Education of benevolent dictator

As the title suggests this post is for you people to further my education. Know any good books? Please suggest.
The post will remain on sidebar

Aphorism: Bhakti

Civilizations like humans are mortal. With time, they wither, and die, leaving misery and suffering behind. This marks the onset of dark ages when ignorance and superstition prevail. What remains of society is marked by selfishness, and anarchy. In that darkness if there is anything that can bring light is Bhakti, selfless devotion to Ishwara who pervades the cosmos and illuminates our innermost conscious. Marx couldn't have been more wrong when he called religion as opiate of masses. For the truth is, religion is elixir of humanity, Amrit  which is capable of reanimating vanquished and listless

Mars attacks ! & Dune

Here I bemoan the lack of credit given to Mars attacks! for its subversive criticism of liberal pacifism.

Peter Berg, not content with destroying the brilliant premise of Hancock , is all set to destroy Dune , a work which even David Lynch couldn't handle.
Note to Bhagwan, not that I wish to sound too pushy, but now will be the right time for Pralay.

Aphorism: Bigot

Nature is bigot.

Being positive

Earlier my company considered me just a potential thief. Now it also considers me a potential terrorist. I will call it a promotion

The problem of democracy

I have not commented on the recent election, because to be frank, I did not observe any significant political trend or a departure. However, I have been meaning to comment on this post by DataNazi  (because it connects with my previous posts on democracy) essentially ruing over the fact that Delhi voters have (or seemed to have) rejected terrorism as a poll issue.

Now in this particular case, the results can be explained by the fact that BJP suffers from chronic credibility crisis (how it came to be is a matter of different post). However a larger question that this result does raise, do we correctly understand the dynamics of public sentiment or will of the masses? Prevalent opinion (of opinion makers) tells us that formation and public sentiment is a direct, and almost spontaneous, result of government policies alone, existing independent of media, which in turn is just a reflection of public opinion. Reality couldn't be any further from this. In truth public sentiment is a result of not just government policies but also media, for democracy can function only when there exist a) The information, and more importantly b) The framework to decide the relevance of information. These two combined decide the the topology of political culture, which essentially decides the particular direction of public choice.

If we take the above definition as true. Then there are three interesting observation that we can make.

1. One of the reasons that BJP appears, to put it mildly, a headless chicken, is its failure to counter the media onslaught launched by secular liberal establishment. Its folly goes beyond that. Even after a decade of ongoing media war, BJP fails to realize that it is in war zone, or the nature of enemy it faces.

2. The nature of political discourse in India is, for most part, hopelessly moronic, and reduced to absurd sloganeering ("garibi hatao", "roti, kapda, aur makan")

3. Considering the function of media in deciding the public choice, also explains its inclinations.But that is for different post

A New Security Paradigm.

Give war a chance. Let MADness ensue.

Aphorism: Irrationality

Life. Without rational will be inconvenient, without irrational, inconceivable.

This season, democracy is the new black.

Coming to the second reason mentioned in the previous post. I find the advertisment campaign for bringing out the vote infuriating, to put it mildly. Now I have nothing against encouraging voter turn out, but to believe that voter turn out is all that is wrong with our democratic system is a serious error.

Unfortunately for us, this error is a rule and not exception as far as educated Indians are concerned with the smirking idiot in the advertisement perfectly embodying the middle class. Ignorant, superficial, narcissistic and self righteous.

We have failed, or to be more precise, never even bothered, to understand what are the necessary condition which must be fulfilled before democracy can survive and deliver. In absence of any comprehension, and their hubris aggravated by rhetoric essentially similar to "We are the ones we have been waiting for ", the middle class have turned democracy from one of the systems of governance to a secular cult. This cult, like all the regular cults has, its  paraphernalia, most significantly a priest class in media, and a five yearly ritual of voting.

The belief that somehow higher percent of voting is the rambaan for all the problems that India faces is akin to belief that altar worship will result in favourable weather.

