CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE LOK PAL BILL; WHY WE NEED A DEBATE

The concept of civil society evolved in eighteenth century Europe when the socilal organisation based on the 4 estates started disintegrating under the twin impact of secularization and economic changes engendered by the Industrial Revolution. Groups of professionals loosely associated with political factions, coffee shops, newspapers--constituting what Habermas would later designate as the public sphere--started asserting their point of view against the entrenched political and social elites. The newly emergent groups were called civil society and political philosophers like Voltaire and Rousseau and even Montesquieu termed as civil society those organised and articulate members of society that struggled for political and economic rights, freedoms and were at the forefront of what in the last century came to be called the Human Rights movement.

India does not have a civil society in the real sense of the term and if we are to apply the western concept of civil society then it is the caste based social organisations such as the Khap panchayants which constitute civil society. Along with the Khap Panchayants we can include sectarian and identity groups, bhajanna mandalis, charity organisations and the like. We harly hear any of them ever making a political demand. Civil society in India, particularly parts of northern India, are bastions of social evil and nothing good can ever come out of Indian civil society.

Suddenly we have the media speaking of Anna Hazare and his designer dress wearing cohorts as the "civil society". I find this situation absurd. 5 self appointed front runners cannot appropriate for themselves the right to speak for the dispossessed masses and who gave them the right or the mandate to represent the non political calsses. I agree that the Congress led UPA II is a corrupt regime and I have always said that the dynastic fascist Congress Party will always remain corrupt and criminal. The only way to get rid of corruption and criminalization of India is to get rid of the Congress Party by any means possible. A Lok Pal will not be able to reign in corruption. See how the Cong res managed to appoint P J Thomas as Chief Vigilance Commissioner even though he stands ac cued in a number of criminal cases. We have a situation in which the Courts at different levels alone seem to stand for decency and justice. Now this present Lok Pal bill as suggested by the Regime in power will take the Prime Minister out of the purview of the Lok Pal.This immunity to the PM does not exist even in the Constitution and by asking for a Lok Pal the so called civil society activists have further insulated the Office of the Prime Minister from proper political and judicial accountability.

There is another problem about the concept of civil society. The more articulate members of the so called civil society are always on the defensive over the issue of the RSS. The RSS represents a point of view and in a democracy it has the right to express that point of view. How can Arvind Kherjiwal call that organisation "communal". Is the Congress Party not a criminal organisation given its track record in 1984 and the present 2G scam. I feel that Corruption, dynastic fascism and criminalisation all stem from the Congress Party and the fight for a better and more civilised India should mean a struggle to liberate India from Congress rule.

BABA RAMDEV AND POLITICAL CORRUPTION IN INDIA; THE STRUGGLE INTENSIFIES

India is presently ranked very high in the list of the most corrupt counties in the world. Only Nigeria and Burkina Faso rank a few places below. With such a d distinguished ranking, may I add that the leadership of that corrupt government headed by Sonia and ManMohan Singh even want a place at the high table of diplomacy and statecraft. I have said so several times on this blog and else where that India does not deserve a security council seat given its track record of governance. Having said that let me get back to the question at hand.

A very powerful civil society movement against corruption has begun in India: this movement is partly inspired by the example of the Arab Resistance against corrupt and tyrannical regimes and partly by the disclosures made by WikiLeaks. Those who rail against WikiLeaks are unaware of the positive role played by this organisation in inspiring people across the world. All corrupt and criminal regimes such as the one in power in India, have learned to fear WikiLeaks. A Yoga Guru from the north India state of Uttar Pradesh has become the unlikely leader of the anti corruption movement and the Government of India unleashed the most barbaric acts of repression against him on the midnight of June 4th 2011.



Baba ramdev, a well respected Yoga Guru, gathered a crowd of nearly 100,000 men women and children in the Ramlila Grounds of New Delhi after getting permission from the Government. The regime was so rattled by the movement started by Baba ramdev that it deputed 4 senior Government ministers to negotiate with him. It appears that the Government of India put up a presence of negotiations in order to prepare the ground for an all out attack. Like the Night of the LOng Knives, the Congress regime unleashed its police against the followers of Baba Ramdev who were badly beaten up by the police. It must be stated very categorically that the demonstration against corruption was both peaceful and disciplined. The regime had absolutely no justification for the brutal mid night attack. The Baba himself was arrested and sent out of Delhi. The Supreme Court of India is likely to rule that this action on the part of the Sonia-ManMohan Regime was both unconstitutional and illegal.

