The Dance Begins...

The Biggest Democratic Elections are almost a Month a away and the Dance to reach the highest seat of authority has begun.

But unlike the reality show ' Dancing with the Stars', we can't eliminate the ones that we don not like every week. And, we only have one chance to make the difference. To make sure that the Right People are put at the place.

The Elections dates have been announced.

The First phase starts on the 13th of April and the last Phase is on 13th May. The counting will happen on one day for all the constituencies- 16th May. Therefore in the coming two months we will have  a new Government.

24% of the Voting population is between 18 - 25 years. And, 43 Million is the number of new voters that have been added in the electoral rolls since 2004.

So, what is it that is going really sway the elections this time??

US- The Youth.

Guys, its once in a 5 years chance that is coming our way. Lets make a difference... and Vote. Vote Wisely.

Stand up for the values of the Gen X... and make the right choices. And, for further information on the Dance of Democracy... and the role that we can play in the Coming General elections... join the Lead India Initiative.

Its time for Change. Lets make it Happen.

Learning from the Manglore Issue..

I found this article while surfing the net.

Its by Vir Sanghvi.

You can follow the link and read it at the actual source, or read it below.

"Learning Lessons from Manglore

Vir SanghviSun, Feb 8 01:40 AM

Most of us will have been encouraged by some of the political responses to the attack on pub-goers in Mangalore. Even Rajnath Singh, not usually perceived as a pillar of the liberal establishment, delivered a ringing condemnation of the assaults and most political parties joined the chorus of disapproval. The politicians - and many media commentators - based their criticisms of the assault on two separate liberal principles. The first was: nobody can take the law into his or her own hands. It is legitimate to strongly object to something but quite unacceptable to forego due process and take direct action. The second principle was the traditional liberal one of 'live and let live'. I may disapprove of what you do but unless your actions directly harm me I have no right to stop you. This principle has been used to argue that even if the lunatics on the fringes of the Sangh parivar found the pubs objectionable, they had no business preventing those who liked the so-called 'pub culture' from enjoying it. Both principles are strong and well-established and I can see why they have been quoted. They are usually used by politicians and editorial writers to condemn attacks on cinema halls showing Fire, on shops selling Valentine's Day cards, etc. etc. But here's my problem: I think we need to go beyond the standard liberal denunciations of the Mangalore violence because the usual objections seem to me to be entirely inadequate here. The real issues run much deeper. Go to the politicians who have condemned the Mangalore attack, ask them a few significant questions and see what responses you get. Ask Rajnath Singh, for instance, what he thinks of the so-called 'pub culture'. My guess is that he will say that he disapproves of it entirely because it goes against Indian culture. Ashok Gehlot has already been asked this question and delivered an attack on 'pub culture'. (Later, when it was pointed out to him that his response came off as toeing the Sangh parivar line, he quickly amended it to say that he was only against alcoholism - but by then, the damage had been done.) Go further. Ask this question of L.K. Advani. Of Lalu Prasad Yadav. Of Mayawati. My guess is they'll all say the same thing: that going to pubs is against 'Indian culture'. That's my problem with the liberal position that is being used to condemn the Mangalore attacks. Politicians will say they disapprove of the violence and shed tears over the incident. But they will still support the cause and agenda of the goondas. This was brought out most clearly in the response of the Karnataka Chief Minister who issued the routine condemnation but then followed it up with a ringing denunciation of the 'pub culture'. He was a liberal, he said. He did not mind if people went out to eat 'non-veg' (wow!). But it was against our very cultural traditions to go drinking in pubs at night. My fear is that we will allow the politicians to fool us. Because they appear to making the right condemnatory noises, we do not realise that, in essence, their views are no different from those of the hoodlums, who attacked the pub. It is only the methods that they are quibbling over. At the root of the against-our-cultural-traditions argument is a specious notion of what culture is. What the politicians are saying is that culture is static; that it is the sum total of social practices at any given time. Any deviation from those practices represents a dangerous drift