The Modi Effect: Change in Political Discourse

Abhishek Dwivedi

After and even before, Mr. Narendrabhai Modi was declared as Prime Ministerial candidate of NDA, the heated debate around his personality has been focused on his ambitions and chances of becoming PM. There is no doubt at all that Mr. Modi’s personality gives rise to a lot of conflicting yet powerful emotions among his supporters and detractors. There is no neutral ground when it comes to Modi. He is either loved fiercely or hated badly. His ambitions, which may or may not exist, are irrelevant now after the formal declaration. And what matters is the contribution of Modi towards the political discourse. His political fortunes may have changed dramatically in last three-four years but he has changed the political discourse of the country since last 10 years. His detractors may dismiss him as an arrogant fascist who refuses to come clean to media but they know that, slowly and silently, Modi has come clean to his voters in Gujarat.Before I proceed with my points regarding his role in revolutionizing the political intellectualism present in the country, it is my duty to put the caveat that I do not care and it doesn't matter what his role in Gujarat 2002 was as subsequent petitions against him have been dismissed or have exonerated him. Till Supreme Court declares otherwise, he shall be presumed and taken as innocent.The biggest contribution of Mr. Modi is that he has brought the responsibility to the doors of Gandhi’s. The first family is no more sacred. It’s not protected by the implied censorship of Media. The congress, after 2003, has banked heavily on censorship of Media, generally through allowances but sometimes through force also. With active assistance of media houses, almost every incident which fixed the Gandhi’s was suppressed or was sidelined. To debate serious issues regarding the responsibility of Gandhi, third rung BJP leaders who had no clue to debate, were called to these channels and were pitted against expert and arrogantly smart spokespersons of Congress. Every debate about Gandhi was brought to 2002 riots and the BJP spokespersons were brilliantly forced to concede or portrayed as conceding. Modi, after emerging as a national level leader of BJP, changed this attitude of BJP. The implied understanding of Delhi BJP with Congress was reversed. Aggressive and confident spokespersons of BJP were sent to media houses to debate and attack the Gandhi’s. Just like every issue about BJP was forced to revolve around Modi’s culpability in 2002 riots, every scam, every issue of accountability was brought to the Gandhi’s by BJP. The pressers of BJP were now targeting Gandhi’s and PM rather than individual ministers. Meenakshi lekhi, Smriti Irani and Nirmala Sitaraman took on, not only on Congress and Gandhi's, but on Media Moguls aligned with Gandhi’s also. The media was forced to change its stance vis-à-vis Gandhi's. Today, Gandhi’s are no more sacred. Gandhi’s are not India’s natural choice anymore. They are being questioned about Rahul’s degrees, Sonia’s relationship with Bofors and as Modi said in Jaipur, Daamad ka Karobar.Another point is about addressing the masses. Mr. Modi is known for his calculated and customized speeches. His speech in SRCC was focused on development story and HRD investment in Gujarat. In Hyderabad, he gave the slogan of jai Seemandhra and Jai Telangana. He invited TDP to NDA. In Rewari, he literally shredded the congress for its apathy towards armed forces. He has changed the notion of speeches and has developed the concept of impromptu dialogues with masses. He has taken the initiative of addressing masses rather than communities. He addressed his rallies in 2012 assembly elections to Six Crore Guajaratis’. He has made Rahul’s reading habit took like a sin in politics. He has made Rahul speak about development more than what his father or grandmother did. He has brilliantly stolen the Congress stalwarts, not belong to Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, and have used them brilliantly in his speeches to target the “Parivaarvaad” of congress. His speeches are focused on balancing his achievements in Gujarat and shredding the Congress regime.Third and one of the most interesting points about Modi’s political discourse is that he never ran after the media, especially English media for any coverage. He once said and I quote “it is not my job to run their channel”. He ensured, though, through his effective media management that he remains in news somehow, without directly interacting with the media. He eagerly watched and decided the course of media about his actions. The over negativism of media about Modi and selective journalism regarding Gujarat saturated the people all across the nation. Their shows about communalism in Gujarat was refuted by almost every person who visited Gujarat and did not subscribe to pseudo-secularist self proclaimed intellectuals. The obsession of Media regarding Modi proved to be a boon for Modi. The negative discourse on Modi forced people to understand his side of story. And when people tried to learn about him through internet and social media, they were easily convinced about the paid and selective journalism of Main stream Media. Modi never tried to convince anyone of anything. He just determined the agenda of Media and rest followed.   He was the first, yes the first politician, to identify the potential and power of social media. He started interacting and actively responding to his followers in twitter. Today, he tweets in several different languages. He has forced BJP leaders to come on twitter and interact with people. BJP, with this initiative, has consolidated its base among young and urban class. There is a self-organized organic force of volunteers who sitting from different cities of the country, actively take part in and contribute to his online hangouts, interactive sessions, convincing others and fiercely fighting his detractors. This has forced the congress to adopt this social media or in better words, social media has been pushed down the throat of congress by Modi. And the eNREGA volunteers, as Modi fans call congress workers on internet, are not as tech friendly and experienced as the organic workforce. Every day or two, there is a debacle of Congress on social media. Recently, Rajasthan CM Gehlot was caught buying likes from Istanbul while a trend against Sushma Swaraj was traced to be originating from Bangladesh. This sudden desperation of congress to become or prove its popularity in Social Media is turning out to be a liability on congress rather than a positive step.Modi has given a platform to his detractors and supporters to interact and debate on several issues. With social media, Modi has brought out the argumentative Indian in us. The sanest debates take place on twitter and not in the staged theaters of TV studios. We question everything now; every action has a conspiracy behind it. Rumors don’t hold anymore. I acknowledge that crediting Modi for the triumph and features of social media may be overstating but Mr. Modi has ensured that most of debates on TV now originates on his tweets or trend related to him via twitter.Modi may lose badly in 2014. It may be the last electoral election for him. He may remain the PM-in-waiting for BJP for elections to come. He may be all hype but no substance. But he has done what no other leader could. He has ended the hysteria around brand Gandhi. He has challenged the authority of Gandhi’s as the central theme of Indian politics.

