Free Talk

Barkha Dutt was not a role model for me, but of course Vir Sanghvi has been since his Sunday/Blitz days. I had chanced to express my comments about their articles (Blitz, Sunday, Hindustan Times, NDTV etc) earlier. I always respect the journalists in a democracy, because they are the real people who can stand with the common people when all the other institutions pathetically cave in. Corruption is sky-rocketing in India. Every citizen is well aware of it. In a recently published book review (The God Market…), writer Meera Nanda unravels how religions are exploited by the so called Gurus and Swamis for the corruption in the Corporate. Even the spirituality has become an indispensable stuff of lucrative businesses in India, what else can be spared from corruption? Where does a common man then depend on? A common man can afford to buy a news paper or flick the remote control of an electronic media to get the truth. In that context, an iota of lopsided or biased views from the dedicated journalists cannot be tolerated by a common man.

Reply to J. Gopikrishnan

Press is one of the great pillars in democracy. Gopikrishnan has proved that. Let all patriots serve like this even if the looters usurp power. We should not be pessimistic that the government will save the culprits at last. What we want to do is that: fight against the corrupt Netas and Babus. Patriotism is not a delicious stuff sold through the fast food outlets. What Gopi has done is called true patriotism. Of late I was very much disappointed by our press because some parts of which were tainted by the paid news syndrome. Our press is still vibrant. That is what Gopi's efforts echo worldwide. The so called stalwarts of media are still in the second phase of Kumbhkarna- sleeping for six months. It is at least a jolt to wake them up.

No Smoking Please

Smoking kills more people than what road accidents do. In addition, the smokers are the root cause of giving their family members some kind of smoking related diseases. It has been observed that as soon as some people finish their meals, they will rush to have a puff, as if they were so impatient during the meal time. Also, I have noticed a particular thing in some of the healthcare seminars: speakers more often emphasize about what we want to eat and what we have to avoid or minimize. Do not eat meat, do not eat butter avoid oily food etc. but not a single word for stressing how injurious the smoking is. A person who is having a mixed diet in limited proportion can well maintain his health if he has no smoking habit. Also, ads for cigarettes should be banned. Simply printing statutory warning in small letters on the cigarette pack does not make any sense. Whatever economic losses occurred for eradicating this habit is not at all a loss but the reasonable domestic expenses to carve out healthy citizens. So, any laws, suggestions or initiatives which are instrumental in curbing smoking are welcome. Yoga and breathing exercises will also help one come out of this habit. But he/she must follow it sincerely. Any argument that a smoker cannot give up this habit is superficial. Determination to stop it is very important