2011 Columns

12 misses of 2011
Lokpal, Mahashatak, Economy, FDI…
31 December, 2011, Sify.com

2011: The Year of the Common Person
People on the streets and cyberspace made the difference
28 December, 2011, Sify.com

Has Google been a one-trick wonder?
King in Search, pauper in everything else
26 December, 2011, Sify.com

2011: A scary year for media and social media
Leaders, politicians… they all hated the press
22 December, 2011, Sify.com

2011: India’s year of confrontation
Everyone seemed to be taking on someone else
20 December, 2011, Sify.com

The A to Z of tainted politicians
Indian leaders are totally into scams
19 December, 2011, Sify.com

7 reasons why general elections could take place in 2012
The Congress is well capable of toppling itself…
16 December, 2011, Sify.com

10 things that took a real beating in 2011…
Al-Qaeda, N-power, Einstein, Euro…
13 December, 2011, Sify.com

An Open Letter to Kapil Sibal
The IT Minister should understand the Net better
07 December, 2011, Sify.com

The Indian Not So Nobel Prizes of 2011…
The worst of the worst of the year
06 December, 2011, Sify.com

2011: The Year of The Obituary
There just have been to many celebrity deaths this year
04 December, 2011, Sify.com

Maybe it’s us and not the UPA that has changed!
The Congress on their part have been consistent
29 November, 2011, Sify.com

The A to Z of violent protests in India
We are a country increasingly on the edge
29 November, 2011, Sify.com

10 reasons why the Indian media is like that only…
Justice Katju was not very off the mark with his criticism
25 November, 2011, Sify.com

Only the Congress can defeat the Congress
The Government is scoring an own goal for 2014
18 November, 2011, Sify.com

An Open Letter to Shahrukh Khan
Despite Ra.One’s mediocrity…
8 November, 2011, Sify.com

Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger
Will China do a Kargil on India?
2 November, 2011, Sify.com

The Rotten Side of Apple
Elitist, Selfish, Anti-India, labour woes…
25 October, 2011, Sify.com

Prashant Bhushan: The man everyone loves to hate
His activism has affected quite a few Indians
18 October, 2011, Sify.com

What’s your problem, Digvijay Singh?
The man who always shoots off his mouth
14 October, 2011, Sify.com

How to post a Facebook status and attack an activist
The hitting of Prashant Bhushan got many Likes
12 October, 2011, Sify.com

5 sportsmen for the Bharat Ratna
Dhyan Chand is the first among equals
11 October, 2011, Sify.com

The Importance of being Subramanian Swamy
The most under-rated politician in India
10 October, 2011, Sify.com

Einstein, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs
Jobs touched our lives in many ways
06 October, 2011, Sify.com

Dear pilot, your wing is falling off!
And other horror tales of flying in India
30 September, 2011, Sify.com

You’re never too old to be Indian Prime Minister
Advani still aspires for the top job
23 September, 2011, Sify.com

Why Modi can still be PM one day
A lot has already changed in 2011
18 September, 2011, Sify.com

Us vs Them: Where Anna scored heavily
Politicians and the people live in different worlds
7 September, 2011, Sify.com

Why any kind of Lokpal is necessary
Anna critics should give us a credible alternative
4 September, 2011, Sify.com

1947 to now: India’s long road to empowerment
It really began in 1974 and Anna is merely the latest
2 September, 2011, Sify.com

The Anna revolution: Victory or defeat?
And is this the beginning of something bigger?
29 August, 2011, Sify.com

7 ways to end corruption in India…
No half-measures will get us out of this mess
22 August, 2011, Sify.com

Viva Anna! Long live the revolution!
The Indian War on Corruption finally begins
18 August, 2011, Sify.com

An Open Letter to the Congress Party…
…regarding the whole Anna Hazare issue…
16 August, 2011, Sify.com

The A to Z of Indian sporting controversies
A for Awards, B for Badminton, C for…
31 July, 2011, Sify.com

The A to Z of Scam India
A for Adarsh, B for Bofors, C for…
06 July, 2011, Sify.com

Will Nadal overshadow Federer by 2015?
He still has time to catch up and overtake…
04 July, 2011, Sify.com

The A to Z of the Lokpal “nautanki“…
A for Anna, B for Baba, C for Corruption, D for Diggy…
16 June, 2011, Sify.com

