Should India Help Baluchistan?

It is clear to all but the liberals and the jhola brigade that all our security problems are due to Pakistan. They are behind every hot spot either directly or indirectly. They helped misguided Sikhs in the 1980’s to their nefarious ends. Now they are using the Maoists, which was confirmed by Assam CM who is a Congressman. It is also clear to all but the ideologically blind that our government has no clue of how to deal with. Vacillating between hollow threats and repeated and unrequited peace overtures, they are confused.

Instead of threatening a crazy nuclear armed country with no political will to back it, we should strengthen RAW and their dirty tricks department. We used to have an extremely effective RAW but that pakiphile IK Gujral dismantled it. What a mistake that was. It takes years to develop human intelligence capabilities and misguided liberals undid it. A department like that can raise the cost of doing terror for the Pakistanis. It is the old “you send one of mine to the hospital, I will send one of yours to the morgue” adage. A country like Pakistan is rife with fault lines waiting to be exploited. We have written on that topic on this blog. I proposed a division of Pakistan into five parts (of course in discussion with my friends) long time ago. Later on, security experts and journalists after 9/11 expressed the same sentiments. After getting railroaded by the Pakistanis, US lawmakers are now proposing that Baluchistan is a candidate for freedom. That state has been abused and destroyed by the Panjabi dominated Pakistani establishment and military. They have used heavy weaponry against Baluchi insurgents. They have been doing this since the formation of the country. Except for India, the world stood by and did nothing. Eventually we also abandoned them.

The Americans have turned a blind eye to every one of Pakistan’s crimes. Now that they are feeling the effects of it, they are proposing an alternative approach. Dana Rohrabacher, who used to be extremely pro-Pakistani, said the following:

"Baluchistan deserves our attention because it is a turbulent land marked by human rights violations committed by regimes that are hostile to America's interests and values," Congressman Dana Rohrabacher said at a Congressional hearing.

Stating that Islamabad has refused to concede any legitimacy to Baluch nationalism or to engage the Baluch leadership in serious negotiations, Rohrabacher said:"Its response has been based on brute force, including extra-judicial killings." Congressman Ted Poe from Texas said that the current situation in Baluchistan fits into the category of self-determination.

It could be that the Americans are trying to threaten the Pakistanis with the second division of the country hoping to force them into compliance. It also could be that if Baluchistan becomes a free country then that would open another route to Afghanistan, which will bypass the Pakistanis. Of course the Americans are doing it for their self-interest. Now the bigger question is, should we also do the same i.e. do something for our self-interest?

Yes we should. Baluchis (and to some extent the Sindhis) have always been friendlier with us than the Punjabis. There are still functional Hindu temples in Baluchistan but none in other parts of Pakistan. If Baluchis form their own country, Pakistan’s coastline becomes a lot smaller and thus makes them vulnerable to a superior naval force such as ours. Pakistan will lose a lot of their natural resources and thus will become more amenable to trade.

Even bigger question is- what can we do to help the Baluchis? All we need to do is to look at old reports of the RAW. Moreover, if the US does the heavy lifting then we should be there to help them out especially if we can do it with enough deniability. Continued diplomacy with the US, Iran and Afghanistan will also be beneficial. Other than that, I am sure that the IFS guys, who are much smarter than I, can come up with other ways. It is important for our Baluchi friends. It is important for India.

Our old post on the topic can be read at: http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/01/pakistan-problem-division-as-solution.html

The US proposal on the matter can be read at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pak-using-brutal-force-in-Baluchistan-US-lawmakers/articleshow/11831982.cms

Assam CM's claims can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/report/assam-cm-gogoi-sees-maoists-isi-axis-behind-insurgency/20120219.htm

The map is from: http://www.chakranews.com/rajpura-sikhs-remember-terror-and-fear-in-baluchistan/411

The Importance Of Muslim Votes In India

High growth rates and a tendency to congregate has given rise to areas with a high Muslim percentage. Add illegal migration from Bangladesh and you have a recipe for disaster. Border areas of West Bengal aka Poschim Bongo now have Muslim majority areas, which used to be Hindu majority. A report says:

In Malda, Muslims stood at about 50 percent of the total population in 2001, Hindus at 49. In North Dinajpur, Muslims constituted 47 percent and Hindus 52 percent. Murshidabad has Muslims at 64 percent far outnumbering Hindus at 36 percent . In the 1951 census they were 55 percent and Hindus 45 percent . In Malda, too, the share of Muslim population has risen over the years from 37 percent in 1951.For the state as a whole, the percentage of Muslim population grew from 20 to 25 percent between 1951 and 2001. That of Hindus dropped from 78 to 72 percent . Among the districts, Birbhum has 35 percent Muslim population and South 24 Parganas 33 percent , both higher than the state average.

