Just when you thought that  theatrics has reduced in politics, there is a revival of that art form thanks to the octogenarian Communist chief minister of Kerala. Achyutanandan is riding a popularity tsunami wave unseen in Kerala politics due to a demolition drive he has triggered all over Kerala. A special task force  assigned by him has been camping in the hill resort of Munnar demolishing any building constructed over encroached land,  mostly holiday resorts. The task force did not even spare one of the offices of CPI, a coalition partner, resulting in an increased sales of heart burn medicine in the capital.

The demolition drives were not just restricted to Munnar but also in towns all around Kerala. While driving into Kottayam last month we were held up for an hour because a bull dozer was pulling down a building right in the town and while driving from Thrissur town to Thalikkulam, a beach town, we saw that even church walls were not spared. Achyutanandan became the fearless Robinhood receiving support from everyone for taking such bold steps and Sugatha Kumari, the poetess, went on to write an op-ed piece in Mathrubhoomi praising him.

That’s when Achyutanandan decided to move it up a notch. He drove to Munnar in heavy downpour on a day in which his coalition members had decided to investigate the excesses done in Munnar and personally threw away a board from land which he said belonged to the Tatas. He touted that no one had the courage to touch the Tatas till then. He also warned the Tatas not to approach the judiciary and threatened that if they did so they would be left with no land at all.

The last statement sounded like it came  from a kidnapper who after saying, Tumhari maa hamare kabze mein hai, warns the victim not to go to the police than a person who has sworn to uphold the follow the laws of India. Then what can you expect from a Communist whose only claim to fame is destroying crops planted by farmers.

Events took a comic turn when Achyutanandan’s Revenue Minister stated in the Assembly that the land which the Chief Minister claimed belonged to the Tatas actually belonged to the Forest Department and the nearest Tata plantation was 2 KM away. In fact the land had been under the Government control since 1971. Instead of following the law Achyutanandan thought he was Suresh Gopi in his old age, decided to take the law into his own hands,  and ended up with coconut tree manure on his face. Thanks to the excellent  media coverage, Achyutanandan’s stupidity was telecast to a wide audience.

You would think Communists would learn from such embarrassments. Instead they have decided to threaten major newspapers for exposing corruption within the party.

Reader Sabarish wants varnam readers to share their experience in learning Sanskrit. We would like to know how you learned it (Samskrita Bharati, self taught, any other organizations, teachers etc.), the books you used (eg, Sanskritasya Vyavaharikaswaroopam) and what you think is the best way to learn.

Any tips and words of wisdom will benefit lot of readers as my post on Sanskrit Revival seems to have generated good interest.

(A bunch of people protesting against something, blocking traffic in Trivandrum)

A sales girl working long hours in a traditional shop in Kerala gets paid about Rs. 600/month. A consumer who wants to drink Frooti in Kerala is instead offered Maaza because the profit margin on Frooti is less. If you are a shop owner, you have to join this mafia type organization called Kerala Vyapari Vyavsayi Ekopana Samithi (KVVES) and they decide what is to be sold to the consumer and what not to be sold. Everyone including the suppliers and Government are blackmailed and they protest if legal action is taken against their illegal activities. While employees and consumers are exploited, any effort to provide an alternative is threatened with violence.

Upset that their hostage taking of an entire state is about crumble, the members of KVVES have  threatened to physically destroy Reliance outlets. At this point you would think that the State Govt. should step in, warn the traders, and advice them that they don’t live in Cuba but in India where citizens have the right to trade wherever they like, provided they follow the law. Instead in Kerala, members of the treasonous Communist Govt. are busy drafting legislation preventing the entry of retail giants.

The Communists have successfully converted Kerala into a protest state for events which they cannot influence like globalization and the imaginary American imperialism. Their brain damaged supporters also walk around attacking everyone, including farmers and the Chief Minister threatens businesses with severe action if they assert their fundamental rights like  going to the courts. Recently when it was mandated that all motorcycle riders would have to wear helmets, people protested by wearing plastic pots with holes in it with the attitude that they would rather die in road accident than wear such things.

Sitting in their air conditioned offices and residences in AKG Bhavan, their HQ in Kerala, the Communists have always said that they stand for the poor, but in reality the Communists are the biggest obstacle for the poor. Supermarkets like Reliance and Spencers can offer goods at a lower price than shops owned by the trader mafia which can benefit the low wage earner. It has been seen that supermarkets like Wal-Mart  have dwarfed anti-poverty programs and the biggest beneficiaries are the poor and so the opposition to giant retailers exposes yet more hypocrisy from the Communists.

Poor people are walking that extra mile (literally) to buy groceries from Reliance Fresh because fresh vegetables are fruits are 10-15% cheaper there than the street vendor. Private companies are investing in techniques to boost farm practices and irrigation systems which would raise farm income by 30 percent. Farmers in Ratnagiri have obtained 90 percent of the original cost compared to the 70 percent they would have obtained by going to Govt. regulated mandis. Then facts should never obstruct an opportunity to keep Kerala as the economic waste land that it is now.

