Five things we do wrong while debating on Facebook

Debates on online forums can be enriching and if done with an open mind can broaden our horizons on different topics.


However here are five things we tend to do wrong,


1) Some people go to the extent of spoiling their relationships with friends over Facebook debates and disagreements. Remember, whatever relationship you may have with anyone in your friend’s list is more important that any debate or ideological difference in the world. This is just a forum for sharing thoughts and ideas and not a matter of life and death. We can choose to debate hard if we like to, but then we need to be mature enough to forget about it without unnecessarily bringing in our egos and the anger of a real or perceived sense of loss over a subject or a debate. Think of the good times spent, the help and support given and taken from the person in question and then decide what is more important.


2) Please debate hard, but do not get personal. What I have noticed unfortunately is that in some cases, post getting challenged by logic and facts, people tend to get personal and nasty. Even if we disagree over a topic, let us try to be respectful of others and agree to disagree sometimes. The world is beautiful because there are different people with different moral, ideological, artistic and social stands. It would be extremely boring if everyone thought exactly the same! For me, at times I have seen people rant angrily on their walls after a heated debate which is extremely amusing. Others start calling me intellectual, commie, artist, singer, story writer with a “pseudo” in front of any of these words. This word being the epitome of banality these days. :)


3) Understand that over a given topic, what matters is ONLY one’s knowledge and understanding on the topic and the capability to put these forward. If anyone comes into a debate with the baggage or the belligerence of his/her age, social standing, education, position in the corporate world, possessions, geographical location or anything else like that, it does not make for a constructive discussion. We tend to get more aggressive when we realize that someone we thought does not stand a chance against us, is beating us hands down with logic over a debate. :)


4) We cannot have substantial knowledge over a topic suddenly and if we try to muscle through a discussion without logic or facts, wanting to be “wannabe experts” overnight, we end up making fools of ourselves. I can speak for myself. There are my areas of passion, over which I have spent countless hours since childhood and still read about them extensively. I love to write on these topics and share my views. But I do not speak on areas where I believe I do not have enough knowledge. If interested, I try to listen, accept superior logic, read and understand first before speaking. Over the years this makes us competent to speak and share our views on many areas without looking half-baked or juvenile.


5) We all have the urge to respond to things on social forums, that do not conform to our line of thought, which is perfectly fine. However we should do a bit of thinking and reading if possible, before replying. Let us appreciate that the poster might have also given the topic lots of thought before penning down his/her thoughts, especially if these are original thoughts. The debate becomes interesting when both people involved have a similar level of understanding. This is however not mandatory, people have the right to just reply with whatever they want to. But again, one should be ready for a logical rebuttal as well and have the maturity to accept the same and not make it a matter of bruised egos if the counter logic is superior and makes more sense.


Research shows that behaviour on social forums show who we are actually. How we behave when we have the luxury of the keyboard, can hide behind the internet and do not have to face the person directly. This takes the mask off and brings out a lot of our strengths, values, hidden complexes and insecurities. Hence over social forums we should discuss exactly like we would do in person. We may underestimate its importance, but today behaviour over social forums forms an important component of our overall  social perception, whether we like it or not. People have been fired and recruited over views on Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.


Happy New Year and hope to have lots of constructive and enriching debates with you all.

Aamir Khan and the intolerance debate

Somehow, we seem to have lost a sense of proportion and perspective over issues.


For example our PM is either a dangerous monster or the greatest statesman to have walked the earth. There is nothing in between and no one can discuss anything with the pro and anti Modi groups without taking one of these extreme positions. There is a growing culture of taking up half-truths and parading them as universal facts written on stone, on almost all issues.


Aamir Khan went overboard with his view on intolerance in India. He may have an opinion on the issue like others, but I do not see any way in which someone’s wife in his social class, Hindu or Muslim, someone who has access to Z level security, can be insecure enough to think of leaving the country. His view indeed contradicted many stands he has taken in the past and the fact that he is superstar in this nation. Probably he should have articulated better. 


Just as I find his statement immature and not really well thought out, I am equally surprised by the reaction to his comment. TV channels are only showing this news, I would like to know how my friends in Chennai are doing now. Or for that matter would Russia take any action against the fighter jet that was downed by Turkey today, but no!


People on FB and Twitter are angry. He made a statement that has hurt people and others have the right to contradict him, many have rightly done so, probably because many like him a lot. But protesting in front of his house and throwing stones, uninstalling Snapdeal Apps, are these things not going overboard again? Is this issue so big that warrants this kind of action? If so, should we not have similar protests when Sakshi Maharaj for example, repeatedly spouted nonsense? Are those comments not worse for a nation like ours?


We rightly talk of “selective” anger on part of the writers, is this not selective “patriotism”?
I heard people say that all this is tarnishing our image in the world. Let us think of some headlines in foreign newspapers tomorrow. “Indian movie superstar picketed and his posters burnt by protesters because of comment on intolerance” or “Indian ecommerce App ratings go down, as protests against actor who made a comment on intolerance”. Would this be good for the image for India?