We have similar population dynamics in Bihar and to a somewhat lesser extent in the entire country. There are reports that the Communists in Poschim Bongo encouraged illegal immigration because Muslim dominated areas were their votebanks. Needless to say that this makes the Muslim votes very crucial to win elections because a typical Muslim vote is not decided by the voter but by the demagogue leader he or she follows. We are seeing examples after examples of that in UP which is the most crucial election before the 2014 elections. As I have said on this blog that no trick is too cheap, no low is too low for politicians to win that votebank.

Salman Khurshid and his wife have single handedly violated any and every norm of fair elections by promising reservations for Muslims. They have to do it. They are realizing that if they do not form the government in UP, Rahul Gandhi’s chances of becoming the PM in 2014 become infinitesimally smaller. He has been a major disappointment to the average Congress worker. The very fact that Priyanka Gandhi is out there with her children asking for votes. A sleazy and a cheap trick indeed. Speaking of shamelessness, what about the pronouncement that Sonia Gandhi bitterly cried when she saw the pictures of Batala house encounters? That was done to appease the Eastern UP Muslims where they have enough votes to influence the outcome.

Besides reservation, the Congress refused a VISA and protection to Salman Rushdie with an eye on UP elections. They have unleashed yet another investigation on Bhai Narendra Modi. Another sleazy trick to win the Muslim votes. Mr. B Raman whose analyses are always apolitical says the following:

It is no longer a case of the law taking its own course, but one of malicious witch-hunt against a political leader by his political opponents and by sections of the media and lawyers and others who are not well disposed towards him. Even after having failed to prove the charges before the SIT, they are determined to keep their vicious campaign alive for political reasons and not for reasons of natural justice.
I have never been an uncritical admirer of Modi. Nor am I in the ranks of his perpetual demonisers. I have always sought to judge him as objectively as I can. It is my view that the demonization campaign against him must stop now.

I happen to be in Lucknow on the day (2009) when Samajwadi Party was holding a massive rally in protesting sanctions against Iran. Most SP voters and workers will have difficulty-finding Iran on the map and yet here they are protesting something they have no clue about. The reason – Muslim votes.

Why have we never ever caught an Indian sympathizer of Paki inflicted terror? Why do we keep on talking diplomacy with the Pakis while they keep us bleeding? Why did we not intervene in Maldives? The same reason! Now we are being told that the Home Ministry is treading delicately on the latest bombing of the Israeli interests and not blaming the Iranian involvement is because we are buying oil from them. Even if went in full support of Israelis we will still be able to buy Irani oil because they need the money and our support in matters of Afghanistan. You see, they do not want the return of the Sunni Taliban in their neighborhood and we are the only major country who would help them out in that matter. So why is Chidambaran shying away from naming the Iranis? Any guesses?

This is extraordinarily bad. It is one thing to have domestic agenda based upon Muslim votes. Now we have to forge our foreign policy because the pseudo-secular parties want the Muslim votes? This is a very slippery slope. At this rate we are going to have Sharia laws in another 50 years or so. The votebank politics will achieve what Pakistani terrorism could not do.
The B Raman article on Modi can be read at: http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers50/paper4911.html
The article on mushrooming Muslim population can be read at: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2005-06-24/kolkata/27837880_1_muslims-hindus-west-bengal
Report on Sonia Gandhi crying can be read at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/sonia-gandhi-cried-bitterly-after-seeing-batla-house-encounter-images-salman-khurshid-in-azamgarh-175042
The cartoon is from: http://twocircles.net/2010oct23/tcn_cartoon_muslim_voters.html
An eye opener on Muslim vote percentage can be read at: http://www.islamicvoice.com/april.98/FEAT2.HTM#DIV

Are Religious Minorities Victims?

We have discussed Hindu-Muslim relations on this blog a number of times and have strongly believed that the Muslims are not the innocent victims as described in the media and our history books (thanks go to our Macaulayite education system). What we have never discussed are the Hindu-Christian relations because the Christians have kept a low profile and try to propagate their religion under the guise of charity and education (Convent Schools and colleges like ST. Stephen’s). Their agenda is no less insidious especially because they have the blessing of our UPA bigwigs and our middle class who are enamored by “Convent Educated Children” who can speak English fluently.

