Western hypocrisy and the forgotten people of Syria

              Power, you know, is a curious disease. It makes you feel virtuous, urges you to use that power, selectively, on imaginary threats, encourages you to build more power and more importantly makes you think you are superior to others and that you have the right to intervene in the lives of others. The United States of America is afflicted by such a disease. This contagious disease originated from the UK and France, past superpowers and faltering economies who still wish to think they are powerful. These self proclaimed Guardians of the World see no use for the designated Guardian, the United Nations, in running the affairs of the world.

                We are of course talking about Syria, a country torn due to a mismanaged version of the mismanaged Arab Spring. It is being destroyed from within and outside, with rebels being aided by the Western and allied powers and the government supported by Russia and Iran. Education system is dead, economy has collapsed, inflation has shot up, hospitals are destroyed and government mechanisms do not exist anymore.

                Compare the following two quotes.

"When you start talking about chemical weapons, in a country that has the largest stockpile of chemical weapons in the world, where over time, their control over chemical weapons may erode, where they're allied to known terrorist organizations that, in the past, have targeted the United States, then there is a prospect, a possibility, in which chemical weapons that can have devastating effects could be directed at us. And we want to make sure that that does not happen.”

"Iraq has chemical and biological weapons, that Saddam has continued to produce them, that he has existing and active plans for the use of chemical and biological weapons, which could be active within 45 minutes. . .and that he is actively trying to acquire nuclear weapons capability”

            Don’t they sound very similar and very similarly far-fetched? The second was from the speech given by Tony Blair to the British people to justify the Iraq War and the first was by Barack Obama. Yes, the only Nobel Peace Prize Winner to head a country that owns as many nuclear weapons, fighter planes and warships that all other countries combined. The Peace Prize laureate also abandoned a country they invaded with the most absurd of claims, is planning to abandon the next and lost their Ambassador in another misstep in a third.

It was actually fascinating to observe how “evidence” of chemical use by Syrian government flowed from “traces” to “mostly credible” to “undeniable” over a couple of weeks. The evidence is anyways based on Israel’s intelligence, questionable sources amongst the rebels and the fact the UN officials were too late to reach the spot. Interestingly, Al-Qaeda is fighting with the rebels as is the USA. Till recently, Al-Qaeda was Enemy No.1 for the US, but now has apparently been usurped by the Hezbollah.

So, what are the less absurd reasons that US has now to attack Syria?  

•  Syria has violated the Chemicals Use convention which it never ratified anyway
• Syrian weapons will land into the hands of people who may hurt United States and its allies. This obviously means Israel, but no-one seems to remind the President that Al-Qaeda can also end up controlling the weapons
• Iran will become more powerful, an obvious paranoia that Israel is obsessed with
• The President’s ego is at stake. Syria has refused to heed his warning, it has to be punished. Well, yeah, Obama is the presiding deity of Syria
• The UN Security Council motion will be vetoed by Russia and China, which, in essence, means they won’t be deceived like with the Libyan Resolution

And what are the reasons quoted by the US politicians and media against US unilateral military action? 

•   American soldiers’ life will be at stake. John Kerry has this wise solution that we will bomb Syria from our safe Nuclear warships stationed all across the Mediterranean Saudi Peninsula 
•  This is an action without a plan
•  Will put tremendous stress on the US economy
•  We do not have UK to share our burden
•  But McCain takes the cake here. He says that the action is not hawkish enough, that the attacks have to be heavier, more disproportionate

        Did any of you here notice that Syrian people, their well being or their wishes have not been mentioned in the entire discourse at all? At best, it appears as a footnote.

What is the plan of action? What will happen after you destroy the chemical weapons? What if Iran gets involved in the War? What do the people of Syria want? What about the rebels? What after Assad? Do we have any plan for the Syrian people’s health or education? What about Democracy in Syria? What are the lessons from Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya?

There are no answers to these. Actually, the western powers act as if these questions don’t exist at all.

