Sudipta's Life

The next sentence is going to be extremely politically incorrect, in the view of a few people. Some, on the other hand, would be vigorously nodding their heads in agreement. The rest of the post after the sentence is dedicated to those who will be nodding their heads. In India, and in most of the Western world, the nation of Pakistan is generally regarded as a hotbed for fostering terrorists, giving them shelter, etc.  But in the wake of the recent bomb blast that killed so many people (yet again), I am reminded of this TED talk: we must be getting a single sided story! So if you look at the  List of terrorist incidents in Pakistan since 2001 , it is horrifying that a nation of 187 million people would have over 35,000 deaths just from terrorist attacks in 10 years. Imagine that - thirty five thousand people dead, just due to terrorist attacks, in a decade! Now, don't come to me with stats from other nations, especially India. We rank 4th on the Global Terrorism In...

All around, or at least in the US media, every inch of progress by the rebel forces in Libya is hailed and announced time and over, with a literal celebration breaking out when the capital was run over. We hear from ordinary Libyan citizens expressing that they are finally free to express what they like, reaffirming the value of the "freedom" the NATO troops and the rebels are bringing to the country. The messages from Col. Gaddafi about his wish to fight till martyrdom for his country are portrayed as a mad dictator's rant. Confirmed news of his capture and death will perhaps make this story less interesting, and we move on to the next country. I am, however, intrigued by a few things. And I am hoping someone who is showering bullets and ammo at the Libyan government forces is also thinking this through. First of all, and this is of my paramount concern, why is the Colonel still sticking up? What is it that he believes in? Armed gunmen running amok through the streets...

I wish life worked the way I want it to. I wish everyone was transparent, honest, and open about their shortcomings. I wish two people collaborating would work towards a single goal with unified vision and passion, not hankering over who gets what piece. I wish business and collaboration did not mean shams, or overpricing yourself and your value. I wish word of mouth meant an agreement set in stone, where people feel responsible for what they have promised. I wish that people should acknowledge the work others have done before plagiarizing. That recognition for work done should not mean beating one's drum at all times regardless of who actually did the work. I wish people will not hold on to critical information just to create their own value. I want people to open up, and help people with all and everything at their disposal with nothing but a singular vision of success in mind. I don't like false pretenses. I don't like subtle hints and innuendos that are meant to e...

Ever since I was a little boy, I have seen the following thought thrown around in various flavours all across dinner table discussions: if the inept and incompetent politicians could be replaced by some people who actually know something (are educated, etc.) - our country might have some future. Otherwise, we are all doomed for sure. A good rebuttal to this armchair rhetoric was a story which my grandfather used say on these occasions. A king was roaming through his kingdom one night in disguise and came across a group of men sitting around a fire having an animated excited discussion.One of them was most vociferous: - "Oh the prime minister is a lazy bum. I don't know what he does all day, but he is always there as a sidekick when the king wants to address the kingdom" - "And seriously, why can't he take care of these money lenders who are sucking our blood? Why do the main highways get fixed first and nobody ever cares about our side roads?" - "I...

If you did not vote this year, - You have no right to preach at your local tea shop about corrupt politicians. - You have no right to be outraged because the local MLA took bribes and allowed the neighborhood to become a brothel. That is precisely where you belong. - You cannot complain of vote bank politics - someone who at least cares to vote is the right person to appease. If you are whining so much about people playing up to the minorities, it serves you right that the minorities go to vote in the majority. - You were also whining about how reservations are ruining the country, right? Well I think the reservations are good. People who vote should have the right to get stuff reserved for themselves at the best places. - You should not forward that email about how 30% of people in the Parliament are criminals, half of who have murder charges pending against them. I know that is the only thing you're good at: forwarding emails. But seriously, save those precious fingers of ...

I am sure all of us have our own classic movie favourites. Or at least, movies that we consider to be good movies, can-watch-again-sometime movies. How many times have you taken home the subtle message embedded in the movies? The inevitable summary of these messages is to tell you abour the good, the bad and the ugly. Just after the Second World War, Germany became the bad guys on all movies. The Dirty Dozen, the Bridge over the River Kwai, The Longest Day, The Guns of Navarone: some of the best movies I've seen. You have to see them to experience the passion, fear and the joys of those times. Even at home, we had the attrocities of the British on our movies, books and plays for a long time before and after our independence. I'm not talking about the more recent movies though. Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line or Schindler's List: they were a different class of movies. These were re-takes of the horrors of the wars, because better technology permitted bringing them to ...

When you are proud to kill someone, you must be very much convinced that the person is a threat to the world and does not deserve to exist. You must also be 'dead sure' (whatever formed the term), that you are on the path of righteousness! What, then, is the motivation behind the burnings and bomb threats to the Indo-Pak buses? Are you sure that there must always be an ongoing war between the two nations? Are you sure that that is what you want, Mr. Terrorist? Look how they have been exposed. They call themselves the fighters for the Kashmiri people, and yet don't think twice before burning up their houses, killing their children and blasting away kinsfolk. Fie on you, O self-styled moral police, because the average school kid has more understanding than you do and will not kill just for fun! If you are fighting for peace, how do you think you will usher in that by doing demolishing the roads to peace... Peace that has been asked for by the people, for the people and perhap...

They call themselves the self-appointed police of the world, the peace-keepers, the big-brothers of the entire globe. Oh yes, you guessed it right --- USA; the people who must poke their nose into everything and get a piece of the pie everywhere. Look at this post from the rediff site: http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/mar/28kanch.htm I cannot agree any more with them when they say, "lovely easter gift to india from the US. moral: proliferate nukes, threaten US interests everywhere, be terror hub, and get rewarded for it. this has been north korea's experience, china's experience, saudi arabia's experience, and pakistan's experience. suck up to the US, desperately crave its goodwill, allow its odious conversion machine to dictate terms to you, and get slapped on the face. this is india's experience. simple solution for india: proliferate nuke and missile technology to anybody who wants it, especially taiwan and japan. this will immediately get american respect,...

Deep within the recesses of our mind are some fears... some deep-set fears about our self, or rather the image that we hold so dear to us as our own self. We dread those moments when our own identity is at stake, our own existence is at stake, and when you overcome this fear... you are the winner! What if I was asked to tell someone constantly that he is no good! You hammer that into his brain, so that every waking moment of his, he is reminded that he is impure, and that he is a living burden on the face of the earth? As far as I know, he will be shattered. And that is precisely what the ICC is doing! Even after being cleared by an official panel of ICC judges who pronounced him NOT GUILTY , some people still have their doubts... meaning they are above the ICC! These people cannot bear to see someone beating them at their own game, and so instead of fighting an even battle, they are trying to do it the other way. The next time Harbhajan steps into the field to bowl, he will be aware o...

Before I denounce or welcome it, I will reason it out... and then lets decide if the action is good or not, at least according to me. First, the facts: It is popular belief that this man had indeed abetted the crimes, not by active participation, but by failing to (or shall we say not trying to) curb the riots, and not nipping these conflagrations in the bud! He is definitely detestable on that count... and perhaps on many more counts! But the point is that it is "POPULAR BELIEF" When he applied for the Visa, he was denied one, or rather both the tourist as well as the diplomatic were denied! Now, even if we assume that he had really no diplomatic business there, he could have been easily denied a tourist visa as well on some or the other pretext! Not, specifically, at least, "Violation of religious freedom". What this turns out to be is an assumption of power which no-one has granted them at any time. Has Mr. Modi been tried in India? Has he been convicted by any ...