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On a lighter note, this news piece:
Pak ‘spy’ pigeon caught on border, police suspect ISI hand.
Police suspect that the pigeon, which landed in Indian territory, may be on “special mission of spying” and might have been pushed by Pakistan intelligence agency ISI.
The pigeon is being kept in an air conditioned room which is being guarded by policemen. A medical examination of the bird was carried out by the doctor from the state animal husbandry department.
After the recent killing of two Pakistan-based terrorists in a gunbattle in Gurdaspur district, special instructions were issued to border inhabitants to report anything suspicious to the police, the SHO said.
Chahal said he has been asked by his seniors not to leave the police station or to proceed on leave until the fate of pigeon was decided.
The number ’303-6284620′ was written in red on the pigeon’s feathers along with a rubber stamp – Islamabad Wazirabad-Pakistan.
Chahal said they suspected that the pigeon must have landed on Indian soil from Pakistan with a message, which has not be traced so far.
The SHO said that Pakistani pigeon are easily recognisable as they have a “different look”.
“There are five to six families on Indo-Pak border village that have keen interest in keeping pigeons in their houses. They have told us about the difference between Indian and Pakistani birds,” he said.
It could be true, but that doesn’t take away the fact that it is funny as hell.
And if it is true, charge the damn pigeon, I say.
Says CNN-IBN:
They seem to know their way around words. The HC merely said such a marriage was void under the Islamic marriage law, which makes sense … except one bit — of a separate Islamic marriage law.
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Of course, my opposition assumes that at no point in the future would I be in a situation where I’d want to have two wives. If that ever happens: Islam, here I come.
This is deplorable. And yet, not the first, or the last of its kind :
13-yr-old rape victim to HC: let me abort
The girl, through her mother, moved a petition in the Dhrangadhra sessions court under provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. But the court rejected the plea saying there was no evidence on record to show that the health of the girl would suffer because of her pregnancy.
Racing against time to get legal permission to abort within a medically safe period, the girl moved the High Court, saying pregnancy from rape was mental agony and could impact her mental health. The counsel for the girl submitted that it had been established beyond doubt that rape had led to her pregnancy.
The High Court, which heard the petition today, intended to post the matter for May. But it later agreed with the submission that she was already over two months pregnant and needed urgent permission to terminate it. The case will come up next on April 28.
Sample this :
Indian Premier League Commissioner Lalit Modi and title sponsor of the Twenty20 extravaganza DLF have been asked by the Sports Ministry to stop “misusing” the word India and comply with an Allahabad High Court order.
A writ petition filed in the Allahabad High Court – Lucknow bench – had alleged that placing the said logo on the ground violated the Prevention to Insults to National Honour Act 1971 and the State Emblem of India (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.
At the centre of the controversy is the ‘Building India’ tagline in the DLF logo, which is on the bowler’s run-up area and passage leading to the presentation ceremony, on which players frequently tread.
A complaint that should’ve ended with a Go Screw Yourself to the petitioner, is now being taken seriously by the Sports Ministry.
Let’s assume for a moment that I do understand ‘treading on India’ is an insult to the great nation of ours. But then, isn’t walking in the same goddamn country an insult too ?
I hereby call for all patriotic nationalists to levitate from this moment.
Either that, or Go Screw Yourself.
Trust Times of India to come up with such stuff :
I don’t know — but since ToI is rarely wrong, I will assume they are right. So while you continue reading this, I’m off to strengthen Indo-Pak peace.
Good timing, I must say.
I know online petitions and Facebook communities for any cause are silly. I’ll might just give you candlelight vigils. But this one raises the bar of silliness :
Australians eat tandoori chicken to protest attack on Indians.
Thousands of Australians, including Victorian Premier John Brumby, on Wednesday treated themselves to Indian cuisine like naan and tandoori chicken as they joined a mass dining event to protest attacks against Indians.
Brumby joined a few leading Indian community members like Primus Telecom chief Ravi Bhatia for lunch at Indian restaurant ‘Desi Dhaba’ in the up-market Flinders street. The mass dining is part of the Vindaloo Against Violence’ campaign launched as a reaction to a spate of attacks against Indians across the city.
The next time an assailant is about to attack an Indian, he’ll ask : Hey, aren’t you from that tandoori chicken country ?
Indian : Oh yes, yes ! That’s the one !! That’s me !
The attacker remembers the tasty, spicy tandoori chicken he had for free, and let’s the Indian go.
Or he thinks of that next morning, and goes ahead with his attack.
But there are some points that I wanted to put forth :
1. Whatever was done to Pakistani players was deplorable. It was extremely unfortunate, and it could have been averted. Anyone who says (and I know many who do) they felt happy is just marginally better than terrorists who cause friction. By terrorists, I also mean anyone who is complicit with them — state and non-state actors.
2. If you feel this was a great way to enforce dismantling of terror groups in Pakistan, please explain to me how exactly do you think this move helps.
