Reluctant Fundamentalist

Today morning, as I was waking up, I discovered that in my bed I had been reduced into a black flag.

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All of a sudden, a verdict falls on mankind like a thunderbolt. Not for the first time and not for the last time. Court will pronounce peace and leave justice to the progeny! And historians and archeologists will be called upon to decide the matters of faith! Whether Lord Ram was born there or not! They might as well decide whether God exists or not.

That has never been just another place. And that is not just another case anymore. There lies a history in the background which gives a meaning to "whatever the hell is happening" today. It's a story of a haunted house. It's a burning emblem of a culture that needs to restore its vitality, its honor and its potency. The defeated needs to redeem himself. Tolerant he must be, but not unconditionally. His dignity he must not forfeit. And cowardly he must never feel. Forgiveness doesn't come for free; it has to be deserved and re-deserved. With the passage of time, peace will follow justice. But Justice must not be challenged again. Those who are fooled by the sight of olive branches must remember that there lies a gun in the right hand.

He has willed to come back, time and again. Had he been a man, one probably could have stopped him. Had he been a God, one possibly could have stopped him. But he is neither a man nor a God. He is an idea. And as learned men say, no army can stop an idea whose time has come.

What's happening is not new. His exile is yet another beginning of the old epic. He has always been betrayed by the throne. That has been his destiny. But the same destiny also marks the fall of evil, no matter how powerful, how assured. He will walk through the forests and the trees will bow. The clouds will scatter, the mountains will stand aside, and the seas will give way. His army will find him. Vain will be vanquished again. And he will again make his people believe in him. As history will be there to witness, the Ramayan will happen, yet again.

Monsoon Mess

NO city in India can stand 2 hrs of rainfall. "Civic Life" kneels down, and "civilians" are on all 4. While we negotiate our bikes/cars though the anarchy, through deepened trails (flanked by cakes of mud), pothole-lakes and gravel-hills, and while we issue noise-threats to all and sundry to give us our way, all we think of is "to get out of this mess". How often does it occur to us that we are part of the problem? How many of us feel that we are just too many? Because of over-supply, the value of life has fallen down to nothingless. We are not people, we are just market. We the Consumers have Harley-Davidson machines but alas! no roads to ride them. Individually, we order Aquafina in polished restaurants but collectively, we have no sense of sanitation! We live in a market, not society. How can we call ourselves civilized when we don't have a sewage system?

Ladakh 2010

Silence,
the echo of silence,
from far forests,
reverberating inside.





The Mahayana monestaries in Ladakh, speaking philosophically, would probably disappoint Buddha and his followers. But they still maintain an environment which is conducive to meditative mood. The experience that I had had there was not spiritual as such, but it was certainly therapeutic. The serenity of the place stays in your mind for long time. It seems you are sitting at the bottom of a lake, and the noise of world cannot disturb you. It's ineffable till it lasts. And incredible afterwards.


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Why I take pictures, I wondered.

There are two types of photos – one in which I am there, and other in which I am not. When I am there in a picture, I cannot turn blind eye to the one thing ugly in it. And since my appetite for self-ridicule is not unlimited, I would rather stay out of the frame. On the other hand, when I am not in a picture, it doesn’t interest me much. Even if there is any beauty in it, it is dead for me. The postcards and wallpapers don’t rouse memories. They don’t connect to moments or events. Besides, I know I am not the best postcard photographer alive. So, why click? And why travel, by the way? Why would one leave home, and all the comforts, and on top of all even pay for it?

Doubt, it seems, is a natural psychological response to physiological deficiency of Oxygen. And why not? After all, what do we travel far for, if not for some Oxygen? The questions are many, and one ponders out of breath while clicking in the meantime to capture pictures - the metaphors of experience.



Ladakh, however, looks like the pictorial representation of the word - Picturesque. The brown barren highlands canopied by the divine blue sky-scape with white Van Gogh-ish swirls makes you forget the travails of traveling - including sun-burns and frost-bites. Leh, the capital of Ladakh, has hitherto been a secluded haven for adventurers, trekkers and bikers (predominantly foreigners). It's only after the release of "3 Idiots", a Bollywood blockbuster, Ladakh caught the fancy of Indian youth. Result - the number of Indian tourists tripled this year.


