The Vivekean Times

As you are all aware, India is home to one of the world's most diverse religious landscapes, where communities of various faiths have coexisted peacefully together for centuries. Most importantly, Christians constitute a relatively small minority, accounting for roughly about 2.3% of India's population, and yet they are known to operate thousands of schools, hospitals, social service entities, and charitable non-governmental organizations (NGOs) across the length and breadth of the country.  However, in recent times, multiple legal and policy developments have stirred up the conscientious among us and caused intense debate among policymakers, civil society groups, religious organizations, and human rights activists in India. This blog post looks at 3 issues that have become particularly significant for Christian communities in India, particularly in the state of Maharashtra: the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) amendments, anti-conversion legislation, and Maharashtra...

Wow, this is cool! Here's free and instant access to the Initial 3 Chapters of Indians in Pakistan - This format is very easy on the eyes - Just click the Read First Chapter Free button below the book's image at http://www.shelfari.com/books/37956227/Indians-in-Pakistan Quotes from the book “All this simply shows us that communalism and terrorism are nothing but opposite sides of the same coin. They keep feeding on each other in a vicious cycle, resulting in a society full of violence, hatred, sorrow and intolerance. Every communal act is used as a justification for mindless acts of terrorism . Similarly , each act of terrorism is used as a justification for such horrible atrocities like genocide and ethnic cleansing. And, it is always the innocent who get killed. This is the sad truth.” Narrator (Zameer) “‘Now relax and enjoy as much as you can. After we reach the camp, there will be no time for relaxation and enjoyment.’” Lieutenant Ashraf “‘We love Kashm...

I'm really fed up of the gutter level of politics we have seen this parliamentary session. What else can you expect when many of our MPs have been accused of murder, rape and kidnapping! We need to keep both the morons and criminals away from the sanctity of our parliament houses. Let's vote in more honest business leaders, sportsmen, social activists and broadminded people. In my opinion, our parliamentarians should be banned from debating. They should work for just 1 day per session and pass or dump bills without debate. Even the speeches of big politicians like Rahul Gandhi, Smriti Irani and Narendra Modi lacked depth, being basically 'Tu-Tu Mein-Mein' speeches laced with mudslinging and hollowness - but praised by their fans....Rahul and Modi made a feeble attempt at standup comedy, which sounded hilarious to their desperate fan clubs. One of the gems from Rahul Gandhi was "I will speak. But they will not ...

( I present before you once again that lovely poem I wrote for Valentine's Day. I had composed it literally overnight for the Bandra Buzz, our local newspaper. ) Tears streamed down his face again As Valentine’s Day approached; For on that day a year ago David’s heart had been crushed. His Valentine had ditched him then And mated with his foe; It had taken him a really long time To recover from this blow. So, David vowed to shun this day But Fate had other plans, For he consented to a Blind Date theme: A dinner and a dance. And there she was in front of him A damsel blessed with grace; ‘Twas her smile our hero loved the best It beautified her face. They strolled out together  arm in arm, Two strangers so in love; He whispered sweet nothings to her Then presented a clay dove. “Take this bird and remember me,”  David told his Valentine; “For I shall be forever yours, And, my dear, you shall be mine.”

Juliet: (to herself) Which one of my boyfriends could it be knocking at my bedroom window at this unearthly hour? Oh, it’s Romeo!!! Juliet: (To Romeo) Romeo, you bledy bugger – What are you up to, men? Get down from the tree before you fall and break your b…...” Romeo: I climbest this tree to express my love for thou – a love that can survive tempests and tsunamis. Juliet: Romeo, dearest, dost thou havest – a car, a flat, or an ipad? Romeo: I haveth none of the above. Juliet: Then how dost thou dare to love? Thou livest in a fool’s paradise. I cannot love thee. Romeo: I just inherited a cool million from an uncle who passed away. He was quite a rich dude. The cash is in the bank. Juliet: I truly love thee now, my Romeo. Romeo: Why dost thou not respond to my SMSes, my darling? Thou knowest how much I love thee especially after thou went under the plastic surgeon’s scalpel. Juliet: A Daniel, still say I, a second Daniel! Romeo: I think that’s from the...

My Suggestions to the Indian Govt, recommending a new anti-terrorism policy: 1) Hang all terrorists currently on death row within the next three months and send a strong message to all terrorists. The Government would need considerable assistance from the President and the courts to achieve this deadline. 2) Frame a new tough anti-terror law after reaching a consensus between political parties, the judiciary and the civil society. Representatives of each of these sections must process the bill in a drafting committee before it goes to the standing committee of parliament at the preliminary stage. 3) The new law must be stringent and based on past or existing legislations that have worked before. It must also consider existing terror laws in US and other countries which have managed to curb terrorism to some extent in the past decade or so. The legislation must be drafted such that it is not maliciously misused by biased authorities against members of particular communities. 4...

( I present before you once again that lovely poem I wrote for Valentine's Day. I had composed it literally overnight for the Bandra Buzz, our local newspaper. ) Tears streamed down his face again As Valentine’s Day approached; For on that day a year ago David’s heart had been crushed. His Valentine had ditched him then And mated with his foe; It had taken him a really long time To recover from this blow. So, David vowed to shun this day But Fate had other plans, For he consented to a Blind Date theme: A dinner and a dance. And there she was in front of him A damsel blessed with grace; ‘Twas her smile our hero loved the best It beautified her face. They strolled out together  arm in arm, Two strangers so in love; He whispered sweet nothings to her Then presented a clay dove. “Take this bird and remember me,”  David told his Valentine; “For I shall be forever yours, And, my dear, you shall be mine.”

