Ugly India

Hidden in India's Toilet Statistics, the Real Threat of Sexual Violence

Badaun:  On the night of May 28, 2014 two girls, cousins aged 14 and 15 years, stepped out of their house in Katra village, in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun district, to relieve themselves.

They were allegedly abducted and raped by some men from the same village; their bodies were found hanging from a tree the next day.

The route the young Dalit girls took that night is a familiar one for the women of the village. It is probably the only time in the day when they step out alone, unaccompanied by the men of the family, in the dark.

"Men go out in the day, so women can go only early in the morning or late at night," said one of them.

An everyday routine in rural India - where the acute shortage of basic facilities like bathrooms forces women and girls to venture out to the open fields - also makes them vulnerable to horrific sexual violence.

Nearly two months ago, four Dalit girls from Bhagana in Haryana, who had stepped out to answer nature's call, were picked up from right outside their residence. They were raped and then dumped at the Bhatinda railway station in Punjab.

It took the families an entire day to get the first information report, or FIR, registered; the medical examination took even longer.

Five people have been arrested in connection with the case, though the man alleged to be the main culprit, the village sarpanch, continues to roam free.

Most Dalit families have since fled the village; they have been holding a protest at Jantar Mantar, in Delhi, for nearly two months.

One of the survivors, only 13-years-old, told NDTV, "We want justice. The sarpanch should be punished so that he can be made an example of."

The horrific crimes in both Bhagana and Badaun display the power politics -- as well as the prevalent caste and gender discrimination -- in rural India in its worst form.

They also reveal the dark subtext of one of India's most shameful realities -- 53 per cent of Indian households defecate in the open, according to a World Bank report. In both villages, the girls, from impoverished Dalit families, were forced to leave their homes due to a lack of basic sanitation facilities.

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India's most shameful realities - 53 percent of Indian households defecate in the open.

Lack of basic sanitation facilities.

That is the fact and true face of India. But, we cover up this ugliness with our the most spectacular swearing-in ceremony in Rashtrapathi Bhavan; with our massive political entertainments.

The underlying truth is - lack of basic sanitation facilities; not just in Uttar Pradesh; in fact, the whole of India.

But, that is a known fact. It has been the way of life for many decades. Perhaps in the British period; Mogul period; Akbar period; way back in Rama Rajyam too. People in India used to go out in the open field.

Recently, a team of researchers had been to Australia to test their Solar powered car. They said; they had to go out in the open field in Australia.

So, going out in the open field is nothing new or bad about it. In fact, it is a natural fertilizer for the field.

Then, what is the real problem.

In this article, the word used is: Sexual Violence.

Yes. that is the right word. Rape is more of an abstract word. Sexual Violence coveys the true meaning of the action.

For Sexual Violence, we may find western solution or eastern solution.

The fact is, human beings are sexually starved in India. That is the reason, they become violent.

In western, right from schools, they encourage physical sexual activities. So, all human beings have totally and completely had enough of sex. In fact, they have more than enough. It is pure physical sex; no love; no romance.  So, from age 20 to age 30, they have had enough sex without any marriage commitment.

From their perspective, sex is a basic need of a human being. They refer it as biological need.

Now, coming to eastern solution; Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was married at the age of 13. So, in ancient India, the elders took the responsibility of managing a family and had their children married at the young age. The elders didn't give the youth the burden of a family; but let them enjoy.

Now, we are caught in the middle. We cannot promote physical sex without marriage commitment at the young age. We cannot encourage child marriage also.

For any human being, the sexual need begins at the age of 13 to 14. In the modern India, they have to wait till the age of 30 to get married. How do they manage for 15 years of their early life. In fact, that is the right period for good, healthy sex activities.

So, it is not just a problem of Akilesh, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. The problem will not be solved just by replacing the Chief Secretary.

Sexual Violence is a real, serious problem of mankind.

கற்பழிப்பு; அல்லது கற்பு அழிப்பு
இந்த வார்த்தை பொருத்தமானது அல்ல.

