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Showing posts with label independent.co.uk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label independent.co.uk. Show all posts

Monday, March 22, 2010

The Pope And The Prime Minister's Office - Unfortunate Similarities

The following comment was published in:

The Guardian.co.uk Saying sorry is not enough

Online Wall Street Journal: Scandal Shakes Catholics In Bavaria

Newsweek: Pope Benedict's Underwhelming Response

telegraph.co.uk: Cardinal Brady Must Go


Global Post - Connor O'Clery: Ireland Greets Pope's Apology With Skepticism


Reuters - US Edition - Faith World - Religion Faith And Ethics - Pope-victims gap is tip of iceberg of incomprehension in Catholic Church

Telegraph.co.uk: Damian Thompson - More Catholic-baiting from The Times


The Independent: Leading article: A landmark for Ireland, if not yet for Catholicism

The Independent : Bruce Anderson: Only a different leadership can save the Irish church

timesonline:Richard Owen - Vatican and Nico Hines Pope Benedict XVI 'knew child abuser allowed back to work'


cnn: connect the world


npr news blog:the two way-Punish Pope, Other Church Officials: Sex-Abuse Victim

The Daily Beast: Dirk Johnson - A Shocking Priest Abuse Tale


US News & World Report:John Aloysius Farrell - Catholics, Police Must Act to Stop Sexual Abuse in the Church


The American Spectator: Joseph Lawler - Benedict And The Media


The Economist: Papal Vulnerability - Pope Benedict XVI is losing popularity

India is crisscrossed by schools and other institutions run by Jesuits.

Yet thanks to India’s dodgy editorial class very few in India know that the Vatican has paid out close to a hundred million dollars to compensate for victims of child sexual abuse by albeit “a small minority” of priests.

The Indian media has barely reported that story.

Was the media’s heinous silence an act of concern for Indian children or a hideously wrongheaded act of leaving well enough alone ?

Abuse of power often happens in plain sight, since to the busy and self absorbed lay person, the powerful appear glamorous and formidable and their prey appear to be rebellious, despicable and in many ways, asking for it.

As somebody who has conscientiously refused to do business the way it “normally” is in so called democratic societies - I will not pay bribes - and who has been almost destroyed for my pains, I am able to feel deep appreciation for the heroes who spoke out and for those who heard them, felt outrage and who together managed to extract a measure of accountability from one of the most powerful and ambitious organisations on this planet.

Since the past two decades, the Government of India, the Government of my own state, Andhra Pradesh, the Andhra Pradesh High Court , the Chief Information Commissioner and State Information Commissioner have combined to impress on me that what works in India is what I have called the “patronage paradigm” – the paradigm of shoddiness, irresponsibility, cronyism and corruption” – and that ideas of the rule of law and democratic processes are merely spectacles to lull the gullible.

I have been denied the recognition that were commended to me by one former Chief Minister of my state, one former minister of home affairs, one speaker of the Lok Sabha, several prominent ministers of the central cabinet, eminent intellectuals and freedom fighters.

I have been unable to earn a decent living.

The office of the Governor of Andhra Pradesh incited my neighbours to cut off my water supply.

The information commissions in the state and at the centre denied me my right to information on spurious, brazenly illegal grounds and punished me for daring to object.

The high court denied me my right to competent counsel and punished me for complaining.

Even as we speak, Dr Manmohan Singh”s office, “Daredevil” Pratibha Patil’s Rashtrapati Bhavan, Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, State Information Commissioner CD Arha are all locked in a most perverse and ignominious conspiracy of silence to deny me justice.

Even as the Prime Minister’s Office maintains a guilty silence in my case, it appears to have jumped through hoops to heap honour on a businessman alleged to be a serial swindler.

India’s editorial class is as dense, amoral and narcissistic.

Variations of this comment have appeared in almost every major Indian online publication plus in a few abroad.

However, not a single editor or reporter has had the professionalism to pick it up and make it “impact”.

My credentials are strong and I have taken much trouble to meet many editors personally, usually on impeccable referrals.

Our “know-it-all-in -chiefs” have had nothing but smirks to offer.

When I sought the solidarity of the press, Shekhar Gupta (editor in chief of New Indian Express) advised me, “You cannot go around taking pangas (quarrels) with people, yaar.”

Even my comments are mutilated.

Vinod Mehta’s “Outlook” has banned my comments on risible grounds.

The Hindu crawled.

