Sanjay Dutt was first arrested in April 1993 right after the Mumbai bomb blasts, but not many of today’s millennials know why exactly the actor was put behind bars or how his arrest took place. Here’s Munna Bhai himself (played by the talented Rohit Gupta) telling you the story of Sanju baba’s arrest.

Note: All the information in this video is sourced from Sanjay Dutt’s confession to the Mumbai Police in 1993.

The complete text of Sanjay Dutt’s confession to the police is reproduced below:

“I, Sanjay Sunil Dutt, age 34 years occupation Film Artist stay at 58, Pali Hill, Sandra, Bombay-50 with my father, and two sisters. I studied up to 1st year Arts in Elphinstone College. I left my studies in 1977 after that I did some private training in acting and started acting in films in the year 1980.

I am having three valid licenses for firearms and possess three firearms as mentioned below:

1. 270 Rifle of BRUNO make
2. 375 Magnum Double barrel Rifle
3. 12 Bore Gun of Double Barrel

I purchased these weapons due to my fondness for hunting normally go for hunting with one friend of mine Mr.Yusuf Nullwala as he is an experienced hunter. I also know one friend of Yusuf Nullwala by name Kersi Bapuji Adajenia and met him three times. In December 1991, I had given dates for shooting to actor-producer Firoz Khan for his film Yalgar. He had taken whole of unit for shooting in Dubai. During one of the shootings, Firoz Khan introduced me to one Mr Dawood Ibrahim and also to his brother Anees during another shooting session. After that Anees used to visit us regularly during the shootings and also at the place of our stay. During the stay there the entire unit was invited for a dinner party by Dawood Ibrahim at his residence one day. I also attended the party along with the other unit members. In the party, a lot of other people also came to attend the party and we were introduced to many of the persons present in the party namely, Iqbal Mirchi, Sharad Shetty, Chotta Rajan and many artists from Pakistan. Since Anees used to come frequently 1 had good acquaintance with him.

I also know the proprietor of Magnum Video namely Hanif Kadawala and Samir Hingora. Also I signed for acting in one of their film ‘Sanam’. Samir is treasurer of IMPA (Indian Motion Picture Association). Hanif and Samir used to come quite frequently to my house for taking dates for shooting from my Secretary.

My father is an active political worker of Congress Party and has been elected as Member of Parliament in the last Parliament election from Bandra area of Bombay. He also takes lot of interest in social work. During recent communal riots my father has taken interest and organizing relief work for the riot victims with the help of the persons in film industry. Due to this large number of people from film industry, Congress Party and social organizations used to come regularly to arrange for relief work. We also used to receive threatening telephone calls. Anonymous callers used to threaten us about killing or assaulting the make members of my family and molesting or raping my sisters.

All of us used to get frightened and were under great mental tension. Also during the visits of my father to Jogeshwari and Behrampada areas he was attacked by furious mobs twice branding him as pro-Muslims. Once while my father was sitting for hunger strike at Hutatma Chowk. I got a threatening telephone call as the result of which we all got frightened and I contacted local police. However, no special police was send. I coincidentally met an Army Officer who is known to me and was patrolling with his squad in our area. When I requested him for help after narrating the above facts to him, he was kind enough to guard our house during that night. I thereafter casually mentioned about the above happenings to a number of persons including Hanif Kadawalla and Samir Hingora during usual discussions.

Hanif told me that if I so desire, he would make Immediate arrangements to provide an automatic firearm to me for my protection. Initially, I did not show any interest but when Hanif and Samir started repeatedly telling me to acquire a firearm from them, I gradually fell prey and I expressed my desire to Hanif and Samir, they said that they would immediately provide me with an automatic firearm. One day, in mid-January in the evening around 9.00 – 9.30 pm Hanif and Samir came to my house along with one person by name Salem. I had met this Salem once or twice earlier also.

Then these three fellows told me that they were coming tomorrow morning with the weapons to be delivered to you. Then they went away. Next day morning Samir, Hanif and Salem all three came to my house along with one other person who is not known to me. They came in Maruti Van and parked it in a Tin shed which is used by us for parking our vehicles. One person was sitting inside the Maruti Van. After about 15-20 min. he took out three rifles and they said it is AK-56 rifles. I got some cloth from my house and gave it to them. Salem and the person who has come with him wrapped those rifles in the clothes and gave to me.

When I opened and saw him there were three rifles some magazines and round, they have told me that there are 250 rounds. The rounds were kept in another hand bag fetched by me. On seeing three rifles I got scared and told them that I wanted only one weapon. Then Hanif and Salem told me to keep it for the time being and in case it is not required we will take away the rest of the two weapons. They have also shown me some brown coloured hand grenade and asked me whether I want that also. I do not want these grenades and you may please leave my house immediately I told them. I can identify the fellow sitting in the car and the hand-grenades if are shown to me now. I kept these rifles and ammunition in the dickey of my Fiat Car No. MMU 4372 and locked it. On the same night I removed the three rifles and ammunition, kept the same in a handbag which I kept in my private hall which is one 2nd floor of our bungalow.

Two days thereafter, since I had considerable mental tension, I contacted Hanif Kadawalla and requested him to take away the weapons. He said that he would arrange to send somebody to collect the same. After two days Hanif Kadawalla and Samir Hingora alongwith Salem came to my house in the evening in a car. I returned two AK-56 rifles and a part of the ammunition to them but, retained one AK-56 rifle and some ammunition with me. I also told them that after the riots would subside, they should take away the 3rd AK-56 rifle and ammunition, to which they agreed.

About a week thereafter, I again called Hanif Kadawalla on phone and requested him to take away the rifle and the ammunition as the riots are under control and I was no more in the need of the said weapon. I was also experiencing a great mental pressure since I had realized that it was not a right thing to do. However, Hanif Kadawalla did not show any inclination to take away the same. I, therefore, instructed my Secy. not to give appointments to Hanif and Samir for any shooting so that they would realize that I was not co-operating with them. As a result, for a couple of times they had hot discussions with my Secy. When I met them, they told me that the rifle possessed by me is none of their concern.

Around September 92, during one of my shooting at R.K. Studio one Kayyum, who is a member of Dawood Ibrahim gang and had met me in Dubai at the shooting film Yalgaar approached me with a stranger. They offered me a 9mm pistol with ammunition. When I saw it, I liked it and had a strong desire to purchase the same. They offered it to me for a sum of Rs, 40,000/- I paid the said amount in cash to them at my house and purchased the same. I do not know the name of that person who was brought by Kayyum. However, he was aged about 35-38 years, apparently, Muslim, dark complexion, height about 5’8”, fat built, moustache, medium curly hair, wearing shirt and pant. I will be able to identify him if brought before me. He also handed over 8 rounds of the said pistol.

After the riots were over I thought of informing the police about the weapons i.e. AK-56 rifles and ammunition or abandoning it all together some spot but due to the fear of getting reprimand from my father or spoiling the prestige and name of my family I kept the weapons as it is. After this, I got involved in with my normal schedule of shooting. On 12 March 1993 I heard the news of Bomb blast while I was busy in shooting for the film Jai Vikrant in Jaipur. I was quite shocked. During the shooting of ‘Sanam’ Hanif and Samir and myself used to chit-chat about the films and other things. During such conversation Hanif and Samir had boasted about one fellow by name Tiger Memon and were telling me that he was very dynamic and daring fellow, and Custom and Police fellows are afraid of him and he is a good friend of them. They also occasionally used to talk about their friendship with Dawood Ibrahim and his brother Anees.

On 2nd April, I left tor Mauritius for shooting of film Aatish there I was informed by a casual contact that Hanif and Samir have been arrested by Bombay Police for their complicity in bomb blasts. On hearing the news I got frightened as these fellows had given me the AK-56 rifles and they may tell my name to the police to involve me in the bomb blast case. I contacted my friend Mr Yusuf Nullwala on telephone and asked him that something is lying in a black colour bag which is kept in my hall at the second floor of my house and it should be taken away immediately and destroy the things completely which are there in the bag.

Otherwise I shall be in a great trouble. By this time, the news about my possession of AK-56 rifles had appeared in the press and on coming to know about this, my father asked me about the truthfulness of this news, but I denied the same. My anxiety about the whole episode became unbearable and I decided to return to Bombay in between. My father informed my flight details to the police and I was picked up by police as soon as I landed in Bombay and confessed the whole things to them.”

Narrator: Rohit Gupta
Camera: Sanjoy Deb
Camera Assistant: Gautam Sharma
Editor: Veeru Krishan Mohan
Producers: Suresh Mathew, Divya Talwar

The post Munna Bhai Tells You Why Exactly Sanjay Dutt Was Arrested In 1993 appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

We all love celebrities. As fans, we can’t get enough of their personal lives – their activities, likes, and everything else. Some people are actually crazy about their favourite celebrities and follow them everywhere. The stardom attached to being a celebrity is something fans become dazzled by.

But there’s much more to a celebrity’s life than getting all dressed up and flaunting their expensive accessories or giving some nice interview and hitting the stage in one of their massive concerts (I’m talking about rap). A celebrity is essentially a normal human being first and then a star. So, it must be kind of ridiculous for them when merely a look at them makes crowds of people go wild and scream their lungs out.

Celebrities hail from all different classes and backgrounds. Some are already rich, while others come from humble backgrounds and make massive money with ever-escalating stardom and fame. Some artists and celebrities have truly inspirational journeys, one example is Michael Jackson, ‘the king of pop’. In this post, we will be talking about the inspirational and moving journey of Eminem, also known as ‘the god of rap’ or ‘the king of Hip Hop’. Now aged 45, this American artist is a music producer, actor but primarily a rapper and best known for it.