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The map of world keeps changing. As of now, Jammu is Hindu, Kashmir is Muslim, and Ladakh is Buddhist. Thankfully, since it is difficult to misinterpret Buddhism beyond a point, Ladakh is peaceful. But with Kashmir in west and Tibet in east, with disturbances flowing in from both the sides, the prospects of peace looks precarious in future. Take this - our Kashmiri driver refused to take tea from our hosts in Leh, because they were Buddhists (as he confided to Farida, a friend and our trip organizer).

Ladakh is home to the thousands of refugees from Tibet, who make their living by selling "Free Tibet" T-shirt to the tourists. Their religious leader, His Honorable Dalai Lama, spends most of his time chit-chatting with white women and feeling great about it. His Ray-Ban photographs are worshipped in monasteries. He is second only to Buddha, or it may well be the other way round.

India's foreign policy is interesting. With natural enemies like Pakistan and Bangladesh around, they have to displease China by providing recognition to this phony coward and his so-called "government-in-exile". Tibet is a part of China, so is Aksai Chin*, and India can do nothing about it anyway. Going back in time, Mao was not the least unreasonable in rejecting the validity of McMahon Line, considering it a part of colonial legacy. 1962 happened because Nehru was blind to Reason. Still, despite winning the war, China didn't annex Ladakh, Sikkim, and Tawang, which are still part of Sino-India controversy. Today, when China is fighting against the ubiquitous Islamic separatist movement in Xianjing, and when India is emerging as the next Asian economic power, the motivation for their alliances is multifold and the potential benefits are immense. India simply cannot afford strained relation with China. But Delhi has its reasons that Reason cannot understand.

* China needed Aksai Chin to connect Xianjing to Tibet by Road.

Kashmir 2010

What I can write is nothing but a recollection of an impression. And if I were to be honest, even this impression is not mine. It’s borrowed. And I share it with countless others. Open your windows and you can smell it. It’s blowing in the wind.

But no perspective is superfluous, as long as it is unique, and more importantly, interesting. Since I can’t care for the uninterested, and I have no means to ascertain the uniqueness of my perspective, the worth of my effort, in my own eyes, is nothing if it is not completely and entirely mine. To the least, I can be honest with myself. I can hold to my memory which is fading every passing day. I can still close the windows to keep the wind out. If I have to smell the truth, I have to breathe in the stale air.





A rather prosaic way to talk about an experience which should be rather poetic, isn’t? Well, excuse me ladies, but romance is unseasonable in Kashmir these days. And poetry is clichéd if not entirely anachronistic; and if I were Kashmir, I would be tired of the dull talks of Dal and Shikara ride. Well, no milk for me, and no sugar please. Make it hard this time. Allow me to taste the reality.


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Some people dismiss reputation as nonsense. I don’t. I believe that no bias can stand without a base. Kashmiri Pundits are said to be the Jews of Valley – rich, and cunning. That might be true. However, that can not be a valid justification to target them, loot them, rape them, murder them, and scare them out of the valley. Almost all well-known Hindu temples are known to be full of filth, noise, corruption, and worst forms of materialism. A majority of Hindu pilgrims are known to be a mob of hooligan loafers. And many Hindu priests are known to be molesters and scamsters. But can these things justify a systematic attack on an entire civilization? After all, who is beyond reproach? Who will throw the first stone?

In Kashmir, however, everyone is throwing stones. In light-hearted mood, the locals call it “One Day Cricket”. Though forbidden in Islam, pelting stones is a latest strategy of Jehad, suggested by Lashkar and supervised by Hurriyat. Go out in mob and throw those beamers on Jawans. Make them play, which they eventually will, and then cry out loud that “innocents” have been targeted. Don’t hold a gun else you will be treated as a terrorist. Hold a stone and you remain one of the faceless nameless “innocent” protesters. Since December 2008, after Friday prayers, bowling games are played in the streets of Srinagar.

Before the army was deployed, these innocent people played the role of helpless neighbours when Pundits were targeted and ousted by the “terrorists”. Those were the days of JKLF, the local avatar of Lashkar, a gang of misdirected youth. They were popular then. And why not, the innocent neighbours were the direct beneficiaries of their gun-toting adventures. But soon the redistribution of wealth was over, and the JKLF goons were resented for their amorous ambitions. Now powerful, they were beginning to mess with the existing caste system. Understandably, since utility was exhausted, support was withdrawn. Yasin Malik, the reformed Robinhood, finally married a Pakistani and retired into oblivion after his "change of heart".