Are these extreme actions now not justifying what Aamir Khan said?


Coming back to being selective, Kamal Hassan had also threatened to leave India when Muslim fanatics wanted his movie banned. I did not hear anyone call him anti national? I did not like the movie PK, not because I thought it insulted religion, but because it had a poor script and at times, poor direction.


The movie went on to make 300+ crores and that shows we Indians and especially Hindus can accept criticism of our religion and are overall tolerant. But fringe elements protested a lot, I can see some posts on FB today. However “Oh My God” took on religion equally strongly, if not more, but protests were not raised against Paresh Rawal.


We need to think why?


In any case these are actors and not script writers or directors so why target them? Why nothing was said against Raju Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra or Abhijat Joshi? We are tolernat, but do we sometimes fall for ideological propaganda by these fringe elements based upon our own subconscious prejudices, without thinking in a fair manner?


On the larger debate of intolerance, I think there has been an overreaction and in some cases there were vested political and/or ideological interests. But then, if Nayantara Sehgal is Nehru’s niece(although she does not seem to have enjoyed good relations with the Gandhi family), Anupam Kher’s wife is also a BJP MP. However for many, that seems to have nothing to do with the great actor supporting the current government and speaking against the writers.


Maybe so, but please have the same yardsticks.


To dismiss everything as a Congress ploy, saying that everyone has been paid to return awards or speak against real or perceived intolerance is very simplistic and is making the current government lose the battle of perception, because there are genuine people in this lot.


The President of India, the Vice President, Gulzar, Raghuram Rajan, Kiran Mazumdar, Narayanmurthy, eminent scientists, writers, directors, retired army men among others have spoken up. Challenging the credibility of some of these people may really backfire as it probably did in the Bihar elections. Just to set the record straight, even after the elections, 3 writers have returned their awards and we have had the issue with Girish Karnad and now Aamir Khan, so it is not entirely due to politics.


The issue has been blown out of proportion and I think the PM should step in. It is not easy being a PM and being Modi is tougher. However if I were the PM, I would have invited some of these people, maybe Gulzar, Kiran Majumdar, Dibakar Banerjee and an eminent writer, maybe Anupam Kher and Shyam Benegal too for a 30 minute “chai par charcha”. Would have listened to their concerns and different views, reassured them and would have posted the discussion on Facebook and Twitter. But that may antagonize the hardcore Hindu vote bank, so Modi has his compulsions and barriers.


And if I were Aamir Khan I would have issued a statement that I went overboard and would have apologized to the ones who felt bad.


As citizens, all I am saying is, let us try to be a bit more balanced in our views and reactions, read and consider all kinds of opinions, know the full truth and not many half-truths and then form our views. Over the years we seem to be becoming too opinionated, harbouring extreme ideas, one way or the other. It need not be either this group or that group and always hating one party or person or the other.


Nothing and no one is black and white in this world, it is high time we appreciate shades of grey, to off white to light black and so on.

How to beat the Aussies – An Indian fan’s perspective

It has been a week since Australia lifted the World Cup and by now the fact that the Indians are no longer the World Champions of cricket would have sunk in for the Indian fan.

It is time to move on and be lost in the glitter of the IPL, but before that, some tough objective questions and tougher answers to them need to be given, without mincing any words.

Half of my life as a cricket fan has been spent seeing Australia lift the World Cup. They have done so four times out of the last five. In this duration they have beaten us twice, once in the final and this time in the semi-final. As fans we would have liked to believe that Sourav Ganguly’s team in 2003 and Dhoni’s team this year had it in them to lift the cup.

Nothing can be taken away from the Australians. They have always had top teams and players with lots of skills and strong mental abilities.  A lot has been written about their domestic cricket structure, their efficient selection procedures, and their overall attitude towards the game.

Almost all of it is true and other teams should learn. The shortcomings of our players have been debated to death. However some questions remain unanswered even if we consider all the points mentioned by cricket pundits.

All the finals that Australia has won were pretty one sided. Were the opponent teams really so much worse than the winning Aussie teams? Is Virat Kohli any less talented or has worked less hard than a Steve Smith? For that matter was Sachin Tendulkar any lesser a batsman than Ricky Ponting?

Our best players have also gone through the grind and faced tougher competition to get into the national side and scored runs all over the world. Why then do the Australian batsmen perform a lot better in big matches when it matters and our greats fail the test more often than not, with the exception of probably Mahendra Singh Dhoni?

Why did Zaheer Khan in prime form before the 2003 finals completely lose it in the first over and gave away 17 runs paving the way for an insurmountable total?

In contrast, consider the final of this world cup. A batsman like McCullum in marauding form, who could hit a bowler like Dale Steyn like a street bowler ball after ball, suddenly lost out to Mitchell Starc in the very first over. Of course the latter is a very talented young bowler in prime form, but was he really unplayable?

There are umpteen examples of batsmen and bowlers in excellent form failing against the Aussies in big matches. So history led me to believe that when it comes to Australia, there is a lot more in the mind that matters than any of the issues with infrastructure, talent, selection, good or bad players.