  

Bureaucracy Gone to the Dogs

Akansha Mehta


Why a hue and cry over Durga? Is it the first time that the post of an honest Civil Servant has been subjected to convenient alteration by the state? The answer is in negative. Where were these sentiments when a stone-laden tractor trolley (belonging to the illegal mining mafia )crushed a young IPS officer, Narendra Kumar, posted in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district and when an Additional District Collector (ADM) was burnt alive by the petrol and diesel mafia at Manmad in Nashik district?  It’s unfortunate but the reality, as a part of the system you either play along or let people play according to their own rules. The moment you do anything other than this, you are executed. That’s the state of affairs of the Indian bureaucratic system which for the reader’s knowledge has also been ranked the worst in Asia.

This sort of blatant manipulation and corruption in the Bureaucracy has amounted to the break-down of the very constitutional framework on which our democracy stands. The overreaching power of the legislature over the executive has only made the very reason of its existence frivolous and infructuous. The scope of accountability and answerability of the executive is lost making it the most ineffective organ of the state. In our country, the glaring problems in the society are intelligibly understood by the lawmakers, laws are intricately drafted, schemes are successfully planned but sadly its very purpose is not met as it never reaches its intended end. The loophole here is the large scope of vulnerability attached to the offices of these public servants from the direct influence of the politicians. While such influence has penetrated in almost all sorts of public office today, bureaucracy remains most deeply affected by it where in the cost that the nation pays is too high. This calls for a need of a system of checks and balances, wherein firstly the code of conduct of each public officer is defined and strictly regulated; there is a huge amount of discretion in the hands of such officers which gives them a large scope of taking arbitrary decisions. Secondly, these arbitrary decisions can never be challenged as such officers have no answerability, this in-turn makes their office more corruption friendly. Lastly, the situation worsens as there is no mechanism in place for the protection of the honest officers who deny bending the rules as ordered by the politicians. They are either immediately posted out or killed. While we do have a shaky remedy to bring a case against a public servant for anything that he does as a part of his official duty (provided there is a written permission from his superiors which makes it extremely difficult to ever initiate a case), there is possibly no way to shield a public servant from the pressure that he receives from the people at top to commit fraud.

Let’s look at the brighter perspective for the moment, Durga Shakti Nagpal has indeed been lucky as till now she has been the only public servant who has had such a massive public support, media attention and popularity unlike Ashok Khemka and various other like him. She has been fortunate enough that her life has been spared at least till now. The treatment that she and many others like her have been subjected to is only the tip of the iceberg; the real problem lies deep beneath the system; the system which is in need of dire attention, protection and revival.

In recent Mujaffarnagar riots, officers were first shielded and then transferred like goats. Durga has now been reinstated after she met CM. She may have secured her job, but Akhilesh Yadav ensured that bureaucracy, once again, proves itself to be a class of political servants rather than public servants.

Why AAP is dangerous to Indian politics?

Abhishek Dwivedi 

In reply to AAP is here to stay by Akansha Mehta

With few reservations, I will have to agree with Akansha where she says that Aam Aadmi party is a favorite of hopeful and optimistic idealists. Taking her argument forward, I will state that it is a hallucination for the over optimistic people plagued with utopianism. Expecting solutions from idealists is to move further away from reality. And here, I must confess that I am a realist indeed.

 Any argument or contention in favor of or against AAP cannot be made without establishing two basic facts. First and most important point is that AAP is a Political party in the same political system that it abuses at every opportunity. It is no more a civil society trying to take on the system through social movements. Secondly, there is a difference between India Against Corruption and Aam Aadmi Party. IAC is still in existence under the guidance and patronage of Anna Hazare an has declared that it will not support AAP. Its activists are still trying to use apolitical means to take on the system. While AAP is the breakaway of the movement and consisted of people who had political aspirations, not that it is wrong or immoral.

While Akansha is generous in accepting or at least acknowledging that AAP has half-baked policies, she easily disregards them as “beliefs of intellectuals and rival political parties”. Well I think it is my duty to inform her about the party and its policies she is defending. First of all, AAP has its committees in order to formulate policies on different matters including police reforms, SECULARISM, economic policy, foreign policy and even a committee on external defense. But do we really need these committees to get a glimpse of policies of AAP?  An important name flashes at the top and thus, we must mention here, Mr. Binayak Sen. Mr. Sen has been named by AAP in the Police Reforms Committee and Naxalite issue committee. Now, presence of Mr. Sen- a known Naxal sympathizer, in police reforms committee, is beyond the understanding of any sensible mind.  Even if Mr. Sen was in Health committee or related field, it would have made sense due to his medical expertise, but police reforms is simply absurd. Moving towards the committee on naxalite affairs where presence of Mr. Sen, being a sympathizer of Naxals, people who have taken arms against state, will only undermine the morale of forces and state machinery. [Thank god AAP is not in power.]

