A Dangerous Trend

Continuing the dangerous trend of narrow minded regionalism, Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan said that more importance should be given to Marathis in employment in Maharashtra.
This is extremely disturbing. I was not much worried about comments made by Shiv Sena leaders or MNS party workers. But when the Chief Minister of a state starts making such remarks from his official post, it is indeed time to start getting anxious.

Any great economy is founded on basis of multi cultural meritocracy. Take any great city. Like New York or even our own Mumbai. What made them great? Was it some extra ordinary governance? Or some political party? No. what made them great were the people living and working in them. It was the talent that built the economy of such great mega cities. Cultural diversity, tolerance, respect, secularism and above all pure talent act like bricks and mortars of an economically viable city. If a couple of centuries ago, politicians of New York city had started throwing tantrums that 'we won't allow any non-americans to work in New York', would it be the financial capital of the world today? Similar argument can be made about Mumbai or any other city as well.

This trend is even more dangerous than caste system and reservations. Because here, politicians are trying to divide the country in even narrower factions. The day the politicians successfully bring such legislation in any state or city, it will be the death knell for meritocracy in India. The politicians have been driving long nails into coffin already. It's just a matter of time. Unless the citizens of the country wake up from the slumber, rise above the narrow mindedness of regionalism, and say 'No' to such politically motivate moves, India is on its way down.

To Sing or Not to Sing: That is the Question

Jamiat-e Ulama Hind passed a 'fatwa' banning Indian Muslims from singing Vande Mataram - India's national song. I don't know what provoked Jamiat after more than 50 years since Vande Mataram was designated as national song. Were they deliberating whether it was against Islam to praise your Motherland all these years? Or it dawned as a divine message upon their leaders one fine morning and they decided to release a fatwa. I don't know.

However, the recent controversy made me curious and I revisited the song to find out its meaning. And here is what I found.

1.
Vande Mataram
Sujalam Suphalam
Malayaja Seetalam
Sasya Shamalaam Mataram
Vande Mataram

Translation:
Mother, I bow to thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
bright with orchard gleams,
Cool with thy winds of delight,
Dark fields waving Mother of might,
Mother free.

2.
Shubra Jyotsnaa
Pulakita Yaminim
Pullakusumita
Drumadala Shobhinim
Subhashinim
Sumadhura Bhashinim
Sukhadaam Varadaam
Mataram
Vande Mataram

Translation:
Glory of moonlight dreams,
Over thy branches and lordly streams,
Clad in thy blossoming trees,
Mother, giver of ease
Laughing low and sweet!
Mother I kiss thy feet,
Speaker sweet and low!
Mother, to thee I bow.


These are the stanzas we normally sing. It's a no brainer to think that there is anything Un-Islamic in these.

However, later on in the song, the following stanza appears.

6.
Tvam Hi Durgaa
Dasha Prahara Nadhaarini
Kamala Kamaladala Viharini
Vani Vidhyadayini Namaami Tvam
Namaami Kamalaam,
Amalaam, Atulaam
Sujalaam Suphalaam Mataram
Vande Mataram

Translation:
Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen,
With her hands that strike and her
swords of sheen,
Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned,
And the Muse a hundred-toned,
Pure and perfect without peer,
Mother lend thine ear,
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleams,
Dark of hue O candid-fair

And I think this is what got onto the nerves of the leaders of Jamiat and other Muslim leaders in the past. And even at the time of adoption of this song as National Song there were same controversial voices of protest. And that is what prompted Congress at that time to adopt only first two stanzas as National Song.

Anyway, controversy surrounding Vande Mataram is not new. It has been under attack for a long time. Jamiat just added a spark to ignite it again.

What is your opinion?

[Translation above is by Shree Aurbindo taken from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vande_Mataram]

Optimism, Delusion or Propaganda

First they projected Congress as the winner in all of their opinion and exit polls to create a positive aura around Congress party and their leaders. And now once that task is done (helping them win election), media is now all praise for the newly elected government even before they start doing anything.