The real reason for the panic reaction on the part of the dynastic regime in power is because for the past few years a series of scams have dented the image of the government and corruption has become a huge political issue in India. The Political Party the DMK, a South Indian regional party and a partner in the coalition in power lost the elections in Tamil Nadu solely to the public perception that the present government was irredeemably corrupt. The daughter of the former Chief Minister, Mr Karunanidhi is presently in prison awaiting trial as she was exposed as a recipient of kickbacks from the 2G Spectrum scandal in which telecom mobile licenses were issued to favored few without going through due process. It has been estimated that nearly 5.5 billion dollars were taken as kickbacks in this scandal alone and much of this ill gotten wealth is invested in tax havens like Virgin Islands, St Kitts, Swiss banks and the most favored destination of Tamil politicians, Mauritius. The corrupt Government of India refuses to take any step to get back the money on the spurious argument that going after ill gotten, illegal wealth stashed abroad is against the double taxation agreements. A totally false and baseless justification for complicity in crime. I must say that the US Treasury was able to get the notorious Swiss bankers to reveal the names of American holders of Swiss accounts and Baba ramdev wants the Indian Government to make a serious effort to retrieve India's wealth in foreign bank accounts.

The Congress Party has been in power for most of the time since Independence and one dynasty, the Nehru dynasty has controlled the party. It is believed that the Congress in neck deep in political corruption and hence will both unwilling and unable to act against political corruption. Even so the savagery of the attack against baba Ramdev has shocked the entire nation and the Congress and its alliance partners will pay a very heavy price in the next elections. As I have said right at the very beginning of this blog, Indians are used to corruption and bad governance, unlike the Chinese who expect a degree of honesty and patriotism from their Government. Yet the attack on a spiritual leader with a huge following has resulted in a sea change in the mood of the people.

The peaceful protestors were beaten up and nearly 75 of them very seriously injured. TheMahatma, Baba Ramdev himself was pushed from the dais and barely escaped with his life.A corrupt and criminal government has shown that it will use force against its own people who protest against corruption.

THE ATTACK ON BABA RAMDEV: THE POLITICAL FALLOUT

My regular readers would have by now realized how accurate I was in predicting the response of the UPA Government. I also pointed out that the statements made by the so-called civil society chatterers would embolden the Government to act in a reckless manner. The mid night attack on the Mahatma's satyagraha was an absolute disgrace. I think given the fact that the dynastic-fascist party the Congress is in power, we can call the mid night attack the Night of the Long Knives" the night when German thugs flexed their muscles before the advent of totalitarian rule in Germany. I had expected this response and was not surprised at what transpired. I think the Baba needs political advice and he should have been told that the fork tongued congressmen will try and deceive him.

The attack showed very clearly that the Sonia-Rahul-ManMohan dispensation is out to protect the holders of black money and are willing to use the arm of the state to crush all those who raise uncomfortable questions about the money plundered by politicians and deposited in Swiss banks and other tax havens. The Government or the regime acted too smart and thereby exposed intentions before the whole world. Now the issue of Black Money will become a huge political issue and the Congress stands as a protector of the Corrupt. I would not be surprised if this perceptions influences the electorate in the same manner as did the Emergency in 1977. The political advisors of Sonia-Man Mohan have handed the BJP a political issue on a silver platter and I hope the faction ridden BJP does not turn this into another liability as they did with the victory in Karnataka.

Baba Ramdev is a highly respected spiritual leader with a large and impressive following. The lathi charge on the followers and the brutal attack on women and children was witnessed by the whole world. The action by the police was uncalled for and the suo moto intervention by the Supreme Court will have consequences. I do hope that in the interest of the Nation Baba Ramdev keeps the BJP at an arms length and does not let that faction ridden outfit hijack his agenda. The next General Election will see the Baba Ramdev phenomenon at least in Northern India.

Even the Anna Hazare camp has come out in support of the Mahatma. I blame them for falling for the divisive tactics of the "secularists". The RSS is not a banned organization and so how can the support of the RSS for such a major political issue be battered away for the sake of New Delhi's domesticated civil society activists. I wonder why Arunditti Roy who jumped to the defence of Dr Binayak Roy is silent over the brutal attack on Baba Ramdev. Is it because she is on the side of the Establishment.

All democratic forces must condemn unequivocally the barbaric attack Mahatma Ramdev and the UPA regime has only dug its own political grave by its crimes.

