[#Journalism] Curious Case of Assault of an Air India staffer by a Shiv Sena MP

If you have frequently flown on Air India, you would have noticed that their staff would rank lowest in customer service. Their staff are often rude and treat you as if they are doing you great service by just letting you fly with them. For record, Air India was ranked as "third worst Airline in the World" just 2 months back (https://tinyurl.com/zop5uyx). It is in this background that I looked at the recent media-generated outrage against a politician for beating up an Air India staff with great curiosity and amusement.

I also noticed one thing repeated in all media reports - that the politician assaulted a "60-year-old duty manager". 60 years old and yet not retired? Oh yes - Air India was seeing an exodus of staff and hence a few years back it raised retirement age from 58 to 60. That is against the trend in sectors like airlines where younger and energetic staff is preferred. The media appeared to be highlighting the age of the duty  manager to garner public sympathy for him and against the MP. And it had to not mention the age of the MP which is 56 - just 4 years younger.

Next, the punishment suggested by media was of idiotic proportions. According to media, he should be sacked from parliament, banned by his party, not to mention named and shamed on national television for days and night - without caring about what adverse impact it could create on him and his family members. It reminded me the case of a tainted govt officer, whose family committed suicide after he was caught and received huge media attention. Any punishment should correspond to the gravity of the crime. The case should go to the court which should decide on the punishment; but media had already conducted "media trial" and need not bother about sanity.

The particulars of the case are interesting. The MP felt he was wronged (by not being given business class seat); hence remained seated in the aircraft after it landed; and declined to get down - something which is called "Satyagrah". Since the scuffle happened after planed had landed and no other passenger was on board, of course there was no threat to the other passengers.

Compare the case to what happened with popular comedian Kapil Sharma. Kapil was drunk and he abused and beat up his colleagues including Sunil Grower "in air" - and thereby was a threat to the flight as well as to other passengers. But no media houses asked for his ban from flying, or airing off of his TV show, or defamed him by playing the video 24X7. In fact a lot of TV news channels did not discuss this episode openly.

So why was the politician a recipient of such a bad press while the comedian was protected? Because of many reasons. The MP came from a background which is not trending. He is a tough looking male - member of a right wing political party without national presence - a politician who is not in power - all criteria made him ideal for victimization by the electronic media. On the other hand, Kapil is chubby and innocent looking - is a comedian with huge nation wide fan following - a man who is part of TV and Bollywood and hence highly powerful - all these factors make him ideal to play the victim rather than the assailant.

Thanks to the media, the rude staff of Air India are enjoying hero like status while an elected representative is paying huge price. What would be the repercussions of this event in the long run? If you are a customer of such government organizations - beware. Their spirits are high - if they can do this to an MP - who are you and me? Forget it. Just keep silence and tolerate all that happens with you - and then you are a good person. You may even come on TV someday.

- Rahul

Balasaheb Thackeray – Hinduhriday Samrat!

The great Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is popularly known amongst the masses as “Janata Raja” (also the name of a famous play based on his life). Literally, it means “The wise king”. Is it ironical in the sense that the King who won so many battles against mighty warriors and established his own kingdom against the might of history, is popularly remembered today more for his knowledge and wisdom rather than for his military valor? For people from outside the state, Shivaji has been identified as the great “Maratha”. But the empire that he established is known as “Hindavi Swarajya” meaning “self-rule of Hindu people”, which has wider connotations. No matter how convenient we find it to “compartmentalize” and “tag” history and great historical figures, over the time the clamor dismantles and the true “image” settles down. Not on the pages of newspapers or on the screens of Television sets, but in the very hearts of people who identify with these great personalities. It is in this background, that I find late Balasaheb Thackeray’s image as not of any aggressive leader of regional influence, but of someone who had a grand vision and a nationalistic thinking. Definitely “Hindu Hridaysamrat” (the one who rules the hearts of Hindus). 

I had a discussion with a group of friends recently on Balasaheb’s contribution towards our nation India. I thought it would be useful to compile and share some of the points made by the group. You are welcome to add to this list, which is neither exclusive nor exhaustive.

Contributions of Balasaheb Thackeray towards National Causes in India:

1. Strong Opponent of Illegal Bangladeshi Muslim Migrants: In Balasaheb, we found a fearless leader who openly opposed illegal migration of Bangladeshi migrants into Mumbai and other places in India. He threatened to send them packing. When in power, his political party did send many such illegal migrants back to where they came from. Such illegal migrants are threat to our national security. They also steal low level skilled/unskilled jobs from very poor Indian nationals, and burden the city’s infrastructure in an unplanned manner. Some political parties use these people as their vote bank and perhaps only Balasaheb was a leader who opposed this politics openly.

