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ON RECORD Wanted: Nationalism based on
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PROFILE
REFLECTIONS
DIVERSITIES — DELHI LETTER
KASHMIR DIARY
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ON RECORD IT has not taken long for Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh to make a place among the second-generation BJP leaders. The Chief Minister of the newly formed state had no hesitation in resigning as a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government when he was asked by the central BJP leadership to proceed to Chhattisgarh to revitalise the party ahead of last December’s Assembly elections. His acceptability among all senior BJP leaders in the state paved the way for his elevation as Chief Minister after a keen battle in the Assembly polls. An Ayurveda practitioner, Dr Singh began his political innings in 1977 as a BJP activist and was twice MLA from Kwardha in the nineties. He defeated senior Congress leader Motilal Vohra in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections from Rajnandgaon. Dr Singh is now seeking election to Chhattisgarh Assembly from the Dongargaon Assembly seat which falls in Rajnandgaon. Ajit Jogi’s entry in the election fray has given "us an issue," the Chief Minister said in an exclusive interview to TheTribune. Excerpts: Q: How many Lok Sabha seats does the BJP expect to win in Chhattisgarh? A: We had won eight of the 11 Lok Sabha seats in the 1999 elections. We are focusing hard on the three seats lost last time. The mood is in favour of BJP on all the seats. There is good fight in Bilaspur, Sarangarh and Sarguja. The selection of candidates has improved our position in Mahasamund and Janjgir. It should not be a surprise if we win all the 11 seats. We are campaigning systematically. Senior leaders will criss-cross the state in helicopter while Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani will touch large parts of the state travelling by road during his Bharat Uday Rath Yatra. State leaders have been told to fan out among the people. Q: How far have you been able to realise the targets set by the new government in 100 days? A: We have been largely successful. We have waived the loans of farmers and kept our promise. Our biggest achievement has been the smooth procurement of paddy worth Rs 1,600 crore which is double the stock of last year. My government has got the clearance from the Centre for pending projects including a rail line to connect Jagdalpur in Bastar and a 1,000-MW hydel project. There is transparency in government decisions. Many of the promises made to the tribal population have already been approved by the State Cabinet. Q: With the Congress fielding Ajit Jogi as a candidate, has the Lok Sabha election become tougher for the BJP? A: It is easier for us now. The Congress has given us an issue. A person who was removed by the party president, who as Chief Minister had written a letter with a view to toppling the newly elected government and who is facing a CBI probe, has been given party ticket by the Congress. It only shows the true face of the Congress. Q: All BJP leaders are raising the issue of Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin. Is it an issue? A: The issue touches everyone. People feel that the Congress does not have leadership. Even if we do not talk about it, the issue is always in the media. We are seeking votes on the basis of the quality of our leadership and our programme spelt out in the party manifesto. Q: What about Dilip Singh Judeo? He was the BJP’s star campaigner in the Assembly elections and is apparently unhappy over denial of party ticket for the Lok Sabha elections. A: Mr Judeo is campaigning for the party in Raigarh. He had told Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he would not like to contest till his name was cleared in the cash-on-tapes controversy. Q: What is your vision for Chhattisgarh? A: The priority is to upgrade basic infrastructure as the area has suffered neglect for decades. Electricity produced here was distributed to other areas. The focus is on removing backwardness. There is a lot of pressure on Raipur city and the state needs a new capital. We have formed a committee to prepare a comprehansive report about the place and scale of the new capital. Q: What about the new capital? Earlier, a foundation stone was laid near Raipur during the tenure of Mr Jogi. A: The committee will look into all the aspects. The area selected by the previous regime will also be considered. The detailed proposal will be sent to the Centre and I don’t see a problem of funds. Q: How do you react to the resentment among the BJP cadres over the choice of V.C. Shukla as the party candidate from Mahasamund? A: I am touring the area extensively. BJP activists work for Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the lotus symbol. After some initial problems, all BJP workers are now fully involved in campaigning in the constituency. We will win. Q: Will camapigning by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra affect the poll prospects of the BJP? A: I do not think it will have any impact. None of them has political experience. They are not known for political work. Rahul Gandhi has to contest his own seat. Q: What about the BJP’s promise to review major decisions of the Jogi government? A: We have asked departments to review controversial decisions. Regulatory Boards have been set up to make the large number of private universities and educational institutions improve their infrastructure. The universities must have minimum prescribed area and follow the UGC norms. The technical institutions should also follow the prescribed norms. They should be serious in their goal of imparting education. Q: What is the reason for the BJP’s recent electoral success in the tribal areas? A: The Central Government has taken several steps for the welfare of tribals. The Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojna and the Antyodaya Yojna have made an impact in the tribal areas. The BJP-led government has set a up a separate tribal department and a Commission for the Tribes. The party cadres have been reaching out to the tribal population. Q: How far has the work of organisations like the RSS and the VHP contributed to the success of the BJP in the tribal areas? A: The role of the RSS is not political. Its cadres work among the people and play a role at their own level. All this does have an impact. Q: How would you tackle problems posed by Naxalites? A:
