FTII Row: Record of Gajendra’s subordinates more questionable

August 12, 2015 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Inputs: Payal Kapadia

Compilation: Keyur Seta

As we all know, the students of the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) are on a strike since over two months in opposition to the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the Chairman of the institute. His close links with the BJP is considered the reason of his appointment.

An RTI query has also revealed that only Chauhan was approached for the role and there was no proper selection as mentioned by the government earlier. Read about it HERE.

But, along with Chauhan, few others are appointed as Society Members of FTII. Just like Chauhan, all of them are staunch supporters or close aides of BJP.

But what is alarming is that their record and past work is, in simple terms, highly questionable to say the least. Have a look at their work:-

Picture: Jamuura.com

Gajendra Chauhan
His only claim to fame is his role as Yudhishthir in the timeless classic TV series, Mahabharat. He is slightly known as a part of few well-known TV serials. Apart from this, his filmography shows a series of B-grade films. Of course, he has acted in prominent, hit films, but his contribution in them has been inconsequential. For example, his one-scene appearance in Baghban. See his full filmography HERE. He is a member of the BJP and has worked for the party.

FTII Society Members:

Anagha Ghaisas
She has no body of work to show in feature films or TV. But what is more shocking is that she has made a documentary titled Ram Mandir Adalat Aur Aastha, where she has not only hailed the Babri Masjid Demolition but also described it as the ‘biggest independence battle’. See the short film here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_MSXoWBiMs

But this is not her only ‘achievement’. There is also a court order against her for not paying remuneration to Nandan Kudhiyadi for a documentary he was asked to direct.

Narendra Pathak
He is said to be a writer. But he has no notable work in films or TV. He is the ex-president of the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad), which is linked to BJP. The members of this group had beaten up FTII students in 2013 for showing Anand Patwardhan’s film Jai Bhim Comrade. ABVP has a long history of violence.

Rahul Solapurkar
He has played supporting roles in well-known films, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and Balgandharva. He was in contention for a ticket from BJP for last year’s Lok Sabha Elections. No other information is available about him.

Shailesh Gupta
He is a cinematographer credited with ‘Additional Photography’ in Aamir Khan’s classic, Sarfarosh. However, barring this, he has only served as ‘Assistant Cinematographer’ in well-known films like Ishq and Vaastav. But here comes the most interesting part. He has made a film on India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi titled Shapath Modi Ki. The shocker is not the subject but the content. It is an unintentionally hilarious film, which can even offend Modi supporters.

How can it be a co-incidence that all of them are associated with BJP? How come Gajendra is selected for such a position despite his record when legends like Gulzar, Saeed Akhtar Mirza, Shyam Benegal and Adoor Gopalakrishnan are available for the job?

Ask yourself and decide whether Chauhan and his aides deserve to run India’s most prestigious filmmaking institute. Since earlier this year, the government appointed its close aides as Censor Board Members. We are already witnessing its terrible consequences.

Abdul Kalam: The man without opponents (His inspiring quotes included)

July 28, 2015 by Keyur Seta 4 Comments

By: Keyur Seta

The sad demise of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, India’s ex-President, brought the nation to a standstill. Facebook newsfeed and Twitter timeline started flooding with condolences posts in no time. In fact, it has been more than 18 hours, but the scene is the same on both social networking sites. People are still continuing to post tributary messages and share articles about him.

Any regular FB and Twitter used would agree that such scenes are never-seen-before. This only shows the unthinkable amount of love and respect Kalam shares among his fellow countrymen.

This makes me wonder whether there has been any other well-known Indian in the post-independence era to enjoy such massive respect. Not just this. After digging deep into history, we realize that Kalam is the only Indian in the modern era without any enemies or haters. Seriously, ask yourself, can you recall any one person speaking against Kalam or opposing him?

Kalam, whose full name is Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen “APJ” Abdul Kalam, was a renowned scientist, teacher, and, lastly, the most successful and respected President of India. Among other achievements, he played a major role in launching Pokhran – II nuclear test and making Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) self-sufficient. This rightfully earned him the title ‘Missile Man’.

