Someone Killed Aarushi

By Manuwant Choudhary

Someone killed Aarushi. This is clear from CBIs closure report...its just that the CBI does not think there is enough evidence to find WHO killed Aarushi.

I must also admit, not just the CBI..our hundreds of journalists sitting in New Delhi do a poor job of investigating this case. Even interviews with Dr. Talwar are shoddy and it doesn't help move the case an inch.

I have not visited the Talwar residence so it is difficult to conjecture about circumstantial evidence but just because a father `looks' innocent we should not give him a clean chit. Nor should we absolve him simply because he is a father. Sympathy should be backed by cold facts.

But nor should we hold him guilty without cold facts. The CBI abandoning the case midway is suspicious.

Let us observe some of the facts or fiction in CBIs closure report as written in the Times of India.

1) The Talwars slept through the crime being committed in their home because they could not hear a thing due to the noise of the AC.

2) Usually Hemraj - the servant opens the door for the maid, this morning Mrs. Nupur Talwar threw the keys from the balcony.

3) There was no forced entry into the home.

4) Nupur Talwar was composed that morning and three minutes later both Nupur and Rajesh Talwar start howling in Aarushi's room `Dekh Hemraj ne kya kar diya.,' in front of the maid.

5) the body of Aarushi was found wrapped in a sheet.

6) The crime scene was cleaned up by the Talwars before the UP police could take charge of the spot.

7) The injuries on the body of Aarushi and the servant Hemraj was by blunt weapon and also a sharp scalpel or khukri on neck but the post mortem report says the death occurred by injuries by the blunt weapon .

8) The blunt weapon could be a golf club.

9) The closure report speaks of an attempt to fix the post-mortem report to ensure that there is no mention of rape. It says that Dr Dinesh Talwar, Rajesh's brother, made Dr Sunil Dohre of the Noida Hospital, who was conducting the autopsy, speak with a person he introduced as Dr T D Dogra, head of the department of forensic medicine at All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The person told Dohre that no mention of rape was needed. CBI, however, found out from Dr Dogra, a renowned authority, that he never spoke with Dohre.

10) A blood sample found on a whisky bottle did not match with that of Aarushi or Hemraj.

Let us take this case one step at a time logically.


1) The door was locked from inside when the murder was committed so it has to be someone within the house or unless the door of the Talwar household can be opened from the outside using a duplicate key. This needs to be seen whether or not the Talwars fasten their door from the inside or just use a lock. No journalist has given a detailed account of the Talwaar's door. This really could be the key to unravelling the mystery.

2) If it was an outside job then it could be done by servants or even criminals. If its an inside job then the suspicion is on the couple (because Hemraj is also killed)

3) While the couple blamed Hemraj, his body was only discovered the next day on their terrace. The UP police did not even search the home properly after the crime.

4) This doctor Dr. Sunil Dohre who conducted the autopsy needs to be probed further because he admits he did not give the rape report because Dr. Talwars brother made him speak to some top doctor (who later denies he spoke to Dr. Dohre). Dr. Dohre should be booked also. Was the UP police also involved in this cover up? Generally autopsies in India are conducted under police monitoring.

5) If Aarushi was killed by a blunt weapon then what was the need for a sharp weapon being used on neck. Was this only an effort to mislead the investigations.

6) the blood on the whiskey bottle is not of Aarushi or Hemraj. Then is it that of the father Dr. Rajesh Talwar? If it is not his then does it belong to the `outsider' who did it. Or is also another attempt by Dr. Talwar to mislead the investigations.

7) Why was the crime scene cleaned up? What do the Talwars have to say on this? I have not heard a word on this from the Talwars.

8) Dr. Rajesh Talwar says the police found nothing in brain mapping and naro-analysis so I am innocent. Such tests help to corroborate. Its not absolute and that is why they are not accepted in courts without other evidence to nail accused.

9) The CBI and the UP police needs to be investigated and individuals held accountable for this mess.

Daughters A `Liability'?

In India, all women must confront the cultural pressure to bear a son. The consequences of this preference is a disregard for the lives of women and girls. From birth until death they face a constant threat of violence. See the project at http://mediastorm.com/publication/undesired

By Manuwant Choudhary

A judge of India's Supreme Court Gyan Sudha Mishra in her declaration mentioned her daughters marriage as a `liability'...so Indian newspapers screamed `Daughter As Liability.'

A closer look and maybe its hard to accept this fact but in India daughters are looked upon as a liability irrespective of the women's reservations in parliament and irrespective of the fact that India's most powerful politicians are women....and they are without reservations. Sonia Gandhi, Mayawati, Mamata Banerjee, J. Jayalalitha.....Brinda Karat.

India's leader of opposition is also a woman Sushma Swaraj.