"But it is a start", you protest. Well, I wish it was, but I am afraid it is not. These campaigns are a regular occurrence meant mostly for corporate publicity and are forgotten with the news cycle.

"Well, do you have any solution, smart ass".You retort. Unfortunately no, so far I have been unable to reach to a definite conclusion. However what needs to be understood is for democracy to work, every constituent institution/ sub-system should be designed considering the underlying social environment. Further the proper function of institutions depend upon engagement of citizens with the institutions. With this is mind, here is my partial answer.

1. Engagement with the political process (beyond voting), this entails becoming  part of the political set up, organizing and informing as much as, and as many as, possible.

2. Evolution of political structures necessary for democracy to work, whether political funding, or grass root organization, or intellectual institutions.

In absence of this, democracy can not achieve much beyond an expression of activism chic.

Republic Of Oompa Loompa

This post by one with the blue throat disturbed my peace and tranquility of mind for mainly two reasons. First one being that unlike people at INI Neel has never displayed tendency of democracy worship. Second reason, well second reason will be disclosed at the end of post. "Hold on", You say, "Why so much disdain for democracy, Gaurav? Is it because no one loved you when you were a omega boy". The answer to this is that my disdain is directed not at democracy as a system of governance but at people who believe democracy is some wonder drug for all our social ills.Let me explain this with following story.

Consider a tribe located in deepest part of hard to reach tropical jungle. The tribe lives, as is usual in such situation, in perfect harmony except for a malaria, dengue, pythons, snake and in general a totally miserable life. Now one of the tribal finds a mysterious object in a tree. He brings it to the tribe. It is a novelty to the tribe, and they can't make head or tail of it. While they are discussing about what needs to be done next, someone presses the object by mistake, and lo and behold! Music starts to issue from the object. At first this is terrifying to the tribe. They scamper to security as soon as the music starts. However, as the time passes, the curiosity overcomes the fear once again, and they become used to music, even starting to enjoy it as the time passes.
Then one day, all of a sudden, the music stops. The tribe is surprised, and attempts to restart the music in the only way it has any understanding of the object, pressing, first cautiously and then vigorously.

This is more or less story of democracy in India.

This phenomenon is more popularly known as cargo cult democracy . However as Atanu holds copyright on the term, hence the alternative title.

And the second reason. That is for later.

Take the war to the enemy

This guy must be Hindutva fascist or something

By the way, the premise of the article is more or less same as what I have said earlier.

1. Pakistan must be disbanded.
2. Enough with Bhai-Bhai stuff. It's time for Pax Indica .

View Of Lakshadweep

Mostly to piss off you people

Spinning must go on

BJP slams Antulay, but gets defensive on Karkare

You know, while I admire secular liberal establishment for its single minded propaganda against BJP, there is some regret too. If only they had shown only a fraction of enthusiasm they reserve for anti - BJP crusade, perhaps what happened in Mumbai could have been prevented.

Exploiting the tragedy

Most probably GB didn't mean it this way, but the introduction to his review of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is in incredibly bad taste. Now I am not taking away the right of atheists (who infest the blogosphere) to mock or ridicule God. Nor I do object to anyone criticizing any Shahrukh Khan starrer (though for the record, I found the movie paisa wasool, but then I don't exactly watch movie for layers of existential angst). Having said that it is very petty and unbecoming for using victims of Mumbai terror attacks as prop for flogging your pet peeve against "Big Guy in the sky", or against Yash Chopra. If someone finds faith and mush intolerable, then fine whatever, but please don't exploit tragedy to launch your contempt and disdain. There is something called perspective and simple decency, you know.

Owl on every branch

Fantastic!

"We may need a separate inquiry to find out how his end came," Antulay said, adding, "Karkare found that there are non-Muslims involved in the acts terrorism during his investigations in some cases. Any person going to the roots of terror has always been the target," he said.