2. Politics of fast development and growth: Today, Narendra Modi is identified with development politics, but when Shiv Sena had come to power, it did very rapid development in the state:

i) Slum Rehabilitation Scheme: Economic Times article [Link] mentions, “One of the key initiatives of the Shiv Sena was the slum rehabilitation scheme. As the ruling party of the state, it expanded the scheme in 1995. The scheme continues to gain momentum as this remains a key route for land acquisition in land-starved Mumbai, be it for infrastructure, urban development or housing construction. The scheme was essentially a cross-subsidization scheme under which developers could access land for development at market rates in exchange for providing housing for slum-dwellers.”

ii) Construction of 55 flyovers in Mumbai: Shiv Sena-led government in 1995 announced the construction of 55 flyovers in Mumbai in order to provide adequate infrastructure in Mumbai. The entire project was pegged at Rs 1,500-1,600 crore and was the largest urban infrastructure project undertaken in the city until then.

iii) Mumbai-Pune Expressway: Built by the state's Road Development Corporation, it was a result of Bal Thackeray’s wish. If you ever travel between Mumbai and Pune and are impressed with the world class E-Way, you should thank Balasaheb for it.

iv) Sea Link in Mumbai (Bandra Worli Sea Link): Even the Bandra Worli Sea Link was Balasaheb’s dream project, but Cong. renamed it after Rajiv Gandhi for political reasons.

3. Protecting Hindu Temple (ISKCON, Mumbai) from demolition: You can read it on ISKCON’s website [Link]. It mentions, “But very few people know how he intervened when Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari’s temple in Juhu was being violently attacked.... While we were all rushing forward to meet the municipal workers and police — and were being taken into custody —a Gujarati devotee named Manasvi dasa was crouching in the bushes and watching. And he got the idea to phone Balasaheb Thackeray, who was known for supporting Hindu causes. Manasvi phoned and gave the report. Bal Thackeray called the Municipal Commissioner, informed him of what was happening, and told him to stop the demolition of the temple. The Municipal Commissioner, being part of the clique that had conspired against the temple, objected. Then Bal Thackeray said, “Just remember who this city belongs to.” “Okay, Balasaheb. Okay.” Then the Municipal Commissioner phoned the K-Ward Officer in Andheri, who was in charge of the Juhu area. And the Ward Officer came personally, running to the site to stop the demolition...

Remembering Balasaheb Thackeray’s service to Srila Prabhupada and Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari, ISKCON devotees from Juhu and Chowpatty joined the funeral procession and later chanted on the stage at Shivaji Park: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.... Bal Thackeray came forward and helped at a most critical moment.

4. Saving Hindus during 1993 Riots: Though Shivsena’s role during the riots is controversial to speak about, most of the locals mention that Shivsena had protected Hindus during the riots.

5. Protecting Sikhs during 1984 anti-Sikh genocide: Though the role would be controversial to talk about, locals recall how Shiv Sena under Balasaheb Thackeray protected Sikhs from the riots. It is no surprise that Sikhs mourned his demise and Gurudwaras were open and langar (community kitchen) organized for the mourners taking part in funeral. [Link]

In 2008, after an incident Balasaheb Thackeray had written [Link] in Saamna that if the anti-Sikhs riots did not spread to Mumbai in 1984, it was largely because of the Shiv Sena. He said the then President, Giani Zail Singh, had thanked him for protecting members of his community in Mumbai while those in Delhi had suffered.

6. Standing for and helping Rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits: Ashoke Pandit writes on Tahelka Blog [Link] in the article titled “Thackeray stood by the Kashmiri Pandits”: It was Balasaheb Thackeray who immediately ordered a reservation to be fixed for the refugee Kashmiri youths in all the colleges of Maharashtra. The reservation included Muslims, Ladakhi, Pandit and the children of security forces serving in the valley. This way, he secured the future of 50,000 youths who had the choice of picking up guns in the absence of education. For me, this was Balasaheb Thackeray who did not shy away from taking a stand while those in Delhi were taking refuge behind the diplomacy of terrorism.”

Very often Bal Thackeray mentioned the plight of Kashmiri Pandits in his statements, thereby highlighting it in front of those who forget them. Like he made this statement when flaying SRK for his ‘love’ for Pakistan [Link]: "Why did Shah Rukh never feel that he should do a charity show for flood victims in India, for the 26/11 terror victims or for rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits who have been ousted from their homeland?”.

