The biggest win of BJP has been to convince it's hardcore followers that anyone opposing them are part of this major global-funded toolkit or something. It's so hilarious if you think of it. Bhai tum duniya ke sabse rayees political party ho. Har jagah tum advertisements post kare jaa rahe ho. Birthday tum aise mana rahe ho jaise Diwali ho. American isharo pe ta thaiya tum kar rahe ho. Baaki saare parties nange se pade hai bina paise ke. Par apne logo ko mana rakha hai ki hum kisi se kuch paise deke nahi bulwa rahe, yeh bure log aise kar rahe hai.
Sahi hai bhai.
A friend of mine (slightly older squash buddy) recently faced an issue where BMC drain water got into their drinking and common water pipeline. His entire family was hospitalised and of course several people in his building. Mind you, this is a high rice fancy expensive Powai lake facing society where the houses must be 5-6 cr + if not more. He was feeling throughly disgusted with the system and kept saying what's even the point of living in this country, why am I paying so much taxes, I should just try to leave. Incidentally, that same friend is a hardcore Modi supporter.
Yesterday that same friend was having an argument with me regarding the protests. There were the usual anti-national CIA deepstate angles thrown by him, but I kept getting back to the demand of resignation of Pradhan and how it that a wrong demand? To which his notion was what'll be obtained from removing him. I tried to explain to him that it's all about accountability. If one is held accountable, then it creates an impact on others. Even if you want BJP to stay in power, at least there should be some accountability to ensure you do your job well. At least there should be a thought before screwing up or colluding with corrupt officers. I tried to even remind that wouldn't he want some accountability from the official incharge of the screw up in his building. At this point he got little thoughtful but ofcourse after a minute of 'that's a different thing' he was back to his usual stance.
But it shows me a fascinating thing. That the well-off Modi supporter would rather leave the country than think of changing things or improving the country. They have more or less accepted that things are bad and have placed that on the people themselves. Earlier most of the rich believed in making a silo around them so that country's issues don't bother them, but now that the issues are so much that it's managed to seep through those silos, they'd happily leave the country than even think of casting an aspersion on their beloved leader. Fascinating.
In 1997, this man was the ABVP National Secretary and was just about to join the Bharatiya Janata Party. There was a paper leak in Odisha and there was a major protest. This man participated in them. He was beaten by the police.
"We staged a protest against the Odisha government, in front of the secretariat. Around 1,500 students joined us there. While the protest was peaceful, the police charged against the activists. He was badly beaten up at that time. He had a few fractures too."
Who is he? Mr Dharmendra Pradhan. Imagine that Dharmendra Pradhan was protesting against paper leaks in 1997 and was beaten!
There is an amazing Indian Express article about him. Linked below. The irony? One of the interviewees says:
"under Pradhan's regime, the students will have more scope for dissent. "It is natural for students to be anti-establishment."
@TajinderBagga What about 220 acre Delhi Golf club paying just 5.82lakh per year lease rent with land valued at 50,000 Crore. It has 4000 members all IAS, Judges and politicians. Govt. pays subsidy of 1.5 Cr per member per year.
If I earn money, Nirmala tax leti hai, if I spend money then also Nirmala usme tax leti, if I don't earn or spend both and my money is just lying in investment, Nirmala uska bhi tax leti hai.
And best baat agar Mai tax deta hu, uspe bhi additional cess hai, toh usmei bhi Nirmala ek aur tax leti hai.
Test Cricket, unlike other sports, is a game of multilayered narrative. It's less a sport & more a novel being written over 5 days of sine waves.
Exactly why the greats of the format attain mythical hero status - their wins & losses metaphors of human condition. 1/4
#ShaneWarne
The constant threat of Warne's wizardry is a big part of what made 98 Tendulkar and VVS 01 special. Also, the way he led RR to the first IPL trophy.
Talking of just India memories alone. Such a rich career, and so many memories. A true wizard with the ball.
RIP SK Warne!
Dear God, When I said I'm tired of seeing just Corona news for two whole months and pls just give anything else, I really didn't mean Locust Attacks, Cyclones, Earthquake and now America on Fire.