More than one reason to show Congress the door

The continued silence on part of the congress leadership including Sonia Gandhi and the Prime minister Manmohan over the violence against the north Indian migrants in Maharasthra speaks volume about the real picture of the UPA in general and Congress in particular.

Maybe the congress will mend its way in the future and assume a more responsible role but right now this decade old party doesn’t deserve to govern this country.

Vote-banks have and will always play a very important role in deciding the actions of a political party but there are some times when national interest has to be brought into the forefront but this has rarely been the case with the Indian political structure.

When Mohammad Haneef was victimized in Australia, Manmohan singh went on the record and said that he had trouble sleeping and he saw faces of Kafeel and his mother in his dreams. It would have been gracious enough of the PM had he shared the same sentiments about those poor migrants who were beaten mercilessly just because they belong to a certain part of India.

There is more than one issue that will play on the minds of the voters when the country goes to poll next year.

The Ram Setu controversy was one which was unwarranted and one that could have been avoided. It is just another example of the political immaturity the present top rung Congress leadership posses. Congress meekly surrendered itself to Karuanidhi in order to save the UPA and gave Karunanidhi the liberty to speak out his insane mind and hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus all over the world.

The nuclear deal and the way it was handled will also be instrumental in deciding Congresses fate. The whole India and the rest of the world saw Congress arguing for operationalizing the nuclear deal, numerous statements were made , many more pro-deal debates were staged in which the congress leaders left no stone unturned to make us believe that the nuclear deal was the best thing that was happening to India in recent times. 

Mrs.Gandhi even termed the leftist as anti-nationals and called them people who were against the development of India. The deadlock lasted for many a months and Manmohan dared the Left to pull its support and stop the deal. Unfortunately for the PM, the left called his bluff and left the PM red-faced and soon the deal was dumped into the back burners.

According to the PM he wanted to save the country from another General election and hence conceded to the Left’s demand. Someone should have told the Respected PM that this ‘novel-noble’ policy of ‘country first’ would invite more cynicism than appreciation from his country men.

Rural Indian population may not be so much affected by the deal and its aftermath but the amount of press this deal got has sure given the urban India enough idea of what this deal was all about and the given a clear picture about the incompetence on the part of Congress.

NREGA, the much hyped program is something which the Congress can cheer about but it is not sufficient to save the congress from a rout. The implementation should have been planned out in a more systematic manner and it would have been more beneficial had the policy of selective implementation of the act would have been practiced.

The rate of un-employement in Bengal and Chhattisgarh is far greater than in Punjab or Karnataka. The living standards of the inhabitants in the so called BIMARU states is dismally low when compared to the other more prosperous states. Even a 10^th grader will tell that more impetus on increasing the employment opportunity is needed in the northern-eastern hilly states than in Gujarat.

100 Rs per day won’t be of much value for an unemployed youth in Punjab but the same 100 rs is what a laborer earns in Bihar if he works for two days.

The act should have given priority to those states which are lagging behind in terms of state GDP when compared to the national GDP. Once all the states were on equal playing ground then the benefits of the acts would have given more benefits.

The Forest Rights bill was another political attempt to woo the tribal vote-bank but sadly that vote-bank was in exchange for huge forest land and exotic endangered animals. Though the implementation of the act has been stayed after a mounted offensive from the environmentalist but it remains to be seen how long will the animal continue to breathe without any fear.

The minority appeasement policy that the present government is following has assumed dangerous proportion and this may not augment well for the secular framework of this country.

And make no bones; this “please the minorities” policy is not aimed towards uplifting the conditions of the minorities, albeit it has more to do with increasing the already dwindling vote-bank of congress. Fortunately the minority class is not oblivious to these nefarious designs.

The recent result in the various by-elections that were held in different states is a precursor to what the future hold for Congress.

Sadly the dilemma that plagues us all is that the BJP which is the most probable alternative to Congress also doesn't have a good record to boast of. We Indians always have to decide between the devil and the deep blue sea.

http://desicritics.org/2008/02/19/002058.php

The great Indian north-south divide

The Lt Governor of Delhi,Tejinder Khanna on Thursday while launching the special mobile patrol of Delhi police alleged "it is fashion of the North-west Indians to violate laws. They feel pride in breaking rules, while in South India,people respect laws". Khanna, a few months back had recommended identity cards and special driving licences for North Indians in New Delhi.

The chief minister, Ms Sheela Dixit had earlier regretted North Indians; particularly those coming from Bihar and UP were burden on the state capital. In Maharashtra, Raj Thackarey is speaking against the North Indians and his supporters are attacking the taxi drivers of Bihar-UP origins operating their services in Mumbai, the house of Amitabh bachchan is attacked, the office of Bhojpuri film hero, Manoj Tiwari is ransacked and the hall screening a Bhojpuri film is vandalized.

Not only the political leaders, but those occupying the constitutional posts like Lt Governor and chief minister are speaking against Bihar and UP and their people staying in the national capital and commercial capital of India. Four decades back, there was an agitation against Hindi in South India and against English in North India.

A few months back, labourers from Bihar and Jharkhand were massacred in Assam. Their crime, they came from North Indian states .A decade back, the Pandits from the Valley were ousted from their homeland, Kashmir when militancy gained momentum.

In Gujarat, there was an attempt to divide the society on communal lines after Godhra. In Ahmedabad, Mulsims staying in the main housing colonies like Sarkhej, Pragatinagar,Vijay Nagar, Navrangpura left the cosmopolitan "societies"(as the residential colonies are called there) and migrated in the cluster of colonies developed for the Minorities only on the outskirts.