As an Indian fan I noted down four major cultural and psychological points that our team should work on because in subsequent tournaments as well Australia would be the team to beat.  

1)      Learn from the Aussie attitude towards big games

Just before the semi-final with India, Michael Clarke commented that they treat a semi-final or any big match just like another game with 100 overs that has to be won and go about it professionally, just executing their game plan. Many other captains say so, but no one executes this idea better in the mind, than the Australians. They actually go about the final as just another game.

In India the parents of even the topper in the class would treat the final exams or the board exams as the next World War and put so much pressure on impressionable minds that the fear of failure would get institutionalized.

The kids still do well in the exams in most cases, but this fear of failure stays on that may make them falter in bigger tests of life, where the margin of error is much lesser and failure maybe induced in a mistake of a fraction of a second.

This might explain why Tendulkar or Kohli more often than not fail in big games; this could be a cultural issue of taking too much pressure during the big “exams”. They tend to treat big matches very differently because of our culture to do so. They try to do something different from what they had been doing, things that actually got them unprecedented success in the first place and in the process they mess up.

That “big final” word at the back of mind probably makes them too circumspect while driving at a ball or they get into a pull a bit too early because of this changed attitude towards a big game. It has nothing to do with lack of practice or arrogance or bad selection. It is just having the right frame of mind for big matches like the Aussies.

The current generation of kids should not be put under so much pressure for the big tests in school and life and the fear of failure should be done away with. Psychologists must work with the current lot of players if they already aren’t doing so, on this particular aspect.

2)      Learn to have “No Mercy” in sports

I remember in the early nineties when India won a match against say Sri Lanka, my mother used to say, “So sad to see the Sri Lankans, poor guys lost, look at their faces.”

This is the “nice” attitude that we have towards our opponents in our culture that becomes counterproductive against the likes of Aussies. When both teams are equally good and there is very less to choose between them, one thought of mercy or complacency other than thinking of annihilating the opponent, can be the difference between win and loss.

In ancient India there were strong ethical rules for war. Warriors did not fight in the night, one warrior fought against only one another, of the same rank; one did not attack an enemy who did not posses a weapon and mercy used to be shown towards a king who has lost. Scores of invading armies through centuries, with no such ethics whatsoever, ran over ruthlessly over Indian armies, beheading kings and enslaving kingdoms.

We do not have wars now, but the same attitude can be seen in sports. How many times have we let opponents recover, after we had them on the mat? How many out of form players have gained form against India?

We have lost many games as if we were showing “mercy” to the opponent team.

I remember a Test match, Javagal Srinath hit Ricky Ponting with a nasty bouncer and when the bowler tried to check whether the Australian captain was fine, the latter abused him profusely and asked him to go back to bowl.

In the Aussie culture it is probably considered impolite if you ask whether someone is fine, after he has been hit with a bouncer unless it is an incident as unfortunate as Phil Hughes'. Or maybe it is a sign of weakness to reply politely to such enquiry from the opponent.

So no mercy should be shown to the Aussies on the field. Ideally Srinath should have bounced the next one too and should have tried to make it nastier.

3)      Sledge them and always be very aggressive throughout

Our domestic cricket structure is not known for sledging because again it goes against our “being nice” culture. However if we have to be at the top, we have to beat teams like Australia and hence we need teach budding cricketers to sledge and do so with some brinksmanship.

Just sledge to a point where the rules do not get broken but the job is done. Young cricketers also need to be taught to handling sledging, especially when batting.

It is no use claiming that all this does not matter, because we have seen several instances where Indian batsmen have lost it because of sledging or the pressure put by the opponents and given away their wickets. Had they not done so, lost matches for India could have gone the other way.

Glen McGrath was a great bowler, but we will never know how many test victims he would have not had, had he not sledged whenever a batsman tried to settle down and tried to get him out only through his bowling.

Wahab Riaz showed in this World Cup that the Aussies can also be put under a lot of pressure with good pace and liberal amounts of sledging. Some more runs on the board and Wahab could have turned it on for Pakistan.

The Australians handle sledging well, but let Smith bat at the Feroz Shah Kotla on a 4th day pitch, surrounded by slips, silly point and short mid-wicket and be sledged every delivery with two spinners bowling in tandem.

If he can handle that and score runs, well then he is great. The Aussie way that is.

4)      Target the Australian team from all quarters

Traditionally Australia has been famous for playing mind games with opponent teams, before the build-up to big matches. Their captain, their press and famous ex-players, make all sorts of comments to psyche up opponent teams. By the time the match actual begins, the Aussies have already won it in the mind.

A Hayden becomes a bit more menacing than he is actually is and a McGrath becomes a bit more deadly. A Tendulkar on the other hand suddenly develops weaknesses against pace and bounce.

Collectively these small attacks on the mind become self-fulfilling prophecies and at times become the difference between win and loss. Sourav Ganguly started giving it back to Steve Waugh and we started tasting some success against the Aussies.

