M J Akbar : Columnist Posts on Politics, Current Affairs, Global Issues

Liberhan Commission, Babri Masjid: A Historical Perspective

2009-07-11T02:08:00.000-07:00

Liberhan Commission, Babri Masjid: A Historical Perspective
By Mubasshir Mushtaq

Had Zahiruddin Mohammed Badshah Ghazi, popularly known as Babar, been alive today, he would be certainly ashamed of modern India. A mosque built in his name razed by Hindu fundamentalists has become a functioning temple but yet it is termed as a “disputed structure.” Babar would have certainly argued with the present rulers that his medieval India was far better than the modern India in terms of justice. In Babar’s India, there was no such thing called as “delayed justice” or “judicial delay.” Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan Commission of Inquiry has taken 17 long years just to ascertain events leading to the demolition of Babri Masjid. Babar would have decided the fate of the so-called “disputed structure” in 17 minutes! Politicians, judges, bureaucrats, journalists all love to use the “disputed structure” tag; it in fact gives them a legitimate right to feel ‘secular.’ Their “secularism” will pale when one compares Babar’s conception of secularism. For Babar, secularism did not mean separation of religion from the state but rather equal respect for all religions.

The secularism of Babar is hidden in a forgotten document. It could be a commandment of good governance for leaders like L.K. Advani.

Babar had drafted a secret will much before his death for his son Prince Nasiruddin Muhammad Humayun. In this will, there is a lesson for each politician father and a politician son. An extract of the will reads:

“Oh son! The Kingdom of India is full of different religions. Praised be to God that He bestowed upon you its sovereignty. It is incumbent on you to wipe all religious prejudices off the tablet of your heart, administer justice according to the ways every religion. Avoid especially the sacrifice of the cow by which you can capture the hearts of the people of India and subjects of this country may be bound up with royal obligations. Do not ruin temples and shrines of any community which is obeying the laws of Government. Administer justice in such a manner that the King be pleased with the subjects and the subjects with the King. The cause of Islam can be promoted more by the sword of obligation than by the sword of tyranny.” (A copy of this will used to be in the possession of the late Dr. Balkrishna, Principal, Rajaram College , Kolhapur).

Can a father who abhors ruining temples and shrines of other religions build a mosque in his name after demolishing a temple?

Babri Masjid was possibly built by a courtesan Mir Baqi on the instructions of Babar in the 1528 at Ayodhya. There is historical evidence in the form of inscriptions inside the mosque to support the assumption that it was constructed on the order of Babar. Also there is nothing in history that suggests that Babar ever visited Ayodhya. A complete and close reading of Babarnama shows that Babar was encamped north of Aud on March 28 1528. According to one historian Babar was encamped at the junction of the rivers Sirda and Gagra. On April 2, Babar went out to hunt in the area north of the camp. Babar must have left the encampment, as he records on March 28, 1528 that he had asked to find ways to cross the river. We are forced to doubt if Babar ever went to Ayodhya. So the question of demolishing a temple at Ayodhya does not arise.

So with Liberhan Commission, Indian Muslims have been awarded with one more inquiry report. Will it suffer the fate of Sri Krishna Commission report? Going by the history of promise and subsequent betrayals by the government, the four-volume report will gather dust in the dustbin of history. First government needs to clear speck of dust from earlier inquiry commissions and reports concerning Indian Muslims. Successive Congress governments have been extremely good in documenting Muslim issues but the true intent of any government is measured by the pace of implementation. Congress will once again show Indian Muslims bubbles of hope but alas bubbles don’t last a lifetime. For last 60 years, Indian Muslims have been appeased with bubbles.

The role of the judiciary in Babri Masjid episode has come under sharp criticism. Strangely enough, Pakistan has done better than India on this front. The story of Lahore’s Shahidganj Masjid is Ayodhya in reverse. All the elements of Ayodhya case were present. A mosque in adverse possession of Sikhs was demolished. Muslims agitated and there was involvement of religious figures. Muslims were frustrated by the court decision. It upheld that the title of ownership was no longer in Muslim hands and therefore Sikhs were entitled to whatever they liked to do with the structure. Muslims decided to move in the Punjab Assembly to enact legislation for the takeover of the site. They all failed. But the situation was not reversed even after the establishment of Pakistan. To this day, when there is hardly anyone to visit it, the Gurdwara Shahidganj stands in Lahore as it did before August 15 1947.

In Babri Masjid case, the ownership of the land was in Muslim hands. It is a wakf property and according to section 51 of Wakf Act 1995, wakf property cannot be transferred to ‘Nyas’ (Shri Ramjanambhumi Nyas) for Ram temple construction.

In the Shahidganj case the judiciary acted impartially and speedily. In the Ayodhya case, Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer had angrily remarked: “The judiciary will be described as villain of the piece.”
According to Ms. Anju Gupta, the then superintendent of the police, Faizabad, Police had foreknowledge of the Babri Masjid demolition. Deposing before the Liberhan Commission in May 1994, she told that on December 5, 1992, the then inspector general of police, Faizabad zone, had warned officers of his department that there was clear indication from intelligence agencies that the disputed shrine would be attacked on December 6. She had told the commission that L.K. Advani expressed his desire to go to the area to stop the Kar Sevaks but she was discouraged by SP of Intelligence, PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary). Ms. Gupta told the commission that Advani had in her presence said that temple would be constructed at the very spot and the same was repeated by Murli Manohar Joshi, accepting that they were pleased with the actions of Kar Sevaks. The Bajrang Dal leader, Vinay Katiyar, had mocked Mulayam Singh Yadav by saying over the public speaking system ‘Yahan parinda par nahi maar sakta.’

Will Manmohan Singh speak with clarity of thought over Ayodhya issue? One is reminded of what Jyoti Basu had said on December 9, 1992 regarding the makeshift construction by kar sevaks. “It is an illegal construction and government has every right to demolish it.” When he was asked about the possible Hindu backlash, Basu was honest and blunt, “Let there be repercussions from the Hindu fundamentalists. My party will support any government willing to bring down the structure erected by demolishing the shrine.”

Men like Basu are becoming a rare breed in Indian politics.

Can Prime Minister Manmohan Singh do a Jyoti Basu in 2009?

Unveiling Nicholas Sarkozy

2009-06-28T22:42:00.000-07:00

Unveiling Nicholas Sarkozy
By Mubasshir Mustaq

Nicholas Sarkozy is a hypocrite of secular liberalism. His problem is not that he can't accept Eastern tradition of conservatism in the form of burqabut his inability to come to terms with own Western culture of secular liberalism.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is the finest living example of Western hypocrisy. Hypocrisy, bias and double-standard are intrinsic in human nature and Sarkozy is no exception. Sarkozy's racist, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant speech at Chateau of Versailles, south-west of Paris on Monday, is bound to draw criticism from the Muslim World. When one dissects Sarkozy and his personal life with the help of a literary and secular knife, he emerges as a confused personality whose hostility against Islam is steeped in his ascendancy; his Jewish origin. His language was quite similar to the one used by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu recently. The draft of Sarkozy's speech itself narrates a tale of his outlook towards Islam in general and Muslims in particular.

The tone of his language must be understood clearly, it is only when one can draw conclusion about his intentions. The burqa, he said, is not a religious sign, it's a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement” I want to say it solemnly. It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic.In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity.

Sarkozy is a self-appointed representative of the same West that believes in the doctrine of freedom. The definition of freedom in Western parlance is absolute. It includes freedom of choice rather than freedom of chance. The expression of freedom has been abused and used to suit Western convenience. So when it comes to freedom to choose one's dress, they have no qualms about bikini but they would always have problem with burqa. A bikini is viewed as a symbol of women's emancipation while a burqa is looked at a form of forced slavery. To men like Sarkozy, the bodily form of liberation is more important than the mental form of liberation. What more, when bodily form of liberation extends their desired limitation, they take the help of a flaccid morality evaporating slowly from the Western geography. So when an old nude photo of Sarkozy's super-model wife Carla Bruni was leaked on the internet, Sarkozy left no stone unturned that it doesn't get republished in any of the French magazine and tabloids!

Will an enlightened West question Sarkozy's definition of secular liberalism? If he really believed in the doctrine that freedom is absolute then he should have allowed his wife's photo to be published. That would have made him an icon and torchbearer of absolute freedom of expression!

Sarkozy's comparison of burqa as a prison sentence can be understood if it is forced and made compulsory in a free Western society. But what if a woman chooses to wear burqa voluntarily? Won't the same freedom to wear a bikini be extended to a lady who wants to don a burqa? In this hypothesis lies the irony of the West. This irony looks like an ugly and a repulsive creature on the mirror wall. The Western leaders claiming to be secular need to take a hard look in the mirror. There they will encounter a bitter pill hard to swallow.

The main problem of Sarlozy is not burqa but his inability to do nothing to stop the rise of Islam in his own country. According to one independent report, Islam is spreading most rapidly in France in the entire Europe. France is the only country in Europe which has the largest number of Muslims, 6 million to be precise.

Sarkozy need to understand the definition of secularism in the Indian context where multicultural and heterogeneous society is flourishing. Noted lawyer Fali S. Nariman has rightly defined secularism as, secularism in India means the ability to comprehend and tolerate an infinite variety of social problems.

The present Century is going to be a Century of soft power. In dress code, if a bikini is manifestation of West's soft-power, then burqa is an Islamic symbol of soft-power. Men like Sarkozy fear that in this bikini-burqa collision, the latter may emerge as a winner given the rise of burqa in the West.

Sarkozy may be comfortable with his wife in a bikini on a beach front but the same will not be true in Eastern countries especially India. No seasoned Indian politician will ever do such a thing. He will not be comfortable in a bikini or a mini-skirt even with his wife. Therefore, if a burqa is a statement of separation as believed by Sarkozy, then a mini-skirt is not an invitation to familiarity.

The ongoing debate about separation of church and state raises some interesting points. If we apply that logic then the Church of England should be disestablished, the blasphemy laws abolished, and religious education in schools replaced by an objective consideration of the role of the various religions as a part of History and Social Studies. Nicolas Sarkozy is a product of secular hypocrisy. He would do well to remember what a British scholar once wrote, My old mother, a very proper Christian lady, used to wear a headscarf“ whether to quell lust or just in order to look respectable I don't know. The simple fact is that in the customs of most societies men and women dress differently.

The Real Test of Obama

2009-06-21T02:19:00.000-07:00

The Real Test of Obama
By Mubasshir Mushtaq

Is Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu following in the footsteps of American President Barack Hussein Obama? Ten days after Obama’s address at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, Netanyahu delivered a speech at the Begin-Sadat Center of Bar-Ilan University in Israel where he laid down his vision to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. One may not agree with his flawed vision but one thing is certain that Netanyahu’s speech was in response to Obama’s castigation of Israel. Then shall we consider it as a step in the right direction? Yes and no.

“I strongly support the idea of regional peace that he (Obama) is advancing”, Netanyahu said on June 14. “I share the President of the U.S.A’s desire to bring about a new era of reconciliation in our region.”

Although his speech was full of flaws, this kind of language has never been used by an Israeli Prime Minister. When was the last time an Israeli prime minister used the word ‘peace’ 32 times in a single six-page speech? We do not hold the view that uttering the word ‘peace’ again and again can bring peace in the Middle-East but there is a fundamental shift in perception-management by the Jewish State of Israel and we have no doubt that this is the result of President Obama’s speech.

Any peace-loving person would be enraged after reading Netanyahu’s speech because apart from the word ‘peace’ which has been used as a camouflage, there is not much in it. The change in lingual tone was to please American President Obama and dullards in United States who believe Israel is committed to the idea of peace. Netanyahu has very carefully pushed the conditional ball of peace in Obama’s court. He wants a “demilitarized” Palestine.

“I told President Obama in Washington, if we get a guarantee of demilitarization, and if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the Jewish state, we are ready to agree to a real peace agreement, a demilitarized Palestinian state side by side with the Jewish state”, he said in the speech.

Even if one assumes that Palestinians recognise Israel as the “Jewish State”, is it possible for any State or country in the world to be “demilitarized?” Any such condition or assumption will be akin to living in fool’s paradise. Even Maldives, one of the smallest countries in the world with a population of 3, 40,000, has a National Defence Force to defend the security and sovereignty of the country.

Now the real test and truthfulness of President Obama’s Cairo speech lies in just one aspect of Israel-Palestine conflict. How Obama returns the conditional ball of peace in Netanyahu’s court remains to be seen. Obama must ponder over this issue with clarity of mind and conscience. How he deals with this condition will prove to be a litmus test. His decision can make or break America’s relationship with the Muslim World. If Obama wants to win over Muslims hearts and minds, then he must reject any such condition outright.

Netanyahu also warned that the Palestinians must decide between path of peace and path of Hamas. Perhaps Netanyahu has forgotten that Hamas is democratically-elected body of Palestinians. If Netanyahu wants Palestinians and Arabs to recognise the Jewish State of Israel then he must also recognise Hamas as a genuine political and military force in the region.

One common feature in both Obama and Netanyahu’s speech was the language of economics. With world economy looming under crisis, both know that to overcome this depression, Muslims all over the world needs to be involved because of their large population.

Action speaks louder than words. Both Obama and Netanyahu would want us to believe that this Century is going to be the Century of peace and dialogue. Their words must be matched by substantive acts. They also understand that the Muslim world is going through twilight-phase where one world is dead and another is waiting to be born.

Indians angered by U.S. policy in Kashmir

2009-06-18T05:09:00.000-07:00

Indians angered by U.S. policy in Kashmir
By Susenjit Guha

If the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama wants to know why anti-Americanism keeps brewing in different parts of the world, it should take a hard look at the dangerous Afghanistan-Pakistan policy it is toying with, at the expense of India, and the inevitable fallout that might result.

