Good cop, bad cop

 

In the IPS, while undergoing training at the Academy, we were told that we’d be attached to an SP in a district for field training, that the same SP would be our friend, philosopher and guide and that the equation with him or her would make or mar our entire careers. When I landed in the district, I was excited but extremely nervous regarding my first meeting with him because the first impression was considered of paramount importance. I’d rehearsed and rehearsed as to answers to possible questions and landed up in his office at 10 AM sharp in all my finery (we’ve to wear the ceremonial uniform while “calling on” seniors for the first time). The office was completely empty! I didn’t know that in West Bengal no one reaches office before 11. Around 11, people started filing in but there was no SP. I was told that he was on field visits and his arrival time was uncertain. So, I kept waiting and waiting. In that small town, it was not feasible to go to a hotel in all that regalia so I kept getting hungry but had to wait. Finally, the SP came back from his tour at 6 PM and summoned me in. 

He was very genial and gradually, I started feeling more and more comfortable, despite being really famished and disoriented. Suddenly he asked, “Do you drink?” To which, I eagerly replied (probably tongue hanging out!), “Yes, Sir.” Then he said, “But, I don’t.” OMG, my career felt to have ended before it had begun! I tried my best to recover but don’t think did a good job of it. There used to be a system of Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) which later metamorphosed to Performance Appraisal Reports (PARs). The emphasis in ACRs used to be on “Confidential” so senior officers used to write these without any fear of blowback. The prescribed gradings were Outstanding, Very Good, Good, Average and Poor. For IPS officers, “Good” was actually considered “Bad” because they were expected to be at least “Very Good.” Towards the end of my career, in the interest of transparency, the government decided that the ACRs and PARs should be opened up and made available to the officers concerned. Since I’d got all my promotions on due dates, I’d not bothered much but just before retiring, out of curiosity, I accessed and downloaded all the ACRs/ PARs I’d received during my entire career. I was surprised to find that in the whole career, I’d not received a single ACR/ PAR which was less that “Outstanding,” save one, i.e., that by the above SP who had rated me “Good” which actually amounted to “Bad.” First impressions do count. 

Most of my bosses were actually good, even including the above one. However, I did have one absolutely vile boss who created a lot of problems not only for me and my colleagues but for his own bosses too. 

Right from Day One, he used such filthy language with all his subordinates that we were all stunned. Every day was a fraught affair on inessentials. Sample this. There was a training centre under me. Each new course was formally “inaugurated” by a senior officer. Each time, I would put up a note in the file seeking information as to who would inaugurate and the file would come back generally with the Director General (DG) or the Addl Director General (ADG) consenting to do so and there was never a problem. For one particular course, both the DG and ADG had other commitments and the file returned with my Boss writing that he would inaugurate it. However, the file was personally carried by his Personal Secretary who told me that apart from what Saheb had written on the file he also desired that I should “escort” him from his house. There was no such precedence. The DG and ADG both used to land up at the training centre and we (including my Boss) used to receive them there. I also asked around with other similar organisations regarding their procedures and this was unheard of. The sole purpose for this was to humiliate me and reduce me to the level of a Constable or something in the eyes of the other officials. I didn’t want to create a scene so went to him and said that I’d receive him properly at the training centre as was the practice. He agreed. However, next day, I received a call from the Commandant of the training centre saying that Saheb had called him and directed him to inform me that I was to escort him. 

This made me furious. The order was improper and the means of conveying it was even more so, the Commandant (and earlier his Personal Secretary) being very junior to me. So I told the Commandant that no force on earth could make me do this and also told him to convey it to my Boss and “report compliance.” Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, the Commandant was panicking. He tried to mumble some diplomatic words to my Boss but the latter was adamant. Out of fear, he didn’t communicate anything to me. On the appointed day and time, I landed up at the Training Centre, waited for some time, inaugurated the programme myself and proceeded to office. 

For such capers, and because of complaints by a large number of officers (including me), my Boss was thrown out of the organisation. Much later, when I met him accidentally, I told him that if only he had invited me nicely to his house, I’d’ve been really happy to go. Surprisingly, when I checked those ACRs/ PARs at the time of my retirement, I found that he’d consistently given me “Outstanding” gradings for the two years I worked with him. Despite all this.

