To Each His (own) Cup

 With three days in the countdown, we approach towards the most anticipated sporting event in 2011. World Cup Cricket is back to the sub-continent after 15 years. With 14 countries, 49 games and one and half months of cricket, this time its anyone's cup. After more than a decade of Australian dominance, with three consecutive world cup wins, 2011 is expected to reign in a new champion. Gone are the times when games involving Australia were considered one sided. And gone are the days when every team used to play for second place.  

The departure of greats like Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Mat Hayden, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Andrew Symonds  from the Australian team has created a vacuum in the champion team which is being filled by nascent young blood who still are trying to make a mark and carry forward the Australian legacy forward. Their sole inspiration being their three time world cup champion and two time world cup winning captain Ricky Ponting.  But even he seems vulnerable without the support he enjoyed for the last eleven  years.  After losing both their warm-up games to two competitive teams- India and South Africa, Australia has further illustrated their vulnerability. 

“The chokers” South Africa and “The Unpredictable” India- the two teams which defeated the Australians in the warm up games have been pitted as the front runners to win the cup this year.  Both team ooze experience, talent, and youth which were the attributes associated with the Australians in the last decade. The one attribute, unlike Australia, which is not generally associated with either of these teams is ‘Aggression’. Between the two who ever exhibits that aggression on the field might  stand a good chance of going all the way at the Wankhade stadium.  The closely fought one day series in South Africa between these two teams, which the host country won 3-2, showed the level of competitiveness we can expect by them during the tournament.  The key to South Africa’s success will be their bowling attack with the likes of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, who are  backed by  some aggressive batting by Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers. What they lack is a quality spin bowler who will play a key role in slow and turning tracks of the sub-continent.  

 For India, one name stands above all- Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. The ability to overcome his jinx in ICC tournaments will be the biggest factor. Even after more than 20 years in international cricket, Tendulkar possess the same passion and energy as a 16 year old when he first made his debut. Considering that winning a world cup is the  only achievement which has eluded him, with this being the last attempt, in this illustrious career, we surely hope to see the little master light up the night skies of India with his bat. Apart from Tendulkar, India has an array of talented batsmen like the Sehwags, the Yuvrajs and the Pathans who on a given day can completely change the balance of the game and win it on their own.  A proof being the recent India and New Zealand series where a quick fire century by Yusuf Pathan single handedly won the the game for India. The one concern which India has is, its pace bowling department. An injured Zaheer Khan is the key to India’s success in the initial and death overs. His pace and swing has rattled many opening batsmen  and his reverse swings and yorkers have sealed the fate for many tail end batsmen in recent years. His swift recovery  before the crucial games against South Africa and England hold the key to India’s success and entry into the final four. The one department which the Indians can be rest assured is with spin bowling. The experience of Harbajan Singh backed with the talent of youngsters like Ashwin and Chawala; along with part time support from Pathan and Yuvraj gives India’s charismatic and inspiring captain, (Mr Cool)M.S Dhoni the options he needs to take control of the game.  

This is what the pundits say and I acknowledge that. But one team which I am rooting for and expect a lot from is England. Yes… to the surprise of many I am backing England along with my home team.  After years of searching for the right combination and physically fit players, I believe England today has one of the most talented batch of players. Led by an experienced and attaching batsmen like Andrew Strauss, he has to his disposal players who rally around each other to build innings and partnerships. Their biggest assets being the brand name K.P (Kevin Pietersen) who with his power and aggression can change the shape of a cricket ball without running the yards.  The  top order support of Strauss, Trott and Bell with K.P and Collingwood in the middle order  form a competitive batting  order. In the bowling department, the pace of Tremlett and Anderson couple with the all round ability of Brensan  can fluster and finish the innings of any competitive team in a given day.  Their biggest plus in the bowling department, considering the sub-continental conditions would be Graeme Swann- considered as the best spin bowler in contemporary times.  Their poor performance  down under in ODI’s after winning the Ashes is always in the back of my mind. But considering their previous performance and team composition I would not hesitate to bet my money on them to make the last four. They might not be as strong as India or South Africa but they are no more push overs of the late 90’s and early 2000.