What kind of talks did Undersecretary of State William Burns have in mind when he allegedly carried the U.S. message to India last week that dialogue with Pakistan should resume once again? Can India trust Pakistan, especially since nothing serious has been done to arrest the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks that were hatched and carried out from Pakistan?

In the wake of the release by Pakistani courts of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, leader of the banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba – now masquerading as an NGO under the name of Jama'at-ud-Da'wah – what can India expect from Pakistan? Saeed has proudly boasted of his organization’s covert jihad in Indian Kashmir. His organization is suspected of numerous terror attacks in India including the carnage in Mumbai last year, which caused the suspension of the India-Pakistan dialogue in the first place.

Indian columnist Tavleen Singh was spot on when she queried, in an article in the Indian Express, why no one had asked Burns during his New Delhi visit whether his country could be persuaded to have a “dialogue” with Pakistan if Osama bin Laden had been similarly arrested and released by Islamabad?

Now the United States is encouraging Pakistan to move its armed forces away from India and toward the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, but this is more out of necessity to bolster the U.S. war in Afghanistan than to treat India fairly. Pakistan has moved many of its troops to its western border, but a big contingent still remains eyeball to eyeball with Indian troops on the Kashmir border.

The United States wants India to pull back its troops in Kashmir to ensure that Pakistan will do the same, in order to shore up its western sector where U.S. interests are at stake. This would leave Kashmir in grave danger. Veteran Indian journalist M. J. Akbar called the U.S. advice on Kashmir “lunacy” in a column written for the Times of India.

When Burns spelled out the U.S. message that a solution to Kashmir should factor in “the wishes of the Kashmiri people,” he was repeating the rhetoric of rogue elements in the Pakistani administration and military. Burns would like to see demilitarization in Kashmir. So would Pakistan, knowing that it can count on terrorist elements to continue the fight if both the Indian and the Pakistani armies back down. As M. J. Akbar wrote in the same column, “If America wants a DMZ (De-Militarized Zone) in India they will first have to ensure a DTZ (De-Terrorized Zone) in Pakistan.” This is exactly what the United States is shying away from. It doesn’t want to irk Pakistan to the point that it will resist aiding the war effort in Afghanistan.

It is the narrow U.S.-centric interests pursued by the U.S. administration at the expense of India, the largest democracy in the world, that rankles. Proposals like the one from Burns are only shielding Pakistan, which has long carried out covert operations to terrorize India, as part of its state policy.

With branded terrorists like Saeed walking free in Pakistan, is there any point to a resumption of the India-Pakistan dialogue? Who will take responsibility for stopping terrorist infiltration into India through the mountainous terrain of Kashmir?

Britain has also been hinting that India should back off from its Kashmir border with Pakistan, as Foreign Secretary David Miliband mentioned Kashmir and India’s role as a major node on the terror war hub when he visited India a few months ago.

Either the present U.S. administration has got it all wrong on South Asia, or it is simply falling back on the age-old tack of pushing U.S. interests even if it means treading on a few toes. The new wave of “change” that the world was led to expect, along with millions of Americans, when Obama took office, could end up being too abrupt and premature. If meting out justice for acts of terror is recalibrated to suit U.S. interests, Americans may still believe in the mantra of “change,” but not Indians.

If the United States is unable to convince Pakistan to trust India, and rather expects India to take suicidal steps in leaving itself vulnerable to attack, this will pave the way for anti-Americanism to rear its head among a large section of Indian society once again.

Racism in Australia and Indian obsession

2009-06-09T23:24:00.000-07:00

Racism in Australia and Indian obsession
By Susenjit Guha

With robberies and assault on Indian students’ Down Under spiraling to 1,447 in 2008-09 from 1,083 last year, it is time for a wake up call not only for Australians, but also for Indians.
The self denial by the Australian police and the government so long about the absence of a racial motive in some of the brutal hate crimes we saw lately exposes the nation’s underbelly that is psychologically trapped between the West it tries to emulate and Asia where it lies trapped in the backyard. Despite its proximity to Asia, Australia is yet to brace up as a nation that is separate from the UK or the US and uphold ideals that are unique to the sunny island nation.

On the other hand, a new breed of middle class Indians is increasingly getting obsessed about somehow getting a foreign degree for their wards to enhance marriage prospects and raise status of their families in their community. Chances of settling down also get brighter if they can somehow make it to an Australia university. Compared to the preferred destinations of the US and UK, it is easy to get into an Australian university where expenses are less. Most of the Aus-bound students are academically mediocre making sponsored assistantships like in the US and Canada out of bounds. How could one explain the rush for a certificate degree in automobile engineering that is something so banal academically?

All they need is money and banks are ready to finance if they cannot afford the full expenses. Australian universities and their counselors set up shop each year in India to take in the growing number of gawky students. Recent estimates peg the figure at close to a 1, 00,000 Indian students in Australia. Most of the degrees are available in India and there is nothing extraordinary that Australia can offer unless one has designs of digging in after a few years.

Australian achievers in professions other than sports still do not consider they have arrived unless they are feted by academic circles in the US or UK. In a recent Sydney Morning Herald opinion piece, a concerned Australian raised the specter of academics taking a back seat with the average Australian family. They would rather prefer their children to hit the outdoors more often than study.

Sports and a laidback lifestyle are not new to Australians, but the flood of immigrants from Asia in the last few decades has underscored the need for education. Undergrad and graduate programs are a passport to success and they have a sizable Asian presence. The average fair dinkum Aussie is feeling left out and is unable to come to terms with education being the basis for development along with sports.

The fallout of a deep rooted hatred for ‘the other’ who is not their type racially, but also made of different stuff---with reliance on education for a better life---has exposed the underbelly. It has also exposed the reality that even though Australia is closer to Asia geographically, it has very little in common with the continent and deep rooted resentment still exists. Australians are trapped in an environment with their conscience lying elsewhere. Hard facts like Asian tiger China bailing out the mining industry and making the nation dependent economically in many ways continue to rankle.

And the impoverished condition of the original inhabitants, the Aborigines, around the mining towns of Western Australia and in Northern Territory does not make frequent allusion to the US ethically acceptable. While the US has come out of the past with Barrack Obama, Australia is still trapped in deplorable sins committed in the past despite Kevin Rudd’s apologies to the community.

While saluting George W Bush last year, the Labor Prime Minister in a way resembled a ‘digger’ in awe of an army captain from Yorkshire under whom he fought in the Burmese jungles or in the western desert in WWII. Australia has since changed sides only to emulate the US, but still lacks a soul of its own.

When Victoria’s chief commissioner of police Simon Overland finally admitted that some of the attacks on Indian students were racially motivated, he owned up to an unsavory truth. Racism is embedded in the Australian psyche as a pre-1965 ‘white Australia’ policy still gnaws with successes among the yellow and dark skinned people abounding.

There could be more attacks in future unless the average Indian student gets over the obsession of education in a nation where nearly 85% of the adult population is involved in gambling. Poker is so popular online and in brick and mortar casinos that nearly 30% of the global poker machine or ‘pokies’ production is lapped up by Australia. It cannot be an ideal destination for students of a nation that is aiming to be number 2 in Asia.

A Tribute to Kamala Suraiyya

2009-06-05T01:59:00.000-07:00

A Tribute to Kamala Suraiyya
By Mubasshir Mushtaq

“Where ever I go, it becomes my home”, Kamala Das Suraiyya, the world renowned-poetess and writer had said in an interview in 2004. The cemetery of Palayam’s Jama Masjid – where she is scheduled to be buried at 8 am today with State honours – will be her new “home” now. She breathed her last in Pune’s Jehangir hospital early on Sunday morning.

Kamala Suraiyya was born in Palghat, Kerala in 1934. She was a woman of integrity and honesty, who had a penchant for writing. She would write for hours after finishing household chores. “There was only the kitchen table where I would cut vegetables, and after all the plates and things were cleared, I would sit there and start typing,” she is reported to have said.

Her conversion to Islam in 1999 opened Pandora’s Box. She earned lot of enemies and had to bear criticism. She was bitterly criticised even in literary circles. She remained steadfast in her new-found Faith and retorted back, “No one came home when I was a Hindu. Islam brought me friends and love. Several poor women and children come to me, they love me and I reciprocate their affections.”

In 2002, a documentary called Malayalathinde Madhavikutty was made on Kamala Suraiyya but fundamentalists threatened the producer and theatre owners of dire consequences if they release the documentary.

Some of her poems generated controversy but Suraiyya stood firm. In one of her poems she wrote, “If love is a flower, lust is its fragrance. Without love, where is lust and without lust, can life be created?”

When asked about her “controversial” writings, she once said, “My strength is my honesty. I tell it like it is, I don’t pretend to be saintly. Perhaps that’s why my house gets filled with so many young people. They feel I am speaking the truth because I never hide anything.”

In 2004, responding to her detractors, she said, “They want me to go to a place of worship and wait for death to arrive. But I’m not ready for death so early. I’m not tired of life. I may have done a lot, but there’s so much left to do. It worries people that I am not frustrated.”

Kamala Suraiyya knew Arabic as well as Urdu. She wrote a prayer book in Arabic in 2002 which was released in Qatar. “This is the first Arabic prayer book written by a woman.” She had said then. She learned Urdu because it suited her poetry. “I even learned Urdu, which I think suits my poetry well” she has said.

Kamala Suraiyya has been the Poetry editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India and editor of Poet magazine. She won many awards including Kent Award for Asian English writing, Vayalar Award for literature. Not many would know that she was nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature in 1984. In 2002, Kerala government conferred Kamala Suraiyya with Ezhuthachan Award recognizing her outstanding contributions to the language and literary world. A Canadian movie company made a film on her. It was about Kamala Suraiyya, the writer, the poetess and her experiences with Islam. Every time renowned linguist and intellectual Noam Chomsky visited India, he made a point to meet Kamala Suraiyya.

Suraiyya was a poet with a philanthropic heart. She ran a charity trust called Lok Seva. She was also patron of Raksha School for children with multiple disorders. As a staunch supporter of purdah, she donned a black burqa.

Kamala Suriyya loved gold jewellery. She used to wear 18 smooth gold bangles on each arm. “I am keeping them as my gifts to my grand-daughters!” She once joked.

As a patient of diabetic neuropathy and respiratory disorder, her eyesight almost failed after 2004 but yet she used to dictate poetry.

In the last five years, Suraiyya changed a lot. From a fighter woman, she became a woman of affection. She has said that the only climate she can live in was that of an ocean of friendship and affection. “If I see someone approaching my house and see criticism and mockery in the tension of their jaw, I refuse to let them in. Time is so rare. I wouldn’t like to waste it on people who don’t love me”, she has said.

The Question of Palestine

2009-05-17T02:51:00.000-07:00

The Question of Palestine
By Mubasshir Mushtaq

The siege will last in order to convince us that we must choose an enslavement that does no harm in fullest liberty.
(Late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish)

As Palestinians mark Nakba, the catastrophe, signifying the 61st anniversary of occupation of Palestine by the Jewish state of Israel, a question needs to be asked: Is 61 years of Palestinian suffering akin to the holocaust suffered by Jews? In the above question lies the irony of Israel; a nation carved out by the oppressed has become a nation of oppressors.

Theodore Herzel, a journalist, is the father of modern Zionism who toured the world extensively to propagate the idea of a nation for Jews. He worked hard in a mission to explore the possibility of establishing a state for Jews in Palestine. He promoted Zionism through his writings on the international stage. In June 1896, he met the Abdul Hamed II, 34th Sultan of Ottoman Empire in Istanbul, to convince him that Palestine should be handed over to Zionists. But Sultan refused to cede Palestine to Zionists and said, “If one day the Islamic State falls apart then you can have Palestine for free, but as long as I am alive I would rather have my flesh be cut up than cut out Palestine from the Muslim land.”

In 1898, after meeting with German Kaiser Wilham II, Herzel wrote about Palestine, “a perfect beautiful woman, fulfill all our requirements but married.”

The words of Abdul Hamid II came true when Ottoman Empire crumbled in 1918, nine years after his death. Abdul Hamid was the last Ottoman Sultan to rule with absolute power. Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916 is seen by many historians as a turning point in Western Arab relations. According to one of the terms of the agreement, Arabs were promised a “national homeland” through T.E. Lawrence for their support to the British forces against the Ottoman army. British never kept their word. In fact, they negated this promise by issuing Balfour Declaration in 1917 promising “a national home for the Jewish people.” The declaration read, “His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”

The Arabs and Christians of Palestine together disapproved of any such move arguing that it could have serious political consequences.

The seed of Israel as planted by Theodore Herzel was watered by fervent Zionist Winston Churcill, who went on to become Prime Minister of United Kingdom in 1940. The seed took shape of a full-fledged tree on November 29, 1948 when United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution to partition Palestine into Arab and Jewish territories. Out of 56 members, 33 voted in favour, 13 against and 10 chose to abstain.

Thus was born the Jewish state of Israel in 1948; 44 years after the death of Theodore Herzel.

The tide of history turned against the Arabs and Muslims once again but Muslims all across the world should not be disheartened. Islamic concept of power can be summed up in three words: rise, fall and renewal. Muslims all across the world are undergoing the second phase of Islamic concept of power. Muslims have ruled Palestine from 630 CE to 1918 with a brief Christian rule lasting only 88 years (1099 to 1187).

With the creation of Israel in 1948, 7 lakh Palestinians became refugees. Dispossessed Palestinians were substituted with Jews who come from different parts of the world carrying knives, guns and explosives against the civilian population. A religious propaganda and allegations based on the myth and the falsification of history and heritage, to form that particular ideological falsehoods peddled by the Zionists provide energy to achieve the necessary human colonial project on the land of Palestine.

