Justice Doomed

The recent verdict dispensed by the Supreme Court of India on Section 377 of IPC has generated huge clamor in public domain. The major point of conflict is the wordings of the verdict that reflect a mediocre, medieval, and regressive mindset of judges who risked their sensibility in addressing a larger democratic and human rights issue, in rather the most imbecile way possible. Articulating this judgment, first, they have contradicted the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India, and second, misread the universal democratic principles.

Decriminalization of homosexuality has nothing to do with culture, religion, law and state; it's a consensual act between two free adults who have every right to do whatever they want to in a liberal society. Keeping an archaic, meaningless, orthodox piece of penal code, which has no relevance in the current social dynamics is another reference of state crime, and, simply, it reflects how vulnerable is India as the largest democracy of the world – the democracy that doesn't uphold the basic principles of human rights. This judgment is perhaps the most regressive one in the recent history and, beyond question, it degrades the democratic index of India in a modern world. In all modern democracies of the world, civil liberty takes the front seat of progression, and in India, it's almost invisible in action.

While political classes are now squarely blaming the verdict and reacting to this judgment in the most opportunistic way, they have hardly done anything significant in all these years. And the most incredible point in the context of this judgment is that even after 67 years of independence, India is still servile to the laws enacted by the Britishers some 150 years ago. As a parliamentary democracy, India has not only failed to imbibe the principles of modern democracy, but also it has aborted the mechanism of delivering fair justice to its citizens. Whether political, judicial, or bureaucratic, each organ of state has proved inefficient, indolent, and digressive to the modern democratic principles. Now is the time to overhaul the system in letter and spirit.  

The Independent's Goof-up

It's quite hilarious that The Independent, a UK daily newspaper, that carried a political critic on India's prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on its website, could only able to settle the final headline “Manmohan Singh - India's saviour or just 'the underachiever'?” after faltering twice. The other two headlines were “Manmohan Singh: Saviour or Sonia's Poodle?” and “Manmohan Singh: Saviour or Sonia's Puppet?” Such a glaring editorial blunder though not uncommon in media, the pith of the problem here is internationally media houses have lost their editorial intellect. Rather a newspaper or a news channel is more like a consumer product with the shortest shelf life. You can have many versions of a story throughout the day with changes here and there. No wonder then a small-time daily like The Independent having a circulation well below two-hundred thousand deliberately modified the headline twice before taking a cue from Time magazine's cover story. And Andrew Buncombe, the Asia correspondent for The Independent and the author of this story, might not feel embarrassed at all, for “the err is human.” Journalists can commit mistakes, blunders, report misguided stories, and in the next moment come out with a rejoinder, admitting to the fact that it's “an inadvertent error.” But the politicians don't have that journalistic privilege. Any wrong decision taken by them are unforgivable.

The story may have many merits while blaming or accusing Dr Manmohan Singh given the current state of governance, but do these journalists ever question their own intellectual paucity? Whatever reported in the story has nothing new in it. It's rather a patchwork of scores of news stories published in Indian media over last few years. By the way, what's the score of Mr Andrew Buncombe, as a correspondent – ethically should be a seeker of truth? Hasn't he been stifled under pressure to overshadow the ethics of a journalist and behave “poodle” or “puppet” of management? Hasn't he ever made disservice to the profession by planting stories or blowing a story out of proportion in his life time? He might have done many times, but those are unreported, censored from the public eye. Because the mistakes of a journalist, even if reported, can't generate hullabaloo or public outcry. That hardly impacts our society. People are list interested what journalists do, how they do, and why they do. The only interest they keep in the actions of hero or villain of the story. In this case, Andrew Buncombe might have portrayed a hero as a villain and that short-lived contrast is the essential doping that many journalists have overused to give a new soprano to readers' imagination.  

The “Underachiever” Conundrum

The man who has been lauded long for his epochal economic liberalization in India is finally burning out his last trace of fuel. The gargantuan thrust once achieved by him in a time when India was struggling hard with economic devolution has of late lost its sparkle. Perhaps that's the ubiquitous pattern of any economic progress irrespective of geography. But the Time magazine's Asian edition has taken a deeper dig at Manmohan Singh and flaunts its next cover with a photograph of Manmohan Singh coupled with a funky title “The Underachiever” and a more flaky subtitle “India need a reboot. Is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh up to the job?” And that has as if pronounced the gospel of god, the entire media circle and politicians from the Opposition have gone berserk on a normal political commentary of a magazine that aspires to penetrate further during a time when the print magazine industry is receiving a tight competition from its digital and electronic siblings. There is nothing unusual in this piece though. Whatever reported there is nothing more than the essence of myriads of reports on the prime minister published in Indian media during last couple of years. Two things that catches up instantly are the intent and the timing. Though Time is a popular magazine for its unusual coverage and fantastic research on any subject, the usual sin with this media as well is a passion for circulation and undoubtedly that prompts the editorial team to pump in offbeat stories week after week relentlessly.

