I am annoyed. I am really, truly and seriously annoyed. Look at my face! See that big frown? Look into my eyes, they're bloodshot, no? (No, not because of Vijay Mallya's liquid assets) I am not laughing - nor should you.
We're Indians, after all. We are not supposed to laugh. We're not ALLOWED to laugh, come to think of it.
Look at that fellow, what's his name? Kapil Sibal. Falling all over himself and apologising because of an "offensive" cartoon. That too, not a recent one - something published well before I was born. bah, why before I was born, before Kapil S was born!
We saw, just last month - no? Mamata did not laugh when some poor lecturer sent an e-mail with some cartoons showing Didi and her current railway minister in "poor light". They took offence. As did the lone MP from an almost unknown party from Tamil Nadu - go on, I dare you, identify the man who made our wonderfully erudite, loquacious and oh so capable Kapil S apologise with alacrity - naah, you can't I bet.
We're a nation filled with people who must not laugh at public figures. So, cartoons must now be censored. Soon we will censor newspapers for denigrating the office of public figures. And then we will stop reporting scams and scandals too. We will stop reporting Anna Hazare. Baba Ramdev. Nirmal Baba. Nityananda.
We will stop carrying cartoons showing that wondefully spontaneous question that Anna Hazare asked when someone slapped Sharad Pawar - "Only one?" Or other such comments...
Because someone might laugh. And thereby insult a "leader" - why, dammit, even the use of inverted commas such as ".." can be offensive.
I am, therefore, upset. Angry. Offended. I deman an apology. From all those cartoonists who've drawn cartoons. Anywhere. About anything. Dammit - I demand an apology from Kapil Sibal AND the whole bloody cabinet. My sentiments are hurt. Somebody do something. I demand an apology from all the Chief Ministers of all the states. And their Governors. Even that chappie who was caught on camera in Hyderabad Raj Bhavan doing things he ought not have been doing, not on tape at least, or even if he did didn't he know he was not supposed to be caught, or even if he did get caught ought he not have had an obliging driver tucked away somewhere in the background who would step up and say "Mea Culpa?"
On a more sober (soberer?) note: does any one ever think of offering an apology to the nation for all the lives lost, lives maimed, livelihoods destroyed due to the day to day bungling in the name of (mis)governance?
We're Indians, after all. We are not supposed to laugh. We're not ALLOWED to laugh, come to think of it.
Look at that fellow, what's his name? Kapil Sibal. Falling all over himself and apologising because of an "offensive" cartoon. That too, not a recent one - something published well before I was born. bah, why before I was born, before Kapil S was born!
We saw, just last month - no? Mamata did not laugh when some poor lecturer sent an e-mail with some cartoons showing Didi and her current railway minister in "poor light". They took offence. As did the lone MP from an almost unknown party from Tamil Nadu - go on, I dare you, identify the man who made our wonderfully erudite, loquacious and oh so capable Kapil S apologise with alacrity - naah, you can't I bet.
We're a nation filled with people who must not laugh at public figures. So, cartoons must now be censored. Soon we will censor newspapers for denigrating the office of public figures. And then we will stop reporting scams and scandals too. We will stop reporting Anna Hazare. Baba Ramdev. Nirmal Baba. Nityananda.
We will stop carrying cartoons showing that wondefully spontaneous question that Anna Hazare asked when someone slapped Sharad Pawar - "Only one?" Or other such comments...
Because someone might laugh. And thereby insult a "leader" - why, dammit, even the use of inverted commas such as ".." can be offensive.
I am, therefore, upset. Angry. Offended. I deman an apology. From all those cartoonists who've drawn cartoons. Anywhere. About anything. Dammit - I demand an apology from Kapil Sibal AND the whole bloody cabinet. My sentiments are hurt. Somebody do something. I demand an apology from all the Chief Ministers of all the states. And their Governors. Even that chappie who was caught on camera in Hyderabad Raj Bhavan doing things he ought not have been doing, not on tape at least, or even if he did didn't he know he was not supposed to be caught, or even if he did get caught ought he not have had an obliging driver tucked away somewhere in the background who would step up and say "Mea Culpa?"
On a more sober (soberer?) note: does any one ever think of offering an apology to the nation for all the lives lost, lives maimed, livelihoods destroyed due to the day to day bungling in the name of (mis)governance?
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