Aaj Ka Arjun: Narendra Modi

At a conference on Bus Rapid Transit System, which was attended by management experts from Africa, Latin America and other parts of Asia, Bhai Narendra Modi said the following:
“Gujarat succeeds where Delhi fails.”

I have seen the system, which was under construction in Amdavaad, and I can tell you one thing: it will be fantastic! In fact it almost seems that Modi is so impatient in putting his vision in place that the state seems to be left breathless while trying to catch up to it.

Our readers know that we are unabashed admirers of Modi. All you have to do is type his name in the search bar and read all that we have written. This post is not about his vision or achievements. This is about wishing him well on his journey.

Bhai Narendra Modi has begun his campaign in Gujarat. We all hope and pray that this “yatra” ends in New Delhi with him taking oath for the highest office in the land. He is not campaigning for his post in Gujarat. He is fighting for the soul of Mother India. These are the darkest days since Indira Gandhi robbed us of the one thing we were proud of – our democracy. UPA 1 and 2 have raped and plundered the country. Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev stand defeated in front of this criminally corrupt and Goebbelsian regime. The nation is hopelessly divided and the marauders united. Abject Kalyug is what it is. One is reminded of the following from the Bhagwat Geeta:

“Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya
Glanirva Bhavathi Bharatha,
Abhyuthanam Adharmaysya
Tadatmanam Srijami Aham’.
Bhagavad Gita (Chapter IV-7)

(“Whenever there is decay
of righteousness O! Bharatha
And a rise of unrighteousness
then I manifest Myself!”)

Of course it too much to expect Lord Krishna to grace us with his presence but may he can bless the modern day Arjun with his wisdom and strength. Comparing Modi with Arjun is a reach but he is the one politician who comes closest to being a “Dharm-Yoddha”. And now that he has undertaken this arduous journey towards salvation of the country, I can only pray and hope that the aam aadmi will do the same. I hope that the ‘aahvaan’ raised by Bhai Narendra will have the same impact on his enemies as did Arjun’s as described below:

Picking up his conch, the golden Devadatta, Arjun blew on it fiercely; the heavens echoed with the noise, and the chariot warriors stood petrified on the field. Their horses stood paralysed, with eyes wide open ...
-Mahabharata, Book Seven: Drona

We may be at the advent of a turning point in our history. Bhai Narendra needs help of the voters and supporters. We need to do the best we can to ensure a resounding victory for him in Gujarat and beyond. We should resist temptations of free laptops and other meaningless crap. We should inform ourselves of the truth and achieve freedom from the falsehoods perpetuated by the Congress and its “daanav sena”. This is the time to put aside petty differences and come together for the betterment of our neighborhoods, our cities, our states and most importantly, our country. May all the gods bless Bhai Narendra.

As the slogan goes: “Modi Tum Sangharsh Karo. Hum tumhare saath hain”

The BRTS article can be read at: http://www.firstpost.com/india/gujarat-succeeds-where-delhi-fails-modi-446821.html

Internet: The Great Indian Equalizer

All our lives we have seen how Hindu conservatives are discriminated against in India. What started during the British rule has thrived during successive Congress regimes. An American newspaper says what the nation has been saying about Manmohan Singh and the entire Congress machinery goes into a tizzy. However, when liberal rags in the west were equating the RSS with KKK (a murderous racist organization in the US) or when falsehoods about Narendra Modi were being spread in the west (in collusion with Indian liberals in the west), nary a peep was heard either in the government or the media.

The pseudo secular brigade has an absolute control of the media. Post Godhra riot is called a pogrom while 1984 massacre of the Sikhs is brushed under the carpet. Narendra Modi has been called every name in the book for the post Godhra riots (unofficial toll: about 1400 Muslims and 700 Hindus). Hiteshwar Saikia who was CM during the Nellie riots in Assam (unofficial toll: 5000 Muslims) has been referred to as a nationalist who crushed militancy because he belonged to Congress. Judgments exonerating Narendra Modi were eyed with suspicion and judges deemed in competent while the judgment in Naroda-Patiya was deemed extremely fair (because it placated the pseudo-secular brigade). One gets the idea.

With the advent of Internet, the playing field has become a lot more level. Try as they may, the Congress mavens cannot control what goes on the net or the social media on the net. Anyone with a net connection can get his or her opinion out there. Like-minded Hindus can meet over the net without any fear. Consequently, the leaders who are marginalized in the media (negative publicity does not count) can reach the voters via the net. Ronald Reagan is credited with the idea of talking directly with the voters, bypassing the print media.

If Narendra Modi gets on the net and communicates with his supporters or critics, no one can stop him. He does not need a VISA or support of the media houses to do so. Sibal-Ambika Soni duo can put blocks on Twitter accounts but how far can they take their oppressive ways in the infinite world of the net? Narendra Modi talked to millions on Google+. Ajay Devgan (a rare Modi supporter in Bollywood) mediated the “Hangout”. Kanchan Gupta expresses it better than I when he says:

What Modi did was simple. He bypassed mainstream media, especially the English language media, such as it is, and did his own thing. Since technology is no longer the preserve of big media there’s little that could be done to prevent it. And while doing so, as the transcript of his Hangout will show, he spoke on the future and not the past. There was a message in this: While large sections of the media which shares its agenda with Modi’s political opponents would have liked Friday night’s show to be dominated by the past, Youngistan looks at and thinks about the future. Modi addressed their concerns, leaving his critics to fret and fume. And that's why he connected so well to the millions of eager listeners.

I like the term Youngistan. The Indian youth have the most at stake. Like any poor country, we have a very high population of the young. The youth can adopt a blasé attitude, marinade in their hormones and hope for the best or they can grab the opportunity, make the right choice and vote for a forward thinking and performing leader rather than the good looking empty shirt. Unless the young go out in large numbers and vote objectively in the next elections, the future of India will remain mired in the status quo, which clearly is unacceptable.
Our blogpost on the same topic can be read at: http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/01/indian-media-vs-internet-hindus.html
Mr. Kanchan Gupta's article can be read at: http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/item/52366-hanging-out-with-namo-late-into-friday-night.html

Whistleblower: The New Indian Patriot

We all know what patriotism means. Shivaji versus Muslims, Azad / Bhagat Singh versus British, defence forces versus Chinese / pakis, police versus terrorists are the obvious examples. But how does a patriotic aam aadmi display his patriotism during peace times? I guess doing ones duty, following the laws of the land and act in way, which is beneficial for the country, are some ways.

The example I would like to cite first is that of Late Satyendra Dubey who was fellow IIT alum. This intrepid man was killed by organized crime after he blew the whistle on the criminal activity in the Golden Quadrilateral Project. The BJP government was helpless in bringing his killers to justice.

Dubey represents a new breed of Indian patriots – the Whistleblower. Of you look at it, these guys represent the helpless aam aadmi in face of the omnipotent monster of corruption. This monster represented by the neta-babu-lala nexus has emerged stronger than before in the successive UPA governments as we have seen. Scams have become larger and the money involved astronomical.