It's true that India is passing through a turbulent economic phase and for that matter all other countries whether developed or developing are experiencing the same pain due to global recession. The US, the UK and the entire Euro zone, Russia, Brazil, and China are on the same bracket as far as macroeconomic indexes are concerned. So what really prompts the Time magazine's editorial team to zero in on Manmohan Singh is another media scoop. Historically, the Time magazine has a culture to weigh “timing” above the “issue”. Here the issue is about economic fledgling, widespread corruption, and policy paralysis in India. And this hasn't erupted overnight. It's a long process and one wrong decision begetting another. So why then Time has chosen July 16 issue of Asian edition to carry this bomb? Certainly, it's more about the opportunism and like hitting the iron while it's hot. The Time's editorial team has been observing deeply on the economic slowdown of India for a long time and now that it senses the boiling point of commoner reactions is reaching the peak, it chooses the opening of pandora's box. That's a media strategy often used by all and sundry. Although the message is clear and circles around hard facts, the intent is otherwise. Time is no different either.  

President Pranab Mukherjee

The long speculation about UPA's candidature for the 13^th President of India has come to an end post announcement of Pranab Mukherjee's name by Sonia Gandhi. Why the chief troubleshooter of UPA II is chosen over many significant others for the presidency during a period of utter crisis has many political reasons. Whether it's making a smooth passage for Rahul Gandhi to be the next PM in 2014 or transforming the stigma of policy paralysis in the North Block or even engineering a stable constitutional solution to handle uncertainties in the outcome of 2014 general elections mandate, Sonia Gandhi has predictably resolved all issues at one go by nominating Pranab Mukherjee for presidential candidate. The kingmaker Sonia Gandhi has always outwitted her opponents by her sheer political acumen. And that's tried and tested in last two decades on many occasions.

Now that the country is seriously heading towards an economic downturn, especially in last two-three years, the UPA II is urgently looking for a finance minister more plaint towards to the market forces and bring about significant changes before 2014. First, as finance minister Pranab Mukherjee hasn't performed up to industry expectations and the recent tax rows with Vodafone is a dampener for further foreign direct investment in Indian market. Second, being a longtime Congress loyalist, Pranab Mukherjee is obviously an aspirant for the top job of the government (read PM), which is literally impossible in the current political scenario. So, the best option left for him to move to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In that lies many blessings for the UPA. As a diehard Congress loyalist, Pranab Mukherjee will bail out UPA in case there is a fractured mandate in 2014. Moreover, the speculation of an early poll will be diminished.

As far as the electoral process goes, Pranab Mukherjee will win the contest with great margin. Despite TMC's opposition for Pranab Mukherjee's candidature, other political parties including SP, BSP, JD(U), Left and certain allies of NDA will unanimously support him. And that could bring well over 60% votes of the electoral college.

Race for the President

Amidst all kinds of hypes and hoopla for the race of next President of India, many names those are doing rounds in political consultations among various parties maybe a deliberate part of a larger facade that UPA has conscientiously floated in public to obfuscate the real winner for this race, which anyway Sonia Gandhi, the President of UPA, will unfold it as a last minute surprise. Whether the media is consciously meditating over any viable name, be it Pranab Mukherjee or Hamid Ansari, the Congress party will certainly repeat it tricks as it did cunningly last time.

With growing factions among NDA allies, the BJP has already lost its golden chance to gather unanimous consensus for giving another opportunity to our ex-President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam when SP was even eager to support an apolitical person like Dr Kalam. It's now obvious that NDA has hardly any major role to play in this Presidential election other than supporting the candidate to be finalized by the Congress party towards the end of this month. Till then all types of media hypes around this will only buttress UPA's secret plan.

Well, as Sonia Gandhi has already started consultations with leaders of UPA's major allies, it seems she is garnering absolute consensus on her decisions, not on the candidatures for the poll. And the interesting part of this consultation process is that once the magic mark is achieved and decisions of various regional party leaders are converged to a potent winning strategy, Ms Gandhi will pull out the final pigeon from her sleeve.

The chances are that neither Pranab Mukherjee nor Hamid Ansari would be the final choice of Sonia Gandhi. They are just the decoy candidates. So, who is that luckiest one? It's a million dollar question. Given the current political situations, Pranab Mukherjee is the most sought-after politician in UPA who's not only an astute trouble-shooter, but also he is equally bankable in all seasons.

Remember, Pranab Mukherjee has some higher aspirations in politics and that's only possible before 2014 general elections. How is that feasible then when Dr Manmohan Singh has held the highest position? So it won't be very surprising that when Sonia Gandhi would ask Dr Manmohan Singh to move to the Rashtrapati Bhawan and bless Pranab Mukherjee with the dream job of his life. And both these decisions of Sonia Gandhi will act as a game changer for UPA's success in 2014 elections. Till then all are speculations.

Age of Consent

What could be more hypocritical than denying the fact that the growing rate of adolescent sex among Indian teens over last two decades has been well documented in Indian media and other social agencies and then passing a Victorian bill to increase “age of consent” in order to create more confusion around decriminalization of sex among youngsters. The septuagenarian law makers of India are far from the social reality. If the bill on new “age of consent” passed by Union Cabinet last week is anything to be believed, then digest this: a boy of 17 having a consensual sex with her girlfriend of same age could be punished under “rape charges” of IPC because moving on the legal “age of consent” would be 18.

