Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

The Additional Burden for Tamils: The Urgent Need to End the Rajini-Kamal Political Nonsense


Hello World,




Tamils are being bombarded with views on Rajinikanth and the marketing campaigns are trying their best to create an opinion about Rajinikanth in a desperate effort to enable his pseudo-political motives help him sell his upcoming movies.

Tamils are better off thinking about more worthwhile topics but given the circumstances, they don’t have much of a choice as the white noise is growing by the day. This post is intended to blend into the same to reach out to the gullible Tamils who might fall for the marketing trick.

Who’s Behind the Rajinikanth Bashing?

If you think it is political parties aligned against the right wing that are paying marketers to create such an opinion…. well….

You’ve got it backwards!
It is right wing bashing by those who agree with equality and respect the constitution.
Rajini is supporting the right wing and so is getting caught in the crossfire. Nothing serious about it.
In fact, most of the critique against him is more on the funny side than being serious. Those who have admired him on screen are the ones giving harsh serious criticism of what he is doing right now.
The others are merely laughing at him. It is sad to see Rajini make a joker out of himself. He is worth more than a mere laughingstock.
Sivaji, MGR, Karunanidhi and even Jayalalitha were very famous personalities with a film background. Barring Sivaji, the other three also had strong political careers. However, they were working for the people even before they became famous. MGR would insist on songs with social thought in his films. He could have flipped the cigarette but chose not to.
Looking at the political leaders of the past, they all have, at one point earned the ‘great leader’ title and earned the ‘worst leader’ and/or ‘corrupt leader’ title.
They have been accused of so many things.
Despite all the bad names they accumulated over the years, at no point did they qualify for the ‘IDIOT’ title.
Rajini has beaten all of them on this front. By speaking like a kid, he has gained an ‘IDIOT’ profile which no other person having such popularity had ever done in the past.
If Rajini stands up for equality and the constitution and eventually faces a lot of shaming, people will have great respect for him as he tolerates being a joker as he is stuck with his humanitarian principles.
However, that is not the case. Rajini is supporting the worst category of political propaganda specialists who don’t care if people kill each other in the name of religion. He should feel happy people are stopping at merely laughing at him!
Is Rajinikanth Lacking Clarity on Issues Impacting People?
In every sense of the word YES!
He goes to a town, soon after a police firing incident and claims anti-social elements infiltrated the event, indirectly supporting the firing incident, which, for your information, had many innocents killed, one of whom was a 17-year old girl who got shot in the face!!!!
Please let that sink in.
When the journalists asked how he was able to confirm that anti-social elements infiltrated the event, his intellectually refined and super-brainy response was “I know” (Enaku Theriyum)!!!
His blabber also involved a threat mentioning the possibility of the entire state of Tamilnadu becoming a burial ground if people resorted to protests for every pressing issue.
Someone with clinically provable sanity will not be making such statements, especially not in front of the media.
Everyone has their right to have an opinion and so does Rajinikanth. However, there is a time and place to say, especially when the statement is related to a disturbing incident which at the time was a sensitive issue for the public to get their head around. If someone is 69 years old (officially senior citizen??!!) and cannot handle this simple piece of emotional intelligence, that person needs professional help.
Rajinikanth is a veteran actor. Such is the level where I see Rajini but that is an actor whom I have admired for what he did on the screen in the past.
An actor I admire on the screen has nothing to do with political responsibility that directly deals with my life, liberty and pursuit of happiness! Given that Rajini is supporting the group that takes pride in violating those very aspects of democratic freedom, he only adds more relevant evidence to despise him as anyone even remotely related to politics.
I am a Kamal fan and I don’t consider him as a valid entity for future political responsibility. No, you cannot be centric and say friendship with center is a must to survive. That is not constitutional democracy. That is opportunistic survival-ism!!!
On many occasions Rajini has, with his responses/speeches, has categorically documented that he is unfit for any leadership role, especially in politics. He simply doesn’t understand the issues correctly and he lacks the ability to perform logical reasoning. One with logical reasoning and clarity of thought will not even consider supporting a group/agenda that is designed to violate the constitution in a democracy.
Rajinikanth lacks clarity in the simplest of topics. However, he doesn’t deserve hatred.
He needs professional help!
Is it Rajinikanth’s Action or Inaction That is Inviting Criticism?
Both.
His poor performance in his films is not one on the list. It is disheartening to note that an actor’s performance which was celebrated by all at one point in time, is now not even considered for a bad review!
Rajinikanth’s active support and appreciation of the evil hindutva politics and those closely associated with it is one of the primary reasons.
He has supported more than one political party in the past and if he is suspected for taking a payment from hindutva politicians, he, in all fairness, must be suspected for taking a payment from the other parties as well whom he supported in the past.
Political parties are always ready to pay any popular person if they agree to endorse their campaign.
Any political party will gladly pay Rajinikanth what he asks for in exchange for supporting them. Rajini however prefers the same from the saffron right-wing extremists!
Remember, Rajini had supported more than one political party in the past and he has been all over the political spectrum before he invented his own ‘Spiritual Politics’ delirium!
What on earth is ‘spiritual politics’??!!
As for potential initial steps for entering electoral politics, it usually is not something that demands decades of experience or any specific credential.
The options are simple and clear:
1.    Join an existing political party
2.    Start a new political party
3.    Announce independent candidacy for the upcoming election