While our players should work psychologically towards not letting such politics impact their game, our sports editors, commentators and audience should collectively and systematically target the Aussies before important series and matches.

Brad Haddin after sledging the New Zealand batsmen in the World Cup finals said that he did so because the Kiwis were so nice to them in a previous match and he cannot tolerate such gentlemanly behaviour. This is the way he plays his game and is not apologetic of the same.

He might have said so in sarcasm but either ways it makes one cringe. So basically according to him, one should be nasty with people who are nice. So we need not try hard and be nice with the Aussies.

Their unsportsmanlike behaviour at times and disproportionate instances of sledging should be aired repeatedly. Arnab Goswami should debate whether the reason for this behaviour is the nation being a "British Penal Colony" in the past. Indian commentators should point out instances of such behaviour and criticize them on air. Spectators should boo the likes of Haddin when they come on to bat or field near the boundaries.

The Monkey gate was one such instance where everyone got together and showed the Aussies that they cannot get away doing anything. Tendulkar and Kumble the captain then, called a spade a spade and the entire contingent united aggressively. As commentators, the likes of Gavaskar steam rolled the unethical behaviour of Ponting and company on air. The media also bashed the Australian team incessantly. The BCCI also showed its financial might and threatened to call off the tour.

The shock of the collective attack made the Aussies take a step backwards accept their mistake and this "psychological loss" led to their defeat in the next Test match and the subsequent tri series in their own backyard.

The Monkey gate united the Indian team, but also showed that the Aussies become a shadow of themselves if the opponents give it back to them on the field and off it and their version of being “aggressive” is taken away from them. They cannot be nice and win many games and may lose if they are forced to play the “gentleman’s game”.

Great teams must be respected and Australia has had many great cricket teams.

With due respects for all their exploits, we would never know if they would have been as great by being more gentlemanly on the field, like the West Indian teams of yesteryears.

Since they would continue playing their brand of cricket, we need to learn the other skills apart from batting, bowling and fielding that may help win games. These are the things that have more to do with psychology and mind set.

India can continue to not take these aspects seriously especially against the Aussies only if they want to continue losing to them in big matches, without really knowing why. 

The 15 greatest World Cup moments for the Indian cricket fan

The World Cup fever is slowly building up and our cricket crazy nation would be fondly remembering the greatest cricketing moments involving our country. Which are the World Cup moments that still warm the cockles of the hearts of the Indian cricket fans?

The 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup:

Underdogs India winning the World Cup beating Australia, England and West Indies on the way, can be compared to David defeating many Goliaths. Independent India’s greatest sporting success during that time is part of legends now. There were some great moments during this historic turn of events.

1)   Kapil Dev’s blistering 175 – As a kid I remember my father glued to the radio set listening to the news and excitedly narrating how the India captain made 175 not out against Zimbabwe and took India to victory from a precarious 17 for 5. Unfortunately there are no recordings of that innings, probably the best innings ever played in a World Cup, by one of the greatest cricketers. 

2)   India dethrones the West Indies – In the final match, defending a modest 183, there are scenes that would always be shown on TV and would be played again and again on YouTube. Kapil Dev running backwards and taking an excellent catch to dismiss the dangerous Vivian Richards. Mohinder Amarnath, the man of tournament, getting the last wicket of Michael Holding out leg before, pulling off a stump as a souvenir as the team runs towards the pavilion, spectators thronging the players. Then the Indian captain with that innocent smile, with the Cup on the Lord’s balcony, the team behind him. India as a cricketing nation had arrived.

The 1987 Reliance World Cup:

The Indian team led by Kapil Dev again, started the 1987 World Cup campaign at home, hoping to repeat the performance of 1983. India dramatically lost out to Australia by 1 run in the first match, but subsequently put a string of superlative performances winning all the other league games.

The television had made major inroads into Indian households. Graham Gooch of England eventually “swept” India aside in the semi-final clash, but before that in a league match against the New Zealand there were some moments to cherish for the Indian fan.

3)   Chetan Sharma pulls of a hat trick – The Haryana bowler took the first hat trick ever in a World Cup, all three batsmen out bowled. The Kiwis still managed to score 221 batting first, a decent total for those times. 

4)   Gavaskar blasts through to his maiden ODI ton - India scored the required 221 runs in 32 overs at a very brisk rate and the original little master Gavaskar, scored an pretty uncharacteristic stroke filled hundred in style, with 3 sixes and 10 fours. Alongside there was Kris Srikanth who scored a characteristic stroke filled 75. We had a great evening discussing the match with friends and neighbours that day.

The 1992 Cricket World Cup:

The Gavaskar era had come to an end and the Tendulkar era had begun for Indian cricket. The 1992 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand belonged to Martin Crowe of New Zealand and Imran Khan’s Pakistan. India had a forgettable outing, winning only 2 of the 7 league matches. An Indian fan would still remember beating arch rivals Pakistan, the eventual champions.

