DMK and its Dynastic problems: Manmohan Singh faces Difficulties in cabinet formation

The unexpected and may I add, rather shortsighted, electoral verdict from Tamil Nadu has given the thumbs up for the most rabid kind of dynastic and family based politics. The real issue before the aging patriarch of the Karunanidhi family is to reconcile the conflicting and increasingly unquenchable differences between the children of Muthuvel Karunanidhis's several wives and party loyalists. It is a well known fact that the daughter Kanimozhi is now emerging as his chosen successor in the "literary" field and therefore he would like to give her some post in the Central Government as a platform for her to develop and flourish after his demise. This is strongly opposed by his two sons, one with the improbable name, Stalin and the other the Lord of MaduraI, Alazhagiri. Now there is the curious presence of dayanidhi Maran the nephew and the most educated and ariculate of the Karuna tribe. The Congress is comfortable with this man and is willing to give him a minister ship.
The Congress which started this charade of Dynastic Politics is in no moral position to cry foul as it is shamelessly playing loyal coutier to Rahul Gandhi and Sonia. It would have been better if the BJP had made dynastic fascism as an electoral issue as the people of India did not struggle for freedom to hand over the nation to the New Mughals of Delhi. The DMK is fully exploiting the moral turpitude of the Congress in order to promote family members to high political positions. The DMK party is also full of servile trash like the Congress, but old hands like T R Baluu are unwilling to hand over their future to the tender mercies of the Karuna family and are putting up a stiff fight and hence the delay in the DMK participation. The DMK tried to put a spin on this by making it appear that it is the Congress which is being unreasonable; in fact the INC is only bending backwards to please the DMK and is willing even to appoint the Spectrum King A Raja and the SethuSamundar Samrat, T R Baalu to cabinet positions. So when the Congress is asked to only bend by the DMK it chooses to crawl.It appears that the struggle for succession has already begun in the DMK. The different factions are only arm twisting their way into a post-Karunanidhi world and the family wants desperately to retain control over the Party as the Party hold all the wealth

Sri Lanka After Vellupillai Prabhakaran

The military victory announced by the President of Sri Lanka over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam marks the end of 25 years of one of the most brutal and ruthless insurgent movements of the 20th century. Unfortunately many of the western powers such as UK, the EU, even USA before 9/11 identified the LTTE as a genuine liberation movement and extended both political and diplomatic support. The large Tamil diaspora spread out all over the world, in its shortsighted pursuit of identity politics supported the LTTE with money and material. It appears that it was the self serving Tamil diaspora spread out over Canada, England and Sweden that largely supported the organisation with aimed at complete control over the lives and destiny of the Tamil population of Sri Lanka.
The LTTE founded by Vellupillai Prabhakaran in 1972 waged a brutal war of extreme violence against the Sri Lankan state. In its pursuit of ethnic cleansing of Northern Sri Lanka it brutally attacked the Buddhist/Sinhala polulation and terrorised the Muslim population to quit the Northen Jaffna Peninsula. The world condemned the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia ans Serbia but it did not bother to condemn what the Tigers did in the name of Tamil pride. The LTTE ruthlessly and brutally killed several key Tamil intellectuals and politicians so that the slot of Tamil leadership could be occupied by Prabhakaran. Throughout the 1980's and 1990's leaders of the PLOTE and EPRLF were systematically eliminated by LTTE assasins. In fact the LTTE pioneered the dubious tactic of suicide bombing long before it became stock in trade of Islamic militancy. The murder of the former president of Sri Lanka, Premadasa, the killing of Rajiv Gandhi and the attempted assassination of Chandhrika Kumaratunga were all carried out by suicide bombers. In addition politicians of every shade of moderate opinion both Tamil and Sinhala were killed by the LTTE. Laxman Kadirgaman, Gamini Dessanayake, Lalith Athulathmudali were just some of the politicians killed on the orders of Prabhakaran.
The LTTE could not have become such a major terrorist organisation without the overt and covert support of the Indian Government. In 1983, when Mrs Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India, the Government of India permitted the setting up of 16 training camps for the LTTE cardres in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M G Ramachandran even referred to the LTTE terrorists as tambis, or younger brothers. No wonder then that the LTTE took full advantage of the situation and openly carried weapons even in the streets of Chennai and there have been several instances of LTTE men clashing with their rivals. The famous shootout with Uma Masesvaran who was later killed by the LTTE is still recalled with horror. In 1985 a bomb placed by the LTTE in Chennai airport exploded killing 65 people. In spite of the repeated acts of violence carried out on Indian soil, the Government of India continued to support the LTTE.
In 1991 the LTTE carried out the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in full public view using a human bomb, Dhanu. The LTTE justified the assassination of the former Prime Minister on the ground that he had sent the Indian Peace Keeping Force to Jaffna in order to implement the Indo-Sri Lankan accord. If this accord which formed the basis of the 17th amendment to the Sri Lakan Constitution had been implemented the Tamil problem would have been solved as the Sinhalese for the first time agreed to the devolution of powers to the Tamil provinces of the North and the East. The LTTE did not want peace and set about killing Indian soldiers and more than 2,500 Indian soldiers lost their lives in that costly misadventure. Alienating India was a costly mistake as the Sri Lankan government quickly converted the disquiet that India felt into indifference to what was happening in Sri Lanka.
The defeat of the LTTE makes the job of the Sri Linkman government all the more difficult as it must now work very hard to win the hearts and minds of the Tamil population. The President has made a noble beginning by saying that all Sri Lankans will be treated with dignity and equality in an inclusive state. The death of Prabhakaran has opened up a window of opportunity in Sri Lanka and the Government must act.
The last few days the saw widespread suffering in the war dfront as the LTTE held the civillian population as a human shield. Rajapakshe went ahead with his task of crushing the LTTE and in so doing the cost in human terms was huge and so a good beginning has to be made to win over the Tamil population and the distinct lack of triumphalism in Rajapakshe's speech in Parliament today is a sign of statemenship