The latest scam is the Coalgate, which involves bigwigs in Congress and prominent corporate houses. A man whose name is lost in the noise (created by the ambitious leaders of the BJP while neglecting the real hero) is that of a BJP MP Hansraj Gangaram Ahir who has been carrying out this fight since 2005. It is absolutely amazing that despite of his allegations, the Congress won the elections and it is only now that this scam has come to fore. Fortunately for Hansraj Ahir, he has the BJP to protect him otherwise he would have encountered the same fate as Satyendra Dubey.

A very nice article talks about some more examples. Sanjiv Chaturvedi who is an IFS officer blew the whistle on the Haryana Forest Department, Major (Retd) S.K. Lamba, the war veteran who exposed Adarsh scam, Aseervartham Achary, Raja's PA., who blew the lid off 2G scam, Manjunath Shanmugan who blew the whistle on the petrol mafia in UP and Rajinder K. Singla blew the whistle on the various education scams in Punjab are some of the true heroes.

These men are the modern day Chandrashekhar Azads of India and should be treated as such. They are the heroes India needs and deserves. They need to be protected by any and all means available to the system. We need to look at the Whistleblower Protection Act, which has been put in place in the USA, and emulate it (a better idea than copying mall designs). If we do not protect these heroes then we are worse than the murdering British who at least gave our freedom fighters there day in court rather than murdering them in the street.

The excellent article on the topic can be read at: http://readability.com/m?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FOHhBVF

BJP Should Not Give Up The Fight

The fig leaf has come off and the emperor is really naked. Manmohan Singh is directly culpable in the latest Coalgate (ironic since we all associate “Colgate” with toothpaste and hence cleanliness!) and cannot claim personal honesty anymore. His lust for power has driven him to do outdo all other scams in our history. The Reddy Brothers who were robbing the Bellary mines are small potatoes compared to the people involved in this scam. The big industrial houses cannot feign propriety and outrage (the kind Ratan Tata did when implicated in the 2G scam). For all involved the country and the aam aadmi are just potholes on the road to personal wealth and power. This is crony capitalism at its worst. The corporate houses get to loot the country and the political parties get money for their election war chests. Shameful!

Of course we cannot blame one party. All of them are guilty of that. Last general elections, Congress spent over 400 crores while BJP spent close to 250 crores. But recent reports indicate that just like the scams, corporate “donations” during UPA rule have multiplied many folds. The biggest scam so far in the short history of our unfortunate nation was presided over by Mr. Clean himself. Calling Manmohan Singh clean is beyond ridiculous and has become a very cruel joke on the aam aadmi. The worst part is that he still clings to his kursi without any shame. The latest spectacle forces me to believe that he must be the worst Prime Minister ever forced upon us.

Commenting upon the recent impasse in the Loksabha, Mr. NV Subramanian has offered three possible explanations for this unexpected show of backbone by the BJP.

Press says it is L.K.Advani, quoting one BJP leader. This may be true. If Advani does not take the hard line against UPA-2 and Congress, he will be displaced by Narendra Modi. Narendra Modi is the only BJP politician Congress fears. Perhaps Advani has realized this. If Advani succeeds in his mission, BJP will rally behind him. Narendra Modi will fall in line.

There could be another power behind this hard line, namely RSS. But evidence of this is mixed. It is well-known that RSS is unhappy with BJP's central leadership, and even more with Advani after his blog writing off the party in the 2014 elections.

It is also well-known that Pranab Mukherjee was unhappy at being passed over for prime-ministership, panning Manmohan Singh to the press off the record. Pranab almost lost the presidential race to Meira Kumar and Motilal Vora, Sonia Gandhi's first and second choice for Rashtrapati Bhawan. And the President is deeply unhappy for being made a scapegoat by the prime minister's office for the ruination of the economy.

The problem with the first reason is that it is the press, which says that Advani is behind this. Of course, the pro-Congress press would like nothing more than Advani as the BJP candidate. The second reason is the most likely one. The third one makes Mukherjee look like Machiavelli, which may be true, but it is not important at this stage. What is important is that this corrupt regime be held accountable and ousted. It is quite obvious from the looks of it that the regional parties are not going to help the BJP. They have their agendas, which hardly ever gel with national agendas. Demagogues whose sole agenda is political survival and money lead these parties. Which is why they are amenable to manipulation by a rich and crooked party like Congress, which has used a divided opposition to get away with anything despite of all.

This is why it is up to the BJP to find a way to take this fight to the court of public opinion and try Congress in it. The only way they can do so is by stalling the parliament and make Congress look helpless. It may make the BJP look like they are standing in the way of getting things done but Congress has had over eight years to get things in order. All they have done is plunder the nation and now it is too late to ride that high horse. The BJP should not relent even if nothing gets done this session. When the matter gets tried in the court of public opinion, the opportunistic and vulture like regional parties will be forced to take sides and reveal their intentions. This also will expose the internal fault lines in Congress and expose the limitations of the Gandhi family power.

It is going to take a lot of political acumen and strong resolve on the part of BJP to see this through. They had better watch out for Congress’ Machiavellian maneuvers. They owe it to the aam aadmi.

The NV Subramanian article can be read at: http://newsinsight.net/archivedebates/nat2.asp?recno=2337
Article on corporate money to political parties can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/report/at-1-662-cr-cong-leads-with-corporate-donations/20120810.htm

Kerala Hindus Have To Unite To Survive

In many ways Kerala is as confounding as Bengal is. The majority population (read Hindus) is the most educated in India and yet keep voting against their own interests. Much thought has been put into this ostrich like behavior of our Bengali and Malayali brothers and sisters. What I keep looking for, hope against hope, are signs of reversing trends. An encouraging trend seems to be coming from Kerala.
To give you a back ground, Kerala politics is beset with murderous violence. Dr. Babu Suseelan who seems to be soldiering on in his quest for a peaceful Kerala has written an eye opener of an article. It would seem that the Islamists in Kerala are using the gullible Christians and the murderous Communists in controlling the Hindu population. Islamists are using fear and terror to that end. Communists are using threats, brain washings and booze to control the Hindus. Of course Hindus seem to be completely helpless in face of demagoguery and division (casteism). Before we move on, we need to get a feel for the violence permeating through all levels in Kerala.

Here is what is said in Dr. Suseelan’s article:

The Marxist General Secretary Pinaroy Vijayan encourages and justifies killing innocent RSS volunteers through hired criminals but also actively mobilizes people from Thalassery, Calicut, Kannoor, Pannor, Kuthuparambu and Mahi. These Marxist strongholds, the day and night life is in stark contrast to each other. With day being the center of business activity and night a witness to crimes including contract killing, bomb manufacturing, bombing, arson, home invasion, burglary, robbery, and other deviant activities that are hushed up for the benefit of the Marxist party and Jihadi groups. During such a night T.P.Chandrasekharan was butchered to death. The obvious question is why the Marxist Party and the Islamic terrorist groups secretly killing outside the law.

