Desicritics Category: Media: News

Mr. Prime Minister, You've Disappointed Us Again

Being Cynical — Wed, 26 May 2010 09:09:57 EDT

I was fortunate that this phenomenal event occurred in a working day and more so at a time I and many current affairs buffs like me are busy in their respective offices. The watershed event which finally took place after a long wait of six years turned out to be sheer torture of 1.5 hours for many who were unfortunate enough to sustain the torture on TV. Spare a thought for those helpless seven hundred odd journos present in Vigyan Bhawan to take on the torture head on.

Honestly Dr. Manmohan Singh might not get a better opportunity to set many things straight for once but opted otherwise. Many had thought Dr. Singh would have truck loads of information to share since he last interacted with the media some six years back. Even if we can forgo the amount of information that was expected from him, the least expectation was some excitement, energetic and thumping reaction from him. But as usual he choose to go with his trademark monotonous, emotion and expressionless narration of some pre-decided stanza, which many thought was only copyrighted by Tushar Kapoor. When the brilliant minds of different media houses struggled to come up with a decent headline to publish Dr. Singh's press conference, it is easily evident how non starter the whole thing was. Hang on - I guess I am going away from the topic. I am not disappointed for Dr. Singh's Tushar Kapoor act but the nature, quality and honesty of the response he delivered that day.

There were many questions hurled at him, but let's analyze a few which have some interest for us. Certainly we are not much bothered on the PID issued to foreign journalists on which our MEA and I&B ministry are at loggerheads. When asked about A. Raja's brilliance and his uncanny ability of stocking government booty at his private bungalow, the answer was far from being termed as an answer even. 'Investigation is on and culprits would be dealt with iron fist'. What's new on this, Mr. PM? If we leave apart the investigation, then the second part is very well authorised by our constitution and we definitely didn't need an assurance from you on the authenticity of our constitution for an answer. Rs. 9000 crores for 2G auction and Rs. 70000 crores for 3G. Isn't there a glaring loss for the government in 2G auction? A 2nd standard student can tell this, if he has got some idea about numbers then what and why on earth is some investigation needed to figure this out? The bizarre statement of the culprit would be punished, should go unsaid. The whole answer suggested nothing is going to happen to the culprits as the most visible culprit happens to be a big ally of the running government.

Dr. Singh was at his monotonous best when asked about the security of our country. The same age old dialogue of trust deficit with Pakistan was his agenda. Forget about the deficit or surplus, the idea of associating Pakistan with the word trust is laughable. The example was promptly provided the very next day when Hafiz Saeed was let off before anything could even start. What significance really happened post 26/11 that our whole machinery are running all around with Olive branches and proposal of talks is beyond my comprehensions. If someone asks me on what grounds we scaled in terms of security, I would reply with silence. Many of our states are under Maoist mayhem, our brave Jawans are getting killed on daily basis, railway tracks are blasted almost every alternate day and what our response to all those - A top Maoist leader goes off the hook in West Bengal due to lack of evidence. It is strange, we are ready with our Air force jets to bomb our own people but run around like a bunch of school kids behind a US-sponsored lollipop and go on a hugging and kissing spree at Thimphu. Irony I must say.

His answers on our economic growth are insignificant to me. Touting the upcoming malls, shopping junctions and international airports means nothing when still 40% of our populace struggle to get hold of a decent square meal per day. Don't believe me, then better ask Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who is expecting 2 lakh more families to be inducted into the latest below poverty line list. Is this the 8% growth that we were talking about? All these statistics are jargon best kept in books and reports and go on a chest beating exercise on global platform, giving a scare or two to China and some envious punch to Pakistan. At grassroots they mean nothing.

The only time Dr. Singh was seen excited when asked about Rahul Gandhi's prospect of becoming the prime minister. Come on, sir, ours is a democracy, isn't it? Let the people decide whom they want to lead the country. The very question seems out of context, as the whole press conference was there to discuss the gains & losses till the last general election. When the PM has to say that he would continue his term to completion before a certain Rahul Gandhi can take over or worse is ready to forfeit his post if the party and it's chief wants in between, is quite bizarre. Being an astute politician, you must be aware that it is you whom the country has voted to power not someone whom your party prefers or for that matter your party's chief prefers. Aren't you answerable to the country also, other than your party chief?