The good cop was bad for me and the bad cop was good for me!

Men of Straw

 

To cannibalise the famous line of Jane Austen, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of dictatorial ambitions, must be in search of ways to dictate." Hitler, Mussolini, Lenin, Stalin, Mao … How did they manage to do it? How is it that they mesmerised huge populations into unquestioning loyalty at first and then abject subservience? 

They could do it because democracy is not a natural order of things. Deep within, we have a tendency to hark back to our tribal origins when we needed a supremo. Education and civilisation led us to think and construct an alternative. However, since this is an artificial construct, it’s built on quicksand, needs constant nurturing of the institutions to maintain it and too fragile to withstand even small tremors. After tapping into that instinct, they managed to nurture it a for a considerable period through a combination of terror, a huge personality cult, adoption of religion for selfish ends, grandiose self-image as God’s chosen instrument and an eye on world domination. 

Stalin “purged” around nine million calling them “enemies of the state.” Mussolini promoted the idea that he was God’s gift to Italy. At morning assembly, Italian schoolchildren were taught to recite, “I believe in Mussolini”; he can do no wrong and never be questioned.” He also had a crucifix fixed in each classroom. Despite being a Communist, Mao is said to have referred to himself as a god and a law unto himself. Hitler proclaimed himself “Master of the World” and that the Third Reich would last a thousand years. 

History may or may not repeat itself, but it rhymes. Today we have Bicycle Pump, Put-out, Chi Chi Pingpong, HWMNBN (He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named) and so on. What’s common to them? 

All of them terrorise. USA could’ve deported illegal immigrants in a civilised fashion but they had to be chained and handcuffed. People disappear in Russia and China. ED and CBI in India are now something. 

All of them behave like kings – off with your head if I don’t like you. Thus, Trump says to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, “We love Viktor; I know a lot of people don’t agree with me, but I’m the only one that matters. You are fantastic.” Again, Trump to Kevin Rudd, Australian Ambassador to the US and a former Prime Minister, “I don’t like you and I probably never will.” Initially, they feed their supporters regarding their mythical powers and their divine mandates and, gradually, they start believing in the stories themselves. Trump proclaims himself as a very “stable genius.” Nearer home, we have non-biological beings. 

As kings, and divinely ordained at that, obviously, they think of themselves as above the law. When the legal process decided that her election was illegal, one iron lady declared Emergency in India and put everybody behind bars. Despite Brazil having a trade deficit with the US and not having any adversarial relations, Trump has chosen to tariff Brazil under the pretext of economic emergency and economic security threat from Brazil. 

Even a peon in a government office is thrown out if it turns out that he has lied about anything in his application or declaration. Even if he suppresses any relevant information, he loses his job. However, these strongmen do not feel the necessity of making their certificates public even though it is quite apparent that there was falsehood in their affidavits and obviously, there was suppression of marriage information in previous affidavits. Even when they are convicted (like Bicycle Pump has), they just brazen it out. Gradually, the lies attain epic scales. Politicians always lie. However, there are certain lines drawn. For example, there are two places where they always hesitated to lie at – in the Parliament and on the files. Even those have now gone by the board. Thus, Boris Johnson, when cornered over Partygate, first denied any such thing; then denied any knowledge of such thing; and, finally, when the photographs of him lustily swigging away amongst his equally-sozzled colleagues came out, stated that he didn’t know it was a party! 

These strongmen have little regard for facts and seem to be impervious to being made laughing stocks of. Anything remotely resembling scientific temper is anathema to them. Thus, according to Bicycle Pump, India and Pakistan have been fighting each other for thousands of years (even though they came into being in 1947); Masks are undesirable in COVID-19 management; People could be injected with sunlight and sanitiser to be cured of COVID-19. According to another such, there was plastic surgery in India way back when so an elephant’s head could be grafted on to Lord Ganesh; If we fly in under cloud cover, we’ll escape detection by Pakistan radars. 

