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London-based and most respected financial daily, The Financal Times, referring to the ‘disappearing act’ of Congress chief and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and her heir apparent son and daughter from India, said that the Indian media is quite respctful to the Nehru dynasty. How true it is. The context for the daily to make such a reference to the Indian media was the abrupt cancellation of British Prime Minister David Cameron's appointment with the Chairperson of UPA and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and the Indian media's respect for her right to privacy. For more than a week (as I write this column) Sonia was not to be seen in public or in the stormy session of the Lok Sabha.
For a flippant media which reports about the wedding sari of junior NTR’s would -be wife, or the suicide of some model in Mumbai or what a defunct Russian portal reports, the secrecy behind the whereabouts of one of the most powerful women in the world is NOT news!! Do you remember? When Atal Behari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister, even his routine visit to hospital for a check-up would create grave doubts in the media about his "failing health". So was the case with regard to PV Narasimha Rao as well. But Sonia Gandhi stands on a different pedestal for the media.
There were sketchy reports in one or two dailies that Sonia’s mother might be seriously ill and that must have prompted the Italian-born Indian National Congress chief to rush to be with her. A perfectly understandable and quite natural sentiment for any human being irrespective of the nationality or the position one holds. But should it be kept a secret unless you are flustered about your roots. People of India have accepted Sonia as a naturalised Indian citizen. Then, why should she be reticent? That is her personality. Except for election meetings, have you ever seen her interacting with the media on a regular basis espcially when she heads a party that has been ruling the nation for most part of the six decades, and especially so when she is also the chairperson of the ruling UPA.
The other charitable explanation that was given for the “missing act” , especially when the Parliament is in session and the country is in a state of turmoil on various fronts, is that she might be busy with “match-making” for her most eligible bachelor son. Assuming that this could be nearer to truth, why should it be under wraps, unless there was a fear that his former girl friend whom he was dating for years, might create hurdles.
Yet another excuse for the “unspecified emergency”, as reported by the UK daily, was that Sonia herself could be ill. If this can be given any credence, it is all the more reason there should be no veil of secrecy. She is not just the daughter of a soldier in Mussolini’s army taken captive by Russian army. She is the prima donna of contemporary Indian politics wielding extra-ordinary powers and slavish adulation by her partymen. People of this country should know what exactly is her problem.
You may wonder why the British daily took pains to report her “missing act” in detail. It is because just a day before her scheduled appointment with the British Premier Cameron, the meeting was cancelled citing “unspecified emergency”.
Anyway, for Indian media it is no NEWS. Television channels notorious for trivialisation of news did not go anywhere near this story.
Though media failed to take note of Sonia’s “missing act”, the wily Congress party was not perhaps sure whether the people (atleast the vocal minority) will have the same respectful attitude to the occupants of 10 Janpath, especially when three or four major issues are confronting the nation – Price rise and its fall out in Parliament, burning of Kashmir, internal disarray in the Congress party and Indo-Pak relations.
How to ensure that Sonia’s views on these issues are conveyed to the people of this country so that they don’t notice her “absence from the scene of action”? The party’s PR managers and spin masters came out with a brilliant idea. They caught hold of the July issue of party’s mouthpiece – SANDESH – and excerpted different pieces for circulation among the national media as fresh news items as though Sonia made those statements a day earlier. The Hindu carried a story headlined “Focus on J&K Development: Sonia”, (Source: Sonia’s letter to her fellow Congress workers in SANDESH. ) So, an impression was sought to be given that Sonia did not neglect the serious issue in J&K. Times of India addressed her concern on the internal bickerings among ministers while carrying a story :”Curb ego, Cong tells mantris”. Source? SANDESH again!
What about fuel price hike and the resultant inflation? How can the Congress chief be silent on this whether she is physically present in Delhi or visible in the corridors of Parliament or not? The New Indian Express came to the rescue of the party. The daily carried a story “Fuel price hike to fund Centre’s social sector schemes”. Source? What else? SANDESH!
The only sinner seems to be Deccan Chronicle which somehow missed out the story to register Sonia’s presence in India through her contributions to the party magazine.
Interestingly, there was no reference to the Commonwealth Games scandal in Sonia’s statements for the simple reason that the issue of SANDESH from where excerpts were circulated belonged to the month of July and the CWG scam broke out only last week.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
TALIBAN IN GOD'S OWN COUNTRY
“There are plans to Islamise Kerala in 20 years using money and marriages. Popular Front of India (PFI) is trying to multiply Muslim numbers in the state by influencing youth of other religions and converting them by giving money, marrying them to Muslim women and thus producing kids of the community”.
Who uttered this unspeakable communal gibberish? I won’t be surprised if you think that this “rabidly communal” statement is either from Nitin Gadkari or Parveen Tokadia or some hard-core Hindu fundamentalists. But the surprise is that this was the statement of a chief minister whose party has always been a great benefactor of the minorities and whose cause they always upheld while deriding the majority community in the country in one sweeping statement as “communal”. How can we forget that it was the CPM chief minister EMS Namboodiripad was who responsible for the creation of a separate Muslim majority district, Malappuram, which has now become the hotbed of Islamic terrorism.
Yes, the statement was from Kerala chief minister VS Achutanandan. He also said that the radical Muslim outfit –Popular Front of India (PFI) was aiming to convert Kerala into a “Muslim Country”. Let us not mistake him that he was trying to score political points over his home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. CPM general secretary Prakash Karat did not differ from his CM either. A day earlier Karat also warned the state against the threat of Muslim terrorism in the context of the PFI activities.
Achutaanandan being the head of the government was probably concerned about the terrorist activities in the state. He says the PFI in its earlier avatar as National Development Front had given training, money and weapons to youngsters to eliminate opponents. Now they were trying to create a clean image by organising freedom parades on the Independence Day. Several district administrations had already banned the parade, he said.
It is no secret that Kerala which has around 25% Muslim population with lot of Gulf connections has become the hotbed of terrorism in the South. Even as early as in 2008, Kerala’s links with global terrorism came to light when three Keralites were killed in an encounter in Kashmir. It is now the CPM has woken up from its deep slumber.
What triggered the wrath of the Communists in the state was the attack on a college professor T J Joseph whose hand was chopped off in Taliban style. What was his crime? He was reported to have set a question paper for internal examination in the college which allegedly hurt Muslim sentiments.
Since the PFI role was suspected in the case, Police raided its offices and “it exposed PFI’s pan-Islamist network fed by a heady mix of Wahhabism and hawala”. The raid also brought to light al-Qaueda training, tapes,Taliban style courts that dispense justice according to Shariat law, literature on conversion, explosives enough to kill dozens and documents indicating unusual interest in the Indian Navy. It was also reported that it was one of the PFI’s Taliban-style courts in Kottayam district that drove them to sever the limbs of Joseph.
Interestingly, however, the state home minister K Balakrishnan does not subscribe to the view that Taliban style courts are functioning in his state though his own Police were aghast while viewing the CDs seized from PFI. According to the police, the CDs showed brutal punishment like severing of limbs of the enemies of Faith. Activists were also made to slaughter animals so as prepare them for human slaughter.