But these are not the only achievements that made him what he was. Academic and professional credentials are not enough to be so greatly loved. Dr Kalam achieved God-like status because he possesses all good qualities one would wish to find in a person. The most significant one is his humility. Despite being such super achiever, he lived and behaved like any other Common Man. This is what made him ‘The’ Abdul Kalam.

May his soul Rest In peace because he deserves so. But an ideal tribute to him would be to live life according to the principles laid down by him.

Here are 10 motivational and inspiring quotes from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam:

If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.

You have to dream before your dreams can come true.

We will be remembered only if we give to our younger generation a prosperous and safe India, resulting out of economic prosperity coupled with civilizational heritage.

Picture: Behsong.in

Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success.My message, especially to young people is to have courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and succeed. These are great qualities that they must work towards. This is my message to the young people.

If you want to shine like a sun. First burn like a sun.

It is very easy to defeat someone, but it is very hard to win someone.

Be more dedicated to making solid achievements than in running after swift but synthetic happiness.

For great men, religion is a way of making friends; small people make religion a fighting tool.

One of the very important characteristics of students is to question. Let the students ask questions.

I am not a handsome guy, but I can give my hand to someone who needs help. Beauty is in the heart, not in the face.

Maggi Controversy: 3 important issues need immediate tackling

June 5, 2015 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta

The controversy regarding the presence of high amount of lead and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) in India’s loved snack Maggi Noodles and its subsequent ban in various states (Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Assam soon all over India) has come as a rude shock to many, including me, for two reasons.

Let’s face it, there are many around us who not just love Maggi but are also dependent on it. I know a lot of people (mostly men) who can cook just one dish – Maggi. The snack is also a messiah for people living in remote areas of Himalayas. Secondly, the controversy is completely out of the blue. Seriously, how many of us had expected something of this magnitude to happen with Maggi? None, actually!

As things stand out, we can’t ignore the serious health hazards posed by the snack due to the enormous level of lead and MSG being found in it; lead is around 17 times more than permissible limit. And when the risk is as high as being attacked by Cancer, you really can’t ignore it. Hence, ban on Maggi is the only way to deal with the situation, no matter how painful it is for many of us.

Pictue: Kairalibazaar.com

But the issue doesn’t end here, at least for me. In fact, it starts here. The whole controversy surrounding Maggi has opened a can of worms as it has given rise to some very serious questions or pointers:-

1) Was FDA sleeping?: The presence of such high amounts of lead was found unknowingly or randomly by a person who got the noodles tested for something else. If he hadn’t tested, we wouldn’t have realized this incredibly serious issue with the snack. So, this completely exposes the functioning of Food & Drug Administration (FDA) with regards to clearing foodstuffs.

How did they allow such a big scam to ever take place right under their nose? What is the point of having FDA if they are unable to detect such enormously dangerous substances in a snack that is consumed by all, including children? Is their responsibility only limited to testing an item during license renewal that happens just once in 6 months or more?

Therefore, if there is anyone in the firing line due to the controversy it is the FDA. With the presence of lead in such high amounts in Maggi, their failure is proved, which calls for some stringent action against the officers responsible.

2) Celebrities’ Responsibility: Celebrities (Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta) endorsing Maggi shouldn’t be held responsible for promoting such a product. All they need to do is check whether the product is legal and has approval from FDA or any such government body. You can’t expect them to check the ingredients themselves in a laboratory when our authorities themselves have easily cleared the product.

Picture: Filmibeat.com

However, this doesn’t give a Clean Chit to our celebrities, at least from me, as they are still guilty of promoting lies in return for crores of rupees. For example, the packet of Maggi says it is high on Vitamins and Proteins. This is a blatant lie as it is junk food. This whole issue should be a wake-up call for our celebs when it comes to endorsing any product and everything that the makers claim.

3) What about other products?: Most importantly, this makes me doubt as to how safe are the thousands of other products that the masses are consuming, right from the time they wake up. As mentioned above, the entire Maggi fiasco came to the surface by fluke after a man got it tested for something else. Who knows? We might be consuming such or similar seriously hazardous products unknowingly.