Lashkar & Co, on the other hand, found another ally in Hurriyat, a congress of Mullahs. Now when Kafirs were ousted, what remained were their footprints. Before they should trace their path back home, their footprints had to be erased for good. No home for Kafirs in Dar al-Islam. So Anantnag was rechristened as "Islamabad" in Kashmiri newspeak.

Throughout my stay, the Lal Chowk area of Srinagar was kelpt under curfew. Gilani, the Hurriyat mastermind, had issued a week’s program for the people. On Monday, while I was in Gulmarg, schoolchildren were to bunk schools and come out on the streets. Why should kids be involved in their political games, I asked a shopkeeper. What do they know about these things? Why should they be deprived of education, and a life that education provides? And after all, in Free Kashmir or in India, these kids will have to support a family when they grow up. Hurriyat mullahs are not likely to share the dough that they receive from their Lashkar masters. What I heard from him reminded me of the Nazi Germany. Jehad was on, and lack of enthusiastic cooperation would be interpreted as treason. Parents, principals, and students are expected to toe the line without questions, without doubt, and without fail. Hurriyat has no use of the likes of Dr Shah Faisal.

It's imporant to understand economics to understand politics. The economics of Lal Chowk is interesting. The economics of other parts of Srinagar is different. Tourists are not touched because they are useful. No wonder we could come out unscathed out of "the burning streets of Srinagar".


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Ordinary people believe ordinary ideas, like ignorance is a deadly sin; when coupled with complacence, it becomes deadlier, and stubbornness makes it the deadliest. Man must be wary of them. But Nehru was not ordinary. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. With that silver spoon, and the power that followed, he could afford a few sins. He was another Shahjehan, and so he could afford another Tajmahal. Being a dreamy-eyed poet, he could see whatever he wanted to. And let’s not forget, he was a gifted wizard. He could hypnotise, and show whatever he felt like. He could charm a lady. He could conjure up a rainbow in midnight. And he could even fancy secularism in an Islamic state. After all, to his intellectual eyes, invasion of one race on another was just like a geological event, a cute confluence of two rivers!

Time was on his side, the world was at his feet, and he carried on with his elite contempt towards common wisdom. Meanwhile, his destiny waited for his tryst with his nemesis. Thanks to Mao, Nehru died a wiser man, but by then he had already left a legacy of his schizophrenic idealism, his youthful romance, on his ordinary progeny. Before his sunset, perhaps he would have wanted to deliver a characteristically dramatic speech to share his coming-of-age realizations. But the blow was so hard, and so late, that he could not stand up on his legs. When the curtain fell, he was a man with broken legs and broken heart. Typical Greek Tragedy – Hubris, Hamartia, and Catharsis; he must have read it all. But reading and understanding are very different things; as different as Abhimanyu and Arjun, as different as death and life!

Talking of Kashmiri people, Peace and Justice they deserve. But freedom they do not, since freedom is usually synonymous with land, and land is not only theirs. They share their land with many others who they have forgotten. Also, before anything else, it should be understood that no political party in India would ever dare to support the secession of Kashmir. The maximum they can get from Delhi is sympathy.

But they deserve more than mere sympathy. India calls itself a secular state. This is a challenging undertaking and it takes tough character to take challenging undertakings. Delhi must act tough. The idea of India is on fire. Nehru’s lab – or Tajmahal - is on fire. What Kashmir needs is a team of fire-fighters – the men of characters like Beant Singh and a KPS Gill. And a green signal from Delhi to launch a crackdown on separatists. Pakistan was enough of nonsense. It’s an open secret that the demand for freedom of Kashmir is a veiled attempt to annex another piece of land by the Muslim extremists, who are well-funded by Pakistan. What they fail to realize is that the non-Muslim majority of India can’t be reasonably subjected to the ideology of secularism for long if the only state with Muslim majority rejects the same. Secularism cannot be a unilateral responsibility. The breach of contract from one side would encourage the same from another. The freedom of Kashmir would mean a death of secularism in India. Having said that, what was done to the Hindus in Kashmir cannot be done to the Muslims in India. Muslims can’t be ousted from India, and therefore Kashmir can’t be given away. Kashmir is where the idea of secularism and modern India must prevail. To save India, this lab must be saved.