Torture or no torture, the whole media briefing needs to be forgotten in a hurry. After a One and half hour circus, nothing significant seems to come out of it. All the issue and the clarity on them remains as docile as they were before the press meet. If not for anyone Dr. Singh could have shown some aggressiveness and settle the tag of him being weak and possessing a media phobia, as attached by the opposition, for once. But instead it all turned out to be a big torture like a One and half hour long Yawn. Don't believe me? then try taking the yawn first.

IPL 3: Chennai Super Kings Out-class Mumbai Indians

Aaman Lamba — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:43:48 EDT

The Indian Premier League will be remembered as much for exciting on-field action as for the off-field shenanigans and tweets. The finals of the third IPL season were great cricket at the very least, even as BCCI officials waited with suspension orders for IPL Commissioner Lalit K Modi ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting tomorrow.

The teams were evenly matched, and featuring icons like MS Dhoni on one hand and Sachin Tendulkar on the other, had a large swathe of Indian cricket fans cheering for both sides. The opening ceremony had a Bollywood theme eventThe Chennai Super Kings won the toss and chose to bat first, sending in M Vijay and Matthew Hayden. Their partnership lasted till the 7th over, and saw numerous LBW appeals. The middle overs were steady, the run rate staying between 6 and 7 for the most part, and CSK were 108/3 after 15 overs. The final 5 overs saw some inspired batting (and inept fielding from MI), netting CSK 60 runs, and wrapping up their inning at a redoubtable 168/5, the highest score in an IPL final thus far.

Sachin Tendulkar, who had decided to play in the final, despite his injured hand, opened the inning for the Mumbai Indians, along with Shikhar Dhawan, who didn't last long, being caught in the second over, still at a zero. Abhishek Nayar stuck it out longer, making for a 44-run partnership, but Bhajji couldn't last, going just after Nayar in the 11th over. Sachin Tendulkar had a narrow escape in the 13th, falling in the 14th at 48, with Mumbai Indians at 99/4, and a required run rate of over 12. His near-dismissal garnered the nickname 'The Hand of God' almost immediately on Twitter, and one expected that to have been called, but there's no telling the game on the field.

The Mumbai Indians were not able to make up the run rate and the Chennai Super Kings' superlative fielding, notably from Raina, made the difference. There was a brief glimmer of hope when Pollard came in after Duminy's exit, perhaps a little too late in the innings. He opened with a mammoth 22 run over against Bollinger, including a 107+ m sixer, perhaps 'too little, too late'. MI now needed 33 off the last 12 balls, with CSK sending in Albie Morkel. The 19th over saw a breathless run-out with Rayudu sacrificing his wicket in an attempt to keep Pollard on strike. It was all in vain, unfortunately with Pollard being caught by Mathew Hayden off the next ball.

The final over of the IPL final had an inevitability to it, both for the MI and for @LalitKModi, with Mumbai Indians losing the game at a final score of 146, losing by 22 runs. It remains to be seen what would be the fate of the grand IPL Commissioner, even if he had brought some mighty good cricket to the Indian playing fields.

Tharoor, Sania, IPL, and Other National Distractions

Aaman Lamba — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 05:07:13 EDT

Indian polity can be said to have arrived as it were, on the world stage, with a constant parade of popular affairs for the media and cognoscenti to sink their teeth into, masticate on, pontificate, and then move on to the next grist-worthy scrap. Larger macro-economic and political matters requiring greater cogitation can be deferred to the think-tanks, policy wonks, and 32-page essay types that feel them of greater import while bread and circuses satiate the populace.

The discussions du jour range from the Sania-Shoaib-Ayesha marriage to the recent imbroglio involving Union Minister Shashi Tharoor and IPL impresario Lalit Modi around the ambiguous ownership structure of the putative Kochi IPL franchise. Interestingly enough, each of these seemingly tabloid-themed issues exposes or uncovers larger truths about Indian society and the disequilibrium between our story about ourselves and the emerging social structures. Much like immensely popular websites celebrating exhibitionist small-town bourgeoisie coexist with moralistic panchayats condemning unapproved liaisons, these issues expose changing concepts of conspicuous consumption and alternate choices of lifestyle or mates.

The media, to their credit, makes every effort to appear fair and balanced, following up the Ayesha-Shoaib-Sania or the Tharoor-Sunanda-Modi triangles with Naxal-Nuke-Inflation reports, delivered with equal seriousness and rigor. The scrolling bars and breaking news indicate however the currency of the realm is frequency of updates, which is where the distinction becomes evident. More important than manufacturing consent, it appears, is the need to manufacture interest.

