Critical Acclaim From a Leading Book Review Site

This is just to let you know that my book "Rose Gardens and Minefields" has received critical acclaim from a top book review site, Indian Book Reviews. I had submitted my book for the review over a year ago and hundreds of books were reviewed in this period. Didn't know what it would turn out like, but I'm thoroughly pleased with the outcome. Check out this fabulous review at http://www.indianbookreviews.com/2012/07/16/a-little-bit-of-this-and-that/

For the blissful ones, "Rose Gardens and Minefields" is a compilation of poems, short stories and essays that cover a plethora of topics. It was published by Leadstart Publishers under their Frogbooks/Virgin Leaf imprint a couple of years ago. You can refer to the review and the Wikipedia entry for a better understanding. This book can be purchased at a sum below Rs 100 or $2 at various book stores across India including some Landmark outlets, Happy Book Store (Bandra) and Granth (Juhu). You can even purchase it online at Amazon and Flipkart.com. Happy Reading!!!

An Excerpt from "The Heavensgate Scandal" (A Short Story by Vivek Pereira)

It was a hot flinter aftermoon on the Planet Zrrxy. The God shield had been switched on while the Tellicans discussed a top-secret mission. This shield was used by the inhabitants to ward off the presence of the almighty from the vicinity of their planet. Nothing, no sound, light or matter could penetrate this shield. It was the ultimate invention.

The Tellicans were a creative race whose influence had spread throughout the universe. There are many wild rumors about this ambitious race. Some say that they are the aliens who hover around the planet earth in flying saucers with the intention of monitoring the progress of humanity on the planet earth. Some even say that the Supreme Being was created by this technologically advanced race. These Tellicans were alleged to possess the most dangerous of all inventions viz. The Universe Reverser. This device could reverse the effect of the Big Bang so that the whole Universe would collapse into a tiny, primeval atom, and ultimately into nothingness. The dark angels of Satan were desperately plotting to steal the Universe Reverser from them.
The Tellicans had borrowed the concept of the Internet in the development of the Universenet which linked almost all intelligent life forms that existed in the world. Tellica, their cyberwebsite, was the most popular site which specialised in webcasting universal news.

At length, the Tellicans had finished their intense discussion. The God shield was off. Nobody, not even the almighty, was aware of what had transpired during the meeting (excepting for the Tellicans, of course).
The Gates of Heaven are enormous structures that prevent the extremely sinful from entering that cherished place. These gates were made up of Kryptonite which is widely considered to be the strongest element in the Universe. When the devils bombarded these solid gates, the ammunition had bounced off harmlessly into the dark void. The living dead formed a never-ending queue down the long, spiral staircase which originated at The Limbo. The supervisas were issued by the ministry only to those who had passed the test of life. A special supercomputer processed the track record of each individual case with the help of a complicated software program, ' The Morality Examiner'. A report was instantly generated that decided the outcome of each case. The supervisas were issued only if the results of the reports were positive.

"I'm sorry, but we cannot give you the visa," St.Jitley told a living dead, "You will have to go to Hell !"
The report had clearly indicated that the applicant had failed the test miserably. The applicant refused to budge an inch. He gave a sheepish smile and winked.
"What do you want ?" asked St.Jitley. "You will have to go away." "Yeah, yeah," said the applicant, absolutely out of context.

My Arguments Against the Jan Lok Pal Movement

To say that the Jan Lok Pal movement is just an anti-corruption movement is an insult to our intelligence. It is an Anti-Congress movement propped by right-wing and left-wing fundamentalists attempting to topple the UPA government before the next elections or to further damage their credibility to enable the BJP to form the next government. Yes, the UPA government has failed miserably in curbing corruption and inflation but I still will not support this movement because of the following reasons:

1) It is a Political Movement and not a movement by civil society.

With Shanti Bhushan (ex-law minister of Indian, a former BJP politician and RSS man), Swami Agnivesh (a Maoist representative), and Anupam Kher (Husband of high-level BJP functionary) promoting and participating in this movement, the Jan Lok Pal Movement is definitely a political movement. The high level of support of RSS activists and Maoists outside parliament and the BJP politicians inside parliament justify this truth. Other promoters of this movement have other axe to grind such as Kiran Bedi who didn’t get the promotion she wanted.

The other arguments I have against this movement are as follows:

2) A Malicious Slander Campaign Against the PM

The Jan Lok Pal activists have resorted to a malicious, slander campaign against Dr Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister. They call him corrupt without an iota of proof. Yes, Manmohan Singh made an awful mistake by trusting Kalmadi and Raja to do their job. The mechanics of coalition politics hampered him with respect to the 2G issue and Kalmadi had been virtually appointed by the earlier NDA Government. Let us not forget the incredible rescue act Manmohan Singh pulled off in the early 1990s to save the Indian economy and enable it to reach this high level of growth.

3) The Movement is not backed by Minorities:

The knowledge of RSS involvement in this campaign has made Muslims, Christians, Dalits and other minorities highly skeptical of this campaign as they perceive ulterior motives are at play.

