Dr Anirban Ganguly in Pondicherry University

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books


Dr Syama Prasad Mookerji remains one of India's greatest intellectuals. And Pondicherry University was privileged to host a Distinguished Lecture by its present Director, Dr Anirban Ganguly. The Ministry of Human Resource Development of the Government of India has instituted a seies of Lectures on leadership under the Leadership Town hall Scheme. Under this scheme Dr Ganguly visited our University and gave a scintillating Lecture of 50 minutes that held the rapt attention of everyone. In the battle of ideas the vapid stale narrative of the Left has occupied a dispropotionate space in public discourse and the marginalized voices of dissenters like Dr Anirban Ganguly and others have not been heard. Identity politics based on caste, language, community,religion occupy a great deal od attention. But the voice of sanity, reason and science are drowned out by the cacophony emanating from the misguided Left and its hangers on. Dr Anirban Ganguly's Lecture was a refreshing departure.

Dr Anirban Ganguly

The Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation is a Nationalist research organization which has been performing the stellar role of the dissident through much of the 70 years of Indian Independence when the voice from the margins was hardly heard. Public discourse meant singing hosannas to Nehru and the Congress Party and its family. The Left soon became part of this scheme of things as it was co opted by the Nehruvian state. The death of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee soon after he was taken custody in Kashmir remains an enduring mystery. And Kashmir has been on the boil ever since.

Dr Anirban Ganguly dwelt on the positive changes that jave been introduced in India since the magnificent victory in 2014. It matters little if the so called intellectuals with their vested interest in maintaining the satus quo acknowledge the positive changes or not. The reduction of Corruption and the introduction of schemes that have worked for the common man were stressed by the speaker. In the field of foreign policy, the speaker drew pointed attention to the fact that the days when India did not react or punish the cross border acts of Terrorism are over and he spoke of the resolute manner in which the Government retaliated to the February 14th Pulwama Attack.

The Audience

He spoke of 5 principles that governed the foreign policy of the Government of India:
(1) Samvaad or consultation/consensus
(2) Samviddhi  or mutual concern
(3) Suraksha or Security
(4) Samskritti evam  Sabyata (Culture and Civilization) and
(5) Samaan Mutual Dignity.

These are the five major principles that govern Indian foreign policy and as can be expected there is not even lip service to the cowardly way of dealing with major attacks by sending candy floss files as did the UPA after the 26/11 attack that killed nearly 185 people in Mumbai alone. The reason why the Congress dominated regime was reluctant to name and shame Pakistan lay in their inclination to blame Saffron Terror for the attacks. Then capture of Kasaab by a police constable paid put to the devious designs of the dynastic fascists. After the February 14 th attack, the Nation was well aware that retribution would follow.

The many National Schemes introduced by the NDA Government have proves trans formative: the extension of cooking Gas scheme, the Ayuman Bharat Scheme, The Jan Dhan Yojana and many other schemes. The NDA Government has served India well and its service multifaceted and diverse qwere brought out by the speaker.

Madras Literary Society by N S Ramaswami : A Review

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and book

Madras Literary Society

Interior View

The Madras Literary Society founder in 1817 is one of the oldest Research Institutions in India, and perhaps like St. Mary's Church located in Fort Saint George, which is the oldest Anglican Church outside of England, this society ranks as a pioneering institution. There are references in the Early Chronicles of the East India Company to a House of Curiosities called the Pantheon, perhaps the eponymous road in Egmore preserves that memory. 

One of the strategies employed by the western world to enhance the reach of knowledge and gather the information about the world at large was through the establishment of Learned Societies. Charles II was the founder of the Royal Society and the model of having an institution which linked networks of commerce, shipping, military and scientific expeditions was keenly replicated in the territories of the East India Company. Thus Penang, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong all sprouted Royal Societies dedicated to the pursuit of archaeological and historical research. In this we may regard the Madras Literary Society as a pioneer.

