Mearl Colaco

We all love Chinese food, don’t we? But that doesn’t mean, like the Chinese in China, we will forgo our freedom of speech and expression because the government of the world’s largest democracies, wants to control what we say and how we say it. It’s just impossible to believe that the man, who promoted and rolled out the landmark decree of giving every child their fundamental right to education, has proposed to control and monitor the fundamental right of speech and expression of the people. Despotic, I must say! But then, one can’t blame Kapil Sibal alone for this reckless proposal. He is only a messenger carrying the dictatorial message from his high command, which believes that censoring free content is the only way to silence people from public debate and criticism. Citing reasons for his dictatorial verdict, Communication and IT Minister, Kapil Sibal defended his stand saying that he wants to put down guidelines to monitor content on social media platforms and remove ‘objectionab...

It was a Eureka movement for women not only in Saudi Arabia but women all over the world when Saudi King Abdullah declared that women in the Middle Eastern country will have the right to vote in municipal elections. Not only that, Saudi women will also be allowed to run in future municipal elections, and will be appointed as full members to the Kingdom's Shura Council, which is the King’s advisory board. A pat on the back of King Abdullah who stunned the ultraconservative nation with a daring reform like this, that nobody ever expected for decades to come. Wish that, along with the right to vote, run for local office, and representation at the Advisory board, King Abdullah would also remove the ban imposed on women driving their vehicle. Recently the world was outraged when a Saudi court sentenced 10 lashes for a woman found driving her car. Well the King pitched in to overturn the courts order, but for how long can this go on? Hopefully with the recruitment of women in the Kings...

Although Julian Assange is famed for his timely and startling revelations of secretive cables exposing dishonest and unlawful acts perpetrated by nations across the globe...this mysterious stern looking man strangely also has a funny streak to him. In the midst of business as usual, Assange’s recently released US diplomatic cables on the Wikileaks website, makes one such revelation that the Chief Minister (CM) of Uttar Pradesh State in India, Mayawati, had sent an empty jet to Mumbai to pick her favorite pair of shoes. Undoubtedly there is no strong evidence to anything that Julian Assange reveals. On the face of it, the world denies to believe them calling it fake and all cooked up stories. But deep down, we still tend to pay heed to these cables. The Mayawati cables published recently put the entire nation in shame except for Mayawati herself who retorted back abusing Assange to the hilt. Nevertheless, Mayawati’s political rivals obviously exploited this situation to gain political...

The 74yr old cheerful and optimistic Gandhian, Anna Hazare, has surely set a precedent not only for the people and governing institutions of India, but also for democratic nations across the globe, testifying that, if you have a will, and that will is lead with honestly and perseverance, no power play can really stop you from driving oneself and the masses towards realizing that noble cause. More importantly, who says that it is impossible to adopt non violent means of protest to exercise freedom of expression? Looking at the peaceful means adopted by Anna and his team, we certainly can conclude that the Gandhian method of Satyagraha works wonders even in this 21st century of modernization and capitalism. Anna Hazare defied the government’s toothless Lokpal bill which was hastily tabled in the Parliament without considering the anti-corruption workable draft by the civil society group lead by Anna. This was not the first time that the civil society warned the government about the name...

Two successive terrorist attacks traumatized the people of the world recently. The financial capital of India, Mumbai, was blown apart in a matter of 10mins by bouts of serial bomb blasts on 13th Jul 2011, and so was the capital city of Norway, Oslo on 22nd July 2011. The attacks left the people of Mumbai shaken and stirred, arousing anger against the governing authorities demanding their right to security. While the people of Norway although were initially shocked by these attacks, remained calm and resilient. So, why that difference in reaction to almost similar catastrophes? Mumbai which houses a population of approximately 20.4 million people accounting for about 20% of India’s population alone, has been struck by terrorism not once, not twice or three times...but this city that I love so much, has been brutally hit umpteen numbers of times. While on the other hand, for the people of Norway, which houses about 20% of Mumbai’s population of approximately 4 million people, it was a ...

We love you Mr. Manmohan Singh. We love you and respect you for who you are and where you come from. But we are frustrated with the silence and the no-show policy that you have adopted since the beginning of your Prime Ministerial era. I can end up in a quarrel if anyone raised a finger at your morals and values. But what do I do Sir, when people say that you are unfit, you are a lame duck, that you are remote-controlled, and that you lack political authority? Sir, the gloom on your face, the truth in your eyes, the stillness on your lips, says nothing at all. Your silence and nothing-to-say style of leadership says nothing to a billion people who are waiting to be a part of the growing economy. People of this nation do not understand what’s happening with the checks and balances that fuel our economy. All we see is an expose of a new scandal perpetrated by your most trusted officer at the top every single day. We find ourselves stuck in a puzzle of despair and isolation. Please spea...

What on earth is happening, may I ask? What started with a noble effort to install an effective anti-corruption and grievance redressal system by the 15th Aug 2011 deadline, ended up in a fish market like ceremony, in which everyone including politicians, bureaucrats, aam-aadmi and spiritual leaders are resorting to the Satyagraha movement at the drop of a hat. Some leaders of course genuinely resort to Satyagraha, for bringing about a positive change for the betterment of the nation and her people. While some immature souls, misuse the fast-unto-death format of Satyagraha to fulfil their political and personal ambitions. And in the midst of all this mayhem, our leaders at the centre make the civil society’s cry look like a farce. Without a wink of doubt, the man who was honoured by the highest civilian award (the Padma Bhushan), Anna Hazareji, is selflessly working towards introducing the Jan Lokpal bill and is fighting tooth-and-nail to lawfully also bring the Prime Minister and the...

