<p>After battling months of dust, noise and the heat of the gruelling campaign in the run-up to the high-stakes Karnataka Assembly elections, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah can now chill. Maybe he can relish a cup of coffee sitting in the comfort of his home. Or go for a morning stroll, or even catch up on sleep.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">So, Dear party workers, supporters & well wishers, don’t worry about exit polls. Relax & enjoy your weekend.<br />
<br />
We are coming back. 2/2</p>
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) <a href="https://twitter.com/siddaramaiah/status/995484103611908098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>In one of the bitterly fought elections in the recent times,&nbsp; Karnataka elections saw political mud-slinging that we have seldom witnessed in the past.</p>

<p>Both BJP and Congress unleashed all the ammunition available at their disposal from their arsenal on the political battleground called Karnataka in one of the hard-fought, bitter elections in the recent past. Both the parties left no stone unturned in their quest to inflict maximum injury on their opponents in order to come to power in the southern state.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Exit opinion polls are entertainment for the next 2 days<br />
<br />
Relying on poll of polls is like a person who can’t swim crossing a river on foot relying on a statistician who told him the average depth of the river is 4 feet<br />
<br />
Please note average of 6+4+2 is 4. At 6 feet you drown! 1/2</p>
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) <a href="https://twitter.com/siddaramaiah/status/995484100957007872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The elections also saw both parties unleashing social media to portray the other as inept, unprincipled, and corrupt.</p>

<p>Congress, BJP, Janata Dal (Secular) cobbled together considerable resources to bolster their social media reach ahead of Karnataka elections.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Prime Minister confuses loyalty (dogs are considered loyal to their masters) with patriotism because he doesn’t understand loyalty.<br />
<br />
What lessons in loyalty can we learn from a man who couldn’t be loyal to his staunchest supporter & mentor Shri LK Advani?<br />
<br />
Thanks Satish Acharya <a href="https://t.co/E6jZhtmZoz">pic.twitter.com/E6jZhtmZoz</a></p>
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) <a href="https://twitter.com/siddaramaiah/status/994115096614846464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>However, the BJP may have had an edge over social media when it comes to electoral battle, but the Congress is not far behind. Realising the potential of the social media, though a tad late, Congress seems is out to exploit its potential to the hilt as we have seen it from the Karnataka and Gujarat Assembly elections.</p>

<p>In the run-up to the elections, both Congress chief minister Siddaramaiah and the BJP's chief ministerial face BS Yeddyurappa have frequently exchanged barbs on Twitter, with both putting up posts in Kannada as well to expand their reach on social media.</p>

<p>When Narendra Modi taunted the Congress with PPP remark (After May 15 (when poll results will be declared), Indian National Congress will be reduced to ‘PPP Congress' - P for Punjab, P for Puducherry, and P for Parivar (family)), Siddaramaiah's Twitter handle lost little time to return the compliment to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attack on the Congress.</p>

<p>The Congress leader took to Twitter and called BJP a "prison, price rise and pakoda" party.</p>

<p>"Dear Modiji, Heard you spun a new abbreviation 'PPP' today.</p>

<p>Sir, we have always championed the 3 Ps of democracy - 'Of the People, By the People, For the People'," Siddaramaiah said in a tweet shortly after Modi's attack.</p>

<p>"While your party is a 'Prison', 'Price Rise' & 'Pakoda' party. Am I right, Sir? #NijaHeliModi," he added.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Dear Modi ಅವರೇ,<br />
<br />
Heard you spun a new abbreviation ‘PPP’ today.<br />
<br />
Sir, we have always championed the 3 Ps of democracy - ‘Of the People, By the People, For the People’.<br />
<br />
While your party is a ‘Prison’, ‘Price Rise’ & ‘Pakoda’ party.<br />
<br />
Am I right, Sir?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NijaHeliModi?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NijaHeliModi</a></p>
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) <a href="https://twitter.com/siddaramaiah/status/992733277063593990?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>The Chief Minister has 1.6 lakh followers on Twitter, nearly half of what his rival and former chief minister Mr Yeddyurappa has. However, Congress has not only upped its game, it has doubled it.</p>

<p>The 72.36 per cent turnout in Saturday’s elections is new record for the State, surpassing the 71.90 per cent polling 40 years ago in 1978. The 2013 Assembly polls recorded a turnout of 71.45. However, the high turn out has not resulted in a clear majority to any one party as per exit polls.</p>

<p>While one exit poll projected a clear majority to Congress, a couple of them said that the BJP will cross the half-way mark. However, most of the exit polls have projected a hung assembly.</p>

<p>Siddaramaiah,&nbsp; who was a social media novice until mid-2016,&nbsp; emerged as the Congress’ best answer to the BJP’s social media prowess. Whether it's witty one-liners or scathing attack, the Congress CM from Karnataka matched the BJP stride for stride but can he outmuscle and outmanoeuvre BJP in the electoral battleground to get a comfortable majority to form the government?</p>

<p>We will have the answer tomorrow.</p>

<p><em>(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)</em></p>


In the run-up to the elections, both Congress chief minister Siddaramaiah and the BJP's chief ministerial face BS Yeddyurappa have frequently exchanged barbs on Twitter.