Is India heading towards Balkanisation, whether the Indian Republic is cracking up like different unions in the United Socialist Soviet Republic? A dangerous trend which can divide the nation. Because, those speaking in terms of South-North divide are not tribals, but elites of the society, civil services and politics.

Maharashtra for Marathi, Bihar for Bihari ; what is left for India?

Another example of spineless governance from the Congress party was seen as a bunch of goons in Mumbai held a city to ransom and assaulted poor migrant laborers in full public view. Their crime- they hailed from the eastern states of India like Bihar, UP and Jharkhand.

It is just impossible to believe that a person like Raj Thackeray with no political standing and following can carry out this ‘regional cleansing’ without any political patronage.

I am no BJP supporter. BJP did the same in Gujarat in the post Godhra period, the state government in Gujarat kept mum as the minority class was butchered. The same thing is true about Congress in the present case. Innocent people who strive hard to earn two pieces of meal are beaten up; their means of employment broken and the state continues to look the other way.

It’s situation like this that feeds the fuel to anarchy ; where the oppressed finding no one to safeguards his rights and legitimate interest takes the ‘law’ ( which in the first place has been torn to pieces by the perpetrator) in his own hand. Clashes start and gradually it spreads into wherever it sees an opportunity to thrive.

And it is situation like these that shows how helpless the common mass still is.

Fortunately there has been no counter reaction from the people of the states from which the victims hail and one can only imagine that what would happen if their belief that goons like Raj Thackeray will be brought to the books is shattered.

Shiv sena was earlier more of a pawn which the congress used to its benefit now the same Shiv sena runs a parallel government in Maharashtra. There is more than enough evidence to book Bal Thackeray for the anti-Muslim riots of 1992 but he is still out because successive state government have said that his arrest may lead to large scale violence.

Sometimes people forget that pawns never remain a pawn, after completing the required steps it becomes a very powerful ‘Wazir’. Same was the case with Bal Thackeray and god forbidding same will be the result in Raj’s case if the state continues to keep its eyes shut.

There are provisions in law which are enough to haul Raj Thackeray into the prisons but as has been the misfortune of this country legal provisions have always been made but never applied; even if they are then its the poor that face them and rarely the powerful.

Raj Thackeray’s ambition for a greater role in Maharashtra has fuelled his narrow mentality and his good organizational skill has helped him gather a sizeable following. Not surprisingly he follows his idol Hitler whom he admires for his organizational skill.[1]

The precedent that is being set by the Congress ruled state is very detrimental for the framework of this country. The north-eastern states of Assam and its sisters have been facing this issue of regionalism for long and no one can forget that anti-Hindi movement that was seen in the southern states of India.

Vote bank politics drives everything in this country and times are rare when political parties rise over it but this is truly a time when they need to look at things apolitically.

Another very important point of focus is the lack of employment in these BIMARU states. The state machinery of these north-eastern states needs to work on improving the existing employment opportunity and take up development work that will increase the employment level. Once this has been achieved the migration will come down.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel took lots of pain to integrate the erstwhile 600 princely states into one dominion, India and now we have Thackarey who is hell bent on undoing the efforts of Vallabhbhai.

Going by the recent happenings Maharashtra for Marathi, Punjab for Punjabi and Bihar for Bihari doesn’t look far. And it will soon be a reality if the leaders continue to follow their ‘modest’ political ambitions but who can wake the slumber of those who sleep in Delhi.

Go on MNS; you are on path to make history.

---

[1] http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/jun/14hit.htm

Patna diary

The past one month has been very busy for me (pun intended). To begin with people round the world celebrated my 25th birthday (again the same intention). As I was in Patna I was forced by my dad to pay obeisance at the age old temple of Goddess Kali situated at the historic Darbhanga house.

The Patna University which houses the Darbhanga house is a very serene place near the banks of the ever shrinking river Ganga. One visit is all that is required and if one has the patience to loiter there for around 20 minutes he/she will overhear the veterans of that establishment remembering those good old days when Ganga in full fury at the time of the 'Bihari' monsoon would wash the feet of goddess Kali. During that one month the idol at the temple would be spared the inevitable trouble of the priest waking her up in the wee hours of morning as the raging Ganga would stop anyone from coming near the temple.

Now that same old Ganga has been forced to follow the path of her distant cousin Yamuna who too is fighting for her survival and many don’t give her much chance of making it. Ganga like many other rivers of India has also been given the responsibility of taking the departed souls to the heaven as many of the corpse that can be seen floating in the river suggest.

The age old river though is no match due to the sheer number of corpses that are dumped in the river. Some time back ‘Snapping turtles' that scavenge on corpse were released into the river in thousands so as to provide a solace and support to the river but like Ganga the turtles too conceded defeat in wake of the ever increasing number of the dead and the corpse enjoy a free ride up to the heaven.

One year back while being a part of cremation procession I got the chance to watch the banks of Ganga up-close. The mourners were understandably sad for the demise of their close one but their gloominess increased when they had to walk 6 kms from the main road to reach the bank where the cremation takes place.

Suppressed murmur on the shrinking of Ganga, some accompanied by pity some by anger were heard. The one still that is fresh in my memory goes like this "Kah ho Ganga maiya itna gussa gail..itna mehnat karwaib.. itna chalwaib ' ( Mother Ganga you have become so angry that you have made us walk so much).