Sure the results were an eye opener. Initially, I thought, maybe I was wrong. It is possible that the media rightfully projected the winner with support of a good fundamental analysis. But now after all these days, when I constantly see articles showering optimism, praise and appreciation on the new government, day after day, I sit back and think - something is fishy here.

Every single day, IBNLive.com is full of news regarding how the government is dedicated to make India a better place. Be it their 100 day education scheme or their plans for divesting the ailing Government business entities.

Today's headlines on IBNLive
- Promises to keep: UPA govt has its task
- How the govt plans education for all
- How the govt plans to shelter homeless
- How the govt plans to fight terrorism
- How the govt plans to feed the poor
- Why India Voted for Congress (Rajdeep Sardesai)
- Voting For the Nation (Sagrika Ghose)

Today's headlines on NDTV
- Divestment back
- IPO market to get a divestment boost?
- Divestment, sops likely for steel sector
- Blog: BJP: Against the tide

To be very honest, after the initial shock of the defeat for BJP, I recovered relatively quickly as compared to last general elections. Because I believed in what the news sites were saying. I thought maybe this is the change people voted for. Maybe this government is what people wanted at the center. And I still don't deny the fact that I have highest respect for Dr Singh.

But then every day media got louder and louder. Praising the government even before the parliament session was in place. Publishing opinions, blogs which were full of 'mud-throwing' on BJP and attributing fragrant flowery bouquets to Congress. All of a sudden people like S. M. Krishna, Sharad Pawar, Pranab Mukharjee, A K Antony were turned into heroes. Like the 'Ultimate Saviors' of the nation. Who in next five years will change the face of the nation.

Once again, people will call me a religious fanatic! They will call me 'A moron, stuck in the past'. But those people who oppose my posts are so narrow minded that they have forgotten the concept of freedom of expression. People here proudly call themselves 'Democrats' or 'Republicans'. They don't have to pretend that they are neutral. Then why should I be shy of openly supporting a party like BJP?

I realize that my ramblings here in this blog are useless and pretty much irrelevant at this time. But the media sure as hell sounds not only fishy but repatitive and boring now. I hope they stop running marketing campaign for Congress and go back to business of journalism.

Take me back in time! - Samajwadi Party's horrifying manifesto

The future. If we don't act now.

No English medium schools. No computers at your desk in office. No technology on the farms. Only minimum wage for each and every person regardless of merit. No more malls in urban communities. Alliance with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

This is not a plot of some sci-fi movie which predicts the end of the world as we know it. Neither are these pages from history books describing 18th or 19th century. These are the main themes of Samajwadi Party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections.

"The use of computers in offices is creating unemployment problems. Our party feels that if work can be done by a person using hands there is no need to deploy machines" proclaims the SP chief Mulayamsingh Yadav. There is not one person I know who has more grossly underestimated the role of technology in human civilization. I thought he was being funny when he said this. But I realized he is no Lalu. He does not joke. He was actually serious.

"A harvesting season brings employment for the labour class for at least six months but these harvesters (machines and technology on the farm) will snatch their earnings." So now I know. Studying those stupid subjects like Science and Technology was all a waste of time. The human progress from the stone age to the technology age was all in vain. People just didn't get it right! Alas.

"The salaries provided by private firms should be in sync with the minimum wages that have been set by the government. This is only the way to build up a strong national capital" - Classic, classic Socialism. Need I say more?

The SP will ensure stronger ties with Pakistan and Bangladesh. "The basic cause of terrorism lies in regional differences. The forums across the world which deal with the issue of terrorism work at the behest of America. If a government comes to power with our support, we will ensure that action is taken against communal powers (Read BJP, RSS and largely all Hindus in the country) and attack terrorism at its roots,"
Regional differences! Yeah, right. When a group of terrorist travel all the way from "distant lands" to attack your financial capital, bomb the trains, murder innocent people, it is all because of some 'Regional Differences'. Perfect interpretation of terrorism I must say! He should be acting as senior adviser to the Department of Homeland Security in US.