When most of progressive democracies across the world believe in the fact that 16 is the right age for consensual sex, the old, orthodox parliamentarians of India think completely otherwise. Where are we heading? Do our parliamentarians really understand the current social dynamics?

In a country like India, making antediluvian laws is another craze among law makers. When the rest of the world think progressively and live in the present, then why our leaders are so passionate about moving back to Victorian age? Either our leaders are too imbecilic to perceive the changing social attitudes towards sex or they are blatantly inhuman to criminalize teen sex.

With growing liberal attitudes towards sex across Western countries and to decriminalize LGBT sexual activities, the most advanced nations have revisited the statutory “age of consent” and most of them have reduced that magic age than increasing it. For example, in UK, Canada, Belgium, Holland, Norway, and some states of the USA, the age of consent is 16, and in Denmark, Greece, and Sweden, it's 15. And the most interesting fact that in Italy, the motherland of our UPA chairperson Ms Sonia Gandhi, the age of consent is 14.

What's more pathetic in Indian context that our law makers still refuse to acknowledge the glaring fact that teenagers not only explore or casually experiment, but also do really have sex and even sometimes do more than the adults do. Rather than imposing upon a moralistic or ethical view on sex and defining archaic, draconian laws, our law makers would try to read the current social reality and debug their purulent mindset before passing any law.

Regulating Media: A Bad Idea, Certainly

When the country is severely reeling under endemic corruptions and politicians have taken a ride on the sentiments of citizens of this nation, the very naive idea of pushing a private bill (by a first-timer MP Meenakshi Natarajan) to regulate media not only indicates how ignorant the MP is about the very basics of Indian Constitution that enshrines freedom of speech as fundamental rights, but also she intends to advocate a democracy to function without freedom of press. In a democratic setup, media is the only institution outside governance that acts as an independent watchdog and brings truth to the fore.

Freedom of expression is the corner stone of democratic evolution. Conventional media run by professional journalists and editors represents the pillar of free speech. Although recently few media houses have crossed their ethical limit and displayed downgraded standards in reporting biased, frivolous news pieces; nevertheless, the idea of regulating media by state agencies is altogether an untoward move.

As law makers, the legislators have the privilege to bring in any draconian law which would suit their political objective; however, in a functional democracy, the most stringent, anti-democratic law is even subject to complete abrogation when the government changes. India has already witnessed the fate of a draconian law like TADA in the last decade.

The developed democracies like US, UK, and France are the greatest upholders of the principle of freedom of speech and expression. Despite myriads of exposes against the ruling class in press, these nations have even ensured free and independent media. The law-makers of these nations are true democrats who believe in freedom of expression. A self-regulated media is undoubtedly a great partner in a long, meaningful democratic journey.

However, in India, majority of politicians are tainted, corrupt, and law-breakers, so a free press becomes a huge roadblock for their escapades. In the history of high-decibel scams in India, whether it's Bofors, 2G, or CWG, it was only media that exposed the matter in public domain first, and then the police or judiciary executed their responsibilities later.

With regulated media, the freedom of speech will be strangled and every report that will be published in media will be nothing more than a public relation exercise because of excessive state monitoring and hegemonic bureaucracy. Post enactment of law, no government would like to support an independent media, and eventually state-run media will take the lead. Are we heading to transform such a vibrant democracy into a communist country like China? Maybe, that could be the hidden agenda of many political parties. Nevertheless, India as a nation of great political diversity won't afford to take that route.

The Bofors Conundrum

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Public Interest vs. Right to Privacy

Propriety is fast depleting from public domain. What was once considered to be the key characteristic of a public figure has now touched the nadir. Hardly one can find a person in public life who is out and out honest in every dimension of trait calibration. After all they are little mortal and human. They have all those mundane aspirations that often transgress the idealistic fabric when they come across a situation more tempting than the laurels of idealism. And how can a human being become so indifferent to inherited animal instincts that today drive mankind towards unachievable goals through sheer determination? The determination to surpass all established dogmas, doctrines, and demarcations. But along with that proliferates another human trait – hypocrisy – which emboldens human beings to do the unthinkable and still engage in self aggrandizement. Perhaps, that's the most sordid aspect of human evolution.

Well, the world is changing, so is the human perception. In the advent of ubiquitous social media and 24x7 news channels, the jury is out in the open. Any act of corruption, malpractice, wrongdoing, or even unethical private affair is not more privy to the public figure, rather it's analyzed threadbare, disseminated bit by bit, debated unabashed, deliberated to the last grain, and finally bounced back to public domain for a savory relish. For that act becomes a subject of public interest.

The recent CD controversy in which Abhishek Manu Singhvi,a senior Congress leader and a member of Rajya Shabha, is allegedly shown to be indulged in a sexual act in his chamber with a senior advocate and aspirant of a higher judicial position, the arguments supporting right to privacy fall flat on the face of a larger public interest. What's more deplorable here that Singhvi is not only a senior MP, but he is also chairman of a Parliamentary committee on law and justice, and he undoubtedly has the capacity to influence the selection process of the position for which the lady is a contender. So this sexual favor can be treated quid pro quo, given the alleged audio content in the CD proved to be authentic. In that case, the arguments supporting the privacy of a person crumble like a house of cards.

