God's Own Country!

The Air India’s Flight to Kochi, though punctual, was a listless affair. The only interesting thing happened towards the end when I learnt that my co-passenger was an MP representing the same area we were headed to. He was all praise for the educated Kerala electorate who threw out those playing communal politics, wanted development and did not promote film heroes like Tamilians. He thought the current parliamentary session was a success, formation of a separate Telangana state in Andhra a certainty and his week-end visit home only meant to meet his constituents. While I mused over why the same electorate with the highest literacy rate never reposed faith in a single party and had to flee God’s own country to find jobs elsewhere, we were asked to fasten the seat belts for landing at Kochi’s picturesque airport. On arrival, I told the cab driver that I had met his MP on the flight. He cynically smiled to say, ‘They are only seen during elections’. My wife, meanwhile, was deeply upset that the agent whose card had a logo depicting the silhouette of a houseboat and palm trees with the promise of ‘whispering waves’ had put us up in a budget hotel. She turned out to be right. Abad group ran too many properties to enable us to remember the details. ‘Banta Singh and Santa Singh are the same’, I suggested to her but she called Delhi to ensure that Nair took no more liberties with our itinerary and compensated us with complimentary dinners during the rest of the trip.

We drove through morning to Vaikom, on to a very narrow, broken road. My spine, already weakened with osteophytes, groaned loudly at every thud while I made a cushion of my right hand to pat it with patience. Somehow the road did not fit in with the global image of Kerala’s backwaters. I did not know it then that the actual point where the popular cruises begin was several miles down at Kumarakom or furher down at Alleppey -the southern end of backwaters while we were at the northern tip, being developed as a tourist destination. While I scanned the serene waters spread along the horizon, my wife quizzed the wily Ramesh, who kept more to himself than revealed, about our exact whereabouts. The boat we were supposed to occupy was a beauty but someone in its driver’s family had ostensibly passed away so we were made to move into a larger boat with two bedrooms. Minutes ticked away inexplicably and as our romance with Kerala’s backwaters began, Ramesh also talked us into accepting another couple on board. ‘I told you, Sir, na that the driver has a tragedy so please don’t mind. They will be in a separate room.’ A steam boat brought them to our house boat while it idled around lunch and a harassed young couple came on board. No hellos, no smiles! They vanished into the other bedroom. While we wondered whether they have had a fight or found us bad company, food, enough for six, was served to two of us. The fried fish made up for all bad feelings. They re-emerged when we were asked to move to the upper deck as the ‘other family’ wanted to have lunch. We chose to retire to our room with a fidgety air conditioner and a CD of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. Ramesh was at it once again, ‘Sorry, Sir. This is the only one we have.’ I preferred to read Chetan Bhagat’s ‘Five Point Someone’ (No, the boat didn’t keep any books) while my wife plugged in her headset to listen to music.
The next two hours were heavenly. We decided to focus on what we had come all the way to see. The house boat slid over the serene waters silently as we gazed enchanted on the embankments lined with countless coconut and palm trees. You could see women washing clothes at the a distant bank and then an odd boat being stuffed with sand. Ramesh had turned a guide now and told us whatever he could. ‘Best sand, Sir. He turned to my wife, ‘Madam, are you enjoying? Should I click your picture- on your second honeymoon’, he chuckled. We didn’t know it then but learnt later that the other couple, on the first-ever honeymoon, had been robbed of privacy. The crafty Ramesh had shown them the same boat and told them the same story. ‘Only you were to go on this exclusive boat. Someone passed away and the driver is not there so we have to put you up on the other house boat! Please don’t mind, huh! Separate room.’ The bitter lady in the other room confided later that the romancing couple had to watch the violent ‘Gazni’ on their honeymoon. ‘Sorry, madam. Only one CD.’


The house boat turned and entered a narrow waterway. There were huts on both sides. Small children came out of some homes to wave to us. Inquisitive men looked at strangers peeping into their lives. An elderly man, already neck-deep in water, looked at us and took a dip. Small boats lay tied on both banks to tree barks dug deep into the still waters. Working jetties! The boat swerved to the left again, stopped intruding into their privacy and entered wider water bodies. The afternoon sun shone relentlessly setting the splashing waters aglow. It looked as if deep, dark surroundings had been set afire. We sailed past an abandoned Chinese fishing net, which looked like a huge squarish bowl, which used to be dipped into waters and then pulled up with a wooden lever along with the booty. We were to see more of them at Alleppey later, some of them in action. A couple of steamers sped past us carrying passengers and gurgling waters around them breaking the deafening silence. We turned right yet again and the boat went past a hamlet with women in nighties busy in household chores. ‘Whatever happened to the traditional Keralite costumes’, my wife wondered. ‘Perhaps convenience and affordability comes first’. Ramesh made his last appearance as the familiar steamboat slid alongside. ‘Sorry, Sir. There is an emergency.’ He jumped on to the steamboat a little later and got away not to be seen again till our departure. We moved along the bank as the distant sun to our left prepared to go down. The houseboat anchored for the night allowing us to come on ground. A row of colas stood on a table. We picked up one and asked about the price. ‘Forty rupees.’ Nothing comes cheap if you are a tourist. We spoke to our daughters to tell them they were being missed as darkness enveloped the sky.

The night too was eventful with air conditioner switching off intermittently and a few of the ants spotted in a row on the boat’s floor managing to climb on to the bed. That was quite scary! The boat scampered back to the spot where we had started from by the time we sat for breakfast. This was when the newly-wed young lady took every crew member to task for terminating the cruise more than an hour before the scheduled time. ‘We paid so much money and you return one hour before time. What’s this? We are not leaving the boat.’ Our local agent happened to call right then and she asked him to reprimand hers in Malayalam. “Are you a Tamilian? he queried and learnt that she was from Hyderabad and spoke Telugu, Hindi and English only. The verbal duel that followed helped her extract another four hours of cruise from the houseboat owner. We felt good for them and packed off hurriedly to Alleppey to give the couple some privacy they deserved. The afternoon was spent shopping for handicrafts saving the evening for the Alleppey beach. Also as Alappuzha beach, it is a beautiful, vast expanse of sands and turquoise blue waters of the Arabian sea. The old lighthouse looked mystical in the evening. There is a century old dock whose pier extends deep into the sea. We felt like walking on it but saw the missing planks in time and returned to the waves. We kept stepping forward and let the waves go past our ankles filling our slippers with sand. Walking long the coastline revealed dozens of young boys and girls befriending the waves. A toddler caught our eye as he tried repeatedly to break free from his father’s clutches to rush in to the sea. As the Sun slid down, our eyes were glued to the horizon while shutters of cameras and mobiles clicked throwing flashes of light forward. Dozens of gleaming Chinese kites rose in the darkening sky. At the same time, the Naval Symphonic Band celebrating the Navy week ironically played the song ‘Suno gaur se duniya walo, Buri nazar na hum pe dalo, Chahe jitna zore laga lo, sab se aage honge, Hindustani.’