Early Years And Teenage

Born in St. Joseph, Missouri in 1972, Eminem’s birth name was Marshall Bruce Mathers III. His mother, Deborah Mathers almost died while giving birth to him. His father Marshall Mathers Jr abandoned his family while he was still a baby, and he was raised only by his mother. Eminem’s father further snubbed him whenever he attempted to contact him while he was just a child. He had to move back and forth between Michigan and Missouri, as his mother was unable to retain a job for a long time, and for Eminem, the roughest and toughest part was changing schools every year, twice or thrice. Also, Eminem is contemptuously critical about how his mom raised him, and his lyrics show that. He even accused her of her addictions to drugs and abusing him physically and emotionally.

The itinerant lifestyle, however, had a huge impact on his personality, as he wasn’t able to make any close friends and he was considered an outcast in every new school. He remembered being bullied and beaten pretty often in school. He even remained in a coma for a week after he was terribly beaten by a bully in school. He failed three times in the ninth grade and dropped out eventually while he was 17. Although he was a poor at studies, he had a profound affinity for lexicon and language. His favourite activates were reading comic books and the dictionary. No wonder, he writes absolutely creative and catchy lyrics for his songs.

As a teenager, he had a passion for language and hip-hop. He totally related to the existential rage of rap music in the 1990s. Rap music was predominantly black music, so someone with pale white skin and blue eyes seemed a total misfit in the said industry. But nothing could discourage him and he ventured into the Detroit rap music scene and frequently competed in rap battles, where two competitors would rap with improvised lyrics to basically insult each other. It was exactly here his interest in language and lexicon worked wonders for him, and he soon gained recognition, despite his colour, in the underground rap community of Detroit.

The Little Story Behind The Name ‘Eminem’

With the respect coming, Marshall soon thought of stage name for himself. Initially, it was M&M, after the initials of his name. He later started writing it phonetically as ‘Eminem’ and now styled as EMINƎM. He was also often called ‘Slim Shady’.

During this time, Eminem had to do all sorts of odd jobs such as dishwashing, whilst participating in those rap battles. At one point, he was working 60 hours a week to support his family. “8 Mile” was a semi-autobiographical movie that depicted his life and he performed as an actor in it too.

As we know, nowadays anyone can get better jobs through online job portals. That was not a case with him in those days. He had to survive and grow through the resources that were available out there.

Family And His Crisis

He dated Kimberly Ann Scott and they had a daughter in 1995, Hailie Jade Scott, who is now all grown-up. Inspired by his daughter, he released his first ever album, “Infinite” in 1996. The album manifested his improvisation with lyrics, verbal prowess, and his art of storytelling but it failed to make profit and couldn’t attract much local attention. After a year, he battled in Los Angeles and was the runner-up in the Rap Olympics Battle in 1997 that introduced him to Dr. Dre, the famous, legendary rapper. He was so influenced and impressed with his work that he had to sign Eminem for his Records Label, Interscope. So, in 1999, “The Slim Shady LP” was released by Eminem and was a massive success with a whopping 3 million copies sold worldwide. He was stopping nowhere then.

Eminem and Kim got married the same year. However, in 2006, the marriage ended and he was depressed, dejected and miserable to such an extent that he attempted to commit suicide, overdosing himself with Tylenol. It was then that he realised that there was no one to take care of his baby daughter and so, he continued with his rap music and attempted to patch up with Kimberly.

Controversial Lyrics And Fame

Today, he is recognized as one of the greatest rappers of all time and has released a number of albums already. The most successful ones being “The Marshall Mathers LP” (2000) and “The Eminem Show” (2002).

He remains controversial for the kind of lyrics he produces, known to be explicit and guilty of sending aggressive vibes. Also, he is sometimes criticised for glorifying drugs, excessive profanity, violence, misogyny, and homophobia in his lyrics. Yet the rap artist has managed to win audience and critics and has 15 Grammys for his songs.

From a troubled childhood and an aggressive teenage battling drug addiction, he has managed to inspire many with his success and determination. He has never been afraid of voicing his ideas and criticise what he thinks is wrong. He has already reached the status of a legend with his talent and unwavering resolve. His net worth at present is $190 million. His success story needs to be shared and he will always be hailed and celebrated as the king of Hip Hop.

Recently, he voiced his opinion on Donald Trump and you shouldn’t miss out on it.

The post From Teenage Drug Addiction To Winning 15 Grammys, The Inspirational Journey Of Eminem appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

This month had some pretty shocking suicide stories in the news, and this article is about what Ghalib’s poetry tells us about suicidal people. If you are from the Indian sub-continent (be it India or Pakistan), you must have come across Mirza Ghalib’s poetry/ghazals at some point in your life.

I got acquainted with Ghalib’s Shayari as my mom and dad used to listen to his ghazals when I was a child. Growing up, my interest developed in his poetry so much, that my first book ever purchased (out of syllabus) was that of Mirza Ghalib’s shayari with English interpretations.

I have spent my entire life listening to and learning from Ghalib, and I still keep finding new meanings in his long written verses. Ghalib’s poetry is like a treasure that unveils itself by the passing of time; when a certain incident happens in your life, you understand and learn something from his works.

If you haven’t read his autobiography or watched Naseeruddin Shah’s starrer film “Ghalib”, you may not know that Ghalib had an immensely depressing life.

Apart from becoming an orphan at a young age, he also suffered tremendously from the deaths of his children. Losing one child is loss enough that people take lifetimes to grieve for, Ghalib lost seven children, some at birth and some after.

When one of his baby boys died, he was so deeply shaken by this loss; he wrote these lines:

Na tha Kuch to Khuda tha, kuch na hota to khuda hota…

The whole nazm is absolutely mesmerizing; it takes you into a completely different state of mind to understand it. However, the one that I want to discuss specifically for this article is this:

Hua jab gham se yun be his, to dar kya sar ke katne ka?

Na hota gar juda tan se, to zaano par dhara hota.

To understand this, you have to understand the mental health of Ghalib at that particular moment. He loved his wife, but he always wanted a family, children of his own. He had lost not one but many children by now, and it was the day of Eid, the festival celebrated at the end of the holy month of Ramadan. His entire neighbourhood was celebrating; there are sweets and lights and laughter everywhere while Ghalib had just returned from burying his child at the Kabrastaan (graveyard).

At this moment, sitting in the dark, Ghalib was questioning his entire existence and tried his best to express that sentiment.

In these verses above, Ghalib is asking- if one has already befriended pain and misery, then why to be afraid of death/beheading (implying that death can’t be more painful than the sorrow or loss that he was suffering at that moment).

He then continues to say- if the head wasn’t cut off, it would be on his knees sobbing and crying and begging to God for help. (also referring to the sajda/laying head on the ground by the knees which is one of the actions Muslims perform during namaz).

The thing to notice here is that Ghalib is comparing death to the life of sorrow without overtly saying anything about suicide, but one can assume why Ghalib would be even talking about this since he wasn’t sick or that old at that point in time.

Throughout this short nazm, Ghalib is comparing death to the life of sorrow and kind of convincing himself that life/living doesn’t really matter. He is asking – what ifs…

The absolute GOLD here, a precious takeaway for us, years after Ghalib’s death, is this sentiment that helps us understand the state of a suicidal person or someone in depression.

When someone is suicidal, nothing else in the world matters. The pain, the suffering, and misery is too blinding for them to notice anything else around them. Ghalib has constantly said death is better than a life of sorrow. And this is the mindset of those contemplating suicide.

This month we lost two celebrities and a young person to suicide in Mecca. The celebrities were acclaimed designer Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, the famous chef.

After their suicides, people kept questioning why would someone with so much name and fame and wealth commit suicide? Bourdain’s own mother told the media that there was nothing in the world her son did not own. He had everything, she said.

Other people’s narratives ran from plain ignorant to downright cruel saying things like “they will go to hell”, etc. From a religious but science believing point of view, I have learned that suicide is one of the last symptoms of a mental illness. The person contemplating suicide is not doing it for fun. An outsider cannot understand what is going on in the mind of a suicidal person, none of us can, but Ghalib did an excellent job by giving us this jewel of a verse above. It explains such a complicated and difficult sentiment into one simple line- death seems better than this life of sorrow.

So for the rest of us who don’t understand depression, suicide, and other mental health issues, the easiest thing to do is to know that the person contemplating suicide is unable to see the benefit of living when they compare it to the relief that comes with death. It is not a decision someone takes lightly, most people contemplate long enough and weigh this life of pain and the end of all things with death. And when one finally takes that last step to end their life, they have chosen not to suffer anymore.

And for those of you who still claim hell for suicidal deaths, I think we all have our own versions of what God means (to us) and the God that I believe in certainly does not punish people suffering from mental illness. He doesn’t get a kick out of doubling their misery.

I want to end this piece by saying that, pain is a highly subjective sentiment. I see people often comparing someone’s problems by theirs and saying “oh that’s nothing, live my life, and you’ll know”.

The thing to understand is, everyone’s capacity to handle pain is different. What may seem trivial to you could be devastating to someone else. Hence, please don’t judge people with mental health issues and if you want a world where people don’t commit suicides, learn to empathise and reach out to your loved ones.

As Ghalib wondered, yun hota to kya hota… I wonder, what if, people didn’t judge other people and offered love and support instead?

The post How Ghalib Helps Us Understand Suicide And Depression In 2018 appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

“Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.”

The above quote may seem like just a normal statement to many but I am pretty sure Marvels fans will recognize it. This dialogue iterated by Thanos to Gamora exemplifies the vision of the intergalactic almighty mad titan who seeks to bring balance to the finite universe.

The protagonist of the movie, Thanos understands that natural resources are limited and the answers to deal with its paucity. His answer may baffle some and excite others but his quest surely needs a deep inspection into the current population crisis. Thanos not only brings our attention to the issue of finite resources but also to the concept of managing this supply and demand gap.