My Suggestions to the Indian Govt, recommending a new anti-terrorism policy: 1) Hang all terrorists currently on death row within the next three months and send a strong message to all terrorists. The Government would need considerable assistance from the President and the courts to achieve this deadline. 2) Frame a new tough anti-terror law after reaching a consensus between political parties, the judiciary and the civil society. Representatives of each of these sections must process the bill in a drafting committee before it goes to the standing committee of parliament at the preliminary stage. 3) The new law must be stringent and based on past or existing legislations that have worked before. It must also consider existing terror laws in US and other countries which have managed to curb terrorism to some extent in the past decade or so. The legislation must be drafted such that it is not maliciously misused by biased authorities against members of particular communities. 4...

(Dedicated to all the classy CB Trolls and their pearls of wisdom(s)) Once upon a time there lived a best selling Baluchi writer, Chutney Bhugti, who enjoyed taking selfies with Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Omar of the Quetta Shura. Not joining his beloved Taliban (the Pakistani version of the Sangh Parivar) was one of the three biggest mistakes of Chutney Bhugti's life and he humbly considered himself as a five point somebody (on a scale of 100). He loved writing open letters to the likes of Bilawal Bhutto as closed letters were quite expensive. He grilled Biloo (a la mode d’Arnab Ghostswami) on heated TV debates and sarcastic news columns for being part of a corrupt legacy, his personal failings as a politician and of being a dynastic heir – but not for his lunatic rantings on Kashmir. However, Chutney Bhugti kept strangely quiet when it came to the corruption, violence and misdeeds of Nawaz Sharif and the Taliban, whom he clicked a lot of selfies with. But Chutney Bhugti...

(Dedicated to all the classy CB Trolls and their pearls of wisdom(s)) Once upon a time there lived a best selling Baluchi writer, Chutney Bhugti, who enjoyed taking selfies with Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Omar of the Quetta Shura. Not joining his beloved Taliban (the Pakistani version of the Sangh Parivar) was one of the three biggest mistakes of Chutney Bhugti's life and he humbly considered himself as a five point somebody (on a scale of 100). He loved writing open letters to the likes of Bilawal Bhutto as closed letters were quite expensive. He grilled Biloo (a la mode d’Arnab Ghostswami) on heated TV debates and sarcastic news columns for being part of a corrupt legacy, his personal failings as a politician and of being a dynastic heir – but not for his lunatic rantings on Kashmir. However, Chutney Bhugti kept strangely quiet when it came to the corruption, violence and misdeeds of Nawaz Sharif and the Taliban, whom he clicked a lot of selfies with. But Chutney Bhugti...

(An Extract from Indians in Pakistan, the Action Thriller on terrorism) ‘It was all my fault,’ I said frankly. ‘I was blind then but now I see the truth. You were right and I was wrong.’ ‘Mother would have been happy to see you,’ he told me, sadly. ‘Too bad she’s not around.’ ‘Wh - where is she?’ I asked, looking around frantically for her. ‘It’s too late,’ he said. ‘She’s no longer in this world.’ ‘Mother, mother,’ I continued, not heeding him. ‘Mother where are you?’ ‘She’s dead, dear brother. She’s in heaven now.’ ‘No, it cannot be. She cannot die! I need to tell her how much I love her. I need to tell her how sorry I am for walking away. I wanted to introduce her to Najma, my wife. I wanted to - ’ Words failed me at that moment and I sank to my knees. There were plenty of kind words from everyone around but there was nothing that could console me – not even the beautiful hands of Najma wrapped around my neck. I was truly inconsolable. Visit the Fan Page of this excitin...

Let’s commemorate 9/11 this year by vowing to eradicate terrorism from the face of the earth. To defeat these evil terrorists who perpetually threaten our world, we need to be aware of their bases, methods and designs. And there’s no better way of learning about them than by reading the action thriller “Indians in Pakistan”, which has it all: Romance, Information and Action (Category; Adult Fiction). Buy this exciting novel in its Print or ebook format on leading online book retailers including Amazon, Pothi.com & Flipkart. The ebook format can be purchased on Amazon for less than 1 US$ or Rs 60 Only at http://www.amazon.in/Indians-Pakistan-Vivek-Pereira-ebook/dp/B00N0WYM5O

(A fictional Shakespearean speech by Amit Shah, Narendra Modi’s Mark Anthony - conceptualisation and translation by Vivek Pereira) Fiends, Minorities and other second-class citizens, lend me your ears (or we’ll chop them right off and take them during the next riots, anyways). I come to praise NaMo not to bury him. The evil that men do lives after us. Goodness was never in my bones. So it is with NaMo. The noble Uma Bharati had once called Modi ‘Vinash Purush’ and he responded with “Et tu, Uma” and then took the help of the RSS to vanquish her. For NaMo is an honourable man…if you do not count his role in the 2002 riots and its subsequent cover-up, Snoopgate, various fake encounters, corrupt crony capitalistic dealings with Adani-Ambani, his disdainful treatment of senior leaders like Jaswant Singh, Advani, etc. The next to wound him grievously was Smriti Irani, the saas-cum-bahu who announced that she would go on a fast unto death - in line with Ekta Kapoor’s ‘Acche Sanskaar’ ...