Most of these guys have very murky personal lives. Trump’s shenanigans with Stormy Daniels are too well-documented. Around two dozen women have accused him of sexual assault, harassment and rape. I guess, being active in one field means being active in all other fields. Crudity is their calling card. Unfortunately, they have a very loyal support base which sometimes condones and at other times cheers this conduct. There is another problem with them. When they abuse with crudity and utter lack of grace, it’s all right but they can’t take it coming back. They feel persecuted when thwarted and display petulant, childish behaviour. The classic example again is Trump – nobody is giving me the Nobel Prize, boo hoo. 

So, what’s the way out? Usually, all these people meet very sad, ignominious ends. The quotation from Gandhi: 

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it—always." 

Poli-tickle

 

Politics is very dry, dusty, drab and full of machinations. However, there’s still surprising grace and subtlety sometimes. 

I’ll start with an incident in my cadre, West Bengal. An important bill was to be discussed in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly and Chief Minister Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy was late for the discussion. When Dr. Roy entered the session hall, Jyoti Basu (Leader of Opposition) was furious and berated him for his conduct. Dr. Roy apologised and participated in the discussions. At the end of it, he called the still-agitated Jyoti Basu aside and said in a soft voice, "Jyoti...please go home. Your father (Dr. Nishikant Basu) is seriously ill. After getting the news, I came here after attending to him at your house. I have prescribed the medicines. Make sure he takes them on time. I’ll come and see him again in the evening.” 

Back in the late 19^th Century, there were many tales of the famous rivalry between Bejamin Disraeli and William Gladstone leading to many colourful exchanges between the two. Once, Opposition Leader Gladstone told Disraeli in the Parliament, “You will come to your end either upon the gallows or of a venereal disease,” to which Prime Minister Disraeli replied, “I should say, Mr. Gladstone, that depends on whether I embrace your principles or your mistress.” 

Gandhi is not remembered enough for his simple and yet, sometimes devastating wit. Two incidents stand out around his visit to London in 1931 – the first one probably apocryphal but the second one made huge headlines at the time. When he alighted at Southampton, he was surrounded by reporters and one of them asked, “Mr. Gandhi, what do you think of Western civilization?” And Mr. Gandhi said, “That would be a good idea.” During the visit, he was invited for tea with Queen Mary and King George V at Buckingham Palace. Dressed in his customary loincloth, a shawl loosely draped over his naked torso and wearing homemade sandals, he visited the Buckingham Palace.  The meeting over, he was walking out of the palace gates when a journalist asked if he thought he was wearing enough. Gandhi’s iconic reply: “The King was wearing enough for the both of us.” 

In the U.S. Presidential elections, the TV debates between the contenders are often the difference between winning and losing. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan was trying for a second term in office and was pitted against Walter Mondale. After a shaky performance in the first debate, there were questions about his age (73) and fitness for office. The debate moderator, journalist Henry Trewhitt asked Reagan about his age and whether he had any doubt, on account of his age, to function well in a crisis. Reagan’s reply: “I have decided not to make age an issue of this campaign.” After a surprised gasp from the audience, he finished, "I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." This brought the house down with the audience and even the opponent, Mondale, bursting into lusty laughter and is considered the main reason for Reagan’s landslide victory. 

On October 10, 2008, during a Town Hall event in Lakeville, Minnesota for the Presidential campaign of John McCain, a woman constituent called his opponent Obama an Arab and how she couldn’t trust him. McCain was trailing badly in the opinion polls at that time. Even so, he grabbed the mic and took pains to chastise his constituent, “No ma'am, he's a decent family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that's what this campaign is all about," 

The exchanges in the U.K. Parliament over the Partygate scandal (2021-22) were robust and filled with typical British sardonic wit. Attacked from all sides for wild parties in 10, Downing Street while the rest of the country was under COVID-19 lockdown, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had hunkered down and was fighting it out. Until a respected backbencher of his own party, David Davis rose to speak. He listed some of the achievements of the Boris government and then said, “I expect my leaders to shoulder the responsibility for the actions they take. Yesterday he (Boris) did the opposite of that. So I will remind him of a quotation which may be familiar to his ear, Leopold Amery to Neville Chamberlain: ‘You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. In the name of God, go.’” This turned the tide decisively against Boris. And, the final nail in the coffin was driven home by another Tory member and former PM, Theresa May. Sue Gray report on the allegations had just come out. Theresa May: "What the Gray report does show is that No. 10, Downing Street was not observing the regulations they had imposed on members of the public. So either my right honourable friend (Boris) had not read the rules or didn't understand what they meant and others around him, or they didn't think the rules applied to Number 10. Which was it?" 