5)   Young Tendulkar stamps his class - The man of the match in the clash with Pakistan, an 18 year old Tendulkar, scored a matured 50 to take India to 216. Pakistan started their reply well but then India could trigger a batting collapse in the Pakistani middle order to get them out 43 runs short. This match is also famous for the incident involving Kiran More and Pakistani great Javed Miandad where the latter jumped like a monkey imitating the Indian keeper. India did not make it to the semis, a placard during the finals read, “India beat Pakistan, end of the World Cup.”

The 1996 Cricket World Cup:

World Cup 1996 would be remembered for Ranatunga’s unbeaten champion Sri Lankan side and the terror of its openers Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana. For India, Tendulkar scored heaps of runs and Kumble tumbled many wickets.

Eventually captain Azharuddin’s India lost to the champions in an extremely forgettable semifinal at the Eden Gardens; but there were some great moments for the Indian cricket fans with the defining match being the quarter final clash against Pakistan, in Bangalore.

6)   Ajay Jadeja took Waqar Younis to the cleaners - India batted first, Navjot Sidhu scored 93 and was the man of match. However the way Ajay Jadeja took on arguably the best bowler of the era, Waqar Younis, is part of cricketing folklore.  The middle order batsman whacked Younis to all parts of the Chinnaswamy Stadium during the death overs and India amassed 50 runs in the last 3 overs to finish at 287. 

7)   Venkatesh Prasad vs Aamir Sohail - In reply the Pakistani openers Aamir Sohail and Saeed Anwar started playing as if they would finish off the match in 30 overs or so. After hitting a boundary during a Venkatesh Prasad over, Sohail walked down the pitched and pointed his bat at Prasad threateningly, telling him where he will hit the next ball. The next ball from Prasad took Sohail’s off stump with it and the bowler gave him an abusive send off. No Indian fan worth his salt can even forget this one!

The 1999 Cricket World Cup:

The 1999 World Cup in England saw the beginning of the dominance of Australia as the world champion that was to continue for around a decade. India did not make it to the semi-finals in this edition, but there were some exceptional performances nonetheless.

8)   Tendulkar’s tribute to his father - Tendulkar lost his father before India’s match against Zimbabwe and he flew back to India for the funeral. India lost the match unbelievably by 3 runs, suddenly losing its 3 last wickets in a Henry Olonga over. Tendulkar returned for the next match with Kenya and scored an unbeaten 140. Post scoring the century he looked up at the sky and dedicated the century to his father, one of the most poignant moments of the tournament.

9)   The Prince of Kolkata at his magnificent best - The highlight of the Indian performance in this edition of the world cup was the mammoth 183 scored by Sourav Ganguly in Taunton, against Sri Lanka. The southpaw showed incredible dominance over the Lankan bowlers. To step out and hit respectable fast bowlers for sixes and treating spin great Muthiah Muralitharan like a street bowler needs some attitude. Rahul Dravid also scored brilliant hundreds in this match and the one before against Kenya.

The 2003 Cricket World Cup:

India covered itself in glory in the 2003 World Cup that was jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Led by Saurav Ganguly, the team won against all teams they played, except Australia. The road to the final was like a dream with couple of exceptional moments.

10) Ashish Nehra sends shivers down the spine of the English - Against England, India batted first and Tendulkar hooked a memorable six of Caddick on his way to a half century. However the real fireworks happened during the second innings of the match when England batted. Ashish Nehra bowled like a magician and returned with figures 6 for 23. Such was the perfection of his line, length and swing, the entire English batting lineup with names like Trescothik, Knight, Vaughan and Hussain struggled to put wood on leather, that entire Durban evening.

11) Tendulkar derails the Rawalpindi Express - As always, the greatest match for India was reserved against Pakistan. It was touted as the “Sachin vs Shoaib” encounter. However in his very first over, Tendulkar upper cut the express fast bowler for a six and then followed it with two consecutive boundaries. Shoaib was removed from the attack. Sehwag did the same to Waqar Younis couple of overs later. The mighty Indian batting chased down 272 runs in a little more than 45 overs. Tendulkar top scored with 98 and was adjudged man of the match. It was the month of March.

In the final against Australia Captain Ganguly unexpectedly batted second. Ricky Ponting’s invincible team never looked like losing and the captain himself batted us out of the match with a marauding 140. The final would always remain a series of “what ifs” for the Indian supporters. An inform battery of bowlers and arguably the best batting line up of the world, could not stop India from losing the match that mattered the most. 

The 2007 Cricket World Cup:

The 2007 World Cup was completely forgettable for India where we could not clear the league stages and lost out to Bangladesh. There is nothing much to celebrate, except the win against minnows Bermuda with Virender Sehwag scoring a bludgeoning century and India scoring a mammoth  413.

The 2011 Cricket World Cup:

The Indian team had changed a lot under Dhoni and he carried forward the good work done by earlier captains like Ganguly. The tied match with England was the highlight of the league stages; however the greatest moments for India were reserved for the knock out stages when India beat Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka within a week to claim the trophy after 28 years.

12) Yuvraj propels India to the Semis – The player of the tournament Yuvraj Singh, was India’s greatest asset in this world cup. In the quarter final against Australia, India was in a spot of bother chasing 260, but Yuvraj scored a brilliant half century with the team in need, ably supported by Suresh Raina.

