Desicritics

Sarah Palin Resigns: Aims to Run for President in 2012

temporal — Fri, 3 Jul 2009 16:26:04 EDT

photo NYT

Alask Governor Sarah Palin is set to resign this Friday. She would be handing over the reins to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell. He would be sworn in on July 25.

This long speculated and anticipated announcement was made by Sarah Palin in presence of her husband Todd and other family members at her home in Wasilla, Alaska.

Mitchell Blumnethal, of NYT, quotes her saying, This decision came after much consideration,” Ms. Palin told reporters gathered at her home, and added, “I really don’t want to disappoint anyone with this announcement.”

Here is her full statement to the press:

“People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing’s more important to me than our beloved Alaska,” said Governor Palin. “Serving her people is the greatest honor I could imagine. I am determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is not the easiest path,” said Governor Palin after the announcement. “Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional ‘Lame Duck’ status in this particular climate would just be another dose of ‘politics as usual,’ something I campaigned against and will always oppose. It is my duty to always protect our great state. With that in mind, my family and I determined that it is best to make a difference this summer, and I am willing to change things, so that this administration, with its positive agenda, its accomplishments, and its successful road to an incredible future, can continue without interruption and with great administrative and legislative success. I look forward to helping others – to fight for our state and our country, and campaign for those who believe in smaller government, free enterprise, strong national security, support for our troops, and energy Independence.” [link]

She would be the second Governor to resign to seek the Presidential nomination. Last month Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, also considered a leading Republican candidate announced that would not seek re election.

While her Conservative base would be pleased by her decision, it does not bode well for the process of electioneering in the US.

Already, the pundits have been decrying the long and expensive process that culminates in the Presidential campaign.

Revisiting the Pakistani Grand Narrative

Zia Ahmad — Fri, 3 Jul 2009 08:30:28 EDT

“Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity towards metanarratives.” (Jean-François Lyotard)

Most of the cultures around the world have an innate tendency to view themselves at the center of the universe. As with individuals this may be owing to the inability for some to live outside one’s head. The centrist view is enforced by following a given set of codes and traditions that reaffirms the uniqueness and superiority of the given clan, tribe, culture or civilization over others. This view is further informed by a given sense of history that adds significant gravity to the culture’s place in this world – and in some cases even in the one after. This sense of history is communicated, over generations, through an esoteric mix of myths, historical retellings, sacrosanct parchments and possibly just about all that goes into making stories and fables.

In the second half of the twentieth century, certain scholars who helped to flesh out the post modern perspective culturally, the communication of history was seen as a story told on a larger scale for the benefit of a crowd significantly larger than your average theatre going audience. This sort of storytelling was appropriately called Metanarrative or a Grand narrative.

Meta/Grand narratives are said to simplify and condense historical experiences and knowledge under one convenient umbrella which may be attached to a singular ideology. In constructing a grand narrative, a highly objective position is assumed through which a conversely subjective and biased overall knowledge is communicated to the respective followers of the ideology. A number of factors are discounted while designing a grand narrative. The inherent randomness found in the natural fabric of the universe, of existence is grossly overlooked.

Furthermore grand narratives are laid down and maintained by political structures that seek to sub-ordinate physical and natural laws to any given ideology. The history of things is chiseled accordingly. Concepts and opinions are presented as facts. The sheer diversity of the human experience is discarded in favor of one monolithic ideology.

A more obvious criticism of grand narratives can be leveled on the account of the impossibility of one singular doctrine to be embraced by a multitude of people (ideally the entire species) coming from radically divergent and varied backgrounds.

This “incredulity” or disbelief towards grand narrative was articulated by Jean-François Lyotard in his seminal document The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge (1979). He viewed the construction, existence and influence of grand narratives as limiting and reductive, the critique of which is definitive of the post modern discourse.

One of the chief tasks any grand narrative seeks to undertake is the defining and laying out “the truth.”

In a post modern discourse the validity of a singular generalizing truth is often contested. The idea of one ideology or theory to hold the ground for the entire species can be seen as both a naïve and simplified account of history or a manipulative attempt to keep the political structures empowered. Organized religion, established folklore, national histories, social experiments and myth of progress via science all fall under the auspices of grand narratives.