No one in their sane mind would rule out Australia and Sri Lanka from reaching the finish line but there is something in these two teams which says that they will need to play out of their skins to beat the top performers. Unfortunately New Zealand, a team which historically has performed well in ICC tournament , due to their recent performance  in Bangladesh, India and even back home against Pakistan, will face trouble to regain the respect it once had in world cricket.  I would rank Pakistan under the same category due to their  highs and lows (very lows) in recent months, with allegation of spot fixing and  infighting within the team. They no longer possess a leader like Imran Khan or Wasim Akram who can rally the team together in good and bad times, keeping the focus on cricket and winning.  One team which, if any, can spring up an upset is Bangladesh.  And this was made clear in a recent series against New Zealand where they  won the series 7-0 against the likes of Vittori, Styris, Oram, McCullam and Taylor. Speaking as a patriot and a cricket lover, I hope this does not repeat against India and England in the tournament. But with no doubt in my mind, it will be a close fight between Bangladesh and West Indies (2 time champions) for the fourth place in Group-B. 

Considering it would be premature to zero-in on who would stand on the podium in Mumbai on 2^nd April, I can be bold enough to only point out the top four. Call it prediction or wish,  I put my vote for India, South Africa, England and a toss off between Australia and Sri Lanka. For now  lets sit back and enjoy every ball flying over the ropes and every ball hitting the timber!

TAHRIR

It's taken 30 years for people of Egypt to experience and celebrate the true meaning of the word Tahrir (Liberation). After being bound and trapped in a system which projected itself as the wish of the people, Egypt  has ridden high on this wave of liberal revolution which has swept the Arab world at the turn of the new decade.  Friday 11^th February will be marked as a red letter day in not only the Arab but also world history, as the day when Egypt was freed from its shackles. Horreyah! Horreyah !  (Freedom) is what we heard around Egypt, especially Tahrir Square, when Vice President Suleiman announced on national  television the words which the protesters have been waiting to hear for 3 weeks.  A paradigm shift in the order of business has taken  place, where the people have been empowered to oppose the subjective treatment of the state and stand united for their freedom and liberty.

Protests which started on the 25th of January showed the world a side of Egyptians which has always been swept under the carpet by the Mubarak regime. After two weeks of intense protest which had both sides of a coin-nonviolent and violent; superficial reforms by the government and tactics of clinging to power by allowing the situation to fade away with time resulted in the protest almost losing its fizz. But the emotional televised interview of one man – Wael Ghonim, the Goggle executive- after his release from 14 days of captivity by the government  ignited the dwindling spirit of the people driving thousands more into their little Egypt (Tahrir Square) which was the symbolism of their protest and ideals.  After the crushing disappointment  on 10^th February , when (ex)President Mubarak announced his determination to continue as president - the world predicted dark clouds ahead of the peaceful protests. Surprisingly, what we see now are fireworks  in the clear skies over the  pyramids. Visuals such as a women praying on the street with the Egyptian flag as her carpet, the giant Egyptian flag flowing over the head of thousands under the hot sun, human chains protecting the square etc. demonstrated the true nationalistic feeling which was emancipated in this revolution.

What started out in the virtual world through Facebook and Twitter has taken its shape at Liberation Square- ousting one of the most powerful autocrats in the world. As Wael Ghonim said- “I thank Facebook and would like to meet Mark Zukerberg to thank him personally.” Over these 18 days the Egyptians have demonstrated a character analogous to their last ‘Pharaoh’-one of determination and resilience. But as history will write it, the determination and voice of thousands is no match for even a Pharaoh.  

After all the celebration and excitement in the night skies of Egypt, it will wake up tomorrow for a new day. A day with no association to the name “Mubarak”, a day which marks a new era in Egyptian history. But the Egyptians and the their supporters should not ignore the challenges they face ahead. The spirit of unity , freedom and liberation should not fade away with the smoke of the fireworks. Such an abeyance is a battle only half won, exposing the country and its people to another Mubarak. History has never been with the victorious for too long in this region and the fear of recidivism will cause anxiety not only in Egypt but rest of the world. So as we take a turn at this historical corner, one should not be surprised to see a domino effects in the rest of the Arab world; with the only lingering question being- Who is next?

The Social Network

No, this blog is not about 2010s biggest movie or about its prospects at this year’s academy awards. It’s about a tool which has empowered people around the world. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (If I can categorize it into a social media) have changed the way people communicate, express their opinion and as per the latest trend…. start a new revolution! Mighty autocrats have fallen to their knees, governments have been ousted and the world has been forced to take notice. 