13) Tendulkar, the Semi Final and India beat Pakistan, yet again! -  It was a week day and the entire office gathered inside the cafeteria to watch to watch the match. When Sehwag hit 5 consecutive boundaries of Umar Gul, it seemed that the ceiling would blow off. Tendulkar scored a dogged 85 and was adjudged the man of the match, but the match was actually won by the bowlers. Pakistan would have chased down India’s modest 260, but for the bowlers who choked the middle order and kept taking important wickets. Zaheer Khan had especially mastered the art of choking out oppositions and was the unsung hero of the tournament.  

14) Gautam Gambhir stands up again in a World Cup final - The final at the Wankhede was a fairy tale that would be permanently etched in the minds of Indian cricket fans. Chasing 274 to lift the cup, India lost Sehwag early and when the master blaster edged Malinga to give a catch to the slips, India plummeted to 23 for 2. It seemed that we would not make it and Tendulkar would finish his outstanding career without a world cup. But then Gambhir, who played the most important innings in the T20 world cup final win for India in 2007, played a pivotal role here as well. He made a gritty 97 with the support of Virat Kohli and then with Dhoni, each run worth its weight in gold.  

15) Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the innings of his life – When Kohli got out, Dhoni promoted himself up the order ahead of Yuvraj, and played an innings that every kid playing anywhere in the country dreams of playing. The World Cup final, India in grave danger and captain cool with his brain made of cucumber, takes India home with a master class 91. No Indian cricket fan can forget that last six. That bat speed and the full swing, the ball disappearing into the stands. Dhoni watching it wide eyed till the very last moment and then rolling the bat in his hands in a gesture of triumph, to be engulfed by an ecstatic Yuvraj who was batting at the other end. Tendulkar running down from the pavilion smiling, followed by the rest of the team. Scenes that can be matched only by Kapil Dev standing with his team at the Lord’s balcony during the English summer of 1983.

Will Dhoni be able to repeat the exceptional feat in 2015 and defend the title with a much younger team? As cricket fans we want more cricketing moments like the ones above and the results would take care of themselves. We would then say, “Will not give it back”.

Is Delhi the beginning of the end of traditional Indian politics?

The BJP did make some political mistakes in Delhi, but these do not explain the landslide win for the Aam Aadmi Party with around 96% of the seats and 54% of vote share. The ruling party at the centre has done exceedingly well in the state assembly elections this year, in continuation to their phenomenal performance in the national elections last year.

Hence the margin of this defeat for the ruling party at the Centre has to be put into perspective.

The people of a nation get the kind of leaders they deserve. Time and again we have elected corrupt and criminal elements as our political leaders, since we have a sizeable percentage of citizens who are corrupt themselves. Many others believe that corruption cannot be done away with.

The approval to this phenomenon gets manifested when we say that it is fine if a politician is corrupt as long as he “works”. The AAP challenged this traditional “political liberty” and claimed that a government can run without corruption. Probably they were able to justify the same during their 49 days stint, so even the skeptical voters in the capital decided to give the party a chance.

Now, if the AAP is able to work and run a government with minimal corruption for the next 5 years, then the same would be expected of the traditional political parties as well.

We have also consistently voted along religious and caste lines and probably this would continue at some level. However a few political parties that projected themselves as the saviours of the minorities and certain castes are down in the dumps. The ones in power need to understand this.

The BJP fought the 2014 general elections on a development agenda and did very well. Fundamentalists within the Hindu community would always vote for the BJP and the ones in the minority communities would probably always vote against the party.

The BJP had stormed into power at the centre, because of sizeable section of voters who have nothing to do with Hindutva, but believed in the idea of development of Narendra Modi and in his ability to deliver.

However this section of voters in Delhi did not like the disproportionate and unbridled personal criticism of Kejriwal. They know that the latter had made political mistakes, but have faith in his intent and honesty.

These voters abhor the utterances of the Hindu hardliners and get frustrated when the Prime Minister keeps quiet. Eventually they rearrange their political affiliations, which are not visible over the social media or news debates, but lead to electoral upsets as seen in Delhi.

Hindu hardliners especially over the social media are doing more damage to the BJP and its image than any of its political rivals. The BJP must take a serious note of this because if the hardliners are not contained, they may dilute the development agenda of Modi and would gradually become the overwhelming face of the party’s reign.

All political parties must realize that the quality of their supporters and their political campaigning has to improve. Some years down the line this may become the basic expectation of the voters and then the parties would not be able to adapt suddenly.

The landslide victory of the AAP is bound to have some national consequences. Regional parties in other states would try to emulate some of the ideas of the young political party. The AAP would eventually go national themselves and we may also have some clones springing up.

Politics is a long term game. India is changing and political parties who realize the changing expectations and mind set of the Indian voter would survive in the long run. If the Congress can go into political insignificance in the capital, then this can happen to any party that takes the voter for granted.

