Comments on No man's land?: Between cattle and the holy cows

I like your blog, especially your fluid style of w...

2009-10-27T09:32:07.024Z

I like your blog, especially your fluid style of writing good english. Keep it up!

Regarding Sashi Tharoor, it was a clear case of Twitter vs Twit.

This came from people who didn't know if Twitter ...

2009-09-27T02:17:44.876+01:00

This came from people who didn't know if Twitter was an animal or a bird. Ha ha !!

@ Scorpio Yes yes Anish! One must appreciate the ...

2009-09-26T16:48:03.711+01:00

@ Scorpio

Yes yes Anish! One must appreciate the PM for opening his lips for this one. :)

@ Jon, I promise you, Dr. Tharoor visited Trivandr...

2009-09-24T08:57:23.528+01:00

@ Jon, I promise you, Dr. Tharoor visited Trivandrum more times in the last 3 months than our previous MPs ever did! No joke.. See, I may be severely prejudiced when I talk about Dr.Tharoor because I'm seeing his honest efforts in bringing about changes to my constituency. I have close comradeship with a few people working in close relation with Dr. Tharoor and I know he is 100% committed to what he says. So you can excuse me for forming a judgment so soon. :)

What I'm saying is lets wait the full 60 months to evaluate him and I won't be blindly pressing the button next time if he turns out to be a bluff. I'm not a severely political guy, except that I can't stand the blind commies. And as you may have already noticed I've learned to think twice before gulping down the black-n-white on our newspapers.

I agree with your viewpoints on our bureaucracy and lets not forget, its an interconnected hub-spoke wheel. Corruption is a two way process involving both Legislature & Executive, so the politicians just can't wash their hands off. Afterall Politics is the most juicy business in India, wont you agree?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts here Jon, keep visiting :))

But the man who can be all things to all men, who...

2009-09-22T14:39:06.440+01:00

But the man who can be all things to all men,

who has ever a kind word to speak,

a pleasant joke to crack,

who can forgive all sins,

who is ever prepared for friend or foe but never bitter to the latter,

who forgets not men’s names,

and who is always ready with little words,

he is the man who will be supported at a crisis

I don't differ these may be some good qualities... But for someone who has been only in politics for a few months I dont know how you are able to judge so surely. If he visits his constituency once in a while I would have agreed that we have a good idea about him.

There has been a tendency to generalize all the politicians into one category-selfish, corrupt and inefficient. On one hand we, the common people fuel all these corruption and still politicians are made the scape goats. Beauracracy is the most corrupt and inefficient part of our democracy now.

If you will look in to what our Kerala ministers do, you can atleast find a couple of really good ones. But they are not the stars because they are not sellable. Tharoor is. That is the main difference between him and the rest. He has got a global image, tweets, writes in English. So the media loves him and so do we.

Since media didn't raise much issue about the fact that he stayed in a 5star hotel for months spending 50-60 lakhs from his own pocket, we too pretend we have not heard the news. But if it was someone else you would have said he is financed by some rich industrialist.

When Tharoor remarks as part of a question that economy class is cattle class, he is joking. When VS responds out of humiliation and does 'a dog' remark it is humiliating all the martyr soldiers.

In short we are goverened by media. We don't bother to think independently of what they write or show.

Anyways in coming years we will see more media-friendly, sellable politicians in India

Jon, you have two questions. I can give you the an...

2009-09-20T20:22:39.016+01:00

Jon, you have two questions. I can give you the answer to the first one: Speaking for myself, I'm satisfied with Tharoor as my MP. And leaving out the perpetual agnostics and utopian dreamers, I can vouch that a bulky chunk of his "fans" I know still remain so. :)

Well, your Q about his style of politics making him a good politician or not, I think it depends on what you feel, are the good qualities of a politician. If you're comparing him with the usual stereotyped politicos we have around us, then I have no answer. The ones we see now will be trended as #mega-fail if on Twitter; most are compulsive liars,inefficient, corrupt, dishonest, selfish etc etc... except for a handful few. So if Tharoor can usher in a new breed of politicians than the tried, tested and testified #mega-fails we got, then isn't it a chance worth taking? And why shouldn't a politician be like the common man?