After battling months of dust, noise and the heat of the gruelling campaign in the run-up to the high-stakes Karnataka Assembly elections, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah can now chill. Maybe he can relish a cup of coffee sitting in the comfort of his home. Or go for a morning stroll, or even catch up on sleep. So, Dear party workers, supporters & well wishers, don’t worry about exit polls. Relax & enjoy your weekend. We are coming back. 2/2 — Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) May 13, 2018 × In one of the bitterly fought elections in the recent times, Karnataka elections saw political mud-slinging that we have seldom witnessed in the past. Both BJP and Congress unleashed all the ammunition available at their disposal from their arsenal on the political battleground called Karnataka in one of the hard-fought, bitter elections in the recent past. Both the parties left no stone unturned in their quest to inflict maximum injury on their opponents in order to come to power in the southern state. Exit opinion polls are entertainment for the next 2 days Relying on poll of polls is like a person who can’t swim crossing a river on foot relying on a statistician who told him the average depth of the river is 4 feet Please note average of 6+4+2 is 4. At 6 feet you drown! 1/2 — Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) May 13, 2018 × The elections also saw both parties unleashing social media to portray the other as inept, unprincipled, and corrupt. Congress, BJP, Janata Dal (Secular) cobbled together considerable resources to bolster their social media reach ahead of Karnataka elections. Prime Minister confuses loyalty (dogs are considered loyal to their masters) with patriotism because he doesn’t understand loyalty. What lessons in loyalty can we learn from a man who couldn’t be loyal to his staunchest supporter & mentor Shri LK Advani? Thanks Satish Acharya pic.twitter.com/E6jZhtmZoz — Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) May 9, 2018 × However, the BJP may have had an edge over social media when it comes to electoral battle, but the Congress is not far behind. Realising the potential of the social media, though a tad late, Congress seems is out to exploit its potential to the hilt as we have seen it from the Karnataka and Gujarat Assembly elections. In the run-up to the elections, both Congress chief minister Siddaramaiah and the BJP's chief ministerial face BS Yeddyurappa have frequently exchanged barbs on Twitter, with both putting up posts in Kannada as well to expand their reach on social media. When Narendra Modi taunted the Congress with PPP remark (After May 15 (when poll results will be declared), Indian National Congress will be reduced to ‘PPP Congress' - P for Punjab, P for Puducherry, and P for Parivar (family)), Siddaramaiah's Twitter handle lost little time to return the compliment to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attack on the Congress. The Congress leader took to Twitter and called BJP a "prison, price rise and pakoda" party. "Dear Modiji, Heard you spun a new abbreviation 'PPP' today. Sir, we have always championed the 3 Ps of democracy - 'Of the People, By the People, For the People'," Siddaramaiah said in a tweet shortly after Modi's attack. "While your party is a 'Prison', 'Price Rise' & 'Pakoda' party. Am I right, Sir? #NijaHeliModi," he added. Dear Modi ಅವರೇ, Heard you spun a new abbreviation ‘PPP’ today. Sir, we have always championed the 3 Ps of democracy - ‘Of the People, By the People, For the People’. While your party is a ‘Prison’, ‘Price Rise’ & ‘Pakoda’ party. Am I right, Sir?#NijaHeliModi — Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) May 5, 2018 × The Chief Minister has 1.6 lakh followers on Twitter, nearly half of what his rival and former chief minister Mr Yeddyurappa has. However, Congress has not only upped its game, it has doubled it. The 72.36 per cent turnout in Saturday’s elections is new record for the State, surpassing the 71.90 per cent polling 40 years ago in 1978. The 2013 Assembly polls recorded a turnout of 71.45. However, the high turn out has not resulted in a clear majority to any one party as per exit polls. While one exit poll projected a clear majority to Congress, a couple of them said that the BJP will cross the half-way mark. However, most of the exit polls have projected a hung assembly. Siddaramaiah, who was a social media novice until mid-2016, emerged as the Congress’ best answer to the BJP’s social media prowess. Whether it's witty one-liners or scathing attack, the Congress CM from Karnataka matched the BJP stride for stride but can he outmuscle and outmanoeuvre BJP in the electoral battleground to get a comfortable majority to form the government? We will have the answer tomorrow. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Siddaramaiah has won the Twitter battle but can he defy exit polls?

<p>In a highly caste-ridden state like Karnataka, all election debates centre around&nbsp;caste. The Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led ruling Congress is confident of retaining the government while the BJP is also ready with its own data and hopeful of a win.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The JD (S), trying hard to create a badly hung Assembly, claiming that it will come to power is making its own calculations.</p>

<p>The stakes are high for everyone in the high-octane election largely being seen as a semi-final ahead of the final showdown in 2019. The&nbsp;caste equation plays an important role in any election in the country and Karnataka is no different. All parties of the southern state are baking on caste-centric approach, as is evident in their campaign, to win the polls.</p>

<p>Siddaramaiah government conducted a caste census in the state in 2015. Though official results of the same have not been made public, &nbsp;various media outlets reported on the caste divisions in the state, claiming to be from the survey.&nbsp;</p>

<p>According to the census data, Dalits and Muslims outnumber Lingayats and Vokkaligas. The Scheduled Castes (SCs) account for 19.5 per cent of the total population in the state, making it the single-largest caste entity. Muslims come next, making up 16 per cent. These two groups are followed by the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, who make up 14 per cent and 11 per cent of the population, respectively.</p>

<p>Among the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), the Kurubas alone account for 7 per cent of the state’s population. Overall, the OBCs make up 20 per cent of Karnataka’s population.&nbsp;</p>

<p>As per the data, SCs, STs, Muslims and Kurubas together form 47.5 per cent of the total population, making it the strongest combination. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s AHINDA (Minorities, Backward Classes and Dalits) group would be the most formidable one in the state, forcing Lingayats and Vokkaligas to play second fiddle to them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The revelations of the survey punched holes in the earlier claims of Lingayats and Vokkaligas that their communities are the majority in the state.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Since Independence, Lingayats and Vokkaligas have been controlling the levers of power, claiming to be the ‘top communities’ in the state. The two castes have always accounted for 50 per cent of the MP and MLA seats from the state, irrespective of the party in power.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Nevertheless, about 80 percent of the 6.5 crore population of Karnataka belongs to Minorities, OBCs, SCs and STs.</p>

<p>Chief Minister Siddaramaiah belongs to the backward caste Kurubas, who popularly proclaims himself to be following socio-political philosophy ‘Ahinda’ (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits). Among the crucial election promises of Congress party in the state is to enhance the reservation quota for SCs, STs and OBCs from 50 per cent to 70 per cent, thus wooing voters from minority and vulnerable communities seem to be Congress line of approach.</p>

<p>Siddaramaiah-led Congress government recently accepted an expert committee’s recommendation, and accorded the status of a religion (a minority one) to the Lingayat sect, until now considered a part of Hinduism.</p>

<p>The move, which analysts see as an astute political move and opponents as an opportunistic one with an eye on the forthcoming state elections in Karnataka, acknowledges an almost four-decade-long demand by the Lingayats.</p>

<p>Lingayats currently have 5 per cent reservation and are classified as an Other Backward Class.</p>

<p>BS Yeddyurappa, BJP state president and party’s chief ministerial candidate belongs to Lingayat community, the dominant caste in the state. Despite corruption charges, BJP made him the chief ministerial candidate as his support base among the Lingayat voters remains intact. &nbsp;</p>

<p>The BJP, which has largely been seen as a ‘Lingayat’ party has failed to win the support of the Vokkaliga community. But with former Congressman SM Krishna joining the BJP, the party is trying to win the Vokkaliga votes and make inroads into the Old Mysore region.</p>

<p>On the other hand, JD(S) had earlier announced that its CM candidate as HD Kumaraswamy, son of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, belongs to Vokkaligas, another dominant caste in the state.</p>

<p>On 8 February, JD(S) had officially forged an alliance with Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) for the upcoming elections. Therefore hoping support from upper caste Vokkaligas and Dalits.<br />
&nbsp;</p>


Caste equation plays an important role in any election in the country and Karnataka is no different.