The need of the hour for our authorities is to check as many products as possible for such dangerous contents and follow it up with regular surprise checks to ensure their safety. Considering the enormous number of products we consume, there is no doubt that this is an almost impossible task. But nothing is more important than the well-being of the citizens.

Salman Guilty: Faith in judiciary restored! But don’t forget Constable Patil!

May 6, 2015 by Keyur Seta 11 Comments

By: Keyur Seta

So the D Day in Salman Khan’s 13 year old hit-and-run case has turned the tables for the superstar after he was proved guilty and sentenced to five years imprisonment. Although this was expected, we all had our doubts considering how our judiciary has been biased towards the famous and powerful.

However, with Salman being convicted for the crime, the faith in Indian judiciary is restored for a lot of Indians like me. This was a bloody important verdict not because Salman was involved in the crime but simply because it is a big assurance for the Common Man that the Law is equal for all.

Picture: Dnaindia.com

The problem we have is that the Law has proved to be equal for all in this case but the huge number of so-called fans of Salman think otherwise. Else, why would their be many prayer events for the actor’s release? Ironically, these are the same people who always crib and complain that our Law system or Judiciary is biased in favor of the powerful.

But apart from the point of view of equality of Law, there is another reason why it was absolutely necessary for Salman to be proved guilty. People have forgotten or rather aren’t aware how Salman used his influence in torturing honest Constable Ravindra Patil, who had stood by the truth. Read about him by clicking HERE.

Patil’s story is heart-wrenching. He refused to budge under the pressure of power and change his statement that Salman was indeed driving the car. Just Google ‘Constable Patil Salman Khan’ and your heart will break.

The media is hardly giving any importance to the story of Patil for obvious reasons. Worse, a blogger who had fearlessly written about it was pressurized to remove his post. Plus, we all remember the shameless lie of Salman’s driver driving the car. One surely deserves the strictest of punishments when he uses such devilishly corrupt tactics to hide the truth.

One could really hope and pray that our Judiciary continues to show such strictness in all such cases. I personally dedicate this verdict to Constable Ravindra Patil. Now, his soul will Rest In Peace.

And to those who are feeling Salman is undone, just try and answer this – Suppose a complete nobody like me had committed the crime and had later tortured the Constable to death, would you have still felt for me the same way you did for Salman? Try answering this.

6 reasons why household chores should be shared by both spouses

May 5, 2015 by Keyur Seta 4 Comments

“I am writing for the #ShareTheLoad activity at BlogAdda.com in association with Ariel.”

By: Keyur Seta

Topics like women empowerment, equality for women and women liberation started trending in India after the start of the new millennium. The issue gained mammoth momentum after some disturbing crimes against women that came to the forefront since December 2012. More and more people are demanding equality and respect for women through debates that start in just any setting, be it your home, office, news channels or just any gathering.

Picture: Sarusinghal.com

Unfortunately, as far as my personal experience goes, this preaching about equality for women isn’t being practiced in a lot of families I know, including those belonging to the modern urban class. Since the last couple of decades or so, women are no longer confided to being just housewives. Although not all women are working professionals today, the number of women doing office jobs has certainly increased to a large extent.

But here is the great irony. Instead of liberating women, this change of scene has instead burdened them with double work because now they have to deal with their professional job as well as the job at home as an unpaid maid. I am talking about families I have seen closely, which includes my relatives, friends, neighbors and well-wishers (some of them might be reading this).

Despite the changing times and despite women becoming a key force in India’s financial growth, they are still expected to cook, clean, wash (clothes & utensils), look after the kids, etc. After the marriage, the husband continues his role of working in office without lending any help at home. But what’s more surprising is to see some women having no problem with this whatsoever! Of course, there are exceptions but I have comes across very few such.

This is 2015. It’s high time we practice what we preach. It is high time the workload at home is shared by both the spouses. If this doesn’t happen, your support for equality and emancipation of women is plain hypocrisy.

Sharing the workload has a lot of benefits too. Here they are:-

Love Factor: The professional scenario in modern India has become such that married couples aren’t getting much time to spend together. Sharing household chores before and after work will provide them with more ‘we’ time and rekindle their lost pre-marriage romance. Work will cease to be work when carried out with the one you love.

