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Need for greater Indian engagement The two-day gathering of over 100 Asian and African leaders at Bandung (Indonesia) that ended on Sunday underlined the growing expectations from India in the Afro-Asian context. India, therefore, must concentrate on greater engagement with Asian and African countries, particularly those not benefiting adequately from the process of globalisation. Freeing prisoners |
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AIDS alert Fighting over numbers won’t do The AIDS threat to India has assumed alarming proportions, but those who can do something to reverse the situation are busy squabbling over the numbers.
Troubled Parivar
Polani Papa
Redefining RSS Politics needs
young blood
Delhi Durbar
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Freeing prisoners The
Punjab Government plans to release 17 of
the 51 persons detained in various jails for participating in militant
activities because, as Chief Minister Amarinder Singh puts it, they have
“paid their debt to society”. The cases against 13 of the 61 policemen
accused of committing excesses are also to be reviewed. This is being done in
the spirit of forgive and forget. Hopefully, those facing heinous charges
would not be out at the cost of misguided youngsters who just got carried
away by genuine or perceived wrongs. Another argument that is given in favour
of the magnanimous state action is: if the convicts belonging to Pakistan can
be released as a goodwill gesture, why not the local detainees who have
already been in jail for a good many years? The nation in general and Punjab
in particular has paid a heavy price in terms of loss of precious human lives
and misutilisation of national resources during the dark days of militancy
that stretched almost two decades. Even in the post-militancy days an uneasy
calm has continued to prevail. Despite the peace being restored long back,
the infrastructure raised to combat militancy is still intact. VIPs still
move around under heavy security and many have got used to having gunmen
around. The police districts are yet to be rolled back. Neither the health of
the government exchequer nor the situation on the ground warrants the number
of DGPs and ADGPs the state has. Even cases of police brutality continue to
surface off and on. The police mindset has remained unchanged. Also,
uncomfortable questions continue to be asked about delays in making justice
prevail. Be it the Nanavati report on the Sikh massacre in the post-Indira
Gandhi assassination period, the report of the Committee for Coordination on
Disappearances in Punjab or the Supreme Court strictures on the pogrom in
Gujarat, the search for justice quite often remains elusive and prolonged.
The dilatory system of investigation and justice that continues till this day
goes against the tenets of a civilised society. |
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AIDS alert
The AIDS threat to India has assumed alarming proportions, but those
who can do something to reverse the situation are busy squabbling over
the numbers. It is a moot point who is right: Mr Richard Feachem,
Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria, who says that India has surpassed South Africa, which has 53
lakh HIV/AIDS-infected people; or Mr S.Y. Quraishi, Director-General
of the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), who puts the figure
at 51 lakh. The number is not the issue here. The reality is that AIDS
has been spreading fast, and the awareness about it is woefully
inadequate. It is disturbing that out of a total of 118 HIV-positive
jawans, the Assam Rifles lost 32 to AIDS —more than those killed by
militants. AIDS is affecting everyone — the rich, the poor, the
city-dwellers and the villagers. Particularly burdensome is the fate
of the women whose husbands are afflicted by this deadly disease.
Unfortunately, the country still sees AIDS as a problem caused by
immoral sex, homosexuality or the transfusion of infected blood.