             Amidst all this, two questions arise. If a couple of countries can assume control of the world, what is the United Nations for? If the IBSA countries have to rise above the current level of emerging nations, what is their role in these conflicts? Does it end with statements like “exercise caution” and “adhere to people’s aspirations”?

              

           Well, as I said, Power is a curious disease. Rome, Greece, Spain, the Papacy, Britain and USA have behaved the same way. 100 years hence, when China or some other country rules the world, I am afraid they will behave the way. History repeats itself.

When (and if) the BJP comes to Power...

            I am of the firm opinion that the BJP and Congress are right now engaged in an epic battle – the battle of mediocrity. While Congress is trying their best to become the worst ruling party ever with all their blunders (forget it, I am not even mentioning them), the BJP has given them tough competition by being the worst opposition party ever, matching the Congress on every scale possible. So come 2014, the fortunes of the country would more or less be decided by such dependable and trustworthy characters like Mulayam, Mayawati, Mamata and Jayalalitha.

            But, with all the hype and hoopla around Modi, assuming the BJP comes to power, I have some apprehensions.

            Will Veer Savarkar statues start mushrooming in the country? Will Veer Savarkar and Hindu Nationalism again become part of the Indian Independence Struggle in the history syllabi of schools? Will the chapter on Indian festivals fail to mention a single Muslim festival?

            Will Bajrang Dal, Sri Ram Sena and all the other fringe groups of RSS gain some prominence? Will anti-Valentine’s day threats and other such social policing become prevalent? And will police, of course, remain as silent as ever?

            Will terrorism increase? And when there is a terrorist attack, will it be responded with unnecessary anti-Muslim sentiment?

            What will happen to India Pakistan relations? The next time a border skirmish happens, will we build forces along the border and threaten disproportionately and needlessly?

            Will Hindu festival rallies increase and clog traffic? Will similar rallies of other religions be rejected permissions?

Will Gujarat riot cases and other encounter cases suddenly end? And will Sikh riot cases reopen?

Will the dream of Lokpal be crushed permanently? There is no way a strong Lokpal is going to be created with NaMo on top, after all the drama in his state.

            After Congress bored us to death with hundreds of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru schemes, yojanas and missions, will it now be the turn of Sardar Valabhbhai Patel and AB Vajpayee schemes?

            The list goes on. But, thinking about it, if better roads are built, corruption is reduced, manual scavenging is stopped, economy improves equitably, diseases are tackled, essential services are delivered efficiently, I wouldn’t actually be unhappy with BJP. The trade-off between the concerns and the benefits, I hope, works to the country’s betterment.

Will Mankind ever learn?

          

            Look at this child. Has some snack and looks around trying to find out if someone would help him. Now what happened moments later? He was shot at gun point. Not once, but 5 times. Why? Just because he was Velupillai Prabhakaran’s son. The kid, sent with some bodyguards to surrender, as per international media, was shot dead after his bodyguards were executed right in front of his eyes.

          I wonder if this is the lowest Man can steep down to. The worst I can think of doing to this kid is to cut him off from his current world, raise him under supervision and make sure his father’s streaks never raise in him. Killing him? Impossible. Then I think of the Delhi gang-rape victim. Is this what has come to Mankind? How could he be so savage?

          Next I wonder, if Man was always so. Has he done this before? Does he repent it? Does he get punished for it? Does he ever learn from his mistakes?

          The earliest I can think of, when children and babies were killed for power, is from our own puranas, where Kamsa killed 6 babies of his sister, though no proof exists to attest this claim. From then on, there are so many examples of Man doing anything for power – son killing father, father killing son, brothers killing each other – anyone who comes in their way for power. Most importantly, the heirs to the throne were never left off. They were always killed, be it 16 year olds or 6 month olds. 

                Every time a powerful army conquers a neighbouring state, rapes have been known to happen. Right from Troy till the Sri Lankan War, rapes have been the most common factor among all wars. Though women were not expected to fight, though men were not expected to capture and rape women, they did. They always did.