In the last 61 years Palestine-Israel conflict, Jewish state has annexed thousands of acres of cultivable land and now it almost holds 78% of Palestine.

It is in this context that Nakba must been seen. Commemorating the anniversary of Nakba, is not merely an occasion to remember those who experienced bleeding, homelessness and fear, killed, burned and jailed throughout the sixty one years, but to raise the voices of millions who refuse to accept the basis on which Israel was created as a state. It is a rejection of the project called a “Jewish state “and a determination for the right of return of the Palestinian people to their homeland.

The tragedy which started with the expulsion of 7 lakh Palestinians now affects the plight of at least 10.5 million Palestinians all across the globe. It is a catastrophe, the largest and the most heinous crime committed against a nation. It is against right and reason, human rights and freedom of people.

When Arabs took the initiative of peace in 2002 Arab Summit in Beirut, they demanded that Israel must go back to June 1967 line of control. There must be an establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem at its capital and right of return of Palestinian refugees as per United Nations Security Council resolution 194. All of this was rejected by Israel.

What more, all these years Israel has secretly continued “Judaization” of Al-Quds (Jerusalem). It is not only Palestinians Muslims who have no access to religious sites but also Palestinians Christians are not allowed to visit their holy shrines.

Everybody knows the role United States has played in Israel-Palestine conflict. Will there be a tilt in President Obama’s administration? Going by the recent news item, one thinks Obama is surely going to change US policy although it may not amount to radical change. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s first planned meeting with President Obama has been called off.

Netanyahu was keen to capitalize on his attendance at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington to visit the White House but officials have ruled out any meeting because President will not be “in town.” Experts speculate that Obama would not like to continue the Bush legacy of hosting Israeli prime ministers sometimes with just a phone call’s notice!

Jews have always enjoyed special favour under Muslim rule. When Umar, second caliph of Islam entered Jerusalem on foot, he did an agreement stipulating the rights and obligations of all non-Muslims in the holy land of Palestine. Jews were permitted to return to Palestine for the first time since the 500-year ban enacted by the Romans and maintained by Byzantine rulers. The same tradition was followed by was followed by Harun al-Rashid (786-809) who established the Christian Pilgrims’ Inn in Jerusalem, fulfilling Umar’s pledge to Bishop Sophronious to allow freedom of religion and access to Jerusalem for Christian pilgrims.

Jews have forgotten the humane angle of the Muslim rule. How can a people who have witnessed holocaust in the hands of Adolf Hitler tolerate the same kind of madness being leashed by their own government on hapless Palestinians?

China is a threat to global good

2009-05-04T03:48:00.000-07:00

China is a threat to global good
By Susenjit Guha

As the world watches without being able to bring about a ceasefire, a humanitarian crisis is underway in Sri Lanka with nearly 170,000 civilians displaced and 50,000 trapped in the war zone.

It has become common for rampaging armed forces and also those in cahoots with terrorists the world is battling with, despots and dictators to cock a snook at the UN. Much of the cockiness lies in the covert moral and logistic support lent by China, hungry for resources for widening its reach to get a major slice of business in the troubled regions and make its presence felt.

The Sri Lankan offensive against the LTTE is not faulted as the terrorist organization has used all possible means of violence over the years to foment terror in this beautiful island resembling a tear drop in the Indian Ocean. Lots of blood sweat and tears have flowed for the fight for a separate Tamil homeland in protest for the marginalization of the Sri Lankan Tamils. But the process of terror was always condemnable and has encouraged later day terror groups like the al Qaeda to emulate their suicide attack techniques.

But what happened so suddenly that the Sri Lankan armed forces finally managed to decimate the formidable LTTE?

It was China once again. Having supported despots with blood on their hands in Africa and Myanmar for the sake of resources to feed a surging Chinese economy, Sri Lanka was a natural choice to complete the string of pearls in the Indian Ocean.

Having set about building and ramping up ports in Burma, Bangladesh and Pakistan, which would in be used for docking and refueling of its navy, China is now building a $1 billion port in the fishing village of Hambantota in Sri Lanka’s north east, very close to the fighting zone. It would also double up as the Chinese Navy’s stop-over point during patrols to guard against piracy of oil imports from the Middle East and establish a base in the Indian Ocean all along the arc.

No wonder the Sri Lankan armed forces are fighting perhaps their last battle to crush the LTTE for ever with an urgency never seen before. Shunned by governments the world over including India when Sri Lanka sought arms for the civil war, China chipped in during the last two decades with arms supplies. Chinese arms supplies increased further when the US suspended all military aid to Sri Lanka citing gross human rights violations. Chinese aid to Sri Lanka jumped to $1billion last year leaving other nations far behind.

Like wise, China beefed up the Myanmar armed forces and stood with them when they were accused of human rights violations last year when monks and civilians rose in protest against rampant corruption, price rise and food shortage. Pakistan can act in self denial of not harboring terrorists and fuel terror acts in neighboring countries on the strength of Chinese military aid and support while the US and western powers resign themselves to the reality and cannot do much about it.

According to Jane’s Defense Weekly, Sri Lanka shopped for $37.6 million worth of arms and supplies for its army and navy. China gave 6 F7 fighter jets for free in 2007 as per reports of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. According to media reports, the bulk of arm shipments fro China was handled by Lanka Logistics and Technologies where the Defense Secretary who is the Sri Lankan president’s brother, has a major stake.

And the arms went into killing 75 civilians in a makeshift hospital by the Sri Lankan armed forces which lay very close to the battle zone. It was the only one available for the trapped civilians.

UN reports peg civilian casualties at 6500 since January this year as the Sri Lankan government vehemently denies and keeps the war zone out of bounds for journalists and aid workers.
Sri Lanka is acting with the same nonchalance to global criticism and pressure as Myanmar’s armed forces did last year on the strength of a counter weight like China. Calls for evacuating the civilians have fallen on deaf years.

China’s desperate need for Hambantota had been cautioned by Pentagon’s Air Staff personnel Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher J. Pehrson in a 2006 paper and by the U.S. Joint Forces Command last November.

With a trail of blood from volatile Africa, Myanmar to Sri Lanka, China is a threat to global good and reticent about gross human rights violations and human catastrophes to preserve its own commercial interests.

US have also been accused of partying with despots and affecting civilian casualties, but democracy allows a groundswell of dissent as was evident in the last presidential elections. China has stifled a moral counterweight which makes it more dangerous.

Indian Democracy: Need for a radical change

2009-05-03T06:23:00.000-07:00

Indian Democracy: Need for a radical change
By Mubasshir Mushtaq

Now that the electoral dust seems to have settled in Maharashtra with the end of phase III, it’s time we turn our attention to some serious issues plaguing politics, voting and democracy.

The average Indian still does not understand the power of voting. He thinks that a single vote is not going to make much difference because rarely does in India a single vote decide the fate of aspiring politicians. Not many Indians would have heard of Saifuddin Soz whose single vote toppled Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government in 1999. The average Indian voter interprets national politics through the narrow prism of his individual problem. He forgets that his micro problem is part and parcel of India’s macro problem. He is fed of the same old politicians making same old promises. He thinks the only way out is to skip voting. In some areas including Sonia Gandhi’s Amethi constituency, people have boycotted polls. Boycott is a legitimate tool of protest in a democracy but poll boycott is not driven by mere hopelessness alone; it is fuelled by illiteracy. The Indian voter has started believing in the saying ‘If voting changed anything, they would make it illegal’. The only way to remove this erroneous perception is by mass awareness regarding the power of just one vote.

A careful reading of history reveals that one vote has changed fate of many nations across the world. Indians have forgotten that Adolf Hitler became president of Nazi party of Germany in 1934 just because of one vote. Indian Muslims seem to have forgotten this but Jews still remember it. It was the power of just one vote that caused the execution of Charles I, King of England, in 1649. It was just because of one vote that France became a republic from monarchy in 1875. It was because of a single vote that Texas became part of United States in 1845. It was one vote that saved Andrew Johnson, 17th President of America from impeachment in 1868. One vote per precinct would have elected Richard Nixon, rather than John Kennedy, President of America in 1960. And finally it was the power of one vote that brought down Atal Bihari government in 1999. Indian Muslims must remember these historical instances because those who don’t learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

Given the importance of just one vote, should voting be made mandatory?

Making it mandatory may have some merits; like people would be compelled to vote out of no choice. But it has some demerits as well. Indian democracy would edge towards authoritarianism. Only on two conditions voting must be made mandatory. Firstly there must be inclusion of the concept of negative voting like negative marking in competitive exams. Secondly, there should be an option where a voter can press the button ‘none of the above’. In simple words, he can register his protest that he does not find any of the candidates suitable for the job of representation. If this option gets the maximum number of votes, there should be a reelection in the concerned constituency.

This provision will certainly empower an ordinary voter who feels let down by politicians all the time.

Now to balance our argument we must ask this question: how should we deal with political parties and politicians who go on making lengthy promises which read like a scroll of honour?

Political manifestos are inaugurated with much fanfare; but once the parties form government, it goes in the dustbin of history. Can we apply some provision of Indian Contract Act, 1872? Can political manifestos be accorded the status of a civil contract? In simple words, the contents of a manifesto should be treated like an offer; a proposal made with the intention to fulfill it. Anybody who votes for a particular party would be accepting the proposal laid down in the manifesto. Once such a ‘contract’ takes place, it should be enforceable in a court of law! Voters will have the right to implement the contents of political manifestos!

Some might term this as impractical political romanticism; but something urgently needs to be done in this regard because politicians take voters for granted. The current voting system does not encourage voters because he can’t do anything after pressing the voting button. Arundhati Roy had raised this issue in an interview once. She had said, “The stupid thing about democracy is that you go into the voting booth and push the button and you have fulfilled your duty. Now for the next five years you can sit back and allow your candidate whatever he wants.”

These matters are of serious nature and in the interests of the voters. Whoever comes to power at Centre, these issues must be raised, discussed and debated in Indian parliament because essence of democracy lies in welfare of the people.

The mood of the voter in the ongoing election can be summed up thus: Don’t vote for the best candidate, vote for the candidate who will do the least harm!

Not the Congress or the BJP, India needs an alternative

2009-04-20T00:52:00.000-07:00

Not the Congress or the BJP, India needs an alternative
By Susenjit Guha

As the campaigning gets more bare knuckled, there is little likelihood that the Congress or the BJP---the principal national parties---would muster enough votes to form a government on their own.

While the Congress party has morphed from what it was a few decades ago, the BJP is trapped in a demonising ideology from which it does not want to wriggle out.

Instead of being a truly national party that it was earlier cutting across regions, castes, creeds and religion, the Congress ideology does not resonate anymore across the length and breadth of India . And the BJP’s obsession with building a Ram temple at Ayodhya as the defining issue of India and her identity does not have many takers.

Come poll time and the BJP will rake up the issue hoping the majority Hindus will take up the bait. And for the Congress, this election is all about making Manmohan Singh Prime Minister if the party or the UPA can win enough votes to form a government at the centre. His job would be to keep the seat warm for a member of the Gandhi family.

Dynasty and the politics revolving around a family have made the Congress what it is now.

Failing to work up the magic of yore, it has to play second fiddle nowadays to regional parties from different states and bank on their support in the event of emerging as the single largest party to form a government, way short of a two-thirds majority. It has been a slow process of slithering down the popularity charts as the party got increasingly bogged down with the urban middle class electorate. They form just 24% of India ’s population and the recent foreign as well as economic policies do not find favour with the majority of the population outside the ambit of 24%.

Taking for granted that the electorate or the people never mature politically---a common analogy of kings, queens and courtiers---the projection of a member of the Gandhi family as a future Prime Minister, comes naturally. There are venerable as well as far more accomplished Congress leaders who cannot aspire for the Prime Ministerial chair. If the primary aim is to keep the seat warm, then Manmohan Singh may be the last Prime Minister from outside the family every tine the Congress forms a government at the centre on its own or with allies. That is why criticizing ‘him’ is downsizing the nation.

Both the Gandhi siblings being young can outlast most present leaders who are under the sun. A mature electorate knows were the real power lies.

Is the Indian electorate not averse anymore to the medieval ideology of a family based supreme leadership as the majority is young and wouldn’t mind a young member of the Gandhi family taking over as PM in the election after this one? We don’t know yet, but will have to wait for the results of this election.

The TV channels favoring the Congress may show an audience of early 20 something’s with hands up when asked if they favored a young member of a Gandhi family as a future PM, but they all belong to the 24% electorate. And they are the ones synonymous with the shine and glitz of India . Having a large population, India ’s upper 24% is more than the total population of many developed countries and eclipse the reality that lies in the 76%.

Neither the N-deal nor the specter of a strategic relationship with the US can be taken for granted as the new US President is toying with a real time relationship with China . India had lost the initiative it had after the Mumbai attacks and it might be forgotten as the Taliban inches closer to Islamabad .

And if security is the issue, then the Mother India concept of a majority of the people got rattled. It was not that her sari was not long enough to drape her, but she was caught unclothed during the Mumbai attacks. Despite some pinpointed intelligence reports, security could not be ramped up. Kandahar hijack involved hundreds of innocent Indian lives that required saving.

And the fond obsession of the majority of India ’s middle class with the US may wane when job prospects in the IT sector in mainland US evaporate.

Coming back to the BJP, demonizing minorities will continue to be the principal lodestar. The basis of the agenda is about mobilizing Hindu votes. It is about division not inclusion as we heard the estranged member of the Gandhi family speak. And if it is towards inclusion, it has to be on ‘Ram’s’ terms.

Can Indians really stride the 21st century with either of them? Should not a far more egalitarian society emerge after all these years?

Indians require an alternative not concentrated to the 24%, and a little here and a little there. It should be all encompassing and an attractive option for also those on whom the reflected light of urban India does not shine. And its foreign policies should not be intertwinned with a large power's interests.