Well, the question is whether it is genuine transformation for the Kerala communists to realise the true colours of Muslim extremists and contours of jihadi extremism, especially after they passed a resolution in the Kerala Assembly for the release of Abdul Nasser Madani from Coimbatore jail where he was incarcerated as an accused in the Coimbatore Bomb blast case in which 58 were killed and hundreds injured. After his release, he formed a political party which supported the Left Democratic Front in 2007 elections. After Madani’s Islamic Sevak Sangh was banned, it was renamed as NDF in 1993. The strategy was not to have a name which will sound Islamic or Arabic, but national so as to hoodwink the people. Therefore, he latest avatar of NDF is Popular Front of India formed in 2006.
PFI’s activities include “Love Jihad”. The modus operandi is to finance Muslim youth for getting the latest gadgets and attire to lure non-Hindu girls with promises of marriage, convert them into Islam and drop them at terrorist training camps. According to crime record bureau of Kerala police, 8 girls are reported missing every day in the state. In 2007 alone, 2167 girls and 2530 girls in 2008 were reported missing. Kasargod tops the list of jihadi conversions with 568. But only 123 cases were registered with the Police. According to one estimate, 4000 girls have been converted under Love Jihad all over India. That is why Kerala CM apprehends that his state would become Muslim country in 20 years and points his finger at outfits like PFI.
PFI, however, says it is ironical that both the CPM and RSS which have a long history of being actively involved in all criminal activities are speaking against the PFI. It was a sort of poetic justice when PFI says in its website “CPM in spite of its tall claims of secularism is basically a Hindu party in Kerala. The CPM is trying to consolidate the Hindu and Christian communal votes”. CPM which considered itself “ultra secular” is paid back with its own coin.
The PFI does not spare the Christian missionaries as well. It says “evangelists financed by rightist groups in the US are behind the Church in Kerala. They are high pressure missionary groups who raise money on the number of people converted – a charge that is often levelled by the Sangh parivar against the missionaries.
It is also felt that since the Congress at the national level and UDF at state level are wooing the Muslim votes, the Left is trying to consolidate Hindu and Christian votes. The CPM, for a change, is likely to play Hindu card in the coming Assembly elections. After all, both the CPM and RSS are speaking the same language on “Love Jihad”.
Who uttered this unspeakable communal gibberish? I won’t be surprised if you think that this “rabidly communal” statement is either from Nitin Gadkari or Parveen Tokadia or some hard-core Hindu fundamentalists. But the surprise is that this was the statement of a chief minister whose party has always been a great benefactor of the minorities and whose cause they always upheld while deriding the majority community in the country in one sweeping statement as “communal”. How can we forget that it was the CPM chief minister EMS Namboodiripad was who responsible for the creation of a separate Muslim majority district, Malappuram, which has now become the hotbed of Islamic terrorism.
Yes, the statement was from Kerala chief minister VS Achutanandan. He also said that the radical Muslim outfit –Popular Front of India (PFI) was aiming to convert Kerala into a “Muslim Country”. Let us not mistake him that he was trying to score political points over his home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. CPM general secretary Prakash Karat did not differ from his CM either. A day earlier Karat also warned the state against the threat of Muslim terrorism in the context of the PFI activities.
Achutaanandan being the head of the government was probably concerned about the terrorist activities in the state. He says the PFI in its earlier avatar as National Development Front had given training, money and weapons to youngsters to eliminate opponents. Now they were trying to create a clean image by organising freedom parades on the Independence Day. Several district administrations had already banned the parade, he said.
It is no secret that Kerala which has around 25% Muslim population with lot of Gulf connections has become the hotbed of terrorism in the South. Even as early as in 2008, Kerala’s links with global terrorism came to light when three Keralites were killed in an encounter in Kashmir. It is now the CPM has woken up from its deep slumber.
What triggered the wrath of the Communists in the state was the attack on a college professor T J Joseph whose hand was chopped off in Taliban style. What was his crime? He was reported to have set a question paper for internal examination in the college which allegedly hurt Muslim sentiments.
Since the PFI role was suspected in the case, Police raided its offices and “it exposed PFI’s pan-Islamist network fed by a heady mix of Wahhabism and hawala”. The raid also brought to light al-Qaueda training, tapes,Taliban style courts that dispense justice according to Shariat law, literature on conversion, explosives enough to kill dozens and documents indicating unusual interest in the Indian Navy. It was also reported that it was one of the PFI’s Taliban-style courts in Kottayam district that drove them to sever the limbs of Joseph.
Interestingly, however, the state home minister K Balakrishnan does not subscribe to the view that Taliban style courts are functioning in his state though his own Police were aghast while viewing the CDs seized from PFI. According to the police, the CDs showed brutal punishment like severing of limbs of the enemies of Faith. Activists were also made to slaughter animals so as prepare them for human slaughter.
Well, the question is whether it is genuine transformation for the Kerala communists to realise the true colours of Muslim extremists and contours of jihadi extremism, especially after they passed a resolution in the Kerala Assembly for the release of Abdul Nasser Madani from Coimbatore jail where he was incarcerated as an accused in the Coimbatore Bomb blast case in which 58 were killed and hundreds injured. After his release, he formed a political party which supported the Left Democratic Front in 2007 elections. After Madani’s Islamic Sevak Sangh was banned, it was renamed as NDF in 1993. The strategy was not to have a name which will sound Islamic or Arabic, but national so as to hoodwink the people. Therefore, he latest avatar of NDF is Popular Front of India formed in 2006.
PFI’s activities include “Love Jihad”. The modus operandi is to finance Muslim youth for getting the latest gadgets and attire to lure non-Hindu girls with promises of marriage, convert them into Islam and drop them at terrorist training camps. According to crime record bureau of Kerala police, 8 girls are reported missing every day in the state. In 2007 alone, 2167 girls and 2530 girls in 2008 were reported missing. Kasargod tops the list of jihadi conversions with 568. But only 123 cases were registered with the Police. According to one estimate, 4000 girls have been converted under Love Jihad all over India. That is why Kerala CM apprehends that his state would become Muslim country in 20 years and points his finger at outfits like PFI.
PFI, however, says it is ironical that both the CPM and RSS which have a long history of being actively involved in all criminal activities are speaking against the PFI. It was a sort of poetic justice when PFI says in its website “CPM in spite of its tall claims of secularism is basically a Hindu party in Kerala. The CPM is trying to consolidate the Hindu and Christian communal votes”. CPM which considered itself “ultra secular” is paid back with its own coin.
The PFI does not spare the Christian missionaries as well. It says “evangelists financed by rightist groups in the US are behind the Church in Kerala. They are high pressure missionary groups who raise money on the number of people converted – a charge that is often levelled by the Sangh parivar against the missionaries.
It is also felt that since the Congress at the national level and UDF at state level are wooing the Muslim votes, the Left is trying to consolidate Hindu and Christian votes. The CPM, for a change, is likely to play Hindu card in the coming Assembly elections. After all, both the CPM and RSS are speaking the same language on “Love Jihad”.
Friday, July 23, 2010
GEO-POLITICAL REALITIES
Who said that we forgot Mahatma Gandhi and his ideals and remember him ceremoniously only on Oct 2? It is not the whole truth. We can’t be untruthful to the apostle of Ahimsa and Satya. Yes, our government and politicians remember him whenever we go in for talks with Pakistan. What did Gandhiji preach us? He said if someone slaps you on one cheek, show him the other. That’s what we are doing very religiously whenever we get insulted by Pakistan. Go again across the border or invite them to our land and submit ourselves to have egg on our face again and again. There are some cheer leaders on our side who call themselves “incurable optimists” who want this to happen. For them, Pakistan is always right.