The empowerment of Christians began during the British days when they were targeting the dalits and the tribals for conversions. In Orissa, we have Kandha tribals who are and have been more prosperous and thus powerful than the Pana tribals. Of course the Baptist Christian missionaries converted the Pana tribals who saw their new found religion as a way to empowerment. Of course the whole thing dovetailed with the British “divide and rule” policy because the Kandhas and Panas are still fighting. A lot of the Christian tribals have become Maoists and are raising hell all over the place. Christians in the west think of their religion as a bulwark against Communism. I hope they find this ironic. The point to note is that Kandhas and Panas were fighting before the Panas became Christians. Yet their fights have been declared a war by the Hindus on helpless Christians. What else remains buried is that aside from help from men like the late Swami Lakshmanananda (who was assassinated by Christians) no one helps the Hindus. However, the Christians have the entire media, Congress machinery and western propaganda and money behind them. Of course the Hindu cause was not helped by the unforgivable and extreme brutality shown by Dara Singh towards the family of Graham Staines.

We keep reading these reports where as many as 1000 churches have been attacked in the BJP ruled Karnataka. In an interview with Vicky Nanjappa (I have become a reluctant fan of this guy), P N Benjamin, a minorities commission member and coordinator of the Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue Says the following:

It is not correct (accusation of 1000 attacks). It is just an exaggeration. I feel there have been a handful of attacks, which were instigated by some fringe Christian groups.

He goes on to say that the bigger the exaggeration the more the money these groups get from American and other western religious groups. When asked about threats to the Christian communities from Hindus, he says:

The real source of danger to the Indian Christian community is not the handful of Hindu extremists but the self-styled saviours of Christianity who assert that they alone are the holders of valid visas to heaven and paradise.

This all sounds very familiar. You replace America and the western religious groups with Saudi Arabia, you replace Convent schools with madarsas, you replace the various dioceses with Dar Ul Uloom and you have the entire Muslim story repeated down to an identical political dynamic.
The biggest misconception that we have had so far did that despite all, the Christians are a peace loving community. But with examples of the Maoists and extremists in South India and Orissa (the ones who killed Swami Lakshmanananda that misconception must be laid to rest. With the help of top UPA leadership and the Communists in Kerala, the Christians are anything but helpless victims in India.
With what we know about Christians now and what we have known about Muslims, is there anyone out there who thinks that Religious minorities are victims of any kind. To those who disagree with me I would like to point out that if you really want to see religious minorities as victims then you should look at Buddhists in China or Hindus and Christians in Pakistan. Now those are really helpless victims.

The Nanjappa interview can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-interview-with-pn-benjamin-on-church-attacks/20120206.htm

The story of Swami Lakshmananada's assasination can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/aug/28orissa1.htm

A short history of the so called religious violence in Orissa can be read at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_violence_in_Orissa

What Is Wrong With IAS Officers?

The British did not do anything in India for Indians. Even educating us was done to sustain a bureaucracy designed to better rape India. So when the Indian Administrative Services were initiated, it was definitely not to serve the Indians. The IAS officers were brown clones of the Gora Sahibs with all the hangups. The British left but they left these Bhura sahibs to continue their traditions. Now the same IAS officers are being used by our corrupt politicians to systematically rob the nation. Of course these babus are willing partners in that robbery. Before we go any further, let us take a look at two key provisions in the sytem. As per Wikipedia:

1. The Constituent Assembly of India intended that the bureaucracy should be able to speak out freely, without fear of persecution or financial insecurity as an essential element in unifying the nation.

2. While the respective State Governments have control over them they can not censure or take disciplinary action against IAS and other All India Services officers without consulting the Union Government(Central) and the UPSC.

Our shameless and corrupt politicians have no respect for laws of the society or humanity let alone the constitution. A good officer is hounded and transferred around until he or she relents. Of course the other side of the coin is that a corrupt babu cannot be punished. Wow! What a system! Does this sound like a system, which would serve the aam aadmi in anyway at all?

Ideally the system should work and it does to a large extent. If it were not for the smart IAS officers, our ministries often ruled by abject morons will cease to function. That way a lot of governance is due to the IAS officers. However, they do not seem to be accountable to anyone and are often law unto themselves in their own realms. The IAS officers are setting records as far as stealing is concerned. There are officers with hundreds of crores of illegal wealth all over the country. They use the government machinery for personal use without any inhibition or fear. Their wives use official cars and “chapraasis” like their personal property. Recently, one of these heartless harpies slapped a policewoman when refused a pass to watch cricket.

Dan Rostenkowski was one of the most powerful Congressmen in the US who was sent to prison for scam worth $50,000 worth of stamps and misuse of official vehicles. Imagine. If we were to impose our laws with that degree of strictness, then almost all our class 1 officers would be behind bars.

