Boon or Bane?

Julian Assange, the man who has cooked up a storm by leaking secret cables sent by US diplomats to the state departments is currently residing at a friends property in London after being granted bail.Two Swedish women have claimed that Assange had unprotected sex with them even after they protested,an act punishable under the Swedish laws.Meanwhile Assange continues to maintain that he is being falsely implicated and its a ploy by the American government to permanently gag him.Assange is being heralded as the Messiah of truth and justice.Many famous personalities have joined the campaign to free Julian Assange.

                                      Assange started Wikileaks in 2006 "to radically shift regime behaviour".He had published materials on extra judicial killings in Kenya, toxic waste disposal in Africa,Church of Scientology and Guantanamo procedures.From 28th november 2010 wikileaks had been publishing some hundreds of thousands of American diplomatic cables in their possesion.If reports are to be believed a disgruntled former US soldier Bradley Manning was the one responsible for leaking the cables.Bradley, it is said was discriminated against in the military for being gay and eventually he got disillusioned with the US foreign policy.So the former Intelligence Analyst downloaded top secret information from the military computers and eventually leaked them.Though Wikileaks denied having any knowledge about the source of their information  as Wikileaks follows a strict privacy setting which doesn't allow them to trace the identity of the whistle blower.Manning now faces upto 52 years in prison.

                             India too has been dragged in this controversy.Diplomatic cables reveal that Rahul Gandhi is twice as concerned about Hindu extremism than he is about LeT.This has become an issue at the national level as RSS and Sangh Parivar outfit have quite understandably taken 'offence'.And certain unflattering remarks made by Ted Osius on Sonia Gandhi have also come to light.In a way what Wikileaks is doing is admirable.Journalism of Truth and Freedom of Expression are almost absent in todays market driven media.But the indiscriminate leaking of secret documents can prove to be detrimental.Terrorists and other opportunistic elements might use these kind of information to suit their agenda.If ,God forbid, tomorrow there is another major terrorist attack on India and even if the involvement of foreign elements can be established,they will capitalize on the remark made by Mr. Gandhi.There is a flip side to everything and Wikileaks is no exception.On one hand it is made public the torture and death of thousands of Afghan civilians at the hands of the French NATO and US army but I have to say that in Wikileaks ethics are simply nonexistent.There is no process of screening involved or reviewing of the material being published.

          Everybody is trying to cash in on the sensation created by Wikileaks, from ageing celebrities who feel they might regain some of their lost glamour to media houses and activists.But nobody except the embarassed government of USA is questioning the legitimacy of the site.Everybody has been swayed by the idealistic nature of Wikileaks but few are aware of the threats it poses for those working towards world peace.Every nation and its leaders have the right to have their own views but that does not warrant such illegal disclosure.There is a purpose behind information being made classified by higher authorities.Its high time we should recognise the detriment being done by Wikileaks before the damage becomes irrepairable.

Past and Present

Barely two years ago I made up my mind that I wont be stuck in Kolkata for long.With the Singur-Nandigram agitation on in full swing I got frustrated with the city,the administration and the people in general.Every other day there will be a bandh called either by TMC or the CPIM party mostly by the former that disrupted the daily activities of the city people irrespective of their social status.During that time (2007-08) I was doing my graduation and private tuitions had spread its wings and enveloped even the higher education systems of the city.The education system in higher instituions  had denigrated to such an extent that the students had no option but to seek shelter at the door of private tutors.So at least four days a week I was going for tuitions and the bandhs were a severe headache for commuters.I personally made it a point to attend classes regularly.This habit of mine added to my woes.My grandmother would try and dissuade me from leaving home on a bandh day.I tried reasoning with her saying that a city where bandhs are becoming a norm we cannot afford to let our lives be disrupted by megalomaniac elements.Even if I was succesful in convincing her reaching my destination was a different story altogether.No private buses would be plying and the public buses were few and far between.The second choice would of course be autorickshaws but it had its share of inconveniences.Some autos were affiliated to the CPIM party and some to Trinamool,very few were politically neutral.So when the bandhs would be called by a party its autos wouldnt be plying on any route of the city out of solidarity.The opposing camp would of course be out on the streets encouraging people to defy the other camp leading to clashes.Being a woman in a city ruled by anarchy I had to be on my guard at all times.

                                    The city was dominated by two colours-Red and Green.At times it was hilarious to see how two political parties were competing with each other to paint its graffiti on the same wall.In ceratin lanes and bylanes one side would be decorated with red graphiti and flags and the other side with green.Scratching,rewriting,verbal abusing,endless haranguing finally prompted the home-owners to move a petition to the Election Commission seeking ban on graffiti on the walls of private properties.But as they say where there is a will there is a way.Flags and life size cutouts dominated the scene instead.There was one funny incident I remember.Someone out of mischief had cut off the head of the politician in a cut out.The ensuing conflict was one hilarious episode.Blame games became the order of the day. Police patrol vans were ubiquitous although I am not sure how much it helped maintain law and order.

     The ordinary people either belonged to the red team(those who supported the construction of nano factory in Singur which would have created lakhs of jobs) or the green team(people who were sick of 33 years of high-handedness by the CPIM party and supported the cause of the peasants).The CPIM vs Trinamool became a topic of heated debate everywhere.If someone unknowingly or deliberately let slip something derogatory about either of the parties the supporters would vehemently (verbally and even physically) assault the detractor(s).

The most disturbing thing about the entire affair was newspapers and regional media houses lost objectivity and started taking sides and promoting views which they considered right.A very reputed newspaper institution of Kolkata actively campaigned for TMC allegedly to stay put in the competition.When corruption/manipulation pervades the media,the fourth estate,death of society occurs.The guardians of democracy become its enemy.

As a kid the city fascinated me.The Old British architecture used to transport me back to another era.The sights.the sounds,the smell of the city had me captivated.It was the city I loved most and never wanted to leave.But growing up I saw people around me getting disillusioned but I maintained my foolish optimism.Looking back Calcutta was once the capital of India, the center of finance and trading of the East India Company.If the British were able to secure their footing in this country it was only due to their financial strength and military power.Back in the 19th century 80% percent of the revenue earned by the East India Company came from Calcutta.Calcutta was the birthplace of journalism, the clarion call for independence originated here.The first Indian to win a Nobel Prize was a Bengali.We Bengali's have a rich cultural heritage.The architecture of the city is a witness to our glorious past and cultural diversity.The Howrah Bridge and the ever-flowing Hooghly river a symbol of the strength and resilience of the people, a symbol of our achievements and our contribution to the betterment of our country.We belong to the land of Bipin Chandra Pal,Vidysagar,Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Even today Bollywood movies made from the novels of great writers like Sarat Chandra Chatterjee garner critical acclaim.We have so much in us.But sadly some of us have got sucked into the vortex of power,politics and corruption.In order to restore our past glory we need to know our roots. Does it really matter who won or who lost as long as we walk  with our head held high?