My Country is not the One you are making now!

My country is not the one you are making now,
it is not nurtured with fear and distrust.
It is not your fancy of a reverberating–
war cry in the horizons, my anthem!

My country was peace, even when I was hungry,
and I could sleep under the pillars of your metro,
and I was not afraid of an eviction,
and thrown out from my tired dreams–
of a better future, like a kid deceived by its mother.

There were borders of blood stains
and barbed wires which tasted human flesh.
But there were hopes of trees growing each side
and roots crossing underground,
until you came like a magician!

Literature, Poetry

By Sanal Kumar Sasidharan

December 17, 2019

India vs West Indies, 2nd ODI: Can India level the series in Vizag?

Hundreds from Shai Hope and Shimron Hetymer propelled West Indies to a 1-0 lead in the three-match One Day International (ODI) series, with the second game set to be played on Wednesday (December 18). India will look to stay alive in the series and end its losing streak in ODIs at home. After winning the second ODI against Australia in March, India has now lost four consecutive ODI matches on home soil.

Virat Kohli went with just 3 frontline bowlers in the first ODI and got Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube and Kedar Jadhav to bowl 20 overs against a destructive West Indies batting unit—the three combining to give away 137 runs in 18.5 overs without taking a single wicket.

The slowness of the pitch and some good bowling from West Indies didn’t allow India to get to a flying start but runs from the middle-order will make the management happy while moving forward in limited-overs. Shreyas Iyer continued his good run in ODIs as he scored his third consecutive fifty and Rishabh Pant was finally among runs with a fine 71.

Cricket, Sports

By Johns Benny

December 15, 2019

India vs West Indies, 1st ODI: Can India continue to dominate the West Indies?

The T20I series was done and dusted in Mumbai with India’s top three firing on all cylinders, helping the team score 240 in their quota of overs to win the series 2-1. Both teams will be moving to the southern part of India to kick-start the ODI series. During the 2018 tour, West Indies had given India a run for their money in the 50-over format. The Caribbean side will be looking to go one step further in this series under the new coach and captain. Both teams will be looking to build a side for the next ODI World Cup due in four years’ time in India, though these are early days.

India

India has been hit by injury with Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar ruled out of the series. Shardul Thakur and Mayank Agarwal have been named as replacements. Add to this the absence of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah and it proves to be a big opportunity for players like Shivam Dube, Deepak Chahar and K L Rahul to prove their utility in this format after impressive outings in T20Is.

Cricket, Sports

By Johns Benny

December 6, 2019

India v Windies T20 series Preview: India aims to plug loopholes

India has had lots of success in ODIs and Tests of late but they are ranked number 5 in the shortest format of the game. During their recent home outings, they drew the series against South Africa and lost the first T20I against Bangladesh. Moving into the West Indies series, there are lots of worrying signs for India, prominently in the form of Rishabh Pant, wickets in the middle overs, back-up options in the fast bowling department and most importantly, finding a settled batting unit.

The squad composition means that K L Rahul will most likely be opening the innings with Rohit Sharma followed by Virat Kohli, who didn’t play in the last T20I series, and Shreyas Iyer. Rishabh Pant should slot in behind Iyer. Shivam Dube, who will be looking to make most out of the opportunities before the return of Hardik Pandya, will also add a touch of panache to the final flourish India seeks in this format.

The most important news is the return of Kuldeep Yadav in the shortest format. He and Chahal resume their much-successful partnership while the likes of Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja will be itching to perform with bat and ball in this series. With the return of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the Indian fast bowling unit will be more potent. The in-form Deepak Chahar will look to continue his good performances.

Cricket, Sports

By Johns Benny

November 24, 2019

India’s pink-ball Test debut turns out to be a no contest

The entire ‘city of joy’ went through a pink revolution. Tickets for the first three days were sold out a week before the start of the game. A ‘sporting’ wicket was dished out. Dignitaries from both countries were invited. Overall, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) left no stone unturned to make the inaugural day-night Test match on Indian soil a memorable occasion for everyone.

Yet, in the end, the huge difference in quality between the two teams turned out to be the primary talking point at Eden Gardens as the historic match did not even last for two and half days. It took just 968 balls for the Indian attack to bowl Bangladesh out twice in this fixture. This was the least number of deliveries a visiting team had ever faced in a Test on Indian soil.

Yes, as per expectations, the pink ball moved a lot more for the fast bowlers than the conventional red one, especially during the much talked about twilight period. Also, the bounce it generated troubled the batsmen with less technical prowess as quite a few Bangladeshi players were hit on the helmet by the Indian pace trio. Couple of them–Liton Das and Nayeem Hasan–were needed to be replaced by concussion substitutes. However, batters like Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and even Mushfiqur Rahim from the visitor’s camp showed that with better application at the crease, there are runs to be scored even on these challenging conditions.

Cricket, Sports

By Sandipan Banerjee

November 22, 2019

Why the return of Rajapaksas is bad omen for India

There are ample signs that India is losing its grip over Sri Lanka, the island nation strategically important to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his pet Neighbourhood-First policy. Sri Lanka is one of the biggest victims of China’s debt-trap diplomacy. Now that the presidential election is over and the Rajapaksas are back with a bang, it is good news for Xi Jinping’s China; and indeed, a bad omen for Modi’s India, as also Sri Lanka’s liberals, minorities, and the Tamils.

The recent election victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the President of Sri Lanka gives a huge boost to China’s political interests in the country. Gotabaya is the younger brother of Mahinda Rajapaksa, who held the crucial defence portfolio during the Mahinda Rajapaksa-rule. Along with Mahinda, Gotabaya also played an instrumental role in suppressing the Tamil uprising that lasted 26 years, undoubtedly the bloodiest period in Lanka’s history.