3. I don’t blame the team owners for not selecting players who may or may not be available for IPL 3. It depends on how relations between India and Pakistan are from today till the start of IPL. It is a business decision and they have every right to do what they think makes monetary sense for them. As SRK said, if the Shiv Sena had claimed earlier that it wouldn’t let Australians play in the IPL, he would’ve thought twice before bidding for one. While the analogy is good, I don’t think it is perfect. Being Pakistani is different from being Australian. It is a fact.
4. It is entirely plausible — but highly unlikely — that all team owners did not bid for any Pakistani player purely by coincidence.
5. The reaction from players like Sohail Tanvir was unhealthy and unsportsmanlike (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2IL-6YaCk0).
6. The whole auctioning of players with BCCI as the middleman is stupid. Only Lalit Modi could have come up with that. This is a non-sequitur, but I wanted to mention it nevertheless.
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While on this topic, I want to mention one sentence I was told recently : Pakistan is suffering because of its ill-karma. I have come across statements to this effect in the past too.
I won’t analyze it. I do not wish to dignify such ideas by replying.
I heard a rumour of this happening, but today, Cafe Pyala confirmed the collaboration of Times of India Group and Jang Group (of Pakistan) — both media houses on either side of the border — to deliver and share content that facilitates cross-border news transfer that is unbiased and not rhetorical. It’s a great move and a positive sign, atleast for India. Pakistan, on the other hand, will now get news the ToI style. Good luck with that !
Amitabh Bachchan is reportedly the brand ambassador for this collaboration, and wrote this at his blog :
“Their media and our media will through the medium initiate cross over efforts to hold hands, to exchange views and ideas of how to extend our understanding with each other, to build bridges when all else is falling apart,” Big B wrote on his blog.
I’m switching gears now. What is it with Indians and holding hands ?? India is probably the only country where grown up men who are not gay do not find anything wrong with holding hands ! It is still okay if done within national borders, but taking such ideas to the U.S. is just catastrophic.
I once went for a concert with a couple of acquaintances — let’s call them A and B — and B had this habit of holding hands .. with friends .. who were guys .. and he had a girlfriend so we can rule out the gay thing. I quickly excused myself into the crowd only to meet them after the concert. I later caught up with A and asked him what the hell was wrong with B.
A : Yeah, he does that. I’ve told many times not to hold hands in public places, but he doesn’t listen.
All I could say was : WTF !
We all know the story of Google Maps appeasing to local sensibilities vis-à-vis the Arunachal Pradesh issue : if a user is in India, Arunachal is shown as a part of India; in China, it is shown as a part of China; in the rest of the world, it is shown as disputed territory. Fine, since there isn’t much of a debate there : Google isn’t expected to resolve international disputes and is perfectly justified in what it did.
This story was recently reported at Rediff. A barrage of comments ensued — after all, the story tickled nationalist sentiments — but I’ll post what in my opinion was the best exchange :
User 1 : Does it show Telangana as a separate state?
User 2 : No it shows you are in pakistan.
User 3 : And it shows u r in Delhi sitting on Sonia aunty’s lap.
Can you better that ?
I know of friends who prowl at Rediff for sensitive topics to make offensive comments. I won’t lie to you — I would love to be a troll on the Rediff Discussion Board someday, but I am clearly nowhere as good as these pros. Perhaps I need to start picking up fights with readers here to train myself. Then again, I’ve tried offending the Bachchans, Aamir Khan, SRK, Congress, BJP, MNS, Shiv Sena. VHP, RSS .. the list is endless. I still haven’t attracted comments of this stature.
Any suggestion is welcome. It is a hopeless situation.
I heard about this song via Sepia Mutiny, and I had to write about it.
The song is Laga Reh (keep going) by Shehzad Roy. I am sure Pakistani readers (at last count, there were 2) have seen it — this is for those who haven’t. Watch it right away.
What can I say, the song is superbly done — satire, music, hilarity — it’s all there. I believe Indians share many more issues with Pakistan than is apparent, so this song is as relevant to India — a reason why I’m posting the song.
Music can be used for social causes, but very few artists manage to blend it seamlessly so as to not take away anything from the art form. The basic element of satire is often art, and it is sadly overlooked at times. Mallika Sarabhai attempted something similar at TedIndia and failed miserably. Last checked, Michael Moore was on a downslide. On the other hand, Rabbi Shergill is gifted at it — just listen to Bilqis and Jugni for proof. I don’t know where Shehzad Roy stands in comparison and honestly, I’m hesitant to judge him — because more then being good at it, artists like him and Rabbi Shergill are essential. We don’t have bands like Rage Against The Machine in our countries, but I believe the underground market is huge for blatantly lyrical songs criticizing the system. A friend of mine had once expressed a desire to writing such songs, but I don’t know what the status is (any updates ?).
Oh, and I heard that this song was banned on Pakistani TV, can any of the Pakistani readers confirm this ?