It published “spin” by corrupt officials and got hissy with me for pointing out, with evidence, its craven, yellow soul.

The Indian Press (with a solitary exception) blacked out the fervent open letter written by Padma Vibhushan Kaloji Narayana Rao.

That dear man , clear as a bell in his nineties, had laid his head on my shoulder, hugged me and wept.

What about “civil society” in India ?

Since close to a year now, I have written to the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Campaign for Judicial Accountability And Reform, Forum For Judicial Accountability, MKSS (Aruna Roy)and Anna Hazare regarding this cascading delinquency of constitutional bodies in India.

There has not been one constructive response.

They all appear to be in helpless denial of the awful truth that an innocent citizen has been hounded and humiliated since two decades, not for any bad behaviour or wrongdoing, but for resisting the dilution of the values of the Indian constitution and standing up for the correct administration of the Right To Information Act 2005.

Please visit and participate at http://sathyagraha.blogspot.com/ :

Andhra Pradesh High Court’s Pernicious Rebellion Against The Law .05/29/09

RTI Act 2005 Abuse In Andhra Pradesh- SIC Cheats! Chief Secretary Lies!05/07/09

Prejudiced CIC Laps Up PMO Lies 05/05/09

Compelling Criminality. Divakar S Natarajan and Varun Gandhi Cannot Both Be Wrong ! 01/28/09

And India’s editorial class will not report the story!

News and views from Divakar S Natarajan’s, “no excuses”, ultra peaceful, non partisan, individual sathyagraha against corruption and for the idea of the rule of law in India.

Now in its 18th year.

Any struggle against a predatory authority is humanity’s struggle to honour the gift of life.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Tendulkaristics Are The Right Of All Human Beings

The following comment was published in:


The Independent.co.uk Sachin Tendulkar: Little Master



Global Post The Michael Jordan Of India by Jason Overdorf


Wisden Cricketeer Tendulkar, a thank you John Stern

bbc.co.uk Soutik Biswas's India How Does Sachin Tendulkar Do It ?

The Straits Times: The Wonder That Is Sachin Tendulkar

Guardian.co.uk : Is Sachin Tendulkar The Best Batsman Ever ?

Thaiindian News: Andhra assembly congratulates Tendulkar on ODI double ton


The Wall Street Journal: Sachin Breaks ODI Record, Slams 200 Runs



The Daily Inquirer: Sachin Score 200: Sachin Tendulkar breaks ODI record




Sport.co.uk: Tendulkar smashes record breaking ODI Double hundred



bleacher report.com:Surely You Must Be Joking, Mr Fletcher?






The right to be soft spoken and heard, the right to be honest, correct and productive in one's relationships, the right to choose one's field of endeavour , however outlandish and even extravagant it might seem, the right to be supported by "the village" in one's quest for excellence and joy, the right not to deteriorate into a cynical, necrophilous slob,the right to be true to one's country and people, the right to earn the right to pass on one's knowledge to whosoever shows an interest, and the right to the good life that ensues; these Tendulkaristics are the rights of every human being.

It says something about humanity in the 21st century that these are rights are so rarely respected, leave alone supported, that Sachin Tendulkar stands almost alone in embodying them.

The Dalai Lama and Aung San Su Kyi are in their own way exemplars of integrity and excellence, but why have we not been able to receive their benedictions to the the fullest ?

Even in sports India, citizens were recently witness to the Olympic Gold Medallist Abhinav Bindra and earlier the entire hockey become "activists" and get involved in a"panga" (tussle) with the authorities to receive proper playing conditions.

I place my own “no excuses”, ultra peaceful, non partisan, individual sathyagraha against corruption and for the idea of the rule of law in India,now in its 18th year, in a similar category of my quest for my right to love, to play and to excel.

Since the media and civil society in India prefer to ride bandwagons and idolize, rather than apply their imaginations and responsibility, I appeal to your esteemed publication and your readers to get my message across to the powers that be in the Rashtrapathi Bhavan and the Prime Minister's Office in India.

It says a lot about the infantile and narcissistic character of these two august offices of the Indian state, that they have since months, given the strong impression of abusing their immense power by instigating and sustaining a conspiracy of silence against me.
It is in this larger context that I make the following observations:

In India today any “aspiration” nursed by the “common man” for integrity, innovation or excellence, can quickly get “him” ostracised if not brutally killed.

And in the stilted political discourse manufactured by India’s ruling class the “common woman” does not even exist !

A culture of profiting from deceit and dysfunctionality appears to have enveloped India.