Here is what is said about a recent killing:

A CPI-M worker was killed during a scuffle with suspected Muslim League workers on Thursday as Kerala observed a shutdown on a call of the Marxist party to protest the arrest of its leader in a murder case. Manoj Kumar, 24, an office-bearer of the youth organisation of the Communist Party of India-Marxist, was kicked to death by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) workers in Kasargode district, CPI-M’s Lok Sabha member P. Karunakaran said.

There we have it. The most literate state in India is a helpless witness to this orgy of violence. Of course on this blog we have espoused Hindu unity as a solution to such problems. Fortunately for Kerala and the rest of the country, we are seeing baby steps being taken in that direction. Interestingly, the OBC and dalit leaders have taken the initiative, which seems to be in line with what has been seen in other parts of the country where the tallest Hindu leaders are OBCs. A major push is being made towards bringing the Nair and the Ezhava communities. A report says the following:

The SNDP Yogam General Secretary Vellappally Natesan said on Sunday that the Yogam would reach a compromise with Nair Service Society (NSS), would co-operate with them and would materialize the Nair-Ezhava unity within one month. He said he would hold talks with NSS General Secretary G. Sukumaran Nair.

This is a very welcome development. People who have visited Kerala recently say that the entire landscape of Gods’ own country is now peppered with Mosques and Churches. After essentially conquering the polity, the unholy duo of Muslims – Commies (Christians are the gullible fools in this entire scenario. They do not know that they will be the ones with bulls-eyes on their backs after the Hindus have been dispatched) have now set their targets on the wealth of our temples. Surreptitious conversion of Hindus via the Love-Jihad scheme will finish the job.

Hindus are being routed from Kerala and it is up to them to stop this bleeding. They are up against murderous Commies and Jihadi Muslims who will not stop at anything. The only choice that remains for Kerala Hindus is uniting against this evil and elect a Hindu conservative government. Of course that is going to be easier said than done. After the initial meeting between the Nair and Ezhava community leaders, differences have cropped up. It was heartwarming to read a March 2012 Times of India post that said; "Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) filled up 50 out of the 100 posts for pujaris (priests) with non-brahmins, who will soon start performing rituals in shrines assigned to them among the 2,000 temples under TDB. TDB had conducted a recruitment drive six months ago and interviewed hundreds of applicants belonging to all castes and they selected 199 pujaris, out of which 40% were non- brahmins. It is of paramount importance that the Kerala Hindus bury any and all differences, no matter how old and deep rooted, that they may have. In Kerela it's the survival of Hinduism's that's in question. All will perish right from a Nambudiri to an Ezhava if they do not break the bastion of casteism in Kerala. If they do not do so, then they may as well move out of the state and surrender it to the Muslims. It is either Om Namo Narayanaya / Om Namah Shivaya or Allah ho Akbar. That is the choice they have.

URLs to various articles are as follows:
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HkPage.aspx?PAGEID=16053&SKIN=C
http://www.firstpost.com/politics/kerala-shutdown-muslim-union-members-kill-cpm-worker-402342.html
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=16195&SKIN=K
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=16195&SKIN=K
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=16182&SKIN=K
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-12/kochi/31152622_1_brahmins-tdb-pujaris

India Should Help Pakistani Hindus

The plight of Pakistani Muslims has caught everyone’s attention recently. It is an old and evolving problem which is fast running towards the solution that fits Muslims i.e. wiping out Hindus either by killing them or converting them. The issue needs to be looked upon objectively.

The partition of the country in 1947 was essential. It became essential the day Mughals invaded India. Undivided India would have more than 500 million Muslims. There would not have been any peace. We would be like Pakistan or Bangladesh – a basket case. Partition was necessary but it did not happen properly. All the Muslims should have gone to Pakistan and Bangla Desh. All the Hindus should have stayed or come to India. But since we are an unfortunate nation, the division happened in the most improper way. We got a huge chunk of Muslims who are fast growing into a problem we will not be able to handle. Meanwhile the lesser said about the unfortunate Hindus who stayed back in Pakistan, the better. They have gone from 12% in 1947 to 2% now. The still remaining 2% are being put through the kill / conversion routine. No wonder these unfortunate souls are desperately trying any and all means to come to India.

I have never met a Muslim (or for that matter a Christian) who did not try to convert me. It is their solemn duty. They take is seriously and if in power use force to carry out that duty. I cannot blame the Pakistani Muslims for what they are doing. Kill and or convert is in their religion. That is how they have been brought up. They do not know any better. The bigger question is – What is the responsibility of India as a Hindu country (let us call that for argument sake)?

Last year in a blog post, we had written the following:

In the interim, what do we do about the remaining Hindus in Pakistan? Or for that matter Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and elsewhere? For that I propose the Israel model. India is the only country for Hindus, political secularism aside. We can migrate to the west but at the end of the day, it is the only place for us. For the Hindus of the world, we should open our borders. If they can establish their ancestral roots in India, then they should be welcomed with open arms. India should be the lighthouse for the Hindus who are lost at sea. This goes double for our hapless brothers and sisters from Pakistan. GoI should not only let them live here but also help them make a life here.

The GoI needs to formulate a law, which would help Hindus from all over the world to make a home in India. They need to put the secular hypocrisy aside and help these people out. Other than Nepal, they have nowhere else to go. We need to give them asylum.

To be fair to the enlightened Pakistanis (They are there. I even know some of them but they are helpless in face of the mullah / military / ISI trio), I must say that none of them are proud of what is happening to the Paki Hindus. Please read the article in Dawn (published from Karachi) whose url I am providing at the bottom. Read the response of the readers. It is clear from the descriptions in the article that the Pakis know exactly what is happening to the Hindus. They write that with some pain. From the responses, two points stick out clearly.

1. None of the readers are approving of the goings on. In fact they are ashamed of it.
2. It is clear that despite of what happens to Muslims in India, none of them are clamoring to go to Pakistan laying waste to the idea of the two-nation theory. Also, it is being said that Pakistanis have no business trying help Muslims in other countries when they cannot even protect their own minorities.

Part of the second argument applies to us as well. We need to redefine secularism, shun votebank politics, practice the Modi model of development (where he clearly says that the state needs to be developed rather than a section of the population), secure the country from Jihadis and illegal entrants and protect our own minorities who want to live peacefully in India. We then need to establish clear-cut operating procedures of Hindu migration into India. That is our dharma. That should be our Karma.

the Dawn article can be read at: http://dawn.com/2012/08/10/malik-sees-conspiracy-behind-issuing-250-visas-insecurity-forces-hindus-to-broach-migration/
Our post on the topic can be read at: http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/11/who-cares-for-pakistani-hindus.html

Modi Should Form His Own Party

This is a post, which I am writing out of extreme anger and frustration. I am not even going to try to be rational in this one. I am sure that most of you are going to empathize with me. A relative of mine who is a huge cynic once told me that India is a nation of Jaichands. Am beginning to see the wisdom in that statement. Of course a post like this cannot be complete without the quote from that bastard Churchill (may he rot in hell):

“Power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues, freebooters; all Indian leaders will be of low calibre and men of straw. They will have sweet tongues and silly hearts. They will fight amongst themselves for power and India will be lost in political squabbles. A day would come when even air and water... would be taxed in India"

Yet another report presented in front of US Congress, said that the reason why it was so difficult to deal with Indian leaders and bureaucrats is because every one of them has big egos and are hypersensitive. The gist of the saying was that Indians tend to put their ego above the national interests.

