Why Flog a Dead Horse called Justice -- Because India Deserves Better: by Sudheendra Kulkarni

One of the memorable experiences from my years as a journalist is associated with the centenary celebrations of the Congress party in Mumbai in 1985. Covering the event as a reporter in the late Russy Karanjia’s daily newspaper had given me an opportunity to get better acquainted with the party’s — and India’s — glorious pre-Independence history. Still vividly sketched in my mind is the frail figure of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the ‘Frontier Gandhi’ who was a special guest at the celebrations. Known for his non-violent struggle against the British and also for his strong opposition to the partition of India, this Pushtun leader’s deeds and words (“O Pathans! Your house has fallen into ruin. Arise and rebuild it, and remember to what race you belong”) carry a message even today.
This follower of Mahatma Gandhi from the land of the Pathans, then 95 years old, was in a wheelchair. But welcoming him graciously was another Gandhi, who, at 41, was already India’s Prime Minister. If Badshah Khan embodied the best ideals of the Congress movement from the pre-1947 era, Rajiv Gandhi personified the hope and idealism of a new generation, which had come to admire him as Mr Clean. Rajiv’s presidential address at the Congress centenary session must rank as one of the most important political speeches in the annals of independent India.
Political pundits were astonished at the candour with which Rajiv spoke about the ills that had corroded the Congress party after Independence. In a passage that hit out at power brokers within his own party, he said, “Millions of ordinary Congress workers throughout the country are full of enthusiasm for the Congress policies and programmes. But they are handicapped, for on their backs ride the brokers of power and influence, who dispense patronage to convert a mass movement into a feudal oligarchy. They are enmeshing the living body of the Congress in their net of avarice. They are reducing the Congress organisation to a shell from which the spirit of service and sacrifice has been empted. How have we come to this pass?”
What a sad irony that, within a couple of years after this stirring speech, Rajiv found himself at the centre of a controversy that quickly snowballed into independent India’s most explosive corruption scandal. More disturbingly, it soon became known that the leader who had lambasted power brokers in his party had somehow allowed a power broker, a foreigner at that, to operate with the patronage of his official residence. That power broker was Ottavio Quattrocchi, a Delhi-based Italian businessman, who, thanks to his close association with the Prime Minister’s Italian wife, enjoyed privileged access to the most important address in the capital. This in-house Italian connection proved extremely costly for Rajiv. It embroiled him in the Bofors corruption scandal. The people of India who had given Rajiv’s Congress more that 400 MPs in the 1984 parliamentary elections, dethroned him by defeating his party in 1989.
It is a law of history that those who espouse high ideals are made to pay a higher price when what they practice violates what they preach. This is what happened to Rajiv Gandhi. But so strong is the influence that the Italian power broker has continued to wield at the highest level in the Congress party that 22 years after the Bofors scandal broke out, he still gets the party and its government to do his bidding. It is impossible to draw any other conclusion from the shocking disclosures, made in the investigative reports published in this newspaper last week.
The Congress leadership first assisted Quattrocchi to flee India in 1993, just a couple of days before he was required to appear before the Supreme Court. He later stated that he was not coming to India to face trial because “I have no faith in India’s justice system”. The person who made this arrogant and disparaging remark was publicly defended by Sonia Gandhi, who said in 1999, “The CBI has said he is a suspect. But we have never seen the papers naming him in the deal. They should show the papers establishing that he is guilty.” She had conveniently forgotten that four courts (three in India and one in Switzerland) had already established Quattorocchi’s involvement in the Bofors scandal.
But it was not enough for Quattrocchi to remain safely away from the long arm of India’s justice system. He wanted total freedom through an official burial of the Bofors investigation. And this is the wish that the UPA government granted him through a step-by-step subversion of justice. In 2006, it defreezed his account in a London bank. In 2007, after he was arrested in Argentina, the CBI put up such a marvelously collusive show that he escaped extradition to India. And now, with only a few weeks to go before its term ends, the UPA government has granted Quattrocchi, an absconder for 12 years, his wish. No less a person than Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has sprung to the defence of this scamster, further devaluing the high office he holds. If ever there was a case of government-assisted acquittal without trial of an accused, it is seen in the Congress leadership’s brazenly executed ‘Operation Save Quattrocchi’.
In the past few days, Congress spokespersons, ably assisted by their friends in the media, have been heard asking, “Why is the opposition flogging this dead horse called Bofors?” They are wrong. The Bofors case is not the horse that is dead. What has been flogged to death is a horse named Justice. It is painful to see that even the higher judiciary in India has remained a passive observer as this hapless horse has been done to death with the whole world watching.
My thoughts go back to the Congress centenary event. And the words of Rajiv Gandhi haunt me — “How have we come to this pass?”
(This article was first published in the Indian Express on May 3, 2009.)

One can’t miss Zoozoo these days…

First when they appeared on TV, I was wondering as nice and cute. But then they started coming in from all directions, with lot many creative ideas.

First time I saw them in the piece where a small kid-like Zoozoo come out crying aloud after seeing someone with the face-pack. Then with somewhat elder kid with hanging giraffe in his/her hand the story repeats…

And then the floodgate opened. I was so impressed by the exact human like cartoons which used to imitate humans to the fullest. The way they move, talk, gesticulate, emote and fight, all the demeanor is very humane… have you noticed the crossing of legs while pulling down the see-saw?? I was very amazed by the attention to details…

Hats off to all the creative masters of O&M, they really fooled me into thinking that they are animations or cartoon characters done with utmost care… Now they told the real story that they actually are human beings, nicely acting as a cartoon or animation, that too when they are not seeing what they are doing due to big non-transparent head they are wearing. As the story is out now, they said that there are many more new pieces to come out and I am waiting for them very eagerly… just like all of you…

Enjoy… !!!