LSD to Pak: How to make monsters and slay them
No-one masters doublespeak like the Americans
10 June, 2011, Sify.com

Will 2011 ruin 2014 for Congress?
High on hubris, there’s arrogance all round
8 June, 2011, Sify.com

The A to Z of international terrorism
A for Al-Qaeda, B for Bilal Town, C for CIA, D for…
20 May, 2011, Sify.com

Congress CMs, On the Endangered Species List
The grand old party shrinks at the state level
16 May, 2011, Sify.com

Mamata, can you take on Naxalism?
A problem as old as Independent India
13 May, 2011, Sify.com

Is the Osama killing a success or a failure?
Coming 10 years late is not exactly par for the US
10 May, 2011, Sify.com

Osama’s death: Good timing, co-incidence or conspiracy?
Why all the flurry of activity 10-15 days before?
2 May, 2011, Sify.com

India’s long fight against corruption
Is it nothing but a futile war?
30 April, 2011, Sify.com

America’s problem with democracy…and India
Great on the inside, but…
20 April, 2011, Sify.com

Change begins in Maharashtra
Anna Hazare is the latest hero from this great state
15 April, 2011, Sify.com

Tatas vs A Raja: India’s corruption gap
India’s Corruption Class rules the roost
13 April, 2011, Sify.com

Do we Indians actually want corruption?
Millions are OK with the black market economy
25 March, 2011, Sify.com

Will you allow a nuclear plant in your backyard?
India and the nuclear power boom
14 March, 2011, Sify.com

Is world leadership at its worst today?
It’s not just the Arab world…
24 February, 2011, Sify.com

Revolution in Egypt? Not again!
A look at the country’s 3rd in a century…
18 February, 2011, Sify.com

The A to Z of the 2G scam…
All you wanted to know about India’s biggest scandal
03 January, 2011, Sify.com

2010 Columns

July to December 2011 Cricket Columns

Does another whitewash loom on the horizon?
Indians Melbourne crash doesn’t augur well
30 December, 2011, Sify.com

The year of slaying cricketing Goliaths
2011 wasn’t good news if you were a champion
21 December, 2011, Sify.com

Open letter to the ICC regarding the Sehwag menace
From the Royal Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Bowlers
09 December, 2011, Sify.com

A tribute to Indian cricket’s ailing Prince
Here’s hoping that Yuvraj Singh is back soon
28 November, 2011, Sify.com

World cricket is swinging like a pendulum
Get thrashed in one series and thrash in another
27 November, 2011, Sify.com

World champions of entertainment!
The Aussies still give us great Tests
22 November, 2011, Sify.com

Kambli’s fixing allegations – Pure rubbish!
A look at why what he says makes no sense
18 November, 2011, Sify.com

Good ole days are here again…
with our 2-0 lead with the Windies
17 November, 2011, Sify.com

A great Test for us, but a disaster for the ICC
The Aus-SA Newlands Test was over in 2 odd days…
11 November, 2011, Sify.com

India’s new spin twins
Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin are a threat to Bhajji
09 November, 2011, Sify.com

The A to Z of Controversial Cricketers
The number of players involved is astonishing…
04 November, 2011, Sify.com

Is Dhoni the world’s greatest finisher?
How he compares with the likes of Bevan…
27 October, 2011, Sify.com

Overconfident England meet their Waterloo in India
Their tough journey has just begun
21 October, 2011, Sify.com

Is Shoaib sensational or mundane?
And other snippets from Indian cricket
07 October, 2011, Sify.com

10 change-makers: From Pataudi to Dhoni
Indian cricket has a lot to thank them for
26 September, 2011, Sify.com

Rahul Dravid passed the ODI test too
The highs of the Wall in the 50-over format
16 September, 2011, Sify.com

The Revival Man of Indian cricket
Dhoni may still lead a Test resurgence
16 September, 2011, Sify.com

All Star XI vs All Fit XI
The BCCI always squeezes the Indian lemon dry
13 September, 2011, Sify.com

India goes totally bust after eight long years
What needs to be done is of paramount importance
14 August, 2011, Sify.com

An era ends for India’s greatest overseas Test player
Rahul Dravid held a rare record for 15 years
05 August, 2011, Sify.com

India vs England: What went wrong
It’s rare for India to trail 0-2 in Tests
02 August, 2011, Sify.com

