Sandeep Takes Rohit Pradhan to the Dhobi Ghat

Must be Spring cleaning time. Because people are being taken to the cleaners. Yesterday I reported that Media Crooks gave an ex-judge of the supreme court of India (how do they select these fellows, I wonder) a dhulai and today I am reporting that Sandeep has stripped Rohit Pradhan at the dhobi ghat.

{For the benefit of those unfamiliar with Hindi, ‘dhulai’ means a wash, and ‘dhobi ghat’ is where the laundry is done. Not only do you get informed about important happenings, but you also get language lessons. What a deal.}

You have to read the entire piece by Sandeep which is titled “Rohit Setalvad Owaisi Pradhan’s Perverse Communalism.” Below I just give you a sense of what it is about.
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MediaCrooks: Spuriousity Killed the Katju

If you have not been reading Media Crooks, you have been missing one of the sanest, most incisive commentator on Indian current affairs you could ever find anywhere — mainstream media, social media, off-line, online, wherever. I am an unabashed admirer of Media Crooks. I am a fan.

Media Crooks sets the gold standard that very few observers are capable of achieving. Take his expert fisking today (link provided below) of Mr Katju, an ex-judge of the supreme court of India who writes a lot of politically motivated stuff and is often in the media spotlight. Katju deserves to be taken to the cleaners and MC does it with aplomb and ruthless precision.
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The Right to be Free & the Duty to Take the Consequences

Mahmood Madani, the general secretary of some Islamic outfit called Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind is reported to have told a private TV channel that some Muslims have voted for Narendra Modi and the BJP in the recent Gujarat state elections. Madani is quoted as saying:
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On Ideas & Ideologies

I mainly criticize ideas and ideologies because ideas fundamentally affect human welfare. Most of the time my focus is on ideologies and not people. That distinction is worth keeping in mind. If ever someone misconstrues my criticism of an ideology with animosity against a group or a person, it reveals at best a reading comprehension problem and at worst guilt associated with a hidden prejudice of the reader against the group I am accused of opposing.
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Saraswati Puja, Kamadeva Puja & Basant Panchami Greetings

Today is Basant Panchami. It is the day for Saraswati Puja and also Kamadeva Puja. Kamadeva is also known as “Atanu” — one without a body.

The Saraswati vandana goes thus:
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It’s Easy to Be Right

Here are a few items that caught my eye. One is an article in the Financial Express by the economist and labor peer Meghnad Desai. The other is a blog post by the incomparable @MediaCrooks.
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Hello from Mumbai

Picture inserted just like that
Narendabhai Modi
Greetings gentle readers. I am back in India after four months for a short visit. Places to visit, people to meet, meetings to attend and other fun things await. I will be Mumbai mainly but also in Pune, Nashik, Jaipur (to attend a wedding) and perhaps Bangalore.
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Hello from Brussels

"Fonske" the boy, studing and pouring beer on this brains (Stella Artois beer)
“Fonske”

This is to let all who care about my personal stuff that I arrived in Brussels this morning and I am now in the neighboring city of Leuven.

The picture on the right is known as “Fonske” shortened from the Latin Fons Sapientiae meaning “fountain of wisdom”. It shows a university student — Leuven is a university town — reading a book and knowledge flowing into his brain like water.

That picture is from the last time I was here in October visiting my friend Yoga. Then I was on my way from Mumbai to San Jose; now I am on my way back to India. A brief three-day stopover and then on to Mumbai. I am looking forward to visiting with friends and family in India. See you there if you are around. Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

“Let us weep” for Aaron Swartz

Computer prodigy, cyber activist and social justice activist Aaron Swartz died three weeks ago on Friday 11th Jan. He was just 26 years old. He killed himself in his Brooklyn NY apartment. Some have claimed that he was driven to his death by government prosecution — and indeed persecution. There are many reasons to mourn his death but the most important from my point of view is what could be the government’s role in this tragedy and therein lies the importance of this entirely pointless tragedy. Lawrence Lessig calls it bullying and Aaron’s family called it the “prosecutorial overreach” by the Massachusetts US attorney’s office. That’s serious for a number of reasons. But first, here’s the background.
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