I for one have always held RSS and its leadership in high esteem despite of their refusal to adapt to evolving social mores and global economy. I can also overlook their stubborn ways of controlling people. What I CANNOT forgive is when they let their egos run above national interests. By now, everyone with couple of grey cells in their head have acknowledged Modi’s prowess as a capable leader and most probably India’s tallest. There are ample indications that even the Muslims are breaking ranks and coming out, ready to embrace the idea of Modi as PM. So when RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said that Nitish Kumar-ruled Bihar is far ahead of Gujarat in matters relating to good governance and development, I tried to make sense out of it.

After all, RSS is beholden to the Hindutva ideology and Hindu Nationalism. So why would Bhagwat essentially endorse Nitish Kumar? Does he not know or is ignoring the reports that Bihar is fast becoming the hub of jihadi activities? Bihar is also the place where illegal Bangladeshis can roam free. Nitish Kumar clearly practices Congress variety votebank politics and SP / BSP brand caste politics. How can RSS support this selfish man with an extremely bloated self worth? The only answer is that the RSS hates Modi so much that they are willing to overlook all of Nitish Kumar’s sins. They are cutting their nose to spite their face.

Nitish had recently said he may opt out of NDA if Narendra Modi is projected as the PM candidate for 2014 polls. It is high time that we called this guy’s bluff and let him deal with the specter of losing power to lalloo Yadav. People of Bihar may have created a monster.

Soon after Bhagwat’s statement, NV Subramanian wrote a tremendous article where he contends the following:

Although Modi has been Gujarat's chief minister for three terms, he does not fit into the characteristic mould of the Indian politician. Of all Indian politicians, Modi has the special capacity to bring to power a single-party government at the Centre, ending the tyranny of two decades of coalition politics. This distinction drives terror into the heart of Indian politicians. They fear that, to use a crude Hindi phrase, Modi *sabki dukaan band kar dega*.

We all know that Modi is facing opposition from outside the party and within. We also know that Modi is a once in a generation kind of leader India needs and deserves. We also know that days of a national party are dwindling down and a selfish regional party is upon us. So, if you can’t beat them, then join them. I suggest that Bhai Narendra Modi forms his own party with his core beliefs as the founding principles of the party. He needs to launch it in Gujarat and other states where he has strong following. Think about it. If he manages more than thirty seats in the next Loksabha then he will be as powerful as Mulayam or Nitish or any of those pseudo secular demagogues. He may even be able to negotiate a position of power for himself. With his own party, he will no longer be answerable to RSS and will be unencumbered by incompetent party managers like Gadkari and selfish leaders like Advani.

It will be a drastic move but in the face of this anti Modi shit-storm emanating from everywhere, we may not have any other choice.

The article by NV Subramanian can be read at: http://newsinsight.net/archivedebates/nat2.asp?recno=2333
The article about the Bhagwat statement can be read at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/RSS-chief-says-Nitish-govt-far-ahead-of-Modi-s-triggers-row/Article1-911643.aspx

Solving The Anna Problem Congress Ishtyle

Congress has a unique way of solving problems. While dealing with poverty, they changed the definition of poverty. Anyone making more than Rs 32 did not qualify. Poverty was drastically reduced. The slogan Garibi hatao transformed into Garib Hatao. While dealing with terrorism, they remove any mention of local help, completely blame Pakistan (about whom we cannot do anything) and lo and behold – problem solved. While dealing with justice, the victims disappear or witnesses turn hostile (as in case of Sanjeev Nanda killing people with his BMW and getting off in less time than a common thief) and presto – justice served. Train accidents happen, petty money is paid to the surviving relatives and safety issues are solved. When accused of corruption, they come out with creative accounting to disprove it (e.g. No real money lost in the 2G scam). When facing angry accusations of incompetence, they accuse the other guy of communalism or lack of decorum or some other nonsense. You can see a pattern here. That is what they did with the Anna Hazare problem. Instead of listening to Anna and the pulse of the nation and doing the right thing, they looked for fault lines in Anna’s team and their approach. True students of the British, the Congress divided the opposition and has essentially destroyed the movement.

 NV Subramanian wrote the following on his blog:

Anna Hazare could make a man like Sharad Pawar tremble. Anna Hazare hadn't dealt to any degree with Congress. In machinations, Congress is nonpareil. When he moved to the national stage, Anna had to contend with Congress, and he was outmatched.

When he went national, Anna Hazare also came to acquire baggage like Kejriwal & Co., who confused and misdirected him. Kejriwal & Co. know nothing about politics, nor how to go about business in the political minefield called Delhi. In war and politics, you make allies to defeat enemies. If you choose to wage a war, you cannot remain unaligned. Team Anna had no friends among political parties. When BJP extended a friendly hand, Congress's divide-and-rule card of pseudo-secularism frightened away Team Anna. It thought abusing BJP was good for the movement, without realizing it was playing into Congress hands. That's exactly what happened.

The readers of this blog know that since the advent of the movement, we have been saying the same things all along. Some of our quotes are as follows:

“Anna is a passionate man, a mover and a shaker on the street. But he is not a politician. He brought a knife to a gun fight. UPA and others may have let him win the battle but they will defeat him in the war. Anna should have aligned himself or at least sought help from his best option, the BJP. That way he would have the access to some sharp political minds and requisite support in the Loksabha.”

“At a loss for a proper way (there is none) to deal with the popular anti corruption movement, the Congress spin-meisters are branding the movement as a communal. They are trying to prove to their votebank that the evil BJP and the more evil RSS are behind the movement. It is a desperate move but one which betrays the diseased mindset of the fear mongering practitioners of the votebank politics.”

“The response of the politicians has been very predictable. It started off with ignoring Anna. That is the way the UPA has been working. Ignore the issue and hope that it goes away. In this case, the problem persisted and then the dirty tricks department was unleashed. When demonization aided by the media did not work then they came back with a more subtle approach. The glib Kapil Sibbal took advantage of Anna’s trust and got him to quit his fast.”

