thevigil.in: public scrutiny of news media

By Ashish Mehta
The new mantra of austerity is spreading fast. And it is not restricted to the government and the ruling party. Count on our celebrities – cricketers and film stars, fashionistas and socialites – to do their bit to express solidarity with the common man in these trying times.
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By B V Rao
The BJP’s Madhya Pradesh chief minister is also angry with Twitter Minister Shashi Tharoor.  He has said that Tharoor has no right to be a minister. “I believe that in a democracy people are God. To refer to them as Cattle is an insult to them. And I believe such a person has no right to be a union minister,” he said (The Hindu/PTI).

Shivraj says People are God. One of the BJP’s core beliefs (there are many floating around these days) is that the Cow is also God. And Tharoor says People are Cattle. So look at the situation we have on our hands: People are God. Cow is God. But Cow is Cattle, too, and Cattle are People as well. By this simple equation People are Cattle too and everybody is God. (Childhood math: If X=Y and X=Z, then Y=Z) continue reading…

By Bikram Vohra
I have no beef with Shashi Tharoor’s comments about his saga in cattle class. No self-respecting cow would be seen dead in the back of one of our airlines. The treatment is pathetic and there is no one who has travelled by air who is offended by Shashi’s statement.

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By Bikram Vohra

Rahul and I have had a subliminal sharing experience. After I read about his trip by train I was so moved by guilt at travelling only by air that I promptly took a Business Class Air India flight to India (which is about a level less than a cattle car seat on a low budget airline) and then dropped my pretentious lifestyle by booking a train ticket to Dehra Dun. continue reading…