Special attention will be paid to development in Naxalite-affected
areas and efforts will be made to improve connectivity of these
places. |
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Wanted: Nationalism
based on
liberal individualism Nationalism is still one of the most powerful social forces in the world, albeit an intellectually delegitimised one. This delegitimisation is dominant in the academic discourse of the Western world (though by no means is it absent as a force), which has seen devastating world wars in the first half of the 20th century, and genocides associated with ethnic nationalism in more recent years. Internecine warfare in Africa has also served to further render nationalism a dark force. The rise of the BJP and the cultural nationalism that it espouses has caused commentators to question the value of Indian nationalism as well. Indian society’s legacy of caste structures has been the starting point from which many Indians, especially from the left, characterise Indian nationalism as a sinister, homogenising force — a force which favours the upper castes and other elites, to the detriment of minorities and those lower down the social hierarchy. In this view, the Hindus, the upper castes, the money elite, and not the least, the North, are using nationalism to subjugate the minorities, the lower castes, the poor, and the South. This view, though it may have some elements of truth in it, is unfortunate, because, as this piece argues, nationalism is still extremely important for India, both as a vehicle for economic development, and closely related to that, as a bulwark against inimical forces in an international system which still operates under principles of realpolitik, or power politics. The nature of power and the manner in which it is exercised in a world marked by increasing interlinkages, has changed, but power’s central role has not. An inclusive, liberal nationalism is the need of the hour, and we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Look at Elections 2004. Three main themes can be identified with which to framework this analysis. One, the issue of Sonia Gandhi’s origin, which the NDA is pushing hard. Second, the whole question of the kind of nationalism espoused by the BJP, which for opponents is exclusive, homogenising, and inimical to people it considers outside the fold. Third is the important question of development and national power. Clearly, the BJP, with its “India Shining” and “Super power India” platform, its election campaign stress on Bijli, Sadak and Pani, its nuclear and foreign policy stratagems, and recent economic successes, is making a strong appeal to Indians who wish to see their country economically strong and militarily powerful. It is important to note here that nationalism has to be seen and analysed in the context of how a society and state is constructed. Does the state speak for the individual or for groups? Do only individuals have rights, or do groups do too? What is the role of the state, when economic freedoms are being stressed not only nationally, but across countries? Classic individual liberalism can easily accommodate the view that group identity is an important part of an individual’s well being, and individuals not only need the sense of well being that comes from success and achievement in society (which is liberal individualism) but also from a sense of “secure, effortless” belonging with a group. When people insist that groups be given a special status independent of the individual, they forget, and this is very important in India, that a group, whether caste-based, linguistic, religious, or regional, cannot have a value beyond which it possesses for the individual. The only value of a group is the value that it gives its individual members. Beyond that, it introduces too many distorting features. Many argue that given India’s diversity in terms of culture, religion, and language albeit with many common elements, any attempt to create a homogenising nationalism will be threatening to many people who find it difficult to identify with it. That is why Indian nationalism needs to be founded on a politico-economic structure that privileges individualism, and not any group, while simultaneously, and this is the key, recognising that group identity is important to individuals. The rule of law must always prevail, all groups must be respected and not be subject to not only direct attacks but even the casual disparagement that creeps into daily media and political discourse. What is more, all groups must feel free to nurture and celebrate their distinctness. But then, one might well ask, what about nationalism itself, which after all is nothing but one more, big, “group”? Is there a case for privileging the nation group against other groups? Yes, there is, because we need coherent action plus freedoms at a national level, and we live in a dangerous and competitive world, where national strength still matters -- both in terms of traditional instruments of power