Perhaps the paragraph below will be a definition you'd be interested in. You can assess it pro n against
Tharoor, but my point is that some of the below scripted qualities are seen only in Tharoor. As for the other characters, he is only 4 months into the game, so easy my brother, easy. Let him sit,stretch his legs and flex his muscles.. and then you judge :)

Trollope on the Qualities of a Good Politician

If one were asked in these days what gift should a Prime Minister ask first from the fairies, one would name the power of attracting personal friends. Eloquence, if it be too easy, may become almost a curse. Patriotism is suspected, and sometimes sinks almost to pedantry. A Jove-born intellect is hardly wanted, and clashes with the inferiorities. Industry is exacting. Honesty is unpractical. Truth is easily offended. Dignity will not bend. But the man who can be all things to all men, who has ever a kind word to speak, a pleasant joke to crack, who can forgive all sins, who is ever prepared for friend or foe but never bitter to the latter, who forgets not men’s names, and who is always ready with little words, he is the man who will be supported at a crisis such as one as this that was now in the course of passing. It is for him that men will struggle, and talk, and, if needs be, fight, as though the very existence of the country depended on his political security.

–Anthony Trollope, The Prime Minister(1876)

It is good to see so much political conciousness a...

2009-09-20T11:10:06.465+01:00

It is good to see so much political conciousness amongst our youth.

During his election campaign he literally brought out the entire space in all most all the spaces offered by media.Wherever you turn someone thrust in to your hands his pamphlets,bookmarks,posters. Evry newspaper reported what he ate, how women swooned about him. He was the poster boy of Congress.

Now the same media is after him. If you live by sword you will fall by it.

The question is if we can think beyond what the paers or TV tells us. May be then we can see some real participative politics.

Beauracracy is different so is politics. I have got a question for all Tharoor fans- Are you satisfied with him? I don't find him any different from anyone else except that he falls in to unnecessary controversies and he tweets. Does it make him a good politician?

And It is nt mandatory that as other netas indulges in luxury Tharoor has got the license to do so.

@ Sreejith bhai, yes bro, politics IS a 24 X 7 job...

2009-09-20T09:18:34.569+01:00

@ Sreejith bhai, yes bro, politics IS a 24 X 7 job but I've said its not so in person. Of course Tharoor MUST be on call 24/7, but him and all other politicians are entitled to their own rest and leisure times. All our ministers go on holidays and avail their leaves dont they? Tharoor has just spoken about privacy, that doesn't render him inaccessible.

Sreejith, I feel he is the most accessible minister we ever got! And your thoughts are prudent ones about the hotel affair, but anyway our PM has done the right thing by opening his tight lips at the right time for the right person.. :) I admire the Sardar for it :)

@ Dreamer, I've left one in your article as an afterthought. I got what you meant now, and hope its vice-versa ;)

Hey, That was a sarcastic, tongue in the cheek tak...

2009-09-20T08:52:15.720+01:00

Hey, That was a sarcastic, tongue in the cheek take off on the crazy kind of letters and stuff thats been appearing in newspapers and stuff. I do think that asking for Tharoor's resignation was absolutely uncalled for and an overreaction. I think Indian Politics could do with educated, independantly wealthy people like Tharoor.

@ Scorpio No, there is something seriously wrong ...

2009-09-20T06:44:52.331+01:00

@ Scorpio

No, there is something seriously wrong there. All elected representatives should work 24x7. If you can't do that, you should not appear in politics. People should be able to approach an elected representative at any time. All people who do not spend their leisure time in five star hotels, do get enought privacy and personal time after everything. One just needs to prepare a schedule. And after all the meetings, daily schedules and all, if he spends Rs 30K-40K per day for privacy, that is huge and that is extravaganza, even if he spends it from his own pocket. Regarding the point on the availability of a gym or health club, I have no complaints.

