the itch to score points

google 'dalit' and pick news. i did, and found: dalit funds misused, dalit girl dumped, justice for dalits aborted, dalit students seeking security, naicker girl burnt alive for eloping with dalit...

and: dalits face boycott..girl forced to drink poison for living with a dalit.. and so on. that was the first page of results. if anyone wanted to understand what the term 'dalit' means, that one page would have served as a very good primer. such a holocaust packed into that one page!

i moved a couple of pages, searching for some less depressing news. on page 4, i found rahul gandhi. the tone of the article was actually more depressing..you would think rahul gandhi was being held up as the solution for all the misery represented by the preceding pages. savour this line:

“When Rahul Gandhi goes to the home of a Dalit to share a meal, Mayawati’s stomach starts itching!” shouted one speaker at a rally.

does rahul gandhi google, i wonder. if he did , i think he'd be deeply ashamed of scoring points, especially through the family's chamchas in the press. and would also learn the difference between poverty and dalitness.

powerless garlic

if four-fifths of indians live on less than rs.20 a day, how many would be able to afford meat every day? or every week? or..

the promotion of veganism in india isn't a joke, it's an expression of deep-seated hatred, i'm beginning to think. how this person must despise those who don't eat 'pure' vegetarian food!

"I am following in the footsteps of great people like Mahaveera and Mahatma Gandhi. It is also scientifically proven that vegetarian food is best for human beings. Many people from different political and religious backgrounds are supporting my campaign. I am not going to back off because of a few threats," Munnoth said.

Munnoth has put up about 700 banners across the city and distributed 30,000 books on vegetarianism among school students. Munnoth's banners read, "Be kind to animals, go veg", with a cow saying, "Don't kill me." The banners are in English, Hindi and Kannada.

Munnoth, who also produced a Kannada film 'Auto' last year, says his concern for animals and cows in particular is not a publicity gimmick. "My cause is genuine. I have been promoting vegetarianism for quite sometime now. Thanks to the on-going ruckus surrounding cow slaughter, I have become a convenient scapegoat," says Munnoth, who has invested a significant amount of money into his campaign. Munnoth received the threat calls earlier this week.

be kind to animals, go veg. is that really why some indians promote vegetarianism? to promote compassion? how much compassion goes into food produced in places where children have to eat dirt sometimes? there's this stall that sells 'home-made' pickles at the supermarket i visit. most times, i've to buy pickles without garlic. i can only admire the power of those who eat pickles without garlic. it is godly.