I consider myself apolitical and do not take much interest in the Indian political scenario. My husband does. He has a keen interest, follows events regularly and keeps himself updated. I simply read about the general stuff like who are the main ministers, the party(ies) in power, recent policy changes etc. so that I don't look like a dork in a gathering :).
I was hearing a lot about the nuke deal on TV. Initially, I did not give it a thought. There are so many better things to do in life rather then nuclear science, an issue which is neither my forte nor within my realms. Recently I saw the political scenario becoming highly intense. The reason - PM wants to go ahead with the N-deal and the Left parties are against it. That is when I sat back and thought - what is this all about? I realized that average people were unaware of the nitty gritties of the deal. I asked my husband what it is all about.
In very layman's terms we are signing this deal so that in another 20 odd years 4-5% of our electricity will be generated through nuclear fuel. If you observed the level of debate in the parliament prior to the trust vote you will be able to gauge the depth at which our chosen leaders understand this deal.
Only time will tell what this deal will do for India but at the moment some people are making hay (till the sun shines) :)
I believe the media could have played a much more constructive role by educating the masses about the Hyde Act, 123 and the deal on the whole. Even one of our budding young politician is not aware what IAEA stands for (forget the nitty gritties of the deal :) )To know more, visit IAEA.org
Monday, July 14, 2008
Summer of 2008 - Arushi and Hemraj
The summer of 2008 will be etched in my mind for a long time to come for various reasons. One of them is the much hyped Arushi-Hemraj murder case (henceforth referred to as A-H case) of Noida. No, it the hype is not Noida coz' I think it one place that is most notorious place for murder, rape and all illegal activities ever reported on Indian TV. The hype and interest is due to the way the whole case was handled both by our ever enthusiastic media and the quintessential Indian Police.
(I remember during my childhood days; not that I am ancient now :), most Hindi Bollywood films would show the entry of police with their sirens and jeeps only after the hero has single-handedly vanquished the villains.)
Due to being incapacitated by a minor health condition, I got the luxury of staying in bed and all I could do was catch every bit of news on TV channels apart from Nat Geo and Animal Planet. The A-H case caught my fancy due to the murder of a young girl just blooming into her teens. As usual the media hounds swooped in on the crime site maybe before the police too. Each move of the police was aired on TV with the common expression "BREAKING NEWS!!!"
What was striking is how the police never found Hemraj's body on the first day itself? The way the crime site was handled is least discussed the better. The CSI producers would die instantly on watching the same. It was also appalling to see how the police tried to pry open the Talwar's garage door with a kitchen appliance. No doubt so many people commit crimes in India knowing that with such primitive forensics and winding court cases most would get away easily in this lifetime.
The SSP of Meerut - Gurdarshan Singh provided rest of the fodder for the media and the viewers with first talking about Nidhi. Not once or twice but thrice!!! Nidhi???!!! Who? Well he meant Arushi but did not remember the name :). Then his press statements were straight out of Ekta Kapoor's serial. The father was already labeled as the murderer. No murder weapon, witness or proof but case solved. According to the SSP he found his daughter in an "objectionable" but not "compromising" position. What does THAT mean? How can the police reach to such a conclusion without any evidence? The case was further made juicy with the hint that the doctor was having an illicit affair with a co-doctor. Dr. Talwar spent 50 odd days in Dasna jail - thanks to the competent UP police, CBI and our emancipated media. (Christian Amanpour is the real trend setter) I think the shooting TRP of A-H case was only matched by IPL matches.
The case was handed to CBI, thanks to the intervention of certain politicians and public outrage. They have also taken their time, the case is still remains unsolved conventionally though a lot has been proven based on advanced scientific tests. But thankfully the poor father is out of jail and can grieve the death of his loving daughter with his family provided the media lets him be. :)
There are lot of debates on TV whether police or media are to blame for the mishandling of the case, for Dr. Talwar's extended stay in jail etc. The media is shouting hoarse to prove that they have done a good social deed instead of accepting that they are equally to blame for sensationalizing the case and giving their own opinion without any proven basis.
Yes, the media today plays a constructive role in many instances but they should act more responsibly in such cases. The competition of channels to outdo each other can be harmful for people like Dr. Talwar. And the media should act with some amount of compassion for the affected people instead of thrusting their microphones in their faces and asking them how they feel.
As far as the police is concerned; there is serious dearth of forensics in solving present day crimes. The images of crime scene investigation in the Nithari case is also vivid in my mind. The police personnel also need to understand that their each comment is viewed under a magnifying lens. Gurdarshan Singh's comments on Dr. Talwar were irresponsible and cheap. Channels went on to air special episodes on how kids feel about their fathers etc. Young minds are getting nurtured. We have certain obligations while exposing them to radical views.