“Digvijay Singh released the letters to the media that were written by RSS chiefs to Anna supporting his movement and proved his criticism while the team Anna continued to vigorously oppose it. Singh is aware of the revulsion that the leftists in team Anna have for all things RSS and BJP. Myopic team Anna instead of accepting the all encompassing support for this movement (i.e. the anti corruption movement belongs to all Indians, liberal and conservative alike) went on the defensive. They ended up repudiating the RSS support. Team Anna could have avoided all this only if they had stayed focused on the anti-corruption movement and boldly/openly agreed to RSS/BJP support.”

Yes. Even political novices like us predicted that this was going to happen. Good intentions will not work in the current days of “Ghore Kalyug”. Anna was not fighting a “dharmayuddha”. Of course the biggest mistake was assembling that team beginning with Kejriwal, Shanti Bhushan and Agnivesh. Anna should have foreseen danger to his cause when Agnivesh and Shanti Bhushan started to misuse his platform for their own agendas. Of course leftist like Kejriwal (cannot believe that this guy is an IIT alum) essentially killed this movement because of his aversion to “Communal” BJP. So essentially his narrow minded pseudo-secular agenda killed the much much bigger anti corruption movement. Bravo Arvind Kejriwal!! His dreams of joining politics have been shattered since Anna has disbanded the team and I am sure that Kejriwal and all the other myopic ideologues in his team now realize that without Anna, they are totally irrelevant.

So we see that Congress’ way of dealing with problems is very effective. They divide and then conquer. We saw that in the latest political nautanki known as the Presidential elections. Time and time again, we have said that the only way to outwit the Congress is to get rid of them, once and for all. The only way to do that is for the Hindus to put their differences aside and vote them out.

NVS article can be read at:http://newsinsight.net/archivedebates/nat2.asp?recno=2330

Our previous articles can be read at:

http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/04/corruption-in-india-who-is-responsible.html

http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/08/anna-hazare-and-politicians-response.html

http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/10/digvijay-divides-team-anna.html

http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/04/appeal-from-anna-hazare.html

http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/09/anna-hazare-only-moral-victory.html

http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/04/anna-hazare-phenomenon.html

Nitish And Advani Should Shut Up!

This what Advani has said in his latest blog:

BJP leader L.K. Advani on Sunday said a non-Congress, non-BJP Prime Minister supported by any of these two parties is “feasible” in the next general elections but cautioned that this may not be a very stable dispensation.

The following is what was reported about Nitish Kumar’s demands:


Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has sought an assurance from the Bharatiya Janata Party that his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi will not be National Democratic Alliance's prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections. Kumar made this clear to BJP president Nitin Gadkari when he met him during the oath taking ceremony of Pranab Mukherjee as President last month, sources close to the Bihar chief minister told PTI.

It is obvious to even the most ignorant that these two are working on a selfish agenda. Advani could not become the PM so he is behaving like the proverbial frustrated cat. He sees an eminently beatable Congress but realizes that no one wants him, so he is going around planting seeds of doubts in the BJP cadre. This has got to be very demoralizing to the grassroots workers.

Small successes in Bihar have gone to Nitish Kumar’s head. He is having dreams of becoming a national player. One look at the recent law and order reports out of Bihar (including reports on increasing jihadi and illegal Bangladeshi presence in Bihar) tells you that his work in Bihar is far from being done. He has brought Bihar from the negative hole to the zero level. Now we need to see some positives. Only then will he find relevance on the national screen. His performance is not even as good as the BJP CMs of MP and Chhattisgarh let alone Narendra Modi. Someone needs to give him a taste of humble pie. This man is becoming too big for his shoes.

Here is my appeal to Nitish Kumar and Advani:
If you guys like India to prosper and come out of the shithole dug by the Congress then let people of India decide on their own. Do not put thoughts and your own petty selfish agendas in their minds. Advaniji, if you do not want to go out as the most hated BJP leader then read the tea leaves and disappear into the sunset. NO ONE WANTS YOU AROUND ANYMORE. YOU ARE AS RELEVENT AS LAST YEAR’S NEWSPAPER. As Hindu nationalistic aam aadmi, I would like both of you to shut the hell up and let the voters decide. As it is, Anna Hazare and his team are going to split the opposition votes and give the advantage back to Congress. We do not want a disillusioned, frustrated old coot from our party and an enemy in friend’s clothing to destroy any chance of getting rid of Congress.

The two articles mentioned can be read at:
http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-pm-candidate-nitish-seeks-bjps-assurance-against-modi/20120805.htm
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3730935.ece

Assam Burns. Congress Fiddles.

In case you forgot about the 1983 Nellie riots in Assam or never knew about it because Congress does not want you to, then here are some facts about it (as per Wikipedia):

The massacre claimed the lives of 2,191 people (unofficial figures run at more than 5,000) from 14 villages.


The massacre was one of many violent incidents during the infamous 1983 elections conducted in the midst of the Assam Agitation. The elections were declared against the wishes of the Assam Agitation leaders who did not want an election till the electoral rolls were cleansed of alleged illegal immigrants who were collaborating with the Pakistani Army in 1971. These illegal immigrants allegedly supported the Pakistani Army and their supporters in Bangladesh to hunt down Mukti Bahini guerilla fighters, and never returned to Bangladesh because of fear of backlash from Mukti Bahini after the independence of Bangladesh.


A Commission of Inquiry was instituted under Tribhubhan Prasad Tiwary, the report of which has not been made public. There is enough evidence to suggest that successive local governments, belonging to both the Congress and the AGP, have suppressed information about the massacre. Even academic discussions on this gruesome massacre were discouraged by the Assamese authorities.


Demographically, today Nellie is a predominantly Muslim majority area.


A wise person or a statesman or any patriot with half a brain would make some deductions.

• Illegal migrants from Bangladesh are not harmless economic refugees. Back then they provided a cover for Paki army sympathizers. Now they provide cover for Islamic terrorists and assorted India haters.
• Votebank politics as usual has played a dangerous anti-India role in this matter. The Congress and to some extent the AGP are dependent on Muslim votes and thus tend to brush all the evil under carpet. In this case the Congress have hidden reports from the aam aadmi to hide their own culpability in this anti India crime.
• Post Godhra massacre riots were not the biggest riots in free India, it was the Nellie riots. Much higher body count and from the looks of it, disproportionate as well (a lot more Muslims). Come to think of it, the Congress sponsored pogroms of Sikhs in 1984 had a higher body count.
• Congress and CPI (M) assisted this illegal immigration of India. The Muslims sneak into the country and are provided with ration cards. In absence of any way of an ID card, once they get the ration card, they are essentially Indian. Congress and the Commies are selling out the nation for votes. It is as simple as that.

We are now being told that situation is returning to normal. What a joke that is! Nothing has been normal for decades. THAT IS THE PROBLEM! This Congress / CPI assisted invasion of India should have been dealt immediately after the Nellie riots. But the predominant policy of Congress is based on hope. They keep hoping that the problem goes away. Ignore the Chinese incursions in AP and problem goes away! Ignore the terrorist attacks in India, start talking with Pakistan, initiate Cricket and hope that problem goes away! Ignore the social problems, encourage casteism for votes and hope that the problem goes away! Well, the problems never go away. They fester, simmer and become bigger problems until they explode. This is what happens when you have cowardly leaders like Manmohan Singh and AK Antony who mistake inaction for honesty. This is what happens when the voters hand over the keys to the nation to a woman whose only qualification is to marry in the first family.

