Sack Sagarika

Dan Rather, an internationally acclaimed journalist, was the first to break the assassination of John F Kennedy. He also covered Watergate and many wars. In 2004 he ran a report about military records of George W Bush using documents which later turned out to be forged. Rather did the morally right thing, he quit CBS in 2006. His only fault was that he hadn’t fact-checked the story and the documents, although there is still no concrete evidence that the documents were unreliable. That was probably a rare mistake from Rather in career spanning over five decades. What does it say about journalists in India who continue to not only hold on to their jobs but continue to sermonise the nation as if their character were soaked in the purest of waters?

We first had Barkha Dutt, the Radiagate hero, stringing along a lobbyist and indulging in power-brokering who continues to moralise the nation. We now have Vir Sanghvi, another Radiagate hero, who now claims the tapes were doctored and he is innocent. This is the same brazenness with which politicians hang on to office despite being tainted with acts of corruption. If I have consistently maintained that a corrupt media is more dangerous to democracy than corrupt politicians then the media doesn’t stop providing more evidence to that belief.

Most Indian businesses are family-run and owned. But it is a common practice among many corporate entities to not employ two or more members from the same family, at least not in the same department. There is no particular reason behind this practice except for the belief that all the acts of the members may not be free from prejudice if they were from the same family. And what if your spouse also happens to be your boss in a news media enterprise? It then makes it all the more likely that sometimes even trash can be passed off as journalism. In all the posts on this site I have never once referred to Sagarika Ghose as the wife of Rajdeep Sardesai. I have always referred to her as the deputy editor. However, now I do believe the deputy editor must go. That any other Managing Editor in the seat of Rajdeep Sardesai would not tolerate the outright rubbish that Sagarika churns out so frequently. The latest one really has to be the last straw. That Rajdeep himself has a lot to answer for is another story.

Media is not a private body as the Editors Guild would have the Standing committee on Lokpal believe. The power to influence people, opinions and even elections is not in the private domain. There is a strange streak in Sagarika Ghose that leads her to believe that people are idiots and can be fooled all the time. That there are ordinary people and there are elites and she stands independently as an observer. Her boss should have repeatedly told her that she was part of the elite. On 9^th November on her programme ‘Face the nation’ Sagarika ran the debate “Sri Sri on 4 day yatra in UP: should spiritual leaders take part in anti-corruption campaigns? FTN 10pm”. There were a few usual panellists along with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Except, SriSri wasn’t there!

First of all, the clear answer to SG’s question is anybody in this country is free to run a campaign against corruption at any place and at any time of his or her choice. Sagarika doesn’t have any moral business to question the rights of SriSri. This country’s values have been built on the spiritual cleanliness which outsiders find easier to recognise than people like Sagarika. The right question would now be: Does Sagarika have any moral right to continue as a journalist?

Sagarika Ghose conducted the debate as if SriSri were live on the programme and was responding to the comments made by other panellists. That wasn’t all, when panellists made a comment she even turned to SriSri to seek his response. What was being used was footage from a previously recorded interview with SriSri and suitably edited to make it appear as if he was responding live. This is nothing short of blatant mischief and fraud on the viewers. This is something CNN-IBN’s Cyrus Broacha does on his comedy show where the viewers are aware of the interviews being fake.

Some days back SG ran a debate on whether Justice Katju, the new PCI chairman, should apologise for calling journalists “uneducated”. I hope she now realises what exactly Katju was referring to. Not done with that, she frequently passes judgements on judges of High courts and Supreme Court some of which may actually be an act of contempt. In a recent article, ‘The Elite’s on trial’, here is what she wrote:

“The 2G trial too is one of India’s “million mutinies”. The overthrow of bail jurisprudence, the CBI’s failure to provide comprehensive evidence so far, the many weaknesses of the case beyond its rhetoric, have been highlighted by several legal experts. It is no longer even clear how much “loss” there was to the exchequer, with the CAG’s R1.76 lakh crore figure now being systematically questioned. Yet the 2G accused, before the trial, before proof of the money trail, appear to already have been declared guilty”. This not only reflects her terrible lack of understanding of the law but it also appears the article was written without a thorough scrutiny of the judgement by Judge O.P.Saini which denied bail to Kanimozhi and others. She probably implies that Indians simply want to hang the rich regardless of evidence or sense of justice.

I have said often that it’s not possible to hide in the tech-age. Faster than she could say SriSri people on Twitter quickly pointed out the recorded interview of SriSri being misused by Sagarika on her programme. She later tweeted that it was a bug and that FTN will carry a full apology to the viewers and to SriSri. I believe one can apologise for a mistake or an error. This was neither a mistake nor an error but wilful deception. The apology can pass but if Rajdeep Sardesai has any moral decency left in him he has to let his deputy editor go. Willingly perpetrating a fraud on the viewers is not a mistake that can be covered up by an apology. It is far too serious a crime. It is time for Rajdeep, the Managing Editor, to sack Sagarika. 

PS: Those who missed the episode on CNN-IBN can watch it here on YOUTUBE

Sagarika Really Thinks The Law Is An Ass

The phrase “Law is an ass” may have originated in a 17^thcentury play by one George Chapman. But the phrase is more prominently credited to Charles Dickens’ ‘Oliver Twist’. When Mr. Bumble, the unhappy spouse of a domineering wife, is told in court that "...the law supposes that your wife acts under your direction", the poor Bumble replies: "If the law supposes that, the law is an ass - an idiot". Well, judges have taken that kindly in their stride ever since but even in this century there are some who think the same, these are modern literary assholes who sometimes masquerade as journalists! Whether it’s an ass or not, I’m not so sure anyone will find the law very sexy or expect it to guarantee an orgasm. Well, I guess no one, unless you are Sagarika Ghose (SG).