away from all the things that make us Indian. This is so flawed an argument that it is plain silly. What is Indian culture, in this sense, anyway? Is it sati? That was an established practice once upon a time. Is it untouchability? Is it dowry? Is it beef-eating? (We know that the Vedic Aryans ate beef.) Is it forcing widows to wear white? All of us would agree that none of these things represents Indian culture as we know it. Yet, there was a time when all these practices were part of the cultural consensus. And deviations from them were vigorously opposed as being alien to our cultural traditions. The truth is that culture is never static; it changes over time. If the BJP wants us to go back to the roots of ancient Indian culture then where do we stop? At sati? At wearing unstitched clothes? It is entirely legitimate for Yeddyurappa or Gehlot or other politicians to disapprove of bars or of alcohol. But they have no right to define Indian culture or to claim that it should be frozen in time. They are not the custodians of our culture. And my guess is that politicians don't even understand what culture is anyway. There is a second, worrying element to the Mangalore attacks that, despite Renuka Chowdhury's agitated response, seems to have passed without much comment from other politicians. Have you noticed how every time male politicians jump up and down shouting about threats to our culture, the issue nearly always involves the freedom and choices of women? Think about it. When Sharad Yadav is in full flow, it is 'baal-katti' women he objects to. When M.A. Naqvi protests about TV coverage of 26/11, he complains about women who wear lipstick. When R.R. Patil wants to shut down Bombay's beer bars (as he successfully did), it's not the beer he objects to but the women dancers. When the Sangh parivar wants to ban Fire, it is because the film shows two women in a lesbian relationship. Nobody objects to the homosexual sub-text of Dostana - hell, they probably identify with it. Similarly, when Hindu communalists attack the crew of Water, it is because the film shows how badly we treat our widows. Make a film about how badly we treat our adivasis or dalits and nobody will care. Even moral policing, as we call it, is really about keeping women in check. Why do policemen and political hoodlums crack down on courting couples? Only because they think it is 'immoral' or wrong (or 'against Indian culture') for women to be allowed to display affection with men of their choice. What angers me the most about the Mangalore attack is that the agenda is not really anti-alcohol or about any concern for India's cultural traditions. It is about controlling women. The pubs had been going for a while but the hoodlums had never attacked them. When they launched their assault it was directed at the women in the pub. It was the very presence of women, their exercise of their free choice to drink and their decision to sit with men that so angered the political goondas. All this is more worrying than the simple fact of vigilantes taking the law into their own hands. Of course it is wrong to do that - as all the politicians have dutifully pointed out. But that's not the real issue. The crisis within our society is not just about random acts of violent political protest. It is the unspoken agreement between politicians across parties that it is entirely legitimate to deny Indian women the same rights as men; that they cannot have any sexual or romantic choices of their own; and that if they dare enjoy themselves in the way that men do (in a pub, for instance), they will be punished and made to suffer. The BJP holds forth about intolerance and about how women get a bad deal within the Muslim community. But does it have any right to complain about Talibanisation when members of the extended parivar do much the same thing and BJP Chief Ministers suggest that apart from the violence, they agree with these retrograde positions? These are the questions we need to ask - not just of the BJP, but of all of India's politicians. Let's not be fobbed off with platitudes about how all violence is bad. Let's get to the core issues: what right do these jokers have to define Indian culture? And why do modern Indian women make our male politicians so insecure? Is it because they are even more inadequate than we realise??"

I completely agree with what Mr. Sanghvi has to say.

How can the so called keepers of Morals, and Indian culture define 'Indian Culture' when they themselves have no morals or ethics?

We are still there...

Recession has surely stuck really hard...!!!

This blogpage is back to being a blogspot from a .com page.

But, I am going to try and make sure that recession the form posts doesn't hit the page.

I know that it has been a long time since a post has been put up on this page. But, I am going to try really hard to make sure that posts are put up on Shayon's Labyrinth, more often.

