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Trail of terror Hooliganism unleashed |
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Chamba is 1,000
Dangerous concept of nation-state
Waiting for maid
Development smokescreen in
Kerala elections Reading China Chatterati
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Trail of terror FRIDAY was truly a day of terror when enemies of peace struck at the historic Jama Masjid in Delhi and hurled grenades at their targets in Srinagar. Luckily, no life was lost when improvised devices exploded inside the seventeenth-century mosque in the national Capital. But people in the Kashmir Valley were not as lucky; at least five casualties were reported as a result of the attacks there. What is most appreciable is that the people of Delhi reacted almost like those in Varanasi, where 20 persons died in bomb blasts at the Sankatmochan Temple recently. Community leaders reacted sensibly by appealing to people to maintain calm at all costs and not to get caught in the traps laid by the forces trying to disturb communal amity. The people’s reaction must have caused frustration to the terrorists. They are the happiest when people get excited and indulge in violence. Not allowing the troublemakers to succeed in their nefarious designs is one way of dealing with them. After all, these killers have no religion. They have shown no qualms about targeting devotees at any religious place. Such places have been the soft targets of the killers. While strict vigil needs to be maintained at every sensitive place, religious gatherings deserve to be given special attention. By now there should have been proper security arrangement at all such places. Somebody must answer why this has been a neglected area even after what the country experienced at Akshardham, Ayodhya and Sankatmochan. Terrorism remains a major threat to peace and stability despite the successes achieved on this front so far. We cannot afford to be lax so long as terrorists operating under different Kashmiri nomenclatures continue to have their network intact in Pakistan. Bangladesh, too, is gradually emerging as another breeding ground for these violent elements. The lesson that emerges is that we cannot afford to lower our guards, at least at this stage.
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Hooliganism unleashed BANGALOREANS live with the knowledge that that dreaded entity, known as the “Rajkumar fan,” can strike anytime, anywhere, at the slightest of provocations, and throw normal life completely out of gear. And the expected happened at the passing away of the 78-year-old actor. Hooliganism reigned; pitched battles were fought between surging crowds and an incompetent police, vehicles burned and window-panes shattered, and several people had to pay with their lives. The usual explanation that is trotted out is that the perpetrators are not “true fans” but rowdies and vagrants looking for an excuse to loot, or make a satisfying strike against the state, under the impunity that ‘fanhood’ provided. The fan clubs, however, had come to exemplify not only pride in the Kannada language and the state of Karnataka, but, in a twist of the knife, the resistance against a perceived cultural, linguistic, demographic and economic aggression against Kannadigas. This threat, for both fans and many sections of the state’s society, came from Tamils and Tamil Nadu, Marathi and Maharashtrians, North Indians and Hindi, and, of course, English and the Information Technology industry. And there is a ready political discourse that exploits these sentiments without compunction. In that sense, the fans’ hooliganism and the apparent helplessness of the state machinery reflect the schizoid identity that Bangalore is grappling with. But for the police, and for the politicians in charge, this would be a poor excuse. They have clearly failed in their duty of maintaining order and preparing for just such an eventuality. Poor infrastructure has already compromised Bangalore’s status as an emerging player in the technology worldscape. A proneness to civic violence will not help matters. A highly talented actor, and one of the doyens of the South Indian film industry, is now no more. He deserved a better farewell.