A river is dying and shrinking and trying to survive and still people think that she is showing her anger.

The historic Patna University (7^th oldest University in India established in 1917) saw a change of VC as the incumbent Mr. Y.C. Simhadri was removed by the Governor and the new VC Mr. Shyam lal took charge.

Mazharul Haque, Rajendra Prasad, Sri Krisna Sinha, Dr. Sachidanand Sinha, Anugral Narain Sinha, Jay Prakash Narayan, B. P. Mandal, Karpoori Thakur, L. N. Mishra, Baliram Bhagat, Ram Dulari Sinha, Sidheshwar Prasad and many others, all alumni of this University.

The Quit India Movement of 1947 saw almost all of the entire PUs students jumping into the agitation. The Total Revolution called by Jai Prakash Narayan in 1974 had its support base in this University. That revolution gave birth to many leaders that are active in the state and national politics like George Fernandes, Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi. Sadly none of these alumni including the present honorable Railway Minister have been able to emulate their distinguished seniors.

Mr. Lal who is from Rajasthan happens to be a close friend of my dad and when he visited at our home I was taken back by his softness and his simple-ness. He talked about many a things and he also disclosed that he also had his apprehension about coming to Bihar as the other Indians living outside Bihar do. But he was pleasantly surprised when he discovered that what all is said about Bihar and Patna is more of words that lacks any credibility than anything else. Every state and every city has its problems. The situation worsens if those issues are not looked into. Previously in Yadav’s regime there was no government, no administration and to even think about development was a sign of insanity but the present Nitish kumar led government is working and changes are visible

Mr.Lal was so happy with the state of affair and the all-round improvement that the state is witnessing to that he asked his son to take admission in the soon to be started Chandragupta institute of management in Patna which has been established on the lines of IIMs.

Coming back, yesterday I rescued 5 soft-shell-turtles from a fish market in downtown Patna. All of them are weak, and have got injuries of various natures. The whole of yesterday went into preparing a 'desi aquarium' one with more of mud than water.

Today morning I got a feel of how expert diggers the turtles are as one of them managed to 'escape' from the high security enclosure by tunneling a 15 cm tunnel beneath the fencing that I had erected but with my pet German shepherd, Bela taking up the responsibility of bringing the culprit to books I know that I can breath easy.

A couple of days back one of the students of my university committed suicide. She was very junior to me and took admission in NLIU when we had already graduated. Though she was only an acquaintance as I met her only recently in the convocation yet she came out to be as a young, energetic, ambitious girl having high hopes and unfulfilled dreams enjoying the colleges days and it was truly sad to see an ending that was never expected. It’s never a pleasure experience to hear such kind of news about someone you know.

Have busy days ahead, with the GD/Pi calls waiting to be tackled, calls that would decide where I will be one year down the line. Then there is a wedding of a school friend in Bhopal who is a member of the close circles of friend that we boasted of in our school days.

A visit to Bhopal is always welcomed with open arms and the present one, I am sure will be more memorable as we plan to have a ‘get-together' of all of the school mates. There was a time when we use to meet twice in a day and now it has been almost more than 2 years since I met some of them. Such is life.

One of my friend Patel@lalit finally managed to find a company and a job that suits his stature and I can just speculate that how happy all his other friends are over this.

Many states including Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh that I follow closely will soon be going to polls and it would be interesting to see the drama unfold, perhaps more interesting than the drama itself.

Madhya Pradesh gears for Polls

Hectic political activity is expected in Madhya Pradesh as all the political parties-, BJP, Congress, Bharatiya Janshkati Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have started making –pre-election preparations.

The Congress is promoting the younger generations of politicians to lead in their respective areas. Jyotirdtya Scindia ,Ajay Singh” Rahul”, sons of Madharao Scindia and Arjun Singh, are already active for over a decade. Arun Yadav, son of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee, Subhash Yadav, Nakul Nath, son of the union commerce minister, Kamal Nath are the two political sons to rise in the state.

Arun Yadav was fielded by the Congress in the Khargone by-election and Nakul saw the political fields in Betul, an adjoining constituency to Chhindwara last week.

With the assembly elections round the corner, Shivraj Singh led BJP government has embarked on an “please all’ policy. After successfully evading the bouncer over an alleged corruption charge over ‘Dumper’ and a rebellion inside the party, the incumbent CM has shifted his focus on how to tackle the ‘anti-incumbency’ factor which is expected to play a decisive factor in the coming polls.

The CM had much to cheer after the state was awarded a place in the Guinness Book of World Record for being able to galvanize maximum public participation in social sector for a consecutive second year. But politically, lines on his forehead increased.

After facing Bhartitva (Uma Bharti) which was expected to be reintroduced into the state’s electoral plans, the state unit is now facing dilemma over implementing Moditva. One of the factor that is being attributed to Modi’s win in Gujarat is his denial of ticket to almost one third of the sitting MLAs.

The BJP legislators of Madhya Pradesh are tense as they sense a repeat of the same formula getting implemented in Madhya Pradesh during the ticket distribution for assembly elections scheduled in November this year. The possibility of the same got stronger after in a Chintan Baithak (brain storming meeting) of party leaders at held Sanchi, it was decided that all ‘non-performing’ MLAs could be denied ticket by implementing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s formula. Many state leaders feel that implementing the policy of Gujarat in Madhya Pradesh will be detrimental as Shivraj is no Modi and the large scale rebellion that is sure to arise will cause the party more harm than it may be able to take.