The civil war ended in 2009, and the Rajapaksa brothers emerged as heroes for Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese Buddhist majority. Although their popularity dipped in the latter years, they were back in contention in the aftermath of Islamic State-inspired terror attacks on last Easter that killed more than 200 people.

International, National, Opinion, Politics

By Dipin Damodharan

November 16, 2019

India-Bangladesh 1st Test: Bangladesh Humiliated by Ruthless India

Indore: After being whitewashed in the recently-concluded Test series in India, Faf du Plessis, the South African skipper talked about the “mental scars” which he and his boys had to deal with at the end of that tough tour. Going forward, it won’t be surprising if Bangladesh’s Mominul Haque echoes Du Plessis at the end of the Eden Test, especially if India continues to be ruthlessness, as was evident in Indore.

On a pitch where Mayank Agarwal and other batters combined to get 493 for 6 in just 114 overs, their counterparts could last only 127.5 overs and they were 130 runs short of equalling India’s total. And it was India’s pace-trio which took 14 out of the 20 Bangladeshi wickets. Yes, the red-soil pitch offered a little bit of extra bounce but the visiting batsmen were clearly undone by the quality and class of the likes of Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma.

To start with, winning the toss and batting first was a positive move on part of Mominul, who was captaining the Test team for the first time. However, not playing the third seam bowling option was a huge tactical blunder and Bangladesh realised it as the match progressed.

Cricket, Sports

By Sandipan Banerjee

November 2, 2019

Angela Merkel puts Profit over People

In the final week of October, the Narendra Modi-led government trumpeted the news that it was finally relaxing restrictions on international observers entering Kashmir, which has been under a communications blockade since August 5. Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fulfilled the 70-year-old vision of its parent organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to scrap the region’s special status and end its political autonomy completely by reading down Article 370.

Earlier this week, a delegation of European Union Members of Parliament, announced Modi’s government, would tour Kashmir. The announcement swiftly gathered political storm as more details emerged: It was not an official delegation, but rather a sponsored trip arranged by a private party friendly to Modi. Moreover, the majority of the two dozen visiting MEPs hailed from extreme right-wing political parties, including Germany’s neo-Nazi Alternative für Deutschland—a party which will likely soon be headed by Björn Höcke, who has criticized Germany’s Holocaust commemoration policies and declared as his platform: “We want Germany to remain German.”

The delegation was clearly a handpicked assortment of right wing EU parliamentarians willing to accept an all-expenses paid Potemkin village tour of Kashmir in exchange pumping pro-RSS propaganda on their return to Europe— a ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch your back’ initiative which mutually legitimized the far-right in both India and Europe.

International, Opinion, Politics

By Pieter Friedrich

October 13, 2019

Ind vs SA: Kohli’s double ton, Umesh’s return and other Talking points

India needed just five overs post the Tea session on Sunday to break Vernon Philander and Keshav Maharaj’s stand, the only partnership that bothered them in the Pune Test. The duo did well to reduce the deficit in the first innings and repeated the effort in the second, but, in the end, it was too much for the tail-enders. The Indian bowlers eventually had the final say.

That spoke volumes about how miserably the South African batsmen have performed in the last two Tests. Once that particular stand broke on Day 4, Virat Kohli’s bowlers knew they were not far from an emphatic victory. It took India exactly seven balls after that to wrap up the Test as the hosts clinched a massive win by an innings and 137 runs and a historic Test series victory over South Africa.

The Test has been all about world records for the skipper and his team. Kohli got the ball rolling on Day 2 by registering his highest Test score of unbeaten 254. That was his seventh double ton as he broke the record for most double tons by an Indian. He also notched up his 19th century as captain, and with that, he is on level with former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting.

Cricket, Sports

By Sakshi Gupta

October 1, 2019

Ind vs SA: South Africa Banks on its Bowling Attack

Vishakhapatnam: The No 1 and 3 ranked Test teams are in town and they will square off with each other in a high-profile Test series kicking off tomorrow. Yet, there is hardly any buzz around in this coastal city. Barring a few curious faces outside the ACA-VDCA Stadium on the outskirts, it is hard to find fans here, who are genuinely looking forward to come to the ground and watch India and South Africa resume their red-ball rivalry. Even on social media, so far the pre-series chatter is subdued.

It seems the lack of expectations from an inexperienced Proteas side has resulted in this apathy amongst the fans here in India. They expect the mighty hosts to roll over their South African counterparts in one-sided contests at venues like Visakhapatnam, Pune and Ranchi, -where spin is likely dictate terms.

Well, it might be too early to call the series.

Cricket, Sports

By Sandipan Banerjee

August 30, 2019

ACT EAST: An Indian Odyssey in the South China Sea

East Asia has been a major foreign policy consideration for India in the 21^st century. India has held its ‘Look East policy’ for almost three decades, and still strives to do so—with its updated ‘Act East policy’. These policy derivatives were structured to counter China’s growing regional prowess in the Indo-Pacific region and to restrict Beijing in East Asia.

‘Act East’ was a head-to-head approach to thwart China by adding woes to its strategic concerns in East Asia. Among the many issues, the South China Sea dispute has become a key issue. South China Sea, a region ravaged by ‘invalid’ Chinese occupation, gave space for countries like India to put China on the backfoot in its own backyard.

India’s significance in the South China Sea is twofold; economic and strategic. In economic terms, 55 per cent of India’s total trade passes through the region; Trade outlook has been another major factor dictating India’s strategic interests in the region.

Defense, International, National, National Seurity, Politics

By K A Dhananjay