The point to ponder is – how does a smart and idealistic (I am assuming that all young people have some degree of ideals) person degenerates into their current avatar? I guess it is the system, which takes them in and chews them into the corrupt crooks that we see now.

I have no suggestions, only concerns. The system, which was founded, to rule and rape India needs to be re-invented. Accountability needs to be imposed. The guilty must be fired and punished. Meritorious must be rewarded and promoted. Just like the rest of us. The IAS officers should not become demigods. They are public servants. They should never forget that.

The slap-gate report can be read at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/IAS-officers-wife-held-for-slapping-cop/articleshow/11694623.cms

The picture is from: http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/ias-officers-wife-being-investigated-for-slapping-police-woman-171612

Is Hindu Terror Real?

Vicky Nanjappa fancies himself as a crack reporter on terror and security matters. In his latest he tries to figure out why National Investigation Agency (NIA) remains clueless while probing “Hindu Terror” cases. This is what this man says in his article:
The National Investigation Agency has ascertained that the ammunition for the blasts in Nanded, Modasa, Samjautha Express, Ajmer, Malegaon and Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad were all procured from Mhow in Madhya Pradesh.

The NIA has many suspects in custody; but there are others who are absconding. It has been almost a year since the NIA was handed over the charge for the above mentioned cases, but there appears to be something wrong with the manner in which the probe is taking place as there is no concrete breakthrough yet.

The NIA probe into cases involving 'Hindu extremists' went wrong from day one. The Nanded blasts, which is considered to be the mother of these acts of terror, was badly investigated, making it tough for NIA sleuths to make a start.

Today the NIA faces the herculean task of cracking all these cases which are inter-linked. Sources in the agency told rediff.com that the foundation of the case itself is extremely weak, which is why they are finding it hard to give it closure
He considers the Nanded blast as the fount of these terror acts. Nanded is in Maharashtra which is ruled by Congress. No one can blame the BJP of impeding the investigations. In fact with UPA government at the center and secular P Chidambaran in charge of Home no one can blame lack of political will and support in all these cases. Is it incompetence? If one or two cases were bungled due to incompetence then PC would have stepped in and ensured better investigators. Then what is the reason? Nanjappa does a lot of hand waving and tries to show that somehow he has managed an answer but he has come up with a huge ZERO. I would like to remind Nanjappa of a saying by Arthur Conan Doyle who through is creation, Sherlock Holmes says the following: How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?

So what is the possibility that Nanjappa and others seem to be hell bent on ignoring? Maybe there is no case. Maybe Hindus did not commit any of these blasts and the UPA government to bolster their secular credentials, want to create this specter where it is possible that Hindus are as likely to indulge in terror as Muslims. When it comes to brutality and treason, Hindus have demonstrated a remarkable propensity. But terror? From the evidence or lack thereof, it seems improbable. On the other hand the evidence to the contrary does exist.

In the most celebrated of these cases, the one that the Pakistanis do not tire of quoting was the Samjhauta Express bombing, Swami Aseemanand was arrested. The UPA government tried their best to tie him to the RSS. They thought that they would get away with blaming some hapless Hindu for this dastardly act until an American investigation and report showed otherwise. In an eye-opening article, Mr. B Raman who has stayed politically neutral says:
Thus, according to American investigators the LET and Al Qaeda were responsible for the Samjauta Express blast and the HUJI for the Mecca Masjid blast. If the American investigators, who have better sources in Pakistan, are correct, how can our investigators claim that some arrested Hindus were responsible for these incidents? Justice and fairplay demand a thorough investigation into the two different versions that have emerged from Indian and American investigators. While the American investigators have blamed the LET, Al Qaeda and the HUJI, Indian investigators have blamed the Abhinav Bharat. Both cannot be correct.
There you have it. The real reason for lack of progress in the Hindu terror cases is that the concept of Hindu terror only exists in the diseased imagination of our pseudo secular politicians who in attempts to secure their votebank and divert the attention of Hindus in the matters of extreme corruption have victimized innocent Hindus. The Hindu voters need to stop being defensive for political correctness and lay the blame where it really belongs: On the UPA government.

The Nanjappa article can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-probing-hindu-terror-cases-why-nia-remains-clueless/20120203.htm
The Raman article can be read at: http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers40/paper3971.html
Our blogposts on the topic can be read at:

http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/01/terrorism-product-of-system.html

http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2010/08/hindu-terrorism-accusations-and.html

http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/02/pakistani-lies-and-how-we-embolden-them.html

A Strong Finish In UP Is A Must For BJP

Sahara India owner Subrata Roy is very very close to Samajwadi Party. He is a close friend of ex SP strongman and moneyman Amar Singh. This cabal systematically robbed UP. Roy’s welfare is directly proportional to that of SP. He would want SP to win in UP. So when his company’s poll (supposedly the most exhaustive poll in the history of elections in UP) projected the SP as the next winner, no one should be surprised. But what is surprising is the second place finisher. The poll claims that the BJP would increase their vote percentage from 17% to 24%. If true, that is really remarkable. With 17% the BJP won 50 seats. With 24% the number of seats should be a lot more especially because the Muslim votes is going to get divided badly this time. In a fractured mandate it is very possible that the BJP may even finish first.