The inception of Facebook was on the premise of networking university students who share their personal bio, pictures, relationship status and college gossips. Now Facebook has more than 600 million active users of all ages- young and old who not only use this media for what it was created for but also for what we see in Tunisia and Egypt. Talking about Twitter, whose inception was to bring the mobile short messaging system onto the web, where multiple people can read(follow) messages and micro blogs posted by users. As per a recent survey- 40% of the messages on Twitter were found to be countless babble, 9% pass-along value and 4% news. But this 9% pass-along value messages have assembled thousands if not millions of angry and frustrated users on the streets of Tunisia and Egypt. 

By now people around the world following the news will be aware of why I have been specifically citing these two counties. In Tunisia, the pictures and videos of the ill treatments inflicted by the police were flashed on these social networking sites. The brutal images of Muhammad ibn Bouazizi self-immolation, an act of protest against the security forces in Tunisia resulted in igniting the suppressed frustration and anger of the people of Tunisia against their government and autocratic leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. This single act of protest spread like a wild fire on social media to gather steam amongst the people resulting in what is now called “The Jasmine Revolution”. Uploaded pictures and videos on Facebook and YouTube brought the ugly truth of the government on every laptop and desktop in every home and office. Tweets from twitter were used to spread messages and organize protests and rallies. In combination with these tools and street protests the people of Tunisia were able to successfully oust their autocratic ruler in January. This was slated as the first successful contemporary revolution in any Arabic nation. 

What the world saw in Tunisia, was expected to spread like a contagious disease in the neighboring Arabic countries. And within weeks another strong republic, Egypt had thousands of people on the streets demanding the resignation of the incumbent president- Hosni Mubarak. There are striking similarities in the process in which these protests were organized- no surprise – Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Apart from galvanizing support for these protests, social networks have been utilized to request medical support to injured protesters, inform family out the country about their well being, release information and news which are restricted by the state run media in the country etc.  With a motive to control the anger and unity which was engulfed the country through these medium, the Egyptian government ordered for the shutdown of the internet. Thus acknowledging the power and influence of these 21^st century accessible and convenient medium. 

These social networking sites have surprisingly had a 66% success rate of driving a revolution to its goal from the decade they came to existence. But one should not forget Iran, where the concept of using social media to protest and galvanize support was first initiated., in spite of its failure. The question remains, are we witnessing an era where there is a shift from violent and bloodshed revolutions to a more quiet, bloodless and a socially networked revolution!!

An Eye for an Eye or A Bully for a Bully

Nine years ago America faced its worst case of bullying when a tall, lean, bearded and brown skinned bully knocked down the pride of its financial capital.  That is when for the first time the most  powerful 'bully' in the world got a taste of its own medicine. And as any battered bully, it retaliated by hounding out the perpetrators. 

As America continues to heal its ego by  exerting its force over a resilient, irrational, radical and omnipresent adversary, it is faced with another bully. This time of a different sort-  A medium height, clean shaved, white skinned educated journalist. Unlike nine years ago, this time America’s ego was hurt not by bring down a building but  by bringing down (exposing) the entire military and foreign affair system of the country over the internet. This is what contemporary cyber law calls-“Cyber Bully”. 

 Ironically after more than a decade of  being called the most wanted man in the world, the master perpetrator of 9/11 seems to have been dethroned by a tech savvy egoistic journalist who is now hiding in plush deep caves and mounts of London !

I wonder how  the big bully will respond this time.  It cannot bomb the cyberspace, it cannot send its military into the cyberworld,  it can neither attack another web portal nor country under the false assumption that they might eventually bully them down. Under such a dilemma what can it do?

The worlds oldest democracy which is a staunch supporter of 'freedom of the press'  has its hands tied. As much as it would be itching to order a shut down of the website which reported these sensitive and embarrassing  cables, it is bound by its principles (for now).  How can a country which goes around the world preaching the values of democracy, freedom of speech and press retract from its position, when it is at the receiving end? At one end  it condemns the control of the press in China and Iran and at the other end it contemplates blacking out a media exposing government and corporate corruption.

At a time when America is debating means to tackle the problem of bullying in their educational institutes, it‘s an irony that the country itself is being bullied  on land and in the cyberworld.