                In the last 300 years, in one of the most shameful episodes of modern human history, blacks from Africa have been held as slaves and have also been raped. Jews were raped and jewish children killed by Nazis. Serbian War involved mass rape and killings. Pol Pot of Cambodia, the man who destroyed the dreams of an entire generation of Cambodians, raped women and killed children.

                Now, was India any better? India has had more than its own share of patricides, fratricides and the likes, and rapes by conquering armies in its history. In more recent times, partition was one of the worst times for women and children. All sides to the party, Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims, raped and killed, even children. Indian army has been accused of rape in Kashmir, North east and in Sri Lanka. Some even go on to say that, if not for our Army’s off-field crimes, Rajiv Gandhi would still be alive. Add Gujarat 2002, Mumbai 1993 and the various other events to this. Rape existed forever. Children have been killed always.

          So have any of the above men ever been punished. Very very rarely. Kamsa was, armies were never, unless they lost, when their women would anyways be raped. The winning, more powerful armies were never punished. Pol Pot died 20 years after he ran away, peacefully. Partition crimes were never punished, though all sides were horribly affected. Army refuses to allow normal courts to try even sexual crimes. They want that covered under AFSPA as well. Will someone in Sri Lanka pay for it? I am not hopeful.

          But then, there is this new alarming trend that shows that Man can indeed plunge lower and lower than we can imagine him to. Rape of children. I am not sure if Man has always been like this. It cant get any worse than this. But I wont be surprised if Man indeed gets worse than this.

Man is, has always been and will always be a cruel, brutal animal. One without remorse, one which doesn’t learn from its mistakes. One which plunges lower and lower.

What Sport does to you

I am sorry to admit this, but, yes, I watch Tamil soaps. The most boring and predictable kind. Regularly.  Today’s episode of the serial, “7-c” was specially boring and predictable. But it kindled a stream of thought in me, as I went back to my schooldays. Because the episode today was about sport. Sports Day.  

To quote from a blog (accidentally-mba.blogspot.com)  that I recently got hooked to,
“I am a typical middle-class person, and so are most of my friends. That means we have limited ambitions in life - Good family, good home, good job, good holidays, good entertainment, and if we're lucky, a quiet, peaceful death sometime in our late 70's. ...”

But every dog has its day. I have it during Sports days. No, I never was an overall champion, never the captain of the school team. I was just a bits and pieces, bronze and silver medal winning athlete. But Sports days are always memorable for me. In both  school and college.

Sport has this characteristic of bringing the best out of you, makes you scream to make your team win in some sport, any sport, run along the track to egg your friends on, run to the canteen and get “mineral water” for your friends and most of all, applaud your opponents’ victories as well.

As I said, this horrible serial I was watching triggered memories..

My 3^rd standard sports day qualifying, where I participated just to bunk class, didn’t even know what long jump meant and just ran across the line with my Sports teacher(Isaac Sir) chasing me with a cane. My co-culprits were my good-old buddies Prasad and Rajarajan.

Fast-forward to my 6^th standard, because we were forced to wear white shoes, I had my friends, twins, who coloured their black shoes white with water colour.

7^th std, now. Track was drawn for the first time ever in my school, I won bronze in 400 metres.. And scored 13 points in volleyball at a stretch.

My first relay Gold- the only gold medals I won in my life were all in relay – was in my 8^th standard.

Nothing interesting happened till my first year in college when our first year team became the first team in years not win a single point in athletics. 

But the next 3 years were a dream, we won and won and won. Occasionally lost as well.. 

Kho-Kho Mani and his team never lost and under his terrific “coaching” our girls team also never lost. I understood what support to your team is, what team spirit is, as we saw a hundred people cheering our team at 6 in the morning in the Volleyball field. We lost that match, it never mattered though. We won all trophies that year, Men’s Games Shield, Women’s Games Shield, Men’s Athletics Shield and Women’s Athletic Shield

And as I left my track one last time in my final year, after 2 bronze, 2 silver and 2 Gold medals, I went to the starting point and kissed the track. Felt like Brain Lara kissing the field after he scored his 400^th run. Then I broke down. Cried like a baby.

