The Godhra potboiler

There was a conspiracy. A bogie was meticulously burned and its passengers killed.

What should a government do? Try and get the situation under control, immediately, using all the available resources. Using all available resources, find the cause of the incident. It now having been confirmed that it was a conspiracy, hunt down the accused and put them on trial.

What did actually happen? And therein lies the tragedy.

And now 9 years later, internet-nationalists are outraged that 63 people were acquitted for no crime of theirs.

There is no denying that there was a conspiracy. I earnestly appeal for the most stringent punishment for the perpetrators of this heinous crime. I also appeal that the perpetrators of the Gujrat pogrom be also put on trial. Injustice should just not be tolerated in this great nation of ours.

The tragedy of Gujrat is not just Godhra. The tragedy is both Godhra and post-Godhra Gujrat. As long as this divide exists, Gujrat will always be viewed as a stigma. And that is an even bigger tragedy.

Life has continued and will continue. But at the next flare-up, and we are all fools if we believe that there won't be a flare-up, the tragic consequences will even be greater.

Doesn't Gujrat deserve better? Doesn't India deserve better?

Truth shall prevail

The noose is ever so slowly tightening.

Under arrest:
1. DSP K G Erda

On the Run
1. Inspector V S Gohil

Anticipatory Bail
1. Gujarat Education Minister Mayaben Kodnani
2. Former Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Jaideep Patel

It is time that Mr. Modi becomes answerable to a few pertinent questions.

1. Does he believe in the Indian constitution and consequently the judiciary? (Y/N)
2. If NO, does he have the mandated authority to occupy the high office of Gujarat Chief Ministership that he has for so long adorned, and adorned rather fabulously well.
3. If YES, what is his reply to the findings of the Gujarat High Court which has ruled that the Godhra incident, which killed 59, was not an act of terror.

The court on Thursday, Feb 12, 2009, upheld the POTA review committee's findings, which concluded there was no planned conspiracy in Godhra and that the incident was the result of the sudden provocation between passengers and vendors.

The court has categorically stated that it finds "the incident falling short of an act of terror."

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Apr 28, 2009

http://avkoshy.blogspot.com/2009/04/godhra-on-eve-of-elections.html

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Feb 27, 2011

http://avkoshy.blogspot.com/2011/02/godhra-potboiler.html

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Apr 22, 2011

1. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1718407.ece?homepage=true

2. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/what-did-modi-say-at-the-feb-27-2002-meet/149944-3.html

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"Maryada Thekedars"

I strongly oppose the morality brigade that is out to keep a check on the moral code of people who live in independent, democratic, republic of India and petition the Government of Karnataka to take the strictest action action against these hooligans.

India has always been a pluralistic state that has welcomed everybody with open arms. The Jews, the Christians, the Muslims, the Zoroastrians, the Parsis, the Baha'is, they all have been welcomed and they have shown their gratitude by seamlessly integrating themselves in the pluralistic fabric of India in the best manner possible.

Of course, it has not been a complete assimilation. However, that has only proved to be a thing of beauty than otherwise.

The government of the day is voted in to pursue and implement political policies that do good to the populace. They have a legal framework and an executive to ensure that the laws that they frame are honoured by the population. Nobody, absolutely nobody, has the right to take law into his own hands and dispense justice as s/he feels fit.

The Mangalore incident is an absolutely abhorrent act that I condemn in the strongest manner possible. I, as a citizen of this country, hereby requests the courts to take suo moto action against these moronic hooligans and not to let them go to jail. Instead they should be asked to work on any socially relevant cause and the proceeds of the same should be disbursed to the ladies who had to go through that horrific incidents.

If the perpetrators of the crime are made to go to jail, it will only add to their sense of pseudo-causeism. Instead they should be made to pay for their misdemeanours in a manner that thrusts into their meagre brains the fact that their conduct was not only foolish but also at a great cost to themselves.

In addition to the litany of charges that can be filed against them, I also propose the following:
1. Complete debarment of holding any public office.
2. Complete and comprehensive withholding / revoking of driving license.
3. 1 year compulsory duty at an old-age home.

Reply to a fanatic

Dear Chaitanya,

Just for the record, I am a Christian. I appreciate your voice standing up to the rights of Hindus. And I think it was rather deplorable that nobody spoke the "other" side of the Gujarat story, and I think the press (at least the English press) was unnecessarily biased.