In a highly caste-ridden state like Karnataka, all election debates centre around caste. The Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led ruling Congress is confident of retaining the government while the BJP is also ready with its own data and hopeful of a win. The JD (S), trying hard to create a badly hung Assembly, claiming that it will come to power is making its own calculations. The stakes are high for everyone in the high-octane election largely being seen as a semi-final ahead of the final showdown in 2019. The caste equation plays an important role in any election in the country and Karnataka is no different. All parties of the southern state are baking on caste-centric approach, as is evident in their campaign, to win the polls. Siddaramaiah government conducted a caste census in the state in 2015. Though official results of the same have not been made public, various media outlets reported on the caste divisions in the state, claiming to be from the survey. According to the census data, Dalits and Muslims outnumber Lingayats and Vokkaligas. The Scheduled Castes (SCs) account for 19.5 per cent of the total population in the state, making it the single-largest caste entity. Muslims come next, making up 16 per cent. These two groups are followed by the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, who make up 14 per cent and 11 per cent of the population, respectively. Among the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), the Kurubas alone account for 7 per cent of the state’s population. Overall, the OBCs make up 20 per cent of Karnataka’s population. As per the data, SCs, STs, Muslims and Kurubas together form 47.5 per cent of the total population, making it the strongest combination. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s AHINDA (Minorities, Backward Classes and Dalits) group would be the most formidable one in the state, forcing Lingayats and Vokkaligas to play second fiddle to them. The revelations of the survey punched holes in the earlier claims of Lingayats and Vokkaligas that their communities are the majority in the state. Since Independence, Lingayats and Vokkaligas have been controlling the levers of power, claiming to be the ‘top communities’ in the state. The two castes have always accounted for 50 per cent of the MP and MLA seats from the state, irrespective of the party in power. Nevertheless, about 80 percent of the 6.5 crore population of Karnataka belongs to Minorities, OBCs, SCs and STs. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah belongs to the backward caste Kurubas, who popularly proclaims himself to be following socio-political philosophy ‘Ahinda’ (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits). Among the crucial election promises of Congress party in the state is to enhance the reservation quota for SCs, STs and OBCs from 50 per cent to 70 per cent, thus wooing voters from minority and vulnerable communities seem to be Congress line of approach. Siddaramaiah-led Congress government recently accepted an expert committee’s recommendation, and accorded the status of a religion (a minority one) to the Lingayat sect, until now considered a part of Hinduism. The move, which analysts see as an astute political move and opponents as an opportunistic one with an eye on the forthcoming state elections in Karnataka, acknowledges an almost four-decade-long demand by the Lingayats. Lingayats currently have 5 per cent reservation and are classified as an Other Backward Class. BS Yeddyurappa, BJP state president and party’s chief ministerial candidate belongs to Lingayat community, the dominant caste in the state. Despite corruption charges, BJP made him the chief ministerial candidate as his support base among the Lingayat voters remains intact. The BJP, which has largely been seen as a ‘Lingayat’ party has failed to win the support of the Vokkaliga community. But with former Congressman SM Krishna joining the BJP, the party is trying to win the Vokkaliga votes and make inroads into the Old Mysore region. On the other hand, JD(S) had earlier announced that its CM candidate as HD Kumaraswamy, son of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, belongs to Vokkaligas, another dominant caste in the state. On 8 February, JD(S) had officially forged an alliance with Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) for the upcoming elections. Therefore hoping support from upper caste Vokkaligas and Dalits.

Karnataka elections: Caste arithmetic explained

<p>Ahead of May 12 Assembly polls, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has projected himself as "champion of regional sentiment".</p>

<p>Even before launching his party's campaign, the CM has been pushing the Kannadiga identity agenda through a state flag, fighting the imposition of Hindi and opposing the terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission that are “unfair” to southern states such as Karnataka.</p>

<p>However, unlike some neighbouring southern states like Tamil Nadu and Telangana, no party has come to power in Karnataka riding on the "linguistic" or regional identity in the past but now, the chief minister, who is from a national party, is leaving no stone unturned to reiterate the state's linguistic identity and federalism.</p>

<p>"My identity as a proud Kannadiga is not inconsistent with my identity as a proud Indian. Taking pride in Kannada identity doesn't make Kannadigas any less Indian," Siddaramaiah wrote in a lengthy Facebook post on March 15th.</p>

<p>The Karnataka CM also attacked the BJP's Karnataka unit and said that the state unit of the national party lacked leadership and therefore relied on "North Indian imports" for the May 12th election campaign.</p>

<p>Siddaramaiah also said BJP's chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa had been reduced to a "dummy."</p>

<p>"@BJP4Karnataka by waiting for North Indian imports like PM Modi, UPCM Adityanath is admitting they have no leaders in the state. They have reduced their CM face @BSYBJP to a dummy," Siddaramaiah tweeted.</p>

<p>BJP countered this argument by saying it showed Siddaramaiah’s desperation to attack him but he had chosen a frivolous, flippant and totally irrelevant way.</p>

<p>Some feel that incumbent CM's inclination to whip-up Kannadiga pride will only resonate with the urban voters. However, it would have a very little impact in the coastal region where the "Hindutva" plank may decide the election outcome.</p>

<p>As election day approaches, the Congress through its president Rahul Gandhi's temple hopping is seeking to counter Hindutva by positioning itself as a "soft Hindutva" party as opposed to the BJP’s communal image. Siddaramaiah has repeatedly countered BJP’s efforts to portray him as anti-Hindu by saying that he was a "true Hindu" - after all, his name is "Sidda-Rama".</p>

<p>Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who began the first of his series of public rallies in the state at Santhemarahalli on Tuesday, paid rich tributes to Kannada thespian Dr. Rajkumar and poet GP Rajarathnam, who were natives of the region, in his bid to strike an emotional connect with the voters.</p>

<p>Modi and BJP president Amit Shah have also started tweeting in Kannada and visited memorials of several Kannada poets.</p>

<p>Siddaramaiah, who started his political career as the head of the Kannada Kavalu Samiti (Kannada Surveillance Committee) in the 1980s and is now projecting himself as a champion of Kannada pride, says the regional sentiment only helps build a strong India but will the Congress leader’s strategy to ride on the Kannada pride help him to get re-elected in a state where an&nbsp;incumbent&nbsp;has not been voted back to&nbsp;power since 1985. That will be decided on May 14 when the counting of the votes takes place.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)</em></p>


Some feel that incumbent CM's inclination to whip-up Kannadiga pride will only resonate with the urban voters.