The BJP also needs to do some serious introspections since it is being seen as a better alternative to the Congress, but not necessarily the best when there is a third option. The regional parties that have a stronghold over certain states should be careful and work on their agenda and manifesto.

Traditional Indian politics may be far from over, but in Delhi we saw a beginning towards a cleaner and a more matured political discourse. This needs to continue and a good performance in governance by the AAP is critical, with minimum confrontation with the centre. The BJP should also sincerely work together with the new state government. Voters would keep a hawk eye on both.

The other political parties should also compete with better ideas. Maybe some years down the line we would be able to choose the best in politics and not be forced to choose the least evil.

Why Kejriwal needs to be around

It is clear that the Delhi elections would not be a cake walk for the ruling party at the centre. This would be one of the most closely fought elections in recent times and the entire BJP leadership is putting its weight behind Kiran Bedi and their Delhi unit, to try and ensure a win for the party.

The AAP meanwhile has gained major ground as an alternative. Exit polls indicate that there is a clear possibility that the BJP juggernaut might be halted in the capital.

It would be good if Bedi with her impeccable track record becomes Chief Minister, but it would be better if Arvind Kejriwal gets the top job of Delhi.

The preference is post considering the mistakes that Kejriwal has made in the past. He received criticism when he quit the Chief Minister’s post after 49 days and rightly so. Probably he became too ambitious and thought that he could be Prime Minister and change the nation.

But then he left a chair for which people have bribed and allegedly even killed in the past. A “seasoned politician” would have put the second in command or his wife as the Chief Minister of Delhi and would have still fought the general elections. We would have accepted as we have done in the past.

He promised on his kids that he would not take support from anyone and still took the support of the Congress. A “seasoned politician” would never make such promises.

There is the recent “Hawala at midnight” allegation. The AAP tried to be transparent with its funding, but a shady transaction was not properly audited, which is not ideal. Other political parties however don’t even try to be transparent with their funding.

These are mistakes for which Kejriwal needs to be criticized and from which he must learn. However they also show that he is not a “politician” yet in the negative sense of the word and his intent is positive. If he is able to mix this intent with some patience, practicality and shrewdness, we may have a leader the nation needs desperately.  

Politically neutral friends and “netizens” from Delhi, vouch for the fact that during the 49 days of the AAP rule, corruption did reduce in government offices and there was a visible difference in the daily life of a common man in the city. These are changes that would be difficult to bring about for a traditional political party. The AAP may also have its bad apples in the future, but the idea that at least a state can run with minimal corruption for 5 years, needs to be tested in the country.

Two, the AAP has forced parties like the BJP to change for the better. The fact that the BJP had to bring in someone like Kiran Bedi to counter Kejriwal is a recent example. A section of Indians would vote for the best and not for the least evil on the 7^th of February. This has not happened many times in Indian politics and the trend should continue.

Three, understandably some arrogance has crept into the BJP because of the wins it has achieved over the past few months. The Congress and the Left front are down in the dumps and the AAP needs to rise as a potent opposition that would keep the ruling party on its toes.

This is a necessity in a democracy and an alternate political ideology would lead to a more matured and well-rounded political discourse in the country.

Having said this, Kejriwal and his party also need to improve. If the AAP does win, Kejriwal needs to become more practical and learn the art of political brinksmanship. We all want India to be free of corruption, but he needs to realize that this would take time and would not happen before the fall of summer. In the meantime he cannot keep annoying all other important stakeholders.  

However the criticism that he has received especially at the hands of his political rivals has been disproportionate. We have repeatedly chosen hard core criminals to represent us. In comparison Kejriwal has made political mistakes. We should criticize, but need to have the same yardsticks to judge him and his party.

His methods may seem idiosyncratic sometimes, but he is one among us who was frustrated with the way our country runs. While most of us could not get out of our comfort zones, he took the plunge and is struggling in the Indian political system which is often dismissed as a “gutter". We cannot take this away from him.

We need him around because we may not get another like him. Does he deserve another chance and does Delhi deserve him?

Let’s wait till the 10^th of February.

My take on the Rohtak eve teasing incident

As soon as the video of the “Rohtak sisters” beating up the boys, who were allegedly harassing them, went viral, the media went gaga without an investigation. The Haryana government also announced cash and bravery awards for the girls.  

However the other version that has surfaced now seems to suggest that the two sisters are serial thrashers of boys and this particular issue was a fight over a bus seat that has been paraded as a fight back against eve teasing. Six female witnesses have come forward saying that the girls and not the boys were at fault.

Another video of the girls has surfaced where they are thrashing another boy, who is trying to defend himself. One of the girls claimed that more videos would come out since she has been harassed by 2000 boys and she has beaten up many of them.  Though the Haryana government has now put the awards on hold, we are still in no position to judge the truth because at this point we do not know whom to believe. However both situations are possible. 

This interesting twist in this case urges us Indians to have a more wholesome and objective outlook towards such issues. This also brings some other important issues to the fore, regarding the rights and safety of women in India and the rights of the other stakeholders in such cases, the men. Every right thinking man in India needs to support every protest against crimes against women in every possible forum. However one also needs to separate the genuine cases from the spurious ones.