As in any other story, popular grand narratives have their share of heroes and villains engaged in a series of dramatic conflicts. The snake introduces temptation to Adam in the Garden of Eden, Moosa contends with the Pharaoh and parts a sea, Darwin battles religious dogma and the proletariats take it out on the street against the big, fat bourgeois. Indeed ideological themed histories are structured with mass appeal marketability in mind.

The Pakistani grand narrative, coupled with the grand Sunni narrative, is studiously inculcated into our collective psyche and stipulates Pakistan firmly placed at the center of the world serving as the fortress of Islam. It is further invoked that Pakistan translates into the first pillar of Islam – “Pakistan ka mutlab kya? lā ‘ilāha ‘illallāh”. The government sanctioned narrative of our country lavishes extravagant amount of importance on national unity, discipline and faith that are inscribed in paper but not in practice. The same narrative makes broad rudimentary lingual and ethnic divisions scattered over four provinces that have been supremely ineffectual. “Char suboon ki Pehchaan - Pakistan Pakistan” has served as a jingoistic call for some time now that criminally sidelines other prominent ethnicities and conveniently forgets the pre 1971 categorization of administrative units.

The national narrative is fused with a prescribed religious bent that, just like any other major grand ideology, insists on its own universality and absoluteness. To question the ideology amounts to heresy and is discouraged from an early stage. Brandishing dissenters in the Christian tradition has long been abandoned and to this day we are only too eager to label the fellow Muslim as kafir on the slightest pretext. In addition, echoing the propagation of the four province projection, other variants of Islam are marginalized and even ignored, as are the non-Muslim religious ilk, in building a monolithic religious identity of Pakistan that empowers a crude majority and alienate others.

The reductive critique leveled against grand narratives manifests itself in Islamic quiz shows so often played in Ramazan where the history of the world is marked as 8000 years old! A romantic history is weaved under the narrative that turns the existence of Pakistan complacent. Since the country was liberated on the 27th night of Ramazan it has Allah Almighty’s special eye on it and, rest assured, no harm shall come to our Pakistan. So we have been told over and over again for every calamity that is blamed on “foreign hands”. Our abidance to the Pakistani grand narrative absolves us of any wrongdoing and actively discourages self-evaluation.

In this light. our imposing and limiting national narrative has been less than successful in representing Pakistan in its entire complex, layered and multifaceted splendor. It has done no service to the country or its people. Having clearly outstayed its welcome time is high to argue for the existence of a, as Lyotard called it, “multiplicity of theoretical standpoints” that are divergent localized narratives that are contingent to the relevant culture’s history and environment.

Whatever way, the postmodern critique of grand, all-encompassing narratives, deserves to be applied to the Pakistani model. The need for a pluralistic Pakistan is paramount more than ever, before and whatever mix of myth and wish-fulfillment that worked in previous times has to be debunked. It has to be understood by Pakistanis that the beliefs held true and pure by us don’t hold the same for the rest of the world. To conduct a field test, next time you come across a non-Pakistani Muslim ask him if he agrees Pakistan is the fortress of Islam. Even better try asking him Pakistan ka mutlab kya?

Book Review: The Wish Maker by Ali Sethi

Vinod Joseph — Fri, 3 Jul 2009 07:34:40 EDT

I have just finished reading The Wish Maker and the sights, sounds and smells of upper-middle class Pakistan are still with me. Though I am nowhere near Pakistan, I can still see around me the crowded thoroughfares of Lahore. If twenty-four year old Ali Sethi’s main objective was to convey to his readers an idea of what life is like for Pakistanis of his class and ilk, he has succeeded admirably.

Having spent all his life in Pakistan, except for a brief holiday to Spain, Sethi’s protagonist Zaki Shirazi goes to the US for his higher studies. The novel starts with Zaki’s return to Lahore from the US for his cousin Samar Api’s wedding. Actually Samar Api is not his cousin, she’s his father’s first cousin and consequently his aunt. However, Samar is generous enough to treat him as a cousin most of the time, though occasionally she reminds him otherwise.

Zaki’s father was an airforce pilot who died in an accident when Samar was ‘minus two months old’. Zaki is brought up by his mother Zakia who is a journalist and a political activist. Surrounded by women, his mother, his paternal grandmother – Daadi, the domestic help Naseem and Samar Api, Zaki has an unusual childhood. For example, he gets to accompany his mother to a political protest and they end up spending the night in police custody. Zaki is sent to a posh school where he makes some friends and even tries to get picked (by his teachers) as a class monitor. There is a surprising amount of politicking, buttering up and back stabbing involved in getting picked as the class monitor. School politics almost mirrors the politics played by adults in the big, bad world outside. Zaki gets into trouble once in a while. What child doesn’t? Sethi does a very good job describing Zaki’s school life. I’ll leave it to you to read the book and find out more for yourself.