I thought that was the end of Me and Sports Meets. MBA sports meets are not meant to be so good. I personally felt there was no such thing called “spirit” for your batch mates in B-schools, as was evident from numerous events in my B-school.

But one event from SPJain’s sports fest reminded me that sport was sport and will get  the best out of you,no matter what. It was one of the most inspirational events I witnessed.

We played SPJain in the semi-finals of basketball and I was, as usual, not playing but supporting the team. We kept on winning points, by the end of 3^rd quarter, we were up by 9 points or so in a low scoring match. We saw one guy supporting the SPJain team, shouting like a football manager. He was limping but very aggressively supporting his team. Apparently, he was the captain of the team and was injured. Arrogantly, we mocked them and told them, his presence wouldn’t have made a difference. Irritated with us, he entered the court. With some 4 minutes remaining and his team needing a miracle to win it. He limped, jumped and screamed in pain. But slowly, but surely, he started moving better. The next few mins were unbelievable. They won by more than 4 points. The moment the final bell rung, he fell and his team carried him. On their shoulders. He deserved it.

Then there was this ‘First ever Sports Meet’ of MDI Akshayam. I didn’t participate in a single event. I was kicked out the carrom team for not practicing. But I was there everywhere, organising the event, under my boss Pratyaksh. 3 days without food or sleep. I had never worked so much in my life. The peace with which I slept, after the event was over, the satisfaction was something I would give anything for. Only Sport can do that to you.

Now, as I think back to all those years, I wish, I can go back and relive all those days again. I would live them again the same exact way. 

P.S: I would sincerely like to thank my roommates Akshay and Gotya for letting me watch all the lamest Tamil soaps and movies that I like and they hate.

Death - Mourning & Celebration

Events surrounding two high profile deaths in the past week have made me worried about where we are moving as a society, me included.

 Bal Thackerey. Noone can deny that he was controversial, admired and followed. But in keeping with the common tradition of not talking ill of someone who just passed away, media kept to its script. Mumbai also followed the expected routine – long marches, public display, cousins’ feud and total bandh. All was fine till a girl decided to post something which she never expected to create such an issue. In my opinion, what she did was insensitive and silly, but definitely not deserving arrest.

          But thinking about it, the arrest is the best thing that could have happened – to her, her family, the mourners and all others. If I were the head of Police in Mumbai, I definitely would have done the same, not because it was right, but because it was the most practical. In one stroke, the arrest protected her and her family – the police could never have saved her from the attackers by posting policemen outside her house, satisfied the sainiks and prevented a riot like situation.

               

         But what worries me most is the intolerance. Are we ready to take up arms and fight for everything? Who decides what is right and who is to be punished? The frenzied, pumped-up mob on the road?

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Kasab. No controversy here. He did a heinous crime and deserved the highest punishment possible. But I am not sure if even the courts and the President can decide to kill someone, whatsoever the crime is. One half of me says, no one, I repeat, no one has the authority to extinguish life out of anyone. The other half says, “rarest of rare criminals” do deserve capital punishment.

 I noticed a Gandhian saying Kasab must be hanged in public (Wah!) , a film director saying that he would love to see Kasab lynched to death and the public celebrating as if it was Diwali all over again. What is happening to the country? Are we any different from Afghanistan and Taliban? Kasab is dead, it is a fact. A quiet satisfaction is the most extreme reaction I can think of. I just cant imagine celebrating someone’s death, whosoever it may be. And another thing that worries me is the mindless information floating around, and our curiosity to digest all those. What did kasab eat for breakfast? What is his weight when he died? What were his last words? Did he cry? Who prepared his noose? The media in both countries are having a field day, feeding us shit which we gleefully eat. 

         I am afraid, aam admi has become mob admi. Not good at all.