Bread and circuses will ever be popular diversions, especially if, like the IPL, they are larger than life, and spill over from the sports and entertainment pages to the front page. This gives armchair desi critics and the like the opportunity to spout forth while the industrious strivers continue their efforts.

From an informational perspective, matters unreported seem to pause and carry on their activities in a subterranean realm, emerging every now and then like quiescent faults striving to release pressure and divert, if momentarily, from surface streams that bubble their way along. One expects, though, that people in public office focus their attention on matters of public concern, such as foreign affairs, rather than being a constant distraction, twittering their foibles or phoning them in, as it were.

Ayesha, Sania, And Dhokha

Deepti Lamba — Wed, 7 Apr 2010 08:09:10 EDT

The Shoaib-Ayesha marriage fiasco finally came to an end today when the two warring factions signed divorce papers. Shoaib Malik will pay Ayesha Rs. 15,000 for three months which is considered to be basic mehr.

The FIR against Shoaib Malik has been withdrawn. Apparently the elders of the community acted as arbitrators and helped resolve the matter.

A spokesman of the community stressed that neither side have won and that Ayesha is happy with the outcome.

While the media is calling Shoaib shifty eyed for his blatant lies and prevarication about his marriage with Ayesha, they seem to ignore the fact that Ayesha's family used Section 498a of the Indian Penal Code to put pressure on Shoaib, alleging cruelty. Whether there is truth to the allegation is unknown but this is definitely a matter that should not be allowed to slide by that easily by the nosy media.

Another aspect that should be considered is whether marriages with Indians or between Indians should formally be registered with the state whatever be the religious policies since there have been many other similar cases where spouses have been left high and dry after marriages took place without paper trails.

Shoaib Malik has left himself looking quite unreliable both in India and Pakistan. While the matter is a private one between Sania Mirza and Shoaib, but it has raised questions whether she knew the truth all along and were colluding in taking the nation and the media for a ride, or was blissfully ignorant, and is willing to forgive his varying claims. It might be a closed chapter for Ayesha and her family, but Sania is at the threshold of some momentous decisions in her own life.

March-ing Ahead

Purba — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 12:45:20 EDT

The month started amidst much brouhaha. The nation expressed outrage at M F Hussain’s Qatarization. Why target Hussain? Don’t we have Raza in Paris, Vikram Seth in Salisbury and Amitav Ghosh in New York? As Mondy Thapar rightly pointed out in HT , “All the shame and discomfort over the iconic artist giving up his Indian passport has little to do with Hussain no longer being an Indian passport holder and everything to do with him choosing Qatar as his country of abode”. Of all the gin joints in the world, Maqbool had to walk into a Gulf Kingdom!

March is also the month for the Budget. We Indians love our Budget and love analysing it. Actually, we love analysing everything. There were columns, debates and opinions galore, dissecting the how’s and why’s of the budget. I religiously stick to the illustrated guide for idiots with the up and down arrows; saves a lot of time and effort.

Women’s Day was observed on 8th March all over the world. Commercial establishments saw it as yet another business opportunity and wooed us with irresistible offers (free drinks, free makeovers whopping discounts). As always we were spoilt for choice. India got its first wine club exclusively meant for women. Wine, Women and Wit was launched is Mumbai this month. Hic hic hurray!

Battle lines were drawn for the Women’s bill ensuring 1/3rd reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies. The Kill-Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha amidst high drama. The house recorded a historic vote in its favour; Ms Mamata Banerjee mysteriously abstained from voting. But for me the original women’s Bill will always be Bill Clinton.

Katherine Bigelow made history after becoming the first woman to win an academy award for best director. Uma Thurman made history too, albeit of a different kind. Her latest movie “Motherhood” fetched only one viewer in London. It grossed a princely amount of 9 pounds.

A hot new profession is on the block. All you need to do is renounce the world publicly (what you do privately is entirely your business), sport long hair/beard/long flowing robes, claim to have performed a few miracles, get some sleazy politicos as your devotees (that shouldn’t be too hard) and voila you have a quick rich formula. You can grab land, run a prostitution racket and even get your devotees killed in a stampede. God will forgive all your sins.

Haryana cops on the other hand took professionalism to new levels. A bunch of them belonging to a Special task force created to counter terrorism and crime in Haryana were held for dacoity. Why let others do it, when we can do it ourselves. Good thinking there.