Zaki’s cousin Samar Api is an Amitabh Bachchan fan and when she has an affair, she is looking for her Amitabh. When Zaki returns to Pakistan for Samar’s wedding, he knows that the London educated lawyer she’s marrying is her Amitabh.

By way of flashbacks and otherwise, Sethi tells us the story of three generations of Pakistanis. We are shown Papu and Mabi, his maternal grandparents. Papu migrated to Pakistan from his ancestral home in India and he ends up as the General Manager of a posh hotel. Mabi is the hostess of a Chinese restaurant inside the hotel. We get to know how Zaki’s parents met. We are shown the (decadent?) lifestyles of some of Zaki’s cousins. As I have mentioned earlier, one gets to smell the real Pakistan, albeit from an upper class balcony.

Political events in Pakistan form the backdrop to this story. One gets bits of commentary on everything from the Partition, the various coups that took place in Pakistan, Zulfikar Bhutto’s execution, Benazir Bhutto’s election etc.

Sethi’s language is pretty straight forward and matter of fact, except when he makes a conscious effort to use poetic language. This happens only in a few paragraphs and they stand out. No, I’m not saying they don’t gel with the rest of the book, but they do stand out.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this book, though I am sure that Sethi’s best is yet to come.

SPOILERS AHEAD – DON’T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO BUY THE BOOK BASED ON WHAT YOU HAVE READ SO FAR

I have a few grumbles about the book. My main crib is that Zaki’s relationship with Samar Api is not covered as well as it ought to be. After Zaki lands in Lahore for Samar Api’s wedding, he doesn’t go and meet her and the reader doesn’t meet her either, except when the wedding actually takes place. You are told that Zaki and Samar are very close, but you see Zaki going around town with his other cousins, and Samar doesn’t make an appearance for a while. In fact, the only time Zaki and Samar are shown to be close and talking and exchanging secrets is when they are both very young and they have a few mutual friends. After Zaki is moved to a posh school, Samar Api sort of disappears. Samar Api doesn’t have a presence in a large swathe of the book.

My only other point of dispute with Sethi, and I am nitpicking here, is the scene which takes place in the days just after the US started to help the Mujahhidin fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. Zaki’s mother, the political activist, is shown telling a retired Brigadier that the US and Pakistan were making a mistake by helping the Afghan fighters. Just before she does that, a visiting American intellectual and a friend of Zakia, declares that the blowback (from helping the Mujahhidin) would be costly. If Sethi didn’t have the benefit of hindsight, I doubt if he could have written anything of this sort. Just after the Soviet invasion, I don’t think there were any Americans or Pakistanis worrying about the “blowback” from helping the Mujahhidin. In those days, the only serious dangers the world faced came with a capital C – Capitalism and Communism, depending on whose side you were on. Religious fundamentalism was not a major problem. Many Arab nations such as Egypt were going through a phase of Arab nationalism and socialism. I’m sure we’ll get to read a lot more of Sethi in the days to come.

The Government Should Scrap the NREGS

Chandra — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 20:09:20 EDT

The Congress is on an upswing with what many classify as a decisive election victory. Naturally, this has led to much analysis on what the congress did to move its seat share from 140+ to 200+. One predominant belief is that the congress won on the back of its pro-poor policies - NREGS (National Rural Employee Guarantee Scheme) and the waiver of farm loans. However, my analysis of NREGs indicates that this is not an accurate hypothesis

In fact I pulled out some interesting trends from two states:

In Bihar, out of 23 districts that were covered since launch, the Congress won just two seats. In fact, sitting MP Shakeel Ahmed lost his Madhubani Seat.

In AP, where the Congress swept the elections, out of the 13 districts covered, they lost in 6 out of 13 seats.

The absence of a linkage between the implementation of the program and voting behaviour is not a huge suprise. Here are some reasons

a. There is enough research to show that the program is highly ineffective. Amongst those who have benefitted from the program only 50% expressed satisfaction with it
b. The program has not necessarily reached people who need it the most. This is due to a whole host of factors including caste, political orientation etc
c. Project identification, approval and implementation is a local activity and while this is good for empowerment, it has been observed that on every aspect from Identification to Implementation most projects have been failures . This is due to poor leadership, project management and implementation skills available at the panchayat and district level
d. Lastly but not the least, the lack of proper naming (Rajiv Yojana etc) means that voters donot associate the program with the Congress Govt.

