Civil Society and Crime, Corruption and political apathy in India

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books The death of the gang rape victim in a hospital in Singapore has led to an upsurge of emotion in New Delhi and other parts of urban India. Candle light vigils, black ribbon marches, placards displaying solidarity with the victim, named Nirbhaya or fearless by the doctors of Safdrajang Hospital in recognition of her valiant battle to live, which she ultimately lost. The anger against the criminal political class is palpable but unlike the Arab Spring which was ignited by the fiery protest of a street vendor and spread the the rest of the Arab world from Tunisia, these protests will not do much to change the system. The one man one vote and first past the winning post system of elections has atomized Indian society that the aggregate vote is actually controlled by the political parties which are not afraid of such protests because they are actually a mass of individual protests within a spontaneous field of reaction. The political parties particularly the dynastic fascists know that the tempo of protest cannot be sustained until the next election. Is there a way out? The liberal intelligentsia has been claiming that the rape of the Delhi girl and the sustained brutality to which her body was subjected is a symptom of the "rage" of the underclass Marinate this argument with a critic of the neo liberal economuc agenda and you have that thundering darling of the West, Arunditti Roy coming up with the argument that rape of the Delhi girl was only a protest against "poverty" and "marginalization".What this argument fails to consider and hence dangerous if it starts attracting attention is that it is an overt endorsement of crime against women. Perhaps the novelist in Roy does not quote comprehend the implications of her own argument. Another point is that most of the perpetrators of such crimes,and I am going only by anecdotal evidence, are from the OBC castes. The politically correct media will not highlight this fact, but it is germane to the discussion. In fact all the six arrested rapists of the Delhi girl were from the slums of Delhi and were from castes which historically have been violent. The bad old days of the British Raj they were called "criminal tribes and castes". I am only suggesting that in the name of woolly liberalism we should not loose sight of ground realities and forget history. The liberals in the Indian establishment seem to be advocating a jurisprudence predicated upon caste hierarchy. If the criminals are from the lower castes then their ctrimes can be ignored and if the victim is a dalit then the crime become all the more serious. Such relativism of crime has led to political interference making it impossible for the police to tackle the crime. There is another factor. Too uch civil society activism on frivolous issues spear headed by Arvind Kejriwal has led to the dilution of civil society as a force in Indian public life.