BJP also saw one of its rival growing weak as following differences with Bharatiya Jan Shakti (BJS) president Uma Bharti, former Union Minister Prahlad Patel was removed from the executive body of the party. Prahlad patel was the staunchest of all the few allies that the sadhvi had and in all probability this would negatively affect more of Bharti’s political journey rather that Patel’s political future as he was regarded as the spine of the still infant BJS. Many see this is as a probable exit of Patel from the party.

The differences between both the leaders were evident at the time of Gujarat assembly elections, when Patel had decided to go against Uma for not withdrawing party candidates from the elections. Uma had publicly announced to withdraw the candidates considering that division of votes would not help Narendra Modi to form government.

Similarly The Congress high command is facing a dilemma over change of guard in Madhya Pradesh after verdict in the recently held by-elections in Khargone and Sanwer. Removal of state Congress chief Subhash Yadav was imminent if Yadav’s son Arun was defeated from Khargone but he got a lifeline as his son romped home against all expectations. Such was the infraction that none of the senior leaders except Scindia campaigned for Arun Yadav. Yadav had been running the defunct Congress in Madhya Pradesh for the past four years and by all political analysis he has been a weak leader. Surprisingly, the party leaders never seemed so anxious to remove Yadav, but after the by-elections, scenario has completely changed. Almost all the party camps are eying Madhya Pradesh.

Subhash Yadav though has been using his office well by packing the state congress with his loyalist as he recently demonstrated by successfully making his supporters presidents to four departments out of eight, and 14 cells out of 16. This has caused much infuriation among the other tall leaders of the state like Kamal Nath, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, Union Ministers Arjun Singh and Suresh Pachori.

Some reports have suggested that Kamal Nath has been trying the Betul seat for his son Nakul who till now has no political experience. If this turns out to be true then sleepless nights for many state leaders including Pachori who was eyeing Betul as his tenure comes to close, are surely expected.

The plight of being Bihar

I had to draft a letter to Mr.Tarun Tejpal . Editor of Tehelka after his magazine carried out a highly biased report on the state of governance in Bihar in the December 29th issue “ Two years On, no new deal ” . Also have produced a counter-article and mailed the same to Tehelka. Producing the same here. Abhinandan

Dear Mr.Tejpal,


This is with regard to the piece on Bihar that has been published in Tehelka's 29th December issue. “ Two years On, no new deal ”

I expected a much better supervision from your side before the article saw press. Even a man from mars will be able to say that you already had a pre-determined negative picture of Bihar in your mind when your magazine started working on that report.


You have every right to to paint such a negative picture of Bihar but just for the sake of it and for the sake of the principles of journalism you could have inserted the other side too.


I have drafted a letter in reply to the article and if you get time then do go through it. Maybe then you will realize that things are bad because they are portrayed bad. And I hope that you understand that every thing has two sides.


Warm regards and best of luck.

Abhinandan Mishra , New Delhi


The plight of being Bihar

We have time and again read and heard the the concept of “ Prejudiced reporting ”. Those who have gone through this weeks Tehelka magazine ( December 29, 2007) would have surely read the article “ Two years On, no new deal ” on the state of governance in Bihar by Tehelka’s Bihar correspondent. And one would not find a better example of ‘prejudiced reporting’ than the above mentioned article.

Those who are not aware of the ground realities in Bihar are sure to rise in unison and call for the rolling of Nitish ‘s head after reading the current Tehelka’s write up. The writer has left no further scope for criticizing Nitish kumar led JD (U) government and he has through manipulative use of facts turned every work of progress and development that has been taken up by Nitish into that of misdeed.

He in the end of his article says that the ‘people of Bihar are wondering whether they did the right thing in electing Nitish as a CM’? The writer has failed to answer on what is the parameter that he has has used while constituting ‘the people of Bihar’ in the present case.

The writer has embarked on a “feel bad” drive while criticizing the state government and made sure that by the end of the article people start feeling that “Nitish is the worst thing that has happened to Bihar”.

It would have been better if the writer had acknowledged the efforts that are being taken up by Nitish to improve the situation Bihar which has been result of 15 years of ‘‘susasan’’ by RJD. (pun intended)

It has been only two years since the JD(U) assumed power in Bihar. The Correspondent at one place says that Nitish has formed commissions after commissions to implement policies.and to conduct enquiries into the various social and legal misdeeds of the previous state government. What else he expects? Does he expects that all mis-adventures of the previous government should be ignored?

For the records one of the commission was on the 1989-90 Bhagalpur riots. The Justice N N Singh Commission of Inquiry which was constituted in February 2006 recommended that victims of the 1989-90 Bhagalpur riots should be compensated on par with those of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Later after the JD(U) came into power a Bihar court sentenced Kameshwar Yadav, the prime accused to rigorous life imprisonment. The police had earlier closed the case against Yadav, citing lack of evidence. In fact, he was later given a citation for maintaining communal harmony by the state police in 2004 when the state was ruled by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) government of Rabri Devi.

.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar last year ordered a fresh probe into the 27 riots cases that were closed by police citing lack of evidence. So much for bad governance.

Later the writer says that although the crime rate has gone down in the state after the new government yet crime committed has increased. He states that this is due to the fact that the police machinery has been told not to register cases. If this arguments has any substance then I am sure that the previous government also had enough ‘clout’ over the police to stop them from registering cases. But under the RJD rule both the crime rate as well as crimes committed increased.

