The Vivekean Times

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 ...

This is a question I have always asked myself when I began writing this book about five years ago. Will a novel on terrorism have mass appeal and would I be catering to a restricted niche audience? Well, it's early days for my novel "Indians in Pakistan" but I'm certain the answer is "Why Not?". As I worked on my novel, I realised that Jihadi fiction was becoming a genre by itself with works of Mukul Deva and "Red Jihad" capturing the imagination. But I still insist that the audience is not niche as terrorism affects us all overtly and covertly. Only a fool will deny that.Think of all those long hours you have spent in queues waiting to enter a plane or a stadium because of security checks. Think of the fear one feels when a loud sound is heard on the street or whenever you see a stray parcel lying in a public place. Denying you feel this fear or inconvenience does not mean that it is not felt. Any rational human being feels them. Doesn't ev...

Ejaz and I met in a secluded area on Friday night. We were discussing possible courses of action when the sound of light footsteps interrupted us. Ejaz looked at me in silence and motioned for us to remain quiet. Suddenly the silhouettes of two men became visible in the darkness. ‘Who’s there?’ I queried. ‘It’s me, Akbar Bugto,’ whispered a voice. ‘And I have Omar Sheikh with me.’ ‘We know exactly what you have been up to,’ said another voice. There was a long spell of silence as Ejaz and I pondered the meaning of these words. Akbar Bugto was one of the support staff who hailed from Baluchistan. He was a handy man who worked at this camp in multiple roles including that of an electrician and a gardener. He was the most visible person on this campus. Omar Sheikh, the Kashmiri software engineer and main communications expert, on the other hand, was usually confined to the control room or the communications centre near the officers’ quarters. ‘What are you talking about?...

 ‘And how did the Americans become the enemies?’ Irfan queried. ‘Weren’t they the ones who gave us money and arms, and dug tunnels for the mujahideens and even the Al Qaeda?’ ‘I just love it when you lads ask questions,’ said the trainer cheerfully. ‘Of course, they were our friends at one point of time. They helped us in Afghanistan. They gave Pakistan plenty of aircrafts, weapons and money to fight India. In fact, Nixon, the American President, sent a warship to the Bay of Bengal to attack India in 1971. Unfortunately, the war got over before it could launch an attack. But America did everything for its own selfish reasons. It was the height of the Cold War, and America viewed India and Afghanistan through the prism of paranoia. They feared that these two countries which were close to the former Soviet Union would pose a major threat to their imperialistic plans. They have always been imperialists and infidels. It’s only now that we have begun to realize this sad truth....