The Vivekean Times

The charges and counter charges between Kapil Mishra, Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP only reveal that there are no honest politicians in India today – only two-faced hypocrites. It is extremely foolish of the BJP and Congress to take a ‘holier than thou’ stance since they do not practice cleanliness in their electoral politics either. Yes, you're guilty even if you accept dirty money for your kin or party. If some politicians are still considered clean, it's usually due to the takeover of media houses, lack of evidence, U-turns of eye witnesses (with money changing hands), bungling or complicity of investigating agencies, or the existence of labyrinths (such as a network of shell companies) created to conceal the scams. Have you ever stopped to think why no political party is now asking for the full implementation of the Lokpal Act? Because it suits them all. Aam Aadmi fought for the Lokpal Act. The Congress and BJP promised to deliver on TV debates, but now all of t...

GST will almost certainly be passed in the monsoon session of parliament. It will be wonderful news for the union and state governments, the economists, the political parties who will rush to claim credit (not input credit) for its passage and the businessmen who will no longer be harassed by multiple tax authorities and will find the new tax system extremely streamlined with fewer hassles. But what's in store for the consumers? Not very good news, I m afraid. The tax rates for goods and services may be 20% or higher and it is bound to lead to inflation, at least in the short term. GST may have a profound impact on Indian eCommerce as all online transactions would be subject to this tax. Then there is the recommendation of 40% GST on aerated drinks as a form of sin tax since these drinks are considered unhealthy. I found this a ridiculous argument as it will open a pandora s box and make taxation in India arbitrary, judgmental and discriminatory. And finally the most stupid recomm...

Hey, now it's officially confirmed that India is a Banana Republic. The details of the  Essar Leaks scandal have finally blown the lid off the subterfuge. Our democracy is a joke! In fact, it is actually a THEM-OCRACY. Read in sync with the Radia tapes controversy and recent press reports, I declare that whichever government is at the helm, whether it is a BJP, Congress, Left, AAP or any other formation, India will still remain a Banana Republic, at least for a while. And here's why I say this: 1) The details of the Essar and Radia scandals reveal that even Union Budget decisions, ministry formations and important government policies are decided by big corporates . What's more? It shows that even the judgment of a supreme court judge was bought in the 2G corruption case (We already know that the CBI director had taken money from guilty parties in the case) and journalists are being paid to write news articles in favour of politicians and large bu...

It's a shame that our taxes are used to subsidise mobile bills of ministers who misuse this perk to chat with people like Dawood Ibrahim, wanted for the Mumbai serial blasts! And no action is taken against him as yet! Astounding. The Dawood Ibrahim-Eknath Khadse link is an open and shut case: (1) It is well established that the SIM card belonged to Eknath Khadse, the BJP Minister in Maharashtra - he himself has admited this fact. (2) It is well established that the phone call to this mobile (SIM) was made from Dawood Ibrahim's cell phone which he uses in Karachi. (3) It is well established that Dawood Ibrahim is an absconder from the Indian judicial system and was the mastermind of the Mumbai terror attacks in 1993 in which hundreds lost their lives. (4) It is well established that the phone number was active and in use even up to April 2016. (5) It is well established that Khadse is lying about his SIM being inactive for a year, since bills were regularly paid even up ...

Dear Priyanka, We are truly proud of your achievements as an actor, singer an d model. We are prouder of your outburst against Donald Trump, the controversial US Presidential candidate who could very well 'Make America Hate Again'! You were spot on when you said: "I just think you can't put a ban on anyone; Generalising a type of people is really primitive." Insightful words Indeed! As a matter of fact, I too have been a staunch critic of Trump and his politics of hate. However, at this point I must dare point out that this phenomenon of bigotry is not confined to the American shores alone. All across the globe, terrorists and fascists have sprung to power and formed governments just by selling Hate to the local populace. We have seen it happen in Egypt, Turkey, Gaza, Russia, Syria, Afghanistan and even in some European countries! Social media and the collaborative conventional media (or bazaaru media) rather than curtailing this menace, have contributed to i...