When one does not do any of the above and keep blabbering spirituality, growth and development, the audience starts feeling bad for the actor as he is operating outside of any possible script.
It’s got to be your movie, or someone else’s movie or at least your own freaking YouTube channel!!!
If it is none of them, then it must be Dementia/Alzheimer’s/Parkinson’s.
Why should any political party pay anyone to get such views out? The public is already speaking this loud and clear!
The weird sounding ‘Kole Kaandle Iruken’ just hit the last positive feeling about Rajini out of the park for the Tamil audience. He seems to be biting his lip in between his statements. Is he suffering from nervous disorder?
There used to be a time when the same person delivered whatever character was thrown at him. Fast forward to now and he cannot say ‘kole Kaandle iruken’ without making the audience cringe!!!
This man Rajinikanth needs professional help.
Is Rajini Reluctant in Politics as Opposed to Kamal?
Rajini is not reluctant. Reluctant is when you know what you are going to do, and you sense a failure or challenge and ponder over your options. Rajini has no clue what he is in the middle of. Years of expensive liquor I suppose. His gimmicks at airports haven’t changed much. When he was young, he would get into drunken arguments/brawls at airports and mess up with the police. These days he gets drunk and argues with journalists at airports. So, back then, the press would talk about his arrest by the police and now, police talk about what he tells the press.
What’s the big difference?
As for Kamal, I have to say, he is getting caught in the crossfire here but bringing him in is not entirely irrelevant.
The popular internet marketing campaigns are trying to create this opinion that Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan may be novices in politics now, but they can deliver great governance to the people of Tamilnadu. Not surprisingly, the white noise being created to help these big paying clients, is including a veiled criticism asking if these actors are evil or Machiavellian in nature. The formula is quite old. It is easy to ignore Neo. It is not that easy to ignore Agent Smith.
Political novice indicates someone who is capable but not learned enough to excel or lead in politics. Machiavellian thinker indicates someone very intelligent (politically in this case) but with a criminal mindset who might willingly be utilizing their knowledge for unfair/negative purposes.
The question: How on earth does Kamal and Rajini qualify for any of these terms??!!
They are merely ‘almost retired’ once-upon-a-time popular actors who are trying to secure their life savings which they have invested in various businesses.
Earlier they had the umbrella of two top ranking officials of political parties who, for a decent pay, protected these actors’ business interests both inside and outside the film industry.
Both the political leaders died, and the new replacements raised the ‘protection fund’ pay rates. Both the actors tried to negotiate and realized it is a ‘Pay or do as I say’ format of operations.
They have now decided to create some white noise using their diminishing celebrity status to see if they can create an atmosphere where negotiating the ‘protection fund’ with them will become an ‘unavoidable leverage’ for whoever is going to win the political game which has just started its new season with a mix of new and existing players.
Therefore, Rajini is openly supporting the right wing and Kamal has been pretending to be neutral indicating potential partnership with anyone [claiming friendship with the central government is necessary].
Given this circumstantial evidence, both Kamal and Rajini are nothing more than Fearful Opportunists!
They are doing whatever they are doing, not because they can, but because they have to!!! If not, they become the economic slave of someone whom they have long perceived as inferior to them in age and experience. [try recalling who it is]
Now, given this circumstantial account, which is open to interpretation, what do you think?
Why on earth are we trying to apply superlatives to the crumbling image of once-upon-a-time stars?
The Tamil population is facing the worst political onslaught ever and the last thing it should be focused on is the squeaks of retired actors who chose to be ‘CLEVERLY NEUTRAL’ throughout their career to sell their movies to everyone and now, when it came to establishing a political identity decided to drop Tamils out of their frame!
I remember walking to the video cassette store (the BLOCKBUSTER of our locality at the time) on a daily basis, to ask if Thalapathy cassette had come (I was in Primary school). 
I also remember watching Aalavanthaan  standing (FDFS/HighSchool).
I have enjoyed and admired both Kamal and Rajini on screen and will forever be thankful for the wonderful entertainment they delivered.
However, given the current state of affairs in Tamilnadu and their activities so far in or around politics, I have no reason to even consider them for any leadership role, never mind a politician who will be in charge of policies that will dictate the life liberty and pursuit of happiness of the Tamil population.
I would like to take this opportunity to send a message to Rajini and Kamal:
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My dear Rajini and Kamal,