On reading this blog, I would like to point out to all those who reached till this point of the essay that I personally condemn the actions of Wikileaks. This is not to say I fully support the actions of  the US also. The right to speech and free press is a corner stone of the First Amendment in the US constitution. But under a court ruling in 1931 and 1971 “No government  can issue prior restraints against publication, except when there is an imminent threat to national security”.  In this particular case exposing covert military actions and informants along with  private foreign diplomatic conversations is a concern for national security. Under such circumstances the government of USA, within its capacity, has to press actions against the website.  I do agree that  certain information's on the website do throw light to the actual global situation but details of covert informants, military strategies, frivolous diplomatic conversations are not of public concern especially when they are contemporary and operational.  

Wikileaks might have the right intentions but the means it has adopted (for this particular incident) to [mis]use the notions of “freedom of press and information” has projected itself as a Cyber Bull.

Imagine

             As a side step from my usual blog topics, this blog was inspired by a book I am currently reading called “The Post American World” by the reputed journalist and television talk show host Fareed Zakaria. This book primarily talks about America living and working alongside, and may be even under the shadow of two giants of 21st century, which I like to call the Dragon and the Tiger- China and India. Living in America from the past four years has shown me the immense influence and blend of these two countries in American society and economics. I come from a generation which has a very different view of India than those who migrated to the land of dreams in the mid and late 20th century. The first fifty years of India as a free nation was plagued by the confusion and disfunctionality which any new nation would have faced, which slowly grew into public frustration, driving the countries subjects to a more promising land. But the last decade has been the game changer for India not only domestically but also internationally. India has made a mark on the world map on various platforms which had faded away during the British rule and early period of independent India. Today when I speak to the old school Indian who migrated in search of a better life might still complain about India and its methods but with time they have come to accept the tremendous power India hold to transform itself into what they dreamt as a “ land of opportunities”. It will be unjust on my part to take away any credit from these old school Indian immigrants who not only made a mark for themselves in their adopted home but also demonstrated the tremendous potential and intellect of an Indian. Today’s 21st century India which mothers a young and vibrant generation has taken this potential and intellect to the next level, not only in their own backyard but also several blocks away. When I look around me, living in a foreign land, I am not surprised to see another Indian but rather feel proud in an amusing way on our outreach at every turn, from the bustling call centers in Bangalore to the over populated American universities to the densely populated Indian dominated colonies in the suburbs to even the local Dunkin Donuts. Indians have exerted their influence and presence everywhere.

          So to evaluate the magnitude of the situation, I would like the reader to just imagine for a period of time if India and Indians around the world (here let’s stick to America since I qualify to talk about this region to an extent) shut themselves off from the world!!!! Imagine the chaos and arrest everywhere …..Lets dive deeper into this chaos and arrest; and have some fun imagining the influence we possess which Indians have used judiciously and responsibly.

          Imagine one day you get up and realize you have some problem with your laptop before a big presentation with all your files locked in or you realize someone’s hacked into your credit card account and are enjoying the fruits of your hard work. What do you do? As every individual in today’s world, you would call a 1-800 number expecting a quick online service to your laptop or a solution of your monetary issue. What if, to your surprise you either here a continuous phone ring or a message saying “we are sorry for the inconvenience but the customer service center you are trying to call is indefinitely on vacation”. Now that’s a bummer!!! Guess where the call went... not to California or New York but to Bangalore or Mumbai. What do we do now? India today houses the maximum number of American firm business processing outsourcing units compared to China or other emerging markets.

            Imagine driving to work and you decide to grab a quick coffee and donut for breakfast before reaching work. You decide to stop at your local Dunkin Donut, few blocks away from work and as you enter the drive-thru lane to place your order, you fail to hear a friendly greeting with a Gujarati English accent, realizing a board on your rear view mirror reading “all Dunkin Donut outlets closed indefinitely “The Gujarati community holds the maximum stake on franchises of Dunkin Donuts in America. It is not only Dunkin Donuts but also commodity mart like 7-eleven and highway Motels across Americans speedway system stretching its length and breathes.