Most HIV-positive patients have many productive years ahead,
provided they are given basic care and not ostracised. Attempts have
been made through some recent films to sensitise the public to the
travails of the HIV-positive patients. Some NGOs are also doing good
work. But all this may have only a limited impact. The problem must be
addressed vigorously through large-scale awareness campaigns and sex
education. The HIV-positive patients too have their rights. Society
must not only sympathise with them but also actively support them for
leading a dignified and productive life. The long-term cost of apathy
towards AIDS will be too heavy for the country to bear. |
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We know what we are, but know not
what we may be. — William Shakespeare |
Troubled Parivar
The
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has lost
more than the Bharatiya Janata Party. The outburst of the RSS chief,
Mr K.S. Sudarshan, panning the performance of Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee
as Prime Minister and asking him and Mr L.K. Advani, the BJP
president, to make way for younger men and women stunned the Sangh
Parivar, creating waves that have not subsided, despite transparent
damage control exercises. Men and women of the Parivar are still
quarrelling over why the BJP lost power in Delhi after six years’
reign. The RSS has never been able to reconcile itself to the fact
that but for Mr Vajpayee, there would have been no BJP-led government,
and but for the latter’s moderation, the motley coalition would not
have lasted a full term. The RSS chief is now taking issue with the
BJP for not promoting its Ayodhya temple agenda more forcefully,
suggesting for good measure that Mr Vajpayee was not a particularly
distinguished Prime Minister. In the process, the RSS chief has lost
his gravitas and accentuated the crisis in the BJP, a party
desperately trying to find its bearing after its unexpected defeat in
the last general election. Mr Advani has, in fact, been candidly
discussing the central contradiction between the BJP’s ideology and
the compromises it has had to make in ruling the country. And even in
opposition, the BJP must hold on to the fiction of a National
Democratic Alliance if it hopes to return to power. The simple fact
is that large sections of people in a diverse pluralistic society are
not prepared to embrace the BJP ideology. Indeed, it is remarkable how
far the Vajpayee-led coalition succeeded in legitimising the BJP, with
such constituents of the NDA as the Telugu Desam and the JD (U)
rationalising their support because they wanted a share of power. And
the key job in promoting the BJP’s ideas was played by Mr Murli
Manohar Joshi in saffronising education through doctored textbooks,
key appointments in areas of social sciences and historical research
and otherwise. Mr Sudarshan probably does not realise that India is
not Gujarat. The saffronisation of the state yielded the post-Godhra
pogrom, and unless the process of spreading the BJP ideology can be
undertaken by stealth, as Mr Joshi successfully did in his bailiwick,
there cannot be a BJP-led government in Delhi, short of the country
breaking up. Mr Arjun Singh did indeed have a task to confront in
succeeding Mr Joshi and the process of decontaminating the Ministry of
Education and Human Resources is far from complete. The symbiotic
relationship between the RSS and the BJP is well known. The BJP is the
party’s mentor. BJP leaders from Mr Vajpayee down take pride in
recalling their association with the RSS. Nor is it a secret that the
BJP’s fortunes in elections are greatly influenced by the enthusiasm
of RSS workers in supporting the party’s candidates individually or
collectively. Mr Narendra Modi, it must be recalled, has been an RSS
functionary, his services having been loaned to the BJP. No wonder, he
could not be touched even while Mr Vajpayee once ruefully recounted
his desire to see him go after the Gujarat pogrom. Mr Sudarshan’s
outburst was decidedly a settling of old scores with Mr Vajpayee but
he has harmed Mr Advani more. Take the issue of the stalwart’s return
to the party presidency. It was a tragic moment for the party after
its electoral defeat and Mr Venkaiah Naidu was getting nowhere, with
second rung leaders such as Ms Sushma Swaraj and Mr Promod Mahajan
snapping at his heels. Left to himself, Mr Advani would not have
wanted to have his old job back. It was essentially an exercise in
discouraging succession stakes, which threatened to weaken the party.