And even while the Indian political leadership spins technicolour dreams of 21st century superpowerdom, its “politics” are mired in the medieval anachronisms of what I have called the “patronage paradigm - the paradigm of shoddiness, irresponsibility, cronyism and corruption that has cretinised us all”

Since the past two decades, the Government of India, the Government of my own state, Andhra Pradesh, the Andhra Pradesh High Court , the Chief Information Commissioner and State Information Commissioner have combined to impress on me that what works in India is what I have called the "patronage paradigm" and that ideas of the rule of law and democratic processes are merely spectacles to lull the gullible.

I have been denied the recognition that were commended to me.

I have been unable to earn a decent living.

The office of the Governor of Andhra Pradesh incited my neighbours to cut off my water supply.

The information commissions in the state and at the centre denied me my right to information on spurious, brazenly illegal grounds and punished me for daring to object.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court, in the inimitable manner of the Indian judiciary, has misbehaved egregiously.

The high court denied me my right to competent counsel and punished me for complaining.

Even as we speak, Dr Manmohan Singh’s office, “Daredevil” Pratibha Patil’s Rashtrapati Bhavan, Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, State Information Commissioner CD Arha are all in an obvious conspiracy to deny me justice.

Why are we so abysmally cynical and hopeless that conditions will continue to remain outrageously inhuman in India?

One simple reason: The following comment or variations of it have appeared in almost every major Indian online publication plus in a few abroad.

However, not a single editor or reporter has had the nous to pick it up and work it to the max.

My credentials are strong and I have taken much trouble to meet many editors personally, usually on impeccable referrals.

And of course our editors know it all. They have had nothing but smirks to offer.

When I sought the solidarity of the press, Shekhar Gupta (editor in chief of New Indian Express) advised me, “You cannot go around taking pangas (quarrels) with people, yaar.”

Even my comments are mutilated.

Vinod Mehta’s “Outlook” has banned my comments on risible grounds.

The Hindu crawled.

It published “spin” by corrupt officials and got hissy with me for pointing out, with evidence, its craven, yellow soul.

The Indian Press (with a solitary exception) blacked out the fervent open letter written by Padma Vibhushan Kaloji Narayana Rao.

That dear man , clear as a bell in his nineties, had laid his head on my shoulder, hugged me and wept.

In India today, it is difficult to tell the difference between policeman and journalist, politician and criminal, lawyer and judge, Indian Administrative Service Officer and the village idiot.

But they all are laughing all the way to their offshore accounts.

If you would like to know about the sheer impossibility of living a sane, unexploitative, equitable life in India, you and your esteemed visitors may want to visit and participate at sathyagraha.blogspot.com

India’s Home Minister has called on civil society to speak out against Maoist depredations. Will he kindly let me know why Rashtrapathi Bhavan and the Prime Minister’s office have not taken appropriate action on the representations made on my behalf by the former Home Minister Shri Indrajit Gupta, Padma Vibhushan Kaloji Narayana Rao and others ?

Even as the Prime Minister’s Office maintains a baleful and ignominious silence in my case, it appears to have jumped through hoops to heap honour on a businessman alleged to be a serial swindler .

Andhra Pradesh High Court’s Pernicious Rebellion Against The Law .05/29/09

RTI Act 2005 Abuse In Andhra Pradesh- SIC Cheats! Chief Secretary Lies!05/07/09

Prejudiced CIC Laps Up PMO Lies 05/05/09

Divakar S Natarajan and Varun Gandhi Cannot Both Be Wrong ! 01/28/09

And India’s editorial class will not report the story!

Divakar’s Sathyagraha

News and views from Divakar S Natarajan’s, “no excuses”, ultra peaceful, non partisan, individual sathyagraha against corruption and for the idea of the rule of law in India.

Now in its 18th year.

Any struggle against a predatory authority is humanity’s struggle to honour the gift of life.

Thank you for your attention.

It has been an 18 year long innings and thanks to the unwillingness of the various leaders of the Indian state to own up to their various delinquencies, I continue to be hounded for my innocence.

Not cricket.



Deepan Joshi responds:



Keep the faith Diwakar; and you will get your due just try and make it easy on yourself and on others as well. What you are is your lookout and what the others are is in a broad sense their lookout.


divakarssathya draws Shri Joshi's attention to a small detail:

Thanks for your carefully considered response Deepan.
BTW, I spell my name with a V. It is DiVakar.
Cheers!