Hazare is 'unelected tyrant'; so does the Congress want to go back to the elected tyranny of Indira Gandhi?

Congress has called Anna Hazare, who is leading a completely legitimate protest against corruption, an unelected tyrant! So what does the Congress want? An elected tyrant like Indira Gandhi?
People like Pranab Mukherjee have flourished under the tyrannical regime of Indira Gandhi and it is understandable they want back such regimes.
However, they forget that India of 2011 is not the India of the 1970s. The youth today have access to disruptive technologies that have the entire Middle East in upheaval, they want change, and they want accountability.
Political fossils like Pranab Mukherjee may not understand that but people like Rahul Gandhi may.
If the political class, which everyone knows is corrupt and is in cahoots with the corrupt in plundering India, does not want change, they have lost grip of reality.
The desire for change in India's middle class and youth just needs a spark and playing people like Baba Ramdev against these aspirations will only work for so long.
If India's political rulers, with the arrogance that they have been elected by the people -- a people we know care the least about the principles of democracy when the cast their votes -- think they can suppress the genuine aspirations of the Indian people, God save them!
Anna Hazare and his cause will win, whatever political detritus like Pranab Mukherjee or Digvijay Singh think.

Is India ripe for mass protests too?

The protests sweeping the Middle-East and Northern Africa make me wonder if it is time Indians too stepped into the streets to hold mass protests against the government.
We all know how corrupt and putrid our political system is, and going by the corruption scandals that erupt steadily and get squelched as steadily, I suspect India's political rulers are way more corrupt that some of those despots in the Middle East. Think of the government's reticence to find out and bring to book Indians who have slashed money in tax havens.
The question, maybe, is not whether we should hold protests -- but who will lead them and what next?
The drama playing out in the Middle East is far from ended, and big question marks hang over how the political vacuum there will be filled -- without the anarchy that we saw in Iraq soon after the Saddam regime was toppled and before the Americans finally wielded power.
Is India ready for that. And, given how manipulative our politicians are and how prone to divisive doctrines we as a people are, can we ever put up a unified protest?

Much vilified, Sonia Gandhi brings hope for India

How can corrupt politicians hang so long to power? That speaks volumes about the state of the value system in Indian politics. 

However, I am heartened by Sonia Gandhi's leadership now, despite my being no Congress supporter.

The lady has been vilified, as inept, corrupt, loyal to foreign masters ... Yet she has been able to blow in change, through her subtle, often behind-the-scenes ways into Indian politics. 

And many Congress leaders who have been under the cloud of corruption in the past have suddenly emerged as 'clean' ones.

We don't have to search far for the answer to that one.

Congressmen have always been lackeys of the supreme leader. Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi never much cared about reining in corruption, for different reasons. Congressmen quickly read the message and went on to make money merrily.

Sonia faced, in many ways, a mostly hostile senior leadership, and had to cut them to size. Also the support she got from the electorate, again for different reasons, worked to her advantage. And Congressmen have been quick to read the signals.

Suddenly corruption is not something brazenly boasted about in the party, though it thrives more healthy than ever.

Thankfully, Rahul Gandhi hasn't let a coterie build around himself; and that gives hope to India.

Yes, because the BJP, Left and the Third Front have effectively demolished themselves in the country's political landscape.

Abhaya case shows up Indian judiciary

The Kerala High Court's handling of the bail application of the accused in the Sister Abhaya murder case has shown up the rot in the judiciary in India. Not only has the court overstepped its limits, it has also tried to tarnish the image of the CBI and went against the earlier judgements of several courts in its very clear attempt to help the accused go free.
Well, this was not unexpected. The Christian clergy in Kerala, nay India, have always been power brokers. During the time of the Raj they used their clout with the British to get their way; in democratic India they slice and dice the willing Christian flock into pocket electorates so they can wrest concessions from whoever is in power.
But all that is expected of this breed of stinking manipulators. The question is how long can we citizens allow our power-hungry politicians to continue in this vein? They will do everything -- including undermining the unity of the country -- to cling to power. The current one-upmanship on minority appeasement is just one face of the problem.
I think there should be a movement to sweep these scum out of power. The earlier the better. Because the deeper this rot sets in, the more violent and radical will be the reaction against it.