And now the highest functionary of his dear RSS is telling Mr Advani
that it was time for him to go. It was Mr Advani and his infamous rath
yatra that brought the BJP to the doorstep of power, and here the very
man who should have praised him is chastising him. By singling out Ms
Swaraj for praise, Mr Sudarshan has probably planted the kiss of death
on her future political career. Defeat in the general election has
proved to be such an unsettling experience for the Sangh Parivar that
it seems to have forgotten its long-term goal of persuading a large
section of the country of the merits of its ideology. Hindutva may now
be less in vogue in propagating the BJP philosophy but the party’s
lodestar has not changed. Rather, the effort to woo the tribals in
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa to good effect is how the party
sees its way to the future. The BJP’s problem is to gather the
critical mass in order to form a government on its own. In coalitions,
the BJP will need regional allies who will hold their noses and look
the other way in order to share power, but their constituents would
rebel were they to endorse Hindutva in its entirety. Mr Sudarshan
seems to have complicated, rather than clarified, the contradictions
in the Sangh Parivar. Perhaps, the RSS acquired the bad habit of
exercising power surreptitiously during the six years of BJP-led rule
in Delhi and is now cross with itself for not exercising more power
than promoting and shooting down Cabinet ministers, acquiring land in
Delhi at attractive rates or getting the right men to write textbooks.
Mr Advani has suggested that the Ayodhya temple would have been built
had the BJP returned to power; Mr Sudarshan’s grouse is that the
temple was not built during the six years Mr Vajpayee was at the
helm. Now that Mr Sudarshan has shot himself in the foot, the RSS
must await his retirement. Mr Vajpayee’s riposte has been that he is
already on the retired list, throwing the onus on Mr Advani. But the
central contradiction between the BJP’s ideology and acquiring and
retaining power at the Centre remains. Short of indoctrinating the
whole country — a long-term goal — the prospects do not appear bright.
While tasting power, the BJP has lost its claim to being a disciplined
party of moral probity. It has become a political party like any other
organisation or faction, saddled with an ideology that divides, rather
than unites, the country. |
Polani Papa
WE arrived in Genoa harbour the day Pope John Paul I died in Rome in
1978. Fernando Konte, a senior Ferrari owner, was driving us from
Genoa to Pisa when the sad bulletin from the Vatican was heard. Konte
was known to Cardinal Tettamanzi, once the Archbishop of Genoa. He
explained to us how the dying Pope went through the ritual of being
struck thrice with a small, light silver hammer on his forehead by the
attending cardinal calling: “Albino, you are dead,” looking for a
response. (Albino was his baptismal name.) During a visit to the
Leaning Tower of Pisa we watched the television coverage of what was
happening in St Peters Basilica where Pope John Paul I had reigned
only for 33 days. His predecessor, Pope Paul VI, had died only a few
months ago. It was this tragedy of rapid succession that weighed on
the minds of the College of Cardinals which eventually selected a
robust and vibrant looking Karol Jozef Wojtyla as the new Pope, John
Paul II. White smoke started coming out from the chimney of the
Sistine Chapel in the Vatican where all the cardinals were locked in
without telephone or television until the new Pope was elected.
Sistine Chapel is located close to the Vatican gardens where
commoners like us could watch and observe the colour of smoke,
greeting each other saying “Polani Papa” (The Pope is from Poland).