And neither medieval dynasty politics nor a culture potion reflecting Dark Age instincts can provide that.

Master, Queen and Slave

2009-04-19T04:26:00.000-07:00

Master, Queen and Slave
By Mubasshir Mushtaq

Is the Congress only party which works on the basis of master-servant relationship? Sonia Maino Gandhi has challenged that assumption by breaking the sound of silence. All these years, her long and stoic silence was being considered as a sign of acquiescence. Sonia has proved that she is indeed the daughter-in-law of Indira Gandhi, who dealt her opponents with an iron fist.

So, is Lal Krishna Advani, a slave of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), as Sonia Gandhi has termed at a poll rally in Margao? Anybody who is aware of India’s political history will bear witness that L.K. Advani has indeed been a ‘slave’ of the RSS. There is nothing new in this utterance but yet it will find a unique place in the political history. Sonia’s lips have given it Congress affiliation. The vacuum left behind by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru has finally found an echo in the voice of his grand daughter-in-law!

If Congress is a budiya (old lady) then RSS is by no means a gudiya (doll). Congress was born in 1885, an old political party indeed. RSS breathed life in 1925. If one applies Narendra Modi logic, RSS too will fall under the category of budiya! What more, this ‘budiya’ has given birth to ‘gudiyas’ legitimate as well as illegitimate. BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal can claim to be legitimate while Abhinav Bharat, Ram Sene will be ‘branded’ as illegitimate although both have been begotten by RSS, the gudiya-in-chief of Sangh Parivar!

RSS was founded in September 1925 at Nagpur on Dussehra day by Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, a medical doctor. Hedgewar was a disciple of Balkrishna Moonje who had sent him to Calcutta in 1910 to pursue medical studies. His unofficial mission was to learn terrorist techniques from the Bengal secret societies. He joined Congress after returning to Nagpur, following in his mentor’s footsteps. Both the master and servant were “disenchanted” with the Congress soon.

In their book The Brotherhood in Saffron, Walter K. Anderson and Shridhar D. Damle record how Hedgewar began to lay intellectual foundations of RSS at a time of escalating Hind-Muslim animosity in Nagpur. They write, “Hedgewar began to develop the intellectual foundations of the RSS. A major influence on his thinking was a handwritten manuscript Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s Hindutva, which advanced the thesis that the Hindus were a nation. The central propositions of Savarkar’s manuscript are that Hindus are the indigenous people of the continent and that they form a single national group.”
RSS was succeeded by Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar after the death of Hedgewar on June 21, 1940. RSS did grow under his leadership but yet remained on the margins of Indian politics. It was known as a militant Hindu group notorious for its role in communal riots.

An understanding was reached between Golwalkar and the Hindu Mahasabha leader S.P. Mookerjee which led to the formation of the political arm of RSS, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh on October 21, 1951. Jana Sangh merged into Janata Party in 1977. After the fall of the government in 1979, Jana Sangh broke away with Janata Party and renamed it as The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on April 5, 1980.

After the shameful defeat of BJP in 1984 general election, BJP was given a new lease of life by Rajiv Gandhi government when it opened the locks at the gates of Babri Masjid in February 1986. BJP adopted a resolution on Ayodhya on June 11, 1989 at Palampur which demanded that “the sentiments of the overwhelming majority in this country – the Hindus be respected and the site in dispute must be handed over to the Hindus and a mosque built at some other place.” The resolution did not specify what will happen to the Babri Masjid; it was demonstrated only on December 6, 1992.

Construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya is one of the first demands of a ‘cultural’ and ‘fascist’ RSS ‘budiya’. BJP is the 29-year old ‘gudiya’ of the same ‘budiya’!

RSS, as it claims, is apolitical cultural organisation but it has floated its political arm in the form of BJP! The BJP policy has always been dominated and influenced by RSS agenda. Immediately after Palampur resolution, L.K. Advani said, “I am sure it will translate into votes.” After the November 1989 election, he expressed satisfaction that the issue had contributed to the success of BJP. In 1991 election, Advani was confident that Ram Temple movement will influence voters. On June 18, 1991 he proudly said, “Had I not played the Ram factor effectively, I would have definitely lost from the New Delhi constituency.” And immediately after the demolition of the Babri Masjid and subsequent riots that followed, he wrote that if the Muslims were to identify themselves with the concept of Hindutva there would not be any reasons for riots to take place. In July 1992, he argued in Lok Sabha speaker’s chamber: “You must recognise the fact that from two seats in Parliament in 1985 we have come to 117 seats in 1991. This has happened primarily because we took up this issue (Ayodhya).”

From 1999 to 2004, BJP had convened many meetings just to convince the RSS top brass their helplessness over Ram temple because numbers in parliament didn’t add up to pass legislation for the same. Anderson and Damle put it thus, “It is questionable if the BJP could survive politically without the RSS cadre, and the cadre will not stay unless the leadership of the party stays firmly in the hands of the ‘brotherhood’.”

The Italian scholar Marzia Casolari has documented, on the basis of archival evidence, the RSS’s links with and admiration for Mussolini’s fascist regime.

Doesn’t this brief Advani pattern resemble that of a slave of the master? The sole job of a slave is to serve the interests of his master no matter how despicable and abominable the assigned job is. All through his life Advani has tried his best to please the RSS top brass.

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who once proudly said – the Sangh is my soul – had worked hard to woo Sanghis. On his visit to Nagpur on August 27, 2000, he had literally surrendered the post of prime minister to a swayamsevak. He had said, “The post of (prime minister) may go tomorrow, but I will always remain a humble swayamsevak.”

Sonia Gandhi, the queen of Congress, has highlighted the BJP-RSS relationship though there are RSS-sympathisers within the Congress as revealed by RSS general secretary Ram Madhav recently.
Slavery was officially abolished in Britain in 1833 but it is still prevalent in Indian politics.

A weak Singh 'Remote Control'

2009-04-18T04:58:00.000-07:00

A weak Singh 'Remote Control'
By Seema Mustafa

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh always gets visibly irritated and angry when opposition leaders at home describe him as ‘weak’. During these elections particularly Singh appears to have been under instructions from his “guardian angel” Sonia Gandhi to hit back, and has been doing so with uncharacteristic ferocity that actually sounds a little strange, and even woebegone, coming from him.

But lets get back to the charge that so angers our Prime Minister. Is he weak? The five years in office have provided sufficient indicators that he is. It starts with this gushing praise of the Nehru-Gandhi Family that he has maintained through the years, making it clear that he might be Prime Minister for the ordinary mortals of the country but not for Sonia Gandhi and her family. The Congress president is the one person he looks up to, who his not just his guardian angel but also his mentor, who he owes everything to, and who he can never contradict let alone question.

Is this being strong or weak? In accepting an authority outside the government, Singh has debased the office of the Prime Minister, a constitutional position that has immense sanctity and authority. It is no secret to the Congress party that the Prime Minister can be reined in at a moments notice, and that he is not in position to direct other ministerial colleagues and extract serious work from any. It is true that a Prime Minister is the first among equals in a government, but it is also true that he is expected to provide the direction free from outside intervention. This is one of the many reasons why a Prime Minister of India is required to be an elected member of Parliament, and not seek his authority from the Rajya Sabha. Not only did Singh refuse to contest the elections for the five years in office, but even now is making a stake for the top job without even venturing into the fray.

Singh recently justified the fact that the Congress president was more powerful than him by saying that it had been a good arrangement, the “division of labour” as he liked to describe it had worked well. Well for whom? Not for India whose people had to get used to a Prime Minister without authority, and who had to exhibit extreme diffidence and servility even in public to keep the job that circumstances had catapulted him into. Even now, both Sonia and Rahul have given the distict impression in their election campaigns that Manmohan Singh is their choice of Prime Minister, and his tenure in office is dependent not on the people directly but on the Family. This is a dilution of democracy, where the most important constitutional authority has beensystematically worn and torn down in the past five years of UPA rule.

Singhs writ did not carry with his ministerial colleagues who carried their problems, and issues to Sonia Gandhi. He showed the same gushing subservience to the US, and strangely enough has still not realized how badly this impacted on sovereign and independent India. His expressed “deep love” for former US President George W.Bush surprised his enthusiastic champions in the media---and there are many of them---as the body language of a confident Bush and a virtually cringing Singh were captured for posterity in photographs the world over. He has done the same with President Barack Obama, using his first meeting to describe in gushing tones India’s appreciation and love for him, and then sealing the interaction by asking for an autograph.
Humiliating for India, but not for the Prime Minister who has not understood in the five years of his tenure that he represents the country and not the Nehru-Gandhi Family.

Singh has got so used to sycophancy to keep himself in power at home, that he uses the same to attract world leaders from the West. He does not realise how strange it must have seemed to even Obama, when the head of a big country asks him for an autograph. One would have expected that the few minutes the two had together, would have been used by Singh to stress not his love for the US and the US President but to highlight the problems that India would face, and is facing, given the Taliban ascendancy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. And that instead of listening without comment to the US plan that does not take into account Indian sensitivities he would have gone for the bilaterals on the sidelines of the G-20 summit with an Indian initiative, and what we think should be done in the region to bring back a level of stability and peace.

Instead he is now waiting, by his own admission, for the plan to unfold and if it tackles the question of terrorism to “cooperate.” Strange words from the Prime Minister of a country, that had placed itself in the world arena to formulate and direct regional policy, and not accept US thinking for its neighbourhood.

Russia has tried to initiate some talks with India through the Shanghai Corporation Organisation, and even bilaterally on Obama’s Af-Pak policy and the repercussions for the region. By all accounts we have not shown much interest, citing the ongoing elections as an excuse. But since when have elections stopped the ministries from working, and from officials exacting their duties. This is an urgent problem for which some ground must be prepared, but clearly the political masters are not keen to move into a dialogue that might not involve the US.

Singh worked with a certain desperation to get the US Indian civilian nuclear energy agreement through. He used every trick in the book to sign this deal that commits India to a strategic partnership with the US as a junior partner that is now required to follow a foreign policy “congruent” to that of Washington. When Parliament rejected it, Singh by his own admission now threatened to resign, and got the Congress clearance to go ahead and sign it regardless of Parliament and public opinion. Where is the deal now? Singh barely talks of it, and certainly no one in his party is out in the field now asking for votes on the basis of this highly controversial agreement. The US nuclear reactors industry has been out of business for decades and was expected to revive through this deal but like the French has been hit badly by the global melt down. But that does not seem to bother Singh, for he had his hour in the sunlight when Bush embraced him and described his as a great Prime Minister and a true friend.

Diagnosing Dr. Manmohan Singh

2009-04-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

Diagnosing Dr. Manmohan Singh
By Mubasshir Mushtaq

How will history judge Dr. Manmohan Singh, India’s non-political prime minister? Will he be remembered as an opportunist who agreed to become prime minister when Sonia Gandhi’s ‘inner voice’ prevailed over her outer voice? Will he be remembered as a ‘night watchman’ performing his nocturnal duty and waiting for the daybreak? Will he be remembered as Madam’s appointee and yes-man-prime minister? Or will he be remembered as a credible man who lost his credibility in political dealings of July 2008 trust vote? Will he be remembered for his do-or-die threat to Leftists over Indo-US nuclear deal? Will he be remembered for reciprocating a measured and sensible response to Pakistan over 26/11? Will he be remembered for not uttering a word over Sikh protests against Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Singh? Or will he be remembered as India’s only minority prime minister who gave Indian Muslims Sachar Committee report? Or will he be remembered for buckling under political pressure and happily allotting time to L.K. Advani to explain his government’s stand on Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thankur?

Dr. Manmohan Singh’s five years of power cannot be diagnosed with the help of above questions alone. Doctor’s dissection must be supplemented by his connivance and silence.

Manmohan Singh, no doubt, is a wearer of many hats. He is not only a sharp bureaucrat but also an astute economist who performed an economic ‘bypass’ to a dying Indian economy and dared to do the unthinkable: open gates of India to foreign direct investment (FDI) and ending an era of license raj. In a stirring speech he had predicted the days of a rising India. Manmohan Singh’s historic budget of 1991 changed the course of India’s economic history. Singh’s radical economic shift was not like Harry Potter’s magic wand but it gradually saved India from extending a begging bowl to IMF (International Monetary Fund). PC Chidambaram’s 1997 “dream budget” was nothing but a legacy of Manmohan Singh. NDA capitalised and strengthened the basic policies of Manmohan Singh. It was only in 2006-07 Time and New Statesman portrayed India on their cover pages and recognised the potential of India’s economic march. Manmohan Singh had said the same 15 years ago: an idea whose time had come.

Political sincerity and commitment cannot be gauged from speeches but it reflects in the legislature. The two most prominent decision of Manmohan Singh government are passing of RTI (Right to Information Act) and NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme). UPA’s common minimum programme is indeed praise-worthy but Manmohan Singh government has failed to fulfill aspirations of the common man. As activist Aruna Roy has rightly remarked, “In a strange schizophrenia, the Manmohan Singh government remembered to bring the non-shining India to the table, but forgot to serve it.”

Manmohan Singh has spent his early days in a village (now in Pakistan) but his heart only beats for the rich and the corporate India. NREGS was passed after much deliberation and discussion while SEZ (Special economic zone) bill was passed without any debate.