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Chamba is 1,000 FEW towns in the region, let alone Himachal Pradesh, can claim to be as old as Chamba, which is now in the midst of millennium celebrations. But the ancient glory of the town is hardly reflected in its present status. Even the advent of luminaries from various fields of art and culture cannot gloss over the fact that Chamba happens to be among the 50 most backward districts of the country. If the public is wallowing in poverty, unemployment and lack of education, the landmark buildings of the town like the temple and the palace are also in a state of decay. The historic Chowgan has lost much of its pristine glory. In such a dismal scenario, the show of gaiety arranged to mark the historic occasion loses some of its shine. Union Tourism Minister Ambika Soni has done well to promise a helicopter taxi service for Chamba and other towns of Himachal. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has chipped in with the offer of a polytechnic college. But once the limelight of the celebrations is switched off, Chamba should not be forgotten, as has been its fate all along, thanks to its geographical insularity. The place cries for a comprehensive development plan. While helicopters are fine, the common man will be happier if the road network and the bus service are improved. There are many more such mundane demands, which can turn the place around. Good medical and education facilities are the main ones. But what the whole region needs urgently is better employment opportunities. Right now, there is little to look forward to. Traditional crafts like the “Chamba rumaal” and the “Chamba sandal”, which made the area well-known, cannot feed too many mouths. A thousand years is a long long time but it should be a time for the revival of a town, not euthanasia.
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The argument of the broken window-pane is the most valuable argument in modern politics. — Emmeline Pankhurst
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Dangerous concept of nation-state
Slobodan Milosevic: Serb communist-nationalist and President of the post-1991 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Franjo Tudjman: Croatian communist-nationalist and who led his country to independence from former Yugoslavia in 1991. Muhammad Ali Jinnah: creator of Pakistan. V.D. Savarkar, Guruji Gowalkar and L.K. Advani: Hindu communalists. What do they have in common? All have been advocates of the “nation-state”. The idea of the nation-state implies that ethnicity, religion or culture are aligned with territory. Its protagonists believe that different communities cannot live together; that ethnic division equals political division, and that every nation is entitled to its own state. The idea of the nation-state is illiberal because it implies that there are no intellectual or political differences within communities, (so the inference is that intellectual choice is unnecessary), and that the nation and state should be aligned, by force if necessary. By refusing to accept the equality of all individuals before the law, regardless of their religious, cultural or ethnic identity, practitioners of the nation-state violate human rights. In a world in which there are more than 2000 nations but only 185 states, and in which most states are multi-ethnic, attempts to make the nation-state a reality have, not surprisingly, resulted in discrimination against minorities, intolerance, bigotry, ethnic cleansing, genocide and war, and caused considerable human suffering. In fact, partitions inspired by the intolerant ideology of the nation-state have never produced “ethnically pure” nation-states, in the literal sense of an alignment of territory and ethnicity or religion. All partitions — in India, Palestine, Cyprus, Yugoslavia — left mixed communities on both sides of post-partition international borders. How could Bosnia, a republic in which Serbs, Croats and Muslims were all minorities, be partitioned into nation-states? Since communities were interspersed in former Yugoslavia it was impossible to create “ethnically cleansed” areas even by force. Tudjman tried to solve the problem by ejecting Serbs from Krajina and eastern Slovania in 1995; and Milosevic by forcing Albanians out of Kosovo in 1999, although they comprised 90 per cent of its population. Today those Albanians, brought up with a legacy of hatred, are demanding independence for Kosovo and seek to partition Serbia yet again. Milosevic mobilised popular support as a Serb nationalist; his intolerant nationalism only contributed to the decimation of his country. Ideologues of the nation-state have claimed that it will give their community the security to practise and protect their language, culture or religion. In fact, the opposite has been the case. In Yugoslavia’s multiple partitions in 1991-92 tens of thousands of Serbs and Croats lost their lives and property, thanks to the extreme nationalist strategies of Milosevic and Tudjman, just as tens of thousands of innocent Muslims were killed or became refugees because the communalism of Jinnah resulted in the partition of British