During the last 2-3 years the Government has undertaken numerous steps to plug many of these holes including making it mandatory to open bank accounts. However, a large number of problems relating to project identification and implementation remain. While none of these problems are insurmountable one knows from past history that we will always find ways to circumvent checks and balances.
In light of this, the bigger questions are

a. What is the impact of NREGS on rural metrics including nourishment, health care, education etc?

b. If indeed the Government is confident of surmounting some of the problems that have been laid out, why shouldn't they be spending a similar effort on ensuring better delivery on Education, Healthcare, law enforcement, Water etc all of which are in shambles?

c. Is it wise to run such an expensive program while running a huge deficit ?

Going back to the election analysis, the congress gained most of its seats in urban areas and due to a combination of poor Governance by local Governments and a shift in minority vote in its favour. Therefore, probably the biggest learning from this election is probably to ensure proper governance to all voters rather than running expensive programs targetted at a few.

The Government jettisoned the communists late last year, they should do the same to the NREGS this year.

Nawab and I: Intercourse, Pa.

temporal — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 19:59:24 EDT

With towns named Bird in Hand, Paradise, and Intercourse, Lancaster County in Pennsylvania has acquired added attraction for tourism. What attracts people is not the name but the Pennsylvania Dutch. They are descendants of German Amish and Mennonite immigrants here. If you have seen Harrison Ford's Witness (1985) you would have a pretty good idea of how the Amish live.

It is off Route 30 [map link] and just celebrated its 255th Anniversary.

t: We don't have to be in DC till dinner time.
N: Why, you don't want to drop in on Potus?
t: He won't have the time of day for us.
N: You have become critical of him lately.
t: I tell like it is. It is his actions not mine.
N: CJ thinks you never really liked him.
t: I would have preferred a dog over W.
N: Don't insult dogs. Woof woof.
t: Sorry, I meant no insult to dogs. (Damn, should be careful with N too when choosing words.)
N: Fragile egos.
t: We used to call Ulloo stupid, but Owl is wise here.
N: You could continue on 30 then take 15 to 270 later.
t: You don't like Ms. Garmin do you?
N: I know more.
t: Modesty is a human trait, think we agreed on that.
N: So what will you do at Intercourse?
t: Don't know, never been at Intercourse, only....
N: Don't go there, minors may be reading this.

t: Name the three things famous around here.
N: Beer, pretzels and chocolate. Two are out for you.
t: Yes am driving. But why do dogs don't drink?
N: And what about your mullahs?
t: That is a personal choice. But have heard some do.
N: Amish, Mennonite, Hasidim, Mullahs...different feathers.
t: You are so intolerant for a wise one.
N: Stating the obvious is not being intolerant.
t: They pursue their beliefs peacefully.
N: hmmmmmm
t: [Each time Nawab is made to think is a small victory for me.)
N: Condoms!
t: HaiN, yeh condoms kahaaN se tapak paRa?
N: None of the four have use for condoms.
t: hmmmmmm... well it is their belief. Non interference in nature.
N: You do know they are not Dutch?
t: No?
N: Germans, originally.
t: There I learned another thing from you Nawab.
N: You are a miserable liar.
t: Tell me something new. Is Barak in town? Can I bump into him ordering a burger?
N: CJ and AJ have plans for barbecue dinner.
t: They do? Guess can plan bumping into Barak another time.

Delhi High Court Makes Consensual Gay Sex Legal

DeeptiA — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 14:30:06 EDT

The world over, different countries have different concepts revolving around homosexuality. There are states in the United States that have made marriage between homosexuals as having the same legal sanctity as that between a man and a woman, there are other states where this is a matter of huge debate and controversy (with the Catholic and Protestant churches being against it), countries in parts of Europe are liberal while those where the Church has a stronger influence are less likely, and there are the Islamic countries where the concept is abhorrent - forget marriage between homosexuals, even the concept of a relationship was unacceptable (for example, in Iraq, insurgents would target homosexuals for murder).