Back home, there were some famous exchanges between Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. During a fierce debate in Parliament on corruption in the UPA government, Sushma Swaraj tried to corner the government with verses of Shahab Jafri: 

'तू इधर उधर की न बात कर,

ये बता कि काफिला क्यों लुटा,

हमें रहजनों से गिला नहीं,

तेरी रहबरी का सवाल है।'  

[Stop going round and round in circles,

Tell us why the caravan was looted.

The robbers are not to blame,

We look askance at your leadership.] 

Dr. Manmohan Singh didn’t meet fire with fire. He chose to douse the rage gently with Allama Iqbal’s: 

“माना कि तेरी दीद के काबिल नहीं हूं मैं,

तू मेरा शौक देख, मेरा इंतजार देख।" 

[I may not be worthy of your benevolent gaze.

But would you look at my zeal, my patience?] 

Again, during a Motion of Thanks on the President’s address, Manmohan Singh recited Mirza Ghalib: 

“हमको उनसे है वफा की उम्मीद,

जो नहीं जानते वफा क्या है।" 

[In vain I expect loyalty from those

Who do not even know what loyalty is.]

To which Sushma replied with the lines of Bashir Badr: 

“कुछ तो मजबूरियां रही होंगी,

यूं ही कोई बेवफा नहीं होता|”               

[There must have been some compulsion;

No one becomes disloyal for nothing.] 

Time was when there was immense grace and humour even in politics. Now too there is some grace and some humour. But, not in India. Not now. Now we have Didi-o O-Didi, Kanpati par katta, Vote chor, Chowkidar chor, aur kya kya ...

What makes them tick - III?

 

The alternate universe, the belief system and the resultant roadmaps fill one with concern. 

Any supporter of HWMNBN (He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named) is innocent till proven guilty, e.g., Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh; anyone even slightly critical of him or any of his policies is guilty till proven innocent, e.g., Sonam Wangchuk. Anyone taking up cudgels for the poor or against crony capitalism is a Naxal. Any of these staying in the city is an Urban Naxal. Any international newspaper criticising HWMNBN or even Adani is funded by Soros to destabilise India. The same newspaper saying anything positive about them is India’s friend and well-wisher. 

HWMNBN is so dedicated to the cause of the nation that he tries to devote every single moment of his life to uplifting it and restoring it to past glory. So much so that he doesn’t even get time to freshen up for days on end. He just goes around performing masterstroke after masterstroke which is sometimes not easily apparent or comprehensible to flesh-and-blood folks. Demonetisation was reportedly done without the knowledge of even the Finance Minister. While people were surmising its goals as curbing black money, decimating terrorist infrastructure, improving digitisation, etc., it turned out to be actually for reducing global warming. 

Without anyone’s noticing it, the dictionary and the language of discourse has changed. Liberal, Leftist, Congressi, Woke are dirty words; Librandu is a beautiful word. Urdu is anti-Indian and anti-national even though it originated in the Indian barracks. Fabindia had to withdraw its advertisement for the "Jashn-e-Riwaaz" collection after a backlash over its use of an Urdu phrase for a Diwali promotion. The believers accused the brand of attempting to remove Hindu traditions from Diwali. Fabindia had to change the name to "Jhilmil Diwali" collection. 