The Dravidian Parties and the Sri lanka Jaffna Tamil Crisis

George Orwell pointed out several decades back that politicians use words not to communicate but to obscure, confuse and obfuscate. The Dravidian Parries, political, cultural and transgender ones, are past masters in this game. Take the term Sri Lankan Tamils, for instance. The use of this particular term would suggest that Sri Lankan Tamils are entirely Jaffna and Eastern Tamils only. The fact is that the Jaffna Tamils are of high-caste vellala origin and hence the Dravidian Political parties support them. The MBC and BC oriented politics of Tamil Nadu means that there so-called Jaffna Tamils get sympathy for reasons OF THEIR CASTE ORIGIN., The sympathy of the Dravidian politicos for the Sri Lanks based Tamils is not based on humanitarian principles but on caste considerations. The other section of the Tamil population in Sri Lanka, the plantation Tamils, are of Schedule caste and poor social and economic backgrpound, and therefore the BC and MBC dominated Dravidian8an parties show no sympathy for the Plantation Tamiols. The greatest surprise is the fact that Sc based parties like the Dalit Panthers led by Shri Timumavalavan also eschew the Plantation Tamils. Why does not the plight of the Plantation Tamils npot create any waves in Tamil Nadu, and the living and political conditions of the plantatation Tamils is much worse than the situation confronting the Jaffna based Tamils.The Indian media always confuses the issue by making it appear that the Jaffna Tamils are the sole Tamil population in Sri Lanka. The plantation Tamils were sent to Sri Lanka through the kankani system by which labor was recruited for the plantation economy in Malaysi8a, Sri Lanka and South Africa. The recruits usually came from ther lowest social sector and in India they would be classifies as the SC community. For this reason the Dravidian political dispensation does not highlight the conditions under which the highland Tamils live.The Plantation Tamils have no cultural or political rights and after 5 generation they are even considered stateless. These Plantation Tmils because of the lower social and economic status in the Tamil caste system are looked down by the Jaffna Tamil and do not intermarry or have social ties with them. The fact remains that the Plantation Tamils have no sympathy for the cause of the Jaffna Tamils. Karunanidhi must be laughing all the way to the election booth. His stunt of fasting lasted less than one hour and he went to thye grave of Mr Annadurai in the Marina with 6 air coolers a clutch of wives and party men. His shameless stunt may get him some votes in the game of competitive chauvinism indulged in by the high cast dominated Dravidian parties. It is obvious that Rajapakshe has a tight game plan and the killing of LTTE chief Prabhakaran is the beginning of the end of the politics of Dravidian EXCLUSIVITY

