The Modi chasm

One of the most visible dynamic thing that the emergence of Narendra Modi has done is that it has made the 'fence-sitters' take a side.And this assertions hold true both at the micro and at the macro level.
Individuals who criticize the Congress are automatically, without giving any chance to explain, termed as Modi supporters and hence communal. And those who condemn Modi are tagged agents of Congress or secular; lock, stock and barrel. No questions asked, no response sought.There are only two sides that one can be on. And if he is not on one side, then automatically it is presumed that he is on the other side. 

The answer to whether being 'communal' is correct or it's better to be a 'secular' in present times depends on which side of the debate you are.As far as I am concerned, frankly put,both these terms are one of the most misused words that have been molested repeatedly by its connoisseurs for their benefit. 
And it's not just the individuals who have been set in motion.

The diversification among the journalists have been blurred and the press too seems to have lost their uniqueness, their 'impartial stand', so to say. The parameter to judge the political identity has narrowed down.

And one cannot blame Modi for this 'great-divide'. Rather, one can appreciate that at-least because of an individual, the classification has moved from saffron, green, grey to a more simpler black and white.

Now, for every secular 'force' there is an equally strong 'communal' voice. For every pseudo-secular there is a fundamentalist. That’s how the sides to a debate has emerged.

A newspaper that wrote that Ishrat Jahan was allegedly a Lashkar-E-Taiba was automatically painted as a ‘Communally-Right’ publication by another newspaper that is perceived as a ‘Secular-Left’.
This visible political difference in opinion and the efforts of the individuals and the institutions to make a stronger point to support their case should be seen as a positive development. 

It is unique in the sense that rather than letting people enjoy the 'privilege' of sitting on the fence, it has forced them to take a principled stand, depending on their faith, belief and assertions.
One can always question their stand and their political belief or their secular and communal bias but then it also needs to be appreciated, that in our country, taking a stand has never been our stronger points.
The battle of intellects between those who have been abundantly rewarded with it, has been going on ever since Modi transformed from an individual to an election issue.  Those who think that he is the answer to the ocean of problem the country is facing, win sometimes. Many times it is those who consider him as anathema, who emerge as the winner. However, one thing is sure that the debate it slowly but surely moving from the simple shades branding someone a communal or identifying someone as a secular to the more complex world of merits,acumen and the ability of the individual to govern the Country.

The challenging of one’s political assertions and belief was never such a big issue, until now. 

Why Congress won't lose 2014

When Mumbai was attacked in 2008 even the most loyal of Congress supporters would have felt that it was the last nail on the coffin for the beleaguered UPA-1.  That was not the first time such a hair-raising misadventure had happened and most of the political pundits said that the next general election that were just months away would see the demise of the Oldest party of India.

They had every right grounds to arrive on such an assessment.


October 2005 brought death of 66 people in Delhi when three serial blast shook the capital out of the festive mood of Diwali, March 2006 saw attack on Sankat Mochan Mandir in Varanasi, Malegaon happened in September  followed by Samjhauta in March 2007. May 2007 went red with blast in mosque in Hyderabad, July witnessed serial blasts in Jaipur, Gujarat and Bangalore. It did not end here. In September 2008 Delhi was struck again resulting in death of 18 civilians and then the mother of all, 26/11 Mumbai happened.

This ' carpet bombing' of sort in no way substantiates a claim about a country that prides in being a resurgent, emerging,torch bearer and what not for the rest of the whole world.

But 2009 election gave a new mandate to Congress, even better than what it had got in 2004. Congress was riding high. No one can definitely say as to why India voted for a party that had let them down in the previous 5 years. 


Were we still evolving as electorates , easily vulnerable to the rhetoric,sweet talks and the goodies of the smiling Neta?