Capital Punishment

Two people have been sentenced to death in the last couple of weeks: Afzal Guru, who is alleged to have helped the militants who stormed parliament and Santosh Singh, who brutally raped and killed Priyadarshini Matoo 10 years ago. Both cases throw up interesting question: is it right (in ethical and moral terms) for the state to murder?
The Afzal Guru case is particularly interesting. When parliament was stormed in 2001 the country was outraged. Militants tried to attack one of the visible symbols of Indian democracy, and failed. Afzal Guru is alleged to have provided logistic and other support to the militants. The judgement has sharply polarized opinion. While the whole of Kashmir protested from the Chief Minister down to the man on the street, opinion in the rest of India seems to agree with the decision. The right has meanwhile launched a “Hang Afzal” campaign.
While I don’t agree with the jingoistic position taken by many people I do not also believe Afzal should be left off that easily. If it turns out that he had helped the militants then he should be given the maximum punishment possible within the judicial system. The trial of Afzal Guru has been so non-transparent that the lay public does not have the facts at hand. What was his exact role? What is the evidence against him? Is it conclusive or circumstantial? Another ridiculous thing is that Guru has reportedly gone UNREPRESENTED by legal counsel during his trial. Awarding a death sentence to a person who did not have legal counsel is downright absurd.
Given the history of victimization of kashmiris in this particular case, one needs to look at this particular sentence with suspicion. SAR Geelani, a DU prof was falsely implicated in the same case by the Delhi Police.
The second case is more straightforward, but no less troubling. Santosh Singh, a typically north Indian rich brash spoilt young man brutally raped and killed a law student. Faasi do, said the court, after 10 years. For all those out there baying for his blood I have one question, do two wrongs make a right? Is it justifiable to answer the violence he committed with violence unleashed by the state? But then on the other hand, Santosh is obviously an unrepentant man who used his power, as a male and the son of a police officer, to commit a beastly atrocity. I wonder how Priyadarshini’s father feels. I wonder how I would feel if someone raped my sister and killed her. Would I be able to forgive the perpetrator? Unlikely.
So, coming back to the two cases, In Afzal’s case I don’t think he should be killed. In Santosh’s case the view looks less complicated, but we are still on slippery ground.

An icon gets repacked by mass media

Gandhigiri or Gandugiri

Gandhism has gone mainstream. Only this time its called by the trendy name of ‘Gandhigiri’. Ever since the smash hit Munnabhai Lage Raho introduced the term the media, print and electronic, has gone bonkers over it. Now it seems Gandhigiri is everywhere, atleast of the media were to be believed. If you want to protest against injustice don’t do it with sticks and stones, do it with flowers and words. That’s gandhigiri; Gandhism dressed up in fashionable 21st century attire.
The electronic media have been having a field day with gandhigiri. IBN in particular has had prime time shows where the panelists deconstruct the term and correspondents who give us examples of gandhigiri being practiced in different parts of India. Even the print media is no less complicit. Stories, stand alone pictures, comment…all form part of the media’s contribution.
Popular cinema is a powerful medium in contemporary society. A film has managed to resurrect (at least in the popular imagination) a concept that Indians had by and large abandoned. Suddenly everyone is talking and practicing turning the other cheek. The media is full of stories about how people are adopting the tactics from the film to deal with difficult bosses, wives and girlfriends. Some of these people are no doubt publicity hounds, who sensed a chance to get their pictures in the papers and TV. The media too, sensing an offbeat human-interest story cashed in, partly to fill the 24 hour news cycle and partly to stay ahead of the competition.
So, a departure point that starts with a movie gets picked up by the mass media and gets exposure and becomes a household name, at least in houses that have access to the mass media. Thus a cultural/political icon gets repackaged for contemporary tastes by the mass media, which is good in one way. But there seems to be no engagement with the ideas that Gandhi espoused.

Kiran Desai wins Booker

The news is out. Another Indian has won the Man Booker prize. Kiran Desai's 'The Inheritance of Loss' is "a magnificent novel of humane breadth and wisdom, comic tenderness and powerful political acuteness," acording to head judge, Hermione Lee. Kirna succeeds where her mother, Anita Desai, was not able to. Anita was shortlisted thrice but failed to win the prize.
The book "is a magnificent novel of humane breadth and wisdom, comic tenderness and powerful political acuteness" according to Lee. This is great for Indian literature. Way to go Kiran.