Lalu Prasad Yadava and his Foul Toungued Obsenities

The Yadava chieftain from the cow-belt of Bihar who is facing prosecution for the fodder scam, has said that if he were the Home Minister of India he would crush Varun Gandhi under a "road roller". We do not associate civilised behaviour with the politicians of India, but even by the promiscuous standards of Indian politicians, Laluji's comments seem to be far from the accepted norm of a loose, oath filled lying tongue for which politicians have become notorious. What is alarming that a man who holds a responsible position in the constitutional order of India can get away making such a barbaric remark. What is worse he believes that the Home Minister can get people crushed under road rollers as part of their perquisites of office. So apart from the pelf and corruption that come with a political office, Indian politicians now claim the secular right and previl;ege of getting people killed preferably under road rollers. I know that Mrs Indira Gandhi preferred to have people killed in car accidents. The fact that all people associated with the 1968 Nagarwala case died in road accidents cannot be considered a mere coincidence. Her father had numerous of his lovers killed and the less said about Rajiv Gandhi who justified the killing of 10,000 sikhs in Delhi the better. The people of India must have the sense not to vote criminals who speak the coarse language of a gangster from the gutters.It is high time the electorate made up its mind and rejected the criminals who masquerade as "politicians". I wonder why all the criminals from North India are from the Yadava or the Thyagi caste.

It is really strange that Shri Varun Gandhi, the son of Hon'ble Meneka Gandhi is being treated in such a shabbyn manner. Agreed that his comments that were widely attributed to him do not deserve any sympathy and bespeak of a mind set is more attuned to the rhetoric of the Congress Party than the BJP, the fact remains that his father the late Sanjay Gandhi was the first to introduce the kind of coarse language that has now become the stock-in-trade of that national disgrace called the Indian National Congress. I do not want the sins of the father to fall upon the son, but facts are sacrosanct and hence I am constrained to state this.Having said that it is the Congress that has brought about the absolute degradation of the political system by entrenching the filth of dynastic politics the BJP is forced to react and hence the relevance of Shri Varun Gandhi to the BJP. By effecticvely using the coarse language of Shri Varun Gandhi as a foil the BJP has dented the image of the Congress. Nothing works better than using one royal price against the pretender in chief, Rahul Gandhi.Booking Shri Varun Gandhi under the NSA is totally a bad move and it will generate a sympathy wave for the candidate and, I am afraid will give tonnes of legitimacy to the ideas of Shri Varun Gandhi. It is unacceptable that criminals like D P Yadav, Sahabuddin, Arun Gawli and scores more are able to contest freely while Shri Varun Gandhi sits in jain. I think Mayawati is playing into the BJP hans by doing this and I suspect, that the top brass of the BJP is not unhappy as it would get the sympathy vote. Is there a secret alliance with the BSP over the Varun Gandhi issue.The same arument over Sanjay Dutt. This man is not half as dangerous as Mulayam Singh Yadav and the dothi clad criminas in the Ydava political parties of the cow belt. But an example is made of him as he is easy pickings.I think the Congress and its brand of politics needs to be consigned to the landfill if Indian democracy had to survive.

Chander Mohan, Anuradha Bali and thenpolitics of matrimony

Anyone reading my posts would have realised that I am an inveterate enemy of dynastic politics and the cynical corruption of the Indian political class. Having said that I must add that the manner in which the son of Bajan Lal, Shri Chander Mohan, the sacked Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana was treated is not only shocking and barbaric, but also violates the spirit of the freedom of choice so precious to all of us. The politicians of Tamil Nadu have at the last count 3 wedded wives and scores of concubines and they find a respectable place in Sonia's (s)table and why should Shri Chander Mohan be treated differently.First things first. The statement of Shri Bajhan Lal disowning his son for having married his lover Anuradha Bali suggest that he has the right to decide for his son. Shri Chander Mohan was holding the responsible position of the Deputy CM of Haryana after having won the elections from his constituency 4 times. What does it mean to "disown" his son. Further he stated that the responsibility for the upbringing of his 2 children from the first wife, Seema, will rest with the "family". What law give Bajhan Lal the authority to take children away from the parents. I wish the ever alert mahilaa organisations take note of the patriarchal argument made by shri Bajhan Lal, treating children as if they were mere pieces of real estate. I am not defending Shri Chander Mohan, I am only pointing out that he has a right to live out his life with a woman he loves, for whom he gave up his political position. I am reminded of Edward VIII who abdicated the throne in order to marry Mrs Simpson. To my mind Shri Chander Mohan has shown spine and I laud him for it.It is obvious that the marriage with Seema had broken down and that she has the support of the patriarch. Chander Mohan need not have taken the dubious route to matrimony through a bogus conversion to Islam a la Dharmendar and Hema Malini. The Hindu Marriage Act does not mandate against a second marriage provided the wife does not complain. This is is the provision exploited by Shri Karunanidhi and scores of Dravidian politicians who practice polygamy with the elan of their Chola rulers.I saw both of them on TV last evening and it appeared that both seemed very happy together. Anuradha Bali was the Assistant Attorney General of Haryana and from the interaction on TV she seemed a highly articulate ans strong minded woman, If Shri Chander Mohan has married her out of love I think no one has any right to complain, least of all Bajhan Lal.The divorce laws are extremely antiquated and I think if one cannot live in a state of marriage he or she should be allowed to opt out. Shri Chander Mohan has only done that.I wish the newly weds the very best.

