Sharrayu Aroskar

Amazing isn’t it…

My apartment friends and I used to play this game called “Sakhli”. Sakhli in Marathi means a chain. With one person running around touching the members in play and one touch would mean the person being touched got added to the human chain. The person that was touched first owns the responsibility to form a chain in next run of the game. The players not in the chain yet try hard to remain un-touched by the chain till the end and take huge pride in being declared as winners. We used to play all kind of tactics to avoid being touched. That being a play ground may be 5000 to 6000 sq ft in area; everyone knew that sooner or later every player would be a part of that chain.

You will be amazed to read what reminded me of the outdoor sport we used to play as young school students. I was watching some news channel covering the formation of the “Third front”. I have no clue why they call it the third front. With local parties blackmailing the national ones like fishes mocking at the fishermen in the boat, I think there are around hundred fronts that are going to play a role in these elections. Even a party with one MP elected in the whole nation can get into the “mandwali” business post elections. Leaving away the post election scenario and coming back to the third of the hundreds of existing, I think it’s a business of touch and go.

BJP in 2000 experimented with the pre-poll coalition or alliance strategy based on common ideologies on which other parties in the country stood. I think it was a strategic decision taken by proactive leadership. Small local parties are a reality in India. It was so in 2000 as well. BJP had sensed that no single party in the country can have more than 272 votes on its own. A coalition was imperative. BJP held hands with parties that could help the nation gain its lost momentum on issues that needed the most attention. Foreign policies, information technology, laws against terrorism are a few to name. Since these are issues concerning every Indian any sensible party who was willing to accept the leadership of Mr. Vajpayee and for whom secularism was not anti Hinduism, was a good choice. With Mr. Vajpayee as a catalyst, BJP went ahead to make trust worthy friends to form the NDA.

At that point in time, Congress had two options to go head with, a similar hand holding strategy or mock the BJP for one. Congress chose later. It was an obvious choice at that point in time. In my understanding, after leaders like  Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel , Lal Bahadur Shashtri etc. Congress faced a dearth of ideology as it chose family hierarchy over genuine merit. Had the Congress held right hands back then there would have been a deeper ideological existence in the party. With lack of an ideological understanding of its own, it was difficult for the congress to hold hands pre-election as a reaction to BJP strategy. What if they held wrong hands? What if the hands they held don’t perform in the elections? They will have to break the chain, fall on face and make new bonds. In short it would have been a little shameful in front of the nation. The Congress thus chose to mock BJP strategy of forming a coalition and tried to portray itself as an “ideological” party that can run the elections on its own might. Needless to say, the Congress in the 13^th Lok Sabha elections fell on face. I think their words pre election stood against them to form a post poll alliance. Even as an opposition they opposed policies under the name of secularism. When there was nothing “non-secular” about POTA or removing unnecessary reservations in the country. In 2004 Congress held whatever hands it could the surprise was the LEFT and Samajwadi party. None had anything common to the Congress in type except for wanting power at the center.

With left hand in a wrong one, there was nothing that was going to go right as far as the policies were concerned. No new policies were formed. The government survived on dividends of the already existing policies and then the lack of proactive behavior and American fall out wiped of the entire make up on the UPA government. Now with nowhere to go in the 2009 election on its own, the LEFT to me looks like a child wanting to play “Sakhli”. It’s going on touching every party known in each and every Indian state. If the touch turns gold, the party is entangled in the chain. The LEFT is known for its socialist ideology. None of the parties that have joined hands with the CPI and CPM so far look to me sharing it. I was shocked when Chandra Babu Naidu joined the third front. Either the nation is heading in a direction that nothing but right and I am not able to make sense of it or everybody is coming to the LEFT because no one has a direction to the RIGHT. I am sure the third front will capture a share of voters that would have voted for local parties that UPA or NDA have no Alliance with. With NDA and UPA fighting the elections I see a deem chance that the LEFT will win. But I also see a possibility of the “THIRD FRONT” breaking up when parties that once held the third front hand run hither thither to join the power at the center.

