Tag Archives: democracy

Let’s celebrate AAP’s criminal MLAs!

buying Aurogra with no rx AAP's recent electoral victory in Delhi was seen as a win for democracy. The Ballot beat the Bullet. Secularism beat Fascism. Development beat Divisiveness etc. etc. But AAP's electoral victory was also validation for another critical component of our democracy - backing of winnable candidates by political parties(often those with pending criminal cases), at any cost. 

Maardu Arvind Kejriwal is the Delhi Chief Minister and National Convener/ Master and Read more [...]

Hindutva India Tours, Leisure & Entertainment Retreats (H.I.T.L.E.R)

Aren't we lucky to be witnessing the era of Acche Din? In 2020, you can extend the joy of being a Bhakt to every aspect of your life. This year, forego your normal, boring vacation and opt for a special package from Hindutva India Tours, Leisure & Entertainment Retreats (H.I.T.L.E.R). Our exclusive, customized tours are designed to provide you with first-hand experience of some of the greatest hits of our beloved nationalistic government. Relive Read more [...]

Note from a Magnanimous Hindu to those other Indians

India is truly blessed that our population is dominated by those who identify as Hindu - the most noble and altruistic people in the history of mankind. Irrespective of your caste, gender or religion, we know what’s best for you and have now mobilized our government to work in your best interest. It’s been a tough ride for Hindus in India since we’ve constantly been under attack and oppressed. All we have going for us is a majority of the population, Read more [...]

Worst MPs of the outgoing Lok Sabha

Our parliament is made up of 543+ MPs who directly represent us and influence laws that rule our lives. Yet, during Lok Sabha elections, we stay obsessed with national political leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi. The reality is that there is no single political leader who can magically transform the country. If we keep electing MPs and MLAs who are incompetent and corrupt, the system will stay broken. So before you vote for your favourite Read more [...]

Kejriwal’s Debacle – we were warned at the very start

Kejriwal’s media-fed frenzied ‘movement’ inspired many to join the AAP. But even in the party’s early days, some key personnel chose to break-up with the party within months. And as they left, everyone said the same thing - there is no democracy in Kejriwal's party and little difference in the way AAP functions when compared to other (so called 'corrupt') parties.

Hasya Kavi Kumar Vishwas is not a happy man these days. Though his smile Read more [...]

2017’s Best Hindutva Quotes (and a few lessons for surviving acche din)

'The West' hates India. As do India's own minorities and liberal minded 'intellectuals'. Thankfully, our future is safe in the hands of BJP and its ideology. Today, our expertise in cow excrement has put us on the brink of redefining medical research. Our BJP leaders have shown us a path to hate everyone who isn't the majority. And being patriotic is now easier than ever before. Here are some of the best Hindutva quotes from 2017, and some important Read more [...]

Assaulted, Abducted or Raped a Woman? Please be my MLA.

India has always been a world leader at electing those with pending criminal cases. Our political parties have forever provided us with a steady pipeline of criminally tainted candidates . And as electors, we always deliver by continuing to elect legislators who are accused of every crime under the sun from petty thefts to kidnappings and murders. We currently have the most criminalized Lok Sabha in history. #AccheDin.
All data is courtesy Association Read more [...]

Quiz: How well do you know the ‘other’ India?

India is poised to be an economic super-power (at least that's what we've been told) and is expected to become the third largest economy by 2030. For decades, we have been obsessed with GDP and economic growth. What we don't seem to track and measure as diligently, is basic human development. How does India perform at indicators that look at stuff like access to healthcare, education, nutrition etc? Most of us in urban bubbles couldn't care less Read more [...]

A crash course in India’s Farmer Crisis

Jan 2021: India's farming crisis has been on for decades and what we are seeing right now is just the tipping point of systemic issues that have existed forever. It is completely reasonable to hold the government of the day accountable irrespective of which political party is in power. Here's a post from 2017 explaining the various components of this crisis.
India's leading rural journalist (and unfortunately one of our only ones), P. Sainath, recently Read more [...]

The ‘Criminal’ Quota in Indian Politics

Issues related to the criminalization of Indian politics are well known. Political parties are obsessed with winning elections, and have always provided tickets to candidates who are most likely to win - irrespective of a candidate's ability to be a competent legislator. 
All data is courtesy Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
To better understand the magnitude of this problem, we looked at what our nationally recognized political parties Read more [...]