Professor Martha C Nussbaum's tirade against Hon'ble Narendar Modi

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books We have always known that American academics are servitors of the state and Martha has just demonstrated the truth of the statement by releasing a statement criticizing Hon'ble Narendar Modi, the newly reelected Chief Minister of Gujarat, saying that his election is a "blot" on Gujarat. As a recent convert to Judaism, Martha perhaps does not want to even refer to the atrocities against the Palestinians by her coreligionists armed and supported by the weapons supplied by her very own US of A. Of course she does not have a word of criticism against USA for the genocide it has done in Iraq on the patently fraudulent WMD argument. I feel that Professor Noam Chomsky, and I differ from him on political issues, has intellectual honesty and integrity which this distinguished Professor of Ethics sorely lacks. Martha Nussbaum, a white woman with a highly privileged upbringing in Hew York and an exclusive education in the Classics with a doctorate from Harvard, is no mean academic. She is a distinguished scholar in her own right and I am not questioning her scholarship. I am questioning her academic integrity in pointing out some blatant falsehoods in her tirade against the Chief Minister of Gujarat. A philosopher cannot be selective in his or her gaze. If Martha is concerned about the plight of Muslims in Gujarat and I do not doubt her interest, then she must take a public stand against the humiliations imposed on people travelling to the USA having moslem names. Of course as a convert to Judaism she has no real interest in Muslims or their plight. Her concern is in the Aristotelian sense purely rhetorical: Liberal ideology demands an anti Modi posture and Martha adopts it. Further, the US lawmakers too have written to their Secretary of State and so Martha joins in the chorus of clowns,whistling in the dark about the Hon'ble Chief Minister. I am surprised at the passionate intensity with which these liberal anti India Modi baiters jump almost at cue. We will not find the Martha of the world talking about American war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan and more recently the drone attacks on civilians all over the world. But she is filled with rage at Modi and what for? The 2002 Riots have been investigated by the highest judiciary of the land. Martha is supposed to be a Professor of Law and as such I expect her to have respect for judicial process. But No. If Modi is found innocent then the judges are at fault. What Martha wants is a Wild West type of hanging judge who will play to the gallery. I do not know what kind of law youn have learnt ot r teach. In my understanding this is not law: it is inquisition and a liberal inquisition always portrays itself in the rainments of moral superiority. And we in India know far too much about the USA and its black deeds to be taken in by the pretenses of the Marthas of the world. A philosopher is not an ideologue. He or she searches after truth, elusive though it may be. Martha Nussbaum has not bothered to keep abreast of the developments on the judicial front. Her source perhps is Teesta Setelvad who was convicted for perjury in the Best Bakery case for bribing the witness. The Courts have not found an iota of evidence against the Hon'ble Narendar Modi. But as Karl Popper stated so many decades back, ideologues are not interested in truth or facts. They are only interested in projecting lies, half truths and distortions which are repeated so many times that they end up appearing as truth to the non discerning mind. Martha has been saying things that are purely speculative to put it mildly or she is lying in the interest of her ideological allies. Martha Nussbaum has done splendid work inthe field of Human Capability building and if she applies her own theories to Gujarat she will find that (1) the quality of life has improved over the past 10 years (2) schools drop out rate has gone down and girl children enrollment in very high in Gujarat (3) health care even for heart and kidney ailments is availble to the poor and needy. Unlike USA where the unseemly debate over health care is still raging. at least the Hon'ble Narendar MOdi has done one better that Barack Obama, And in a democracy the will of the people must be respected. Even in Muslim areas the Hon'ble Chief Minister has registered resounding victories. Professor Martha Nussbaum has gone completely off the deep end on this issue. Many of us who respected her views and taught her ideas will now rethink our positions. A woman who is so blatantly racist in making damning comments about a tall national leader on the basis of propaganda and lies does not need to be taken seriously. Her position on Narendar Modi is akin to the Holocaust deniers- refuse historical facts which are empirically verifiable for woolly ideologically charged rhetoric. Martha you have shown yourself to be a cheap white supremist who does not dare criticize his or her own countey for all its crimes but become fashionably outrages at a non existent crime. If you are all that concerned, Martha, why do you keep quiet on Why are you quiet about the human rights record of Israel? Is it because you are a recent convvert to Judaism? Really how does one convert to Judais mwhat the Congress Party did in 1984 when its workerrs killed more than 15,000 Sikhs all over northern India.

CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN IN INDIA;:ANGER ON THE STREETS