We left Alleppey next morning to race to Fort Kochi, 50 kms away and best known for Church of St. Francis where Vasco da Gama lay buried for fourteen years before his remains were taken to Portugal. The once Roman Catholic Church is now managed by the Church of South India and draws the curious and faithful alike. We stepped out to find a row of stalls, Janpath style, selling bric-a-brac, and picked up a few souvenirs after hard bargaining. It was quite warm outside and sighting a fresh coconut vendor was a relief. My wife argued you could get one for 15 rupees even in Delhi but the vendor ignored her and looked over our shoulders at the foreigners for better deals.

Our next halt was at the bowl-shaped Chinese fishing nets, said to be introduced in 13th century by Chinese traders and now a tourist attraction. The size of some of the big fishes being sold next to them, despite being video graphed by a gullible tourist, made me suspicious. A shopkeeper selling garments close to the site confirmed that only the tiny ones were caught in the nets while the rest were supplied by the fishing trawlers from the deep sea. Our nest destination was the Paradesi Jewish Synagogue, which is at the end of the narrow Jew Lane, almost monopolized by the Kashmiri traders who step out of shops to accost tourists. The Synagogue was closed during lunch hour so we chose to shop for spices. When it opened, we went past an exhibition of a series of paintings beginning with the arrival of Jews in Cochin. Most of them either migrated to Portugal or converted later. Female visitors wearing revealing clothes, sleeveless tops and skirts specifically mentioned, could borrow scarves to cover themselves up before entering the prayer house. We were asked to remove our shoes. The Synagogue’s Scrolls, the Torahs, meaning the instructions or laws of Judaism, were hidden behind a curtain inside. A guide was asking a Belgian tourist to look at the glass chandeliers. ‘Do you know from where these came? You made them.’ Oil lamps, one of them was lit, were first filled with water and then oil, which would stay at top, before lighting them. A brass-railed pulpit stood in the middle. ‘Look beneath your feet, Madam. These are all Chinese, 18th century, hand-painted porcelain tiles.’ The lady repeated the information to her male companion in Dutch who nodded intermittently. Near the gate, the man on the counter informed us that prayers are offered on the weekends. ‘Why prohibit photography’, I asked. ‘Security’, he evasively said but the intent could well be to sell brochures and picture post cards showing the Synagogue.

The evening was reserved for Kochi’s Marine Drive, a poor cousin of Mumbai’s in terms of length but lined with many more boats, most with upper decks, which take you across to the harbour end @ 50 rupees an hour. We fell for it and were made to wear life jackets, post-Thekkady tragedy in October this year in which nearly forty people lost their lives. The evening sky changed colours rapidly as the sun went down allowing The Taj hotel’s neon sign to emerge. A coastguard vessel blew its horn twice as we came in its way and in the melee, you could no longer hear the waters lapping against the hull. I tried clicking a few pictures of the ships anchored on the other side but failed. The movement of the boat and darkness all around frustrated my attempts. An engine sound caught my ears right then and a steam boat raced past us without any light. For the first time, the rotatable headlight was switched on as the driver swerved right towards the now illuminated shore. We rounded off the trip with a visit to a five-storied store. My wife called home:

‘Hello! I am at Mahalakshmi store..’
‘No, Madam. Jayalakshmi’, the group of sales girls spoke in unison. ‘on M.G.Road’. As if the location would have altered the name itself.
‘O.K., O.K. Jayalakshmi. Should I pick up a Lehenga and some Punjabi suits for you?’
Punjabi suits in Kerala! Whatever happened to the traditional Pattu-pavadas and Thaavanis! Thank God my wife finally picked up a Kasavu saree for herself!

At dinner, we had fish for the umpteenth time before flying out of God’s own country.
***

India's Indira

It were the discussions on TV channels that reminded most people that it has been 25 years since we lost Indira Gandhi-the charismatic leader of Congress party and India’s most widely known prime minister after Nehru. There have been many assessments of her career. The favourable ones mention some of the progressive steps taken under her leadership including nationalization of commercial banks, abolition of privy purses, the decisive victory over arch-rival Pakistan and for providing leadership to the Non-aligned group in international politics. The critical voices justifiably fault her for curbing inner-party democracy, declaring emergency, press censorship, assault on Golden Temple, empty slogans like Garibi Hatao. There is some truth in all these observations.
Indira Gandhi was brought in ironically by the Congress’ old guard who believed they could manipulate her easily. However she proved to be their undoing when she split the party and forced them into oblivion. Her early encounters with such hardened politicians may have made her steely enough not to brook any opposition to her. The way she axed Vasant Sathe, who was gaining popularity as I&B minister in her cabinet was a case in point. Today, the Left parties claim credit for the progressive steps taken by her disregarding the fact that the Congress’ economic policy was anything but Left-of-Centre in that phase. She wooed USSR and annoyed US a lot by giving the same orientation to the foreign policy. The non-aligned group in UN was dismissed by the West as India’s baby despite it being a 118 nations-strong group representing 55% of world’s population. Cuba’s Fidel Castro, Palestine’s Yasser Arafat, Yugoslavia’s Tito & Egypt’s Nasser rubbed shoulders with her at one summit after another. Her frontal attack on the issue of UK-owned Diego Garcia being turned into a US naval base was a constant thorn in West’s flesh. At home, she called the shots in all states and dictated who should be the CM and for how long. Over time, she was surrounded by a coterie restricting access to others. The decisive war against Pakistan brought her a lot of fame. The military gains were largely lost during the Simla summit where Bhutto surprisingly sought the territory captured on the Western Front rather than 80,000 POW in India’s custody. India exploded a nuclear device at Pokhran in 1974 under her leadership that led to sanctions. She was unseated in an electoral malpractice case that led to demand for her govt.’s ouster under the leadership of J.P Narayan. She fought back, declared internal emergency, imposed press censorship, and imprisoned opposition leaders but lost power in an election called 18 months later. This was the darkest phase of her political career. This was the only time I met her in 1978.

Indira Gandhi was determined to prove that she continued to be popular. A South Indian travel group included a visit to her residence in the sight-seeing itinerary for local tourists. I received an invitation to the release of a book on her infamous son, Sanjay Gandhi at her residence and took my wife of less than a year to see her. She adored Indira Gandhi and was sceptical of my claim. We sat under shamiana in the open, some twenty rows away from the dais, which was crowded by the local leaders. The rays from the afternoon sun fell on my wife’s eyes, which she shielded with a brochure. Indira Gandhi strode into the venue briskly, held the book, made some off the cuff remarks, ignored the crowd on the dais and walked back while we stood up. As she passed by our row, she leaned toward my wife and smilingly said, “Aap par to sara waqt dhoop hi padti rahi”. My wife, totally disarmed by her keen observation and unexpected attention, was too dumbfounded to muster even a response.

Indira Gandhi returned to power soon after but the spark was gone. Punjab began to burn with hundreds of Hindus being shot in its fields. Golden Temple became a sanctuary for Sikh terrorists with arms being smuggled in kar seva trucks day in and day out. People who wrote against Bhindrawalan, Lala Jagat Narain of Punjab Kesari for instance, were summarily shot dead by his goons. Senior Akali leaders lay low while a parallel govt. ran from Akal Takht. Finally, Indira Gandhi’s govt. ordered Operation Blue Star to flush out the Sikh terrorists. She paid for it with her life as twp of her own Sikh bodyguards sprayed bullets into her.