The writer further quotes a PUCL worker to substantiate his claim. It is illogical to expect that a human rights activist with due respect will say that all’s well in the state. Better choice would have been a local trader or a local journalist.

The biasness continues to gain strength as we turn the pages. The magazine goes on to criticize Nitish Kumar on the ground that by setting up speedy trial courts he is targeting his political adversaries. They further say that the CM is targeting leaders from particular castes. One of the so called ‘target’ was Anand Mohan , a JD(U) leader and a former MP. He was ‘targeted’ by Nitish for inciting a mob to lynch the then district magistrate of gopalganj Krishnaiah 13 years ago.

Then the magazine dwells on the issues of development. The appointment of 3.12 lakhs of teacher comes up ; but even in this case Nitish earns negative input. He uses this number to point out that only 1 lakh post of policeman and engineer have been filled up till now. Nobody not even a CM possesses a magic-wand these days and expecting him to bring the golden days of patliputra back in a short period of 2 years is a bit too much.

The most childish of the magazine claims is embedded in the first paragraph of the article. The writer says that Nitish and company are worried after around 2 lakh disenchanted people turned up for a “Chetavni rally’ of Lalu yadav.

Those who were in Patna at that time will tell that these rallyist were not the ‘dis-enchanted lot’ and by no stretch of imagination they numbered 2 lakhs. As a matter of fact that rally was supposed to go on till 5 PM but when the RJD leaders saw the sparse crowd they decided that it was in their best interest to windup the rally by 2 PM but not before Laluji dedicated his two sons to the service of the nation.

Much of the rallyist composed of rural people who came in buses and tractors, not because they wanted a change in the state but because it was better to earn some bucks and have a good time in the city rather than idlying away a Sunday afternoon.

Quoting opposition leaders and local activist for describing two years rule may give a picture but it will not be a true and complete picture.

I have time and again reiterated that a mess that took 15 years to be done cannot be undone in 2 years. Atleast Nitish is trying and putting efforts to put things back on track. Let us save our critiques for 3 more years and till then let Nitish do his job and let Bihar live in peace for the state has already earned more than its share of bad name.

http://desicritics.org/2008/01/01/001242.php

The importance of Development, Organization and governance

I

The results of the Gujarat elections are out and Modi has emerged the unscathed winner. Gujarat has crowned Modi by electing him and the media has done its bit by crowning the term “Moditva”.

Congress was drubbed and yet again the crowd that flocked to hear the leaders in the rallies failed to transform into votes. It would have been better if the Congress would have stuck to its own party members instead of allocating tickets to the rebel BJP leaders. These rebels were denied tickets by Modi and its no rocket science that Modi was aware that most of them will not be able to retain their seat and hence decided against giving them another chance. Yet Congress ignoring the obvious decided to ‘award’ these rebels. For the sake of a short term gain the party treaded on path to long term loss.

Time and again it has been said and seen that nothing serves better than a strong and sound state-district level organization and there is absolutely no substitute to that. Even For controlling and pulling strings you first need a puppet that is attached to the string that you intend to pull.

A person sitting in AICC headquarters in New Delhi cannot understand the ground realities of the situation in Patna or Rajkot. He will see what people want him to see. Till 22^nd evening Sonia Gandhi was assured by the Gujarati leaders that Congress will win more than 115 seats. Ironically it was the BJP which won 117 seats. The Congress tasted success in 59 up from 51 five years ago.

The bridge between Delhi office and that of the state level functionaries needs to be strengthened. BJP is a much stronger at the lower level because it has the RSS and the VHP who operate on ground zero. It has achieved more penetration in the cities and the mohallas and Congress will always find it difficult to match BJP if it doesn’t works on strengthening its state level organizational cadre. The headquarters needs to give out a message that every state level organization is independent of each other and its day to day working is not in any way to be governed by what is happening at the Delhi Headquarters.

Development issues and religion based issues are two totally different things. Those who have lost the Gujarat elections are saying that it was Hindutva that sailed Modi through. Maybe it was Hindutva but can the same people stand up and say that it was only Hindutva and not the development work that romped BJP home.

NSUI and Youth Congress have become defunct in most of the states and even though Rahul Gandhi and Ashok Tanwar have launched a membership drive to rope in 2.5 crore workers still they need to understand that merely increasing the members won’t help much. The members need to be shown that they are a part of an organization that is alive and kicking.

II

At the time when Shivraj Singh Chauhan was made the Chief Minister , BJP in Madhya Pradesh was in dire straits. It was at that time the most vulnerable with Uma Bharti and intra-fighting threatening to destroy the whole organization. That was the best time for state Congress to demolish the BJP or at-least weaken it fatally but they threw away that chance.

Now after consolidating his position Shivraj singh has embarked on a development over-drive. With the election scheduled to be held next year the state administration is working tirelessly and that work can be seen in the streets of Bhopal and its appreciated by the voters. And it is not limited to the cities and the towns, rural areas have also been invited to the party.

Political workers need a strong leader whom they can follow; a person who has the faith of everyone. Sadly Subhash Yadav the state PCC chief is not that man. Everytime he seems to stand tall he is overshadowed by the Digvijays, the Kamalnaths and the Arjun Singhs.

Though Subhash yadav was successful in ensuring that his son wins an assembly by-election yet that necessarily doesn’t guarantees that it will be smooth sailing for him in the run up to the state election.

Similarly is the story of Congress in Chhattisgarh which also goes to poll next year. Ajit Jogi has and always had a following among the mass and in the party ranks. Yet his hand has been tied by the people sitting in Delhi after they discovered that was becoming too tall for their comfort.

