Helmets for Women
In line with our long standing tradition of making laws useless and subverting them to appease one section of the society or the other, Sheila Auntyji has pretty much rendered useless the transport department's written undertaking to the Delhi High Court on women compulsorily wearing helmets. Now we know she comes from a generation and class where she has not ridden on a two-wheeler, but surely she has enough brains to figure this one out. Or maybe no protective gear on her head all these years has made her brain soft.
In what started as an effort to not piss off the Sikh community once again, after the 1984 killings of men, women and children identified with the clothed version of the helmet, the same state government extended the undermining of the law to the women voters as well.
It is primitive, short-sighted, criminal and akin to a cult leader asking its member to commit mass suicide. Religious sensibilities and vanity apart, the law should be the same for all, especially in matters of life and death. The government will do well to ensure that it is at least seen as being concerned for our well being. If it means banning sikh drivers from operating two-wheelers, then so be it. I know it will cause a lot of furore in the country but it needs to be done. If it means women will have to figure out ways to adjust their dupattas or redo their hair after every trip on a motorbike, well it needs to be done.
Sachin as MP
My dad made me see the light on this one. For no explainable reason my first reaction to the nomination was one of disgust, mistrust and cynicism. Maybe it was the fear of seeing politicians call Sachin one of their own. Maybe it was the apprehension that he would truly begin to be identified by the company he is about to keep. Maybe I just did not want to see, the one hero this country has, who is loved and respected by all, enter that building teeming with the people we despise so passionately.
Everyone in this country thinks they own a part of Sachin, his legacy. They truly believe that he owes his continued service by scoring runs, by remaining apolitical, by being more identifiable with the public that loves him. But wait a minute. It is his life. If he chooses to accept a nomination to the Rajya Sabha that is his business. No matter if the government wants to delay the Bharat Ratna, no matter what their ulterior motives are. If this man can, in a split second decide where he is going to plonk a Shoaib Akhtar delivery, I am sure he has thought this one through too.
I am anyways more concerned about the fact that our president can nominate people to the upper house of the parliament. We treat it like an honorable posting, not as an office, which it essentially is. Anyhow, good luck to Sachin, and am glad that he improves the percentage of candidates in parliament who are literate and do not have criminal cases against their names.
Mamata's (a) Cartoon
Miss Banerjee seems to have lost her wits. With the arrest of a professor who dared to publish and email a cartoon about her and the general going-ons in the Trinamool Congress, she has showcased yet again how much our politicians really hate democracy. With so much that is wrong with Bengal, it is amazing to me as a tax-payer, how she even gets the time to get agitated about something like this. Instead of arresting bad cartoonists and painting the city blue, she should re-read her campaign speeches for inspiration. Even though she came to power with great electoral success it will be advisable to focus on governance and not take the mandate for granted. Else in another 4 odd years she will be relegated to just political cartoons and not much more. And keeping up with the whole freedom of speech thing, here is the cartoon which made all the fuss. Please enlist your well read bengali friends for an accurate translation.
In line with our long standing tradition of making laws useless and subverting them to appease one section of the society or the other, Sheila Auntyji has pretty much rendered useless the transport department's written undertaking to the Delhi High Court on women compulsorily wearing helmets. Now we know she comes from a generation and class where she has not ridden on a two-wheeler, but surely she has enough brains to figure this one out. Or maybe no protective gear on her head all these years has made her brain soft.
In what started as an effort to not piss off the Sikh community once again, after the 1984 killings of men, women and children identified with the clothed version of the helmet, the same state government extended the undermining of the law to the women voters as well.
It is primitive, short-sighted, criminal and akin to a cult leader asking its member to commit mass suicide. Religious sensibilities and vanity apart, the law should be the same for all, especially in matters of life and death. The government will do well to ensure that it is at least seen as being concerned for our well being. If it means banning sikh drivers from operating two-wheelers, then so be it. I know it will cause a lot of furore in the country but it needs to be done. If it means women will have to figure out ways to adjust their dupattas or redo their hair after every trip on a motorbike, well it needs to be done.
Sachin as MP
My dad made me see the light on this one. For no explainable reason my first reaction to the nomination was one of disgust, mistrust and cynicism. Maybe it was the fear of seeing politicians call Sachin one of their own. Maybe it was the apprehension that he would truly begin to be identified by the company he is about to keep. Maybe I just did not want to see, the one hero this country has, who is loved and respected by all, enter that building teeming with the people we despise so passionately.
Everyone in this country thinks they own a part of Sachin, his legacy. They truly believe that he owes his continued service by scoring runs, by remaining apolitical, by being more identifiable with the public that loves him. But wait a minute. It is his life. If he chooses to accept a nomination to the Rajya Sabha that is his business. No matter if the government wants to delay the Bharat Ratna, no matter what their ulterior motives are. If this man can, in a split second decide where he is going to plonk a Shoaib Akhtar delivery, I am sure he has thought this one through too.
I am anyways more concerned about the fact that our president can nominate people to the upper house of the parliament. We treat it like an honorable posting, not as an office, which it essentially is. Anyhow, good luck to Sachin, and am glad that he improves the percentage of candidates in parliament who are literate and do not have criminal cases against their names.
Mamata's (a) Cartoon
Miss Banerjee seems to have lost her wits. With the arrest of a professor who dared to publish and email a cartoon about her and the general going-ons in the Trinamool Congress, she has showcased yet again how much our politicians really hate democracy. With so much that is wrong with Bengal, it is amazing to me as a tax-payer, how she even gets the time to get agitated about something like this. Instead of arresting bad cartoonists and painting the city blue, she should re-read her campaign speeches for inspiration. Even though she came to power with great electoral success it will be advisable to focus on governance and not take the mandate for granted. Else in another 4 odd years she will be relegated to just political cartoons and not much more. And keeping up with the whole freedom of speech thing, here is the cartoon which made all the fuss. Please enlist your well read bengali friends for an accurate translation.