Controversies apart, Indira Gandhi was a powerful symbol in her own right. When she assumed power, all men and many women mocked her. ‘Petticoat raj aa gaya hai’ was the popular refrain. But she proved herself superior to most men. Even Atal Bihari Vajpayee, BJP’s senior leader and later prime minister of India, compared her with Goddess Durga when she won the 1971 war against Pakistan. She was elegant, stylish, aristocratic and sensitive- all at the same time.
R.I.P.

China’s Hindu!

It is October 2, celebrated as Gandhi Jayanti across the country and a national holiday. I opened the daily “The Hindu’ expecting some inspiring and incisive analysis associated with the father of the nation or the principles and policies he enunciated. What I found instead was a banner headline “Tian’anmen showcases rise if China” and a write up by its editor datelined Beijing. More reports and pictures followed inside. Curiously there was not a word of criticism about the blatant display of 50 weapon systems including inter-continental nuclear missiles when the world is seriously concerned with issues of proliferation and universal disarmament. Nor was there any analysis of what it forebodes for us whose borders have lately seen increasing incursions across the northern boundaries. There was verbatim reproduction of what Hu Jintao said about ‘socialism, Marxism, reforms and opening up policy without any analysis of how the disparage elements blend together. It is the only country in the world, which has the temerity not to stamp visas on the passports of Indians belonging to J&K and Arunachal Pradesh but to issue them on loose sheets. In fact it went so far as to protest visits of not just H.H. Dalai Lama but also our prime minister to our own North-Eastern State. While there is no denying the fact that China has recorded spectacular growth, much of it has also been allegedly achieved by denying democratic freedoms and labour rights. Behind the soldiers donning ‘2007-style uniforms’ and marching smartly in Tiananmen square, infamous for suppression of pro-democracy protestors, lies hidden abject poverty and corruption of common man. But even a serious newspaper like ‘The Hindu’ cannot pierce beyond what can be described as the Great Wall of Chinese Opacity and censorship.
Many may argue that it’s nothing to raise eyebrows about considering our neighbour in the north celebrated 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic. I am not sure whether other nations in our neighbourhood, there are half a dozen surrounding us, enjoy the same privilege. ‘The Hindu’ in fact ‘showcases’ everything about China far more enthusiastically than the Chinese themselves, which may explain why its editorial staff is extended Chinese hospitality so frequently and so generously. Its full-length laudatory editorial on Tibet in the past without a word of sympathy for thousands of refugees living in exile across the world would substantiate it. Letters of protest from readers were ignored except one written by Ram Chandra Guha, the noted historian and others, a heavily edited version of which was squeezed into its columns. The intent surely was not to reflect a dissenting opinion but for the sake of record. One could even argue that everything is fine so long development takes place and the standard of life of its 1.3 billion people improves. Should we, then, ban strikes by affluent pilots who report sick make our national airlines lose billions? Should we follow the Chinese example and tame press eulogising foreign governments by publishing the handouts issued by their news agencies more religiously than the handouts of PIB? Let responsible sections of press, like ‘The Hindu’, cover international events freely but in a manner, which is objective rather than subservient

Revisiting Indo-Pak Border

8 August and an evening to spare in Firozepur! There could be nothing better than to rush to Hussainiwala border on the outskirts of the sleepy town. And that is precisely what I did, hiring a Maruti car, which raced to the border in ten minutes. How far is it from the centre of the city? ‘Barely 8 kilometres’, the driver mumbled and led me to the Martyrs’ Samadhi before I could even think about being overcharged for such a small distance. The way to the wall carrying images of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru has been laid out in red stone. It nearly burnt my soles (the shoes are taken off out of reverence!) and I wondered why no one ever had thought of spreading a mat for the visitors. There were many children who chose to splash in the water being filled up in the pond near the statues of the three martyrs whose names have become inextricably interlinked in the annals of our history. The fourth, Batukeshwar Dutt, was acquitted in the infamous Lahore trial and later died in Calcutta in 1964. Alternatively, they rushed to the green lawns below where a Samadhi in black granite stands in memory of Punjab’ Mata- Bhagat Singh’s mother in fulfilment of her last wish. ‘Have the sacrifices of such young men gone in vain’, I wondered, ‘as thoughts about the self-centred, power-hungry politicians invaded my mind. Beyond her Samadhi, there was a row of brick pillars on which Firozepur-Lahore trains used to run in good old days and made the district prosperous. Now it just highlighted the eternal divide.

A five- minute walk takes you to the gate manned by BSF who issue a small paper token allowing you to proceed. There is a notice announcing a ban on cameras, video cameras, mobile phones etc. I am carrying two of the forbidden items so check with the sentry. I am told that I can carry my mobile phone, which wouldn’t work in view of jammers installed at the border and the camera too is fine. The Notice must have been put up before they heard about Google Earth, which makes it unnecessary to shoot pictures of likely targets on the ground and no one ever thought of removing it. I walk for another ten minutes to pass through a tall arch with the four lions visible in the middle. The actual gates are just a little ahead but we are herded in to enclosures on either side- women to the left or men to the right. ‘Why this segregation?’, I felt like asking but the stern demeanour of the burly six feet plus Sikh soldier made me melt away without a whisper. There were the privileged ones who were allowed to drive right to the gate behind us and also to occupy chairs perched on our side. The commoners like me were pushed towards a stair case leading to steps behind.

The heat was unbearable and beads of perspiration kept falling from my chin. I wondered whether the BSF jawans guarding the border were made of better stuff or wore an absorbing fabric. The stands were filling up fast. The Pakistani side had lots of men in long shirts and salwars. Their women sat in a separate enclosure draped in black burqas or ethnic decorative dresses. A woman and her cameraman were shooting the entire sequence with unhindered access. They must be from PTV, I thought. Patriotic music was also being played on their side. I could not restrain myself any longer and asked the BSF officer close by why their speakers are silent. There was a shout for someone who nonchalantly replied that he did not know how to play a tape. Hope he knows how to fire a shot, I thought raising my eyebrows. Nonetheless ‘Chak de India’ did pierce through the silence a little later and I felt better.

The ceremony was a repeat of what I witnessed at Wagah and recounted in the earlier post on my blog. There was lot of stamping of feet by half a dozen men on both sides and long shouts, raising the rifle with a single hand and handing it over to the man standing next. The crowd on both sides was blatantly partial clapping for their own men and derisively laughing at the other. The presence of a couple of East Asian women with covered heads in the front row on Pakistani side and their enthusiastic support for Pakistani rangers was duly noted by the crowd.

As the Sun dipped over the horizon, the soldiers changed sides and brought the two flags down diagonally meeting for a minute at the middle. The symbolism was not lost on me but the crowd did not care and had begun to melt away. As I walked back in the twilight, I noticed barbed wire farther to my right with the flood-lit double-fencing to my left. I asked the BSF guard whether both the security rings belonged to us. He confirmed they did and we were walking between the two.