“2G case is symbol of national catharsis on graft, courts feel pressured by public baying for blood, evidence (or lack of it), is out of window”. That’s a tweet from none other than SG on November 3. That was in response to rejection of bail to DMK MP Kanimozhi by a CBI court in Delhi. That surely wasn’t the first stupid tweet SG has ever sent out. If there ever were a compilation of stupid tweets, most of SG’s messages would find their way in there. Evidently, journalistic bimbos seem to believe that the law is nothing but like the artful porn that they often keep peddling. This is not the first time SG has demonstrated stupidity where law is concerned. On September 12 when the SC referred the petition against Narendra Modi back to the lower courts the same SG was anguished and desired that the SC should have at least past ‘moral strictures’ against Modi. Not all done, a bit earlier the Allahabad High Court verdict on Ayodhya last year was referred to as ‘Panchayati justice’ by many media celebs. For SG that was just another stupid case about some ‘Divine encroacher’. So when a law man comes along and says ‘behave’ it naturally rattles the entire media clan or, to use Rajdeep Sardesai’s term, he turns off the steam in the media ‘Hammam’. Of all the media dealers who seem upset with the arrival and statements of Justice Markandeya Katju (MK) CNN-IBN seems to be the most rattled.

All this started with Karan Thapar’s interview of MK in which the former judge of Supreme Court lashed out at the media. What’s the response? Hmm! Sagarika asks if MK should apologise on her programme ‘Face the nation’ on November 2. An apology? Okay! Earlier, she wanted an apology from Narendra Modi because the law found nothing against him. Not sexy! So this apology business is getting too frequent. I wonder if SG ever thought about it but if there is someone who has to really apologise for the crap peddled to the nation it she herself. All her misplaced sanctimony could vapourise if she only looked in the mirror. On second thoughts, instead of looking in the mirror she should just listen to her voice, listen to herself and maybe read what she also sometimes writes. In the case of Kanimozhi, SG thinks the law is pressured by the public and acts without evidence or lack of it. I guess she’d prefer the courts acted like her silly shows.

SG has probably never looked at how she has made an absolute trash of the Aarushi murder case, along with many other media celebs. Her nonsense is recorded in this post “Aarushi Case:Flogging The Dead Girl” on February 11. Justice Katju was one who reprimanded the media severely for the way they handled the sensational murder case. To hell with the law and judges. What does the ass and assholes know anyway? And her modesty in her tweets can only be surpassed by a divine squatter on the internet. Sagarika’s tweets are discussed in case study by a post on Google site which I have reproduced. More recently, this star child of the media wrote (Shrillery of the shill): “In the media there is danger of a disconnect between readers and the imitative 'Sex and the City' type columns that pour out of glossy outlets. Academics, closeted in their ivory towers, are failing to engage with new realities and generate new ideas”. Oh really? Sex and the city type columns? Hahahaha! There you go, the SatiSavitri of the media reflecting on her clan. But what about her own article years ago in Outlook (now pulled off the internet by Outlook). That article is titled “Do Indian men owe their women an orgasm?”

Well, Outlook is as glossy a magazine as you can get but I don’t know if SG’s article can be classified under the sex and the city type columns she so deplores. But it can certainly qualify under sex and the law considering she does recommend in her legal treatise that: “Men not only owe women an orgasm but they should be legally bound to provide it”. LOL! Well, it seems that was the only time that SG ever had any admiration for the law. I guess SG never heard that the US courts say that the law can protect your right to “Pursuit of life, liberty and happiness” but the law does not guarantee happiness. Maybe the SC in India should tell her that the law can protect your right to sex but it cannot guarantee orgasm – that is not in the control of the law or the courts. It would be a cold day in May I guess when we get to see a petition in the SC seeking relief for not reaching an orgasm. That would be a great day for SG, of course.

Not so long ago SG ventured to interview the grand-daddy of law, Ram Jethmalani. That was all about Ram defending murder-accused Manu Sharma in the Jessica Lall case. She kept on insisting like a moron that it was morally wrong for RJ to have taken up that case. That was some years ago. SG hasn’t learnt from the spanking she got from RJ that the law doesn’t work on her ideas of morals. RJ tried his best explaining to her that every accused is entitled to a defence and lawyers are obliged to defend their clients. And that the decisions are made in the court and not in Sagarika’s TV studio. So even all those years ago Sagarika was under the grave impression that those who are convicted by the media have no right to defence in our courts. And looks like her understanding of law hasn’t changed too much.

Finally, some small advice for Sagarika: The law may be an ass, but don’t try to screw it so often. It can be painful if you are pulled up for contempt and end up in prison. And even in prison the law doesn’t guarantee orgasms, although the law doesn’t exclude the possibilities.

Shrillery Of The Shill

Skills can be transferred, not talent. A look at some of the film stars who are kids of great actors would be a good indication. In his landmark book “First break all the rules”  Marcus Buckingham (A Gallup researcher) effectively lays down this principle after researching over 80000 managers across the world: “People don’t change, don’t try to put in what is not there. Try to get out what is left inside and that is hard enough”. Some of our TV news channels and journalists do well to use that principle. Among quite a large group Sagarika Ghose stands out as a media celeb who dishes out opinions, debates and articles that are filled with misleading statements that would make any reasonably sensible journalist think ten times before making. On TV she tries to make up with her shrillery her acute poverty of insight. Incidentally, you may not find the word in a regular dictionary but ‘Shrillery’ is a nickname awarded to Hillary Clinton.

Sagarika Ghose does come from a family of media persons but that is where it ends. This is where I emphasise that skills can be transferred but talent cannot. Her latest post, on September 14, on her blog (quite appropriately called Bloody Mary) is called ‘A class apart’. I am simply trying to understand some of the gems from her article. (Quotes in blue)

In the crowds at Ram Lila Maidan, at the height of Anna fever, there was anger against corruption, but there was also anger against the rich. An "elite class" milking the system, sending their children abroad, "looting" benefits was the particular target of rage.Is that really so? If this wasn’t a poorly crafted untruth it would have been laughable. Fact is, there were no slogans against the rich. There were no effigies of Ambanis, Narayanamurthys or any rich people burnt during the agitation. The most horrible slogans were reserved for politicians and, may I add, some media celebs. It is also strange that people who are usually seen as ‘elites’ by the public live in blissful imagination that they are not in that group. Most media celebs are clearly part of that elite group, Sagarika included. If she doesn’t know it, that’s blissful ignorance.