Anti-Stress: I can state from my personal experience that doing household chores like cooking, cleaning and washing help you de-stress from the hectic day you have had. This might sound outrageous to some but it is like a therapy.

Picture: Yahoo Movies (Daawat-E-Ishq)

Get Entertained: Putting on some music or playing Antakshari or cracking jokes will make the activity all the more joyful. Even narrating some funny or interesting incident you experienced recently will make the task very interesting. And in case if you are a filmi keeda like me, there is nothing more joyful than recalling some ham scenes from some of the terrible films. (Search ‘ham scenes’ on YouTube if you are unaware about it and chances are you might get addicted to them.)

Gratification: Contributing to running the household gives the same amount of satisfaction as completing a project at work successfully. This point also comes from my personal experience. It also provides the same kind of gratification an artist gets after finishing a piece of art.

Health Factor: Activities like cleaning, sweeping, cleaning the floor with a wet cloth, washing clothes and bringing groceries and vegetables help you exercise. I firmly believe that anything providing health and fitness benefit should be attacked upon (in a good way).

Larger Good: This is the most important point. The root cause for all crimes against women is that they are treated inferior to men. It is said that charity begins at home. If you wish to see women being liberated or treated equally in our society, start from your home. Merely preaching and supporting women empowerment in debates won’t change the social status of women unless you practice what you preach.

People, from both genders, give strange or ‘daily soap’ reactions when they get to know that I cook and do household chores (including jaadu and pochha maarna). I am waiting for the day when they won’t find anything unusual in it. Woh Subah Kabhi Toh Aayegi!

Nepal Earthquake: How can you help (in the short & long run)?

April 28, 2015 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

By: Keyur Seta

The deaths and casualties in the Nepal Earthquake are continuing to go high. According to latest reports, the death toll has now surpassed 4000 with many thousands injured. So, naturally, the help needed should be directly proportional to the magnanimity of the tragedy.

The Indian Army and a whole lot of social groups and independent volunteers are selflessly fighting day in and day out to repair the damage and help out those who are injured and stranded. The Government of India too is taking special care to make sure all the help is provided during Nepal’s hour of crisis.

But when the intensity of the crisis is so high, no help is enough. Hence, it becomes our moral responsibility to make whatever little effort to restore the situation in Nepal. If we can’t visit the affected areas personally, we can surely be there in spirit by donating as much amount as we can.

Volunteers helping

You can make a contribution to Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund in the following ways:-

The headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission at Belur Math in West Bengal are collecting funds for the Nepal Earthquake.
Phone: (91-33-) 2654-1144/1180/5391/8494/9581/9681
Email: mail@belurmath.org

Save The Children, an NGO, is providing help to the many children affected by the earthquake.
Phone: (Toll Free) 1.800.728.3843 (8:00am-5:00pm EST, M-F)
Online Donation: Click HERE

International Association for Human Values (IAHV) is also collecting funds for the tragedy.
Online Donation: http://www.iahv.org/in-en/nepal-earthquake-relief/

Friends Service Council Nepal is an organization situated in Kathmandu, Nepal which is working with respect to the tragedy.
Contact Online: http://www.fscnepal.org/contact-us/
Phone: +977-1-5201497
Email: fsc@wlink.com.np

Goonj, an Indian NGO, too is working for the rehabilitation of the victims.
Contact online: http://goonj.org/
Phone: 011 – 41611244 & 9810032527

Facebook is also doing its bit in collection fund for the tragedy.
Visit FB’s Nepal tragedy page here – https://www.facebook.com/nepalearthquakesupport

But what about the long run?

But an ideal way to help in the long run will be by making sure such devastating tragedies never take place ever. This might sound outrageous to some but I feel it is futile to blame Mother Nature for this because such tragedies are an outcome of our own greed. We have destroyed forest after forest and many other aspects of nature in the name of development and progress. Towers after towers are created without paying heed to nature.

Any development at the cost of nature or ecology is not development. It is downright destruction or violence. And since every action has a reaction, incidents like Nepal earthquake, Kashmir and Uttarakhand floods and other such incidents keep happening and, unfortunately, will continue so, if we don’t do anything in this regard.