like economic and military strength, and new ones that can be characterised as making up “soft power”. This is not to argue that individualism can be taken on board as an unadulterated force for good. People have argued about the kind of atomism and angst that an individualistic society can end up with — the United States in particular being pointed out as an example. But India has many bulwarks against that. Many have noted that while Indians are amongst the most individualistic people in the world, for long they have also seen the family as the base unit of society. And as country which for long periods in history has had foreigners holding the reigns of the “State”, Indian people also find it difficult to easily identify or rely on the State. While liberal individualism can thus protect against state intervention, provide for rule of law and economic freedom, nationalism will provide the vehicles for development and international strength. This, therefore, is a plea for liberalism and for nationalism. For many people they cannot go together. But they have to because India needs nationalism, founded on liberal individualism, to develop economically. India needs nationalism to be militarily and politically strong, to survive in a world where realpolitik elements still exerts a lot of pressure on the international system. The writer is The Tribune’s Special Correspondent at Bangalore |
PROFILE Govinda has now opted for an altogether different role, having decided to jump into the electoral fray. Action, drama and whipping up motions have now become assets in the political sphere too. But politics is serious business and needs a different type of grooming. Govinda may attract crowds, may have an army of fans but the world of politics is not Bollywood. More so, when he is pitted against a leader of Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Ram Naik’s stature. It was for nothing that enlightened voters of North-West Mumbai constituency elected Ram Naik for five successive terms. In sharp contrast to Govinda’s popular image as a jester, Naik is highly respected for his honesty, wide networking and public contact. He has been presenting his constituency every year a performance report of his work and has polled the highest number of votes in Maharashtra in last Lok Sabha election. Govinda is one of the richest candidates in the electoral fray. His declared assets value over Rs 15 crore while Naik does not own even a car. One reason for the Bollywood star to contest on the Congress ticket is said to be the long association of his family members with the party. His mother was a member of the Congress party and Govinda had himself actively campaigned for the party in the previous elections. Last month, according to him, Sonia Gandhi herself picked him to contest against Naik and he could not say “no”. People turn out in large numbers to see Govinda and listen to his dialogues but he has now starting talking of political issues, obviously, falteringly and lacking depth. He has no plan to giving up his career as a filmstar even after he becomes a full-time politician. Govinda wants to emulate other film personalities who had successfully contested elections and his role model include Amitabh Bachchan, who had defeated a veteran like H.N. Bahuguna and Sunil Dutt who, he says, has done so many good things for the people. Vinod Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha too have done everything to entertain people. As they have earned the people’s respect, people vote for them is Govinda’s logic. He is not second to them in Bollywood. Govind Arjun Ahuja was born and grown up in a Mumbai suburb — Virar, popularly called “Virar ka Chora”. For a long time, Virar was known as the last stop on the suburban section of the Western Railway, starting from Church Gate station. Govinda once lived in a “chawl” in Virar and from here he rose to fame and glamour of Bollywood. His travel by a local train after 18 years brought back memories of his days of struggle when he had to commute everyday on the same route. He says he used to mumble hit Hindi film songs of those days. His mission now is different: by travelling like an ordinary passenger Govinda wants to realign with the local people. To his dismay he found that nothing has changed in the local trains since he last commuted — the people are the same, and their problems are also the same. His critics say it was only an election gimmick. Govinda’s short train journey may be a gimmick but it has brought him tonnes of publicity in print as well as visual media. TV channels were full of his pictures and interviews in the running train. This doesn’t worry his opponent Ram Naik. “It is of no consequence to me who the Congress chooses to field against me. Nothing will stop me from winning a sixth term”, says the Petroleum Minister. |
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REFLECTIONS When in school and even later into my college days I vividly recall how we all had our dinner together. Our family lunch was always on the tennis court. Since that is where the whole family met. My father and mother were great sports lovers and my father a national champion of his time. We girls (and four of us) took to tennis, like fish takes to water. And straight from the school we reached the tennis club. We had our food brought by our mother. We changed into our tennis kits and played till sun down. We would then go home biking and additionally hungry. We all helped mama to cook by extending the help she needed. And then we sat around her to take the food, hot from her, as it would come off the stove. We ate nutritious food, all freshly cut and cooked. Since it was all-fresh food it was so delicious that we all ate a lot. And I know my mother loved it. But she would