However, this alleged sexual act could have been an absolutely private affair if the lady in the CD would not have any aspiration for a hugely respectable public position, and moreover Singhvi hadn't been in an influential position in the system. Rather not being tempted into character assassination of Singhvi, the subject must be investigated in the light of public interest. Both Singhvi and lady are equally responsible for violating the due diligence selection procedure of a judge, which is largely dependent on meritocracy, intellectual calibre, and other fundamental human traits such as honesty and integrity.

The buck doesn't stop at the resignation of Singhvi from all public positions, rather the lady must also be investigated, and if proven guilty of influencing the selection process through sexual favor must be barred from holding any public position in future. Indeed, that's a matter of judicial enquiry; however, the fact remains that the people who give lecture to public on right to privacy must not tread in the public domain and complaint about their privacy being breached, rather they should shun all public positions and do whatever they want to do in their private life. That could be more sensible and safe charting. Anyway, who does care about those people who don't have any stake in public interest?  

Army Coup in India? Impossible

The report "The January night Raisina Hill was spooked: Two key Army units moved towards Delhi without notifying Govt" published in the Indian Express is only an indication of extreme desperation by the editorial team to create a nation-wide sensation and increase their daily circulation. Irrespective of who's who in the editorial hierarchy of Indian Express, the report doesn't qualify to be called as a product of investigative journalism, rather it underlines the immature methodology to justify the credibility of a profession called journalism. Perhaps, the editorial team of Indian Express has gone a bit discombobulated and kinky by tagging such grave and terrible charges against Indian Army. What this so-called investigation claimed by the paper is an absolute boozed concoction and hilarious outburst of a bunch of hallucinated nuts who had ever endeavoured to tread on a slippery slope like rouge reporting. Moreover, this indicates the gross cannibalism of propriety at a time when the trust level of citizens is dangerously nosediving.

Brushing a normal army exercise as an allusion of coup not only unearths the rotten collective intellect level of editorial team of Indian Express, but also it emphasizes on the fact that how ludicrous these guys who don't have even an iota of rationality in understanding the political system of this country. India as the largest democracy of this world has proved time and again its deeper commitment towards parliamentary democracy and the political supremacy is well documented and conspicuous. Moreover, Indian Army is the most disciplined and patriotic organization of our country. What's more rational to build up is when the Intelligence Bureau is 24x7 working under the political leadership of the ruling government, how prudent is it to think of an army coup in 21^st century India? Just a series of incidents that at best can be pieced together to create a collage of fuzzy stratagem, the truth perhaps is grossly undermined. Probably, the editorial think-tank of Indian Express needs to unlearn a lot before pushing out their sensational stories (read garbage) to the citizens of this country. They have lost their credibility as journalists. I think Bollywood could be a better place for them to become sleazy script writers where they can earn even more by selling their scroungy narratives.

   

Sycophancy Kills

The recent debacle of the Congress party in the state elections reminds only one fact that when people get closer to reality, no amount of false promises however resounding can garner votes. Given the high decibel pre-poll campaigns executed singularly by Rahul Gandhi and sparingly by Priyanka in UP, the political sycophants in the Congress party thought the magic of dynasty can work wonder even in extreme situations, but they were absolutely wrong in internalizing this gravest blunder. The world is changing fast, so is the people perception. In democracy, decisions of the supreme head are even subject to deliberations and change. But the old-fashioned Congress party which still basks in the lost glory believes in dynastic culture which has no relevance in a democracy. What's more devastating for the party now is that some diehard sycophants still underplay the reality and misguide the party chief by convincing her that all is well in this “yes boss” culture. And to a large extent the acceptance of sycophancy in the party cadre has reduced it to ashes.

If one analyzes the political campaigns of Congress vis-a-vis its success in UP, it won't be incorrect to theorize the notion that Rahul was far from the ground realities and he was carried away by the wrong advices of senior leaders of the party. The most funny element of the campaign was projecting Sam Pitroda as the mascot for weaker sections of society to woo the voters of that community. An individual success can't be generalized in such a gross way. How many people in UP know Sam, his closeness to Rajiv Gandhi and his global achievements in the field of telecommunications? Perhaps, the top one percent of the highest echelon of society even doesn't know him, forget about the masses who are reeling under the anathema of poverty and don't yet know anything beyond the necessity of “roti, kapda aur makan”. The charm of technology only catches them who enjoy the luxury of life.

More importantly, the Congress as a national political party has been drifting away from the regional issues in last two decades when regional parties got closer to the grassroots. What's the net understanding of Congress about state issues is a filtered version of scripted story concocted by few sycophants, and this in long run has proved to be dangerous for the party. Now is the high time for Rahul Gandhi to break the shackles of sycophants and pull up his socks to establish the party structure across the states in the first place. Next he should go deeper into the complex political dynamics of the states and the centre to devise a unique winning strategy even without the help of sycophants. If he doesn't overhaul the party strategy and delegate responsibilities with clearly articulated accountability to state and central leaders of the party, the 2014 general elections will be a huge disaster for the Congress. Mr Gandhi, are you listening?  