With Moti Lal Vohra and Suresh Pachauri making sure that Jogi is denied a berth in the Union cabinet and Vohra successfully making his supporter C D Mahant the president of state PCC, the infighting between the party has grown more fierce. Who wins in Chhattisgarh next year will not be determined by the BJP but by VC shukla, Motilal Vohra and Ajit Jogi.

Somehow the high command at 10 Janpath will have to find a way to fit everyone in the scheme of things if it really wants to pose a serious challenge to the ruling BJP and Raman Singh.

III

Those who have been to Patna recently won't give much chance to Nitish Kumar of making a come back. Infrastructurally the age old Patliputra is in a mess. But lets not forget that this mess is a result of the 15 years old rule of another son of Bihar, and what was done in 15 years cannot be undone in 5 years.

A lot of changes needs to be brought. The mindset needs to be changed and that takes time. The bureaucracy is still nostalgic about the old days when there was no work.

Maybe Nitish kumar will not be able to fulfill all he promised but at-least he is trying. And that’s why he deserves another chance and I hope that he is not blown away by the so called ‘anti-incumbency’ wave.

Left- A fading mirage

The Soviet Union crumbled way back in 1992 and for the Left front in India it took 15 more years. They have not completely disintegrated in this part of this world but they are well on their way.

Leftist movement in India started in the 1920s. After independence it was a bastion of the intelligentsia. To be called a Leftist was an honor in itself. It was seen as a path that only the enlighted follow and a quality that makes one stand over the and above the rest. Even today university and college students spend long hours in discussing and understanding the leftist ideologies and its effect.

A leftist as in the general perception is a beacon for the mass and he is a different entity from the general mass It is his being a leftist that separates him from the right and the rest.

80 years and still the left is limited to only three states of Tripura ,Kerala and West Bengal. Comparatively BJP is a much younger party and yet it has gone in stature and is one of the two major national party of India. It has a much more wide spread presence in India than the Left.

If we pick up an imaginary ‘leftist preamble’ the first line will read that it is a party for the poor, the downtrodden and the downcast. The majority of this countries population comes under this definition and still the Left cannot say that it represents them.

The left prides itself with having horde of intelligentsia on board. Every political party would be more than happy to have the likes of Sumit Sarkar ,Praful Bidwai , Mahasweta Devi as its supporter. Post Nandigram most of them have come out in open criticizing the Leftist government in Bengal.

But what about the participation of the common mass? Why does it fails to invoke trust in the youths of the other parts of the country? And what about the poor and the trodden?

It has managed to rule Bengal for more than three decades and with around 55 MPs in a house of more than 540, has also managed to sway this country in which ever direction it wants to.

The cadre strength of the Left is one that every party would envy. And it is this cadre strength that makes sure that elections after elections are won by force and it’s this cadre that sees to it that protests are suppressed and territories are reclaimed by killing innocent people.

For the left economic development implies taking one step forward and two steps back, for them US is a greater evil than China and for them any foreign industrial body is East India company in disguise and a precursor to economic bondage.

Nandigram has exposed the truth about the left. Tasleema Nasreen’s eviction has shown that for the left hooliganism is more vital than freedom of speech.

Relish the fall of the Left for their will be nothing left of the Left after this. I may be wrong and the Left may still cling on for some more time but that doesn’t mean that they are here to stay. It only means that their fall will be more painfully prolonged.

http://desicritics.org/2007/12/29/052103.php

The Judiciary retreats-Executive wins-We lose

The Supreme court yesterday in a far reaching observation said that the judiciary has crossed the thin yet important line that separates the judiciary from the other two branches of governance ; the executive and legislature and the time has come for the courts to refrain from indulging in what it called ‘judicial over-reach’.

A two-judge Bench of Justices A K Mathur and Markandey Katju slammed the judiciary for over-reaching its limit and stepping into the shoes of legislature and executive.

The effects of yesterdays judgment were immediately felt as citing criticism of judicial over-reach, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court refused to hear a PIL seeking relief for ''sex workers''. The petition was filed in the form of a PIL by an NGO Prajwala seeking rehabilitation of victims of flesh trade.

The two bench observation humbly conceded that judicial activism has reached the fifth gear and it should be pulled back. They reiterated the same point which the legislative and the executives have been saying time and again, “Courts should be limited to overseeing that the existing laws are upheld and it shouldn’t take to creating laws.

The observations shocked the legal fraternity and the immediate effect was felt even on the Apex Court the following day as Justice S B Sinha and Justice H S Bedi, literally set the agenda for debate on judicial activism as their Lordships observed " Parameters for hearing the PIL now needed to be fixed by a larger bench ." 

They declined to hear the PIL which they had been hearing for the past four years and referred the matter to the Chief Justice for guidance. The petition was filed in the form of a PIL by an NGO Prajwala seeking rehabilitation of victims of flesh trade.

Same day, the Delhi High Court bench presided by Justice Mukul Mudgal, declined to hear the matter relating to ban on Begging in view of the forthcoming Commonwealth games and observed the court would proceed in the matter only after reading the observations of the Supreme Court.

The judiciary, particularly the High Courts and the Supreme Court were charged with governing the executives. Probably the statement holds an iota of truth. In many cases the courts intervened only when the executive failed to deliver goods to the common man, be it the ban on diesel run buses in New Delhi or commercialization of residential flats in the capital.