Well, do we really need to look upon the composition of the committees to get a glimpse of the policies when Prashant Bhushan has said it on record that Kashmir should be given a chance to get separate from India. With our soldiers dying in Kashmir every day, such statements by “stalwarts” of AAP are enough to show the hollow nationalism of AAP leaders. Presence of Bhushan in AAP has made it one thing certain that we can expect our internal security and affairs to be in shambles, if, god forbid, AAP ever comes to power. Those who say that it is “personal view” of Bhushan should remember that how “batla encounter” case fought by Bhushan was declared as an AAP initiative by Kejriwal in his letter about which we will talk later.

Then there are committees on secularism, minorities and Muslims. I do not understand the need of two different committees in the first place for minorities and Muslims. But then AAP is a political party. And the committee on secularism has already started working overtime. The Letter to Muslims of Delhi by Arvind Kejriwal clearly terms Batla House encounter as fake and assumes or owns the responsibility to defend it. If the AAP bandwagon calls that as secularism, gods save the country. Now with courts judgment pronouncing the lone captured terrorist as guilty, the AAP has a lot to answer.

The biggest problem with AAP is that it cannot come out of the shadow of a protest based movement. Anything happens and the Topiwalahs of AAP are there to protest without understanding or even knowing the problem. All of their exposes have proved to be absolutely worthless. Their crusaders have been found to be corrupt themselves. And the traditional AAP support is another story in itself. Ask them anything regarding economy, foreign policy, internal security, terrorism, police and administrative reforms and they will have a solution ready- JanLokpal. Anything and everything can be solved through JanLokpal.

Protests and Exposes have been the backbone of AAP. But there is another side of this story. Protests have become a weapon of extortion for AAP. The AAP support to Bajaj Auto Strike is one such case. AAP jumped in suddenly to support the contract workers at the Bajaj Auto and tried to tap the largely neglected contract workers base. However, Moneylife brought the real issue out when it disclosed that AK had met Rahul Bajaj for a TV channel for AAP two months back. It will not take a mind storming session to guess that AK was getting back at Bajaj who refused or seemed disinterested in the Channel proposal.

The whole drama of transparency and secularism has brought AAP in the line of political parties whom it was formed to oppose. Like traditional Indian parties, it has all the buzz and no substance. It is making gains in Delhi, but the TIMES NOW- C- VOTER opinion poll did not give any seat to AAP or for that matter any other opinion poll.

Arvind may try to sell hope or dreams but he is no different. He is just another politician. He has become one of those against whom he still claims to fight. The mask of so called political transparency has been removed by Mayank/Anjali and Bajaj episodes; and now Veil of secularism is the last resort of AAP which it has tried through Batla House Encounter issue.

The only conclusion i can end this article with, is that with Kejriwal in arena, the Indian politics is bound to get dirtier.

Aam Aadmi Party is here to stay

Akansha Mehta

For some optimistic and hopeful idealists Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) might be a revolutionary saviour in the eternal game of dirty politics while some realists may beg to differ. In our political arena, till the time one remains a symbol of a holy civil society, the intention, nature and character of the movement or the leader is never doubted by the public. It is only when one takes the real plunge into politics that skepticism follows.

       While Aam Aadmi Party is often ridiculed by intellectuals for its half-baked policies and its political rivals look at it as a meek and inexperienced adversary, the Indian politics however doesn't work on these beliefs. The aam janta care too hoots about how the politics work. The most suitable and current example of this can be seen in the Karnataka State elections. While the self-claimed secular party whose height of corruption record soared higher than inflation and their brazenness lower than the Indian rupee all over the country, the party despite its impeccably blotted image came out victorious in Karnataka. In our country, citizens vote not by their choice but by their preference which they form at the end of a party’s tenure. Their concerns, problems and expectations from their representatives in practicality are very different from the theoretical aspects discussed by intellectuals. In the October elections, AAP stands a decent chance of its success, if not a grand one then at least one that can give it a considerable head start. From a rickshaw puller to a University teacher, AAP has created enough uproar amongst all the members of society to be able to make its substantive and qualitative presence felt. The disgruntled public of Delhi also has enough reasons to prefer AAP. Another USP of AAP is its approachability. Unlike any other party leaders AAP leaders are yet to declare themselves as VIPs, they are perceived by the public as one amongst them. The party portrays to believe in strong representation from the grass root level (as also emphasized in the party’s manifesto “Swaraj” by Arvind Kejriwal). An example of this can be seen in the very first mohalla sabha organised by AAP in Vasundhara Enclave in Delhi where the citizens of the locality could directly interact with their area’s elected representative and other government officers to discuss the problem of their locality and suggest solutions. The party’s approach and strategy towards securing trust and hope from the public seems logical and practical. Delhi being a city of politically informed and alert citizens with a large mass of educated youth may get wooed by this one.