India in 1947. And Hindu communalists, whose politics of nation-state also contributed to India’s partition, failed to protect their own coreligionists from the violence that attended it. The ideology of the nation-state is wrong because political and ethnic or religious identities are not necessarily synonymous. In India, where Hindus comprise 82 per cent of the population, Hindu communalists have also tried to put into practice the ideology of the nation-state. They have never won a majority of Hindu votes, and were able to form a government at the Centre only with the help of other parties. Yet Hindu communalists have sought to make India more “Hindu”. The method? Mr Advani’s Hindutva led to the deliberate destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992 and the planned communal violence in Gujarat in 2002. The political success of intolerant nationalists owes something to the failure of liberal politicians to craft a concept of an inclusive, pluralist nation. Since the creation of Yugoslavia in 1918 none of its leaders was able to forge an inclusive concept of all its peoples as a liberal political community. Tito, a Croat, fought for Yugoslavia against the Nazis during World War II. But he was a dictator who held his country together through a mixture of “divide and rule” and force, and he did not forge consensus between its different communities. In the election campaign of 1990 Ante Markovic, the last Prime Minister of former Yugoslavia and also a Croat, did present the idea of a united, democratic Yugoslavia but he failed to win a majority because he lacked the mass base that Milosevic and Tudjman managed to build up after 1989. So, it was easy for Milosevic and Tudjman to win a majority of Serb and Croat votes respectively and to drive deeper the ethnic rifts which led to war and Yugoslavia’s disintegration. Before Independence Nehru’s Congress was hobbled by a conceptual problem of its own making. Since Muslims were a minority in India, the Congress had minorities departments in the Muslim-minority provinces but none in the Muslim-majority provinces where the case for Pakistan was decided. It, therefore, failed to organize a Muslim mass contact programme which might have defeated the Muslim League. After Independence, when the Congress presented the secular alternative it usually won over the minorities. The successes of extremists owed much to the failure of the post-Nehru Congress leadership to build a strong secular platform and its deviation from democratic norms. An impartial government, and the building of consensus through democratic dialogue and development are among the best counterweights to communal propaganda. Since 1991 international and national efforts to stabilise Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia have promoted reconciliation and accommodation of different communities through an inclusive, pluralist concept of the nation and state. It involves respect for and the protection of individual human rights, which are most likely to be achieved by a democratic state which does not identify with any community. The ethnic, religious or cultural majority is distinct from the political majority, which may represent citizens of all communities. The 21st century Congress could learn from Milosevic — as from India’s Partition — that popular support of all communities is crucial for the success of an inclusive democratic party. In their different ways Yugoslavia and India were partitioned because ideologues of the nation-state were not defeated. They still loom large in India. If the Congress wants to strengthen Indian unity it must continue to persuade voters that secularism and democracy will keep the peace, which in turn is necessary to promote human development and security. It must show how advocates of the nation-state only weaken the unity of the country, and it must trounce communal forces for all time to come. That is the lesson to be learned from the authoritarian and divisive “nation-state” politics of Milosevic who led his country to war and
disintegration.
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Waiting for maid
Willy-nilly I enter the kitchen. Heave a deep sigh. A shocking — rather disgusting — sight greets me. Practically unnerves me. Can’t stand it. Saucers, katoris, glasses, bowls, spoons, pans et al.... a whole lot of them. Enough to make me jittery. As if guests were to come yesterday night only to add to my misery. Anyway, let me have tea first. Might be Chhaya ‘Devi’ obliges me with her “darshan” in the meantime. But no sign of hers. Chagrined I start cleaning utensils. My mind too gets to work. I should be economical in using utensils. Confess, I am not presuming she is there to do this odd job. Anything with the least dirt is piled up for her. I damn care for her cribbing. Don’t I pamper her with suits and other costly gifts on the festivals? A glassful of milky tea with parantha made with desi ghee daily she gets. Now and then my eyes get glued to the window facing the main gate. Dare n’t wash utensils with freezing water. Feel as if chill is running down my spine. Now I realise poor lady’s misery. “Could you make me a cup of tea?” It