February 13, 2007
 

Water - the flavour of the fortnight

First, it was Canada's nominee to the Oscars, Deepa Mehta's movie 'Water', finding itself in the final shortlist in the 'Foreign Language Film' category.

Then, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu had their usual tussle over the Kaveri/Cauvery. This time it was after the tribunal announced its decision. This resulted in most folks rushing back home early last Monday, a bandh yesterday and a total blackout of Tamil channels from cable television.

Here're a few questions for the morons who're responsible for this blackout, as well as others who support their stand:

• Do you seriously think an act of not allowing Tamil channels to be beamed to homes having cable TV is likely to get those sections of the Tamil populace who're still siding with Tamil Nadu, over to your side? I've been pissed off far too many times with this militant brand of Kannada chauvinism. I've reached the end of my patience. You've now officially lost any sort or empathy I'd have ever had.
  
• Are you protesting against the tribunal's decision? Last I checked, there were no Tamilians in the tribunal.
  
• Have you considered the fact that the politicians know that a review of the decision can be sought. Why do you need to cause hardship to the population at large if a review application is on the cards anyway?
  
• The bandh is over. You've had your bloody say and way. Can we have the channels back please? How long is this going to continue? Until you chaps have gone through the 1000-page order and then decided on which parts of Karnataka each of you is going to own for causing chaos?
  
• I'm unaware of the number of Kannadigas living in Tamil Nadu. I suspect the number will be far less than the number of Tamilians living in Karnataka. Yet, had the judgement gone the other way, consider the reality that one of those Kannadigas would have been writing a similar post, not me.
  
• Would you like it if say a relative of yours, living in Tamil Nadu and unable to comprehend/speak Tamil, was told summarily by a TNEB official to bloody well talk to him in Tamil since he was living in Tamil Nadu?
  
• Would you like it if that said relative was asked to shut up and bear the absence of Kannada channels since he should sympathize with Tamil Nadu's protests when he was in that state, else he could pack his bags and go? The above questions aren't rhetorical. I've had these put to me by officials at BESCOM and by my cable TV service provider.

That said, some good did come out of all this. Krithi and I have now seen more Hindi movies and songs on TV than we have in the last 3 years put together. So "Kollywood's" loss is "Bollywood's" gain!

The third water related issue that happened was Professor Raymond Lafitte declaring the India-Pakistan slugfest over the Baglihar dam as a draw, as was reported here last November. His decision gives Pakistan the boasting rights while India can move on with the construction of the dam, with a few changes, as Nitin writes. In total contrast to the transparency that it demands of governments, the World Bank as of now, doesn't even have a press release announcing the decision on its website. Purely going by Pakistan's attempts to paint the decision as vindicating its stand, it seems a classical case of the Tamil saying 'Kuppara vizhundhaalum meesaiyila mannu ottalai'. This is literrally translated as "Although I fell flat on my face, mud didn't stick to my face", and is a metaphor for a hopeless attempt at saving face!

Labels: baglihar, blackout, cable tv, cauvery, chauvinism, dispute, india, kannada, karnataka, kaveri, oscars, pakistan, tamil nadu, water

Posted @ 11:56 PM

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November 08, 2006
 

Swiss neutrality to the fore

These Swiss people, they really do take their neutrality seriously.

Pakistan approached the World Bank to step in over the disputed Baglihar dam project in Jammu & Kashmir after bilateral talks had failed. Meanwhile, Pakistan's education minister declared that Pakistan should go to war against India over the issue.

Raymond Lafitte was appointed by the World Bank to do the job. A draft report apparently is worded such that both India and Pakistan can claim that their position had been justified. The report suggests that India should reduce the height of the dam as well as the storage capacity, but India would keep the sluice gates near the bottom of the damn.

Labels: baglihar, dispute, india, pakistan, water

Posted @ 5:34 PM

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February 16, 2005
 

Madcap Pakistani Education minister's suggestion to resolve Baglihar dispute

A revolutionary, out of the box, suggestion emanated from the Pakistani Education minister in the Senate today in response to a question from an opposition member about the government's proposed action on resolving the Baglihar dam dispute with India.

Qazi Javed Ashraf said that war was the only option now. I can only hope that the Pakistani public didnt elect morons of this type and that it was the good general who made him a minister. Then again, Gujarat elected Narendra Modi and Maharashtra elected the Shiv Sena.

Labels: baglihar, dispute, india, pakistan, water

Posted @ 5:17 PM

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February 08, 2005
 

You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours

Two totally unrelated developments between the Pakistani government and the World Bank.

Pakistan conferred the "Hilal-e-Pakistan" award (Moon of Pakistan, I think) on World Bank chief James Wolfensohn, who is currently visiting Pakistan. Coincidentally, a "neutral" expert was appointed to review Pakistan's complaint over the Baglihar dam issue with India, replacing one of Indian origin. Pakistan's obsession with things neutral extends to writing to the ICC about umpiring in Australia as well as asking for the UN to intervene in the issue of Jammu & Kashmir's status within the Indian nation.

If this isnt a blatant case of an attempt to influence a decision through corruption, point me to something worse. No, you are not allowed to mention the BCCI's decisions on choosing venues, awarding contracts or selecting players.

Labels: baglihar, dispute, india, pakistan, water

Posted @ 4:34 PM

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