Thanks for the wonderful entertainment you two have given us over the decades. We, the Tamils are thankful for every bit of what you two did in the film industry to keep us entertained. While we understand that it is incredibly difficult to fill your shoes in the film industry, we are deeply disturbed by what you are doing in electoral politics. As of now, most of what you are doing is insignificant, despite it ending up favorably to the evil hindutva propaganda machine. 
However, if you keep doing what you are doing, the Tamil population will be forced to do the unfortunate in the grandest fashion ever and that will set a very wrong precedent for the rest of the nation.
Make no mistake, the Tamil population will not stand watching you destroy its future in the name of spirituality and enterprise. There is a limit to everything, and it holds good for the patience of the Tamil population.
You might have the luxury of choosing the worst possible movies and giving a very boring performance. You do not, in any sense have the luxury of assuming your eligibility to lead the Tamil population. Your democratic right is unquestionable and it needs to be noted that your democratic right is no greater than the democratic rights of the Tamils which are getting violated by the evil hindutva propaganda machine.
Your intent to enter politics is your right. However, your direct support of the evil hindutva politics in Tamilnadu or the indirect ignorance of the same and a neutral stance is not in your best interests as opposed to what you might assume or agree with your respective political consultants on.
Should you choose to take that risk and proceed all the way with it, be prepared to face the wrath of the Tamil population, which at this point, is very close to considering forcing the ultimate sacrifice on those who, willingly or unwillingly, intervene in its struggle for freedom from the evil oppressive hindutva propaganda machine.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Desperate measures come with collateral damage. You two are better off not becoming collateral damage.
Now, you can either join the Tamil population in its struggle for freedom from the evil hindutva propaganda machine and its workings in Tamilnadu, or, do what you are doing, or, stay away as you had been, for decades, in the film industry. 
The choice is yours as it is your democratic right but so is the responsibility of accepting the consequences.
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I think I’ve made my point.



Best regards,







Thursday, January 26, 2017

JALLIKATTU PROTEST: HOW STUDENTS AND YOUTH GOT USED

Hello World,


Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/T.N.’s-new-jallikattu-law-faces-challenge-in-Supreme-Court/article17095532.ece


The recently concluded #JallikattuProtest is being pushed out as a victory for students and youth while it is a case of carefully planned scheme that fooled students and youth who protested. While I believe that the entire #Jallikattu issue is a big-brother-helps-little-brother political drama, I would like to analyse the possible backdrop of this issue so the students and youth get an opportunity to understand the reality of the situation. To start, please refer to the image above for the news report on potential legal hassle approaching the recently declared 'victory of students and youth.'

What’s the Plan About and What Happened

PeTA, founded in 2000 in India, took over a decade to get to the animal rights in #Jallikattu. That’s an organization which has the capability to investigate secretly guarded animal-abuse practices. For some reason, the organization took over a decade to get to #Jallikattu, which happens to be a public event conducted annually. Not one person in the media has discussed this aspect.

A and B had planned for a collaborative #Jallikattu issue where the A would enable the ban on the sport and the B would do a miraculous counter effort to get back what rightfully belongs to its regional citizens. Unfortunately, those who wrote the story and script did not get elected again to continue the drama into the second term. The new comers, C and D realized there is a quality script ready and decided to produce it and arranged the release. 

As per script, the local parties should have taken turns to call for ‘Bandh’ and when a few of those happened over a span of 4-8 weeks, D would make a publicity-laden appeal to C stating #Jallikattu is part of the region’s cultural identity and C would grant a carefully crafted ruling that will remove the ban on #Jallikattu. D would get the intended ‘Hero’ image and will build the vote bank using this image as the stepping stone. C, in exchange will get the support of all elected D members for everything C tries to achieve.

Unfortunately, out of the blue, students and youth got together at the beach. As the protestor crowd got bigger and bigger, everyone expected someone will start causing nuisance and the police will get cracking. However, the students and youth maintained fair discipline and also cleaned up their trash. This added to the surprise. The party cadres waited to get to the streets with their planned nuisance scheme but the students and youth just went for days in a row. 

Finally the party cadres decided to join the students and youth which is where the screenplay took an unusual twist. The students and youth said NO to all PARTY groups. This came as a surprise to the party cadres.

