(Originally published at Desicritics.org on October 13, 2009. Please visit http://desicritics.org/2009/10/13/080030.php to read more than 50 comments to this article and to contribute your own)

Today, for the first time in 32 years of my life, I cast my ballot! And who could have thought that my first ever ballot would go in favour of the Saffron Forces!

Throughout my life I have raised my voice against these two parties for their religious fanaticism and the disgrace they have brought to the country through the Mumbai & Gujarat Riots!

Yet today I had no option but to vote for the BJP-Shiv sena alliance!

Even as I pressed the blue button next to the symbol of the lotus flower, I felt a surge of power within me, a power that comes when you have a gun for vengeance in your hand, a power that I felt we as a people had lost post-26/11… and I enjoyed every bit of it.

It seemed like the gods in Vidhan Sabha and Rajya Sabha watched over me with disdain on their faces as I slapped their shameless faces with the push of a button!

It was my turn today to lash out at them post-26/11: My time to wield power and let them know how vulnerable one can feel when one is at somebody else’s mercy for their very existence. I wanted to let them know how it feels when people who put their trust in you let you down!

The Congress has lost my goodwill at the State level! And no amount of “Pseudo-Secularism” card it plays, it will have no sympathy from people like me on the issue of 26/11.

And even though I had to fight with my Boss yesterday for a leave on Election Day (despite all the Government Circulars that had been printed in newspapers asking for offices to remain closed for the convenience of employees to cast their ballot!); against all odds I went to vote!

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I just HAD TO vote this time!

26/11 changed my life! 10 Terrorists from across the border took a joy-ride into this city by sea, in a ferry boat, to hold an entire City and Country hostage for 4 unholy days!

In broad daylight they easily managed to open fire at hundreds of peaceful people – men, women, children and the old! They massacred an Israeli couple in their own house, and held numerous people as hostages at two grand hotels in the city!

The shameful lapse in Security on the part of the Indian Government was so huge that men in uniform had to lay down their lives fighting enemies within the border! This, even as men-in-white in Power in Delhi and Mumbai, roamed around with Z security in their bullet-proof cars!

Never before had the city known such a ghastly and open attack on its soil! The common man had finally caught the Congress Government (both at National and State Level) sleeping!

If we were living in the Age of the Samurais, these people in Government should have committed suicide for failing to provide security to the common man, who is actually their master and not vice-versa!

Instead the Indian Home Minister rubbed salt to fresh wounds of this city, wounds that had still not stopped bleeding, let alone heal. He changed his attire for the media every morning and evening like a Celebrity but couldn’t change the same old clichéd statement he had come out with after every previous Terrorist attack elsewhere!

And then our glamour-boy, the Chief Minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh decided to stroll through one of the Hotels at the end of the Attack with his actor son and a director! Gosh! All so glamour-ish, it was, right in front of the eyes of the common man who sat traumatised in front of the television sets watching them!

So highly drunk on power was the Congress high-command that it asked these foot-soldiers to resign, instead of the entire party resigning at the State Level itself! They failed to recognise that their Government had absolutely failed to provide the least of security to the common man and it had no right or business whatsoever to continue after the shameful debacle!

Instead, as the Candle-light vigil died down, and the citizenry had to go back to their normal work for bread and butter, the Congress Government decided to take a complete U-turn on the promise that it had given to the Indian people that of not resuming any talks with Pakistan unless the bigshots in the Pakistani establishment responsible for the Mumbai Terror Attack were bought to book! The Congress Government decided to show mercy to Pakistan at Sharm-el-Sheikh (kitni sharm ki baat, ofcourse!) only to meet a disgruntled Opposition in the Parliament and a popular public disapproval back home!

I had to vote this time! I had to vote the Congress out of power in Maharashtra, to put my part of the nail in its coffin at the State level, even though they have been a huge support for the Gay rights struggle in India (amendment of article 377, which this gay guy is thankful for). However, post 26/11; my Patriotism for my country comes before my Sexuality in the list of Priority.

It is not an issue for this Mumbaikar whether Ajmal Kasab is hanged or not! I look at him as an adolescent foot-soldier, who now captive deserves our mercy! But for people who failed to protect us, and exposed us to 26/11 – Go Congress Go!!!

Yet even as I write this article, majority of the so-called modern people of Mumbai may still vote for the Congress as it views the Saffron forces with suspicion, and the Congress may come back to power.

10 terrorists came by Boat. 288 Terrorists may soon come by VOTE. Beware!

And for Mumbaikars who burnt candles at the Gateway of India but did not vote today, the word for today is:

Idiot: n. A foolish, ignorant or stupid person (from Greek meaning private and ignorant, a person not entitled to vote)

(This article written by Golden Boy was first published at www.desicritics.org under the title Media - Praise Only After Death)

Now that Dr.YSR Reddy has passed away, every TV news channel has decided to focus on his life story. We will now be told by the media, his relatives, and other politicians (of even the opposition parties) of how he struggled his way up the ladder of success in his lifetime, accomplished outstanding feats for the common man etc However all this would now be done, posthumously.