       To suggest that though this party might not be wearing the veil of secularism or the khakhi shorts but has a flimsy foundation and base of Lok Pal will be pessimism on the part of public and usual political strike by the rival parties. We should not forget when the Indian National Congress was formed in 1885, it was perceived as an elitist, then educated and wealthy people's institution. No intellectual could then predict that this party would become the largest national party of the country. Notions and perceptions of critics have always failed to predict the future of a political party. AAP is a rapidly growing institution. To what extent will it stand by its ideology and how effective will its implementation be is something that only time will tell. Till then AAP is a party that has arrived and is here to stay.

The author's view gets more support in form of Times Now- C-Voter opinion poll in which AAP is predicted to make massive gains in Delhi. 

Misplaced Faith and The Undemocratic Democracy

Reservation, secularism, resilience and democracy. I have never been able to understand these terms without taking their political senses in context. All these words have been used, misused and abused by every sect in the Indian politics to suit their interests. No doubt secularism is the most terrified victim of the politics. Reservation has been the hand of god for the politicians. Resilience has been a garb to hide negligence. Democracy has become a tool to silence the masses. But all these terms, in their true sense, describe the most important feature of the inclusive society we dream of. The dream of a welfare and equal state is not possible without understanding the democracy and secularism. Resilience is a sign of a mature and developed civilized society. They are the important feature of the great Indian democracy. In the last year, they were the determining factors of Indian politics. However, one has to be careful while drawing the line between their true meaning and the political definitions. Let’s analyze all the terms which certainly have the capability to determine the future of Indian sub-continent in 2012.

The misconception in the minds of people that secularism has something to do with religion has been planted by the politicians who either themselves have failed to understand what secularism means or want to misguide the masses in order to achieve political mileage. Problem starts with our definition of secularism. Secularism is being neutral towards every religion. Even in constituent assembly debates, the main focus was to create a great nation where religious influence was minimized. But in the name of inclusive society, we have changed it to “respecting every religion”. It definitely tries to reflect the “accept all” nature of Indian society but it has been very difficult to understand the sentence. The change in definition has made the word more vague and confusing. Secularism is a non- religious and amoral word i.e. it has nothing to do with religion. However, the garb of secularism has always been used to appease the minority. On the other hand, it has become a fashion for the organized religion from majority to criticize the seculars and secularism. Both can be termed as the after-effects of one another but both have been instrumental in dividing the society. From the word secularism, arise another vague term- secular fabric. Only god knows how many lethal steps have been taken in the name of secular fabric. Successive governments have failed to answer the questions posed by these words. Both, Congress and BJP have used religion to enhance their vote bank. The BJP has tried to make national gains via it, while congress has used religion extensively to make huge gains at localized level. The step to exclude Madarassas out of RTE is another of the congress’s policy that is aimed at achieving political mileage over its enemies in UP elections. Similarly BJP’s opposition to 4.5% reservation to the Minorities in OBC reservation is based on naïve understanding of secularism and is purely political. However, Congress has been able to revamp its image as a secular party which was tarnished after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and backfiring of misguided calculations made by leaders like Rajeev Gandhi and Narsimha Rao in Babri Demolition. But BJP has not been able to cash the Hindutva votes that gave it the power in 1999. Some call it awakening of the people. But the main reason behind this is the absence of a face of BJP after Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The party seems confused between the issues of Hindutva and corruption. However, the rise of Modi can be a respite for BJP.

It is very important for the government to carefully examine every step it takes before implementing it. Some positive steps can also backfire in future if proper mechanism to control them is not devised. Reservation is one such phenomenon. No doubt it was one of the strong and positive steps that were necessary to ensure equality in our society. But it has also been politicized to a lethal extent. It has become a tool in the hand of regional parties to control the votes. New small political outfits are coming out with the slogan of reservation for a particular caste or community. Lokpal debate in parliament had all the elements one needs to understand the politics behind reservation.The speech of Ram Vilas Paswan in parliament was kind of funny. Lalu did not know what he was fighting for when he appeared in a news channel debate. Both these leaders are literally thriving to survive in their home turf- Bihar. So it was not unexpected on their part. Congress leader and eminent lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi tried to term the reservation as representation. It was nothing more than playing with the words. The reservation or the representation granted in the lokpal panel is way beyond the logic of any intellectual mind. However, it seems completely logical when one tries to revisit the step with UP elections in mind. It is a very absurd step with negative outcome for democracy. We have had many Judges in SC; CEC’s who have been from minority community without any reservation. Reservation in lokpal is just another trick collect minority votes in U.P. However, 4.5% reservation to the minority in the OBC reservation of 27% was a long awaited step. It is a very positive step. Religion cannot be a mean of exclusion. There are currently 21 sects within the Muslims which are categorized under OBC list. It would have been a grave injustice to a Muslim OBC as he was not allowed a reserved seat while a Hindu OBC was. BJP, in its opposition to this step seemed to fight only on the basis of its majoritarianism. However, BJP’s opposition met with dissent within its own party. Varun Gandhi, in an interview to a news channel openly supported the step. But the end result remains the same. Reservation was granted at a time when 5 states are going to the elections. Only in UP, Muslims can be the game changers in the 120 seats. However, BJP is trying to bank on Hindutva as well as corruption. It has introduced Uma Bharti in U.P to fill the gap that was created by the departure of Kalyan Singh. So it was important for BJP to maintain its image by opposing the reservation. Reservation may have done some harm and more profit to the nation, but the politics on reservation has never been able to help the country in any manner.

