'When the Chief Fell in Love', to release tomorrow
Mumbai: An unusual fictional romantic novel, "When the Chief Fell in Love: Kashmiriyat, Jamhooryiat, Insaniyat. Hindustaniyat," has sparked a guessing game on its underlying political message, its author Tuhin A. Sinha said here on Tuesday.
Scheduled to be released on February 14, Sinha unveiled the name and covered through social media network and kicked off a raging debate on the content and possibly, a political message, since he is the Bharatiya Janata Party's Mumbai spokesperson.
"The slogan - aKashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat, Insaniyat' was first coined by then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2003 and it struck an instant chord with the people of Jammu & Kashmir. By adding 'Hindustaniyat' to the original slogan, I hope a new perspective is given to the burning issue (of J&K) in the present context," Sinha told IANS.
Giving a sneak peek into the storyline, Sinha said it revolved around the life and travails of Vihaan Shastri, India's young and dynamic defense minister who comes under attack after 20 soldiers are killed during a terror strike in Jammu & Kashmir.
While the country bays for bloody revenge, Shastri battles a strange distraction: Zaira Bhat, the woman he once loved, who suddenly returns to his life after 12 years, amidst a web of extraordinary situations and twisted quirks of fate.
The unfolding scenario is indeed extraordinary and sensitive -- for, he is the country's defense minister, and his long-lost love Zaira is the daughter of none other than the reviled Bilal Mohammad Bhat, Jammu & Kashmir's leading and most wanted, Pro-Pakistani separatist leader.
"The plot revolved around whether Shastri is capable of pulling off this a double coup -- can he win the love of his life and also save Jammu & Kashmir which is on edge," Sinha said.
Sinha's ninth book in his writing career which started in 2006, "When the Chief Fell in Love" (246 pages) is published by Fingerprint Publishing.
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‘Sharbat Jihad’ controversy: Haven’t mentioned anyone’s name, justifies Baba Ramdev
New Delhi: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has defended his recent controversial ‘sharbat jihad’ comment, stating he did not name any specific brand or community in his statement.
Ramdev has been greatly criticized for saying earlier this week that a company selling sharbat was using the income to build mosques and madrasas. He had also called it ‘sharbat jihad’. Ramdev had made the comment even as he was marketing Patanjali Ayurved’s ‘Gulab Sharbat’.
Defending his statement, the yoga guru said on Friday that the Hamdard company people, who produce ‘Rooh Afza’, had assumed that the phrase ‘sharbat jihad’ was about them. “This proves they are indulging in jihad,” Ramdev has said, according to a report by the Times of India.
He said that, if the employees of the company were dedicated to Islam and were building mosques and madrasas, they should be happy. He also asked the ‘Sanatanis’ to understand the situation.
Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh had filed a complaint against Ramdev, accusing the yoga guru of making the ‘sharbat jihad’ statement and attempting to incite communal disharmony in order to boost the sales of Patanjali Ayurved’s products. The MP had called the statement ‘not just defamatory but also unconstitutional’.
Ramdev was also criticized by several social media users, who opined the statement to be communal.
