A recent speech by Shashi Tharoor is a feel good speech and I would say Chicken Soup for the Indian

Soul.
Sure, it’s bound to arouse a certain amount of cynicism because of well, a certain amount of hype. Despite
that it’s a speech that can fill one’s heart with hope. It’s not as if Tharoor has lied about anything. He has just
give us a sugar coated pill, and it’s a pill that we all need to take once in a while. Tharoor, the Indian Minister
of State for External Affairs, is clever enough to admit that India has a long long way to go when it comes to
economic development and acknowledges that unless India’s vast human capital is underdeveloped, as long as
India is “superpoor”, it cannot call itself a super power. The speech focuses on how much India has
developed, and he talks of telecommunications. I could not help but relate to his anecdotes of 20 years ago
when one had to wait for years to get a telephone connection and the times when one had to place a “trunk
call” if one had to call someone from out of town. A trunk call which could take hours to arrive and what you
did in the meanwhile was hang around waiting for it. Unless one placed an expensive “lightening call” which
took half an hour! I remember that I grew up during the time when telegrams were the order of the day and
one of things which made my parents happy was when they could book a telegram on the phone! Well, as
Shashi Tharoor mentions, those days are long gone. Today even the working classes in India own telephones.
Something that has greatly aided them in their business activities. But it is not this which Tharoor really talked
about. He talks about India’s soft power and mentions how India has put itself on the world map because of
this. He talks of India’s soft power in terms of its music, its movies, its cuisine and disciplines like Yoga,
Ayurveda which have spread all across the world. And also about India’s people, the scientists and doctors to
mathematicians and software gurus who have made the world over sit up and take notice of India. Tharoor
also talks of India’s rich heritage of 23 languages, innumerable scripts, its diverse culture and religions. He
emphasizes India’s democratic traditions and openness which go back hundreds of years. “India has been an
open society since millenia,” he says. All this, Tharoor feels, has made a difference. The image of India as a
land of fakirs and snake charmers is gone. The richness and diversity of India’s story “rests on a fundamental
platform of political pluralism”. He feels India is one-up on the United States, which had a President of
another race for the first time in its history when it elected Barack Obama. India on the other hand has had
diverse leaders, from all backgrounds and religions. Ofcourse it’s not as simple as he makes it sound, but it’s
good to hear. What is true is that India is a diverse plural democracy. I am more sceptical when he says that
India is a place where we ” don’t have to agree, just agree where to disagree” or when he says that the people
of India have “learnt to survive without consensus.” But if the key word is “survive” I guess he is right. We
are surviving without consensus, but we do have a long way to go. At the end of it all, we need to remember
that India is being respected more than earlier because we are now a “market” and have some amount of
economic power. That is what a commentator of this blog had pointed out to me once. This is what he said:
‘From an every day perspective your culture traditions etc will matter to a man on the street more
as your economy grows and with that how you touch western lives. Notice how Japanese culture went from
being joked about in the 1950s to being respected by the average man on the street in the early 90s as their
economy caught up with the west. India too has in concert with its economic progress increased its image
greatly from a land of maharajas and snake-charmers to well.. something better.’

AAMIR KHAN
There are many instances where India is proud of herself, and the health of its democracy is one of them,
especially because all the dignitaries from other countries keep pampering India on this note. India might be a
well-functioning democracy in the electoral sense, but I don’t see it in any other sphere of Indian public life.
Especially when it comes to difference of opinion – aha, that is not tolerated at all! If I say ‘no’, I’m asked to
apologize for having a mind of my own. Aamir supported Medha Patkar for a very righteous cause indeed
when he voiced his concern for the tribals and villagers displaced, but not rehabilitated, by the building of the
dam on Narmada river. Isn’t it only just that thousands of people will expect to at least be given new homes
when their ancestral homes are confiscated by a democratic government? We are not in China, for heaven’s
sake! So Aamir Khan said – either rehabilitate these poor people or stop raising the dam’s height. And I’m
glad that celebrities have started indulging in social welfare. But both the BJP and the Congress parties in
Gujarat keep outdoing one another in protesting Aamir Khan’s point of view. The BJP has put on a very
sinister Taliban-like attitude by banning ‘Fanaa’, Aamir Khan’s latest movie, and even asking people to resist
Coca-cola and Toyota Innova because the star endorses them. Since when did Aamir Khan, living in
democratic India, lose the right to independent thinking and free speech? And if a celebrity such as he does
not have these rights, where do we common people figure? And Aamir Khan has asked why he should
apologize…and why should he? For asking the govt. to be responsible? For securing homes for people whose
original homes were confiscated by a democratic govt.? What do you say? Should Aamir say sorry or not – or
should the govt. say sorry to the displaced people?