No, it is not just our External Affairs Minister SM Krishna’s smug performance and the “forbearance” he had to swallow whatever his counterpart Shah Mohd Qureshi hurled at him without any diplomatic decency that shows India in bad light. But Krishna did not show the same gesture to his own colleagues back in India. He started attacking Home Secretary GK Pillai for his “untimely” remark on Headley’s disclosures thus making him the scapegoat for the failure of talks. His tirade against Pillai also exposed the rift between MEA and Home Ministry. If at all there was any outcome on Indo-Pak talks, it was this. Exposing our own weaknesses rather than fixing Pakistan for its nefarious role in exporting terror. As a cartoonist put it, we need peace talks between our own MEA and Home Ministry before we think of peace talks or composite dialogue or whatever phrase we invent, with Pakistan. We not only showed the other cheek, but praised the one who slapped us when Krishna and Qureshi were on the same page on Pillai.
When Pak Foreign secretary came to India, he was no different from his minister. He termed the dossiers presented to him as “piece of literature”.
In fact, the first slap was when our Prime Minister had a summit meeting with his counterpart from Pakistan at Sharm-el-Sheikh. Our Prime Minister walked into Pak trap when he condescended to include Balochistan in the joint statement. At that time the scapegoat was, like Pillai this time, the one who drafted the joint statement and who now presides over our national security affairs.
It is no secret that it was our Prime Minister who was pushing for talks with Pakistan when he met Pakistani Prime Minister at Thimpu, undoubtedly under the pressure of the US whose strategic interests demand it. When Qureshi said that “India was not prepared”, he was only making a complaint to the US against India. Did you notice that even before Krishna could return to his country, the US started welcoming the talks? Now that the talks were botched up, why is Dr Man Mohan Singh adopting the message of Gandhiji’s three monkeys? Don’t speak evil, hear evil, and see evil. He should atleast sort out the turf war under his nose.
As if our discomfiture is not enough while dealing with Pakistan, especially over Headley’s disclosures, the US too is not happy over the use of Headley inputs on ISI’s active role on 26/11 tragedy. There was initial reluctance on the part of US to give access to Headley for Indian investigators. When the NIA succeeded in getting vital info on ISI, the US does not want to be the instrument for India to embarrass Pakistan and that is the reason the US wants India to act “responsibly”, whatever it means.
When we talk about Headley, we can’t ignore our own double standards. Krishna says Headley’s revelations can’t be ignored and Pakistan can’t be “selective” on fighting terror. Fair enough. What is our track record? When the same Headley says that Ishrat Jahan is an LeT operative, we say “we can’t take note of the statement of a person who is behind the bars in the US”. Why this “selective” approach when it comes to Gujrat or Modi? And how can you expect Pakistan to take Headley seriously?
When we analyse the Indo-Pak talks and the US pressure, we must realise one thing. It is not a sense of altruism to have peace in the sub-continent that the US wants India and Pakistan to bury the hatchet. It is guided by its own selfish interests. In a year’s time, the US will start its first phase of pull out from beleaguered Afghanistan where it finds itself in deep trouble. When it pulls out of Afghanistan completely, it does not want the country to be taken over by Taliban and al Queda and pose a threat to its interests once again. That is why the US wants Pakistan, its frontline partner in fighting terror, to engage Taliban who have entrenched themselves on the Pak-Afghan border. If Pakistan has to do that its eastern border with India should be free of tension.
But that is where Pakistan is playing a clever game. It wants US intervention to sort out all issues with India (read Kashmir issue) At the same time it wants to strike a deal with Taliban for dominance over Afghanistan. After all, ISI and Taliban have symbiotic relationship. At any rate, Pakistan wants to keep India out of Afghanistan so that it can have a proxy rule in Kabul. The recent donors meet in Kabul has confirmed this.
Afghan President Karzai too is a man in jitters. Once the US and Nato forces pull out, he will be made a mincemeat by Taliban and al Queda. That is the reason he is trying to have peace with Taliban categorising them into good Taliban and bad Taliban. “Inclusive government” in Afghanistan that India talks about is all hot air. Pakistan is going to recover its lost ground in Afghanistan and as an analyst put it, it will be a great reward for Pak army and ISI for their support to Islamic extremism and global terrorism. Since the entire tribal population of northern Afghanistan is not with Taliban, there is also a distinct possibility of civil war rearing its head once again in the country of rugged terrain.
No, it is not just our External Affairs Minister SM Krishna’s smug performance and the “forbearance” he had to swallow whatever his counterpart Shah Mohd Qureshi hurled at him without any diplomatic decency that shows India in bad light. But Krishna did not show the same gesture to his own colleagues back in India. He started attacking Home Secretary GK Pillai for his “untimely” remark on Headley’s disclosures thus making him the scapegoat for the failure of talks. His tirade against Pillai also exposed the rift between MEA and Home Ministry. If at all there was any outcome on Indo-Pak talks, it was this. Exposing our own weaknesses rather than fixing Pakistan for its nefarious role in exporting terror. As a cartoonist put it, we need peace talks between our own MEA and Home Ministry before we think of peace talks or composite dialogue or whatever phrase we invent, with Pakistan. We not only showed the other cheek, but praised the one who slapped us when Krishna and Qureshi were on the same page on Pillai.
When Pak Foreign secretary came to India, he was no different from his minister. He termed the dossiers presented to him as “piece of literature”.
In fact, the first slap was when our Prime Minister had a summit meeting with his counterpart from Pakistan at Sharm-el-Sheikh. Our Prime Minister walked into Pak trap when he condescended to include Balochistan in the joint statement. At that time the scapegoat was, like Pillai this time, the one who drafted the joint statement and who now presides over our national security affairs.
It is no secret that it was our Prime Minister who was pushing for talks with Pakistan when he met Pakistani Prime Minister at Thimpu, undoubtedly under the pressure of the US whose strategic interests demand it. When Qureshi said that “India was not prepared”, he was only making a complaint to the US against India. Did you notice that even before Krishna could return to his country, the US started welcoming the talks? Now that the talks were botched up, why is Dr Man Mohan Singh adopting the message of Gandhiji’s three monkeys? Don’t speak evil, hear evil, and see evil. He should atleast sort out the turf war under his nose.
As if our discomfiture is not enough while dealing with Pakistan, especially over Headley’s disclosures, the US too is not happy over the use of Headley inputs on ISI’s active role on 26/11 tragedy. There was initial reluctance on the part of US to give access to Headley for Indian investigators. When the NIA succeeded in getting vital info on ISI, the US does not want to be the instrument for India to embarrass Pakistan and that is the reason the US wants India to act “responsibly”, whatever it means.
When we talk about Headley, we can’t ignore our own double standards. Krishna says Headley’s revelations can’t be ignored and Pakistan can’t be “selective” on fighting terror. Fair enough. What is our track record? When the same Headley says that Ishrat Jahan is an LeT operative, we say “we can’t take note of the statement of a person who is behind the bars in the US”. Why this “selective” approach when it comes to Gujrat or Modi? And how can you expect Pakistan to take Headley seriously?
When we analyse the Indo-Pak talks and the US pressure, we must realise one thing. It is not a sense of altruism to have peace in the sub-continent that the US wants India and Pakistan to bury the hatchet. It is guided by its own selfish interests. In a year’s time, the US will start its first phase of pull out from beleaguered Afghanistan where it finds itself in deep trouble. When it pulls out of Afghanistan completely, it does not want the country to be taken over by Taliban and al Queda and pose a threat to its interests once again. That is why the US wants Pakistan, its frontline partner in fighting terror, to engage Taliban who have entrenched themselves on the Pak-Afghan border. If Pakistan has to do that its eastern border with India should be free of tension.