But, you might ask, what can we do? Well, there is plenty we can do to, at least, make sure the condition of our planet isn’t worsened further.

Here are some ideas:

Picture: Prsindia.org

– Plant trees or saplings anywhere and everywhere you can.

– Avoid Firecrackers as they violently pollute the environment at an enormous level. Parents themselves should sensitize their kids about it.

– Minimize the use of cars. If you are young and fit, use as much of public transport as possible. Many of you might label me crazy but there is no other alternative to reduce traffic and pollution or to, at least, make sure it doesn’t increase further. The traffic and pollution has already crossed insane levels. Use carpooling to the maximum. Metro Rail is a major boon in this regard.

– But the above option is possible only if our government and authorities improve the condition and efficiency of our public transport systems. There should be more local trains with more bogies. Some years ago, a very lengthy B.E.S.T bus used to run on Mumbai roads. But they have stopped it for reasons best known to them. Such buses will prove to be a major boost.

– Ban deforestation or cutting trees completely. We have destroyed forests and trees enough. We should follow the policy of not a single tree being allowed to cut down.

– Make laws to minimize creation of new industries. Preserving nature is more important than making new products and inventions.

– Make sure the industrial waste is properly decomposed and not dumped carelessly into the sea or rivers.

– Ban polluting or littering into rivers even at a micro level.

Only resorting to the above and many other options will help in sustaining Mother Nature. If we ignore these measures, we should be ready for more massive earthquakes, floods, etc. The equation is simple – If we destroy nature, we can’t expect nature to bear it lying down. This is Nature’s Law and not the man-made judicial laws, so it can’t be tweaked as per our whims and fancies.

I recently read on Facebook – Nature doesn’t need us. We need nature.

What is Net Neutrality & how can you ensure the same very easily?

April 17, 2015 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta

The support for Net Neutrality is slowly but surely spreading far and wide around the country. This isn’t surprising because it will be absolutely terrible and capitalistic if TRAI and service providers have their way. However, there are still a large number of netizens who are unaware about the whole issue and the reason for such an uproar against it.

So, here is a simple explanation of the same for them:-

How did everything begin?

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) presented a document on March 27, which proposed that telecom companies would be given a chance to make extra money out of 21 apps like Skype, Facebook Messenger, Whats App, Viber, etc. Basically, this contains all apps through which we chat, buy products and send photos, videos and audio.

The reason for such a proposal, according to TRAI, is that mobile companies are facing huge losses due to these aforementioned apps as people are able to talk, chat and send and receive data for free. For example, using Whats App has cut down on revenue earned through SMS and profit earned through ISD calls has cut down due to Skype and so on.

Picture: Neutrality.in

What will happen if this proposal is passed?

– Telecom operators will categorize internet into different segments. You will have to pay for every segment, apart from paying your normal internet service charge.

– If your telecom operator fixes a deal with an online retailer company X, you would be able to access the website of company X with good speed without any issues. However, this will also mean that the website of another retailer company Y might load slowly since it doesn’t have a deal with your telecom operator. Hence, as the website of company Y will open slowly or maybe won’t open, you will be forced to shop from company X.

– If a new emerging player joins the market, it will be next to impossible for him/her to run business successfully since big players will crush him/her due to their deal with the telecom operator.

– Airtel had recently come up with Airtel Zero service through which it tied up with FlipKart. Through this deal, the public won’t have to pay for the internet. Airtel will receive money from FlipKart. But if you try to use other services like Amazon or SnapDeal, you will have to pay. But due to the huge public outrage, FlipKart has backed out of Airtel Zero plan.

What is Net Neutrality?

Net Neutrality is the freedom to go to any website or use any online service without any restrictions whatsoever. It is a freedom that is provided to netizens and it should remain with them come what may!

What you can do to keep Net Neutrality alive?

– TRAI has put this matter up on their website and has asked for people’s responses. However, it is a barbaric 118 pages long document that is hidden in small font on their home page and that too with a title as ‘Consultancy Paper for Regulatory Framework for OTT (Over the top) Services’. Now, how would a user know that this Sanjay Leela Bhansali-like lengthy title is asking for your response on Net Neutrality? Even if s/he realizes it, do you expect that person to read 118 pages of technical stuff?