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Finally, I will reflect upon a curious pattern that I have observed. All across the non-Muslim world, Muslims are increasingly known to be trouble-making “terrorists”. As I had previously said, I don’t dismiss reputations. At the same time, my personal experience suggests that a Muslim man is usually honest, soft-spoken, and warm individual. Better than an average Hindu any day, if you ask me. Collectively, however, Hindus are exceptionally hospitable and tolerant. Individually, Hindus win Olympic medals in all the martial games. Collectively, they are considered cowards by others. This irony is interesting. I will think about it.

On Naxalism

- Folks, today we will talk about Naxalism. Are you interested?

- Yes Sir.

- Fine. Let's start. In your opinion, what do you think Naxalism is?

- Naxalism is, apart from things that neither matter nor makes sense, killing obscure people in obscure places with a unique stamp of barbarity.

- What doesn't matter? What doesn't make sense?

- What they think doesn't matter and what they do doesn't make much sense. As a class struggle, Naxalism contradicts itself. Let me draw an interesting parallel.

A few months back Raj Thakare spawned venom against Biharis. Biharis in turn retaliated by vanadalizing railway tracks and trains coming from/going to Mumbai. What made this rather grim issue ridiculous is their failing to realize a simple fact - that only Biharis travel in these trains, Marathis don't.

- You mean to say that it is foolish to kill fellow proletariat to fight against bourgeoisie.

- Rather ridiculous, and pathetic.

- OK. In the wake of the Dantewada massacre, I am sure you will support the popular demand of launching the severest possible crackdown against the Naxalites.

- On the contrary.

- Why?

- Because effect must not be confused with cause; effect is not cause, it is effected by cause.

In this context, Naxalism is mere effect, not the cause. The cause is something else. It is naive to think that Naxalism will finish with the Naxalites. Clipping the leaves won't kill the plant.

- It did kill the plant in Punjab.

- Well, this plant is not ideological, it is rooted deeper in soil. Remember - there is no Naxalism in metros.

- I will take you point. Go ahead.

- To understand Naxalism, we have to be ready to change our vantage point to see the other version of the story. Also, we have to define the words that we use.

If Naxalism is seen as internal terrorism, it's simple. And simplistic.

But if it is seen as a war against the spirit of law, I have reasons to believe that what we call Naxalism is just one type of Naxalism - let's call it rural-Naxalism. There exists its binary opposite - urban-Naxalism, which is found in metros. However, the influential law-breakers sit in parliament, others are branded as Naxals.

Putting crudely, whereas the former is Jhatka, the latter is Halaal. Both kill, the difference is that the Halaal kills coldly and slowly, and it is permitted in books. Also, whereas the former is sensational and spectacular, the latter is subtle and sophisticated. Whereas the former's effectiveness lies in making noise, the latter's efficacy depends on maintaining a clinical silence. But in spirit, both are essentially the same. And as far as cause and effect is considered, I am sure that the latter is the cause. Delhi is the headquarter of Naxalism.

- That's extraordinary. You are saying that the real Naxalites sit in Delhi!

- Of course. And in other parts of India, which is a collection of discrete "comfortably numb" islands of swimming pools and "Rain Dance" in the vast desert of drought and thirst called Bharat.

- So, what do you think should be done?

- To begin with, Bisleri should be banned. Those who steal and subsequently sell people's property in market should be put behind bars. Selling water is understandable as unorganized crime but not as institutionalized business. After all, you do not grow water. It is a crime to systematically deprive people of their most fundamental right - natural resources. This whole thing reeks of connivance, and conspiracy against people.

The people should be given what they deserve as citizens - not as charity and welfare programs but as their long overdue fundamental right.

Bharat has been paying dearly for the games India play. Delhi spends more in cosmetics than entire North-East spends in education and health. Dams are built in villages and power is wired to cities for their "Rain Dance". And the dispossessed people of Bharat are left to stand in scorching sun begging on India's red-lights. This has to change.

- Because disparity causes discontent.

- Not just disparity, but the remorseless show-off of it. Why do you think farmers commit suicide in Andhra but not in neighboring Orissa?

- But does that vindicate violence?

- That is violence, though of halaal type. Thanks to jhatka we are even talking about the victims of violence. Though these idiots have been killing animals of their own type, the urgency of the matter is being realized.

Democracy is based on a possibility of rebellion. The ruling class must not be made to be complacent and indifferent to people. The earliest symbol of people's will - Guillotine - must be installed outside a parliament as a reminder.

- Instead, the parliament is planning to initiate an full-fledged assault on the Naxalite bastions. Perhaps armed forces will be deployed to counterstrike them.