Dear Reader,

You have been the constant support to the page... please remain so.

And We are going to give you some great reads. For sure. Atleast try... to do just that.

Thanks, and keep coming back.

Happy New Year....

Makeover for 2009...

The countdoqn to the new year has begun.

Only the Last three days of this Godforsaken year are left... and well.. I have no new Year resolutions.

In 2007, there was excitement and there was so much of energy, and thus it felt bad to say bbye to that year. 

but unfortunately, 2008 was a year that started on a very depressing and sad note for me personally... (I had a huge fight at home, and I was in bed at 8 pm,we had no maid, thus that time, the tempers were high, coz all of us had to do the house work.)

But, the bad vibes were a part of the year that is finally bidding adeiu to us. Atleast I am not nostalgic about this year... (December is a lil bit of an exception)

2008, saw the terror strikes increase by god knows how much... there were people dying everywhere, literally.

If not by the bomb blasts then by the heart attack that the finnacial crunch that crushed the global markets. Inflation was at an all time high... people have been losing jobs... and well, we can only hope that 2009 does bring in some cheer.

The most major events for which this year would be remembered  (in random order...)

1. Barrack Obama:

America made history, when in the three hundered years of its democracy, it elected a black young president. The whole world has high hopes from this young lad, who in his winning speech talked about bringing a whole lot of positive change in Uncle Sam's country.

India hopes, that while Obama is signing policies that would change the way America is, he shouldn't forget that USA plays a very important role globally and thus doesn't act stupid to jeopardize the harmonious world market scenario that is being built up. (In easy language, doesnt blow away the outsourcing...)

2. 123 Agreement:

The most remembered deal in the history of International diplomatic relations between India and America. Also, one of the very few good things that happened during the Bush administartion.

This deal made India, a nation to reckon with.

3. Note for Vote Scam:

How can one forget the spectacle that the parliament had... seriously you feel that this nation is run by a bunch of jokers and KG class kids who will do anything to be the best. This scam ofcoutrse, showed the true picture of 'the ugly hideous' Indian politics, especially wen the whole world was tuned in.

4. Speeches- Rahul Gandhi, Lalu, Omar Abdullah, and PM:

During the trust vote, these were the few speeches that stood out,

Rahul Gandhi's leelavati (some wati) that created a rukus in the parliament because the BSP felt offended, coz of that name having wati like in Mayawati (man why doesn't she get her wati copyrighted..!!!)

Lalu ji's speech could become fodder for two whole comic serials' script... but it was great fun to listen to his weird speech.. which had no relevance...

Omar's speech was the strongest... it was small and sent out a clear message... a speech that was talked about alot... after it was delivered.

PM Singh's speech, it was left unsaid, but I can only imagine the amount of mass hysteria that it would have created if he would have delivered it... It was so not like our PM. It was strong and above all it was it felt like written from heart.

5. Gold Rush for Indian Sports:

The sports were the only thing that really kept us upbeat in the entire year. Reinstated world champ in chess, medlas in the olympics... A freking GOLD INDIVIDUAL medal at shooting... beating the Australians... and shaking them, Beating England in all the ODI's..... phew... that was a lot of sporting action in the whole of the Year... ofcourse we had the IPL... 

6. Jaagore...

The campaign by Tata tea... and various other organizations paid off... in the State elections, people actually voted to make a difference. Despite the strong campaign by BJP, Congress and Sheila Dixit created history by retaining Delhi. In J & K, also, people tired of guns, voted for stabilization... so is India waking up??

7. Inflation:

Though its down now, inflation touched new heights and caused panic amongst the people that soon there would be no more luxuries.... finally, its going down.

8. The Great Economic Slowdown:

The fall of markets all over the worl, has broken many a dreams... its so depressing that I dont even want to write about it...