But from the point of view of ethics and humanity, the killings can’t be justified. So, we can clearly understand the concern of Thanos but cannot support his way of dealing with the situation.

The views of this God are in accordance with the economic theory of the Malthusian principle, which states that population will always outrun economic growth and it will severely outdo the food production. And it’s happening.

This principle stands true as we can witness the live examples of it in various countries across the world, which also includes developed nations. So, what’s the solution to all this? Should we follow the path of Thanos and just wipe out a considerable size of the population for no fault of their own? It may seem cruel but if required steps are not taken, ultimately, this may be our only hope.

So, if we can’t justify the madness of Thanos, can we find a better way to answer his quest? Well, at least we can try. But this solution doesn’t need any pogrom or mass killing; this needs a kind of mental revolution (as hypothesised by Taylor). His mental revolution provided the solution to the everlasting battle between capitalists and workers. He advocated for converging their views and asked them to treat each other’s concern as a mutual problem. Therefore, instead of dividing the cake amongst themselves, both parties should try to increase the size of the cake.

The same concept can be applied by keeping the different stakeholders of resources as parties and asking them to promote harmony in thoughts by working on increasing the size of the cake. This will not only lead to efficient use of resources but also promote peace among various sections of society.

Another concept, pioneered by Mary Parker Follett can be applied while dealing with this situation. Her integrated conflict theory provides a beautiful method for solving conflicts like this, where everyone involved put their demands across the table in an amicable manner and find an integrated solution. These solutions, if not better, are at least ethical as well as humane in nature.

The death of an innocent person cannot be justified for any reason. But Thanos must surely be appreciated for bringing this problem to our minds in a twisted philosophical manner. All hail the mad titan – Thanos!

The post Thanos Must Be Appreciated For Bringing A Real Problem To Our Attention appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

The Malayalam actors’ consortium made a mockery of all the women in the industry by reinstating actor Dileep, who was expelled from the Association of Malayalam Movie Actors (AMMA) over his alleged involvement in assaulting an actress.

Here is a small recap: A group of goons forcefully enters an actress’ car on a highway near Athani and tries to harass her. Initial police investigation has shown that Pulsar Suni, AKA Sunil Kumar, former driver of the actress, assisted Dileep, as revenge for being fired from his job.

The actress was on her way to home in Kochi after a shoot was attacked by a gang, who forced themselves into the car and molested her. They are said to have taken photographs and threatened blackmail before escaping in another car.

According to police reports, it was the actress’ proximity to Manju Warrier, former wife of Dileep, which created issues that eventually led to a divorce in 2015, where the actress leaked phone conversation of actor Dileep and Kavya Madhavan, another actress, exposing their illegal affair. Actor Dileep had earlier threatened the actress in the presence of actor Siddique during an award function.

The police investigation showed the link between Pulsar Sunni and Actor Dileep which led to his arrest on July 10, 2017. Dileep was let out on bail on October 3, after only 85 days in prison.

The AMMA took this reference and announced during a meeting held on June 24, 2018, the decision to bring back Dileep. It was reportedly made while the case is still pending in court. It’s said that the decision was made after actor Mohanlal took charge of the AMMA.

Most Malayalam actresses are part of the consortioum, and the move i downright mocking to them. Surprisingly, this is not the first time the association is doing something like this. Earlier during an event organised called ‘AMMA Mazhavillu’ a stage show, where they played a skit by big stars Mammootty and Mohanlal, involving seven female actors which mocked the need for women’s empowerment and had mocked the Women in Collective Cinema, a non-profit oganisation for actresses in the Malayalam film industry.

Reacting to the whole incident, actor Rima Kallingal said that Collective might consider leaving AMMA if the body did not convince members of the WCC why they must stay.

The post Despite Repeated Harassment Charges, Actor Dileep Is Back In Malayalam Films appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

I watched Hannah Gadsby’s ‘Nanette’ and my, what a show that was! I am not just going to write a long post on why one must watch her show if you haven’t watched it, please do. Watching her show got me thinking, in fact at certain points I had goosebumps. It’s not one of your run-of-the-mill comedy shows that end on a high note or indulges in slapstick humour and the most overused tool of comedy, i.e. sarcasm. I try to watch as many specials as I can, and comedians usually play on familiar tropes. But, what Hannah Gadsby did was change the meaning of comedy, what it does and what it can do.

Comedians usually come under fire for political opinions and for quote-unquote, “controversial” humour. I don’t believe such a type of humour exists; it’s only controversial because someone couldn’t laugh at the joke and found it a little too close to hitting home. This particular special got under the surface of superficial comedy. Gadsby dove into the idea of drawing on experiences to make a joke and showed the mess behind a joke, what happens after the punchline or more importantly what doesn’t happen. The idea that jokes draw on trauma was not news to anyone but for the first time a comedian called it out. The joke is only a part of a story, it’s up to you to decide which is more important, the joke or the story.

You’d think living and existing are easy things, but unfortunately, it’s not that simple. It’s not black and white. For me, it felt very real. I was laughing while being just as close to crying. The thing is a comedy doesn’t always have to be funny, and some people expect comedy to make them laugh. But life isn’t funny. There are two schools of thought one is to be sensitive to the situation and the other to be able to laugh in the face of adversity. But how often do we get under the skin of a joke, understand where that joke has come from? It’s easy to laugh when someone tells you a joke, but maybe the situation out of which the joke was born wasn’t exactly what you’d call funny.

Comedy is serious business, and what it does for me is make me more empathetic. When she called self-deprecating humour humiliation, that’s when she won my respect. I’ve always thought that it was but never understood why it became such a tired genre of comedy. Why is it ok to put yourself down when it’s not ok to put someone else down? I do it too, but I know it comes from a place of insecurity and lack of confidence. The more you put yourself down, the more you think that you’re not worth anything more than that joke.

“I’ve built a career out of self-deprecating humour. That’s what I’ve built my career on. And…I don’t want to do that anymore….because do you understand what self-deprecation means? When it comes from somebody who already exists in the margins? It’s not humility. It’s humiliation. I put myself down in order to speak…in order to seek permission to speak. And I simply will not do that anymore. Not to myself or anybody who identifies with me.” – Hannah Gadsby, ‘Nanette’

I wouldn’t say I identify with Gadsby I do in some senses and in others, I can’t. Even in the places that I couldn’t relate though, I had a great amount of respect for what she went through because braving it isn’t easy. Her comedy special has finally called out all those people who complain that women always want to be seen as victims. I have heard men who are well-educated and consider themselves respectful of women ask why we constantly reiterate the negatives of our past, related to sexual harassment, being told we’re playing the victim card. It’s easy to make these statements when you haven’t faced it or when you don’t relate. They also go on to say, “You don’t see men complaining about sexual harassment…” Well, that isn’t healthy, whether it’s a man or a woman.

Gadsby rightfully pointed out how hysteria around gender has grown in recent times. In the fear of being incorrect, people are striving to be overly accurate. We seem to not be able to acknowledge that gender is fluid. We have stopped treating people like people. While laws are making progress at least at snail’s pace, mindsets still remain firmly where they always were. Gadsby’s comedy special is going to get mixed reactions, whether we like it or not. I’m not sure how much change it will bring, or what the overall effect of her special on the comedy scene will be. All I know is, I found a new comic I can look to for intelligent and poetic humour.

To be fair, I hadn’t watched her other specials and was very disappointed when she said that she wanted to quit comedy just when I was getting to know her. I don’t blame her. Comedy is a messy place, and I say this as a complete outsider. As part of the audience, there are huge fissions, yet I’ve seen comedy acquire new layers. Comedy has become more representative. Although comedians are doing more than just representing their identity, they are pushing the envelope, there is a call to action in comedy today, and I was waiting for that. Some comedians just stopped short of doing so, and today Gadsby took that extra step unabashedly. How many of us identify with self-deprecating humour and search for representation in comedy, but when will we believe that we’re more than just a joke?

The post ‘The Great Gadsby’: Why Hannah Gadsby’s Netflix Special ‘Nanette’ Strikes A Chord appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Sushma Swaraj, one of the Modi government’s most powerful ministers, found herself on the receiving end of the troll army on social media after her ministry transferred a passport officer alleged for harassing an inter-faith couple.

In a series of tweets to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj last week, Noida resident Tanvi Seth had alleged that one of the officials who interviewed her at the Regional Passport Office in Lucknow did not approve her application and verbally lashed out at her for marrying a Muslim and not changing her name. Her husband said that the ministry of external affairs (MEA) employee also asked him to change his name into a Hindu one and also take ‘pheras’. A day later, the MEA handed over their passports and promised “appropriate action” against the employee concerned.

The taken action angered right-wing Twitterati who felt that the minister had acted impulsively in an attempt to “appease minorities” and hence, they started abusing and trolling the minister.

Swaraj, who returned to India after a week-long trip abroad, called out the abusive handles by ‘liking’ their tweets. She even retweeted some of the abusive tweets to highlight the level of vitriol directed at her.

“I was out of India from 17th to 23rd June 2018. I do not know what happened in my absence. However, I am honoured with some tweets. I am sharing them with you. So I have liked them,” she wrote on Twitter while “liking” numerous tweets abusing her.

The incident is a sad reflection of the way abuse, threats and bullying have come to dominate the discourse on social media and have restricted the space for civilised debate.

In fact, a Hindustan Times analysis revealed that 41 BJP parliamentarians, who are either ministers in the union cabinet or elected MPs to the Lok Sabha, follow at least one of the accounts that tweeted out a message which Swaraj had liked to showcase trolling.

Hence, this raises some serious questions that whether the right-wing troll army is now attacking its own leaders and is not ready to listen to even its own ministers? Have these trolls gone out of control, those who don’t want to listen to any sane voice and want to crush anyone having a different opinion or viewpoint? Don’t these trolls get a validation by being followed by top leaders and lawmakers in the country? How are these vicious trolls getting encouraged day by day and why is no stringent action being taken against them?