The usual suspect

As Anna goes lock, stock, and barrel by initiating a no-voting campaign against Congress party for Hisar by-election, the inherent intentions of Team Anna become conspicuous to public. In that it unfolds their hidden political agenda, irrespective of how loudly they deny the political aspirations in the near future. Maybe, Team Anna is testing its popularity and impact at ground zero, which would certainly prop up their confidence before launching a full-steam assault against Congress in the UP state elections.

What's more interesting here that just six months before when Team Anna launched their campaign against corruption and pressurized UPA-2 to bend to their demands and participate in the drafting committee of Lokpal, very few had any idea that an apolitical hunger strike at Jantar Mantar for bringing a frivolous Jan Lokpal draft on to the table of Parliament would snowball into a political star war.

The political angle of the strike was even more imaginable during the second phase at the Ramlila ground when various political leaders from non-Congress brigade supported Anna's campaign against corruption. The high drama ended, rather stage managed, through a purely political solution, which abruptly threw impression that a projectile pushed to a course correction at the midway of trajectory. And now that the bill is at the mercy of Standing Committee which would certainly apply its collective mind to whether the pointers raised by Team Anna appeal to the representatives.

Well before the Standing Committee take any decision on the bill in the winter session of Parliament, Team Anna in advance has started deploying pressure tactics at Hisar to vote out Congress. Now the point of confrontation here is that Anna is not apolitical, rather he has proved more ways than one that he has strong political backing to launch such campaign against Congress. This partisan attitude of Team Anna could be disastrous for their long term agenda, be it political or social.

What Team Anna could have done rather approach the public at Hisar to vote out the corrupt candidate, not the Congress candidate. As a crusader of corruption, Anna has missed the fundamentals of Gandhian values at least in the event of Hisar by-elections. Whatever be the outcome of this campaign, Anna has certainly diluted his image.

Capital Seized

Within four months of a sophisticated reconnaissance of a dry run of terror attack apparently in the same place in May 25, the terrorists finally carried out the dastardly blast near the reception entry of Delhi High Court on September 7 at 10:14 AM, reminding us a fact that the sovereignty of India can be attacked by anybody from inside or outside, and our leaders will behave in the same callous way by refraining from their accountability to the citizens of the country. How many terror strikes would be enough to really move these politicians and bureaucrats to wake up from their eternal slumber? How many times our PM and HM will read out the same rehearsed speech in the aftermath of blast to fulfill their formal protocol? How many times our HM will display his false intellectual arrogance by saying that handling terrorism with iron fist is a “complex” process? How many times the innocent citizens will pay their lives for the mistakes of our leaders who in all probability forget their responsibilities once they get elected for five years? How long the bureaucracy will bully the entire nation in the name of red tape? No one has a proper answer though to these real problems.

We all are seriously infected with a prolonged pernicious disease called “status quo”. The time is not far off from today when India will fall into hands of some destructive forces and still we will love our “chalta hai” attitude as if nothing has happened and flaunt our paradoxical great Indian resilience, an obsessive compulsive disorder that we think it's our preserved human value system.

It's the high time for citizens to wake up and demand their fundamental rights of living without fear and prejudice. Until there is no public upsurge against terrorism, our leaders will behave in the same shameless manner as they are doing now because the loss innocent citizens bear can never be felt by them. Every time a terrorist attack takes place in Delhi, the politicians, bureaucrats, law and enforcement agencies spring into a blame-game mode. The news channel keep the issue live and hot for few days and then they get back to their routine. And the real sufferers, the innocent citizens, are pushed into their own fate.

We can't tolerate this anymore. The incompetent political leaders who think can rule us for ever by devising dirty plans must understand that the Frankensteins they are devising through vote bank politics will backfire them someday. We must understand the fact that any act of terror is an attack on the sovereignty of our country and any amount of tolerance to terrorism however small should not be encouraged by any political outfit. And most importantly the security of our nation should not be bugged down by our frivolous foreign policy which has no rationality when the sovereignty our nation is at stake. Beyond the ambit of reactive measures that our forces are used to, the law and enforcement departments should act autonomously to take serious preventive anti-terrorism measures. We must act tough now.

Politics of Price Rise

Constant price rise has seriously affected the common man in India. Every year people bear the brunt of a two-digit inflation and the government shamelessly claims that they have taken every measure to curb it. While the prime minister of our country is a noted economist, the failure of the government to check the inflation only reminds us that politics always overshadows the wisdom of intellectuals. It hardly matters how powerful intellectuals take over the top job, the compulsion of politics is more important than the welfare of a nation.

So if the debate on price rise in Parliament on Wednesday was unassumingly hot, there is nothing unprecedented in it. The Opposition always looks for an opportunity to stall the parliamentary procedures, and price rise is certainly the right topic to choose from hundred others. But the problem here is that not a single political party in this country has the right think-tank to understand the problems of people. Politics has always been the facade of bad governance, and especially in India, politics is even nastier than that. So blaming a single political party will not yield any result. The problem lies somewhere which people never know.

For instance, when there is a hike in oil prices, which may be a genuine requirement because of price rise in crude oil, the Opposition makes furor over the issue by mixing other stretched imaginations that food price will affect the poor since transportation cost will sharply go up. All false arguments and distortion of facts and nothing more than that. In reality, when the oil price rises just 5-10%, the food prices rises 50-100%. So where is the logic? Isn't this a pretext to betray people by spreading wrong message?