SECOND LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER FROM TYPICAL MOUSE FROM MUMBAI

I got this as forwarded email, and I thought I shall be publishing it. I dont know the writer, but I think, he won't mind me putting it here... :-)
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SECOND LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER FROM TYPICAL MOUSE FROM MUMBAI
20th April 2009

Dear Prime minister
Hello from typical mouse from Mumbai. Soon Mumbaikars will be going for vote. I would like to remind you what has happened in Mumbai during last five years.
During last election you had promised that Mumbai will be made like Shanghai. Next time when your plane lands in Mumbai please see for yourself which part of Mumbai looks like Shanghai. Half the Mumbai is filled with slums, exactly like what is shown in SLUMDOGS. Even dogs will not like to stay there, but we human beings have no choice.
Remaining half of Mumbai is occupied by multistory concrete jungle. Your former chief minister went on increasing FSI, collecting money from builders and pumping back to Delhi to fight election. No wonder your party gave maximum advertisement in media so people can see the good work done by your government which is not visible to ordinary citizen.
During last five years price of houses has increased three times and ordinary Mumbaikar can not even dream of having his own house in Mumbai. Thirty percent of money is paid in black, which is distributed among politician, bureaucrats and underworld. When more than 30000rupees are withdrawn from bank, it is to be informed. Nobody informs you about crores or rupees which are being paid as black money.
This reminds me of black money in Swiss banks. When Mr. Obama becameUS president he did not request, nor pleaded with Swiss banks. He simply filed a suit against Swiss banks for luring rich people to open Swiss bank account to evade taxation. Within a week banks were forced to pay fine of Rs 700 million dollars that is rupees 3500 Crore. They even disclosed names of 300 account holders. During your regime not a single paisa has been recovered not a single name has been disclosed. By the time some action is taken all the money will disappear and the only name of dead person will remain.
Fifteen years have passed when hundreds of people died in Mumbai bomb blast. Main conspirator Dawood is not only at large but still calling shots. Whether it is Gutka king or a builder or a Bollwood producer, each one of them pays him protection money. Same money is pumped back as bullet in the chest of people, poor police and soldiers. We feel as much secure as a mouse in presence of a cat. Today cricket matches are shifted to South Africa for security reason, why not shift parliament to London?
During Munich Olympics, Israel team was massacred. Within one year each one of attacker was done to death. We dare not touch Dawood.Former Prime minister Charan singh had described politician as eunuch. I will not use such words. Why insult eunuchs by comparing them with politicians?
November attack in Mumbai is still fresh in my mind. This was a wake up call. Your trusted friend Mr Sharad Pawar replaced one of the most honest ministers R R Patil with Mr Chagan Bhujbal about whose honesty, there cannot be two opinions. He is dishonest. He is person who made pimp out of most efficient Mumbai police force.
Last August I had gone to PriyaDarshini park near my place. There were youths from villages who had gathered there to give fitness exam for enrollment in police force. I asked one of them “Don’t you have to pay bribe to get selected” his reply was “At the time of Bhujbal we had to do it, but after R.R.Patil has became home minister it has stopped. “A villager boy knows all this, either Mr. Pawar is unaware of this or he likes to play cruel jokes.
Just before three days former chief minister Sushilkumar Shinde said “we chief ministers are just Ji Hajoors of Congress high command.” Reason for mushrooming of small parties is that local Congress leaders are like underwear which can be replaced any time.
Congress high command has only one commander and loyalty to commander supersedes loyalty to motherland. Even the most incompetent person like Mr Shivraj Patil was kept as home minister of country till he became a huge liability. Most talented president was discontinued and replaced by Pratibha DEVISINGH Patil just because commander wanted to give gift of first woman president to country. Person like Ms. Kiran Bedi would have been the best choice but even Mr Pawar who was kick-commander who became lick-commander wanted only politician to become president.
With the weakening of major political party even the poor billionaire farmer like Dev Gowda are coming back to life to serve the people. Every Tom, Dick & Harry wants to become prime minister since that is the only way to serve the nation. As soon as election results are out, donkeys will be trading horses.
Congress party who ruled country for maximum number of years has made greatest promise of bribing millions with 3 rupees rice, for those unfortunate millions surviving is the greatest luxury of life.
Last but not the least, Yesterday that is on 20 th April 2009 you said in Guwahati that ‘AS OF NOW’ nuclear weapons of Pakistan are in safehand. Mark your world ‘AS OF NOW’ so you are not sure what will happen tomorrow or whether there will be any tomorrow? Your assurance that our future is in safe hands of Congress is as much assuring as word of prostitute that she is virgin.
Some time Mr. Prime minister I wonder why I am writing all this? What purpose it will serve? But then I cannot forget faces of thousands of youngsters who had gathered at Gate way of India after the Mumbai attack. They all were against politicians. They were all chanting “HUM HONGE KAMYAB” I might be a little typical mouse but I will never be a rubber stamp, at least I will squeak. Thanking you.

Typical Mouse from Mumbai
Prakash B. Bajaj
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