Saturday, May 23, 2015
The Return of J Jayalalithaa: Requiem to Dravidian Politics
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
J Jajalalithaa too the oath of office for the fifth time this morning. Wearing a green Sari with an emerald ring sparkling on her right index finger she signed the Register. The Governor Rosaiah was doing his best to look comfortable as her ministers lined up to genuflect before her in the strict order of ministerial rank. The fact that she has been acquitted by the Karnataka High Court in the Disproportionate Asset case made her return possible. Critics have already smudged her copy book pointing out the seemingly glaring arithmetical error which resulted in Justice Kumaraswamy acquitting her on the judicial premise that her assets are within the permissible margin of error. Her critics seem to be unaware that an acquittal can be overturned by rectifying the mathematical calculation. The entire accounting of the assets have to be redone and that will not make any material change in the judgement. Though the acquittal will be challenged in the Supreme Court, the chances of it being set aside are rather slim. So J Jayalaithaa has crossed the last legal hurdle before the 2016 State Assembly Polls.
Dravidian style politics is now on its last legs. The ostentatious display of identity symbols, the cloud display of personality cult, the obsequiousness toward party leadership and the immediate family, the wanton disregard to political and cultural values are all part of the political culture of high Dravidianism. J Jayalalithaa did not personally endorse any of these aberration, but had to fall in line with the established code of Dradidian politics. Even the corruption charges for which she was repeatedly prosecuted at the behest of Karunanidhi and Subramania Swamy was more the doing of her inner circle consisting of Sashikala and her Kallar relatives than of her own making. However, the fact is that in the menagerie of Indian politics, J Jayalalithaa enjoys the distintion of being the only politician who has been disqualified twice for corruption and has got back to power. It is very unlikely that Karunanidhi's daughter will escape the punishment as the case against her is water tight with little scope for legal jugglery. It is hoped that this time around she delivers on her promise,
The closet politician with whom Jayalalithaa can be compared is Eva Peron. Like Eva, the present Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is adored by the masses almost bordering on mass adulation. It is a foregone conclusion that she will sweep the next election as the populist schemes launched by her will fetch a rich harvest of votes. Launched in the name of AMMA, or Mother, these schemes all touch the lives of ordinary citizens. This new dimension of using the state and its machinery to redistibute resources has been perfected by the AIADMK and was started by her mentor, MGR. Surprisingly the total cost of these schemes is around 5,000 crores while the state earns nearly 30.000 crores by the sale of liquor through the TASMAC outlets.
The immediate task before the present Chief Minister is the restore the confidence of the international financiers and kick start the stalled infra structure projects.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
NARENDRA MODI'S MESSAGE TO ASIA; WHY THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT MUST LISTEN
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
The conceit Jawarharlal Nehru and his brand of ideologically driven politics encouraged was the notion that India had a role in transmitting Western "values" and "institutions" to an Asia that was stagnant, despotic and cruel in every sense of the word. His Discovery of India was little more than a celebration of two thousand years of Indian humiliation and a wanton denial of the grand civilizational role that India had played in world history. The denial of the civilizational ethos of India was not accidental: Nehru's skewered view of Nation State demanded such an approach. The nation state and the quest for a "state centric" history has kept historians of India engaged for nearly six decades and there is little to show except the rumbustious noise over "secular history" versus "communal history".Nehru's ghost haunts the Historiography of modern India like Banco's ghost, a farce turning into a tragedy. There have been several changes in historiographical approaches but Indian historians prefer to embrace the colonial or the post colonial perspectives and while the latter with its dense fog of meaningless jargon finds a receptive audience in Indian academia, the colonial approaches are still the norm among professional historians. Manufacturing a "national history" to justify India's trnasition into a "modern" "democratic" and "socialist" republic became the sine qua non for Indian historians. The turgid prose of Upinder Singh's successful foray into text book market does little to put India on the map of world civilizations.
The message that Narendra Modi was constantly engaged in making public is that China and India had a common Asian and civilizational history stretching over 2,500 years. Even the Communist Party dominated State had to accept the view that Buddhism was a strong and enduring link between the two countries. Nehru in his utter folly allowed the problem of Tibet and the border issue inherited from the infamous Younghusban expedition tomcloud his understanding of China. Modi's vision of an Asia led by China and India is more appropriate to the history that links these two countries.
The conceit Jawarharlal Nehru and his brand of ideologically driven politics encouraged was the notion that India had a role in transmitting Western "values" and "institutions" to an Asia that was stagnant, despotic and cruel in every sense of the word. His Discovery of India was little more than a celebration of two thousand years of Indian humiliation and a wanton denial of the grand civilizational role that India had played in world history. The denial of the civilizational ethos of India was not accidental: Nehru's skewered view of Nation State demanded such an approach. The nation state and the quest for a "state centric" history has kept historians of India engaged for nearly six decades and there is little to show except the rumbustious noise over "secular history" versus "communal history".Nehru's ghost haunts the Historiography of modern India like Banco's ghost, a farce turning into a tragedy. There have been several changes in historiographical approaches but Indian historians prefer to embrace the colonial or the post colonial perspectives and while the latter with its dense fog of meaningless jargon finds a receptive audience in Indian academia, the colonial approaches are still the norm among professional historians. Manufacturing a "national history" to justify India's trnasition into a "modern" "democratic" and "socialist" republic became the sine qua non for Indian historians. The turgid prose of Upinder Singh's successful foray into text book market does little to put India on the map of world civilizations.
During his recent visit to the great nation, China, Narendra Modi as Prime Minister visited the Tomb of China's first Emperor and her we have his pictures in the Tomb with the Terracotta warriors
Monday, May 11, 2015
J Jayalalitaa and her legal travails: Why Justice seems a distant dream
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
Two judicial verdicts have caused considerable consternation in India. The first is the curious case of Salman Khan and the stay granted to his conviction by the Sessions Court within 2 hours. The cose was filed more than 13 years ago when Slaman Khan allegedly ran over 7 pavement dwellers killing one of them. According to the Police he was drunk at that time and following the Supreme Court judgement in the Perriera case, he was sentenced for "culpable homicide" not am mounting to murder. The fact that the judgment was stayed and the celebrity actor back home without spending even a single day in prison for killing a human being is cause for concern and people are asking questions about the integrity of the judicial process.
In Jayalalithaa's case the matter is different. A vengeful DMK regime charged her under various provision relating to what we in India call Disproportionate Assets. A person should be able to show the source of income from which he or she has purchase assets. Failure to do so would amount to acceptance of the charge. The DMK went to town over the case and hyped the DA case to the tune of 100 crores. In fact the whole sordid episode stems from over enthusiasm on the part of the DMK regimes which tried to exaggerate the value of the assets seized from J Jayalalitaa after her defeat in the 1996 elections. The judgement of the Trial Court was also strange. Instead of relying of the value of the assets and its source, Michael Cuhuna, the trial judge, pronounced her guilty on the basis of a totally extraneous piece of legislation: the Prevention of Corruption Act. Having assets disproportionate to known sources of Income does not constitute corruption, as one can inherit assets, acquire by exchange or gift and there are other pieces of law governing the acquisition of assets through these different means. The punishment handed in by the trial court was extremely harsh: 100 crore fine and 10 years rigorous imprisonment. The harshness of the verdict and the questionable legal grounds on which it rested have raised eyebrows in India.
Today the Bangalore High Court has on the appeal of Ms Jayalalitaa acquitted her of all charges. It is nobody's case that the former Chief Minister is above board. However, her acquittal has sent thrills of joy down the spines of her partymen and Ms Jayalalithaa is expected to return as Chief Minister soon. It is becoming difficult to convict VIPs guilty of major acts of corruption.
Both the case discussed in this blog suggest that corruption and VIP misdemeanors need to be addressed with greater vigour.
Two judicial verdicts have caused considerable consternation in India. The first is the curious case of Salman Khan and the stay granted to his conviction by the Sessions Court within 2 hours. The cose was filed more than 13 years ago when Slaman Khan allegedly ran over 7 pavement dwellers killing one of them. According to the Police he was drunk at that time and following the Supreme Court judgement in the Perriera case, he was sentenced for "culpable homicide" not am mounting to murder. The fact that the judgment was stayed and the celebrity actor back home without spending even a single day in prison for killing a human being is cause for concern and people are asking questions about the integrity of the judicial process.
In Jayalalithaa's case the matter is different. A vengeful DMK regime charged her under various provision relating to what we in India call Disproportionate Assets. A person should be able to show the source of income from which he or she has purchase assets. Failure to do so would amount to acceptance of the charge. The DMK went to town over the case and hyped the DA case to the tune of 100 crores. In fact the whole sordid episode stems from over enthusiasm on the part of the DMK regimes which tried to exaggerate the value of the assets seized from J Jayalalitaa after her defeat in the 1996 elections. The judgement of the Trial Court was also strange. Instead of relying of the value of the assets and its source, Michael Cuhuna, the trial judge, pronounced her guilty on the basis of a totally extraneous piece of legislation: the Prevention of Corruption Act. Having assets disproportionate to known sources of Income does not constitute corruption, as one can inherit assets, acquire by exchange or gift and there are other pieces of law governing the acquisition of assets through these different means. The punishment handed in by the trial court was extremely harsh: 100 crore fine and 10 years rigorous imprisonment. The harshness of the verdict and the questionable legal grounds on which it rested have raised eyebrows in India.
Today the Bangalore High Court has on the appeal of Ms Jayalalitaa acquitted her of all charges. It is nobody's case that the former Chief Minister is above board. However, her acquittal has sent thrills of joy down the spines of her partymen and Ms Jayalalithaa is expected to return as Chief Minister soon. It is becoming difficult to convict VIPs guilty of major acts of corruption.
Both the case discussed in this blog suggest that corruption and VIP misdemeanors need to be addressed with greater vigour.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Jawaharlal Nehru, Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, the RSS and the Myths of Modern India
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
Jawaharlal Nehru whom the Indian liberal worships as the very epitome of secularism and democracy based his politics on two huge and monstrous lies both of which stand completely exposed today. The first was the state sponsored and encouraged propaganda the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (the RSS) was behind the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. So sustained and relentless was the aggressive campaign of vilification that even today there are "intellectuals" like Bipan Chandra, Mridula Mukerjee and a host of congress acolytes who carry this false notion like a mark of "secular" identity. The facts is that Jawaharlal Nehru was well aware of the dangers posed to Gandhi, especially after he decided to go on a hunger strike to get from the reluctant regime of Nehru the money owed by India to Pakistan. Nehru chose to ignore all the warning and on the fateful day when Gandhi was shot, Nehru must have been relieved as the nation's attention would now be focused only on Nehru and not Gandhi. In fact, Gandhi was reluctant to share the mid night hour with Nehru and his absence on August 15th 1947 suggests that Gandhi and Nehru had parted ways. While it is not clear if Nehru had a hand in the assassination, what is amply clear that Nehru knowing well that the RSS was not in any way involved in the crime chose to implicate the leaders of the nationalist organization in a crime that shocked the nation. By discrediting the RSS and its opposition to the formation of Pakistan and Partition, Nehru successfully deflected attention from his own failure to prevent the Partition and more pertinently by agreeing to Lord Mountbatten's request for an early date for Independence, Nehru ensured that an unprepared Nation was faced with the horrendous reality of violence and ethnic cleansing on both sides of the border. Nehru's lack of statecraft is clear from this example. However, he sought to vindicate himself by blaming the RSS.
With his younger colleague, Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, Nehru maintained less than cordial relations. Netaji was a towering intellectual with a first class degree from Cambridge University, unlike Nehru's "gentle man " pass degree, a successful passage through the ICS Examinations and Nehru was not a patch on this great man. In spite of the growing lure of Soviet style Socialism over his intellectual horizon, particularly in the 1930's, Nehru was astute enough not to take his socialism to the point of disrupting his relationship with Gandhi. In other words political expediency ensured that Nehru continued to pay homage to Gandhian ideals, whereas Bose was man enough to declare his opposition to the Gandhian methods. Bose escaped from Calcutta to Germ,any from where he continued the struggle for India's independence. And after the collapse of the Quit India Movement of 1942, the English decided to quit India but at at a cost" Partition and Quit. Netaji's contribution to India's Independence was beyond doubt of outstanding moment and was also an important element in the legitimization of the new Indian state which was born in 1947.Had Netaji been alive, Nehru stood no chance of towering over the Indian Nation like a colossus, of course, with feet of clay. The disappearance of Netaji was essential to ensure the survival of Nehru's regime.