4) Anna Hazare is No Gandhi:

The truth is that Anna has not denied some of the serious charges against him. He spent Rupees Two Lakhs for his birthday bash out of his funds in a charitable trust. Gandhiji would never do this. The average Indian spends much less for his wedding than the sum of Rupees Two Lakhs. Besides, Gandhiji never hurled abuses and falsehoods at the British administration in the manner Anna is criticizing the PM as being corrupt (without any proof). Anna has even mocked the PMs age although he is not that much younger than him. The most damning thing against Anna is his intolerance as he has reportedly asked for a blanket ban on the consumption of all non-vegetarian foodstuff in Maharashtra. This is not a Gandhian attitude at all.

5) The Double Standards of the Lok Pal Movement

The Bhushans, the right hand men of Team Anna, face strong corruption allegations themselves. They reportedly told senior politician that they could fix a judge in one case. The other serious charge is Shanti Bhushan’s son has withdrawn a litigation against Mayawati in exchange for a deal on land acquisition in UP. The question is if there were serious charges against the Bhushans why did Anna insist they remain on the draft panel? Then how can we have different yardsticks for politicians and bureaucrats facing corruption charges. Also, Baba Ramdev who is part of this movement made a loud noise about black money outside India when it has been found out that he himself indulges in money laundering and even owns islands abroad. Yeddyurappa, the Emperor of Corruption, and Modi, the Genocide man, have also backed this movement when they are incorrigibly corrupt. Booze is still freely available in Gujarat although it is a dry state.

6) Potentiality of Violence

With RSS and BJP participation in the Lok Pal movement there is always a possibility of violence to instigate a strong response from the authorities which could make the government hated even more. This is the same tactic they use in Kashmir vis-à-vis the stone pelting and all.

7) BJP’s Double Game

The game of the BJP is to criticize the UPA Government inside and outside parliament so as to erode their support base. However, they have no intentions of getting the Jan Lok Pal bill passed entirely. They will ensure that it gets passed by the Lok Sabha but their members will vote against it in the Rajya Sabha. Remember the same thing happened way back in 1968. By the way, the BJPs position is condemnable as it allowed Yedyurappa to continue in Karnataka for nearly a year after the corruption charges were made as they feared erosion of the Lingayat base there.

Well, my advice would be to give more powers to the existing anti-corruption agencies currently instituted like the CVC, the anti-corruption bureaus, the CBI anti-corruption wing and the Lokayuktas. Make them more accessible to the common man facing the brunt of corruption. Change existing laws so that corrupt people like the Rajas, Kalmadis and the Yeddyurappas get heavy punishment including life imprisonment. Yes, the end is noble but the end does not justify the means. Jai Hind!!!

My Arguments Against the Jan Lok Pal Movement

To say that the Jan Lok Pal movement is just an anti-corruption movement is an insult to our intelligence. It is an Anti-Congress movement propped by right-wing and left-wing fundamentalists attempting to topple the UPA government before the next elections or to further damage their credibility to enable the BJP to form the next government. Yes, the UPA government has failed miserably in curbing corruption and inflation but I still will not support this movement because of the following reasons:

1) It is a Political Movement and not a movement by civil society.

With Shanti Bhushan (ex-law minister of Indian, a former BJP politician and RSS man), Swami Agnivesh (a Maoist representative), and Anupam Kher (Husband of high-level BJP functionary) promoting and participating in this movement, the Jan Lok Pal Movement is definitely a political movement. The high level of support of RSS activists and Maoists outside parliament and the BJP politicians inside parliament justify this truth. Other promoters of this movement have other axe to grind such as Kiran Bedi who didn’t get the promotion she wanted.

The other arguments I have against this movement are as follows:

2) A Malicious Slander Campaign Against the PM

The Jan Lok Pal activists have resorted to a malicious, slander campaign against Dr Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister. They call him corrupt without an iota of proof. Yes, Manmohan Singh made an awful mistake by trusting Kalmadi and Raja to do their job. The mechanics of coalition politics hampered him with respect to the 2G issue and Kalmadi had been virtually appointed by the earlier NDA Government. Let us not forget the incredible rescue act Manmohan Singh pulled off in the early 1990s to save the Indian economy and enable it to reach this high level of growth.

3) The Movement is not backed by Minorities:

The knowledge of RSS involvement in this campaign has made Muslims, Christians, Dalits and other minorities highly skeptical of this campaign as they perceive ulterior motives are at play.

4) Anna Hazare is No Gandhi:

The truth is that Anna has not denied some of the serious charges against him. He spent Rupees Two Lakhs for his birthday bash out of his funds in a charitable trust. Gandhiji would never do this. The average Indian spends much less for his wedding than the sum of Rupees Two Lakhs. Besides, Gandhiji never hurled abuses and falsehoods at the British administration in the manner Anna is criticizing the PM as being corrupt (without any proof). Anna has even mocked the PMs age although he is not that much younger than him. The most damning thing against Anna is his intolerance as he has reportedly asked for a blanket ban on the consumption of all non-vegetarian foodstuff in Maharashtra. This is not a Gandhian attitude at all.

