TOI: Shamelessy Anti-Indian!

The Babri Masjid verdict was delivered and while India acted maturely - shock and horror, it was the Times of India that really attempted to create havoc with their insensitive one lined headline that read, "2 Parts To Hindus, 1 Part To Muslims." If at anytime the media has tried to be manipulative, it is now. And honestly, they ought to be ashamed of themselves for this incredibly insensitive headline. If this is their attempt at sensationalizing an event that has been graciously been accepted by the Indian populace, then as a publication, they should really been sacked. This is not only unacceptable but considering the Times of India is one the most oldest newspapers in India, you would think they more than any other publication, would know that such a headline would and can cause outrage in the country which would lead to further turmoil. It feels as though they just didn't care about the title of their article. And it isn't as though they couldn't have thought of a more politically correct headline; the TOI editorial team doesn't lack talent and this is a well-known fact.

What exactly their agenda is or was, that is unknown. And you shouldn't even try to find out what on earth they were thinking; it just isn't important. But irrespective of the reason, it is simply an irresponsible act by the Times of India and they owe the readers of the TOI an apology for being so insensitive.

Link to article: "2 Parts To Hindus, 1 Part To Muslims"

Babri Masjid: No Right Verdict

In all honesty, I never really understood what the entire episode regarding this masjid was all about. Today, courtesy of Ranbir Kapoor who insisted Anjaana Anjaani get postponed because the verdict would be announced on the day the film was supposed to release, I decided to sit down and read all about it. So what I basically understood from it was the following.

Ayodhya, birthplace to Lord Ram, is where it all began. A temple was built in honor of the God. However, during the Mughal's reign over India which lasted many hundreds of years, the temple was pulled down and in its place, a masjid/mosque was built. It stood there for many hundreds of years until 1990, when it was pulled down and demolished by Hindu karsevaks. A hearing has been called and is still underway. On October 1st 2010, twenty years after the masjid was pulled down and the riots it caused, a verdict will be reached as to who is responsible.

So what is the problem? Well, no matter what the verdict is, it doesn't mean anything. Who is right? No one. It wasn't right for the Mughals to pull down a temple that commemorated Lord Ram and then many hundreds of years later, it was definitely immoral for Hindu fanatics to go in and destroy the masjid. But this is not the problem. In a country, where children have no homes, we are worried about the destruction of a place of worship. Instead, I think Lord Ram would have been more than happy if we would have built a school or a home for the poverty stricken. But no, we fight and increase communal tensions. The riots that took the deaths of Hindu's and Muslim's in India, mean nothing to government officials. They would much rather defend their sad actions rather than step up to the plate and say, "Hey! We messed up."

It has taken 17 years, Rs. 8 Crores, 48 extensions, 399 extensions, and 100 witnesses and yet, we have no verdict. But no matter what the verdict turns out to be on October 1st, it won't bring back the dead, the hurt, the temples, the masjids. They belong to the ground now; ashes in the dirt.

Ranbir Kapoor: Ultimate Youth Icon!

Realizing this very fact, that Ranbir Kapoor is the ultimate youth icon in India, Eros took on his advice to postpone Anjaana Anjaani by a week simply because September 24th, 2010 would mark the day that the Babri Masjid case would finally deliver their final verdict. Ranbir was heard saying at a press conference that since security would be beefed up, it would make more sense to postpone the film and moreso because it was such an emotional day for India; releasing a film would be plain incorrect. Initially, the comment was not seen in the best of lights by producer Sajid Nadiadwala but eventually took on his emotional and practical advice. The film has officially moved to October 1st.

Good news or bad, I'm not sure. While from an emotional standpoint, Ranbir scores brownie points with the youth, Anjaana Anjaani releasing on the 1st of October means it will clash with Robot (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rajnikant) as well as Aakrosh (Ajay Devgn, Akshaye Khanna, Bipasha Basu).

We'll wait and see!