On August 18th 1945 Netaji escaped to Russia via Manchuria and the plane crash theory was floated in order to cover up his tracks. Nehru was quick to declare Netaji dead and tried to appropriate the legacy of the Indian National Army by covertly suggesting that Netaji could be tried as a "war criminal" by the Allies due to his alliance with the Japanese Empire and Germany. There is some evidence to show that Nehru wrote to Clement Atlee suggesting that Netaji could be tried as a war criminal. It is against this background that Netaji decided to fake his death and escape to Soviet Russia. There are credible witnesses to that fact that he was seen in Russia, perhaps Siberia as late as 1963. The Mookerjee Commission also rejected the death in an air crash theory propagated by Nehru and his gang.
The recent revelations that the regime of Nehru used the Intelligence Bureau to tail the Bose Family and maintained total surveillance on the Sisir Bose Household comes as no great surprise. Nehru was mortally afraid of a return of Netaji.
Therefore the entire politics of Nehru in the post Independence era rested on two great lies.
Jawaharlal Nehru whom the Indian liberal worships as the very epitome of secularism and democracy based his politics on two huge and monstrous lies both of which stand completely exposed today. The first was the state sponsored and encouraged propaganda the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (the RSS) was behind the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. So sustained and relentless was the aggressive campaign of vilification that even today there are "intellectuals" like Bipan Chandra, Mridula Mukerjee and a host of congress acolytes who carry this false notion like a mark of "secular" identity. The facts is that Jawaharlal Nehru was well aware of the dangers posed to Gandhi, especially after he decided to go on a hunger strike to get from the reluctant regime of Nehru the money owed by India to Pakistan. Nehru chose to ignore all the warning and on the fateful day when Gandhi was shot, Nehru must have been relieved as the nation's attention would now be focused only on Nehru and not Gandhi. In fact, Gandhi was reluctant to share the mid night hour with Nehru and his absence on August 15th 1947 suggests that Gandhi and Nehru had parted ways. While it is not clear if Nehru had a hand in the assassination, what is amply clear that Nehru knowing well that the RSS was not in any way involved in the crime chose to implicate the leaders of the nationalist organization in a crime that shocked the nation. By discrediting the RSS and its opposition to the formation of Pakistan and Partition, Nehru successfully deflected attention from his own failure to prevent the Partition and more pertinently by agreeing to Lord Mountbatten's request for an early date for Independence, Nehru ensured that an unprepared Nation was faced with the horrendous reality of violence and ethnic cleansing on both sides of the border. Nehru's lack of statecraft is clear from this example. However, he sought to vindicate himself by blaming the RSS.
With his younger colleague, Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, Nehru maintained less than cordial relations. Netaji was a towering intellectual with a first class degree from Cambridge University, unlike Nehru's "gentle man " pass degree, a successful passage through the ICS Examinations and Nehru was not a patch on this great man. In spite of the growing lure of Soviet style Socialism over his intellectual horizon, particularly in the 1930's, Nehru was astute enough not to take his socialism to the point of disrupting his relationship with Gandhi. In other words political expediency ensured that Nehru continued to pay homage to Gandhian ideals, whereas Bose was man enough to declare his opposition to the Gandhian methods. Bose escaped from Calcutta to Germ,any from where he continued the struggle for India's independence. And after the collapse of the Quit India Movement of 1942, the English decided to quit India but at at a cost" Partition and Quit. Netaji's contribution to India's Independence was beyond doubt of outstanding moment and was also an important element in the legitimization of the new Indian state which was born in 1947.Had Netaji been alive, Nehru stood no chance of towering over the Indian Nation like a colossus, of course, with feet of clay. The disappearance of Netaji was essential to ensure the survival of Nehru's regime.
On August 18th 1945 Netaji escaped to Russia via Manchuria and the plane crash theory was floated in order to cover up his tracks. Nehru was quick to declare Netaji dead and tried to appropriate the legacy of the Indian National Army by covertly suggesting that Netaji could be tried as a "war criminal" by the Allies due to his alliance with the Japanese Empire and Germany. There is some evidence to show that Nehru wrote to Clement Atlee suggesting that Netaji could be tried as a war criminal. It is against this background that Netaji decided to fake his death and escape to Soviet Russia. There are credible witnesses to that fact that he was seen in Russia, perhaps Siberia as late as 1963. The Mookerjee Commission also rejected the death in an air crash theory propagated by Nehru and his gang.
The recent revelations that the regime of Nehru used the Intelligence Bureau to tail the Bose Family and maintained total surveillance on the Sisir Bose Household comes as no great surprise. Nehru was mortally afraid of a return of Netaji.
Therefore the entire politics of Nehru in the post Independence era rested on two great lies.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Red Sander Smuggling and the tensions between Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
The gunning down of 20 Red Sander smugglers in the forests surrounding the famed Tirupati Temple in Chitoor District of Andhra Pradesh has created a stir and politicians in Tamil Nadu have raised the issue of human rights violations and have accused the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandra Babu Naidu of wanton killing. The record of Tamil Nadu Government on the human rights front is rather bleak. Recently the Minister for Agriculture Thiru Krishnamurthy was arrested for abetting the suicide, of the Chief Engineer of the Department who was forced to sign papers appointing men as drivers in the Department from whom the Minister had taken bribes ranging from 3 to 5 lakhs. The record of the earlier DMK Government is no better. Who has forgotten the suicide of Bash, an accused in the 2G Scam and earlier the killing of DG of Police Mr Durai. The Dravidian Movement and its political offshoots has led to the growth of corrupt, fascist forces and both the DMK and the AIADMK are both tadpoles from the same cess pool. Such being the case the sudden concern for the rights of the tribal on the part of the Tamil politicians is not sincere.
Since 1967 the tribal areas of North Arcot District, the Jahwadi Hills have been neglected. There have been no schemes for the up liftment of the tribal. Even elementary schools are lacking in the area. As far as health facilities are concerned even the Primary Health Centers are not present. The entire social welfare budget of Tamil Nadu is spent on the landed backward castes who already dominate the political and administrative structures of the state. The tribal population has only the choice of choosing the path of ethnocide or eternal poverty and marginalization. Against this background, the sudden love of our Tamil politicians for the tribals is both ingenuous and hypocritical.
Red Sander is a valuable timber which is found in the Seshachalam forests and is listed as an endangered tree and whose cutting is forbidden by law. There is a huge demand for the products from this tree in East Asia for making furniture and also in the construction industry. The tribals who are kept in a state of abject poverty as a calculated policy of the backward caste dominated regime, are induced by politician to venture out into the forests and cut down the trees. It takes just 30 minutes for an experienced tribal to cut down the tree and debark it and make it ready for transport. The forest guards are usually paid to ignore the entire timber smuggling. More than 20 men who were appointed as forest guards were killed by the timber Mafia and hence the AP Government decided to appoint a special task force. We must remember that the mass killer Veerappan was also a timber smuggler, except that he chose the less lucrative sandal wood trees to cut. And he too enjoyed patronage on both sides of the border: The DMK regime in Tamil Nadu and the Congress regime in Karnataka. The AP Government decided to act before the menace became too great for the sate to handle. The YSR Congress, like its parent organization is a crime syndicate and its local leaders are political front for the smugglers.
The killing of 20 tribals is indeed extremely sad and deserves to be investigated. The fact is that in the past the smugglers have killed forest guards and even in this case the Special Task Force was attacked with bows and axes and the firing was resorted to in self defense. Of course, excessive force was used. However, the primary responsibility rests with the Government of Tamil Nadu which has not done anything for the welfare of the tribals and force them to make a living thus.
The gunning down of 20 Red Sander smugglers in the forests surrounding the famed Tirupati Temple in Chitoor District of Andhra Pradesh has created a stir and politicians in Tamil Nadu have raised the issue of human rights violations and have accused the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandra Babu Naidu of wanton killing. The record of Tamil Nadu Government on the human rights front is rather bleak. Recently the Minister for Agriculture Thiru Krishnamurthy was arrested for abetting the suicide, of the Chief Engineer of the Department who was forced to sign papers appointing men as drivers in the Department from whom the Minister had taken bribes ranging from 3 to 5 lakhs. The record of the earlier DMK Government is no better. Who has forgotten the suicide of Bash, an accused in the 2G Scam and earlier the killing of DG of Police Mr Durai. The Dravidian Movement and its political offshoots has led to the growth of corrupt, fascist forces and both the DMK and the AIADMK are both tadpoles from the same cess pool. Such being the case the sudden concern for the rights of the tribal on the part of the Tamil politicians is not sincere.
Since 1967 the tribal areas of North Arcot District, the Jahwadi Hills have been neglected. There have been no schemes for the up liftment of the tribal. Even elementary schools are lacking in the area. As far as health facilities are concerned even the Primary Health Centers are not present. The entire social welfare budget of Tamil Nadu is spent on the landed backward castes who already dominate the political and administrative structures of the state. The tribal population has only the choice of choosing the path of ethnocide or eternal poverty and marginalization. Against this background, the sudden love of our Tamil politicians for the tribals is both ingenuous and hypocritical.
Red Sander is a valuable timber which is found in the Seshachalam forests and is listed as an endangered tree and whose cutting is forbidden by law. There is a huge demand for the products from this tree in East Asia for making furniture and also in the construction industry. The tribals who are kept in a state of abject poverty as a calculated policy of the backward caste dominated regime, are induced by politician to venture out into the forests and cut down the trees. It takes just 30 minutes for an experienced tribal to cut down the tree and debark it and make it ready for transport. The forest guards are usually paid to ignore the entire timber smuggling. More than 20 men who were appointed as forest guards were killed by the timber Mafia and hence the AP Government decided to appoint a special task force. We must remember that the mass killer Veerappan was also a timber smuggler, except that he chose the less lucrative sandal wood trees to cut. And he too enjoyed patronage on both sides of the border: The DMK regime in Tamil Nadu and the Congress regime in Karnataka. The AP Government decided to act before the menace became too great for the sate to handle. The YSR Congress, like its parent organization is a crime syndicate and its local leaders are political front for the smugglers.
The killing of 20 tribals is indeed extremely sad and deserves to be investigated. The fact is that in the past the smugglers have killed forest guards and even in this case the Special Task Force was attacked with bows and axes and the firing was resorted to in self defense. Of course, excessive force was used. However, the primary responsibility rests with the Government of Tamil Nadu which has not done anything for the welfare of the tribals and force them to make a living thus.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
BBC, The Nirbhaya Documentary and Indian Public Opnion
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
The Western World or the White world pretends that it is upholding a higher civilizational standard than the non- Western world of which India and China are the most illustrious icons. On what basis are such claims made. The fact that less than 65 years back, Germany killed 13 million people in the Concentration Camps, a record of barbarism that still remains unsurpassed, is generally ignored as that country is officially part of the so called West. The rising tide of racial discrimination in most European countries is again set aside and in UK, the internal surveillance of the Muslim population is reaching alarming proportions. In USA almost every week a man, usually a non white and generally derelict person is being killed by the trigger happy internal militia. And since the subject is rape, the percentage of women in USA and Europe who are raped is extremely high. In MIT, a campus survey found that 60% of the female students had complained of unacceptable sexual behavior on Campus. I are repeating all these facts not to cover up the enormous tragedy that shocked and traumatized the entire nation. India set up the JP Verma Commission and tightened the laws and there is growing awareness of the issue of gender violence. Can the same be said of USA and Europe.
The BBC has produced and broadcast a documentary entitled, India's Daughter, which is based on a series of interviews with the killers of Nirbhaya. The dead victim of the tragedy is made to relive the trauma once again by the shamelessly titillating exposure given to one of the rapists who is under the sentence of death. It appears from the way in which the documentary has been edited, that the main purpose is to shift the focus of the debate from rape to the death penalty in general and that of the impending execution of the rapist killer in particular. I cannot understand how the UPA Government was so insensitive that it allowed the BBC to film the interviews with the killer and that to in Tihar Jail located in the Capital. Will the Indian Media get access to any prisoner awaiting execution in USA. One example will suffice: The American Government did not permit the Indian Law reinforcement personnel to interview David Headley Coleman even though he stands accused in an Indian Court for having planned and organized the 26/11 Massacre in Mumbai. That being the case, how is it that the BBC enjoys privileges that it is not entitled to. How was the filming allowed without the script being whetted.