பாலியல் வன்முறை என்பது சரியான வார்த்தை; சரியான பொருளைத் தரும்.

So, Sexual Violence is not  political issue; it is not a government issue; it is not an issue of a political party. It is a social issue.

So, political party or political leaders or Chief Ministers or Prime Ministers cannot solve this problem.

It is an issue of the society. It is a social issue. It is an issue of all human beings. First, we need to understand the problem, before start looking for any solution.

So, the truth is, current India is an Ugly India.

Learn to swim along with sharks

This is a very important meeting. Somehow, our media don't see any value of this event.
Only a few regional newspapers published this picture.

When Narendra Modi issued statements from Gujarat about his cabinet; 'unprecedented'; many institutions had not been reviewed for their purpose over the last 40 or 50 years; many were surprised.

A few had wondered too. Many strongly believed that; transformation in Delhi; no way.

After a huge investment on conducting this massive election; after these leaders go around the country on helicopters; campaigning on web site; social media and so on; absolute majority; Prime Minister candidate; and so many things.

At the end; nothing has changed.

In the place of Manmohan Singh, we have Narendra Modi.

In the place of Sonia, we have Lal Kishan Advani.

The Swiss bank person said; brining back money from Swiss bank into India.
No way.

The Swiss bank would release the names only if you give them substantial fee.
So, that is not going to work.

The cabinet is a pain in the neck; there will be lot of ego clash between ministers and civil service officers.

Narendra Modi created a lot of hope.
This is now going through the path of Anna Hazare;
Team Anna; Arvind Kejriwal; and the rise & fall of AAP.

As far as Lal Kishan Advani is concerned;
if there is a celebration, it is BJP Sarkar;
if there is an accident, it is Modi Sarkar.

Take the credit for achievement; blame Modi for failure.

Narendra Modi may adopt the Manmohan Singh strategy.
Stay inside at the core; and transform from inside out.

Right now, working closely with state governments, is a good working strategy.
Had it been UPA, they will work only with Congress state governments.
They work against other state governments.

But, Narendra Modi has already started working with all state governments.
From inside, Narendra Modi will strengthen the federal structure of India.

Likewise, state governments also have to empower the city and village governments.

Advani Cabinet

They need Lal Kishan Advani, here.

These ministers cannot handle the challenges of Narendra Modi.

Only Lal Kishan Advani could handle Narendra Modi.

So, Lal Kishan Advani will be the Deputy Prime Minister.

All the ministers feel comfortable with Lal Kishan Advani.

It is like a family.

Narendra Modi cabinet meetings look like American President meeting with Secretaries.

Once in a while, they can do their job efficiently and effectively; but not 24 x 7 x 365

Ministers are also human beings. Most of them have families.
They cannot dedicate their whole life for India.
Does people of India deserve that kind of sacrifice?

Nowadays, people don't even know the meaning of sacrifice; so they don't regard it high.

At the end, it is Team Advani.

Pretty soon, Narendra Modi will get frustrated with this team.
It is kind of arranged marriage; will not last longer.

Narendra Modi is not Manmohan Singh.
Manmohan Singh could work with anybody.
But, not Narendra Modi.

Right now, people of India have a very high hope on  Narendra Modi.
For most of them, Narendra Modi is a Super Man.

Not only Narendra Modi, any Chief Executive needs total and complete freedom.
With this kind of burden, Narendra Modi would be a total failure.

Narendra Modi could develop a team of freshers; they would be trained easily.
All these old party members; they don't want to learn anything new too.

Right now, there is lot of confusion.
The officers have to report to two different boss.
One boss is their minister; other boss is Narendra Modi.

So, it is now full of chaos and confusion.
This lead to conflict.

So, these ministers need Lal Kishan Advani.
Let La Kishan Advani handle Narendra Modi;
so that these ministers could work with out any burden in their usual way.

It is better, Narendra Modi could start exploring Plan - B.