‘Don’t the Pakistanis need any barrier against us?’

‘What for? He shrugged his shoulders. ‘Who would like to go there?’
***

Redefining BJP

The deliberations in the BJP are becoming murkier with each passing day. The knives are out and senior leaders are raising inconvenient questions. The party did not do as well as expected in the last polls and the PM-designate Advani offered to step down as leader of Opposition. This should not have come as a surprise since Advani had launched a personal campaign of vilification against PM Manmohan Singh calling him ‘weak’, ‘nikamma’ and accused him of having degraded the office as never before by taking commands from elsewhere (read Sonia Gandhi). However, he was persuaded to stay on till the organizational elections were over. The real reason seemed to be that there was no natural successor. Advani acted cleverly and appointed two persons considered close to him- Jaitley as Leader of the Opposition in the upper house and Sushma Swaraj as his deputy in the lower. It meant his continuing hold and appeasement of those wanting younger leaders to take charge to counter the emergence of Rahul and Varun Gandhis on the political horizon. This was resented by senior leaders like Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and their likes who felt that those responsible for the party’s poor showing were being rewarded. The target, Arun Jaitley, who was the chief campaigner, remained away enjoying the T 20 World Cup in London.

The opinions about BJP’s poor showing have predictably been varying. Those close to RSS feel that it happened because BJP strayed from the path of Hindutva. The senior leaders mentioned above felt that those who have never won an election (read, Jaitley) called the shots while sitting in Delhi. There were simmering voices criticising the way a negative and personal campaign was carried out by Advani and Modi, which put people off. There is yet another group, led by the party’s chief, which feels that BJP has not done badly at all with its hundred plus strength in Lok Sabha. The party spokespersons have reiterated its position that it would stick to the liberal, tolerant Hindutva as its core ideology.

There lies the problem. Most Hindus do not have a problem with Hindutva but with the brand followed by it. It is neither liberal nor tolerant. BJP has come to be identified with pulling down of Babri Masjid at Ayodhya, murderous attacks on Christian churches and missionaries in Orissa and Karnataka, moral policing resulting in assaults on women in Mangalore’s and courting couples on Valentine’s Day across the Hindi heartland. The little men and women owing allegiance to it have even tried to enforce dress codes. These acts are sometimes carried out by little known organizations which mushroom around polls and can be conveniently disowned. So Advani can condemn attacks on women, describe demolition of Babri Masjid as the saddest day of his life, praise Jinnah as a secularist and try to garner votes in the name of Hindutva at the same time. You dissociate yourself from Varun Gandhi’s communal comments and retain him as a candidate. Varun wins his seat but costs BJP many more.

To sum up, the BJP’s Hindutva has never been the tolerant, liberal, all-inclusive faith that Hindus have always prided themselves of and to which its spokespersons allude today. The party has actually brought the great faith into disrepute and disgrace by giving it a dimension akin to Islamic jihad. The trishuls distributed by it to all and sundry misrepresent the essence of Hinduism. Hinduism is all about conquering evil within ourselves. It is about freeing one of opposites in the form of pleasure and pain, success and failure, victory and defeat. It is about controlling our senses, overcoming worldly desires, managing anger lest it cause despair and loss of judgement leading to our ultimate ruin. It is about doing our karma or duty for the larger good of mankind in the name of God without worrying about results. Hinduism is a synonym of compassion and service to mankind. Let BJP return to its fold and see the difference it would make.

Justice for Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi served as the figurehead for Burma's struggle for democracy since 1988, and is one of the world's most renowned freedom fighters and advocates of non-violence. Born on June 19, 1945 to Burma's independence hero, Aung San, Suu Kyi was educated in Burma, was a student at LSR College, University of Delhi, India, and in the United Kingdom. Her father was assassinated when she was only two years old.

In 1988, she returned to Burma to nurse her dying mother, and was plunged into the nationwide uprising that had just begun. Joining the newly-forming National League for Democracy political party, Suu Kyi gave numerous speeches calling for freedom and democracy. The military regime responded to the uprising with brute force, shooting and killing up to 10,000 demonstrators – including students, women, and children – in a matter of months. Unable to maintain its grip on power, the regime was forced to call for a general election in 1990. As Suu Kyi campaigned for the NLD, she and many others were detained by the regime. Despite being held under house arrest, the NLD went on to win a staggering 82% of the seats in parliament. The regime never recognised the results.

Suu Kyi has been in and out of arrest ever since. She was held from 1989-1995, and again from 2000-2002. She was again arrested and placed behind bars in May 2003 after the Depayin massacre, during which up to 100 of her supporters were beaten to death by the regime's cronies. She moved from prison back into house arrest in late 2003 and has been held there ever since. She has won numerous international awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament, United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Award from India. She has called on people around the world to join the struggle for freedom in Burma, saying "Please use your liberty to promote ours."

What is neighbouring India, which boasts of being the largest democracy and the rest of the world doing to secure justice for her?

Free Aung San Suu Kyi now! Down with Myanmar’s military junta!

Speaking Malayalam-Nursing a Job

Caught speaking Malayalam, Apollo nurses asked to resign. IE, May 26

The news report dealt with how two nurses were asked to resign when they were overheard speaking to each other in their native tongue, Malayalam. It is perfectly common for people belonging to the same community or region to break into their familiar lingo, especially in a different world. It not only gives them a sense of identity but also a collective anonymity, bordering on superiority, as others around them gape at them blankly. This need not always turn into loss of a job unless you are working for Apollo. My senior R. narrated two experiences, which were quite to the contrary.

R. had a deft hand and drew cartoons with a felicity envied by many. His favourite pastime was to ask small children to draw any line and he would turn it into a figure of their choice. S his fame spread, All India Radio hired his services to illustrate Akashvani, its official journal. He rid its contents of drabness over a period of time. As he entered its office on Delhi’s prime location, Parliament Street, to collect a cheque for the services rendered, he found himself facing a lady from his home State, Kerala. I must add here that R. had grown long hair, which were quite a rage then, and spoke chaste Hindi. His features too did not betray his roots and he was often mistaken to be from the Hindi heartland.

The lady was quite justified when she said to him, ‘Kahiye?’

‘Ji, mujhe apna cheque lena hai’, Rajan explained.

He was offered a seat and asked to wait after he had provided relevant information. Then dropped the bombshell. The lady pretended to be absorbed in work, switched to Malayalam and called out the name of a colleague seated in the same room and said to her, ‘Have you seen this joker sitting before me?’

Rajan got a jolt but composed himself and kept looking around blankly.

‘Why? What is special about him”, the other lady enquired.

‘Jesus! Look at his hair. And he must be thinking he is looking very smart”

“Why is he here?”

‘For money. But he should be given scissors in lieu of that!’

Thankfully the cheque arrived by then and Rajan signed a register to get it. Having collected it, he turned to the lady smilingly and asked in chaste Hindi, ‘Aap ko mere baal pasand nahin aaye?