Today `Hindu nationalist rage and massive sangh parivar mobilization is taking place at all levels of society. Large sections of youth are becoming radicalized along right wing religious lines. The only way to win hearts and minds is to urgently start speaking the language of equality, without doublespeak or condescension. This idiotic assertion makes it amply clear that Sagarika perhaps really needs to brush up on terminologies. Hindu nationalist rage and radicalized religious right wing? Fact: It is unfortunately only the right wing in this country that talks about equality for all. The right wing doesn’t recommend covering up sins of political failure by populism or by sops or appeasement. Sagarika cleverly tries to associate the right wing with the Sangh Parivar and Hindus. This is another clever untruth that the media has perpetuated. Many right wingers are neither RSS nor BJP members and they do make up substantial numbers in the media too. And the sly injection of “massive sangh parivar mobilisation” is almost as if this mobilisation is going to hold the nation under siege.

Already, millionaire ministers and babalog MPs appear far removed from daily struggles. Birth-based privilege, so much in evidence in UPA II, is anathema to the millions who have to compete to survive. Really? Does Sagarika ever hold a mirror to herself? The mainstream media is supposed to frequently serve a reminder to these millionaire ministers and baba logs on what they are removed from. Instead, the shills are busy in the deploring the few states and their administrators who are doing well. A journalist who has shown scant respect for even the supreme court cannot be more farther from reality as Sagarika is. After all, she was the one pleading for at least a moral stricture by the lordships on Modi. CNN-IBN, NDTV are both part of the cottage industry that has been a platform for excessive hate-mongering against a politician with no real evidence or logic.That would leave much less time for real journalistic pursuits.

Rahul's wannabe "I have a dream" speech read out unexpectedly in Zero Hour even as the Anna crisis boiled over, showed a lack of understanding of New India. I don’t believe that… hahaha! A lack of understanding of New India? How did Sagarika ever come to that conclusion? I repeat for a thousandth time even though I have probably bored many with this actual statement of Rajdeep Sardesai of CNN-IBN. This is the statement made when CNN-IBN gave out the sham award of ‘Indian of the year’ to Rahul Gandhi: “Rahul Gandhi has been chosen CNN-IBN politician of the year over many of his more experienced colleagues and rivals because no one toured India the way he has in the past 60 months. Nobody has enunciated a vision of new India the way he has and none has understood the immediate need to bridge the city-country divide the way Rahul Gandhi has. His efforts show that hard work pays even in the uncertain world of politics.” Take that Sagarika. That is your channel recognising Rahul’s vision of New India. And now you think that moron is suddenly disconnected? Question your own organisation why they were in such a rush to please and award a politician who was around for just 5 years then. It is these very acts of servantile media that’s reflects the media disconnect with people.

UPAII's loathing of television media is another mark of its elitism. TV may be noisy, in-your-face, but it is now inescapable. The camera never blinks and often is the only recourse to those wanting to make their voices heard. To scorn television media is to scorn the millions who watch it. To refuse to use television for a political outreach is also to fail to recognize how fast the electorate is changing.   Another clever distortion of facts. Far from loathing television the UPA, particularly Congress, and the Left have extra-ordinary access, influence and presence on TV. If Anna’s fast had become similar to that of Irom Sharmila I doubt CNN-IBN would have cared two hoots to cover him. What forced the media to cover the event is the massive public support that his movement received, particularly after his arrest drama. To equate the scorn of the UPA for TV just in the case of this event to scorning the millions who watch it is another lie. A majority of those millions watching TV news neither trust the media nor believe media is unbiased. Doesn’t Sagarika receive enough tweets about it? Doesn’t she respond with anger on many occasions? The typical argument you will get from her is that there is a world outside internet. Well, that is true but much of that world is not watching her or her channel. If that had happened the loathing for her channel will be phenomenal.

Cambridge-educated Nehru spoke to rural crowds about foreign policy and non-alignment. Can we imagine any high grandee of the UPA respecting an audience enough to take them through the nuclear deal clause by clause? Has any UPA minister gone before a public rally in a town and rationally explained their objections to the Jan Lok Pal bill? Can Sagarika give us a quote or reference of what foreign policy or about non-alignment Nehru talked about to rural crowds or when he did that? The NAM was established in 1961, China War happened in 1962 and Nehru was going around talking to rural crowds about foreign policy and NAM? Where did you get that from Sagarika? Nehru was definitely a mass leader but a leader of a budding republic should be measured by his legacy and not merely his speeches. With all due respect to Nehru, both his foreign policy and the NAM  do not reflect a great visionary. Both his foreign policy and NAM are in shambles. After the 1962 war Nehru was quite a broken man before he died in 1964 so when did he go around talking about such stuff with rural crowds? Frankly, some the ‘Cambridge’ educated people in public fields haven’t exactly been great leaders in any domain.

Here’s where I would like to quote Marcus Buckingham again: "What a leader does for followers is..turn anxiety into confidence. They’ve always done that throughout time and in every different society and situation. When leaders lead well, it’s because they’re able to rally people to a better future and make people spirited when they were previously anxious." That is where the leaders in the Congress and UPA have failed miserably. Comparisons to Nehru based on inaccuracies is not the logical answer.

And here’s the final gem:

The entitled sons and daughters of the rich and powerful, whether in politics, film industry or in business have forgotten the essential ingredient that built modern India: treating every Indian as an equal. Domination by star children has robbed Bollywood of its precious common touch. In the media there is danger of a disconnect between readers and the imitative 'Sex and the City' type columns that pour out of glossy outlets. Academics, closeted in their ivory towers, are failing to engage with new realities and generate new ideas.    

Sagarika recognises the domination of ‘star children’ in Bollywood but won’t admit the same may be partly true for the TV news media. Barkha Dutt, Sagarika Ghose are all star children of media personalities. There isn’t a danger of disconnect between readers and viewers with the media – There is already a serious disconnect. Mind you, she says “readers” and not “viewers”. To my best knowledge there is still a great deal of honesty and value in print media and online media. It is channels like CNN-IBN that represent the disconnect with viewers. Talent cannot be transferred as in the case of Bollywood’s star children. But Sagarika can surely take a break and refresh her journalistic skills.