Resilience is a wonderful term which surfaces the moment a terror strike happens. All the governments and its minister’s start thanking the people for the “resilience” they have shown. They “hope” that people will not let the “mischievous elements” win. No matter how grave the causalities are, the outrage of the people is suppressed by the long shameless speeches given by the leaders. The patience of people is not only tested but it is put to death very effectively. The negligence on the part of authorities was well suppressed in the Mumbai blast, Delhi HC blast. The inability of the central government to send a strong signal to the terrorists is one of the reason, we are unable to create deterrence. The weak foreign policy in relation to Pakistan has been a determining factor in the politics of South Asia. Our PM went on to call Pakistan’s Premier “a peace loving man” when Pakistani lawyers were openly supporting the killer of Salman Tasser in the name of religion, when 26/11 accused Hafiz Sayeed was openly criticizing India and declaring Jehad against India. Even Pakistan had the courage to defend its sovereignty against the US. But we cannot pressurize Pakistan to take action against terrorism. Why? Because of our noble and pious values summed up as resilience. Nobody wants war, but few tough words and fewer tough policy hints would suffice. It will not be sweeping to say that cowardice is sold in the name of resilience and hope is a trick to hide failure and fear.

And now we come to democracy. 2011 was a wonderful year when it comes to democracy in middle-east. Few autocratic governments fell. Few countries switched to democracy. However, the most important country, Egypt is still fighting its battle for democracy. Hosni Mubarak was displaced only to be ruled by more cruel military council. In terms of India, democracy was only limited to speeches and allegation. Yes, we are the largest democracy and we are proud of it, but certainly, we are not the greatest. Anna and Congress both defined the democracy the way they wanted. Congress focused on parliamentary democracy while Anna wanted a more liberal democracy. Sadly, the democracy turned out to be the victim instead of winner. What happened in parliament in Monsoon session and then again in the first week of winter session was shameful. It was clear that both, the government and the opposition had no intention to let the parliament function. Be it JPC or FDI, none of the two wanted to debate on real issues. And how can we forget what happened on 29^th December. How a ruckus was planned by the government to send the lokpal to cold storage. Opposition also tried to score points by bringing a large number of amendments. It was clear. None of the political parties wanted the Lokpal to pass. Congress was a step forward. It did not want a strong Lokpal to pass. It just wanted a puppet Lokpal in place to show to the nation. Our dear BJP was as always confused. And the third, and the hero of 2011- Anna Hazare was trouble with fever and declining crowds at MMRDA grounds due to lack of proper planning and strategy. Many political pundits term it as the fall of Anna. But before considering this point, one must note that MMRDA ground is virtually out of city, it was a working day and Anna was not well from the beginning. But somehow the pending debate on Lokpal in parliament was also a factor in the decline in the number of people. Team Anna went a little bit too far in its quest to push Lokpal bill. You cannot disregard the parliamentary democracy so easily. However, government was also responsible for this situation. It is very clear that Team Anna was pushed to this situation by the government. They assumed that they have been elected for 5 years, so nobody can question them except the opposition which they will dismiss as “dirty politics”. It is election time. Five states are going to select new governments for next five years. Today, democracy is not democratic. Democracy is once again in action, but not the one our constitution talks of or we proudly boast of. Government must understand that democracy does not begin and end at elections.

These four words were instrumental in determining the policy and polity of Indian system in 2011. These words were not discovered in 2011 but surely were re-written again. We are carrying the luggage of 2011 to 2012. Lokpal is still a distant dream. 26/11 culprits are still roaming free in Pakistan despite “friendly” talks between the governments and numerous dossier exchanges. Reservation and politics over it will continue for long time. Democracy will again be put to test. Let’s hope that New Year will bring something new for India.

In search of the Unity in "Unity in Diversity"

Anubha shukla

Unity in diversity-since childhood I am hearing this phrase. Our teachers have always stressed upon presenting India as an epitome of "Unity in Diversity".Up to some extent I have to believe on it. Ameliorated by sequential breezes of migrations that have become a part of life in India, this country encapsulates 24 languages and numerous dialects spoken by millions of people. This multilingual and multicultural nation is a home to innumerous communities, groups and religions.


I do believe in diversity this great country possesses but I am still in search of ....."Unity". I must make it clear that just shouting in a loud unanimous voice that "We are Indians", I don't consider it as Unity. It is a lot more than this. I am in search of a 'driving force' that can unite us for a cause, purpose and for the betterment of the nation.


I saw people speaking aloud for reservations on various grounds and getting political support as well.I am not a pessimist by nature but let's get this fact right--when was the last time they dared to say that my community/religion/group doesn't need any "special status" just because it won't be good for my country? Doesn't it create a rift between the people?Shall I blame presence of diverse groups for this? The problem is we all are selfish by nature. On one side we ask for "right to equality" and on the other side we ask for "special favors".I must mention here that nobody ever raised voice against reservation given to war widow's kids or the tribals living in pathetic conditions. It means , the concept of reservation shall not be completely discarded but it should be genuine.


When Egypt experienced revolution, some people talked about similar kind of revolution against corruption in India. Those people forgot that, may be Egyptian Revolution wasn't governed by Islam but it was driven by Islam. They all shared a common link between them and we lack that common link. Religion can be extremely powerful weapon against any social or political menace, depends how we interpret and channelize it.