You have to read Mr. Kanchan Gupta’s excellent article where he says:

Yet, the indisputable fact is that Assam and the other States in India’s North-East, as also West Bengal and Bihar, continue to face a relentless tide of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. This ‘silent invasion’ by millions of people over the years has been encouraged by the Congress and the CPI(M)….
…..This fraud has been perpetrated over the decades and the Congress has been its beneficiary in Assam, while in West Bengal the Left has used Bangladeshis to inflate its vote-share significantly. Elsewhere, others have been similarly tempted.

As the Congress’ agent in BJP, Sudheendra Kulkarni says in an article that this is India VS foreigner issue not a Hindu-Muslim issue. In his attempts to give Congress some wiggle room (especially when this is being used to expose Congress brand secularism), Kulakarni may have provided us with a way to solve this problem.

The Bodos and ULFA need to join hands and do what Congress and CPI have not been willing to do. They need to hold the Assam and Bengal governments responsible and force them, under any kind of threat and start identifying the Bangladeshis for deportation.

With about 49 vote percent, Rajeev Gandhi achieved an absolute majority in the Loksabha. Therein lies the solution for the aam aadmi. Hindus need to unite and vote for the BJP. They need to elect someone like Narendra Modi (recently described by a Congress MP as a Tiger and a national saint). If Modi can be brought to power (in some dream of mine he comes to power with an absolute majority), then we can solve these problems with ease.

Unless we do that, we should expect more of these riots and continue to thank the Bodos for disarming. If they had their weapons, then this could have been as bad as the Nellie riots.

The wikipedia article can be read at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_massacre
The Kanchan Gupta article can be read at: http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/item/52086-congress-has-allowed-this-silent-invasion.html

Illegal Immigration From Bangladesh: Cause and Solution

The following article was written a while ago by a friend of the blog. Very relevant in the wake of recent troubles in Assam.


Illegal migrants from Bangladesh

Our obsession with Kashmir, though justified, has consumed and diverted most of our attention from the silent demographic invasion of eastern states. If we keep ignoring illegal migrant issue from Bangladesh, another Kashmir is inevitable.

Sadly, most of us see this as a state or regional level problem than a national level problem and have severely underplayed its huge strategic importance. Illegal migration from Bangladesh is unique not just for its appalling number but also because of its treat to security and integrity to our country and the fact that it had continued for about a century and yet there is no end in site. Factors contributing to the problem are economic hardships, communal tensions, political uncertainty and climate disturbances. We will try to analyze each reason in a series of articles in the pretext of history, present realities and future approach.

Extreme Poverty in Bangladesh:

Search for livelihood is one of the biggest contributing factors in flooding of our eastern states with millions of migrants. Migration of people from the South (Bengal, East Pakistan and now Bangladesh) for economic reasons is dated back to the times of British Raj. The Bengali Muslims were first transplanted by the British as laborers in the flourishing tea garden industry of Assam. Subsequently, this set off an unstoppable trend.

After the India-Pakistan partition, the Bengali speaking East Pakistan was given an imperialistic treatment by the Punjabi dominated and richer West Pakistan, even though bulk of foreign exchange earnings came form the export of jute from the Eastern half. In return, Eastern Pakistan received only a third of money to be used for developmental project. This became a contributing factor in breaking of the country. After the formation of Bangladesh in 1971, the economic condition remained dire for a while. Even now, over-population, corruption and slow implementation of economic reforms have kept Bangladesh among the poorest countries, struggling to survive and feed its people thereby posing a huge strain on its resources. Consequently, population overflow is inevitable.

So how is this, a threat to our nation's security? First of all, huge number of refugees who migrated after the creation of Bangladesh was poor Muslim population (Bengali Muslims as well as Pakistani Bihari). Their concentration in one or two states like Assam and Tripura was especially troublesome. This invasion caused destruction of local culture and created a demographic imbalance, which in turn was the root cause of so called communal problems.

Assam is a very strategically located state, not just because of its geographical location as an entry point to seven sister states but also because it is highly rich in natural resources, which if managed properly could be precious for our country. If such communal problems and resulting polarized politics eventually result in isolation or segregation of this state then we could lose its treasure as well as the resources of six other north eastern states, which could be a big blow to Indian economy.

Secondly, locals had to compete with cheap labor provided by these migrants. Slowly but surely, the Bangladeshi migrants, for cultivation purpose, are occupying vast vacant land in Assam. It also puts tremendous pressure on the state's resources that are already stretching their limits to survive. It is evident from the per capita income of Assam that it is in constant decline against that of India. In the 1950s per capita income in Assam was little higher than that in India. In 2000-01, it was almost 40% lower than that in India!

So how could we deal with this problem? Serious consideration should be given to the recommendations made by S K Sinha (Governor of Assam, 1997-2003). As suggested by him, other than seamless sealing of border by fencing and border patrol, India should actively participate in the socio-economic development of Bangladesh. Successful implementation of micro-credit loans by Grameen Bank in Bangladesh is such an example. Development negates the motivation for migration and provides a long lasting and effective solution.

It is probably not possible to deport millions of illegal migrant who are in the country from last 30 to 40 year. Photo-identity cards, preferable biometric ID cards should be provided to Indians as well as Bangladeshi migrants at urgency level. Bangladeshis migrants could be stateless citizen without the rights of voting and ownership of immovable property. The most humane and possibly non-controversial way to deal with them would be by providing work permits, subjected to state wise quotas, which could avoiding concentration of migrants in one or two states, thereby helping not just the migrants but also the local population.

We must urgently deal with this problem in a bipartisan manner, or else we might be risking another Kashmir.

How to Fix Illegal Bangladeshi Migration
"The time for work permits has come. You might be surprised to know that as many as 85 million Bangladeshis have biometric National ID Cards (NIDs) which were issued ahead of the 2008 elections. These cards are now required for opening bank accounts, applying for passports and accessing public services. Indian work permits could therefore be issued to valid Bangladeshi NID holders with a greater degree of confidence. There are challenges in getting the Bangladeshi authorities to co-operate, especially in terms of validating IDs, but these are not insurmountable. That's half the solution. The other half involves the ability to positively identity an Indian citizen."
The article can be read at: http://in.news.yahoo.com/columnist/nitin_pai/12/how-to-fix-illegal-bangladeshi-migration

Illegal Immigration From Bangladesh: Cause and Effect

A friend of the blog had written this a while ago. We are reposting it because it seems to be more significant in the wake of the Bodo-Muslim riots in Assam

Migration in millions has kept our eastern front sensitive and prone to disputes; not just with our neighbor, but also within our own country. This article is second in the series of articles that try to analyze various reasons for migration from Bangladesh to India, in the pretext of history, present realities and future approach. We have already reflected upon how extreme poverty in Bangladesh contributes to appalling number of migrants in our country. In this article we will try to weigh the share of communal tensions and political uncertainty in increasing the migration from Bangladesh and how in turn it affects our politics.