However, the Supreme Court had to face criticism when it issued guidelines for vote of confidence proceedings in Uttar Pradesh and then in Jharkhand state assembly and there were accusations that the judiciary encroached upon the functioning of the legislature.

Although it was the judiciary it-self that introspectively came out with the observation but for the present it seems that the executive and the legislature have had the last laugh. The humble self-judged comment by the two judge bench may push back the judiciary into a shell giving executive ample opportunity to deteriorate further.

Although it was the judiciary it-self that introspectively came out with the observation but for the present it seems that the executive and the legislature have had the last laugh. The humble self-judged comment by the two judge bench may push back the judiciary into a shell giving executive ample opportunity to deteriorate further.

Maybe the judiciary has erred while passing the above observations. Although it shows the level of maturity the judiciary possesses and the sanctity it has attained all through these years but the message that will go out would not be too good for the system in the larger context.

In a constitutional setup like ours none of the three branches of governance can be at the same footing, albeit this is what constitution calls for. Though the constitution talks about an ideal setup where each of the three branches of governance will work in its own distinct sphere still it can be reasonably expected that the either of the three will transcend its boundaries and unconsciously and for a good cause will dishonor the separation of power structure.

And if this tilt in balance occurs, as it is happening now then it should be in the favour of judiciary and the it’s the judiciary that should be on a higher pedestal.

Judicial activism traces it roots back to 1980s when the concept of PILs (public interest litigation) came into focus under the learned guidance of Justice P N bhagwati and Justice V.R.Krishna Iyer. It was these PILs that highlighted the environmental pollutions, the sorry state of river Ganga under a series of case filed by MC Mehta.

According to a study by Hans Dembowski, PIL has been successful in the sense of making official authorities accountable to civil society organizations in India. The executive in our country is in a sorry state and there needs to be an accountability that would push them to work efficiently. The courts are one such accountability tool.

Agreed, that as stated by the Supreme Court bench the judiciary has sometimes crossed the “Lakshman rekha” but as said earlier this things are expected. In Shakesperian language it’s about forgoing the lesser evil for a greater cause. And it should not be forgotten that we are not residing in a perfectly-built-ideally constructed world.

The court may have been forced into making these observations in view of the recent vociferous demands by the legislature for bringing judges accountability bill and this was evident when mincing no words the bench cautioned the judiciary to exercise restraint as the reactions from politicians may result in the curtailment of power and dent in independence of judiciary.

If a civil society faces problem and the executive thinks that problem doesn’t warrant attention then is it right to say that even the judiciary should tow the same line? Or the judiciary should portray a picture of blindfolded idol and say that since there is no law to deal with the problem hence there can be no enforcement or wait for a law to be enacted, violated and then decide to look into it.

The three arms of governance are independent and yet dependent on each other. If any one of them is given even a subtle hint of having a free run then there will chaos and anarchy and perhaps the executive has just received that message.

The judiciary is the always the last resort against the oppression of the executive and the legislature and if that last resort too decides to look the other way and ignore its ‘extra-resposible-activism, the country may still survive but then the picture will not be too bright.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071218/asp/opinion/story_8660260.asp

The problem with me is that each day I love you more.... Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow. The other problem is that you never realize it, not yesterday, not today..maybe tomorrow.

~unknown

Oh Bhopal

In a chilly night on 3rd December, 1984 a gas leak took place and 3800 people died in Bhopal. It was as simple as this.

24 years have passed and those who lost their loved ones still fruitlessly yet religiously take out processions demanding action against Dow, the new owner of UCC, the company which was responsible for the leak. 

Warren Anderson, the then head of UCC is in US and his extradition constantly refused.

More than 1.5 lakh people were affected by the methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leak and now they are living their lives in complete oblivion. Though the same does not hold true for Dow. The US giant has been allowed to continue providing its service in India and in 2006 the Industrialist and investment commission headed by Ratan Tata requested the Planning Commission to absolve Dow of any liability so as to increase and strengthen the trade between the two country. Reliance too is now working with Dow in the chemical production field.

Another not so important fact that should be noted here is that under the Indian legal eyes UCC is still an absconder. Maybe the law will acquit UCC because it has managed to achieve what no one could do: put Bhopal on the world map.

Dow is represented by Abhishek Manu Singhvi in India and just for the records the PMOs file on Bhopal gas tragedy contains legal opinions that have given by Singhvi. During my law-studying days I frequently use to hear the saying " I am the jury and I am the judge". At that time these lines were too complicated for my nascent mind and it would have been more helpful if we were taught the same principle by illustrating the above example. Now I know what this 'Jury-judge' connotes.

5 years ago while waiting for my train at the Bhopal station I met a crippled man and in the course of having tea on the platform we struck a conversation. He told me that he was an unfortunate survivor of the 3rd December holocaust and he lost his wife, mother and 2 daughters on that fateful night. With moist eyes he told me that was able to survive because he was sleeping on the floor, one on which her wife had recently applied a fresh coat of dung to keep the place warm and insect free. According to him the gas released from the dung neutralized the MIC gas. His family was not so fortunate as they were sleeping on the bed above the ground when the gas leaked.

The dung saved him, at-least that’s what he believes.. He also had one more belief : America used Bhopal as a testing ground for its chemical weapon- the MIC.

In the year 1999 on the 25th anniversary of the tragedy the city of Bhopal observed a two minutes silence in respect of the departed souls. December comes every year. And every year rallies are taken out, speeches made and victims remembered.

