M.J.Akbar

Whenever I read M.J.Akbar, I get a feeling that he considers himself of a different league. I mean he has superiority complex. Just have a look on first 3-4 sentences of few of his articles, and you will know what I mean.

Every lie must be denied; otherwise it becomes an attachment to the truth. I am not equally sure that rumours deserve similar attention, because a denial tends to live in the same haze as the rumour.

Delhi recognises the colour of money, but it has not yet quite begun to comprehend the culture of money. Delhi does not need any lessons in the colour, culture, nuances, excesses, limitations and even the curiosities of power.

Here we don’t get an idea of what he wants to write. First he philosophizes, and the then writes what has to write. First he generalizes a thing-not a specific thing- but a general thing. And then he will put forth his opinion on that particular situation. In the above example he has coined two terms, color of money and culture of money. I don’t think one is supposed to coin a new term in an article on a Daily. One should satisfy one's intellectual thirst- if one has to-of generalizing things, philosophizing or coining a new term in a work of fiction or an essay.

Why is he doing so? I believe he is writing the way he is writing because he has been writing for so many years that he has written almost over all the topics one might ever write; I mean, on topics he writes -politics. So whenever he has to write his opinion on some political situation he finds himself repeating himself- at least in terms of ideas, way of analysis and perspective. And he does not want to repeat himself. So he philosophizes.

By the way I just click a link to www.mjakbar.org on The Asian Age website, and I shuddered for a moment to hear my speaker shouting a M.J.Akbar favorite song.