Be Your Father’s Son ...


AN OPEN LETTER TO AMITABH BACHCHAN

Main hoon unkey saath, rakhte jo seedhi apni reedh... (I am with those who keep their spine straight) FROM MADHUSHALA BY HARIVANSH RAI BACHCHAN

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Najid Hussain

The writer is the son-in-law of late MP Ahsan Jafri who was killed in mob violence in Ahmedabad.

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Illustration: SAMIA SINGH

Dear Amitabh,
I remember the day in 1982, when the news of your serious injury on the sets of Coolie broke. It said you may not survive. The country was shocked. Millions cried. Special prayers for your good health and long life were offered in temples, mosques, churches and gurdwaras. I joined the prayers for your health and long life.

The writings of your father, the late Shri Harivansh Rai Bachchan, had a great influence on me. From early childhood, I have read his poetry and prose that combined Kabir, Keats, Tagore, Omar Khayyam and Shakespeare into artful construction of ideas with deep reflections. Kya bhooloon kya yaad karoon made me stand up and speak the truth — without fear, or favour — however difficult or awkward it may be. Inspired by his writings and fully subscribed to his views, admiration and love for you was natural.

Natural is also my shock and dismay at your acceptance of the offer from Narendra Modi of Gujarat to be his brand ambassador.

I want to think that you don’t know much about Modi. And so, I must tell you what Modi is and what he has done in Gujarat, which has invited global condemnation, international sanctions and even calls for his arrest.

On February 28, Zakiya Jafri will relive the agony of witnessing the brutal massacre of her husband, former Congress MP Ahsan Jafri, and scores of other women and children in her house. On that fateful day, as the crowd chanting Jai Shri Ram started gathering around her society in Ahmedabad, waving swords, trishuls and torches, and frightened people from the neighborhood started pouring into her house seeking protection, Ahsan saheb asked her to go upstairs to the bedroom and stay there until called. From upstairs, Zakiya Jafri could not see what was going on downstairs in her house, but from the unruly crowd outside shouting ‘jalao (burn)’, ‘kaato (cut)’, ‘maaro (kill)’, the cries of women and children from inside, and heat from the walls of her bedroom, she could guess what was taking place and was fearful of what was to come. The immoral dance of brutality, cries, fires, and more cries, continued for three hours. Three hours later, police arrived. As the survivors were taken down and out of the house, which was still smouldering, Zakiya saw, for the first time, several corpses burning inside her house. Mutilated body parts burning outside her house. Little bodies of children floating in her water tank, who having been set afire may have jumped into the tank. She saw one blue rubber slipper — the one Jafri saheb always wore in his office — lying outside. It was soaked with blood. The other one was missing.

Eight years have passed. Zakiya’s memory of that day does not fade — the day when the world she had built, brick by brick, with a lifetime of hard work, full of aspirations, dreams and love was ruthlessly and deliberately destroyed before her own eyes. The most important person of her life, to whom she had completely dedicated her life, loved, adored and revered, and like any traditional Indian woman, could not imagine life without — had been brutally killed. She was shattered. Her deep shiny eyes, full of sparkle and love, went lifeless.

There were 2,000 similar stories that month in Gujarat.

‘YOU CAN STAND IN YOUR FATHER’S SHOES AND SET AN EXAMPLE BY TURNING DOWN MODI’S OFFER’
Modi, as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, presided over and orchestrated that massacre of innocent Muslims in his state, which is widely regarded as a genocide. Modi’s culpability and crime has been well established. Although, to date, he has succeeded in circumventing the legal system, the law is slowly closing in on him. Modi and 61 others, which include Cabinet colleagues, policemen and civil servants, are under criminal investigation by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) specifically constituted by the Supreme Court of India for their role in the mass murder and criminal conspiracy.

You may ask why Modi did this. We are told that the burning by a few Muslims of the Sabarmati Express coach carrying kar sevaks was the reason. But many believe that was just an excuse. Investigations led by the Centre concluded that the fire in the coach was accidental. However, regardless of the truth, can there be any justification for killing innocents en masse? In the minds that are touched by Harivansh Rai Bachchan, killing innocents is never right.

The Gujarat massacre of 2002 was not an act of war in which “collateral damage” of innocent lives occurred. Instead, it was a well-planned operation to systematically target, kill and destroy members of a particular community — the Muslims of Gujarat.