India's Daughter projects India is an extremely bad light and that is precisely the purpose of the documentary. It seeks to portray India as a land of barbarians in which women are not safe and it needs the skills of a white film maker to hold a mirror to reflect the ugly face of India. India exploded in anger at what happened in Delhi in December 2012 and does not need a white woman to tell us or inform us of the ugly reality which stares us in the face. The arrogance of the BBC which justified the broadcast is unconscionable: it serves a real purpose of informing the world says BBC. Indian law which prohibits the name of the victim from being made public was deliberately and insensitively violated and the Government of India is well within its right to ban BBC from India for this one serious act. I think, the country must adopt a zero tolerance to such provocations. India law cannot be violated by foreign media. We do not have give extra territorial rights to BBC and their correspondents. India should force the BBC to ether publically apologize for the violation of Indian law or be forced to quit India.
Nirbhaya is a symbol of the kind of unspeakable brutality which no civilized society can tolerate. The BBC has no right to rape the victim again and again. Shame on BBC. It now turns out that the rapist Mukesh Singh was paid by BBC for this interview. In other words BBC made commercial profit out out this immense tragedy and paid the killer too.
The Western World or the White world pretends that it is upholding a higher civilizational standard than the non- Western world of which India and China are the most illustrious icons. On what basis are such claims made. The fact that less than 65 years back, Germany killed 13 million people in the Concentration Camps, a record of barbarism that still remains unsurpassed, is generally ignored as that country is officially part of the so called West. The rising tide of racial discrimination in most European countries is again set aside and in UK, the internal surveillance of the Muslim population is reaching alarming proportions. In USA almost every week a man, usually a non white and generally derelict person is being killed by the trigger happy internal militia. And since the subject is rape, the percentage of women in USA and Europe who are raped is extremely high. In MIT, a campus survey found that 60% of the female students had complained of unacceptable sexual behavior on Campus. I are repeating all these facts not to cover up the enormous tragedy that shocked and traumatized the entire nation. India set up the JP Verma Commission and tightened the laws and there is growing awareness of the issue of gender violence. Can the same be said of USA and Europe.
The BBC has produced and broadcast a documentary entitled, India's Daughter, which is based on a series of interviews with the killers of Nirbhaya. The dead victim of the tragedy is made to relive the trauma once again by the shamelessly titillating exposure given to one of the rapists who is under the sentence of death. It appears from the way in which the documentary has been edited, that the main purpose is to shift the focus of the debate from rape to the death penalty in general and that of the impending execution of the rapist killer in particular. I cannot understand how the UPA Government was so insensitive that it allowed the BBC to film the interviews with the killer and that to in Tihar Jail located in the Capital. Will the Indian Media get access to any prisoner awaiting execution in USA. One example will suffice: The American Government did not permit the Indian Law reinforcement personnel to interview David Headley Coleman even though he stands accused in an Indian Court for having planned and organized the 26/11 Massacre in Mumbai. That being the case, how is it that the BBC enjoys privileges that it is not entitled to. How was the filming allowed without the script being whetted.
India's Daughter projects India is an extremely bad light and that is precisely the purpose of the documentary. It seeks to portray India as a land of barbarians in which women are not safe and it needs the skills of a white film maker to hold a mirror to reflect the ugly face of India. India exploded in anger at what happened in Delhi in December 2012 and does not need a white woman to tell us or inform us of the ugly reality which stares us in the face. The arrogance of the BBC which justified the broadcast is unconscionable: it serves a real purpose of informing the world says BBC. Indian law which prohibits the name of the victim from being made public was deliberately and insensitively violated and the Government of India is well within its right to ban BBC from India for this one serious act. I think, the country must adopt a zero tolerance to such provocations. India law cannot be violated by foreign media. We do not have give extra territorial rights to BBC and their correspondents. India should force the BBC to ether publically apologize for the violation of Indian law or be forced to quit India.
Nirbhaya is a symbol of the kind of unspeakable brutality which no civilized society can tolerate. The BBC has no right to rape the victim again and again. Shame on BBC. It now turns out that the rapist Mukesh Singh was paid by BBC for this interview. In other words BBC made commercial profit out out this immense tragedy and paid the killer too.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
A TRIP TO ALLEPEY: VENICE OF THE EAST
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
Alapuzha or Allepey is sometimes called Venice of the East. It was an important port from where spices were exported to all parts of the world in the medieval period. To facilitate the movement of spices, canals were constructed on which the typical long boats of Kerala used to ply. The beautiful Vembanar Lake, a large water body forms a breath taking and a scenic backdrop to this beautiful city. I had reasons to visit this city recently as I was invited by a student of mine to deliver the keynote address for a National Seminar in a College there. We spent three wonderful days and I want to share my experience with my readers> Here goes:
Alapuzha or Allepey is sometimes called Venice of the East. It was an important port from where spices were exported to all parts of the world in the medieval period. To facilitate the movement of spices, canals were constructed on which the typical long boats of Kerala used to ply. The beautiful Vembanar Lake, a large water body forms a breath taking and a scenic backdrop to this beautiful city. I had reasons to visit this city recently as I was invited by a student of mine to deliver the keynote address for a National Seminar in a College there. We spent three wonderful days and I want to share my experience with my readers> Here goes:
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| Norton Church |
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| The Lighthouse |
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| The Spice Warehouse |
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| A House by the Canal |
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| The Rajarajesvari Temple |
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| A Beautiful Lamp |
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| The Mullaly Market |
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| The Sunset on the beach |
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| Saint Joseph's College for Women which is doing a splendid job in educating girls |
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| The Ambalapuzha Temple |
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| The same Temple |
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| An excellent place to get snacks by the Boat Jetty |
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| The first Protestant Church built in 1816 |
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| The Altar of the Church |
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| A view of the canal Our trip to Allepey was wonderful and will remain in our mind for a long long time. Well worth a visit. |
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
One Part Woman: Perumal Murugan and his novel of Misrepresentation
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
Tamil literary scene is said to be vibrant and the recent novel by Perumal Murugan, One Part Woman is touted as an example of a renaissance in Tamil Literature. Caste is always simmering under the surface of Tamil society and the Dravidian Movement has made caste the central icon of Tamil identity and politics which valorizes a politicized linguistic consciousness. The Brahmin was the focus of much of the venom unleashed by the Dravidian Movement and even E V Ramaswamy Nayakkar or Periyar as he is fondly called made Brahmin bashing an acceptable part of Tamil public behaviour. Today when brahmins has been driven out of Tamil Nadu and the intermediate castes which inherited the spoils of the Dravidian Movement and its politics are busy fighting among themselves and are united only against the dalit population. The ugly reality of Tamil society today is that caste is the only theme which writers want to explore. Murugan, a teacher of Tamil at Namakkal has published a novel which the intermediate landed caste of the Konku region, the Konku Vellalars, find extremely offensive. The novel, One Part Woman is set in the Konku region around the town of Tiruchengode, a taluq headquarters in Salem district.
Konku which consists of the hilly tracts of the Western Ghats was the last frontier of Tamil society and throughout its long history was bone of contention between powerful neighbours. The Pandyas, the Cholas and the Hoysalas all contested for supremacy over this region. Obviously the area has a violent and turbulent past which can be dealt with in a fairly interesting and engaging manner. However we do not find this novel doing either.
There has been outrage in Tamil Nadu against this novel. The writer/novelist in a dramatic facebook post declared that the novelist Murugan is dead and only a "stupid teacher" Murugan is alive. This provided the signal for all the usual suspects of the Tamil Literary scene, N Ram, A R Venkatachalapathy, Meena, Chandru and others to rally in support of the author on the ground that his artistic freedom has been curtailed by the forces of "cultural fascism". Nothing can be more untrue than this. A conspiracy theory was floated that because the Vellalar Gounders are running Teaching shops in the form of cram schools in Namakkal that community is funding the anti Murugan agitation and the author played along by pretending to be a martyr to the cause of freedom.
There is a great deal of ethnographic information available about the Konku region and there is no material which supports the central theme of the novel that the Ardhanarisvara Temple situated atop a hillock near Tiruchengode was ever the site of the seedy scene that Murugan describes. He argues that women visited this temple to beget children and were impregnated by men who were not their husbands. Obviously the Konku Vellalar community is up in arms against the depiction of their women as unchaste and more pertinently, causing a veil of suspicion to fall on the ancestry of the community. The Konku Vellalars are divided into 24 territorially segmented nadu grouping as suggested by the ethnographic research of Brenda Beck. Under these circumstances it would be impossible for such a custom to be even plausible. A false and contrived social custom is sought to be foisted on to the Konku Gounder community. There is no historical or ethnographic material to even remotely suggest the existence of the surrogate impregnation that Perumal Murugan has described in his book. I do not contest his right to write rubbish, but let him not say that he has written a piece of social history in the form of a novel.
The language used in the book is vulgar and tasteless. Kinship is respected in Tamil society and the elder brother's wife is called anni. It is not possible for a brother to say in the context of Tamil society' "Just find out and let me know if my sisters-in-law will take care of that" (86). The context of this quote is so tasteless and vulgar that I have refrained from quoting it in full. And there are many such instances of vulgar, tasteless language.
On page 98 Perumal Murugan writes: At the peak of the celebrations all rules were relaxed. The night bore witness to that".
This book does not deserve the attention it has received. Of course, I do not say that it should be banned. It is just a piece of trash thta deserves to be ignored.
Tamil literary scene is said to be vibrant and the recent novel by Perumal Murugan, One Part Woman is touted as an example of a renaissance in Tamil Literature. Caste is always simmering under the surface of Tamil society and the Dravidian Movement has made caste the central icon of Tamil identity and politics which valorizes a politicized linguistic consciousness. The Brahmin was the focus of much of the venom unleashed by the Dravidian Movement and even E V Ramaswamy Nayakkar or Periyar as he is fondly called made Brahmin bashing an acceptable part of Tamil public behaviour. Today when brahmins has been driven out of Tamil Nadu and the intermediate castes which inherited the spoils of the Dravidian Movement and its politics are busy fighting among themselves and are united only against the dalit population. The ugly reality of Tamil society today is that caste is the only theme which writers want to explore. Murugan, a teacher of Tamil at Namakkal has published a novel which the intermediate landed caste of the Konku region, the Konku Vellalars, find extremely offensive. The novel, One Part Woman is set in the Konku region around the town of Tiruchengode, a taluq headquarters in Salem district.
Konku which consists of the hilly tracts of the Western Ghats was the last frontier of Tamil society and throughout its long history was bone of contention between powerful neighbours. The Pandyas, the Cholas and the Hoysalas all contested for supremacy over this region. Obviously the area has a violent and turbulent past which can be dealt with in a fairly interesting and engaging manner. However we do not find this novel doing either.
There has been outrage in Tamil Nadu against this novel. The writer/novelist in a dramatic facebook post declared that the novelist Murugan is dead and only a "stupid teacher" Murugan is alive. This provided the signal for all the usual suspects of the Tamil Literary scene, N Ram, A R Venkatachalapathy, Meena, Chandru and others to rally in support of the author on the ground that his artistic freedom has been curtailed by the forces of "cultural fascism". Nothing can be more untrue than this. A conspiracy theory was floated that because the Vellalar Gounders are running Teaching shops in the form of cram schools in Namakkal that community is funding the anti Murugan agitation and the author played along by pretending to be a martyr to the cause of freedom.
There is a great deal of ethnographic information available about the Konku region and there is no material which supports the central theme of the novel that the Ardhanarisvara Temple situated atop a hillock near Tiruchengode was ever the site of the seedy scene that Murugan describes. He argues that women visited this temple to beget children and were impregnated by men who were not their husbands. Obviously the Konku Vellalar community is up in arms against the depiction of their women as unchaste and more pertinently, causing a veil of suspicion to fall on the ancestry of the community. The Konku Vellalars are divided into 24 territorially segmented nadu grouping as suggested by the ethnographic research of Brenda Beck. Under these circumstances it would be impossible for such a custom to be even plausible. A false and contrived social custom is sought to be foisted on to the Konku Gounder community. There is no historical or ethnographic material to even remotely suggest the existence of the surrogate impregnation that Perumal Murugan has described in his book. I do not contest his right to write rubbish, but let him not say that he has written a piece of social history in the form of a novel.