Till yesterday I, a common man in Mumbai, did not know much about this Personality. Now that he is dead, the Media - TV and Newspapers, and people who knew him will see to it that I read or hear about him, as they would sing kirtans and of him.

Suddenly, an entire day of a Country will be dedicated to him, schools and colleges will remain closed in different States and flags will fly half-mast.

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In India, we celebrate the goodness of a person only after his death!

Dr.YSR Reddy achieved in his death all the airtime-coverage that in his lifetime he could never have even dreamt of.

Why do we get to hear of a person’s accomplishments and good words about him, only after his death?

The Media gives coverage to a Politician, a bureaucrat or a police officer only when it is time to point an accusing finger at the person.

No wonder then that we have no ‘Ideal’ in the Political circles for our kids.

What we hear from the Media is NEWS of Corruption, rape, violence, treachery, scandals! Acts of piousness and virtue are either looked upon with suspicion if given coverage, or do not receive coverage at all.

These are the signs of a growingly suspicious attitude in our Society.

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Turn on any TV NEWS channel in the morning and chances are that you will feel sick in the stomach with the kind of negative NEWS that is served these days!

Yoga instructors advice us not to start the day by reading Newspapers or by tuning in to the TV NEWS channels early morning. For if you do, you will be served with a picture of the world that is gory, of people who are out there to get you!

We as a Society are becoming so intellectualized and so utterly disconnected with our hearts that we can no longer view anyone or anything without suspicion.

We need the Media: the Newspapers, blogs, writers, and newsreaders to reinforce on our minds time and again how bad are the people and the politicians, communities and their history, the streets or some country.

Kids grow up in this hostile environment digesting all the negativity, telling themselves that everything is a mess. They either turn into a rebel or turn totally selfish with no thought for the other and no love for one’s neighbour, in an over competitive world where “everyone and everything is so BAD”

No wonder then that modern diseases like Diabetes, hypertension, skin-diseases, cancer, heart diseases, and mental disorders are all stress-related diseases. We have lost sight of the world as a beautiful place.

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In all this if one were to ask objectively what keeps this Fear and Suspicion alive amidst ourselves, we will see how all the Negative conditioning of our minds via the Media, have led us into an in-bred distrust of other people and the society; we will see how suspicion has become a tool for us to keep ourselves on our toes all the time in a “ big bad world”. We would rather trust a bad opinion about somebody, some community or somebody’s history than trusting a good opinion. Fear breeds fear, and makes us feel well-prepared.

The Solution: 

I believe that there are many instances of generosity, heroism, humanity and love from the past and the present that never finds its way into the NEWS bulletins. If these were to be a given a fair amount of coverage, that in itself will be a great triumph for humanity and a revolution in our attitude as a people.

There are many NEWS out there that can nourish the hearts and minds of the new generation, heal the scars from the minds of the old generation and bring out the goodness that still remains in the world.

In balancing between the Positive and the Negative, the Nourishing and the Dejecting, can true Journalism really serve (and perhaps save) society!

The game of Politics is always muddy. A few people represent a vast majority, draw lines, cause riots, create countries, support terrorism, subjugate other nations, cause wars – and the majority of us toe the line, with a few options open to us.

The vast spectrum of activities mentioned above belongs to Larger Issues. For a Common Man it is the price of wheat and dal that is a priority: the price of diesel, petrol and gas, the capitation fees, the safety of female relatives in the after dusk hours!

“Popular rule is not democracy…. It gives the people what they want, not what they need.” (Padme- Star Wars)

By February, we would not be discussing international affairs or politics here. We will be discussing the issue of Scarcity of Water. There has not been enough rains!

We all agree that the big issues like Territorial integrity and Defense are essential, so even as Politicians go about their usual chores of voicing opinions and resigning, getting expelled from the party, we mind our own little businesses and feel proud that we live in a vibrant democracy! (No pun intended)

Yes, we do take out small marches to the local Corporator when we want our small demands to be met! We read Newspapers; watch Television News in our precious leisure hours, and believe we can change the nation by the dark blot on our finger once every 5 years (the ballot)!

Yet when it comes to bearing the pain of a Partition, losing relatives in riots, losing a son in terrorist attacks or at the border, it is the Common Man who suffers!

We work like tiny gears in a big Machine! We have our own party afflictions. We call ourselves Communists, Liberals, Jehadis, Patriots!

And the Big Machine keeps moving. Our fears and insecurities, our likes and prejudices, colour the views of a significant group. Our voice is echoed in the Parliament. A bill is passed! And lines are drawn, nukes are deployed, wars are proclaimed, suicide bombers cross borders!

“So this is how liberty dies…with thunderous applause.” (Padmé- Star Wars)

We are the fuel of the great wheel of the Big Machinery!

And what is this Machinery? But a Grind in which we are the ones who are pounded!

