Enlightened ... There are no special effects.

கடந்த சில நாட்களாக சுற்றங்களுடனும் நண்பர்களுடன் நடந்த உரையாடல்களில் நம்முடைய வட்டம் எவ்வளவு சிறியது என்று உணர முடிந்தது.  ஒரு அரசியல் கட்சியின் கூட்டத்தை அருகில் இருந்து பார்க்கும் வாய்ப்பு கிடைத்தது.  அங்கு வந்திருந்த பெரும்பான்மையான கட்சிக்காரர்களுடன் எங்களால் பத்து நிமிடங்கள் கூட உரையாட முடியாது.  நம் உலகம் வேறு; அவர்கள் உலகம் வேறு என்பதை அதுவரை மேலோட்டமாக அறிந்திருந்தாலும் அன்று அந்த உண்மை உரைத்தது. ஓரளவுக்கு அந்த கட்சிக்காரர்கள் வாக்களிக்கும் மக்களுடன் தொடர்பில் இருப்பவர்கள். பிற கட்சிக்காரர்களுக்கு சற்றே அதிக தொடர்பு இருக்கலாம்.   ஆனால் சமூக வலைத்தளங்களிலும் வழக்கமான ஊடங்களிலும் அரசியல் பேசுபவர்களை விட கட்சிக்காரர்களுக்கு மக்களைப் பற்றிய அதிக பரிச்சயம் இருக்கும்.   நாம் எந்த அளவுக்கு வாக்களிக்கும் மக்களை அறிந்திருக்கிறோம் என்பதை பின் வரும் ட்வீட் விளக்குகிறது.  I think we need some quick education for the terminally online in just how unusual they are. If you have a college diploma, you are already unlike most voters. If you spend a lot of ...

Residents Welfare Associations (RWA) have become the de facto local governments in our cities. At the lowest level, the responsibility is for the upkeep of the common area.  As the properties get bigger, more responsibilities like Security, Lifts, Water Management, Genset get added.  That is, on a smaller scale RWA begins sharing the local government's responsibilities of safety, water and power supply.  Bigger RWAs have to deal with waste water treatment (Sewage), maintenance of streets, gardens and other facilities like a mini PWD. It's the need of the hour.  In fact, leaving it to the RWA may ensure better service than what the government has to offer.  But how well equipped are the RWAs to deal with its level of governance?  Reluctance to Take Responsibilities Whether the residents are young or old, more so if they are young, do not want to take any responsibility towards common causes.  RWA responsibilities do consume one's time, is an unpaid and ...

Six degrees of separation is the idea that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other. As a result, a chain of "friend of a friend" statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps.  I guess Modiji is at most a third connection to most Indians. Someone you know or somone your friend/family knows must have seen him. In Trichy, an auto driver, a poor Brahmin who comes for Brahmanartham, a cab driver in Vazhavandhan Kottai know somone who had met/ seen him in close quarters or part of a small group that got to meet him. This was impossible until a decade ago. This is possibile because, as a PM, Modi must have attended maximum number of events outside of Delhi.  His aggressive campaigns  and the organisational connect BJP/RSS has with the people makes him the most connected world leader.  It is good to see Annamalai using this approach in reaching out to the people. Again, the organisational support he gets to achive th...

After that prana pratishta of Rama Janmabhoomi temple, J Saideepak made a statement on primetime TV that Hindus should reclaim the 40,000-odd temples usurped by the Islamists.   Both @Vishnu_Jain1 and I are not just looking at Kashi and Mathura; we are looking at 40000 sites; and no third party professing to represent Hindus can make any concession on behalf of those who want to reclaim these sites: @jsaideepak Undaunted. Unflinching. Unshakable. pic.twitter.com/90720ZpO8o — Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) January 30, 2024 As expected, a few elite Muslims argued against it that it would keep the country in a threatening confrontational mode. In complete disagreement with this, it will keep the nation state of India in a 24/7 threatening confrontational mode. https://t.co/xSAFVKGZKX — Khalid Baig (@KhalidBaig85) January 30, 2024 Then the neo Hindutvavaadis and the sundry Savarkarite began attacking Saideepak and Anand Ranganathan.  They stand for Hindu unity and e...

 Yes. You read it right. RSS might think that the UCC is a brilliant idea to unite Hindus.  The BJP might think it appears like a good stick to beat the Muslims and get Hindu votes.  I think both are shortsighted if not totally wrong. First, let's look at the political angle.  If UCC becomes a law, Muslims would continue to ignore it like an average Indian ignores traffic laws.  The interesting part is, even for a traffic law violation, our Police would hesitate to act if the violator wears a skullcap and sports a beard.  So, as in traffic law violation, it would be the Hindus who would be punished if they violate UCC.  In other words, UCC could be the new tool of an aggressor to target only Hindus. Coming to the social issue, we are so diverse that each community has evolved its customs and traditions over hundreds of years.  Some are social, and some could even be biological.  I qualify it as 'could be' as there is no documented scientific ...

On Rishi Sunak becoming the PM, the liberals and Congressmen in India began talking about the inability of a minority - read Muslim - to become a PM or a President forgetting their own history of opposing Muslim and Christian President candidates.   I see Sunak becoming the PM as an extraordinary event as no one else came forward to run a country that is a mess.  Even in Britain, it is almost impossible for a Muslim to be the head of state.   Let me generalize the statement.  "It is almost impossible for a Muslim to be a head of state in democracy in a multi-cultural country."  Why? In all democracies, whether Parliament or Presidential, the representative has to be elected twice before leading the nation.    In a Presidential system like the US, party delegates vote for the Presidential candidate before the candidate seeks votes from the general public.  In a Parliamentary system the order changes - he gets elected from his constituency...