If the land of Bangladesh could speak about the atrocities done on minorities, it would probably choke before it could even utter a single word. Time and again this land had become host to some of the worst genocide of the century. The uniqueness of genocides and mass killings associated with this land is that they are repeated not once but multiple times throughout the century starting from 1947, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1964, 1971, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 and still not ending in 21st century. The result is huge migration of people to the most obvious destination - i.e. India.


When we trace the spark to this communal fire we again find the British sitting in the hot seat - the British who are masters of divide and rule policy. To pursue their political agenda in 1905 they divided this land on religious line - Hindu majority Western Bengal and Muslim majority Eastern Bengal. After widespread protests they reunited the two parts in 1912. But by then communal politics had already taken deep roots.


Just before the independence, the 'Noakhalir danga', where thousands of Hindus were killed, proved a dress rehearsal for the future of minorities. An era of state sponsored persecutions of minorities, especially Hindus began right after the Muslim dominated Bengal was carved out as East Pakistan for Islamic republic of Pakistan. East Pakistani Hindus were seen as pro Indians and corrupting the Bengali Muslims off their religion. State sponsored terrors tried to purify the land by either killing or forcing them to take refugee in neighboring India. To get some idea - in 1964, thousands of Hindus were killed in just one night in the city of Khulna alone!
Aside from the horrible treatment to the minorities, all the Bengali speaking East Pakistanis were given colonial treatment by Urdu speaking West Pakistanis. By 1971 their discontent boiled over, resulting in formation of Bangladesh. Just before the liberation of Bangladesh another set of terror operations were carried out by West Pakistan such as Operation Searchlight, Operation Search and Destroy and Operation Scorched Earth, targeting everybody except Urdu speaking and West Pakistan faithful. Result was migration of about 10 million people to India. About 70% Hindu population of Bangladesh also made India as their home.


There were hopes that the liberation of Bangladesh would bring justice to the minorities. Not so. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of Awami League, the first president of Bangladesh, failed to recall the 'Enemy Property Act'. Massive land was seized from Hindus and other minorities, including famous land of Kali Mandir at Dhaka. Plus the charges against the war criminals, who participated in 1971 genocide, were dropped. They eventually found their way into Bangladesh's politics thereby again jeopardizing the peaceful existence of minorities. In 1988 Islam was declared as a state religion. In 1992, after the Babri Masjid demolition followed another genocide, account of which is given in Taslima Nasrin's book 'Lajja'. All this resulted in huge influx of Hindus in India. In 1947 the Hindu population in Bangladesh was 27% and by 1991 it was reduced to mere 10%. Other ethnic groups such as the indigenous Jumma people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts were forced to leave their traditional homeland in Bangladesh as well so that the Bangladeshi settlers could populate it.


So how is this a threat to our politics and nation? Firstly as already discussed in previous article Muslim illegal migrants continued to migrate in large numbers to India for economic reasons, almost throughout the century. Unlike Hindu migrants, Muslim migrants have a tendency to concentrate in one or two states such as Assam and Tripura. Very soon their numbers started looking disproportionate against the local population. For example Muslim population in Assam rose by 77.42% in the period of 1971 to 1991 against 41.89% that of Hindus. Four districts were already Muslim majority states by 1990s while three others were closely following the heels. Our politician like always eyed this group of Muslim migrants as a potential vote bank. They used covert ways to legalize them as Indian citizens and then used their votes to win elections. Result was corrupt people in power who in turn did more damage by facilitating more migrants from Bangladesh. When someone sees this as a problem, he is immediately termed as 'communal', without even considering the facts and figures.


Secondly for Pakistan, failure to get Assam in 1947 partition left many grudges. They more than anyone else would have been very happy to see Assam as a non Indian state. Pakistan's dream is to see Assam as a Muslim majority state. Thereby they can start a similar undertaking that they did for Kashmir - start a separatist movement, clear it off the 'unbelievers', spread terror, turn it as a 'special status' state and then finally slice it off from India. Separatist organizations like ULFA (United Liberation Front of Asom) with support from Pakistan had already been demanding a sovereign and independent Assam for a while now. Bangladeshi politicians had knowingly turned a blind eye to this issue. They will be another set of happy men after the Pakistanis - of course to see yet another Muslim majority land i.e. Assam become a part of Bangladesh.


Bangladeshi Hindu numbers (legal citizens) affected Bangladesh's politics. They had to pay a price for that. Now Bangladeshi Muslim numbers (illegal migrants) are affecting Indian politics and sadly we Indians have to pay a price for that instead. To address this situation laws should be made to avoid concentration of migrants in one place. Work permits with statewise quotas are should be effective. Voting right should be immediately taken away from the migrants who got citizenship illegally. The trend will continue until we give it the seriousness it deserves.

The Cost Of SP Support To Pranab

Rs. 80,000 Crore. That is what Mulayam Yadav gets for his support for Pranab Mukherjee’s presidency. That is what the Indian taxpayers are paying to fulfill Congress’ ambitions. Our article “Indian Taxpayer Is Not An ATM For Congress” alludes to what feels like a megascam. Of course Mamta Bannerjee ended up supporting Mukherjee for free. She really is a very bad politician.


But coming back to the mess in UP. Does the aam aadmi really think that the 80,00 crore is going to get spent on genuine causes in UP? Voters in UP must have thought that otherwise they would not have voted for SP. I recently read an article in Tehelka, which is a Congress mouthpiece. The article is a comprehensive report on the rotten state of UP. Gangsters of all kind are now ruling the roost. Some of these gangsters are worth hundreds of crores. You don’t know whether to laugh or to cry! When accosted on the topic, the senior police officers’ response reeked of complicity. A recent report in Indian Express claims that 28 people were allotted land in the posh Gomti Nagar area. Read the following and if a non UP voter, weep:


The 28 persons whose plot allotments in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar have been defended by the Samajwadi Party government in the Supreme Court include Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s father-in-law R C S Rawat, Revenue Minister Ambika Chaudhary’s wife Saroj Chaudhary, Chief Minister’s Secretary Anita Singh, and several IAS and IPS officers.
Interestingly, Ambika Chaudhary was revenue minister and Anita Singh was special secretary to the chief minister even when the allotments were made by the Lucknow Development Authority under the previous SP government, headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav, in 2005.
The list includes some persons about whom nothing is known except their names; they were allotted plots on the recommendation of the chief minister’s secretariat. In many cases, allotments were first made in Gomti Nagar Extension and then changed to Vipul Khand, a posh locality.