is Sahil. Without looking back I blurt. “Don’t you see the wretched lady has ....” Perforce he makes tea for himself and his old mother. “No mooli ka paranthas today in breakfast. Only bread or porridge.... Sahil, place an order with Moti Mahal for lunch.... Kyoonki aaj Chaaya nahin ayee....”, I yelled. Straightened my back strenuously, “Oh get me Moov at once”. Unwilling to quit the cosy quilt I lie in bed dreaming of a grand Sunday. But Cherry won’t let me. Has started whimpering demanding bottle feed. Suddenly, my eyes settle on the clock. It announces 8 a.m. How come no clanging of utensils in the kitchen so far. Perhaps the blessed woman hasn’t turned up. I jump out of the bed instantly and rush to the balcony. My pulse gets accelerated and the mouth gets dry at the very thought. Heavens bless her.... wish she makes my day! But there is no sign of the lady. Look for her right and left, left and right frantically like looking for a lost child. How dare she ditch me at her sweet will? Knows my “mazboori”...... Clever Chhaya has culled a holiday for herself but spoiled mine. Hell breaks loose over my poor pelt. Had big plans to go out..... wanted a change from the grinding routine of strenuous job and looking after home. Dreams gone awry. Came crashing down. Hear some noise outside. Next moment I find myself in the balcony. May be she has come. “Zara si ahat hoti hai.... kanhin ye woh to nahi....” The clock chimes 9’O clock...... Anon propels my heartbeat at jetspeed. Beads of sweat glisten on my face. Might be BP has shot up. One more visit to the balcony. Bend over the railing to look for her till the farthest end. Might be started late from her place. Thrilled to see a young woman in blue sari walking fast. She is Mrs Rattan’s
“bai”.
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Development smokescreen in
Kerala elections Kerala is a state that has prided itself on experimenting with and evolving ideologies, but no candidate seems to be fighting the elections on the ideological platform this time. Each of the major fronts has a wide spectrum of political parties, which could not have come together on the basis of ideology. A seasoned political leader, who left the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to join the United Democratic Front (UDF), is of the view that there is no difference between the two, except for personalities. But since the elections cannot be fought on the basis of personalities, development has become the issue. It has provided a respectable cover debate even as the traditional elements are in play in the background. The announcement of the elections itself was seen by the ruling UDF as a hurdle to development. Their flagship for development, the Smart City, was a casualty as the government was all set to flag it off against serious opposition. The Election Commission (EC) ruled that its signature would violate the code of conduct. The pursuit of foreign investment in the IT sector, in which Kerala had lagged behind, should have been non-controversial, but the Smart City was projected as the ugly face of globalization, working in concert with corrupt politicians and the real estate mafia. If LDF comes to power, the least it will do is to change its name and shift it to a tribal area. Whether the investors from the Gulf will invest their money in the new venture seems to be of no concern. The north-south highway, another vital project, which should benefit everyone, regardless of ideology, is the other big issue. The UDF had all but abandoned the ambitious project when someone in the LDF came out in support, but that turned out to be the symptom of a personality struggle within the left. But the leadership, which has emerged after the power struggle, thinks that a highway with a few exits cannot cater to the needs of Kerala, which is a never ending township from north to south. By that logic, many of the smaller European countries should never have built their highways. A more emotional argument is that mother Kerala should not be cut into two with a highway right in the middle. Does that mean that one front is against development? Not at all. Taking its cue from their comrades in West Bengal and China, the LDF does favour attracting investments even from abroad, with all the safety devices against the evils of globalization creeping into Kerala. It will go for smart villages, with emphasis on the development of tribals and underprivileged classes. Coca Cola, which went to a village to share the fruits of development with the villages, was, of course, chased out because it had to use the local water to make the drink. The new investors will need the technology to make soft drinks without using water. The UDF’s development strategy has its own angularities. It wants to go “very far, very fast”, but does not seem to know how. The capital’s best road, leading to the Raj Bhavan and the Kowdiar Palace is being repaired, uprooting the lovely trees which gave the road its majesty, while the pot holes in many other vital roads remain untouched. According to a UDF leader, the first priority is to develop the Vizhinjam harbour, but the government has done nothing to develop the