Hillary is fondly nicknamed Shrillery. I have fondly nicknamed Sagarika ‘Cacofonix’. And till the TV news media reforms itself we will continue to be blasted by the shrillery of the shill.

CNN-IBN: Divide The Nation Polls - Terrorism

CNN-IBN carried another instalment of its series of opinion polls on August 11. This one was on terrorism. In the first two instalments IBN’s partner in this hobby, The Hindu, put out the complete data through PDF files on their site. However, in the last two polls (Economy and Terrorism) I have not been able to download the data files. Try downloading the data files at The Hindu’s site here and here. I guess CNN-IBN and The Hindu expected people to be awed and go gaga over these polls instead of being analysed in-depth. So now, you only have clips from their TV show to go by which are scanty in details on the questions, the respondents and so on. One word for their tomfoolery – BUSTED!

Anyway, before I get to this latest instalment on Terror one has to understand the minds that work behind such surveys and polls. Much of it looks like a political position already taken by  the heads of the organisations involved. Now read Rajdeep Sardesai’s anguished tweet over the right wing. I don’t know if I qualify as right-wing yet but here’s what Rajdeep tweeted:

“afzal on death row for 5 years, kasab for 3, but rajiv assassins on death row for 20 years. why no right wing anger? Gnight”

August 11, around 11.30 PM

That is probably one of the most boorish tweets to have come from Rajdeep. I also think Rajdeep was completely unaware how stupid his tweet and his thoughts are. Now, here is a media dealer who keeps shouting hoarse about a lot of things on his channel and yet it didn’t occur to him that he should be the one asking the Nalini question to the UPA. Having failed in that job miserably he thinks the right wing should be making those noises. So tell us Rajdeep have you, as a media dealer, ever asked that question to MMS, PC or Sonia Gandhi? Or have you asked that question on your channel? If not, make it a point immediately that your channel would want the same fate for Nalini as Guru. Having abrogated your responsibility don’t point fingers at some vague right-wing. You should be ashamed that you didn’t actively seek justice for both Nalini and Afzal Guru and then lament that people don’t care about others on the death row. Do you care?

In case Rajdeep forgot,  it was Rajiv’s own family member, Priyanka Gandhi, who met Nalini to seek solace. In case Rajdeep forgot, the Indian right-wing didn't coin the term 'Global Jihad'. Rajdeep has found a place in many of my posts but I thought it would be a good point to remind him of what I think of Nalini. And here are excerpts from some of those posts:

The Scum Of All Spheres

What if Pakistan did hand over the remaining 49 wanted persons from that list of 50? What exactly would our government do? Afzal Guru and Nalini (Rajiv Gandhi’s assassin) are still comfortably lodged in jails.

‘Terror’s Creed..’: MorePoppycock From Rajdeep Sardesai

Killers of Rajiv Gandhi are still in jail. Ajmal Kasab continues to dance around Indian courts every week. Now that, I suppose, is resolve for you……..It is the serious ineptness of the UPA in allowing killers like Afzal Guru or the killers of Rajiv Gandhi to defy justice that spurs anger among citizens

Islamic Terror, Government &The Indian Media

So let’s understand what the 3 stooges have said. The first stooge, PM talks about resolve. Resolve is usually shown by messages or by action. There is neither any message nor any action. Afzal Guru still continues to live in some jail. Killers of Rajiv Gandhi are still in jail.

There, Rajdeep, patriotic Indians are not biased like our media to distinguish justice for terrorists. In fact, the killing of our Prime Minister is as much a war against us as the attack on our parliament. And it is polls like the ones CNN-IBN is doing that attempts to divide the nation with dubious leading questions.

That bit done, let’s get back to CNN-IBN’s dubious surveys. Behind all the silly percentages, not backed by raw data, the only conclusion that Yogendra Yadav came to was “People say terror not linked to religion”.  Frankly, that is a line any lame duck politician will give you free of charge. Why spend all the money on surveys unless it’s free funds? And really, one had to go and ask BJP and Congress workers about their perceptions on terror? That’s really cool. CNN-IBN gets guys from BJP and Congress almost every day on their show. Where’s the need for this exercise?

Historically, terrorism was born out of religion and intolerance. Now, if all the wise men and women at CNN-IBN, CSDS and The Hindu are those who have supposedly read history then they live in denial. Not so long ago there was terrorism by IRA and PIRA in Northern Ireland/UK. The objectives were political but the motive was religion. Surveys that don’t even ponder the political motives of terrorism are usually conducted by ‘useful idiots’. Islam is not just a religion but also a political doctrine. The conquest of territories, conversions, belief in supremacy over other religions are all part of the political and religious agenda. The only religious group to have any influence in the UN is the ‘Organisation of Islamic Countries’ (OIC) who collectively attempt to pass international laws on blasphemy and such religious beliefs. That our media consciously spreads untruths is now out in the open. Don’t claim it to be ‘journalism’ anymore when the only motive is money, money and more money. The best part is getting people like A. Owaisi of MIM to debate terrorism. How clever is that? Groups that are violent against writers like Taslima Nasreen. And terror has no religion?

Rajdeep’s anger at the right-wing is understandable. I think he finds them too intelligent and far too capable of expressing themselves truthfully against CNN-IBN and their close relatives at NDTV, HT and so on. His deputy editor is credited with coining the term ‘Internet Hindus’. Far from seeing it as an affront the right-wingers wear that tag proudly. Not something she would have anticipated. The politicians’ constant endeavour is to divide the nation in every possible way. They wouldn’t have succeeded but for the help of media crooks.

At the very best Yogendra Yadav’s article “People say terror has no religion” might win an essay contest in some primary school or maybe the UN. But if truth were the measure, it fails miserably. These are media-lessons on how to divide the nation.

Raman Rage

There is a ‘I-hate- Sonia-Gandhi’ page on facebook. Actually, there might be more than one such page. In case you didn’t know there is also a funny ‘IhateObama’ website. There is a ‘I-hate-Amitabh-Bachchan’ page on facebook. There is a facebook group page ‘Take Barkha off the air’ and even one called ‘Barkha for worst senior journalist on planet’. There is a page that refers to an article by Sagarika Ghose as ‘Porn article…’ Somebody wants to police them all and send them to jail. These are usually the people who shout themselves hoarse against moral-policing and yet fail to see they indulge in the same activity. 