Ahead of May 12 Assembly polls, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has projected himself as "champion of regional sentiment". Even before launching his party's campaign, the CM has been pushing the Kannadiga identity agenda through a state flag, fighting the imposition of Hindi and opposing the terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission that are “unfair” to southern states such as Karnataka. However, unlike some neighbouring southern states like Tamil Nadu and Telangana, no party has come to power in Karnataka riding on the "linguistic" or regional identity in the past but now, the chief minister, who is from a national party, is leaving no stone unturned to reiterate the state's linguistic identity and federalism. "My identity as a proud Kannadiga is not inconsistent with my identity as a proud Indian. Taking pride in Kannada identity doesn't make Kannadigas any less Indian," Siddaramaiah wrote in a lengthy Facebook post on March 15th. The Karnataka CM also attacked the BJP's Karnataka unit and said that the state unit of the national party lacked leadership and therefore relied on "North Indian imports" for the May 12th election campaign. Siddaramaiah also said BJP's chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa had been reduced to a "dummy." "@BJP4Karnataka by waiting for North Indian imports like PM Modi, UPCM Adityanath is admitting they have no leaders in the state. They have reduced their CM face @BSYBJP to a dummy," Siddaramaiah tweeted. BJP countered this argument by saying it showed Siddaramaiah’s desperation to attack him but he had chosen a frivolous, flippant and totally irrelevant way. Some feel that incumbent CM's inclination to whip-up Kannadiga pride will only resonate with the urban voters. However, it would have a very little impact in the coastal region where the "Hindutva" plank may decide the election outcome. As election day approaches, the Congress through its president Rahul Gandhi's temple hopping is seeking to counter Hindutva by positioning itself as a "soft Hindutva" party as opposed to the BJP’s communal image. Siddaramaiah has repeatedly countered BJP’s efforts to portray him as anti-Hindu by saying that he was a "true Hindu" - after all, his name is "Sidda-Rama". Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who began the first of his series of public rallies in the state at Santhemarahalli on Tuesday, paid rich tributes to Kannada thespian Dr. Rajkumar and poet GP Rajarathnam, who were natives of the region, in his bid to strike an emotional connect with the voters. Modi and BJP president Amit Shah have also started tweeting in Kannada and visited memorials of several Kannada poets. Siddaramaiah, who started his political career as the head of the Kannada Kavalu Samiti (Kannada Surveillance Committee) in the 1980s and is now projecting himself as a champion of Kannada pride, says the regional sentiment only helps build a strong India but will the Congress leader’s strategy to ride on the Kannada pride help him to get re-elected in a state where an incumbent has not been voted back to power since 1985. That will be decided on May 14 when the counting of the votes takes place. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Siddaramaiah's 'pride of Kannadigas' plank a master ploy or 'flawed' parochial approach?

<p>At times watching the Barcelona star Lionel Messi, you get the feeling that real sporting genius lies in being able to do the outlandishly good every day, to be routinely out of the ordinary.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Messi shrugging off the defenders in conventional fashion, leaving them whirling and stumbling and evading the opponents&#39; attack with a jink, proved repeatedly that he is the best club footballer of his generation still reinventing the elite attacking football.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Ever since the death of the charismatic leader and former AIADMK Supremo Jayalalithaa, there has been a void in Tamil Nadu politics which everyone in the state hoping for a &#39;&#39;Messiah like Messi&#39;&#39; to fill that. &nbsp;</p>

<p>Tamil Nadu has plunged into full-blown crisis following the untimely death of &nbsp;Puratchi Thalaivi (revolutionary leader), J Jayalalithaa. What followed was crisis after crisis which left everyone bewildered.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Now, with actor Kamal Haasan sowing the seed for his political party at a public meeting in Madurai on Wednesday and Superstar Rajinikanth tossing his hat into the ring in a high-profile fan meet not long ago, there is a glimmer of hope. &nbsp;</p>

<p>Actor Kamal Haasan, who began his political journey from the birthplace of former president A P J Abdul Kalam has never dabbled in politics, unlike the other superstars who have been in and out politics for the last 20 years. &nbsp;</p>

<p>The two superstars of Tamil filmdom kickstarting their respective political journey, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel for Tamil Nadu. Though there have always been rumours swirling around Rajinikanth entering politics, both the actors clearly stated that it&#39;s &#39;&#39;compulsion of time&rdquo; that made them enter politics.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Kamal Haasan, like Rajinikanth, has a mass. He is a superstar like Messi in their own domain. The major advantage for an actor like Kamal Haasan is that when you are a superstar with a mass appeal, half of your job is done. But the toughest task for the Makkal Needi Maiam (MNM) and Kamal Haasan is how he and his party play their part in the second half.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Kamal Haasan has his task cut out. The actor has to dribble and often take the ball and shimmy past some strong defenders such as DMK and AIADMK to score. Not an easy task. The actor-turned-politician may or may not succeed. But to leave the Dravidaian stalwarts flailing as he glides past them, the actor-turned-politician needs to be unstoppable and has to be outlandishly good every day if he wants to succeed in the mission he is set out to achieve.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Only time will tell whether Kamal Haasan will turn out to be&nbsp;Messi-the-Messiah that Tamil Nadu needs.</p>

<p>(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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Ever since the death of the charismatic leader Jayalalithaa, what Tamil Nadu needs is a saviour. Will Kamal Haasan be the one?

At times watching the Barcelona star Lionel Messi, you get the feeling that real sporting genius lies in being able to do the outlandishly good every day, to be routinely out of the ordinary. Messi shrugging off the defenders in conventional fashion, leaving them whirling and stumbling and evading the opponents' attack with a jink, proved repeatedly that he is the best club footballer of his generation still reinventing the elite attacking football. Ever since the death of the charismatic leader and former AIADMK Supremo Jayalalithaa, there has been a void in Tamil Nadu politics which everyone in the state hoping for a ''Messiah like Messi'' to fill that. Tamil Nadu has plunged into full-blown crisis following the untimely death of Puratchi Thalaivi (revolutionary leader), J Jayalalithaa. What followed was crisis after crisis which left everyone bewildered. Now, with actor Kamal Haasan sowing the seed for his political party at a public meeting in Madurai on Wednesday and Superstar Rajinikanth tossing his hat into the ring in a high-profile fan meet not long ago, there is a glimmer of hope. Actor Kamal Haasan, who began his political journey from the birthplace of former president A P J Abdul Kalam has never dabbled in politics, unlike the other superstars who have been in and out politics for the last 20 years. The two superstars of Tamil filmdom kickstarting their respective political journey, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel for Tamil Nadu. Though there have always been rumours swirling around Rajinikanth entering politics, both the actors clearly stated that it's ''compulsion of time” that made them enter politics. Kamal Haasan, like Rajinikanth, has a mass. He is a superstar like Messi in their own domain. The major advantage for an actor like Kamal Haasan is that when you are a superstar with a mass appeal, half of your job is done. But the toughest task for the Makkal Needi Maiam (MNM) and Kamal Haasan is how he and his party play their part in the second half. Kamal Haasan has his task cut out. The actor has to dribble and often take the ball and shimmy past some strong defenders such as DMK and AIADMK to score. Not an easy task. The actor-turned-politician may or may not succeed. But to leave the Dravidaian stalwarts flailing as he glides past them, the actor-turned-politician needs to be unstoppable and has to be outlandishly good every day if he wants to succeed in the mission he is set out to achieve. Only time will tell whether Kamal Haasan will turn out to be Messi-the-Messiah that Tamil Nadu needs. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Will Kamal Haasan be 'Messi-the-Messiah' for Tamil Nadu?

