BackPunch

                                    A STRIKING INSIGHT                                   8.5/10 What would a reader expect when the first topic in this book is straight against the Home Minister of India,  MR. P. Chidambaram. Titled ‘Mr. Chidambaram’s War’ Arundhati Roy makes each one of us pour into the book with that of a curiosity of a cat. The book is basically a collection of three essays:   Mr Chidambaram’s War ,   Walking with the Comrades   and Trickledown Revolution . The way she has handled sensitive issues in such a fearless way is appealing. I perhaps waited for a long time for the release of this book. After reading I realized that it was worth the wait and worth the pre-order. If drawn into comparisons her ‘The Algebra of Infinite Justice’ had more gripping stories. Arundh...

One thing I always wanted to write on was the age old industry called Prostitution or probably, in a not so harsh note, story of the commercial sex workers. They have so many names, places, taboos attached to their profession. A whore, a red light area and a lot of other words in the local language. I have always heard about the red light area in Pune which falls in Budhwar Peth. The surprising thing about this area is that it’s adjacent to the Mecca of second hand book sellers-the Appa Balwant Chowk. No one has read about the brothels in Pune. All of us know about Kamathipura in Mumbai or Sonagachi in Kolkata. The red light area belt in Pune is probably the third largest in India. This makes me recall an instance I heard from a friend. He stayed somewhere near Budhwar Peth. He had a habit of waking up and going straight into his balcony, stretching himself and looking out, enjoying the gentle breeze. He noticed a shopkeeper, before unlocking his shop, he looked straight and joined ...

                    A COMPELLING READ                                             7/10 I was always intrigued by female authors or books on gutsy females. The cover page of ‘Mafia Queens of Mumbai-stories of women from ganglands by S. Hussein Zaidi with Jane Borges made my mind rest in a juggling situation. I kept thinking as to what the lady was looking out for. Was it the police? Her accomplices? To check if her gangster son would come home safe or not? With so many questions in my mind just from the cover page compelled me to read the book. The book starts off with the story of a smuggler turned bootlegger Jenabai Chaawalwali turned Jenabai Daaruwali. Zaidi gets all the information from Jenabai’s  proud  daughter who is rather excited to tell everyting about her mother. The book has an amazing flow an...

 It was brutal, pre-planned and above all cold-blooded. The Godhra train burning incident shocked the Indian psyche and led to one of the worst communal riots India has seen unfold in Gujarat. After the accused were convicted by a special court, 11 out of the 31 people were awarded a death sentence and 69 others acquitted. But its the thought process of the demented minds that intrigues the average Indian and the extreme hostility certain communities harbour against each other. The burning of the coach that led to the death of 59 people, mostly Kar Sevaks from the Vishwa Hindu Parishath was “pre-planned” according to the judgment passed by the court. The Additional sessions judge P.R. Patel who pronounced the landmark judgment said, “it would not have been possible to gather Muslim persons with deadly weapons within five to six minutes and reach near “A” cabin on the railway track” after the train pulled to a stop after the chain was pulled two times. The judge was in agreement ...

I t was just a normal day for me. Woke up on the terrace.  Came down.  I never liked working for food. I had regular supply of the same from the person who took care of me. It was raining. I ventured out. I came onto the highway and was taken aback by the vehicle movement. I knew it would take some time to cross the road. Laziness being my best friend I sat on the footpath. I kept wondering about the person who cares about me. Cunningness being my second best friend I was never faithful to him. I just needed my food on time. That’s about it. I have no idea as to how I met him but he has been an integral part of my life. I looked past the road, it was a good distance from the place I was sitting. I seriously had no idea as to how I would reach the other side. I didn’t even feel like seeking help from someone by just following them whilst they cross the road.  I could just see people desperately trying to get cover from the showers. It wasn’t even raining heavily. I love...