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books India is fast becoming a country where women are no longer safe. As the father of a young teenager I am concerned about the sort of society in which young girls will enter. In the work place sexual harassment of women has become almost routine and women mostly either quit their jobs or deal with it using administrative procedure which are usually ineffective. In the domestic sphere violence against women has acquired social sanction in that even the police are reluctant to register cases against the guilty party and even the rare case that come up for trial usually ends in an acquittal as the legal process is so cumbersome and weighed against the victim that the woman just gives up. As India is becoming more open to a neo liberal economy, women have started entering the job market and they face exploitation and worse. In Banglore women soft ware professionals returning home in the Company car have been raped and murdered and the sentence given is so negligible that the message goes out loud and clear that violence against women is not a priority. The statistics for what in India is called "dowry deaths" is just appalling. Every minute a woman is being burnt alive for dowry and the conviction rate for such murders is extremely low and the law is not being enforced. The surprising sociological fact is that groups which did not have "dowry" as part of their social customs have now started demanding dowry and this new development is leading to a lot of social problems. In New Delhi, a Congress politician killed herself and her 2 year old daughter due to harassment by the in-laws for dowry. It took a full week for the police to even register the case. Such is the apathy even in the capital. There have been a series of extremely horrific attacks on women over the past few months and each is worse than the previous. Women and girls from schools, colleges and universities are out protesting, demanding security. Given the fact that a corrupt, criminal dynastic fascist regime is clinging to power in New Delhi we do not expect any change. The fact is that the political climate is so uncertain that criminals feel emboldened to commit crimes as they know that the Congress Party is there to protect them. All the serious cases hace happened only in Congress ruled states: New Delhi, Haryana and Rajastan. However isolated cases have been reported from West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Munbai, another Congress ruled state. The governance is so bad that people have lost faith in the ability and the competence of the governments to enforce the law. There have been more than 600 cases of rape reported so far this year and this figure is nowhere close to the actual figure because rape is usually not reported due to the stigma associated with it. The worst and the most barbaric attack happened in New Delhi when a young woman and her fried were attacked and the girl raped onm a moving bus on the Outer Ring Road, New Delhi. The girl was gang raped and stabbed with beer bottles and iron rods and thrown out of the bus. The barbarity of this attack finally shocked the nation and the 6 residents of a slum in Delhi were arrested. The false veneer of political correctness has led the print and the electronic media to cover the crimes committed by the slum dwellers of New Delhi with a politically correct gloss. The barbarity of the most recent attack finally led to the exposure of the fact that most of the violent crimes were the handiwork of men living in the slums which surround the city. The requirement of registering these migrants and finger printing them is resisted by the fashionable liberal left whose daughters go the work and schools in cars and do not use public transport. The liberal left is high on rhetoric and low in actual concern for the underprivileged. Finally the message has sunk home. The politicians are not interested in undertaking any steps to bring about even a modicum of security. The MPs used the protests against rape aa an opportunity to be photographed and appear as if they are concerned. The fact is that the vast majority of Indian's MPs are actually criminals awaiting trail for violent crimes like murder, rape, rioting ect. I hope that the Indian people decide not to vote for criminals and f they send criminals to Parliament then their daughters are not safe. I hope the thick skulled Indians learn this lesson before it is too late. For the past 8 years we have seen unending corruption, mismanagement of Indian resources, unending acts of terrorism and now appalling acts of violence against women. The demand is now being made for the introduction of death sentence for rapists. The scandal is that the former President, a lawyer by profession and a woman one Prathiba Patil commuted the death sentence on 20 rapists who killed their victims. Such is the sad reality of the enforcement of law. It is difficult enough to secure conviction in Indian courts and this woman caomes along and commutes the sentence. What justice can one expect if a woman like Prathiba Patil is made President by a crimainal organization like the Congress.

THE DREAMER; A BEAUTIFUL PRODUCTION, THE STUDY,KALAPET

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books The season of joy is infectious. The birth of the Lord and Saviour brings forth the best in people. The clebration of the birth of Christ in The Study, Kalapet was done in a spectacular manner. The theme chosen was the stoy of Joseph who is sold into slavery by his brothers and with his inate talent of interpretting dreams he wins the confidence of the Pharoah and becomes the Chief Grain Officer of the Kingdom of Egypt. As is always the case with stories from the Old Testament, there is a twist in the tail. The brothers who solf Joseph into slavery come in search of food and in a magnificent gesture of reconciliation, Joseph forgives his brothers and is helped by him to overcome the s distress. Seven years of Plenty and seven of famine as predicted by Joseph was the fulfillment of the will of God. In the season of love, the story of Joseph sends the right message. The theme sketched above was enacted by the students of the Study, a school in Kalapet, Pondicherry. The School was established by the renowned heart surgeon Dr K M Cherian who was awarded a D Sc Honoris Causa by Pondicherry University in 2010 in recognition of the great work done in the field of surgery. He attended the function along with hisgrand daughter, Shirin. His message was a very inspiring one and I am sure that the students would have been inspired.The Vice Chancellor of Pondicherry UNiversity, Professor J A K Tareen and MRs Tareen attended the function. As always, Professor J A K Tareen gave a very gracious speech which touched everyone's heart. His presence added to the ocassion. The Principal sang an extremely difficult series of movements and she did a splendid job of it. I enjoyed the Dreamer and congratulate the school and its students for a job well come. A few visuals of the Dreamer:

The Welcome

The Dreamers: a Dance sequence.

A Song Serquence

The Trials of Joseph

A student with the Hon'ble Vice Chancellor of Pondicherry University and Mrs. Tareen.