9. Tata to Singur...

Mamta Banerji, made sure that the Lazy Kolkotta remain so, by, agitating against that TATA Nano project and forcing Ratan Tata to Gujrat, she has made sure that instead of moving forward with the times, West Bengal is pushed further behind the times. Everyone loves the old world Charm...but at the cost of development and losing revenue worth 80,000 crores... that is crazy.

10. Terror Attacks:

 In India, the year begun with a bang, literally... every two months there were blasts and there were people losing their lives to madness and fundamentalism all over the country. If not Islamic then Hindu fundamentalism was making sure that fires are raging and innocent people being slaughtered.

Banglore,Hyderabad, Assam, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahemdabad, Jaipur... Orrissa.... there seems no end to this. 

Ofcourse, the year end dhamaka was the 60 hour ordeal at the Taj, Trident and Nariman House...

Thus scarring our memories for time immemorial.

Oh yeah, on a personal front, the only two good things that happened to me were- That My baby neice Sania was born on January 13th, 2008 and I got to do internship in AZB & Partners in Mumbai. I could not meet Shayon the entire year... and met him for 2 weeks when i came to Mumbai.

So, as we get ready to step into the new year...

Shayon is moving to Delhi,

YES... Shayon got himself a job in New Delhi. And thus at the turn of the year, we both will start out anew.

And I hopefully plan to have a set plan as to what I really want to do, after three more semesters of Law... 

Also, like evryone, I am also praying that the Economic situation all over the world stabalizes... atleast in India, it should not go from bad to worse... and yeah in the Central elections that are due in April, ONE party comes to power... and no coalation, PLEASE. 

Its time to make new resolutions and its time to positively step into another year with hopes and dreams...

Cheers to 2009...!!!!

Voting for progress over politics.... way to go guys...

When the Five states of M.P., Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, Mizoram, Delhi and J& K were put to vote, BJP in its campaign turned no stones to disregard congress.
And visa versa is true for Congress as well.

Being a Delhite, and I have to stay in Delhi for the coming few years it is impearative that I want good governance. And for the first time from the time I have started following politics, I saw a shift in trend of voting, and therefore am assuming the Jaago re Campaign and the initiatives taken by the Election Commission paid off. With a record voting, the people of Delhi actually voted for the MLA's and the party that has bought about change and deveopment in our city. Ofcourse, with the elections and all, there was chaoss, but now with Sheila Dixit back in power, Delhi is surely going to go further in development...

With the youth voting and voting for people who have worked hard and not indulged in cheap politics, its time to go on to a bigger stage and tell the world that in India, It truely is people's democracy.

Mumbai under Seige...!!! When will this end....

As I write this post on recent Hostage Situation that is raging in Mumbai, the operation of rescuing and holing out of the terrorists is still on.

I am having diffuculty in difesting the fact, that a city that has been bought to its knees, not for the first time, still took its sweet time to get all the forces into action. The funny part is, that when the firing started last night, it was thought that a gang war has broken out in Mumbai.

Intense firing and use of Hand grenades by this group that claims to be 'deccan mujahideen' has completely assaulted and destroyed the heritage bulding - Taj. As the fire still rages... I wonder.

Everytime there is a terror strike we condemn it. But do we do anything about it? I know you and I are common man but isn't it us... that gets affected the most by these strikes... its US who is targetted and not the politicians against whom the gurdges are kept. Its us who getting out of the house every morning hope that today there is no excitement in the form of a terror strike... and that we live to see a peaceful tomorrow.

Life gets back to normal... but the struggle to stay safe and to live still goes on...

C'mon guys, lets get up, fight them... make sure that they think twice or thrice before attacking the innocent people...

And I ask again...

WHICH RELIGION PREACHES WAR?????????? Time to think... if no religion preaches war, why are we fighting in its name... The God (for those like me,  who thinks he does exist) who sits up there...

Doesn't know why we are fighting...

Life is so precious... why is everyone wasting it by fighting?? WHY?