Tomichan Matheikal's blog

  Image from Indian Express P Chidambaram recently called Modi a dictator and compared him to Hitler. He is one among many Indians to do so. I am one of the humbler ones in that galaxy of those who stand in awe of Modi’s rise to imperial eminence. I’m still haunted by what Modi said after he secured a thumping victory in 2019. “This is the 21 st century,” he said, “and this is new India.” For a moment I choose to forget that he took India back to the medieval period. Let me continue to be haunted by that 2019 victory speech. “Our victory in today’s election is followed by chants of ‘Modi! Modi! Modi!’” Just imagine Modi saying that. If you can’t imagine search for that speech on YouTube and watch it. “This is not a victory for Modi,” he went on. “This is a victory for the aspirations of every citizen of this country craving for honesty.” Wow! Modi shouting “Modi! Modi! Modi!” is what has kept haunting me. No one on the planet loves himself as much as Modi does, I think. Or is

  Image from Global China Daily K arnataka became the ninth state to pass a bill that makes religious conversion a crime. On the one hand, it is quite funny that a political party whose leader avows repeatedly that running business is not the government’s job is making religion its business. On the other hand, it is bizarre because we know the truths behind the Prime Minister’s assertions. When he says that running business is not the government’s job, he only means that he wants to sell India part by part to his wealthy cronies who in turn will pamper his insatiable ego. When his party gets anti-conversion bills passed, it only means to criminalise certain people. Modi’s party has seldom had noble intentions. Look, for example, at what happened in Odisha after the anti-conversion law was passed in an Indian state for the first time in 1967. Attacks on Christians began a few years after the passing of that law. The attacks culminated in the Kandhamal violence that resembled genoc

  W hile going to convert souls in the jungles of Uttar Pradesh, Rev Josiah was caught by a tribe of cannibals. He was bound to a pole and carried like an animal to the Headman of the cannibals with traditional fanfare. The Headman smacked his lips looking at the chunky body of the well-fed priest and told his people to make the necessary arrangements for cooking him. The cannibals cried ecstatically and got knives and pots and the fireplace ready. “Oh God!” Rev Josiah cried in consternation. “Are there cannibals even in this IT era?” Then to his greater surprise, the Headman said in chaste English, “Look, Father, I’m an IITian from Delhi. But tradition is tradition.” “With an IIT qualification and such extraordinary English, son, how can you eat a fellow human being? Hasn’t your education brought no change at all to you?” The priest wondered aloud. “Oh, yes,” said the Headman. Then he brought a pair of spoon and fork and holding them up like a proud trophy he said, “Change,

  Image from unsplash.com T his is the last post of the year 2021. The year that is dying hasn’t been particularly cheery. The pandemic hampered most movements. I would have loved to visit a lot of places as I had planned earlier. Worst of all, classes went online and I now have a whole batch of students whose faces I won’t recognise if I meet them somewhere. Two events of the year that worry me largely are not personal, however. They are about the nation. Both happened recently. One: the Haridwar hate speeches . Two: Cutting off foreign donations to Mother Teresa’s Charity and the attacks on Christian churches on Christmas day. These are all interrelated events. India has become a nation of haters and hatemongers. Most tragically, ascetics have become the foulest citizens spewing venom against minority communities. And the government is just mute. None of the authorities from the Prime Minister to the chief ministers of various states where the hate speeches and attacks took p

  Source: unsplash.com Prime Minister Modi declared the cow our mother last week while addressing a rally in Varanasi. I have my own mother and am certainly not interested in a surrogate especially at my age now. If some of my fellow citizens are in need of more mothers, who am I to object? My problem is not about having many mothers but about what Modi ji is doing for the cow’s children. Now that he is completing eight years in power, we need to assess his performance and see whether it is more mothers we need. Let me tabulate a few indices to summarise Modi ji’s contribution to the nation in the last eight years as PM. Index Year & Rank Year & Rank The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index 2014 - 27 2020 – 53 UNDP Human Development Index 2014 - 130 2020 – 131 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2013 - 40 2021 – 43

  Book Review Title: Young Blood Author: Chandrima Das Publisher: HarperCollins India, 2021 P eople enjoy reading horror fiction or watching horror movies because the emotional roller coaster rides provided by them are delightfully scary while being mere illusions. Chandrima Das’s short stories in the collection titled Young Blood are brilliant creations based on certain legends and beliefs particularly on ten Indian university campuses. Every story in this book succeeds remarkably well in creating tension, fear, stress and shock in the reader. Moreover, they have some very memorable characters. The stories are all set in a university campus – ranging from the defunct Khairatabad Science College in Hyderabad to the sanctimonious St Anthony’s College premises in Shillong. Each story is unique too. If a whole college building becomes a monstrous and gigantic ghost in the first story, a witch (chudail) haunts us in the second, and one’s own inner demons apparently metamorphose i

  Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the first phase of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor in Varanasi recently. A whopping Rs 900 crore was spent on the corridor which connects the classical temple with the Ganga river. The project is expected to promote religious tourism. I have never been able to come to terms with the view of Modi and his party that religion should play a major role in the running of a nation. My view, for whatever it is worth, is that religion should have nothing to do with politics. Religion is a matter of the soul and it should remain there: with the individual souls. There can be temples and other places that may help people to stay in touch with their souls. But what is a Prime Minister of a country doing in a temple doing what a pujari should be doing? For centuries now, eminent thinkers have questioned the validity of religion particularly in public life. Too many philosophers and writers have told us in no uncertain terms that a thinking person could be happy