Okay, if you hunt for these pages and don’t find some, don’t blame me. Pages on the net have a strange habit of disappearing suddenly. As you can see, many public figures have hate pages somewhere and some of the content/comments on those pages are funny or even weird. Some hate pages also become redundant and just hang around until something new comes up about the person concerned.

So why exactly should these silly things rattle someone like B. Raman? (Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India )Especially when he calls this lot a minority? And of all the people who have been decorated with hate on the web why does he pick out Sonia Gandhi, Barkha Dutt and Sagarika Ghose? Well, if you go through Raman’s blogs it’s no secret he is a big admirer of Barkha Dutt. I guess making it all about Barkha would have been silly, so throw in a Sagarika and a Sonia for keeping it sane.

This is what he wrote in an article titled ‘A venomous glee over the Internet’ at Rediff.com. He first posted this on his own blog and rediff then decorated it with some pics. He rattles of a rage against certain people in the same hateful manner that he accuses them of. Some excerpts (in blue) are being reproduced here for the extraordinarily silly logic and arguments that Raman employs:

One has reasons to be concerned over the ill-concealed irrationality of a small number of people, who have been exploiting the advantages of anonymity and wide dissemination for irrational and venomous thoughts provided by the Internet, to indulge in a vicious campaign against those with whom they are in disagreement….…which is seeking to distort and venomise the political debate by using language, arguments and tactics, which are not dissimilar from those used in the past by irrational elements such as the Nazis and  the Fascists.

Actually, what you won’t find now on the rediff article site are two pics of tweets that were originally featured and then removed to be replaced with pics of Barkha Dutt and Sagarika Ghose. If one were to go by some of those tweets, you will find nothing hateful. Which is why it was so conveniently removed, I guess. Mind you, the pics and their removal is Rediff’s own doing and may not have anything to do with Raman. Among the names were Sandeepweb, Calamur, TweetingSourav, IndianUlu, Desh2014, Ssudhirkumar and Talmukund. Sudhir has responded to the mischief on his blog Serious-fun. You can also read the tweets from others. There sure is some ridicule but nothing that would qualify as ‘hate’. And ridicule, Raman should understand, is not such a bad way of dealing with those who concoct and colour news and discussions on television. That is true for politicians too.

You can see screen shots of the two original pics at the serious-fun blog I’ve mentioned above. There you go, Raman, people keep screen shots knowing well how media can manipulate reports within hours. That should tell you something.

Their language, arguments and tactics are also not dissimilar from those used by some of the contemporary irrationals such as the jihadi extremists and the right-wing extremists and the Neo-Nazis of Europe.

Jihadis, Right-wing extremists and Neo-Nazis? Raman is also an ex-Intelligence guy. It is one thing to defend Barkha or Sagarika or Sonia but to trash others as Nazis as an argument can only come from sick minds. In the entire article he does not provide a single example of such hate-writing. It is a tradition with those who cannot combat in a debate with others to trash them as Nazis and fascists. Repeat that lie over and over again and it might even gain currency.  

….The worrisome depth to which their campaign has sunk has become evident from the vicious comments and wishes being disseminated by these elements through the Internet following reports that Sonia has been taken by her family to the US for medical treatment. They do not conceal a certain venomous glee over the indisposition of Sonia.Their obnoxious campaign is directed not only against Sonia, but also against Barkha Dutt for favouring the right to privacy of Sonia Gandhi and her family in the matter of her indisposition.

Some might rationally disagree with Barkha on this point, but what one has been seeing is not a rational disagreement, but an irrational wave of attacks on her, including expression of wishes or curses that Barkha herself should develop the same illness as Sonia for defending the latter's right to privacy.

I am yet to see any viciousness in the tweets that Rediff had originally used as examples. I didn’t find any curse on Barkha either. In reality, it was the Congress itself who managed to ridicule a serious issue. First they mentioned viral fever as the reason for Sonia’s absence from parliament. Then she had cervical cancer, then surgery in the US, then no surgery, then skin cancer. Naturally, the illness of the Congress president who is also seen as the default head of the government cannot be a matter of privacy. Her treatment and recovery can surely be in privacy but not the news about her illness and progress of her recovery. No one has even remotely ridiculed Sonia’s situation.

If there are people who ridicule Barkha or Sagarika it’s because they have come to represent the worst of Indian news media. Barkha has not reached this stage of ridicule overnight. She was once very popular. But repeated drama in reporting events, terrorist attacks, Radiagate have all exposed her to be hollow. People are not going to forget the ‘shoddy journalism’ episode in a hurry and nor are they going to forget Radiagate. It is when tainted journalists continue their sermons on morals and ethics that they invite severe ridicule and rightly so. Any self-respecting news outlet would have fired Barkha Dutt long back. Defend her if you like but don’t become an extremist yourself by trashing people as Nazis.

As I had argued on many occasions in my past articles, history is replete with instances when irrational minorities prevailed over rational or moderate majorities because of the failure of the majority to confront the irrationals with determination and solidarity. We saw such instances in Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan and Mao's China.

The antidote to this lies not in imposing curbs on the use of the Internet in order to prevent these elements from misusing the Internet, but in exposing the activities of these elements, in standing in solidarity with their targeted victims and in finding ways of using existing laws against hate-mongering through the conventional media against those indulging in hate-mongering through the new media of the Internet.

Yeah, you’re right! Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and Mao’s China. There’s only person in the article with an Italian connection and not strangely the very party that usually parties with communists is the one to keep India a stable democracy? The Internet people are not the ones who famously got India the name ‘banana republic’. If a majority of our institutions have eroded and are in trouble it is not the making of internet people. Radiagate would have been buried by the entire media if not for the internet people. In the US a majority of people now rely on Jon Stewart’s comedy show (The Daily Show) for reliable news. In India the MSM has reached a point where reliability for facts and truth is at an all-time low. Guess who are the famous ones responsible for burying the credibility of the news media Mr. Raman?