England’s gifts to the game of cricket
More than 300 years of innovation…
15 July, 2011, Sify.com

India’s biggest test after the World Cup
But we have the momentum in the England series
15 July, 2011, Sify.com

The good, the bad and the ugly in West Indies
Is the glass half full or half empty?
12 July, 2011, Sify.com

Another one bites the dust!
India and its off-field battles
01 July, 2011, Sify.com

January to June 2011 Columns

July to December 2010 Columns

February to June 2010 Columns

The Three Laws of Motion of Indian Politics…

The First Law…
A large Parliamentary body remains stationary unless that body is acted upon by an external force (like Anna Hazare).
Ultimate model of Intertia=Manmohan Singh.

The Second Law…

The acceleration the Parliamentary body is parallel and directly proportional in case of a useless demand and inversely proportional to a very useful demand.
(Like hiking MPs salary is achieved in 40 seconds through a voice vote and the Lokpal is hanging fire even after 40 years)

The Third Law …

Every action by the people has a greater and opposite reaction by the Parliament.
An illustration…
Action: 1 Common Citizen (Anna) held 790 MPs to ransom.
Reaction: 1 common MP (Rajniti) held 1.2 crore Common Citizens to ransom.

© Sunil Rajguru

2012 New Year Musings…

∙ All the politicians of all the political parties in India have wished each other an extremely happy new year by soundly trashing the Lokpal Bill…
“No Lokpal! Happy New Year!”

∙ Cyclone Thane has wished South India a very Wet and Windy New Year.

∙ I would have wished all my fellow Indians a scam-free new year, but for all practical purposes it will be just another Scammy New Year!

∙ In 1752, the calendar went straight from September 3 to 13 to adjust the calendar.
Protest the lost days!
Celebrate New Year on January 12!

Ajeeb Lokpal hai ye…

So much sound and fury over the Lokpal Bill and not an Act to show for it in the end.

Please sing to the tune of Ajeeb daastan hai ye from Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai…

Ajeeb Lokpal hai ye,
Kab ye shuru hua aur kab hoga khatam,
Ye manzile hai kaunsi,
Na sarkar samajh saka na hum,
(Ye
Anna rosihni ke saath kyoon,
Dhuaan
Team ka utha chiraag se),
Ye
Lokpal khwaab dekhte hum sab kyun,
Ki jag pade ho khwaab se.

Ajeeb Lokpal hai ye,
Kab ye shuru hua aur kab hoga khatam,
Ye manzile hai kaunsi,
Na sarkar samajh saka na hum,
(Mubaarakein tumhe ke tum,
Kisi
movement ke noor ho gaye)
Hal ke kitne paas the,
Aur hal se door ho gaye.

Ajeeb Lokpal hai ye,
Kab ye shuru hua aur kab hoga khatam,
Ye manzile hai kaunsi,
Na sarkar samajh saka na hum,
(Kisi ka
Bill leke tum,
Naya
Act kab basaaoge?)
Ye shaam jab bhi yaad aayegi,
Woh
useless LS-RS debates yaad aayenge…

(Original Song: Ajeeb daastan hai ye.
Film: Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai.
Year: 1960)

This Spoof by Sunil Rajguru

Tryst with Tomfoolery

Many years ago, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave a brilliant speech called Tryst with Destiny.

With due apologies to the great man, here is a spoofed up and highly abridged version of that speech to describe the sordid events of the Rajya Sabha not passing the Lokpal Bill, which has been hanging fire for more than four decades…

(Maybe Rahul Gandhi could read it!)

Long years ago we made a tryst with tomfoolery, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the Lok Sabha sleeps, the Rajya Sabha will awake to strife and tomfoolery…

At the dawn of 1968, India started on her unending Lokpal quest, and trackless decades are filled with her striving and grandeur of her failures. We end today a period of misfortunes and India trashes the Lokpal yet again…

On this day our first thoughts go to the architect of this freedom, the New Father of our Nation, Anna Hazare, who, embodying the old spirit of India, held aloft the torch of the Lokpal and lighted up the darkness that surrounded us. We have often been unworthy followers of his and have strayed from his message…

The future beckons to us. Whither do we go and what shall be our endeavour? To bring more tomfoolery to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India…

(This spoof by Sunil Rajguru)