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Rudderless party Rationalism wounded |
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Elusive consensus
Amidst political uncertainty
Traffic tips
Wanton misgovernance And the “anti-Blair” takes over… Rajni – the millennium’s ‘real’ star
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Rudderless party CRISIS seems to bedevil the BJP. Its national executive meeting in New Delhi bears proof that it is far from being a cohesive, forward-looking entity. Party chief Rajnath Singh’s attempt to gloss over the drubbing it received in the recent UP Assembly elections by blaming every other party has come unstuck. Former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, from whom he took the baton of the party following the former’s suicidal statement on Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah about two years ago, has put him on the spot a day later by asking some hard questions on how the party failed to win UP. The defeat in UP, followed by the one in Goa, is something that will rattle the party for years to come, as UP accounts for the largest number of MPs. The BJP’s return to power at the Centre is inextricably linked to its success in the most populous state. In fact, one reason why it chose Rajnath Singh for the post of party chief was that he belonged to Uttar Pradesh. The manner in which the BJP tried to field a candidate in the ongoing Presidential poll, too, does not bring credit to a party which has pretensions of coming back to power in the next Lok Sabha election. The Shiv Sena’s decision to break bread with the Congress is a sad reflection on the stewardship of the National Democratic Alliance by the BJP. It has also not been able to bring on board the NDA the Telugu Desam, which supported the BJP-led government at the Centre. The pity is that it is not even sure whether the Telugu Desam would support its nominee, Mr Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, although Mr Chandrababu Naidu’s anti-Congressism has not waned a bit. All this is reflective of the weakness of the BJP leadership. And to confound its problem, there is the failure of the BJP to throw up a second line of leadership capable of filling the gaps if and when they occur. That there are too many leaders jockeying for power is not in itself a bad thing but that they do not see eye to eye and cannot work as a team is what worries the party’s rank and file. All the BJP’s claims of being a disciplined party have been proved as hollow as the claims of popularity of some of its leaders, who have never won a direct election, although they claim to have choreographed the victory of the party in several states, including Punjab. |
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Rationalism wounded PRESIDENTIAL contests can be an exciting political process even without plunging to ridiculous depths. Surprises, too, are par for the course. But, UPA-Left nominee Pratibha Patil never ceases to astonish. The first brick she dropped was her statement that women in Rajasthan had to wear the veil to protect themselves against the invading Mughals. Predictably enough, this raised hackles and brought forth protests, including from knowledgeable historians. In a polity where “historical blunders” are not uncommon, the controversy did not drag on. Even before the public recovered from that faux pas, Mrs Patil has come up with another gem: communicating with a dead spiritual leader from whom she got a “divine premonition” of her being fated for greater responsibility. The issue is not Mrs Patil’s faith, nor her spiritual activities and inclinations, which are her personal and private affair. The issue is that such claims and proclamations have no space or role in the public realm. She is not a candidate for the office of President because of some premonition or some spiritual guru’s vision. Mrs Patil has been nominated to contest for avowedly rational and political objectives. To suggest that there is an element of the “divine” about choosing her for this election is absurd, unscientific and irrational. In promoting herself through such preposterous claims she is making herself a target of ridicule and scorn. It is constitutionally mandated that holders of public office should be possessed of a scientific outlook. Those who repudiate the scientific temper are ill suited for high public offices. The spiritual claims of Mrs Patil have no place in a modern, rational republic. If these are her predilections then she should, in fairness to the people of the Republic, be guided by them to her true calling and not to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Public discourse should at all times be guided by the rational and the scientific even in a polity that has its share of irrational aberrations, though as deviations from the norm. And come to think of it, she wants to replace a person who thought about “igniting the mind”, taking the country into the 21st century and making it a giant in science and technology! |
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Elusive consensus PUNJAB Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal made two interesting observations while concluding the debate on the 2007-08 Budget proposals on Tuesday. One, there should be a political consensus on a common minimum agenda to revitalise Punjab’s sluggish economy. Two, McDonald’s outlet in Ludhiana pays Rs 1 crore as value added tax annually, which is equal to the entire VAT collection from the industrial city. If the Punjab economy is in tatters today, it is partly because the successive governments have failed to contain unproductive expenditure and check widespread tax evasion. Leaders have thrived at the cost of the taxpayer. What is wrong with the economy is all well known. Competitive populism for electoral gains has ruined the economy. Punjab politicians recklessly waste the taxpayer’s money. The Central law has limited the size of the ministry but the government has violated its spirit by appointing MLAs as parliamentary secretaries. The state has a bloated bureaucracy. The supply of free power has financially crippled the Punjab State Electricity Board. Insufficient power has badly hit industrial and agricultural growth. Red tape, corruption and poor infrastructure have kept away private investment. The theft of power and evasion of taxes in connivance with politicians and officials is so widespread that it no longer surprises anyone. The McDonald’s example points to the rot. A smaller state like Haryana collected Rs 6,900 crore as VAT in the last financial year, compared to Punjab’s Rs 5,150 crore. The Finance Minister’s attempt for a consensus may find few takers. Leave aside other political parties, the leadership of Mr Manpreet Badal’s own party may not accept his economic agenda. Only visionary leaders rise above narrow political goals to work for common good, and the state is terribly short of far-sighted leaders. |
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A nickname is the heaviest stone that the devil can throw at a man.