– But there are some truly kind souls who have made things terribly easy for us. They have come together and created the website – http://www.savetheinternet.in/. Just visit the site and click on the tab ‘Respond to TRAI now’ and you can send a mail to TRAI demanding Net Neutrality. It takes hardly a minute! Seriously, may God bless them!

– Keep spreading the word about Net Neutrality on social media, blogs, mass mailers, general discussions, etc. So go ahead please, soon!

AAP is different, it plays same politics differently…

April 12, 2015 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta

Picture: Dnaindia.com

Despite the continuous crooked efforts by the enemies and a section of the media, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) managed to win 67 out of the 70 seats in the Delhi Elections, which is an unthinkable feat. Hence, they became politically invincible. But when you are unbreakable, it only means you can’t be broken by an external force. No matter how strong you are, you can’t escape an internal collapse.

This, unfortunately, has come true for AAP. The party’s ugly internal war between Yogendra Yadav-Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal & Company has thrown the party off from the high moral ground it had created for itself. It has shown that AAP hasn’t taken time in becoming like any other political party, something it has always tried to prove otherwise.

It is always difficult to take sides in such tussles. But the events that led to this fight and Kejriwal’s reactions to it compel me to support Yadav and Bhushan. They might be blamed for making the fight public by going directly to the media. But the points raised by them are absolutely logical and give serious indications of the throwing away of principles by AAP High Command (Kejriwal).

I have explained myself through the following points:-

Click to read the leaked letter

Questionable Candidates: Yadav and Bhushan’s leaked emails show the list of people with dubious past record being included in AAP without any issue. They had even provided details of their past, which showed they indulged in hooliganism, communalism and some other criminal activities. Most of these people are ex-members of other parties.

Click to read the leaked letter

Click to read the leaked letter

I have checked the records of the people in the list (listed HERE) and I can say with certainty that Yadav and Bhushan’s concerns surely make sense. This obviously means that the party threw away its basic principles just to get people that can earn votes even if they have a criminal or dubious record. Haven’t Kejriwal and other prominent AAP members time and again criticized other parties for resorting to this very practice?

Sting Affair: Kejriwal’s sting operation where he is speaking of breaking Congress gave further indications. One can argue that he isn’t heard given money, ministerial posts or any kind of favors, which is true. But he is clearly urging his party member to break (todo) Congress’ tally of MLAs so that they can support AAP in forming the government in Delhi.

Plus, Kumar Vishwas’ cunningly reacted to the issue on a news debate. He defended AK saying he isn’t horse-trading but at the same time he maintained that he doesn’t consider the tape to be genuine. So, what exactly is your stand? Later AAP issued a statement that it was ‘political realignment’. But you don’t need to be an expert in politics to understand that such talks about breaking a party’s MLAs can never be termed as ‘realignment’.

Listen to the sting conversation:

AK’s ‘Under the Carpet’ Response: Kejriwal’s response and reaction to the whole issue made it very clear that AAP is just like any other party as far as internal democracy is concerned. Initially, he Tweeted that he doesn’t want to get involved. This was just a drama to show how clean he is despite the fact that the issue concerns him the most. After he returned from his Vipassana treatment, he released a video message on YouTube regarding the issue.

Considering him to be a man of integrity and principles, his supporters felt he will honestly speak his heart out. However, the only thing he said in the video was that ‘some people’ are trying to break the party! That’s it! Isn’t this the response of a typical double-faced politician who buries the issue under the carpet while doing a fake show of ‘All Is Well’? Doesn’t this make him one of those against whom he has waged a war?

See his message:

So-Called NC Meeting: If this wasn’t enough, the video recording of the National Council Meeting some days back became the final nail in the coffin. Kejriwal tried playing a victim by blaming Yadav and Bhushan for all. He didn’t allow the duo and their supporters inside. He saved his best (read: worst) drama for the end where he emotionally blackmailed everyone in choosing either him or ‘them’. This made the meeting into a scripted shoddy reality show. The video is also a smartly edited version.