Earlier there used to be thick barriers in the form of caste, religion, region, language and communism. Right now, all those barriers are gone. It is development everywhere.

Development doesn't mean Character development.

Development means Economical development.
That also doesn't refer to Wealth.
Development just refers to more and more crores of rupees.

So, this development policy, that is current policy of all human beings in India;
that policy, in fact unites all human beings.

That is the good part of development policy.

So, the 500 MPs are not divided; they are united.
In fact, not getting a minister post; strongly unites them.

So, it is 43 ministers vs 500 MPs

500 MPs may form many governments by various combination.
In fact, we shall make a constitutional amendment to provide equal opportunity for all MPs

110 MPs could be a minister for a year.
There by, 110 x 5 = 550 MPs could get a chance to become a minister.

Or, 50 MPs could be a minister for six months.
There by, 50 x 2 x 5 = 550

So, 500 MPs, don't lose your hope.
Have full faith on Constitution of India.
Not just anyone; in fact, all could be a minister for a day or for a month.

Let us not fix it; at least see the defects in the constitution.

Defense for Shiv Sena.

Defense for Shiv Sena. Why not?

Only Shiv Sena has a clear policy for defense. Tit for Tat. Defense is all about Tit for Tat.
Tit for Tat is equivalent retaliation. It's highly effective strategy.

This tiger picture would give Mahinda Rajapakse sleepless nights.

Here is a snippet from Indian news media:

So, Sushma Swaraj is both the external affairs and overseas Indian affairs minister; Arun Jaitley took charge of both finance and corporate affairs and he also has defence till the next cabinet expansion; Nitin Gadkari is responsible for road transport and highways as well as shipping; Piyush Goyal is minister of state with independent charge for power, coal, and new and renewable energy. In UPA, there were separate ministers for many of these portfolios.

In UPA, they did it right. Separate ministers for power; coal; renewable energy.

UPA knew that merging all these into one single energy portfolio would be good and effective.
But, politically, that is not a good decision.
UPA could survive for ten years, only because, they could satisfy many MPs with small minister portfolios.

In Indian Parliament system, the general view is - MP or a Parliamentarian is a loser.
Cabinet Minister; or at least a Minister of State - is a winner.

We need to value our Parliamentarian.
We need to make our 500 Parliamentarians to understand the fact that, they make the policy.

Policy Making is not the responsibility of any minister.
Policy Making is the responsibility of the Parliament.

Right now, why do they have discussion over Article 370 in media.
That is an insult to the Parliament.

Without first introducing it in the Parliament, ministers, Omar and RSS cannot carryon with their debate in television and social media. It is an insult to the Parliament; insult to 500 Parliamentarians; insult to the 813 million people of India.

Only Parliament has the authority and responsibility over any policy.

So, UPA used to give minister posts to those Parliamentarian and take away their authority of Making Policy.

So, BJP has to make more ministers.
Otherwise, BJP cannot face the Parliament.

It doesn't matter, whether it is BJP government or NDA government.
MPs are each individual, starving for minister posts.

Single party or Allies...every Parliamentarian has his own mouth and stomach.

ஒரு தாய் பிள்ளைகளாக இருந்தாலும், வாயும், வயிறு வேறு.

Whether it is single party or allies or any front, each MP has his or her own needs.

No minister for any Parliamentarian - that is achievable only in Modi Sarkar.

Now, it is BJP Sarkar. So all BJP Parliamentarians are big or small ministers.

So, it is obviously not, Modi Sarkar;
it is not NDA Sarkar;
it is not BJP Sarkar;
it is UPA - II Sarkar.

Regional BJP units are allies. So, there will be continuos expansion of cabinet. All NDA Parliamentarian would become a minister in these five years at least for six months period.

So, if Murli Manohar Joshi feels that he is too old for Defense, then let Shiv Sena have it.

At least UPA had an advantage.
When a Tamilnadu Congress MP asked for a minister post, Sonia could just blame DMK for taking away all the share for Tamilnadu.