It has been rightly said that Manmohan Singh was in office but never in power. His tenure as a PM has been dominated by his ministers. PC Chidambaram never listened to Mannohan Singh. Just one example of the union budget would suffice. In a letter dated November 24, 2006 just after the submission of Sachar committee report, the Prime Minister’s Office directed to the finance ministry that “wherever possible, 15 per cent of targets and funds be earmarked for the minorities in the schemes included in the Prime Minister’s 15-point programme.” Finance Ministry completely ignored this directive. The post-Sachar Union budget was a major disappointment for minorities. After acknowledging that only a ‘modest’ contribution of Rs 16.47 crore was made to the equity of the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC), Finance Minister (FM) said, “following the Sachar Committee report, NMDFC would be required to expand its reach and intensify its efforts”. So a paltry sum of Rs 63 crore was added to its share capital. And Rs 108 crore was allotted to the districts with a concentration of minorities. FM did not mention the actual number of those districts to avoid the embarrassment. There are a total of 155 such districts. You need not be a mathematician to figure out that only bureaucratic leftovers will be bestowed to the minorities. Out of the Union government's total expenditure of Rs 680,521 crore, the total allocation for minorities (it includes Sikhs and Christians too) was less than Rs 320 crore. The total number of minorities in India is 200 million (Muslims 150m, Sikhs and Christians 50m).

Rs 320 crore for 200 million people? Manmohan Singh, who himself belongs to Sikh minority, didn’t utter a single word over this. He must have felt guilty but he didn’t have political will power to raise this issue. Swapan Dasgupta has rightly said, “His total inexperience with electoral politics and his awareness that he was just a proxy made him adaptable.”

This is what happens when a fine economist is turned into a politician.

Manmohan Singh government’s foreign policy has been dominated by America and Israel. If Indo-US nuclear deal took place in full public view then the recently concluded arms deal with Israel worth 10000 crore was a closed door affair. Manmohan Singh was the face of the Indo-US nuclear deal. Why didn’t he publically acknowledge the arms deal with Israel? That would have certainly increased his ‘credibility’ ratings because PM is known for his honesty!

Honesty is a commendable trait but it is not enough to run a country of more than a billion aspirations. To quote Tarun Tejpal would be apt, ““Decency and efficiency are laudable traits, but they are also routinely found in army officers and swayamsewaks. In the leader of a billion people you may want to look for more.”

Dr. Singh will go down in history as the mutest prime minister of India. He has only asserted his authority only once when he had threatened to resign if Indo-US deal doesn’t sail through. That was only time he reminded the politicians that he is the prime minster of India.

Manmohan Singh is not even taken seriously in his own cabinet perhaps because he has never won a parliamentary election. According to Pratap Bhanu Mehta he is “not an actor in his own cabinet.”

Apart from running a coalition government, Manmohan Singh doesn’t have leadership skills. Tarun Tejpal is right when he wrote, “Without the PM’s tag he would lead a procession that would scarcely fill a corridor of South Block leave alone Ramlila Maidan.”

The Old Men of Indian Politics

2009-04-05T04:29:00.000-07:00

The Old Men of Indian Politics
By Mubasshir Mushtaq
Why do we Indians – whose half population is under 25 – have prime ministers and political leaders on the wrong side of the age?

Old age may be equated with wisdom but in politics wisdom evaporates with old age. “The older I grow”, wrote American journalist and writer H.L. Mencken, “the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.” So is there any similarity between Manmohan Singh and L.K. Advani apart from their prime ministerial ambition? Yes, both the politicians have tuned grey. Manmohan Singh is 77; Advani is 82. That brings us to an interesting question: Why do we Indians – whose half population is under 25 – have prime ministers and political leaders on the wrong side of the age?

Consider this: Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first and longest serving prime minister, was 58 when he took charge of the country in 1947. Lal Bahadur Shastri was 60 when he became prime minister in June 1964 after the death of Nehru. Indira Gandhi was only 49 when she became the first and the only woman prime minister of India in 1966. Rajiv Gandhi was barely 40 when he became the prime minister following Indira Gandhi’s assassination. Vishwanath Pratap Singh was 58 when he succeeded in becoming prime minister in 1989. Chandra Shekhar was 63 when he took over prime ministership in 1990. H.D. Deve Gowda was 63 when he became prime minister in 1996.

So what were Manmohan Singh and L.K. Advani thinking when they exchanged verbal volleys? Was this an attempt to distract public attention? Nobody disputes the fact that Manmohan Singh is a meek prime minister. But is L.K. Advani a strong candidate for prime ministership as advertisements portray him to be? (A point worth-noting: L.K. Advani is the only Indian prime minister aspirant who is perhaps spending millons of rupees on advertisements) L.K. Advani may not have undergone heart surgery like Manmohan Singh but in essence he is weaker than the prime minister. In a press conference recently, he flexed his muscles by lifting a pair of dumbbells! This strategy was to diffuse the public perception that Advani is an old man. But wrinkles on his forehead cannot be straightened with a shot of botox injection! Advani is essentially a week man although he has been billed as India’s “iron man”. Why is Advani silent on Varun Gandhi’s communal outburst? It is not the first time that he has adopted the conspiracy of silence. Is that a sign of an iron man? Or has he become a man of irony?

If Manmohan Singh underwent a heart surgery then Atal Bihari Vajpayee had a knee replacement in the year 2000 as a prime minister. It was a replacement of the knee of nation! Can we imagine that the “heart” and “knee” of nation are so weak that it requires an operation to fix them?

Then there are politicians who can’t even walk: Arjun Singh (79), our HRD minister, walks on a wheelchair. A.K. Antony (69), defence minister, recently fainted while attending a parade in Pune. Pranab Mukherjee (74), who still dreams to become prime minister, can be seen catching forty winks at campaign rallies. BJP stalwarts Jawant Singh and Yashwant Sinha are above the age of 70.

Jyoti Basu, the longest serving chief minister of Bengal, was part of the CPI (M) Polit bureau till April 2008, at the age of 94! Karnanidhi is 85 but still heads DMK! M.K. Naraynan, our National Security Advisor, is 75! What kind of security can we expect from him?

Why can’t we have a legislation to put restriction on the age of politicians? We already have a legislation by which bureaucrats retire at the age of 58. Although both politicians and bureaucrats are public servants but we treat them with a different yardstick. Alas, no such legislation is going to come forward from any political party because all parties are united on this: they intend to rule India till the last breath! India will not witness the dawn of professional politics as long as this “democratic freedom” is curtailed. Perhaps this tradition of rewarding old men of politics is borrowed from Joint Hindu Family Firm (JHFF) where ‘Karta’ remains the head of the family as long as he is alive!

One cursory look at other democracies reveals that the politicians are far younger. Barack Hussein Obama, president of United States, is only 48; Gordon Brown, prime minister of United Kingdom, is 58. Nicholas Sarkozy, French president, is 54.

The Indian politicians will rebuke the idea of political retirement because politicians never ‘retire’; they are only ‘tired’! There must be an age for political retirement, say, 65. Politicians will have 7 grace years as compared to bureaucrats! Isn’t this a good hypothesis for politicians? For those who don’t agree on 65 as the age of retirement, consider this:

After 65, Alzheimer’s disease is very common in developed countries like America. Indian politicians have been victims of Alzheimer’s disease as well. From Ranganath Misra to Sri Krishna to Sachar Commission, Indian politicians have literally “forgotten” the real issues of Indian Muslims.

Isn’t this a result of Alzheimer’s disease?

Lost objectivity

2009-03-28T01:09:00.000-07:00

The Kautilyan Perspective
Lost objectivity
By U. Mahesh Prabhu

We the Indians have an attitude of running arguments endlessly. But seldom do we end it with agreements? At the end of discussion we simply return to our homes and lie on our beds with more feelings of vengeance and hatred towards people who disagree with our point of view and thoughts.

It is not easy to listen to something with which you are in total disagreement with. And it, obviously, seeks patience. Patience is a great virtue. Without it it’s absolutely up hilling to achieve something worthwhile.

People of our times are frustrated and there can be only little doubts about it. Frustration isn’t a healthy sign. It leads to confusion and ultimately to chaos. The only rationale for men to support insane and irrelevant acts against the ethical norms of a society, by goons, is this frustration.
Frustration is a sophisticated phenomenon. Should it be resolved there needs to be a timely attention. Given a frustration isn’t resolved it is sure to result in chaotic situation capable of causing destruction, beyond repair.

Couple of months back Mangalore was in news for all wrong reasons. Few people, obviously frustrated, lost their minds and attacked a pub for its ‘assault’ on their ‘faith and culture’. These men were frustrated, and truly. Their reason for frustration, it was clear, none was interested to know. Fellow members of the media fraternity took the matter head on. They were interesting in it for its tendency to increase their TRP and Readership levels.

‘Tablianization of Mangalore’ is how they began describing a truly petty issue. The Congressmen and Communists wasted no time to hurl their ‘criticism’ and abuses on the state government. It was a mad-mad run for settling political scores and it was chaos all around.

Amidst all, none, neither the media nor the politicos were interested in resolving the dispute. And a meagre incident was blown completely out of proportion. Who was at fault? If the media is to be believed it ought to be ‘Sri Ram Sena members’ who led the assault, the Congress and Communists blames it on BJP and BJP spits on all for the issue.

On 26th of March 2009, quiet a few months after the incident of attacks on Pub in Mangalore, I was invited to attend a panel discussion at UGC-SAP sponsored seminar at Mangalore University. The topic upon which I was supposed to speak upon was ‘Media, Culture and National Integration’. Other speakers on the panel had more or less similar topic to embark upon but somehow everyone was squaring upon the Mangalore Pub attacks. It was truly saddening. I was truly unable to understand the reason for this.

The student fraternity, I found, was completely disembarked and divided over the matter. The lecturer, moreover, I found, were completely one sided in their discussion – making the situation worse. I felt sad, absolutely; when a boy was completely sidelined for having spoken in favour of the men who led the Pub attacks. Not just was he sidelined, but also was abused. It was saddening. I intervened and protested. ‘Are you going to fight till eternity for your ideological supremacy or are you interested in resolving the matter?’ I declared. It worked, interestingly. I fought for that man, not because he supported the pub attacks but because the constitutional right he had to stand by them. He was a minority there and none were interested in supporting him. And everyone was tying to settle scores on him. They attacked as if he was one of the attackers. Fortunately, it seemed, as if my intervention worked. Was I lucky? Who cares?!

We the Indians have an attitude of running arguments endlessly. But seldom do we end it with agreements? At the end of discussion we simply return to our homes and lie on our beds with more feelings of vengeance and hatred towards people who disagree with our point of view and thoughts.

Every seminar is run with an intention of enabling people to understand the dynamics of any issue. But what I am witnessing off-late is something which is quiet in complete contradiction to it. Speakers and resource people enforce their thoughts and ideologies on those young minds. These seminars are being turned increasingly into places of settling scores and enforcing beliefs and even spitting venoms.

I am but impressed to imagine a stark and contrasting future of this nation. Our youth are in a complete paradox. Instead of applying their own minds they are spending more time in accepting ideologies of men, with glamour, – blindly.

Of what use is the freedom offered by the constitution if it is not used by men to think freely? Zilch!

Author is Director of Prabal Publishing and a Hon. Prof. and Visiting Faculty of Journalism.

Varun and the Ghost of Sanjay Gandhi

2009-03-22T05:11:00.000-07:00

Varun and the Ghost of Sanjay Gandhi
By Mubasshir Mushtaq

What happens when the ghosts of a powerful past return to haunt a man whose father was the de facto prime minister of India in the 70s? Varun Gandhi could have learned a lesson history taught his father but instead he chose venom over the history. Varun Gandhi could have become the Rahul Gandhi of today had history been on his side. But alas, history is not a narration of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’. History does not allow anybody to remain permanently powerful. Sanjay Gandhi, Varun’s father, was an extremely powerful politician and Indira Gandhi’s “favoured son.” He was a man in great hurry. On the fateful day of June 23, 1980, Sanjay was flying a single-engine plane for fun. He did three loops in the air but probably was not satisfied. He tried a fourth but lost control. The young dream came crashing down; so did the aspirations of his wife Maneka and son Varun Gandhi.

The fate of Sanjay Gandhi’s family can be summed up in one line: Power followed by powerlessness.

Indira Gandhi’s elevation of her son has been described as ‘feudal’. Eminent historian Ramchandra Guha has rightly remarked, “And just as sons of Mughal emperors were once given a suba (province) to run before taking over the kingdom itself, Sanjay was asked to look after affairs in India’s capital city.”

29-year old Varun Gandhi’s life journey has been characteristically marked by a steep decline of his family. Varun Gandhi was barely three months old when Sanjay Gandhi died in the accident. Sanjay’s death marked the beginning of an era dominated by Rajiv Gandhi. Rajiv’s miraculous rise eclipsed Maneka and Varun Gandhi. A feeling of loss must be etched in the memory of Varun Gandhi.

So what was Varun Gandhi thinking when he spew venom against Indian Muslims and Mahatma Gandhi, father of the nation? How can a man – who studied in the liberal tradition of London School of Economics and Political Science – be communal? Perhaps he was following in his father’s footsteps whose obsessive preference was to be always in the news.

Sanjay Gandhi was the darling of Indian media in the 70s. Sanjay’s “chief cheerleader and trumpeter” was none other than Khushwant Singh himself who devoted pages and pages of photographs accompanied by flattering text in the famous The Illustrated Weekly of India. All India Radio (AIR) and the state-run television channel Doordharshan also used to pay much more attention to Sanjay. Facts would put AIR and Doordharshan to shame. In a single year alone, 192 “news items” were broadcast about Sanjay from the Delhi station of AIR. In the same period, Doordharshan telecast 265 bulletins about Sanjay’s activities. What more when Sanjay made a 24-hour-trip to Andhra Pradesh, the Films Division made a full-length documentary called A Day to Remember whose commentary ran in three languages!

Which media organisation will provide such coverage to Varun Gandhi today? Of course, none. Varun was trying to imitate his father in order to create news around himself. Varun had forgotten that the days of a golden bygone era are over.