Lok Sabha Honours List 2017 – Our most useless MPs

We know that our MPs hate attending parliament and being productive - but some are worse than others. There is an official record maintained of the activity of all MPs in parliament including attendance, questions raised and debates participated in. It's been three years since we elected our Lok Sabha. We look at some of our most illustrious parliamentarians who are least bothered to show up or participate in the Lok Sabha.

PRS Legislative Research, Read more [...]

Why are we passing bills to make corruption easier for political parties?

Lack of financial transparency in the political system has always been one of our key challenges as a democracy. Recently, the government passed a bill in the Lok Sabha that will potentially lead to an increase in anonymous corporate donations to political parties as well as remove previous limits on how much corporations can donate to political parties. Here's a look at some of the key factors in play.

Status Quo
Currently, political parties Read more [...]

Would you hire someone with this Resume? (He is now UP’s Chief Minister!)

BJP - the party with a difference, has given us another gem. Yogi Adityanath will be the next Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Yogi Adityanath will act as an inspiration for millions of UPites over the next five years as he brings a much needed regressive and narrow minded approach to governance. Here is his incredible resume which touches upon his impressive body of work:

Ajay Singh Bisht (aka Yogi Adityanath)
361,Old Gorakhpur,Shri Gorakhnath Read more [...]

The absurdity of Mayawati & Kejriwal’s EVM claims

Two of our most prolific leaders from recent times, Behenji Mayawati and Arvind Kejriwal, have decided to have grave concerns regarding the electoral system - one that has allowed them to be Chief Ministers, a combined six times.
In a BSP letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on March 11th 2017, National General Secretary Satish Chandra Mishra provided reasons for his parties skepticism about Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Most of Read more [...]

The Butcher of India’s Surgical Strikes – Arnab Goswami

The aftermath of India’s surgical strikes has provided us with a new hero – Arnab Goswami. Every night, on super primetime, Arnab and his ego, put on a beautiful performance where they painstakingly take down every opinion that could be perceived as anti-Indian. Instead of using rationale or reason, Arnab uses the most effective tools available – bullying, shouting and mocking. Never mind if the person at the receiving end is Indian or Pakistani. Read more [...]

Arvind Kejriwal: An Insignificant Man

For a two-year period, cameras followed Arvind Kejriwal and his team to create An Insignificant Man, a documentary that chronicles the rise of Aam Aadmi Party to its present day leadership in Delhi. The documentary premiered on September 11th, 2016 to a packed house at the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival.
The film-makers have done a commendable job in documenting the personalities of some of AAP's key founders, specifically Arvind Kejriwal, Read more [...]

Zakir Naik: फटा पोस्टर निकला Zero

ज़ाकिर जी की आजकल न्यूज़ में काफी चर्चा है। इस इंसान ने, अपना नाम यूट्यूब और टेलीविज़न द्वारा बिना सर पैर की बकवास कर कर के बनाया है। हमारे देश में, रट्टा मारने वालो की कोई कम्मी नहीं Read more [...]

Thank You Smriti Irani for reinforcing the virtues of bigotry

Thank you Smriti Irani. The country was confused and in a precarious situation before your enthralling performance in parliament yesterday. But today we all have a clearer understanding of how to live our lives.
For whatever reasons, university students thought that they can espouse opinions that differ from those of the government. For too long, we have allowed universities to be venues of active social debate where students are exposed to different Read more [...]

Do you qualify for Indian citizenship? (Hindutva bylaw edition)

We want you to be prepared for a changing India. One where we are ready to embrace our Hindutva heritage and rid ourselves of any diversity, free thought and rational opinion. Our quiz is based on the latest Hindutva ideas available in India that are steeped in ignorance and bigotry - traits that you will need to thrive in the years ahead. All the best!

Read more [...]

7 stats on the 2014 Lok Sabha elections that will blow your mind into many pieces

Here are some heartwarming stats from last year's mega elections that may restore your faith in humanity and/or blow your mind. 

