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DEMONIZING DOCTORS POST-RED FORT BLAST
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DEMONIZING DOCTORS POST-RED FORT BLAST

Uncategorized November 14, 2025 , by

AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday following the week, when hysterical and lunatic TV anchors like that of “India Today,” launched a tirade against the medical community. All because the main suspects in the Delhi’s Red Fort car blast are suspected to be doctors. It is being claimed that a doctor — Umar un Nabi — has been confirmed as the man present in the car when it exploded in the Red Fort parking lot was a doctor. The paranoia has been further fuelled by the claim that the car was a Russian assault vehicle with life cartridges in it is registered in the name of Dr Shaheen Shahid who was born and brought up in Lucknow.
It has been brought on record that Dr Shaheen joined the Pharmacology department of the GSVM Medical College in Kanpur. The police claim is that doctor Shaheen is part of a terror module linked with Al Falah University in Haryana. According to the new narrative all these doctors are part of the terror module of Jaish-e-Mohamad. The narrative is that the doctors’ module wanted to avenge the demolition of the JEM headquarters in Operation Sindhoor.
AT the risk of being dubbed anti-national, I would like to point out that at this point of time these are only narratives, there’re no charge sheets, trails or convictions. I am shocked that the “India Today” anchor went on and on without evidence about doctors turned terrorists. Now all doctors and particularly Muslim doctors in the country will be viewed with suspicion.
I am even more shocked by a Facebook post by Bharat Dhabolkar, the advertising man who came up with the Amul girl, who wants all the doctors implicated in the terror blast to be be-headed. We are not Saudi Arabia and the Shariat law is not the law of the land in India. And even Saudi Arabia follows all due legal processes before anyone is beheaded. Let us not demonize Muslim doctors for the suspected crimes of a few.
I’m inclined to believe that the new terror narrative is part of a diversionary tactic to divert attention from the ongoing special intensive revision of the electoral rolls. In any case please don’t demonize anybody without hard evidence.

FORTHCOMING IFFI 2025
AND a few stray thoughts on the forthcoming International Film Festival of India in Goa from November 20 to 28. For the first time since IFFI came to Goa in 2004 the inaugural ceremony is being turned into a tamasha. Initially, the vice- chairperson of the Entertainment Society of Goa announced that there would be no inaugural ceremony. This is because the government of Goa had not blocked the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium which has become the traditional venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of IFFI Goa.
Never mind that this stadium was meant to promote sports and not used as a venue for exhibitions and mega events like IFFI. Indeed, even after 20 years of IIFFI Goa there has been no addition to the infrastructure created by the late chief minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar, in 2004 in the run up to the first IFFI in Goa. There is still no dedicated IFFI infrastructure and even the Kala Academy has degenerated with major problems of bad air-conditioning, lighting, with even the floor flooding with water because of a spring under the ground here.
Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant quickly contradicted Siolim MLA and ESG vice-chairperson Delilah Lobo and made a virtue out of necessity. However, it is a false claim that previous directors of the film festival have suggested the opening ceremony be thrown open to the public. This is absurd as the film festival is meant for film enthusiasts and it is not open to the general public. This is partly because all the films screened are uncensored. The film festival is only open to registered delegates and media from across the world.
Apparently, this time, according to the CM, the opening ceremony will be held on a super structure stage set up in the front of the old GMC heritage building facing the main road, where the usual red carpet events begin or end. The opening ceremony is likely to be witnessed only by 500 VVIP and VIP invitees for whom seating will be arranged out in the open, which means none of the claimed 10,000 odd delegates and 800 media people will find a place for the opening ceremony.
At least the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium with its capacity of 5,000 plus, could have accommodated all the delegates and large media contingent. Reportedly, the inaugural will see the cultural programs for the janata as a substitute or in lieu of watching films. At separate stages 2,000 we hear chairs will be have to be reserved in advance. Everything in Goa becomes a carnival. So not surprisingly there will be carnival floats as part of the inaugural ceremony of IFFI later this month.
Panjim’s main thoroughfare of the Dayanand Bandodkar marg will be blocked off the whole day on Nov 20 on inaugural day for the benefit of IFFI. As a concession to the Goan janata films are to be screened at Miramar beach, despite a high court ban on holding any events on the beaches. It has become a fashion in Goa to block roads, block pavements, for events like Oceanman, Ironman, and now IFFI too.

LOHIA MAIDAN COAL RALLY
AND a few stray thoughts on the double engine government developing cold feet after the mega rally against coal at the Lohia Maidan in commercial capital of Goa Madgaon. On November 7 there was a huge rally protesting against the import and handling, and transport of coal into Goa and through Goa, for industrial units in Karnataka. There has been a huge increase in coal imports through the MPT in Vasco by the Adani Group.
Indeed, the Adanis and the Jindals have been allowed to set up their own coal unloading terminal jetties within the MPT. The coal is not meant for consumption in Goa but for the steel plants of the Jindals in Karnataka. It is transported by trucks and increasingly by rail to Karnataka. In the process a huge amount of coal dust pollution is created. In recent years the South Western Railway has been double-tracking to increase coal transportation capacity. The double-tracking means double the quantity of coal will be transported through the coastal villages of Goa, blackening south Goa and increasing coal pollution in the air.
Already, the air in Vasco and other areas where the coal trains pass have become unfit for breathing. Pramod Sawant publicly insinuated that the protestors had a hidden agenda. However, the CM is disturbed by the by the huge support and the fact that all Opposition MLAs supported the public rally against coal in Goa.
The CM insists that there is no further proposal to increase the coal handling capacity at MPT but this is like closing the stable doors after the horses have bolted. The coal loading volume have increased by 500% between 2014 and 2024 since Narendra Modi came to power. It is widely believed that Gautam Adani has been promoted by Modi to counter the influence of the Ambanis.

KENNEL CAGES FOR STRAY DOGS!
AND a few stray thoughts on the decision of the state government to build kennels for stray dogs. This comes in the wake of the Mhaje Ghar Scheme for the migrants who have encroached on government and communidade land. This has sparked protest from niz Goenkars who have bought homes taking expensive bank loans and they gave bit encroached on government or communidade land.
Recently, the Supreme Court directed that all stray dogs be removed from the vicinity of schools, hospitals, market and other public places. A notable omission was silence on stray dogs on the beaches that seem to have a special taste for firang legs. Minister for Animal Husbandry Nilkant Halankar has announced that the government is in the process of formulating a plan for the re-location of stray dogs, in compliance of the apex court’s order. To quote the minister, “We need to build kennels for stray dogs at the taluka level where there are vetenary hospitals, where there is space for setting up the kennels.”
Curiously, the proposal is to build cages in the kennels for the dogs. There was a time when the municipalities hired a dogcatcher who would shoot stray dogs; he was paid by the amount of dog tails he turned up with. One famous dogcatcher even became King Momo at one carnival.
Incidentally, the National Highway Authority has asked the Transport department to remove stray cattle from the highways in Goa. Cattle act as speed breakers even on the highways.

CLIMATE CHANGE
AND a last stray thought for yet another Saturday. Apparently, Goa is now feeling the effect of climate change after a very long drawn out monsoon season extending from July well into October when Goans are presumably experiencing a harsh winter come mid-November. It is a harsh Goan winter with the Met department revealing that temperature has dropped to 20 degree F as against the 25 degree F at this time of the year which is considered normal. Goa is going through a cycle of extreme weather change and this will affect the crops grown in whatever agricultural land remaining in what was once a predominantly agricultural state.

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