Bleeding theory of Ruchika

Aarushi's murder was one of the high profile murder cases (under violence against women's agenda of the news channels). One can recollect Jessica Lal murder in 1999 was also a focus of main stream media at that time. The common line between these two is that the case was almost closed without convicting the known murderer and then the media created a justified pressure to re-open or appeal against the acquittal of the accused. In the second innings of all these cases the murderer was put behind the bars. I can think of – the case of Prathibha (2005 - Bangalore BPO girl murdered by the cabby) which was under intense media pressure but the first judgement itself came against the murderer. He is serving prison till death (rare judgement next only to death penalty). Delhi rape case last year was another example of intense media coverage extreme outcry of public. So far so good. The middle class Indian convinces himself that even if the violence against women is unavoidable in few cases, the culprit is not spared from law.

We have to rewind our memory a little more – Ruchika Girhotra (1990). Ruchika who lost her mother at her young age was a budding tennis player in Haryana. SPS Rathore an IPS officer – what to say about him? Molested Ruchika (Rathore’s daughter is Ruchika’s batch mate in the same school) and had to face some initial actions with an FIR filed against him. But, he gathered some strength from his sources and started his demon-like acts against the Girhotra’s family. He then harassed the family by placing plain cloth police men in front of Ruchika’s house. He arrested the teen age brother of Ruchika, Ashu and tortured him to sign blank papers and filed cases of stolen cars on him. Her brother was paraded half naked in front of his house with hands cuffed. There were Rathore organised mobs in front of Ruchika’s home to shout slogans against them. Rathore influenced the school authorities to expel Ruchika which they did and killed the heart of the teen ager. She consumed poison and found peace. Her father lost peace with his daughter dead and his son in jail (this was two years after the complaint filed against Rathore).  (Facts collected from various internet sites)

Time marched – 19 years. Rathore was promoted to ADGP and later became the DGP. He filed cases against Aradhana (Ruchika’s friend and the only witness of the molestation), lawyers who appeared for Ruchika, Ruchika’s father and brother. All-out attack. The main difference between the cases of 2000s and 1990s is the media coverage. Hardly someone in the 90s would have known about Ruchika’s case, it in fact came to lime light in late 2000s when Rathore was bailed out ten minutes after he was sentenced and created a public uproar in media. Imagine if there was media coverage during Ruchika’s days as we have today – Rathore would have had nightmares in his prison cell.

Lately Rathore served 6 months in jail for what he did 19 years back and now out in bail. He has appealed against his conviction. However, very recently Ruchika’s family stopped their fight against him. Understandable. At 9 PM every day I feel - new channels are entertaining the viewer instead of informing them. Paid news, politically biased – such things are there but still I think wide media presence is giving the wrong doers a sense of fear that they can’t evade forever.

Stay Alive Without Talking

Albert Einstein – voted as the man of the century (last century) was remembered for many of his scientific theories, most known for his theory of relativity. In recent past his name is associated with his phrase “I fear the day technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” – Yes, that genius indeed foresaw the future.

Evolution of Communication:
the history of communication can track back even to the date when humans evolved. Pigeons, Manuscripts, reflecting mirrors, printing press etc. i.e. those existed before the digital revolution did not stop humans from interacting. However, the above statement from Einstein has become true in recent past.  

Stay Alive without Talking:
Smart phones are devices that are changing the lifestyle of current generation and will define a new lifestyle for the next generation. Smart phone apps are helping us to find the shortest route in any city (no need to talk to auto drivers), remember birthdays (no need to wish in person – just write on the wall or whatsapp , on line transactions (no need to go to EB office, banks, book tickets or any other office where we need to pay bills / taxes or talk to officials there), online shopping (the next generation may not know what is bargaining!- which we are slowly forgetting J). We can keep adding many line items to this list – the apps are unending. With all these features one can stay alive even for a month without talking to anyone. This is annoying isn't?  

Change is inevitable:
A kid in 2020s may question why should someone write “r u der?” or “jst lyk dat?” instead of writing the full spelling. The SMSs of those days were long dead, now the feature of prediction and swipe made typing easier, the speech software are typing what we speak on our behalf these days. I May say “Happy birthday Mani” in front of the phone (!!??!!), and send the voice message to Mani who is staying just few KMs from my home. I will equally feel guilty of not wishing him in person and having some fun outing as I did in late 2000s, as I compose myself that I need to keep going and using technology is not killing my relationship.