@ Chowlaji, welcome here :) @ Harini, your post w...

2009-09-19T22:54:44.343+01:00

@ Chowlaji, welcome here :)

@ Harini, your post was an eye opener! I never noted the flow of water under the waves, nice work there.

@ Dreamer, a wee-bit different? I believe you've got it all wrong there. Sorry.

@ Sreejith, may be because we don't fully understand the 'privacy' concept. No politician is a 24X 7X 365X 5 years person, in person. Tharoor deserves his time to rest and have his personal time which all other politicians avail of. Only thing is that he spoke about it openly, but in no way does it mean that he is insulated from people. Afterall Sreejith, this Hotel stay was only a short affair and Tharoor himself cleared out of the Taj as early as Sept 1, long before this issue propped up.

Regarding the first incident - his hotel stay. I w...

2009-09-19T20:47:48.719+01:00

Regarding the first incident - his hotel stay. I would appreciate the fact that he was spending for the hotel bill from his own pocket. People have been making remarks about living a different life. But as long as he spends for his requirements on his own, it is not a problem. But the problem was in his saying that he wanted privacy. That is not acceptable. Congress workers and common people are the only ones who would possibly visit Tharoor at Kerala House. And what more can we say if he wants privacy from them all.

Hey, so many Tharoor supporters. Even I was appall...

2009-09-19T07:42:57.993+01:00

Hey, so many Tharoor supporters. Even I was appalled at the stick the man has been getting. Anyone with a wee bit of humour would go "holy cow" when confronted with such a cattle of a query. I have a post on it too, albeit, a wee bit different.

Hello, thank you for the link back. While i thin...

2009-09-18T10:16:28.595+01:00

Hello, thank you for the link back.

While i think that the minister should excercise caution, i also think that he has, unnecessarily become the whipping boy for IE !
and it acutally goes back to before he got nominated - there is a headline that went "Wannabe Candidate Tharoor ready for challege " with all the negative connotations that the head line carries (do a search for it :)

Good to read that you also have taken up the lates...

2009-09-18T06:36:27.878+01:00

Good to read that you also have taken up the latest topic.

@ Xylene, hahaa how true! And they arrested some k...

2009-09-18T00:08:51.965+01:00

@ Xylene, hahaa how true! And they arrested some kids for throwing stones at the train. The poor hapless public will have to put up with these politicos and their supporters even on trains and economy class now.. Full time invasion!

@ aparna, I concur with what Vikas has said, why not approach Right-to-Information section and correct your dis/mis-beliefs?

I understand the reason behind your distrusting politicians. We're all regularly exposed to compulsive liars as our leaders who open their holy mouth just for uttering 100% pure lies. So an honest man like Tharoor will be seen on the same lines by many. Not his fault!:)

@ Praveen, I'm sure he will be doubly careful in future. That is evident from the apology tweets he issued. Hope you've seen the updated post.

@ Vikas, +1, Aparna will realise the truth sometime, if she really wants to.:)

@ Nona, rather lets say its a side effect of being ahead of times. The bad timing of this tweet in conjecture with the oncoming Assembly elections is probably what flared up the Congress.

:) Even if you are Bollywood superstar, you can't ...

2009-09-17T20:31:01.832+01:00

:) Even if you are Bollywood superstar, you can't escape the press!

Tharoor is now representing an entire district. So, he should be more careful about what he tweets. It is an unfortunate side effect of the career he chose.

Aparna, you can file an RTI on that if you doubt i...

2009-09-17T19:13:11.573+01:00

Aparna, you can file an RTI on that if you doubt it! I don't think he can lie through his teeth like that!

Thanks to u for making the whole issue clear. I di...