It’s however interesting to see parties like CPI and CPM that were so far known to have an ideological structure to its existence succumbing to “Congressionalisation” of Indian politics. Come what may votes is all what matters to them. Age old policies like reservation, minority favoritism, still have a place in Congress manifesto. Development and abolition of poverty are words only to be printed and spoken during election speeches. The rest is about being in power for 5 years and attempting to do so year after year.

Media is the power house these days. Especially with Lok Sabha elections in row, the stories to crack down are enormous and any dramatic “masala” added to each one is nothing but a help to the TRP climb. Arun Jaitley missing at the major BJP leadership convention was taken up as the issue. I was still hoping that Mr. Jaitley would be the first person to be contacted by these media houses. A skilled orator that Mr. Jaitley is I was thinking that the issue would be “rafa dafa” in a couple of days.  To my surprise that did not happen. I did not see Mr. Jaitley speak to the media but the person covered in the wave was Mr. Sudhanshu Mittal.

I had never heard about Sudhanshu Mittal before. I must agree that I wasn’t as involved in reading about Indian politics before. I had heard of the Mr.Pramod Mahajan’s death and Rahul Mahajan’s admission to the hospital but never about Sudhanshu Mittal. Suddenly the name flaunts in the media circle. Mr. Mittal has claimed to be in politics since 25 years. He claims to wear khaadi since std 9^th. Coincidentally I found a photograph on the outlook magazine dated sometime in June’06 that shows him in suit and shirt with Mr. Pramod Mahajan. Neither the suit not the shirt looks to be made of khaadi. May be the material is IndianJ Machine spun or hand spun, “Indian” is what may be the leader meant when he claimed to have been wearing “khaadi” since std 9^th. Or may be he meant I wear khaadi “also”. Media is known to twist and turn sentences to appear as they want them to be said for “masala spice”.

Sudhanshu Mital was interrogated when Mr. Moitra was found dead due to heavy dosage or drugs in June of 2006. Rahul Mahajan whom probably the BJP was planning to sport as an answer to absence of “very” young politicians in BJP was caught in the drug over dosage case. Things were being talked about a parallel economy running within Mr. Mahajan’s circle. None of these charges were proved I suppose and no one still knows how Mr. Moitra had died and why.Or may be some do but the general public doesn’t. Rahul later claimed to have been poisoned not knowing what was put in the wine that he was drinking. Could be true but all this was never directly related to BJP as a party. Though Mr. Mahajan was a face in BJP, Rahul was just his son Jr. Rahul was never a member of BJP and wasn’t in politics then. He still isn’t but I think the image polishing that has been going on post Big Boss is either for films or for politics. It’s definitely not wasteful. With the drug dosage issue hot in June 2006, media stormed the BJP with questions. Some Sr. BJP leaders chose to be indifferent by calling it a family matter, some talked a about not letting the family alone but of them Mr. Munde had no choice but to take on the media questions as Mr. Mahajan’s brother-in-law. Amidst there were claims in the media that Mr. Mittal reportedly had some dues to Mr. Mahajan and Mr. Moitra was the person who knew about it. Police was apparently questioning Mr. Mittal for being at the site when the over dosage happened. Mr. Mittal however claims that he was there on request of one of Mr. Mahajan’s another close aide after the over dosage happened and rushed Rahul to the hospital.

Two years later, Sudhanshu Mittal is now given the co-charge of the election campaign in north India. It would have been better if he was not heard in the media before. I would have still liked him to be the co-promoter with his claim on having scientific approach to election campaigning with every village and tehsil on the maps he has at button click. However, the man was in the media for some wrong reasons in June 2006. For someone like me who has never heard of him before and chooses to Google the name, the responses aren’t very much in favor of the man and his name. With the expertise he could have been used as a back office champ without declaring his name for the position yet. He could have been brought into lime light once the campaign would have turned into votes in north India. At least, the latest searches on his name would have been positive. If this matter doesn’t settle quickly with internal patch up within BJP the opposition will have a towel sized issue to cover up its “potli” of unethical or non-popular claims in media or otherwise. I am wondering if this is what is going through Mr. Jaitley’s mind when he is silently saying “NO” to Mr. Sudhanshu before he “(m)eats-all” his brain strategy just for the name he has made in the media so far. In this time of media Raj Mr. Jaitely is probably fearful that with most of the media houses propagating anti-BJP sentiment, this new “Nath” can cause BJP image trouble that he is trying to maintain and improve through his campaign strategy.