Apparently, firecrackers need to be burst (the louder, the better) to honour the Hindu deities and Hindu culture (they call it “Sanskar”).  Even if there were no firecrackers during Lord Ram’s return to Ayodhya, times and Hinduism have moved on. We can’t go back to stone tablets in the era of emails, can we, even if we pay obeisance to the era of stone tablets? The Tanishq Diwali ad was removed after users took offense to its suggestion of not lighting firecrackers. The ad included the line, "I'm hoping to meet my mom after really long. Definitely no firecrackers. I don't think anyone should light any firecrackers."  Following is a meme I saw on the internet:

HWMNBN asked the people of India to ring bells, blow conch shells, clap, bang utensils and light candles on 22.3.2020 at 5 PM for five minutes to thank the frontline workers associated with COVID-19 management. While ordinary folks thought of it as a mere thank-you gesture, as per the believers, there was deep thinking and strategy behind this. March 22 that year was a New Moon day (Amavas). All virus, bacteria and evil forces have maximum potential and power during Amavas. Ringing of bells, blowing of conch shells, clapping, banging utensils, etc. by crores of people would create such a lot of positive vibrations that the virus would lose all its potency. The time of 5 PM was also chosen very carefully. At that time, moon would be passing to a new nakshatra called Revati and the vibrations would increase the blood circulation in the body. Unfortunately, despite the virus losing all potency, millions died in India due to COVID-19. Well, as per the believers, HWMNBN’s duty was to perform the masterstroke. It was the duty of the Indians not to die in such large numbers. 

On 3.4.2020, HWMNBN again appeared on TV at 9 PM to announce a “diya jalao” by everyone flashing mobile torch, lighting diya, candle, etc. at 9 PM for 9 minutes on 5.4.2020. This initiative was just like Gandhi’s Salt March in 1930. Gandhi wanted to eradicate a virus called British rule. HWMNBN was fighting a different virus this time. This time, it was very “scientific” and extremely carefully calibrated to a T. For example, HWMNBN started his announcement precisely at 9 PM. His address lasted exactly 9 minutes. The date, 5^th April added up to 9 (5+4). It was also the turning time of cosmic waves created through a special and unique arrangement of planets. ‘9’ is the number for planet Mars associated with Light and Fire. By aligning everything to 9, essentially, HWMNBN was activating energy of the planet and pleasing the nine planets to save the earth and life in it. Additionally, the nakshatra that day would be Swati (nobody knows how because the Hindu calendar said the nakshatra was ‘Magha’ that day) and lighting diyas would augur auspiciousness. 

Another masterstroke was the farm laws. This would’ve taken the Indian agriculture and farmers’ incomes to unimaginable levels and saved the farmers. So what if the silos of Adani had come up for storing the grains just before the farm laws were passed without even being put to an actual count of votes and just hurried through with a dubious voice vote. So what if minimum price couldn’t be guaranteed – the income would’ve been much more than the minimum price. Because, HWMNBN said so, and, he cannot be wrong. This was followed by another masterstroke – that of repealing the same farm laws. That was again to save our farmers.

There is deep thinking behind the statues. Shivaji statue in Mumbai was fitted with laser cameras in its eyes to detect movement of terrorists from the sea so that 26/11 could not be repeated. The statue has now collapsed so India is very insecure. The Statue of Unity has laser cameras fitted in the eyes to keep a watch on nefarious anti-India activities in Pakistan. It is another matter that the eyes face Indian territory. 

Anyone supporting Palestine is anti-India. Saying anything against Israel amounts to high treason against our own country. Israelis are now adopted into the caste system:

What makes them tick - II?

 

The entire alternate universe of the believers centres around what they think is believed or supported  by a person who must not be named. 

For them, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (HWMNBN) is God, just performing master-stroke after master-stroke. Even if his party might make the occasional mistake and its ministers may make the occasional bigger mistake, HWMNBN can do no wrong. He is divinely ordained to take India out of darkness towards light. He is also non-biological and has just taken a human form for the time being. Once a year, Lord Jagannath takes to the road to visit his aunt and in the process gives “darshan” to aam janta of all castes and creed. As per the believers, HWMNBN occasionally visits the temple to give “darshan” to Lord Jagannath. HWMNBN is Hindu Hriday Samrat as well as Vishwaguru. As Hindu Hriday Samrat, he decimates the biggest threat to Hindus by exterminating the Muslims but as a Vishwaguru of Vasudaiva Kutumbakam, he goes and embraces the Sheikhs in the Middle East. Only he could have found such perfect balance. 

