Da Vinci Code 2

I wrote the last post on Da Vinci Code sometime back but could not post it earlier. As I was posting it today, I thought I would verify the authenticity of the statements I've made.

I was surprised with my findings. I said that to identify which states have banned this movie, check which states are being run by congress governments.

States that banned Da Vinci Code in India:
Punjab
Goa
Pondicherry
Meghalaya
Tamil Nadu
Andhra Pradesh
Nagaland

I was surprised I was right!! Five of those seven states are congress governments and Tamil Nadu government is supported by congress!! I know too many exclamations but I can't help it.
Only Nagaland is a non-congress government that banned this movie where Christianity is the predominant religion.

And another fact is Sonia Gandhi is a Roman Catholic. I have no problem with that as religion is a personal choice and individual right. The thing that bothers me is how these spineless congress politicians are trying to lick their way up.

A petition was filed in Supreme Court to ban this movie all over the country. Judges presiding over the case made following observations.

"Can you name any country where Christianity is a dominant religion that has banned the film?"
"You (petitioners) yourself accept that it is fiction and not fact, then there should not [be] any objection."

The judges also asked "how the right to profess or practice religion was hurt by the film?"

Not surprisingly, there were no convincing answers.

Secularism survives in India to live another day.

Da Vinci Code

It seems like some things never stop making controversies. One of them is Da Vinci Code. The furore this book has caused was somewhat exceptional. But I am not going to write anything more about the book than that's already been published in last two years.

It's about the movie and in particular the reaction of some minority sections in India. Firstly, it started in Punjab. The congress government there banned screening of the movie despite no release was planned in that state. No releasr, yet they banned it!!! The Christian population of Punjab is a meagre three lakh(three hundred thousand, now it looks like a big number!). I am not advocating that we can afford to hurt the sentiments of a section of community just because they are less in numbers. I will come back to this, let me state the facts first. Not surprisingly, Andhra Pradesh's(AP) congress(congress is the key word here) government took cue from Punjab and banned it in AP. I have not checked how many more states banned this movie, quick way of doing this would be to check how many congress-run states do we have!! Of course, you don't expect them to ban it in Delhi and Mumbai, do you?

As I sad, the key word in last paragraph was congress. Both states are being run by congress governments. If you are still wondering, who heads congress party in India? Someone who goes by name of Sonia Gandhi. I do not know which religion she belongs to now, but she's a born Roman Catholic. And Da Vinci Code rattles the very foundations of Christianity. So it was a good opportunity for congress-run state governments to impress Soniaji by banning this movie.

I was surprised when I read that Punjab government banned this movie, although no release was planned in that state. But I was not surprised for a second when same thing repeated in AP. The chief minister of AP is Rajashekhar Reddy, a protestant!!!! It is true that AP has more Christian population than Punjab, maybe due to the fact that AP is economically poorer than Punjab and the conversion rate is high in economically poorer sections. I am not going to dwell on this controversial conversion issue, but for the record, the fact that middle-class does not want to convert says all about the authenticity of conversion and the means of how it's done. But how can we proclaim that we are a secular country when governments are willing to go overboard to impress their high command for their own political advantages with the excuses of communal riots and blah blah.

I know, I digress. It's no secret that congress leaders can go to any extent to please Madam. And it was a great opportunity for them to show their loyalty and gain political mileage out of it. And additional incentive is, it will once again reaffirm the government's keen interest in safeguarding the interests of minority. But the funny twist to story was even MIM's(an Islamic party) chief Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi wanted the ban and said that it would result in communal riots in AP :-) Actually it made me laugh.

All's well that ends well. I took solace from the news that AP's high court had severely criticized the state government and ruled against the ban and allowed the screening in AP.

The big Friday night is just hours away

Today, I got up earlier than my regular time thanks to the good sleep I've had due to the break in what has been an exhilarating worldcup so far. Sleeping couple of hours between games and getting up at 3am to watch the next game have certainly ruined my daily routine. And Friday will kick start the next stage of the tournament with a huge huge game between my favourites Argentina and hosts Germany. When two such football powerhouses play each other, it is obvious that the expectations are high but, unfortunately, they are rarely met. I know that this game will be different. It's one of those games, where winner takes it all. Their rivalry dates back to 1986 when Maradona inspired an Argentine 3-2 win over Germany.

Argentina have displayed that they also have a good defense conceding only two goals in four games. But their defense will be tested on Friday night by a very strong looking German attack. As he did in the previous games, Riquelme will hold the strings for Argentina and have a vital role of controlling the pace of the game. He is one those players who can slow down the pace and rise it when an opportunity appears. Rodriguez has been the surprise package and is eager to continue where he left off in Leipzig. For me, that is the best goal of the tournament considering the quality of the goal and importance of the game.

For a neutral onlooker Germany might look as the favourites to go through to semi-final. It's not surprising considering that when Argentina play Germany at the Olympiastadion to a packed crowd of 70,000 plus fanatic,potbelly, beer drinking Germans, they play the entire country not just the eleven men on the pitch. And it is not easy. The presence of Maradona and vociferous Argentine fans must bring balance to the equation.

Argentine astute coach Jose Pekerman will have to play his cards masterfully and must make intelligent substitutions. Bringing Aimar,Tevez or Messi on a little earlier than in previous games will add more spice to the attack and cause trouble to German midfield and defense. The important thing is to win, doesn't matter how it comes. If quality of the game is anything to go by, Italy must not be in top eight. That doesn't mean that it will not be a high quality game. If players play to their potential and occasion, it will be the best game of the tournament until then.

So far, both teams have scored ten goals each and conceded only two. That puts them on equal terms. And Argentina have not lost to Germany since 1990 final defeat. Since then Argentina won twice and drew twice with their last meeting in Confederations cup-- precursor to worldcup-- ending in a draw.

My predictions for the semi-finals are: Argentina vs Italy and England vs Brazil and a final between two South American giants Argentina and Brazil. And Argentina taking home the trophy beating Brazil at the same stadium. It will be very boring to see Brazil winning worldcup once again. Football needs a Fernando Alonso who stopped Michael Schumacher's Juggernaut. I hope it would be Argentina. And I will have one more full-sleep night before the big Friday night.