This list indicates that the unholy trio of Neta-Babu-Lala is back in the saddle in UP. Of course during Mayawati rule, the trio was the same but the actors were different. So what percentage of the 80,000 crore is going to reach the UP aam aadmi? Even a child who can count up to ten can guess the answer.


The article referred to in the post, can be read at:
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main53.asp?filename=Ne230612Coverstory.asp
http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-akhilesh-wins-the-big-jackpot-that-eluded-mayawati/20120719.htm
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/on-sps-plot-list-ministers-wife-akhileshs-fatherinlaw-secy/977439/0

Manmohan Singh Is Not The only One At Fault

When you takeover a situation in tatters, any small positive thing you do is an improvement. You get a lot of credit (even the undeserved kind). Just ask Nitish Kumar. When PV Narsimha Rao took over as PM, the Indian economy was in tatters. He offered the job to IG Patel and then to Manmohan Singh (when Patel refused). India had, has and always will have tremendous potential which will remain untapped. Manmohan Singh did the obvious (PVNR gave him a carte blanche and stepped aside) and India’s economic recovery began. The myth of Manmohan Singh was thus born. His personal honesty cemented that image. Everyone ignored the fact that this man had never won an open election. The guy is a non politician and thus unfit to lead a country. It was obvious to all who could read beyond the doctored news and opinions of pseudo-secular press.


The press, liberals and the brainwashed voters (while the BJP was running a disastrous 2004 campaign) were looking for a secular and honest man (reminds you of Nitish Kumar’s description of himself, doesn’t it?). Manmohan Singh became Congress’ Trojan horse. All of India was happy that an honest man who is the architect of the modern Indian economy had become the PM instead of Sonia Gandhi. It started becoming clear (to a few people) that the real power was still with Gandhi family while MMS was powerless to run things on his own. It also became clear that MMS could not take advantage of our economic surge and put us over the top. I am a scientist and not an economist so I will quote Sadanand Dhume (he writes for American Enterprise Institute which is a conservative think tank with focus on Economy). In a recent article he says the following:


Eight years into Singh's term, however, the script has gone horribly awry. The vaunted economist's government has taken the sheen off the economy and India's Mr. Clean sits atop a mountain of dirt that has sparked the largest nationwide anti-corruption protests in a generation.
Between 2005 and 2010, India pulled 40 million people out of poverty. According to India's Planning Commission, the poverty rate declined from 37.2 percent to 29.8 percent over the same period. But, as the University of Chicago's Raghuram Rajan points out, the Singh government deserves little credit for this high growth or the poverty alleviation that accompanied it. For the most part, India simply rode a combination of the momentum created by previous reforms and a buoyant global economy.


Of course, Montek and Manmohan redefined poor as someone who made less that Rs. 32 per day. That would explain the number as well. Dhume goes on to say:


To his critics, Singh's flagship economic program -- which promises 100 days of government-provided work a year for any villager who wants it -- has become a byword for populist profligacy. Predictably enough, for a country ranked 95th out of 183 on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index -- below authoritarian China and luckless Zambia -- the program is known to be riddled with graft.


Of course a lot of the social programs are being run at Sonia’s behest who was trying to ensure a victory for her son in 2014. I don’t think that MMS and Montek Singh are the beholden to socialist causes. On that topic, Dhume says:


In terms of politics, it makes no sense to divide political and administrative power, as between Gandhi and Singh. As in other parliamentary democracies, and for most of India's history as an independent country, the top job should go to the country's most powerful politician. Had the populist Gandhi -- reportedly unsure of her policy smarts and wishing to tamp down controversy over her Italian birth -- not handed Singh the reins of government, most people wouldn't have made the mistake of expecting reforms to begin with. They will remain implausible as long as Gandhi remains wedded to the idea that India needs welfare programs more than it needs jobs.


Dhume is being nice. Sonia Gandhi is powerful as long as she is protected from direct politicking. She hides behind the party machinery, takes credit for things that work and passes on the blame to MMS. Ramachandra Guha who obfuscates his liberalism under the guise of “fair and apolitical assessment (guess who his favorite politician is – Nitish Kumar) and has rarely taken Congress and the Gandhi family to task, said the following in an article last year:


By the standards of Indian politics both Singh and Ms Gandhi are decent people. Neither is sectarian, and both, I believe, have a genuine concern for the welfare of their compatriots. But the weakness of the one and the insecurity of the other have combined to produce an administration that is inept and incompetent beyond words. This has deeply damaged the credibility of Singh and Ms Gandhi, the credibility of the Congress, and the credibility of the republic of India itself.


But is Manmohan Singh entirely to be blamed for this mess? There are others who are equally responsible. I will address that in a later blog.


The various articles mentioned are as follows:
http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2010/12/pv-narsimha-rao-versus-congress.html
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?269743
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/07/09/india_singhs_the_blues?page=full
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110702/jsp/opinion/story_14107197.jsp

Congress Has No Right To Govern

In an article at newsinsight.net, NV Subramanian had reported that there were Congress stalwarts assigned to training Rahul Gandhi in the ways of politics. One of them confided in NVS, saying that it was impossible to train this guy. Sometime after that, a senior Congress leader from Andhra revolted against Sonia Gandhi and “left” the party. In a conversation with my friend Swami Thambi, I had predicted that a revolt within the Congress was brewing and would eventually come out in the open. Of course the revolt would be against the Gandhi Family and their chamchas.


The first sign of this was the statement made by Salman Khurshid . The following has been reported on the matter:


Union law minister Salman Khurshid in an apparent dig at Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has said the root of the problems plaguing the Congress was the lack of "ideological direction" from its next generation leader.
"Until now, we have only seen cameos of his thought and ideas like democratising elections to the Youth Congress. But he has not weaved all of this into a grand announcement. This is a period of waiting," he said.


Since then, Khurshid has been running from pillar to post, offering clarifications. But the cat is out of the bag. When a party and a family loyalist like Khurshid makes a statement where he calls the heir apparent to the throne unwilling and an ineffective leader then that is far more damning than anything Nitin Gadkari or V S Achuthanandan (who called Rahul an Amul baby) could have ever said. One can only imagine the frustration and loss of faith in the Congress’ top leadership that seems to have set in. If the party faithful have lost faith in Sonia-MMS leadership then what kind of faith should the aam aadmi have in this government?


UPA-II lost the moral right to stay in power long time ago. It seems that they are fast losing ability to stay in power (based on numbers based trust). In that case the right thing would be to hold the general elections as soon as possible. However, that may be wishful thinking on our part. Judging by the horse trading in the Presidential elections, all the regional parties are for sale (Thank You selfish voters of those parties!!). Therefore due to a support from regional parties, pliant president, pliant Supreme Court (why else would they let off Mayawati?) and a divided and inept opposition, Congress will continue to rule us - directionless and leaderless.


The article on Salman Khurshid column can be read at: http://www.newsbullet.in/india/34-more/32460-khurshid-takes-a-dig-at-rahul-terms-congress-directionless