— William Hazlitt |
Amidst political uncertainty
RECORDING his impressions about the people of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) in his Diaries, Pakistan’s first military dictator, “Field Marshal” Ayub Khan observed: “When thinking of the problems of East Pakistan, one cannot help feeling that their (Muslim Bengalis’) urge to isolate themselves from West Pakistan and revert to Hindu language and culture is close to the fact that they have no culture and language of their own, nor have they been able to assimilate the culture of the Muslims of the subcontinent, by turning their backs on Urdu. This has been a great tragedy for them and the rest of Pakistan. They lack literature on the philosophy of Islam”. Given such bigoted views, Bangladeshi anger at the contempt shown for them by the Punjabi-dominated West Pakistani military-bureaucratic elite inevitably led to the collapse and disintegration of Jinnah’s Pakistan. The seeds for Pakistan’s disintegration were, however, not sown by Ayub Khan, but by Jinnah himself, when Pakistan’s founder proclaimed shortly after the country’s birth that Urdu, which was not the mother tongue of either the people of East or West Pakistan, would be the sole national language of Pakistan (Ironically, Jinnah’s own knowledge of Urdu was itself questionable)! This strange imposition of an alien language so soon after Pakistan’s birth was the first nail in the coffin of Jinnah’s dreams. It betrayed a total a lack of understanding of the complex sense of identity of Bengal’s Muslims, who, while being zealous of their religious beliefs, were equally proud of their distinct linguistic, cultural and spiritual heritage. I recall that during the tumultuous days of 1971, veteran journalist Girilal Jain remarked to me that the emergence of Bangladesh was a “triumph of the heritage of Nazrul Islam over the ideology of Allama Iqbal”, suggesting that the birth of Bangladesh symbolised the victory of Bengali cultural heritage over religiously oriented separatism. Now in the fourth decade since its liberation, has Bangladesh really determined a viable and durable sense of national identity? In the answer to this question lies the entire future of that country and the future of its relationship with India and the outside word. The Awami League, which led the struggle for independence, was secular in its orientation. Sheikh Mujib declared Bangladesh a secular Republic. But the military rulers who succeeded him, Maj-Gen Zia-ur-Rahman and Lt-Gen Ershad were determined that Bangladesh should have a distinctive Islamic identity. Throughout its history, the major challenge that Bangladesh has faced is its quest for an identity that has Islamic features, harmoniously blended with its cultural and linguistic heritage. An excessive focus on religion, as the Pakistanis and fundamentalist elements in Bangladesh and elsewhere would like, would destroy the very basis of its struggle against West Pakistani domination. And if religion is to be excluded, how can Bangladeshis claim to be different from their Bengali counterparts in West Bengal? This quest for defining national identity has been the major factor in determining how different sections of the Bangladeshi elite view relations with India. Under the leadership of Begum Khaleda Zia the emphasis was on defining Bangladesh’s identity by building an adversarial relationship with India. Throughout her two tenures as Prime Minister, Begum Zia sought to unite her country by raising fears about Indian domination. This was reinforced by blatant support for separatists and insurgents in India’s northeast