Isn’t that Machinery called Samsara in Hindu Philosophy? The world full of miseries and little joys, in which we take birth and die millions of lives!

There are many people who seek to change things out there! Yet too few who have the courage or conviction, or the Light to peep within.

Whoever said the Golden words: Charity begins at Home!

(First published on www.desicritics.org) In my last article, Why India should not hang Ajmal Kasab, I had commentators vying for Kasab’s head. Everyone wanted him to be hanged except a couple of people. After reading the comments, I now believe that not only Mumbaikars but majority of Indians are still reeling in Trauma as an after-effect of the News that was fed to them day-in and day-out by the Indian TV private channels, in those 3 days of Terror.

What struck me in all the comments was the amount of anger, dejection and hysteria, symptoms of Trauma in all the readers of my article. Nobody was ready to even engage in an honest dialogue while they thirsted for the blood of the Foot-Soldier of the Attack - Ajmal Kasab. The immense Trauma that these people had endured during the 26/11 Terror Attacks was evident in the tone of their comments.As I mentioned in the article itself, I was also one of the many who was traumatized by the 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks. I was one amongst the millions of my own countrymen who watched the horrific blow-by-blow account of what was happening miles away from my home on TV.

The completely horrific and unethical coverage of the Mumbai Terror attacks has been well-documented by a blogger Cheytanya who had to withdraw an article criticizing Barkha Dutt and her coverage of the Attacks on NDTV. I have reproduced the Original article on my blog for those who wish to read it: Even in the De-Trauma Camp that I attended, everyone agreed that TV had only helped in magnifying the terror, bringing Trauma to our homes as we went on watching on-the-spot News coverage by different TV channels for three consecutive days!We saw relatives of hostages being interviewed; we saw hostages freed being interviewed; we saw the combat at short-distance in our bedrooms on the TV screen LIVE; we lived an entire 3 days in Terror.

The scars of that Terror Attack still remain. Just the memory of that attack makes us cringe in terror, as we go into the psychological reaction of “Fight, Flight or Freeze” and feel utterly helpless and victimized the moment someone or something reminds us of those 3 days of Terror!

The Challenge in face of Trauma

The scars of the 26/11 attacks did not last for a few hours, days or months. It still lives, in you and me. I believe that the attacks succeeded in changing something in us, as the trauma has since gnawed into our Psyche, eating pieces of humanity and compassion by triggering in each individual our animalistic instinct of Survival. We feel our survival threatened, and the scars bleed: I cannot even call them scars anymore now, for now I realize that these are wounds, that have not yet healed and are still raw beneath the surface.

The terror-attacks were an act of Barbarism; no one can deny that except the Terrorists who believe they have a Cause that justifies such crimes against humanity. Terrorism is nothing but undeclared war on nations that they target. Nay, it is not just a war on Nations, but Civilizations. Look at what Afghanistan was reduced to under the Taliban regime! Would we ever have called that a civilized society? It was barbaric and cruel, very much against the principles of Civilization itself.

We need to understand that even as we combat the menace of this barbaric attacks on the Sovereignty of our different Nations; be it the US, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Israel, or India; we need to protect one thing that distinguishes us from the Terrorists: Humanity.

Humanity is the heritage of Civilized Nations. Humanity is transcending beyond our animal-instincts, to let the spirit of Truth and everything noble and compassionate triumph. Terrorism does not only target a few Civilians, it targets their immediate relatives, the community, the society, the nation who stand witness to the carnage. Terrorism not only robs the Nation of deserving and innocent people who fall prey to the attacks; Terrorism targets the very fabric of a Civilized society trying to ignite the fires of Revenge, Anger, and a thirst for Blood in the hearts of unsuspecting people who survive the Terror attack. It gnaws at everything humane within us, by triggering the most primitive animal instinct in us.

It is up to us, we have a choice. We can let them succeed in their intentions, to take us back to Barbarism, to turn us into them who are filled with Hate, Revenge and Anger. Or we can choose to act out of Logic and a higher Plane of Being.

This article is not about being meek and Coward. I call out for an elimination of all Terrorist Training Camps and an end to the games of all Terrorist Master Minds and those who aid them, be it a country or an individual.

Yet, let our Joint action against Terror be in the spirit of combating a menace that gnaws at the very concept of Humanity, and not in the spirit of Revenge or a reactionary “Flight or Fight” response wherein we go berserk and lose the humanity in our hearts.

Even as we fight, let us remember we are Humans!

Let not the Terrorists take away our humanity from us.

This is the original Piece written by Chyetanya Kunte but later on he had to retract because of legal pressure from NDTV. I have posted it here for posterity & preservation since Google Cache may clear it anytime. (http://cuntradiktion.blogspot.com/2009/02/chyetanya-kuntes-original-blog-post.html)
Shoddy journalism

This is the original Piece written by Chyetanya Kunte but later on he had to retract because of legal pressure from NDTV. I have posted it here for posterity & preservation since Google Cache may clear it anytime.
Shoddy journalism