- There has been a perpetual conflict between those who want Justice/change and those who want Peace/status quo. However, decisions like this would further vindicate the Naxalites' propaganda. The state will further alienate itself from people.

This is a sorry situation. First brand them all mad, and then shoot them all.

I will conclude with a these two lines -

पहले तो होश छीन लिए ज़ुल्म-ओ-सितम से,
दीवानगी का फिर हमें इलज़ाम दिया है

Multiplex Democracy

- Let's talk something.

- What should we talk about?

- What are people talking about?

- Well, I don't know about that. But the breaking news and headlines suggest that people are talking about IPL and My Name is Khan.

- I am not sure about people, but media is indeed talking about My Name is Khan. And they are talking about it non-stop day and night.

All we have on media nowadays is this movie, the making of this movie, interviews, clippings, bites, teasers, opinions, polls, and God knows what. It saturates you to the extent that it feels nauseating just to have a look at news. I am sure this is not the news our parents and teachers wanted us to watch.

- That's right. But media is trying to mobilize people to support this movie.

- But why on earth media would want to support a movie? Is this what media is supposed to do?

- Perhaps they think this is how we can defy the Sena effectively. And defying Sena is crucial for us if we value freedom.

- Defying Sena makes sense, because we do value freedom. And if they have brought us to a point where we have to defy them to move around, so be it. If they should be defied, they must be defied.

So far, so good.

But I maintain that media should understand its role and should restrict itself to the making up of national opinion and conscience. It is not supposed to usurp the responsibilities of other institutions, especially judiciary. It is there to ensure that they function properly. Also, media should learn from its mistakes - it had shown remarkable incompetence in the infamous Aarushi case when it had gone out of the way, conducted trials, passed judgments, and made the mess of everything, to the embarrassment of all.

Moreover, I wonder how can we make a political decision by making a commercial move? How can buying tickets of a movie be the best way of defying Sena?

- Why? Don't you buy gifts to express love?

There is a connection. Mahatma Gandhi knew this connection when he started his Swadeshi movement. This movie has become a symbolic ground of a war between those who value freedom and those who deny others their freedom.

- Sounds impressive. But still smells fishy.

- Why?

- Well, I have some doubts in my mind.

- Go on, I am listening.

- OK, then listen.

Media frequently shows that it has no sense of history. History, as I see it, is the memory we could not get rid of. History - unforgettable memory. These memories dominate our thoughts, and shape our prejudices. The idea is not to ignore history but to deal with it in an adult fashion. Media frequently feigns innocence, and naivety, while dealing with complex issues, particularly the India-Pakistan issue. The whole IPL and subsequently MNIK controversy has been engendered by people's sensitivity for this issue combined with media's penchant to allow itself to be abused by power-brokers.

Also, issues and symbols are in plenty around us. For starters, IPL and MNIK are non-issues. It is media which has chosen to make a movie a symbol of a holy war, because those who run these media houses might possibly have stakes in this movie, or showbiz in general. And these people might possibly like to take commercial advantage of a political situation.

- I have heard this before. What else?

- I feel that the disconnect between the sensibilities of the media and people is huge, and the gulf of mutual indifference is widening day by day. Men indulge themselves in news in same way as women indulge themselves in soaps, for distraction and "time-pass". The beginning of mutual contempt doesn't augur well for democracy.

I do not want to sound pessimistic. But what can I do - trying to sound optimistic is harder. Let me try to explain - when you wake up, take a good look at the map of India. Tell me which part do you think is free.

Look at the North-East, the seven step-sisters of the mainland India. You must have heard about the epic fast of Irom Sharmila. I hope the sight of those naked women parading with the banner reading "Rape Us" must still be fresh in your memory.

Now allow your attention to fall on this huge black Naxalite blot in the east. I am sure you must be aware of Salwa Judum, or of the conflicts that involve the likes of Binayak Sen and Himanshu Kumar and thousands others.

The east will be east, you might say. Oh don't say that. Don't be so condescending. Come North, please. You might have been living a Revlon life in Gurgaon for last ten years or so without ever having to hear about Khap, the local avatar of Taliban.

The worst is still to be seen but I will not detain you for long. Let's go straight to South. Come on.

- What are you coming at?

- I will tell you. We have just had a glimpse at the map of India. Could you please look at the map again, and locate the region that you consider free?

- I don't understand...