The building in which the present Institution stands was probably built in the middle of the nineteenth century. The Society itself was much older. The precincts of the Madras Literary Society, along side the Kovum, was shared in part by the Directorate of Public Instruction which was mandated in the Charter Act of 1833 and the Madras Observatory which was one of the pioneers in the emerging science of Meteorology. Goldhigham  who worked here for several years was in many ways a pioneer in celestial Astronomy. It is really wonderful that such a historic Institution is now gaining attention.

The Madras Literary Society started publishing a Journal from 1833 which grandly called itself the Madras Journal of Literature and Science. Lasting until 1894, this journal was a remarkable venture. Supported entirely by public subscription it published some of the best pieces of contemporary research. Unlike today's API driven academics, the early contributors were men and yes, occasionally women who asked difficult questions and pursued them with passion. One of the most remarkable character was Col Colin Mackenzie who collected Historical documents from the entire length and breadth of the Company territories and the Manuscripts were first housed here before they were shipped off to London. Rev Taylor a Chaplin of the Anglican Church who presided over St Georges Cathedral for some time prepared an excellent catalogue of these documents. The collection of antiquities which included a hoard of Roman coins discovered near the Nilgiris were transferred to the Museum.

The book recently republished by the Society is an excellent introduction to the multifarious intellectual activities of the MLS.

The Terrorist attack at Pulwama, Kashmir: Politics vs Reality

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books

The attack on the CRPF convoy by a Kashmiri youth who drove his Scorpio packed with 350 kilograms of explosives into a bus carrying soldiers resulted in the massacre of 40 soldiers. The pictures circulated on social media show lifeless mass of flesh strewn all over the national highway. It makes shocking visuals. The Nation was shocked and numb with pain that is now turning to anger. The Pakistani terrorist organization, Jaish-i-Mohammad has claimed responsibility and there is growing clamour for resolute action. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi speaking on behalf of the Nation has stated that this attack will not go unpunished. The immediate withdrawal of the Most Favoured Nation Status for Pakistan seems to be the beginning and it is likely that the River Waters Treaty which guarantees the flow of water into Pakistan will be invoked to reduce or curtail the waters. The support for the militancy in Baluchistan will be stepped up and the long standing demand that the Pahstuns who are divided by the Durand Line be freed from the tyranny of Pakistan will also see some traction. However all these measure lie in the future. What are the realistic options to Punish Pakistan?

After the attack on the Indian Army e at URI, India launched a series of attacks against Pakistani militant targets across the Line of Control. Unfortunately the Congress Party and its allies politicized the reprisal attacks so thoroughly that is now unlikely to be used. The major attack on the Prime Minister was that he chose to launch the surgical strikes across the Line of Control in order to bolster his political image. This line of criticism is wrong because it attributes a political motive of a rather crass kind to a major decision. The objective behind the surgical strike was two fold: firstly, to demonstrate India's willingness to cross the LOC in hot pursuit and secondly to demonstrate Indian military and tactical capability. For tha past few years Indian special operation forces are being trained in the Negev Desert by Israel and the success of the surgical strikes proves that Israel has been helping India in every respect. As a long term policy India may try to develop the ability to strike first at known militant targets in Pakistan but as of now does not have the ability. Training troops such operations across the border is not an easy venture because the fractious nature of India's social fabric and also the lack of a unified political opinion across the spectrum. Paries like the Congress, the regional dynastic parties, the communist factions will start attacking the policy of defense through offense and thereby compromise Indian policy. Indeed the degradation of Indian Intelligence assets in Pakistan started with I K Gujral who was Prime Minister for a brief time. The 2019 General Elections must ensure a strong and stable Government if India has to deal with pakistani challenge successfully.

The most disheartening aspect of the present crisis is the senseless and tragic politicization of the tragedy. The former Hom,e Minister of India who served under the dynastic fascists, one Sushil; Shinde even blamed the Prime Minister's surgical strike as the provocation for the attack. In order to protect their vote banks in India the dynastic Fascists are even willing to give aid and comfort to the enemy. A resolute response can be expected but it will not happen immediately.

