Gaurav

And those 6 are poor, big, north Indian states. They together account for 42% of India's total population.

Even by the standards of a country ranking 157 of 180 nations in the World Press Freedom Index, the reaction of the authorities to the ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ is beyond extraordinary. The public response to that imaginative prank should have signalled to them a deep discontent, even distress, among young people. Instead, as The Indian Express reported, it was framed as jeopardising the country’s ‘national security’ and ‘posing a threat to the sovereignty of India.’ Decades ago, the Malaysian lawyer and poet Cecil Rajendra wrote this brilliant poem that captures the idiocy of it better than any pompous editorialising could (not that our ‘mainstream’ media would dare do even that much).

Primeminister of India, Narendra Modi, would not take my question, I was not expecting him to. Norway has the number one spot on the World Press Freedom Index, India is at 157th, competing with Palestine, Emirates & Cuba. It is our job to question the powers we cooperate with.

Huge concern in New York that Zohran Mamdani is spending $122 million on schools and hiring 1,000 school teachers when that money could be buying bombs for Israel

On one day in late April, something very unusual happened. Every single one of the planet's top 50 hottest cities was in just one country: India. cnn.it/3PfkyXS

India is reaching a point where if you try to talk sense, people will abuse you, threaten you and virtually lynch you in the streets. And that is one of the greatest achievements of Ruling party. They didn't just destroy institutions. They destroyed minds. Jai hind , Mera Bharat Mahaan🙏

@DrSarvapriya Nothing new, they are doing this since many years now. It feels bad when you have to end up paying more or double the original amount to book another flight. Human values are long dead in this country..greed has taken centre stage. Better expect nothing.

Read till the end:  SpiceJet cancelled my Delhi to Srinagar flight (PNR: H8FKMY) today. It was at 11:15 am, and they informed me only at 9:20 am. I was taking my 60+ old parents to Kashmir for their anniversary. They travelled all the way from Rohtak, reached the airport on time, only to be told there’s no flight today. Their entire plan for the next 5 days is ruined. When I tried to rebook for today, fares were already higher. And the moment I clicked “pay,” the price jumped another 40%.  So, I booked for tomorrow, but it cost way more than the SpiceJet tickets I paid for. SpiceJet says they’ll refund the cancelled flight but what about the extra money I had to pay? What about hotels refusing refunds for the lost day? What about the taxi costs and the stress my old parents had to go through? Just for my own curiosity, I tried cancelling the Indigo flight I booked for tomorrow. Guess what? They wanted more than ₹5,000 per ticket as cancellation fee, just 10 minutes after booking. All this in the name of “base fare” and “fuel surcharge.” Base fare they’ll recover anyway by selling the seat at a higher price to someone else. And fuel surcharge? Is fuel price fluctuating every single minute? Airlines and apps happily charge “convenience fees,” but when they ruin your plans, there’s no inconvenience fee for passengers. No cancellation fees for passengers. Just a cold “write mail to us.” You may get a voucher from their airline. The staff at the counter have no power, yet they’re the ones who face all the anger. The real decision-makers sit on annual packages worth crores, but don’t lift a finger when it comes to fixing anything real. FYI: At European airports, airlines are required to give a full refund and pay up to £600 to passengers when they cancel a flight. Even if it’s an Indian airline operating there, the same rule applies. These airlines pay compensation there, even for a flight delay. But what about Indian Janta?  We’re not flying for free, we pay taxes on every single ticket we buy. GST, User development fees, airport charges and even for our security.  Anyway, DGCA rules say 24 hours’ notice is required before cancelling. Why was this ignored? Staff claimed “technical fault” in the plane, but I doubt it. I want SpiceJet to share how many seats were actually booked for this flight. Was the flight only 30-40% full and cancelled for that reason? I didn’t see many passengers stranded there. These airlines keep sinking and government keeps negotiating. Aviation minister, where are you? Ministers fight for cabinet seats, they take one, enjoy the power and go, but ordinary people keep suffering because of government’s policies. At least one minister has to set an example. I want answers. And I want real compensation, not just vouchers or empty apologies. @RamMNK @DGCAIndia @flyspicejet

So what do you expect? You are not living in the US or any first-world or second-world country. You are living in India and the government has other responsibilities to the elite class. Don't expect anything so you won't get disappointed. This country is beyond recovery but please remember to pay tax to sponsor Modi ji's global tour.

The new Banksy statue in London is stunning. BLIND PATRIOTISM A man walking with confidence, about to step off the plinth, blinded by the flag. A metaphor for the times we live in, extreme nationalism clouding judgment, critical thinking.

What is not in distress in India?

Read a lot of news on #MayDay and this stands out: 50% factory workers in India earn a measly ₹ 15000 a month! Only 20% have pensions. No discussion. No debate.

Indian society has become amoral and apathetic After a boat capsized and people died due to criminal negligence - people are sharing MAA KI MAMTA caricatures instead of Holding the authorities ACCOUNTABLE

Himachal govt installs a charging point in Manali for tourists to charge phones and gadgets, and within hours people turn it into a dustbin. No Swachh Bharat or any scheme can fix this nation, only an iron fist policy can bring change.

@TenzingLamsang All of above. Humanity is long dead in this country. Certainly there would be people who would have wanted to stop it but they itself would have been lynched if they stopped the crowd.

I don’t get the penchant for mob violence in India. Is it a lack of faith in the justice system? Deep and unresolved anger or frustration bubbling under the surface ? Lack of respect for human life? Othering of people outside one’s locality, caste, faith etc? All of the above?

Too hot to step out during summers. Too much air pollution to step out during winters. Too water logged to step out during monsoons. Most of India's metro cities. Unlivable.

@MFuturewala India was naturally blessed with such a perfect climate and highly fertile soil ... It literally takes 1% of effort to grow a tree here compared to rest of countries like Canada,UAE etc but what did we do? Concrete concrete concrete concrete.

Latest IMF data show Bangladesh’s per capita GDP above India’s. This is shocking given that India used to have a clear lead, & Bangladesh has recently had a lot of turmoil. India must move away from creating slogans & headlines to implementing real policy. @WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD/IND/CHN" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">imf.org/external/datam…

He’d rather be a part of BJP’s crimes.

Stellan Skarsgård reflects on his worldview : "My father told me something when I was very small to instill confidence in me: 'Nobody in the world is worth more than you, but nobody’s worth less.' It is an egalitarian view that I’ve carried around in my life. That’s why I am for free schools, free universities, free health care, and free babysitting. Because our society could afford it" "In America, people think social democracy is some kind of communism. They think capitalism is freedom. It’s not. It’s only freedom to exploit people" (via @vulture)

Karma is definitely not real. Being evil / bad / selfish is how you get ahead of others and live a better life than the rest.