Aamir Khan is a true patriotic, but more than that he is a true humanitarian & he has proved himself to be
above the petty politics of BJP & Congress. He is also especially articulate & smart, which was quite clear in
the way he fielded questions in the press conference, where he has categoricaly stated that he is not against the
people of Gujarat, nor is he against the building of the dam & the resulting progress. He has just raised his
voice to ensure that the poor people who lose out due to the dam-building exercise be rehabilitated by the
government & not short-changed. I as a true Indian, fully support & endorse his views! BJP, as a poltical
party is itself divided on this front, with half of their representatives claiming that they have no issues against
Aamir & the other half putting up half-baked arguments against him & asking him to appologise! Appologise
for what??? For supporting & speaking out for the downtrodden, poor people? Or appologise to appease the
ego of the BJP politicians, for whom it has become more of a ego hassle by now!!! The so-called Leaders of
our Country do not even have strong, logical reasons or arguments as to why they want Aamir’s film to be
banned or why he should appologise. On the contrary, Aamir has been very lucid & clear in stating his stand.
As far as endorsing of products is concerned, there is not even a single actor or sportsperson who has not
endorsed a single product till now & do you all believe that they actually use or even stand by the product
they endorse. It is his profession as an actor to act in films & commercials, so why blame him for that. Why
don’t the misled people of Gujarat boycott all those corrupt polticians who fill their pockets & languish in
luxury, while inciting their stooges to do their biding & crush anybody who dare to oppose them? I am glad
that Aamir’s film has only benefited from the controversy & has had an record opening. It is also clear that
BJP is full of bullies, who drop subtle & not-so-subtle hints of destroying people who dare to stand against
them. It is clear that even the followers of this party are hooligans, who resort to violent means & strong-
handed tactics against anybody who exercises their freedom of expression. Also, the film industry is full of
hypocrites, none of who have voiced their support for Aamir, but stand behind traitors & brutes like Salman
Khan & Sanjay Dutt. It is a shame that Aamir Khan is not interested in politics, otherwise he would have
made a excellent Prime Minister, better at any rate than the spineless old codger who calls himself the Prime-
minister of our great, democratic country. I think Aamir is a youth icon & has the balls to stand up against the
corrupt & petty minded politicians & the foolish followers, who seem to exist just to do their bidding,
mindlessly. I support him completely.
The mini orgasm feeling you have when you have to pee really bad and finally get to go. Usually intensified
by drinking and waiting in line for the ladies room. Almost always followed by the inability to stop peeing.
One girl-friend to another~ 'Sorry I took so long, I had to pee so bad, I had a mini'.

Indian politics
India is a Sovereign, Secular, Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary form of Government. The Constitution was adopted by the
Constituent Assembly on 26th November 1949 and came into force on 26th November 1950. The Constitution advocated the trinity of
justice, liberty and equality for all the citizens. The Constitution was framed keeping in mind the socioeconomic progress of the
country. India follows a parliamentary form of democracy and the government is federal in structure. In Indian political system, the
President is the constitutional head of the executive of the Union of India. The real executive power is with the Prime Minister and the
Council of Ministers. According to the Article 74(1) of the constitution, the Council of Ministers under the leadership of the Prime
Minister is responsible to aid and assist the President in exercising the Presidents function. The Council of ministers is responsible to
the Lok Sabha, the House of People. In states the Governor is the representative of the President, though the real executive power is
with the Chief Minister along with his Council of Ministers. For a given state the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible for the
elected legislative assembly of the state. The Constitution administrates the sharing of legislative power between Parliament and the
State Legislatures. The Parliament has the power to amend the Constitution.