Naxalism is something which didnt erupt in a day, it came up in 1967. All the people tagged maoists are tribals who have taken up arms just to safeguard their lands, their only livelihood. the condition is appalling. As pointedout in her book, if i remember the stats correctly,16000 tribals were branded maoists and thrown into jails jus cos theydid not give up their lands for a mining concern  in which the govt had vested interests.  Dantewada is one such place. The Vedanta inc has intersts in the land and the home minister is their legal and financial adviser. Vedanta is a mining corp. the govt has signed MoU's worth more than billions of dollars. All these are hazardous to the environment.  Arundhati Roy  and other activists have constantly been telling this. To wipe off the maoists a congress MLA formed the salwa judum 2 yrs back. But today the number of maoists have increased 3 times. Who is to blame? The govt's negligence towards the tr...

Well it was firstly a very calm and composed interview. Karan Thaparwas the interviewer. Arundhati Roy and Prashant Bhushan were the panelists. Prashant Bhushan was an active member of the NBA (Narmada Bachao Andolan). Arundhati Roy started her talk by condemning the violence  which happened on the 6th of April.The questions were asked respectfully with the principle of 'respect the speaker' in mind. Arundhati Roy did say that the govt was pretty sure that the lives of the jawans wud be lost. It was something like the govt  deciding the last day of the jawans. She said that the support she recd for her 31 page essay in Outlook[29mar 2010] was overwhelming. It reminded her of the support she received during her 'The God of Small Things' days. She knew she wud be abused for the same. THE TWEETS Barkha Dutt: We do not need more 36 page essay on the good folk of Dantewada. Nidhi Razdan: I'm sick of this romanticism. Where is this A...

So now the Indian government is planning to launch an all security force attack against the Maoists. Why? Either India can't control the rising pressure from China over the ownership of Arunachal Pradesh and the very old Kashmir issue. To hide all this from not being the important ones our Home Minister is concentrating on the Maoists. Because they are fighting because the Govt. is going to grab the land from them. india have seen very few fightbacks over evacuation for the construction of dams, the Narmada Bachao Andolan being the prominent. God knows if the Goverment has as promised rehabilitated them,if not,our Govt. would have the stupid excuse that the people were living illegally. When it comes to the evacuation and oppression of the poor all parties are one. The Govt. is sure to win the so called war against the Maoists who are fighting the ownership of their land so that a new billionaire doesn't come and invest. Not a single national politica...

 Atlast the Indian Government succumbed to K.Chandrashekhar Rao's calls for a separate Telengana state. Did the government succumb to his calls just because he is a politician? What about Irom Sharmila, the Iron Lady from Manipur, who is into the 10th year of her hunger strike demanding withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.  The government never paid any attention to her just because she is a civilian or rather a social activist without any corporate support.Now when a politician goes on a hunger strike, with the sole intenton of dividing the country, the central government almost readily agrees to his demands when his hunger strike enters the 11th day.  It would not take much long for the politicians of Gorkhaland, Bodoland or Vidarbha to come forward and demand statehood for those regions. If the government accepts KCR's demands it would be like knowingly opening a can of worms and inviting trouble. Hope the Government would spare some time to listen to I...

 By voicing her concerns against the Government over the alleged war over the Maoists, Arundhati Roy again proved her courage. As mentioned earlier by her in her book that about 32000 tribals were branded Maoists and thrown behind bars just because they refused to move from their lands to make way for a mining corporation. She also didn't support the wrongdoings of the maoists. Surprisingly the tribals believe in them than the system. It would be good if the Maoists lay down their arms and get into talks with the government because we as citizens do not want to see our government waging a war against its own people.

Just as the name suggests, Endosulfan is an insecticide. After being banned in a  number of countries, India finally approved its usage. Where else do we test it other than Kerala? Even after a lot of studies informed that usage of Endosulfan would lead to cancer and stop human development, the Central Government gave a go ahead. There have also been rumours that these patients aint victims of the insecticide instead suffering from Handigodu disease. The Kerala government kept requesting the Central Government that this is infact a harmful chemical. The public protests were also on a high. One of the worst affected was the Kasargod district where entire families started showing signs of mental imbalance. The central Government turned a blind eye to the entire episode and also blaming the then Communist led government in Kerala for its anti-development crusade. The central government went a step further, they filed a case against the kerala government’s request ...