Such movements did start in India also but some found the "saffron robe" communal and some had problem with the poster of "Bharat Mata". It really made me think whether the "cause" was not important enough or do we lack something? What's the use of such diversity that stops you to do the right thing and support a well deserving cause? If a religion can bring a revolution in Egypt why doesn't another can bring out a positive change in the society? When such movements fail, it's not failure of One 'Anna' or 'Ramdev', it's our failure to stand in unity. On first place, why do we even need people like Anna and Ramdev to fight for us? Aren't we capable enough? Yes, we are. But we lack any sort of "driving force"...Alaaassss!!!!!! Test for Unity failed again.


"Diversity" and "Secularism"are the two most misused words by Indian politicians.Somewhere they understand our weakness very well and exploit it for their vested interests.'Unity' has been deliberately deleted from "Unity in Diversity".They know it, no revolution can yield results and hence they are safe. Who cares till it doesn't affect us directly in any manner? Be it corruption, be it a blast.


The truth is-- Nothing unites us except CRICKET...But I kept my search on.


I have 35 students in my class and they come from 18 different states of India. We never cared about the country, patriotism, India and our responsibility towards the nation. We didn't even blend with each other because some of us don't understand each other's language. A group of people abused India everyday in front of us.We ignored it once, twice, thrice but for the fourth time stood against them. Not only we started giving them an answer, we started reading about India to give them a better answer. Many of us started learning how to file RTIs. 5 or 6 of us took part in IAC movement. We planned and are at the verge of initiating a publication that will be a platform for youth and will help the school students to develop views about current happenings. That " group" unknowingly united us and acted as a "driving force".
My search for such a "driving force" in India is still on and I am still living in search of "Unity"...I am still living "in the vicinity of hope..".

The Public Court Room

Abhishek Dwivedi

Shakespeare had rightly said” all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. The lines are true in the context of India but in a modified way.” all the world’s a Courtroom; And all the men and women merely Judges.” Today, everyone is a self proclaimed judge in every case. This dangerous precedent has made media the virtual judiciary. Today media is passing the judgments, not news. This is not only lethal for democracy but also for the legal system of the country.

The Arushi case was one of the few cases which received the maximum damage due to media activism contrary to the Jessica case where it proved very helpful. The debates after debates on media, continuous interviews of all accused and related persons not only created a negative atmosphere but made CBI suffer when it decided to go against the parents. When the Court only asked CBI to file the charge sheet against the Parents, media pronounced the judgment. Guilty. Media has snatched the very basic right of every individual-the right to be considered innocent unless pronounced guilty. The power of being a pillar of free and strong democracy is actually attacking its own root. Free press should be the mean of promoting justice, not holding media trials.

The second very interesting point is the shift in the way a story comes out in public. Earlier the story or the news was informative in nature, but now it is more of a conclusion based. Today, Summon is the taken as the judgment document. The mention of name in a charge sheet makes him an accused. Selective and half-baked stories are replacing the real news. And surprisingly it is really making the difference. People are becoming more judgmental rather than observers. The news channels, and also the print media, in quest for better viewership are striking the weak chord of viewers. Add spices and sensationalism to the news. Make it more gloried and large than actually it is. And use the pessimism for the same. We are more affected by the negative thing than a whole bunch of positive things. But the real problem arises when we start looking at an issue with others glasses.

India had a non-political movement after a very long time. Somehow, must say, the media played a positive role here too. The movements of Anna and Ramdev gave media what they wanted. Some glorified it, while others took it with a pinch of salt, but yes, an extensive coverage was done. It would be right to say that, without the media, Anna wouldn’t have done it. On the other part, government, without the help of media could not have demolished Baba Ramdev and his Satyagraha. But this also shows a problem. The biased and tilted face of media. There is a huge divide between the media, one section which is pro-issue and the one anti-issue, while issues ranging from corruption to communalism. Also the main stream media is in the dock after the 2G scam. Its bearing a huge amount of allegations after two senior journalists were directly involved in the Radia tapes. But it’s interesting to note that they were left untouched in the name of free press.

Government also has a very big hand in making the atmosphere like this. Every day or two, one of it minister comes out and starts explaining the legal aspects of a scam. They justify the acts by terming them immoral, not illegal.. Every day, a press conference is organized in which a spokesperson, be it from BJP or government talks about the legal aspects of a scam. Ministers like Kapil Sibal and Law minster V.Moily actually wanted us to believe that legally, there was no 2G scam. Other example was an interview by Mr.Nitin Gadkari, who said B.SYeddiurappa is legally not guilty, but morally is. These incidents are a sign of declining morals in politics. The L\leaders believe as if the whole world is their court room and nobody knows law except them. It shows a decline on the part of democratic values.

But at the end of the day, the problem lies with us. We are the one real force behind all this judgmental journalism. We promote this. In fact we follow this. Today, verdicts are pronounced in bed rooms. Judiciary has been left with symbolic meaning only to punish the culprit physically. Rest, we are judge, we are the lawyer and we are everything. We subject a person, against whom only allegations have been leveled, to a low degree of mental harassment, if the court begins with us and ends with us. We have become conclusive and decisive in nature on the basis of half and partial truths. We judge instances based on tilted stories and biased emotions. And sad part being, the innocents are paying the price of our arrogance. Media and self proclaimed media drives against certain people are a threat to the legal system of India. We need to become more observing and sensitive. We have no right to give ex-parte judgments. Also media needs to redefine and reinvent its role. It has no right to declare someone guilty or innocent. We have an efficient judiciary for it. Also it cannot ruin the life of an innocent by waving charge sheets of police or CBI in the studio. It is highly inappropriate and unjustified. We must remember and respect the basic fact, and I repeat “A person is guiltless, till proved otherwise.” Believe in the law of land and respect one’s legal rights.