But that is where Pakistan is playing a clever game. It wants US intervention to sort out all issues with India (read Kashmir issue) At the same time it wants to strike a deal with Taliban for dominance over Afghanistan. After all, ISI and Taliban have symbiotic relationship. At any rate, Pakistan wants to keep India out of Afghanistan so that it can have a proxy rule in Kabul. The recent donors meet in Kabul has confirmed this.
Afghan President Karzai too is a man in jitters. Once the US and Nato forces pull out, he will be made a mincemeat by Taliban and al Queda. That is the reason he is trying to have peace with Taliban categorising them into good Taliban and bad Taliban. “Inclusive government” in Afghanistan that India talks about is all hot air. Pakistan is going to recover its lost ground in Afghanistan and as an analyst put it, it will be a great reward for Pak army and ISI for their support to Islamic extremism and global terrorism. Since the entire tribal population of northern Afghanistan is not with Taliban, there is also a distinct possibility of civil war rearing its head once again in the country of rugged terrain.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
WHAT SCIENTIFIC TEMPER? BULLSHIT!
There is no dearth of organisations that operate under camouflaged identities against the interests of the majority community in the country and to ridicule their faith. Pseudo-historians with unflinching loyalties to the ideology of the Left did it. Since the Left did not have faith in religion or God except the God they worshipped like Marx or Lenin or Stalin or Mao whose dubious record is extermination of sizeable section of the humanity in the name of their ideology, these historians also dubbed every faith and belief of the majority as mere “myth”. Therefore, Ram was a “myth”, Krishna was a “thief” or “womaniser.”They also endorsed the Raj’s “invention” of Aryn invasion which has now been conclusively proved to be unadulterated falsehood.
The second category of Hindu-baiters are the secular pretenders. Their only agenda has been to run down all those symbols of the majority community, their ethos and civilizational values. Hindus were mere pagans and they had no sense of history and their values do not go well with the modern civilization and scientific temper.
The third category is the so-called “civil society groups” or differently called “Human Rights Activists”. They won’t mind hobnobbing with the Left extremists or Jihadis and espousing their cause knowing full well that both these groups are anti-national and are working only to overthrow democracy. These groups, whatever their nomenclature, are the front organisations for the “destructive forces” that have been unleashed in this country.
If you have to list out such organisations this column is not adequate for me. But I can name only one organisation which has been in the news recently and which works against the faith and belief of the majority community in the name of science and spreading scientific temper among the people. If you scratch the surface what stands out is their anti-Hindu mindset. It is Jana Vignana Vedika (JVV).
JVV has been running a campaign against the “fish medicine” distributed free of cost by Bathini family to asthmatics for more than 160 years. First, the herbal paste that was given to lakhs of patients from all over the country and abroad every year was ridiculed saying that it was nothing but quackery or at worst, contained “steroids”. Lot of scientific tests were conducted and cases were filed in the courts to restrain the family from going ahead with the distribution of the herbal paste. Ultimately, the scientific tests proved that the paste did not contain “steroids” nor any harmful substance for human consumption. The cases were therefore disposed of.
But this organisation which swears by science could not stomach the clean chit given by scientific institutions. Therefore, this year they came with yet another excuse to stop the distribution of herbal paste. The outfit felt that administration of fish medicine in the manner it was done, could spread contagious diseases due to contamination of water and fish. It held a seminar in Hyderabad on the eve of the distribution of “fish medicine”. A dentist was drafted to endorse its “discovery” that mouth infections like oral herpes, ulcer and other communicable diseases could spread due to consumption of “fish medicine”. Therefore, the JVV wanted the government to take action against Bathina brothers for “exploiting gullible asthmatics”.
After all, you expect an organisation which operates in the name of science to be “scientific” in its approach. Since this practice of administering fish medicine with fish fingerlings as the medium has been going on for decades, do they have any well-documented case histories of patients who suffered contagious disease, oral herpes or other communicable diseases after the administration of medicine? Simply bringing in doctors to endorse the JVV’s prejudice or imagined fear is not science.
The JVV talks about “exploitation of the gullible”. However, media reports say that most of those who came to Hyderabad for fish medicine were not first-timers. Unless, they had reasons to believe that the medicine had some effect on them, they will not be “gullible” enough to come for the second time or third time from distant places. What right JVV has got to question their faith, assuming that it is just faith that may cure?
There are apostles in other religions who claim that they can make a dumb speak, deaf to hear, paraplegic to walk etc etc. They do it on public platforms in the name of “miracle cure”. What happened to the “Vignana” of JVV not to question such practices? Is it not exploitation of the gullible for “harvesting of souls”? Atleast the Bathini family does not have any such ulterior motive in the distribution of fish medicine. That is where the JVV stands exposed with regard to its real intentions. Will it undertake such a virulent campaign if the “fish medicine” were to be distributed either by a Moulvi or Maulana with the active support of MIM? No chance!
True, some of the allopaths also joined the campaign of the JVV. It is no surprise because they have not accepted any other system of medicine and they have been branding such non-allopathic system as “quackery”. If lakhs of people throng for cure in a different system, their branch of medicare is threatened. Some of them demand that the ingredients of the fish medicine to be made public. Well, will they get the Coke formula made public especially when it is consumed by millions of people all over the world and especially when it is proved to be harmful to human health?
Interestingly, some Jain organisations also joined the campaign for entirely different reasons. They were not against the medicine as such, but the fish that is used for administering the medicine. Their concern was for thousands of fish fingerlings that sacrificed themselves for the benefit of man. Understandable. But they can’t question the right of any individual to be a non-vegetarian just because Jains are vegetarians.
I have a suggestion for JVV. Will it take the trouble of spreading scientific awareness with regard to some minor day-to-day issues? One could see even the urban elites spitting on the roads, public places and parks. Is it a healthy habit for the society? There are umpteen road side tiffin centres which are run on most unhygienic conditions leading to gastro problems among the people. Dairy farms are run in thickly populated areas leading to mosquito menace. These are happening throughout the year and not just for one day in a year. These are the issues, among many others, on which the society has to create scientific awareness among the people rather than running after a family which has been doing some service with all good intentions. There is no documentary evidence to prove their intentions to be otherwise except that they sport religious marks which becomes unpalatable to outfits like JVV.
The second category of Hindu-baiters are the secular pretenders. Their only agenda has been to run down all those symbols of the majority community, their ethos and civilizational values. Hindus were mere pagans and they had no sense of history and their values do not go well with the modern civilization and scientific temper.
The third category is the so-called “civil society groups” or differently called “Human Rights Activists”. They won’t mind hobnobbing with the Left extremists or Jihadis and espousing their cause knowing full well that both these groups are anti-national and are working only to overthrow democracy. These groups, whatever their nomenclature, are the front organisations for the “destructive forces” that have been unleashed in this country.
If you have to list out such organisations this column is not adequate for me. But I can name only one organisation which has been in the news recently and which works against the faith and belief of the majority community in the name of science and spreading scientific temper among the people. If you scratch the surface what stands out is their anti-Hindu mindset. It is Jana Vignana Vedika (JVV).
