by B. R. GOWANI
Electric failure in India on July 30 saw 370 million people without electricity. The July 31 failure affected an even higher number of people. IMAGE/BBC
Half-lighted India
Just two weeks before the Independence Day (August 15), India slipped into darkness. Over 600 million people were without electricity in 21 states–50% of Indians. This was the biggest electric failure in human history. “India Shining” became India, a semi-Black Hole–from where no light could emit.
As usual, even the power failure did not side with the poor and resource-less people; it could not wait a couple of weeks to save these people from crass and exploitative display of Independence Day celebrations.
Who celebrates?
Of course, the politicians and the armed forces have a stake in Independence Day celebrations. However, the other part of the ruling class, the news media, has an interest too. It is the TV channels and print media, which forces people into the celebration mode through programs, editorials, interviews, and articles. Otherwise, the common people just want a day off and have nothing whatsoever to do with 15 August.
Arundhati Roy, in an excellent piece in Outlook (March 2012) had pointed out: “Now the line between the media and big business has begun to blur dangerously.” India’s richest person and the owner of the most expensive house in the world, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) owns 27 TV channels. On the other hand, “Dainik Bhaskar (and it is only one example)—has 17.5 million readers in four languages, including English and Hindi, across 13 states. It also owns 69 companies with interests in mining, power generation, real estate and textiles.”
The Indian TV channels started showing glimpses of the Independence Day programs to be aired days ahead of 15 August. In one of the trailer, actor Irfan Khan says his son asked him if Independence Day is some kind of a relative whose day we celebrate like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. He then went on to explain that we should remember those who sacrificed their lives to achieve freedom. In this video, actors and actresses are explaining the meaning of independence and expressing their thanks to a TV channel for giving them an opportunity to be a part of the program. The actors and actresses working for the TV channels cannot refuse (even if they want to) to work in these special programs. Of course, many of them would be more than glad to be a part of the program because it gives them more exposure and fame. This in turn makes more people to watch their programs and thus raising the rating of their serials. The owners of the TV channels are also happy as it brings in more advertisement money.
In one of the comedy program ad, a comedian jokes about his face by saying that a teacher scolded him for having a face like people of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, part of India.
Sacrifices
Past sacrifices were remembered. No one remembered the people who are sacrificing their lives or are being sacrificed to maintain the facade of democracy and freedom.
Whereas 7000 Indian reporters rushed to the London Olympics, no one bothered to report the suicide committed by 400 farmers in three small villages of Viderbha in the last week of July. Neither did the government officials took trouble to visit their families nor did the Premier Manmohan Singh sent a condolence message. Singh, of course, sent good wishes to the journalists. It is people like P. Sainath who tries to show the ugly side of the Indian democracy:
“They [the journalists] were fed the finest foods at government expense, while those who grew that food suffered and died; their very existence denied by the multinationals who drove them into debt. The airfare for the contingent could have wiped out farmer debt in three districts of Maharashtra…”
Anna Hazare and Aamir Khan
The semi-sighted Anna Hazare who can only see the government corruption without ever bothering to see the role of big business tycoons behind the big corruption scandals, has now decided to enter politics.
Many celebrities, including actor Aamir Khan, have attended Hazare’s anti-corruption fasts and rallies. He is a very good actor and a sharp businessperson. His purpose of a visit was to observe Hazare closely and to make a film on his movement. Khan will play Hazare’s role.
Khan is a sophisticated and a subtle version of former actor/producer/director Manoj Kumar who made patriotic films–his name in most of his own films was Bharata (also one of India’s many names). Kumar’s exaggerated worried expression conveyed a feeling as if he was single handedly carrying the burden of entire India on his shoulders. However, the music in his films was memorable.
The part on caste and untouchability in Khan’s thirteen part series, Satyamev Jayate, refrained from mentioning the Reservation and B. R. Ambedkar, a person from a low caste who rose to become a law minister of India.
So sad that even in 2012, the plague of caste system refuses to die.