At the time when Sushma Swaraj was savagely trolled on Twitter, the BJP has been maintaining a deafening silence. Officially, BJP leaders claimed it was an internal matter of the Ministry of External Affairs that did not warrant any reaction from the party.

Ms. Swaraj, however, got support from some unlikely quarters. The official handle of the Congress tweeted in her favour.

No matter the situation or reason, nothing calls for threats of violence, disrespect & abuse. @SushmaSwaraj ji, we applaud your decision to call out the heinous trolls of your own party.https://t.co/qcB0qemRGZ

— Congress (@INCIndia) June 24, 2018

Sushma Swaraj, who is the most followed female leader in the world on Twitter, has been lauded for using Twitter effectively to respond to people asking for help, whether it is for visas or rescue.

The leader has been called India’s ‘best-loved politician’ by the Wall Street Journal. During her four-year tenure, she has completely changed the perception about her ministry: Removed the snobbery, inefficiency and brought it closer to people. She has led by example when it comes to using social media for governance. Indians around the world believe that no matter the difficulty they are in, help is just a tweet away.

There are numerous examples that exhibit the high degree of professionalism that Swaraj has presented before us by using Twitter as a medium to both reach out and allow others to reach her. The fact that someone of her stature would be subjected to such online vicious attacks is a clear sign that the ‘troll army’ is out of control and is ready to trample anyone online just for having different viewpoints and opinions.

If a person like Swaraj with all authority and influence can be subjected to such abuse, we can imagine what happens to the rest of people, especially independent journalists, activists, and outspoken women who fight such online hate and abuse on a day-to-day basis.

The post The Right-Wing Troll Army Is So Out Of Control That It’s Attacking Its Own Leaders appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

The cyber army of the right wing, which supports the BJP and the RSS, can’t stand anyone who shows any leniency towards people from the minority communities or the Hindu Dalits. The trolls shower these people with abuses, even if they are well-known public figures.

Respected @SushmaSwaraj Madam, #IStandWithVikasMishra

Now, Please BLOCK me ASAP. I want to enter into the league of Nationalists.

Yours Faithfully
A #GenuineTweetHandleTurnedTroll https://t.co/JPGT9l5cmp

— Anil Ramesh (@CoffeePenCamera) June 26, 2018

NDTV’s Ravish Kumar was showered with abuses over WhatsApp, calls and videos, after a fake quote attributed to him was circulated widely. He said that our leaders should take this kind of poison seriously because one day, it will come to their doorsteps.

Mam @SushmaSwaraj : you should intervene and get to the crux of the issue. The urgency you showed in transferring the officer will make every passport officer to be soft on such scenario. It is indeed a security concern. #IStandWithVikasMishra pic.twitter.com/cXpqN08GGh

— ashish bhardwaj (@ashishrednow) June 26, 2018

#IStandWithVikasMishra pic.twitter.com/bicbIldZlp

— Dr.MahaveerGadhvi (@MahaveerGadhvi) June 25, 2018

Ravish’s warning has come true – and now, the External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj has become a target for trolls, when her ministry transferred a regional passport officer for harassing an inter-faith couple. He was transferred to Gorakhpur from Lucknow a day after the alleged incident came to light.

As promised, Regional Passport Officer met Mrs Tanvi and Mr Anas and redressed the concern today. Passports have been delivered. @CPVIndia pic.twitter.com/a9xHrsmqQr

— RPO Lucknow (@rpolucknow) June 21, 2018

A Hindustan Times analysis revealed that 41 BJP parliamentarians, who are either ministers in the Union Cabinet or elected MPs, follow at least one of the accounts which tweeted out a message that Swaraj had liked to showcase trolling. PM Narendra Modi follows eight of those accounts.

The trolls went all out on her – laying accusations, ranging from being compromising on ‘national security’ to doing publicity stunts. The tweets went down to the level of calling her ‘Visa-Matha’ for pandering to minority appeasement politics. Many tweets were abusive, misogynistic and hate-driven in nature, and they show the kind of poison which certain organisations have imprinted into the minds of people for their political mileage.

There is a saying in Malayalam that if you feed milk to a snake, it will likely bite your hand. We can see the same thing happening here – the same kind of bigotry and hatred used to create a cyber army has come to bite their own hands.

However, support for Swaraj came from an unexpected quarter.

Dear @TwitterIndia
You may have struggled to identify the haters on Twitter. Please look at Twitter handle of Honourable Minister @SushmaSwaraj ji. The Likes on her handle is one of the largest list you can find. #SushmaExposesBJP pic.twitter.com/KEmRLw46ag

— Ghanshyam Tiwari (@ghanshyamtiwari) June 24, 2018

The Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker and journalist Barkha Dutta, former victims of cyber-trolling, have also extended their support.

It is SICK and SHAMEFUL the kind of vicious trolling @SushmaSwaraj ji is being subjected to because she & her ministry did their job conscientiously & as per the law of our land. Sad that the anti minority hate by bhakts in our public discourse now doesnt spare their own leaders pic.twitter.com/h4HfFkgr9m

— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) June 24, 2018

“You cant keep snakes in your backyard & expect them only to bite your neighbors”: My piece in @washingtonpost on the Right Wing’s abuse of Sushma Swaraj. Whatever be truth of the passport case; how does it explain the abuse or silence of her colleagues? https://t.co/TMN8qs7bBX

— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) June 26, 2018

The post Sushma Swaraj’s Trolling Shows That Right-Wing Trolls Have Come Back To Haunt The BJP appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Telecom giant Airtel faced a storm on social media last month when they allegedly bowed down to bigotry. A Twitter user @pooja303singh, tweeted to Airtel asking for a different customer care representative when a Muslim executive responded to her query.

@airtelindia pathetic Airtel DTH customer service.I raised complaint for reinstallation of DHT.but assigned service engineer miss behaved with me. His words are "Tum Phone Rakho Dobara call mt krna " his number is+91 79-85195094. This is how Airtel is looting it's customer.

— Pooja Singh (@pooja303singh) June 18, 2018

Hey, I most definitely appreciate you reaching out here! We’ll take a closer look into that & get back shortly with more information. Thank you, Shoaib

— Bharti Airtel India (@Airtel_Presence) June 18, 2018

Dear Shohaib, as you’re a Muslim and I have no faith in your working ethics because Kuran may have different version for customer service, thus requesting you to assign a Hindu representative for my request. Thanks

— Pooja Singh (@pooja303singh) June 18, 2018

The next response she received was from a customer care operative named Gaganjot. It appeared that Airtel had given in to Singh’s bigoted demand.

Hi Pooja! As discussed, please let me know what days & time frames work best for you so we can talk. Further, please share an alternate number so that I can assist you further with this. Thank you, Gaganjot

— Bharti Airtel India (@Airtel_Presence) June 18, 2018

Many Twitter users, including public figures, called Airtel out over this incident.

Dear @Airtel_Presence this conversation is genuine (I’ve seen the timeline myself). I refuse to pay another penny to a company that condones such blatant bigotry. I’m beginning the process of porting my number to another service provider & canceling my DTH & Broadband. pic.twitter.com/BZxJOaEsN6

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) June 18, 2018

Be careful! Pls see your ophthalmologist soon !! U are blinded by hatred !!! U couldn’t even spell his name right in a reply, !! N it’s the Quran BTW !! Agar nafrat se dimaag nahi kharaab hua hota toh shayad education mein basic spellings toh pata hi hoti!!

— Gauahar Khan (@GAUAHAR_KHAN) June 18, 2018

Wow! You sure know how to make us Indians look awful through your bigoted lenses. Bravo!
I would suspend your connection permanently if I were @Airtel_Presence https://t.co/Fc5bpU2NTt

— Shruti Seth (@SethShruti) June 18, 2018

Some Twitter users even got aggressive and started abusing and threatening Singh.

Dear Abusers,

I simply made a request to change representative from Muslim to Hindu as my experience in past was not good and that’s my right as well. After that, the kind of abuse I’m facing are beyond imagination and that in itself PROVES that I was right at very first place pic.twitter.com/lcCH2QpKo1

— Pooja Singh (@pooja303singh) June 18, 2018

More you abuse, more I will be proved RIGHT! pic.twitter.com/QpiWQKs35Q

— Pooja Singh (@pooja303singh) June 19, 2018

We should condemn Singh’s bigoted tweets, but that doesn’t give anyone permission to abuse her relentlessly. After his initial tweet, Omar Abdullah tweeted again to request people to not resort to abuse in such an incident since it would not solve anything.

I hold no brief for the bigoted Airtel customer but those of you flooding her timeline with hate & abuse are as bad, if not worse, than her. If you can’t occupy the high ground it’s best to exit the ground altogether.

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) June 19, 2018

Airtel eventually clarified through a press release that the change in representative was not a deliberate move to appease a bigoted request but simply a matter of two representatives working a shift and one not being available at the time.

Did Airtel really bow down to a discriminatory request? Maybe you should read this. pic.twitter.com/Mr7b8Pgrci

— airtel India (@airtelindia) June 20, 2018

We can’t expect everyone to be sensitive and inclusive but that doesn’t mean we can abuse anyone for holding certain views and then expect them to change immediately. After Airtel’s clarification, I feel we should leave Pooja Singh alone.

The post Twitter Comes Down Heavily On Woman Who Asked Airtel For A ‘Hindu Representative’ appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

We’ve all heard that moviemakers legitimise factual inaccuracies and biases in their movies in the name of “freedom of expression”.

Some of Bollywood’s A-list directors are exceptional in this regard. They just won’t stand criticism no matter how erroneous, distorted and bigoted their movies might be in reality. “Sanju” cannot be spared from the same criticism.