It is usually the loser who runs out of sane and fair arguments who wants to prosecute people for imaginary hate-mongering. And in case Raman fails to see or understand, it’s the people he defends who hold more powerful public positions which they can and do misuse and not the people on the internet. By that token we would have to believe everything that is written on the internet, which fortunately most people don’t because they possess good judgement. If there is real hate-mongering that goes on secretly it is surely not on the internet but on some of our news channels.

The bias, the colour, the spin, the suppression of facts and truth that go on in news channels is what has spawned a host of writers on the net. If Raman were driving we would have called it ‘road-rage’! On the net it’s simply Raman-rage! If that is not enough, the comments in response to his article at his own blog site are a fair indication of what people think.

Rahul & Digvijay - The Narcissist & The Sycophant

On June 20 CNN-IBN expectedly ran a program on Rahul Gandhi (RG) as PM following Digvijay Singh’s (DS) comments. That was Face the nation by Sagarika Ghose, of course. I can understand the likes of Vinod Sharma (Hindustan Times) and Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan being there to defend all the great qualities of Rahul Gandhi. However, I do not understand why sensible journalists like Swapan Dasgupta or Prem Shankar Jha come on to these programs. Do they really need to participate in these absurdities? Anyway, there are reports now that Sonia Gandhi is miffed with the glowing remarks made by DS. That sounds strange. By now DS would know what Sonia likes and dislikes, probably even down to her footwear maybe. So I believe DS would have only said things that would please madam’s ears and, surely, the future-PM’s ears. Never mind that either.

Sagarika Ghose, intelligent as ever, raised a question in her program: Does Rahul Gandhi have a vision for India? At the risk of sounding boringly repetitive I am reproducing a statement made by her own boss at CNN-IBN, Rajdeep Sardesai (when RG was declared Indian of the year 2009 by CNN-IBN):

“Rahul Gandhi has been chosen CNN-IBN politician of the year over many of his more experienced colleagues and rivals because no one toured India the way he has in the past 60 months. Nobody has enunciated a vision of new India the way he has and none has understood the immediate need to bridge the city-country divide the way Rahul Gandhi has. His efforts show that hard work pays even in the uncertain world of politics.”  So Sagarika should remember statements from her own channel before raising silly questions.

Well, if Digivijay Singh is stupid and a known gutter-mouth, the media isn’t too far behind. However, what is now and consistently coming forth is that there is a strange relationship between Rahul Gandhi and Digvijay Singh. All of us would like to be appreciated and praised for some good work or some accomplishment. It’s quite human. But if someone were to keep on praising and flattering me for no particular reason and even crediting me with skills and talents I do not posses I would start to suspect that person and at some point would find that person obnoxious enough to ask him to shut up. I would even start to loath such a person.

The Narc's reflection

All we have seen so far of Rahul Gandhi is the behaviour of a ‘Mr. Hit and Run’, stray stories of Kalawati, parachuting suddenly into places of agitation, uttering nonsense that college students have laughed at, accepting no responsibility for election losses. In fact accepting responsibility for nothing. On Sagarika’s program Prem Shankar Jha pointed out that we know nothing of views on anything. What is that? Is that supposed to our blind side? And for a person to be revelling in the utterances of a DS so frequently must indicate some psychological or neurological disorder. RG has shown nothing but traits and indications of such disorders, especially that of a narcissist. I am no shrink. But I now firmly believe that to understand the RG-DS equation one has to really understand the equation of a narcissist and a sycophant. I don’t think even DS would deny that he is a great sycophant. But what makes RG a narcissist which sustains this relationship? A definition or attributes or behaviour of a sycophant is not as hard to define and understand as that of a narcissist. Let us therefore rely on some experts who have laid out the following:

From ‘The mind of the narcissist’

According to the legend of Narcissus, this Greek boy fell in love with his own reflection in a pond. In a way, this amply sums up the nature of his namesakes: narcissists. The mythological Narcissus rejected the advances of the nymph Echo and was punished by Nemesis…Narcissists are punished by echoes and reflections of their problematic personalities up to this very day.

Narcissists are said to be in love with themselves. But this is a fallacy. Narcissus is not in love with himself. He is in love with his reflection. There is a major difference between one's True Self and reflected-self.

Loving a reflection has two major drawbacks:

1. One depends on the existence and availability of the reflection to produce the emotion of self-love.

2. The absence of a "compass", an "objective and realistic yardstick", by which to judge the authenticity of the reflection. In other words, it is impossible to tell whether the reflection is true to reality – and, if so, to what extent.

I would dare to say RG loves his reflection. His drama-queen behaviour, his choreographed public meetings, his parachuting at trouble spots and then suddenly reclining in to extreme solitude would explain his narcissistic behaviour. Mr. Hit and Run suits him. Especially when the reflection takes a beating, like the 4 seats in Bihar elections, it drives him into a hiding. This is because his hollow reflection starts to confront him, while his sycophant(s) continue to adore him and tell him his clothes are fine and that he is not naked. This is a problem RG is probably grappling with. So let’s see if his behaviour matches narcissistic disorders:

From: Narcissistic Personality Disorder:

A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behaviour), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)

2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love

3. Believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)

4. Requires excessive admiration

5. Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations

6. Is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends

7. Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others

8. Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her

9. Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes

When I searched more for the relationship between a narc and a sycophant I found this brilliant piece and I believe it explains the RG-DS equation quite well:

Narcissists and Sycophants: A Marriage Made in Hell (excerpts):

“Let’s begin with some descriptions. A narcissist is a person with inordinate fascination with himself or herself. They have few social control mechanisms, fewer friends, little or no psychic demands to do the right thing (even though they give lip service to this concept) do not look for approval from others, lack social barometers of how to conduct themselves, and are driven to be captivating, inspirational, charming and seductive. They have a desperate need to get others to buy into their worldview–their vision, to create a world that they populate with their devoted followers. They are grandiose, don’t listen to others, are prone to angry outbursts (often used to control others who disagree with them), bully subordinates, dominate meetings and are often isolated and paranoid. According to Twenge and Campbell, narcissism is “a disease that causes others to suffer.” Narcissism is nearly always corrosive to social relationships as it breeds distrust. Narcissists are prone to using people like they use books, information and knowledge—they pump them for information and then when they are through, throw them aside. To the narcissist, there are only friends or foes; you are either for or against their vision. There is no middle ground.