Why Indian Universities cannot be World Class

A former chairman of the University Grants Commission is now decorating the chair of the Prime Minister of India and like any profligate public institution the UGC believes that by spending huge sums of money the quality of education, particularly at the University or graduate level can be improved. It is ironic that when the whole world, especially China is spending nearly 700 million US dollars on just one University, the UGC plans to spend 73 million US dollars on 12 "World Class Universities" as suggested by the Report of the Sam Pitroda Knowledge Commission. It is not possible for quality to be purchased at 9 million US dollars a piece and the mandarins of the UGC like their former Chairman is quite unaware of it. Moreover public money is being wasted in creating Centers of Social Exclusion and Inclusion Policy a hobbyhorse of Sukhdev Thorat, who in these days of identity politics is enjoying his season under the sun.
The Indian University system is utterly devoid of both vision and dedication. The officers who essentially run the University with the Vice Chancellors acting as their patrons are usually corrupt and almost all University decisions are taken on the basis of percentages. The UGC spends crores of rupees every year on major and minor projects and yet the impact factor of Indian research is just 0.o1 %. The bills and reports submitted are usually fraudulent and with the cut and paste option available on the Computer almost all reports are made to order. It is usually arranged that the UGC funds third rate Research that is an embarrassment to any civilised institution. I wonder if the former Chairman of the UGC Dr ManMohan Singh is aware of the deep rooted corruption in the funding of higher education. It is time for the UGC to stop the charade in the name of funding "quality research" based entirely on percentages of commissions.
Corruption exista at all levels of the University system. One notorious former Vice Chancellor who was dismissed for "forgery" even ended becoming the VC of a Centrla University and the Chairman of NAAC. He promptly brought his mistress into the University and even provided a senior level job for her in the organisation he once headed. We know that under the leadership of such men as the one referred to above the Universities degenerate in happy hunting grounds for Vice Chancellors with an overactive pecker.The autonomy granted to the Universities is generally misused for persecuting the independent and promoting the courtiers. The UGC instead of enforcing the minimum standards of public probity in the University can be trusted to protect every act of nepotism and corruption. Even the RTI is of no use. Recently I asked for Information from the Information Officer of the UGC on a particularly notorious case and I got the answer that the information cannot be disclosed for "administrative reasons".Against THIS BACKGROUND IT IS OF NO USE SPENDING CR ORES OF THE TAXPAYERS MONEY OF SUCH INSTITUTIONS.

A Sterile Debate on NDTV Again: Fair or Lovely?

Barkha Dutt seems to be bent on displaying her amazing arrogance before a national audience without shame and without remorse. On Sunday, 28th September, there was yet another sterile debates on We the People regarding the most important issue facing the country: Is being fair un color the same as being lovely. The primadona of NDTV had rounded up the ususal suspects the gaggle of beuty queens, advertising gurus, business exccecutives and an o0dd politically correct dissenter. The issue was whether Indians equate fairness with beauty and therefore moredesirable and sexy at least on the matimonialmarket. The amazing arrogance of the woman who conducted the show is reflected in the fact that the members who were asked to comment on skintone and its alleged relationship with Indian conceptions of beauty were all FAIRSKINNED AND possessed skintones which ranged from fair to weatish and not a single one was dark. By exibiting such women and making them represent the dark skinned, Barkaha Dutt and her ilk have willynilly reinforced the age old stereotype that light skin is devine. NDTV has perfected the art of projecting the most reactionary politivcal messge in thegarb of appearing subversive.One more point. If NDTV thinks that fair is not beautiful or desireable then why is it that the stable of Pretty Young Things in Dr Roy's stable are all fair and perhaps to some eyes even lovely. It is sheer hypocricy to preach against colorconsciousness and at the same time project only white and light toned women in the various programmes of NDTV> That channel is always on the so called liberal side on every dbate. How amny dalit newsreaders anchors and reporters are working in NDTV. I am sure with the exception of the jasnitors and drivers there will be no dalit working in NDTV. It is time the sponsors stopped giving money to thi