I write here for a civil society first, not in particular to the educated class but a class that thinks common sense makes generic sense and education is an aftermath of the same. I don’t want to be cryptic here but lets think of things that have stopped India from seeing through what progress it should have post its independence.

British did what they could. I am not too sure if it is right for me to expect a lot out of that rule but I still think they left us with some infrastructure but shaken spines. I don’t want to name leaders I think should have stood a little straighter than they did. I would like to mention though Swatyantra Veer Sawarkar is my hero. Read between the lines if you can.

That was history, rulers ruled and India waited for governance. Of the 14 times that our Lok Sabha was formed it was just thrice that non-congress led governments were in power. Being in power what the Congress party has done and I as an individual with sense of self respect for my country and common sense that is in general common in a society that wants to progress with pride and responsibility strongly oppose:

State of emergency: A state of emergency declared by a Prime Minister needed her to put the freedom fighters in jail. I have read of dictators doing this. I guess Mrs. Gandhi could pull it through without much opposition as the media wasn’t as vocal as it is today and anyone who could initiate an action was already in jail.

Reservation: Babasaheb Ambedkar was a leader with a sense of pride and far sightedness. Writing a constitution of a complex and multicultural country requires sharp analytical skills and knowledge of the law and system intricacies. In my understanding India is one country that has a constitution that is written thinking of the complexities and challenges decades down the line. I respect the far sightedness it’s architect had. In this constitution, Dr. Ambedkar proposed a reservation policy for the dalits in this country to give them a helping hand till was required to take a developmental path. He was for eliminating the reservation system after some years. He probably missed to define those years in the constitution and sadly we lost him quite early than we thought we would. Congress without understanding the thought and reason behind the initial reservation policy made it a marketing tool to get votes.

I know of a case in my rental apartment in Pune. My maid servant earns just enough to run her home and put her kids through school. Her son secured 89% in SSC. I was amazed at this considering the conditions under which he would have had to study. But that did not fetch him admission to good diploma engineering school. He had to seek an alternative. Guess why was this the case? A reserved candidate who came from a similar background or better than his, though with lesser merit got the prestigious seat. Thus RESRVATION OVER MERIT rules even after 60 years of independence.

I am thus not surprised that Sonia Gandhi who has never ever uttered a single word on policies in India but only makes typical CONGRESS STYLE speeches of “hum garibi haaenge” and “hum Pakistan ko muh tod jawab denge” in midst of a rural crowd is  in upscale position in Congress regardless of her performance in governance. First the lady who hails from Italy has got the Indian political system and meaning of ruling the country wrong. Her actions speak for her ignorance. In my opinion Mrs. Gandhi feels that politics is about waving your hand with fingers joined so that it does not lose the congress feel. Secondly, she thinks that patriotism is not to be questioned for her because she has lost her mother-in-law and husband to terrorism. Thirdly, she thinks that ruling in the government is not about ideology but keeping the numbers above half the strength of the house come what may.

I wish to tell her this. Any leader who has been assassinated in this country is a loss to each of its citizens. We feel your pain as a family but that does not give you a certificate of patriotism or approval to your policies against terrorism (that there weren’t any that can be debated is a different question altogether). My country men fight on borders of this country, my country men have lost their own lives and also their near and dear ones in terror attacks here, there and everywhere in the country. So Mrs. Gandhi don’t make the assassination of our leaders a political issue just because they are your family and because the rest of the country who has lost kins is not standing to be elected.

Minority Politics: 13% of the population in India is Muslims about 80% Hindus and the rest. We all form a cultural and socio economic strength of this country. The first divide was initiated by the British and the Congress has taken over to make sure that the divide remains for them to be used to secure the 13% vote bank. My question to Congress is many fold. If 13% is a minority then what is the Kashmiri pandit population in Kashmir which reduced from 15% in 1941 to 0.1% in 2006. Why does secularism to Congress mean anti Hinduism and crippling the Muslims by calling them minority? Why didn’t the Congress declare Kashmiri Pandits in the valley as minority to guard their interests and protect them in the valley? The Nehru family is Kashmiri Pandit. Then why didn’t the Congress leadership then or even now feel the need to call Hindus in the Kashmir valley as minorities if they were upfront about Muslims being a minority in rest of India? The answer is simple, 15% of the Kashmiri votes then and 0.1% of the votes now might not have transformed into enough votes for Congress to take up that issue. It is after all about vote bank.