The Undemocratic Quest for a Stronger Democracy.

Abhishek Dwivedi

Last few days have been busy for Anna Hazare. Famous for his “fasts”, he did the tough task of heading a mass movement against corruption. His fast was a great hit scoring direct hits at the government and the political brass. The movement gained widespread popularity among the youth who were out to protest against the rampant corruption. The motto was same. To fight against corruption. To speak against the wide spread loot of the country and its exchequer. Anna’s fast was the silence breaking point for the young India who joined the old man in his old and proven method of protest. The great “Satyagraha”. Some parties called it a movement of few; others called it opposition’s bait. And some called it undemocratic. The government and its warriors were out to call it blackmail. While the major part of media tried to navigate away from the marches and protests siding with government, few tried to cash the movement with highly glorified coverage. But the question was and still is. Was it undemocratic?

The soul of democracy lies in the parliament. The parliament and its members are chosen directly by the citizens. They are representatives of people. They have been elected and sent to parliament to represent us and to guard the country’s economic and other interests. What if, instead of guarding the interests, he starts plundering the nation? What if, he turns hostile and forgets his duty towards the country? We cannot let him continue his act of disgrace just because he is an honorable member of parliament. When the savior of democracy starts betraying the very soul of democracy, it becomes important to speak. Same as what Anna ji and the young India did.

Scams after scams were coming out. The last year turned out to be the scam year of India. Scams ranging from land to waves, Space to sea shook the nation. The interesting case of CVC P.J.Thomas and the accompanying shame for government was an important point to think upon. The government appointed a charge sheeted person as the head of India’s supreme anti-corruption body. Basically, what we were told that, A corrupt appointed by another corrupt will investigate all other corrupts. And then we are being instructed to not to question the government as they are chosen by us. Do we really need to keep silence and let this loot happen? I will go with a NO.

CVC Thomas case was a brilliant example of judiciary keeping the government in check and a perfect instance of judicial activism. The series of landmark judgments by Supreme Court provided some hope to the nation. Judiciary was turning out to be the only place where some serious steps were being taken or some serious work was being done. But this was an alarm too. Judiciary taking the prime spot is not good for democracy. Judiciary slamming government again and again was a sign of weakness on the part of democratic government. Over involvement of judiciary to literally save India shows the falling standard and level of democracy and its ethics in the country. Has the democracy lost its supreme place in mind of people to judiciary? The answer must be no. But sadly and unfortunately, the reverse is true. And it is not only scary but alarming too. A people’s movement was need of the hour to show the strength of democracy. To bring democracy back from the claws of darkness. The “India against Corruption” movement actually fulfilled the very urgent requirement. Democracy actually scored a point over judiciary. A case where government took a baby step towards ending corruption without the scolding’s and pushes of Supreme Court. Finally a good sign for democracy happened.

My last point is simple and basic. Even if it takes undemocratic peaceful methods to save democracy, we must go for it. “satyagrahas” are the pre-independence era proven non-violent methods of protest. Corruption is another “Firangi” sucking the blood out of India. To drive out this corruption, any peaceful method must be not only welcomed but appreciated too. To save the respected and pious soul of democracy, this movement was very much required.

But the question still stands. Will the movement reach its destination or will loose its track in someway middle? The answer lies with the people of the country. The young and enthusiastic generation must fight for the country and weed out this corruption. Now it’s up to us if we want to convert the Undemocratic democracy to a strongest and charming one or not. The principle is clear: Its dangerous to right when the government is wrong, but its cowardice to be quite when the government is wrong.

In The Name of The Politics

Anubha Shukla

India- an incredible country that has become a synonym for scams in past few months. Diverse are its people and so are its issues of concern, but the speciality about this country is that not a single issue remains untouched with politics.

India is a place where serious issues are shadowed by so called secular media and almost every thing is politicised to worsen the issue itself. It's a place where a 'Hindu nationalist' is called 'RSS Activist' and a 'Muslim nationalist' is framed as 'kafir' within a blink of an eye by some 'liberals'. Sometimes in the name of majority and most of the times for the votes of the minority, 'truth' is concealed and killed by our politicians. Pragmatically, the only minority in this country are nationalists who can put the country first & don't sell it for their vested interests.

There are no rules, no ethics required to pursue politics in India. As long as you can fool the people successfully to snatch the only right constitution provides them , their vote, you are the

Government.

Democracy has transformed into Demoncracy where 'Votes' are more valuable than lives.

Do the politics on the demolition of a mosque. Promise the people to stand a temple again in the name of the politics. Reopen the corruption cases during elections and bury them deep down into the stacks of files as soon as the elections are over. Don't even leave 'God' unaffected from the dirt of politics. Provoke the people to get into riots. Engage them in talks of Mandir-Masjid so that they don't get time to think about the huge chunk of their countrymen who are dying of hunger sharing the same land. Politicians in our country are so amazing that they can even politicise the hoisting of national flag within its territory. Ironically, the decision which was factually 'wrong' when you were in 'opposition' becomes the 'right' when you are the government. Everything is fine in the name of the politics.