Watch it yourself below:-

So, the question that is lurking in everyone’s minds is what will happen to AAP now? I also ask myself whether I will continue to be an AAP sympathizer. No, I won’t. Will I vote for them? Yes, I will (provided Yogendra Yadav doesn’t form his own party). But this has only to do with the fact that the other big political parties have become highly criminalized, so I am left with no other option. In front of their terrible misdeeds, AAP’s issue is negligible. The party’s performance in Delhi has so far been satisfactory, so it might be saved from completely falling apart.

But considering the ghastly events mentioned above, did we support the party for it being the lesser evil or for the honest and clean politics it always advocated?

Did people support AAP for bringing in new brand of politics or for playing politics differently?

Latest Update: Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan have been sacked/removed/expelled from AAP. I guess the only option Yadav and Bhushan have is that they start their own new political party.

The World Remade: Instead of remaking films, let’s remake the world!

March 2, 2015 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta

I am participating in the #TheWorldRemade activity at BlogAdda in association with India Today #Conclave15

Nainital (Picture: Wikipedia)

No matter how happy, peaceful or wealthy a person is, he or she will certainly have big problems with not few but a lot of aspects of the world and rightly so. I too fall in the same category, naturally. So, how about remaking this world our way? BlogAdda in association with India Today Conclave has provided this opportunity of jotting down your idea of a perfect world. Although this is just imaginary, the very thought of creating a world as per my wishes is enough to bring a wide grin on my face.

I firmly feel that God or Nature had made a perfect, harmonious world. It is we the people who have destroyed or are destroying it by going against nature. In my opinion, going against nature is one of the worst forms of violence. So a large part of my creation of the world will focus on going as per the rules of the nature. And when I say nature, it is not just restricted to our surroundings or ecology.

So here are the points that determine the world remade by me:-

Fundamentalism: All human beings have the same flesh, bones, blood and organs and feel happy and sad at the same things. In other words, nature hasn’t created any difference between humans. So any idea, people, group or association encouraging division among human beings or advocating one religion will be discarded and the people responsible will be strictly punished. Naturally, people from terror groups will be awarded severe death sentence without any delay.

Picture: Elsieisy.wordpress.com

Casteism: A glaring social evil is ‘caste’, according to which people are classified higher or lower without any fault or effort. In my world, not only the word caste will be abolished but all groups that represent castes or sub-castes would also be banned. Matrimonial columns in newspapers and matrimonial websites will be barred from the mention of caste. Any discrimination or encouragement of caste will be strictly penalized. Needless to say, all caste or community based reservation will be abolished. In short, the word ‘caste’ will be reduced to ashes.

Ecology: We have destroyed forests, open lands, rivers and many other natural gifts. I would put a huge impetus on strictly not destroying nature by any means. Of course, we need industrial development but not at the cost of nature. Any development aimed at harming the natural surroundings and ecosystem can never be labeled as development; that’s outright destruction.

There would be measures to curb all types of pollution and a large amount would be spent on it. Only special eco-friendly firecrackers would be allowed. Pollution created in the name of religious festivals will also be abolished.

Women Issues: Rapists will be punished as per the middle-eastern style. I don’t see any other way of inducing fear in the minds of potential rapists. Even sexual harassment or so-called harmless eve-teasing will be categorized under serious crimes. Nature hasn’t created any difference between men and women in terms of strength. Any idea describing women as the weaker sex will be banned and anyone advocating this idea will be punished. Such passages found in any religious book will also be edited out.

Picture: Thesojo.net

Parents of to-be brides will be encouraged not to feel inferior in front of ladke wale. Any such attempt from the latter will be dealt severely. Indirect acts of dowry will also be considered a serious offense. A family found guilty of forcibly marrying off their daughter will also be penalized although in a minor way.

Poverty: I believe poverty is largely an outcome of unequal distribution of income. Super rich individuals or organizations (including places of worship) earning more than a particular amount will be made to donate a tiny percentage of their income to the needy. Even such a minute amount can go a long way in diminishing poverty. Continuous efforts in various other ways will be put to eradicate poverty.

Picture: Fastcompany.com

Medical Bills: From what I have observed in the last few years, I feel it is an unofficial crime for the poor or lower middle-class to fall sick. If a person is saved from a serious illness, he will still die while paying an abnormal amount to the hospitals and for medicines. I would prefer my world to give access to proper healthcare to all irrespective of his or her social class. This slow killing will be looked upon as one of the most urgent matters to deal with.

