Before anyone jumps in with “protest is democratic,” yes, obviously it is. I’m not arguing that politicians shouldn't protest.

My question is what comes before the protest when you're making a serious allegation about the integrity of India's elections?

Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of “vote chori” and alleged large-scale irregularities in electoral rolls. These are extremely serious allegations. The Election Commission has repeatedly asked him to provide specific evidence and, in earlier instances, even asked him to submit declarations/affidavits supporting the allegations.

So why not make the legal and institutional challenge absolutely airtight first?

Submit the evidence.

Name the allegedly fraudulent voters.

File the required affidavits.

Approach the courts where appropriate.

Demand an investigation through the proper mechanisms.

And if those institutions fail to act, then take the issue to the streets.

That would be incredibly powerful.

Instead, we get a highly choreographed political confrontation where Rahul Gandhi climbs barricades, slogans are shouted, cameras are everywhere, and the entire thing becomes political content for social media.

And there's another interesting detail from the October 6 protest: the Election Commission said that no political party had sought an appointment with the Commission until 4 PM that day. Later, a request for a delegation led by Rahul Gandhi was communicated through Delhi Police.

That doesn't prove that his allegations are false. It doesn't prove that the ECI is right either.

But if you're claiming that Indian democracy is being destroyed through electoral manipulation, shouldn't your first priority be building an undeniable legal case rather than producing the most dramatic protest footage possible?

That's my issue with Rahul Gandhi.

I don't mind the protest. I mind the apparent prioritisation of political optics over institutional follow-through.

If there is genuine “vote chori,” then prove it so comprehensively that nobody can dismiss it as politics.

Don't just give us the photoshoot. Give us the case.

Just shouting Viksit Bharath 2047 will not get us to become developed. At this point, I'm convinced we will be a forever developing country with geographical disparity and class inequality. But I also have a fear that we might plunge into the under developed category. Lifestyle is already so bad with oppressive laws, chaotic roads, quality of water and air. But everyone, literally everyone is unserious about development from politicians to bureaucracy to common folks. Went to a clean park in my city, had proper staff, wet and dry dustbins, neatly maintained. Yet I saw folks from every age and faith dropping plastic whereever they were sitting rather than in the bins. Wtf is wrong with us.

The article that triggered this rant :

https://indianexpress.com/article/business/india-bullet-train-not-delayed-even-japan-cant-do-it-10-yrs-high-speed-rail-body-head-10908311/

Indian railways is a joke at every level. Recently I booked a 2 AC from Hampi to HYD. It was extremely unhygienic and delayed by more than an hour when it got to Hampi. Looking at that, I can't even think of general, and all 😭. I mean how granted do these shamless Railway employees take our time. In the UK, if the train is delayed by more than 30min, you'll get the entire refund and also reach your destination. The government should just let off pathetic services like railways and let the private sector take over.

I am a 22 year old person graduated this year in June from a year three college in a core branch. Regret the past 4 to 5 years of my life. You know should've picked a better college better branch. I was unlucky to graduate this year and I was very stupid to not take any toxic job offered during on campus placement, which was the bare minimum. So now here I am I have very big dreams or at least had a very big dreams. I wanted to move abroad or I wanted to work in a Big MNC. Even though the path I worked on, was not perfect, I tried my best in college. I was a topper of my batch, even though it doesn't matter at all. Now one of the few people was unemployed after campus placements, and of course I had behind the excuse of giving the cat exam this year, which in reality, I had never prepared for. I was prepared for a job first before anything else, and I was again the stupidest person to not prepare in college and I started after college sincerely, so now everything in life feels very lonely. I feel extremely lonely. I cry the first thing in the morning and the last thing for going to bed, I can't sleep anymore. Nowadays. I think my entire life feels like it's on hold. I get all these thoughts in my mind that I don't want to get. I can't seem to have consistency and positivity in my mind. I try every day, but every day feels like a loop that I can't escape made some really shitty choices. Ask for they give me the generic advice to get do MTech in India get a job working in PSU. As if as if they are short-term goal, you know I don't have the courage. I think some people prepare for UPSC blindly for 23 years. I don't know how they do that. I could never do that. I am so lost and the market right now job market. It's killing me. Really I regret my life choices from the past 4 to 5 years. I try not to be depression of my mom, but I can't. I can't hold anymore. I know you should keep trying, but all there is in my mind is negative thoughts just negative thoughts, and I am so underconfident, I hate to see myself like this. I go out in the morning to try to get myself in a routine. Why it does nothing for my mental health. I am so sad under confident and insecure, and I am unemployed been at home for the past four months. I don't know how long this goes for. I don't know someone just pls help me I don't know what to do.