and a readiness to make common cause with Pakistan, in attempts to destabilise India. Reinforcing these trends was Begum Zia’s alliance with Islamic fundamentalist parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Islami Oikya Jote. Her aversion to the events of 1971 was evident from the fact that when her friend and Pakistan’s Army Chief, Gen Asif Nawaz Janjua died, she sent a personal message of condolences. (She had, after all, spent the entire life during the liberation struggle in the Dhaka cantonment). However, while thousands of Bangladeshis signed the Condolence Book opened by Indian High Commissioner Veena Sikri when Lt-Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora died, a notable absentee was Begum Khaleda Zia herself. In assessing the approach of the military-backed government of Mr Fakharuddin Ahmed in Bangladesh, New Delhi will have to bear in mind that its approach towards India will be influenced by its attitude towards the issue of Bangladesh’s national identity and towards its struggle for independence in 1971. Relations with Bangladesh have improved in recent days, with issues like border demarcation and trade and energy cooperation being positively addressed. The country’s approach to issues pertaining to Indian insurgent groups operating from its soil has been more forthcoming than in the recent past, though doubts till remain about its readiness to effectively prevent Bangladeshi territory from being used as a springboard for violence in India. The regime has acted decisively against Islamist terrorism by hanging six members of the Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen convicted for the serial bomb blasts of August 2005. But with political activities by mainstream parties banned, the Islamic parties operating from mosques and madarsas are having a field day. There also appears to be an absence of the will to act against terrorist groups like the Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami, an ISI-backed group with links to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, which is accused of involvement in terrorist attacks across India. The present “interim” dispensation recognises the significance of the 1971 liberation struggle and acknowledges India’s role during that period. It has secured the extradition from the US of Moinuddin Ahmed for his role in the 1975 assassination of Sheikh Mujib. At the same time, the real power behind the throne, Gen Moeen Ahmed, has dealt very toughly with leaders of both mainstream political parties — the Awami League and the BNP. There have been arrests of former ministers, accused of corruption, from both parties. Sheikh Hasina remains barred from political activity. Begum Zia is under virtual house arrest. Her elder son, Tarique Rahman, is behind bars for corruption and extortion. Her younger son Arafat Rahman was also detained. While New Delhi appears relieved by recent developments in Bangladesh, a prolonged period of military rule will inevitably strengthen fundamentalist elements there. Spiralling inflation is already fuelling discontent. While encouraging the present dispensation to restore democracy, India should refrain from shrill public noises on the subject. Pakistan is fishing in troubled waters, strengthening its links with extremist elements, many of which are funded by Islamic “charities” like Saudi Arabia’s Al-Harmain Institute and the Rabita al-Alam al-Islami and Kuwait’s Revival of Islamic Heritage. The growth of Islamic extremism in Bangladesh poses threats to regional and global security and will have to be diplomatically addressed
accordingly.