JVV has been running a campaign against the “fish medicine” distributed free of cost by Bathini family to asthmatics for more than 160 years. First, the herbal paste that was given to lakhs of patients from all over the country and abroad every year was ridiculed saying that it was nothing but quackery or at worst, contained “steroids”. Lot of scientific tests were conducted and cases were filed in the courts to restrain the family from going ahead with the distribution of the herbal paste. Ultimately, the scientific tests proved that the paste did not contain “steroids” nor any harmful substance for human consumption. The cases were therefore disposed of.
But this organisation which swears by science could not stomach the clean chit given by scientific institutions. Therefore, this year they came with yet another excuse to stop the distribution of herbal paste. The outfit felt that administration of fish medicine in the manner it was done, could spread contagious diseases due to contamination of water and fish. It held a seminar in Hyderabad on the eve of the distribution of “fish medicine”. A dentist was drafted to endorse its “discovery” that mouth infections like oral herpes, ulcer and other communicable diseases could spread due to consumption of “fish medicine”. Therefore, the JVV wanted the government to take action against Bathina brothers for “exploiting gullible asthmatics”.
After all, you expect an organisation which operates in the name of science to be “scientific” in its approach. Since this practice of administering fish medicine with fish fingerlings as the medium has been going on for decades, do they have any well-documented case histories of patients who suffered contagious disease, oral herpes or other communicable diseases after the administration of medicine? Simply bringing in doctors to endorse the JVV’s prejudice or imagined fear is not science.
The JVV talks about “exploitation of the gullible”. However, media reports say that most of those who came to Hyderabad for fish medicine were not first-timers. Unless, they had reasons to believe that the medicine had some effect on them, they will not be “gullible” enough to come for the second time or third time from distant places. What right JVV has got to question their faith, assuming that it is just faith that may cure?
There are apostles in other religions who claim that they can make a dumb speak, deaf to hear, paraplegic to walk etc etc. They do it on public platforms in the name of “miracle cure”. What happened to the “Vignana” of JVV not to question such practices? Is it not exploitation of the gullible for “harvesting of souls”? Atleast the Bathini family does not have any such ulterior motive in the distribution of fish medicine. That is where the JVV stands exposed with regard to its real intentions. Will it undertake such a virulent campaign if the “fish medicine” were to be distributed either by a Moulvi or Maulana with the active support of MIM? No chance!
True, some of the allopaths also joined the campaign of the JVV. It is no surprise because they have not accepted any other system of medicine and they have been branding such non-allopathic system as “quackery”. If lakhs of people throng for cure in a different system, their branch of medicare is threatened. Some of them demand that the ingredients of the fish medicine to be made public. Well, will they get the Coke formula made public especially when it is consumed by millions of people all over the world and especially when it is proved to be harmful to human health?
Interestingly, some Jain organisations also joined the campaign for entirely different reasons. They were not against the medicine as such, but the fish that is used for administering the medicine. Their concern was for thousands of fish fingerlings that sacrificed themselves for the benefit of man. Understandable. But they can’t question the right of any individual to be a non-vegetarian just because Jains are vegetarians.
I have a suggestion for JVV. Will it take the trouble of spreading scientific awareness with regard to some minor day-to-day issues? One could see even the urban elites spitting on the roads, public places and parks. Is it a healthy habit for the society? There are umpteen road side tiffin centres which are run on most unhygienic conditions leading to gastro problems among the people. Dairy farms are run in thickly populated areas leading to mosquito menace. These are happening throughout the year and not just for one day in a year. These are the issues, among many others, on which the society has to create scientific awareness among the people rather than running after a family which has been doing some service with all good intentions. There is no documentary evidence to prove their intentions to be otherwise except that they sport religious marks which becomes unpalatable to outfits like JVV.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
A NEW LOW IN JOURNALISTIC STANDARDS
With two Telugu news channels devoting almost the entire air time on Tuesday (June 1,10) on a non-issue, as if nothing else happened in the world, it becomes very clear that the powerful visual media outlets have become a tool in the hands of the proprietors to settle personal scores. Besides, television channels have come handy for the disgruntled elements in society to misuse this medium for their own personal agenda.
Let’s take the case of Nityananda. I am not here to hold brief for him. The very fact that he hid himself in a remote village in Himachal Pradesh for two months and chose to be in touch with the outside world through his website does not speak high of his personal character. You don’t expect this from someone who calls himself “Swami” and much worse, “Paramahamsa”. A disgruntled disciple in his own Ashram thought of using the television medium to “expose” Nityananda and a channel which allegedly had some problem with him on land deals, readily obliged the estranged disciple. The channel may claim that it telecast the tape showing Nityananda in a compromising position in “public interest”. May be. I am not here to dispute that. In the process, the channel only helped a grumpy disciple to settle scores with his master. In other words, the channel allowed itself to be used by someone who had a different agenda. Is it ethical?
Close on the heels of this episode, someone who did not like the style of functioning of a Swami in Shimoga, planned to prepare a CD using the look alike of the Swami and showing him to be in a compromising position with women and to circulate it among the television channels in Karnataka. Timely intervention by the Police saved the Swami’s honour. Otherwise, the channels in Karnataka would have gone to town with the tape without any verification.
Whatever may be the defence of the channels in obliging such interested parties, what is irrefutable is that it sets a dangerous trend in the media world.
What is that dangerous trend was seen on Tuesday when two Telugu news channels – NTV and ABN-Andhra Jyoti – kept on telecasting charges and counter charges throughout the day. The issue revolved around another Swami. This time, it was Swami Swarupananda of Vizag-based Sarada Peetam. This Peetam itself is a new one and may be, he is a self-styled Swami. That is beside the point. Bhakti TV, a devotional channel from the NTV stable, has been telecasting Swarupananda’s religious discourses in the channel. The charge by the Swami was that the CEO of NTV demanded one crore rupees for telecasting his discourses and blackmailed him. Incidentally, the same CEO had to quit two television channels earlier under a cloud and the allegations, (one does not know about the veracity of the charges) were similar – extortion and blackmail. The Swami recorded the telephone conversation with CEO of NTV and other business executives and gave the tape to ABN-Andhra Jyoti which readily obliged to telecast the audio tape.
Why did the Swami give the tape to this particular channel when there are twelve more news channels in Telugu? Thereby hangs a tale. Proprietors of NTV and ABN-AJ have long standing rivalry though both belong to the same caste. It appears caste does not seem to be a uniting factor when it comes to business rivalry. ABN-AJ found the tape a wonderful weapon to run down NTV and to paint the proprietor as a blackmailer.
How can NTV take it lying down? It started a propaganda war against ABN-AJ proprietor and Swarupananda. The channel, without any shred of evidence made all sorts of allegations against the Sarada Peetam chief, like land grabbing, misuse of funds donated by the devotees. NTV also carried a spoof in Telangana dialect poking fun at the Swami in a most disgusting language. It was a mockery of press freedom. It is for the legal pundits to examine whether the channel crossed all limits of press freedom and abused it for personal vendetta without any iota of public interest. To make matters worse, the channel used journalists to wage a proxy war against ABN-AJ proprietor and recalled all his past misdemeanours.
This does not mean ABN-AJ emerged as a paragon of virtues. The proprietor himself, a journalist of sorts in his “Poorvashram”, came on the screen in a Q&A programme and dared the rival channel to come out with evidence, if it has any, against him.