India's speaker in Lok Sabha is Meera Kumar.

India's President is Pratibha Patil.

Yet, since 1980 there are some 40 million women missing in India by way of murders, trafficking or just plain ill-treatment.

So Sudha Mishra's admission is just bringing this very hard reality into the public domain.

What really drives this anti-women cultural phenomenon in India..if you understand Indian society you will see the desire to bear sons is because sons mean more dowry..while a daughter means you pay her dowry..so a son is an `asset' while a daughter a `liability'.

So what do governments do..they ban dowry.

Anyone found giving or taking dowry is put behind bars. But it doesn't stop simply because of greed and also because giving gifts is a human need. Its the demand for it thats really the cancer.

In that case the Supreme Court judge also can be charged under the Dowry Act.

I once visited a prison in Bihar and was shocked to find so many women prisoners. Surely, Bihar could not have so many Phoolan Devi's...so I inquired from them as to what brought them here..and their reply was that they were falsely implicated under the Dowry Act.

I saw women had small babies in prison and the state did not provide them with milk or food or even some recreation simply because there was no allocation.

My story on NDTV compelled the government to provide for children born and living in India's prisons although they had not committed any crime.

I am actually against declarations because they don't mean a thing.

For example Laloo Prasad Yadav would classify his daughters as `assets' because the public love him so much that for his daughters weddings he gets crores of rupees and gifts from the public. And the taxmen accept this view.

Laws cannot stop anything.

Even socialist land ceiling laws do not allow for women to be considered as a unit in the family, so when you have laws that encourage only sons you will get this kind of India - an India of men.

I hate it.

(will Vogue Commission me to do stories on all the beautiful women of the world?)

Let Law Take Its Own Course !

By Manuwant Choudhary

"Let Law Take Its Own Course," when an Indian politician says this on television know for certain that he does not mean the rapists or dacoits will land up behind bars, what he really means is that our system will move so slowly or not move at all and the result will be a dead end - like whats happened in the Aarushi murder case.

When an Indian politician says "I have full faith in the judiciary", what he really means is that the judicial system has become such that I will be let-off.

Every single case the CBI has been given they have messed up. Maybe Aarushi's case was messed up before the CBI got it but I think there should be an inquiry into the CBI to see what our men really do there.

From Bofors to Jain Hawala to you name it..every single case has resulted in a nought. Not just the Aarushi case, should we just close down the CBI?

I am not sure what consolation people get when they demand a CBI inquiry.

As a journalist my experience is that the CBI angle is just good for a debate, nothing else. From Sheila Kini (Ramesh Kini murder allegedly by Raj Thackeray ) in Maharashtra to the murder of Shilpi Jain in Patna the CBI found nothing (Sadhu Yadav the accused is a Congress member now)

But there is no one to question the CBI - afterall India's Prime Minister controls it.

The only achievement of UPA 1 government was to let-off Quattorochi in the Bofors case.

A few days ago I saw a news report saying `Nitish Kumar deeply mourns the death of Yashodanand Singh'.

You may not know Yashodanand Singh but he was a former Bihar MLC. Originally an RSS man and then BJP but in his last few years he quit the BJP and from what I recollect he was among the few Bihar politicians who opposed the bifurcation of Bihar.

I met him quite accidentally. I found a very small news item on him in a Hindi daily on the 7th page. When I followed the story and met him he showed me the documents of a fertiliser scam running into some 40,000 crores of rupees across India. This scam was discovered by an all-party house committee.

I recall Yashodababu telling me when the house committee went to New Delhi to meet the agriculture minister Nitish Kumar, he refused to see them.

At the time Laloo was in Beur jail in the fodder scam and the RJD government hated the word CBI but when I went with this story to Bihar's agriculture minister he recommended a CBI inquiry to the chief minister and Rabri Devi demanded the CBI inquiry.

A worried Nitish Kumar frantically called up journalists close to him to find out my political leanings.

The fertiliser scam is..let me explain....the state government gives certificates that so many million tonnes of fertiliser has been distributed amongst farmers. Now private companies take this certificate to the union government and claim matching grants. The finding of the committee was that the Bihar government had issued certificates without actually procuring certificates from the District Agriculture Officers. In fact, no fertliser was distributed. Perhaps, the fertiliser never even came to Bihar.

The CBI did take up the case but we do not hear about it.

So when a person like Yashoda Babu passes away `the law has taken its own course'.

I am not an RSS man yet I can say Yashoda Babu worked in the interests of Bihar when all our politicians followed the mob.

In fact, as a journalist although I do have my own prejudices and leanings I always believe one should listen to what people have to say.

Like Yashoda Babu I have had sources who were Maoist sympathisers yet they gave me one of the best stories I have done..how tribals homes were destroyed by wild elephants because of reducing forest cover and hunger...the elephants came and destroyed tribal homes for grains.