Our past was truly glorious until Nehru came and destroyed it all. Pehle sab kuchh tha – Internet, Satellite communication, spacecraft, plastic surgery, person-specific nuclear weapons … bas latrines nahi the jo HWMNBN ab bana rahe hain. As per the believers, Nehru only thought about the rich and famous but HWMNBN is trying to uplift the subaltern. So, anything he says or does can never be catcalling or anything like that, he might just be giving the subaltern their long-suppressed voice. 

As per the believers, the whole world is now lining up felicitate India and HWMNBN. As per New York Times, HWMNBN “is the last best hope of earth.” Philip Kotler, the ultimate marketing guru has said, “In my career, I have taught people various marketing theories, but I can’t teach marketing skills to HWMNBN, he knows everything.” Professor Louise Richardson, Vice-Chancellor at Oxford University said, “if there’s anybody who can teach you better management skills than us, it’s HWMNBN; you should listen to his speeches often.” “I am all praise for HWMNBN, the steps he has taken, will bolster the economy and growth rate.” – these are the words ascribed to Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank. Microsoft founder Bill Gates has said, “I have seen many leaders fail to perform under pressure, but HWMNBN is perhaps the only leader I’ve come across who’s unaffected under pressure.” UNESCO has declared Indian national anthem as the best in the world even though UNESCO doesn’t rank or certify national anthems. It is another matter that these quotations are not found anywhere in any credible publication. Even the purported New York Times quote hasn’t been found in New York Times. Any international, or for that matter Indian, media criticising India or HWMNBN is anti-Indian and funded by Soros. Anybody who criticises HWMNBN has to be an acolyte of Rahul Gandhi. Why one cannot be equidistant from both or distant from all politicians does not even merit an answer. 

HWMNBN has made India a name to contend with internationally. There’s nothing an HWMNBN-hug can’t resolve. Even though in some of their cultures, physical contact is very intrusive and some of them have been seen to try to avoid it and also use sanitisers immediately after, all international leaders look forward to being hugged by HWMNBN. He stopped the war in Ukraine just to evacuate the Indians stranded there. Trump is content to be guided by him in everything. Meloni is in love with him. Putin and Xi are his bum-chums. He nearly solved all the Indo-Pak problems over a plate of Biryani but the rogue Pak army played spoil-sport. It’s another matter that all our neighbours Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and China hold India with extreme suspicion and hatred. 

How exactly shall we manage without HWMNBN? Who can lead the country? In a country of 140 crores some of whom can lead Google, Microsoft, IBM, YouTube or can be Nobel laureates or can head populous states, we cannot find a single person to replace HWMNBN. No Sir. 

If there is any small error, whatever HWMNBN is doing will die with him so we should give him a fair run. However, it is not known how long will this run continue to be called a fair run. Also, what is the guarantee that the permanent damages, if any or many, will not live after him? 

Prime Ministers are supposed to take questions from the press. However, these rules don’t apply to HWMNBN, he being non-biological and divinely ordained. You can’t put God in the dock, can you? If there’re any questions about governance, just ask the opposition leaders – they are not responsible but they are answerable. 

Prince Siddharth left home and wife in the middle of the night and became Buddha, the Enlightened One. If another person also similarly left, why should there be any criticism of that? It’s another matter that the latter has positioned himself as the saviour of womankind ...

[To be concluded]

What makes them tick?

I have been on a quitting-WhatsApp-groups spree. The reason: Almost every group being dominated by a number of people who, though well-educated and well-stationed in life have completely bought into such an alternate universe that it’s impossible to interact from my own humdrum reality. They tend to be quite vocal and sometimes aggressive, to the point of relinquishing all reason. What makes them tick? What are the components of their belief system? Here’s what I gathered from some of the posts. As per their alternate reality: 

India became independent only in 2014. Before that, it was on a 99-year lease. When the real history of India will be written, it’ll be divided into two parts: Before 2014 and After 2014. Before 2014, it was a dark hole and after 2014, it became bright sunshine. Before 2014, India was a land of bullock-carts, snake-charmers and rope-tricks where people used to curse their luck for having been born in this hell-hole. After 2014, we smartly lived in smart cities, went at the speed of bullet by Bullet Trains for breakfast, came back via a Biryani lunch in Pakistan, had havan and dinner in honour of Trump, could look the world in the eye, almost annexed Shanghai through banning TikTok and Chinese apps, gave Pakistan a bloody nose through annihilation of our Rafale jets, were richer by Rs. 20 lacs per head thanks to return of black money – everything was joy, jollity and song. 