Law & Order: It seriously hurts to see our hard-working policemen earn less than peanuts. In my world, their wages will be raised to an enormous level. Along with the cop, his family members too sacrifice a lot so even they would be taken care of. Something more than Fast Track Courts will be placed to make judiciary processes way faster.

Corruption: This will be considered a very serious offence and the wrongdoers will face strictest of punishment; definitely not the easy way corrupts are treated in the current times. All political parties will be compelled by law to disclose every penny from their funding.

Smoking: There would be ways chalked out to ban smoking. If not, there at least would be serious restrictions on the selling of cigarettes.

Picture: nerhrt.wordpress.com

Right to Peace: I am sure this phrase is never heard before from any government in the world, which is truly unfortunate. This surprises me immensely as I firmly believe everyone has a right to stay peacefully in his or her home. All kinds of noises in public places would be banned in my world, including those made in the name of carrying out ‘religious’ festivals or practices.

Subsidy to art: Sorry, I can’t keep films and plays away. Independent films aiming to promote a social cause or present a social wrongdoing will be given subsidy along with entertainment tax abolition. There will be massive efforts made to revive the art of theatre all over India. The reason for this point is that these mediums have a large reach out, which can help spread noble messages.

There are many, many more things that need to be changed in this world. This is just an overview.

7 reasons for AAP’s triumph in Delhi

February 10, 2015 by Keyur Seta 5 Comments

By: Keyur Seta

It would be an understatement to say that the results of 2015 Delhi Elections have surprised Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters. ‘Pleasantly shocked’ is the right phrase to describe their situation right now. Who would have thought AAP will win 67 out of the 70 seats? It still sounds unreal!

Various reasons can be attributed to AAP’s unthinkable success. Here are some of them:-

Apologies: The biggest mistake made by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was to quit as the Chief Minister of Delhi last year after just 49 days. This was the major reason for all the flak he received. However, taking it by his stride, he accepted his mistake and sincerely apologized many times over at various rallies and interviews. Remember any other politician ever doing this?

Maturity: After receiving sudden success in the last Delhi Elections, Kejriwal and his party got a bit carried away which was seen in their actions (Dharna), statements and their ambition to go national in last year’s Loksabha Elections. But this time around, we got to see a different mindset of Kejriwal and AAP leaders. There was a lot of maturity and wisdom in all their public speeches.

Picture: NDTV.com

Winning Trust: 1) After the arrival of gloomy days, the challenge was terribly tough for AAP to win people’s confidence again. It took many rallies and sabhas for them to finally be able to do it. And again, it took a lot of apologizing, which they did with respect.

2) AAP is the first and the only party in India to display accounts of their donations. This also saved them from the wrong hawala accusation. They are also ready to come under RTI for funding whereas other parties are petrified of it. This went a long way in gaining people’s trust because before AAP’s emergence, nobody gave a thought to the funding of political parties.

Manifesto: AAP had a well-prepared manifesto, which highlighted the biggest problems Delhi is facing currently – women safety, corruption and high electricity bills. Their idea of installing 15 lakh CCTV cameras in the city was the stand out promise. However, it will be left to see how they manage this humongous task.

Not Abusing Back: The BJP insulted, mocked and made fun of Kejriwal and AAP many times over during their campaign. Their cartoons also went to the extent of showing Anna Hazare dead just to insult AK. However, by showing maturity, none of the AAP leaders abused back to BJP.

BJP: This is one of the major reasons. BJP’s blunders during their seven-month-old rule at the Centre sowed the seeds of their downfall. Their blatant lie about bringing back black money was the biggest of all.

No Show Campaign: But the biggest blunder came in the form of BJP’s disastrous campaign and strategies during the run up to the Delhi Elections. Roping in Kiran Bedi, who has targeted BJP in the past, was the final nail in the coffin as far as BJP’s chances are concerned.

But despite these many factors in AAP’s favor, winning 67 out of the 70 seats is unthinkable. This is pure miracle!

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