The language used in the book is vulgar and tasteless. Kinship is respected in Tamil society and the elder brother's wife is called anni. It is not possible for a brother to say in the context of Tamil society' "Just find out and let me know if my sisters-in-law will take care of that" (86). The context of this quote is so tasteless and vulgar that I have refrained from quoting it in full. And there are many such instances of vulgar, tasteless language.
On page 98 Perumal Murugan writes: At the peak of the celebrations all rules were relaxed. The night bore witness to that".
This book does not deserve the attention it has received. Of course, I do not say that it should be banned. It is just a piece of trash thta deserves to be ignored.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
AAM ADMI PARTY VICTORY IN DELHI, FEB 2015
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
The victory of the AAP in the recently concluded polls came as a complete shock to many of us. While the victory of the AAP was predicted the scale of the victory was unprecedented to say the least. The BJP had won all 7 Lok Sabha seats in the May 2014 General Election with a vote share of 37.5%. There has been a slight fall in the vote share but the BJP won only 3 seats leaving 67 seats to the AAP. What explains this debacle?
1 It is now clear that the projection of Kiran Bedi as the Chief Ministerial candidate mid way through the polls was a flawed strategy and doubly so because that move was not welcomed by the grass root workers of the party. Her high handed conduct alienated party workers and the net result she lost the Krishna Nagar seat, a safe constituency of the BJP.
2 The BJP went into the elections without a Manifesto and that meant that the people of Delhi did not know what to expect from the Party. The Vision Document released was largely a symbolic statement huge on rhetoric but short on specifics. Now in retrospect that was a factor.
3 The BJP was on a roll winning state after state and had become used to the habit of winning and assumed that Delhi would be a piece of cake. The AAP has built a good net work of supporters in different localities and had the city well covered. A committed band of volunteers worked night and day to make the victory possible. The AAP was able to tap the misguided idealism of the youth who believe that the AAP brand of politics will augur change in India.
4 The BJP under the State President Shri Satish Upadhya was handicapped by the lack of support from the top duo of the Party, Modi and Shah. Satish Upadhya himself was denied a ticket to fight the Polls while defectors like Krishna Tirath were given tickets. The ticket distribution was faulty and there were far too many para troopers wafting from above queering the pitch.
5 The perceived "negative campaign" of the BJP against the much vaunted financial and ethical probity of the AAP is also touted as a reason. The fact is that the AAP is guilty of using shady and dubious finances during the campaign but turned its own misdeeds against the BJP. The AAP is very good at turning all criticism against its conduct as a trial between the forces of good and the forces of evil a kind of eschatology which may lead to short term gains but not long lasting results.
6 The BJP has lost and like a mature political party has started introspecting. The first clear indication of change is the reluctance to enter the dirty cess pool of Bihar politics. The BPJ will learn its lessons and get its house in order before the Bihar polls later this year.
The victory of the AAP in the recently concluded polls came as a complete shock to many of us. While the victory of the AAP was predicted the scale of the victory was unprecedented to say the least. The BJP had won all 7 Lok Sabha seats in the May 2014 General Election with a vote share of 37.5%. There has been a slight fall in the vote share but the BJP won only 3 seats leaving 67 seats to the AAP. What explains this debacle?
1 It is now clear that the projection of Kiran Bedi as the Chief Ministerial candidate mid way through the polls was a flawed strategy and doubly so because that move was not welcomed by the grass root workers of the party. Her high handed conduct alienated party workers and the net result she lost the Krishna Nagar seat, a safe constituency of the BJP.
2 The BJP went into the elections without a Manifesto and that meant that the people of Delhi did not know what to expect from the Party. The Vision Document released was largely a symbolic statement huge on rhetoric but short on specifics. Now in retrospect that was a factor.
3 The BJP was on a roll winning state after state and had become used to the habit of winning and assumed that Delhi would be a piece of cake. The AAP has built a good net work of supporters in different localities and had the city well covered. A committed band of volunteers worked night and day to make the victory possible. The AAP was able to tap the misguided idealism of the youth who believe that the AAP brand of politics will augur change in India.
4 The BJP under the State President Shri Satish Upadhya was handicapped by the lack of support from the top duo of the Party, Modi and Shah. Satish Upadhya himself was denied a ticket to fight the Polls while defectors like Krishna Tirath were given tickets. The ticket distribution was faulty and there were far too many para troopers wafting from above queering the pitch.
5 The perceived "negative campaign" of the BJP against the much vaunted financial and ethical probity of the AAP is also touted as a reason. The fact is that the AAP is guilty of using shady and dubious finances during the campaign but turned its own misdeeds against the BJP. The AAP is very good at turning all criticism against its conduct as a trial between the forces of good and the forces of evil a kind of eschatology which may lead to short term gains but not long lasting results.
6 The BJP has lost and like a mature political party has started introspecting. The first clear indication of change is the reluctance to enter the dirty cess pool of Bihar politics. The BPJ will learn its lessons and get its house in order before the Bihar polls later this year.
Monday, January 26, 2015
Barack Obama in India: Republic Day, Nuclear Deal and Indo-US Relations
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
The Republic Day 2015 has quite a few firsts to its credit. For the first time in 66 years a serving US President was the Chief Guest at this important public event. And for the first time too significant political and economic agreements were signed, particularly the agreement on Civil Nuclear Deal. Let us put all this in perspective. A year ago, no one in India would have deemed it possible for a US President to be the Chief Guest on the occasion of the Republic Day. The commentators here have simplified the whole issue into one of "chemistry" between the two leaders. Nothing can be more wrong than this. USA has finally realized that India has changed and it is no longer possible to ignore India. The fact that USA was used to equating Indian concerns with Pakistan's sensitivities was the crux of the whole relationship, India was usually hyphenated with Pakistan. For the first time the joint statement issued after the talks made an unequivocal commitment to end terrorism and in the usual diplomatic parlance took a firm step towards ensuring that the 26/11 suspects are brought to book. I think this shift in US policy in the most important outcome of the visit.
The Civil Nuclear deal between India and USA was signed sis years back and there was little progress on the issue because of the "liability" clause in the Act passed by the Indian Parliament. The legality of the liability clause can be debated but the fact is that the BJP insisted that the clause which makes the supplier and not the operators of the power plants liable for the cost of any accident. The US power industry was naturally apprehensive about this clause and Modi was able to talk the US President into using his executive powers to iron out the differences. I think this is again a huge shift in US position. The fact that a Democrat has been able to muster the political will to make a huge shift in India's favor is a sign that Indo-US Relations are improving. I am personally in favor of a more even handed approach so that the Chinese Government does not get too highly perturbed over the growing ties between the two countries. However, the deal was struck within 7 months of Modi coming to power and this goes to show that in the domain of foreign policy Narendar Modi has rare grit and talent.
The other important takeaway from the visit of Barack Obama is the US endorsement of the "Make in India" campaign launched by Narendar Modi. The long and dreary years of Congress rule staring with Jawaharlal Nehru saw India adopting a model of development which was based on the importation of technology in the knocked down version and the factories reassembled in India. The Ambassador car is a good example of this. Reassembly of kits, manufacturing on the basis of expired patents or process innovation were the hall marks of Indian industrialization. And this charade was called "thrust toward self sufficiency". Rightly has India rejected this model of development and Modi in his Make in India Campaign seeks transfer of technology, partnership and skill development all of which were absent in the Nehruvian model. The Make in India campaign figured prominently in the Davos Meet.
The recent comments in China in which the Obama visit was sought to be downplayed has to be viewed seriously. China has very perceptively understood that there is a major shift in the very principles of Indian foreign policy. I am sure that Narendar Modi during his forthcoming visit to China will reassure China that Indo-US relations are not directed at China and so far Narendar Modi has sent out all the right messages.
The Republic Day began with Narendar Modi paying tribute to the Indian Army at India Gate which was built by the British to honour the war dead of India in the Great War, 1914-18.
The Civil Nuclear deal between India and USA was signed sis years back and there was little progress on the issue because of the "liability" clause in the Act passed by the Indian Parliament. The legality of the liability clause can be debated but the fact is that the BJP insisted that the clause which makes the supplier and not the operators of the power plants liable for the cost of any accident. The US power industry was naturally apprehensive about this clause and Modi was able to talk the US President into using his executive powers to iron out the differences. I think this is again a huge shift in US position. The fact that a Democrat has been able to muster the political will to make a huge shift in India's favor is a sign that Indo-US Relations are improving. I am personally in favor of a more even handed approach so that the Chinese Government does not get too highly perturbed over the growing ties between the two countries. However, the deal was struck within 7 months of Modi coming to power and this goes to show that in the domain of foreign policy Narendar Modi has rare grit and talent.
The other important takeaway from the visit of Barack Obama is the US endorsement of the "Make in India" campaign launched by Narendar Modi. The long and dreary years of Congress rule staring with Jawaharlal Nehru saw India adopting a model of development which was based on the importation of technology in the knocked down version and the factories reassembled in India. The Ambassador car is a good example of this. Reassembly of kits, manufacturing on the basis of expired patents or process innovation were the hall marks of Indian industrialization. And this charade was called "thrust toward self sufficiency". Rightly has India rejected this model of development and Modi in his Make in India Campaign seeks transfer of technology, partnership and skill development all of which were absent in the Nehruvian model. The Make in India campaign figured prominently in the Davos Meet.
The recent comments in China in which the Obama visit was sought to be downplayed has to be viewed seriously. China has very perceptively understood that there is a major shift in the very principles of Indian foreign policy. I am sure that Narendar Modi during his forthcoming visit to China will reassure China that Indo-US relations are not directed at China and so far Narendar Modi has sent out all the right messages.
The Republic Day began with Narendar Modi paying tribute to the Indian Army at India Gate which was built by the British to honour the war dead of India in the Great War, 1914-18.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Manohar Parikker and the "Deep Assets": How I K Gujral compromised India's security
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
The Defence Minister of India, Shri Manohar Parriker made a statement recently in which he alluded to "deep assets" which had been built up over 20 or so years which had been compromised. The Congress Party went to town condemning this statement and even accused the Hon'ble Minster of being irresponsible. The statement has to be viewed in the context of the recent interception on the high seas of a boat which has been identified as a boat whose mission was to deliver a consignment of arms and explosives to a module of the Indian Mujahideen in Gujarat. The boat was intercepted as the radio exchanges were monitored over a period of 2 to 3 days and when confronted by the Coast Guard, the boat and its crew chose to detonate explosives and destroy the boat, cargo and the men on board. It is clear from the intercepts that nearly 50 lakhs were being paid to each of the men on board and this certainly makes it a high risk venture. It is against this background that Manohar Parikker made his forthright remarks.
Unlike USA, Israel or even Pakistan India has not been able to create an efficient Intelligence Agency. The recent disclosures made by R K Yadava in his Mission R&W make shocking reading: we have as R K Yadava points out an intelligence agency which is badly organized, working at cross purposes with other agencies like the IB and worse full of men who are eager to be recruited as double agents. Worse nearly 6 men have defected to USA and India has not been able to bring them to book. When the country's leading Intelligence Agency is facing a crisis of this magnitude, the statement by the Defence Minister has to be taken seriously. There is no scope for bravado.
When I K Gujral became the Prime Minster after the dismissal of Deve Gowda, the new Prime Minster unleashed volley of measures which virtually disbanded the operational capability of the R&W in Pakistan. He wrongly believed, perhaps because he was born in Pakistan, that it would be possible to have peace with Pakistan. With this false ideological and emotional motive, Gujral systematically degraded Indian intelligence assets in Pakistan. A top secret unit called CITX was disbanded and all the operatives recalled to India. India lost its ability to monitor the movement of military units and the deployment of troops. It had even penetrated the middle level of the Pakistani military establishment when Inder Kumar Gujral brought the whole process down.
As irony would have it I K Gural was saved from assassination by the very R&AW that he chose to attack.
What Parikker has said is true and there is no point in making a political issue of it.