Sycophants are self-serving servile flatterers and are often slavishly submissive to the narcissist.  The narcissist and the sycophant need each other. The narcissist is completely dependent on the sycophant to feed his ego, to feel important and powerful.  The sycophant, on the other hand, is also dependent on the narcissist for the narcissist makes the sycophant feel included and connected to someone the sycophant believes is powerful and important and will elevate the sycophant to great success, recognition or social standing. The sycophant derives a lot of self-worth from the narcissist as the relationship with the narcissist gives the sycophant social standing he otherwise would not have. In short, the relationship between the narcissist and sycophant is symbiotic; each feeding and dependent on the other. Without sycophants, the narcissist struggles, becomes depressed and feels his or her life has no meaning. A narcissist must have blind allegiance and the adoration of sycophantic followers because that is the food of the narcissist. Most often, a narcissist surrounds him or herself with “yes men” (slavishly submissive flatterers) who the narcissist sees as no threat to him or herself but yet, who are also not much good for advancing the narcissist’s vision. But that is ok with the narcissist, because he or she has all the answers, knows what is best and right and doesn’t listen to others anyway. The “yes men” are the means to an end, they help the narcissist get what he or she wants and will only be kept close as long as they serve a purpose.

As a group, sycophants find meaning and purpose out of protecting and becoming the narcissist’s handlers. They bond with other sycophants in this common purpose and are simultaneously validated by each other for how dysfunctional this interpersonal interplay is, either on a conscious or unconscious level, depending on the dysfunction of each individual. In such groups, everyone suffers. There are no winners in this symbiotic relationship. The narcissist’s hold is so great it is hard for the sycophant to escape the narcissist’s seductive embrace. At some point, depending on the amount of pain the sycophant has had to endure, they will wake up when they are no longer able to tolerate being used or when their own ethics or integrity will no longer permit them to be passive participants in the destructive world of the narcissist. Faced with abandonment, the narcissist acts more and more out of desperation, devolves deeper into his or her pathology and ends up alone and even more isolated, completing the cycle of narcissistic self-destruction.

In the end, narcissists die alone and sycophants suffer stunted emotional and psychological growth, unless they grow strong enough to break their addiction and choose to value their own self-worth instead of abandoning it for the advancement of the narcissist…”

Digivijay Singh’s career of any public responsibility is already over. He will inadvertently kill Rahul Gandhi’s too. The sycophancy has reached a point that we will know RG only by what RG allows DS to speak of him. Trouble is Subramanian Swamy has once again pointed out that Rahul Gandhi is legally not eligible to become the PM of India. I really don’t care if RG is saved from the viciousness of DS. I do care that India is saved from the laughing stock that Rahul Gandhi is. My prediction is that India’s luck will hold out.

CNN-IBN Inaugurates Mud-slinging Season

Why is CNN-IBN rattled?

On June 2 CNN-IBN had back to back programs covering the proposed hunger strike by Baba Ramdev. It was Rajdeep Sardesai first at 9PM and at 10PM Sagarika Ghose. The Ramdev issue was top of the list and then, of course, some routine issues of corruption concerning Dayanidhi Maran. Isn’t that nice? For once almost all channels had the Maran kickbacks and corruption issue in second place when normally most channels would have been screaming about it all evening. It’s natural! The Maran corruption case is certainly not as dramatic as the Ramdev satyagraha and by now the nation is pretty used to these stories of kickbacks and corruption. Aren’t we?

Both the programs had a similar agenda – Is Ramdev morally credible to launch a fight against black money and corruption? How did Ramdev get his enormous funds and build an empire worth 11000 crores (None being sure if this is 1100 or 11000). And of course, if this is a threat to democratic processes. The focus of Rajdeep’s program was the money part and that of Sagarika, the moral part. Money and morals! Hmmmm! Our media persons are the best to sermonise on both, aren’t they?

I have a decent understanding of finance and economics. But for those who are challenged in that area I will let Sagarika’s words enlighten on you on some economic and black money issues (Her tweets from June 2):

“Can black money simply be brought back by going on hunger strike? Or systemic currency reform needed so rich stop parking money abroad…..argument is rupee will have to be made into a hard currency. for that india will have to get its fiscal deficit etc in check…..Untaxed foreign exchange hidden abroad is a consequence of exchange controls on rupee. experts say only fwd is to make rupee a hard currency….Real issue of black money shd concern us. need to understand why it happens, a bash-the rich-and-UPA slogan will achieve little…..The govt shd look into why untaxed foreign exchange is hidden abroad, not just penalise those who do it. Reform is urgently needed….”

Do you feel educated now? She wants the government to look into why untaxed foreign exchange is hidden abroad when she, the wise one, already answered that question by stating it's a consequence of exchange controls on rupee. Duh? If any of you really manage to decipher what economic tenets or principles or theories Sagarika has laid out, do let me know and I will send you a special reward.

The Rajdeep program at 9pm in all its cleverness was basically a bash Ramdev exercise with no particular focus except to question his funding and his properties. Now, all the panelists were supporters of Ramdev except one – Nandita Rao. CNN-IBN pulled this person somewhere from the woodwork. She is supposedly a human rights activist and went on a rant on how Ramdev’s funding should be investigated, whether hawala channels were involved and whether illegal money was being transacted in his trusts and so on. Wait a minute! Doesn't that sound like gutter mouth Digvijay Singh? Never mind! Well, first of all assuming the Ramdev trusts are registered as charitable trusts there is a system for filing returns and being audited which is a government job. Secondly, throwing around wild charges of illegitimate funding and hawala transactions against someone is very un-lawyer like. Nandita Rao is also supposed to be a lawyer. So what exactly was her real problem? The real problem is that this guy Ramdev wears saffron, is being backed by BJP and the RSS and could be a front for the ‘saffron brigade’. Isn’t that the same fear that the Congress has? So in absence of any Congress spokespersons CNN-IBN found a proxy in Nandita Rao. The queen has ordered a gag on her puppets against talking about Ramdev. So CNN-IBN takes on the job of a smear campaign with panelists like Nandita Rao. Shades of  operation Namo?