The other incident was quite hilarious. On a visit to a ward in Willington Hospital in New Delhi, he discovered that the patient he was looking for was not to be found on the allotted bed. A little concerned, he rushed to the nursing station where the petite Malayali girl was on the intercom. ‘Ek minute’, she said to which Rajan responded with a nod. And then she went on uttering choicest obscenities in Malayalam, which brought beads of perspiration on R.’s forehead in winter. When she hung up after what seemed to be eternity and asked my friend, ‘Bolo’, Rajan asked gleefully about the missing patient but in Malayalam. The nurse turned pale, vanished from the scene and sent someone else to answer the query.

Better than losing a job, anyway!

Destination Australia!

Incidents involving mugging and stabbing of Indian students in Australia, especially in Victoria, are a matter of grave concern. Many Indians have been robbed in the past but the increasing numbers of students- estimates vary between 1 to 1.5 lacs- have led to racist attacks bordering on culpable homicide to attempted murder. The frequency of vicious assaults on those who have legally sought admission there and are shelling out hefty fees averaging 2 lacs in Indian rupees have caught everyone’s attention. Routine diplomatic steps like summoning the Aussie envoy in New Delhi and phone calls by PM to his counterpart raised some hope that the matter will be resolved. However, excessive use of force by the police on Indian protestors on a sit-in shows that racism pervades even the police force there.

What should India do? India should take steps that hurt Australia. They can't make money from our students and then stab them with screwdrivers or hurl petrol bombs at them. Indian govt. should issue an advisory against travel to that country, whether for study or for tourism. Once billions of dollars, which are being earned by Australian educational and travel industry, go away, their government would understand that racism against Indians cannot be taken lightly. Banks should refuse study loans if the destination is Australia. We should derecognize Australian degrees unless those holding them clear equivalence tests here in India.

It is a pity that our students are forced to study abroad. This is largely due to reckless introduction of reservation in admissions as well as teaching. Though advocates of social justice refuse to accept it, yet merit surely takes a backseat. The admission opportunities to quality technical institutes in India must be increased. This could be done by introducing paid seats in elite institutions and the money thus raised can be used to set up more facilities here. In short, stop patronising foreign universities and improve educational infrastructure here. With stringent regulation by UGC and AITEC, it should be possible to open private universities and provide educational avenues to those who have the means to pay for them.

Elections and After

The recent Lok Sabha elections threw up several surprises. The voters decimated several regional satraps like Lalu Prasad, Paswan, Mulayam Singh, Vaiko, Ramadoss etc and reduced the prime-ministerial ambitions of others ranging from Jayalalitha, Pawar, Navin Patnaik to Mayawati and Modi. The BJP held its fort in most States under its rule (Rajasthan excepted) but failed to make significant gains. Its orchestrated campaign to reduce the poll to a direct contest between Manmohan Singh and Advani came a cropper. Karat’s grandiose plans to hoist a Third Front and provide alternative policies remained stillborn with key allies like JD(S) hobnobbing with Congress even before the last round of polling got underway. For the Congress and its allies, the results were sweeter than expected and the comfort derived from increased numbers has raised its confidence to deal with recalcitrant allies like DMK. The formation of cabinet has been like the birth pangs experienced during a difficult delivery. There is a fusion of youth and maturity in the new Cabinet. Rahul Gandhi’s decision not to join it but devote time to rejuvenating the party disappointed those opposed to the dynastic rule.

A fortnight later, the losers remain unrepentant. BJP proclaims that the Congress is misreading the mandate. It is not an endorsement of UPA’s performance but an acceptance of bipolarity in politics implying that Congress merely gained from the rejection of Third and Fourth Fronts. It may be partly valid but does not explain why these votes did not come the BJP’s way. Such a denial mode may do more damage to the party’s prospects. Its policies and manner of discourse is clearly out of sync with youth who constitute a significant part of electorate and have different aspirations. You cannot project an eighty year old as a youth icon while younger leaders in the party remain sidelined. The claims of strong and nationalistic leadership sounded hollow once the ghost of Kandahar and Advani’s praise of Jinnah rose from the past. BJP failed to raise important issues and how it would have done things differently. The campaign remained besmirched in ‘budiya-gudiya’ small talk. No wonder the voters drifted away to those who were a ‘lesser evil’ in voters’ parlance.

The Left parties were perceived as road-blocks to progress. The voters clearly felt that they were caught in a time warp and unwilling to change ideologically with times, as China did. Their decision to vote along side BJP to pull down the govt. over the Indo-US Nuclear deal along with the violence in Nandigram and Singur dented their image considerably and wiped them out of reckoning. In retrospect, Amrtya Sen was right when he disapproved of their decision to withdraw support to UPA and suggesting that they lost their voice in the process. The election results showed that it actually happened even in their strongholds like West Bengal and Kerala. There is saying suggesting there is nothing more dangerous than an idea if it is the only one you have. The Left parties seem to have vindicated it. However, their claim that but for their opposition to unbridled financial reforms, the impact of global recession on India would have been worse is not without merit.

The ball is now in UPA’s court. The problems are aplenty. There is a strong middle class waiting for a clean, transparent and efficient government. The rural populace needs employment generation and social justice to enable it to stay at home rather than migrate to urban chaos. Lacs of cases in courts highlight the need for speedy and fair trials. Education system must be overhauled to prevent meritorious young men and women from going overseas in quest of degrees and jobs. Health care must be made available at affordable prices. The departments dealing with public are seething with corruption and need to be cleansed. Initial indications are that the new ministers have been told to perform or to perish. One hopes they would choose the former option.

Modi-fied BJP

Narendra Modi is no longer just a poster boy for BJP. He has also acquired a larger than life image. There are umpteen stories about how the State has progressed under his rule and this is also confirmed by objective observers. He has the uncanny ability to sound sober and logical on media and in conferences while reserving his taunts and innuendos to woo and sway the masses in public meetings. No wonder he has emerged as a potential choice even for prime-minister ship once senior Advani makes way for him. His name was recently proposed by Arun Shourie and supported by the party’s spokesperson, Arun Jaitley. His success in decimating opponents within the party and without has been phenomenal and casts despair especially among Congressmen in Gujarat. During the ongoing campaign, they were found wanting on most occasions and forgot the real issues busy as they were in reacting to his salvos. Remember the frivolousness of ‘Budiya-Gudiya’ comments while serious issues remained on the backburner.

Modi’s popularity in Gujarat has been enigmatic. He allegedly acquiesced in, if not provoked, retaliatory violence against Muslims in the wake of an attack on Hindu karsevaks returning by train from Ayodhya. It resulted in the death of thousands of Muslims and destruction of their homes. The image of a tearful ex-MP Ehsan Jafri begging for life before he was killed by the rioters continues to haunt the civil society. The inaction of the State’s police was captured live by TV channels, which the independent observers found comparable to the situation prevailing during the anti-Sikh riots. Surprisingly Modi managed to turn the public anger against Muslims into political support for himself and won the next elections convincingly- a situation again comparable to Congress’ return to Lok Sabha in 1984 elections.