I would have preferred to write to you personally, but that seems kind of difficult. Anyways, in your writings, you seem to give the impression that India stands as a country, because Hindus, in general, (and since they are the majority) are a tolerant society that will take a lot of abuse just so that the country will not split. I know I am oversimplifying, but only a wee bit. Also that Hindus have always been preached to and so have become pliant.

Was it always so? I am not a know-all and would love to be genuinely answered. The Indian tradition / civilisation dates back to many centuries. Did the Hindu religious culture get anywhere in history, to be a spent force? History would seem to say no. And if so, does it say anything about the Hindu religion/culture? I hope you will read me out patiently.

The vedic culture is supposed to be one of the most powerful incentives of goodly/godly living. And history is witness that wherever and whenever the vedic culture was prevalent, there was peace and prosperity in the land. Why is it not propogated, at least among the Hindus now?

But your statement that India is a tolerant country, (Who, BTW, is being tolerated and why?) because of Hindus and for that fabric to be maintained, the Muslims and the Westerners (I hope that is your euphimism for Christians) need to be watched and careful "reactions" engineered, I am afraid, is laughable, but not funny. Ah, that is what the real Hindu religion/culture is all about, eh? Suffer everything and then when things seem to be getting out of hand, REACT. Hello, at least I react whenever it pains me, and not be tolerant of the pain and react when things have gone beyond a point. That is called hypocrisy. And I refuse to believe that this great country was steeped in that, as you would have me believe. This country has produced some of the most outstanding persons throughout history. Right from vedic periods down to the modern day, this country has been blessed with an abundance of spirit that has manifested itself in varied triumphs in myriad disciplines. Sure the country has gone bonkers, less often than not, but to blame it, oh-so-easily on Muslims and Westerners is, to take a dim view of the intelligence of your readers.

It is so easy to talk of minority bashing when you are in the majority mob. I will appreciate even your ham-handed attempts at "saving" the Hindu religion/culture the moment you appreciate the courage of living as a minority in a country where the likes of you espouse the need to use "engineered reactions".

Hinduism will survive, not because of you, but in spite of you.

Jai Hind!

Godhra - Wither goes thou?

There was a tragedy. A complete compartment got burned. People died. OR

There was a conspiracy. A bogie was meticulously burned and its passengers killed.

Be it either ways. What should a government do? Try and get the situation under control, immediately, using all the available resources. Using all available resources, find the cause of the incident. If it is a tragedy, provide succor to the bereaved. If it was a conspiracy, hunt down the accused and put them on trial.

What did actually happen? And therein lies the tragedy. All your short-sighted comments about Hindu vs Muslim, population control, nazism, pseudo-secularism and what nots look eerily like a well oiled plan to not discuss the real issue at all.

You can fool some people all the time, all the people some time but not all the people all the time.

The truth must come out and fortunately, it will. Inspite of false figures, inspite of SIMI, inspite of pseudo secularists, inspite of RSS, "inspite of" all the machinery available to the authorities to find the truth, inspite of NGOs, inspite of everything.

Fringe Benefit Tax

The logic behind FBT is all very fine. The problem begins when FM insists that loss making companies and companies with less than 5-10 emploess also have to pay it. I dont understand the logic there.

Travel expenses are genuine expenses. If there are enterprieses who are "resourceful" enough to pump up such expenses in their balance sheet, I think the way to deal with it should be to penalise those enterprises rather than blanket bomb the entire populace with the FBT. If you are unable to catch the robber, it is hardly justified that you brand the one you caught as the burglar!

An enterprise, a new one at that, thrives on its ability to reach out to more and more clients and thus make its brand known. But if you are going to tax me for travelling, I will certainly think twice. Probably I would still end up travelling and even paying the FBT. But I would be one heck of an unhappy taxpayer. And unhappy taxpayers dont forget easily.

Moreso, when there exists avenues wherein the FM could have taxed and did not do it. But then it is so dashed easy to milk the already lactating cow (damn the fact that it is a skinny one), than hunt for another cow to milk. Too much work!!

In the end, the FM gets a deluge of curses, the govt gets booted out for bad governance (oh yes, that is exactly what it is), the employer is unhappy, the employee is morose. The Tax Dept can sit on another pile. Gandhiji's talisman can go climb the nearest commode and get flushed out.

FBT should be implemented, but only as long as they are "benefits" AND they are "fringe". And if the finance ministry cannot figure out how to define them, go learn English or get out of governing. You are a burden on others.