Alice in Wonderland

                     “SENTENCE  first – VERDICT afterwards” , said the Queen

                 “Nonsense!” said Alice loudly

                 “Off with her head” the Queen shouted at the top of her voice.
(Alice In Wonderland)

                                  

Ernesto "Che" Guevara was murdered by the Bolivian army aided overtly by the CIA. That was in the sixties, when the Americans smelt a commie under every bed. Che was shot point blank like the many murders he supervised at the heights of his undiminished longing for revolution and change to the world order.

Neither the Bolivian army nor the CIA in any remote way feigned ignorance and non complicity of direct or indirect involvement in the capture and murder of Che. A strange streak of lack of duplicity from an incessantly wanton organisation of a democratic country!

Here is an extract from the moments of the assassination.

“Moments before Guevara was executed he was asked by a Bolivian soldier if he was thinking about his own immortality. "No", he replied, "I'm thinking about the immortality of the revolution”. When Sergeant Terán entered the hut, Che Guevara then told his executioner, "I know you've come to kill me. Shoot, coward! You are only going to kill a man!"Terán hesitated, and then opened fire with his semiautomatic rifle, hitting Guevara in the arms and legs. Guevara writhed on the ground, apparently biting one of his wrists to avoid crying out. Terán then fired several times again, wounding him fatally in the chest at 1:10 pm. In all, Guevara was shot nine times. This included five times in the legs, once in the right shoulder and arm, once in the chest, and finally in the throat”.

That was in 1967, in the Jungles of South America.

The clock moves and it is 1976, the jungles of Wayand, north Kerala.

Another revolutionary and votary of the leftist ideology Naxalite Varghese is captured by the state police and a constable is directed to shoot the captive. The constable complies with the order after a virtual threat from his superior a DySP . The canard is spread that Naxalite Varghese was shot and killed in an encounter.

It took further twenty two years of perhaps agonising self introspection, traumatic and haunting nightmares and depressing insomnia, for the constable Ramachandran Nair to finally succumb at the break point and confess.

The quirk of the fact is that seemingly the CIA displayed apparent transparency in a murder it orchestrated while in another democratic state, Kerala the state police simply lied like cowards and covered it brazen act of injustice and crime.

How many such encounter killings, a euphemism for extra judicial murders, orchestrated by the State happens in India and goes un- reported? The easy route to the elimination and dispatch of inconvenient men and women in a system that proclaims equality before law, diligence and due process in all matters that touch the masses and the society as a whole!

"If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine". Che Guvera

The Naked Body

The news was reported yesterday  in the Indian press,and also  mentioned in the media in the USA. The incident provoked outrage and anguish among the devout Hindus spread all over, so said the report. The Hindus are offended! And beware the hurt Hindu- he sure will unleash his wrath, he will like Siva be irrepressible when angered.

The news that is thought to have the potential of becoming a holy war is a video that has been released by the Playboy magazine in the US. The video featuring Sarah Jean Underwood performing various yoga postures while naked has hurt the sentiments of the Hindus.They felt hurt at the misuse of a revered system by Playboy for mercantile aims. ‘The racy video used the age old technique as erotica has irked the devout Hindu’.

Well, well sure a meaty meal and fodder for the Bajarangdals and Siva Sainiks!

Curiosity got me to surf the Playboy web site to see the video. There it was a sample clip for free, with Sarha Jean Underwood a young and beautiful model with an unblemished body performing a bit of surya namsakar and few other yoga postures. It was nothing more than a dance number by a beautiful danseuse.. It is provocative, offensive and hurting only if one sees erotica each time a nude body is exhibited. To me the beautiful physique and the video as such was not smut ,but a thing of awe. And I can only see more people taking to yoga.
I do not know of any dress code or otherwise that has to be followed while engaging in practise of yoga, besides practical ones and dresses that can be comfortable. However it is also matter of fact that the Playboy video is a gimmick, a merchandising gimmick like many other matters used in commercialisation and marketing.But then what is unholy in practising yoga in the nude? 

                                                  

Now, the devout Hindus who were offended by what they term, 'the misuse of an ancient and revered system’, must answer a few questions before they further their rage.

How many of these folks practise yoga and are yogic?

How do they substantiate the explicit sculptures of Khajuraho,( a world heritage site)? And the many sculptures that one can see in many temples of south India that show profusely endowed women bearing their bosoms? Has anybody felt aroused when they circumambulate these temples?

What do they say about the naga sanyasis that one can see in many numbers when one venture to north Indian towns of Allahabad, Rishikesh etc? I found them amusing.But to the zealous Hindus who are now offended ought to be offended looking at these pictures in this post.

If the Taj is a thing of beauty, nudity in sublime form is beauty personified. The longing and the urge to feel peeved and offended is a birth right too. I guess so!

"I Hate to say Goodbye"

Margaret Thatcher, often called the Iron Lady west of the Iron Curtain, retired long ago and reportedly suffers from dementia in her late eighties. In the U.S., George H.W. Bush was retired by the ballot, while Ronald Reagan, who battled Alzheimer’s and died years ago, showed signs of senility even in office. Yet, in India, we find a Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, nearing his eightieth year, clinging to power—perhaps, some say, as a regent until a younger leader assumes the reins.

This critique harbors no intent to disparage Mr. Singh’s integrity or academic credentials. He deserves credit for steering India out of Nehruvian socialism and the stifling License Raj, where productivity was both regulated and penalized. However, his recent statements and handling of vital national issues suggest a tired mind, raising questions about his fitness to lead. Mr. Prime Minister, it’s time to retire—Sat Sri Akal!

Some of Singh’s remarks are not just ill-considered but myopic, seemingly detached from facts or consequences. In August 2010, The Hindu reported the Supreme Court’s suo motu order directing the Union Government to distribute food grains to millions in need rather than letting them rot in rain-soaked warehouses. The government admitted that 67,000 tonnes of grain had spoiled due to neglect. Outraged by this paradox—starving millions alongside wasted food—the Court mandated free distribution to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families. Singh’s response was exasperating: he claimed the government couldn’t distribute food gratis and insisted the Court should not meddle in policy matters. This statement was not only morally questionable but legally baseless, as letting food rot violates the right to life enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution. Such a response from a Prime Minister is deeply irresponsible.

On September 8, 2010, The Hindu quoted Singh prioritizing economic progress over environmental concerns: “We cannot solve problems by perpetuating poverty in the name of the environment. If the country’s mineral wealth isn’t exploited, economic growth will suffer.” This bizarre stance raises questions: Was Singh lobbying for conglomerates like Vedanta or POSCO? Can he cite a single instance where environmental destruction and displacement of tribals eradicated poverty? Leaders like Singh, who make decisions with long-term consequences, won’t face the fallout. His words betray both the impoverished and future generations.

On October 24, 2010, The Hindu reported Singh labeling Naxalites as the nation’s greatest threat. He overlooks a critical truth: Naxalism isn’t a biological phenomenon but a social one, born from lopsided, insensitive, and avaricious economic policies peddled by successive governments—including his own.

Propriety demands stepping down when one can no longer discern the purpose of leadership. Mr. Singh, it’s time to hang up your boots and bid farewell.