These are the ideas that can take a nation 50 years backward. Minority appeasement has taken such a dangerous form that now politicians are actually ready to be in bed with Pakistan and Bangladesh. Nothing can be more terrifying than such ideologies of politicians.

I wish this was all a belated April fool's prank. But unfortunately it is not. It is as real as it can get. And it will become a eternally lasting nightmare if the citizens of the country don't wake up and vote for making India a strong, developed and forward looking nation.

The greatest festival of Indian Democracy - General Elections '09

I haven't blogged in like what, 3 months! And now there is this irresistible topic which has compelled me to drop a few words here on this platform. The Great Indian Elections of '09.

The greatest event in Indian Democracy, the General Elections are approaching the people of India. I can not say that I am hopeful of an upshot that is favorable to the country's future but at least I am curious.

I am curious to see the fate of the veteran leader L K Advani and what becomes of his final wish in his career - the most coveted position of Prime Minister of India. He has come so close to his dream being materialized and yet it has slipped from his hands. I am curious to see the fate of Manmohan Singh who is only the face of Congress Government and also of Sonia Gandhi who is the brain and brawl behind the government. I am curious to see the role that Mayawati, Lalu Yadav and Mulayam Singh will play in making the king at the center. What will become of the Left front this time which seems to have weakened over the last few years? How will the Third and even the Fourth Front shape the future Government? In the event that these fronts have a say in forming the Government, which is more likely than not, who will defeat the competition and come out a winner as the PM candidate? Will it be the ever manipulative Mayawati, Congress's old headache Mulayam Singh, or the good old Lalu Yadav or some compromise we had in the past like Deve Gowda.

I have been a BJP's staunch supporter all my life. And my belief in BJP being the best party to rule the country is unshakable. It was the biggest shock in last election when despite being everyone's favorite and running the seemingly successful 'Feel Good' campaign, BJP performed miserably and gave way to UPA. Congress was ready to pounce upon the opportunity and it had a bunch of allies waiting. The only common agenda that these parties had was Anti-Saffron and Anti-BJP. Instead of naming themselves UPA, they might have named themselves UABA (United Anti-BJP Alliance). Since then, BJP has strengthened its dominance across the political map of the country. They have won state after state in last few years barring two major debacles of Rajasthan and Delhi. Their one of the biggest victories came in Karnataka when they entered the Southern India which was an alien and distant dream for BJP. The most serious problem BJP is facing again is of alliance. It has failed once again to establish partnerships with influential parties across the states in which it does not have much dominance. The unfortunate break up with Navin Patnaik is certainly going to cost them a major chunk of votes in Orrisa. Shiv Sena has been losing its hold on Maharashtra and BJP is stuck with them. There is virtually no strong alliance for them in Tamilnadu and Andhra.



BJP is facing a severe identity crisis this time. They are reluctant to go back to their raw bare-knuckle Hindutva agenda because they know that they will need allies if they want to form the Government and the allies come from the states in which they can not afford to put a brave Hindu face for the fear of losing minority vote. In last elections they at least had their good governance to talk about. Here, the only thing they can talk about is UPA government's failures which are in plenty. But even then, it is only a negative publicity. They can certainly talk about their good state governance if there is any. I can vouch for Gujarat but not other BJP ruled states. And the last thing they needed this time was a brewing rivalry between their two of the best leaders Jately and Rajnath Singh. Though it seems to have been resolved, it surely sent the shock wave through various layers of the party leadership. BJP's stand for the newly found saffron hero Varun Gandhi has been somewhat unclear. Here again their reluctance to support Hindutva is clearly visible. BJP needs all the help they can get from RSS. There have been news about the new leadership in RSS being favorable to BJP and especially Advani but it is to be seen how RSS and its progeny institutes like VHP and ABVP mobilize their troops during the poll campaign for BJP.

Even though I would love to see BJP at the center, forming the government with absolute majority, it is in most likelihood going to remain an impossibility.