Perhaps the demise of two Popes within a short period had saddened
them immensely. Within days of the installation of the new Pope a
commemorative silver coin bearing the figure of the new Pope with his
coat of arms was minted and released. The archbishop’s office in Genoa
very graciously presented us a set of the silver memento. The coin
weighed about 25 grams. I had occasion to listen to Pope John Paul II
both in the Vatican as well as in Mumbai. He had met eminent Vedic
scholars like the late Pandurang Shastri and others with mutual
reverence and understanding. The topics of their discussions ranged
from suffering humanity to research work at Tatwagyan Vidyapeeth in
Thane. It may be true that ritualism is waning all over the world but
the sight of millions of young men — Catholic and non-Catholic —
thronging Rome to see the Pope lying in state was impressive. |
Redefining RSS The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its affiliates remain completely oblivious of the fact that societies that refuse to accept the need to address the problem of generation gap are torn asunder. This is the prime reason behind its unending tailspin. Part of the problem faced by the Sangh Parivar is that the RSS fashions itself as a political family but is run like a conglomerate of proprietary firms where the writ of only one person runs large. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has its Ashok Singhals, the Bharatiya Janata Party has its Advanis and the RSS has its Sarsanghchalak as the ultimate proprietor of the edifice. Such a structure might have been of use when the RSS had a marginal role to play in national politics but from the time the organisations started having ambitions of evolving from a cadre-based organisation to a mass fraternity, controls needed to be eased from the top and the ones at the bottom needed to become more honest about the path they were taking. Since this has not been done, the outpourings of K.S. Sudarshan are natural and the poetic agony of Atal Bihari Vajpayee is also natural. What has come as an impediment to the desire of the RSS leadership to have a complete dominance over the BJP and other affiliates is the fact that ever since K.S. Sudarshan was elevated as the Sarsanghchalak some years ago, the RSS lost its moral control over the BJP because in the hierarchy of the RSS, Sudarshan is junior to both Vajpayee and Advani. Till the time the RSS had Rajju Bhaiyya at its helm. Big Brother was not just the national elder in the fraternity but was also literally the elder of the family. The change in the leadership of the RSS happened well after Vajpayee ventured out to be his own man — in contrast to the control exercised over him during the first few months of his 13-month long tenure when he had to welcome midnight visitors with the list of leader to be inducted in his ministry. By the time Sudarshan was anointed the chief of the RSS, Vajpayee had broken free of Big Brother’s shadow and instead of skillfully overcoming the relegation of the RSS, the new chief behaved as if nothing had changed in the internal equations within the Sangh Parivar. He also made no attempt to hide his dislike for Vajpayee and never reined in others within the fraternity who shared the same views. But it is not that personality clashes are the only factors behind the discordant notes being struck between the RSS and the BJP. Ideologically too, the RSS never came to terms with the fact that since the mid nineties, the BJP — a plan in fact authored by Advani — made a conscious shift away from the singular agenda of the party. When Advani used the ruse of the accusations against him in the hawala scandal and decided to make way for Vajpayee, it was as much a moral step as much a strategic posturing based on the assessment that the BJP would not be able to draw allies into its fold — vitally required by the party to have a shot at governance — with Advani at its helm. The strongman knew that his image was that of the hardliner and that neither would it be possible to jettison the image nor would it be advisable for fear of losing the support of the core constituency. The decision of the BJP to put some of the contentious issues that were part of its ideological platform on the back seat after coming to power in 1998 was a conscious decision taken with the aim of retaining new allies in its fold. The BJP knew that to keep parties like the JD (U), the Trinamool Congress and southern allies in an anti-Congress alliance, it had to compromise on issues like Ayodhya, common civil code and Article 370. In contract, the glee in the RSS was palpable — it believed that a Hindu Rashtra was on the anvil and this process would be controlled from Keshav Kunj — the RSS headquarters in the Capital — by remote control. Throughout the six years that the BJP headed a coalition government, leaders of the RSS were an exasperated lot while the BJP leaders kept citing the “compulsions of coalition politics.” While part of the BJP argument was true, there was also an unspoken assessment within the party that it had to start looking at issues beyond Ayodhya. The error that the RSS made was that it was not satisfied with the fact that allies of the BJP did not rock the boat beyond a point in the aftermath of the pogrom in Gujarat. The problem with the RSS was that it has come across as an organisational that would not be satisfied with anything less than complete fulfillment of its decades old belief system while the BJP emerged as a party that was willing to make concessions because of political compulsions. On its part, the BJP’s error was the basic assessment that the NDA lost the elections unexpectedly last year because of losing the support of its core constituency. The moment this was stated, it sent a message to the RSS that the return of the BJP to its singular ideological platform was imminent. But the political reality is that the BJP nurtures hope of another shot at governance during the tenure of the 14th Lok Sabha by forcing side. However, for such an event to become remotely likely, the BJP would have to remain the Centre-Right party that it was while leading a coalition and recent to its old image. The BJP, however, sent out signals to the RSS that the party believed in two set of rules: one while in power and the other when in opposition. While this is possible in a clear two-party political system, neither can be Congress nor the BJP wear different clothes while in government and in opposition. The problem with the RSS is that it remains caught in a time warp. Of the eight decades of its existence, more than five have been at the head of a conglomerate in a world that has seen dramatic changes. But the belief system of the RSS has seen tittle evolution resulting in its holiding on to its old dogmas. Any political party or organisation has to be dynamic and reorient its political outlook on the basis of changes in the country’s polity.