<p>The year 2017 has a significant share of world events which has redefined the cultural and political boundaries of the world. From&nbsp; Robert Mugabe&#39;s fall from grace to the rise of Catalan independence movement, many events in 2017 made headlines.</p>

<p>Below are the top ten news events that shaped the world in 2017:</p>

<p><strong><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/the-inside-story-of-mugabes-downfall-25195">Robert Mugabe&#39;s ouster</a>:</strong> Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for thirty seven years and planned to rule for longer, even if that meant running the economy aground and becoming increasingly ruthless. The trigger was Mugabe favouring his wife, Grace Mugabe, to &quot;usurp constitutional power&quot; shoving aside his vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa. Mugabe clung onto the presidency even after tanks rolled into the streets of country&#39;s capital Harare in November. Rather than going out quietly, the man known as &quot;the Crocodile&quot; - because of his ruthlessness - struck back by refusing to vacate his seat despite coming under tremendous pressure from his own party the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the members of the public who rallied behind for years. He quickly lost the support of his party, and after some hesitation, finally resigned. Zimbabweans rejoiced at the news of his ouster, and Mnangagwa promised to hold new elections next year. But if Mnangagwa&#39;s moves are anything to go by, he looks more like his former boss.</p>

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<p>Robert Mugabe, who ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years, was forced of power in November. Mugabe is seen here with his wife Grace. (Reuters)</p>
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<p><strong><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/harvey-weinstein-resigns-from-weinstein-company-board-22580">Harvey Weinstein&#39;s fall from grace</a>:</strong> In early October 2017, The New York Times and The New Yorker reported that dozens of women had accused Harvey Weinstein, a prominent Hollywood film producer and executive, of engaging in sexual harassment, sexual assault, or rape. More than 80 women in the film industry subsequently accused Weinstein of such acts. Weinstein denied &quot;any non-consensual sex&quot;. Shortly after the first allegations, Weinstein was dismissed by his company, The Weinstein Company, and expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and other professional associations. Criminal investigations into complaints from at least six women are ongoing in Los Angeles, New York City, and London. The scandal triggered many similar allegations against powerful men around the world and led to the ousting of many of them from their positions. It also led a great number of women to share their own experiences of sexual assault, harassment, or rape on social media under the hashtag #MeToo. The scandal&#39;s impact came to be called the &quot;Weinstein effect&quot;.</p>

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<p>File photo of disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. (Reuters)</p>
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<p><strong><a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/rohingya-group-urges-bangladesh-to-pressure-myanmar-on-return-to-ancestral-land-12444">The Rohingya crisis</a>:</strong> The Rohingya may be the most persecuted minority group in the world. They have lived in Myanmar for centuries. The latest and ugliest surge of violence began in August when Rohingya began fleeing into neighbouring Bangladesh telling stories of mass killings, systematic rape, and torture. At last count, more than 4,00,000 have fled Myanmar and thousands more have been displaced internally. The Myanmar military denies committing atrocities, insisting that it is combating attacks on police posts and army bases by Rohingya insurgents. But it&#39;s clear, as the US government has charged, that the Myanmar government is engaged in ethnic cleansing. Aung San Suu Kyi, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and Myanmar&#39;s most prominent political face, has done little publicly to end the violence.</p>

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<p>Rohingya refugees stand in a queue at a refugee camp in Bangladesh (Reuters)</p>
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<p><strong><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/saudi-kings-son-named-new-crown-prince-17086">Saudi Arabia&#39;s modernisation</a>:</strong> Back in June, Saudi Arabia&#39;s King Salman made thirty-two-year-old prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud his heir, after deposing the previous crown prince, the king&#39;s nephew, Mohammed bin Nayef. Prince Saud immediately got to work. His vehicle for remaking the country is Vision 2030, a two-year-old initiative that seeks to modernise Saudi Arabia&#39;s economy and society. The idea is to prepare the country for a post-oil future and to loosen its conservative social structure. The former goal has Saudi Arabia proposing to take its state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco, public, while the latter has it allowing women to drive. Prince Saud moved quickly to consolidate power. In November, he had 11 of his cousins arrested on corruption charges (Their jail cell was a Ritz-Carlton). Some experts think that MBS - as the prince is colloquially known - is Saudi Arabia&#39;s best chance for a moderate and prosperous future. Others worry that he is reckless. A lot depends on which side is right.</p>

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<p>File photo of Saudi Arabia&#39;s crown prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud. (Reuters)</p>
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<p><strong><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/rouhani-sweeps-to-second-terms-as-iran-chooses-engagement-with-world-15832">Hassan Rouhani&#39;s election win</a>:</strong> Riding a large turnout from Iran&#39;s urban middle classes, Rouhani won re-election in a landslide, giving him the mandate to continue his quest to expand personal freedoms and open Iran&#39;s ailing economy to global investors. Out of 41 million votes cast, Rouhani won 23 million (or 57 per cent), soundly defeating his chief opponent, Ebrahim Raisi, who received 15.7 million (38.5 per cent). Turnout was heavy, with more than 70 per cent of Iran&#39;s 56 million voters casting ballots. After his victory, he said after invoking the name of God, &quot;With more than 41 million of your votes, you have pulled out the history of our country away from inertia and doubt.&quot; Rouhani, long known as a cautious and mild-mannered establishment insider, reinvented himself as a bold champion of reform during the election campaign, which culminated in his victory. In his first televised speech after the result, Rouhani appeared to openly defy conservative judges by praising the spiritual leader of the reform camp, former President Mohammad Khatami. A court has banned quoting or naming Khatami on air.</p>

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<p>Hassan Rouhani won this year&#39;s Iran re-election in a landslide (Reuters)</p>
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<p><strong><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/macron-party-wins-massive-majority-in-french-parliament-16985">Emmanuel Macron winning France&#39;s election</a>:</strong> Macron, the pro-European centrist, resoundingly won France&#39;s landmark presidential election, heading off a fierce challenge from the far-right in a pivotal vote for the future of the divided country and Europe. The victory was an extraordinary rise for the 39-year-old former investment banker, who became country&#39;s youngest-ever leader. The result resonated worldwide, particularly in Brussels and Berlin, where leaders heaved a sigh of relief that Le Pen&#39;s anti-EU, anti-globalisation programme has been defeated. After Britain&#39;s vote last year to leave the EU and Donald Trump&#39;s victory in the US, the French election was widely watched as a test of how high a tide of right-wing nationalism would rise. Outgoing President Francois Hollande, who plucked Macron from obscurity to name him minister in 2014, said voting &quot;is always an important, significant act, heavy with consequences&quot; as he cast his vote.</p>