For that to happen, a few things are important. The campaign has to be intensified. Entire force of the party should be behind the start campaigners. Local BJP leaders should be heard and helped. If they want Narendra Modi to campaign then by all means he should. If senior leaders are showing dissension because of selfish reasons, then the party seniors should shut them up. Key areas of strength should be indentified and clear and precise messages should be delivered. Performance should be highlighted. Local leaders should go door to door and ensure a high voter turnout, which may even increase the vote percentage beyond the projected 24%. A strong finish is needed. A victory in UP followed by a glimpse into what the BJP can do will ensure a good performance in 2014 .

Our responsibility should be to go out and cast our votes. Laziness or weather or any other excuse should be shunned. This is a chance to exercise our right and flex our muscles. If we do not do so now, we should not complain. EVER.

The article on the Sahara Samay poll on the UP elections can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/report/saharas-sensational-up-polls-survey-creates-ripples/20120126.htm

The image is from: http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/chunk-ht-ui-assemblyelections2012-up-topstories/BJP-releases-UP-election-manifesto/Article1-802736.aspx

Real Encounter But Fake Case Against Narendra Modi

David Headley alias Daood Sayed Gilani told the visiting NIA sleuths that Ishrat Jahan was an a suicide bomber recruited by LeT operative Muzamil. We wrote about this on our blog long time ago. In case you have forgotten, Headley is an US born Muslim with Pakistani origins who was doing reconnaissance missions in India leading up to the 26/11 bombings in Mumbai. The question to ask is: Why would Headley lie about Ishrat Jahan? If anything, he would lie about the complicity of a fellow Muslim.
These are the excerpts from an article about the matter:

In what would come as a great relief for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat police, David Headly has said Ishrat Jahan, the Mumbai college girl who was gunned down last year was an fidayeen, or suicide bomber.

Jahan was killed along with Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai and two Pakistani nationals -- Amjad Ali and Jishan Johar Abdul Ghani -- on June 15, 2004. As per police records, they were intercepted on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, travelling in a car. When they were confronted, an encounter ensued in which all were shot dead.

The new revelation by Headley has come as a big contradiction to what a Ahmedabad court had ruled last year that the killing of Ishrat Jahan was a "fake encounter."
An embarrassing probe had revealed horrifying details of how Ishrat Jahan and three others, who were proclaimed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives on a fidayeen mission to kill Chief Minister Narendra Modi, were actually gunned down in cold blood a day before they were actually shown as killed in a police encounter.
A day after the report by Ahmedabad metropolitan magistrate S.P. Tamang, state government spokesperson and cabinet minister Jay Narayan Vyas had told reporters that the inquiry report was "bad in law and so the state government will challenge it".

The damning report had put pressure on Modi, which named 21 cops, including retired DGP Kaushik, as the people behind the gunning down of innocent persons by branding them terrorists.

All in all, it looks like yet another attempt at trying to bring down Modi. Gujarat still has a lot of staunch supporters on Congress in State machinery. They hate Modi enough to concoct all kinds of cases against him. One would have thought that after Headley’s revelation, the matter would end but thanks to pro Congress leftists and similar NGOs, the case has been brought back to life. Javed Akhtar (a man who fancies himself as an Urdu poet but cannot do more that rhyme), social activist Shabnam Hashmi (who seems to be the new avatar of that despicable and discredited liar Teesta Setalvad) and some journalist called BG Verghese have filed two writ petitions. Yes. Two Muslims and a Christians have taken it upon themselves to lie and cheat on the behalf of Congress to bring down one man who Congress has been desperately trying to ruin for a long time but have failed. I can see the journalist filing some thing like this because they may have dug up something (what can refute Headley’s revelation is still beyond me) but what can Akhtar and Hashmi know?

This is yet another ploy of Congress who often throws a lot of things at their enemies hoping that something would stick. This is a repeat of the attempts by the leftist cabal to associate Modi with the riots, which happened after the Godhra station massacre. I can almost predict that the next attempt will be some witness who will come out in favor of Congress but they retract as it happened with Setalvad who was bullying some poor Muslim into lying against Modi.