I interviewed a tribal family in Dumka for NDTV, they were scared and literally living on a tree...the wife had just given birth on the tree.

And when the tribals demanded help and protested by blocking a road, the government arrested them and said they were all Maosists.

Take the claims of Nitish susashan (good governance), a local TV channel has come up with kidnapping statistics. It shows during the Rabri Devi government there were around 10,000 kidnapping cases in five years between 2000-2005, while under Nitish Kumar the kidnapping cases were 12,500 between 2005 and 2010.

A BJP minister on the program explained the law and order situation was much better now..its just that the police now register more cases.

Who Killed Nepal's Royal Family?

By Manuwant Choudhary

Nine years after Nepal's royal massacre its still not clear who killed the royal family and everytime a new book arrives on the subject there are new aspects to the story not known before.

At the time of the massacre the story was that crown prince Dipendra killed his entire family because his mother was opposed to his desire to marry Devyani Rani.

Now the Times of India reports a new book "Maile dekheko darbar" (The Palace As I Saw IT) written by a former palace military secretary General Bibek Shah, says it was Dipendra who pulled the trigger on that fateful night but that he could have been incited by foriegn powers.

By foreign powers he means India.

The General writes that King Birendra was in talks with a German arms manufacturer Heckler and Koch to procure their G36 assault rifles and India was opposed to such a move because India wanted Nepal to buy theiir inferior INSAS rifles. King Birendra also wanted to set up an arms unit to assemble the German-make weapon and compete in South Asia.

Off and on - Paras, son of former King Gyanendra, who is also a suspect in the royal massacre and most Nepalese don't like him, has said Dipendra had a dispute with his father and there were `cuts' involved as different arms manufacturers compete for the deal.

Gen Bibek Shah also says that India trained Nepal's military at Chakrauta in Uttaranchal and they also trained the Maoists at Chakrauta.

So was India playing a `double game'?

He claims he was removed by King Gyanendra when he came to know of this fact.

The TOI report doesn't talk about Devyani Rana at all.

A tragic love story, nine years later, does not figure in discourse over the Royal massacre.

Most Nepalese do not believe that Dipendra killed his own parents.

In July 2008 a palace soldier Lal Bahadur Lamteri said that he saw Paras arrive at the palace with a man (wearing a Dipendra mask) and its the masked man who killed the entire royal family before shooting Dipendra (who was in his private quarters in a drunken state). According to Lamteri Dipendra had six bullet wounds in his back and one on head but the doctor who treated Dipendra in the above documentary says Dipendra had only one bullet wound in his head which meant suicice or homicide.

There is no unanimity or certainty on who pulled the trigger. Does one believe the General or does one accept the soldier's eyewitness account?

But as facts tumble out and as Paras yet again opens fire at Tiger Tops nearly hitting Sujata Koirala's son-in-law...its clear that there was a lot at stake in Nepal and all stake-holders tried their best to make the most of it - including India.

But the royalty is history yet Nepal doesn't yet have a proper government or even a constitution.

Its people continue to suffer.

The mystery only deepens.

Nothing on WikiLeaks, yet.

Rajdroh (Sedition)

By Manuwant Choudhary

A sessions judge in India's Chhattisgarh pronounced his judgement in the trial of Dr. Binayak Sen, a paedriatician and national vice-president of the People's Union of Civil Liberties, "You get a Life-term in prison under section 124 A"

Dr. Binayak Sen, the accused asked, "What is Section 124 A?"

The judge replied, "Rajdroh".

Rajdroh means sedition.

I am not a Maoist. Nor am I a Maoist sympathiser yet I feel the sentence is out of proportion to the crime that Dr. Binayak committed `allegedly', he is said to have carried a letter from a Maoist leader and handed it over to another Maoist sympathiser a businessman in Kolkata.

The Indian press do not yet talk about the contents of the letter or how and why it amounts to sedition.

It is true that the Maoists are in armed rebellion against the Indian state.

It is also true that thousands of policemen have been killed over the years by the Maoists.

It is also true that hundreds of Maoists have been killed or arrested in counter operations.

Yet, its still not clear or conclusive that Dr. Binayak Sen is rightly charged with sedition for being merely a `courier'.

There are bigger Maoist leaders who deserve trial under Section 124A.

But why is the Indian state after Dr. Binayak Sen, I wonder.

I have never met him and for all I care he may have been sympathetic to the Maoists.

Even Nehru was a stalinist.

The origins of India's Maoists is from Naxalbari...a sleepy town in West Bengal...and in the sixties and seventies..many were under the spell of socialism and equality and they wore torn jeans and sang Beatles numbers and became Naxalites over coffee and cigarettes.

It was fashionable to be so in Bengal.