Kashmiri Pandit organizations and leaders said with Balasaheb's death the community has become an orphan. Balasaheb had wholeheartedly supported the idea of creating the Union Territory of Panun Kashmir in Jammu and Kashmir as a solution to Kashmir problem. [Link]

7. Not believing in Castes and Opposing Caste Based Reservations: Balasaheb Thackeray was against Caste Based Reservations. He was perhaps the only fearless and patriot politician who was brave enough to speak his mind and say clearly that he was against caste based reservations and caste based discrimination. I watched Balasaheb's interview on TV where he spoke against caste based reservations and said that he believed there were only two castes in this world - rich and poor. He added that we should make poor rich but not rich poor. The next question that the interviewer asked him after his opposition to caste quota was: “How far do you think Bal Thackeray will go in politics.” He was so brave and courageous that people did not believe a straight forward person like would ever succeed in politics. It is also said that Balasaheb Thackeray lost colleagues like Bhujbal who believed and wanted to indulge in caste-politics due to differences in opinion on this matter.

He had got this anti-caste legacy from his father Late Keshav Sitaram Thackeray who was a social reformer who worked to eradicate the evils of caste system.

8. Selfless service to the poor and common people: In the article titled "Bal Thackeray, the people magnet", Rajendra Aklekar, DNA, Nov 28, 2012 writes: "Till the mid-1980s, Thackeray used to answer all phone calls himself and went out of his way to help those who sought help, irrespective of class or religion. He used to go through the "letters" columns of most newspapers and set his men to work... It was, I remember, during the last state elections that the Sena set up a call centre and helpline to solve citizens' grievances. People could call the helpline and young men and women, attired in smart black uniforms, would answer the call, note down the problem, get it solved by their elected representatives and get back to the citizen."

I have personally seen Shiv Sena’s ambulances running on the streets of Mumbai. There are reading centers etc for the people run by the party. Even on internet you can find yellow pages telling about Shiv Sena Ambulance Service. Here is the website of Shiv Sena’s Kerala unit which tells about its social work [Link] http://www.shivsena-kerala.org/service.htm. It talks about its free services, blood donation, educational support, free food, self-employment support, orphanage and old age homes, etc. You can see a slogan at the bottom of the page which mentions “Jai Hindustan Jai Kerala”. For those who thought Shiv Sena as only a regional party, should note its national presence. Most recently, Shiv Sena started “Saffron Guards” to protect morning walkers [Link]. Locals say that they feel safe in the city because there of Shiv Sena and its members. There is also a Yuva Sena doing lot of work under leadership of Aditya Thackeray [Link].

9. Opinion Maker on Issues of National Interest: He was an opinion maker on most of the national issues impacting the common man. He did not confine his area of interest to the state of Maharashtra only, but most of the time we heard him speak his mind on all issues of national interests. In the weeks just before his demise, we heard him oppose Pakistan Cricket team’s visit to India in the name of furthering diplomatic ties between the nations. On the occasion of Dessara, the festival representing victory of good over evil, his message was to throw out darkness out of our lives by throwing out corrupt party leading the government. Most of the time, his opinions represented the feelings of the common man.

- Rahul Tiwary

Note: Views are personal and do not represent views of any organization associated with the author. [Detailed disclaimer]

We do Need Sedation Law but not Against Cartoonists

13 Sep 2012

You must be aware of the events unfolding during the last few days in which a cartoonist Aseem Trivedi was arrested on sedation charges and then released after a huge public outcry. He was arrested on the charges of having insulted national emblem and constitution, which was filed against him by a so called dalit activist in Mumbai. Government justified the arrest citing laws on sedation which prevent national symbols and emblem from being shown disrespect, while the media, public activists and so called liberalists used the opportunity to demand this law to be abolished altogether.

Political Aspects of this Case should not be ignored!

Let us analyze the news in slight detail. Firstly, the case has been filed now alleging that the cartoonist had put up banners mocking the Constitution during Anna Hazare's rally at the Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai in 2011 [Ref] This “event” happed in 2011 but the police case has been filed in now in 2012, which clearly puts doubts on the intention of the complainant. Police should not have immediately arrested the cartoonist as if one year old cartoons were going to explode now and do some great harm.