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<p>File photo of France President Emmanuel Macron (Reuters)</p>
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<p><strong>Catalan independence movement:</strong> Although deemed illegal by the Spanish government and Constitutional Court, the referendum was held on October 1, 2017. In a vote where the anti-independence parties called for non-participation, results showed a 90 per cent vote in favour of independence, with a turnout of 43 per cent. Based on this result, on October 27, 2017, Catalonia&#39;s Parliament approved a resolution creating an independent Republic unilaterally, by a vote considered illegal by Spain&#39;s Parliament. On October 10, 2017, in the aftermath of the referendum, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, declared the independence of Catalonia but left it suspended. On October 21, Spain&#39;s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced that he planned to remove Puigdemont and the rest of the Catalonian administration from office, with the central government in Madrid directly ruling over Catalonia until a new President is elected. On October 27, 2017, the Catalan Parliament voted in a secret ballot to approve a resolution declaring independence from Spain by a vote of 70-10 in the absence of the constitutionalist deputies, who refused to participate in a vote considered illegal for violating the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Spain. On December 21, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/catalan-elections-analysts-predict-government-formation-wont-be-easy-for-puigdemont-27432">snap polls were held</a> in Catalonia and the pro-independence parties won the majority, though the Catalan Republic is still unrecognised by the international community.</p>

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<p>A woman casts her ballot in Catalonia&#39;s regional elections on December 21. (Reuters)</p>
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<p><strong><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/north-koreas-suspected-nuclear-test-triggers-sharp-reactions-6122">North Korea defies the world</a>:</strong> Successive US presidents have insisted that they would prevent North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons. They backed that up by offering carrots, imposing sanctions, and threatening military action. But North Korea hasn&#39;t listened. In early September, North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test. Three months later, it tested a ballistic missile that looks capable of hitting any US city. President Trump says he will stop North Korea in its tracks, vowing that North Korea &quot;will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen,&quot; tweeting that &quot;military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded,&quot; and calling North Korean leader Kim Jung-un &quot;Little Rocket Man&quot;.</p>

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<p>People in Seoul watch the news about North Korea&#39;s launch of ICBM. (Reuters)</p>
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<p><strong><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/xi-joins-mao-in-communist-constitution-tightening-grip-on-china-22842">Xi Jinping&#39;s &quot;extraordinary elevation&quot;</a>:</strong> Xi&#39;s biggest success came in October at the nineteenth Chinese Communist Party Congress. It was a coronation. Xi was named to his second five-year term as party general secretary. He was also named a &quot;core leader,&quot; a title denied to his immediate predecessor, Hu Jintao. The Congress also wrote &quot;Xi Jinping Thought&quot; into the party&#39;s constitution, an honour previously bestowed only on Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Best of all for Xi, the congress ended without naming anyone as his successor. When Trump called Xi &quot;king of China&quot; during his November &quot;state visit-plus,&quot; he wasn&#39;t far off the mark. Xi is China&#39;s most powerful leader since Mao, and he&#39;s likely to be around for a while.</p>

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<p>File photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Reuters)</p>
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<p><strong><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-proclaims-start-of-new-era-under-grey-skies-11520">Donald Trump&#39;s inauguration</a>: </strong>Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to do things differently and to do different things in foreign policy. He has been good to his word since getting to the White House. He has canceled US participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, withdrawn the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, refused to certify that Iran is in compliance with its nuclear obligations, recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, ramped up the use of drones, and relegated democracy and human rights to the sidelines of US foreign policy. To be sure, Trump hasn&#39;t enacted all of his campaign promises. He beefed up rather than withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, and he hasn&#39;t declared China a currency manipulator or kicked NAFTA to the curb. But his tough campaign trade talk may soon be US policy. Trump is poised to take punitive actions against Chinese trade practices, his demands for a revamped NAFTA look to be unacceptable to Canada and Mexico, and he&#39;s waging a low-level war against the World Trade Organisation.</p>

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<p>File photo of US President Donald Trump. (Reuters)</p>
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<p><strong>Other stories of note in 2017:</strong> In January, Antonio Guterres became the ninth secretary general of the United Nations. In February, Israel announced plans for its first new settlement in the West Bank in more than twenty years. Violent protests wracked Venezuela in April, a critical point in the country&#39;s constitutional crisis. The G-20 met in Hamburg in July and failed to agree on climate action. In November, thousands attended a far-right nationalist rally in Warsaw. The Australian Parliament voted in December to legalise same-sex marriage, making Australia the twenty-fifth country to do so.</p>


The year 2017 has a significant share of world events which has redefined the cultural and political boundaries of the world.

