Corporates and sycophants-the new age oligarchs….

The divine salad of democracy is no more a gospel truth.Rather,it is a lip service to a vast, competitive world of habituated self interest.The Communists who I disagree with most of the times today are fighting for survival. The dreaded Marxian theorists seemed be a last zebra crossing before the engine garners the speed.The theory of corporate control now seems to be a regular convocation for the NGO’s and the left of centre enthusiasts.

The rise of corp-orates has been not an invisible spectacle.Rather as consumerism has exceeded public expectations,more have we fallen into the traps of umbrage of the lord. The politicians as Vinod Mehta said  are easy to attack.However the Tatas of the land, have always somehow saved themselves from the popular or journalistic scepticism. As farmers kick the bucket, the KG Oil Basin seems to flow the crores into a over-reliant purse. 

But how grave and how stereo typed is this proportion of injustice. The subaltern school of thought always believed that History is essentially of the privileged,by the privileged and for the privileged.They believe that the reality of a civilisation has always been determined by the kings and queens,emperors and empresses, Hitler and Churchill. The Kalinga war of 261 B.C is in many ways related unilaterally to Ashoka and the effect it had on his mind and soul and heart.

Author’s crisp thought: The “notorious” Ranjan Bhattacharya responsible for cutting deals.It seems the handsome face pervades his covetous nature

The proposition of the oligarchy deciding the fate of the country dates back to the Akbarian period. A small coterie has always been utilised to denote the connotation whether democracy or mixed authoratative structure is the right composure required to run a state and engine a country.The media has become more professional,more prone to advertisement and BREAKING NEWS. Well times change and with that change the colour and the rule book of a sport.

But the media has also taken a downward dive-a cruise towards sycophancy and patron worshipping. The India Today group has had the share of Anil Ambani. According to a moneylife.in report suspense continues over the ownership of the NDTV. (Markandey Katju shared the post yesterday on FB). It is said that Mukesh Ambani had given an interest free loan to Prannoy and Radhika Roy at the 2008-09 period when the group was fighting a financial crisis.

Manoj Modi,the left and the right of Ambani senior almost single handedly ensured that Network 18 loses its editor in chief. The sin of the senior journalist. He stood erect in front of pressure from the upper storeys when the lord wanted the Google hangout with Arvind Kejriwal dropped. Kejriwal also seems to understand that attacking the lobbyists and challenging the extra constitutional or rather super constitutional authorities is not a suave dream. Chandrababu Naidu and KCR forgetting their differences seem to grease when Anil Ambani sends them a date…..

Author’s crisp thought: Don’t fantasize over her charms and looks!vir Sanghvi almost slipped it is said!

The successive Governments have also shown their apathy and their desire to catch hold of the big bucks which the wealthy easily and quite deceptively offer. “Congress to ab apna dukaan hain”-this is what we heard Mr. Mukesh Ambani speak during the infamous Radia tapes controversy. Well Ranjan Bhattacharya,the son in law of Vajpayee-essentially a power penetrator in Lutyen’s Delhi was the man Ambani was speaking to.

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta,eminent economist who passed out of Delhi School of Economics authored Gas Wars-a book which reflected at the murky business of gas and dubious business concerning national resources. The book not only penetrated the significance of how kith and kin was of little use when cutting deals,it also showed the catastrophe which awaits such blatant high handedness. Thakurta,need I say received a legal notice from the Mumbai Indian ex-officio franchise?

Author’s crisp thought: Well the gas seems to leak Mr. Thakurta. What do you say?

The Tatas who have risen from the idea of self rule and swadeshi have also featured in the Singur Fiasco and the Radia jingo. The media barons who seem to be taking onto the role of mini oligarchs nowadays are boiling the same oil. Media,hospitality,airports,agro sector,industry,social security and national security-all seem to follow a same line of belief-the belief of the big pockets. The neo colonial era it seems has drunk into massive beer. Its time we serve him some nimboo pani. Oligarchy and democracy,as idealist as I may sound never gel together. Don’t jail a thief for a theft of 500 note,because what is going on is loot to say the least….

Author’s crisp thought:Well the surname of Modi nowadays are all powerful. But try as you may Manoj ji, fashionista Arjun Rampal is something you can think of becoming next time….

Media-‘maid’or self ‘made’?

From time memorial, two objects have always been targets of ridicule-body trade and the press.Invariably,both have also been an industry of profit-from the days of the Kamasutra to that of Priya Anjali Rai.The times of Kandukari Veersalingam Pantulu presented the contours of controversy which even today never escapes the world of digitalization.Pantulu, the Vidyasagar of the South raised the questions of dowry and casteist evils when the Hindu Reigion was as much repressive as the Church of the Vatican. 

In the contemporary era of 19th Century Bengal, Raja Rammohan Roy pubished two newspapers-Mirat ul Akhbar(Persian) and Sambad Koumudi.Bharatpathik Rammohan wrote articles denouncing the self immolation of widows.He had to face resistence of a regressive society.But that never deterred him from taking on the Lords when the Press Act of 1823 was passed by the alien rule. 

Sripad Amrita Dange published the communist mouthpiece called the Socialist in Maharashtra.The Madras Communist Singaravelue Chettiyar edited Labour Kisan Gazette.The  Kesari was published at the behest of the extremist patriot Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

The press then was neither rowdy nor timid.Well neither were they starmakers or presstitutes.But surely they were influential.The generation gap has been considerable,with the Indian media walking through the lines of transformation from the age of Ramnath Goenka to that of CNN. Rough anchors and primetime shows dominate today’s media.In the era of the Newshour the buck seems to stop with the News Today At 9. 

The rise of journalists from news readers to that of adjudicators is not demotion but the motion in the society suffering from patience paralysis.Consider the use of hashtags solely championed by Times Now.The NDTV hashtag #Q4Prannoy or that of #askRajdeep falls far behind than that of Arnab’s #ihaveaquestion.Incidentally the channel which gives widest mileage to its Super Primetime Anchor itself doesn’t mention his name on its hashtag!

Well but the role of the political media has been that of challenging the corridors of power in modern times. The coal scam,2g,jijaji have all come to light thanks to the endeavours of a vigilant press.But it is a bit misleading why most handles of the leading newspapers and channels in social media carry semi-erotica for sexmongers like me? Even Deepika’s cleavage becomes an object of speculation.

The Nira Radia tapes are pointed at by semi literate gyanis to show corruption within the universally Mudrochised media. But what they fail to decipher is the role of Vinod Mehta and Manu Joseph,from Outlook and Open Magazine respectively. Vinod had to resign from the post of Editor-in-Chief following the revealation.Similarly the critical role of Times Now behind A Raja,Pawan Bansal, Ashwini Kumar,Subodh Kant Sahay epitomised the birth of fearless journalism.Arnab,no doubt deserves kudos for that.

Well politicians have always considered the media as a slut,whom they can use and abuse at their own liking.But media is actually a condom whom many a times you need to buy to prevent unwanted pregnancy.Thats the reason why sting operations on Babri Masjid demolition come out on the eve of 2013 Delhi state elections.

Again there is the institution of affirmative media which asserts the belief of a whistleblower.Even if that demands the excavation of Nehru’s drain of records,the media will be ready to the build the burial.

That is the real image of Indian media-that of bias to unbias. Well there will be times when you will feel excruciating pain while having sex(perhaps because of oversized crotch) but the feeling of carnal pleasure will still play the dominant factor.

Is media a maid?-yah maid of the public

Is media self made?-of course.If that was not the case Darwin’s Survival of the Fittest would have eliminated her.