Varun Gandhi’s only claim to fame is that he belongs to the Gandhi family. He joined BJP following in his mother’s footsteps in a mad race for power. His five years in BJP has been frustrating. In 2004, he could not contest elections since he was not 25; now he is eligible. Varun wanted to make sure that his debut electoral entry was akin to big bang theory. This is precisely for this reason that he intentionally opted for a provocative poll speech. Varun wants to be like his powerful father who was the centre of attention as well as attraction for even union ministers. It is a well-known fact that Bansi Lal, the then Defence minister, took the two candidates for admiral to be questioned by Sanjay. And When Sanjay Gandhi visited Jaipur; on his way 501 arches were erected in his honour! And at Lucknow airport when Sanjay stumbled on the tarmac and lost the sleeper, it was picked up by UP chief minister. He very reverentially handed it back to Sanjay. Today, Varun is trapped in such a political quagmire that his sleeper will not handed back to him even by an airhostess of a third class airline!

Varun Gandhi’s plight and stature is exactly opposite of Sanjay Gandhi. Sanjay Gandhi wielded so much influence in Indian politics that anybody opposing his diktat was doomed. When Kishore Kumar refused to sing for programmes organised to raise money for Sanjay Gandhi’s notorious family planning, coercion and force were used by Sanjay’s men to boycott Kishore Kumar. Kishore’s songs were banned from Vividh Bharati, AIR channel that used to broadcast film music. The Film Censor Board was instructed to hold up release of movies in which Kishore acted or sang! Sanjay’s supporters also warned record companies against selling Kishore’s songs!

Sanjay Gandhi was a man of obsession: ‘The Man Who Used to Get Things Done’ by hook or by crook. Varun Gandhi is following the same path in order to carve out a niche for himself. There is a fundamental difference between the two: The father was arrogant and haughty but he had at least apologised once on the instructions of his mother, Indira Gandhi. In an interview, Sanjay had lambasted the Marxists and accused them of being corrupt. He later retracted his statement and said that leaders in Jana Sangh and Swatantra parties were even more ‘corrupt’ and that CPI must be saluted for its support to “progressive policies, especially those affecting the poor people.”

Varun’s unapologetic mood conveys that he is being backed by his mother Maneka and the BJP. Chief Election Commission must ban him from contesting the upcoming general election from Pilbhit.

In his press conference, Varun claimed to be a ‘Gandhi’ but he has forgotten the ideals of his own family, at least of his grandmother. “All my father’s works”, said Indira Gandhi in 1962, “have been written in prison. I recommend prison life not only for aspiring writers but for aspiring politicians too.”

Is there any message for Varun? Yes, prison is the only place where he can wear the mantle of political maturity.

Cricket and cocktail terrorism

2009-03-11T05:25:00.000-07:00

Cricket and cocktail terrorism
By Mubasshir Mushtaq

Murray Walker, the renowned British sports commentator who had once said – you can cut the tension with a cricket stump – should be thinking to retract his verbatim. Murray had probably said this in a South Asian context knowing well that cricket, the white man’s British burden, can unburden South Asian tension especially between India and Pakistan. Till March 3, his statement was considered a witty and convincing idiom in the dictionary of cricket commentary. The Lahore terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team will change the language of cricket commentary forever.

The audacious broad daylight attack on Sri Lankan cricketers marks the beginning of cocktail terrorism in South Asia. The so-called ‘Jihad’ merged with modern day accessories popularized by Hollywood culture: sneakers, backpacks, big guns etc. The attack was the Pakistan’s Mumbai moment. The Mumbai syndrome has finally traveled to the place from where it had actually originated. The syndrome has spread like epidemic among a few home-grown bedbugs that have begun the task of eating up Pakistan; making it hollow from the inside.

Pakistan has suffered the fate of United States of America. It has been struck by the men with whom it had mushroomed and sympathized for years. The bad boys in the backyard have gone out of control. The parallel with United States is strikingly similar. The world’s lone superpower has a history of sympathizing with ‘bad boys’ all across the world.

In 1970s and 80s, United States, armed and funded Muslim militants fighting against 1979 Russian invasion of Afghanistan; popularly known as Afghan Jihad. The American money and arms were directed and canalized through Saudi Arabia and Pakistan’s notorious intelligence agency ISI. Osama bin Laden is the American product of Afghan Jihad. The concept of jihad was legitimized and widely propagated as long as it suited America’s foreign policy. Afghan jihad was merely an extended exercise to contain America’s only rival: Russia. America’s love for mujahideen diminished the moment Russia withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989. The point worth-noting here is this: Muslims still call this war as jihad while in American lexicon this was merely a cold-war exercise!

America’s understanding of the word ‘jihad’ improved with the 9/11. The men who allegedly flew planes into World Trade Centre followed a tradition long supported by the America. This was the first time that Americans experienced the biting of the feeding hand. Pakistan is undergoing the same phase for quite sometime now.

Cricket is a unifying game; the antithesis of the word ‘Partition’, an Afro-Asian phenomenon. Pakistan was always famous for the two things: Cricket and hospitality. These two assets were some of the positive elements that bound Pakistan to the rest of the world. A single attack has eroded the credibility of both. Jinnah (the Qaud-e-Azam) would have wept over this; Asif Ali Zardari does not even have tears. Pakistan is not a failed state; it has been paralyzed by its leaders. It neither became an ideal Islamic state nor a model secular nation. Isn’t it a classical paradox of the Indian subcontinent? Pakistan has always dangled between autocratic theocracy and corrupt democracy.

Pakistan was born on the basis of a divisive idea called Partition. Partition has been the fate of this Indian blood brother separated at birth. 1947 was merely the beginning whose end is not in sight. 1971 saw the second partition of Pakistan which resulted into the birth of a new nation called Bangladesh. Pakistan has witnessed many partitions after the creation of Bangladesh. The third quite partition took place in North West Frontier Post where tribalism is the order of the day. The fourth partition began among murmur and metamorphosed into an uproar when Pakistan entered into an agreement with Taliban in Swat valley. If the first four partitions were physical, the fifth partition is ideological in nature. It is taking place inside Pakistan; implemented by the men carrying Kalashnikovs on their shoulders.

The crisis of failed leadership has plagued Pakistan for years. Pakistanis are fed up of new promises of the old faces. Corrupt leaders have provided vacuum for not only fundamentalists but also Army Generals. General Pervez Musharraf was tolerated for 8 long years because patriotism comes easily to army uniforms. The current political dispensation is not led by pious men. Pakistan is the world’s only country headed by “two former convicts.” It was the crisis of failed leadership that forced Fatima Bhutto to remark that “Pakistan remains a rich and diverse country held hostage to a government chock full of ill-equipped and unqualified carpetbaggers.”

The Lahore attack will have far-reaching consequences notably in South Asia which is witnessing a stream of violence. A cursory glance on the map of South Asia will make one’s blood freeze. Sri Lanka is engaged in a dangerous war against LTTE; an organisation dubbed as “terrorist” by United States but yet long supported by India. Bangladesh has just awakened to the horrors of an army rebellion unparalleled in the history of South Asia. Nepal has been a victim of Maoist violence. India faces a real threat to its internal security from Naxals who control at least 140 Indian districts. Pakistan – which should have become a land of the pure – has become a nightmare for men of purity. It has become “an international migraine” to borrow Madeline Albright’s words.

The body of South Asian does not merely suffer from a minor injury. It suffers from the cancer of violence which threatens to paralyse the entire body. The US and UN – famous for administering injection of reform – have done very little to restore the confidence of people in South Asia.

Coming back to cricket, one question that has baffled security experts and analysts is this: why did terrorists choose Sri Lankan cricket team which took a bold initiative of touring Pakistan amidst grave threat? Sri Lankan cricket team had gone to Pakistan perhaps to prove that law and order still reign supreme in a feudal country. They have been permanently proved wrong by a bunch of ‘bad boys’.

So why did terrorists target a cricket team?

The answer is truly European. The terrorists were perhaps inspired by the 18th century Irish poet called Oscar Wilde who breathed his last in the year 1900. Oscar Wilde didn’t like the idea of playing cricket because of the “indecent” cricket postures. He had once said, “I never play cricket. It requires one to assume such indecent postures.”

Both Oscar Wilde and the terrorists who fired at the Sri Lankan cricket team shared the same point of view. The former employed his wit to express it while the latter believed in the weapon.

A Lucid Dream and Reality

2009-02-28T22:35:00.000-08:00

A Lucid Dream and Reality
By Mubasshir Mushtaq

The 2009 General election is going to witness a dawn of professional politics where political parties will be marketed as commodities to lure potential voters. It will not be merely a traditional competition between Congress and BJP but a plethora of small parties with regional interest will compete to get a share of people’s sympathy. Isn’t it good news for the general voter? The potential voter will get to choose from a variety of political parties thus making an end to the politics of ‘either or’ (read Congress or BJP). Welcome to the era of coalition politics where the interests of two mainstream political parties will be subject to strict scrutiny of smaller parties. The threat from smaller parties is so strong that some politicians are flouting the idea of a Congress-BJP alliance! The days of political monopoly are over!

The five years of UPA rule was supposed to benefit Aam Aadmi (Common Man) but it has only served the interests of Khaas Aadmi. UPA’s Common Minimum Programme was replaced by Uncommon Minimum Programme based on four ‘achievements’: Indo-US nuclear deal, Chandrayaan moon mission, 9% growth and Slumdog Millionaire Oscar win! None of this is directly related to the common man.

Indo-US nuclear deal is still no-clear deal to many; it will take at least 8 years to generate nuclear power. Chandrayaan moon mission is part of a satellite programme which any government would have followed it. The “9% growth rate” is indeed related to the fellow Indians but nobody is asking this: what percentage of Indians have benefited from the 9% growth rate? Merely 10%! This figure sums up the economic policy of the UPA government which is ironically headed by an economist and has the “dream economic team.”

The government of “Aam Aadmi” has shown remarkable generosity in subsidising big business houses and SEZs (Special Economic Zones). UPA has tacitly ignored small and medium enterprises which constitute the majority of Indians. The rich-poor divide has widened but yet UPA is singing a tune of good times! In the last five years India has not witnessed economic prosperity but economic regression. This fact can be gauged from Human Development Index of United Nations Development Programme where India’s rank has slipped from 124 to 132 in 2008. Even countries like Bhutan, Algeria, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Iran have performed better than India!

What is the role of UPA government in a British movie with Indian actors? The euphoria over Slumdog Millionaire at best can be described as an act of individual creativity. The movie depicts the story of India’s poor and the bottom-line is the survival spirit of Mumbai. The movie must remind our shameless politicians a fact that gathers dust in government files that at least 30% of India’s population still leaves below the poverty line. There are at least 260 million Indians who still go to bed hungry every night.

The UPA, very subtly, is doing an NDA. It is building a momentum similar to NDA’s India Shining campaign. NDA had pumped 4000 million rupees of Indian taxpayer’s money in the form of advertisement just to communicate Indians how good they are feeling! P. Sainath, rural editor of The Hindu had commented then, “The fastest growing sector in India Shinning is not IT or software, textiles or automobiles. It is inequality.” His comment still holds relevance.

If Congress has miserably failed in its economic policy then BJP has floundered in making it a real issue which affects fellow Indians irrespective of their caste and religion. BJP is still trapped in its stone-age politics despite the fact that its allies have made it abundantly clear that they don’t support BJP’s Ram Janambhoomi movement. The BJP’s poll strategists have forgotten a fact that Indian economy was performing better in NDA’s rule.

None of the political parties have a slogan to communicate what they stand for. Congress does not have a stand to stand on. It is in self-congratulatory mode. BJP reeks of infighting and its Prime Ministerial candidate is behaving like Alice in Wonderland! Mayawati, the touchable politician of India’s untouchables, is doing a Hillary Clinton. Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh Company do not belong to anyone; they only understand the politics of selfishness. Sharad Pawar is a man of vested interests. He can go to any extent to save his party’s interests; even an alliance with Shiv Sena can not be ruled out. Shiv Sena, which used to be like a family managed business has suffered partition. Raj Thackeray, the “stray cub” has begun to bite in order to save Marathi interests.

Slogans have altered the course of history but our political parties are indulging in mud-slinging. None of the parties have a slogan to define themselves and their party’s ideology. In the recent history, two slogans had a profound impact on people all across the world. George Bush Senior, a strong contender for retaining American presidency in 1992, was defeated by a young and charismatic Bill Clinton who coined the famous slogan ‘it’s the economy stupid!’ It highlighted a deteriorating economy which had undergone recession. Bush senior had emerged successful in Cold War and first Gulf war against Iraq but yet it was only on the basis of a powerful slogan his government was brought down.

The second slogan consumed Republican Party of George Bush Junior. Obama’s slogan ‘We need change’ captured the imagination of ordinary Americans who were fed up with a war-infested President and an economy that was on the verge of collapse.

Indira Gandhi knew her party’s slogan; Sonia Gandhi does not have a slogan. L.K. Advani does not know the art of sloganeering! Leftist parties have an old slogan which Prakash Karat is not very keen to modify. Mulayam Singh has fresh slogan for fellow politicians: Hum Saath Saath Hain!

Isn’t it slightly confusing for the fellow Indian voters? The voters want to identify with political parties but not a single party is willing to identify itself with a cause! Each political party is trying to shine its old and rusty ideology but as P. Sainath wrote, “All the shine we work up will not conceal the darkness.”

Is a new light in the form of Third National Front needed to illuminate a new India?

That remains a lucid dream.

Tenali’s Tantrum: For the love of kith and kin

2009-02-26T10:01:00.000-08:00

Tenali’s Tantrum: For the love of kith and kin
By U. Mahesh Prabhu

It is hard to determine the extent to which parents today can go towards promoting their kids, to make them famous. This is truer in case of the parents in the urban areas. Having hailed from modest background with little or no scope to harness their skills and develop their talents with their financial prowess they want to ensure that the opportunities are made available to their children. There is nothing wrong with this mentality. It’s indeed commendable to ensure that you make provision for your kids of which you were once deprived of. After all that is also an important aspect of parenthood.