The only reason I decided to watch the movie was not Sanjay Dutt’s supposedly ‘compelling story’ but actually because of Rajkumar Hirani’s reputation as a brilliant storyteller. Ranbir Kapoor, who surprisingly appeared pretty convincing as Dutt in the teaser, was another reason why I bought tickets for the movie.

Undoubtedly, the movie had some stellar performances by some of India’s finest actors which included the likes of Paresh Rawal, Vicky Kaushal, Anushka Sharma, Manisha Koirala, Dia Mirza, Boman Irani and Sonam Kapoor. But what really bothered me was the underlying intent of the movie.

Prior to watching it, I was convinced that I was in for some serious brainwashing. If the movie is seen strictly from the typical-Indian-viewer’s perspective, there’s no denying that it clearly is a wholesome entertainer. Despite this, it lets you down on several fronts.

To put it bluntly, Hirani seems to have clearly lost his touch in the Sanjay Dutt-biopic and also seems to have sold his soul, as everything he depicted clearly befitted Bollywood’s propaganda factory image.

The movie isn’t just an attempt at correcting Dutt’s image as a terrorist but it goes much beyond that. Here are some of my observations:

Firstly, the movie does not blame him for his drug addiction. Instead, it completely puts the blame on his drug-peddler friend named Zubin Mistry (played by Jim Sarbh) who, by the way, was a fictional character.

Secondly, the movie also conveniently excuses him for having sex with his best friend’s fianceé (with a comical instrumental music playing in the background). Dutt wasn’t given a share in the blame, the woman was labelled ‘characterless’ instead.

Thirdly, the movie also gave him a free pass for illegally possessing assault rifles and shifted the blame onto some Hindu radicals for their death threats. The threats, they said, ‘forced’ him into possessing illegal firearms.

Fourthly, the makers went on to blame the media alone for damaging Dutt’s reputation in the society. What was Dutt even expecting in return for keeping strong ties with Mumbai’s underworld? Love and appreciation?

Their double-standards were also evident in their media-bashing climax song, a line of which said, “Achi khaasi life ka circus ho gaya; Baba bolta hai abhi, bas ho gaya.” This was utterly ironic considering the movie made absolutely no reference on Dutt’s ‘achi khaasi’ life!

How easily did the makers convince us that the world conspired against Dutt for absolutely no fault of his? Whether we should really allow ourselves to be the victims of this propaganda in exchange for some cheap entertainment is a question we all must ask ourselves.

After “Azhar” and “Sanju”, Bollywood seems to have found its brand new formula for adulterated biopics that aim to achieve massive box-office glory. It is just a matter of time before we’re handed a ‘Sallu’ and yet another criminal will be given some serious image rectification at the expense of our precious time, hard-earned money and loss of intellect.

The post After ‘Sanju’, It’s Just A Matter Of Time Till We Get ‘Sallu’ To Redeem Another Criminal appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Ever since the trailer of “Sanju” came out, I waited in anticipation for its release. Ranbir Kapoor, who plays the titular role, seemed to be a spitting image of Sanjay Dutt. I couldn’t wait to witness the journey of this complex character on screen, and I had faith that Rajkumar Hirani, one of the most celebrated directors of our country, would do justice. But, my expectations crashed and how!

Last Friday, I excitedly marched on to the theatre to watch the show. The hall was packed – and I could sense how everyone was waiting with bated breath for the movie to begin. After all, ‘bad decisions make great stories’ (that’s also a dialogue in this film). But this film, in my eyes, was only a mistake!

When you make a biopic on a controversial actor, you expect to be a part of his highs and lows. That’s why cinema is beautiful; it unravels itself in the most fascinating manner. Most of you might disagree with my views, but for me, “Sanju” was nothing but Hirani’s attempt to glorify Sanjay Dutt. Right from him OD-ing on drugs to sleeping around with women, every action was projected in a manner to evoke sympathy for the man who’s supposedly never done anything wrong. He’s a privileged man-child who is always mollycoddled by everyone – because it’s never his fault.

An individual’s formative years are significant to shaping them. It isn’t uncommon to fall prey to the forbidden, especially at a tender age – and it so happens that a lot of our actions are triggered by peer pressure. It is at such times that parents attempt to lend an ear or try to open to you to make you worldly-wise. Unfortunately, Sunil Dutt (played by Paresh Rawal) worries and worries more about his son. But all he does is give sermons. He either overlooks his son’s mistakes or pretends to play tough. There’s really no balance here. At one such moment, where Sanju (who, by now, has become an alcoholic and a stoner) has a desperate urge to gulp down a few drinks, he rebels against his father who seems to have hidden his stash. Not one to listen, Sanju doesn’t bat an eyelid and lands at his girlfriend’s house at an unearthly hour and demands alcohol. He does not show an iota of shame, because he’s used to being privileged.

Every time he takes drugs, we’re made to believe that this is his mechanism to cope up with all the emotional turmoil in his life. As far as drug addiction is concerned, the movie seems to convey that drugs can be a fallback, when nothing’s going right. You can’t send out the wrong message, just to put an actor on a pedestal.

During the course of the film, we realise how Sanju dotes on his mother. The moment he hears of her terminal illness, he is shattered. He wants to be by her side and do all he can for her, but his drug addiction overpowers him and he loses control. For once, let’s believe he was unable to deal with the trauma. But despite giving a ‘vachan’ to his father, he snorts cocaine while his mother is on her death bed. How do we justify this?

He is not a dutiful son – but perhaps, you’d expect him to stay committed to his girlfriend, Ruby (Sonam Kapoor). It’s literally a crime to expect anything from this film. When his girlfriend waits for Sanju at a court, he holds her up and doesn’t turn up at his marriage. A furious Ruby demands an answer from a stoned Sanju, who conveniently garlands her with a commode seat. When it’s absolutely justified for her to kick up a storm, she tells Sanju’s friend to keep this incident undisclosed – “kyuki wo seh nahi payega (because he won’t be able to bear it).” Entitlement much?

He doesn’t even spare his only loyal friend, Kamlesh (hats off to Vicky Kaushal, by the way, who excelled in this role). So, Kamlesh (aka Kamli) backs his extremely annoying, good-for-nothing friend every single time. In fact, whenever Sanju needs Kamli by his side, his friend travels across seven seas (or even beyond) to be there for his friend. And what does Sanju do? He does ghapaghap (sex) with Kamli’s love interest. Because loyalty isn’t really cool for Sanju – and it’s fine because he takes his friend for granted! Even when he befriends gangsters and hoards rifles under the pretext of protecting his father, Sunil Dutt and Kamli run from pillar to post to bail him out. After all, it’s Sanju and he is allowed to commit any number of mistakes.

What this movie propagates is a litany of excuses for bad behaviour and how ‘boys will be boys’, because they can get away with anything. This movie is exactly like Sanju’s drugged state – it has its highs and lows. Hirani has handpicked the choicest of incidents that will trigger sympathy and manipulate the audience’s emotions. On the other hand, if the director had advised the audience to not babysit men, and instead, hold them accountable for their actions, the story would have been completely different!

The post ‘Sanju’ Sends All The Wrong Messages While Excusing Sanjay Dutt At His Worst appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

हमेशा से लगता था कि कश्मीर-खालिस्तान , हिन्दू-मुसलमान, आरक्षण जैसे मुद्दे हद संवेदनशील है जिन पर ज़्यादा ध्यान ना देकर समय के भरोसे छोड़ देना चाहिए क्योंकि इन पर होने वाली बहस का कोई अंत नहीं है। लोगों को कभी न कभी तो समझ आना है, लेकिन लगता है देर लगेगी। आजकल जब भी टीवी चलाओ तो 6 लोग बहस कर रहे होते हैं। सभी न्यूज़ एंकर एक ज़ुबान बोल रहे हैं। पहले लोग आमजन की समस्याओं के लिए सरकार को कोसा करते थे, आजकल आपस में ही एक दूसरे को कोस रहे हैं। सोचकर कभी डर लगता है तो कभी हंसी भी आ जाती है।

हिन्दुओं को लगता है कि मुसलमानों की संख्या बढ़ना खतरा है और मुसलमानों को लगता है कि हिन्दुओं से लड़ने के लिए संख्या बढ़ानी पड़ेगी। दरअसल ना हिन्दू बढ़े ना मुसलमान, रोबोट्स ज़्यादा तेज़ी से बढ़ रहे है।

प्रधानमंत्री रोबोट बनाओ योजना के तहत आगामी 10 वर्षो में सभी भारतीयों को रोबोट बना दिये जाने का लक्ष्य है। यह रोबोट आधुनिक तकनीक से लैस राष्ट्रवाद की चिप से चलेगा जिसका कोई ऑपरेटिंग सिस्टम नहीं होगा बल्कि ‘सिस्टम’ ही इसको ऑपरेट करेगा। जहां अन्य प्रोसेसर में RAM व ROM दोनों होते हैं, आश्चर्यजनक रूप से इसके तो ROM ROM में ही RAM है।

हालांकि जानकारों का कहना है कि किसान एंव मज़दूर वर्ग उक्त योजना से अभी भी वंचित हैं और आये दिन प्रदर्शन कर सरकार से नाराज़गी जता रहे हैं। वहीं दूसरी तरफ हमारा युवा बहुत खुश है जो आज राष्ट्रीय ज्ञान एंव अनुसंधान बोर्ड की व्हाट्सएप्प विश्वविद्यालय से उत्तीर्ण हो चुका है और अन्य मेधावी छात्रों के साथ मुसलमानों के ट्रक और फ्रिज में काम ढूंढ रहा है। इनके सपनो की नगरी बम्बई नही अयोध्या हो चुकी है।

