Friday, October 07, 2005

You gotta just lurve the Times, Ganguly and of course Lalu!

What a headline!
A friend of mine sent me this story link over email. At first sight I thought the story was about Tom 'Psycho' Cruise and Katie Holmes, but no. This delightfully titled story is on a rape victim. Of course, I will crucify the Times alone in the dastardly headline scam. Nope, almost all major dailies are responsible, but few are as tasteless.
On other Gangulian notes - how many of you really think it is terrbly surprising that 'Dada' (who cribbed and cried about being left out from the World XI) has managed to 'hurt' his elbow before the start of the Challenger series. I was speaking to an ardent Ganguly defender last night (surprise, surprise all three of us share the same ethnicity) and he told that Ganguly is a captain with atitude and atitude is so important. Um, yeah. I don't think atitude is going to help India win the World Cup in 2007. And if want atitude we should make Viru Sehwag captain. And if you think Ganguly is the most 'atitudinal' (I know, wrong usage, who cares) captain out there - I have two words for you - Roy Keane. I again argue for Ganguly's dismissal as Captain of India. And this has to be done before England come here this winter, because if we don't perk up soon (or make dustbowls like we did at Wankhede last year against the Aussies) we are gonna get slughtered in the tests. As it is our ICC Test and One-day rankings put us just above the West Indies, which is nothing much to be proud of. Of course, I do have a funny feeling that Gurudas Dasgupta and Nilotpal Basu will threaten to bring down the government if Ganguly is fired, feelings over Ganguly in Bengal run stronger than feelings over airport privatisation.
Now, to the other topid of the day. The SC has ruled that what Buta Singh did by dissolving the Bihar Assembly. I appauld the SC on their decision, because what happened in Bihar on that day was a murder of democracy. The problem with bloggers in India is that so many of them so are decidedly left-wing they will see this decision along with many others where the courts have tried to impose a certain level of secularism in education as the decision of a right-wing bench of bigots. Wrong! Bihar is a basket-case of a state, which is quite sad, because Bihari's (if there is such a thing as a Bihari - all these people would identify themselves by their caste first) are are an extremely hard-working and resourceful community. Unfortunately, it has been ruled by a despotic madman who would do anything to stay onto power - the only way he can stay onto power is to keep Bihar poor. While the NDA combine may not be palatable to many people in the blogosphere - maybe it is what Bihar needs - that state (like Bengal next door) needs a change.
By the way, don't you find it awfully ironic that possibly one of most religious people in the world - Bongs - are ruled by a bunch of not-so-evil Communists. They even call themselves Marxists. wasn't he the guy who said religion was the opium of the masses? Some things continue to befuddle me even as I storm towards middle-age.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

i pity the sub behind the headline -- and i hope it was a sub not a dne or an asst ed ... does anybody know ...

K said...

You never know do you. Kinda redefines MCP if you ask me.

Anonymous said...

I am speechless! Can this really be deliberate, or is it an honest mistake where they mixed up headlines for stories?

And K, I do not understand why the decision would be attributed to a bench of right-wing bigots? The straightforward argument is that if you dismiss a state assembly on insufficient grounds (and mostly such dismissals are on insufficient grounds) then it is an unconstitutional decision. Perhaps the Congress is still stuck in the Mrs. G mindset when she would imperiously dismiss state governments right and left. That really doesn't float in this day and age.

As for NDA being right for Bihar, I really have no grounds for such optimism. The battle in that state is along caste lines, and we'd probably just see a Bhumihar-Brahmin combine take over from a Muslim-Yadav one. That of course leaves dirt poor lower caste and Muslim landless peasants right where they are.

And no I don't find religious Bongs having a Marxist government ironic. First, most of the so called Marxists (at least at the cadre level) are pretty hard-core believers themselves. Second, Bongs truly manage to separate religion and politics without much anxiety. And third, for many educated middle class Bongs, the religious celebrations are less about religion and more of a social pow-wow.

Anonymous said...

UGH!!

The headline is totally disgusting. how can they pass this? I thought the editor had better sense than to pass this crap..........

DOWN WITH TOI!!!

K said...

Swati : Every major religious festival in the world becomes more of a commercial and social pow-wow thing - however I've always felt that Durga Puja is far more religious than say Ganesh Chaturthi or Diwali and even Christmas for that matter. If I was in Cal or even CR Park for that matter - I would be seen as an elgible (albeit fat and balding) bachelor and it would go from bad to worse - social pow-wow combined with husband hunting - ugh!
As for Bihar - Nitish Kumar is a Kurmi and much of his cabinet - if he wins will not be Bhumihar or Brhamin. My logic over here is that in over ten years of Lalu poor landless Muslim and lower caste peasants have gone nowhere - now they are seeing Naxalism as an alternative. The only people to have gained from Lalu's rule are the Yadav's and some other 'middle' castes. I believe a change would be good for the people of Bihar - so what if the change is the NDA - a change is what these people need. And Lalu has to be cut to size.
As for anonymous I have no clue how they passed this headline, I don't work for the ToI - but this is rather tasteless.

Anonymous said...

Bong Boy check out this Durga puja site: www.anandautsav.com. The clippings and animations are execellent