Now, BJP don't have that advantage.

BJP has to create more ministers and satisfy all regions.

PMO vs Dummy Ministers

PMO empowers itself on ‘all important policy issues’

In Gujarat such a system had helped bring about predictability and uniformity in policy, particularly in the industry sector.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi has identified “all important policy issues” as a portfolio subject within his remit in the allocation of Cabinet responsibilities Tuesday, lending to his office powers across ministries to control and direct crucial policy matters.

The intention, sources said, is to focus policy making in the PMO and ensure that all ministries obtain approvals at the initial stages rather than start consultations by moving Cabinet notes or issue policy guidelines without prior consent. In Gujarat, sources said, such a system had helped bring about predictability and uniformity in policy, particularly in the industry sector.

Executing this at the Centre would require streamlining procedures and, at some point, the PMO may look to create a category that would separate important policy subjects. In which case, once an issue is identified as such, the PMO could play a more direct role regardless of the ministry.

While the rules of business allocation do enshrine a necessary supremacy to the PMO, sources said, a clear mention of this in the allocation of duties means that the Prime Minister can authoritatively take the lead in not just policy control but even policy authorship.

Instead of getting a ministry to generate a Cabinet note on any policy subject through discussion and consultation, the PMO can direct the Cabinet Secretariat to have a note put up. This authority could also be used to ensure compliance and, in a way, institutionalise a strong check on all ministries.

At the moment, however, this subject has left much of the bureaucracy groping on how this would be implemented. But to those familiar with Modi’s governance style, this is the first step towards exercising control over ministers and creating the official basis for getting senior officials across ministries to brief him directly on what he may define as an important policy issue.
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All that worked in Gujarat may not work in Delhi.

When you drive a vehicle in India, you need to drive in left side of the road. When you drive a vehicle in United States, you need to drive in right side of the road. If you don't see this, you may end up in accident.

You call for a cabinet meeting; on your right hand side, you have all your ministers.
On your left hand side, you have the secretaries and civil services executive.

In all previous cabinet meeting, only ministers sit; the secretaries sit at the back row.
There are well established protocols. Priests don't sit with gods.
Priests do pooja for gods and goddess.

When Vajpayee or Manmohan Singh meets with Nawas Sharif, Rajapakse, they used to have the Minister of External Affairs along with them. How could Sushma Swaraj sit in her office. What is the role and responsibilities of Sushma Swaraj.

Article 370 is the high-value subject of Rajnath Singh, the Home Minister. But the initiative is coming from PMO.

Cleaning of Ganga - the announcement should be from Uma Bharati. The Minister may add the message such as: as our Prime Minister promised during campaign, I am very happy to lead the effort.

All these dummy ministers may keep quite for a while; then, on one fine morning, they will take action against the Prime Minister.

MGR didn't quit DMK; but challenged them. Finally, they had to take action against MGR and sent MGR out. Then MGR, with total public support, well established for his entire life and beyond.

This is a high-quality entertainment for media; writers and for people too. But it is not for free. Indian people tax money is the cost for these political entertainments.

They may think that, there is no opposition to their government. They don't need one. Each one is an opposition to one another.

Out of 543 MPs, only 43 MPs are happy right now.
Rest of the 500 MPs are not happy.

Amit Shah is good in doing groundwork with all these 500 MPs.
Narendra Modi is in contact with all the regional leaders and the Chief Ministers.

Don't blame our leaders and politicians.
Blame it on Constitution of India.

Chaos and confusion is the source of breaking news and political entertainment.
Enjoy the entertainment; at the same time, understand the fact that, it is not free.

Business as usual in New Delhi

Sonia has very good reason for celebration.

Nothing is changed in New Delhi.
It is business as usual.

At the end, Lal Kishan Advani won.

Of course, Murli Manohar Joshi was flashing victory sign.