राष्ट्रवाद के कारण गोरक्षा, मंदिर, योग जैसे क्षेत्रों में रोज़गार के अवसर बढ़े हैं। वर्तमान हालात यह है कि भारत भले ही प्रति व्यक्ति आय में पीछे रह रहा हो लेकिन व्हाट्सएप्प और गौ-रक्षा के दम पर क्रमशः “प्रति व्यक्ति राय” और “प्रति व्यक्ति गाय” की दरों में अभूतपूर्व वृद्धि हुई है। मुख्यमंत्री आवास की जगह रामजन्मभूमि पर डेरा डालने की चाह रखने वाले ये असाधारण लोग ज़्यादा ज्ञान प्राप्ति के दम्भ में ज़मीन से ऊपर उड़ने लगे हैं, जिस कारण अच्छी सड़कें अब इनकी ज़रूरत नहीं रही।

इन सब हालातों को देखते हुए हमने राष्ट्र को यह गाना समर्पित किया है, जिसे सुनने के बाद हमे ‘इंट्रेस्टिंग फैक्ट्स’ दिखाए जाकर हमारा सामान्य ज्ञान दुरुस्त करने के प्रयास युद्ध स्तर पर प्रारम्भ हो चुके हैं, एन्टी नेशनल कहा जा रहा है, घर का पता पूछा जा रहा है और यह तक भी कहा जा रहा है कि जब व्हाट्सएप्प पर ज्ञान बंट रहा था तब कहाँ सो रहे थे ? “हम जैमिंग कर रहे थे और गाने बना रहे थे, जो hindipendent जल्द ही पेश करेगा, धन्यवाद।”

The post मीडिया का, सरकार का, समाज का सबका खबर लेने वाला Anti National रैप साँग appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

I believe that all of us have contributed to (and even created) fake news at some point in our lives. We have twisted facts, added some extra ones, eliminated some bits, and sometimes, simply lied about an event to make the tale more interesting, spicy, intriguing, simply for personal benefits.

This form of storytelling is heavily exploited on social media. While anything and everything can be made into fake news, here are some instances where it has really led to misery:

1. Recently, fake news of child-lifters (circulated on social media) in Assam and other states has resulted in the death of several people.

2. Communal violence has risen due to the spread of fake news.

3. Political illiteracy among people is rising. In most cases, fake news shows them only what the establishment wants them to see and not the truth (or even a version of it)

So what role can we play to ensure that fake news is abolished?

Firstly, let’s ask ourselves: have we shared anything without verifying the facts? If yes, we are all wrongdoers.

It takes a simple Google search to verify the facts. Alt News is a very fine news website that works against fake propaganda. See their stories to check out the real facts. If there are other websites, please mention them in the comment section.

Now if we get to know that a particular page has shared fake news, what do we do? Do we still follow the page? Congratulations, we are again the wrongdoers. Keep it up.

Now come the propaganda pages. Almost all my friends follow some kind of propaganda page. Propaganda pages are meant to produce the version of the truth that suits the party they are affiliated to. Let me ask a simple question: can it be true that the current government has done no good and simply wasted our money?

Answer: Any government will at least do some work to show people after 5 years.

At the same time, can it be true that all the criticism aimed at the current government is wrong?

Answer: No, the criticisms are quite solid.

Therefore, simply speaking, unfollow propaganda pages.

Now, in the last segment of this article, I would like to raise another question: how do we react to any fake propaganda or news spread by our friends?

The ideal response to this should be a comment with proper links to authentic news articles. We must not ignore such news as most people do. It is our responsibility to educate people stuck in the whirlpool of propaganda so that they can help educate themselves and be free from this whirlpool.

If you have any more ideas, please share them in the comments.

The post We Have All Contributed To The Rise Of Fake News, But Here Are Ways To Rectify It appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Postcard News, synonymous with misinformation in the garb of news, continues to post with impunity content which is communal in nature, provocative in tone and mostly untrue. In 2017, Alt News had chronicled numerous instances of fake news posted on this website. The fact that Postcard News has been exposed repeatedly seems to have made no dent in its penchant for fake news. Here are some more instances wherein Postcard News has resorted to misinformation.

1. Fake news of Jain monk assaulted by Muslims

In March 2018 in the run-up to the Karnataka election, Postcard News ‘reported’ that a Jain monk had been assaulted by Muslim youth in Karnataka. The Karnataka govt was the target as it was alleged that there is no safety in the state.

Not only was this information patently false and malicious, disseminated with the objective of inciting hatred but this misadventure landed Mahesh Vikram Hegde in prison. The Jain monk was NOT attacked by members of the Muslim community but had in fact met with an accident due to which he had sustained injuries.

2. Rumour mongering over the death of Paresh Mesta in Karnataka

The body of 23-year old Paresh Mesta was found floating on a lake after the flames of communalism singed Uttara Kanada district of Karnataka in January 2018. Mesta’s death was communalised – it was alleged that he was tortured and mutilated by ‘jihadis’. Postcard News was among those who fanned the fire, ‘reporting’ gory details of Mesta’s torture.

This report was a malicious concoction. This was confirmed by the Department of Forensic Medicine, Manipal which conducted the post-mortem and released a document which gave a point-by-point rebuttal of each of the allegations of torture and mutilation of Paresh Mesta.

3. Fake extract from Pranab Mukherjee’s book

In June 2018, Postcard News published an article in which it claimed that former President Pranab Mukherjee had written in his book that Sonia Gandhi took umbrage over his words praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Postcard News reproduced an ‘extract’ from the book which said, “After PM Modi completed one year of his term in office, I praised him for the work done so far, on which Sonia Gandhi took umbrage and became angry. Once, while coming out after addressing the parliament, I happened to come face to face with her. She was accompanied by Gulam Nabi Azad and Mani Shanker Aiyer, who greeted me but Sonia kept waiting for me to greet her first. She forgot that the First Citizen of the country was in front of her. She had to acknowledge the President of the country and not Pranab Mukherjee. This greatly pained me from inside, that Sonia is so used to subservience.”

Alt News reached out to former President Mukherjee’s office to check if this was an excerpt from his books. His office stated, “The book ends when he became the President. Covers the period between 2004-2012. So where does the question of something in May 2015 arise?” In another article, it said that Mukherjee had claimed that Sonia Gandhi hates Hindus. This too turned out to be false.

4. Fake letter about Sonia Gandhi and Karnataka minister engineering Lingayat issue

“MASSIVE EXPOSE! Karnataka minister M B Patil’s letter to Sonia Gandhi reveals that Global Christian Council and World Islamic organisation masterminded the division of Lingayats in Karnataka!” The website circulated a letter which it claims was written by M. B. Patil, President of Bijapur Lingayat Association, to Sonia Gandhi. This was also tweeted by Mahesh Vikram Hegde.

As expected, this letter turned out to be a fabrication. Not only were the language and contents of the letter a dead giveaway, a quick Google search revealed that ‘Global Christian Council’ and ‘World Islamic Organisation’ do not exist. Alt News also spoke to M B Patil who rubbished this letter and said he will file for defamation. Following Alt News’ expose, the article and Mahesh Hegde’s tweet disappeared from the internet.

5. Fake news of textbooks in Karnataka encouraging religious conversion

“Massive controversy breaks out as Social Science textbook in Karnataka includes chapters on How to Islamize country, how to spread Christianity and force kids to visit Mosques and Churches!” screamed the headline of a Postcard News article of June 2018. The article explained that the chapter has been included “on orders of Congress high command which is nothing but a mouthpiece of ROME and VATICAN” and further added that “Sonia Gandhi is spearheading a campaign to turn the country into Christian dominated Nation by helping missionaries and Churches in mass conversions.”

This claim too was false. Alt News has reported how social science textbooks of Karnataka include chapters not only on Islam and Christianity but also about the various strands of Hinduism. Moreover, the chapter on Christianity and Islam had been prescribed under the syllabus for social science by the National Curriculum Framework, 2005.

6. Fake quotes from Farhan Akhtar and A R Rahman

When communal violence broke out in Kasganj, U.P in January 2018, a quote ascribed to actor Farhan Akhtar began circulating on social media. According to the quotation, the actor justified the death of those who were killed in the communal violence that erupted in Kasganj on Republic day. Postcard News was among those which carried this quote.

Needless to say, this quote turned out to be fake. Akhtar came out with a clarification, tweeting that he had never said what is being attributed to him by nefarious elements on social media and urged his fans and followers to be cautious about what and what not to believe on social media.

Postcard News had also posted a quotation attributed to musician and composer A R Rahman, according to which Rahman welcomed the government’s initiative to curb cattle slaughter and said that “Killing cow hurts the sentiments of billions of Hindus.”

This lie was busted by SMHoaxSlayer in an article which clarified that Rahman had not said these words.

7. Old image used to show lathicharge by West Bengal police

In June 2017 Postcard News posted a picture of a bloodied man claiming him to be a victim of lathi-charge by West Bengal (WB) Police against supporters of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GFM) who were agitating against the govt’s diktat that Bengali be taught compulsorily till Class 10 in schools across the state.

The picture is actually that of Col DK Rai, who commanded the 6/8 Gorkha Rifles. Only, Col Rai passed away on March 29, 2017. He was attacked by the police during the Gorkhaland protest in 2008 and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the veteran CPI(M) leader, was the chief minister of West Bengal at that point of time.

8. Fake news on Rajdeep Sardesai’s son

“Rajdeep Sardesai’s son will lose his medical seat for getting admission by saying that his parents were NRIs?” asked the headline of an article on Postcard News in February 2018. The article was based entirely on Prashant Patel Umrao’s unsubstantiated allegation that journalist Rajdeep Sardesai’s son had availed admission under the NRI quote at Manipal University in 2013.

Once again, this information turned out to be untrue. Sardesai placed documents regarding his son’s admission process in the public domain which revealed that he had gained admission for the medical course at Manipal University on merit. Manipal University also tweeted about this issue from their official handle.