AN Objective Assessment of Nehru" The Indian Ideology Reviewed

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

Perry Anderson, the author of The Indian Ideology i8s a well known historian and the author of Passages from Antiquity to Feudalism and the Lineages of the Absolutist State. In this book reviewed in this blog, Perry Anderson has raised questions which Indian historians writing history in nthe service of the nation state have failed to ask. Worse anyone even attempting a critical analysis of the Nehruvian Era is dismissed as a "communal" historian,a label which makes serious historiography well neigh impossible. The result is that modern Indian historiography is dominated by myths which are repeated without the slightest fear of being exposed as myths. The political trauma of 1947 created not one but two identity based states and while Pakistan is content with its status as an Islamic confessional state, India under Nehru has pretended to be a "secular" state and as Perry Anderson has shown the Congress even at the height of its popularity in the 1930s did not attract more than 3% of its membership from the Muslim community. The conceit of the Congress Party that it represented the entire nation made the party reluctant to seek accommodation with the Muslim League and contri8buted to the process of India getting fragmented. In Indian historiography this episode is usually painted as the wily Jinnah manipulating the Viceroy behind the backs of the Congress leadership when most of them were in Jail. The truth lies as Perry Anderson points out in the arrogance of the Congress leadership which refused to compromise with the League even when Jinnah showed a keen desire to engage with the Congress. The second point that Perry Anderson makes which deserves serious consideration is the fact that the Elections held under the 1935 Government of India Act the Congress did not win even a single Muslim seat. And when the Congress leadership decided to quit office in 1939 after the declaration of war, the field was open for the league to interact with the Muslim masses and further its ends. Rather than blaming the League, the politics of the Congress needs to be reassessed. Another myth exposed by Perry Anderson which stands modern Indian historiography on its head is the acknowledgement that the Congress pursued a communal agenda and the violence directed against Muslims during Partition emanated from Congress men rather than the favorite whipping boy of the liberals, the RSS. Given the fact that the Congress was responsible for the biggest massacre of post Independent India when thugs of the Congress Party killed more than 15,0000 Sikhs in north India and successive Congress regimes have abetted in the crime by ensuring that the perpetrators are not brought to justice, the analysis of Perry Anderson is certainly close to the truth. The historians maintained by the state lie Bipan Chandra and S Gopal do not seem to understand that the very dynamics of the movement led by the Congress contributed to the violence of Partition. Perry Anderson's analysis of the Nehruvian era from 1947 to 1964 is not only accurate but is also a sophisticated study of Nehru's methods of statecraft. As Anderson points out Nehru did not run a Government, he presided over a Court with fourth rate individuals like Krishna Menon, O Mathai, B M Kaul etc. The result was the political disaster in 1962 when India was soundly defeated by China. Anderson rightly points out that the McMohan Line which Nehru took as sacrosanct was the result of British chicanery and China showed every willingness to negotiate. But given the arrogance inherent in the Nehruvian vision of India, there was no place for negotiation or diplomacy: Throw the Chinese out was the motto of the so called forward policy which led to disaster. In suppressing the Revolt of the Nagas after Independence, Nehru permitted his Army, armed with the Armed Forces Special Powers Act to indulge in extra legal killings and human rights abuses on a monumental scale and the result is there form all to see. And in Kashmir also the same policy of using a local collaborator, Sheikh Abdullah and then discard him when he began to take Plebiscite promised by Nehru too seriously. Amd all this while quiety promoting his dynasty which still unfortunately is in power. The Indian Ideoly is a great book and all students of modern Indian history must read this book. Nehru was a giant with feet of clay and it is time Indians are told the truth about their recent past.