1) 73% of voters in Vadodra or 8.45 lakh people voted for Narendra Modi 

It’s no surprise that some of the most impressive victories in the election were seen in the state of Gujarat by BJP candidates. Narendra Modi’s victory in Vadodara was arguably the most comprehensive one across India. Modi and C.R. Patil Read more [...]

BJP’s Hindutva Superheroes are here to save India

Forget poverty and economic inequality. Forget dying children and crumbling infrastructure. Forget farmer suicides and even forget corruption. India’s biggest challenge today is combating the religious and cultural diversity that exists in the country. We must tackle this monster and thankfully Prime Minister Modi’s extended team includes a pack of super heroes who will guide India to a path of intolerance and cultural homogeneity. 

Mohan Read more [...]

List of Gundas contesting Delhi Assembly elections

Hello Delhi,
To make voting easier for you, we have created a list of candidates that you must vote into power. In last year's Lok Sabha elections, we voted in 186 MPs with pending criminal cases (36% of the Lok Sabha) - an all time record. Let's see if you can do better in #DelhiFightClub #DelhiShowdown #DelhiIsIndia #IndiaIsDelhi #NothingElseMatters. Please make sure that these candidates who have been given tickets by our political parties come Read more [...]

Lok Sabha Electoral Malpractice Awards for States 2014

The recent Lok Sabha elections were historic in many ways from record voter turnouts to landslide victories. Equally enthralling was the battle to see which states come out on top in terms of committing most electoral malpractice. As per the Compendium of Instructions on Election Expenditure Monitoring published by the Election Commission in January 2014, we have created six award categories:
1)      खुले आम रिश्वत Read more [...]

Gunda-Raj continues with Lok Sabha 2014 – Well done India!

Over the last month, we shattered voting records. An all time high of 66.4% of the national electorate voted. And the result is that we have resoundingly selected the most criminal parliament ever. For the last three years, we've been out on the streets protesting on empty stomachs and our fingers have gone numb sharing and liking status updates. But at the end of the day, it's been all worth it. We have proudly selected 186 parliamentarians (36% Read more [...]

Aam Aadmi to the rescue, or maybe not

It's the season of political rhetoric. Indian politics, is known for candidates making tall claims and promises during campaigning followed by non-action. The Congress and BJP have mastered this and much of the electorate, for justified reasons, has given up on these two parties following through on any of their promises.
But this time we have Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party. An alternative view of politics. A party of the common man - the Read more [...]

Dear Indian Voter, why are you still voting for Criminals?

Dear Indian Voter,
You have spent the last 3 years expressing your frustration with the Indian political system. You protested in the streets, went on hunger strikes and ranted on social media. You said you were fed up with corruption and the quality of parliamentarians. This time around, you are supposed to get into action, walk to the booth and vote for change.
You must understand that change is not a silver-bullet. It will not be miraculously Read more [...]

BJP vs Congress – Distribution of tickets to Muslims

The BJP compromises on needs of the Indian Muslim in order to come to power. The Congress is looking to appease minorities at any cost as long as it stays in power. Such statements have become common occurrences specially after the elevation of the status of Narendra Modi within the BJP. Almost any debate in the country these days seems to be linked back to religion and our two leading political parties. One factor in assessing the attitude of BJP Read more [...]

India’s Politicians Unite Against Transparency!

This month saw the passing of a judgement by India's Central Information Commission (CIC), that classifies nationally recognized political parties as 'public authorities'.

What does this mean?
This means is that common citizens can now file RTI applications to political parties to obtain information. For instance, a citizen could inquire about internal elections in a  party or about financial sources/expenditures of a party. The judgement is Read more [...]

What do we mean by Empowerment of Women?

A great deal has been said over the last few months about the pathetic status of women in India. A study done last year showed that India is the worst country to be a woman in among G20 nations. How can we empower women in the country? People seem to have very different versions about what we truly need to do.
Here's a hypothetical situation. Say we are in 2030. According to you, which of the following would be representative of an empowered Indian Read more [...]

Why do we elect rape-accused to parliament?

Jaya Bachchan, a Rajya Sabha MP from the Samajwadi Party had an emotional breakdown earlier this week as she was shaken and shattered by the gruesome Delhi rape incident. Her teary-eyed speech in the Rajya Sabha and passionate statements thereafter got extensive media coverage.

