Yet another Booker for Arundhati Roy..

New Delhi, February 20, 2009

Slipper thrown at Roy fetches Rs 1 lakh

Courtesy: Hindustan Times

When Arundhati Roy visited the Delhi University campus on February 13, she was greeted with a slipper thrown by student group Youth Unity for Vibrant Action (YUVA). The slipper was auctioned for Rs 101, 000 at Jantar Mantar on Thursday.

“When Arundhati Roy came to our campus, a member named Asif Kumar threw his slipper at her to protest her statement that Kashmir should be given to Pakistan. Her statement is against our national interest,” said Jairam Pandey, national convenor, YUVA.

The slipper was bought by businessman Amitabh Kumar. “I was in Connaught Place for a meeting, when I went for a walk to Jantar Mantar after lunch. There I saw a demonstration by YUVA activists, who were auctioning the slipper,” he said.

“I feel she is a traitor to our nation, so despite the steep price, I bought the slipper thrown at her. I am now going to go on eBay and auction it off. Even if I do not recover the money, I do not care, as it was done for the pride of my nation,” he added.

Rs 1 lakh slipper, to be re-auctioned online

Courtesy: Mid Day

It would have been a proud moment for Muntazer al-Zaidi.

One of the followers of the journalist, from Iraq's Al-Baghdadia channel who pioneered the shoe movement by throwing it on former US president George Bush, won a whopping Rs 1.01 lakh for a slipper hurled at author-turned-activist Arundhati Roy.

The slipper, which was auctioned at Jantar Mantar on Thursday, would be put under the hammer again. This time online.

"This is the third most famous piece of footwear after the ones thrown at George Bush and Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao. But I bought this as a symbolic protest against traitors like Arundahti Roy," said Amitabh Kumar, 30, who offered the highest bid for the slipper.

Important Links

1. "An Open Letter To Arundhati Roy"
2. Arundhati Roy advocates terrorism

Governance and rebellion

Nepal's maoist-rebel-turned-PM says that heading a rebellion was easier than governing the country.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/being-a-rebel-is-easier-than-governing-says-.../400506/

The man who led a decade long civil unrest hiding in the forests and terrorising opponents has accepted this humble fact. With guns on your side and no accountability and of course the halo of a hero surrounding you it is so much easier to quell all and any kind of opposition. But governing, even a country the size of Nepal is a mean task. The day to day squabbles of what is now succinctly described as bijli-sadak-paani may seem as boring and unexciting and actually bourgoise to some, but nothing but love for your country can make one do this task efficiently.

Perhaps, our separatist friends can take a clue from his troubles. For more than 60 years now, India has ploughed on to give some semblance of administration and governance to the troubled region, getting a train to its icy heights is just the latest feather in the cap. If you factor in the blatant hate and disregard for any form of Indian authority in Kashmir, then however weak a governance India has provided to an unthanking public, the fact remains that it still has.

One may argue that some semblance of governance even the British gave to India, and that is true! In fact, many of our present day administrative systems come from the Britishers, but they looted our resources in return while India has done no such thing to Kashmir, if anything India has painstakingly assured that Kashmir's riches remain within the region itself, even incurring the anger of the rest of the country.