- Then why only Mumbai? And why only Sena and movie stars? When media is busy talking about stars and promoting their movies, who will talk about people? Who will talk about them, their lives and their freedom? Who will free them? Who will ask the answers to real questions involving (but not limited to) irrigation, public distribution system, land reforms, public health care, primary education, environment, gender ratio, inclusive growth, human rights, police act, naxalism, famines, droughts, floods etc?

On 13th Jan 2010, Satish Shetty was gunned down in broad daylight. Who was he, one might ask. Well, the answer lies in the question itself.

- Please don't talk in riddles.

- Satish Shetty was one of those rare men who we would need to enjoy what we do not deserve - a self-centered life of assured democracy. He was a whistle-blower who made enough noise to stop what starts to happen when all of us keep silence. He used the ultimate weapon we have been given - R.T.I. - and thwarted many anti-people projects. In his way he happened to frustrate those who could not defeat him by the rules of ring. Despite his humble background, he made himself important enough to get assassinated. Living by courage and integrity reminiscent of mythological characters, he has earned a place from where he can inspire. He is the type of man who we would like to support.

It is he who needs to be hailed as a hero. It is his story that needs to be talked about.

But the problem with media is - either they wont talk, or they talk ad nauseam. Vishal Bharadwaj is either an anonymous nobody, or a Tarantino. And till the time he is not a Tarantino, he is a nobody. There is no middle ground. They don't seem to realize that the language of hyperbole defeats its own purpose. You respect Vishal Bharadwaj for what he is till somebody compares him to Tarantino. There is another caveat to this - since they don't see enough dynamite in an ordinary Satish Shetty to blast ad nauseam, they wont even mention him.

- Instead, they will collect and distribute trivia of the cardboard heroes.

- You said it! Media is obsessed with limelight, and celebrity worship. When you urge people to cast their votes in multiplexes, you know what type of hero and what type of democracy you are making, and supporting. Over and out.

Pakistan a parody, a country-cum-comedy

Pakistan: betrayed by one league* and humiliated by the other; a useless experiment but a useful example, a tragedy of errors, a lesson learned belatedly.

Poor Pakistanis, trapped in Pakistan the inherited curse, the hole dug by their fathers! How they would like to correct the clock, and be a part of what's happening in their neighborhood, even for a brief while! Oh Jinnah, can you hear, and bear - your players want to play in India!

And why just them? Your singers come to sing in India. Your people are cooking "Indian food" in "Indian restaurants" all across Europe and America. India - the sun of your solar system, the land of your opportunities, especially for those who hate it the most. While Allah plays on their lips, it is India that plays on their minds.

India: a sobering reminder of the mistakes committed in passion; a tree that does not stop growing and bearing bitter fruits of envy, a brother whose god-damn seniority doesn't seem to diminish with years passing by.

China is, thankfully, bigger. China - Pakistan's consolation.

What's this fuss for? Pakistanis want to sell themselves but the Indians refuse to buy them. And that is an obvious violation of their national right. Can anyone ever deny Pakistanis their part of the Indian pie? They got it in 1947, they will get it again, peacefully or otherwise. India should not make mistake of dismissing Pakistan just because it is in tatters and walks begging around to anyone-who-cares to spare some change. Despite everything non-respectable, Pakistan should be respected for being a neighbor, and for its nuisance value.

Pakistan - the local eunuch you must be scared of.

Cricket commentators claim that cricket can cure. They believe that the cricketers are the white pigeons of peace. On the other hand the government** of Pakistan has condemned politics in cricket, and warned that this is not only insensitive but also retrogressive on India's part. Such irresponsible behavior is liable to aggravate situation in Kashmir and foment violence in Baluchistan. In that case, the government of Pakistan will not be able to do anything about 26/11.

Meanwhile, to deal with the national crisis, and to heal the emotional wound inflicted by the snobbish neighbor, the government feels obliged to ban the Indian movies and channels. This will, among other things, revive the careers of the actresses who had to resort to Mujra dance in private functions.

After Pokhran, Daddy Bhutto declared that people of Pakistan will eat grass but they will get atomic weapons. He did what he had said. It is hard to find grass in Pakistan anymore. Weapons, however, are everywhere. Time beckons the people of Pakistan to show the fire in their faith again. Let the Pakistani corporate (ahem) come ahead and buy their players at double the rate they would have got here. In case they need grass, others can oblige.

* Muslim League and Indian Premier League.
** whatever.