A new Malayalam movie from Lal Jose exposes how the party of poor has  moved away from  ordinary people, its voter base, to be a party controlled by a corrupt leadership devoid of any ideology or social commitment and how the dogma of Communism has been kept alive by the leaders for their own survival. The lies peddled by the Communist leaders are swallowed by the “enlightened public” without any questioning.

In fact this opposition to the entry of retail giants very clearly shows where the loyalty of the Communist party lies. Rather than support something which will bring low prices for the poor, they would stand with the labor aristocracy, the bourgeoisie. This shift in stance has the logical explanation that the poor are, well poor, while the bourgeoisie traders have money.

What else do you expect from a party which has become filthy rich playing poverty politics?

It is said that life is tough for a Dalit in India and atrocities committed on
Dalits are given prominence in the media except
when
the atrocities are committed by Dalits themselves. Still there is no denying
that they are abused simply because of their caste. In such an
environment when someone and that too a woman breaks ranks and achieves
unimaginable wealth, it has to become a case study.

Her father was a clerk in the Telecommunications department in Delhi and mother
a house wife. She was a teacher and then she joined politics. The latest
statement filed by Mayavati gives an indication why a career in politics is
always better than the
Resident
Idiot’s whipping boy, the IT sector.

UP chief minister Mayawati has assets worth over Rs 52 crore,
according to an affidavit filed on Monday by her along with the nomination
papers for the Vidhan Parishad. And to add glitter to her wealth, the lady has
diamonds worth nearly Rs 50 lakh.

The CM’s assets, including movable and immovable property, bank balance are:

Cash: Rs 50.27 lakh; Deposits in banks, financial institutions and non-banking
financial companies: Rs 12.88 lakh; jewellery: Rs 50.87 lakh;diamonds 380.17
carat: Rs 49.75 lakh; a 18.5-kg silver dinner set costing Rs 1.12 lakh.

Among her other assets, the CM has murals worth Rs 15 lakh.

Behenji, as she likes to be called, lists the following commercial and
residential establishments as her own in New Delhi and Lucknow. She owns two
commercial establishments in Connaught Place, New Delhi, priced at Rs 2.05 crore
and Rs 1.27 crore and another commercial establishment at Okhla which is priced
at Rs 15.50 crore.
[Mayawati
reveals assets: Rs 52 crore]

How she earned so much money would
bring tears to the eyes of even politicians. Naive BSP workers, assuming that
the leader did not have any money sent her money and asked her to use it
for
whatever purpose she seemed fit, like buying bungalows or jewellery. Really!
That feeling of happiness knowing that the leader is eating in a dinner set
costing Rs. 1.12 lakhs while you are struggling to make a living is called, and
let me use a technical term here,
nirvana.

The view is best summed up by Columnist
Chandrabhan Prasad who says that the ordinary
Dalit
would feel happy that at least one of them is
doing well.  Mayavati is an inspiration not only for Dalits, but for
all of us.

There are lot of accusations against her for which the answer has been silence and she has lot of explaining to do before she becomes another Zail Singh. One thing though, please don’t accuse her of getting her history incorrect.

Here’s why this banner needs to go up. And here’s where you can get this banner from.

Speaking at the DYFI meet alongside N. Ram, Malayalam cinema actor Mammotty said

He added that the Gujarat carnage in 2002 would not have happened, if the Communist Party of India-Marxist’s (CPI-M) youth wing had been stronger in that state. [Mammootty captures the hearts of DYFI activists]

Who better to trust our lives with than the peddlers of the imported murderous ideology called Communism. The ideology which gave us Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and that psycho cum t-shirt revolutionary Che also gave us Indians, Maoists, Naxalites and the latest, Nandigram. Then when you are the chairman of the Communist television channel  you have to the sing the official bhajan.

After Mr. Future of India, Rahul Gandhi,  claimed that his party got freedom for India and divided Pakistan and did various sundry things, the party men seems to have got the idea on how to take it further.

The booklet — in Urdu and in Hindi — not only goes about proclaiming that the Congress was responsible for extending opportunity to Muslims to occupy top constitutional and political appointments, but also goes on to take credit for the rise of celebrities like Dilip Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Sania Mirza as well as a number of Indian cricketers.

“And that not only helped in Azeem Premji emerging as the richest man in the country, but also forging stars like Dilip Kumar and Sharrukh Khan to the top rung in the Indian film industry,” it declared. Lest his screen name be misunderstood, Dilip Kumar’s real name — Yusuf Khan — was mentioned within brackets.

It then seeks to assign the same reason to the fame achieved by top musicians — Amjad Khan (Sarod), Zakir Hussain (Tabla) and Bismillah Khan (Shehnai) besides cricketers — Nawab of Pataudi, Syed Kirmani, Azaruddin, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Mohammad Kaif, Munaf Patel, Wasim Jafar , as well as tennis star Sania Mirza. [SRK, Sania, Azim Premji flourish thanks to us: Congress]

The respect for Abdul Kalam increases further as he made it to the top without help from the Congress.