Congress is a failed and a frustrated party. It seems like they are going to place fourth in UP elections as well. If that happens then the Sonia’s dream of Rahul’s coronation would be shattered. This is a cheap ploy to besmirch the biggest leader in the BJP in hopes of winning state elections including the ones coming up in Gujarat. Hopefully the voters will see through these lies and reject Congress with extreme prejudice.

As far as worms like Akhtar and Hashmi are concerned, one can only wonder why do they not speak for fellow Muslims when they are killed in non-BJP run states. We all know that these so called communal riots happen a lot more in the non-BJP run states. Why have they not filed writ petitions asking for enquiries into the so-called Batla house encounters?

Justice Aftab Alam wants all the encounters in Gujarat between 2002 and 2006. What about encounters in the rest of the country, your honor? And here I believed that the Supreme Court of India was beyond any pressures.

This is shameless and hopefully, the Indian voters will reject the rancor in the media and resolve this issue by voting out the worst possible government our unfortunate country has had the misfortune of dealing with.

The following urls are relevant to this post:
http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4115029&page=0
http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2010/07/narendra-modi-victim-ishrat-was-to-kill.html
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/ishrat-wouldbe-modi-assassin-was-an-let-f/642435/
http://in.news.yahoo.com/fresh-setback-modi-probe-ordered-more-fake-shootouts-145819244.html

UP Elections: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

The good:
1. Gadkari has been reined in. Modi has agreed to campaign in UP. That should boost the sagging spirits of the BJP grassroots workers in UP. As we have said on this blog, grassroots workers always respect people with achievements rather than recommendations in their bags.

2. Uma Bharati is definitely making a difference in Western UP. She is a very capable leader who works very well independently. She is an extremely valuable asset and should be handled properly by better leaders than Gadkari.

3. Akhilesh Yadav’s ascent should be a lesson to incapable senior leaders of all parties. This guy has brought SP back from the dead. He seems to be sincere and connects well with people. Hopefully he will be less corrupt than his father and really secular. This is what meritocracy is all about. A younger, more capable leader must be allowed to shine on his or her own.

4. Voter awareness seems to be on the rise. In an article, Seema Mustafa writes about this BJP leader from Badaun (of course she left his name out): In a significant development, not often heard in UP in the past, voters are quite happy to denounce or praise a candidate for the work he or she has done regardless of the party. In Badaun, for instance, the Muslim voters were full of praise for the local BJP candidate who was described as "good man" and as they put it, "a leader who will rush here on his cycle within minutes if he call him." Yet another example of a leader with great promise being held back in anonymity.

5. People are not falling for cheap tricks (4.5% reservation for Muslims or forgiving the farmer loans). Muslims have so far rejected any overtures from Congress. Rahul Gandhi is a complete non-factor. He has been ill treated in some constituencies. In fact things have become so bad that his sister has to come out to save him.

6. Mayawati is destined to lose her power (BSP will not win as many seats this time) but her dalit votebank seems to be holding fast for her. Hopefully the urban and semi rural middle class and others will go out in droves to vote against her.

7. We all hope that Team Anna and Baba Ramdev will also come out and raise their voices against the status quo. These people received a lot of support from UP. It is time to repay the favor.

The Bad:
The 1. As we have said on this blog many times that UP is such a big prize that these elections are bringing out the worst in all the parties. The BJP has shown that they are not averse to fielding criminal candidates if they can help them. Whatever happened to the “party with a difference” thing?

2. Mulayam’s promises (hopefully he will remain as far from the CM’s seat as he is today) will bankrupt the state. These people have not learned anything from the mistakes made by politicians in Andhra and Tamilnadu.

3. From the looks of it, no single party will enough seats to form a government on their own. This means a coalition government. Some leftist fan of BSP is predicting a BJP-BSP government. All that means is that UP will remain mired in the same shit as before. But the responsibility of that will be on the voters of UP. It took voters of Bihar about 25 years to break free from Lalloo Yadav’s talons. Let us see how long does it take the UP’ites to break free from BSP / SP combine.

The Ugly:

1. Congress is trying to win their Muslim votebank by offering them 4.5% reservation. This is going to really polarize UP. Of course the helpless residents of the state are going to pay the price not the Crown Prince.

2. BJP’s leadership issues are going to hurt the party badly. No sooner did the party start to look good than Kalraj Mishra started to make statements saying Uma Bharati cannot be the CM candidate because she is an outsider. Wow! As Akshay Kumar said in Hera Pheri (I am paraphrasing): the buffalo is grazing and this guy has already started to sell yogurt / curd. Then of course you have Rajnath Singh who is trying to impose his son on the State BJP, a move that has already caused problems. Both Singh and Mishra have been in charge of UP for the last fifteen years and have done NOTHING to improve the party’s stature in the state. What right do these two have to demand anything? My advice to them is to shut up and let those people take over who are decidedly more capable. On this blog we have repeatedly proposed the name of Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. I hope that strong leaders would prevail in UP and not let this “top job” issue derail the party.