Ishan Sardesai, rank 1050, was admitted to the MBBS course KMC, MANIPAL in 2013 under the General category based on merit. The allegations made about his admission are malicious and totally false. The controversy is uncalled for.

— Manipal Academy of Higher Education (@ManipalUni) February 12, 2018

Misinformation propagated by Mahesh Vikram Hegde – the founder of Postcard

Mahesh Vikram Hegde, founder ofPostcard News is a repeat offender when it comes to disseminating misinformation. On numerous occasions, Hegde has made false claims via his Twitter account.

“Muslims responsible for 95% of rapes”

Mahesh Vikram Hegde tweeted on July 3 that an overwhelming majority of rapists in India from 2016-2018 were Muslim. He added that 96% of victims of rape are Hindu women.

As a matter of fact, the NCRB which is the nodal agency for crime tabulation in India does not record crimes on the basis of the religion of the perpetrator and victim. This was confirmed by NCRB in a conversation with Alt News, calling this message false, malicious and complete misrepresentation of facts.

Photoshopped image of Jawaharlal Nehru

In October 2017, Hegde tweeted a photograph which showed former PM Jawaharlal Nehru in the company of women. The post was meant to show Nehru as a womaniser.

The picture was photoshopped. Nehru is not even present in the original image. Boom Live had published an article according to which this photograph is of ‘chorus girls’, a theatrical group in the USA which incorporated various dance forms such as ballet and burlesque.

Old photoshopped pic which has been making the rounds for a few years now tweeted by @mvmeet, the founder of fake news portal @postcard_news pic.twitter.com/6DofYIfvnt

— Pratik Sinha (@free_thinker) October 14, 2017

Despite the numerous occasions on which it has been called out, Postcard News continues to spread fake news. This may be disconcerting but perhaps not surprising. When Mahesh Vikram Hegde was arrested in March 2018 for posting communally inciteful fake news, Union Minister Anant Kumar Hegde had expressed outrage along with numerous BJP MPs, MLAs and party leaders. Moreover, Mahesh Vikram Hegde is followed by PM Narendra Modi on Twitter. A portal like Postcard News continues to flourish because a number of ministers and members of the ruling party regularly share content from the website. The political patronage and support enjoyed by Postcard News seems to guarantee a degree of incorrigibility and brazenness.

The post Postcard ‘News’: A Mega Factory Of Fake News That Continues To Spew Venom appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Every time I see an Anurag Kashyap movie, I don’t want it to end. I get so intertwined with the characters and their world that getting out of it is always painful. “Sacred Games” helped me stay in that world longer. It is probably one of the most entertaining series in India in the recent past. The last being “Lakhon Mein Ek”.

Why is Sacred Games awesome?

1. The Cast is Lit AF

We have all watched countless movies which didn’t get super great reviews but we still went to see them because the cast either had Nawazuddin Siddique, Radhika Apte or Neeraj Kabi in it. This was a wet dream in terms of casting for people who enjoy this genre of cinema.

On the flip side, I don’t remember when I last paid for a movie which had Saif Ali Khan in a leading role. A huge, thunderous round of applause for being the only Khan to be able to truly reinvent himself as an actor.

2. Solid Writing

When I read Godfather as a kid, I was introduced to a very interesting storytelling tool. Mario Puzo would introduce characters into the plot but would not reveal their backstory right then, as many writers do. He let the reader get comfortable with the character and then would reveal their backstory after a few chapters. It’s always more interesting to know the gory/shocking/unfortunate/great past of someone you know rather than someone who you just get introduced to. “Sacred Games” does just that. As soon as you feel you know a character and that you have put them in a stereotype in your head, the directors take us on a journey to reveal another layer of the person.

3. Suspense done right!

All the great international series like “Narcos”, “House of Cards” etc. that are being devoured by the Indian audiences thanks to Amazon Prime, Netflix & Hotstar, have one thing in common – the crazy levels of suspense and twists. We are left with no choice but to binge watch seasons back to back. Indian content has traditionally had either one large twist or a slower pace of revealing important aspects of the story. “Sacred Game” starts the rollercoaster ride right from the first minute. You feel personally involved with the narrative from the first episode itself. SPOILER ALERT: All the scenes where Radhika Apte is walking into crime houses were heart-stoppingly beautiful.

“Sacred Games” must have gotten so many creative brains churning. Hopefully, the best of the Indian creative industry will come together now to break out of the 70mm format and create unexpected formats of storytelling with new and compelling narratives. Stories that must not always pander to mass sentiments. Stories that will rally their own audiences. Stories that will not only entertain but also shape popular culture.

We are at the brink of exciting times.

The post Lit AF Cast And Suspense Done Right: Why You Must Watch Netflix’s ‘Sacred Games’ appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Ah, “Sacred Games”. The intelligentsia will not stop talking about it. Many of our Old Monk-chugging friends will say that this is the way a TV series should be made. Others might even start a ‘Causes’ page to make Anurag Kashyap, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vikramaditya Motwane the triumvirate of Indian noir filmmaking. It is that good – and like “Inside Edge”, it will change the way the Indian film industry sees the online streaming scene. There will be reviews, and you are free to read them – but this is not a review of “Sacred Games”. Instead, it is a discussion on the language of sexual intercourse and the various undercurrents that the directors bring with it.

Indian cinema audiences, on the whole, are still voyeuristic virgins. Many of them have seen only two types of intercourse on screen – the fun, passionate, superbly edited ones in what passes as a family film, and the gut-wrenching, shying-away-from-the-real-deal sexual assault sequences in a U/A film. Directors can cry themselves hoarse that ‘that’ scene was needed in ‘that’ film, but how does a coitus scene change the fact that the girl’s pregnant the next day?

Till about 3 am this morning, I maintained that sexual intercourse scenes are unnecessary in Bollywood films. Today, after watching “Sacred Games”, I can say that with the right director, the right script, the right characters and actors, sexual sequences can really take the story ahead and unravel facets within minutes. Because, hot damn, the sexual sequences in “Sacred Games”.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays Ganesh Gaitonde, a gangster who becomes uber-famous and deadly. Of course, Nawaz plays the role with an enthusiasm that’s rarely seen in the actors of today, and Saif Ali Khan essentially ‘unstars’ himself for this series. It is nice to see a celeb humbling himself to become an actor for a role that can change his life forever. Both characters are superbly written and portrayed on screen. While emotions are strewn all about, it’s interesting to see how the scriptwriters have used sexuality to create the characters.

The sexual sequences in “Sacred Games” will be embarrassing to the well-heeled crowd, those boys who are yet to evolve from a Pop Tates to an Olive Garden mentality, and to finally the ‘your place or mine’ phase. In “Sacred Games”, there’s no sexual intercourse – there’s only passionate sex bordering on assault.

Ganesh Gaitonde doesn’t ask ‘your place or mine’. Everyone he has intercourse with is welcome on his creaky, king-sized, non-branded bed. The way he enacts the scene is embarrassing to an entire generation of people who are paying through their nose to get that six-pack, buy good underwear, do that and do this to look a certain way during sex. Here, Ganesh Gaitonde doesn’t even begin to strip – he literally holds the hem of his lungi between his teeth while doing the deed.

It’s not just Gaitonde, most of the characters have a ladder that preps them up in the form of a sexual relationship or a connotation. There’s this woman who marries a gangster and evolves from a docile, submissive wife to a feisty lover and finally, to a would-have-been confidante. She changes from a stuttering, stammering woman to a woman who is confident and ready to give it back –  just because her gangster husband is suffering from temporary impotency.

It’s fascinating how this story is woven, and then there are the connotations. The series is littered with cuss words, but the one that hits the most is spat out by one of the gangsters to define Radhika Apte’s character (she plays a RAW agent). Seriously, the only foreign object that goes inside her all through the series is 9 mm lead. But then, that’s the mental violence that the series maker wanted to show the audience – it isn’t about whether she is what they called her or not, what matters is what one thinks of her.

Whatever “Sacred Games” has succeeded in, it has also succeeded in opening a whole new valve that will now normalise sexual intercourse – and that’s always a good thing.

The post Troubling But True: The Sexual Dynamics In ‘Sacred Games’ appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

“Sanju” is the story of Sanjay Dutt, a Bollywood superstar and son of respected actor-activist-politician Sunil Dutt. The film makes no mention of his childhood or teenage years, and it jumps straight into his debut film launched by his dad, “Rocky”. It explores his drug addiction, alcoholism and emotional struggle to cope with his mother’s cancer treatment and eventual demise.

Ranbir’s acting is incredible. He underwent a physical transformation for this role and delivered an immersive performance, especially during the emotional scenes. However, the film makes a sudden jump from one stage of Dutt’s life to another in an inexplicably fast manner, leaving the audience confused and wondering about what happened in between.

There are certain instances mentioned in the movie which are hard to digest and don’t align with real-life instances. For instance, we are told that Sanjay Dutt acquired three AK-56 rifles fearing his dad’s and sister’s safety, which was apparently delivered for free by the underworld. And two of the guns were picked up instantly by them again free of charges after a phone call. We are to believe that he is innocent. This is a real-life statement, he had given to the police.

For everything wrong done by Mr Dutt, everyone else in his life has been blamed. He was apparently convicted under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act because of the lying and fact twisting media, which has nothing to do with his friendship with underworld dons. It’s even mentioned in the movie that he had met the dons in Dubai.

For me, this movie is an act of propaganda to portray Sanjay Dutt as a misguided but well-intentioned man. We can’t blame the filmmaker when there is not much written and researched literature available on his life. The script of the story is based on how Sanjay Dutt narrated his life’s story to director Rajkumar Hirani. There were reports of Madhuri Dixit approaching the filmmaker to remove her part. We can’t know for sure who else had requested for the same.

Ranbir Kapoor’s brilliant performance is the only thing which makes this movie worth watching.