Pakistan
The car that runs on water fuel kit. PHOTO/News International Agha Waqar Ahmad, the person who claims to have invented the water fuel kit. PHOTO/Pakistan Science Club Blog
At around the same time when India decided to save energy by going light-less, it’s tiny warrior twin Pakistan was experiencing one of the greatest miracles–it had found a dirt cheap solution to the energy problem–water, which covers 71% of the Earth’s area. It was Pakistan’s “Mere paas maa hai” (“I have a mother”) moment.
In a scene from a 1975 film Deewar, where the smuggler brother is asking his police brother to discard his principles. He taunts that he has property, bungalow, bank balance, where as what does his brother have? The police brother calmly replies: “I have got mother.”
India could boast of many billionaires, the Bollywood film industry, plan to send spacecraft to Mars, and of course, the darkness. Pakistan had only to say that it possesses a water fuel kit.
Could have happened; but didn’t
On 14th August, the 65th Independence Day of Pakistan, the Government announced that the discovery by the Pakistani engineer that cars can run on plain water without any petrol “will make our great Islamic Republic self-sufficient in matter of energy.” It further pointed out that “this will free Pakistan from Saudi interference in our internal affairs.” According to reliable Western sources, the new discovery has Pakistan under immense pressure (due to heavy rise in demand for water) to corner the Indus River water, and this, the sources say, will force Pakistan to go to war with India.
The discovery of water as fuel was announced in the last week of July. The first week of August saw the NASA Mars rover land on the planet Mars. The question that came to mind was: Which news is more relevant and beneficial to the human kind. Of course, the water-as-fuel news item. Because it could benefit human kind in the immediate future. The great thing is that the water required to run vehicles does not need to be fresh water. On the other hand, the benefits of Mars landing will take decades to be advantageous to human beings–unless the technological advances speed up many-fold. In addition, the expectations the scientists have from Mars should match the results from the subsequent missions.
However, it was not so. And fortunately, no one advised the US to use water-fuel for its next Mars trip.
Pakistan’s desperation
Pakistan is so desperate for an invention or discovery that it accepts anything without simple questioning, forget the critical questioning. Pakistan’s last invention was a joint project with Saudi Arabia and the United States, the Taliban, which turned into a Frankenstein for all three of them in varying degrees.
How many Pakistanis does it take to keep Pakistan in a backward state?
At most one to put forward a bogus idea and the rest to garland the idea-person and to silence the critics.
How many Pakistanis does it take to overturn the laws of thermodynamics?
At most one to do the job and the rest to garland that person and to silence the critics.
Agha Waqar Ahmad found support from many people. (He is not the first one to come up with this idea.)
Majorlyprofound, tongue-in-cheek, came to Ahmed’s rescue:
“Why are people whining that ‘laws of thermodynamics cannot be violated?'” “Tell me one law in Pakistan that has not been violated?”
Before Ahmad, another Pakistani, Dr. Ghulam Sarwar, had claimed the same thing in November 2011. He claimed that tube wells, trains, air planes, etc. could be run on water.
Idiots rush to shower praise
President Asif Zardari, who rarely ventures out of his presidential palace (due to threat to his life, unless he is traveling to foreign countries) was quick to praise Ahmad on his invention. MQM’s leader Altaf Hussain (who cannot enter Pakistan and is living in London from where he makes speeches to a huge crowds of people in Karachi, Pakistan) was the other idiot who commended Ahmad for his achievement. Then there is this famous reporter and TV anchor Hamid Mir who instead of interrogating Ahmed rigorously is siding with him. Abdul Qadeer Khan, a nuclear scientist who is known as “Savior of Pakistan” defended Ahmed too. Now instead of uranium bombs, this idiot will start making water bombs. He can then take over Pakistan’s wealthiest man title from Mian Muhammad Mansha who is living in his own world.
Religious Affairs Minister Khursheed Shah saw the car running on water and was impressed. Being a religious minister Shah can be excused. But the tragedy is that Dr. Shaukat Parvaiz, the head of the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, said: “We had some work done on this too.”
(I am sure these idiots’ Indian counterparts may have felt envy for their country not being the one to invent such a miraculous energy-saving device.)
The Islamists are bent on destroying Pakistan. Just yesterday, 20 Shia Muslims were shot dead at point blank range. But it seems, Mir, Parvaiz, Qadeer, and others like them are in cahoot with the Islamists to push back Pakistan to the seventh century.
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com