The Defence Minister of India, Shri Manohar Parriker made a statement recently in which he alluded to "deep assets" which had been built up over 20 or so years which had been compromised. The Congress Party went to town condemning this statement and even accused the Hon'ble Minster of being irresponsible. The statement has to be viewed in the context of the recent interception on the high seas of a boat which has been identified as a boat whose mission was to deliver a consignment of arms and explosives to a module of the Indian Mujahideen in Gujarat. The boat was intercepted as the radio exchanges were monitored over a period of 2 to 3 days and when confronted by the Coast Guard, the boat and its crew chose to detonate explosives and destroy the boat, cargo and the men on board. It is clear from the intercepts that nearly 50 lakhs were being paid to each of the men on board and this certainly makes it a high risk venture. It is against this background that Manohar Parikker made his forthright remarks.
Unlike USA, Israel or even Pakistan India has not been able to create an efficient Intelligence Agency. The recent disclosures made by R K Yadava in his Mission R&W make shocking reading: we have as R K Yadava points out an intelligence agency which is badly organized, working at cross purposes with other agencies like the IB and worse full of men who are eager to be recruited as double agents. Worse nearly 6 men have defected to USA and India has not been able to bring them to book. When the country's leading Intelligence Agency is facing a crisis of this magnitude, the statement by the Defence Minister has to be taken seriously. There is no scope for bravado.
When I K Gujral became the Prime Minster after the dismissal of Deve Gowda, the new Prime Minster unleashed volley of measures which virtually disbanded the operational capability of the R&W in Pakistan. He wrongly believed, perhaps because he was born in Pakistan, that it would be possible to have peace with Pakistan. With this false ideological and emotional motive, Gujral systematically degraded Indian intelligence assets in Pakistan. A top secret unit called CITX was disbanded and all the operatives recalled to India. India lost its ability to monitor the movement of military units and the deployment of troops. It had even penetrated the middle level of the Pakistani military establishment when Inder Kumar Gujral brought the whole process down.
As irony would have it I K Gural was saved from assassination by the very R&AW that he chose to attack.
What Parikker has said is true and there is no point in making a political issue of it.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Kiran Bedi and the Delhi Assembly Polls, 2015
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
Once again the same questions and again loud, incoherent noises passing off as political wisdom. The BJP inducted Dr Kiran Bedi into the party and is projecting her as the Chief Ministerial face of the campaign for the Delhi Assemble polls scheduled for February 2015. The BJP has lost its advantage in terms of the Modi factor and has therefore "parachuted" Kiran Bedi screamed Arvind Khejriwal. Not to be outdone, the Congress leader Ajay Maken, yes the same Ajay Maken from Hans Raj about whom the dynastic fascist leader, Mani Shankar Ayer said some unpleasant things a few years back, declared that there is dearth of local leadership in the Delhi unit of the BJP. Therefore both the AAP and the Congress are reading mixed political signals in this new development. Added to the motives attributed to the induction of Kiran Bedi is the fading halo around Narendar Modi which according the APPtards has alarmed the Party. Let us see the validity of these arguments.
Dr Kiran Bedi is a prize catch as she is a well known crusader against Corruption and has shared the limelight along with Anna Hazare and his acolyte, Arvind Khejriwal. Since APP will again try to rake up the Lokpal Bill and the response of the BJP to the promise to pass a strong Lok Pal Bill, it makes sense to have the mascot of the anti Corruption movement to confront Khejriwal. None of the other leaders from Delhi match up to the record and stature of Kiran Bedi. Dr Harsh Vardhan would have been ideal, but for some strange reason he is in the dog house for the moment. Satish Upadhya cannot take on Arvind Khejriwal one on one and the BJP leadership has rightly understood this. I must add that even without Kiral Bedi, the BJP could still sweep the polls in Delhi, but there is a definite edge to the BJP Campaign now. Second, Delhi has a large Sikh population which will not vote for the Congress given its abysmal record in 1984 and Kiran Bedi being a Sikh will certainly help bring some of the votes now that the alliance with the Akali Dal is getting unstuck. Lastly, the administrative experience of Kiran Bedi cannot match anyone of her rivals. There is a strong undercurrent of support for Kiran Bedi even in the Juggi Jonpuri colonies due to her track record of service through the NGO she heads.
Now the results as I see it. Before the induction of Bedi. BJP would on its own have won around 35 to 38 seats. Now it will cross 40 though it will not reACH 49 SEATS IT ONCE HELD IN THE FIRST ASSEMBLY. Therefore Amit Shah and the BJP central leadership have pulled a coup by bringing in Kiran Bedi.
Once again the same questions and again loud, incoherent noises passing off as political wisdom. The BJP inducted Dr Kiran Bedi into the party and is projecting her as the Chief Ministerial face of the campaign for the Delhi Assemble polls scheduled for February 2015. The BJP has lost its advantage in terms of the Modi factor and has therefore "parachuted" Kiran Bedi screamed Arvind Khejriwal. Not to be outdone, the Congress leader Ajay Maken, yes the same Ajay Maken from Hans Raj about whom the dynastic fascist leader, Mani Shankar Ayer said some unpleasant things a few years back, declared that there is dearth of local leadership in the Delhi unit of the BJP. Therefore both the AAP and the Congress are reading mixed political signals in this new development. Added to the motives attributed to the induction of Kiran Bedi is the fading halo around Narendar Modi which according the APPtards has alarmed the Party. Let us see the validity of these arguments.
Dr Kiran Bedi is a prize catch as she is a well known crusader against Corruption and has shared the limelight along with Anna Hazare and his acolyte, Arvind Khejriwal. Since APP will again try to rake up the Lokpal Bill and the response of the BJP to the promise to pass a strong Lok Pal Bill, it makes sense to have the mascot of the anti Corruption movement to confront Khejriwal. None of the other leaders from Delhi match up to the record and stature of Kiran Bedi. Dr Harsh Vardhan would have been ideal, but for some strange reason he is in the dog house for the moment. Satish Upadhya cannot take on Arvind Khejriwal one on one and the BJP leadership has rightly understood this. I must add that even without Kiral Bedi, the BJP could still sweep the polls in Delhi, but there is a definite edge to the BJP Campaign now. Second, Delhi has a large Sikh population which will not vote for the Congress given its abysmal record in 1984 and Kiran Bedi being a Sikh will certainly help bring some of the votes now that the alliance with the Akali Dal is getting unstuck. Lastly, the administrative experience of Kiran Bedi cannot match anyone of her rivals. There is a strong undercurrent of support for Kiran Bedi even in the Juggi Jonpuri colonies due to her track record of service through the NGO she heads.
Now the results as I see it. Before the induction of Bedi. BJP would on its own have won around 35 to 38 seats. Now it will cross 40 though it will not reACH 49 SEATS IT ONCE HELD IN THE FIRST ASSEMBLY. Therefore Amit Shah and the BJP central leadership have pulled a coup by bringing in Kiran Bedi.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Je suis Charlie Hebdo: The Indiscreet charms of Islamic Terrorism
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
The attack on the editorial offices of Charlie Hebdo the satirical magazine which won international notoriety for publishing offensive cartoons pertaining to Mohammad, the founder of Islam. Two or three heavily armed men stormed into the building by forcing the woman at the gate to enter the access code of the high security building and fired 37 rounds of ammunition from Ak 47 rifles before making their escape they shot dead a critically injured policeman. That the attack was well planned and meticulously executed can be gleaned from the flawless getaway, escape from the scene into the woods surrounding the Parisian countryside. The French President, Francois Hollande declared that the killers would be hunted down and that the attack on the journalists was an attack on French Laws which guaranteed "freedom of expression". The French, American and Western media have framed the attack in terms of the opposition between the liberal West which has the civilized approach to life and liberty and the barbaric totalitarian jihadists who kill in the name of religion. This way of framing the issue privileges the superiority of the West which is allegedly governed by "laws" and not "men".
Charlie Hebdo was known all over the world for its irreverence and indeed hostile caricature of non White/ Western cultures, religions and personalities. It may be pointed out that when one of the early satirical magazine, a predecessor of the contemporary, Charlie Hebdo, published a spoof on Charles de Gaulle way back in 1970, it was banned and all copies of the magazine forfeited and destroyed. It is therefore clear that the French claim that they respect Freedom of expression rings hollow. As long as the target of attack is not European or White then it is OK. This seems to the limits set to freedom of expression in France. Can the right to offend be subsumed under the right to freedom of expression.
The western world has seen the disenchantment of the sacred and in most parts of the world people do regard certain personalities, beliefs and symbols sacred and beyond ridicule. Unfortunately in India where political discourse is derivative and based on the pretentions of the western world there is a tendency to equate the freedom of expression with the right to offend. Nothing can be more disingenuous than this argument. In the west only political and national symbols command allegiance of the people. In India we have a whole menagerie of animals, hosts of symbols, a horde of personalities all of which clamour for attention and respect and notional symbols of a recent transition to nationhood are at best second or third tier allegiances. Hence, there is no use of equating the freedom of expression with the right to offend. Reasonable freedom can exist only within the limits of mutual respect and the attack on Charlie Hebdo only demonstrates that the boundary between freedom and respect has been irrevocably broken or breached.
There is a lesson in this tragedy for France. Even since Nicholas Sarkozy became the President of France it has followed a policy of intervention in the Islamic countries and in this there is a pattern of continuity between what was happening under the rights regime and the present pseudo socialist one. The attack on Libya, Tunisia and the provocations in Syria all anger the Islamic societies and added to that is the cultural arrogance of caricature.
The attack on the editorial offices of Charlie Hebdo the satirical magazine which won international notoriety for publishing offensive cartoons pertaining to Mohammad, the founder of Islam. Two or three heavily armed men stormed into the building by forcing the woman at the gate to enter the access code of the high security building and fired 37 rounds of ammunition from Ak 47 rifles before making their escape they shot dead a critically injured policeman. That the attack was well planned and meticulously executed can be gleaned from the flawless getaway, escape from the scene into the woods surrounding the Parisian countryside. The French President, Francois Hollande declared that the killers would be hunted down and that the attack on the journalists was an attack on French Laws which guaranteed "freedom of expression". The French, American and Western media have framed the attack in terms of the opposition between the liberal West which has the civilized approach to life and liberty and the barbaric totalitarian jihadists who kill in the name of religion. This way of framing the issue privileges the superiority of the West which is allegedly governed by "laws" and not "men".
Charlie Hebdo was known all over the world for its irreverence and indeed hostile caricature of non White/ Western cultures, religions and personalities. It may be pointed out that when one of the early satirical magazine, a predecessor of the contemporary, Charlie Hebdo, published a spoof on Charles de Gaulle way back in 1970, it was banned and all copies of the magazine forfeited and destroyed. It is therefore clear that the French claim that they respect Freedom of expression rings hollow. As long as the target of attack is not European or White then it is OK. This seems to the limits set to freedom of expression in France. Can the right to offend be subsumed under the right to freedom of expression.
The western world has seen the disenchantment of the sacred and in most parts of the world people do regard certain personalities, beliefs and symbols sacred and beyond ridicule. Unfortunately in India where political discourse is derivative and based on the pretentions of the western world there is a tendency to equate the freedom of expression with the right to offend. Nothing can be more disingenuous than this argument. In the west only political and national symbols command allegiance of the people. In India we have a whole menagerie of animals, hosts of symbols, a horde of personalities all of which clamour for attention and respect and notional symbols of a recent transition to nationhood are at best second or third tier allegiances. Hence, there is no use of equating the freedom of expression with the right to offend. Reasonable freedom can exist only within the limits of mutual respect and the attack on Charlie Hebdo only demonstrates that the boundary between freedom and respect has been irrevocably broken or breached.
There is a lesson in this tragedy for France. Even since Nicholas Sarkozy became the President of France it has followed a policy of intervention in the Islamic countries and in this there is a pattern of continuity between what was happening under the rights regime and the present pseudo socialist one. The attack on Libya, Tunisia and the provocations in Syria all anger the Islamic societies and added to that is the cultural arrogance of caricature.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
2014 in India : A Retrospect
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
2014 will be remembered as a year in which India reinvented itself. The year began under a spell of gloom as the Congress regime was floundering under charges of corruption, dynastic fascism and political instability. The involvement of Robert Vadra in a series of land scams in states such as Haryana and Rajasthan only showed that even the First Family of the Congress was deeply implicated in corruption. The Congress could not mount an effective answer to the charges and resorted to the usual game of promoting identity politics and raising the bogey of communalism, an undefined and inherently self contradictory concept. Rahul Gandhi tried to lead the Congress counter charge, but the people of India have moved well beyond the narrow limits of dynastic politics.