3. In the same article, Seema Mustafa also says about the much loved BJP leader from Badaun:." Their (Muslim’s) dislike for the BJP will prevent them from voting for him directly, they say, but they will be quite happy if he wins on his own vote as he did last time. This is really pathetic. On this blog, we pride ourselves in being “India First” conservatives. If we think that a non-BJP / non-Hindu can make a difference then we have not shied from proposing their names. Readers of this blog know that we do not care about who brings about the positive change as long as it is positive. We have proposed names of religious minorities, Congressmen and other based totally on merit. We wish that these Muslims would get over their aversion and vote for the right person no matter the origin.

The Seema Mustafa article can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-up-elections-2012-which-way-will-the-tide-turn/20120121.htm
The picture is from: http://freepressjournal.in/news/32998-UP--KURUKSHETRA.html

Salman Rushdie VS M F Hussain

One of the things I absolutely admire about the US is their passionate love and respect for freedom of speech. It is protected no matter who the speaker. When M F Hussain wanted to come back to India here is what I wrote on this blog:

Even as a Hindu, when I saw the picture of a so-called art piece where Jesus Christ was shown immersed in urine, I was offended. The guy who made that had only one thing in mind and that was offending all the religious conservatives in the US. Despite of that grossly offensive piece of puerility, the artist was not harmed in the US. He was just ignored. That is what we should have done to M F Hussain. He should have died an ignominious death in complete anonymity instead of getting feted by the entire left wing of India (of course that speaks volumes of them).

Having said all that, I would like to say that a puerile man with a diseased mind, M F Hussain should have been protected by strong Indian laws. He should have remained unthreatened. You see, Hinduism, which is the greatest religion in the world, can survive a worm like Hussain. He is gone and will get what he deserves in the afterlife but Hinduism will remain strong and the only guiding light to India. We should ignore annoyances like him and worry about what is truly important. India and what she stands for.

As a patriotic Indian, I respect the laws of the land and expect that all of us adhere to it like our lives depend on it. This is why; I may have sounded like someone who was taking sides with the liberals and the pseudo-seculars on this matter. Of course this is where the similarity between people like me and the liberals ends. I strongly believe that Salman Rushdie has every right to visit India and expect the Indian laws to protect him. On the other hand, the timid response of the liberals and pseudo-secular crowd is flabbergasting. The entire English language media has not made a peep against the Muslim clerics and other Muslim leaders on this matter. No sarcastic comments are coming from the leftist luminaries. You could not shut these people up when they were railing against the Hindus who were angry with M F Hussain.

Here is Digvijay Singh on the matter:

"Who has stopped him? He does not need a visa to come to India," he said, adding that "there is no law" to stop the author from visiting the country.

Wow, such innocence! Of course he dare not say the real reason with UP elections so close. This is nothing but blatant subversion of Indian laws and basic human rights in the name of minority appeasement and votes. But then accusing these people of hypocrisy will be very naïve on my part.

Our blogpost on the M F Hussain matter can be read at: http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/06/m-f-hussain-india-and-freedom-of-speech.html

What Is A National Shame, Mr. PM?

Caste system is a national shame. Dowry is a national shame. Female feticide is a national shame. Child labor is a national shame. Regionalism is a national shame. It is a long list but the common element is that in all these is the society. We all share the blame for these ills. But when it comes to an issue like Hunger and malnutrition, the society is not to be blamed. It is the system ergo the government which is to be blamed. So when our esteemed PM goes on record dubbing malnutrition as a national shame (over 40% of our kids are malnourished) I shake my head in dismay. Does this man even know what he is talking about? Our farmers grow enough food to feed us all. If not then we can import food. We can do away with wastes like Commonwealth games and use that money to buy food. We can stop waste of food by building better storages (we have gone hoarse on this blog on these matters). We can step in and stop corrupt practices to ensure the implementation of programs in place. My question to Manmohan Singh is – What can the society do about this? Isn’t this the government’s fault?

Congress has ruled us for more than fifty years of our independent lives. They are always too quick to take the credits for successes. Every achievements gets the Gandhi family name associated with it. But when it comes to failures, the nation gets the blame. It is not national shame Mr. PM, it is your shame. It is your party’s shame. Be a man for once. Accept your missteps.