But what is not commendable is the obsession to promote one’s offspring at the cost of others. In Mangalore, a few months back I met a bright and promoting Hindustani classical singer. With all his passion, dedication and sincere perseverance he has hardly been able to make a mark until now. He’s in his early 20s. Yes, it’s a young age but there are several others, even younger in age, yet an enviable exposure. The only reason for him being yet to get a fair chance to prove is skill is absence of ‘God father’. His guru a distinguished persona in the Music world passed away just after training him - making him, literally, orphan in the world of Music. It has been over three years since his mentor passed away and still he hasn’t got a soul to promote him.

In Mangalore alone there are umpteen societies, forums and associations for promoting talents. Government of India and Karnataka spends virtually a fortune, as they say, ‘to identify and promote talents’. The funds are certainly allocated and events are held from time to time. The corruption is yet to play a spoil sport and yet all these funds are yet to benefit this struggling artiste.

The reason is simple. Handfuls of people dominate all the committees and organization ‘committed’ for promoting talent. And these people have been since the very beginning utilizing their position to promote their own kith and kin. You said unfair? Absolutely!

The following are some of the tricks they employ. The government allocate funds for conducting events here. For a music event, the chairperson calls for artists from places far and wide. The artists are paid a premium. And most of time, one may find that the ‘upcoming’ artist is son of a person who chairs concert in his city. And most of the time there is an understanding between them to exchange their kids. In this way, funds allocated by governments are being utilized continuously for promoting kids of these ‘patriarch’s of music’.

Yes, you should have the curiosity to learn the name of people involved. But will it not be unfair if only few are named? And to name them all, the space allocated for this column would just be not enough.

Such practices are being occurred not just in Mangalore but all over the country. ‘To excel in Music one ought to be a [‘big father’s son.’] says a budding artist. And with all the bit of research I have found no testimony to prove him otherwise.

Music, arts and culture are not just subjects but part and parcel of this country’s rich heritage and diverse legacy. Because these are not object you can seldom preserve them in museums. You have to motivate people with true talents for them to live. How is an organization to promote talents when its trustees, directors and mentors are busy promoting their kith and kin? Yes, it is certainly not bad for a trustee to promote this progeny or relative, but that should not be at the cost of those who deserve a legitimate opportunity.

Aren’t by such practices these personalities at the helm of such organization killing the talents and, also, the art? Aren’t these men guilty of conspiracy of eliminating a culture?

One may not be trained in arts, culture or music. But the basic essence of these is to amuse the observer. The interests of masses in these arts, culture and music are dying fast. The death shall be faster should these men allowed to chair these organization and promote, unjustly, their relatives. This has to stop. This ought to end.

Author is Director of Prabal Publishing, Fellow of Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, London (UK) and Visiting Faculty & Hon. Prof. of Journalism

Amplifying Advani Logic

2009-02-22T02:36:00.000-08:00

Amplifying Advani Logic
By Mubasshir Mushtaq

Law and order have two enemies: the Full Truth and the Complete Lie. When people realize the truth, they start revolutions. When they are fed lies they begin meaningless riots. (M.J. Akbar, 1979)

A leader is one who leads by example and does not follow in the footsteps of his followers and disciples but Lal Krishna Advani, country's desperate Prime Minister-in-waiting, is an exceptional political entity. He used to lead by example in his infamous Rath Yatra days but the addictive taste of Delhi's political power has changed his state of mind. No wonder he is blindly advocating a theory originally propagated by a small fish in the dirty pond of India's communalism – the notorious Narendra Modi.

Modi had recently said, "Attacks like 26/11 couldn't have happened without local support... The UPA Government is quiet on this aspect because of vote-bank politics." In other words, it simply means that the attack could not have taken place without the active help of Indian Muslims. Modi's statement was much appreciated within the BJP and Sangh Parivar. Advani, whose eyesight is fixed on 7 Race Course Road (Prime Minster's residence), realized that it was time that he broke his dignified silence to please saffron souls lest they think Modi is their natural leader! It is in this context Advani raised the issue that local angle "could not be ruled out", and demanded a "thorough" judicial inquiry covering "this aspect of the conspiracy as well."
Winston Churchill once said, "The nation will find it very hard to look up to the leaders who are keeping their ears to the ground." Had Advani kept his ears to the ground, he would have certainly broadened his approach but he didn't. A man who desperately wants to be India's next Prime Minister should have demanded a "thorough" judicial inquiry of Batla House, Mecca Masjid, Samjhauta blast and Malegaon blasts etc. That would have made him a man of all seasons but alas he is a man of saffron reason!

If Advani's eyes are on the 7 Race Course Road, his ears are paying attention across the border. He is desperately seeking votes in Pakistan! The ad featuring on many Pakistani websites reads, 'It's possible, Advani for Prime Minister.' Does Advani want to become Prime Minister of Pakistan? Advani's adventurous ambition will bring much needed relief to Yousuf Raza Gilani, Pakistan's current Prime Minister!

For a change we must give Advani benefit of doubt. If his "local angle" concern is indeed genuine, let's try to apply this logic in totality. What would be the reaction of government and politicians if any political leader of Malegaon tries to raise the "local angle" involvement in September 29 2008 blast? What if he repeats the exact words of L.K. Advani only replacing 26/11 with Malegaon blast? He would be branded as a "communalist", an "anti-national". The police department will sing a song of law and order problem. It is quite possible that he would be booked under some sections of Indian Penal Code for making provocative statement of the communal nature.

This classic Indian duplicity is not a gift of British Raj but it's a product of hate-preachers who still see Indian Muslims as "outsiders" and "invaders". This tendency emanates from none other than the right-wing ideologue Golwalkar who put it quite bluntly, "Ever since the evil day, when Muslims just landed in Hindustan, right up to the present moment, the Hindu nation has been gallantly fighting on to shake off the despoilers."

It is altogether a different matter that this kind of rabid rhetoric has been replaced by soft Hindutva because in an era of coalition politics, BJP can not form government on its own. Adopting the same kind of language will cut short Advani's Prime Ministerial dream.
The duplicity and hypocrisy of L.K. Advani is nothing new. He has been accused of a criminal conspiracy to demolish Babri Masjid. Advani first blamed Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao and, next, acclaimed the event as a historic one. In front of Liberhan Commission, he has repeatedly said that December 6, 1992 was the saddest day of his life although Advani had said in Ayodhya that, "Aaj (December 6) kar seva ka akhiri din hai, kar sevak aaj akhiri kar seva karenge." (It is the final day for the kar seva today. The kar sevaks will be doing the final kar seva today). And when the demolition of the mosque was in progress, he also told that the Central forces were moving from Faizabad towards Ayodhya, but they were not afraid of it and instructed the public to block the national highway straightway so that forces do not reach Ram Janam Bhoomi. This was reported by Indian Express and later documented by noted lawyer and commentator A.G. Noorani. Jaswant Singh said that the demolition should not have happened in the sense that the BJP was one of the participants and BJP has direct responsibility. Ashok Singhal was more blunt. He told a gathering in London that "Kar sevaks had removed a stigma attached to the Hindu community. This was a matter of pride for Hindus the world over. It was like Hanuman setting fire to Lanka."

A.G. Noorani has beautifully described BJP's confession and denial thus, "The BJP wants to run with the hares and hunt with the hounds. It simultaneously acknowledges as well as denies its involvement in the crime."

Advani's autobiography (My Country, My Life) is full of lies and contradictions and there is ample evidence of his "Muslim phobia" in it. It is an attempt to portray Advani as a "nationalist" leader and pave way for his Prime Ministerial dream. Perhaps the last word must be left to Noorani: "If Advani succeeds in fulfilling his 20-year-old ambition, this book will rank as the Fuhrer's Mein Kampf. If he is defeated in 2009, it will be remembered for ever as the swansong of a man who wanted to be Prime Minister of India too badly."

A lesson in life – at large

2009-02-08T22:25:00.000-08:00

A lesson in life – at large
By U. Mahesh Prabhu

Life has always taken so many absurd twists and turns that I have stopped keeping its counts. Shifting over five professions, namely software programmer, web designing, marketer, writer, editor and now publisher cum administrator, I have come to but one conclusion: If you are capable, if you can believe in you… opportunities knock on your doors.

It's not easy to quit a job, for many. I have quit over forty times! You think I am lying? No-way! It's completely true. I have only quit, never was once that I was sacked. I quit out of my own reasons. People may call it "arrogance" but I call it conviction to values. I have lived by values and have seldom compromised on them – come what may. And because I have never compromised my credibility has seldom took a hit.

Today I am a publisher. I head a publishing company. I got this job after I spent over a year as a freelance writer. This job can mean a lot to many. I can certainly promote myself here, and well, but that's against my values. People may have blamed that I have promoted my self, but I know that I have never did it. And because I have never done that, and because I have promoted people with talents instead, I have with me an indisputable asset called 'Goodwill'. It is out of this goodwill that I am able to transcend any organization I work for in greater strata than it was, before me assuming a position there. Yes I may be proud of it, but certainly not pompous.

Across these professions I have learnt so many valuable lessons. Was it not for these lessons I would had been nought. I may not be a 'great' person, but what is being 'great'? Does someone have a definition for it? I wonder – if at all. All men no matter what they are or where they are… they are but men. Men have their own limitations, and, of course, strength. Many are despicable.
Their position is not for eternity, at some point in time they will fall, they all face failure before their rendezvous with death. They make mistakes and they may well make history… but they are men. You can't make men into gods and when you turn men in gods the history is replete with stories of savagery. Idolizing men is neither simple nor good.

Because all men have their limitation, many try to find people who are without it. They are ever in search of it, either outside or within. When they don't find it within, they find it out. And if they don't find one… they 'make' one. Cronies are nothing but men of such dreadful feeling. They make no good to the world. If at all they do something, it is but evil.

I have seen such crony's just on political or religious sphere but also on organizational as well as personal level. There are these 'leaders' who harp their power upon men trying to make them cronies. Cronies are so many in so many organizations. Their only job is to woo their bosses' ego.
In an organizational level, to get a work done… you always need to work with people. There exist no people without egos, while some may conceal… many of them show-off. Higher the position of a person in the hierarchy greater is his ego. To get a work done, it is imperative for a manager to play with these egos, but cautiously. If he plays it well… he wins. If not… he's gone.

In a nut shell the lesson I have learnt here is: In life travesties are innumerable. Life is never fair and so are people. Given that are we to conclude that world is a bad place to live in? Not really.

The world runs on simple formulae: [What's in it for me.] If you want to be a winner you need to have the genius to find what the other person wants and also the acumen to get that which he wants. Given you have these two, you can win the world. Should your knowledge fail to give that to you then its insane... sheer waste.

The Rise of the Hindu Right

2009-02-08T01:46:00.000-08:00

The Rise of the Hindu Right
By Mubasshir Mushtaq

At what point in history did the word 'Sadhvi' enter the Muslim lexicon? Did the word 'Sadhvi' enter the Muslim psyche with the arrest of Pragya Singh Thakur, Malegaon bomb blast accused? The answer is a firm no. Pragya Singh Thakur is merely an offshoot; continuation of a contagious disease called communalism planted into the body politic of India with the demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992. The legacy of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur can be traced back to the Sadhvi Rithambara who had famously said, "Ek dhakka aur do, Babri Masjid tor do" [Give one more push, bring down Babri Masjid].

We do not have any proof to suggest that Sadhvi Pragya is a descendent of Sadhvi Rithambara but they share a common ideology of hatred against Muslims with varying degrees of execution. The former believes in the physical virus of violence while the latter believes in the verbal virus of violence. Sadhvi Rithambara is more dangerous than Sadhvi Pragya because her methodology is to cultivate hate within the confines of law of the land. She is a hate-monger in the disguise of a woman preacher who had once said, "Muslims are like a lemon squirted into the cream of India. They turn it sour. We have to remove the lemon, cut it up into little pieces, squeeze out the pips and throw them away."

This poisonous potion of hate sums up the ideology of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal, the Shiv Sena, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and all the associated organisations of right-wing political family, loosely referred as the Sangh Parivar.

The BJP was born from the womb of Sangh Praivar and therefore a legitimate child of the Hindutva brigade. When the BJP came to power at Centre in 1999, there was a palpable sense of jubilation in the Parivar camp. For it was the time to 'right' a "historical wrong"; to construct Ram Temple in Ayodhya. To capitalize on Hindu sentiments Sadhvi Rithambara was touring America in 2002. She was at the Ganesh Temple in New York to raise funds for her new project – homes and shelters for Hindu orphans and widows.

She delivered a fiery speech peppered with poison. She said, "The efforts to build a temple for Lord Ram at the Babri Masjid site had given Indians a sense of pride… People questioned the Ram Janam Bhoomi movement but I told them if the youth of India stood up for the cause, even Muslims will start to say Long Live Lord Ram [Yahan to meeyan log bhi bolenge, Jai Shree Ram]."

What a project for Hindu orphans and widows has got to do with Ram Janam Bhoomi?
A comparatively calm and docile South India has begun to understand and include words like 'terrorism', 'communalism' and 'hate' in its day today vocabulary. That brings us to an interesting metaphor: When there is any trouble in the body, it is the whole body that feels the pain. Pramod Mutalik symbolizes and shares the pain of Sadhvi Pragya. Mutalik may have become a Muslim household name with his provocative statement, "Malegaon is a Jhalak. More is possible if every woman picks up bombs", but he was in the news much before Sadhvi Pragya. In the second half of 2008, the same Mutalik, a vendor of anarchy, had said in a press conference held in Bangalore press club that Hindu suicide squads are ready "to take on Islamic terrorists."