The subsequent speeches of Modi, spewing venom and hatred against Muslims, are on public record. Although Modi would like us to believe he is a Hindu, neither his ideology nor his actions fit our values or Hindu philosophy. Instead, his profile matches that of an extremist and a religious bigot. Noted social scientist Ashis Nandy, who had interviewed Modi long before he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat, had concluded that Modi was a textbook case of a fascist.

You have very effectively played the roles of JCP Dev Pratap Singh and Subhash Nagre — two diametrically opposite characters — one filled with humanity and the other totally devoid of it — for the silver screen. But bringing that change of characters in your real life would be a tragic mistake. A transformation from Dev to Sarkar, if and when complete, would change Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s legacy — from that of a Mahatma to Modi.

Historically, religions have killed more people than all other unnatural causes combined. In his epic poem Madhushala, Harivansh Rai Bachchan asks us to rise above the narrow definition of religions. However much fascists and fanatics dress sectarianism as patriotism, we know your father would never have approved the spilling of innocent blood.

At a time when in their pursuit of profit most business tycoons, including Ratan Tata, are disregarding Modi’s crimes against humanity, if not feigning ignorance about them, in your father’s footsteps you can choose to stand by declining Modi’s offer to be his brand ambassador. You can set an example and a Harivanshrai legacy — a legacy that he and the generations after us can be proud of.

Dale E Turner says: “We are born with our eyes closed and our mouths open and we spend our whole lives trying to reverse that mistake of nature.” Your father opened our eyes. Yours too. Zakiya Jafri and I pray they never close.
From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 7, Issue 09, Dated March 06, 2010

Pic of the week


Playing with fire

An Afghan refugee boy points his toy gun at a photographer while playing with other boys in a neighborhood of Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on March 20.

Pic of the week


Red protest

Riot police guard the residence of Thai Prime Minister Abhist Vejjajiva as supporters of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra throw human blood, on March 17 in Bangkok. Thai "red shirt" protesters have spilled their own blood at key locations in Bangkok to dramatize their demand for new elections.

My letter to the CEOs of all the organizations in the world

Believe me, when a CEO goes home at the end of the day, he doesn't say to his wife, "Honey, as we are about to transition from the dinner table to the bedroom, we need to proactively reassess your core competencies, and maybe shift some paradigms, because I have some important issues that need to be reconciled if we want to continue to have a world-class marriage."

CEOs and other corporate executives have the same problem. They sound a lot different when they're being "official." When they're being "official", they stiffen up and assault the English language.

I'm convinced that there is a software program out there called "CEO Column." All any corporate editor has to do is plug in the name of the company, and the program will spit out a ready-made, generic column with sentences like this:

"As we proactively ramp up our core competencies and shift paradigms in order to transition to a world-class organization, [Your Company Name Here] remains committed to one thing: Employees are still our greatest asset."

I may sound funny but just pick any 4 mails/columns/blogs written by 4 different CEOs. The words will always be the same, well at least 95% of the time. Why is it so? Why can't the CEOs understand that they are dealing with humans and not machines?

There are 3 easy steps to overcome this for any CEO.

1. Keep it simple:

There are simple employees working in your company. They don’t need that assaulted English language to get your message. They can understand the same in plain English as well.

2. Keep people first:

Rather than writing 600 words on a new idea in your brain, try to gather some burning topics which employees are facing. Find solutions to the employees’ problems. They are the company!

3. Talk freely:

Make yourself sound as if you're sitting in a bar having a drink, talking about the company (for me the company is always its people). Your employees will notice the difference immediately. Make it happen by being approachable to the people and not just the board members.

Happy Holi!

I wish all the people on planet earth a very happy Holi! India is celebrating 'Holi' - the festival of colors today!

The colorful festival of Holi is celebrated on Phalgun Purnima which comes in February end or early March. Holi festival has an ancient origin and celebrates the triumph of 'good' over 'bad'.


The colorful festival bridges the social gap and renew sweet relationships. On this day, people hug and wish each other 'Happy Holi'.

Holi celebration begins with lighting up of bonfire on the Holi eve. Numerous legends & stories associated with Holi celebration makes the festival more exuberant and vivid. People rub 'gulal' and 'abeer' on each others' faces and cheer up saying, "bura na maano Holi hai". Holi also gives a wonderful chance to send blessings and love to dear ones wrapped in a special Holi gift.


This is one festival which adds color to our lives in India and is a great festival which makes people come together.

And with India winning against Pakistan in the Hockey World Cup last night, Indians have something more to celebrate today!!!

Happy Holi!