The craft of garland-making touched a new high. At a BSP rally held in Lucknow an anaconda-like garland made entirely of currency notes was presented to Mayawati, the party supremo. Speculations were rife over its actual value which led to CBI ordering an inquiry into her undisclosed assets. Behenjee, not to be left behind ordered an inquiry into the invasion of a swarm of bees which behaved in a most unbecoming manner at the rally; they had the audacity to hover around her. Apparently they found her too sweet and couldn’t keep off her.

Sheila Dixit, is making Delhites literally pay for the Commonwealth games. The government unleashed a tax whammy on its unsuspecting citizens: We will inconvenience you and charge you for it. The capital has been getting a drastic makeover for the impending Commonwealth games, rendering most roads and markets unusable. Getting stuck in traffic jams will now be so much fun, we can now happily observe our money going down the drain.

As we prepare for 250 days of summer the Met department made their customary prediction. When they say expect normal rains this year, you know exactly what not to expect. How the hell do they manage to unerringly err, each year?

Indian Railways has rewritten history and redefined boundaries. In an ad issued by the railway ministry, Delhi was shown in Pakistan and Kolkata submerged in the Bay of Bengal. First it was the Marxists, and now it’s Ms Banerjee who is taking the onus of sinking Kolkata to abysmal depths.

With the proposed entry of foreign universities in India we can expect a geographical shift of a different kind. We’re looking forward to an Oxford in Orissa and Massachusetts in Maharashtra.

Health experts have warned that chewing gum can give you wrinkles around the mouth. I am almost whooping in delight, not because my gum chewing neighbour will soon be looking like an old hag, but I will now have fewer of those on the sole of my shoes.

But the alarming news of the month is that men crave sex even in old age. The difference is most pronounced in the 75-85 age groups. Considering most of our politicos are in this age group, no wonder Mulayam Singh suggested that the Parliament will now be full of lusty old gents catcalling and whistling at the newly elected women parliamentarians. Maybe, the women can offer the ageing lotharios chewing gum as a placatory gesture? Just a suggestion.

Fallen Role Models - Keeping The Value

Somik Raha — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:30:27 EST

The recent happenings with Swami Nithyananda have shocked many. After the infamous video released, there has been violence on the Swami's ashram, purportedly by his own disgruntled devotees. Meanwhile, the ashram has neither confirmed nor denied the videotape of the Swami, while dealing with all the other allegations. The Swami has millions of followers across the globe, who have woken up to disbelief, anger and confusion.

While the truth about the tape and the Swami may take some time to come out, the media brings on all its fury, and uses this as another occasion to berate those who would believe in teachers. This attitude is quite harmful for several reasons, for it makes errors of logic. The first being availability bias. When someone in the monastic order falls from grace, it is big news, and published all over the place. However, for one who falls, the tens of thousands who don't are not big news - that is the norm, right? Thinking that the exception is the norm is a big mistake to make. The second mistake is the bipolar reaction - when things are going well, the teacher is considered God incarnate, and when things have gone wrong, there isn't a drain that is dirty enough to drag the teacher in. This kind of extreme reaction serves no one - not the media, not the people.

But my interest in this post is to reach out to the followers of the Swami, who find themselves in a very vulnerable position - should they defend the Swami, whom they have genuinely loved and respected? Should they denounce him and his teachings, and give up learning from monastic teachers/role models? How should they face their friends, whom they had eagerly talked to about the Swami? It is not easy to be in this position.

Many years back, my professor shared a gem with me, which I feel is my duty to pass on - I think it will help the followers of Swami Nithyananda to reflect on this. The context of our conversation was Ayn Rand, and someone had praised Rand.

Me: I find it very hard to follow Ayn Rand's philosophy, after learning that she died insane. I was very influenced by her writing, but decided to throw it all out after knowing about her personal life.

Prof: I used to know a Buddhist teacher many years back, who was very high up in this country. He used to give wonderful enlightening sermons. Then one day, he was found to be a pedophile. I found myself questioning whether the knowledge I'd received from him should be thrown away. It was clear to me that whatever he had said about truth, compassion and love was invaluable, and had helped me in my own life. Nothing he did changed the value of his message for me, so it made no sense to throw out what he said because he could not live up to it. The value was for me to keep.

This was an eye-opening conversation for me. Prior to this conversation, I was a poor man. The moment I learned of some weakness they had, I'd throw out all the value I had received from them. After this conversation, there was a great sense of freedom. It didn't matter to me what the person had done. We are all human - and we make mistakes all the time. I don't care who is carrying gold in their hands - I will take gold when I see it. I know that my life is so much richer because of this change in my mental operating system. I am happy to learn from all. (Of course, it took some years to format the system, and the work is still in progress).