I hope the case gets solved in the near future and most importantly the souls of Arushi and Hemraj rest in peace. A young dream is lost and maybe the sole earning member of a family too.
(I remember during my childhood days; not that I am ancient now :), most Hindi Bollywood films would show the entry of police with their sirens and jeeps only after the hero has single-handedly vanquished the villains.)
Due to being incapacitated by a minor health condition, I got the luxury of staying in bed and all I could do was catch every bit of news on TV channels apart from Nat Geo and Animal Planet. The A-H case caught my fancy due to the murder of a young girl just blooming into her teens. As usual the media hounds swooped in on the crime site maybe before the police too. Each move of the police was aired on TV with the common expression "BREAKING NEWS!!!"
What was striking is how the police never found Hemraj's body on the first day itself? The way the crime site was handled is least discussed the better. The CSI producers would die instantly on watching the same. It was also appalling to see how the police tried to pry open the Talwar's garage door with a kitchen appliance. No doubt so many people commit crimes in India knowing that with such primitive forensics and winding court cases most would get away easily in this lifetime.
The SSP of Meerut - Gurdarshan Singh provided rest of the fodder for the media and the viewers with first talking about Nidhi. Not once or twice but thrice!!! Nidhi???!!! Who? Well he meant Arushi but did not remember the name :). Then his press statements were straight out of Ekta Kapoor's serial. The father was already labeled as the murderer. No murder weapon, witness or proof but case solved. According to the SSP he found his daughter in an "objectionable" but not "compromising" position. What does THAT mean? How can the police reach to such a conclusion without any evidence? The case was further made juicy with the hint that the doctor was having an illicit affair with a co-doctor. Dr. Talwar spent 50 odd days in Dasna jail - thanks to the competent UP police, CBI and our emancipated media. (Christian Amanpour is the real trend setter) I think the shooting TRP of A-H case was only matched by IPL matches.
The case was handed to CBI, thanks to the intervention of certain politicians and public outrage. They have also taken their time, the case is still remains unsolved conventionally though a lot has been proven based on advanced scientific tests. But thankfully the poor father is out of jail and can grieve the death of his loving daughter with his family provided the media lets him be. :)
There are lot of debates on TV whether police or media are to blame for the mishandling of the case, for Dr. Talwar's extended stay in jail etc. The media is shouting hoarse to prove that they have done a good social deed instead of accepting that they are equally to blame for sensationalizing the case and giving their own opinion without any proven basis.
Yes, the media today plays a constructive role in many instances but they should act more responsibly in such cases. The competition of channels to outdo each other can be harmful for people like Dr. Talwar. And the media should act with some amount of compassion for the affected people instead of thrusting their microphones in their faces and asking them how they feel.
As far as the police is concerned; there is serious dearth of forensics in solving present day crimes. The images of crime scene investigation in the Nithari case is also vivid in my mind. The police personnel also need to understand that their each comment is viewed under a magnifying lens. Gurdarshan Singh's comments on Dr. Talwar were irresponsible and cheap. Channels went on to air special episodes on how kids feel about their fathers etc. Young minds are getting nurtured. We have certain obligations while exposing them to radical views.
I hope the case gets solved in the near future and most importantly the souls of Arushi and Hemraj rest in peace. A young dream is lost and maybe the sole earning member of a family too.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Rafa rules Wimbly 2008, Fedex goes off track
Last week I got the chance to watch the mind blowing Men's Singles final at Wimbledon. Rafael Nadal deserved to win the title. I had initially expected it to be over in straight sets especially the way Rafa was making Fedex fly all over the court. But then Fedex being Fedex clawed back into the game. The scores spell out the events - 6-4 6-4 6-7(5) 6-7(8) 9-7. (You can see the scores of the finals of Gentlemen's Singles since 1877. Click here)
Federer never looked in control of the game though there were frequent glimpses of his master strokes. I think his first serves let him down on a crucial day. But Federer has class and his game and mannerisms remind me of Stefan Edberg in his hey days. His outfits, conduct on court and his back hand are simply awesome.
But this year seems like it belongs to Spain. The Euro Cup win was also a thriller. Lets see if they have some surprises for us in Beijing.
Federer never looked in control of the game though there were frequent glimpses of his master strokes. I think his first serves let him down on a crucial day. But Federer has class and his game and mannerisms remind me of Stefan Edberg in his hey days. His outfits, conduct on court and his back hand are simply awesome.
But this year seems like it belongs to Spain. The Euro Cup win was also a thriller. Lets see if they have some surprises for us in Beijing.
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