Their aim was to forcibly capture the land of the farmers and redistribute.

Many died.

Yet, Mrs. Indira Gandhi was a Naxal sympathiser. The Congress Party has always been a leftist party since independence. That is the reason why they brought in land-ceiling laws, cooperatives and such collectivist ideas.

In that sense the Congress leaders should also be charged with `Rajdroh'.

I really don't like the Maoists.

Yet, at different times the role of Maoists have also changed.

The real issue here is Freedom and Right to Private Property.

Naxals were against private property and attacked farmers.

The Indian State is also against private property and believe in acquiring property and handing it over to Big industry.

The Maoists oppose this not because they believe in private property but because they hate Big industry more and also because the land which is being taken away usually belong to the poorest of the poor.

So the Maoists are today actually for private property.

Singur, Nandigram....they have supported pitched battles on the side of the farmers against the Indian state.

Should all Indian farmers also be charged with Rajdroh simply because they fight to defend their land from a greedy Stalinist State?

As for Binayak Sen its like swatting a fly with a sledgehammer.

Spine Secrets !

By Manuwant Choudhary

I found this amazing Spine Table Lamp at the desk of my friend who is a Congress politician. Lets call him Mr. P. and he tells me this really helps him cure his spinal disorders.

Manuwant (M): Where the hell did you get this from?

P: You know I have this spinal problem so my doctor recommended I keep this always on my table.

M: But how can a table lamp cure your spinal problem. Does it have those infra-red lights that cures pains or what?

P: I don't mean that.

M: Then what? Does your spine have a gap or something. You're not feudal. Only feudals suffer from that problem because they have to protect their land.

P: No, no, mine is more serious. Let me explain.

M: I can't believe it.

P: You see I don't have a pain but my spine is not flexible enough.

M: But why do you need it to be flexible. At this age you're not aiming to be a gymnast!

P: Im just aiming to be a politician. See this lamp. (bending the lamps spine )...this lamp can become like Sitaram Kesri whevever he feels like. He can lie flat-out on the ground and procastinate before the HIGH Command.

M: You mean like Sitaram Kesri did to Narasimha Rao.

P: Yes, yes,

M: But can he be Narasimha Rao as well.

P: Yes, he can...he can bow before kesriji.

M: But why you telling me this.

P: You know my problem is I can't bow like them.

M: So whats the trouble?

P: You saw those Congressmen from Bihar outside Soniaji's residence who shouted slogans against corruption in ticket distribution (Rs.60 lakh for an MLA ticket)..they all suffer from the same ailment and the Congress has thrown them out from the party. I am also scared.

M: But you did not shout slogans.

P: You know just as every Indian political parties has a lawyer , they also have a spine specialist. I went to see ours. He got an X-Ray done and made a chart out of it on his laptop (just as astrologers do on Indian TV) and told me I must be careful.

M: You mean every Congress politcian goes through a spine test.

P: Yes, you are right.

M: You mean to say even respectable Digvijay Singhji has been through this test as well.

P: Yes, yes, if he had not gone through it how would he have been attacking the Hindutva for Karkare's misery before he was killed.

M: But that even Rahulji told to the Americans that Hindutva is a greater threat than Islamic fundamentalist. You don't read WikiLeaks?

P: Digvijay Singhji leaked it before WikiLeaks.

M: But how does that help?

P: It shows his loyalty to the Nehru-Gandhi family. He took all the blame for what was rightfully Rahuls'...

M: But why would he do that. He was all over the papers.

P: He wanted to blunt the oppositions attacks - he acted like wave-breakers you see on Marine Drive.

M: I don't follow.

P: Digvijay Singhji's spine has been trained to help Rahulji become India's Prime Minister one day.

M: Okay, okay, but tell me why do politicians doze-off at public functions and can be seen snoozing on national TV. Its okay to sleep in parliament but definitely not on Nehru's birth anniversary function in Allahabad. Digvijay Singhji also slept...all the panelists slept and even the audience was sleeping.

P: Its a side-effect of spinal medication. But you see how he awoke just when someone mentioned Soniaji's name.

M: Even trouble-shooter Pranab Da slept when the Russian President was here. And what about the BJP politicians.

P: They too have the same probllem. Arjun Munda sleeps all the time. But BJP spines are treated to bow before their leaders as well as before Ram.

M: You mean all of you attend Baba Ramdev's yoga lessons. I know Baba Ramdev is the most flexible person. See how he moves his stomach

P: Thats only filled with air. No, no, no..if we attend Baba Ram Dev's lessons then we would suffer more because he speaks against corruption. Our party prefers Santa Claus Kalmadi...see how he guffaws even when the CBI enters his home.

M; ya saw that. what did he tell the CBI?

P: He told them that he was only playing Santa Claus when he distributed the crores in the COngresswealth Games.