There were days when inviting relatives to marriage through phone was considered taboo, now it is a common practice  We accepted those deviations and kept changing our life and practices. Does the same apply now, so wishing birthday in phone or some app doesn't harm the relationship? Doesn't “missing” have some to play if we don’t show up in person? Are there few left in our life to show up in person, go out and take a break from the unrelenting work schedule? Yes, there are. So, let’s keep meeting those who are important to be met in person and use technology for all others.

Smart phones are expenses that give all comfort but no “experience”. Finding the road route From Chennai to Tarangambadi is a smart phone feature. Travelling that route with my friends is an experience of lifetime. Let’s have some experiences from life.

I don’t want to be a Sachin Tendulkar.

We have equal number of Sachin lovers and non-lovers (let’s not have haters). So please read with your mind within cricketing arena. One can keep writing pages and pages on him, I just give my humble thoughts about him.

On 200^th test match, for one last time, Sachin made cricket crazy nation to stop working and watch him play. There came masters, master blasters, classy wall (my fav), fighters, survivors and they all went. But only one stood watching them come and then go. It took a mammoth 24 years to do so. Only passion can get a man to do that. There are of course few international stars that lived up to expectations and survived more than a decade. The difference is that Sachin’s sheer longevity and that did not come through sheer luck

Sachin - Taken for granted:
Everyone knows what other cricketing legends say about Sachin. They know cricket as well as Sachin. The layman’s respect:
Not sure who is the opposition, don’t know what the team composition is, but simply ask “how much did Sachin scored?”  Admit this must have happened at least once in your life time. That is how Sachin was taken for granted by cricket fans.

Humility:
I will quote a conversation between me and a hardcore Sachin fan after the WC2011 victory. He was slide showing some of the celebration photos.
He (enthused): India won the cup
me (not that enthused): Yes, good team expected to win.
He (enthused): Sachin’s dream fulfilled
me (sarcastic): Machi  - get back to work J
He and I went jaw dropping in the next picture where Sachin handed over the cup to a fan (just googled to find his name - the tri colour fellow in all matches – Sudhir).
A celebrity loyal to his fan – what logic? Here he is no celebrity. Then, who is he? Just Sachin.

Commitment:
Whether he is a team player or not is an unending debate. I’m not a specialist to discuss that. But my thought is that if he is not a team player he could not have survived all odds for more than 2 decades. How many of Indian cricketers have faced the number of balls equal to the number of runs he scored?

There are many snack bites about Sachin like pitch inspection before every match, always punctual, respect to opponents, answering only with bat, and aggression not in eyes but with technique – all these combined to serve the grand meal he gave us. Does this mean no others did these things – may be yes. But he did all these basics when fellow mates and fans claimed him to be God. So he is special.

He kept playing his shots when:

1.       The team coach wanted his career to be ended

2.       His home ground fans boo-ed at him

3.       Some of his team mates played for extra money

4.       When his centuries were ignored for the team’s loss

5.       The whole game of cricket was changing from moderate to aggressive mode

6.       Everyone wanted him to retire

I’m not a cricket enthusiast or analyst or a hard-core fan with stats on finger tips. I watch Sachin play during my school days, college days and now I’m working for 6 years.  Man! 24 years is more than 2/3^rd of my life so far. I would like to divide my life as Before Sachin’s retirement and After Sachin’s retirement. Others who would do so raise your hands J.

I forgot my passion for work, Sachin didn't.  I complained my commitments for not hitting the gym, Sachin didn't. I felt the next generation has grown up when Sachin hit 200 among his next generation in ODI.

I do not want to be a Sachin Tendulkar.  I will be a human.

He who is God?

Existence and non-existence of God is an unending debate. Let’s not start it once again. I just kept thinking how man thought of some God component for the first time. It must be the rain, air, fire, land – those natural phenomenon upon which man did not have any control. The phenomenon that help him live his life without much trouble. But man did not stop with that. Take any civilization Greek, Roman, Indian - Gods have families. This is a clear example of man’s imagination.

I have read the rise of Vatican resulted in the start of dark medieval period. Before the rise of Vatican - the civilizations relied much on human knowledge than the super powers. Anyone can read about Hypatia to understand this. This applies to all civilizations – they migrated to superstitious beliefs than believing their self-instincts. I feel this is the time in our history we started celebrating God than worshipping. That is why archaeologists unearth more “worship artefacts” than “study artefacts”.