Here are a few points that expose the fallacy and evils of the Beef Ban implemented by BJP in Maharashtra and Haryana: 1) Cowslaughter was already banned 4 dec ades ago, but what we are protesting against is the extension of the ban to bulls and bullocks. 2) Most of us respect the religious sentiments of Hindus vis-a-vis cow worship; but the bull should not come under this category especially as the Hindi word for bull i.e. bayl is used to abuse people who don't have their own minds. How can it then be claimed that bulls are divine? 3) The leather Industry would be badly hit in Maharashtra ruining the state economy badly. 4) Lacs of people employed in the beef trade will face unemployment in Maharashtra 5) Sexual offenders face lighter jail terms than the 5 year sentence for possession of beef. In Haryana, you will be charged with manslaughter if beef is found in your possession. 6) Beef constitutes a major part of the diet of millions of people in Maharashtra (representing nea...

It will be a peaceful march but a strong protest in the heart of Mumbai against the harsh, sadistic, illogical and unconstitutional Beef Ban implemented by the states of Mumbai and Haryana. The patriotic and secular stakeholders of the action-packed 'Indians in Pakistan' Novel feel that the BJP governments in these states do not have the mandate to enforce such a stringent and outrageous legislation that deprives millions of Indian citizens of their right to choose what to eat, of their right to livelihood as beef traders or vendors of leather products, and of their right to possess beef for whatever reason they deem fit. We respect the religious sentiments involved in the slaughter of the COW and many of us may agree with state laws banning their (cow) slaughter, but still feel it preposterous to include bulls and bullocks in the definition of the cow for purposes of this act. By fast tracking these legislations within a few months of assuming power, and that...

You better watch out For you will only cry Better not smile, I'm telling you why, Modi Claus is coming to town! He's making a fake encounter list and checking it twice, While CBI books online citizens who were naughty not nice Modi Claus will perform Ghar Vapsi in town! Sahib spies on girls when they're sleeping, He knows when they're awake, He knows when Minorities are good or bad, Remember Gujarat 2002 for Goodness Sake! You better watch out For you will only cry Better not smile, I'm telling you why, Modi Claus is coming to town! (We will conclude with the famous Christmas poem "T'was the night before Good Governance Day")

Smriti the egg-faced Mantri had a very long, long nose, and every time she lies, One inch longer it grows. All of the other Mantris, used to laugh and call her names, they never let poor Smriti, play in any right wing games! Then one smoggy Good Governance Eve, Modi came to say, "Smriti with your nose so long, why don't you sing a Sanghi song" Then how the mantris loved her, as she flashed her fake Yale Degree, Smriti, the egg-faced Mantri, is distorting texts of Indian History! (Note: Our next carol is "Modi Claus is Coming to Town....on an Adani Jet")

Welcome to our Christmathon! This year we celebrate this joyous occasion with the proper fine-tuning of our content that is desperately needed, given the changed political climate in our country. So, we have modified some of the popular Christmas Carols and poems for the benefit of our more "patriotic" readers.  All school and college students are supposed to learn these poems and songs online on Good Governance Day i.e. 25th December, which by a strange coincidence happens to be a major festival of non-Indian origin that has been imported from the West i.e. Israel. Here's a sample verse: I'm dreaming of a Swachh Bharat, Just like the one we never knew; Where history books burn, and children heads turn to hear the sound of riots from which they eschew! I'm dreaming of a Swachh Bharat, With every Good Governance essays we write; May your diet be veggie and teetotaled, and may all your Good Governance days be DRY!! Dear Readers, he...

(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’ ...

Today I visited the local fish market and was surprised to hear fisherwoman bargaining in English using words like “fresh”, “expensive” and “twelve hundred.” Yet, nearly a month ago, I saw several participants getting punished for using English phrases during day-to-day conversations in India’s premier reality show, Big Boss. Why is this anti-English idea being mooted on popular television shows when most of the world has adopted the language as their own and the world has gone truly global? Are TV show producers steadily succumbing to the paranoia of the medieval mindsets.   And, by the way, what is a medieval mindset? In the period following the collapse of the Roman Empire from the 5 th century right up to the sixteenth century religion ruled the roost. All the major religions of the world came into prominence during this period but culture declined. The followers of these modern religions were just as brutal and barbaric as their pagan counterparts. The Christian ar...

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 th...

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....

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 draf...