BABA RAMDEV"S CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION IN INDIA

The advent of Baba Ramdev on to the public scene has electrified the Indian nation. Unlike the so called civil society activists who are at the beck and call of the corrupt Indian political establishment in the name of their misguided "secularism", Baba Ramdev is following his own independent path. The left tried its level best to discredit him by raising all kinds of questions about the health products that he advocated. Nothing came of of it. The political establishment tried to probe his charities to find out whether Baba Ramdev has violated any rule or law. The Baba is genuine material and he speaks the language of one who lives and breathes for India. His politics is based on patriotism and I wish Baba Ramdev success. I for one will fast on June 4th 2011 as a mark of respect for the Mahatma.

Corruption has become endemic in India and I think that the dynastic fascism of the Congress and other parties like the DMK is primarily responsible for the corruption. It is not an accident that the most corrupt political parties are also the ones deeply implicated in family rule and dynastic politics. The Congress started this trend and other so called "secular" parties followed suit. There is some criticism that the Baba is competing with the other Baba, Hazare. I do not think so. While I respect Anna Hazare, I do not think with the crew that he has gathered around him, Kiran Bedi, Kejariwal and the BHushans, he will be able to achieve much. The wily Congressmen have already sown the seeds of discord and the movement led by AnnaHazare is in imminent danger of collapsing. Baba Ramdev's politics is based on the power of truth and his satyagraha is carrying with it the moral authority of a whole nation. I have no hesitation in saying that like the great Mahatma, Baba Ramdev too will make the mighty bend to his will. Already there are signs of panic. The corrupt UPE Government knows that Baba Ramdev will strike a deep chord in the hearts of the Indian people and is sending ministers to placate him. Can the likes of Kapil Sibal, P Chidambaram and the like be able to even talk to a moral force like the Baba.

The Baba has stated very claerly that he seeks the return of all the money stashed by Indians abroad. The loot of India vy politicians is much greater than the loot of the East India Company. In fact the Nagarwala case under Indiara Gandhi of only of 60 lakhs, the Bofors under her son Rajiv Gandhi only of 60 crores and the 2G spectrum scandal of 60,000 crores and still counting. The people of India must realise that during the 6 years of Vajpayee there was not a single scandal and yet they voted out that Government and brought in the UPA which is the most shameful government in the whole world. Even African kleptocracies are not as venal as the Congress UPA regime.

I wish that the movement started by Baba ramdev touches the hearts and minds of the Indian people.

NIAILL FERGUSON'S CIVILIZATION: THE WEST AND THE REST

Niall Ferguson has won for himself the status of a "rock star" among historians. Like Fernand Braudel, he too takes history not in short bursts of time but surveys large processes of historical change and development from a comparative perspective. World historians have turned their attention to a singular aspect of woprld history especially after the onset of Globalization as an economic force backed by multi lateral institutions such as the WTO< IMF and World Bank. The rise of China from the middle of the 1970's under the leadership of Deng Xio Ping has resulted in the dram tic shift in the center of economic gravity from the Washington Consensus to the Pacific region. China holds nearly 3 trillion US dollars in her kitty and is the largest subscriber to US Treasury bonds. In the unlikely event of China deciding to undermine the stability of the dollar, the world monetary and fiscal architecture will collapse like a house of cards. Hence, historians have turned their attention to an exploration of the roots of economic growth and the concomitant social and cultural transformatiom it engenders. Long ago Karl Polanyi in his wonderful but sadly neglected The Great Transformation attempted to expalin just this question. The intellectual arrogance of Marxism and the dominance of the leftists in the field of History resulted in other theories doing the rounds including the dressed up version of Inmanuel Wallerstein, the World Systems Approach with its circular center/periphery dichotomy.

Niall Ferguson's Civilization explains the growth of the West in terms of its inherent historical processes. Competition which enabled economic production to compete for markets and patent laws that protected intell;ectual property rights enabled the western world to make the transition to economic growth. The wide spread diffusion of atrisanal skills which kept the labour market wide open, unlike the closed caste structures in socities such as India meant that there was close cooperation between those who practiced crafts and those who theorised about tham. The Scientific Revolution together with the print culture made knowledge widespread in western societies.

Ferguson writes like a true believer. He completely ignores the horrendous human tragedy that ensued in the wake of Western advance into the world of the "REST". Can there be a greated human tragedy than slavery that became the basis of Western economic dominance. Aferall as an economic historian he is well aware that there are "competitive advantages" due to low labor costs.