5) The Double Standards of the Lok Pal Movement

The Bhushans, the right hand men of Team Anna, face strong corruption allegations themselves. They reportedly told senior politician that they could fix a judge in one case. The other serious charge is Shanti Bhushan’s son has withdrawn a litigation against Mayawati in exchange for a deal on land acquisition in UP. The question is if there were serious charges against the Bhushans why did Anna insist they remain on the draft panel? Then how can we have different yardsticks for politicians and bureaucrats facing corruption charges. Also, Baba Ramdev who is part of this movement made a loud noise about black money outside India when it has been found out that he himself indulges in money laundering and even owns islands abroad. Yeddyurappa, the Emperor of Corruption, and Modi, the Genocide man, have also backed this movement when they are incorrigibly corrupt. Booze is still freely available in Gujarat although it is a dry state.

6) Potentiality of Violence

With RSS and BJP participation in the Lok Pal movement there is always a possibility of violence to instigate a strong response from the authorities which could make the government hated even more. This is the same tactic they use in Kashmir vis-à-vis the stone pelting and all.

7) BJP’s Double Game

The game of the BJP is to criticize the UPA Government inside and outside parliament so as to erode their support base. However, they have no intentions of getting the Jan Lok Pal bill passed entirely. They will ensure that it gets passed by the Lok Sabha but their members will vote against it in the Rajya Sabha. Remember the same thing happened way back in 1968. By the way, the BJPs position is condemnable as it allowed Yedyurappa to continue in Karnataka for nearly a year after the corruption charges were made as they feared erosion of the Lingayat base there.

Well, my advice would be to give more powers to the existing anti-corruption agencies currently instituted like the CVC, the anti-corruption bureaus, the CBI anti-corruption wing and the Lokayuktas. Make them more accessible to the common man facing the brunt of corruption. Change existing laws so that corrupt people like the Rajas, Kalmadis and the Yeddyurappas get heavy punishment including life imprisonment. Yes, the end is noble but the end does not justify the means. Jai Hind!!!

In Defence Of Dr. Manmohan Singh

India was in deep financial crisis and facing a shameful default in the early 1990s when the ex-RBI governor, Dr Manmohan Singh became the Finance Minister of the newly elected Government. He brought in a wave of sweeping reforms that saved the face and economy of the nation. It was due to his astute policies that privatisation, liberalisation,deregulation and tax reforms took place. The economy was saved and India grew to become one of the strongest economies in the world by 2007 with Dr. Manmohan at the helm as the Prime Minister of a Congress-led UPA coalition.

Despite surviving the financial crisis of 2008, India has found itself in a soup with spiraling inflation (as faced by almost every other country on this planet) and large-scale corruption at every level of government and society. The 2G Telecom scandal and the Commonwealth scams have rocked the UPA government hard and it had almost sunk when Anna Hazare started his anti-corruption drive insisting on a Lok Pal bill drafted by civil society. This anti-corruption crusader has brought the government to its knees by maligning Dr Manmohan Singh and the entire UPA government but without being critical of the opposition party which not only has an anti-minority agenda but also itself been embroiled in several scams including the Tehelka defence scandal, coffingate, the Karnataka mining scam, etc.

 This anti-Manmohan tirade therefore puts a question mark on the motives of the Lok Pal movement. They so easily forget the great work Manmohan Singh has done for India (including the implementation of RTI Act and anti-poverty measures as PM). The incredible rescue act which he had done in the 1990s makes this writer scorn the ingratitude of those who criticised him so harshly without knowing the facts. The facts are that Manmohan Singh is a mild man who believed in almost complete delegation of authority to the extent that he trusted the Kalmadis and the Rajas to do their job diligently. He was as surprised as everyone else to learn about the scams as it had happened under his own nose and even after the false guarantees given by these rogues. And let us not forget that it is difficult for a PM of a coalition to effectively monitor and deal with ministers placed by their allies. One must not also forget that  Manmohan Singh as a congress man has to make decisions keeping the party policies in mind (although he is no remote control) although they may seem unpopular.


So, I ask fellow Indians not to misjudge one of the greatest economists and politicians we've had in Independent India. Do not mock him and remember that if Anna Hazare is old and wise, then Manmohan Singh is much older and much wiser.





    

The Hypocrisy of the Anti-Corruption Drive

Almost every Indian citizen (who can afford it) gives donations to schools and colleges for their childrens' admissions. Many buy tickets in black (at unreasonable rates) to watch movies. Many citizens bribe RTOs for fake driving licenses; while others give bribes to traffic cops and railways TCs when caught on the wrong foot. Shop owners pay haftas to cops and gangsters. Actors work in films financed by underworld gangsters like Dawood Ibrahim. These are everyday phenenomena in our motherland yet people who pay these bribes do not launch an agitation against the schools, gangsters and policemen.

In the light of this blatant and rampant corruption, and our role in it, isn't it so hypocritical that civil society is launching an all out attack on the government and judiciary when we ourselves act s irresponsibly. Let us deny our children the school we prefer, let us sacrifice the privileges and comforts we desire before putting the entire blame on the government. And let me assure you that 99% of Anna's team if not Anna himself has been involved in taking or giving bribes at one time or another. Remember this quote from the Bible - let he who has not sinned cast the first stone!!!!