infrastructure around it. Moreover, the development of the harbour will mean destroying the ecological balance and scenic beauty of the area by reclaiming land from the backwaters. The rumoured participation of China in the project may make it attractive to LDF’s rural development strategy. The development debate in Kerala is free of the features of the global debate about sustainability and the new indices of development. Both the Fronts identify development with economic growth and the environment movement in Kerala is too new to make any impact on local politics. The Fronts want the cities to grow into bigger cities and the villages into cities. Corruption charges and counter charges lie behind the development debate, each front claiming that the other is looking for projects that will bring it the maximum financial benefit. Neither has a clean image in this regard as each has skeletons jutting out of their cupboards. Neither can afford to run their expensive campaigns without the support of business and caste interests. Their agenda cannot remain unaffected by pulls and pressures. The development debate has swept under the carpet the ugly factional fights in both the fronts soon after the elections were announced. The uneasy arrangements forged for the elections cannot last beyond the polls. One of the partners of the UDF, the DIC (K) is counting on a hung Assembly so that it can swing the fortunes of the state to favour itself. The UDF has a recognized Chief Ministerial candidate except for the aspirations of DIC (K). The LDF has an on again and off again candidate for the Chief Ministership, but his image as an opponent of development may be used by his own party to pull the carpet from under his feet. In fact, had it not been for the hype by the media, he may not have even contested. Kerala’s own brand of caste politics, not seen as communalism in the minds of the Keralites, is very much alive, but even this has gone out of sight as a result of the development debate. But in the ultimate analysis, the determining factors in the polls may well be the traditional factors like ideology, caste, incumbency, personalities etc rather than the artificial arguments on development.
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Reading China THE world’s preoccupation with China’s sudden rise as an economic superpower is a matter of some bemusement among Chinese political leaders and intellectuals. Massive trade surpluses with the rest of the world? Embracing of free markets and globalization? The Chinese have been there before. As we in China see it, this is not China’s rise, but rather its restoration to its historical position of global influence. Today’s restoration constitutes China’s third great encounter with the West, following the Jesuit missions of the 16th century and the Opium Wars of the 1800s. The current encounter–this time between equals–will produce much more than economic competition with the United States. As China’s economic strength grows, no one, not even the Chinese ourselves, can prevent China’s influence from spreading into politics, values and ideology. It is in those arenas that conflicts with the United States can arise, and unfortunately, it is precisely in those areas that misunderstandings between the two nations run rampant. Most China policy analysts in Washington are focused on Western political concerns such as how to democratize China or old-fashioned security issues such as how to strike a balance of power within Asia. This hubris was as evident in the Bush administration as it had been among President Bill Clinton’s foreign policy elite. Except for a sober corner at the National Intelligence Council, Washington seemed to have turned into ancient Rome, believing it could manage the world singlehandedly, with or without friends. Sadly, when it comes to China, most Washington think tanks have stopped thinking. U.S. analysts tend to decouple China’s domestic politics from its foreign policy and assess the two separately. Chinese leaders never separate the domestic from the external. When Mao Zedong met Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger in 1972, Nixon made a somewhat flattering remark: “You have changed the world.” Nixon, of course, was referring to the Cold War bipolar system. But Mao’s answer reflected a different view. “No, I did not change the world, only the downtown or perhaps suburban Beijing.” He was thinking of domestic politics, lamenting that his Cultural Revolution, as brutal as it was, failed to change the Chinese way of life. Washington’s policy elites hardly deserve all the blame for the lack of mutual understanding. For a long time, Chinese leaders have been incapable of explaining China to the outside world. When the Chinese invent a foreign policy theme, they often deploy coded language that leads to more confusion than clarity on the international front. Whatever grand global visions Chinese president Hu Jintao might trade with President Bush in his visit to Washington next week, one thing is certain: When Hu wakes up every morning, foreign policy is far from his mind. Are farmers satisfied with the recent government decision on agricultural taxes? Would a revaluation of the yuan push millions of low-wage textile workers into the streets? And why is former president Jiang Zemin still active in politics behind the scenes? Such concerns dominate Hu’s daily activities. If China insists on the validity of its own development model at home, it must effectively explain how the world can remain safe for all civilizations. China’s leaders must prove–rather than just assert–that China’s restoration will not produce an inevitable conflict with the superpower of the day. By arrangement with