Congress has its own problems. The obvious inclination of Sonia Gandhi is to hand over the reign to the Congress's blue eyed boy - Rahul Gandhi. But she is not sure about the general public's reaction towards such a step. Therefore she is sticking with the old war horse Manmohan Singh. Nobody can say that the calm and gentle Singh is popular with masses, but at the same time, nobody can say that he is unpopular among any faction of the society. That's his biggest strength. He does not have any opposition among the party or the allies. His image is too clean for that. His track record of leadership has been a little too clean. Almost like a clean slate in which the only handwriting you can find are of Sonia Gandhi. Frequently called a puppet in the hands of the high command, Mr. Singh does not have many achievements to boast. Scores of people have died during last five years in terrorist attacks. The Mumbai attacks are the blackest spots on his Government. The government's diplomatic pressure and warnings fell to the deaf ears of Pakistani Government. Failing world economy and India's vulnerability added to his woes. And Arjun Singh's gimmick will be fresh in the minds of the youth. It might have a considerable impact only if the youth cares to vote.

Alliance worries are haunting Congress as well. They have been deserted by most of their allies. Even the old allies like Lalu Yadav have dumped Congress to nurture their ambition for the top position.



However, Congress is in not as bad a position as BJP when it comes to allies. In my opinion, all these pre-poll break-ups are meaningless. Eventually, just like the last time, their hatred for BJP will unite them at the center. But this time around I can see Congress government providing the support to the King maker, whoever it might be. Congress will not be in a position to have their say in PM candidate. They will have to support someone to keep BJP out of position. And in such a situation, BJP is going to be at a major disadvantage. Despite name calling and fighting, I can easily see SP or Left or BSP joining hands with Congress but not with BJP. Thus BJP is most likely on its own here. Like a lone soldier. And it remains to be seen if this lone soldier can turn the tide and finish off the mighty foes.

Next five years are going to be extremely important for India. We have to balance the economic interests with the more important national security concerns. India needs to work hard towards clamping terrorism within her borders and develop more intimate relations with US and other international community. But that is not going to be enough. We ourselves have to be proactive in securing our borders and our nation from falling prey to the terrorism rather than relying on International Diplomacy which has never worked. Next five years are also going to be very important from economy's point of view. When the US and the whole world will be recovering from the mayhem, we do not want to be left behind in the process. Indian economy must continue to grow aggressively.

So once again, the common man is skeptical yet hopeful. There are expectations. Whichever party comes to the power will have to work hard to lead the nation into the new beginning. An era of rising economic and political might of India on the international fronts.

Image Source:
1.http://static.ibnlive.com/pix/sitepix/11_2007/cong_bjp_battle313.jpg
2. http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/00LsdNpase7Cv/610x.jpg
3. http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0887a7o4iy12X/610x.jpg

Audacious Antulay !

I seriously don't have any other adjective for this man. This was an act of such audacity! Whether it was a political suicide or a political re-incarnation of himself that we shall see in the coming days but he has gone down to the level in politics where no other politician has dared to go.

Every Indian (or at least every patriotic Indian) is aghast, enraged and numb towards his statement about Hemant Karkare's death. How could he even think about speaking such thing when the whole nation is united, Hindus and Muslims alike, against terror. He literally exonerated Pakistan from this whole episode in his opinion. I am glad that people like Javed Akhtar have come forward to express the liberal muslim opinion on this and bashed Antulay for his act. And still there are people like Digvijay Singh who join the bandwagon and support Antulay's remarks. I don't know what to say to such people. But I can say to the common man that please next time when you go to vote, keep this episode, Antulay, his advocates and his party in mind and then decide on your vote.

In this interview, he tries to dodge the salvo from Sardesai and gives some implausible and senseless arguments in his defence.

Watch this videos as Rajdeep Sardesai, visibly agitated and emotional, grills Antulay and gives him every opportunity to apologize in front of the nation. Alas, if he had any consciences....


http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/81029/i-am-proud-of-my-comments-a-r-antulay.html