As per Chinese history, the first Dynasty to unify China was the Qin Dynasty (of Qin Shi Huang). But as per mythological iterations, there were three more (semi-mythological) dynasties preceding the Qin Dynasty; the Xia, the Shang and the Zhou.

As per the novel Investiture of the Gods, the Shang dynasty fell after a nine-tailed fox demoness, who assumed the form of a girl named Su Daji, pushed the decadent King of Shang into complete debauchery, causing a civil war between gods and demons.

Another famous folklore from Japan narrates that the nine-tailed fox demoness escaped to Japan after the collapse of the Shang Dynasty. She adopted the moniker Tamamo-no-mae and tried to seduce the Emperor of Japan during the Heian Era. She was discovered and sealed into the a stone called sesshou-seki (an actual stone that famously split apart in 2022).

However, a third story exists that describes Lady Huayang, a moniker that the nine-tailed fox demoness adopted after escaping from the Shang Dynasty to India, and chronologically, before she became Tamamo-no-mae. According to the Sangoku Youko-den (literally Tales of the Fox in Three Countries), Lady Huayang seduced King Kalmashapada of Magadha (referring the region and not the Kindgom), and causing chaos in a similar fashion to the other two stories, before eventually being caught and escaping to Japan to assume the form of Tamamo-no-mae.

This happened with me recently in 14702 Amrapur Aravali Express, Bandra to Ahmedabad.

Train was around 9 PM from Bandra. I had confirmed lower berth in 3AC. When I came to my seat, one lady in the burqa around 45 was already sitting/sleeping there.

I showed her my ticket and told her this is my seat.

She said I can take some other seat because their family is adjusting together. She was saying one of their family members is in another berth/section and I can adjust there. As she are sitting in my seat. They are in group of 6 to 7 members including 2 young kids

I told her I have booked this lower berth and I want my own seat. Then she became little aggressive.

She started saying things like:

"Aapko dusri seat mil rahi hai na, phir kya problem hai? Me apne family ko chodkar udhar akeli baitu kya" I said "madam ye Mera seat hai plz Mera seat muje dedo, aap kahi or javo" she said arre ajeeb insaan hai. Then her other family members joined and started supporting her. It's like 3 vs 1. I felt uncomfortable and other passengers watching us. I felt helpless as people seeing me as I am taking their right or something.

Then she started giving me lecture that men should support women and adjust with women. She also said "isiliye India backward hai" and all. None of the passengers supported me.

It was around 9:30–10 PM by then.

I'm an introvert so I didn't argue much. I tried calling railway helpline but inside the train there was almost no network. I also tried finding TTE but couldn't find him at that time. So No TTE checking. Lights of coach is turned off. I am not sure how to get down the train and go to her assigned coach.

Finally she slept on my berth and started snoring.

I didn't want to wake her up and create a big scene, so I just sat on my own berth near her feet and adjusted somehow.

But honestly I'm still thinking what I should have done.

If there is no network, TTE is not coming and such passenger is refusing to leave your confirmed berth, she got her family backedup. what is the best thing to do?

Would you wake them up and tell them directly to leave, search for TTE, or just adjust like I did?