THE GENERAL AND HIS MOLL: PETRAEUS HAS BEEN HONOURABLE

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and book The title that I have given may appear that I am scandalized at the news of the extra marital affair which made the highly decorated five star general resign his post at t the Congress Party protected him inspite of evidence of his sexualhe CIA. On the contrary, I see his public behavior through the lens of my experience here in India and I can say that by resigning his position and publically acknowledging his liason with Ms Paula Broadwell, General Petraeus has shown that he has that little detail called character. So let me get this out of the way. This is not a blog about the hypocritical behaviour of Americans and their easy virutes. In fact, this incident actually makes people think about the seriousness with which the American establishment took this particular act of indiscretion. In India we have politicians who are caught in every kind of scandla and with their peckers in several different situations. That Congressman, Abhishek Manu Singvi was caught with his pant down with a woman who was giving him his Clinton moment and no action was taken against him and he is doing the rounds as the Congress spokesman. The brazenness with which the entire scandal was pushed aside and the manner in which thr Congress Party protected him speaks of the uncivilised nature of Indian politics and society. It is clear that such acts will not go unpunished in USA and rightly so. Then we have the N D Tewari case in which his natural son had to go the Court to obtain a legal injunction to get DNA sample in order to establish his biological father. There have been credible reports of Jawaharlal Nehru ingulging in several scandalous affairs without any fear of public exposure and humiliation. In the USA it is clear that public officials are expected to uphols certain values and they cannot escape the consequences of their action by saying that the scandals pertained to their private life. I think India can learn a lesson from this episode. Now to the General and his moll. From what I gather from the newspapers Ms Paula Broadwell entered General Petraeus' life in the form of a biographer asnd she has penned a biography that almost verges on hagiography. As a biographer she seems to have had unlimited access to the general (pun not intended). Her husband seems to have discovered the affair with the general and unlike most husbands who would be furious this man wrote a letter to the agony column of the New York Times wherein he states very baldly that an important executive of the American Government is having a physical relationship with his wife and he asked for advice. Surprisingly, the FBI got wind of the affair and confronted the general about it. Can this happen in India, Here the CBI lies, cheats, fabricates and hides evidence in order yoprotect the criminals who are at the helm of affairs in India, particularly under the Congress Party. What a contrast to the situation in the USA. Rather than feeling that the USA has shown itself to be moral calamity, this incident actually reinforces the notion that there are objective vlues in public life even in these difficult post modern times. The General did not deny the charge and gracefully resigned. Now comes the more difficult question. Did anyone bother about the fate of Ms Paula Broadwell. Is she also destined to the notoriety to which that characterless man called Bill Clinton consigned a far younger woman fifteen years back.

CABINET RESHUFFLE AND THE FARCE OF GOVERNANCE IN INDIA

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books The cabinet reshuffle that was announced this morning reminds me of the famous line that a hopeless and desperate measure can be compared with rearranging the deck chairs on the sinking Titanic. The Congress party over the past 10 years has presided over scandals of monumental proportions and in spite of Parliamentary inquiries nothing tangible has emerged. The Joint Parliamentary Committee which was to probe the 2G Spectrum Scandal was stymied right from the start by the recalcitrant attitude of the Congress party and this faced the main opposition party to quit the panel. The Coal Allocation Scandal has cost the national exchequer more the 6 billion US dollars and there is no visible sign of the scandal going away soon. To make matters worse, the Son in law of Sonia Gandhi seems to have built a real estate empire using funds from sources which are clearly illegal and dubious. Against this backdrop, the chances of the Congress doing well in the 2014 General Election are rather slim. However, the BJP is caught in its own internecine factional squabbles and this has left the party weak and in disarray. Except in Gujarat where the Party can boast of good governance, the BJP ruled states are all mired in corruption and mal administration with Karnataka being the most egregious example. Now ManMohan Singh has reshuffled his pack and as we know from history, the Prime Minister even in a coalition government has the choice of whom to appoint in his hand. In India since the Prime Minister is a nominee of the Dynasty, he enjoys no such constitutional freedom. He took orders from the Dynasty's Crown Price--Rahul Gandhi-- and all changes were made according to the whims and wishes of the Crown Price. So much for Democracy. Dynastic Fascism has reached such a level that even the pretense of constitutional propriety has been given up. The Newspapers were full of Reports to the effect that Rahul "thought" that such and such a person was to be inducted and such and such a person was to be shown the door. The net result being an elaborate exercise in futility. The fact that a corporate house, Reliance which is an important multi national company in the OIl and Petroleum Sector has succeeded in getting rid of Jaipal Reddy who was relieved of the portfolio< Oil and Natural Gas". The Supreme Court has also given its verdict against Reliance and yet the Governmant chooses to dismiss a minister rather than enforce rule of law. and there is also the mysterious matter of the death of Rajasekar Reddy who also incurred the wrath of this Company. I think Man Mohan Singh has sent out a wrong political message. Ministers involved in scams have been retained. Salman Kurshisd who is involved in a public spat with Kejriwal has been promoted and given a more important portfolio. Maken the Sports Minister at the time of the Common Wealth Games which were mired in financial scandals has been given the status of a Cabinet Minister. I think all those who deserved to be sacked have been rewarded and instead of helping to improve the image of the Government, this reshuffle will only strengthen peoples' opinion that it should go. or as Oliver Cromwell said, Go. In God's name Go.