The remarkable triumphant win of Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalitha at the recent State Elections in Kolkata and Tamilnadu respectively, reminds me of the song – Miss Independent - sung by my favourite hip-hop singer Ne-Yo. Women indeed are celebrating “Being Independent”...going all out without any inhibitions or setting any conditions to explore the unexpected. Undeniably, we are living in a patriarchal society. Be it an organisation, system, government, institution, or filmdom, the decision makers are indeed the menfolk. Well, the very fact that the Chief Ministers office in Kolkata didn’t have a ladies toilet for 34 long years is proof to this testimony. So, isn’t it a goosebumps moment to see our womenfolk make it to the helm under the influence of their own intelligence, capability and mass appeal...and not mere quotas or sifarish. Recently the Maharashtra Assembly unanimously approved 50% quota for women in local bodies and also promised reservation for women in elections to p...

The hullabaloo of events that gripped the world the day after Labor Day, the 2nd May 2011, will be written in history books forever. Well this is the day when Mr. Poker face - Barack Hussein Obama - made his milestone speech informing the people of his country and to the world that “Operation Osama” conducted in hush-hush by the United States has successfully killed the man behind the devastating 9/11 attacks in America. It was only a few days ago when Obama released his birth certificate in the public domain to silence detractors, specifically the Republicans about their allegations upon him of being a foreigner. That was really a silly thing to do...isn't it? Well today, the same cynics who were suspicious about Obama’s birth place doubt Osama’s death, and now are desperately seeking the death certificate of the fugitive. Just imagine leaving decision making to people who are more worried about the birth and death place of the other? Heaven knows what would happen. Phew! The ...

Who exactly is Anna Hazare was the first question I asked myself on 5th Apr 2011, the day when the frail and plain speaking 72yr old man dressed in plain white clothes pulled off his ‘fast-unto-death’ tryst to fight against the growing filth of corruption in India. I faintly remember hearing of this Gandhian then, but more importantly I wanted to figure out the magical aura inside him that infatuated such huge people support across the social strata pan India. Wondered whether it was the “Aabra-Ka-Dabra Effect”...because after all Annaji’s movement began at the Jantar-Mantar in New Delhi naah! Giving more power to the people At a phase in life when most of the septuagenarians hang their boots to celebrate retirement, Anna Hazare is selflessly working for the people and still going strong since the last 30yrs. The entire nation supported this gutsy guy who not only demanded the introduction of the Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's Ombudsman Bill) but also humbly fasted until the civili...

Giving a tough fight to our distant neighbours, India impressively won against Pakistan, leading the nation towards the magnanimous Cricket One Day World Cup 2011 final against Sri Lanka. And then, as Oracle Bejan Daruwala had very rightly prophesised, history recreated itself when the Indian cricket team lifted the World cup after 28yrs of waiting...that too winning it on our soil and in my very own city of Mumbai. What more could we ask for huh! Height of Ecstasy It was a volcanic blast of patriotism and pride that erupted on that winning day, the 2nd Apr 2011. Winning the world cup brought 1.2 billion Indians together as one nation irrespective of the diverse cultures, languages spoken, social status, and religion prevalent in secular India. Look at what eleven men of the Indian cricket team have done to this nation! They have not only won the World Cup for us but, they have united the nation giving it a long lasting ecstasy that no other drug can give. And as lover boy Enrique I...

Well, I’m not someone who lives, eats and breaths cricket like other worshippers of this game from India or anywhere in the world. And I’m also not like one of those craaaaaazy cricket fans....who will stay awake like owls, skip meals, bunk office, stand in serpentine queues, or climb over trees to catch a glimpse of a cricket match. But well, an India versus Pakistan match undoubtedly is a big high profile match played between two neighbors, who currently are not in talking terms with each other. Besides…a match between the conflicting nations is like a Supermoon phenomenon that happens once in 15-20yrs. And hence, when a match of this magnitude eventually happens, it creates a stir amongst people, stimulating their patriotic emotions for their country even more. The announcement of the semi-final world cup match between India and Pakistan brings in a lot of excitement and nervousness among the citizens of the respective nations. And this excitement only builds up as the day to the fi...

Clapping their hands to freedom, the people of the Arab world are demanding their right to live a free life, to live in Freedom! The very same people who once had their lips sealed to the word called Freedom are now openly talking about it. But then what does freedom really mean? To some it means the right to do what you want to do, in the way you want to do it. To some it means expressing yourself by giving your opinion to anything and everything. To some it means immunity from the power and control of another. And to some it simply means telling someone to stop bossing and imposing strict rules and laws without discussions and consent. Who said that you cannot live happily, make a lot of money, or live a healthy and wealthy life under an autocratic regime. Didn’t the people in the Arab world under the autocratic regime live a comfortable life, enjoying almost all materialistic highs in life? Coming to think of it, they even lived a better life than people from democratic nations. T...

Tired of the octogenarian leader’s – Hosni Mubarak— totalitarian regime for over three decades in succession...the people of Egypt wake up from their deep slumber, demanding their basic fundamental right to elect their own government. Egypt’s dictatorial ruler, Hosni Mubarak, until 25th Jan 2011 fearlessly dictated over the people of the country...robbing them away from their basic human rights of freedom of speech and expression. Well, although all authoritarian regimes seen till today have a long life span...they definitely do not last forever. The very same reality is unfolded in the case of Egypt, where the people of the country have revolted saying ‘Kaifaya’ which means Enough is Enough. The current uprising in Egypt reiterates to the world, that the citizens of a country indeed have the privilege to not only choose their own government but also have the right to overthrow it for non-performance. Mubarak! Mubarak! Mubarak is an original Urdu word which means congratulations i...