangzeb, one might think.

Having said that, nothing would give me more pleasure than someone reading through the Act and telling me that my fears are FACTUALLY INCORRECT.