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was the first PM of India. I think this refers to Netaji declaring an Azad Hind (Free India) on 21.10.1943. It doesn’t matter that Netaji did it while in Singapore. He also declared himself as the Prime Minister. It goes to the believer’s credit that he can believe two irreconcilable things at the same time: (a) that India became independent in 1943 and (b) that India became independent in 2014. For him, another, bigger independence, i.e., economic independence occurred at the stroke of midnight on 30.6.2017 when Goods and Services Tax (GST) was rolled out. Then there was further independence from the same oppressive GST by rolling out of “GST bachat” on 22.9.2025. 

All that Nehru, the so-called first Prime Minister of India did was mis-spending his life womanising, boozing, smoking and selling the country to the USA and the Muslims. Nehru was himself a Muslim, an illegitimate son of Motilal Nehru born to a Muslim woman. Sonia Gandhi was a bar dancer. All problems of the past were caused by Nehru – partition, Kashmir issue, language issue, scrapping currency notes featuring Subhas Chandra Bose, even Gandhi’s assassination. All problems of today have been caused by Nehru. All future problems would also have been caused by Nehru. If there’re no problems tomorrow, Nehru will manufacture problems. How one man can wreak such havoc for all times to come beggars belief. The real heroes of India were Sardar Patel and Godse. 

Creating institutions has no meaning. Anyone could create IITs, IIMs, AIIMS, ISRO, etc.. Pakistan space research agency is eight years older than India’s. All these were just bricks and mortar until 2014 when they started achieving things like soft landing on the moon, Sun mission, renaming of ISM, Dhanbad as IIT, renaming of NITIE as IIM, and so on. 

About 100 crore Hindus in India are in danger because of the 20 crore Muslim population. Had it not been for the cataclysmic events of 2014, these 20 crore Muslims would’ve overrun the Hindus several times over. They run population jihad, love jihad, land jihad, halal jihad, business jihad, UPSC jihad, vote jihad, Corona jihad, spit jihad, urine jihad, rail jihad (causing train accidents), gaming jihad, and so on. It’s only after 2014 that Hindus have found a voice and a place to dance (outside mosques) during Hindu festivals. 

Mughals were just a figment of the imagination of Leftist historians, Urban Naxals and Wokes. They never conquered India but were repulsed by our kings who were from a superior race, had advanced technology and had divine powers. Taj Mahal was possibly built by a PWD engineer. Rana Pratap won the Battle of Haldighati against Akbar in 1576. How there was a fight between Akbar and Rana Pratap when there were no Mughals in India need not be bothered about. Muslims are evil, intruders and termites even if any of them has been here for several generations. 

Most so-called western "wisdom" pales into insignificance before our superior ancient knowledge. Darwin is nonsense. There was no evolution because “nobody saw a monkey turn into a man.” Hindus were specially created to be superior in everything – knowledge, wisdom, abilities, traditions, etc., until Nehru came and destroyed it all. Cow is holy. Cow dung is as valuable as Kohinoor diamond. Cow urine is the best cure for Cancer –  there’s no need for other Western, expensive treatment. The first urine of the cow is the best for all-round health. If you have blood pressure, just stroke a cow and high blood pressure will vanish. The Hindu calendar is way better than the Gregorian calendar because it gives information about 12 different things, not just date and day.

 

[To be continued]

No my Lord, it doesn't add up. Again!

 

The previous blog dwelt on the interview of ex-CJI Mr. Chandrachud by Sreenivasan Jain. Actually, the interview could’ve been much worse. Sreenivasan didn’t ask a number of questions, possibly because of lack of time or because he was gobsmacked by the assertion of original desecration of a temple to build Babri Masjid when there was no evidence of it. 

Following questions would’ve tied up Mr. Chandrachud in knots further. 