M: Just one more question...tell me what kind of spine is needed for the top job.

P: You mean Prime Minister.

M; Yes.

P: He must be spineless.

3 Pakistani Onions in Hindustan!

By Manuwant Choudhary

Onion Sharief: Aaah it was my dream to enter India through the Wagah border..did you see how angry those Indian soldiers were at letting us in..I don't know how they raise their legs higher than their heads.

Onion Bhutto: they seemed angrier at us than at kasab! I can't imagine what would happen to us if we fell under their boots?

Onion Parvez: actually it feels better being an onion than having to fight the Taliban.

Onion Bhutto: But why did you chose to become an onion?

Onion Parvez: I wanted to travel around India...the Indian government denied me a visa.

Onion Bhutto: But you've already seen the Taj Mahal..there is nothing else to see in India.

Onion Parvez: Last time I made that blunder by talking to that Prannoy Roy fellow...I had to walk so fast around the Taj Mahal that I did not really savour it fully. I want to sit there on a moon-lit night.

Onion Sharief: Cummon, common..i thought we were all hear to solve our core issue - Kashmir.

Onion Parvez: The K word don't even talk about it. We have enough people in Pakistan who want to be killed in Kashmir, why waste our life.

Onion Bhutto: Then what its better to die in Kashmir than in Gujarat. That Narendra Modi how he kills and gets away with it..even Supreme Court Special Investigation Team gives him a clean chit.

Onion Parvez: I know. In Gujarat even in a Muslim restaurant if you order Murgh do payaza..the waiter will bring you two onions but no chicken. All restaurants are vegetarian.

Onion Sharief: I know its better to be a chicken in Gujarat than being an onion.

Onion Bhutto: I wonder why they opened the Wagah Gates for us.

Onion Sharief: silly, silly you don't know if they did not open the Wagah gates, India's government would fall.

Onion Bhutto: If I only knew the power of the Wagah Gate, I'd not open it.

Onion Parvez: Too late, now. Its not about the gate you fools. I always felt you were both unfit to rule Pakistan. India allowed us onions to enter only because Indian onions became Rs.80 per kilo!

Onion Bhutto: So what?

Onion Parvez: In India every politician has an onion God. Those is power pray that onion prices do not rise, those out of power pray that onions become expensive.

Onion Bhutto: But why are Indian onions so expensive?

Onion Sharief: Didn't you see the BJP leaders wearing onions around their necks. They don't even know onions are to be eaten not worn around like a `maala'. Obviously, prices will go up if people buy onions for making garlands.

Onion Parvez: Don't blame the opposition. Even India's Prime Minister is to blame. See how many dinners he's given these past two months. First Obama, then Sarkozy, then the German Chancellor and then the Russians. And at dinner all the dishes had onions in them..onion soup, onion curry, onion rice, even onion pudding.

Onion Bhutto: But why so many oinion dishes?

Onion Parvez: To show the west that India is a super power.

Onion Sharief: (Looking out through a crack in the truck) Aaah the mustard fields remind me of my own Punjab. But I much prefer our decorated Pakistani trucks than the Tata trucks.

Onion Parvez: There I agree.

Onion Bhutto: I still have doubts as to why India's socialist leaders who believe in protecting small businesses and farmers would allow onions to come in.

Onion Parvez: Actually, I know two Indian politicians who like Pakistani onions. Advaniji and Jaswantji. Advaniji likes us because he was after all born in Pakistan. But Jaswantji likes only Pakistani onions who have a very British accent.

Onion Bhutto: But why would the Indian government want their people to eat more onions. Surely, you won't die if you don't eat onions.

Onion Sharief: I read somewhere that onions are an aphrodisiac....eating more onions means more passion and more sex. India wants to become a 2 billion population by 2018.

Onion Bhutto: But I always thought the BJP was a Hindu party and Hindus don't eat onions.

Onion Parvez: Wrong. Hindu Gods don't eat onions.

Onion Sharief: I think that Baba Ramdev is making something out of oinion juice..thats why he is able to spend 24 hours on TV in amazing postures and speak out against corruption as well.

Onion Bhutto: My nuclear scientist tells me India has a Plan B to meet its energy needs. Onion juice can be fermented and made into methane and it can produce electricity.

Onion Sharief: You know, i feel sad about one thing. I don't care why India has imported us but I do care why Pakistan has thrown us out.

Onion Parvez; Thats because we smell and we can make India cry.

Imagine Live - John Lennon - 72

Remembering Dorothy

By Manuwant Choudhary

I know most will say Dorothy Who? But this post is dedicated to a special person whom I knew very briefly and most of us hostelites knew as Sean Plant's cousin. Dorothy passed away a few days ago.

