Dheeraj Kalgutkar

 I’m completely in with Modi’s plan of largely discounting 30 deaths in Kumbh or 1000 plus deaths under railway ‘accidents’ in his tenure. Modi knows all too well, more than any of us could ever grasp it, that the population of India is its largest problem. And it needs to be controlled. And since people are not taking care of it by themselves, he has taken it upon himself to prevent it by any and all means. Modi is a pakka Gujarati who knows his economics rather too well. He understands how to maximize capital. Mr Modi comprehends unlike too many of us that marriage and taking care of a wife is not just mentally exhausting but makes little sense economically as well; wife and kids are accountabilities that end up creating large holes in one’s pockets. That is why he stranded his wife before it made him a pauper. He knows how a legal wife leads to mental strain and as PM he cannot be under any extra stress or be emotionally occupied. Some things need to be done, hard decisions oug...

Or How Hindusim Came Into Being; Brief History Of Hindu Religion For Zoomers-n-Boomers Who Refuse To Pick Books Ayodhya Temple As Of Today. Courtesy: Newslaundry.com I was just on a call with my distant neighbour who after the regular round of questions asked me if I had received the Ram-Mandir-Rice (akshata). For those who haven’t and don’t know about what’s going on, people associated with BJP-RSS have been going door-to-door and distributing some posters related to the new temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh along with some colourful uncooked-unbroken-rice in tiny plastic pack (hardly 20 gram). Akshata basically consists of uncooked un-broken pieces of rice which is mixed with turmeric. It is sometimes used to bless bride and groom during weddings. Akshata is also sprinkled during other auspicious ceremonies. When Akshata is offered to a deity, it is believed to be the finest offering that a devotee can make. Akshata is believed to be equal to offering clothes, jewelry, food, or ...

  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even Reddit have suspended or banned accounts of or related to Donald Trump. You want to believe in it or not, the sad truth is Donald Trump is President of the United States of America. He is the most powerful man on the earth. And God did not make him this powerful nor did he acquire Aladdin's lamp, scratched it and become President. People, a large number of them, voted him into this office. They chose him to be their president. And by these platforms, he was reaching his audience. And that platform has been snatched from him now. And this snatching was not achieved after thorough parliamentary or congress' dialogue or arguments in court, this pulling away of carpet from underneath his motormouth-empire was decided by few men behind the closed-doors of these platforms in total secrecy. Their decisions are beyond the purview of public scrutiny. There is no set of logic that applies to what went behind these decisions. This is, believe it or ...

आए दिन मैं किसी ना किसी को ये पूछते हुए सुनता हूँ कि 'ये कोरोना आख़िर जा क्यूँ नहीं रहा है' या फ़िर 'आख़िर ये कब जाएगा?' और मैं यही जवाब देता हूँ कि, जब तक हम सतर्क नहीं बनेंगे, जब तक हम अपने तौर-तरीके जो कोरोनावायरस के फैलने के अनुकुल है उन्हें नहीं बदलेंगे तब तक ये ऐसे ही फैलते रहेगा। जब भी मैं मार्केट जाता हूँ तो मैं अनगिनत लोगों को बिना मास्क के देखता हूँ या फ़िर मास्क ऐसे पहने हुए जो ना पहनने के बराबर है। कुछ तो मार्केट तक मास्क पहनकर आते है जो ज़रूरी नहीं है पर मार्केट में जब भी किसी से बात करनी हो तो मास्क उतार देते हैं जब उसे पहनना बेहद जरूरी है। इन सबका कारण जो भी हो, पर ये सब वो चीज़े है जिनसे कोरोना के फैलने का ख़तरा रहता है। जब तक हम अपने तौर-तरीकों में सुधार नहीं लाएँगे तब तक कोरोना यूँही फैलते रहनेवाला है। ग्रीष्म में लगी जंगल के आग के भाँति कोरोना अपने आप तो थमने वाला है नहीं। तो क्या हम इस भीषण आग को रोकने की कोशिशे कर रहे हैं?  मुंबई में विपक्ष यानी भाजपा माँग कर रही है कि जब बार (bar, मधुशाला) खुले हो सकते है तो मंदिर भी खुलने चाहिए जैसे उन दोनों में क...

Monsoons evaded Maharashtra in 1992. In a country where even today agriculture is largely dependent on rains, this naturally made people distraught then. In this helplessness, blankness, in this void came Maharashtra governor’s appeal other rather a dictate. On a particular day at 11 am, people were to collectively pray. Authorities jumped in to enforce the governor’s appeal. Directions were announced left, right and centre. And pray people did. Newspapers were awash with pictures of people praying for relief from imminent danger, ordinary people to district collectors to workers. Everyone obliged. If WhatsApp University existed then, I’m sure it’s double degree holders would churn out theories of how collective prayer would kindle the kundalini and force gods of rain to bring showers upon them. And we will all be sharing these forwards because why not?! Fast forward to 2020 and coronavirus. Modi came on national television, and like the big boss from that horrible show, ga...

There are 6,653 cases of COVID-19 in India as of 9 April 11:45 PM. And this is despite India testing the least. And our government is broadcasting these comparative low numbers as some sort of success. Think of this. If India had not tested anyone at all then India would have had zero SARS-CoV-2 positive cases. And the gullible public would have bought even that as the success of their God Modi. People are yet to realise or do not want to indulge in a thought that goes against great leader’s image how the ‘low number of recorded cases across the country might be a result of the government’s strict guidelines on who can be tested.’ The number of cases in India right now is dreary low compared to the world at large but even these numbers are not being managed respectfully. Doctors in India are facing a shortage of PPEs so much so that according to a Reuters report, PPE shortages are forcing some doctors to use raincoats and motorbike helmets. If doctors are facing this, it is not...

Yesterday, Indian Parliament headed by BJP which enjoys brute majority declared Article 370 which gave Kashmir special status in Indian union revoked, it bifurcated the Jammu and Kashmir state into two parts, and it also declared both the parts as Union Territories. The reason why they did this is one part of a debatable story; the manner in which they executed this is another. Kashmir was never a federal state like others. It was and continuous to be a military occupation (with increased troops now, one gunman to 10 civilians). But now it has lost even the facade of being an independent state. And we are told Kashmiris are real people. If they are real people like mainland Indians, why does military occupy civilian spaces there? When are we scrapping AFSPA? You have numbers now. You can do anything. Democracy, those who have read would know isn’t about numbers but doing what is right even when what you want to achieve is wrong in the eyes of the majority. It i...

India is a diverse nation, our strength lies in our unity or so are we told since school but what we are not taught is how this very diversity is time and again exploited by certain elements to sow seeds of hate in the society we live in. Just last week we saw this happening in Delhi where a parking feud spiralled into communal confrontation , a boy went missing (?), a temple was vandalized, quickly came the men with slogans and then there was more. There is a lot to learn from this but I’m quite sure we would not. There is a reason why riots keep happening in India and people who until that day lived shoulder-to-shoulder burn each other’s houses and seek more blood. Until we understand this pattern and intentions behind people who initiate these ghastly crimes, the kind of unknown non-local faces who visit the disturbed towns, we will continue to reel under these riots. India has seen many riots since 1980. Far too many. And one must try to retrace their origins, reasons why ...