Dilip Simeon's blog

NB -  It is plain as daylight that the front organisations of the RSS/BJP are stirring up communal violence to polarise the Indian population and secure a political constituency based upon hatred. Communal voting is only possible in an atmosphere of hatred, and that is what this 'Parivar' is determined to do. Their cadre consider the 2014 elections as a mandate for totalitarian rule and free rein to their hooliganism. Contrary to all norms of journalism, a prominent section of the Hindi press is aiding and abetting this programme, just as they did during the campaign to destroy the Babri Masjid in 1990-92. This a recipe for permanent social conflict. It is shameful that senior elected representatives, who took their oath of office upon the  Constitution  are presiding over an open subversion of the rule of law. If this is their definition of nationalism, India is headed for an abyss of unending strife. DS .   The emperor's masks: 'apolitical' RSS calls the shots...

EARLIER THIS MONTH, the Hungarian government, scrambling to seal its southern border against the influx of North African and Middle Eastern refugees trying to reach Germany, placed a bid for 10,000 rolls of razor wire. Though the deal was worth hundreds of thousands of euros, a German manufacturer, Mutanox, wouldn’t sell to the Hungarians. “Razor wire is designed to prevent criminal acts, like a burglary,” explained the company spokesman. “Fleeing children and adults are not criminals.” Had you doubts about the cunning of history, lay them to rest. From Germany’s welcoming of refugees to its outrage at Hungary’s violent efforts to stop them, the country that, 75 years ago, made barbed wire into the symbol of man’s inhumanity to man has done much to overcome its past.  Yet, the Mutanox spokesman did not fully uncoil the history of barbed wire. Contrary to his claim, one of the hallmarks of our age is that fleeing children and adults have often been considered criminals. Entire ...

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed on his latest foreign mission to spread the word about Digital India in Silicon Valley, I embarked on a more nostalgic excursion to visit Rabindra Bhavan, one of the landmarks of Nehruvian modernism in New Delhi. My intended mission was one of architectural curiosity but I stumbled instead into the wormhole of an exhibit recently inaugurated by the Minister of Culture, Mahesh Sharma in Rabindra Bhavan’s art galleries. It was entitled  Cultural Continuity from Rig Veda to Robotics. Inside the gallery was a display of plastic placards decorated with calendar art and tele-serial imaginings of the Mahabharata, coupled with crude info graphics informing us that by correlating references to the planets and stars in the Sanskrit epics with astronomy software, the historicity of Lord Ram, and the narratives of the Ramayana and Mahabharata had now been firmly established. To wit: the “fall of Duryodhan in mace bettle” occurred at 06:50 on November...

NB: A man is murdered inside his own house over a rumour about his food habits. He happened to be an agricultural worker. This is the fanatical culture that is being propagated in India under the so-called Sangh Parivar. And the police actually think it is relevant to send the food for forensic examination. If the meat turns out to be beef or buffalo meat, what then? Will the murderers be hailed as national heroes?  DS DADRI, UTTAR PRADESH:  A 50-year-old man was beaten to death by a mob near Delhi on Monday night, allegedly over rumours that his family had eaten beef. Mohammad Akhlaq and his son, 22, were dragged out by villagers in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, around 45 km from the capital, and beaten with bricks. Akhlaq died before he could be taken to hospital, and his son is critical. Before assaulting the father and son, the villagers broke into the house, wrecked everything and even attacked the women. "My husband was bleeding. His head was smashed. They beat t...

Before the Law by Franz Kafka  Translation by Ian Johnston ( NB : This parable first appeared in 1915, and became a part of Kafka's book The Trial ) Before the law sits a gatekeeper. To this gatekeeper comes a man from the country who asks to gain entry into the law. But the gatekeeper says that he cannot grant him entry at the moment. The man thinks about it and then asks if he will be allowed to come in later on. “It is possible,” says the gatekeeper, “but not now.” At the moment the gate to the law stands open, as always, and the gatekeeper walks to the side, so the man bends over in order to see through the gate into the inside. When the gatekeeper notices that, he laughs and says: “If it tempts you so much, try it in spite of my prohibition. But take note: I am powerful. And I am only the most lowly gatekeeper. But from room to room stand gatekeepers, each more powerful than the other. I can’t endure even one glimpse of the third.” The man from the country has n...

September 28 is the birthday of Bhagat Singh – a day to remember him and his legacy. Even 84 years after his death, he remains an eternal youth icon. Indeed, there are often complaints that the overarching presence of Gandhi and Nehru has deprived Bhagat Singh and revolutionaries like him their due place in Indian history. The complainers cite Subhash Chandra Bose as the other example. Bhagat Singh and Bose, we are reminded, were revolutionaries who took the violent path to fight against the British. The two are seen as uncompromising fighters, whereas Gandhi and Nehru are portrayed as manipulators who negotiated their way to power. It is believed seriously by many that had India achieved freedom through the means used by Bhagat Singh and Bose, the Indian story would have been different. In popular Indian perception, Bhagat Singh and Bose were made of the same metal – while Bose and Nehru were the two poles of pre-Independence Indian politics. Nehru was the one who s...