My aquaintance with Dorothy happened because one day I found a deodrant on my hostel table with a nice label on it..`This is for Manu' From Dorothy.

Dorothy Who?

I was then reminded of her as being Sean Plant's cousin who lives somewhere in England. And in those days before economic liberalisation if anyone got you a deo from abroad or Nepal it meant the world.

Dorothy had got a Deo for all of Sean's friends (we were many btw)

I thanked her.

She used to make annual visits to India and we would hear about her from Anurag Sharma. He would say,"You Know what Dorothy does all day at Churchgate station?"

I asked, what..."She stands and gives Rs.100 to every street child."

Dorothy was to us hostelites a mobile ATM!

Anurag ofcourse was desperate. He dreamt of how many cigarettes he could buy with Dorothy's hundred rupees.

We hostelites from elite St. Xavier's College - Bombay - were beggars and now most have made it in their lives - actors, oil sheikhs, corporate lobbyists you name it...- Anurag and myself I think still won't mind Dorothy's Rs.100!

I think I was only a cub reporter when my freind Rajesh had a dream - a dream to visit England - but his father had no such dream. So his freinds chipped in and somehow he could manage an airline ticket (cheapest fares).

At Heathrow airport Rajesh was struck by the size of the airport and all the glitz around him but then he saw a white man cleaning the floors. He told me, "I just stood and watched the angrez for 20 minutes."

As he stepped out onto the streets he found another saheb playing the guitar, the guitar case lay open on the floor and Rajesh soon realised he was actually what we in India call a beggar. So Rajesh took out his wallet and put in a few pounds into the case.

What Rajesh was not prepared for was that there was no Dorothy to receive him.

Instead he received an envelope with a message ....here is my car keys..the car no. is XXXX ...its at the Heathrow parking lot....now take a left and a right and left and a right....again till you reach the motorway and then you drive straight to Darlington.

Rajesh drove around in circles and only God knows how and when he reached Darlington.

Dorothy was his hostess and her journalist husband Paul.

Rajesh spent the next few weeks travelling around the United Kingdom. At Cardiff he entered a bed and breakfast place and asked how much. The Lady said 25 pounds. Rajesh taking out 10 pounds, "But this is all I have."

The lady let him stay for ten pounds, breakfast included.

Rajesh actually did not want to leave the UK so he missed his flight and at Heathrow airport he did not have a single penny.

He called up Dorothy and she took a train from Darlington, gave Rajesh some SOS money, and found a place for him to spend the next few days till the UK government deported him. :)

I was thankful because otheriwse Bihar would not have even a single factory.

I do not know what but when I was studying in the UK I made that train journey to Durham to meet Dorothy. She was doing some research at Durham University.

At Durham train station I took a taxi to the University. As we drove past the amazing town...the taxi driver suddenly pulled out his visiting card and said, "Sir, will you have dinner at my home tonight?"

I asked him, "But why me?"

He replied, "I am a Pakistani and I can see you are from India and it will be my pleasure to invite you for dinner. I hate our two countries making nuclear bombs."

Ofcourse, I could not make it for dinner because I had to return but I still have his card.

Dorothy was happy to see me. Grey hairs and a brown coat if I recall and we went down to a pub for a large lunch.

I think we debated for two hours over lunch and Dorothy said she will never give up her Indian passport even if she has to pay visa fees every time she visits Paris or Europe.

Dorothy suffered a heart stroke and passed away at Auroville (Tamil Nadu) - the ashram built by Mother - a French lady disciple of the great Indian seer revolutionary - Sri Aurobindo.

Aurobindo believed one day India and Pakistan will unite.

Looking back its because of Dorothy I met this Pakistani taxi driver who like Aurobindo also believed in unity and in the greatness of this ancient land.

So this post I dedicate to Dorothy and to all those who help complete strangers and don't care too much about money.

Biggest Leak: In Coversation with Julian Assange & Osama Bin Laden

By Manwant Choudhary

UNDISCLOSED CAVE IN SWEDEN:

knock knock knock knock...

Julian Assange: Who is there?

Stranger: Its me Osama?

Julian: Who Obama..you mean you come with interpol to arrest me?

Stranger: Just open the cave door..its me Osama Bin Laden!

Julian: Ah, its you only..I am not scared of you..come in come in.

Osama: Glad to meet you.

Julian: How come? You've come all the way from your cave in Pakistan just to see me. You've taken such a great risk. President Obama wants you dead.

Osama: Actually I have not taken such a huge risk. I don't live in Pakistan or Afghanistan. I live very much in Sweden...my cave is just next door.

Julian: So what brings you here?

Osama: Actually I am jealous. You know I put in such a huge effort to dash all those planes into the World Trade Centre to become the worlds most wanted man and now you replace me with just a few `leaks'. I really want to understand your trade secret.