Is Egypt possible in India ?

Abhishek Dwivedi

This year from start has been a year of revolution. Tunisia, Sudan, and Egypt all opted for a Revolution. A revolution for better life, for a better democracy shook the whole Middle East. Now Libiya has started its movement for democracy. The struggle between rebels and Gaddafi has taken the center stage in world politics. NATO and its European friends are trying all their methods to make Gadaffi leave the troubled country. The world is hailing all these revolutions, calling them historical and a new beginning for democracy. The predictions of an Arab revolution are getting louder. But I have remained unsure of these revolutions from beginning. Let’s look into some related terms of these so call historical revolutions. Indian civil society is also predicting and vouching for such a revolution in India. I am trying to review the feasibility on any such revolution in India.

My assessment is a big NO. Egyptian like revolution is not possible neither good for India. Reasons?

First,

India is a multi-layered structural democratic system. It has a decentralized power system. Powers are divided, so is accountability. Yes, the corruption is also at all levels. The recent example is the NREGA scam which involves a minister to a gram Pradhan. The urbanization drive is pushing more citizens below poverty line. But the glitter of cities is hiding the pain of villages. The big buildings are making the trouble of slums look to small. Somehow, miss-governance has been over-shadowed by the over-publicized concept of development. The stories of “Bharat Nirman” and “India shining” are more than enough to give fairly good pictures to Indian people. The Self-assertion of being a super power is thrilling the nation.15 August and 26 January are enough to keep people in illusions under the hood of nationalism. The day a scam breaks out, next day we see India achieving a milestone or at least proclaiming that it will achieve and we forget everything. Also, we have RTI’s in place which have increased the accountability of the government. The concept of dictatorship is frightening if we see the condition of our neighbor Pakistan. It’s a dying economy surviving only on the aid of USA. Egypt has been living under this terror for so long that they ultimately give up. They want to be like us, cherish the democracy we celebrate.

Secondly, India is a highly diversified country. Here each region has its own language and culture. The lack of a national language is also a negative for uprising. The divide and rule policy can be/is employed here conveniently. The linguistic and communal gap has become so divisive due to politics of last 50 years, that it’s impossible to unite all sects of people. You will find no unity in the diversity here. The mixture of religion is politics have always harmed the nation but it has also silently destroyed all prospects of a pan-India revolution. This is the same phenomena we saw in the Anna movement. The controversy related to RSS and Vandematram did the trick for government. It was able to decrease the magnitude of the movement.

Another important point is the emergence of the important middle class.India has a far big middle class which believes that it has nothing to do with the rampant corruption. They think that good governance is related with only inflation and terrorism. Assumption of corruption as necessity is the problem. They have developed a habit of tolerance. Its view that corruption is only limited to top, is lethal. But certainly it makes the way difficult for a revolution. It’s simple; nobody cares till the problem is not personal. Huge uproar was made about the Anna revolution that it has raised the middle class from its never ending sleep. The mighty middle class is on streets. But not even half million of 150 million people belonging to middle class responded to the movement on the ground. We cannot term a fraction of middle class, in fact a very small fraction as the representative of the might middle class.

We enjoy our right to freedom of speech in India. It’s only in India that we call our leaders a thief on national television and escape the punishment. We have our democratic rights. We have all human rights with us. Egypt is fighting for all these. They want the basic rights to be given back to them. They are bleeding for the right to life. We are blessed that our democracy is so strong that it has kept all these values embodied in the pillars on which our nation stands today.

Also, the revolution in Egypt was driven by faith. The sudden rise of Muslim Brotherhood after a long pause was hailed by most of the Arab world. They were called as catalyst of change. But most of the people ignored the fact that, faith can drive masses but cannot govern a nation. Nobody sensed that situation like Iran can arise. No country has been successfully ruled by the Religion. Faith and governance are two different things. Last week’s brutal killing of 13 Christians was a starling incident and proved my fears. The revolution which was hailed as historical has started to show the other side. This is what happens when a revolution takes place without an after plan and a leader. The emergency of situation is alarming in Egypt. It can take the path of civil war there. Rebels have started fighting among themselves. Not surprisingly what Mubarak had said, is coming true. It will be interesting to see what CIA does here. But let’s not shift the topic. Coming back to India, we must agree that we do not need religion as a catalyst for a political change in India. India has had very bitter experience from the fusion.

India has a very troubled neighborhood. Pakistan in west and north, China in east and north, Bangladesh in east, Srilanka in south, it’s not a good picture. Our relationship with China and Pakistan has not been on a good note. LTTE in south is searching for a base to revamp its organization. A revolution will give chances to anti-India forces to silently harm India. Separatists in Kashmir may use the situation to push the valley into chaos again. A state of anarchy may develop. It will be a perfect opportunity for the Maoists to move towards the cities which they have been eying for years. Predictions of civil war cannot be ruled out. Violence may take the center stage. Also our economy is going through a troubled phrase. Rupee is falling day by day while inflation is rising. Our airlines are one by one moving towards bankruptcy. Just imagine what a state of chaos will do to the situation. The burden will fall on the poor along with the lower middle class. Do we really want this?

India has been a sufferer of silence. Here nobody is concerned until it’s personal. But the sudden flood of scams and inflation has changed the circumstances a bit. The urban mass somehow has started rising. But will it take the form of Egyptian revolution? I am still unsure.