In spite of the fact that NIall Ferguson sings hosanas for Capitalism, this is an interesting read.

Masquerade's Wizard of Oz at Sivakami Petachi Auditorium, Chennai

On Friday, 20th May 2011 my daughter and I watched the Wizard of Oz. I remember reading the Puffin
version of the story to my daughter when she was a little girl and the checked dress of Dorothy made
quite an impression on her. She even set aside a green Magyar sleeve frock aside as her Dorothy dress
and named a white stray dog which she persuaded us to adopt as Toto. So Wizard of Oz was a must see
for both of us.
The Chennai Theatre Group called Masquerade put up an adaptation of this story in Chennai recently. A
simple and innovative set design was the main feature of this production. The props were kept to a bare
minimum and the stage lighting was excellent. The yellow brick road was realistically done with a sliver
of light on the stage. Obviously Harshavardhan Ganesh is talented and it showed. The costumes were all
well designed and suited the character. The ‘Cowardly Lion’ played by Shankar Chockalingam was
dressed in a yellow suit complete with tail and all. Rahul Murali, the Tinman, looked metallic with silver
grease paint on his face. It was Neetha Srikanth as the Wicked Witch of the West who took all the
honours for acting. Her performance was electric and there was a certain menace in her demeanor. She
seemed a perfect witch and her sidekick the “cat” looked pathetic as he suffered at her hands.
Frank Baum’s classic tale set in the corn fields of Kansas is really a parable dressed up as a fairy tale: a
story of self discovery and realization. If the yellow brick road is the magic path to self awareness
offered by religion, a straight path to certitude, the four travelers in our play find out that all the
knowledge they sought was within them. Thus the Cowardly Lion discovers that he is brave, the
Scarecrow finds out that he is brainy afterall and the Tinman finds out that he has a heart at the end of
the adventure and even Little Dorothy has within her the ability to return back to her farm in Kansas.
The director has taken some liberty with the text and the innovations such as the Mylapore Mami, could
have been avoided. I am not opposed to innovation as such but a classic text such as the Wizard of Oz
cannot be amended to suit the taste of a contemporary audience. The dance movements introduced to
represent movement and change of scene and tempo derived from Michael Jackson’s Moonwalk was
stunning. Chennai does have talent in the field of theatre.
I enjoyed the play immensely for two reasons. To a large extent it recaptured the lost wonder of
childhood and the innocence of a era long gone. Second the screen adaptation and the script was tight
and well organized leaving few loose ends. And Mitra Vishvesh as Dorothy was the icing on the cake. She
delivered her lines like a seasoned professional and she will go a long way in Theatre.
After a long time I saw a play that I really enjoyed

OSMAMA BIN LADEN AND HIS KILLING;LEGAL OR A LAWLESS ACT

Early this morning the US Special Forces acting on a tipoff launched an attack on a villa near Abbotsbad, a town 150 kilometers from the capital. The US attack was successful and without the loss of life the master mind on 9/11 was killed. It would have been foolish to take him prisoner as that would have encouraged hostages situations. So he was killed and no one can fault the US forces for this successful attack. I must say that there will be a sense of closure for a national trauma and my thoughts go out to those who lost their loved ones on that day in September2001.

The death of Osama bin Laden will certainly weaken the al-qaeda network and I am sure the Special Forces will continue the hunmt for other key elements. Unexpectedly this victory has given Obama's presidential relection bid a big boost and I ma sure he will cash in for what it is worth.

The situation in Pakistan will deteriorate and it may be time to call the Army out to lead. The Zardar Government has helped the US to carry out drone attacks and men like Raymond Davis on whom I have written are really the unsung heroes. But for such men thsi operation wopuld not have been a success.

Fist things first. USA gave an accurate and truthful account of the mid night encounter in which Osama bin Laden was killed. Had the same event happened in my part of the world, the Government would have lied saying that the man was armed and was using women as human shield. A rifle or M-16 would have been placed next to him to make it appear that the truth has been said. I appreciate the Obama Administration and the Navy Seal VI unit for resisting the temptation to score brownie points. Second, as I have often said the Pakistani Administration was abetting in the crime of shielding Osama. The fact that he was found within meters of the Military Base at Abbotabad shows that the ISI and the Army knew of the high value asset located there. It is quite possible that the Pakistanis surrendered Osama bin Laden to the US for some concessions in Afghanistan. The truth will eventually come out. For the moment let us assume that the civilian administration knew little of value. The CIA, NSA, the Department of Defense handed the entire Operation Gerimono is a professional manner, and they deserve a big round of applause.