Stepping it up, this philosophy has big implications. What if someone tells me that Krishna was a mythical character - never existed! Suppose all of modern science backs up this assertion. The real test of whether I've understood the Gita at all is if I can say, without batting an eyelid, "Makes no difference! I have read and consumed the Gita, and it helps me every day of my life. My thanks to whoever concocted it- it is most helpful." This test can be applied to every religion, every sect, every order, and yes, even to science. It should not matter to us if Darwin or Galileo ever existed, or what indiscretions they indulged in.

What they have left behind is for us to experience in our own lives, and if we find value in that, why should we impoverish our lives by throwing it away?

Homosexuality Versus Violation of Privacy

Aditi Nadkarni — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:04:22 EST

Dr.Siras, reader and chairman of Modern Indian Languages at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), was filmed having consensual sex with a same sex partner in his on-campus home without his knowledge. This video was then sent to his university employees. This likely seems the work of a group of pranksters looking for either entertainment or the settling of some scores. Some media outlets speculate that a local news channel may have been involved in this "outing" which I find bizarre.

Our media is now invested in splashing private sex lives over the news? When did that happen? It is very easy for the decent and thinking ones among us to pick out the victim and the perpetrator in this situation. If a heterosexual couple were filmed having sex in their own home, practically everyone would immediately conclude that the couple were innocent victims of a gross violation of their privacy. Would it matter if they were doing it doggy style or in the missionary position when they were filmed without their knowledge? I don't think so. It would be a slam dunk case where police would have gone after the people who filmed the video without Dr.Siras's knowledge and Dr.Siras would've eventually been able to file a lawsuit against the perpetrators. Right? Well, apparently, our societal morals and ethics depend upon a person's sexual orientation. AMU has pronounced this as grievous conduct on part of the professor to have sex in his own home and has suspended him.

It is an interesting time in India for homosexuality and sexuality in general. We as a society have never been openly homophobic or openly opinionated at all about anything remotely sexual. We don't talk about it. We just do it and then shush other people when they bring it up. As a nation we are all secretly homophobic, especially the men of our masses, the ones who adjust their crotches in public and molest women in trains as a mark of their machoism. They might not go around bashing homosexuality in public like the right-wing Christians do in the United States but they do their bit. Raani, chhakka, hijhda, all code for eunuch, are the terms they have coined to add to the existing offensive nomenclature for those whose sexual orientation does not quite fit with rigid ideas of who should sleep with who. Our commercial filmmakers gingerly broach homosexuality in films, often doing more damage than good for the LGBT community in India. Gay men are portrayed as weak, overtly effeminate and used mostly as comic relief in films thus successfully reinforcing popular and damaging stereotypes. I have personally witnessed college kids torment a classmate who is not into girls or does not invest into building a macho image. We all watch people being teased or left out but how many of us speak up? I grew up in this very society and yet when I see a gay couple, I see a couple. When I see homophobia, I see irrationality driven by fear of the unknown.

When I first read about this case, I desperately hoped that the story would be about how AMU stood by their professor and how the police immediately were on the case, looking for the people who had violated Dr.Siras's privacy. I set myself up for disappointment. In my mind, academia and media are the the outer, growing fringe of our society's thought map defining how progressive we are as a populace, they make up the forward moving wave on which intellectuals ride out and set themselves apart from the rest of the crowd. In this case, it was television reporters who allegedly filmed a man having sexual relations within the confines of his own home and then a university condoned this by castigating the professor because the form of sex he was having was not appealing to them. When media and academia promote regressive thinking it comes as more of a shock than it would have if it were say a political party doing it to pander to voters or a religious group looking to recruit. This sort of thing could happen to any of us. Even if you, my reader, may not be a homosexual, I am pretty sure you do things in your own home that you would not want media filming and showing to your employers, right? I guess 15th August is just a public holiday then.

History is witness that it takes times like these to brew a revolution. It takes nerve to side with the right kind of morality, the one that does not pause in doubt and morph into something unrecognizable when overcome with prejudice, intolerance or fear. In my opinion, the LGBT community in India needs to empower themselves and be more vocal. A lot of homosexual individuals do not make their presence known. They prefer to lead privately gay lives often offering up the understandable explanation of "My sex life is nobody's business". Sure. And this attitude may afford them a relatively drama free life, but as a community it will not bring them to the status of equal citizens with equal treatment unless they come forward and fight for it. Today in the face of this scandal, Dr.Siras according to a news report is voluntarily leaving the university. There are so many gay individuals who avoid a scandal and walk away from the mess, not demanding their rights or questioning the raw deal they are dealt.