          Every year thousands of students flock near the seven US consulates praying for a student visa to study in one of many American Universities. I was one of those who spent thousands of Rupees to just get to American to pursue my masters. I was fortunate enough to be awarded a scholarship and assistantship to work in one of the research laboratories in the university. As satisfying as feeling it may be to earn a scholarship and monthly stipend, you quickly realize you are not the only one! Enter the research center you will find a pool of international talent, dominated by Chinese’s and Indian’s. It won’t be surprising if you pick up a technical journal and find either the first or second author to be an Indian. Now imagine walking into a research center and finding it ghostly quiet and lacking the aroma of spicy Indian food when you pass by the common kitchen area of the building! Majority of laboratories around American universities have a healthy presence of Indian students, working late hours and even during weekends, balancing course work and a demanding professor who hold the key to your graduation. What most fail to realize is that the creative ideas, solutions to global issues from health to economics and innovative technologies, evidently have a strong Indian influence to it. So imagine the absence of Indians in American Universities!!!

         The contribution and influence of Indians doesn’t stop only at universities. The moment after being awarded a graduate degree from the prestigious university, the next task is to attain the coveted H1B visa for which student scramble every years before April 1st. The contributions of Indians in driving the American economy has been proven far and beyond. During the recent recession, the percentage was Indians and Chinese workers being given the pink slips were far less that Whites and African Americans. As an example of the Indian importance and dominance, my employer as leading Tier-1 automotive suppliers has a global presence with offices around the world, including two in India. The computer aided engineering group which validates design has a total strength of 20 in its US office. Out of which 17 are Indian immigrants and 3 Chinese immigrants. As a common joke which floats around the organization, if all the Indians in the group decide to visit their homes back in Indian, the company would come to a standstill. Stressing on the phrase of “Indian Influence”- another example being the information science sector, where thousands of Indians work their souls to develop the next operating system, the next text editor software for your PC’s and laptops and even our next game console at Microsoft; The hundreds more working in developing robust and secure software’s for companies like eBay and Amazon though which the world does its online shopping. The world today stays connected through the internet and mobile services for its conferences, interviews etc.., through hardware and software’s developed by hard working Indians around the world, in companies like Cisco and Juniper. Imagine a shut down by Indians in all these sectors…..the cars we drive to work, the laptop we use, the shopping we do online, the online meeting through which a company saves thousand through travel expense, the roads and bridges we use, all would feel the pinch of the absence of intellect, innovation, idea, troubleshooting etc which every Indian brings with his or her job.

          According to a recent survey I read in a leading weekly magazine, Indian origin doctors in America were rated as one of the top 3 most professional and reliable doctors. Today is every hospital around the country however big and small; there will be at least one Indian origin doctor. Specialist areas from neurology to cardiology to gynecology all have renowned and well established Indian origin doctors treating everyone irrespective for creed, faith and race. Imagine the scrambling in a hospital or an emergency ward due to the absence of specialist doctor; a doctor which most American in their survey tend to trust.

          The Indian contribution is widely influential and the today’s world is slowly but surely accepting these contributions. Nothing can be more evident than the breakthrough on American television, which has for years been much Americanized. In recent years shows like The Office, House, Heroes, 24 etc have had an Indian character, either playing a computer geek, a doctor, a scientist and even a politician. Americans and the world as a whole are coming to terms with accepting Indians being a pivotal part of their society. A renowned motion picture director James Cameron also acknowledged the intellect of Indians by casting an Indian origin actor to play the role of an Indian scientist working on developing what famously came to be known as “Avatar”. And most recently the influence of Indian BPO which have been criticized by even the President of America as stealing American jobs, is coming on the small screen this fall called “Outsourced” as a comical enactment of an American manager going to Indian to train young Indians in running and operating a customer service center. India and Indians might not be getting their due recognition in the western world but they surely hold the power to assert their authority and influence which I believe is being utilized in a responsible and civilized manner for the proper functioning of everything!!!

Obscurity to Prominence

       In the last six months the intellectual rebels fighting for the cause of poor farmers, downtrodden section of the society  have attached a bus carrying CRPF jawans, set ablaze a market in Bihar, looted explosives from the police artillery storage, ambushed 70 CRPF jawans killing all and many such heinous acts. How do I know all this and much more? You are right! The television media, print media, virtual media; everywhere  you go you will find in-depth analysis, discussion, polling, blogs (many like mine at times) condemning and sympathizing the offensive/defensive ( based on the situation) actions of these so called intellectuals – NAXALITES.