Modern science - We have our evolution theory that details how man came into existence. It details about how other living things existed and went extinct before and after the birth of human species. OK, what about the universe? Stephen Hawkins says no one knows how the universe was created. Our great scientists were able to figure out the gases that were present few minutes after the big bang (science belief of universe creation) but not what caused that big bang explosion. Hawkins conclude that till someone finds that moment let’s assume that universe was created out of God’s particle (!). He passed the buck to God himself.

If God had really created the universe, man may not find him at all unless God himself decide to show up. Man did not sightsee the whole universe yet, we have just covered a small area so far. God could be anywhere we dint see through the eyes of our explorers in the space. On that day when we have swept the entire universe, God is all powerful to extend this universe.

Most of the dark beliefs were out of our life these days. God is not as powerful as he was when he was first conceived.  Currency is powerful, Guns are powerful, Internet is powerful etc. Religions will survive as long as they are fed with money, else many will disappear. One day in future - caste and religion will be history, temples will be museums and that day man will be free thinking man and that is how he came into existence at first.

Compassionate Grounds

I thought of sharing some of my experiences with red-tapism.

Encounter 1:

Directorate of Medical Education – Kilpauk

At the age of 24 I was introduced to forms / applications /approvals / rejections that are outside my college. I was taken by shock to experience few things which we all know that exists in Indian government offices.

Here, the story is to get an approval for an interview (a clearance for transplant) for my father’s surgery. Let’s get direct to the subject. The approval has to come from the helmsman of DME. I was asked to go and ask for updates from the DME boss frequently as things won’t move until personal presence and request are done in that office.

I went to him continuously for 4 weeks. Below is the sequence that happened every time I met him. He will always be alone in that room – no one waiting to see him. I will be the only one and I just enter the room and convey the file number and other details and ask for the approval of the interview. He just asks me to “come next week”. Still, I went eight times in 4 weeks to just hear these three words. The problem is my dad’s health is deteriorating and the surgery was to be done at the earliest.

The next time I visited him, I had to wait for my turn. There was another man for the very reason I was visiting for 4 weeks. He was in tears standing in front of the DME boss and holding his hands the way prayers are done in Hindu temples. I was able to hear what he was trying to say in between his sobbing. He was asking for an update of the interview clearance which I was also doing. Gosh! Can I just do what that person did?

I entered his room – did not utter a single word. He recognized me and said “Thambi, this is what happens. Any rule in India can be broken under compassionate grounds. I do not see your applications genuine – So I can’t sign it with my conscious. I can only sign it because I feel compassionate with your gesture of pleading (!) me repeatedly. ” blown away!

Next - friends.  I got in touch with the lowest party cadre of the union health minister of that day (he was from Tamil Nadu) through my friend. Then I and my friend climbed up the ladder to reach maximum height and get some help. Within three days we made our way to meet the PA (part side) of the minister. We were asked to wait in a lobby and asked not to move out. This is because the only way to meet him is when he walks out of the room. We waited for seven hours without break and finally we were called in. It was just 40 minutes ahead of my dad’s fifth interview. My friend’s caste came into help and the PA called DME immediately and asked to clear the application for zero rupees. The interview was cleared and then we went ahead with the surgery.

In India -Honest or dishonest - Money, power, caste, contacts make them “can can”.

My thoughts about the book "Triumph of Truth: Rajiv Gandhi Assassination-The Investigation"

Rajiv Gandhi

I was just 7+ years old on that day May 21 1991. I hardly remember anything other than the sights of people grouping themselves here and there talking about something when I went with my father to buy milk the next day morning. For India, Rajiv Gandhi was the most charismatic leader in the world. Countrymen during those days were really proud to have such a young, energetic leader (Those were the days when media was controlled by Government and only the better side of them are known to public).

Rajiv Gandhi was a pilot - becoming a pilot was my childhood dream (Sudha and Dandapani my 5th standard class mates only knew this - let’s get back to the subject). I learnt about Rajiv Gandhi when I visited Indira Gandhi museum in Delhi with my family some years back. His death and the modus operandi made me to think "was he so powerful?"

What provoked me?