Last year, Chief Justices Shah and Muralidhar made me proud when they mandated that Section 377 was inapplicable to consenting sex between adults in private. They noted that, “Constitutional morality must outweigh the argument of public morality, even if it be the majoritarian view.” It was a small, yet mighty step in the right direction. And now, a group of idiotic television reporters and the Aligarh Muslim University has brought us a few steps back again.

Shooting At University Of Alabama and The State of Affairs In Academic Research

Aditi Nadkarni — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:10:59 EST

Last night news broke out about the shootings at the University of Albama at Huntsville. Dr. Amy Bishop, a Harvard trained neuroscientist was being reviewed for tenure. Screams were heard coming from the room. Bishop had allegedly shot three people named in several news reports as Dr. Gopi Podilla, the chair of the Biology department, Dr. Maria Ragland Davis and Dr. Adriel D. Johnson Sr. Media speculates that denial of tenure was the primary motive for Dr.Bishop's rampage. Tenure, for an academic professor to put it simply is a permanent job security status granted by the university and the department.

A few months ago there was the case of a Yale graduate student, Annie Le, who was found murdered by a member of the janitorial staff, Raymond Clark III, at her animal research facility. In that case, media had reported some information about how this janitor had certain standards of animal welfare and lab area maintenance that he had felt Annie Le was not adhering to.

These are sad and devastating scenarios. Those who have been through a lengthy academic process such as graduate school can recognize what a safe environment the university is viewed as. Up until the Annie Le case I did not think twice about working late nights or venturing into deserted research areas alone. Just a few days ago, I attended a seminar where the dismal statistics correlating tenure and careers in academia were discussed. What I gathered from the talk was that only about 10-15% of PhDs receive tenure in their academic careers and the average age for receiving their first major research funding from the NIH is about 43. These are extremely depressing numbers.

Frustrations are forever mounting in the academic research setting with no real outlet. It is a highly competitive environment encompassing researchers, students, administrative assistants and housekeeping staff all of whom have to work together at some point or another. One constantly hears of these primary investigators from hell who abuse their students and other employees. While workplace abuse is not limited to academia, it is slightly worse because students do not have as many rights as other corporate employees and cannot afford the legal route. I have heard many a story where students and research fellows were denied authorship for their work and could not do very much to get justice served. The Office of Research Integrity states that they might not mandate in situations involving authorship disputes . This leaves graduate students at the mercy of their university which when faced with a major ethics overhaul might choose the quickest fix that does not always result in a just and fair decision for the student. In certain smaller universities, I have observed these big fish, the dons of their fields, with an impressive publication record and a funding record that makes the higher-ups go weak in the knees. Students and fellows in the labs of such big fish seem to be at their mercy entirely. Immigrant researchers are left scrambling for research funding grants, a majority of which are reserved for citizens. They climb up the ladder, quietly enduring their own share of ill treatment by superiors and when they finally get to the top, some of them turn around and put their juniors through similar ordeals. Diversity is encouraged by the institute but does not always lead to assimilation of the different groups at the university. There are rampant tensions between people with advanced degrees and those who have years of experience but very little to show in terms of qualifications. It is not easy working with people who are constantly carrying a chip on their shoulder because they lack the right letters after their names. This goes the other way as well with MDs and PhDs talking down to their less qualified employees and colleagues.

The pool of PhDs at US universities includes a very high number of immigrants such as Indians and Chinese and from my own experiences and through anecdotes offered by others in my field I have come to observe that Americans who are not as qualified regard these accomplished outsiders with a sense of resentment which often boils over. I have witnessed department secretaries and technologists mocking the accents of international students and throwing insults in the faces of researchers arriving fresh of the boat, not yet familiar with the ways of this land. As a fresh graduate student, when I couldn't quite a figure out how to use a fax machine I was told to quit my PhD because I was such a "doorknob". There were wonderful, warm and helpful people too who I was fortunate enough to find. But most people are not this lucky. To add to all this, academic careers are not highly paid. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are the hardest working and have probably the lowest salaries and the least rights as employees. The lines of hierarchy in a laboratory setting are terribly blurry. None of it makes any sense. You have a highly qualified, sometimes inexperienced group working alongside this other group which consists of highly experienced, technically skilled people who usually do not hold advanced degrees. Each group thinks they are in control of the other, that they are the boss of the other, that they are better than the other. It is a bizarre scenario. So many of us have encountered a guy like Raymond Clark III, the man who is accused of killing Annie Le. We have all met that guy who wants to exercise control and his positions or credentials don't really allow him to and so he finds other ways to do it, to make your life difficult, to slow your work down.