Some important news omitted

The big news in yesterday's papers (Oct 10) was North Korea's gatecrash act into the global nuclear club. Times and IE led with the story. IE's coverage was better than the ToI. Of course, ToI had to supplement its Korean coverage with a report of 'Dear Leader's' sexual preferences. The 'shock and awe' has spilled over to today's coverage as well. The (Indian) newspapers have been highlighting a possible Pakistani link in the tests. They have also reported India's 'statements of concern' about the tests. I think India is being hypocritical in that it exercised the option itself in 1998 and became an openly declared nuclear nation. In an unequal global order where countries with the most nuclear stockpiles aggressively follow a policy of 'pre-emptive strikes' can you blame countries that want nukes? Ideally, I want a world free of all nukes. But given that that won't be possible anytime soon, the current nuclear apartheid is clearly discriminatory.
One suprising ommission is Kanshi Ram's death. It got relatively little coverage in the print media. ToI had a small one column story tucked away in page 10 or so. However, IE's second lead was Kanshi Ram. IE's coverage was of this story was much better than ToI's. The third lead in IE was how Bihar's economic fortune is being revived by the sugar industry. Interesting. Two of IE's front page stories were about socio-political issues. Given that Kanshi Ram is the person who gave Dalit's a voice one would have though that his death would be fairly important news, though he was politically marginalised in his later years. However, the media skipping this story is not surprising, given the amount of space they dedicate to dalit/farmers/depressed/deprieved sections. I am looking forward to Frontline and Tehelka for more comprehensive coverage and analysis.
Today's (Oct 11) ToI is fairly bland in terms of interesting stories. A story about a legal case against google for an alleged anti-India community has made the front page. Ok, the story deals with issues of free speech, internet security etc., but is it front page news? Maybe science and tech page story but...
The lead in the city pages is the fight between the Sena siblings: Siv Sena and Maharashtra Navanirman Sena workers clash in Dadar. It has all the elements of a racy story: politics, violence, revenge, intrigue..who would not love a story about sainiks fighting sainiks?
ToI's edit and op-ed page have been compressed to one page. Where the op-ed page should be is the page 'Times Trends' and the 4 column lead is 'Why do we have SEX?' The anchor is 'Women on their fertility peak dress up to impress'. Has ToI crossed a red line by giving over op-ed to trends?
IE (Oct 11) has carried an NYT article on Daniel Pearl and his Kidnapper Omar Sheik. The article pits 'inquiring and understanding western civiliation'against a 'civilisation bent on annihalation'. The article's slant, I feel, creates an impression of a monolithic violent Islam pitted against an 'ill-equipped' west. This may or may not be true.

Studying the Media

Starting with this post I intend to examine at the print, and possibly broadcast media and look at the kind of news they are reporting, and more importantly, not reporting. It will be an interesting exercise to compare what stories and themes different newspapers carry everyday, how they report similar stories, How much prominence they give to stories etc. Since media shapes public opinion a study of media will reveal the newsroom processes that go into deciding which news is 'fit' for public consumption, which news is in 'public interest' and so on. Since I am in Bombay (mumbai), which is a financial hub it should be an interesting study.

Today's post examines the Times of India dated October 9, 2006. ToI led with a story about controversy over prime property belonging to a church in Malabar Hill. A fairly routine story, but going by the soaring real estate prices in Bombay and shortage of land, the story is fairly 'juicy'. Incidentally there was a small ad about the sale of a bungalow in Juhu. The last line says 'Clients with "Taste & Budget" only'. Interesting, hmmmm. The second lead is about another case of data theft at a BPO in Delhi. Big numbers have been thrown around...50 crores apparently. The story looks at cyber crime and efforts to curb it.
Page 1 had 2 stories whose focus was real estate and the outsourcing boom. And finally on page 1, 'Brangelina' hysteria reaches fever pitch. A papparazzi style picture of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie with their son in an auto. I wonder how many people in Andheri, let alone Bombay have heard of the Hollywood couple? The way the all papers are reporting it it seems as if all of India is obsessed with them.
Two good stories on page 10. One is an opinion piece by Santosh Desai on education. Education is immediately equated with intelligence, ambition, urbane etc. while its opposite state (uneducated) is identified with ignorance and treated with disdain. The author seeks to upturn this 'received wisdom' and says that educated folk, who abrogate to themselves the right to define societal norms, are not automatically cleverer or more anle than uneducated people. I agree with this formu lation. In fact, I think educated people are more prejudiced than the ones that are the objects of their disdain.
A story about how Marathi films are turning to Jatras (mobile exhibitions) to break even financially was interesting. Since this genre is finding it difficult to exhibit in multiplexes, the jatras, that tour rural areas, are one option to recoup financially and reach audiences outside urban centres. What does this say about the tastes of urban audiences in Bombay, definitely not Marathi films.

A New Beginning

A new beginning is as fraught as an old memory.
As yesterday's dreams slip through my fingers like fine dust
I look at my disjointed self in the cracked mirror,
and see a thousand I's staring back in stoic silence.

I left my past life in the city(ies) I abandoned,
with its fine texture and exquisite folds unravelling in my wake.
Its not what I wanted, but sometimes words become pointed arrows
that pierce the heart and spread the venom slowly, surely

Words once spoken cannot be unsaid.
Pain once inflicted cannot be undone.
As I wander the run down streets of my latest city
in search of myself, I look at the brown-eyed children
playing in the slush-filled streets
The sunlight comes down in feeble gasps
as the dark clouds chase the sun in a cosmic game of hide and seek
and prepare to rain down their offerings on the disconsolate city.

The first droplet is ecstacy, second glory and third is release.
It falls on my hair, slides down my ears and streams down my eyes
I say nothing, know nothing, think nothing,
A new beginning...as delicate as an old dream.