2009-09-17T19:08:27.862+01:00

Thanks to u for making the whole issue clear. I dint care to read the newspapers on this cos I was sure that most of that cant be trusted...
Can't believe that such a harmless comment was taken out of context and made such a big issue...

I guess he needs to be a 100 times careful than us normal tweeters when he post some casual comment in twitter..

I wish our politicians would start delivering and ...

2009-09-17T19:05:49.704+01:00

I wish our politicians would start delivering and stop tweeting. My respect for Shashi Tharoor would grow only if he does what he got the votes for. And for not one moment I believe his hotel bills are paid by his own money.

Tharoor is in the news for the wrong reason again....

2009-09-17T14:35:07.351+01:00

Tharoor is in the news for the wrong reason again. I guess he should 'learn' to be a politician. To be silent when provoked ! :)

the high command would have heard 'cattle' 'cow' and 'class' mixed with 'holy' and they reacted to it.

Anyways whats with this austerity drive anyway? like
Rahul took the train to save costs.~50 media reporters, ~10 SPG & ~10 aides booked tickets. .. Train was stoned. save=500Rs loss=30k lol

@ A Stotic, well said man. To act crazy over this ...

2009-09-17T14:30:58.993+01:00

@ A Stotic, well said man. To act crazy over this kind of a thing...sensationalization...

@ Anish Thomas, No man, I'm not following the Muthoot case on every minor detail. Not too interested in the biography of some goondas and criminals. Let the media carry on the holy work...

@ Layman, this Austerity drive is just an eyewash to impress the electorates in the upcoming Assembly elections. Its a big joke, and Tharoor just used his own lighter way to express it. But...

@ Prasobh, thanks for the appreciation. oh, if we start talking about the professionalism of these professional journos then this one page won't be enough.

@ HK, surely the media attention a newbie like Tharoor attracted has irked some talentless leaders. They cant digest his popularity and trendy new methods which attracted millions of admirers. Hope he wouldn't be made a scapegoat to satisfy a few born-losers in the Congress Party

Liked ur comparison to the VS issue.. nd it is jus...

2009-09-17T10:42:09.390+01:00

Liked ur comparison to the VS issue.. nd it is just the same. another quote taken out of context only to create mischief.. while I am not a great fan of Tharoor, I blv he is ruffling some feathers and hence he is at the end of the party’s baton. Guess some bigwigs cannot stand the rise of Tharoor… read that Tharoor has asked for a revamp of the MEA itself.. guess the party feels that he is becoming too hot to handle :)

Man, these media sucks BIG TYME!! Twitter is not t...

2009-09-17T09:02:14.009+01:00

Man, these media sucks BIG TYME!! Twitter is not the place you go and seach for official dialogues. Two friends cant have friendly laugh-talk in this country?

Great Hindustan Times reported that Shashi Tharoor has 5000 followers when he really has 1,60,000! And now they creating atom bomb explosion about a simple tweet, and nothing to worry about more in this country? And totally agree with all the rest of your points.

Im feeling sad for our newspapers and channels man. I've been following your blog for an year and more, what u wrote in the old post about Channels and Newspapers are absolutely true. Biggest losers in India!!!

Well said scorpio.. What irks me the most is the f...

2009-09-17T08:30:23.797+01:00

Well said scorpio..
What irks me the most is the fact that there have been calls for disciplinary action against Tharoor! What hypocrisy! If this is the crime for which Tharoor shuld be punished, then there are politicians (in the same party itself) who would need seven lifetimes to atone for all their sins!

The austerity drive in itself is a joke. How does going in Shatabdi or economy class become a sign of austerity when you live in palatial houses attended to by an army of attendants? And all that is paid for by the taxpayer's money. At least Tharoor is spending from his own pocket? What now, people can't have aspirations?

Media is equally to blame for making news out of personal chats/tweets. It's not like he made the joke publicly. Guess the debate will now be what is public and what is private. Rather is there anything called private space in twitterverse?