The Supreme Court recently instructed the SIT, on a petition filed by Jafri’s widow, to probe the role of Narendra Modi and seven of his ministers, including VHP international general secretary Pravin Togadia as also senior bureaucrats and police officers, into the communal riots in the state. It also ordered the setting up of special courts to try the accused in Gujarat. The BJP interestingly treated it as a compliment to judiciary of Gujarat since cases against rioters were transferred out of State in the past. As a result of SIT’s investigation, Maya Kodnani, a minister in Modi’s cabinet and a senior VHP functionary Jaideep Patel were recently arrested and both are cooling their heels in jail.

Modi’s ploy in Gujarat has been to confuse the issue of persecution of minorities to one of its 'asmita' or prestige of Gujaratis. So it no longer remains a Hindu-Muslim issue but becomes one of Congress-led Centre 'maligning' Guajratis. Mix it with Sonia's foreign origins and you can tongue-twist it to one of national honour. He simultaneously fuels and cashes on a sentiment that the ‘pseudo-secular Congress’ appeases Muslims and treats Hindus with contempt. Instances like delay in Afzal Guru’s execution are handpicked to support BJP’s case and give it a pro-Hindu image. The gullible voters are taken in and rarely question BJP’s record in protecting, promoting or reforming Hinduism. The only instances that come to mind are its sister organizations attacking churches and mosques, raping nuns and assaulting priests; none of which bring any glory to the Hindu faith or it followers.

BJP has always been accused, especially by the Left parties, of being fascist in character. The parallel is not entirely misplaced. Fascism is defined as a radical and authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists believe that nations and races are in perpetual conflict whereby only the strong can survive. BJP’s insistence on India being a Hindu nation, intolerance of and atrocities against minorities and emphasis on strength and security in recent polls seem to fit in with a fascist mindset. The point of deviation is the compulsion to remain within the democratic framework while promoting nationalism, anti-minorityism and anti-communism with charismatic oratory and propaganda. The term fascist, after all, has been used as a pejorative word.

National Elections

Elections should normally be like a warm-up to the next round of governance. One expects an incisive analysis of various aspects of performance of the outgoing government to enable people to make an impassioned appraisal. Add to it the explanation how the contending party would do things differently and you have the game neatly and fairly drawn up. The rest rests with the voter’s index finger adorned with a blot of indelible ink to point to. The nation gets a new government. It does not seem to be happening this way so far. The campaign has been personal, vicious, almost defamatory and bordering on abuse. What is worse is that leading parties and towering leaders lowered the level of what was passed on as debate.

The Indo-US Nuclear Deal, which almost led to the fall of the government, hardly figured in the speeches. Those who accused the govt. of a sell-out of national interest to US and promised annulment or renegotiation, meekly submitted that they would let it be since it was an agreement between two governments. India’s neighbourhood got more and more insecure as we move towards the final phase of our national polls. The Maoist PM of Nepal has resigned following a tiff with his head of State over sacking of the military chief. Pakistan faces the brunt of Taliban advance in to its cities and is knocking at our doors in Kashmir and Punjab. Sri Lankan army quells the LTTE in our south creating a huge crisis for the civilian Tamil population caught in the crossfire. Military junta in Myanmar retains its stranglehold on the pro-democracy forces. Curiously, China is involved in all these nations. It is signing a treaty of friendship with Nepal, has been on best of terms with Pakistan, supports the Sri Lankan advance into the north, and stands by Myanmar. Besides, it lays claim over Arunachal Pradesh and continues to occupy Aksai Chin. It is almost encircling India. Did we hear a word about it?

So it is with global economy taking a beating, pink slips and lay offs and Sensex crashing and picking up again lately with bail-outs and positive cues from foreign markets. We learnt in school that we are an agricultural country but no one seems to care or question our performance on that front. We got famous for our IT and BPO and HB1 visa-grabbing professionals in the recent past. No one mentions them. Our small and medium industry has almost been wiped out by the cheap and under-invoiced Chinese imports. Not a whimper about it. Our exports as well as FDI are down. Are they? Population swells resulting in a virtual stampede of migrants from rural to urban centres. Naxals hijack trains and blow up polling stations in the Red-belt. Insurgency raises its head gain in the North-East. Best dismissed as regional issues. Issues relating to education, health and child care are best left buried in manifestoes.

Our panellists in print media and TV studios went on harping on pet and populist issues. The weakness or otherwise of PM; the debut speech of Varun Gandhi; the volte face of Kalyan Singh and Naveen Patnaik; the smile and saris of Priyanka Gandhi; the Modi-fied BJP and Bofor-ified Congress; black money stashed abroad; prospects of the Third and Fourth fronts upstaging the both and so on so forth. Is it any wonder that more than half of our population did not exercise their franchise?

A Postcard from Khushwant Singh

Khushwant Singh knows how to be in the news. When the media is preoccupied with spats between Manmohan Singh and Advani, Khushwant Singh chooses to write about their spouses-a non-descript Sardarni and a budding poetess. He loves to analyse and his latest contribution in his weekly column took pot shots at four women in the saffron brigade- Uma Bharti, Sadhvi Rithambra, Mayaben Kodnani and Sadhvi Pragya. Khushwant Singh suggests that their aggression has something to do with their being unmarried. He is conscious of the fact that his linkage of sexual frustration with violence in speech may not be accepted by many but still goes ahead to make it. One could take exception to such a sexist approach especially since there is no shortage of male politicians who are either bachelors or widowers or forced to practise celibacy under duress. They evidently do not make news like the firebrand women spewing venom on election trails.

Khushwant Singh has always been fond of women and their exploits. He has an uncanny habit of being candid about his sexual instincts and experiences. He has often dwelt on the subject in his columns as well as other writings. The graphic description of a sexual encounter in his much acclaimed novel, Train to Pakistan lent it an erotic value. The juvenile readers found it pornographic and only celebrated critics saw it as an integral part of the novel’s plot and how it fused into the narrative. His detractors accuse him of being obsessed with wine and women and found the logo of a turbaned Sikh within an hour-glass literally full of malice towards one and all. However, Khushwant Singh has gone on writing on subjects ranging from serious to scandalous. The man who produced The History of Sikhs could also poke his finger into a life-sized doll inviting a glare from a sales girl. His column can bemoan the death of the liberal spirit and juxtapose it with a crude joke or a limerick from a budding poet.
Khushwant Singh’s strongest asset is his language. He writes with a natural flair, which few of us could equal in the past. Much of Indian writing in English of that era made one feel as if one were reading a translation of a work in the vernacular. Khushwant Singh’s pieces did not betray his Punjabi roots in diction though the content obviously could not hide it. His interests have been so wide-ranging that they would baffle an average reader. In the fall of 1991, I could recollect his description of a flowering tree, some of which still grow between the roundabouts on Patel Chowk and Jan path. I was overcome with a desire to know its name and took the liberty of writing to him. Frankly I did not expect him to answer the query and even suggested that he could ignore it if he found it bothersome. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised when I received a post card from him soon enough. ‘I think the tree I was referring to is the CHORIZZIA. They are beginning to flower now pink and white.'

