Today is remembered all over the electronic media as the day Indira Gandhi was killed by her own Sikh bodyguards. The mayhem that the Congress Part under the leadership of the son and successor of the then Prime Minister has been forgotten. Rajiv Gandhi famously remarked: When a big tree falls, the earth shakes. The cynicism inherent in the justification given by Rajiv Gandhi for the wholesale killing of 12,000 Sikhs in the city of New Delhi alone will remain an indelible blot on the recent history of India. The Congress apologist Ramachandra Guha in his India since Gandhi barely mentions this holocaust visited upon the Sikhs. I am not a Sikh and yet have not forgotten or forgiven the Congress Party for its complicity in the crime. If Narendar Modi is pilloried day in and day out by the same liberal media that talks of the post-Godhra riots, I wonder why the Barkha Dutts, the Paranoy Roys and the Arnab Goswamis remain silent about the massacre of the Sikhs in the 3 days of licenced killings in New Delhi, the so-called civilised Capital of the Republic of India. What is even more shameful is that not a single person has been punished in the 25 years since the riots. The Congress and the BJP together have ensured that that sordid chapter in India's past lies buried. The historians of JNU who spew out their liberal rhetoric on NDTV whenever they have a chance have ignored this carnage because they are interested in safe guarding the reputation of their "secular" party, the Indian National Congress.
I recently read a book published from Harvard University Press called the Black Book of Communism. This book documents in great detail the crimes perpetuated in the name of Communism from the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution to the organised slaughter of Pol Pot and his gang. In fact Communism has killed more than 150 million human beings since the beginning of the 20Th century. Compare this with the mere 13 million of Hitler and his thugs. The biggest crime in India can be laid at the doorstep of the Congress Party and as long as the people of India do not cut the hand that kills them they deserve no mercy.
To day let us take a vow in the name of all that we hold sacred that the criminals the anti-Sikh carnage will not go unpunished and that we will not vote for a party responsible for the largest massacre in Independent India
This blog reviews books, politics and international events from a distinct perspective. Book reviews will be interesting to everyone with a lively interest in the world around. I am a trained Historian with a PhD in Medieval History from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Why the politicians are responsible for Naxalite violence
P Chidambaram, the man who in now the Home Minister of India, should know that he did not win his Lok Sabha seat. He was declared the winner on the basis of the usual consideration, but this dothi clad Harvard returned police poses as if he is above the dirty level of Indian politics because he speaks flawless English. But in reality politicians like P Chidambaram and his dynastic fascist party the Congress has ensured the criminalisation of the Indian polity that any self respecting nationalist will feel that he has to liberate India from the clutches of such men who have perverted the ideals of India to serve petty personal and caste goals. In the name of democracy the politicians have enriched themselves and have set themselves as the custodians of Indian state. The world Party does not appear even once in the Indian constitution therefore this party based political system is actually a travesty of Indian constitution. Further the political parties are not even recognised in law: they are at best unincorporated associations and therefore in theory it should not be difficult to dismantle political parties using the methods of appropriate response.
The Naxalite movement that is strong in 20 states is the result of poor governance in which all funds for development are taken by the dominant castes in connivance with the political parties. The naxalite movement gains strength from the yawning divide between the political class and the labouring class. Unfortunately, the naxalite movement instead of surgically striking at the politicians is like any movement that has lost its ideological mooring is becoming increasingly a terrorist movement. According to the Report of the Home Ministry 4500 people have been killed in naxalite violence during the past 4 years. If the naxalites rid India of its politicians no one will complain, but unfortunately the indiscriminate violence unleashed by the naxalites in Chattisghar and Jharkhand make people wonder if there is any ideological essence left in the left movement.
The only way to tackle naxalite violence is to bring down the party based political system with its first past the winning post electoral system and replace it with proportional system of representation with to right of recall. I have no doubt that without thus change the naxalites will ultimately win because the politicians and political parties are very unpopular.
The Naxalite movement that is strong in 20 states is the result of poor governance in which all funds for development are taken by the dominant castes in connivance with the political parties. The naxalite movement gains strength from the yawning divide between the political class and the labouring class. Unfortunately, the naxalite movement instead of surgically striking at the politicians is like any movement that has lost its ideological mooring is becoming increasingly a terrorist movement. According to the Report of the Home Ministry 4500 people have been killed in naxalite violence during the past 4 years. If the naxalites rid India of its politicians no one will complain, but unfortunately the indiscriminate violence unleashed by the naxalites in Chattisghar and Jharkhand make people wonder if there is any ideological essence left in the left movement.
The only way to tackle naxalite violence is to bring down the party based political system with its first past the winning post electoral system and replace it with proportional system of representation with to right of recall. I have no doubt that without thus change the naxalites will ultimately win because the politicians and political parties are very unpopular.
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