Julian: You mean you want me to leak it.

Osama: Yes, yes...

Julian: I only leak things on the WikiLeaks..not in some cave like this...

Osama: I've been trying to get across on WikiLeaks but the site is blocked...like a caves rock door.

Julain: By whom?

Osama: Amazon.

Julian: Really, I did not know.

Osama: Actually, the one thing I love about America is their freedom of speech.

Julian: Me 2.

Osama: You can burn an American flag and they won't send you to jail.

Julian: Thats why I left Australia to settle in the Unites States of America.

Osama: But now you have become the worlds most wanted man..

Julian: Yes, but I don't know why?

Osama: I saw that retired General ..whats his name..the guy who sided with Bush...yes. yes..General Musharraf..he was on TV and he said that even if Osama is killed..Al Qaeda will flourish. I think thats why now the western powers don't want to kill me anymore. They wasted all those bombs in Afghanistan.

Julian: Ok Osama, don't waste my time..I only talk to those who leak. Do you leak?

Osama: yes i do...didn't you see all those unedited videos of me. yes but I leak only on Al Jazeera TV.

Julian: But why?

Osama: I felt the Arabs world must unite to take on the infidels. But how wrong I was. Even I am shocked that Arab countries hate Iran more than they hate America. And after your leaks the Afghans and Pakistanis have become like `Buddies'.

Julian: yes, yes..but i love America and Americans love me....its only their President who hates me.

Osama: But why?

Julian: Obama says I have endangered American lives. Bush and Obama are responsible for more Americans being killed than all other American Presidents.

Osama: Actually, you are right. I haven't hurt a fly!

Julian: And see they have forgotten about you and they calling me a terrorist.

Osama: Who is this? (pointing to me)

Julian: Ahh he's Manuwant Choudhary..my journalist freind from India. He is here because only he knows how to write articles. WikiLeaks reporters only know how to scan and photocopy documents and paste them on the internet.

Osama: I want to ask him something?

Me: Yes, please do.

Osama: My suicide bomber was on that Bandra-Worli Sea-link on the day President Obama was to visit Bombay. Why did he fail in his mission?

Me: Actually, he was caught on CCTV and although the police could not find out who he was, Nandan Nilekani found his number! You know now everyone of Indian 1.1 billion people have a number. For the Prime Minister Prime Minister the number is fixed 420.

Osama: Can you tell me how dangerous this Nilekani is?

Me: He is very dangerous. You can find his name on WikiLeaks also....after India he plans to give a number to all Pakistanis and all Afghans. So the world will know which number was responsible for which terror act. You see had we not been given numbers the French President Nikolas Sarkozy would have never said India's 1.1 billion people deserve to be permanently represented at the United Nations Security Council.

Osama: No, no, no...these french they only know how to uncover the burqa..they are supplying nuclear material to India and then they gang up against Iran. Actually, I support Julian because he believes in Leak. Like the Chinese leaked the nuclear secrets to Pakistan and Pakistan leaked it to Iran..and Iran leaked it to North Korea....and soon the entire world will have nuclear bombs...I am a socialist. Actually, Carla Bruni should have been President of the Congress Party. I want to ask Julian how and where he got this idea about leaks?

Julian: There is this palace in London that has a painting on its ceiling and when you look up you can see a naked child..look closer and you see the child is urinating...a guide will tell you to follow the urine and as your face criscrosses the entire ceiling you see the urine fall in a man's mouth! It was Eureka? I love politicians who leak. Do you have an Indian politician hwo does not leak?

Me: We had a Prime Minister called Morarji Desai..he leaked but he drank his own leak..and the Gorkha's from Darjeeling hated him because he said Never to Gorkhaland...

Julian; I love India. My own Australian Prime Minister has betrayed me....will India give me asylum?

Me: I might think they would...just as they did to the Dalai Lama..India is a free country..even our people love to leak...they leak all over the public walls..they don't care whose photograph they're leaking on - politicians and gods - treat them all the same.

Julian: I may be arrested any moment.

Osama: Actually even I want to be arrested. These caves are getting too cold..Its snowing...I want to live at Guantanamo Bay...aah the sun and sand...

Julian: But the Americans don't want to arrest you.

Obama: But why are they arresting you?

Julian: because they don't know the difference between a leak and sex. I only had consensual sex with two girls and now the interpol is after me...

NIIRA RADIA-MANUWANT CHOUDHARY TAPE 1 PART 1 (TRANSCRIPT)

By Manuwant Choudhary

Trrring....trring....trriiingggg......

Manuwant Choudhary: Hello...

NIIRA RADIA: HELLO, MANUWANT, this is NIIRA here...

MC: Niira Who? You mean the only one...

NR: yes, yes you got that right...

MC: But why have you called me?

NR: Because you are a journalist....