Enter Narendar Modi. As Chief MInister of Gujarat he performed well that he was repeatedly elected with higher margins than the the previous occasion. He personally led the NDA campaign in the Parliamentary Election of May 2014 and by addressing thousands of rallies all across the length and breadth of India he drove home the message that India can hope for a better and a more secure future provided it abjured dynastic rule and its inherent corruption. He got a fantastic mandate from the country and formed the Government.
In the six months that Modi has been in power, there has not been any dramatic new development but incremental steps have been taken. His "Make in India" campaign has certainly stimulated investment in the industrial sector and though the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, publically criticized this policy, the fact is that industrial growth has picked up. The price rise has been checked and along with price rise we also find the Government addressing the issue of trimming the ever burgeoning subsidies that bedevil the social sector. The Direct Cash Transfer scheme brought in by the previous regime is being streamlined and strengthened. The various Rural Employment guarantee schemes have spawned monumental corruption and the Modi Government is taking steps to ensure that the 100 days employment goes only to the really poor and needy.
The mission to Mars has put India in the big league of Space powers and the successful launch of the GSLV rocket is a huge step in the direction of developing the indigenous cryogenic engine. Apart from these the interlinking of rivers will be another huge task along with the modernization of the Railways by the involvement of Chinese technology and capital. All in all there are positives all around.
The liberal press has been flagging the issue of the religious conversion of Home Coming, Ghar Vapsi as it is called. Narendar Modi has reined in the hot heads in his party and the issue has dies a natural death. He refused to issue a statement in Parliament on the issue, but quietly and effectively dealt with the controversy. The people of India have begun to look to the future with hope and an aspirational India has pinned its faith in Narendar Modi.
2014 will be remembered as a year in which India reinvented itself. The year began under a spell of gloom as the Congress regime was floundering under charges of corruption, dynastic fascism and political instability. The involvement of Robert Vadra in a series of land scams in states such as Haryana and Rajasthan only showed that even the First Family of the Congress was deeply implicated in corruption. The Congress could not mount an effective answer to the charges and resorted to the usual game of promoting identity politics and raising the bogey of communalism, an undefined and inherently self contradictory concept. Rahul Gandhi tried to lead the Congress counter charge, but the people of India have moved well beyond the narrow limits of dynastic politics.
Enter Narendar Modi. As Chief MInister of Gujarat he performed well that he was repeatedly elected with higher margins than the the previous occasion. He personally led the NDA campaign in the Parliamentary Election of May 2014 and by addressing thousands of rallies all across the length and breadth of India he drove home the message that India can hope for a better and a more secure future provided it abjured dynastic rule and its inherent corruption. He got a fantastic mandate from the country and formed the Government.
In the six months that Modi has been in power, there has not been any dramatic new development but incremental steps have been taken. His "Make in India" campaign has certainly stimulated investment in the industrial sector and though the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, publically criticized this policy, the fact is that industrial growth has picked up. The price rise has been checked and along with price rise we also find the Government addressing the issue of trimming the ever burgeoning subsidies that bedevil the social sector. The Direct Cash Transfer scheme brought in by the previous regime is being streamlined and strengthened. The various Rural Employment guarantee schemes have spawned monumental corruption and the Modi Government is taking steps to ensure that the 100 days employment goes only to the really poor and needy.
The mission to Mars has put India in the big league of Space powers and the successful launch of the GSLV rocket is a huge step in the direction of developing the indigenous cryogenic engine. Apart from these the interlinking of rivers will be another huge task along with the modernization of the Railways by the involvement of Chinese technology and capital. All in all there are positives all around.
The liberal press has been flagging the issue of the religious conversion of Home Coming, Ghar Vapsi as it is called. Narendar Modi has reined in the hot heads in his party and the issue has dies a natural death. He refused to issue a statement in Parliament on the issue, but quietly and effectively dealt with the controversy. The people of India have begun to look to the future with hope and an aspirational India has pinned its faith in Narendar Modi.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
The False protests on Conversions in India: An investigation
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
The Indian Press is making a lot of noise on "Conversions" in parts of North India. Though the BJP has no role in the policy of bringing back to the Hindu faith those who were "converted" to other faiths over the course of the past several centuries, the Opposition, particularly the Congress has been disrupting the Parliament demanding a Statement from the Hon'ble Prime Minister. The Television Anchors are having a whale of a time, thundering about the "religious freedoms" enshrined in the document of political settlement issued in 1950. Let us examine the truth of what is happening.
Christianity emerged in Asia at a time when the Roman Empire was at the height of its power and strength. As St Augustine writes in his City of God the birth of the Saviour in a corner of the Roman Empire made the religion aspire for a universality that other religions, particularly the many gods and semi divine characters of the Roman public religion lacked. To be a Christian in the Roman world as Peter Brown and other historians have pointed out was to reject the political entity called the Roman Empire, the earthly city of Augustine and this life was only a transition to the Heavenly City where the Lord reigns forever. Constantine in 324 made Christianity the official religion and thereby a persecuted faith became the official religion. Conversion the context of Christianity was a change in world view, the understanding of life, nature and of course the relationship with God who sent his Son as our Saviour. The Passion of Christ and His Resurrection on the third day is the proof of God's intervention in history. The acceptance of the three central premises of Christianity is Conversio, the transformation, the inward illumination.
In India, however, the " conversion" has usually been on the basis of identity. Lower castes were induced to "convert" by economic and other inducements and though there have been several instances of sincere and well thought out "conversions" most of the converts regarded Christianity as yet another caste of Hinduism. And in the blatant embrace of identity politics due to the numerical democracy which is followed in India, conversion only meant creation of minority pockets for electoral gain. There is nothing religious and spiritual about this. And the storm over conversion is misplaced and most of the converts do not understand even the elementary aspects of the faith they were induced to join for identity reasons.
The Church in India did little to help the entrants from the lower castes. In Tamil Nadu that I know well, high caste parish priests do not perform the sacraments for the lower casts particularly the "pariah" christians. In Villupuram the untouchable Christians have even complained that the Church graveyard is segregated. I am not giving a litany of complaints to undermine the faith. I am only saying that conversion is a personal and inward transformation and public embrace of Christianity does little to change the ground realities.
The controversy over "conversions" or Ghar Vapsi, Home Coming as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad calls it is totally misplaced and the agents of vote blocks alone are affected not the poor.
The Indian Press is making a lot of noise on "Conversions" in parts of North India. Though the BJP has no role in the policy of bringing back to the Hindu faith those who were "converted" to other faiths over the course of the past several centuries, the Opposition, particularly the Congress has been disrupting the Parliament demanding a Statement from the Hon'ble Prime Minister. The Television Anchors are having a whale of a time, thundering about the "religious freedoms" enshrined in the document of political settlement issued in 1950. Let us examine the truth of what is happening.
Christianity emerged in Asia at a time when the Roman Empire was at the height of its power and strength. As St Augustine writes in his City of God the birth of the Saviour in a corner of the Roman Empire made the religion aspire for a universality that other religions, particularly the many gods and semi divine characters of the Roman public religion lacked. To be a Christian in the Roman world as Peter Brown and other historians have pointed out was to reject the political entity called the Roman Empire, the earthly city of Augustine and this life was only a transition to the Heavenly City where the Lord reigns forever. Constantine in 324 made Christianity the official religion and thereby a persecuted faith became the official religion. Conversion the context of Christianity was a change in world view, the understanding of life, nature and of course the relationship with God who sent his Son as our Saviour. The Passion of Christ and His Resurrection on the third day is the proof of God's intervention in history. The acceptance of the three central premises of Christianity is Conversio, the transformation, the inward illumination.
In India, however, the " conversion" has usually been on the basis of identity. Lower castes were induced to "convert" by economic and other inducements and though there have been several instances of sincere and well thought out "conversions" most of the converts regarded Christianity as yet another caste of Hinduism. And in the blatant embrace of identity politics due to the numerical democracy which is followed in India, conversion only meant creation of minority pockets for electoral gain. There is nothing religious and spiritual about this. And the storm over conversion is misplaced and most of the converts do not understand even the elementary aspects of the faith they were induced to join for identity reasons.
The Church in India did little to help the entrants from the lower castes. In Tamil Nadu that I know well, high caste parish priests do not perform the sacraments for the lower casts particularly the "pariah" christians. In Villupuram the untouchable Christians have even complained that the Church graveyard is segregated. I am not giving a litany of complaints to undermine the faith. I am only saying that conversion is a personal and inward transformation and public embrace of Christianity does little to change the ground realities.
The controversy over "conversions" or Ghar Vapsi, Home Coming as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad calls it is totally misplaced and the agents of vote blocks alone are affected not the poor.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
The Massace of the Innocents at Peshawar, Pakistan
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
The massacre at the Army Public School located near the Cantonment at Peshawar has shocked the world and India is aghast at what happened. A two minute silence was observed in educational institutions all long the length and breadth of the country. Cynics might say that this is only a ritual for public consumption. However as a teacher myself and as a parent I, an ordinary citizen felt the pain and anguish of the ordinary Pakistani man and woman. To dismiss the gesture as a mere choreographed display of hypocritical concern will not help anyone. Unfortunately there are sick elements in the Pakistani civil society who have gone to town blaming India for the massacre and this propaganda is only to serve the purpose of diverting attention from the real perpetrators of this outrage. The longer Pakistan lingers in the twilight zone of denial the longer tit will suffer. India cannot do such an act not because it is an innocent country of lambs, but because such attacks do not serve India's interests in the region.
The Pakistani Taliban has taken responsibility for the attack which killed 132 children and 9 teachers. The motive behind the attack is said to be the ongoing Army operations against the Taliban which is going on in the North West Province, the Kim country. Apparently, the Taliban hoped to weaken the resolve of the Pakistani Army in hunting down the militants in the mountain territory. However, they seem to have seriously miscalculated an the Pakistani Army corrupt and criminal force that it is, will not forgive a blatant attack on its own raison d'etre. I think a turning point has been reached, the tipping point which will see a dramatic changes on the ground. I wish the Army well in its hunt.
Is India responsible for what is going on in Pakistan. I have no doubt that some financial and perhaps military support is being given to some secessionist groups in the Baluchi region. However beyond that India's responsibility lies in the fact that at the time of Partition the Pakthtoons who were led by the Frontier Gandhi were staunchly against Partition and the silly criminal man called Nehru sold them short and therein lies the roots of the problem. Nehru who wanted his seat of power by all means possible just allowed the Pakhtoons to be swallowed by the Pakistani state in the same manner that Baltistan too was taken over. Had there been an exchange of population, then the demographic character of Pakistan would have changed and the mohajirs would have been in the majority. Since the demand for Pakistan essentially came form this section, they would have defended the nation by not leaning on Islamic fundamentalism as the ideological glue to hold the disparate nation together.
India has to answer the question raised above.
The massacre at the Army Public School located near the Cantonment at Peshawar has shocked the world and India is aghast at what happened. A two minute silence was observed in educational institutions all long the length and breadth of the country. Cynics might say that this is only a ritual for public consumption. However as a teacher myself and as a parent I, an ordinary citizen felt the pain and anguish of the ordinary Pakistani man and woman. To dismiss the gesture as a mere choreographed display of hypocritical concern will not help anyone. Unfortunately there are sick elements in the Pakistani civil society who have gone to town blaming India for the massacre and this propaganda is only to serve the purpose of diverting attention from the real perpetrators of this outrage. The longer Pakistan lingers in the twilight zone of denial the longer tit will suffer. India cannot do such an act not because it is an innocent country of lambs, but because such attacks do not serve India's interests in the region.
The Pakistani Taliban has taken responsibility for the attack which killed 132 children and 9 teachers. The motive behind the attack is said to be the ongoing Army operations against the Taliban which is going on in the North West Province, the Kim country. Apparently, the Taliban hoped to weaken the resolve of the Pakistani Army in hunting down the militants in the mountain territory. However, they seem to have seriously miscalculated an the Pakistani Army corrupt and criminal force that it is, will not forgive a blatant attack on its own raison d'etre. I think a turning point has been reached, the tipping point which will see a dramatic changes on the ground. I wish the Army well in its hunt.