I eagerly look forward to appointment of Michael Moore as Secretary Of Diversity in Obama administration. In case you kids don't know Antulay was convicted for extortion.In his defense he was just being inartful. Our spin meisters in media would have done it with skill and expertise that was called for this kind of big lie operation.

PS. The title refers to this urdu couplet

Burbaad-e-gulistan Karane ko bus ek hi ullu kaafee tha !

Har Shaak Pe ullu baithey hai, Anjaam-e-gulistan kya hoga !!

PPS. Just for the record this (and the disgusting way media has played up Malegaon bomb case overall) is a border line case of abetting the enemy. Hell, if I were dictator, I would have hanged every major English Language journalist for this.

Dawn of communalism

Probably it is not a good time but I really have to ask this. Why secularists have this selective time line for communalism? Why just talk about  1992 and 2002 ? Why not 1989, or 1983 , or 1969.
The answer is they can not be blamed in straight forward way to Sangh Parivar. The biggest fraud that secularists  have pulled over is that they care about Indian Muslims. They do not. The only thing that binds Secularists to Muslims is Hindu-phobia. Secularists are afflicted by a sense of self loathing (as most of them are in fact Hindus), ranging from latent to violent. This affliction is common to Indian Muslims who in their collective subconscious (if there is such a thing) are disdainful and resentful of kaffirs*. Secularists provide intellectual venom to the electoral dagger of believers towards the same cause, annihilation of Hinduism.

* Just to be clear this is reciprocated by Hindus against Mlecchas .

Discuss ...

1. Should we hang Narendra Modi to address Muslim grievances ?
2. If answer to 1. is yes, how long should we go on hanging members of Sangh hierarchy till Muslim grievances are addressed.

Prime Minister

Arun Shourie .

Captain Obvious

Now Hindutva types would doubtless point out that this is because Muslims consider Persia and Arabia more important than the country of their birth. And they may be right. But a better explanation is that Indian storytelling about the fantastic always ends up being located elsewhere.*

PS. This henceforth should be called Jabberwockian school of lit review.

Aphorism (Reason India Can Not Fight Terrorism)

India has been secularized.

Finally ...

PS. Any further blogging will be as approved by Her Highness (left in the picture above)

PPS. Please send the gifts ASAP. Don't make me go all Obamaboy on you (though I believe many of you will prefer death instead of having Obamaboy inflicted on you)

It's always been war

The latest in Varnam leaves me puzzled. Granted there is always a journalist's license to add urgency to the article, but the article while remaining true in what it states is defeated in its purpose by the incorrect title*.

Truth is Republic of India has always been at war since the independence. Further this is a continuation of centuries of a co-existence between Hinduism and Islam which at best can be called uneasy and acrimonious.

Also, terrorism is not the war but just the latest strategy to be employed in this war, one which more than physical damage seeks the mental disintegration of kaffir, terrorism is to geopolitics what sledging is to cricket.

We must defeat terrorism. But don't forget this is just a move, and not the end game. The most important purpose of our security policy should be long term which is to secure integrity and sovereignty of this Republic.

Alternatively we can embrace Islam and live in peace. Or at least until the question of Hajrat Ali throws the Caliphate into century long internecine battle.

* Though he does add this point in the last para.

BANU continued...

Just to add to the previous post , also can we please stop comparing American and Indian track recored against terrorism. The comparison makes no sense, America is not circled by nations which are either willing to be Allah's willing hand in dispatching Kaffirs or overtly encouraging such nations. Of course this is not to say that Indian government(s) has failed miserably in defending the nation, but at least let us make comparisons which make sense

Survival of the fittest nation

"History is strewn with the wrecks of nations which have gained a little progressiveness at the cost of a great deal of hard manliness, and have thus prepared themselves for destruction as soon as the movements of the world gave a chance for it."* 