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Politics needs young blood While I do not subscribe to the ideology of the RSS
chief, Mr K.S. Sudarshan, I agree with his advice to Mr Atal Bihari
Vajpayee and Mr L. K. Advani to make way for a younger leadership in
the party. I believe that Sudarshan’s remarks should be discussed in
a wider perspective He has made a strong case for generational change
in the leadership of the BJP. And the issue regarding such change is
required to be discussed seriously by all mainstream political
parties. Like electoral reforms, it is must to initiate political
reforms in our country and generational change can prove a most vital
reform. Like Mr Vajpayee and Mr Advani, there are leaders in other
parties of their age, who are not in a mood to say goodbye to
politics. They continue to stick to important positions in their
respective parties even after being in their 80s. With their legs in
grave, they are keen to run the political show when there is no place
for the deadwood. In the corporate world, the electronic and print
media and even in literature, youthful minds have totally transformed
the scenario. And the same is required in politics, where a fresh
crop of politicians at the top level of their respective parties with
new ideas and craze to perform can bring about a refreshing change in
the rusted political and administrative institutions that have almost
become a liability for the nation. It is an era of rapid (not
revolutionary) change and not of the status quo. And only young
political minds can usher in such change and keep pace with it and not
the old political minds, who are unable to understand and grasp the
idiom of political, cultural and social life of a modern globalised
world. Take the case of the former General Secretary of the CPM, Mr
Harkishan Singh Surjeet. He was 90 when he made way for Mr Parkash
Karat, who is virtually half his age and belongs to a younger
generation of politicians. Mr Surjeet did not quit the top post till
his moving around with someone’s help on television screens started
embarrassing the party. For the past six months, Mr Surjeet has been
unable to read newspapers and recognise people because of an eyesight
problem. But he did not resign. Earlier, Mr Jyoti Basu, who is now
over 90, continued as Chief Minister till he became too frail to take
the load of the job. Mr Parkash Singh Badal is only a year short of
80. He has been Chief Minister of Punjab thrice and has been President
of the SAD for long. But he is not ready to make way for the younger
generation of his party. And Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, who is also in
his 80s, has recently made his intentions to rejump into politics,
though his son is also an MLA. Leaders like Mr Bhajan Lal, who have
enjoyed all fruits of their being in politics, still dream to be in
the driver’s seat in politics despite the fact that his family’s
second generation has already started reaping the fruits of his
political investment. And then look at Mr Narain Dutt Tiwari, one of
the oldest politicians. He has held eminent positions at the Centre
and in Uttar Pradesh. He is not ready to make way for younger leaders
of his party in Uttaranchal. Similarly, Karunakaran, Kurnanidhi,
Sharad Pawar, H.D. Deve Gowda, Madan Lal Khurana and many others (the
list is endless) should gracefully make way for the younger
generation. Karunakaran’s son Muraleedharn, Karunanidhi’s son Stalin,
Badal’s son Sukhbir, Gowda’s son H.D. Revanna, and likewise the
progeny of several other older leaders have entered the political
arena and let them now prove their worth. There should be a
retirement age for politicians in our country where politics is
rapidly becoming a family business and a monopoly of the rich and
mighty. The media should extensively debate this issue. There should
be fixed terms (two or three) for MPs, MLAs, CMs and PMs. Let there be
an induction of fresh blood at the top political level after every few
years. It will be good for the country. It gives some consolation
that most of the states in India have now relatively young Chief
Ministers compared to those in the 70s and 80s — Punjab has Capt
Amarinder Singh, Haryana has Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Rajasthan has
Mrs Vasundhara Raje, Andhra Pradesh has, Mr Rajsekhar Reddy. Uma
Bharti was 45 when she became the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
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Delhi Durbar The
Minister of
State for External Affairs, Rao Inderjit Singh, laments that though he
was allotted a bungalow on Safdarjung Road about three months ago, he
does not know when he will be able to occupy it. The bungalow is
occupied by SAD leader Sukhbir Singh Badal. As an MP, Sukhbir Singh
is entitled to residential accommodation several notches lower than
the sprawling ministerial mansion. What Rao Inderjit does not want is
an unsavoury situation arising as it happened in the case of former
BJP MP from Punjab Vinod Khanna when he was evicted from the residence
provided to him as a parliamentarian.