Is India responsible for what is going on in Pakistan. I have no doubt that some financial and perhaps military support is being given to some secessionist groups in the Baluchi region. However beyond that India's responsibility lies in the fact that at the time of Partition the Pakthtoons who were led by the Frontier Gandhi were staunchly against Partition and the silly criminal man called Nehru sold them short and therein lies the roots of the problem. Nehru who wanted his seat of power by all means possible just allowed the Pakhtoons to be swallowed by the Pakistani state in the same manner that Baltistan too was taken over. Had there been an exchange of population, then the demographic character of Pakistan would have changed and the mohajirs would have been in the majority. Since the demand for Pakistan essentially came form this section, they would have defended the nation by not leaning on Islamic fundamentalism as the ideological glue to hold the disparate nation together.
India has to answer the question raised above.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Conversions, the Taj Mahal and "Secularism" in India
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
India is back doing what it does best. Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of secularism if I am paraphrase the words of the great Bard of Avon. In Agra, the city famed for the Taj Mahal a group of 57 families decided to leave their Islamic faith and embrace a syndicated version of the Hindu faith. There is no ban in the political statement called the Constitution on religious conversion and so the contrived outrage against the "reconversion" to a syndicated edition of Hinduism ought not to engage anyone's mind. However, things are not so simple here in India. Busybodies get on the scene and the climate gets charged with all kinds of real and imagined assaults on "secularism". Religion according to the Indian political document that these busybodies like to quote is only a matter of personal choice and so it cannot concern anyone.
A huge amount of misinformation has been put out by those professing to stand up for "secularism". The BPL cards cannot have been given as an inducement for conversion because the state government is in the hands of the Samajwadi Party which is politically opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Holding the Central Government responsible for the incident in Agra is disingenuous because the Ration Cards and BPL cards can only be given by the State Government. The 57 families abandoned Islam because they found their livelihood effected by the sort of high voltage campaign that is being carried out by the likes of Azam Khan and his ilk. The Government of India under Narendar Modi has economic development of India and the infusion of technology as its main raison d'etre. It is certainly not interested in identity issues. The defeated political entities like the Janata Dal (U), the Congress party and the Samajwadi party have all based their politics on religious and caste identities and therefore are at the present noise on the issue of these 57 families choosing a faith of their own conviction. Economic inducement was neither give nor taken. So there is no illegality here.
Azam Khan a "minister" in the Samajwadi Government at Lucknow issued a statement recently in which he demanded the takeover of the Taj Mahal by the Waqf Board of which he is the Chairman. What he does not stat is that Waqf property to the tune of several thousand crores has already been swindled and this Khan shows no interest in reclaiming that. A national monument under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India is now being targeted. Further, the Queen for whom the Taj was built was Shia and the Mughals themselves were probably secret adherents of the Shia faith. This is important because the Safavids rulers who helped Humayun reconquer the territories of Baber from the Afghans would have provided military and material support only after ensuring that the Mughals are on their side in the geo political situation as the Persia was sandwiched between the Ottomans and the Mughals. By deliberately insinuating the discredited theories of P N Oak the so called secularists are only providing cover to the like of Azam Khan.
The reconversion movement in Agra must be seen in the context of the communal politics injected into the region by Azam Khan and his tribe.
India is back doing what it does best. Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of secularism if I am paraphrase the words of the great Bard of Avon. In Agra, the city famed for the Taj Mahal a group of 57 families decided to leave their Islamic faith and embrace a syndicated version of the Hindu faith. There is no ban in the political statement called the Constitution on religious conversion and so the contrived outrage against the "reconversion" to a syndicated edition of Hinduism ought not to engage anyone's mind. However, things are not so simple here in India. Busybodies get on the scene and the climate gets charged with all kinds of real and imagined assaults on "secularism". Religion according to the Indian political document that these busybodies like to quote is only a matter of personal choice and so it cannot concern anyone.
A huge amount of misinformation has been put out by those professing to stand up for "secularism". The BPL cards cannot have been given as an inducement for conversion because the state government is in the hands of the Samajwadi Party which is politically opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Holding the Central Government responsible for the incident in Agra is disingenuous because the Ration Cards and BPL cards can only be given by the State Government. The 57 families abandoned Islam because they found their livelihood effected by the sort of high voltage campaign that is being carried out by the likes of Azam Khan and his ilk. The Government of India under Narendar Modi has economic development of India and the infusion of technology as its main raison d'etre. It is certainly not interested in identity issues. The defeated political entities like the Janata Dal (U), the Congress party and the Samajwadi party have all based their politics on religious and caste identities and therefore are at the present noise on the issue of these 57 families choosing a faith of their own conviction. Economic inducement was neither give nor taken. So there is no illegality here.
Azam Khan a "minister" in the Samajwadi Government at Lucknow issued a statement recently in which he demanded the takeover of the Taj Mahal by the Waqf Board of which he is the Chairman. What he does not stat is that Waqf property to the tune of several thousand crores has already been swindled and this Khan shows no interest in reclaiming that. A national monument under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India is now being targeted. Further, the Queen for whom the Taj was built was Shia and the Mughals themselves were probably secret adherents of the Shia faith. This is important because the Safavids rulers who helped Humayun reconquer the territories of Baber from the Afghans would have provided military and material support only after ensuring that the Mughals are on their side in the geo political situation as the Persia was sandwiched between the Ottomans and the Mughals. By deliberately insinuating the discredited theories of P N Oak the so called secularists are only providing cover to the like of Azam Khan.
The reconversion movement in Agra must be seen in the context of the communal politics injected into the region by Azam Khan and his tribe.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Ferguson, Bob McCulloch, Obama and the Hypocrisy over Race in USA
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
The election of Barack Hussein Obama was hailed as a great step toward racial equality in USA. However, many are now willing to say that the symbol of a black President in USA is only making racism more sinister as it can now hide behind the back of Obama. When USA preaches with aggressive tone the doctrine of human rights, social justice and equal opportunity, a ritual which is compounded from time to time by the release of Human Rights Reports by the American Congress, the world has every legitimate reason to hold USA accountable to the same standards it so eloquently proclaims. The American media picks up the signal and magnifies it across the world. The complicity of the mainstream US media in propagating the case a false case as it turned out, against Iraq and Saddam Hussein leading to the invasion and the consequent death of nearly half a million Iraqis has not bee highlighted in countries like India whose Liberals still believe that USA is a model of legal and constitutional propriety. I remember Kancha Illiah even advocating American style civil rights in India and blaming India for neglecting the dalits and holding USA as a model that can be practiced in India.
The Prosecutor of St Louis, Missouri Mr Bob McCulloch held a Press Conference today in which he said that the Grand Jury found that the Police Office Mr Darren Wilson had not broken the law by gunning down an unarmed black youth, Mr Michael Brown. The purpose of the Grand Jury procedure was to determine whether the white Police Officer was justified in the use of deadly force. The Jury consisting of 9 whites and 3 African Americans found Wilson had justifiable cause to use deadly force as Brown came advancing towards the Officer in a seemingly aggressive manner. The fact that goes unreported and the American Media ignores is this" If a Black Police Officer had shot and killed a white youth in the same circumstances would the verdict of the Jury been different. There is no doubt that had the situation been different and the victim been white the reaction both of the Media and the Public would have been different. Barack Obama instead of expressing outrage at the travesty of justice in Ferguson, only made matters worse by spouting inane pieties about Rule of Law and treid to turn public outrage felt among the Blacks into private mourning and grief by quoting Brown's father. If Obama has any honesty in him he should have quoted Brown's Mother who was out protesting the verdict.
The African American population live in a racist society in which the white Liberals no longer practice the obscene kind of racism associated with segregation and the like. However, the veneer of racial equality that is generated by the Media breaks down when we subject it to close analysis. USA is too deeply entrenched in racial attitudes and the Ferguson verdict only highlights the failure of the American state to treat the "children of a lesser God" as equals.
The election of Barack Hussein Obama was hailed as a great step toward racial equality in USA. However, many are now willing to say that the symbol of a black President in USA is only making racism more sinister as it can now hide behind the back of Obama. When USA preaches with aggressive tone the doctrine of human rights, social justice and equal opportunity, a ritual which is compounded from time to time by the release of Human Rights Reports by the American Congress, the world has every legitimate reason to hold USA accountable to the same standards it so eloquently proclaims. The American media picks up the signal and magnifies it across the world. The complicity of the mainstream US media in propagating the case a false case as it turned out, against Iraq and Saddam Hussein leading to the invasion and the consequent death of nearly half a million Iraqis has not bee highlighted in countries like India whose Liberals still believe that USA is a model of legal and constitutional propriety. I remember Kancha Illiah even advocating American style civil rights in India and blaming India for neglecting the dalits and holding USA as a model that can be practiced in India.
The Prosecutor of St Louis, Missouri Mr Bob McCulloch held a Press Conference today in which he said that the Grand Jury found that the Police Office Mr Darren Wilson had not broken the law by gunning down an unarmed black youth, Mr Michael Brown. The purpose of the Grand Jury procedure was to determine whether the white Police Officer was justified in the use of deadly force. The Jury consisting of 9 whites and 3 African Americans found Wilson had justifiable cause to use deadly force as Brown came advancing towards the Officer in a seemingly aggressive manner. The fact that goes unreported and the American Media ignores is this" If a Black Police Officer had shot and killed a white youth in the same circumstances would the verdict of the Jury been different. There is no doubt that had the situation been different and the victim been white the reaction both of the Media and the Public would have been different. Barack Obama instead of expressing outrage at the travesty of justice in Ferguson, only made matters worse by spouting inane pieties about Rule of Law and treid to turn public outrage felt among the Blacks into private mourning and grief by quoting Brown's father. If Obama has any honesty in him he should have quoted Brown's Mother who was out protesting the verdict.
The African American population live in a racist society in which the white Liberals no longer practice the obscene kind of racism associated with segregation and the like. However, the veneer of racial equality that is generated by the Media breaks down when we subject it to close analysis. USA is too deeply entrenched in racial attitudes and the Ferguson verdict only highlights the failure of the American state to treat the "children of a lesser God" as equals.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
On Paper: A Grand History of an everyday necessity: How Nicholas Basbanes looks at History
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
Nicholas Basbabes has a way with words. He writes clearly and elegantly on one of the most humble objects we see around us, whose use we take for granted and yet do not realize that without paper the world would have been that much poorer. In the course of this rather long, ans at time rambling account of the history of paper, Nicholas Basbanes traces the diffusion of paper from China to Europe as a result of the Mongol Conquest. Though in Egypt the reed papyrus was used as a writing surface at least from the time of the pharaohs, the Romans after the conquest of Egypt introduced papyri to Europe. The fall of the Roman Empire, the awful revolution as Gibbon called it separated Egypt from the Western Roman Empire and animal skin, vellum replaced papyrus as a writing surface.
Basbanes shows that China was the earliest civilization to manufacture paper using fibre extracted from trees. paper making was considered an art form and throughout East Asia hand made paper was used extensively for writing and painting. From China the technology diffused to the Islamic world and in the medieval period, Syria and Fatimid Egypt were centres of the production of paper. The Islamic conquest of Spain brought this new technology to Spain and thence it spread to the rest of Europe. There is no doubt that paper and paper making exerted an enormous influence on the cultural armature of the western world. Without paper one cannot think of the Gutenberg Revolution, the Printing Press which marked the beginning of Western ascendancy over the rest of the world. Basbanes ignores the role of India. In India we have evidence of the use of paper as early as the first century BC in the buddhist text, Milindapanho, the Questions of King Menander. However, in India memory (Smrithi) and Voice (Shruthi) were always prized over writing and therefore we do not have the same sort of wide spread use of paper as we find in Europe.
The most interesting parts of the book deal with the various events in History in which paper played a decisive role" the Stamp Act that launched the American Revolution and the paper around the greased cartridges that ignited the flames of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny in India. The author traces the establishment of the paper industry along the rivers of North America and also stresses the environmental impact in the form of the depletion of forests. The discovery of cellulose as an alternative made it possible for the rapid growth of the Cotex product (the sanitary pad) and the kleenex tissues which saved thousands of lives in the trenches of World War I. The cultural impact of the paper industry was indeed enormous. The author then discusses the more specialized kinds ofpaper used in the printing of passports and currency notes.
The book is based on extensive research and is certainly packed with useful information.