For many it is enough. What else do you expect for a bunch of unknown toddlers, aged-old infirm, men and women who died many years ago?

Maybe some justice, not much, but still a small token as to convey the message that those who lost their lives were not worthless and expendable.

3800 people may not be enough to bring people out on the streets of Delhi for a candle-lit protest at the India Gate. Maybe the number is not just enough to warrant a 2 minutes slot on the news channels.

The survivors have now accepted their fate. The Bhopal victims don’t shy away from their helplessness, they have learnt to love with that. Probably we all have.

But at-least we can try to delay the inevitable by 10 years. Can't we resist ourselves from inviting Dow and the UCC to India for some more years? Till the last of the remaining survivor go to a never ending sleep and never awakes to see the ignominy.

"We are not expendable. We are not flowers offered at the altar of profit and power. We are dancing flames committed to conquering darkness and to challenging those who threaten the planet and the magic and mystery of life."

-- Rashida Bee, Bhopal gas leak survivor

http://desicritics.org/2007/12/01/092214.php

http://www.centralchronicle.com/20071210/1012303.htm

The predicament of being North-eastern

When most of us were busy watching the India-pakistan test match, somewhere in the north-eastern state of Assam, tribals and villagers were being brutally beaten by a mob comprising the local 'urban' people and police personnels.

Their crime : They had taken out a procession demanding ST status and were on their way to stage a dharna in-front of the assembly.

What was meant to be a march for demanding their legal rights soon turned into a ‘rural versus urban’ battle. In the ensuing use of force more than 15 tribals were killed and more that 250 including woman and children were seriously injured. Those who died didn't fell to bullets but were beaten to a painful death.

The tribals who according to media reports were armed with bows and arrows were hopelessly outnumbered and when they sought protection from the police, the police threw them to the urban-educated-class who assaulted them with sticks and blows. In one of the TV footage a constable is seen handing over a teenage-protestor to his would be killers.

Amazingly the print media neglected the whole incident and most of them including The Times of India decided that the suicide attack in Pakistan was more important and as a touching gesture placed the Guwhati incident in s four line snippet with the details in the inside pages.

A couple of months back one of my colleagues in PTI who hails from Silchar, Assam expressed his sense of dejection and hopelessness after he saw a shootout in Mumbai where two gangsters were killed was given more media attention than a bomb blast in Assam where 15 innocent people lost their life. He sadly yet candidly said that life in the north-eastern states is cheap and expendable.

Sadly the term "Quality matters not the quantity" is now increasingly being used by the media houses to decide how important the news is.

Some section of the state population of the seven remote states of India are demanding separate statehood. Doesn't the step motherly treatment that has been meted out time and again by the Center to them justifies their demand ?

A journalist is manhandled in Bihar and the whole administrative machinery stirs up into action. Central ministers condemn the incident , talk shows on news channels take the front seat and the whole media unites in protest the assault.

But in these hill-locked states local journalists are stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea in the form of the army and the militants. There have been instances where editors have been threatened for refusing media coverage to the militant organizations. Those who bow down to their demands are harassed by the army and police on charges of assisting the militants.

The region is also known as the land of seven sisters. The North eastern states are very different in many ways from the other part of India. These States have the maximum number of Tribals living within. Many tribal languages are spoken throughout these seven states. The northeastern states have the highest percentage of Christians. Territory wise this region is the most sensitive region touching many countries like China, Tibet, Bhutan, Myanmar & Bangladesh.

Both Kashmir and NE-states face the same problem, extremism and lack of economic developmet. But Kashmir gets more attention and a seperate article of the constitution governs the state. '. Why are the North eastern states provided with the same exemptions and economic subsidies ? Is it because Kashmir is more important internationally?

Is Delhi waiting for situation is the seven states to get worse? or does it imply that until the Northern states encounter militancy of the same magnitude they won’t be attended to? Here comes the notion of "step-motherly treatment

It is hardly surprising that though India has made rapid industrial progress with growth rate touching 9% the entire northeastern region has remained largely an agrarian economy. The only industries that came up were set up by the public sector. The North East’s ties with the Indian hinterland have been expensive and regressive. The presence and discovery of oil reserves has brought some respite but that is not enought

The successive regimes in Delhi have not been able to appreciate the consequences of their isolationist policies.

To ‘fair-minded’ regimes who are more interested in consolidating power in the centre of Delhi , the North East are a burden , best left to army and police to manage. In the name of development military-used infrastructures have been erected.

India in recent years has embarked on a "look east policy but will it usher in a new era of economic growth and increasing trade and commerce in the region is a million dollar question.

The eastern region has absolute poverty ranging between 42-58% making it one of the most backward regions in India. Its per capita income too is far below the national average, with Assam having a per capita income of Rs 10,000 in 2001-02, compared to Rs 18,000 for India.

Intelligentsia and political leaders are raking up the issues of civil society, rule of law in view of the Nandigram violence. Authors, writers, artists are pressuring the government to protect Taslima and uphold the freedom of speech.

Less than 24 hours have passed and Assam has been forgotten.

What about these 'trivial-not so important states' ? Aren’t principles of civil society , rule of law and intellectual thinking applicable to these states?

Does the number of parliament seat allotted to a state decides the level of favour granted by the Centre? Is that why UP, Maharasthra and the south states more important for people sitting in Delhi?

It’s a very simple fact yet a very important one : 28 states constitute India not 21.

http://merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=128058

http://desicritics.org/2007/11/28/235936.php