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Traffic tips
The
scientists who have predicted that future humans would live up to a 1000 years haven’t driven on our roads. For those driving in Delhi and the NCR, here are a few tips. If the car just ahead is driving along the left kerb, there is a strong probability that it would turn right at the next crossing. The converse may happen even more often since turning left reflects our current national compulsion. A green for you at the intersection does not mean absence of cross traffic. Statistically, minimum accidents occur when traffic lights are non-functional, which is why these are dead so often. At places you may notice white, yellow, single, double, dotted, firm, etc, lines painted on roads. No one understands what they mean, the police included. Switching sides at will is our national trait. It originated in the Haryana Assembly in the sixties. If you see two drivers exchanging blows in the middle of the road, it is because they know that justice comes quicker through biceps than through barristers. As a value addition, they are also easing the load of our over-burdened judiciary. If you suddenly find a car reversing into the flow of traffic, it is a driver, who, being busy on the cell phone, overshot his right turn by some 200 metres, and is now righting his wrong. Such actions save fuel by not having to drive up to the next ‘U’ turn and enjoy official patronage. Taxies are prone to halt abruptly in the middle of the road to drop passengers. If following, remain beyond kissing distance. Keep cushion for delays on account of VIP movement. And if you hear a harassed fellow driver speak out ‘pigs’, do not take offence; he is only using an acronym for people in government service. You do not need a music system; you can hear it from passing cars. If you see a ball of crumpled paper issuing from a speeding SUV, don’t get alarmed; it is merely a discarded samosa wrapper. Showcasing our agrarian wealth, tractors drive in the fast lane on highways, with their trolley-loads of husk spilling over half a lane on either side. These are simple machines, without frills such as tail-lights, and driven by progressive and forward-looking farmers who consider the use of brakes a retrograde step. Applicability of traffic rules generally follows the principle of tyre breadth; cycles, rickshaws, motorcycles and three-wheelers fall within the permissible width limit of exemption. Loos are hard to come by along the routes, but undergrowth and open drains abound. Don’t hesitate to blinker-halt wherever. For most motorists, looking up in life means driving on high beam. Watch out for cows sitting in the car path after dark. A recent government directive to give the bovine population a coat of luminous paint was stayed by the judiciary based on a PIL by cattle thieves citing loss of livelihood. Pedestrians believe the zebra crossings are meant for animals. Always keep your driving licence sheathed in a 100-rupee note. This simple precaution helps when flagged down for a
violation.
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Wanton misgovernance For
those who do not remember the past, there is no future’. This is particularly true of countries like India with a hoary past where there is a hunger for ‘Good Governance’. Unfortunately, good governance is being perceived as tinkering with the civil services and constituting Commissions for Administrative Reforms and Pay & Perks. There are hardly any efforts to rejuvenate India’s institutions and instruments of governance that have atrophied and lost their capacity to govern. This is the continuing tale of the last three decades beginning with the ‘era of Emergency’. It all started on the night of 25-26 June 1975, when Fakhrudin Ali Ahmed, then President of India, in a nocturnal bout of supplication, signed a crisp three-line proclamation: “In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 352 of the Constitution, I, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, President of India, by this Proclamation declare that a grave emergency exists whereby the security of India is threatened by internal disturbances.” I was then the District Magistrate of Chandigarh and that night was one of high drama in the Union Territory though on a scale much smaller than the capital city of Delhi. Nevertheless, the happenings reflected the deep depravity into which governance of the country was being pushed in the name of ‘security of India’. On directions from the Delhi Durbar, the Chief Minister of Punjab had called up the Chief Commissioner past midnight to say that Emergency had been declared and press should be severely disciplined. He was specific that The Tribune should be sealed and not allowed to come out that morning. The Chief Minister even wanted the editor of this newspaper arrested under the dreaded MISA! But functioning under our ‘bureaucratic cover’ we successfully warded it off only to incur the wrath of the then Chief Minister of Haryana. In his inimitable style he threatened that if Chandigarh Administration was not willing to raid The Tribune, seal its premises and arrest its editor, he will get it done through the Haryana Police. For this purpose he would not hesitate even to ‘take over’ the media premises and buildings! Indeed, the heady brew of the Emergency had commenced its task of intoxicating the powers that be! We in the Chandigarh Administration had to take some swift action despite absence of any official communication from the Central Government regarding