Letter from the President

I have been watching Republic day parades since my childhood. The earliest recollection is when I walked along my father through the Ridge (there was no transport available then) to reach Vijay Chowk and then further down to the point across the saluting base for a better view. The sight of our president and the distinguished guests alighting from the horse-drawn black buggy is still fresh in my memory. I had little interest in the military machines or the soldiers marching past like immaculate boxes. I stood on my toes to get a better look at the dancing children and , the tableaux depicting different States. When the helicopters spraying rose petals arrived, the neck turned upwards and the eyes shaded with my palm till the shrieking, screaming aircraft filled the sky intermittently , some of which shot straight into the sky leaving trails of colours of our national flag. As we left the spot in a hurry to avoid crowds, hundreds of balloons burst upwards into the air and I kept turning my head just in case one of them came down within my reach. It never happened.

As years rolled by, I was lucky to participate in the prestigious parade twice. The excitement was palpable and electric on both the occasions. The discomfort of being made to sit on the tarmac near Vijay Chowk before daybreak disappeared as I marched down the Rajpath towards the National Stadium with a sense of pride.

In 2003, I was watching the same parade on TV while the rest of the family slept on. President A.P. J. Abdul Kalam sat impassively while recipients of several bravery awards were summoned to receive their prizes. One of them was a young widow whose husband had been martyred in the service of the nation. She stood dressed in white at some distance facing the President while a long citation detailing the heroic deed of her spouse was read. Finally her name was called out and the President rose to hand over the citation and the medal to her when she walked closer to him. The ceremony made me feel very uncomfortable.

I decided to write to the President. It almost looked as if the widow of the martyr was an accused waiting for a judgement to be pronounced. I took the liberty to suggest to the President that either he should also stand once the widow of the martyr arrived on the scene. This will be chivalrous and would also show respect to the departed soul. Alternatively, the widow should be called only after the citation has been read. I was not sure if my suggestion would even be considered. About a fortnight later, I received a thick envelop from Rashtrapati Bhavan. It contained a letter signed by the Hon’ble Mr. Kalam himself. It thanked me for the letter and the suggestion. What took the cake was an insertion in his hand stating, “I agree, in future it will be avoided.” He kept his word.

Exercising a choice!

We are on the threshold of another national election. In forty-eight hours from now, the first phase of poll to choose the next government shall begin. It is a momentous time in the history of a nation. One is expected to evaluate the performance of the party, which has been in power and to decide whether to give it another chance or to show it the door. It is not an easy job especially when there was a coalition ruling the nation. One has to be discriminating enough to give credit (or discredit) to the one who deserves it. Take, for instance, the financial reforms. Following the global meltdown, the Left parties claimed, not without some justification, that Indian economy would have been worse of had they not applied brakes on opening up some areas to FDI. The SP can similarly claim that but for their support, the govt. would have fallen taking along with it, the Indo-US Nuclear Deal that made the Left withdraw support to UPA. It must be admitted that no claim is totally bereft of truth. Ironically, it is not the total truth either. This calls for a serious debate over issues affecting the nation and BJP has been repeatedly a lot of noise demanding a live televised debate between the PM and Advani, who is perceived by it as the PM-in -waiting. Its penchant for debate went to such n extent that it threw the gauntlet later to Congress chief. However, the Congress refused to oblige claiming that Advani was not the only candidate for prime ministership. It also added that the real place for debate on issues was the parliament whose sessions had to be adjourned repeatedly due to disturbances caused by BJP members. The PM also conceded that he is not as good at public speaking as Advani and would like to be judged by his performance.

Well, nothing prevented BJP from raising the same issues during its campaign even if a live debate was not possible. What is surprising is that not once did BJP spokesmen or leaders raised the issue of nuclear deal or whether they would continue with it or renegotiate it? The economy did not figure at all despite the financial reforms and the global meltdown. There has been a vicious campaign full of attacks directed against the PM and the Gandhi family. The PM is weak and Sonia a foreigner. The Congress party is called one day a Budiya and the next, a Gudiya. It has been a calculated attempt to dictate an irrelevant agenda as conceded by the party towards the end of the campaign and the Congress fell for it. The BJP plan has been to reduce it to a Congress-BJP contest and it pulled all sops, including hate-speeches through Varun Gandhi of Pilibhit and Ashok Sahu of Kandhamal to spew venom against Muslims and Christians. To add fuel to fire, Advani wrote to hundreds of religious leaders, mostly Hindu, assuring them of consultation should they back him. The Third front led by the Left was ignored. So were the regional straps of UP, Bihar and Maharashtra. None of them is prepared for a truck with BJP so why bother.

The Congress party’s dilemma was understandable. The Yadav combine offered it three miserly seats in Bihar forcing it to go alone. The same thing happened in UP where BSP supremo herself is dreaming of becoming the next prime minister fuelled by the Left. With two large states virtually out of reckoning, the Congress decided to strengthen its organization inviting mocking comments from its former allies like RJD. As the BJP fired one fusillade after another at it, the Congress could hardly ignore them and found itself playing the game on BJP’s terms. While the two mainstream parties tried to score brownie points in a fake debate carried out in TV studios and public meetings, the voters were left uninformed on where the ruling party faltered or how the opposition would do things differently or better. It is a great pity and the onus for this lies largely on BJP. It clamoured for a debate but never raised pertinent issues affecting the nation. It lowered the level of debate to unfathomable depths while assuming an expression of injured innocence. One sincerely hopes the voter would be able to separate the chaff from the grain and the polls would throw up a stable government committed to national growth and prosperity.

INDIA FIRST

The Congress party recently claimed that it was the only national party to bid for power during the next elections. Recognition of a political party as a national entity is done by the Election Commission in accordance with established rules, with which no one can evidently have any quarrel. Nor should any eyebrows be raised if the party’s intent is to highlight its presence in and ability to contest polls all over the country. But that is not the end of the story. The Congress cannot afford to forget that it has not been able to come to power either at the Centre or in several States on its own. In the largest State, U.P., it has been reduced to the status of a marginal player despite Gandhi family’s continuing nurturing of Amethi constituency. At the Centre, the UPA govt. was all but voted out by the Left & the BJP over the nuclear deal had the SP not outsmarted its opponents. Therefore, it is premature to accept the party’s exaggerated assessment of its strength notwithstanding the fact that its rule, barring some low points at the end, has largely been positive and successful. Wooing by AIADMK, despite Congress’ alliance with DMK, seems to endorse this view. Most impartial observers conceded that in the run up to the election, the Congress party has en edge over its rivals. This has as much to do with the sad state of affairs in BJP, which seems devoid of any constructive and alternative programs as with the splintered remnants of Third Front sought to be revived by the Left parties on the basis of anti-Congressism.