Soon, Lal Kishan Advani will become the Deputy Prime Minister.
Murli Manohar Joshi may take the Defense from Arun Jetley.

Both Gujarati, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah learned their lesson.

Narendra Modi as well as Amit Shah couldn't hide their feelings.

Narendra Modi had never been so sad; all his enthusiasms are lost; sadness is all over his face.

Najma Hebtullah tried to say something, Narendra Modi ignored her.

This cabinet is not at all Narendra Modi's selection.

Till the last minute; in fact, Narendra Modi never released the list of ministers.

Traditionally, the Prime Minister visits Gandhi place along with his or her cabinet.

It is quite obvious, till the last minute, Narendra Modi fight for his freedom to form his own cabinet.

This is not at all Narendra Modi's style.

Next time, nobody will come for Indian Swearing-in ceremony.
In fact, people of India would not watch the live television.

It is such a boring event.

In fact, Narendra Modi had planned for a spectacular event;
with music; dance; and a very inspirational speech.

The speech would have been much much better than all his campaign speech;
better than the one delivered in the Parliament.

It was planned to address entire people of India;
with quotes; much much valuer than that of Abraham Lincoln; Kennedy.
But, Narendra Modi hands were tied tightly.

Certainly, such a long event is not prepared for 43 plus boring; almost same repetitions of the oath.

Narendra Modi proposes;
BJP disposes.

As things are not going as he planned, Narendra Modi asked;
Amitabh Bachhan,
Lata Mangeshkar,
Rajnikanth,
Jayalalitha,
not to come to Delhi.

So, for a while, it will be between Congress and BJP.
In fact, they may introduce legislation to prevent regional leaders from participating in the Parliament election.

So, stability is once again a challenge.
Manmohan Singh has mastered the art of instability.
Narendra Modi cannot learn this art.

Just like, MGR, Narendra Modi may quit BJP soon.
Indian Democracy will be back into number game.

Arvind Kejriwal government survived for 49 days.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee government fell in 15 days.

Again, Subramaniam Swamy - no MP; no Minister post.
Last time, Jayalalitha visited New Delhi, Vajpayee had to resign.

When Narendra Modi and Jayalalitha meet,
Lal Kishan Advani and Sonia may not feel comfortable and be happy.

So, no development for a while;
political game will continue, for now.

Right now, on the job, Narendra Modi feels the burden of the indian constitution.
So, development is not of high priority.
Fixing the defects in the constitution is of top priority.
Once the constitution is fixed, development happens naturally.

BJP Sarkar

After a great struggle, BJP Sarkar is now established.

Narendra Modi is now one among them.

Modi Sarkar has gone forever.

This is real, true Indian politics.
This is what have been going on ever since, India got independence.
This is how, it will go on forever.

Change in New Delhi; no way.

At least, Manmohan Singh had a control over portfolio such as Finance.

Now, Home is Rajnath Singh.
Finance is Arun Jetley.
Defense is Arun Jetley.
External Affairs is Sushma.

That's it.
What portfolio does the Prime Minister Narendra Modi have?
Now, the Prime Minister is just cerimonial.

Without understanding, Narendra Modi started the American Presidential Style campaigning.
But now, Narendra Modi learnt his hard lessons.

The whole world was expecting that; after the oath, Narendra Modi would walk towards Lal Kishan Advani and would seek his blessings. But it din't happen.

In BJP all are equal. They made sure that, all seats are just equal.

It was quite obvious that both Lal Kishan Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi seemed to be very happy and in full control. In fact, Murli Manohar Joshi was flashing victory sign.

All the world leaders are sitting along with Lal Kishan Advani.

All regional leaders had tried to stop Narendra Modi from becoming the Prime Minister of India.
But they couldn't stop the electoral victory of Narendra Modi.

But, BJP leaders effectively did it.
The Constitution of India did help them in great extent.

Certainly, this cannot last longer.

The conflict between Modi Sarkar and BJP Sarkar may continue forever.

Back to number game...