the Emergency or any other instruction. Obtaining a copy of the presidential proclamation from the Intelligence Bureau, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Cr.P.C was imposed throughout the Union Territory and one of the Administration officials was appointed as Censor Officer under the Defence of India Rules. Chief Ministers were pacified to a certain extent. This was how the Emergency era commenced. During its 20-month run, the country’s hard earned freedom was extinguished and a parliamentary democracy turned into personal dictatorship. Fundamental rights stood suspended. Press was severely muffled. People moved in hushed silence, stunned and traumatised by the draconian goings on. Bulk of the civil service crawled when asked to bend. Higher judiciary bowed to the dust and were willing to rule that under the Emergency citizens did not even have the ‘right to life’. Politicians of all hue and colour, barring honourable exceptions, lay supine and prostrate. A compilation of activities of the President, Parliament, Judiciary and Executive during Emergency would reveal as to how governance and its institutions and instruments were ravaged and subjected to severe onslaught. With the proclamation of Emergency, the President had already suspended Fundamental Rights under Article 14 (Equality before Law), Article 21 (Protection of Life and Personal Liberty) and several clauses of Article 22 (Protection against detentions). MISA detainees were not even to be told of the grounds and period of detention. The PM had immunity from legal proceedings. The Emergency was far more devious than just a denial of personal liberty, arrest and torture of a few thousand individuals and forced ‘sterilisation’ by the State. It was about violations of democratic norms and the crude attempts to legitimise a new type of regime and new criteria of allocation of rights and obligations. It was the abrogation of any sense of boundary or restraint in the exercise of power, and the growth of arbitrariness and arrogance with which citizens were turned into ‘subjects’. In effect the Emergency had ripped apart the delicately crafted and carefully nurtured fabric of India’s democracy. Governance was devastated by the imposition of a highly concentrated apparatus of power on a fundamentally federal society and the turning over of this centralised apparatus for personal survival and family aggrandisement. The tragedy is that such a style of ‘centralised misgovernance’ still persists. Emergency excesses are being benchmarked and have become reference points for gross violation of human rights by fascist minded ‘leaders’ even today. Unbridled corruption and criminality are the outcome and India has been drifting towards “State kleptocracy” ever since the Emergency days. This is a system wherein ruling establishments arrogate to themselves the power and resources of the state and indulge in wanton misgovernance. State kleptocracy has rotted the moral fibre of the nation as a whole and institutions - legislative, executive and judicial - have been reduced to nullity. This indeed is the real legacy of the Emergency and the root cause of inequity and injustice we are witnessing in the midst of country’s ‘GDP boom’! We can ignore this only at our peril! |
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And the “anti-Blair” takes over… LONDON – He shows up for work in famously drab ties with his nails bitten to the quick. He hates networking, and didn’t marry until he was 49. He’s the glowering figure often seen harrumphing on the bench behind his preternaturally poised boss, Tony Blair, in the House of Commons. You might say he’s the anti-Blair, in more ways than one. The Shakespearean conflict that has been the brooding back story to Britain’s leadership ended on Wednesday when Gordon Brown, the brilliant and somber treasury chancellor who has stood in Blair’s shadow for 13 years, became Britain’s 52nd prime minister. As Blair submits his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II and Brown makes the long journey from No. 11 Downing St. to No. 10, the two political leaders not only pass the torch of government, but conclude a dramatic saga of intense friendship and rancorous rivalry. “They were kind of like a couple who’ve been married for a long time. They got on each other’s nerves,” said a former Cabinet official who, like many interviewed for this article, spoke on condition of anonymity. “They were highly interdependent. You look at their skill sets, they were completely different, and also completely complementary.” The son of a Scottish Presbyterian minister who prizes prudence and duty in contrast to Blair’s uncanny zeitgeist vision and engaging style, Brown, 56, partnered with Blair in fashioning the Labor Party’s decisive return to power in 1997 – and would have led the left-of-center party years ago, had he not deferred to the more dynamic and electable Blair. Promised the premiership after Blair had his turn, Brown has waited in growing frustration and resentment in recent years as his longtime friend found first one reason, then another, why it was not the right time to go. The political marriage between two men seen as exceptional but antipodal political virtuosos has paralysed government when it was bad – and lately it often was – but also produced a remarkable chemistry that created the landmark reforms of New Labor and propelled Britain to an unmatched record of sustained economic growth. “Gordon and Tony have had an intense relationship,” said a former Blair aide. “Mainly