In such a scenario, Congress will be ill-advised to harp on its national status since it may have to rally smaller and regional parties to make the magical numbers. Aiming to acquire a majority by itself in the national elections should be the normal approach but it can be done better by adopting a national vision. The party functionaries could argue that that the two- national status and vision- are synonymous with one leading to the other. This is matter of semantics, not of policies. Congress has as much pandered to the regional, sectional, caste or minority sentiment as any other party. Lauding selling of cheap rice or providing free power in normal times amounts to the same. While those living in Delhi’s slums pay for power by individual meters, the students in JNU hostels need not do so. Didn’t the Congress government in A.P. reserve jobs for Muslims despite a clear mandate in the Constitution not to adopt policies based on religion? Ever since the government increased seats and jobs for OBCs, there has been a competition among even affluent castes to be declared backward. The ten-year mandate to frame such policies has been extended to more than half a century perpetuating a vested interest in poverty and backwardness. This is not expected of a party committed to all round progress and growth. Though attention to local issues is necessary, a national party must adopt a national vision. If Congress wishes to take the nation forward, it must believe in and act upon the dictum, INDIA FIRST.

Our Quam!

I was an eye-witness to this accident. While going to the local market in New Delhi, I saw a motor bike hitting from behind a stationary scooter on the traffic light, causing it to skid and suffer some damage. Fortunately, the victim suffered no injuries. Once on his toes, he confronted the motorcyclist and demanded an explanation and compensation. The road was a good ten feet lower so I stopped and looked down to overhear the exchange.
The motorcyclist disclaimed all responsibility while the scooter driver continued to protest strongly. As the argument raged on the road, the motor cyclist somehow managed to find that both of them, still in their teens, were Muslims. He patted the shoulder of the victim and tried to give it a new dimension.

“Bhai, hamari quam ki yahi mushkil hai. Hum ek dusre se ladne lagte hain.”(This is the problem with our community. We begin fighting among ourselves.)
The scooter driver was aghast and pushed him off. “Isme quam kahan se aa gayi? Hum sabhi Indian hain. Tumne hamara scooter toda so harzana do. (How does the question of community come in? We are all Indians. You damaged my scooter so compensate me for it.)

I didn’t stop to see how the fight ended. The scooter driver had made my day. I wish we, the grown ups, too had the maturity of the young scooter driver.

Of Greenathon & Lord Rama

Two curious things happened on the same evening of 8th February.

The NDTV channel collaborated with Toyota to launch a Greenathon- a mass movement dedicated to climate change, which raised more than 2 crore rupees within hours to provide solar power to villages deprived of electricity. There was a galaxy of stars pleading for ban on plastics, replacing traditional heat generating bulbs with CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps), using CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) in place of gasoline products like petrol and diesel etc. Young boys and girls descended upon the banks of Yamuna in Delhi and on sea beaches of Mumbai to undertake token cleansing jobs sending out a clear message that the fight for saving environment can no longer be left to the governments of the day. It was heartening to see cricketers, cine artists and models teaming up to adopt villages and assuming social responsibility. It made a lot of sense. If you could spend lacs of rupees to buy a stake in an IPL team, you could surely invest some of your money in safeguarding the future for yourself and your children. If the initiative launched today survives over time and graduates from a tokenism to a mass movement, one can become hopeful about the future of this country and the world.

We need this optimism because those whose business it is to unite the country and lead it to a better future are still the prisoners of the past. We had the principal opposition party raking up the Ram temple issue, which it had conveniently put aside to remain in power for a full five years and remained forgetful of it all the while it sat in the opposition. The strange logic being that you need to be in power in the Centre and by yourself alone to build it at the controversial site where the Babri mosque stood and was pulled down in the presence of the PM-designate. It is another matter that the then CM of Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Kalyan Singh who swore before the apex court to protect it, let it crumble and got away with a token sentence is swearing to destroy BJP in U.P. Why? Because his son was denied a ticket for the forthcoming polls from a constituency of his choice and SP promptly handed it on a platter with an eye on his clout among the backward castes. Sons succeed fathers across the political spectrum from DMK in the South, SP in the Hindi heartland to NC in Kashmir. But the charge of dynastic politics is reserved by the BJP only for the Congress. Who cares for the smaller fish when the fight is with a whale and you never know whose support you would need in the era of coalition politics. But what took the cake was Modi’s charge that 26/11 was not possible without local support. It would pit the Hindus against Muslims and also ensure that it made Congress look too soft to fight terror. It flew straight into India’s face, which had been claiming that the dastardly attack on our financial capital was planned and executed from Pakistan. It was made a day before Pakistan has to officially react to India’s dossier. Who needs enemies when you have such friends amongst your own people?

People and politicians seem to be pulling the cart of the nation in different directions.

What’s in a name!

Sanjay Dutt has stated in an interview that girls who retain their maiden surnames after marriage insult their husbands. He also questioned their commitment to the matrimonial home. The immediate provocation for this statement, of course, was the adverse comment made by his sister, Priya Dutt, a Congress MP over his joining the Samajwadi Party. Though Sanjay pleaded that his relationship with his sister remained in tact and there was no feud in the family despite reservations about his new wife, Manyata, yet his statement would surely ruffle feathers. A question will be tossed at him to explain why only girls are obliged to change not just their surnames but often even their first names in deference to the wishes of their husbands or their families. This happens when, for instance, the first letters of those tying the knot do not earn the approbation of the astrologers and the solution lies in giving a new name to the bride to be. Girls marrying outside their religion too end up with names commonly used in the religion of their grooms. It is strange that the girl child faces a gender bias right from the first day of her life. While the parents of a baby boy are felicitated, those producing a girl earn sympathetic comments. If your second child is a female and follows a male child, the usual comment is that your family is now complete implying that a female only plays a complimentary role.

The Indian society has been trying to rid itself of gender biases over some time. This has partly happened due to more and more girls acquiring professional education and becoming economically independent. They have often outshone boys as the results of school leaving examinations reveal. Though glass ceilings still exist, yet they have made significant inroads into traditional male bastions. The challenge posed by the new Indian girl, who asserts her individuality and independence creates shockwaves in society. The male-centric society, in turn, faults them for conduct at variance with traditions and culture. Girls are targeted before marriage for refusing the male advances and afterwards for not showing enough respect to the matrimonial home and its occupants. Sanjay Dutt’s comments, though provoked by his personal differences with his sister, fit into this slot. He has done a great disservice to the cause of empowerment of women while settling a personal score with Priya Dutt.

There is a dishonourable exception to the practice of only girls being made to change their names. Married men who are not sure about getting a divorce and wishing to marry the second time willingly embrace Islam and assume a new (sur) name. But in Sanjay’s case, it was Manyata who was marrying outside her religion. Besides, when you are marrying a celebrity like Sanjay, what’s truly in a name?

Middle Class and 2009

Vir Sanghvi, in The dream lives (Counterpoint,Hindustan Times, January 4), is obviously optimistic. He does not see the gloom in the same way as many of us do as the new year begins. We may be wiser with hindsight about what went wrong during 2007, but we still seem to be clueless about the way ahead. We still do not know how to neutralise the terror machine operating from Pakistan and are knocking at the door of the US to bail us out. On the economy, thanks to our healthy habit of saving, there is no shortage of liquidity. But small-scale industries have been inundated by cheap imports from China and have largely taken to trading, resulting in a drop in exports. Sanghvi has been very careful not to suggest remedial measures. An awakened middle class is not enough in itself. The government needs to act responsibly on the economic and security fronts to restore public confidence. Whether it has the courage and foresight to do so ahead of the polls is the million-dollar question.