Laloo spews venom
Railway
Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav was seen spewing venom against the Gujarat
Chief Minister Narendra Modi after his car was damaged by Sangh
Parivar activists inside the hospital in Vadodara on Thursday.
Although the attack on Yadav was clearly a lapse on the part of the
state government, the words used by the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief
against Narendra Modi were unbecoming of a Union Minister.
Discerning television viewers were appalled to find Yadav call
Narendra Modi a “chooha” (rat). Laloo later called Narendra Modi a
fascist who wanted to eliminate him. He also found time to express
his sincerity of purpose by asking Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath
Chatterjee for time to make a statement on Monday. Neighbour’s
envy...
The new-found bonhomie between India and Pakistan has come
like a breath of fresh air for some literally. “The air is cleaner
here,” exclaimed Mr Shabbir Ahmad, Director General of Parks and
Horticulture Authority, Lahore. “I am told the difference is
compressed natural gas. Vehicles run on diesel in Lahore and they
pollute a lot.” Lest he should give the impression of being in awe
of anything Indian, thereby giving another reason for the Indian heart
to swell with pride, he counters that the famed Lodhi Garden is no
patch on the parks back home. “Our parks are bigger and better,” he
said rather unconvincingly.
Fumbling for words Delhi Chief
Minister Sheila Dikshit, at a function recently, was full of anxiety.
The otherwise eloquent Ms Dikshit was fumbling for appropriate words.
Referring to plants that have cleansing properties, she described
them as plants with Dettol-like properties. What’s more, the Chief
Minister kept referring to the Secretary, Environment and Forests, Dr
Pradipto Ghosh as Sudipto Ghosh, much to his
discomfort. Contributed by Gaurav Choudhury, Tripti Nath,
Ramesh Ramachandran and Smriti Kak Ramachandran
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From the pages of It is an undeniable fact that most Government officers in this country have a hearty hatred of every kind of representation with any connection with politics. It is as natural for them to have representation as for Conservatives to believe Mr Gladstone to be in Russia’s pay, and for certain Anglo-Indian papers to go into hysterics from fear of Russia. But, to be fair, all our
officers do not entertain this orthodox hatred of representation.
There are here and there men among them who do not look upon
representation as a crime, and are anxious to see the natives of this
country learn to effectively represent their wants and grievances. But
the number of such officers is very small; the majority look upon
representation as little less than sedition or conspiracy.
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Those that have devotion towards Me will get knowledge and renunciation and they will attain liberation from the round of births and deaths. — Sri Rama All the woes and pains of a man who hungers for the true name are consumed in that hunger. — Guru Nanak The devotees of God become ecstatic even with a little of a single Divine attribute. No one can contain within him the realisation of all His glories and excellences. — Sri Ramakrishna If you want to be perfect, go and sell what you have, give to the poor and come and follow me. And you will have treasure in Heaven. — Jesus Christ Leisure is a beautiful garment, but it will not do for constant wear. — Anon. |
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