We have seen sensationalisation of news, trivialisation of news; but Tuesday saw a new low in journalistic abuse by the proprietors. If NTV blackmailed the Swami, he was free to approach the Police. Of course, he did it, but only after inflicting damage on the channel, for which another channel was a party. Thus, the channels, as I mentioned earlier, have become a tool for blackmail. It will be a misnomer to call them “news channels” or we may have to redefine the concept of “news”. There was a time when a newspaper will not even carry a clarificatory rejoinder if the original story appeared in another daily. But the competition and entry of people who have no commitment to the media except for the political clout one derives to erase the past , the rules of the game have changed. These proprietors have even usurped the office of “editor”. Editors’ prerogative no longer exists and this institution of “editors” itself is facing the threat of extinction.
Someone asked me what is the remedy for this disturbing trend. We need a media council with enough teeth and powers for punitive action to closely monitor these channels and pull them up whenever they go astray. In a democratic set up, we can’t prevent anyone from starting a channel or launching a newspaper. We can only activate the civil society to form media vigil groups so as to create awareness among the readers and viewers to shun those rogue media outlets. Of course, this is easier said than done.
Let’s take the case of Nityananda. I am not here to hold brief for him. The very fact that he hid himself in a remote village in Himachal Pradesh for two months and chose to be in touch with the outside world through his website does not speak high of his personal character. You don’t expect this from someone who calls himself “Swami” and much worse, “Paramahamsa”. A disgruntled disciple in his own Ashram thought of using the television medium to “expose” Nityananda and a channel which allegedly had some problem with him on land deals, readily obliged the estranged disciple. The channel may claim that it telecast the tape showing Nityananda in a compromising position in “public interest”. May be. I am not here to dispute that. In the process, the channel only helped a grumpy disciple to settle scores with his master. In other words, the channel allowed itself to be used by someone who had a different agenda. Is it ethical?
Close on the heels of this episode, someone who did not like the style of functioning of a Swami in Shimoga, planned to prepare a CD using the look alike of the Swami and showing him to be in a compromising position with women and to circulate it among the television channels in Karnataka. Timely intervention by the Police saved the Swami’s honour. Otherwise, the channels in Karnataka would have gone to town with the tape without any verification.
Whatever may be the defence of the channels in obliging such interested parties, what is irrefutable is that it sets a dangerous trend in the media world.
What is that dangerous trend was seen on Tuesday when two Telugu news channels – NTV and ABN-Andhra Jyoti – kept on telecasting charges and counter charges throughout the day. The issue revolved around another Swami. This time, it was Swami Swarupananda of Vizag-based Sarada Peetam. This Peetam itself is a new one and may be, he is a self-styled Swami. That is beside the point. Bhakti TV, a devotional channel from the NTV stable, has been telecasting Swarupananda’s religious discourses in the channel. The charge by the Swami was that the CEO of NTV demanded one crore rupees for telecasting his discourses and blackmailed him. Incidentally, the same CEO had to quit two television channels earlier under a cloud and the allegations, (one does not know about the veracity of the charges) were similar – extortion and blackmail. The Swami recorded the telephone conversation with CEO of NTV and other business executives and gave the tape to ABN-Andhra Jyoti which readily obliged to telecast the audio tape.
Why did the Swami give the tape to this particular channel when there are twelve more news channels in Telugu? Thereby hangs a tale. Proprietors of NTV and ABN-AJ have long standing rivalry though both belong to the same caste. It appears caste does not seem to be a uniting factor when it comes to business rivalry. ABN-AJ found the tape a wonderful weapon to run down NTV and to paint the proprietor as a blackmailer.
How can NTV take it lying down? It started a propaganda war against ABN-AJ proprietor and Swarupananda. The channel, without any shred of evidence made all sorts of allegations against the Sarada Peetam chief, like land grabbing, misuse of funds donated by the devotees. NTV also carried a spoof in Telangana dialect poking fun at the Swami in a most disgusting language. It was a mockery of press freedom. It is for the legal pundits to examine whether the channel crossed all limits of press freedom and abused it for personal vendetta without any iota of public interest. To make matters worse, the channel used journalists to wage a proxy war against ABN-AJ proprietor and recalled all his past misdemeanours.
This does not mean ABN-AJ emerged as a paragon of virtues. The proprietor himself, a journalist of sorts in his “Poorvashram”, came on the screen in a Q&A programme and dared the rival channel to come out with evidence, if it has any, against him.
We have seen sensationalisation of news, trivialisation of news; but Tuesday saw a new low in journalistic abuse by the proprietors. If NTV blackmailed the Swami, he was free to approach the Police. Of course, he did it, but only after inflicting damage on the channel, for which another channel was a party. Thus, the channels, as I mentioned earlier, have become a tool for blackmail. It will be a misnomer to call them “news channels” or we may have to redefine the concept of “news”. There was a time when a newspaper will not even carry a clarificatory rejoinder if the original story appeared in another daily. But the competition and entry of people who have no commitment to the media except for the political clout one derives to erase the past , the rules of the game have changed. These proprietors have even usurped the office of “editor”. Editors’ prerogative no longer exists and this institution of “editors” itself is facing the threat of extinction.
Someone asked me what is the remedy for this disturbing trend. We need a media council with enough teeth and powers for punitive action to closely monitor these channels and pull them up whenever they go astray. In a democratic set up, we can’t prevent anyone from starting a channel or launching a newspaper. We can only activate the civil society to form media vigil groups so as to create awareness among the readers and viewers to shun those rogue media outlets. Of course, this is easier said than done.
Monday, May 31, 2010
INTOLERANCE ALL AROUND
NOTE: This blogger writes a weekly column on Sundays in Andhra Bhoomi- a Telugu daily from the stable of Deccan Chronicle. The following column did not appear last Sunday because it was felt that the column was "too harsh on Sonia". Obviously, the proprietor who is lobbying for a RS seat does not want anything against the Congress' high priestess to go in his publications. So much for press freedom!
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Congress Working Comittee member and a deemed intellectual of sorts in AP politics, K Kesava Rao always comes out with bytes which 24 hour news channels can lap up. His recent gem of a statement was that those who won the last elections on Congress tickets were able to do so only because of Sonia Gandhi’s pictures. Does this remind you of the extreme arrogance with which a great leader of the nation proclaimed decades ago that even a lamp post, if given a Congress ticket, could win the elections? KK was only humane to give to that status to a picture of Congress President and not to a lamp post. Making a statement alone is not sufficient Mr Rao. Being a so-called intellectual, you have to answer simple questions.
The Congress election campaign projected three leaders – Sonia Gandhi, the heir apparent Rahul Gandhi and as an appendix to these two, Dr Manmohan Singh. Do you think voters saw only Sonia’s pictures?
AP Congress chief also must have carried Sonia’s picture in his campaign in Nizamabad. Why
then did he lose and lose to a BJP candidate who was one of the two who were elected on BJP ticket in the entire state?
Out of 294 seats in the state assembly, Congress could secure only 157, a wafer thin majority. Does this not mean Sonia picture did not work in the rest of the constituencies?
Why did Congress seek alliances in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, if Sonia’s picture could do the magic?
Do you mean that for the Congress to win, a picture or just an icon is enough and it can replace policies and programmes?
Is it a tacit admission that Sonia, who always depends on her speech writers to deliver speeches by reading them out, cannot win with her communication skills; instead has to depend on her picture alone?
A final question Kesava Rao has to answer is this. Why did he not contest an election with her picture instead of taking back door entry?