Walter Bagehot

War And Liberty

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.* 

John Stuart Mill

Fear

Since Indian Express has decided not to run profiles of the dead, and since Ravikiran has decided to cover the human angle, here is my short (second-hand) story as told by my jijaji (sister's husband)

 His company had booked few rooms at Taj for some conference. On the fateful night, everyone except for one of his colleague, who decided that it was too late and it would be better to stay in the hotel itself, left the hotel. When the attacks started he locked himself up in the room.
After considerable period, he heard a knock, which he mistook for commandos, he looked outside with the chain locked. The terrorists outside shot him in the hand. Shortly they broke the chain, and entered. They asked him to call his near or dear, he called his brother who lives abroad. They informed the brother that they are going to kill his brother and shot while the phone connection was still on.

And this is what was different about the attacks, getting blown off by some anonymous bomber is one thing, but being shot in the cold blood, it is so animal, brute, animal dominance without its usual civilizational euphemism. It just offends our impotent middle class dignity. We, the respectable people, are confronted by our emasculation, and we are humiliated.

I really don't think that the terrorists should have mocked our fragile honour. This is so mean.

Thoughts for the day

Contra Respected Ma'am , In India Enough is never enough. We are just like that only.

Also never agree to spend a night in an uninhabited island.

Also I demand, US send Jack Bauer . Now.

Terror must be politicized

One of the dictum by Rapid Information Management And Containment Task Force of UPA Government (Commonly known as English Media/Spin meisters) is that terror must not politicized.

Now of course for Indians politicization is a vulgarity too horrible to contemplate. To be more precise when a issue is said to be politicized it becomes an instrument or rather becomes exploited by politicians for political advantage.

Well too bad, but you see, this is a feature and not a bug as far as politics is concerned. One of the objectives of politicians is to succeed in politics*. From this it follows that politicians would like to focus upon any given issue in a manner which will benefits them politically.This is almost by definition (or as currently unemployed Ritwik will say tautological)

However only way to decide a policy on a issue in a political framework is to present the issue within legislative/executive or other electoral institutions and expect for a solution after a process of discussion, and criticism. Our main concern should not be that politicians derive political benefit but that while doing they are able to provide solutions. For that it is necessary that other socio-intellectual institutions (media foremost) keep the vigilance and ensure that the process does not veer off the course. This of course doesn't happen here. For our secular liberal establishment there is a more grave threat than terrorism, it's BJP.

Anyway the only alternative to this is to repeal democracy, handover power to a politburo headed by Rajdeep Surdesai and other worthies from English Media, and wait while the politburo, in accordance with the will of masses, completes the inevitable march of the history.

* I said one of the objectives. This of course makes one ask why succeed in politics. The common answer is to make money, which of course is a possible reason, more so in case of India, but a more important answer might be that we are genetically hardwired to seek alpha status or lead the tribe. There is one more objective to serve the society (not the public).This too is genetically hardwired. The exact range of motivation will depend upon the power structures and cultural values. Anyway related post here .

FYI

Individuals are my bitches.

Moving Over

I don't find Acorn worth reading anymore.

Problem with the fallen one is

1. He is intellectually incurious, never mind the tag line.
2. He is so seduced by secular-liberal dogma that he would rather be a contortionist and perform rhetorical jugglery than face the reality or examine the truth.
3. Beholden to the secular ido, no awareness or regards to History.

Few samples.

1. To tackle terrorism we must vote.
2. We must feed milk to Pakistan.
3. Military establishment in Pakistan is what is preventing normalization between India and Pakistan.
    Once democracy is 'functional' in Pakistan, eveything will be A-Ok.
4. Individuals are free.

Balls are not udders

Despite the most superficial similarity. And therefore you are not advised to suck balls if you want to drink milk
.
Now that you are thoroughly repulsed by the idea, please accept my apologies. However I too have been repulsed, and to my great chagrin have noticed that none of you (and by you I mean means thousands of my loyal minions) seem to share the revulsion. To just clue you in. What happened in Mumbai was not, I repeat  ,in all caps, NOT, 911 .