intensely good, sometimes intensely bad.” Brown ran the treasury like a powerful fiefdom, giving himself final say on how much money ministers receive in their budgets and often leaving Blair himself in the dark about the national budget’s final tax and spending figures until the last moment. This was, say those close to them, a result of the famous power-sharing deal the two men cut at a London restaurant in 1994, when Brown agreed not to run for the Labor Party leadership. What he wanted in exchange, according to various reports, was not only the next shot at the top slot but control over the economy and domestic spending issues in the meantime. “The degree of control he had was unprecedented,” said Derek Scott, an adviser to former Chancellor Denis Healey who joined Blair’s team as top economic adviser. Brown’s reluctance to delegate is legendary and stems, many say, from his characteristic impatience. “When you get to be prime minister, you can’t do everything. Therefore, you’ve got to trust and empower your colleagues more,” a former treasury official said. “But he thinks he’s smarter than they are, and he works harder than they do.” Brown has always been intellectually intimidating. “He’s blind in one eye, and he reads everything. It’s really terrifying what he reads. Scary,” said Irwin Stelzer, of the Washington-based Hudson Institute. Brown, who began as a brash and bookish young Scottish socialist, stuck closer to Labor’s traditional leftist ideals than Blair and never became the smooth politician that Blair is. As time went on, Brown seemed to smile less and glare more. He underwent a personal trauma when, after marrying public relations consultant Sarah Macaulay in 2000, their daughter Jennifer, born prematurely, died of a brain hemorrhage when she was 10 days old. The couple has since had two sons, one of whom has been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. There are differing reports over whether Brown engineered the mini-mutiny by Labour lawmakers last fall that ultimately forced Blair to announce his departure date. Nigel Griffiths, an old friend, said Brown was “horrified” at the letter signed by the rebellious deputies demanding the prime minister’s departure and had no part in instigating it. “Gordon coined the phrase, the reason we seek power is to give it back to the people,” said Griffiths, who is a fellow member of Parliament from Edinburgh. By arrangement with
LA Times-Washington Post |
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Rajni – the millennium’s ‘real’ star Amitabh BachcHan?
No – if one is to believe box office numbers. Whatever BBC may say to the world, the ‘real’ star of the millennium is turning out to be the 58-year-old grandfather, “Odori Maharaja” (the dancing king), as he is affectionately called by legions of his Japanese fans, and many around the world, who shriek, faint or throw money every time Rajnikanth appears on screen. The success of his latest Tamil film (also dubbed to be the most expensive Indian film ever made), Sivaji: the Boss, proves once again that the true king of Indian celluloid is an ex-bus conductor, Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, aka Rajnikanth. Amitabh Bachchan never had a reason to appear in a press conference, as Rajnikanth did on the eve of the release of Sivaji, and issue directives to his fans – in Rajnikanth’s words, the “five commandments” – which asked fans not to disturb public by bursting crackers on the roads, disrupt traffic after watching the movie, or write any political slogans on movie banners. The fans, of course, ignored the actor’s polite requests and conducted elaborate pujas of his effigy on the streets, ransacked a theatre when the print was late to arrive, and blocked traffic in several cities. But what is it that makes Rajnikanth such a phenomenon? Truth is that he follows a trend in Southern film history where movie stars such as MGR, Sivaji Ganeshan, N.T. Rama Rao and Rajkumar indisputably enjoyed quasi religious adulation. Southern stars spawn organised fans’ associations that have names, registration numbers, official stationery, and even offices. Rajnikanth is figure-head of one such cult. Unlike Bachchan, whose image is omnipresent, Rajni acts in one movie every two years, rarely appears on award shows, gives few press interviews, refuses to endorse any products, and thus preserves his ethereal exclusivity. Yet, the oversimplified story-lines of his films – a single man battling against the corrupt system – are laughed off by the popcorn audiences of the multiplexes. So, what gives rise to such stupendous popularity? What most people talk about is not the story of his movies but Rajni’s mannerisms. Notwithstanding the odd appearance of the ‘real’ star with his cigarette-scorched lips, balding pate and grey, scraggly stubble, what counts is his screen persona – boosted in Sivaji by airbrushed jaw and waistline, and countless colourful wigs. Reinvented in each film, this persona retains some constant mannerisms – the lighting of cigarettes, flicking his hair, style and gestures topped by ‘punch dialogues.’ One fan interviewed by Sun TV said of Sivaji that he would “start following the story only after the 4th viewing”! Rajnikanth is ultimately both an awesome and awful phenomenon but a megastar indeed. |
Over sensual man is a slave to his passions. pleasure seeking is degrading. Ishwara ordains man to remain like the petals of a lotus (surrounded by water without getting wet). |
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