What was the Response

The party cadres including C and D realized that allowing this protest to go further will only nullify their presence and most importantly, the public perception of their power. So they carefully planned to establish a well declared defeat for the students and youth. They planted their youth-wing cadres dressed in black amongst the honest students and youth who were protesting for #Jallikattu. This is how different smaller groups within the #JallikattuProtest started protesting for things other than #Jallikattu. The unassuming protestor crowd did not know they were already neck deep in this carefully designed chaos. They were still believing their protest for #Jallikattu was just growing in size. The reality is that there was a parallel ‘noise’ that kept growing, muffling their genuine objectives and projecting a digressing protest that to me indicated its end is near.

The Current Perception and Possible Reality Behind

The students and youth, for the most part , believe their protest ended in violence but their efforts got the desired results. Unfortunately, from my perspective, that’s not the case. I still believe, the ordnance is a back up plan that was used to bring the protest to an end and appease the fairly unaware students and youth that they won. The fact is the students and youth entered a game where the planned teams and players were very different groups and none of them included these protesting students and youth. 

What Could be Possible Future of #JallikattuIssue

The top court is going to shoot down the ordnance saying its is up to C to do the necessary corrective measure and D’s actions will not be legally valid. The party groups will then move as per their original script and schedule multiple ‘bandhs’ before D will make a louder and stronger plea to C. Then, C will make a remarkable legal provision, and with drumroll in the background, announce that #Jallikattu and the use of the banned animal will remain legal forever. D and C will continue to convince the voters that it is them who took the fight from the students and youth and ran the final leg all alone, and valiantly fought for the cultural identity of their people. The students and youth, out of part embarrassment and part fear, will stay away from any such protest in future and the PARTY groups will continue their voyage. The voters will continue to believe that when they vote, they have to vote for a PARTY and not an independent. The world will be back to the chaotic equilibrium it used to be. 

I don’t want to emphasise that I am exactly right in my assumption. I am however, inclined to ask the question: If this is not what it is, what else could it be? 


Summing up, I wish to conclude, stating the students and youth came up for something they felt passionate about and demonstrated top-notch civil behaviour. However, they are not as trained as the party groups and could not detect or avoid infiltration and digression. In the end, the students and youth got used for the ulterior motives of so many who did not share the true passion for culture or freedom as the students and youth do. After all, everyday regular people can't take up things in their hand, get together in large gathering and go against a massive industry designed to cheat humans: politics. This will remain the case as long as voters believe, they have to vote for a party. #ThinkIndependent

Update as of 1st Feb, 2017:

The supreme court has refused to stay the new state law enabling #jallikattu. While most of my fellow citizens consider this a victory of those who protested, I see this as a new complex issue in the making. This new issue might be aimed at establishing the recent and future 'protest mentality' as unreasonable and naive. Here's my take on this:

If supreme court should allow the state law defying its previous judgement banning usage of bulls in #jallikattu, then to be fair, it should also allow the other state's law that enables them to stop river water from flowing out of their catchments. 

The supreme court is going to point at the state-level #jallikattu law and consider the other state's law on river water distribution on the same grounds of similarity. While the legal descriptions may very, the court finding will claim if one state is to be allowed a state law overriding the supreme court's judgement, the other state's law overriding the supreme court judgement should also be permitted on grounds of similarity in legislation driven by popular public sentiment.

In essence, the supreme court is about to set an example situation which will end declaring the very objectives of the #jallikattu protest as unwarranted, illegal and last but not the least, stupid. The parties will wait until the turn of events reach this stage and then make a claim saying it is them who are more qualified to bring political solutions in the most legal manner as opposed to protest-driven ordinances such as the recent #jallikattu law. Again, this will be done, only to ensure the political class regains its public power perception. 

While I support the students and youth about their core beliefs, I have to say, they screamed ordinance when they first got the media attention. Halfway through, when they realized ordinance can be shot down by the court, they started demanding permanent solution. As a result of ambiguity in objective, the political class is trying to divide them into two groups: one that feels the protest should have gone a different route and another that feels they got what they asked for and the students deserve this victory. Unfortunately, given the state of things, the political class seems to be gaining strength in terms of discouraging any further such protest mentality, now that the division is clearly visible.

Summing up again, what could be solved in one step of removing the bull's name from a list, has taken the longest route possible causing the entire nation an administrative overhead, only to be positioned for another decade long legal battle that can go either ways and the worst case can result in long term ban on #jallikattu. When the state demands river water from the other state, the supreme court is going to say, your #jallikattu law is the basis on which the other state is allowed a similar law to stop river water sharing. When the state says, the law was passed to appease the sentiments of students and youth and the general public, the court is going to suggest, the state can get their water from the same students, youth and public who protested for the ordinance. To be fair, the students, youth and public in the other state demanded the river water to stay within their territory and their government passed a law over the supreme court judgement, just like what happened for #jallikattu. This will end up with the political class, pointing their fingers at students and youth, calling them responsible for all this trouble. Everyone can celebrate the victory of #jallikattu protests and the state law until this happens. Just my thought.

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Regards,