We understand that hike in oil price has impact on transportation cost, but that's not rational to claim that x% rise in oil price will trigger a 5x% rise in food prices. These are certainly emotive issues since they impact the life of poor people in this country; however, rise in food prices has many other parameters as well which are invisible to people. For example, illegal hoarding of food grains and vegetables is a matter of apathetic bureaucratic issue, but every year this happens so infallibly that the the nexus of traders and bureaucrats almost takes the entire advantage of price rise.

So the point here that the recent uproar in Parliament on price rise is absolutely a non-issue. Rather the government should dig deeper into the unholy nexus between businessmen or traders and bureaucrats so that a sure-shot solution can be availed to the people of this country. For that we certainly need a strong Lokpal Bill as an anti-corruption solution. The government must internalize the fact that so long as the steel frame of this country is not bridled into a strong checks-and-balances act, the price rise Frankenstein will engulf the entire system.

Cabinet reshuffle or coalition compulsion

The much-awaited, big-ticket cabinet reshuffle that the prime minister once created disproportionate hype in media circle has finally ended in a jocular political musical chair trivia, nothing exciting or forward looking given a poll-bound government three years down the line. What our prime minister was initially claiming that the rejig could weed out the non-performers and tainted ministers has eventually sent a message that political and coalition compulsions outweigh the merits of reshuffling and probity in governance.

In the same vein, he once again painted him a subdued follower of a political leadership who neither has vision nor tact in managing the most complex political coalition with iron fists. Every time when political crisis lambasts governance, we hear a well-rehearsed cliché – coalition dharma. But the moot question here is how long this coalition dharma would mar the future of an emerging democracy? No one has a legitimate answer to this. The problem here is that either this government has a serious fear psychosis against the present scenario or there is something serious flaw in the political leadership in this country, both ways the Congress party is a loser.

Well, if cabinet reshuffling is a prerogative of the prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh has given a blatant disservice to the nation in terms of subjugating to the political compulsions. As the prime minister, he could have endorsed to inducting a couple of brilliant technocrats like Montek Singh Aluwalia to his cabinet through lateral entry or he could have infused some capable young leaders by entrusting them with certain major responsibilities. On both fronts, he failed to achieve that. When inflation, corruption, decelerated FDI, and subsided industrial growth have plagued the macro economy of this country, as a renowned economist he has deliberately overlooked at them and simply accommodated changes a layman can perceive in the current political turmoil.

On the contrary if we believe that the cabinet reshuffle is a give-and-take gesture between the prime minister and the chairperson of UPA II, then the latter has completely failed to understand the complex political war that would quite predictably bring disastrous to the future prime minister of the Congress party, Mr Rahul Gandhi, on many counts. Primarily Ms Sonia Gandhi has failed to understand is the pulse of the nation. If at all she has played a role in advising the prime minister to marginalize his wisdom, then she has restored some inheritance of loss for her son Rahul.

For a poll-bound government, the primary political compulsions do not comprise appeasing the present coalition elements, rather it's the high time to restore the faith of common man in overall governance. Beyond stringent political compulsions there are plenty of ordinary issues those have extraordinary impact of the next elections. Nonetheless, both Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi have failed to perceive the truth and showed their naivety again.

MSM Imbroglio

What's most pathetic and shocking that the health minister of our nation doesn't have an iota of knowledge about the glaring difference between a disease and a deliberate human choice, and in that reflects his century-old ignorance, which he, with all his constitutional capability, is trying to disseminate to public rather in a ludicrous manner. And before he could able to understand the scale of damage he has already created to his ministry and himself as well, the LGBT community, media, and public in general rebuffed to his intellectual bankruptcy.

Now the big question is what prompted Mr Azad to display his latent ignorance to the public at large? Why did he stated so categorically about “men having sex with men” is a practice of developed country and this is a “disease” and “unnatural” act which has finally found its place in India? What it indicates that Mr Azad is absolutely clueless about “homosexuality” and its social dynamics. He has rather lifted off the lid from his “Pandora's box” of infinite insanity.

And more interesting fact is that after this faux pas he again committed another outrageous blunder on a backtrack diplomacy, by stating that he was not supposedly talking about “MSM” as a disease, rather it was intended for “HIV”. What a crap? He doesn't even know HIV is not a disease, it's a virus. Why then with such bundle of ignorance in his mind he is still holding the post of health minister? This is the sordid state of political leadership in our country. Anybody can be a political leader and a minister as well irrespective of his or her education, knowledge, intelligence, and other necessary leadership skills, so long as he or she has mass followers because that's the only mandatory requirement in a democracy.

When the apex court of our country has already abrogated Section 377 two years back to decriminalize homosexuality, the health minister still lives in his cocoon of feudal mindset. Mr Azad certainly needs to unlearn his mental darkness and must take some lessons on sex education before going back to his job, else his portfolio is undoubtedly going to be shifted to some most desirable candidate in the next cabinet reshuffle.

Where is the country heading for?