Now, did CNN-IBN know who exactly Nandita Rao is? And what her persuasions are? Make no mistake, they damn well did. And in case you are still wondering, go through the communication exchanged by her with the IAC (India Against Corruption) group. You can read the whole lot (before it gets taken off). She considers RSS, Modi and such entities anti-national and killers, so by association Ramdev is equally anti-national. So who could be a better bet for CNN-IBN’s mud-slinging against Ramdev if not this activist?

The history of corruption in this country is almost equal to the history of the Congress. So the questions being bandied about in the media are whether Ramdev is the right person, whether his methods are right and so on. Nobody asked  – What exactly is the alternative? Shoot some corrupt ministers as in ‘Rang De Basanti’? The program started with images of Ramdev’s people collecting funds by cheques. Yes, would you believe it – they were collecting funds by cheques? Isn’t that alarming when we are talking about black money? By cheques? So CNN-IBN tells us how critics are questioning this fund collection. Wait, hahahahaha! No not critics, it’s CNN-IBN that is questioning or portraying the fund collection as something illegitimate and illegal. CNN-IBN’s cup of joy would have run over if those Ramdev guys were collecting cash!

So Rajdeep accuses Ramdev of using ‘public funds’! Once again, we are being enlightened on economic terminology. Does Rajdeep even know what ‘public funds’ means? Let me educate the assholes at CNN-IBN that collecting donations from the public is not the same as ‘public funds’ in legal terms. Go check that out with your lawyers or an economist, Rajdeep! But this is how they will indirectly imply that public funds are being used or misused to support the activities of Ramdev. And in case CNN-IBN stalwarts forget, one of the most corrupt bodies in this country is the BCCI which controls Cricket. One of the heads of the BCCI, Sharad Pawar, was the first to disappear from the scene when Anna Hazare started his agitation.  Despite all commercial operations, extra-ordinary funds, the BCCI is still a charitable trust. Quite a few politicians, especially Congressmen, are involved in the operations of the BCCI. The funds at the disposal of BCCI far exceed everything that a Ramdev can show. Is there any charitable work that the BCCI does as part of its main agenda?

If the likes of Nandita Rao and Rajdeep Sardesai are really interested in exposing illegitimate funding and spurious NGOs then they can refer to the book NGOs, Activists and Foreign Funds, Anti-Nation Industry edited by Radha Rajan and Krishen Kak. How about inviting those authors on your program, Rajdeep? Their book exposes the various illegal and anti-national funds that flow into India for anti-national NGOs. Read more HERE and HERE.

 

Still, if Ramdev has all kinds of illegitimate wealth CNN-IBN should take the trouble of investigating and reporting and not indulge in showing some images of donation-collection to imply there was some wrong doing where there is none. Same goes for the likes of Nandita Rao. Digvijay calls Ramdev a businessman and not a spiritual leader. Well good for Ramdev, at least he is not a crooked politician. And what is wrong in being business minded? Nandita Rao quite clearly demonstrated the fears of the Congress. And what do you know? Digvijay Singh states that “if the Congress was scared Ramdev would have been put behind bars”. Oh yeah? On what grounds asshole? On cooked-up charges? The Congress knows what mayhem will break loose if Ramdev is arrested. I don’t think the Congress is as stupid as Digivijay Singh, not yet.

The woman who opened a pandora’s box, Nira Radia, was put on surveillance by the Home and Finance ministry based on a ‘complaint’ received by the Finance Ministry in 2008. Well, what stops Nandita Rao or CNN-IBN filing a complaint with the ED or the CBDT on similar lines against Ramdev? The UPA government will be more than delighted to act on such a complaint, including phone taps and all. No, instead the likes of Nandita Rao will keep peddling nonsense which no one can decipher but can pass off in the media as gospel. And CNN-IBN will gladly oblige such gossip and rumour mongering.

The tag lines from Sagarika’s ‘Face the nation’ should tell you everything about spirituality. ‘Ungodly politics?’, ‘The asanas of protest?’, ‘Gurus of Government?’ …. Her program started by invoking Chanakya and then listed gurus right up to Bhindranwale. Yes, that same guy who held weapons in a place of worship! Do you feel wiser? See the equation?

Anna Hazare didn’t bother the media or CNN-IBN so much when he was on a hunger strike. It was great for TV. But this guy Ramdev does bother them immensely. Why? His protests and action seem to be backed by Hindus or Hindu organisations. And anything Hindu in this country is bad for the Congress and our 'secular' media. After years of Hindu-bashing, minority appeasement, coining terms like ‘saffron’ terror this comes as a different terror threat to some in the political domain and, of course, some in the media. Is Ramdev right in everything he has proposed? Obviously not. His demand for death to the corrupt, withdrawing 500 and 1000 currency notes, Hindi in some college courses are absurd and are surely not going to be accepted and shouldn’t be. But there are worse cases of absurd demands. The Gujjar agitation for reservation, blocking all rail and road traffic despite High Court orders is a classic example.

Does Ramdev really understand complex economic issues and even that of black money? I don’t think so. Ramdev only understands that black money needs to be tackled. And there is one more dangerous thing that he and many Indians know – this level of blatant and nonchalant corruption and stashing of funds abroad does not happen without the tacit approval or participation of the highest power-holders in the land. The fear for the Congress is that some of its top names may have to eventually tumble. That is bad news for Congress and in many cases, bad news for the media as well.

Let’s do a roll call. Laloo Prasad, Mulayam Singh, Amar Singh, Mayawati all of them have had or still have cases pending against them for corruption. Based on the whims of the Congress the CBI and other agencies go after them or slow down their action against them. Why aren’t these people being prosecuted or why aren’t they in jails?

Much of our ‘secular’ media personalities have built their career on Hindu bashing. If someone like Anna Hazare clad in white Khadi protests, it’s not much of a problem. But beware, if someone in saffron goes into action, all the alarm bells will go off. So you can expect a lot vicious attacks that are still to come. Mud-slinging season has just been inaugurated by CNN-IBN!