get tired at times. We would then press her arms and shoulders. And even she wanted it this way. Mummy loved to feed us. For she knew we had worked hard through the day to get it. The house help was not allowed to cook the food, but to do only the sundries. But the food had to be from our mother. And we literally ate out of her hands. While we all ate, we shared the glories of the day. We listened and we interacted. We argued and we heard. Mama and Dady would guide us, provoke us and inspire us. We never got a feeling of any loss. It was all gain, in analysis and understanding. It was a daily dose of growth and enthusiasm. This was like a feedback and lessons learnt with forward march. And daily. And it was not on the dining table, it was sitting cross-legged on the floor, around mama’s gas stove. As while we ate sitting in this yogic posture, the exertion of the day would vanish. But the reason I am narrating is the research findings I came across which revealed to my joy, the real benefits of this upbringing, which when my parents did, was not because the research proved so. The findings are worth sharing and knowing: A University of Michigan study found that meal time at home was the single strongest predictor of better achievement scores and fewer behavioral problems for children. Mealtime was far more powerful than time spent in school, studying, worshipping, and playing sports or arts activities. A study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University showed that the more often a child eats dinner with his or her family, the less likely that child is to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs. And several studies have shown that children who eat with their parents or other adults have a healthier diet. They consume more fruits, and vegetables, less fried food and fast food, and they snack less often between meals. The American studies also show that children like family meals. In a national YMCA poll in 2000, when teenagers were asked about their worries, 21 percent rated “not having enough time with their parents” as their top concern. And that on an average only one family in three sits down for dinner together on a daily basis. Over the last two decades, there has been a steady decline in the number of American families that eat together regularly. It looks like the family meal is disappearing. Now I know why my parents were together for every dinner. But I wonder, do we always need research findings to convince us on matters, which are so obvious? And do we need laws and movements and declaration of days to instill this age-old good family bonding and grooming practices? And what about we Indians who have it in our genes like Yoga? How are we contributing to these figures? Let us be aware for our own selves what we are doing, and in the process losing or investing in the present and the future. Jai Hind. |
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DIVERSITIES — DELHI LETTER Anyway, what I missed was the supposed interview with poet Shahryar (remember he penned the songs for Umrao Jaan and several other films). When he called up and I declined, telling him that I wasn’t feeling well, he mumbled these words so very gently: “Allah pulls you down the minute you get going. Allah’s ways.” Allah has other ways of pulling you down. Shahryar, for instance, sounds so lonely and lost but adds that following his divorce — after 23 years of marriage — he is at peace with just him and his “tanhaei” (loneliness). Writer-poet Anil Dharkar had told me about his recent separation — after 28 years of his marriage. He also looked restless and sad eyed. It’s important for me to point out here that Pakistan’s leading poet-writer Ahmad Faraz (he was one of the three poets who'd come from Pakistan for this mushiara) doesn’t look sad nor restless. Yes, romantic to the core, it’s that romanticism and passion in his eyes that overtakes just about anything and everything in him. National Street Theatre Day Poet-activist Safdar Hashmi’s birth anniversary on April 12 will be observed as National Street Theatre Day. Plays and street theatres would be held throughout the country. On Monday evening, at Vithalbhai Patel House lawns, Habib Tanvir will stage two of his plays — “Sarak” and “Ponga Pandit”. There would be another play by Jana Natya Manch called “Nahin Qubool”. Diplomatic venture I wonder how two people manage to write books jointly. My wondering becomes intense when I realise the two can be so very diverse as Dr Humayan Khan and G. Parthasarathy and yet the two former diplomats have got together to pen a book on the Indo-Pak scene. Titled “Diplomatic Divide”, it has been published by Roli Books and would be formally released here on April 12. Youth for peace A group of 30 apolitical students, in the 16-22 age group, are travelling across the country to tell people to vote for candidates with “secular credentials”. Under the banner “Youth for peace”, they began their travel campaign on April 7. Veteran artist Zohra Sehgal and educationist Rajni Kumar flagged off the campaign. Stuffed in four vehicles, they have about 40 cities on their itinerary. In May first week, they would travel through Chandigarh, Amritsar, Shimla, Kurukshetra, Jammu and Srinagar. The veggi outlook As a judge at the J.D. Institute of Fashion Technology’s annual fashion show recently, I was left totally amazed seeing the students of this institute model dressed in “garments” made of fruits and vegetables. Their way of promoting veggie outlook, what with cauliflower decked skirts, strawberries strewn all over the blouse, chillies stuck on the legs, dry fruits so well spread on the body that there seemed not an inch left exposed. One marvelled at the originality as one model after another came on the ramp.