Besides rank sycophancy which is the essential qualification for Congressmen to survive, KK’s statement has political overtones. If Congress could win two general elections consecutively, it was merely because of Dr YS Rajasekara Reddy whether one may agree with his style of functioning or not. Now, there is an attempt to erase that legacy. His welfare schemes were diluted, some were abandoned citing the shrinking government coffers. In effect, these spineless and clueless Congressmen, even as they are fighting among themselves reminding us of early eighties, want to curry favour with the high command so that they can get some crumps. The only way to do that is to denigrate YSR legacy and to paint a picture as if it was the party (read Sonia Gandhi) that was responsible for coming back to power in the state. What else can please her except to say that she alone was responsible for Congress victory in the state.
Agreed, there is no trait called “virtue” in politics. But, the virtue of “gratefulness” seems to be reserved for the Nehru Gandhi family only. People have to be grateful for Nehru, Indira, Rajiv and now Sonia followed by Rahul for whatever happens to the country. And so, all the institutions will be named after them. If Jagan puts up his late father’s statue, it is not something that servile Congressmen can stomach.
Opposition to YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s tour of Telangana from Congressmen themselves and the party’s dictat to him not to undertake the tour has to be viewed in this context. Rootless wonders in the Congress party are obviously not comfortable with the response Jagan got wherever he went. For advocates of Telangana who want to wage a “civil war”, Jagan’s tour is a new found trigger for unleashing violence, especially when the sentiment is on the wane or atleast not visible. So, we promote the disgusting political culture of blackmail when we deify those who resort to immolations and take a leap from cell towers. The reason trotted out by them is that Jagan might canvass for “Samaikya Andhra”. If the sentiments are so strong for Telangana, any number of Jagans cannot undo it. Further, can anything be more irrational than this in a democracy? If a leader who holds a different point of view on an issue cannot tour in parts of the state, and if this has to be extended, BJP leaders cannot tour in West Bengal and Commis cannot venture out in Gujarat. What sort of democratic traditions we are trying to set for the posterity?
Even as this political intolerance is tearing apart our social fabric, there is a premium on religious intolerance of the minority groups. One can understand an Islamic state like Pakistan banning social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Taking cue from a theocratic neighbour, Maharashtra government, supposed to be secular, wants a ban on Facebook. Why? Islamic and Christian groups demand such a ban because the sites carry certain images and caricatures that hurt them. Are there no sentiments for the majority group in the country? As a strange coincidence, even as there is a demand for ban on Facebook, MF Husain’s “Saraswati” is going to be auctioned in London. It is not clear whether it is the same painting that showed the Goddess of Learning in a despicable manner hurting the sentiments of the majority community. But, coincidence is not something that can be missed out.
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Congress Working Comittee member and a deemed intellectual of sorts in AP politics, K Kesava Rao always comes out with bytes which 24 hour news channels can lap up. His recent gem of a statement was that those who won the last elections on Congress tickets were able to do so only because of Sonia Gandhi’s pictures. Does this remind you of the extreme arrogance with which a great leader of the nation proclaimed decades ago that even a lamp post, if given a Congress ticket, could win the elections? KK was only humane to give to that status to a picture of Congress President and not to a lamp post. Making a statement alone is not sufficient Mr Rao. Being a so-called intellectual, you have to answer simple questions.
The Congress election campaign projected three leaders – Sonia Gandhi, the heir apparent Rahul Gandhi and as an appendix to these two, Dr Manmohan Singh. Do you think voters saw only Sonia’s pictures?
AP Congress chief also must have carried Sonia’s picture in his campaign in Nizamabad. Why
then did he lose and lose to a BJP candidate who was one of the two who were elected on BJP ticket in the entire state?
Out of 294 seats in the state assembly, Congress could secure only 157, a wafer thin majority. Does this not mean Sonia picture did not work in the rest of the constituencies?
Why did Congress seek alliances in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, if Sonia’s picture could do the magic?
Do you mean that for the Congress to win, a picture or just an icon is enough and it can replace policies and programmes?
Is it a tacit admission that Sonia, who always depends on her speech writers to deliver speeches by reading them out, cannot win with her communication skills; instead has to depend on her picture alone?
A final question Kesava Rao has to answer is this. Why did he not contest an election with her picture instead of taking back door entry?
Besides rank sycophancy which is the essential qualification for Congressmen to survive, KK’s statement has political overtones. If Congress could win two general elections consecutively, it was merely because of Dr YS Rajasekara Reddy whether one may agree with his style of functioning or not. Now, there is an attempt to erase that legacy. His welfare schemes were diluted, some were abandoned citing the shrinking government coffers. In effect, these spineless and clueless Congressmen, even as they are fighting among themselves reminding us of early eighties, want to curry favour with the high command so that they can get some crumps. The only way to do that is to denigrate YSR legacy and to paint a picture as if it was the party (read Sonia Gandhi) that was responsible for coming back to power in the state. What else can please her except to say that she alone was responsible for Congress victory in the state.
Agreed, there is no trait called “virtue” in politics. But, the virtue of “gratefulness” seems to be reserved for the Nehru Gandhi family only. People have to be grateful for Nehru, Indira, Rajiv and now Sonia followed by Rahul for whatever happens to the country. And so, all the institutions will be named after them. If Jagan puts up his late father’s statue, it is not something that servile Congressmen can stomach.
Opposition to YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s tour of Telangana from Congressmen themselves and the party’s dictat to him not to undertake the tour has to be viewed in this context. Rootless wonders in the Congress party are obviously not comfortable with the response Jagan got wherever he went. For advocates of Telangana who want to wage a “civil war”, Jagan’s tour is a new found trigger for unleashing violence, especially when the sentiment is on the wane or atleast not visible. So, we promote the disgusting political culture of blackmail when we deify those who resort to immolations and take a leap from cell towers. The reason trotted out by them is that Jagan might canvass for “Samaikya Andhra”. If the sentiments are so strong for Telangana, any number of Jagans cannot undo it. Further, can anything be more irrational than this in a democracy? If a leader who holds a different point of view on an issue cannot tour in parts of the state, and if this has to be extended, BJP leaders cannot tour in West Bengal and Commis cannot venture out in Gujarat. What sort of democratic traditions we are trying to set for the posterity?
Even as this political intolerance is tearing apart our social fabric, there is a premium on religious intolerance of the minority groups. One can understand an Islamic state like Pakistan banning social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Taking cue from a theocratic neighbour, Maharashtra government, supposed to be secular, wants a ban on Facebook. Why? Islamic and Christian groups demand such a ban because the sites carry certain images and caricatures that hurt them. Are there no sentiments for the majority group in the country? As a strange coincidence, even as there is a demand for ban on Facebook, MF Husain’s “Saraswati” is going to be auctioned in London. It is not clear whether it is the same painting that showed the Goddess of Learning in a despicable manner hurting the sentiments of the majority community. But, coincidence is not something that can be missed out.
Friday, May 14, 2010
INNER PARTY DEMOCRACY - CONG STYLE
Congressmen’s oft-repeated phrase whenever there is a rift within the party is that the only party which has allowed “inner party democracy” is the Indian National Congress. No doubt, it is true. But the problem is this “inner party democracy” is, sometimes, carried too far. This inner party democracy becomes inter-ministerial at times and explodes in different countries as well. This is what we witnessed recently when Union Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh made remarks against the Home Ministry in China saying that the Union Home Ministry has become “alarmist” and “paranoid” while dealing with China.
