Dedications

The latest salvo fired from the governing body of India would give them the supreme power to shut down the Internet, branded as the ‘Kill switch’. The government anointed itself the power to do so according to the IT Amendment Act of 2008. Now the government can ban specific websites or can effectively shut down all cyber traffic in India. Failure to comply with the law is punishable with up to seven years in prison.

The government always had a ‘kill switch’ in many areas, whereby there is still a huge population of India that has no access to electricity. So here there is no issue of a ‘kill switch’ as anyway there is no electricity so what switch are you going switch off. Then there is another part of the population that gets electricity erratically, so that’s a ‘kill switch’ when you don’t get uninterrupted supply of electricity. What Internet are you going to access when you don’t have basic power.

Then there is a huge populous that has no access to drinking water, that is a ‘kill switch’. The infrastructure is in shambles that is a ‘kill switch’. The list is endless, no uniformity of education for all though it is there on paper, access to affordable medication, housing, food, to name a few. The government has been using a ‘kill switch’ ever since we got Independence. We got independent from a colonial power that killed us and now we have a government that kills us. There is literal killing in the name of religion, caste, defunct law which has people killed by the underworld, women getting raped in Delhi, which gives it another capital designation from capital of the country, to rape capital of India and it is definitely not a coincidence that a government that rapes and kills India is based out of Delhi.

Poor infrastructure kills more Indians than who die of natural causes. Food despite not being in the reach of the poor, and if they do get it, is adulterated which kills many. Polio doses given to kids have got killed kids. So if medicine that is to save, is killing then what are we cribbing of a ‘kill switch’ where the government can stop the Internet. There is no kill switch that kills the politicians. They come with manifestos before elections, and none of them get effected. Can there not be a law if not to kill them, at least jail them if they fail on promises, or bar them for contesting elections again.

We have parties that come with slogans as ‘India Shining’. When did India ever shine? We have a party in Maharashtra that comes with the slogan ‘Mee Marathi’, and dictates terms to industries to employ locals of the state, in the process no industries are flourishing in the state. We have in Tamil Nadu voters lured with free TV, free rice and the latest is grinders. I guess this is to ensure they grind the masses better. We have a government in Bengal that throws a reputed Organization like the Tata’s out after it had legally acquired land to build the world’s cheapest car. A global success story of the car ‘Tata Nano’ could be attempted to be killed by a government. Had Tata gone with the proposal to Pakistan, Pakistan would have not only given land to Tata’s but would have even given Pakistan back to India.

It is not a just a ‘kill switch’ for the Internet. It is a switch to kill India

So much already in the news of the tragedy that has hit Japan, that it gets worse with every passing day. The technology of Japan is amazing, where building construction standards is something the world is emulating. Buildings still stand tall despite the worst battering of Nature, in recent times that can be remembered.

Wish humanity be humanquake resistant. By the word ‘Humanquake resistant’, I mean where we fight forces of human nature prone to greed, selfishness and power. Unfortunately this can never be achieved through technology or engineering marvels that make earthquake resistant buildings. Neither has education or religion proven to meet it. Infact both have contributed to make it worse. Education teaches us to compete and win at any cost. Religion teaches us to discriminate beliefs of other faiths. Education teaches us to kill competing businesses, and religion aims to kill other beliefs. No one wants to collaborate or cooperate.

Imagine if the catastrophe of Japan was met with a war of nations reaching out to help it. A war where it was bombard with help, instead it is only lip service. Leaders will pledge support. Citizens will flood social networks with condolence messages. Greedy investors will wait to scavenge and enter the Japanese market and buy beaten stocks. Religious bodies and institutions will offer prayer services. All these help on a superficial level, and not going alleviate the pain and suffering. If countries can send missiles and space craft to outer space, can it not bomb Japan with drinking water and food packets.

Japan may not need financial help, but can all the money they are injecting into the Japanese market, solve the current problem. News still speaks of stocks tumbling, recession waiting to happen, deflation, etc. Human suffering is reported like an afterthought. Can business and economics be secondary and focus on rehabilitating survivors. Numbers of people dying are broadcasted like score of a live sporting event. The tone in speech of the news readers or in news published is more anguish of the market and economy crumbling and of people dying is just another piece of news.

With all this wrath of nature all over the world, wonder how nations still have the time, money and intelligence to plan wars, suicide bombers, or exploit political and sectarian issues plaguing the Middle East. Is this not greed, selfishness and power? US have realized that radiation which is suspected in Japan could reach its western shores soon. Can all the technology, intelligence, political and economic dominance counter it?

Bodies like UN and other so called world governing bodies are pondering whether to decide a ‘no fly zone’ due to the Libyan civil war. Have we heard of nations planning to ‘fly in to Japan’ and start helping in rebuilding the country. Rebuilding Japan could be good for the world, due to its rich contribution to the world and society with it technological innovations in many spheres. Or is it another wait watch and see the benefits it could have to other developed nations, businesses that compete with Japan?

When are we going to realize everything is a circle, and like Japan it could be us next? Do we want an earthquake for us to be humanquake resistant?

A 77 year old gets raped in Delhi. If the culprit is hopefully caught, he would get sentenced and released to go and rape another victim. Rajiv Gandhi gets defamed for raping a tribal girl and the minister who defamed him has to pay a fine five million rupees. So if you are raped, enjoy it as it is inevitable, but if you are defamed for rape, you get paid.

All religious structures in Bombay like crosses, or small temples erected on the road side, are being demolished by the Municipal Authorities. Only structures before 1964 would be considered legal. Strangely for illegal slums, all political bodies are trying to extend the date of the structures when it was built, to legalise them to be used as vote banks. So God has no place in the city but slums have. If God has to be housed where he is in some places over centuries, HE has to prove he was did exist there prior to 1964.

On an average 28 people go missing in Mumbai, among them women in the age group of 19-35 who were the biggest victims, but political parties have a problem of people migrating into the cities. I guess the ones who go missing contribute to decongesting the city so it should not matter.

Not wearing a helmet could soon result in stiffer fines. But bad roads being built no one get fined. Euthanasia is illegal, but healthy people who killed with bad infrastructure or roads and railways is fine. So people who want to die cannot and those who want to live also cannot.

An earthquake in Japan shook officials in India to relook at nuclear installations in India and their safety in case of natural disasters. A terrorist attack in Mumbai awoke officials on the vulnerability of terror attacks. Only after China built a strong infrastructure along our borders to make it easy to attack, did we awake to build something called infrastructure near it. So I guess only after China attacks will the concerned ministry awake of the threat of China. On the other hand if we cannot build a proper infrastructure for the nation what are we going to build one to fight a war?

Coming to fighting a war India now becomes the world’s largest importer of arms. The problem is all the three wings of the armed forces in the country are short of officers. The Indian Army is short of around 11,400 officers. The Indian Navy is short of about 1,500 officers. The Indian Air Forces grapple with a shortage of about 1,400 officers. I am wondering if we are soon going to overtake China as the world’s largest populous country, why is it we don’t have sufficient people for the armed forces. I guess Indians want to follow Mahatma Gandhi and fight with non-violence.

Air India spends 55 billion Indian Rupees a day, and earns only 36 billion. Then why can’t there be a mechanism for the poor to buy ‘at least food’? Irony is even food stocks are rotting in warehouse and the poor cannot get it. Air India should soon advertise saying ‘If you can’t buy food, fly Air India’. The problem is even the food sucks on Air India.

Any amount of copy right laws does not stop pirated movies, music sold on the streets of India. Infact they are sold like vegetables on carts. Come to think of it which law has stopped anything in India?