There has been a controversy over the burial--some would even say, hasty and thoughtless--of the body of Osama bin Laden. The fact is that a tomb or burial site anywhere in South Asia would become a magnet for would be jehadis and a cult would have grown around it. A lieux de memoire is uncalled for and an anonymous burial was the need of the hour. The body of the terrorist could have been burnt and disposed off. Instead the Arabian Sea has been polluted with this corpse. The Obama Administration did what it thought best and it need not have revealed the facts about the disposal of the body. A picture of the dead Osama should have been published in order to quell the nay sayers and the inevitable conspiracy mongers. Why there was such haste is disposing off the remains of Osama bin Laden. USS Carl Vince and its identity ought not to have been revealed.

The hunt for Osama bin Laden was long and wearisome. Countless false leads and deliberately misleading clues were sifted in order to establish the identity of al-Kuwati the courier whose existence was first revealed by Khalili,a Git Mo detainee. In fact the success of the operation shows that the policy of questioning the detainees in a thorough manner was not off the mark. The CIA did a good job in tracking down the fugitive. I do not know why the lack of internet connectivity was troubling. The man was using a data card and it is just possible that WI FI connectivity was there. As for telephone who has land lines in these days of mobile phones. I just do not think that these were important clues that led to the identification of Osama bin Laden. I would like one of the 22 seals who participated in this encounter to write the history of this extraordinary event which in the words of a great historian of ages past, an event likely to be remembered for eons to come.


On 29th April 2011, President Barack Obama signed an excecutive order that authorised the Navy Seals VI unit to seek and kill Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks on the targets in USA. Are we to believe that the US president has the authority to order the execution of those deemed inimical to the US. Is this argument that USA can violate the sovereignty of a state, enter its territory, carry out a clandestine operation, pick up the evidence and leave, all actions done in accordance to domestic or international law. No court of law has ever convicted the target of the May 1st attack and therefore what is the legal basis of Obama's actions. I have no problem at all with the killing of terrorists, but I am raising a larger issue: the legal and constitutional validity of the presidential order of April 29th 2011.

The nearest example that comes to my mind is the infamous case of Adolf Eichmann who was captured by the Israelis in Brazil and brought to Jerusalem for trial and execution. In this case, the Government of Israel acted according to the testimony of several who gave evidence in the Nuremberg trials. Eichmann was indicted for crimes against humanity and there was ample eyewitness accounts of his direct involvement in the crimes at several camps in Europe. Further there was also the domestic legislation in the new state of Israel that made the capture and trial of German war criminals a responsibility of the Government of Israel and international law went along with this extended interpretation of the doctrine of eminent domain over German war crimes claimed by Israel. I want to know whether there is any provision in US law that enables or authorises the US president o carry out attacks on targets chosen by the US. I am not going into the merits of this particular case. I am raising a larger legal issue. Of course the USA can come out ans declare that they violated the sovereignty of Pakistan as they believe that the situation in that country makes it a "terrorist state" and hence the USA is not obligated to be constrained by the principles of international law.

Pakistan has become a haven for terrorists of every kind and therefore it is not a state in the true sense of the world. It does not have full control over its territory. Sayed Hafiz, a known terrorist is moving about freely in the country. Dawood Ibrahim a known criminal is being protected by the ISI. Since Pakistan does not have control over its territory and its so called civilian government has no monopoly over the use of force within the borders, USA can make a strong case for the violation of the sovereignty of Pakistan. As far as Osama bin Laden is concerned, though there is no evidence that can stand up in a trial court, the law of national self defence does permit nations to defend themselves.

There is now controversy over the killing of the man. I had raised this issue in my very first blog on this subject. The Obama Administration made things difficult for itself by giving contradictory version of the sequence of events leading to the killing of Osama. First they said that he fired at the raiding assault party and Leon Panetta stood by this version. Then they said quite truthfully that that he was not armed. This has not gone well. USA should have stood by one version. Then they said that he used a woman as a human shield and then they back tracked. Now both these contradictions are fueling speculations about the manner in which Osama was killed. There is even one theory doing the rounds that Osama bin Laden was killed in cold blood. I do not subscribe to this version.

Finally the pictures. THe most gruesome image was of the fall of the Twin Towers. How is it that USA is not revealing the pictures of the dead Osama bin Laden. Is there something in the pictures.