Later during the final days of Lankan civil war - the social media was bursting with Pro-LTTE messages, I forced myself to learn about their act of eliminating Rajiv. So I did what anyone else would have done - Google. I stumbled upon a book and two movies:

1. Triumph of Truth: Rajiv Gandhi Assassination-The Investigation

2. Mission 90 days (Malayalam movie directed by Major Ravi who participated in operation to nab Sivarasan)

3. Kuppi (Kannada / Tamil bilingual movie about the steps taken by Sivarasan to escape Indian authorities).

I downloaded those two movies and watched them.

Mission 90 days was actually the NSG version of the investigation claiming all credits to them and ignoring DRK.

Kuppi was the police version of the investigation claiming all credits to Chennai and Bangalore Police ignoring the black cats.

I have heard my father talking high about Mr.D.R. Karthikeyan who investigated the assassination way back (same reason - no parallel media investigation). I purchased the book through bookadda.com authored by the D.R.K and his deputy Radha Vinod Raju.

The Book:

Briefing the assassination:

DRK presents some of his meetings with Rajiv and describes how humble and charismatic our leader was during those days. DRK wonders how Rajiv took the wheels on an open jeep during his tour in Karnataka. Apart from these incidents, the book details the happenings of the ill-fated day of 21 May 1991.

Mr. DRK on his own words says investigation is to find

1. Who did it?

2. How they did it?

3. Why they did it?

Regarding the first two questions - DRK and his team did a terrific job with the resources at their disposal in those days. With limited technical facilities they tracked evidences against one of the most advanced and dreadful team.

But, when it comes to the third question - the whole book points LTTE, their intention to eliminate Rajiv for their homeland struggle. However, the very point focussing the whole assassination on LTTE makes me think there is something more.

Excuse me MR. DRK:

Below are few question that strikes me when I read the book:

1. The book says - Sivarasan and Subha escaped to Bangalore from Madras in a tanker truck without police checking it.

The whole Indian east cost was sealed to stop any escape.

The state of TN was under emergency with full powers to security agency to nab the murderers at any cost. All the escape routes, travel junctures are scanned every minute and sub marines intercepting radio signals in the Bay of Bengal.

 How can the reader believe that the tanker escaped without police check. I think it went through the police check post, but still slipped off due to negligence or inside play

2. Death of smuggler Shanmugam - he is the man who received the hit team in Kodiakarai coastal area. He hid scores of arms, ammunitions, communication devices in his farm. The police arrested him and that arrest was termed "big fish". Just few hours later, he was announced absconding and found dead just 500 mts away from the same police station hanging in a tree but with a different costume.

 It is unbelievable - for TN police take 48+ hours to find someone hanging just 500 mts away from the escape place.

 Why was his costume changed (from dhoti to lungi before suicide?)

3. When Sivarasan was surrounded in Bangalore outskirts - his hideout was guarded for more than day giving him enough time to sit back and think of escape route or suicide.

 DRK being the head of the SIT doesn't need to consult with anyone before striking the hideout once detected as they did in Indira Nagar in Bangalore a few weeks before they surrounded Sivarasan.

 Still the message was conveyed to "some" superiors and waited for more commandos and more anti cyanide medicines and gave enough time for the hit team to commit a mass suicide.

4. All investigative books on this assassination says that no one knows who built the bomb that killed Rajiv. But a recent movie on this case "Madras cafe" - they show a German chemical engineer working on building a plastic explosive that blasted our ex-pm.

5. Video evidences - DRK says that video cameras were shut down and intended to capture only when Rajiv takes on the dais - this is not true. Ragothaman, one of the officers in the SIT specified that they have tampered video tapes and they show nothing significant or may be the significant parts are erased.

He also goes on to say on record that Sivarasan's notebook mention the exact time of arrival of Rajiv Gandhi to Chennai airport. He says that the rescheduled arrival time known only to persons in Hyderabad airport was somehow communicated to Sivarasan - how can this be done without any inside play.

With such a huge man hunt and investigative team with all resources was able to nail only LTTE for this assassination makes any reader think that there is definitely a larger conspiracy.

1. Rajiv trying to be a "USA" of south Asia (preventing a coupe in Maldives, IPFK etc.)

2. Western powers wanted control of Triconamalee port to control south East Asian trade routes.

3. LTTE was just the hit man of a bigger conspiracy including many terrorists groups.

4. Arms manufacturing companies wanted him to be silenced to keep their arms selling to the civil war etc. and etc.

Does God answer all these questions - no we have our own Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency working on these for more than a decade. Great job!!!