What about the thought of homosexuality in a country such as India, which has a long history, and where there is a lot of debate even among historians about whether homosexuality was prevalent in the past. India, till today, had a law called Section 377, that made homosexuality a crime (even among consenting adults). This law meant that even among groups with a higher risk pattern for AIDS (such as gays), it was difficult to really follow anti-AIDS programs since a number of people would hide their homosexuality, or not be open about it.

For the past several years, there has been a debate stoked by AIDS campaigners and gay rights groups about revoking this section of the penal code (it was introduced by the British in British ruled India in 1861, and is no longer prevalent in the Britain of today). However, attempts by the Government to do a debate on removing this section of the penal code runs aground due to opposition by religious groups (and there are enough people in each religious group to be outraged by the thought of homosexuality), so it would have seemed difficult by the Government to move fast on such a law. And then came this stunning judgment by the Delhi High Court (and interestingly, it uses the same argument as used by several US state courts, using the theory that such laws are violative of many of the equality and fundamental rights of citizens) (link to target):

In a breakthrough judgment, the Delhi High Court on Thursday legalised gay sex among consenting adults holding that the law making it a criminal offence violates fundamental rights. "We declare section 377 of IPC in so far as it criminalises consensual sexual acts of adults in private is violative of Articles 14, 21 and 15 of the Constitution," a Bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Murlidhar said.

It further said that this judgement will hold till Parliament chooses to amend the law. "In our view Indian Constitutional Law does not permit the statutory criminal law to be held captive by the popular misconception of who the LGBTs (lesbian gay bisexual transgender) are. "It cannot be forgotten that discrimination is antithesis of equality and that it is the recognition of equality which will foster dignity of every individual," the Bench said in its 105-page judgement.

It is pretty much sure that there will be appeals to the Supreme Court by many sections of society, one only hopes that the Government will not try to get this judgment over-turned. At the same time, this is a judgment by the Delhi High Court, and is applicable in the capital city (even though it is a precedent that can be used by organizations all over the country); ultimately it is either the judgment of the Supreme Court or a law passed by Parliament that can ensure coverage across the entire country.

Delhi - Love Under The Rainbow

Deepti Lamba — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 11:19:05 EDT

Behind the happy homosexual smiles there generally are lost humans who have risen like a phoenix in the midst of pain and wretched soul searching. The gays who stepped out of the closet and took on great risks like rejection from their own blood and death at the hands of a brutal world.

In urban India where we are always looking over our shoulder, society self destructs. Whether it be protest against caste, religious restrictions, education, or choice of sexuality, these are the boundaries that if broken incur socio-familial wrath. Yet people rebel against the supposed morals, traditions and values that have led to discord, disharmony and many a times suicide by those unable to grapple the trauma caused by outdated conservatism.

Those who stick on to archaic patriarchal practices are also inevitably homophobic in their outlook. The fact is now our fundamentalists have finally found a common cause to be united against - to beat up the faggot and the butch!! And as usual they make homosexuals the bogeymen out to prey on the children. Yes, it's always about the children. The last desperate straw when invoking the message of a homophobic god fails- think about the children!

In this brutal environment there are few straight people who stand by gay friends and wonder how they survived the brutal Indian environment where disdain and most of the times violence was committed against them. There are very few of us who in social occasions and even in the midst of family with sure voices say that we have no problems if our children are gay.

When homosexuals rise from the ashes and reach for the rainbows, how can heterosexuals sit back and not be part of the extraordinary unfolding? The triumph of the human spirit cannot be denied.

Only when the heterosexuals stand by them shoulder to shoulder and give them the courage to come out of the closet will they breathe easier in a country which they call their own and yet live in fear or suffer loneliness. When we are willing to take a brick meant for them will the country change.

This isn't a fight against the morals or values of the country. Gays love and live like us. They dream of happily ever afters; they dream of acceptance from family, sincere friendships, of having their own families, or simply the desire to be treated as human without being judged.

Today, I am proud of being from Delhi - the capital of India where to love under the rainbow is perfectly legal.

The Bandra-Worli Sealink Opening

IdeaSmith — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 03:38:08 EDT

The much awaited Bandra-Worli sealink opened yesterday. In the unlikely case that you don’t know what I’m talking about (in which case, what are you doing reading this post?), this is a bridge built across one of the bays between the islands that comprise Mumbai. It connects Bandra reclamation to Worli seaface and has been predicted as the solution to easing up the daily traffic snarls from the western suburbs to town.

