Indian Opinion

Mukesh Devrari  Many commissions have been established in India, but common masses are not aware of how to file a complaint in commissions. Here is a tentative format developed by professional human rights activists. It is not necessary to write in this particular format but if justice is not delivered through the commission, it will help the complainant to take the issue convincingly to the courts.  Format of Application to Commissions -          If a complaint application goes through an organization, it carries more weight. Use official letterhead of any NGO to file an application. -          Mention the date of complaint. To, Address of the Commission Subject  – States Name + District + Village + Block + Police Station + Issue ( Police Atrocity/Caste Atrocity/Domestic Violence/Child Abuse) Sir/Madam, First Para – Who are you? In 3-4 lines you must tell about your organization. It should be a very brief introduction. Second Para – Subject

Mukesh Devrari The question of access to the information world cannot be seen in isolation. It is impossible for the nation-state to provide universal access to the internet and to various services through it with changing the wider situational realities of the common masses.  Is it possible to provide smartphone and computer to a population which does not have anything to eat? Is it possible to provide access to the internet to the 25 per cent population which is illiterate? Is it possible to provide access to the internet for free of cost to each and every citizen? Even if universal access to the internet is ensured for free in third world countries like India, what purpose it will serve if more than 90 of the content available on the internet is in non-Indian languages. These are the hard questions which need hard answers. Recent reports in newspapers also highlight another disturbing report. Indian railways provided free internet services in many railway platforms across

Mukesh Devrari Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump is an unpredictable and unstable man. There is no doubt about it. It seems foolish for a Presidential candidate to declare that he will not accept election results if he loses it. Perhaps he has no idea it will lead to a civil war in the United States of America.  In this highly polarized elections, entire mainstream media focused on finding loopholes in the Trump campaign. His words, gestures and performance are being scrutinized. He sparked major controversy by saying that he may or may not accept election results.   America is not a democracy. It’s a two-party tyranny. In the third debate, Hillary Clinton repeated her allegations on Donald Trump again. She was more focused on why Trump is a terrible candidate, than what she offers as a candidate. In the second debate, Trump demolished all her accusations, but it did not stop Hillary to repeat her allegations again in the last debate.  It is clear, Hillary Cli

Mukesh Devrari  How to control media? This question is politically incorrect at least in democracies. Why anybody would like to control media? Nehru preferred free media which might have a lot of negative effects than an enslaved media which may have only positive effects for the sake of freedom, liberty and long term progress. Let me answer the question, one cannot run away by dismissing it. People sincerely believe that the media in India has to be controlled. The content it creates is problematic. It spreads irrationality, sensationalism, jingoism and creates war hysteria. It is extremely biased and loyal only to their political masters. Viewers are looking for quality content. Our current media outlets, barring few exceptions, have failed in delivering objectivity and neutrality. It is urgent to control media. The state can control media through laws. It is a tricky path. Any policy regulatory measure which is not known to western democracies will never be accepted

Mukesh Devrari  If anyone will be asked to pick President of United States on the basis of this second Presidential debate, then Donald Trump will be the clear winner.  We all have heard enough Trump bashing in mainstream media. Donald Trump is not fit to become President of the United States of America. He is just not fit. He does not have the experience to lead US foreign policy regime. He has no value system. He disrespects women. He is a corrupt businessman who did not pay his federal taxes. He is racist. He is xenophobic. He hates Muslims and Islam. He hates immigrants. He hates Latinos. He hates Hispanics. He only talks about the interests of corporate houses. He favours tax cut for rich and so on. In the second debate, Trump answered each and every question. At the same time, he raised many questions on Hillary Clinton and his inefficient past as a New York senator and foreign secretary of state.  Even at the end of the debate, he showed magnanimity to his opponent.

Mukesh Devrari  In the literal sense fundamentalism is a form of a religion that upholds belief in the strict, literal interpretation of scripture. It exists in various degrees.  Social media provided impetus to fundamentalist forces around the globe. It is an open allegation against the functioning of social media. It is possible to work anonymously in the public sphere created by social media for social intercourse on a variety of subjects. This luxury of anonymity is not available in traditional media. Even without being anonymous, people can spread filth all around, like people are doing on Twitter, perhaps the most dangerous platform for unregulated hooliganism and right-wing propaganda.  In the physical presence of ‘the other’ social etiquettes remain in existence. This good mannerism must not be underestimated as it is essential for the peaceful existence of society. In real life, people do not use derogatory or outrightly inflammatory remarks against others, but i

Mukesh Devrari  When this author woke up in the morning and opened CNN, the first fifty minutes of Presidential debate in America was already over. He witnessed the ideological onslaught of Republic candidate by very healthy Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton in the remaining portion of the debate. Sitting here in this small city of Dehradun, he also felt like commenting on US elections. After all US President will also decide how India will look like in the future. Democrats are good at making populist signals. In the first Presidential debate Hillary Clinton tried to make remarks in favour majority. She tried her best to appear as if her priority is ordinary Americans, not American corporate houses. So, as a most unpopular Presidential candidate from Democratic Party she threw her old net for catching American votes. All her arguments can be summed up in a few lines. Throughout the debate, Hillary outlined working for the interests of the ordinary American pu

 Photo courtesy Mukhtar Khan, NAMNEWSNETWORK Mukesh Devrari Pakistani newspapers are obsessed with India these days. They are giving too much importance to the speeches of their leaders and statements of their bureaucrats. Reading them is like listening to someone totally inebriated and talking incessantly without caring what he or she means. Former ambassadors and public intellectuals in Pakistan through their writings are encouraging their government to raise Kashmir issue. They think it will encourage Kashmiri Muslims to protest more vehemently against India.  If their version is to be believed, Pakistan has successfully cornered India on Kashmir in United Nations and rest of the world and assimilation of Kashmir in Pakistan is days away. In India, this perspective appears extremely ambitious and unrealistic.  India lived peacefully for twenty years after 1971 war. During the 1990s Pakistan started creating troubles for India again by encouraging armed militancy

 Photo Courtesy - Nirmal Poddar Mukesh Devrari Modernization is a series of transitions from primitive subsistence economies to technology intensive industrialized economies, from subject to participant political cultures, from closed ascriptive status systems to open achievement oriented systems, from extended to nuclear kinship units, from religious to secular ideologies and so on. (Tipps, 1973, 204) In other words, every characteristic of the modern western nation-state is a symbol of modernity. Modernization is generally referred as an ongoing process to improvise the lives of people in third world countries. But another section also interprets it as a conspiracy against the impoverished population of third world countries. Acceptance of modernization is interpreted as accepting western superiority and dominance. Photo Courtesy - Nirmal Poddar Max Weber in his book, ‘Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism’ held Asian cultural values responsible for t