Who is Raj Thacck...whatever?

You know, Jaya Bachchan ji isn't an astute politician, neither an seasoned, wily one, but there is one comment she made that made a lot of sense to me - "Who is Raj Thackrey?"

She said this after Raj Thackrey attacked Amitabh Bachchan and his family for their apparent siding with the "North Indians", when it was Mumbai which had given him his fame.

Currently Mumbai is under attack by hooligans and thugs led by Raj Thackrey, and Mumbai Police is standing with its tail between its legs. People travelling in trains were asked their state of origin, and beaten up if they were from the north. Shops owned by North Indian immigrants were ransacked, immigrant taxi drivers were beaten up, and there wasn't even an iota of courage, or willingness, shown by the state government to crush such amazingly anti-national and anti-democracy actions.

Just depressing to see our country stoop to new lows on every social front. People such as Raj Thackrey are usually the most loud bastards in any democracy, but are usually the most sidelined. But here I was praising Mumbai in front of some of my friends for its openness and modernity, and the Thackrey puppy comes in and rains in on my parade.

If this country has any hope of actually moving forward - never mind the rosy macroeconomic picture - then we will have to at least attempt to modernize our thoughts as much as we are trying to modernize our lives. Raj Thackrey is a goon, and I hope this country and its government realize that letting dogs bark will do nothing but hurt our ears.