The year 2017 has a significant share of world events which has redefined the cultural and political boundaries of the world. From Robert Mugabe's fall from grace to the rise of Catalan independence movement, many events in 2017 made headlines. Below are the top ten news events that shaped the world in 2017: Robert Mugabe's ouster: Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for thirty seven years and planned to rule for longer, even if that meant running the economy aground and becoming increasingly ruthless. The trigger was Mugabe favouring his wife, Grace Mugabe, to "usurp constitutional power" shoving aside his vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa. Mugabe clung onto the presidency even after tanks rolled into the streets of country's capital Harare in November. Rather than going out quietly, the man known as "the Crocodile" - because of his ruthlessness - struck back by refusing to vacate his seat despite coming under tremendous pressure from his own party the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the members of the public who rallied behind for years. He quickly lost the support of his party, and after some hesitation, finally resigned. Zimbabweans rejoiced at the news of his ouster, and Mnangagwa promised to hold new elections next year. But if Mnangagwa's moves are anything to go by, he looks more like his former boss. Robert Mugabe, who ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years, was forced of power in November. Mugabe is seen here with his wife Grace. (Reuters) × Harvey Weinstein's fall from grace: In early October 2017, The New York Times and The New Yorker reported that dozens of women had accused Harvey Weinstein, a prominent Hollywood film producer and executive, of engaging in sexual harassment, sexual assault, or rape. More than 80 women in the film industry subsequently accused Weinstein of such acts. Weinstein denied "any non-consensual sex". Shortly after the first allegations, Weinstein was dismissed by his company, The Weinstein Company, and expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and other professional associations. Criminal investigations into complaints from at least six women are ongoing in Los Angeles, New York City, and London. The scandal triggered many similar allegations against powerful men around the world and led to the ousting of many of them from their positions. It also led a great number of women to share their own experiences of sexual assault, harassment, or rape on social media under the hashtag #MeToo. The scandal's impact came to be called the "Weinstein effect". File photo of disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. (Reuters) × The Rohingya crisis: The Rohingya may be the most persecuted minority group in the world. They have lived in Myanmar for centuries. The latest and ugliest surge of violence began in August when Rohingya began fleeing into neighbouring Bangladesh telling stories of mass killings, systematic rape, and torture. At last count, more than 4,00,000 have fled Myanmar and thousands more have been displaced internally. The Myanmar military denies committing atrocities, insisting that it is combating attacks on police posts and army bases by Rohingya insurgents. But it's clear, as the US government has charged, that the Myanmar government is engaged in ethnic cleansing. Aung San Suu Kyi, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and Myanmar's most prominent political face, has done little publicly to end the violence. Rohingya refugees stand in a queue at a refugee camp in Bangladesh (Reuters) × Saudi Arabia's modernisation: Back in June, Saudi Arabia's King Salman made thirty-two-year-old prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud his heir, after deposing the previous crown prince, the king's nephew, Mohammed bin Nayef. Prince Saud immediately got to work. His vehicle for remaking the country is Vision 2030, a two-year-old initiative that seeks to modernise Saudi Arabia's economy and society. The idea is to prepare the country for a post-oil future and to loosen its conservative social structure. The former goal has Saudi Arabia proposing to take its state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco, public, while the latter has it allowing women to drive. Prince Saud moved quickly to consolidate power. In November, he had 11 of his cousins arrested on corruption charges (Their jail cell was a Ritz-Carlton). Some experts think that MBS - as the prince is colloquially known - is Saudi Arabia's best chance for a moderate and prosperous future. Others worry that he is reckless. A lot depends on which side is right. File photo of Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud. (Reuters) × Hassan Rouhani's election win: Riding a large turnout from Iran's urban middle classes, Rouhani won re-election in a landslide, giving him the mandate to continue his quest to expand personal freedoms and open Iran's ailing economy to global investors. Out of 41 million votes cast, Rouhani won 23 million (or 57 per cent), soundly defeating his chief opponent, Ebrahim Raisi, who received 15.7 million (38.5 per cent). Turnout was heavy, with more than 70 per cent of Iran's 56 million voters casting ballots. After his victory, he said after invoking the name of God, "With more than 41 million of your votes, you have pulled out the history of our country away from inertia and doubt." Rouhani, long known as a cautious and mild-mannered establishment insider, reinvented himself as a bold champion of reform during the election campaign, which culminated in his victory. In his first televised speech after the result, Rouhani appeared to openly defy conservative judges by praising the spiritual leader of the reform camp, former President Mohammad Khatami. A court has banned quoting or naming Khatami on air. Hassan Rouhani won this year's Iran re-election in a landslide (Reuters) × Emmanuel Macron winning France's election: Macron, the pro-European centrist, resoundingly won France's landmark presidential election, heading off a fierce challenge from the far-right in a pivotal vote for the future of the divided country and Europe. The victory was an extraordinary rise for the 39-year-old former investment banker, who became country's youngest-ever leader. The result resonated worldwide, particularly in Brussels and Berlin, where leaders heaved a sigh of relief that Le Pen's anti-EU, anti-globalisation programme has been defeated. After Britain's vote last year to leave the EU and Donald Trump's victory in the US, the French election was widely watched as a test of how high a tide of right-wing nationalism would rise. Outgoing President Francois Hollande, who plucked Macron from obscurity to name him minister in 2014, said voting "is always an important, significant act, heavy with consequences" as he cast his vote. File photo of France President Emmanuel Macron (Reuters) × Catalan independence movement: Although deemed illegal by the Spanish government and Constitutional Court, the referendum was held on October 1, 2017. In a vote where the anti-independence parties called for non-participation, results showed a 90 per cent vote in favour of independence, with a turnout of 43 per cent. Based on this result, on October 27, 2017, Catalonia's Parliament approved a resolution creating an independent Republic unilaterally, by a vote considered illegal by Spain's Parliament. On October 10, 2017, in the aftermath of the referendum, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, declared the independence of Catalonia but left it suspended. On October 21, Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced that he planned to remove Puigdemont and the rest of the Catalonian administration from office, with the central government in Madrid directly ruling over Catalonia until a new President is elected. On October 27, 2017, the Catalan Parliament voted in a secret ballot to approve a resolution declaring independence from Spain by a vote of 70-10 in the absence of the constitutionalist deputies, who refused to participate in a vote considered illegal for violating the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Spain. On December 21, snap polls were held in Catalonia and the pro-independence parties won the majority, though the Catalan Republic is still unrecognised by the international community. A woman casts her ballot in Catalonia's regional elections on December 21. (Reuters) × North Korea defies the world: Successive US presidents have insisted that they would prevent North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons. They backed that up by offering carrots, imposing sanctions, and threatening military action. But North Korea hasn't listened. In early September, North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test. Three months later, it tested a ballistic missile that looks capable of hitting any US city. President Trump says he will stop North Korea in its tracks, vowing that North Korea "will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen," tweeting that "military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded," and calling North Korean leader Kim Jung-un "Little Rocket Man". People in Seoul watch the news about North Korea's launch of ICBM. (Reuters) × Xi Jinping's "extraordinary elevation": Xi's biggest success came in October at the nineteenth Chinese Communist Party Congress. It was a coronation. Xi was named to his second five-year term as party general secretary. He was also named a "core leader," a title denied to his immediate predecessor, Hu Jintao. The Congress also wrote "Xi Jinping Thought" into the party's constitution, an honour previously bestowed only on Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Best of all for Xi, the congress ended without naming anyone as his successor. When Trump called Xi "king of China" during his November "state visit-plus," he wasn't far off the mark. Xi is China's most powerful leader since Mao, and he's likely to be around for a while. File photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Reuters) × Donald Trump's inauguration: Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to do things differently and to do different things in foreign policy. He has been good to his word since getting to the White House. He has canceled US participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, withdrawn the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, refused to certify that Iran is in compliance with its nuclear obligations, recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, ramped up the use of drones, and relegated democracy and human rights to the sidelines of US foreign policy. To be sure, Trump hasn't enacted all of his campaign promises. He beefed up rather than withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, and he hasn't declared China a currency manipulator or kicked NAFTA to the curb. But his tough campaign trade talk may soon be US policy. Trump is poised to take punitive actions against Chinese trade practices, his demands for a revamped NAFTA look to be unacceptable to Canada and Mexico, and he's waging a low-level war against the World Trade Organisation. File photo of US President Donald Trump. (Reuters) × Other stories of note in 2017: In January, Antonio Guterres became the ninth secretary general of the United Nations. In February, Israel announced plans for its first new settlement in the West Bank in more than twenty years. Violent protests wracked Venezuela in April, a critical point in the country's constitutional crisis. The G-20 met in Hamburg in July and failed to agree on climate action. In November, thousands attended a far-right nationalist rally in Warsaw. The Australian Parliament voted in December to legalise same-sex marriage, making Australia the twenty-fifth country to do so.

