March 26, 2013
by Atanu Dey
9 Comments
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, comrades and friends. (Hitchens favored that greeting at many public events.) Sorry for the relative silence around here. Things are in a mess. But there’s hope. Anyway, do leave a comment with your thoughts. I just want to point out a 2008 blog post, “Blaming the Victim“. Comments are closed on that post. So please leave a comment here if you wish.
March 16, 2013
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
March 15, 2013
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
I live in the US and call California home. Yet, I am an Indian; having being born one, I will always be one. The US is home but so is India. I owe loyalty to both countries. I explored that thought in my recent piece on NitiCentral.com. (I do not take responsibility for the title used for the piece.) Here it is, for the record (with a different title.)
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March 9, 2013
by Atanu Dey
9 Comments
An extraordinary claim made despite all the contrary evidence, just as contrary to all evidence, Islamic terror is dismissed with the facile statement that “terrorism has not religion.”
In India, Hindu sponsored terrorism is at its peak. As long as these Hindu terrorists exist, Kashmiris are not safe in any corner of this country. — Prashant Bhushan, Aam Aadmi Party
The English translation says,
“In India, Hindu sponsored terrorism is at its peak. As long as these Hindu terrorists exist, Kashmiris are not safe in any corner of this country.
Prashant Bhushan, Aam Aadmi Party”
AAP is Arvind Kejriwal’s political party. Bhushan is endorsing what Raul Vinci aka Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party claimed — that the greatest threat to India is from “Hindu” terrorism. That’s not the surprising bit. The surprising bit is that some Hindus will certainly vote for AAP. This is part of the big pattern: Hindus acting against their own long-term interests. As long as this goes on, the future is bleak for Hindus — and for India.
March 7, 2013
by Atanu Dey
8 Comments
The power of having truth on your side is Narendra Modi’s biggest weapon against the barrage of pseud-secular bullshit that he has to routinely face from journalists. A few days ago I had posted one example of Modi’s devastating reply to one such journalist (see “Imported Leaders and Imported Laws“) and this is another example that needs to get serious airtime. Below is the video and the English transcript of the conversation between Rahul Kanwal and Modi. The translation is once again thanks to my friend Amit Malviya.
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March 5, 2013
by Atanu Dey
10 Comments
Greetings from San Jose, CA. I am back and ready to get cracking. I have not been writing much of late (how’s that for an understatement) but the little grey cells have been busy. My colleague Rajesh Jain asked me to write an opinion piece on the Wharton India Economic Forum fiasco and I said, “I don’t have anything to add but if you say so, I will drag my lazy knuckles across the keyboard.” So I went over to twitter and wrote a few tweets (follow me @atanudey) about how I felt about Modi being un-invited. Then I wrote a piece that I sent to NitiCentral. They published it. I am pleased to report that the twitterati liked what I wrote. So alright, you should go read my opinion piece — Modi Kicked the Hornet’s Nest — at NitiCentral.com. I append the piece below the fold here, for the record.
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February 22, 2013
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
February 22, 2013
by Atanu Dey
5 Comments
Even a cursory look at the main stream media gives me the impression that Narendra Modi is the cause of immense heartburn among journalists and commentators. These worthies kowtow, scrape and bow, spinelessly genuflect and grovel in the presence of politicians. The rule I use to figure out how corrupt a politician is this: note how low the journalists bend.
But when it comes to Modi, their hackles rise. He’s incorruptible and they don’t bend. They become combative and confrontational. They raise poisoning the well to a fine art with their accusations against Modi. The great thing is how Modi responds to them so effortlessly. The man’s responses are devastating but I am not sure that his interlocutors quite get it. If they had been that smart, they would have known not to poke the lion. Here’s a “for example” for you.
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February 21, 2013
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
In a hard-hitting piece on NitiCentral.com, Kanchan Gupta responds to a hatchet job that someone called Lyla Bavadam did for Frontline, a sister publication of the misnamed “The Hindu” newspaper.
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February 20, 2013
by Atanu Dey
9 Comments
Must be Spring cleaning time. Because people are being taken to the cleaners. Yesterday I reported that Media Crooks gave an ex-judge of the supreme court of India (how do they select these fellows, I wonder) a dhulai and today I am reporting that Sandeep has stripped Rohit Pradhan at the dhobi ghat.