The sealink has been a long time in the making, having faced some setbacks and delays as well. It has been a part of the grand plan for Mumbai for so long that it has almost made a mark in local lingo by now (Yeah, I’ll get a promotion by the time that damn sealink gets made, maybe then I’ll be able to afford a car too!).

Most Mumbaikers have seen its grow, inch by agonizing inch on the horizon, from each direction. Just last year, I looked out at the impressive seaview from the window of a friend whose Mahim flat faces the then under-construction sealink and said,

Whatever is taking them that long??!! There’s just another inch to go!

After much fanfare, the sealink was inaugurated by Sonia Gandhi last morning and thrown open to the general public at 7 a.m. There will be a Rs.50 toll to traverse the sealink but that becomes functional only as of next Monday. So for the next few days, you can expect most Mumbaikers to derive full paisa vasool rides, riding Mumbai’s first ever sealink.

Quite fortunately (for me) I had an appointment in town that same morning. Fortunate I say because I (like many suburbanites) detest the painful commute into town, even less by road. What a stroke of luck to have a reason to go into town on the very day the sealink was inaugurated!

So I nagged dad into turning off into Bandra reclamation, shushing his incessant doomsday prophesies that the sealink would only add to commute time and what was so great about that damn bridge anyway, it’s taken long enough to come up and blocked Mumbai’s strained resources as it is.

In a few minutes, I was ready to jump out of the car and dive for cover as we ran smack-dab into the middle of the kind of traffic that makes road-rage seem like a pardonable offense, not punishable by law. I think every Western suburbanite must have been on that road to Worli today, whether or not they wanted to go to town!!!

I actually saw a few cars take U-turns and head back out, presumably to get to their destinations, the old-fashioned Mumbai way.

But as we inched forward and the high beams of the sealink came into view, my spirits surged and even my father ceased his complaining and grudgingly took out his own phone to take a picture.

We passed an impressive-looking toll-naka. Oh okay, I know there’s nothing impressive about a toll-naka, I’ve seen the one at Mankhurd and what about that huge one leading out to Mumbai-Pune expressway that I passed, not three days ago?

It still was a momentous occasion, for we were on the brink of breaking new ground. As we passed, I’m rather afraid to say that the insofar well-laned traffic just sort of melded into itself and became one sea of cars going helter-skelter. The road curves a bit before it touches the sealink and the lanes just sort of get lost in each other. The authorities are just going to have to do something about that if they don’t want to face choke-ups every morning just before the Bandra end of the sealink.

Very near the sea, I saw a flock of crows flying around frantically and wondered aloud,

Why are there so many birds around? What are they so agitated about?

Dad said that perhaps there was an colony of nests in that place which had so far been pretty secluded and undisturbed. Displacement was a sobering thought to start the trip on, but well needs must.

Once we actually got closer and closer to the sealink, I could feel the anticipation electric in the air. Cars slowing down, audible gasps, people zooming their camera lenses and phones, excitement was rife.

I can’t even begin to describe what the journey was like. I am sure, in a short few days I’ll become as accustomed to it as the regular train and road commute. But today, this first trip was special. It was the realization of the great Mumbai dream. We were riding over water. All my hitherto unvoiced fears that the bridge would give way were blown away in the cool breeze. The bridge is rock-solid (not at all like Lakshman Jhula, ma, you can stop worrying, it won’t sway in the wind) and it would otherwise feel just like riding on a concrete road, except there’s the sea on both sides.

What an odd feeling to turn to one’s left and see Mumbai, the city, the familiar buildings and roads on the horizon but on the wrong side and from so far away!

I saw a media van pass in the opposite direction on the clear Worli-to-Bandra lane, with a journalist standing out of one of the windows holding a mike, and a cameraman standing out of the opposite side shooting her. It was a funny sight and I'm only sorry I didn't have a chance to shoot it.

The image below shows the proud and cheering workers who were lined up to watch the first few travellers on the sealink. What a moment of glory it would have been for them!

The couple in the Qualis next to mine were carrying balloons and traversed the entire length of the sealink with their balloons held aloft and flying out of the windows. Viva, the spirit of Mumbai!

We touched terra firma again at the Worli seaface end. I’m rather afraid this means the end of those long, wonderful soujourns ending in masala milk and sandwich. With the incoming and outbound traffic to the sealink, the seaface is bound to become thoroughfare and lose the charm it has.

We’re losing a few lovely spots and the traffic problem may not really be solved. But the experience of riding over the sea is something every Mumbaiker should have. This link has been far too long in coming. In the larger picture, perhaps easier access will level out some of the differences of Mumbai’s very own caste system?