What was the point of all those lengthy deliberations, wastage of everybody’s time including the Court’s when the action component was missing? He declared the action of the Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly illegal but didn’t do anything about the result of the action which led to formation of the Shinde government. He declared the Electoral Bonds unconstitutional but didn’t bother about recovery of the loot made by the parties from the electoral bonds. Plus, even though the “actual” donor information was available with SBI, he didn’t ask for it so the two A’s possibly got away because they might’ve donated through proxies or trusts. Even after taking Suo Moto cognisance of Manipur problems, there was no effective action or direction. If ever there was a case for urgent Governor’s rule, it was in Manipur which is still burning. 

Then there were cases where the government blatantly violated the Supreme Court order. The Supreme Court itself had held that the independence of the Election Commission is fundamental to democracy. On 2.3.2023, It had ordered a three-member Committee consisting of the PM, LoP and CJI to determine the appointment of the Election Commissioners. The government enacted a bill (28.12.2023) and replaced the CJI with a Cabinet Minister, nullifying the ECI independence. All that “fundamental to democracy” bit was blown to smithereens. The conduct of the CECs and the Election Commissioners thereafter has been there for the whole world to see. Since this one thing strikes at the heart of democracy, the minimum expectation from the Court was either a stay or a day-to-day hearing to settle the issue urgently. 

In one case, he facilitated dilution of his own order through inaction – Delhi Services Case. The Central government had completely stymied the functioning of Delhi Chief Minister by putting the bureaucracy in an adversarial position to the elected government. On 11.5.2023, CJI’s own bench held that no elected government can function without the bureaucracy being accountable to it and so, apart from public order, police and land matters, the elected government of Delhi would have full powers and would have transfer and posting control over the concerned bureaucrats. However, a few days after the order, on 26.7.2023, the Central government circumvented it by issuing an ordinance giving the Lieutenant Governor all powers to overrule the National Capital Civil Service Authority headed by the Chief Minister. What then is the point of an elected government in Delhi? As the Supreme Court had gone into constitutionality and passed the order, prima facie, the ordinance was unconstitutional and required immediate and strong intervention by the Court. That didn’t happen. 

Justice Chandrachud’s administrative actions too have dealt body blows to the polity. The government appears to be trying to completely control the judiciary through delay and cherry-picking of appointment and transfer of judges despite collegium recommendations. On 5.12.2023, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul’s bench was due to hear the case pertaining to it. Strangely, it was mysteriously “deleted” from the list without any reason. Justice Kaul wryly remarked, “I will just say one thing. I have not deleted the matter. I am sure the Chief Justice knows about it…some things are best left unsaid, sometimes.” Mr. Chandrachud was CJI from 9.9.2022 to 10.11.2024. There were also scores of complaints regarding assigning of politically sensitive cases to a particular judge or benches comprising the same judge. 

His personal conduct has been open to opprobrium. It appears that even though he retired on 10.11.2024, he was staying in the government bungalow till August 2025, a full nine months after and vacated it only after the Supreme Court requested the authorities to evict him. Even more reprehensible were his justifications. First, he tried to justify it on grounds of accessibility concerns for his children with disabilities. Hello, if that be a ground, so many government servants would just occupy their government quarters in perpetuity. Then he asked why the controversy when he was paying market rent. The rules required that he should have vacated it within three months (media reports suggest that he could stay in a lower, type VII quarters for six months while 5, Krishna Menon Marg is type VIII quarters) and since it was a designated bungalow for the CJI, propriety demanded that he should have vacated it on the day of his retirement so that his successor could’ve moved in – even Prime Ministers vacate their designated quarters within a day. Why he has been allotted different government quarters now is not understood. Why he accepted the same is of graver concern. Media not questioning it enough speaks of a circle of silence. 

Post retirement, he has purchased a Mercedes-Benz-E-Class E200 (cost approx. Rs. 92 lacs) and the matter came to light when the registrar of the Supreme Court wrote to Delhi Transport Commissioner requesting a specific registration number for it. Both the cost and that request of the registrar regarding a private vehicle of a private citizen raise eyebrows. It’s also a matter of concern that while annual declaration of assets is mandatory for all government servants, the Supreme Court judges are exempt from it – I feel, they should be leading by example. 

Given the above and the previous blog, I feel, the title of his book, “Why Constitution Matters” is a bit rich. Constitution does matter, but this is not the way to make it so.