MC: Former journalist. And I was never as BIG as the 30 journalists whom know you. Besides, I am a poor farmer now.

NR: You mean poor like Deve Gowda.

MC: No, no, even poorer than Deve Gowda. I have not been India's Prime Minister. Nor do I have the time to sleep.

NR: Where are you right now?

MC: I am in Bihar driving across the Ganga - the bridge has jaws like a Ganga crocodile - they say its sinking because Indira Gandhi inaugurated it even before it was complete.

NR: Ahh, you should just buy your airplane.

MC: I am not Ratan Tata....and why even Ratan Tata flies to London in a commercial plane.

NR: OK, OK helicopter at least.

MC: I am not a politician. I know in Bihar every politician campaigns in a helicopter but all I have is an old ambassador - 40 years old - even the vehcile papers are weathered...

NR: I know ambassador means power. All our politicians prefer ambassadors. Only the Prime Minister has been forced to take the BMW but he hates the BMW.

MC: Tell me NIIRA how can I help you?

NR: I just called because I think you should become a politician.

MC: Me, politician...no...no...I have no such wish...

NR: Like Nitishji.....Vikaste Purush.

MC: No, no. I have no such aim...I don't want anyone's fingers being chopped off.

NR: What do you mean?

MC: Aah, you don't know...there is a person in Bihar's Jehanabad... Anilji... who chops up his finger everytime Nitishji becomes chief minister. Already two fingers are gone.

NR: Really???

MC: Yes, yes, and he promised on TV that he would chop his entire arm if Nitish becomes Prime Minister.

NR: Amazing guy?

MC: And he says this is the least he can do for his Nitishji.....compared to the suicides by YSR followers in Andhra after YSR died in a chopper crash.

NR: I have full faith in India's growth story.

MC: Your mean blind faith.

NR: I have two eyes.

MC: But NIIRA your are so powerful can't you help this guy with two less fingers.

NR: If he wants he can drive my new jaguar.

MC: Really, but I don't know if he knows how to drive a car. I hear he is a rickshawpuller.

NR: He can learn. We all learn. MY PR company had no clients and look now all 90 TATA companies are under my belt. Besides, I believe in `inclusive' growth. Besides, all drivers are Biharis.

MC: Niira, but why do you want me to become a politician. You already know Nanduji so well so im sure you dont need anyone else from Bihar.

NR: My portfolio is grown too large. I can't handle it all by myself and you know these retired bureaucrats in flashy red scarves..they spend more time on getting their pronunciations sound like Jaswant Singh..they are too slow. Ratan Tata and Mukeshji trust me because I `Get Things Done'.

MC: Get what done.

NR: Like the Tata's helped the division of Bihar yet they did not get the renewal for the lease of Jamshedpur...I got it done within a day!!!

MC: I know, I know....but I still think I wont be of any help to you? I don't know Ghulam Nabi Azad even...never worked in Delhi you see...Now I grow (baingan) brinjals and sell them for Re.1 a kilo. Its only people like you who say food prices have gone up.

NR: Ok, ok..I'll buy all your brinjals but can you do this for me...

MC: I know you want me to get in trouble with Income Tax..I know they are listening to us now...but I am a poor farmer completely exempt from taxes. And since the IT is listening I can say they are the most corrupt department.

NR: I dont mean that...lets work together on this...

MC: On what?

NR: On this..on everything..Ok what do you want me to do.

MC: You know liberals cannot even contest elections in India.

NR: So what just say you are a socialist and we all get filthy rich together. I want you to attend a black tie dinner in Bombay. I have a nice black dress ready.

MC: I only attend black tie dinners thrown by relatives of Mahatma Gandhi! Plus, I dont want to be rich.

NR: Ok so tell me what I can do for you?

MC: I just want the Dalai Lama be able to return home.

NR: You mean to Tibet.

MC: Ya, ya.

NR: I have some Chinese clients but I'm not sure how I can `Get Things Done' in China..esp Tibet.

MC: I am actually still not sure why you have called me.

NR Actually I want to leverage this telecom spectrum issue.

MC: But how? I am not Veer Sanghvi and I don't own TV and Radio or newspapers. I don't even have my own column.

NR: I Know, I know...you are more powerful...I know you are a blogger. I don't want to bribe you since you are an honest person but we can give you all the advertisements you want.

MC: But I don't take advertisements on my blog! Not even by Google. See.

Barkha Dutt's `Self' Defence on NDTV

www.outlookindia.com | Niira, Of Two Eyes

www.outlookindia.com | Niira, Of Two Eyes

www.outlookindia.com | Past Isn’t Perfect. But.

www.outlookindia.com | Past Isn’t Perfect. But.

Karan Thapar Discusses The Nira Radia-Barkha Dutt Tapes