{For the benefit of those unfamiliar with Hindi, ‘dhulai’ means a wash, and ‘dhobi ghat’ is where the laundry is done. Not only do you get informed about important happenings, but you also get language lessons. What a deal.}
You have to read the entire piece by Sandeep which is titled “Rohit Setalvad Owaisi Pradhan’s Perverse Communalism.” Below I just give you a sense of what it is about.
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February 19, 2013
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
If you have not been reading Media Crooks, you have been missing one of the sanest, most incisive commentator on Indian current affairs you could ever find anywhere — mainstream media, social media, off-line, online, wherever. I am an unabashed admirer of Media Crooks. I am a fan.
Media Crooks sets the gold standard that very few observers are capable of achieving. Take his expert fisking today (link provided below) of Mr Katju, an ex-judge of the supreme court of India who writes a lot of politically motivated stuff and is often in the media spotlight. Katju deserves to be taken to the cleaners and MC does it with aplomb and ruthless precision.
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February 19, 2013
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
Mahmood Madani, the general secretary of some Islamic outfit called Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind is reported to have told a private TV channel that some Muslims have voted for Narendra Modi and the BJP in the recent Gujarat state elections. Madani is quoted as saying:
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February 15, 2013
by Atanu Dey
12 Comments
I mainly criticize ideas and ideologies because ideas fundamentally affect human welfare. Most of the time my focus is on ideologies and not people. That distinction is worth keeping in mind. If ever someone misconstrues my criticism of an ideology with animosity against a group or a person, it reveals at best a reading comprehension problem and at worst guilt associated with a hidden prejudice of the reader against the group I am accused of opposing.
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February 14, 2013
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
Today is Basant Panchami. It is the day for Saraswati Puja and also Kamadeva Puja. Kamadeva is also known as “Atanu” — one without a body.
The Saraswati vandana goes thus:
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February 10, 2013
by Atanu Dey
5 Comments
Here are a few items that caught my eye. One is an article in the Financial Express by the economist and labor peer Meghnad Desai. The other is a blog post by the incomparable @MediaCrooks.
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February 7, 2013
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
A recent tweet of mine & the associated picture. HT @shivsBHARAT 
February 6, 2013
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
Narendabhai Modi
February 2, 2013
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
“Fonske”
The picture on the right is known as “Fonske” shortened from the Latin Fons Sapientiae meaning “fountain of wisdom”. It shows a university student — Leuven is a university town — reading a book and knowledge flowing into his brain like water.
That picture is from the last time I was here in October visiting my friend Yoga. Then I was on my way from Mumbai to San Jose; now I am on my way back to India. A brief three-day stopover and then on to Mumbai. I am looking forward to visiting with friends and family in India. See you there if you are around. Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.
January 31, 2013
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
Computer prodigy, cyber activist and social justice activist Aaron Swartz died three weeks ago on Friday 11th Jan. He was just 26 years old. He killed himself in his Brooklyn NY apartment. Some have claimed that he was driven to his death by government prosecution — and indeed persecution. There are many reasons to mourn his death but the most important from my point of view is what could be the government’s role in this tragedy and therein lies the importance of this entirely pointless tragedy. Lawrence Lessig calls it bullying and Aaron’s family called it the “prosecutorial overreach” by the Massachusetts US attorney’s office. That’s serious for a number of reasons. But first, here’s the background.
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January 26, 2013
by Atanu Dey
7 Comments
Someone, I forget who, recently tweeted “Happy Banana Republic Day.” It is funny and tragic since it cuts so close to the truth. If it isn’t already a banana republic, India is well on its way to become one under the stern guiding hand of an Italian lady ably assisted by loathsome sycophants like Digvijaya Singh and Sushilkumar Shinde, people who can easily be mistaken to be spokespersons for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. What’s leading India down that path? My answer is simple: democracy. Give any democracy enough time and it is likely to degenerate into a banana republic. Well, you may ask, what was the alternative? The alternative was to make sure that India was a republic and not a democracy.
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