President of India
The President of India is the constitutional head of India and is the supreme commander of the nation’s armed forces. The President
is elected by members of an Electoral College consisting of elected members of both the Houses of Parliament and Legislative
Assemblies of the states, with suitable weightage given to each vote. His term of office is for five years. Among other powers, the
President can proclaim an emergency in the country if he is satisfied that the security of the country or of any part of its territory is
threatened by the following situations. A war or external aggression, an armed rebellion within the country and collapse of state
machinery in terms of economic and political crisis. Hence when there is a failure of the constitutional machinery in a state, the
President can assume all or any of the functions of the government of that state.
Vice-President
The Vice-President of India is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament.
The method of electing the Vice President is the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. He like
the President holds office for five years. The Vice-President also happens to be Ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and presides
over its proceedings.
Council of Ministers
The Council Of Ministers is the supreme governing body in the country and is selected from the elected members of the Union
Government. The Council of Ministers comprises of Cabinet Ministers, Minister of States and Deputy Ministers. Prime Minister heads
the Council of Ministers and communicates all decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to administration of affairs of the Union
and proposals for legislation to the President. Generally, each department has an officer designated as secretary to the Government
of India to advise the Ministers on policy matters and general administration. The Cabinet Secretariat has an important harmonizing
role in decision making at the highest level and operates under the bearing of the Prime Minister.
Parliament
The Parliament is the legislative arm of the Union. It consists of the President, Rajya Sabha or the Upper House and Lok Sabha or
the Lower House. All bills to be made into law require the consent of both the houses of parliament. However, in case of money bills,
the Lok Sabha is the supreme authority.
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha consists of not more than 250 members. Of these, 233 represent states and union territories and 12 members are
nominated by the President. Elections to the Rajya Sabha are indirect. Members to the Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected
members of Legislative Assemblies of the concerned states. The members of the Upper House put forth the interests of their
respective state in the Parliament. The Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution in contrast to the Lok Sabha and one third of its
members retire every second year.
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of the people chosen by direct election on the basis of universal adult franchise. As of
today, the Lok Sabha consists of 545 members with two members nominated by the President to stand for the Anglo-Indian
Community. Unless dissolved under circumstances like failure of the leading party to prove clear majority or a no-confidence motion,
the term of the Lok Sabha is for five years.
State Governments
The system of government in states closely resembles that of the Union. In the states as well there are two major governing bodies -
the legislative assembly and the legislative council. For the Legislative assembly direct elections are held and the political party
receiving the majority votes forms the Government in the state. There are 28 states and seven Union territories in the country. Union
Territories are administered by the President through a Governor or administrator appointed by him. Till 1 February 1992, the Union
Territory of Delhi was governed by the Central government through an Administrator appointed by the President of India. Through a
Constitutional amendment in Parliament, the Union Territory of Delhi is called the National Capital Territory of Delhi from 1 February
1992 onwards. General elections to the Legislative assembly of the National Capital Territory were held in November 1993. Since
then after every five years the state underwent general elections maintaining the democratic process in Delhi.
Political Parties In India
In India a recognized political party is categorized either as a National Party or a State Party. If a political party is recognized in four
or more states and is either the ruling party or is in the opposition in these states, it is considered as a National Party. The Congress,
Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal, Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist) are the prominent National
Parties in the Country. Some of these parties have existed before the independence of the country while few of these emerged after
political dynamism flourished in the country in post independent years.
Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh, Asom Gana Parishad in Assam, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in Bihar, Maharashtra Gomantak Party
in Goa, National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir, Muslim League in Kerala, Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, Akali Dal in Punjab, All-
India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi
Party in Uttar Pradesh and All-India Forward Block in West Bengal are the prominent state parties which are the major political
players in their respective states. In fact in most of the states where the regional parties have come to the fore understanding the
nuisance of their respective state better, there the scope of National parties emerging victorious is barely present.