Had Congress not done the further divide in this country India would have had lesser incidences of communal riots. Every element that tries to disrupt this country is an enemy, be he a Hindu, a Muslim, a Sikh or Christian.

Terrorism & POTA: The BJP led government realized the danger that the country was facing and it’s after math. POTA was a master brain of BJP. When the bill was to pass in the house, Congress opposed it calling it non-secular. The bill was opposed by the Congress led opposition just because it was a master brain of the BJP. Post 26/11 the Congress led government used the same bill and put it to pass in the house. This is like copying assignments in school and then going first to the teacher to make sure you get the credit of your friends work. Shameful that this happened in the government and media did not raise the voice enough. I respect Mr. Advani led government and the support they offered to pass the bill inspite of knowing the dirty game that Congress had palyed.

POTA never discriminated against Hindus and others. It was applicable to every enemy of this country. Sadly the word secular is defined as something else in the dictionary that the Congress leaders use especially Mrs. Gandhi. Secondly, the Congress lacks the farsightedness needed to tackle terror. Opposition to POTA by the Congress and ill preparedness of our state security forces has proved this. Congress always finds itself in reactive mode rather than a pro-active one.

Sonia Gandhi: My readers must be wondering what a shift from policy centric view to being personal. But yes I would not have opposed the Congress party as much as I oppose its leadership and existence today if it wasn’t for its party president. Sonia Gandhi with her mistaken understanding and half baked knowledge about India went on to advertise the hand that she had never fully held. She thinks that it is all about making promises in rural India, shaking legs with the tribals wearing Indian etc. I have never heard her speak about Congress ideology and policies for India. Other leaders do the job for her. If that’s the case why is the lady in power as the Congress president? When all of us know that people who cry in front of the world media like Renuka Choudhary and Sahin Pilot become her favorites. The world watched India in shame when Indian nationals were pleading in front of a woman of Italian origin who was refusing to take up the position as a Prime Minster. Didn’t the country have an alternative then? Congress leaders should have thought above party politics when they put the buttering show in front of the media. They should have sorted this internally rather than putting up a show for the world that humiliated Indians across the world. I laud Mr. Pawar for standing for a thought and forming a separate party. It’s unfortunate that he had to form an alliance with the same leader that he had opposed to.

Blunt promises: Congress has made many promises to the people of this country of all classes. I seriously doubt whom this has exactly benefited. When TATA NANO is the talked about car in the world and pride of India in a sense, the center did not consider it a requirement to interrupt when Mamta created a fiasco in West Bengal, Not too sure what the concerned ministry was busy with. I am sure it wasn’t Satyam as they did not catch it until it happened. Localites in Mumbai and Maharashtra are suffering for lack of governance in Bihar and UP with the population migrating in large numbers here. Neither the state congress govt. nor the one at the center seems to notice or care. They however want all 48 constituency seats from Maharashtra. Shame!

Over a period of years an average voter was looking for a change. The BJP government at the center did a lot better than the Congress in those five years. Infrastructure, technology, economic and foreign policies. There was a logic and intellectual debate possible for their actions. One mistake though was India shining and the drop outs from the party there after. I am not too sure how difficult it is to get back the lady in Saffron. If the leaders can she can win a lot of MP for BJP and BJP can give her a face and respect she needs again.

To sum it up BJP is the most feasible alternative to the Congress government for the 15^th Lok Sabha. I would like to see this country respecting merits. I don’t want to send my kids abroad to fetch education just because their parents can’t afford education in India and that they don’t belong to any reserved category. I would like to see a culturally diverse and respectful population. No one is a minority here. This is everyone’s country. I urge the minorities in the country join the main stream with BJP and flow like a river rather than staying all life like a stagnant lake that is so dependent on parties like Congress feeding them that water forgets how flow through the rocks.