Nicholas Basbabes has a way with words. He writes clearly and elegantly on one of the most humble objects we see around us, whose use we take for granted and yet do not realize that without paper the world would have been that much poorer. In the course of this rather long, ans at time rambling account of the history of paper, Nicholas Basbanes traces the diffusion of paper from China to Europe as a result of the Mongol Conquest. Though in Egypt the reed papyrus was used as a writing surface at least from the time of the pharaohs, the Romans after the conquest of Egypt introduced papyri to Europe. The fall of the Roman Empire, the awful revolution as Gibbon called it separated Egypt from the Western Roman Empire and animal skin, vellum replaced papyrus as a writing surface.
Basbanes shows that China was the earliest civilization to manufacture paper using fibre extracted from trees. paper making was considered an art form and throughout East Asia hand made paper was used extensively for writing and painting. From China the technology diffused to the Islamic world and in the medieval period, Syria and Fatimid Egypt were centres of the production of paper. The Islamic conquest of Spain brought this new technology to Spain and thence it spread to the rest of Europe. There is no doubt that paper and paper making exerted an enormous influence on the cultural armature of the western world. Without paper one cannot think of the Gutenberg Revolution, the Printing Press which marked the beginning of Western ascendancy over the rest of the world. Basbanes ignores the role of India. In India we have evidence of the use of paper as early as the first century BC in the buddhist text, Milindapanho, the Questions of King Menander. However, in India memory (Smrithi) and Voice (Shruthi) were always prized over writing and therefore we do not have the same sort of wide spread use of paper as we find in Europe.
The most interesting parts of the book deal with the various events in History in which paper played a decisive role" the Stamp Act that launched the American Revolution and the paper around the greased cartridges that ignited the flames of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny in India. The author traces the establishment of the paper industry along the rivers of North America and also stresses the environmental impact in the form of the depletion of forests. The discovery of cellulose as an alternative made it possible for the rapid growth of the Cotex product (the sanitary pad) and the kleenex tissues which saved thousands of lives in the trenches of World War I. The cultural impact of the paper industry was indeed enormous. The author then discusses the more specialized kinds ofpaper used in the printing of passports and currency notes.
The book is based on extensive research and is certainly packed with useful information.
Monday, November 3, 2014
The Prospects of the Congress in Tamil Nadu after the Revolt of G K Vasan
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
As expected the son of the Late G K Moopen has revolted and the dynastic fascists have reacted by expelling him from the party. The main reason for the exit of G K Vasan from the Congress party is the fact that P Chidambaram and his faction has succeeded in edging out the loyalists of Vasan from all key positions. P Chidambaram is in desparate need of a Rajya Sabha seat and Tamil Nadu does not have the strength to send him to the Rajya Sabha and he faces stiff opposition from the erstwhile G K Moopen loyalists. Ironically, bith Jayathi Natrajan and Chidambarm were members of the Moopen faction of the erswhile Tamil Manila Congress. Who can ever forget the horrifying image of G K Moopen and Jayathi Natarajan arriving atrategically ath the scene of the bomb blast at Sriperembudur which killed Rajiv Gandhi miniutes after the deed was done. The fational feuds within the Congress has led to a state of paralysis in the Party and the Congress commands less than 2.2% of the vote base in the region. When G K Moopen was around the TMC was able to garner nearly 18% of the vote in alliance with the DMK.
G K Vasan certainly has no illusion of being a credible force in the minefield of Dravidian politics. However, he has made a careful assessment of the political situation. With the DMK in terminal decline and the demose of Karunanidhi will only hasten the eventual erosion of the DMK and with the possibility of Jayalalithaa not being in a position to contest the 2016 State Election, G K Vasan has calculated that his faction with occupy th middle ground between the two davidian gionts. What this calculation overlooks is the fact that the HJP fighting on its own has increased its vote share from 4% to nealrly 8%-- a virtual doubling of the vote in Tamil Nadu. Therefore, G K Vasan will have to align himself with the BJP as a matter of course: the logic of the political arthmatic demands this alliance,
Congress politics in Tamil Nadu has been on the decline ever since Rajaji teamed up with the Dravidian party, the DMK to defeat the Congress therefore the crdit for a Congress Mukth Tamil Nadu should go to Rajaji. His grandson sitting in New Delhi can wax eloquently on the future of the Congress, but the fact remains thst Rajahi ensured the permanent and final end of the Congress. G K Vasan cannot change this trend and his departure from the Congress is only an insurance policy for the future.
Dynastic politics is being rejected all over India. Narendar Modi and Amit Shah will ensure that even Kashmir will become Congress Mukth.
As expected the son of the Late G K Moopen has revolted and the dynastic fascists have reacted by expelling him from the party. The main reason for the exit of G K Vasan from the Congress party is the fact that P Chidambaram and his faction has succeeded in edging out the loyalists of Vasan from all key positions. P Chidambaram is in desparate need of a Rajya Sabha seat and Tamil Nadu does not have the strength to send him to the Rajya Sabha and he faces stiff opposition from the erstwhile G K Moopen loyalists. Ironically, bith Jayathi Natrajan and Chidambarm were members of the Moopen faction of the erswhile Tamil Manila Congress. Who can ever forget the horrifying image of G K Moopen and Jayathi Natarajan arriving atrategically ath the scene of the bomb blast at Sriperembudur which killed Rajiv Gandhi miniutes after the deed was done. The fational feuds within the Congress has led to a state of paralysis in the Party and the Congress commands less than 2.2% of the vote base in the region. When G K Moopen was around the TMC was able to garner nearly 18% of the vote in alliance with the DMK.
G K Vasan certainly has no illusion of being a credible force in the minefield of Dravidian politics. However, he has made a careful assessment of the political situation. With the DMK in terminal decline and the demose of Karunanidhi will only hasten the eventual erosion of the DMK and with the possibility of Jayalalithaa not being in a position to contest the 2016 State Election, G K Vasan has calculated that his faction with occupy th middle ground between the two davidian gionts. What this calculation overlooks is the fact that the HJP fighting on its own has increased its vote share from 4% to nealrly 8%-- a virtual doubling of the vote in Tamil Nadu. Therefore, G K Vasan will have to align himself with the BJP as a matter of course: the logic of the political arthmatic demands this alliance,
Congress politics in Tamil Nadu has been on the decline ever since Rajaji teamed up with the Dravidian party, the DMK to defeat the Congress therefore the crdit for a Congress Mukth Tamil Nadu should go to Rajaji. His grandson sitting in New Delhi can wax eloquently on the future of the Congress, but the fact remains thst Rajahi ensured the permanent and final end of the Congress. G K Vasan cannot change this trend and his departure from the Congress is only an insurance policy for the future.
Dynastic politics is being rejected all over India. Narendar Modi and Amit Shah will ensure that even Kashmir will become Congress Mukth.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
The Poll Results in Maharashtra and Haryana: Implications for the Future
A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
It appears that the combination of Narendar Modi and Amit Shah will indeed succeed in making India, a Congress Mukth Bharath--India free of the Congress. In Maharashtra the BJP won 123 seats on its own and in Haryana it won 47. In both these states the BJP has been able to humble the dominant regional political party which played the identity card--Siva Sena in Maharashtra and the Indian National Lok Dal in Haryana. The support garnered by the BJP cut across the traditional fault lines of Indian polity--backward castes, tribal communities and Scheduled Castes have all voted for the BJP making it the most inclusive political force in the country. Further, the dynastic components of the polity like the Thackeray family in Maharashtra and the Cahutalas in Haryana stand humbled if not eliminated and this is a trend that began in the 2014 May Parliamentary Elections which saw the emergence of the BJP as a truly National force. Identity politics has resulted in the fragmentation of the political space and the resultant Governments were plagued with corruption and crime as what India witnessed during the 10 years of Congress led UPA rule.
In Maharashtra the BJP reluctantly broke itt alliance with the regional party, Siva Sena, over the issue of seat sharing. Surprisingly the Shiv Sena was unwilling to concede just 3 extra seats over which the two parties parted company. Even though the Siva Sena put put candidates against the BJP in all the traditional regions of Maharashtra, Vidhraba, Mahratwada, and Konkan, the bJP was able to make dramatic inroads. The separation of Vidhraba from Maharrashtra is unlikely to be taken up in the near future as the Siva Sena will oppose any division of the state. The recent confusion over Telengana may lead to a rethink on the whole issue. Even though the Siva Sena used, as it is wont, extremely fiery and some would even say "gutter" language, a patch up is on the cards.
The Congress and its ally Nationalist Congress Party led by Sharad Pawar was defeated because of the rampant corruption it indulged in. The Irrigation scandal in which the prime accused is Ajit Pawar, the nephew of the Maharatha strongman resulted in the defeat of the NCP though it has held on to its traditional strongholds of Baramati.
In Haryana, the INLD leader Om Prakash Chautala who is lodged in jail due to his involvement in the Teacher Recruitment Scam won 20 seats. All the important leaders of the Party were defeated. Om Prakash Chautala himself came out of jail on bail to campaign, feigning medical grounds but the results showed that the people have no sympathy for corrupt politicians and this shows clearly that the Indian Electorate is changing. Jat identity politics made the BJP stitch a coalition of other backward castes including the dalits and has swept to power.
In Maharashtra the BJP faces a rather grim choice: it has to seek the support of the Siva Sena to form the Government and given the acrimony of the recent campaign it would be quite a task to repair the damage to the 25 year relationship. In a way the passing away of Gopinath Munde who would have been content to let the Siva Sena play the dominant partner inMaharashtra opened the door for the BJP's emergence as an important force.
The two are well and truly set to making India, Congress Mukth Bhrath.
It appears that the combination of Narendar Modi and Amit Shah will indeed succeed in making India, a Congress Mukth Bharath--India free of the Congress. In Maharashtra the BJP won 123 seats on its own and in Haryana it won 47. In both these states the BJP has been able to humble the dominant regional political party which played the identity card--Siva Sena in Maharashtra and the Indian National Lok Dal in Haryana. The support garnered by the BJP cut across the traditional fault lines of Indian polity--backward castes, tribal communities and Scheduled Castes have all voted for the BJP making it the most inclusive political force in the country. Further, the dynastic components of the polity like the Thackeray family in Maharashtra and the Cahutalas in Haryana stand humbled if not eliminated and this is a trend that began in the 2014 May Parliamentary Elections which saw the emergence of the BJP as a truly National force. Identity politics has resulted in the fragmentation of the political space and the resultant Governments were plagued with corruption and crime as what India witnessed during the 10 years of Congress led UPA rule.
In Maharashtra the BJP reluctantly broke itt alliance with the regional party, Siva Sena, over the issue of seat sharing. Surprisingly the Shiv Sena was unwilling to concede just 3 extra seats over which the two parties parted company. Even though the Siva Sena put put candidates against the BJP in all the traditional regions of Maharashtra, Vidhraba, Mahratwada, and Konkan, the bJP was able to make dramatic inroads. The separation of Vidhraba from Maharrashtra is unlikely to be taken up in the near future as the Siva Sena will oppose any division of the state. The recent confusion over Telengana may lead to a rethink on the whole issue. Even though the Siva Sena used, as it is wont, extremely fiery and some would even say "gutter" language, a patch up is on the cards.
The Congress and its ally Nationalist Congress Party led by Sharad Pawar was defeated because of the rampant corruption it indulged in. The Irrigation scandal in which the prime accused is Ajit Pawar, the nephew of the Maharatha strongman resulted in the defeat of the NCP though it has held on to its traditional strongholds of Baramati.
In Haryana, the INLD leader Om Prakash Chautala who is lodged in jail due to his involvement in the Teacher Recruitment Scam won 20 seats. All the important leaders of the Party were defeated. Om Prakash Chautala himself came out of jail on bail to campaign, feigning medical grounds but the results showed that the people have no sympathy for corrupt politicians and this shows clearly that the Indian Electorate is changing. Jat identity politics made the BJP stitch a coalition of other backward castes including the dalits and has swept to power.
In Maharashtra the BJP faces a rather grim choice: it has to seek the support of the Siva Sena to form the Government and given the acrimony of the recent campaign it would be quite a task to repair the damage to the 25 year relationship. In a way the passing away of Gopinath Munde who would have been content to let the Siva Sena play the dominant partner inMaharashtra opened the door for the BJP's emergence as an important force.
The two are well and truly set to making India, Congress Mukth Bhrath.
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