Justice is a dish best served with a side of STFU: Sanjay Dutt - Behind bars or Above the law?

This whole Sanjay Dutt thing is getting out of hand. Contrary to logic, sense, the rule of law and all things noble, the media, celebrities and in fact the public-at-large as per my diagnosis has gone bonkers. Reluctantly, I am forced to exercise my brain at this wee hour to present to you a point by point dissection of why everyone is SO wrong.

Disclaimer: The following post contains a healthy dose of the contempt I have in my heart for:
a) People
b) Bollywood
c) Sensationalism
d) The media
e) The media
f) The media
If you are faint of heart or rather faint of brain and / or cannot comprehend or appreciate sarcasm, I strongly advise that you don't read this post, or my blog, ever. Seriously.


Now here are some statements I have come across blurted out in his defence (and an assortment of other delectable jewels of a mix of 1 part stupidity and 5 parts sensationalism):

1. "People make mistakes."
   Yes, and sometimes they have to pay for their mistakes. This is one of those times.
   
2. "He's already served time. He should be let go now."
   It's the responsibility and the discretion of the judiciary, and not the media or popular opinion, to decide on the quantum of sentencing of a person convicted of a criminal offence. I place the judicial sensibilities of a judge much higher than that of ordinary journalists and lay persons.
   
3. "He's a versatile and talented actor."
   Of course, everyone else convicted of a crime that they have committed are talentless idiots. I can juggle while whistling "Saare Jahaan se achcha...". Maybe I will use that in my defence one day.
   
4. He's been targeted because he's famous.
   This statement makes me laugh and cry at the same time. It is a favourite statement of people who, had he actually been acquitted, would have whined that he got away because he's famous.
   
5. "He's such a nice guy."
   Clearly, since the vast majority of us have had great personal interaction with him and are privy to his thoughts and feelings, we can state with authority even the subtlest facets of his personality. I think I should note this one down for my future defence too. I am sure if I am faced with defending myself in a criminal prosecution, being a 'nice guy' would make all the difference. I wonder if in jail Sanjay Dutt is signing Alice Cooper's, "No more Mr. Nice Guy."
   
6. "Something like this shouldn't happen to someone who so many people love."
   No, only people who are hated by a lot of people should be subject to the law. Public adoration should literally be a 'get out of jail free' card.
   
7. "He's reformed now."
   The above point applies here as well. In addition I would say that it's not my place to judge whether he is reformed or not, because that's a job for the court to do. And this exact matter would have been considered by the judge in the assessing whether he should be given probation or not. I do think however that it's worth of noting that at the end of the day his job is to act, i.e. stage performance. So hypothetically speaking, if he is indeed unreformed, it would not be too arduous a task for him to mask that whilst in the public eye.
   
8. "The bollywood industry thinks that the court sentence is too harsh."
   The day that I start giving two shits about what the bollywood industry thinks is the day that I will myself purchase a gun - not to support terrorists, but to shoot myself in the head. (btw this is a solution I advocate to others too).
   Postscript: People in Bollywood think? I wouldn't have thought so considering that most of their movies are terrible rehashes (and allegedly plagiarised copies) of other movies?
9. "Other people are getting away with committing bigger crimes than he has."
   While this may be a true and sad state of affairs in our country, or actually, much of this world, it doesn't exonerate him of his crimes.
   
10. We should petition the President of India to get him out.
    (Let's not even get into the controversies surrounding the President). We should petition God for some good sense and restraint before making dumb comments instead.

Now, I have no personal grudge against the guy. He may not be my favourite actor, but he is far from being my most hated. If in the course of the appellate process his sentence is reduced as per due proceudre, I have no issues. But if he is let go because of public sentiment and misplaced activism, I think it would be a travesty and an insult to law-abiding citizens and the legal process.

By the way, not that this has to do specifically with Sanjay Dutt, but there is an excellent movie made on the Bombay blasts called 'Black Friday.' I highly recommend this movie if you haven't seen it yet. Despite the grim topic, it is very entertaining.

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Innovation: A Famine in India

When it comes to consumer goods, especially electronic items, I come across one very common phenomenon time and again - and that is the import of electronics and other goods which are designed for western markets into India, without any apparent application of mind in adapting the product for Indian conditions. A few examples:

1. In places like Delhi (and AFAIK Mumbai) most cars are driven by drivers and not the owners themselves. Would it not make sense then to provide separate air conditioner vents for the back seat? I find it absurd that people spend 20, 30, 40 etc. lakhs on cars, and then their drivers get to stay cool more than the owner!! (of course eventually it cools down - that's not the point). The only car I know of that has this feature is the Tata Indigo.
   The same, by the way, applies to automatic transmission, which is just oh so sweet for driving in traffic jams, but still few manufacturers offer AT, and when they do it comes at a significant premium.
   
2. HDTV - this is my personal favourite pet peeve (mainly because I don't have one! ;) ). But coming to the point, shops are selling, and people are buying widescreen, HDTV LCDs left right and center - in a country where there is no HD content on TV!!! And even widescreen content is limited to DVDs, which again are not as preferred by the mainstream as VCDs. Yet, people spend lakhs on a single TV only to watch their fave saas-bahu serial all stretched out horizontally... sick!
3. Cell Phones - Nokia, Sony Ericsson and others all are quick are importing and advertising their latest imports. However, what's the point of importing phones that are 3G when 3G is not even available in India! (and there are some really nice phones like the SE M600i which only have 3G internet access capabilities, and not even EDGE).
   

What's worse is than in a country which is so prominent on the IT map of the world, domestic products are terrible. Only someone with a very tight budget and/or little value for quality would go in for a desi TV, or other products such as the atrociously ugly and overpriced HCL Neopod mp3 player. The end result is that we depend on foreign manufactured products, and consequently have to bear the atrocious duty on such products.

Really, what is the problem? Is there a famine of creativity in our country? Why are we so good at being servile (e.g. BPOs) but so bad at being innovative? Why is it that we are not coming up with the next new thing in TV technology?

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