I can’t tell just yet. My head is still spinning with the adrenalin rush of yesterday morning. I really feel like I’ve been part of a grand day in Mumbai’s history, almost like the fall of the Berlin wall. It is a big thing for this city and as a Mumbaiker, I feel really proud.

Delhi High Court Legalizes Homosexuality In India

Sanjukta Basu — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 01:50:03 EDT

History has been created today in India, this morning Delhi High Court gave its judgment on the petition filed by Naz Foundation challenging the constitutionality of Section 377 of IPC which criminalizes all acts of oral and anal sex between individuals irrespective of age and consent.

High Court ruled in favour of the petition and said,

We declare that Section 377 IPC, insofar it criminalises consensual sexual acts of adults in private, is violative of Articles 21, 14 and 15 of the Constitution. The provisions of Section 377 IPC will continue to govern non-consensual penile non-vaginal sex and penile non-vaginal sex involving minors. By 'adult' we mean everyone who is 18 years of age and above. A person below 18 would be presumed not to be able to consent to a sexual act.

Read the full judgment here.

The religious groups have already started reacting negatively. They say this is a sad day for civilised people. May their God help them.

The politicians are quiet and the Law minister said he would react after reading the judgment.

The road ahead is still long, the next struggles would be about homosexuals couple's property rights, adoption rights, marriage rights, domestic violence in intimate relations etc.

I have written more about this case earlier here.

A more detailed report in the making.

Delhi High Court Decriminalizes Homosexuality

Aaman Lamba — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 01:44:32 EDT

Society changes at the edges, at first in opposition andslowly, but then the torrent builds, until the barriers are broken. What seems impossible to accept and against the 'norms' of society is soon enough commonplace.
The battle to decriminalize homosexuality in India has been one such battle. While homesexuality has always been as much a part of Indian society as anywhere else, it has had to lurk in the shadows and be reduced to furtive fumblings in park bushes and bus shelters, increasing health risks. The right to walk tall and proud was denied. While the debate in Western countries shifted to securing equal legal rights, India was still applying Victorian laws to hold back the tide.

The Delhi High Court gave succour to everyone today by agreeing that the law was unfairly stated, and that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which imposed a life sentence on those indulging in "carnal intercourse against the
order of nature" would only applly to cases involving children or non-consensual sex", as it rightly should. Thus, finding that it was a violation of Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the Indian Constitution, and of fundamental human rights. They asked the Government to implement the guidelines of the Law Commission in this regard and look at rewriting the law in question. They invoked Jawaharlal Nehru's committment to human rights and his "Objective Resolution" as well as the 'Inclusiveness' of the Indian Constitution. The entire judgement was ordered placed online immediately(PDF). The judgement goes into the history of anti-homosexuality laws dating back to the middle ages, and notes that Great Britain
decriminalized homosexuality between consenting adults in 1967 under the Sexual Offences Act. The petitioner, Naz Foundation, which had seen the same case dismissed earlier in 2004 on 'academic' grounds, had brought the case before the court "on the ground that HIV/AIDS prevention efforts were found to be severely impaired by discriminatory attitudes exhibited by state agencies towards gay community, MSM or trans-gendered individuals, under the cover of
enforcement of Section 377".

The Court noted that

A rather peculiar feature of this case is that
completely contradictory affidavits have been filed by two wings of Union of India. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) sought to justify the retention of Section 377 IPC, whereas the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare insisted that
continuance of Section 377 IPC has hampered the HIV/AIDS
prevention efforts.

It noted the MHA affidavit was not well supported in terms of evidence, and there was more weight to the Health affidavit. Shocking notes on abuse of LGBT persons is recorded in the judgement, including the "Bangalore incident
of 2004". It applied the principle of 'severability' in delinking the decriminalization of adult homosexual acts from the continuing applicability to crimes against children and non-consensual acts.

There is much more ground still to be covered, and appeals against this decision are likely, but Incoming Addl Solicitor General Indira Jaisingh said she expects the Govtnot to be swayed by religious/moral arguments if any appeal was filed. On the other hand, All Indian Muslim Personal Law Board member Kamal Farooqui calls it a sad day for "civilised people".(Notes from href="http://www.twitter.com/gay_india">@gay_india)

Democracy was seen to hold fast in India today, and the fight must go on.