However, Bachchan’s Samajwadi Party currently leads the country in having MLAs who are accused of rape. Perhaps Mrs. Bachchan could start by reforming her own party by Read more [...]

Fasting Season Begins!

India's ''total revolution'' and ''second freedom struggle'' continue this year with another 'indefinite' fast. It's Team Anna's 4th fast in 16 months. At the peak of their fasting prowess, Team Anna had bellowed itself hoarse screaming that ''Anna is India and India is Anna''. The crowds that thronged various hunger-strike venues were showcased to testify that Anna Hazare was truly representative of what India wants.
The novelty of a helpless old Read more [...]

Why should there be Women in Political Parties ???

It’s no secret that women are under-represented in Indian politics. However strategically speaking does it make sense for political parties to back female politicians? The answer to that question is a resounding YES, and not because it’s the ‘’right’’ thing to do.

REASON 1: WOMEN ACTUALLY HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF WINNING!
In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections only 161 females received tickets from major* political parties. However, 36% of Read more [...]

Lok Sabha Honours List – Our most useless MPs

Parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha are our nation's pride. Here's a look at ones who have gone out of their way to do something special.

There is an official record maintained of the activity of all MPs in parliament including attendance, questions raised and debated participated in. The record is not maintained for ministers since they are not mandated to sign attendance registers and initiate debates.
Honour List 1 - MPs with less than 50% attendance Read more [...]

Quotable Quotes – The best of 2011

As the year ends, we decided to compile some of the most interesting quotes of the year from the political sphere.
1. “The country did not get actual freedom even after 64 years of independence and the only change was that the whites have been replaced by the blacks.” ~ One of Anna Hazare’s many rhetorical statements during the year.
2. “I believe that Janlokpal Bill will put break on at least 65% corruption in the country.” ~ Anna Hazare’s Read more [...]

Neta Profiling – Party Wise

Are your favourite politicians Aam Aadmis or Ameer Gundas? Here is an analysis of current Lok Sabha MPs from various political parties based on criminal and financial backgrounds.
This analysis is a follow-up to our state wise analysis which showed the importance of money power and muscle power in the parliament.
All candidates who contest elections in India submit to the Election Commission, a self sworn affidavit with details of criminal records Read more [...]

Heads, I win. Tails, You Lose – Victory margins of Indian MLAs

 
Five states went to poll earlier this year. Elections were conducted in a total of 823 assembly constituencies across Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu & West Bengal. 364 out of 823 MLAs (i.e. 44%) had more people voting against them than for them. Despite this they won due to the nature of our electoral setup.
Here is a break-up of MLAs sworn in earlier this year:

The above graph shows a split of MLAs between those who managed Read more [...]

Baap Beta Pvt. Ltd. – India’s Political Dynasties

India’s democracy can at times be looked at as a ‘family business’. For decades, tickets have been  distributed by political parties to the children of party stalwarts & Chief Ministerial berths have been randomly shared between spouses. Here is a closer look at this problem.
Most of this data is courtesy the research of writer & historian, Patrick French.
Lok Sabha Dynasty
156 out of 545* Lok Sabha members come from political Read more [...]

Humara Neta… Abu Salem

 
Last week saw the death of the world's most dreaded terrorist, Osama bin Laden. But do you know what happened when one of India's most wanted, Abu Salem, was  arrested and put behind bars in 2006? He wanted to contest assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and amazingly there was no law in the country to stop him from doing so.
Sitting in jail in 2006, Abu Salem was accused in the 1993 Bombay blasts, the murder of Gulshan Kumar and in an Read more [...]

The Art of Hunger Strikes

 
The nation is rejoicing as Anna’s farce fast unto ‘death’ crusade ends. We decided to compare this with another hunger strike being kept by Irom Chanu Sharmila. A fast which has lasted for more than 10 years...

Why is she fasting?
Sharmila is protesting against the Armed Forces – Special Powers Act (AFSPA) which confers special powers to the Army in states in North East India. This allows the army to effectively search any premise Read more [...]

Chor Machaye Shor – A toast to Democracy

 
We are currently in the midst of a spate of assembly elections. Wah Sarkar looks at a true incident which occurred a few years ago in Tamil Nadu. This is an amazing story which highlights the grit and will power of India's common man.

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