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KASHMIR DIARY The re-invention of Dr Farooq Abdullah is amazing. Even more amazing is the fact that he appears to have re-invented himself all on his own. He might have been in touch with public relations advisers over the past few months but there are clear signs that the man who was king has pulled himself up by the boot-straps. When I telephoned him to ask for an interview the other day, he came across as the soul of efficiency, asking how much time I had before suggesting that we could meet when he returned from Jammu two days later. On the evening concerned, the waiter at the guest house I was staying at came to say there was a telephone call for me. When I took the receiver a couple of minutes later, the voice at the other end was familiar: “David, this is Farooq Abdullah,” he said. After apologising for not being able to meet me that evening, he asked if we could have lunch together the next day. No secretaries or press advisers. While he was Chief Minister, Farooq was cocooned in blankets of security and layers of bureacracy — all of whom no doubt felt threatened by public access to their boss. But that was a different time. The people had never mattered in a place where rigged elections were taken for granted. Since the Mufti government has taken charge, all that has changed. When I went to interview Mehbooba Mufti at the Chief Minister’s residence a few days ago, I was shown into the house without being frisked or my bag being checked. Mehbooba’s father, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, was in the house all the while. The fresh air of democracy must have affected Farooq but it is much more than that. He has risen Phoenix-like from the ashes. At this time in 2002, he was sure he was going to be Vice-President of India by August. He had, he says, been promised that by both Prime Minister Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister Advani. That dream was not fulfilled. And to crown that disappointment came the shock defeat in the Assembly elections of November 2002. His son Omar’s defeat at Ganderbal was another blow. Adding to these career reverses have been the familial strains over his daughters’ marriages. Omar and his wife had already moved out of his house, leaving Farooq a lonely man with little more than golf and gardening to fill his life. He demurs, though, when I ask how bad the past two years have been, insisting that “I am very happy. I am very happy.” But a portrait of him with his wife — in a striking red Kashmiri dress — and three daughters hangs over the dining table like a graphic foil to his protestations. He gets up from the table at one stage, shouting for the servants to serve me more when he notices my nearly empty plate. No doubt a part of him misses — albeit subconsciously — the wife who has tenaciously stayed away from the rough and tumble of his political career. In the context of this evident sadness and loneliness, the man’s determined effort to lead his party back to power is remarkable. He has been travelling across the state — using a helicopter for three of the four days for which it was hired during the past fortnight — to canvass support. He points out why he cannot afford to leave out any part of the state with a degree of political maturity one did not always associate with him. This sort of wide-ranging canvassing will help to strengthen the party even where it does not win Parliament seats, he says. And, he adds, it will help him to identify the party men and so help the party decide which candidates to field whenever Assembly elections are next held. Farooq must know that he will have to lead his party if it is to return to power rather than leave it to his son, who is just learning to speak Kashmiri. When addressing the question, however, he displays the nuances of political-speak that he rarely showed in the past. Both would contest, he says, whenever elections are held for the Assembly again and the party would decide who would lead if they returned to government. With impeccable correctness, Farooq projects Omar, praising his “political instincts.” Whenever they have disagreed on how things should be done, he says, he has realised in retrospect that Omar was right. Those are not the only things Farooq has realised in retrospect. He has done a great deal of soul-searching since he lost power and appears to have come up with the right answers.
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Since society is one composite unit among many of its kind, and since its first relations with the others are always potentially hostile, a political character is necessarily added to social life. — Sri Aurobindo Your name, O God, is the formless one. By dwelling on it, one does not go to hell. — Guru Nanak Fulfill though the perfection of truth. Though the thunderbolt descend upon thy head, yield thou never to the allurements that beguile men from the path of truth. — The Buddha Good conduct comprises the abandonment of infatuation, aversion, injustice, falsehood, and other evil habits. — Swami Dayanand Saraswati |
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IT has not taken long
for Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh to make a place among the
second-generation BJP leaders. The Chief Minister of the newly formed
state had no hesitation in resigning as a minister in the Atal Bihari
Vajpayee government when he was asked by the central BJP leadership to
proceed to Chhattisgarh to revitalise the party ahead of last December’s
Assembly elections.
I couldn’t make it to the much-hyped Jashne Bahar mushaira here on April 9, because the heat took its toll. I continued lying in front of my home cooler whilst the poets must have been rendering those get-you -going -into- the- mood poetic verse.