Everybody says media is corrupt. In Indian context, some call them godi media, some feel they have always been sold out to the left. You will find similar discourse in US and various other nations as well. What if I tell you, media was born to be used by people in power. From Caesar to Stalin, they have all used media. Media has always been corrupt. How? Let me take you on a journey.

Much before anybody else, Romans understood the power of giving food for thought to their masses. They were the first masters of propaganda, in recorded history atleast. First newspaper was a clay tablet and was published around 131 BCE. It contained notices to officials and a few public proclamations. They called it ‘Acta Diurna’ or Daily acts/news. Soon, they started publishing about legal proceedings, price of grains, births, deaths, marriages and even astrology. It continued in this form till Julius Caesar understood and harnessed true power of the Acta. Legend says that Caesar had gone on a campaign in Gaul (present day Germany) without the express permission of Roman senate and this had led to fierce opposition and calls of arrest from his rival Pompey. He realized that the public opinion on Gallic war is divided, and he decided to talk to the masses directly. He published Acta Diurna of his war time bravery, strategy, populist measures and vision for Rome; and started pushing it in public places.

This swung public support in his favour and gave him an edge over his rival Pompey who had the support of Roman senators and twice the size of army. After the civil war, he formalised the Acta Diurna and regularized it. He used the Acta to involve his citizens in matters of polity and as an effective PR tool. These were written on Stone or Metal tablets and posted on various major communion centers. Later, the fabled Roman postal system, Circus Publicus, started sending these Acta Diurnas to various parts of Roman empire. Wealthy citizens, governors and other officials had scribes, who would be sent to copy the News for them. This was one of the various ways used by the Romans to govern. This was also the first recorded institutional use of Media by a Government to change public opinion.

Yesterday was the anniversary of Tiananmen square massacre which happened in 1989 in Beijing, China. Many people don’t know about it. Ones who do, recognize it from the famous ‘Tank man’ photo. But there is a lot more.

This thread has some graphic images. Exercise caution. My first exposure to this incident was due to a “System of a down” song. “Why don't you ask the kids at Tienanmen Square… Was fashion the reason why they were there?”

Few years ago, I was in China for a while. Days were spent in the local cafe reading and chatting with people.

Time to tell you about C V Raman, A genius who was respected by the world but disrespected by India''s first Prime Minister. First Asian to win Nobel Prize in 1930 at the age of 42.

https://twitter.com/digvijaya_28/status/1397714398072901634

In 1932, IISC, Bangalore was then looking for a new Director and had approached Lord Rutherford for the post. Rutherford had then replied saying “Why approach me, when you have Raman”?

Read about V.O Chidambaram Pillai when I was in school. Read about him again. Indian struggle against British was fueled by countless such gallant stands! Sharing a bit about him and how he fought the British. Read how he contributed to Bharat's Aatmanirbhar spirit! A thread. Born on 5th September 1872, V.O Chidambaram Pillai was the son of an established lawyer. He chose law upon his father’s insistence and became particularly good at it. Things were going fine until father and son found themselves at opposite ends of a case.

We all know of the “Divide and rule” policy of British in India. This, according to common parlance, is how British divided Hindus & Muslims. Ongoing farm law battle has made me aware of a fault line between Hindus & Sikhs of Modern India which I did not know existed. A Thread.

https://twitter.com/balbir59/status/1369847952680775686

Having lived in Bihar, Patna Specifically, I had always thought of Guru Gobind Singh as one of our own. It was taught to me that the first born Hindu male was given to the cause and made Sikh. There was no schism here.

Jai Bhavani. Jai Shivaji.

Today is the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. People living outside Maharashtra may not have read much about this warrior, but his life was full of moments that could break any mere mortal. Do you know what he was fighting? An enemy that was superior to him in every way that one could think of, and considered him a 'Mountain Rat'. One that wanted to crush the Hindu people of the subcontinent in every possible way.

I was blind but now I can see.

There is a pattern.

1. These people don't create a ruckus when a Hindu is lynched or suffers. Superiority in numbers is somehow supposed to be a cushion that should make you unable to feel or bear pain. You cannot be scared because you are more. 2. These guys will never praise anything good about India. "Vaccine Maitri? Fuck it. It is all a sham." "40% youth less joining terrorists after removal of 370? It's all bullshit!" Some do it because they hate Modi, some because they keep their ideology above India.

"We sigh and think we have done our duty. We do not have that fire, we do not suffer, for we have become corpses."

This was written by Bhagat Singh in 'Kakori ke veeron se parichay.' Today, on 95th anniversary of Kakori Kaand, let me take you on a small journey. On 1st Jan 1925, a four page pamphlet was published. Title was “The Revolutionary”. It was written by one “Vijay Kumar”. In this, he espoused his group’s revolutionary thinking, ideology and goals. He openly condemned M.K.Gandhi for not asking the tough questions to British.

A lot of my educated friends from other side of the political spectrum have started dissing Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a freedom fighter, taking cue from their leader Rahul Gandhi. This mindless vilification of a man who spent his life in service of the nation makes me furious! 2. This thread is to urge all of you to read about Veer Savarkar. I will begin to highlight the key aspects of his life which people miss in this tirade of abuse and offensive memes which just portrays him as a person who 'apologized' to British. And I will come to that as well.

Name of CPI in Palghar lynching got me wondering. I realized many of us don't know what we call as left & various fragments they have which are all working towards the same cause in their own way. What is left and what is Left’s legacy in destroying independent India? A thread. There are about 25+ big and small communist parties in India. Few know that Communists did not want to join the democratic process and wanted to undertake an armed revolution. As per this declassified CIA file, they joined Indian political mainstream on Soviet insistence.

Tiktok videos glamorizing dua over dawa. Attack on health workers. People wiping snot on notes. Urinating. Hiding travel history. Spitting. These are some ills that are on display in trying times. But what is the reason behind attempts to whitewash these crimes? A thread. Let us begin with some History. After 1950, every election in India has been made to be an election of survival for the Muslim community. A country that was mourning the physical loss of their countrymen dying and ideological loss of partition was not very happy with Congress.

As somebody who knows aviation personnel too well, it is sad to see responsible people spreading fake/misleading news just because they have a problem with a party. Here’s how India has been fighting the pandemic. #Thread (1/n) India started thermal screening of passengers returning from China from as early as January. So the claim made on above screenshots stand false. further, screening everyone is a gradual process. (2/n)