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Chatterati Arjun Singh
has managed to trap the political parties in the biggest dilemma of post colonial India. Vote bank politics will force them to keep quiet on reservation but their conscience will scream against the incalculable harm meted out to high quality educational institutions in India. The Election Commission has already issued a notice, invoking a spirited response from Arjun. The National Commission of Scheduled Caste is feeling left out at not being consulted. Hectic parleys are on at the IIMs to study the fall out, while the Health Ministry is considering how to give prestigious institutions like the AIIMS another blow in the form of quotas. Of course, the Knowledge Commission is shell-shocked and taken completely off guard by the decision. No politician is ready to incur the wrath of the electorate which is assiduously wooed and actively co-opted by the politicians to vote along caste and community lines. At a time when India’s resurgence on the economic front is being lauded the world over and emphasis is being given by our government towards encouraging free competition, it would be tantamount to the Indian government actively promoting a Brain Drain policy. The IIMs and AIIMS will buckle under the weight of this backward move and the faculty and management would display greater interest in opening centres abroad than here. With the threat of quotas looming large over jobs in the private sector, the circle would be complete. No one can be given license to play around with merit. Instead, a climate should be created for encouraging further competition. How does reservation help if the creamy layer is not prevented from getting further benefits? How is it justified to give the same advantage to successive generations? Hard core politicians would wish such arguments away, considering them as rantings of armchair critics, removed from the reality of voting booths and ballot boxes. The middle class has powered the nation by dint of hard work and intellect alone. To ignore them now will be at their own peril.
Media lessons With the elections on, the Congress, it seems, needs to take a lesson in media management from the BJP. Following the claims and counter claims of both the parties on election code violations in Assam, the Congress swung into damage control mode. The party has filed a complaint with the EC accusing Pramod Mahajan of holding a press conference well after the campaigning period for the first round of polls had ended, and thereby violating the EC’s code of conduct. In turn, the BJP accused the Prime Minister of announcing sops for the region that defied the same code. The Congress media managers were conspicuous by their absence and switched off their cell phones. In sharp contrast, the BJP went in for overkill, with Mahajan himself reaching out to reporters with clarifications, along with the rest of the party’s media cell-Prakash Javdekar and Ravishankar Prasad. Finally it was left to Sanjaya Baru, the PM’s media advisor, to issue a statement in defence of Dr Manmohan Singh
Rebirth Minister Anand Sharma inaugurated an art exhibition titled “Rebirth” by Suchitra Krishnamurthy. Her works seems quite spontaneous with an abundance of raw energy but she is still better known as director Shekhar Kapoor’s wife. One must admire the lady’s transition from actress to poet and now to artist.
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From the pages of Handcuffing of Dr Gopi Chand WE have received further details about the treatment accorded to Dr Gopi Chand Bhargava and Pandit Neki Ram Sharma when they were recently taken to Hissar to appear as witnesses in a case. One who met them in the train at Bathinda writes:— “Dr Gopi Chand and Pandit Neki Ram Sharma had handcuffs which were removed at 6-30 a.m. when they reached the Hissar jail next day. The handcuffs were removed from one hand when they took their meals in police lines; otherwise they were in handcuffs all along. They were not removed even when they went to the bath-room. They had practically to sit up the whole night. Their wrists are swollen a bit.”
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When Kings assemble to vie for the hand of a lovely princess, they try to outdo each other in scattering presents, food, gold and other wealth. It is the poor who benefit from it. They bless their lovely princess. — The Mahabharata All living beings are endowed with conscience. There is no one without it. — Guru Nanak Ego blinds one to the feelings of others. — The Upanishads
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