The fact is that the complainant Amit K. is a so called dalit activist and member of Republican Party of India (RPI) [Ref]. RPI is a political party which has tried to champion the cause of so called dalits and has huge vote banks in these communities. Recently RPI has come close to Shiv Sena and BJP and formed an alliance with these two political parties and even fought local elections together. Recently MNS has come closer to Shiv Sena too and there have been talks of both parties joining hands for the upcoming state assembly elections. It seems some political masterminds are trying to prevent formation of such a grand alliance of opposition parties in Maharashtra.

Recently RPI and MNS activists fought over a small issue [Ref]. Congress party always tries to bring Muslim and so called Dalit vote banks together to make a bigger vote banks which could ensure it victory on many seats. It seems the Congress govt in the state tried to widen the gap between RPI and other state parties and also to isolate RPI by forcing these parties hurt RPI’s political agenda and sentiments. This police complaint seems to have worked perfectly in creating a political situation which could be in advantage for the RPI and Congress to come closer while MNS, Shiv Sena and BJP to go further away from these. The success of this approach was evident when news came that Raj Thackeray supported Aseem Trivedi [Ref] and Bal Thackeray also publicly backed him [Ref] and criticized govt for arresting the cartoonist. It is anyone’s guess that RPI won’t have loved this support for the cartoonist from Shiv Sena and MNS.

This law should not have been applied on Assem Trivedi

The strongest argument to support Aseem Trivedi’s arrest and the police case was his cartoon on our National Emblem which is taken from Ashoka’s Lion Capital. In his cartoon, Trivedi had made the three front lions look like wolves with blood dripping from their tongue and instead of “Satyamev Jayate”, the cartoon mentioned “Bhrashtamev Jayate”. Supporters of state govt said that it was an insult to our national emblem. In my personal opinion, we should differentiate a cartoon from other forms of art.

This piece was a cartoonist’s expression to show the corruption in our system. At the same time, there was no attempt on his part to “appear realistic” in order to “confuse people with the actual national emblem”. His cartoon was not a “look-alike” of our national emblem. It was only a sketch and even a small kid in school would say that this was only a cartoon and not any realistic version of our national emblem. Therefore, Assem should not have been charged with the sedation laws.  

Media only concentrated on the law instead of its wrong application!

It is shocking to me that none of the media houses and TV news channels who feed on sensationalism even pointed towards the political connections which I tried to expose in the earlier parts of this article. Today, people of our country have to be very careful about the way we form opinions heavily relying on who wins the TV debates and whose side the TV channels are supporting. TV news channels and even print media heavily targeted only this sedation law.

Three laws were applied against Assem:

1. Indian Penal Code Section 124 (sedition)
2. Section 66 A of Information Technology Act
3. Section 2 of Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act

Under Section 66 A (Punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service, etc) and Section 2 of Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act (Whoever in any public place or in any other place within public view burns, mutilates, defaces, defiles, disfigures, destroys, tramples upon or otherwise shows disrespect to or brings into contempt (whether by words, either spoken or written, or by acts) the Indian National Flag or the Constitution of India or any part thereof) the accused faces a prison term of three years and/ or can be fined. [Ref]

When it came to discuss this whole episode, thinkers like Salil Tripathi also discussed only on the law [Ref] while controversial persons like Binayak Sen also supported repealing this act [Ref].

Of course all anti-nationals, terrorists and enemies of India would also love this law to be repealed. And tomorrow they will start burning our national flag and desecrating our national symbols at the fly. Do we want such a situation to happen? (It is already happening in J&K where separatists burn our national flag and to some extent happens in many places when sections of population waive Pakistani flags on Indian soil along with insulting our symbols.)

Also, it appears that the main argument why this law should be repealed has been put forward as “this in a colonial era law”. This argument is amusing: there are so many laws which have come from the British era and even stopped so many social evils; should all these laws be repealed now just for being “from colonial era”? Of course no! Then why “use” this case of “wrong application of law” to demand the law itself to be repealed?

My Conclusions:

1. Police case on the cartoonist seems to be filed because of political agenda (as explained in the article).
2. Sedation laws should not apply on the cartoonist Aseem Trivedi because there was no planned attempt on his part to insult our national emblem.
3. Media has so far campaigned only in support of the cartoonist and has used him to make a case to get the sedation laws to be repealed. Media should also have exposed the political games underlying the case and presented a balanced picture.
4. The sedation laws should not be repealed but should be applied more judicially.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are personal and do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization associated with the author. There is no attempt to hurt the feelings of readers and any unintended ones are regretted. You are welcome to share your own personal opinion on this article in the comments section.