I"ve had a bad start to the day. I"m feeling sick. I wish I hadn"t switched on the tv or set eyes on the newspaper! Yes, that"s what"s making me sick: the news in the media -- "poor Sanju Baba"s incarceration. Such a nice guy being put behind bars like a mere mortal; being treated like "aam janta" by the law of the land. Is this really India? It"s India the country where the rich and powerful get exonerated? Isn"t India the land where the law applies only to the poor and powerless? And yet, look here! Sanju Baba, whose father was a politician and a fine man, whose sister is a politician belonging to the ruling party is being treated like a common man! Shame!!! Shame!!!

But sarcasm aside, it really made me sick to the pit of my stomach to see politicians, movie personalities and even certain newscasters trying to tell us how much Sanju had "reformed". How wonderful a person he is. God knows if he really is or isn"t. I like his acting. But I don"t like the fact that he was in possession of an AK47! He did break the law, and as such has to face the consequences.

The Memons too may feel that they were perfectly justified in carrying out the Mumbai Blasts! After all we all harbour a grouse or two against the system or society. Does it give us the right to be party to the shedding of innocent blood?

If the rich and powerful (who hide behind bodyguards and black cats) feel they can possess a gun (and that too illegally) to "protect" their families, we, the common Indians, have more reason for possessing arms! No one will defend the common man. Not the police, not the politicians, and in many cases, not even the law makers or law dispensers.

Sanju Baba has already spent a year or so in jail, and so he should be let off! Hey, what about those who have been languishing in jail for years for petty crimes like the theft of a few rupees or travelling by train without a ticket?

But as they say, birds of a feather flock together. So it should not come as a surprise that some politicians have expressed sympathy and found the sentencing too harsh. Many of them should be behind bars and are probably worried that their own sentenses may be harsh too. Many film personalities are either involved in shady activities or are definitely flirting with the shadowy world of crime. For them, of course, the sentensing of Sanju Baba would seem a crime. And the less said about the media, the better. I"m surprised that yellow isn"t the standard colour they wear? I have more respect for the women of red-light areas than I have for these yellow livered ..... (to call them animals would be to insult the canine fraternity).

I really feel sick...