      The continuous coverage and discussions over the past few weeks on the Indian civil war got me thinking- is this what naxalites really wanted to start off with? The constant media coverage, interviews with unnamed and named naxal commanders, a devil’s advocate sessions with the home minister, the home secretary , the opposition leaders, the chief ministers of affected states all  seems to be working to some extent in favor of the naxals and their agenda. Over the last one year urban citizens have grown widely aware of the broad agenda and motive of the contemporary ROBIN HOOD.  The only difference being that Robin Hood was a story we loved to read and enact as kids but I don’t think the same holds good for this version.

      This awareness not only attracted negative sentiment towards them but also a large number of sympathizers both from the elite and political spectrum. This got me drawing analogy to a more famous and fruitful incident which occurred in 1929. When Bhaghat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru, Kishori Lal and Jai Gopal were incarcerated and produced in court for the assembly bombing of 1929 and the murder of J.P Saunders in 1928, the HSRA (Hindustan Socialist Republican Association) was trying to gain a support and awareness in an environment which preached Gandhian principals. The HSRA ideology was in armed struggle, terrorism and retaliatory strikes against the British Empire quite parallel to that of the Naxalities. Bhaghat Singh ingeniously turned the situation into his favor by using the court room and the media reporting in his trial as a medium to express HSRA’s views and ideology to the public. Every morning after the court hearing Hindustan Times reported the proceedings of the trial along with the strong views and motives of Bhaghat Singh and his comrades. He went to the extend of systematically spelling out the procedure of making homemade bombs through ingredients accessible easily by the general public. And as expected, homemade crude bombs were made at every corner  and used violently against the British rule. The once obscure group of violent and aggressive individuals who followed the principals outside the spectrum of Gandhi was now the face of the youth revolutionaries who believed that violence was the only way India could achieve independence. His popularity not only influenced the young but also the old and powerful cadres of the Indian National Congress like Mohammad Ali Jinnah.  Bhaghat Singh had clearly understood the importance and power of the media in his fight for freedom. Within months of the trial, he became a national hero and is still remembered as one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian freedom movement. One may wonder, if we would have studied and watched movies about Shaheed Bhagat Singh if at that time the media would not have covered his judicial trial or printed and distributed his ideologies?

        Drawing parallel to the current situation, the constant and intensive coverage of the actions of naxalites has done exactly what the media did for Bhaghat Singh- they made them a common name and drew them to the center of the conversation. The media gives a platform to Naxal Cadre likes Kishanji to come on prime time television and express their views and justify their actions. The media intensely interviews government officials, at time forcing to them to concede to certain viewpoints which depicted a weak offensive system of the government. They went  to an extent of squeezing details of national security in the name of informing the people the ‘real story’. As smart and cunning as our ministers and bureaucrats are, they too play their cards close to their chest. When the government speaks out against such acts and illustrates their intention and plans to curb such offensives, media parades naxal sympathizer and human right advocates on television and print, who frantically speak against the government and their so called unjust treatments towards the poor. People like Arundati Roy , Prashant Bhushan and our own Laloo Prasad Yadav sympathize the cause and instead of criticizing the acts of naxalites prefer to say : “ what did the government expect when they call fight against naxal as WAR” or “  naxalites do not kill common people”. Aren’t CRPF Janwans common people? Where did I hear and read all this? You guessed it, the media. We have instances where the media instigate a heated debate between oppositions on the naxal issue to get some news point for higher TRP and bragging rights of saying “ you heard it first on ……”. And as a result the once obscure yet dangerous revolutionary is now on every front page and every headline day in and day out. Again one may wonder, if the media does reduce the intensity of coverage, still managing to lay down the facts to its readers and listeners but abjuring indirect Naxal propagation through their media (as I would like to call it) then would the naxal’s inflict so much pain and destruction when they realize that no importance is given to their actions?

        As an irony to the situation and comparison I laid down above between the Naxal’s and Bhagat Singh it is striking to know that both not only followed the principle of armed struggle, terrorism and retaliatory strikes against the government but theoretically believed in the principle of Marx and Lenin which influenced the concept of communism and anarchism. From Bhagath Singh to Kishanji, from the court house of Lahore to streets of Dantewada the media has played a crucial role in bridging the gap from obscurity to prominence as it walks a thin line between sensationalism and factual integrity.