India as nation is losing its glory on many fronts, be it governance, economy, or social dynamics. The recent high-drama eviction of Ramdev from Ramlila ground is an indication of how the government has reduced to a helpless bunch of irresponsible leaders who don't understand the statecraft, forget about running this country. What's more disturbing is the way political leaders are hobnobbing with gurus, babas, and other popular figures in this country has created vacuum in the integrity and sophistication of politics. Politics that was once reserved for the most elite class of society has become a vocation of anybody and everybody irrespective of their social strata and perhaps that's the primary reason as to why both politics and politicians have not only lost their grip on the governance of this nation but also lost their shine over the years.

Now if the recent government at the centre is helplessly firefighting the burning issues such as corruption, black money, anarchy, and brewing social revolutions like the Annas and Ramdevs are resorting to, it's because the political leaders in the past had paved the way of vote bank politics as a major tool to win elections term after term, forgetting the fact that the future generation would face the repercussions of their mistakes. Why UPA II is the most vulnerable government at the centre today is not because of any drawback in Dr. Manmohan Singh, rather it's the consequence of cumulative blunders committed by heads of Congress party over last many decades.

Corruption and black money are not recent phenomena. They have been smuggled into politics and governance since independence because heads of political parties presumed that running a national political party and winning subsequent elections need huge amount of funding thus opening avenues for corrupt practices. Then vested interest sections like business houses, religious groups, and other minority groups started lobbying in politics that founded the emergence of corruption at high places and then cascaded down to lower echelons in the government departments eventually engulfing the entire system what we now connote this as systemic corruption.

We can't entirely blame the current UPA II for the anarchy that has crept into the governance of nation. What has happened today is a consequence of continuous degradation of political ideologies. There was a time when Nehru and Shashtri maintained an extremely sophisticated aura around the highest position of this country, their successors diluted that exclusiveness through their personal alliances with some elements of society, maybe for winning popularity or other personal reasons, and that practices have organically inherited to party leaders.

Let me cite some examples to substantiate my hypothesis. In the recent past, our Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh flew down to Puttaparti for tendering last tribute to Saibaba, and by doing this he has grossly violated the protocol of his position. Similarly, last week our Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee rushed to airport to welcome Ramdev. What's prompting these ministers to commit mistakes after mistakes? Is it their naivety or adaption of party ideologies? Whatever be the reason, they are making glaring blunders and creating bad precedents for the future generation.

Finally, politics has lost its elitism, and that's the prime reason for anarchy in a parliamentary democracy. Democracy doesn't promote the theory that popularity is the necessary attribute of leaders, rather it's their value system, calibre, intellectual level, vision, honesty, commitment, and empathy for people, which in turn portrait them as great leaders.

India doesn't need popular politics. To win elections, political parties are fielding popular figures such as actors, sports persons, religious leaders, criminals, and the likes without considering their leadership attributes. This mix of mindless inclusiveness has degraded politics. What we really need are great leaders with commitment for nation building. Now national politics need a complete overhaul in terms of party ideologies and leadership qualities. Anybody listening?

An Open Letter to Prime Minister – Part II

Dear Mr Prime Minister,

India is the largest democracy of the world, it's not a monarchy or autocracy where the excess of government can be tolerated by its citizens without blinking an eyelid. What happened on June 4 midnight at Ramlila ground, New Delhi not only reflects the extreme brutality of police forces and atrocities on innocent women, children and old people, but at the same time it exposed the collective base mentality of a government (read a bunch of diehard sycophants of a political dynasty) towards the universal democratic principles that once upheld by the forefathers of our Constitution. It's not only shocking that over five thousand police forces swarmed into action at the midnight to evict a yoga guru who just two days before the incident received a red carpet welcome by the cabinet ministers of this country, but it's equally deplorable that this kind of miscalculated action by your government landed you in a situation where you again committed a glaring blunder by admitting to the fact that “the excess of police action was though unfortunate but unavoidable as there was no alternative” and subsequently lost your credibility as the prime minister of this country.

What your government has done in this incident not only reflects the naivety of statecraft, but also it corroborates to the fact that the collective knowledge of your cabinet on the fundamental rights of citizens empowered by our Constitution is null and void. This is a dangerous proposition for a parliamentary democracy. No amount of argumentation however powerful can justify the brutality of police forces on innocent, unarmed, sleeping women and children that these critical mass can be dangerous to the law and order situation of the capital city of India by immaturely drawing a parallel between Babri masjid incident and an unfounded similar dangerous situation that maybe lurking in the hindsight of your government. No, Mr Prime Minister, this argument doesn't hold any water in the current scenario. What your government has done here to the democratic fabric of this country is irreparable. No amount of apology even from all ranks and files of your cabinet including you can't repair the humongous loss that it has done to the families of victims in this police atrocities.

Mr Prime Minister, there are scores of alternatives to handle the worst dangerous situation even with grace and within the ambit of democratic principles. The Ramlila ground incident is a murder of democracy, which you can't understand it, forget about acknowledging the blunder because you are not an elected representative of people of this country, rather a representative of a dynasty for political convenience. Perhaps, that's the prime reason as to why political compulsions have always overshadowed your intellect and conviction during national crisis whether it's all-pervasive political corruption or crushing of democracy in the recent event. It's still live in public memory when you justified systemic corruption as “coalition dharma” and “political mandate” can even wash away the democratic sins like “horse-trading in the Parliament.” No parliamentarian can claim such immature, unconstitutional statement.