The post ‘Sanju’ Cherry-Picks From Sanjay Dutt’s Life And Whitewashes It appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Recently, I watched the newly released movie “Jurassic Park: The Fallen Kingdom” in the theatre. Technically and story-wise, it was a good movie. The usual plot of any Jurassic Park/World movie is almost the same, someone gets greedy and wants to use genetic technology and dinosaurs for their selfish purpose. For example, in the first film, John Hammond wanted to create something amazing with his money and influence so he built the theme park to astonish the world with living dinosaurs. The next part had his son bringing out the T-rex to sell it to a park. The third part deals with adrenaline junkie kids who visit the island for an adventure. Then there is the “Jurassic World” series, where the park is rebuilt and we see two parties- 1) The park’s founding body who think that dinosaurs are just toys to showcase in their amusement park and 2) The military who want to create dinosaur species to hunt a given target. In the end, everyone learns a lesson in their own way.

The latest sequel talks about one more problem – the volcano on Isla Nublar is getting more and more active. It has the potential to burn down the island completely and wipe out all the dinosaur species from earth (once again).

This creates a conflict – whether to let mother nature take her course (and let the dinosaurs die) or meddle in her business (and save the animals by displacing them to a new island). Immediately, there are two groups on either side: those who want to save the dinosaurs and those who don’t want to take any additional actions. There is a third hidden group of opportunists, who deceive the first group to track the dinosaurs on the island and capture them for experimentation and military purposes.

There is one incident in the movie where, from the island, military men rescue as many dinosaur species as possible and take them on their military ship. The time is critical and the volcano is at the peak of destruction. Everyone is on board and suddenly they all hear an excruciating sound, the sad cries of a giant Diplodocus who was left behind, standing alone on the deck. As if she was calling for them to come back for her, or saying her goodbyes, no one would know. No one could do anything. They didn’t return for her, maybe because she was just a harmless herbivore, who took too much space and couldn’t be a killer. In seconds, the lava erupts and the poor dinosaur, who was once the crown jewel of the park and an epic magnanimous creature of the planet, was engulfed in flames. This triggers something in the viewers, that they can describe with no locution.

The Senate witnesses a debate between first two groups – whether or not to save Isla Nublar’s dinosaurs from the volcanic eruption. Tough questions are posed – Who has more right to live than others? Who is the better one? Who has the right to decide that someone is better than others? Who gets the authority to decide everyone’s net worth? Is there any measure, any unit to describe it? How many units are good and how many are bad? What is good and what is bad?

This reminded me of another movie, “The Oxford Murders”. Here, the protagonist was Martin, a university student. He unravels the mystery of his landlady’s murder while being fooled by his idol – Arthur Seldom – who is actually, trying to cover for the murderer because of some guilt from his past. Seldom makes Martin believe that the serial killer is challenging them by giving them mathematical problems. But his puzzles are being used as a cover by a desperate father of a seven-year-old girl in need of a lung transplant and he murders the next few (who are already on the verge of dying).

He plans to blow up the school-bus of differently-abled kids and use one of their lungs for his daughter’s transplant. He dies in the ordeal, but the curious thing is, why did he think it’s appropriate to take the lives of those kids? Because their consciousness was not as developed as ours? Does it make them any less insignificant? 

The French graphic novel “Le Transperceneige” (on which the movie “Snowpiercer” is based), shows the struggle for survival of human beings after a failed global-warming experiment induces an ice age. It effectively highlights the class difference among humans and how some lives are considered more precious than others. It reflects the narcissistic nature of human beings – how little we care about each other and other living creatures.

There are many movies and fictional shows that show a similar line of existential crisis. It’s funny how the production houses for such movies (which are mostly Hollywood-based, like Marvel or Warner Bros, etc.) keep their own countries at the centre of the decision-making in these films and still make money on an international level. Even the kid’s cartoon, “Doraemon” shows the world from a Japanese perspective because that’s where it is made. Whereas, the Potterverse mentions and acknowledges the magical population only from Europe. This is, of course, obvious. Everyone favours their own troupe. We naturally feel safe in a familiar environment with people we know. This natural instinct – a characteristic feature representing our animalistic lineage – is interpreted by the human population as a license to berate the unfamiliar.

In his book “Sapiens – A Brief History Of Mankind”, Yuval Noah Harari has beautifully given an account of the socio-psycho-biological evolution of mankind. There were more than six species under the category of ‘Humans’ (under the genus Homo) one of which is us, the Homo sapiens. What made the others decline to make us the only human species? Or the question should be, what is so special about sapiens that they are the only lasting members of the said genus?

The answer is cognitive evolution, which involves more than just communication skills. Many animals and humans (other than sapiens) could say “Careful! A lion!”– to make others aware and run for their lives. But a modern human-sapiens-can tell their friends that this morning near the bend in the river, they saw a lion tracking a herd of bison. They can then describe the exact location, including different paths leading to the area. With this data, they all can discuss whether they should approach the river, chase away the lion and hunt the bison.

This cognitive revolution also allows Homo sapiens to acquire the ability to say, “The lion is the guardian spirit of our tribe.”  Only us sapiens can construct and believe in a world based entirely on fiction. This enables us to cooperate on a massive level. Using one faith system, we just have to believe in the guardian spirit of the lion – without forming an intimate bond with each other, which is crucial for other animals to trust each other. This is our secret behind the dominance over other species. But this comes with a great responsibility because we live in a world that has a huge number of elements connected by webs intermingled with each other in a complicated fashion. It needs to be intact because we can’t afford any single thread in the web to be broken.

I’d say in accordance with the cognitive revolution theory, our current behaviour showing favouritism towards those who are useful to us and thrashing others – is very ‘un-sapiens-like’. We are supposed to be cooperating with everyone so that the web of life is not disturbed. Looking at the history of evolution, that’s the ultimate purpose of our existence. If everyone understands this, even in a fictional world, it’d be easier for us to decide what to do with the dinosaurs on Isla Nublar.

The post ‘Jurassic Park: The Fallen Kingdom’ Makes Us Question The Selfish Nature Of Humans appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Story

What does it take to handle one of the world’s most high risk and stressful jobs? Going behind the secured gates at Mumbai’s ATC (Air Traffic Control) during the busiest hours of the day, we met the people at the heart of the operation and listened to their stories of life and work. Life-changing decisions were being taken in split seconds. There was just no room for error.

With the aviation industry growing in India and abroad, the onus of safe and expedite flying rests on the hands of the ATC alongside the pilots.

Inception

I had always been fascinated with the aviation industry as I grew up watching a lot of Air Crash Investigations on National Geographic. Last year, in the month of May, I visited the ATC Tower for the first time in Mumbai. On knowing the life and culture of ATCs, I expressed my desire to make a short film.

Reception

This short movie is one-of-a-kind, and a film on such a topic has never been produced in India before. Titled ‘Being an Air Traffic Controller’, it has garnered over 1 lakh views on YouTube within a month of its release. The film was shot over a period of 8-9 months in the highly sensitive premises of the ATC tower.

Here are some behind the scenes photographs:

The post Why I Was Inspired To Make A Short Film On Mumbai Airport’s Air Traffic Controllers appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

(Trigger Warning: Sexual Violence)

Issuing rape threats on social media has become a common scenario nowadays. The trolls—or ‘dastards’, which I think is more apt—hide their true identity behind fake profiles to abuse and pass lewd comments at and about women. Worse still is how they treat women activists and social workers who dare to speak their mind. Quite ignominious is the fact that they are backed by various political parties and organisations! But it is also shocking that they have not even spared Sushma Swaraj, the Minister of External Affairs of India!

Online trolls. They believe abusing women is their forte! They are, I believe, potential rapists, and that’s why strict action must be taken against them.

Whenever a woman challenges their opinion, they become protective of their masculinity. And when these trolls find themselves unable to counter a woman’s arguments, they start abusing them! It clearly shows their ineptness. A few days ago, a man threatened Priyanka Chaturvedi with rape on Twitter. Kudos to Chaturvedi, the National Spokesperson of the Congress, for mustering up the courage to retaliate—she put the profile information of this potential rapist on her timeline, and informed Delhi and Mumbai police and even the Ministry of Home Affairs! This matter got the attention of both the media and Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who ordered a probe into the matter and the result is that today that man named Girish has been arrested by the Mumbai police, under Section 509 of IPC, including the IT and POCSO Acts.

Dear BJP creeps, if you didn’t harass women, issue rape threats, hurl perverted graphic abuses, attack couples, unleash your slime on the Internet; and if you had contributed to the Independence movement, women would talk to you too, like they talked to Nehru.

— Shehla Rashid (@Shehla_Rashid) November 16, 2017

Last year, singer Abhijeet abused Shehla Rashid (ex vice-president of JNUSU) on Twitter by calling her a “whore”, and saying that she knew many interesting positions to keep her customers happy. This single tweet was enough to describe his foul mindset. And these are just two examples.

Just because someone’s opinion is different or is a follower of a different ideology, these trolls start abusing them, their family members, and even violate their privacy by putting up their doctored images and videos on social media or by sharing their personal information. Can you imagine the mental state of the survivors?

This is happening at a time when crimes against women are peaking in India. When every other day the news headlines cover the report of someone molesting a child, raping and brutally murdering a juvenile, an acquaintance raping a school-going girl, people raping and parading a woman on the street naked—the list of hate crimes  is unending. And what are we doing? We just keep mum and watch the politicians playing ‘vendetta politics’ on the death of these girls and women. Their only motive is to find out whether the accused was a Hindu, Muslim or a Christian!

It is high time for us to unite and fight against people, online and offline, who are hell-bent on maligning the safety and freedom of women in India. We, as responsible citizens of India must ensure that there is no place for hate.

The post A Staggering Number Of Men Online Think It’s Okay To Threaten Women With Rape appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.