Obviously, Ramesh wanted to please his local hosts who must have complained to him about the attitude of the Indian government. To be fair to Ramesh, who has been painted into a corner by everyone in the government and the party, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had expressed in many fora that he had reservations in allowing Chinese workers in different projects undertaken by Chinese industrialists in India. He wanted to allow only those whose skills are not available in the country and he also wanted proper scrutiny before issuing work permits to Chinese workers. As Minister in-charge of internal security, it is his prerogative to frame conditions for entry of foreign nationals that too from a country which has been playing hot and cold – whether it is border dispute, carbon emissions, nuclear cooperation etc.
Does this mean that a Union Minister can go to a foreign country and blame his own government’s policies? Certainly not. But if we take a deeper look into the issue, there is something more than what meets the eye. Chidambaram seems to be the target for many of his colleagues in the party and the government. Is it because he is getting closer to 10 Janpath and enjoys the confidence of the high priestess of the party? It appears to be so.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukerjee might go on “frequent errands” for the government as lampooned by firebrand leader from his own state Mamta Banerjee. But he can never get closer to the high command for the “sins” he committed immediately after Indira’s assassination. Rahul does not seem to be in a hurry for positions of power as he has been with his own marriage. Dr Manmohan Singh who underwent two by-pass surgeries is not in the pink of health. There must be someone in the stand-by mode.
Among the cabinet ministers who puts on a pretence of efficiency and smartness and emerged as darling of the media, it is Chidambaram. That is the reason Ramesh targets him, Mani Shankar Iyer, who carries on his shoulders the burden of upholding secularism using barbaric language with his tongue choked in nitric acid, picks bones on Naxal issues, Digvijay Singh makes a frontal attack on the policies of the Home Minister in dealing with Maoists, forgetting his past as a chief minister. People are not bothered as to what happens behind the screen. What appears on stage is “inner party democracy” which, in effect, means never ending feud among Congressmen.
Even on non-political issues like Census there does not seem to be unity within the ranks of the party. While one section is vehemently opposed to inclusion of caste in the census, there is an equally powerful section which toes the line of Yadavs. Ultimately, the government had to yield to the pressure lobby of OBC leaders because of the number game in Parliament. And this does not speak well for the image of the government because it exposes the vulnerability of the government. Even during the cut motions the country had witnessed as to what levels the government could stoop down to conquer thanks to the pliant CBI.
Social issues like “Khap Panchayat” mostly in Haryana have also exposed the chinks in the party. Congress MP from Haryana, Navin Jindal, shamelessly supports the khap (caste) panchayats and goes to the extent of demanding an amendment to Hindu Marriage Act to favour a ban on the marriage between couples belonging to the same “gotra”. Is this a fallout of our failure to have a uniform civil code? This is a dangerous trend undermining the supremacy of law of the land. How can we then say “no” to shariat courts as demanded by a section of the minorities?
If this is the scene at the national level where Congressmen are fighting among themselves, Andhra Pradesh scenario is no different. Whenever the state cabinet meets, an inescapable scene is this. A section of the cabinet would find fault with the chief minister for not implementing YSR schemes and the chief minister would immediately throw in the towel.
Congress MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao exceeded all limits when he released a list of corruption charges with graphic details against the minister from his district who happens to be his arch rival. Rao did not stop here. He said that most of the ministers are corrupt. What is the reaction of the chief minister? Not much different from the mindset of a school kid, who teased by classmate, would threaten that he would complain to the teacher. That is what the chief minister did. He cautioned both the warring congressmen that he may have to give a “report” to the high command if they continue to fight. You can imagine how strong is his leadership!
There was another Congress MP from Nizamabad, Madhu Yashki. Look at his love for his own party. He says that the Congress cannot win a single seat in the bye polls to be held for the seats vacated by TRS MLAs in the wake of Telangana agitation. Is there anyone in the party to rein him in?
Obviously, Ramesh wanted to please his local hosts who must have complained to him about the attitude of the Indian government. To be fair to Ramesh, who has been painted into a corner by everyone in the government and the party, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had expressed in many fora that he had reservations in allowing Chinese workers in different projects undertaken by Chinese industrialists in India. He wanted to allow only those whose skills are not available in the country and he also wanted proper scrutiny before issuing work permits to Chinese workers. As Minister in-charge of internal security, it is his prerogative to frame conditions for entry of foreign nationals that too from a country which has been playing hot and cold – whether it is border dispute, carbon emissions, nuclear cooperation etc.
Does this mean that a Union Minister can go to a foreign country and blame his own government’s policies? Certainly not. But if we take a deeper look into the issue, there is something more than what meets the eye. Chidambaram seems to be the target for many of his colleagues in the party and the government. Is it because he is getting closer to 10 Janpath and enjoys the confidence of the high priestess of the party? It appears to be so.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukerjee might go on “frequent errands” for the government as lampooned by firebrand leader from his own state Mamta Banerjee. But he can never get closer to the high command for the “sins” he committed immediately after Indira’s assassination. Rahul does not seem to be in a hurry for positions of power as he has been with his own marriage. Dr Manmohan Singh who underwent two by-pass surgeries is not in the pink of health. There must be someone in the stand-by mode.
Among the cabinet ministers who puts on a pretence of efficiency and smartness and emerged as darling of the media, it is Chidambaram. That is the reason Ramesh targets him, Mani Shankar Iyer, who carries on his shoulders the burden of upholding secularism using barbaric language with his tongue choked in nitric acid, picks bones on Naxal issues, Digvijay Singh makes a frontal attack on the policies of the Home Minister in dealing with Maoists, forgetting his past as a chief minister. People are not bothered as to what happens behind the screen. What appears on stage is “inner party democracy” which, in effect, means never ending feud among Congressmen.
Even on non-political issues like Census there does not seem to be unity within the ranks of the party. While one section is vehemently opposed to inclusion of caste in the census, there is an equally powerful section which toes the line of Yadavs. Ultimately, the government had to yield to the pressure lobby of OBC leaders because of the number game in Parliament. And this does not speak well for the image of the government because it exposes the vulnerability of the government. Even during the cut motions the country had witnessed as to what levels the government could stoop down to conquer thanks to the pliant CBI.
Social issues like “Khap Panchayat” mostly in Haryana have also exposed the chinks in the party. Congress MP from Haryana, Navin Jindal, shamelessly supports the khap (caste) panchayats and goes to the extent of demanding an amendment to Hindu Marriage Act to favour a ban on the marriage between couples belonging to the same “gotra”. Is this a fallout of our failure to have a uniform civil code? This is a dangerous trend undermining the supremacy of law of the land. How can we then say “no” to shariat courts as demanded by a section of the minorities?
If this is the scene at the national level where Congressmen are fighting among themselves, Andhra Pradesh scenario is no different. Whenever the state cabinet meets, an inescapable scene is this. A section of the cabinet would find fault with the chief minister for not implementing YSR schemes and the chief minister would immediately throw in the towel.
Congress MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao exceeded all limits when he released a list of corruption charges with graphic details against the minister from his district who happens to be his arch rival. Rao did not stop here. He said that most of the ministers are corrupt. What is the reaction of the chief minister? Not much different from the mindset of a school kid, who teased by classmate, would threaten that he would complain to the teacher. That is what the chief minister did. He cautioned both the warring congressmen that he may have to give a “report” to the high command if they continue to fight. You can imagine how strong is his leadership!
There was another Congress MP from Nizamabad, Madhu Yashki. Look at his love for his own party. He says that the Congress cannot win a single seat in the bye polls to be held for the seats vacated by TRS MLAs in the wake of Telangana agitation. Is there anyone in the party to rein him in?
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