Mr Prime Minister, it won't be quite surprising to notice another emergency during your tenure given the uprising of civil society against systemic corruption and black money issues that have entangled your government in deep soup, and subsequently you will give the same lame excuse that “though this is unfortunate but unavoidable as we don't have an alternative” a cliché that you have got by your heart to fire it whenever condemnations on your actions from public or political parties loom large.

Sir, we are living in 21st century, not in an era of colonial rule where all actions, however dangerous or anti-human or antagonistic, of a ruler stand legitimate. People of India are not subjects of British Raj. We are living in a vibrant democracy where every citizen has fundamental rights to lead his or life with human dignity and grace. Any excess by the government is extremely deplorable and condemnable. As head of the government, you must first oblige to the democratic principles and the Constitution of India, and then probably you can discharge your duty as a prime minister. If you fail to uphold the democratic principles, people of this country will not hesitate to consider you a man of no reason.


Yours sincerely,

An honest citizen

Midnight murder of democracy

History has been repeated, rather in a more dastardly manner. What could be condemned as the worst incident in a democracy is on the contrary not only a blot on democracy, but also the worst form of inhumanity executed by a government. What's happening in this country? When people of this country come out in unison to protest peacefully against corruption and black money, the government doesn't hesitate to use barbaric police force to fire teargas at innocent people to destroy the movement. What happened at Ramlila ground, New Delhi, on the midnight of June 4 is a clear indication of the darkest episode of democracy. Five thousand police force cracked down on Ramlila ground and evicted Ramdev in brutal manner and the worst part is that the policemen assaulted women and children while they were taking rest in midnight. Is it a democracy or a nation ruled by rouges?

When the government is acting like nincompoops to fight against hardened terrorists despite all hard evidence, the same government is behaving like a medieval, brutal force against its own citizens to perish peaceful movements against corruption and black money. Can we call it a democracy where the basic tenets of democracy have miserably failed by its dispensers? What it clearly indicates that the government in power is a bunch of corrupt politicians who have stashed hordes of black money in foreign country and perhaps that's the primary reason what compels them to wipe out any kind of serious movement against corruption and black money.

The fear psychosis of the government is finally noticed by the public as how they are helplessly behaving in the most undemocratic manner to mar a peaceful protest, which is a fundamental right of every citizen in a democratic country. And the sad part is that a cabinet minister justifies the brutal action of police force on the innocent protesters and idiosyncratically reasons it as a lesson for all and sundry. What a duductive logic? This government after committing such unethical act against humanity and fundamental rights of citizens in a democratic nation doesn't have moral right to rule this country.

An open letter to Rahul Gandhi

Dear Rahul,

When India is poised to switch over to the next orbit in socio-economic revolution, a plain vanilla political opportunism in farmers' agitation at Bhatta Parsaul can't qualify you to become the prime minister of this country. For that you should think beyond the contemporary political think-tank. Your solidarity with the victims of Bhatta Parsaul and empathy for the poor farmer families who lost their members in a protest against state apathy may temporarily yield some brownie points for you in politics, but in long run these political activism will never transform you to a world-class leader that billion plus Indians are eagerly waiting for.

Previously, you also visited Niyamagiri in Odisha to solace the poor tribals and also promised them to fight for their cause. I am not sure whether justice has been delivered to them. And there are numerous incidents when you have shown your genuine interest to reach out to masses and listen to their grievances, that way you have unquestionably proved yourself a leader of the masses, but will that suffice to catapult you to the top job of this country? You are not just another Indian political leader who at best can only aspire for a cabinet berth at the centre in his life time, you are different from the herd. You represent the collective aspirations of millions of youth who dream an India the next superpower in global economy, an India where the fruits of democracy are not restricted to few millions but every citizen of this country gets empowered to lead a life with dignity, an India where a flawed tradition, however deep routed, can't overpower the fundamental rights of any citizen, an India where justice will never be denied.

India is struggling with diverse socio-economic issues. Even after 64 years of independence, millions of people are dying of hunger, millions of children are exploited as child labourers, thousands of farmers are taking suicidal route to escape from the state apathy, and on the contrary, the ruling class is basking under the glory of India shinning, an irony that always narrates the sordid state of our development, a development which is partisan, non-inclusive, and unsustainable. For last 64 years we have been tinkering with the symptomatic treatment of a malaise, which could have an otherwise sure-shot preventive therapy. We wait for a problem to happen and then act partially to suppress it, rather than eradicate it from the root. How long India can afford to bleed on these pernicious ideologies?

Rahul, it's time now for you to take a stand beyond myriads of political limitations. India can't be ruled within the ambit of party ideologies. As a youth leader, you must ensure that the most bright and deserving young leaders join you to embark on a mission to transform India from an emerging economy to a world superpower in every dimension. And a last thought, you shouldn't be “ashamed of to be an Indian” by noticing one grave incidence of state apathy, rather you must ensure that every citizen with self conviction can say “I am proud to be an Indian” and for that you must act now to deliver justice to the victims of state atrocities.

Sincerely,

An honest Indian