As a society we are very quick to make heroes and villains out of people without a proper analysis of all the points of view and the available facts. The problem with the laws and especially their execution in our country is that many people who are suffering and really need them, often do not have the means or the courage to use them and they keep suffering, while these laws are often misused by the unscrupulous.

Take the misuse of the NREGA, the domestic gas cylinder and ration subsidies as examples. We all would have come across instances where fairly well off people take the benefit of these subsidies while the poor keep languishing in their poverty. The tax laws are such that the middle class pays through its nose while many extremely wealthy citizens in the business class escape the tax net and get away paying almost nothing.

When it comes to laws for the protection of women, the misuse of these laws critically impact the lives of the innocent men at the receiving end. The alleged eve teasers in the Rohtak case were on their way to join the army and may lose out on this career opportunity. In case the allegations against them are found to be false, who would compensate them?

The Supreme Court had observed that 498A, the anti-dowry law of the Indian Penal Code has been grossly misused by women to harass their husbands and in-laws and this has spoiled the lives of many men and emotionally and financially destroyed their families.  Hence in its judgment this year, the apex court ruled that the police cannot automatically arrest an accused in a dowry case, before judicially examining it. This is a step in the right direction and has been hailed by women rights groups as well. 

This does not mean that women are not suffering in the country. They are, and the numbers are worrying. The question we need to ask is, “Are our laws and enforcement agencies helping the right people and ensuring that innocents are not suffering because of these laws?” If this is not happening, then it beats the entire purpose of having these laws. 

The heinous Nirbhaya and Badaun rape cases have shaken the collective conscience of the nation and everyone is up in arms against the oppression and crimes against women and rightly so. There can be no excuse to dowry harassment, domestic violence, eve teasing and rape and men and women together should speak up against these social evils and they are doing so. 

However the incident in Rohtak brings into limelight certain other instances that could be lesser in number but are important nonetheless. What if a young girl with a misplaced sense of women rights, in an act of hyper activism, starts bashing a  boy in a bus because they had an argument over seats and the girl claims that the boy was eve teasing? The society and the laws have to be capable of distinguishing these incidents and not victimize the boy in such cases. 

This incident below happened with me in Kolkata, which underlines the desperation of immature hyper activism in our society that trivialize the importance of women issues. 

I was travelling in a bus and the journey was around 2 hours long. I was not very well that day and was on cetirizine tablets which cause drowsiness. Hence sitting at a window seat I decided to have a nap and was fast asleep. In my sleep, my head would have rolled over towards the shoulder of a young girl sitting beside me. 
 
Suddenly a man woke me up rudely and asked me what I was doing and accused me of harassing the girl. I said I was not well and hence dozed off. Another lady started shouting that they know all these excuses and I should be beaten up. They asked me to come out and they would show me what being ill meant. Understandably I was shocked and scared. 

Thankfully, the girl turned out to be very polite and matured. She said that I was actually asleep and did not realize that my head was brushing against her shoulders and she does not think I did it deliberately. But for the nice lady, I could have been beaten up for eve teasing that day. I thanked her and heaved a sigh of relief after leaving the bus.
 
The point is that we need to speak against these things, but we also need to be matured and ethical enough while deciding as to what we are terming as “harassment” and “eve teasing”. If a man is teasing a woman, the woman needs to give it back (ensuring that she is safe) and others should not be mere onlookers.

However there could always be a bit of an argument over seats in a bus or a train. If a man speaks impolitely to a woman, the woman can fight back, the other passengers need to reprimand the man and try to moderate the situation. Similarly if a woman is unduly aggressive, others need to tone her down. 

But these incidents should not be projected as harassment and eve teasing. Hyper active men and women should not start thrashing the man without knowing the facts of the matter. 

Parents and teachers should teach the boys that women always need to be respected. That eve teasing or any kind of violence against women is not acceptable in any situation. Similarly girls also need to be taught that these are serious issues and how to protect themselves against crimes directed at them. 

At the same time they need to be sensitized that they must never misuse the laws or the public opinion against these things for their benefit, because repeated acts of misuse dilute the gravity of these issues and slowly people might look with cynicism even at cases where women are rightly raising their voices. 

I have seen incidents where people believe that a 498A dowry harassment case had been made in bad faith, while they were actually genuine cases. The reason is that so many girls have misused this law in the past few years. If it is proved that the Rohtak incident was not a case of eve teasing, real perpetrators of such crimes may go scot free in the future. 

While we need to collectively speak against eve teasing and harassment of women in public places, we also need to ensure that innocent boys are not victimized. The aim should be for a society where women are respected and can move around freely without fear, where there is a high degree of equality and mutual respect between the two genders. 

It also needs to be understood that most men also support women in this cause and right thinking men are important partners towards achieving this equality at a much larger scale across India. Hence the collective anger of the society regarding crimes against women and the laws against them should not be targeted at men who do not deserve to be at the wrong end of the stick.