Ten news events that shaped the world in 2017

<p>&quot;If you were really concerned about public and the society you should have started campaigns against various social evils like untouchability and safety of women. But you choose to target a particular movie.&quot;</p>

<p>Those were the words of justices M M Sundresh and M Sundar of Madras High Court while summarily dismissing a petition seeking a direction to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to revoke the censor certificate issued to Vijay starrer Mersal for it&#39;s &#39;&#39;anti-GST&#39;&#39; dialogues.</p>

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<h5>The petitioner argued that the movie contained scenes and dialogues, which were against the interests of the country&#39;s sovereignty and integrity and the security of the state.</h5>
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<p>The judges while junking pseudo-nationalism propagated by the petitioner said in a mature democracy, the voices of the minority cannot be stifled and concluded that ultimately it was for the viewers to take a call on the contents of a movie.</p>

<p>The petitioner, forgetting that &#39;Mersal&#39; is after all just a movie, argued that the movie contained scenes and dialogues, which were against the interests of the country&#39;s sovereignty and integrity and the security of the state. Here, we are made to wonder whether the petitioner a true patriot? If he is, as he claims himself to be, what&#39;s he doing on the court? Should he be fighting our country&#39;s enemies along the borders?</p>

<p>The petitioner&#39;s contention was that the apparent false information about GST and Digital India Scheme would encourage people to indulge in tax evasion. So, as per the petitioner&#39;s argument, nobody hides income in India and everyone files taxes without fail, and this movie was going to open black money floodgates.</p>

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<h5>The petitioner and all those who have been demanding to purge certain scenes in the film conveniently forgot that Mersal is, after all, a work of fiction.</h5>
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<p>Donald Trump&#39;s &quot;America first&quot; policy will draw a blank in front of the patriotic spirit of this petitioner. One wonders how the petitioner and all those who have been demanding to purge certain scenes in the film conveniently forgot that Mersal is, after all, a work of fiction.</p>

<p>The judges had to step forward and remind the petitioner and other BJP leaders that India and, especially, Tamil Nadu is a democracy. &quot;This is a democracy and people have their right to freedom of expression, and this applies to films as well,&quot; the judges said in their order.</p>

<p>&quot;Even today the media has reported that the Leader of Opposition in the state has criticised demonetisation, can the court pass a gag order against him from making such statements,&quot; the bench further said.</p>

<p>Wondering how the Censor Board had issued certification for the above movie, the petitioner had said: &quot;the film was full of wrong propaganda about India and fake dialogues and scenes which obviously lead to the misconception about the new taxation system (Goods and Service Tax).&quot;</p>

<p>The judges condemned the pseudo-nationalist petitioner and dismissed the plea as devoid of merit.</p>

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<h5>The petitioner&#39;s motivation was to invoke communal disharmony in Tamil Nadu for electrical dividends.</h5>
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<p>This is not the first time the court&#39;s precious time was wasted on a&nbsp;useless petition. Recently, the Delhi High Court junked a petition filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy seeking a court-monitored SIT probe into the death of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor&#39;s wife Sunanda Pushkar, terming his PIL as a &quot;textbook example of a political interest litigation&quot;.</p>

<p>While observing that the petition by Swamy cannot be entertained as a PIL, the bench said that &quot;Courts need to be careful that judicial process is not used by political persons for their own purposes&quot;.</p>

<p>The courts of our country have seen several such petitions now and then.</p>

<p>What&#39;s the intention of people filing such petitions? Are they really concerned about the issues that the country is facing? If so, why they don&#39;t suggest solutions to issues plaguing the country instead of wasting court&#39;s time and energy?</p>

<p>The petitioner&#39;s motivation was to invoke disharmony in Tamil Nadu for electrical dividends, not realising that the state had consigned these kinds of prejudice and preconceived notions to oblivion ages ago.</p>


The petition to ban few dialogues from the movie Mersal was intended to invoke communal disharmony in Tamil Nadu

"If you were really concerned about public and the society you should have started campaigns against various social evils like untouchability and safety of women. But you choose to target a particular movie." Those were the words of justices M M Sundresh and M Sundar of Madras High Court while summarily dismissing a petition seeking a direction to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to revoke the censor certificate issued to Vijay starrer Mersal for it's ''anti-GST'' dialogues. The petitioner argued that the movie contained scenes and dialogues, which were against the interests of the country's sovereignty and integrity and the security of the state. × The judges while junking pseudo-nationalism propagated by the petitioner said in a mature democracy, the voices of the minority cannot be stifled and concluded that ultimately it was for the viewers to take a call on the contents of a movie. The petitioner, forgetting that 'Mersal' is after all just a movie, argued that the movie contained scenes and dialogues, which were against the interests of the country's sovereignty and integrity and the security of the state. Here, we are made to wonder whether the petitioner a true patriot? If he is, as he claims himself to be, what's he doing on the court? Should he be fighting our country's enemies along the borders? The petitioner's contention was that the apparent false information about GST and Digital India Scheme would encourage people to indulge in tax evasion. So, as per the petitioner's argument, nobody hides income in India and everyone files taxes without fail, and this movie was going to open black money floodgates. The petitioner and all those who have been demanding to purge certain scenes in the film conveniently forgot that Mersal is, after all, a work of fiction. × Donald Trump's "America first" policy will draw a blank in front of the patriotic spirit of this petitioner. One wonders how the petitioner and all those who have been demanding to purge certain scenes in the film conveniently forgot that Mersal is, after all, a work of fiction. The judges had to step forward and remind the petitioner and other BJP leaders that India and, especially, Tamil Nadu is a democracy. "This is a democracy and people have their right to freedom of expression, and this applies to films as well," the judges said in their order. "Even today the media has reported that the Leader of Opposition in the state has criticised demonetisation, can the court pass a gag order against him from making such statements," the bench further said. Wondering how the Censor Board had issued certification for the above movie, the petitioner had said: "the film was full of wrong propaganda about India and fake dialogues and scenes which obviously lead to the misconception about the new taxation system (Goods and Service Tax)." The judges condemned the pseudo-nationalist petitioner and dismissed the plea as devoid of merit. The petitioner's motivation was to invoke communal disharmony in Tamil Nadu for electrical dividends. × This is not the first time the court's precious time was wasted on a useless petition. Recently, the Delhi High Court junked a petition filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy seeking a court-monitored SIT probe into the death of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar, terming his PIL as a "textbook example of a political interest litigation". While observing that the petition by Swamy cannot be entertained as a PIL, the bench said that "Courts need to be careful that judicial process is not used by political persons for their own purposes". The courts of our country have seen several such petitions now and then. What's the intention of people filing such petitions? Are they really concerned about the issues that the country is facing? If so, why they don't suggest solutions to issues plaguing the country instead of wasting court's time and energy? The petitioner's motivation was to invoke disharmony in Tamil Nadu for electrical dividends, not realising that the state had consigned these kinds of prejudice and preconceived notions to oblivion ages ago.

How pseudo-nationalists attempted and failed to tame 'Mersal'

Author

Zee News Rajasthan

Editor

Judy Franko

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