When I first started my journey in academic science as a graduate student, one of the prompt pieces of advice I received was to be excruciatingly humble or even servile, if need be, with the technologists, secretaries and animal technicians. Or else, I was told, I would have to pay in a big way. As a naive young researcher, I used to think that the delays in finding cures for diseases are attributable to lack of funding alone and now years later I am of the opinion that people and their egos are the number one factor holding back science. I experienced the tension, the racial and cultural divides and of course the all important educational status divide. I constantly heard statements like "Your PhD is just letters behind your name. Means nothing." or "Immigrant PhDs are just cheap labor". If one complains you are told to put your head down and keep working. "Oh just deal with it professionally. This is nothing!" they tell you and launch into a narrative of another more horrific case of student/ employee abuse that they have heard about which makes your situation sound like a walk on the beach.

After a while, you learn to filter the noise and focus or you get eliminated from the rat race. Towards the end of graduate school, I finally realized that no matter how polite and humble I was, when faced with someone with an inherent insecurity, my own disposition would have very little impact on that person's behavior. I had to accept it and move on. Unless of course they decided to strangle me and stuff my body up a wall. Which based on news reports is probably what happened to Annie Le. Most universities or academic supervisors do very little to curb such problems and do not open their eyes to the brewing discontent in the academic environment. The primary strategy is to shove the mess under the carpet. The higher-ups in administration are very corporate in their dealings. Their primary concern is money. Graduate students are kicked out of laboratories after putting in years of work and the university hushes it up, preferring to side with the professors because they are the ones bringing in funding and grants. Postdoctoral research fellows most often being temporary employees are treated like dispensable cheap labor by the other permanent members of the academic work force in spite of the specialized skills and knowledge that they bring to the job.

In this gun-happy nation, it is frightful to imagine what would happen if someone with a twisted mind and a disregard for human life were to decide to get even. The drama in academic research begins on day 1 and simmers for the rest of your academic career, until you get the golden ticket of "tenure", the very one that Dr.Bishop was denied. Dr. Gopi Podilla, one of her victims, seems to be an immigrant, a man who as the department chair probably had a major say in decisions about tenure. It is a remarkable coincidence that all of the 3 people Bishop killed happened to be non-white.

Here's another interesting facet of this recent news story about the shootings that I noticed. The news media has not descended on it like they do for all other reports. Shootings and violence at universities usually receive quite a bit of attention on television in the US and so I was a bit surprised. Some news reports have even revealed that Bishop had killed before and it was ruled as an accidental shooting then. There are some online reports that discuss a possible cover-up in that case from 24 years ago where Bishop might have already been guilty. But in spite of such a story building about this case television media seems oddly disinterested. I have been watching CNN for a while and apart from a couple of quick mentions, I see no signs of this situation being discussed at all. While it is a little paranoid to assume that the race of the victims would be the sole reason for the media's neglect of this news story, it does give pause for thought.

My Name Is Khan - Media Holds India Hostage

sufferingsocrates — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:25:28 EST

Though I have been trying to restrain myself from blogging about My Name Is Khan (MNIK), the outcome and the coverage it has been given warranted me to write atleast a few words about the entire episode. There are three main protagonists about the entire MNIK episode. Shah Rukh Khan, the Badshah of Bollywood, fondly referred to as SRK, Shiv Sena, and the third annoying protagonist, the media.

Frankly, the Shiv Sena's protests and insensitive posturing and violence are but sure signs that it is in its last leg as a prominent political outfit. Its protests against Rahul Gandhi died down in a whimper, and even though they threatened to cast a shadow of violence around the screening of MNIK, the film has gone on to open to full house audiences. Another blunder by Shiv Sena, which is ailing under the senile leadership of Bal Thackeray. Not only is the Shiv Sena devoid of any agenda which helps Mumbai or Maharashtra as a whole, it has brought embarrassment to itself by taking on national icons like Sachin Tendulkar, Mukesh Ambani and now, SRK.