Headwinds for the economy, but there's a silver lining

Just 20 years back, the average Indian would have known pretty much nothing about the economic state of the country or the world, and even cared less about it. But the last 10 years have changed that so much that now almost everyone one meets is worrying about the impact of the current economic slowdown on their lives. At the very least, the economy is now racking up the worry quotient in Indian society.
That apart, the economy is a cause of concern. The boom, though most of it powered by the black money flowing into sectors such as real estate, is slowing visibly. The job scene is getting cloudier by the day -- today someone called me from Delhi to say the Times group is planning to fire 1,200 people. Well, even the media scene which showed so much irrational exuberance is getting dark. How will this impact the country and its people?
Of course, not everything is going to be bad. Here are two areas where I think the slowdown is going to be good. Think of the ecology. For the last 10 years we were more interested in exploiting to the hilt what Mother Nature had offered us. Now, the slowing down of the economy would mean the pace of exploitation would slow down too. That is going to be definitely good for the earth and its environment.
Also in the last 10 years our politicians have managed to get away with their corrupt and inept governance of this country as the boom offered jobs and riches to more people than they ever could hope to. Now things are going to change. Once again these effete class of people will come under the scanner; if they don't deliver (and I very much doubt they can), it won't be long our ossified political system could be washed away by the rage of the people.
Will all this lead to a new way of life? I hope it does. If we have to suffer some pain for something that is going to immensely benefit all of us, all living beings, then it would be something worth suffering.

No Future Left For Left After Congress 'Betrayal'!

The Left is now crying foul.What a bright idea! For four years you misused the mandate extended to you by people from Kerala and West Bengal to support a Congress-led government at the Centre. And you did that by holding strikes almost every week in those states, derailing the life of the common people. And now the Congress having outsmarted you, you cry foul!
I wonder if Karat and co have any moral authority left to point fingers at the Congress. You had four years to keep this government under control and you did nothing. All you did was make life hell for the very same people who elected you.
Compare that with what a regional politician like Karunanidhi did. He could manage to make the UPA government change its policies in his favor even though he did not have the same number of MPs in the Lok Sabha as the Left parties combine did.
If the Left had pulled the rug from under the government the last time it kicked up a furore over the 123 nuclear deal with the US, they would still have had some credibility left. Now all they can do is bawl over the 'betrayal' of the Congress.
I am sure if the country goes to the polls today the Left will end up with less than one third of the number of seats in Parliament as it does now. That is because the misrule in its two main bastions - Kerala and West Bengal - has reached it peak. People in those two states may not care about the nuclear deal, but they do care about how governance has suffered as the party mandarins go about their own agendas.
So keep crying, Mr Karat and co. No one has any sympathy left for you. You were given a chance to help save the country from the American stooges in the Congress and you bungled. Period.

Achtung! LDF Going The UDF Way In Kerala

The infighting in the Left Democratic Front is actually causing a lot of pain to people who voted them to power. Let us first face the fact that a lot of people who voted for the LDF aren't members of any of the parties. They voted for the LDF because they were tired by the corruption and lack of accountability and complete breakdown of the administrative machinery during the United Democratic Front't rule.
I remember the last days of the UDF government. I had just returned from Delhi, and what I saw was something unimaginable in a state like Kerala which prides itself on its awareness and liberal outlook. Just one example: the police were out in the streets flagging down and checking any vehicle and fining them, trying to extort money from motorists. And if you wanted to complain about it to someone higher up, the officer you approached would ask you to grease his palms! The general feeling was the ruling leaders had let the policemen out on the streets to make money even as they themselves were lining their pockets.
Okay, now the funny thing was while the police were so active on the roads the thieves were having a field day! There were gangs of robbers roaming the streets, even in Thiruvananthapuram, and going about their 'profession' with immunity!
Now, this was one instance of UDF misrule. And the people were tired of it. So the LDF came to power - not because of the charisma of VS Achutanandan or the cadre folloewing of the CPM!
Look at the state of affairs now! The faction war has hobbled the administration. Even as various kinds of fevers ravage the populace the state health minister is not to be seen. The treatment and cleaning drives are non-existent. All that the chief minister and his cronies are worried about is image building, while leaving the day-to-day functioning of the government in the hands of an inept bureaucracy! Even the party machinery which usually steps in to correct such mistakes is split along factional lines and engaged in a game of trying to run down each other.
Little wonder even die-hard Communists are now saying they made a mistake in voting this government to power.
They may be exaggerating: the LDF is still better than the corrupt and divisive UDF; but their feelings can only be ignored to the peril of the current government. That is the most insidious part of the current state of affairs. Public memory is short; the UDF can come back to power if the LDF continues on this track. Will we go back to those days of rampant corruption and extortion? I fear to think of it.

The Way To A Great India

A Great India - That which seemed an impossibility even 10 years ago is finally beginning to take shape. The silhouette is just about visible through the fog of the future. Sadly, our politicians and our media, with their divisive and self-serving agenda are trying to mold the new India in the image of the old. This blog will be my humble attempt to look at events, persons, institutions, etc., in a new perspective - to highlight their faults and to laud their virtues. I believe such a slap-on-the face discourse is highly needed if this country is to regain its glory, and not become just an extension of its current self - a sick and poverty ridden society full of social, political, and moral ills.

Our politicians and our media, it seems, are quite happy in letting this historic opportunity to pass by for their own selfish concerns. In the days to come you will see my on reading of events and persons relating to India - anything and everything will be held under a high powered microscope and mercilessly analyzed. Yes, you can expect a refreshing view of India, and a guide lamp to the glorious future, here. Read and let the world know about us.