This news item remained on the fringe and nobody bothered to pick it up since Mutalik posed a threat only to the Indian Muslims. He became a despicable object only when his men attacked 'Hindu' women in a pub in Mangalore.

Sadhvi Rithambara, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Pramod Mutalik once belonged to BJP whose unofficial doctrine is based on the hate culture. It is altogether a different matter that when the hate crosses the permissible limit, BJP tries to distance itself from its ardent supporters.

Kalyan Singh, once the poster boy of BJP, has suddenly become an imposter for the BJP. Kalyan Singh is the same politician whose right-wing ability to check on Yadavs was once a prized possession of the BJP. Mulayam Singh's new-found love with Kalyan Singh is a well-planned political strategy to kill two-birds with one arrow. Mulayam Singh may have a mulayam corner for Kalyan Singh but Muslims will not become victims of his velvet-politics. It was under the watchful eyes of Kalyan Singh that Babri Masjid was demolished. The then UP Governor Satyanarayan Reddy had written a letter to the then PM Narsimha Rao on December 1, 1992 urging that the "general law and order situation, especially on the communal front, is satisfactory." Both BJP-ruled UP and Congress-ruled Centre slept over this suggestion.
Kalyan Singh was guilty of connivance while Narsimha Rao was guilty of inaction; he preferred to sleep that fateful afternoon when Babri Masjid was being brought down. A question worth-asking: Is there any difference between an open enemy and unfaithful friend?

If right-wing politics of BJP demolished Babri Masjid, the middle path politics of Congress gave us the world's longest running Liberhan commission. The commission would hopefully file the report by March end. Muslims will not give an award to Justice Liberhan for revealing the name of the culprits because they already know the names!

India is taking a right-wing turn once again. Sadhvi Rithambara, Sadhvi Pragya, Pramod Mutalik Kalyan Singh and Narendra Modi are the L.K. Advanis of the decade hell-bent on pressing the Hitler nerve.

Can India be saved from indignant Indians?

Saddening case of the Indian Bureaucracy

2009-01-27T05:32:00.000-08:00

Saddening case of the Indian Bureaucracy
By U. Mahesh Prabhu

In India there is no dearth of columnists arrogating to be 'experts' in polity, governance and administration. But the very mirthful fact, that which I realized of late, is 'how less of notions do we actually have versus the bureaucracy from these columnists'. And most of the articles on them are absolutely rabble rousing – that which hardly makes any sense.

When India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was asked as to where in administering this country was he a failure, his answer was 'Administration System'. 'I have miserably failed in setting right the administration - it is still the same as left by the British.' The situation is no different even today. Most of the governmental works are, and have to be, routed through these bureaucrats.

Technically these Administrative officials claim to be 'grossly underpaid', and yet we have more than a majority of them owning properties exceeding their financial capacities – yet none to questioning them.

Being acquainted with the political class I can claim to have a privilege of understanding the troubles faced by a politician whenever he aspires to execute a developmental work. One of the several challenges is in handling these bureaucrats. There are several illustrates where the political will has failed to implement a project just because it lacked the bureaucratic support! What is worse is that with every year passing by taming corrupt bureaucrats turns increasingly difficult.

Here's an interesting case you all:

In the recent winter session of the parliament, on December 28, 2009, that which lasted for a meagre of [13 minutes], one of the bills passed was for amending the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA). The bureaucrats all over the country, specifically those facing allegation of corruption, fêted over its passing. This was because the amendment bill was in every sense a 'triumph' to bureaucrats all over the country as they were no more answerable to 'pesky' investigating agency.

The only voice that which was technically visible was that of Lokayukta of Karnataka Justice Santosh Hegde. 'We were struggling to get sanctions to investigate bureaucrats. Thanks to the amendments, we now have to seek permission of even retired officials' he was found saying to the press with thwarting.

He had in fact recommended 'prosecution of an IAS officer under the clause 13 (1) (d) (i) of PCA.' But now the [entire clause has disappeared].

The earlier law had said that 'If a government official, by corrupt or illegal means, obtains for himself or any other person any valuable thing or pecuniary advantage, he or she is said to have committed an offence of criminal misconduct.' It includes awarding contract to any person with the above said motive. 'Now' says Justice Hegde, 'the bureaucrat can award any contract to anyone and no one can question it!'

Tells a bureaucrat to a premier daily '… I have an academic question. What is the guarantee that people who succeeds those like Justice Santosh Hegde as Lokayukta will not misuse the powers given to them?' furthering 'The Lokayukta is free to express his opinions and views. People like me need permission from government to speak to newspapers. The public will not understand the kind of pressure on officers like us. We have to be nice to many to retain our posts and yet get the work done, hopefully without violating the law and procedures'

The bureaucrat however 'agreed' that 'checks and balances' were 'necessary in a democratic setup'. 'If you give all the powers to men like, say Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, even the opposition leaders would not complain. But is there a guarantee that the succeeding prime ministers will not misuse the power?' the bureaucrat is said to have told.

For this Justice Hegde had but one question to puzzle, which is in every regard very significant one, 'If a driver of a fire force vehicle, rushing to the spot of an accident to prevent further damage to the property or save lives, commits a traffic offence, he can be pardoned. But it does not mean that the officer on duty is free to run amok causing more damage, than the one cause by the fire itself.'

Alas the words of Justice Hegde will never be heard and the corrupt bureaucrats will have no troubles with their current streak of degeneracy.

With the 'fear of misuse' some have began dissenting framing of any new laws. The same is the case if anti-terror laws. Then there is one idea, I wish to convey to these men: why don't they get rid of the law itself? After all an outlaw is termed based on law, No law no outlaw(s)! Given that where arises the need for framing new laws? The rationale 'Misuse' don't even arise!

Recession: Time for Ergodic Cerebration

2009-01-17T04:47:00.000-08:00

Recession: Time for Ergodic Cerebration
By U. Mahesh Prabhu

It is baffling to learn about Ramalingam Raju. A person who, just a year ago, was called a 'renowned', 'distinguished entrepreneur' and an 'international business leader', is today behind bars for 'financial misappropriation' in the company which he himself had built from scratch—Satyam. If the media informants are to be trusted, he had been keeping up the defalcation for the past decade! Wasn't it during this time that he was honoured with awards and accolades of both national and international standing?

The repercussions of this episode are certainly not going to be few and far between. It could even prove to have a catastrophic effect on the Indian IT industry, which is already facing the brunt of the global economic slowdown. Wipro, which was recently in the news after being barred by the World Bank, and Infosys, are trying their level best to convince their customers as well as investors that they are still impregnable and that recession is having little effect on their business. But how true is that? Only time will (or can) tell.

Globalization, call it good or bad', brought but one fresh trend in the corporate sector with it. It has got rid of the 'job security' factor—forever. This has made people wary with a feeling of insecurity gripping their minds strongly. This might have made them 'efficient', but they are, now, certainly selfish and greedier.

The incertitude has always has had a ruinous consequence on the human psyche across civilizations around the world, over the centuries. The uncertainty always has an effect on mind as well on body; if your mind isn't steady, you can seldom have clarity of thought and a lack of clarity can cause you to take the most catastrophic decisions.

A few years ago, a leading television news channel interviewed the employees of some premier IT companies. The question posed to them was simple—'Do you or not agree with globalization?' Interestingly, everyone endorsed globalization. 'My dad took 10 years after marriage to get a car and over 20 years to own a two-bedroom apartment. My mom is today absolutely dependent on her husband because she has no income. But that's not the case with me. I am not dependent on my husband; I own two flats in this city and have a luxury car and a bike to commute. And this has been possible all because of globalization. So, why anyone should be opposing it?' questioned a lady, in the process demeaning the accomplishments of her own parents.

The IT industry in India today, including companies like TCS, Infosys, and Wipro, do little business other than developing some kind of a computer application (a.k.a. software) for their international clients. This job is akin to building a house with bricks and mortar. Now, suppose you want to build a house; you need to get someone to design it, first. Once the designing is over, you need coolies to build the house. What these IT professionals do is quite similar to the job of the coolies. Terms like 'IT coolies' or 'cyber coolies' are used in this very context. Their work does not soil their hands or stain their clothes, but they are, technically speaking, coolies in every sense.

No, this is not to disgrace IT industry or its people. This is, instead, to make you understand that the IT sector is just another industry like textiles, tobacco, publishing, and automobiles. No job is small, and also, no job is too big, so long as it is within the purview of the ethical norms of society. IT industry in this country has been looked upon with a lot of admiration. Due to this the IT professional gets more respect than anyone else within a family, today.

It's a meticulously insane comparison in every sense. This pomposity has caused mental unrest in the society we live in. Just because an IT professional gets paid a lot and leads a 'royal' lifestyle, everyone within the society wants to earn more and have a similar 'modus vivendi'. For that, they are willing to sacrifice anything—be it giving up their values, principles, or morals. Who cares?

Recession is being talked of today with a lot of seriousness. People are truly scared of it. Loss of jobs affects people badly. But, very few understand that it also brings about a sense of balance. As a result of IT professionals paying excessively for real estate, the price of property had skyrocketed, making it virtually impossible for an average middleclass person to get a dwelling at an affordable price. The excessive demand which was created by these lavishly paid IT industry people had also created a phenomenal rise in costs of commodities, which is already coming down because of this recession.

Yes, sadly, IT professionals, in specific, are sure to have a tough time for at least two more years for they are directly dependent on the American economy which is in a mess. But don't hard times harden people and, also, prepare them for the challenges of life? 'Neither good nor bad times last' is an evident maxim of life.

This recession is a corrective measure. It will readjust the prices from prohibitive levels to nominal. Do you understand that prices of petroleum, which once exceeded $100 a barrel, are now less than $50 a barrel? This is owing to recession. Several other price rectifications are sure to happen due to the phenomenal drop in expenditure.

Drop in expenditure brings down the cost, as it cripples the demand. When there is no demand for a commodity, the prices are sure to drop and this will surely pave the way for more affordable prices for the masses. Hence, recession is certainly a time for ergodic cerebration.

Emulation of Fallacies

2009-01-08T02:42:00.000-08:00

Emulation of Fallacies
By U. Mahesh Prabhu

Every being has two sides—the good and the bad. This is a well-acclaimed fact. Even the unlawful have something in them for good and wise men to emulate. But how easy is it for us all to really look at only the brighter side of men and ignore their darker side? Arduous, immensely difficult!

In India, since time immemorial, we have been in pursuit of a society which is laudable as far as principles, ethics, and rationale go. Our pursuits have not [just] been towards creating a financially affluent society. We have been rather immensely zealous in working towards a civilization where all and sundry would live in peace, dignity, and with honor.

Yes, it is very much possible that we, especially a large section of the youth, can begin a self-defeating argument against ‘evil practices’ once practiced in our society such as caste-ism, ‘Sati’, dowry, and all that. By this argument, all that would be proved is that ‘ours was never a nation of good men’, and also that ‘wisdom never existed here’. Words are slaves of those who have a command over them. In the court of law, lawyers by mincing words, present truth as untruth and vice versa. By this, does the truth turn into a lie? No, truth certainly remains undeterred in the actual. It may be forgotten, or may never be known—but it remains unchanged.

For ages, in India, due to a lack of interest among masses in documenting our history, and also due to the onslaught of barbaric invaders, which played havoc on our libraries, we have lost track of several such truths about ourselves. Further on, a generation of people began a series of real politick measures to negate whatever little proud moments that might have been left in the minds of nationalists by way of legends.

A great part of history documented in Sanskrit, was declared by self-styled ‘modernists’ as ‘mythology’. The recent Booker Prize winner and author of ‘The White Tiger’, Aravinda Adiga, as well as previous Booker Prize winner , Arundathi Roy have targeted this land in their works, for things which they consider ‘unwise’. The sad part is that they failed to write even one word in appreciation of their own country!

What is worse is the manner in which the media here idolizes Adiga who has showed no consideration to the country of his birth! They, and of course their readers or viewers, are ‘proud’ of him. But has any one cared to at least flip a few pages of the book and read through it? Not many, I’m afraid. And yet they want ‘future generations’ to emulate them!

The British may have left India but they still continue to rule the psyche of Indians. Yoga and Pranayama have been in India for ages—but a great part of our populace began practicing them only after the stamp of some western health institutes was imprinted on them.

Our traditional Gurukula system of education was set aside and Macaulay’s influenced version was put in place. The joint family system was put to death, simply, and mostly, to emulate the western style of living. We want to emulate the west for we have declared that, unconditionally, ‘whatever the west does is progress and others are orthodox’, and thus they are to be shunned.

Wearing ‘kurtas’ and ‘pajamas’ and ‘chudidars’ or ‘sarees’, is termed primitive and jeans and short skirts have been termed ‘fashionable’ and moreover ‘feasible’. Do they say feasible? In hot Indian weather conditions, ‘dhotis’ and kurtas are more logical attire for they allow your skin to breathe. On the contrary, jeans are completely far removed from this ‘feasibility’. Won’t you agree?

But why do our youth love jeans? Simple, because its ‘fashionable’. But have they ever tried wearing dhoti/pajamas with kurtas? Or chudidars and sarees? Definitely not!

The mental slavery of our men is still bowing to the west—at large. In politics, management, medicine, or education, in every sphere of life, we are in total comparison with the western way and their standard of life in terms of ‘well-being’. Our know-how of our legacy, tradition, and culture, is so feeble and yet we are all for denouncing it outright. Ridiculous!

Is that a sign of wisdom? Is that even right by a commoner’s common sense? If not, then why are our youths, mostly in the metros, so? Without our roots, we are no better than creepers. Creepers serve no worthy purpose. Emulation of good is a positive development. But blind emulation is fallacy; it’s insane; a real waste. Let that emulation of fallacy be not ours.