SRK, to be fair to him has found himself in the midst of unnecessary politics, which Shiv Sena claims to have had success at. SRK had made statements on NDTV that there was a problem about signing Pakistan players in IPL. And that he wanted to have Abdul Razzak in his Kolkata Knight Riders for the IPL. Shiv Sena conveniently misconstrued his statements and branded SRK a traitor, and asked him to apologise, questioning SRK's intentions behind signing Pakistani players and his statement of Mumbai for All. SRK to his credit, stuck to his stand and insisted that no one should question his Indianness. He was even asked to go to Pakistan if he felt so strongly about his support for Pakistani players. SRK repeatedly held his ground and refused to tender an apology for something which he never alluded to as anti-Maharashtrian or anti-Indian.

While SRK has been strong and has won the hearts of millions of Indians, the Shiv Sena has further floundered and its demise seems all too imminent. Uddhav Thackeray looks more like an order taker from his father, Bal Thackeray and is devoid of any political know how. In all this peculiar drama, one eerie coincidence is noticeable. Karan Johar (KJo) has been involved in all the major Sena protests in the past six months. Beginning with the use of Bombay in Wake Up Sid which Raj Thackeray's Mentally Nil Sena (MNS) protested, then the Shiv Sena presenting sarees for Kareena for her dare bare in Kurbaan, both of which KJo produced. Now it's his own directorial MNIK under the Sena hammer. Is Karan Johar the silent marketer that the Sena badly wanted? Is Karan using the Sena to gain publicity for his films?

Amidst all this, the media has enabled and embraced this episode and lapped it all up. The media has tracked down what SRK tweets, what Shiv Sena retorts and given it all the coverage which KJo would have hoped for. What is astonishing is the kind of headlines this whole nonsensical issue has generated. Over a period of an entire week, SRK emerged as new age India's freedom fighter against Sena and its goons. The media kept praising SRK over television, and insisted to the audiences in the country that SRK is being hard done by, and the Sena is being over the top.

Now why does this issue need to make the top of the headlines day after day, is downright ridiculous. Important issues such as fuel hike, its impact on inflation, and even the upcoming budget has been sidelined. These are the issues which need media coverage and will influence decisions and inform citizens of what lies ahead. Utterly irresponsible coverage by the television media which is hungry for TRPs alone. The day isn't far away when sting operations by media are done inside the hospital ward of film stars to assess if their urinary trouble is still persisting. The reporter may then say - "As you can see from the sting operation we conducted, X (the star) still urinates in trickles. The drops fall down due to force of gravity, and each drop is less dense than the last time we did the sting operation. Up ahead, watch our live coverage about how X goes about morning defecation."

The positive outcome of all this farce has been Sena's complete rejection by almost the entire nation. With MNIK opening to packed theaters, the message is loud and clear. Holding a city hostage to prevent screening of a movie and creating violence is insane and unacceptable. The other observation has been the alacrity of the police establishment. If only Mumbai Police had acted with such co-ordination and alertness during 26/11. The attacks could have been atleast mitigated to an extent. SRK and KJo have achieved their objective, and walked away with laurels for MNIK. The Shiv Sena has yet again shot itself in the foot. The television media has walked away with TRPs, and held the entire Indian audience hostage to an issue which has neither thrown light on the upcoming budget, nor addressed inflationary trends.

Roger Federer Wins Fourth Australian Open

Aaman Lamba — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:48:21 EST

Roger Federer, or Fedex, won his 4th Australian Open title against Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (13/11). This is his 16th Grand Slam title and shows he's still on top. Andy Murray on the other hand, remains unenviably lacking a single Grand Slam title. Federer holds the longest Grand Slam streak, two ahead of Pete Sampras. After last year's defeat to Rafael Nadal, which saw him sobbing uncontrollably, this victory meant no tears.

The game saw Murray exhibiting a passivity that led Roger to not break a single set, despite the longish third set. After the first set, which was somewhat mixed and Murray had three break points, Federer upped the ante in the second, pouring on the pressure until Andy couldn't bear the burden and Fedex took the set. The third was nail-biting, and Andy could have taken the set at least five times, until Roger broke the stalemate and took his third match point.

It is now 74 years since the British have won a Grand Slam title, since Fred Perry beat Don Budge in 1936. Roger Federer acerbically termed the period "150,000 years" ahead of the match Friday. As master of the Grand Slam, he might be excused this grandiloquence.