India I think is finally opening its eyes to the fact that if Pakistan survives as a nation it is a threat to India and the fact that the Islamic identity has not prevented Pakistan from falling apart in the past is now being given some traction. Pakistan is a highly militarized state armed with nuclear weapons. This fact alone atays India. But now, the time seems to be running out and gradually a political consensus which eluded India for long is emerging.

"Rahutatva": Ideology and Political Discourse in India

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books

Rahul Gandhi, the fifth generation Crown Prince of the dynastic fascist political party the Congress is propounding a new political philosophy in India and we can call it Rahutatva or the Political Ideology of Rahul. Like any political ideology this too is pragmatic in that it seeks to  explain complex interplay of politics by emphasizing certain discrete elements for the sake of coherence and simplicity. As an ideological system Rahutatva pits itself against an agenda of inclusive and all round development or vikas by invoking identity, religion and through the systematic instigation of caste and other such atavistic elements. Rahutatva is reductionist in its approach because it empathizes form more than content, rhetoric rather than reality, and is a discursive formula for endless rehash of certain pet themes.  And Rahutatva is like all ideological systems immune to the basic test of verifiability or truth. In fact Rahutatava abhors truth and it is immune to criticism as mere pronouncement as in the case of any self contained ideological system, enough to validate it.

Since the entry of Rahul Gandhi into the political arena we have seen a series of statements that have unfortunately started framinf the political discourse. Unfortunately Rahutatva is never critiqued as a whole. Parts of it have already proven to be false but that does not invalidate the whole structure of discourse beause the target has now shifted. The introduction of GST, a difficult and politically dangerous move was undertaken by Narandar Modi as the country needed to shift to a tax regime that is more transparent and generates more revenue. The Central Government and the State Governments have both expressed satisfaction over revenue sharing and the prices have not increased as a consequence. However Rahutatva demands that GST be declared a failure and oppressive and even though revenue figures show proof to the contrary, the negative propaganda must circulate as opposition to GST has taken an ideological turn.

Similarly the Demonetization is now being demonized as a highly oppressive attack on the fiscal structure of the country. True there were some major glitches in the implementation. However, the fact that tax compliance has increased 4 times, shows that the shock adminstered has had the desired impact. Also the corporate raiders and carpetbaggers like Mallya, Nirav Modi and others were projected as the favored  corporates of Modi. The fact is all of them got their huge bank loans only during the time when the Congress was dominating the Government and there is documentary proof of the collusion of the then Finance Minister with these corporate raiders. And Modi has succeeded in bringing them to justice and the Insolvency Act has enabled successful prosecution of these  criminals. Rahutatva must deny facts and the reality and with the help of certain sections of the media generates a discourse which is disengaged from the ground reality. Perhaps Post Modernist disregard for truth is at work here.

The Rafale Aircraft deal is another good example of Rahutatva at work. The Supreme Court has given its verdict on this bill and has said that due diligence and process were followed. Rahutatva disregards the wisdom of the Supreme Court as it is not interested in facts that contradict the premise of the discourse. Politics demands that truth and reality be set aside. This attitude toward Politics is not just nihilistic. It is Fascist in that there is no engagement with raw empirical facts. Like Dr Goebbels, propaganda substitutes for argument and facts. The recent controversy over the visit of the Clown Prince of the Congress Party to Shri Manohar Pariker is a case in point. Pariker was a former Defence Minister and now the Chief Minister of Goa and is dangerously ill. Using a courtesy visit to inquire after the health of the ailing CM, Rahul Gandhi true to his basic adherence to Rahutatve spun this visit into the Rafale Controversy by declaring that Manohar Pariker has provided an expalnation to him that he had nothing to do with the deal. Manohar issues a strong letter of rebuttal in which he called out the lies uttered by the man who seems to be incapable of telling the truth even by accident/

I have give a few example of what I call Rahutatva: a discursive rhetorical strategy in which truth is dispensed with and propaganda is the subsitute for evidence and argument. This is the essence of Rahutatva and is fascism in action.