Now when journalists and idiots (but I repeat myself), mindlessly spout this utter garbage believing it to be some clever insight, what they mean is that what happened on those few days was such a momentous event that it will alter the future course of history. This is certainly true as far as 911 and US is concerned. While the attack was spectacular and audacious (apology for the poor choice of words),  911 marked the first time since WW II , any foreign force was able to attack US, and since 1812 , when she was attacked on the main land. To call it shock would be understatement, it was so unimaginable to Americans that this marked the end of one era (End Of History) however short, and beginning of other (Global War On Terror).

This clearly is not the case here, this is hardly the first attack that has been carried out in Indian soil, or even the first by Islamists. Since it is not the first should be hardly shocking to Indians and in fact it is not. The high decibel noise emanating from screeching journalists (Enough is enough) and Generation X types (Politicians bad, slogans good ) notwithstanding, we are perfectly inured to any outrage. We are incapable of 'feeling' any shame, or pain, or anger, or humiliation.

People of dead civilization feel nothing.

PS. Ravikiran has drawn a distinction between this and prior attacks in that it exposes Indian military weakness. I am afraid I don't understand this. The attack exposes many things. Intelligence failure, lack of co-ordination, absence of mechanism and organization for effective and immediate counter terror. What it has to do with the military I don't know. I don't claim to be an expert in matters of military, but from what I have read urban guerrilla warfare is not core military responsibility per se.

Further we have examples of this kind of attacks. Golden temple comes foremost to the mind. I am sure examples close enough could be found with Naxals as well as North Eastern terrorism.

Gratification

Here is my theory, terrorism will not stop against India, because we want it that way. Oh, I don't suggest some sinister cabal of Indians plotting demise of this nation for whatever nefarious design. Instead it is something which floats in our collective subconscious (if there is such a thing). To give an analogy.Consider any common, unremarkable school. Further in that school, consider a child who is unremarkable, even loserish. Now this child craves attention, unfortunately he possess no skill or talent with which he can attract attention on his own. This leaves him depressed and discontented, a state he would definitely like to change. One day this happens, in a rather twisted way. Some bully in his school takes a fancy to his face and decides that it makes for a good punching bag. So, he gets down to the task and gives a nice thrashing to the loser kid. This is very inconvenient to the loser kid. He is hurt physically, and emotionally. Normally this rather humiliating incident that would have led to the loser kid to find ways to avoid any further re-occurrence. This might have either meant developing physical strength or (most likely) finding ways to blend better with the background. Instead something interesting happens suppose after the kid returns from school he is coddled by a group of sympathetic adults, who instead of ignoring his presence (as they always do), shower him with pity, kindness, affection, and perhaps most importantly launch the worst encomiums at the bully. This (being focus of attention) is a novelty to the kid and he finds that he likes this, his craving for attention satiated for the times. With the time however the euphoria wears off and he needs the fix. At this point it is possible that he decides (subconsciously) to place himself in a position of harm in order to once again gain the focus. Result is a repeat of unfortunate incidences. Of course there is a limiting factor in that the beatings may become so unbearable that kid decides being center of attraction is not worth it, or the attention span may follow the rule of diminishing returns. Unfortunately for India, it is too big to be seriously harmed by one terrorist attack, or even a series of attacks, and, let's face it we are the most loserish nation for our size and potential. Hence our craving for attraction is insatiable, and since we are culturally indoctrinated by our secular overlords to view triumph and victory as not only undesirable and immoral, but positively evil, we can only achieve what we crave by being a victim. We, the slaves of post eschaton secularism, will rather not be feared, but we will not be respected either. Instead we will be repeatedly humiliated and pitied upon. But our act of self abnegation is not entirely wasted, perhaps centuries later, the way we meticulously planned our destruction under the siren song of liberal order will be a case study.