This government has no right to be in power. They lost any moral authority long time back with just the economic scams. In most countries that would have been enough. I just want to express my outrage at the ineptness of these politicians who are only interested in their Kursi and ensuring the continuation of the Gandhi family rule.

Another small example of such a shame has come to our notice. British tourists shot video footage of semi naked tribal women in exchange for food in Andaman. After this came out the government babus went into a damage control mode. This is what was said in a report:

The Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council had reported sexual exploitation of Jarawa women and recommended action six years before the current furore over a video of half-naked, dancing Jarawa girls. However, it took more than five years — and letters from Sonia to the home and tribal affairs ministries — for the Centre to consider some action in the shape of amendments to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulations, 1956.

So what this report wants you to believe is that Sonia Gandhi’s NAC sent a report to Central government a report six years ago and no action has been taken yet. The implication is that Sonia Gandhi is some helpless person with her heart in the right place trying her best to get this inept government to do something about this tragedy. WOW! Step back. Take a breath. Analyze this. IF there ever was a bigger pile of dung then I have not seen it. Everyone knows that the real power rests in the hand of Sonia Gandhi and her chamchas aka NAC. If they want a problem taken care of they can get it done. They mobilized our army to fix the broken bridge to ensure the success of Commonwealth games. If they had a report on the Jarawa tribal issues and no action was taken then it is because they did not give it any priority. Now this is their shame. All the spin to protect the Rajmata is a farce.

My appeal to this government is that please stop talking. If you are not going to do anything then don’t. But please do not speak with forked tongues and add insult to the aam aadmi’s injuries. That is cruel and unusual.

The information for this post was taken from these url’s
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/pm-manmohan-singh-kids-go-hungry-malnutrition-krishna-tirath-icds/1/168377.html

http://newsbullet.in/india/34-more/24513-Six-year%20sloth%20on%20Sonia%20panel%E2%80%99s%20Jarawa%20call

Communicable Diseases In India – Miles To Go.

National Center for disease control was established in 1909. A similar organization was established in the US in1942. Since then, the CDC has gone from strength to strength. I have heard that even a hint of an epidemic, mobilizes state and national level forces. That is how it should be. Of course in India, during a recent outbreak of encephalitis in eastern UP, it almost seemed that the victims were left to the inept machinations of Mayawati sarkar. Forces did get mobilized and problem was brought under control. But during all the confusion and total lack of focus, four hundred children died. NCDC need to realize that there is more to their jobs than providing statistics to Mantrijee. Bureaucratic red tape and interdepartmental turf war must be removed. All states should get equal attention from the central government. Every life must be treated with the same respect.

Of course, India has close to four times the US population and many fold fewer resources. But that should not stop us from striving for better focus and effort. It seems that our efforts towards getting rid of the polio menace is yielding great dividends. This is what was said in a news report:

India's thorough vaccination programme has helped it to stop new transmissions. India has been free of new cases of polio for a year, putting it on track to end its status as a country where the virus is endemic, officials say. In a few weeks, if pending samples test negative for the virus, India will be officially regarded as free from polio for the first time in its history. The World Health Organisation described this as a critical milestone.

I really tip my hat to the doctors and officials who must have worked hard to achieve this. I dare say that they did this despite of the political leadership. Health ministry is one of those departments, which need a leader like Congress’ Jairam Ramesh or BJP’s Maneka Gandhi. They both have demonstrated a messianic zeal in dealing with issues personal to their heart. I really like Jairam Ramesh’s efforts in dealing with an issue like the Environment, which is probably at the bottom of list of priorities (read our many posts on pollution of our rivers).

But polio is just one of the health problems. Some epidemics are lifestyle related and can be dealt with a judicious use of media to educate the aam aadmi. However the communicable diseases are the ones, which need a greater attention. Aids are one that is on everyone’s radar but it is TB, which is the latest big worry. A strain of TB, which totally resistant to antibiotics has been found in Mumbai. This what was said about this:

The state government has decided to shift patients with totally drug-resistant tuberculosis (TDR-TB) to a sanatorium in Jaysingpur near Maharashtra's Sangli. A central team of TB experts will assess the patients on Monday before they leave the city. The patients will be housed in 30-bed sanatorium at Jaysingpur, a picturesque, small town near Sangli that is relatively pollution-free. "Eleven of the 14 patients identified with TDR-TB so far in the city will be sent to isolation," said state TB control officer Dr P Gaikwad.

I am glad the officials are on the job and they should be supported and commended for their efforts. The GoI should open more branches of the NCDC and those should be funded well and organized in such a way that they can move with the speed of a stealth army unit.

On their part, the aam aadmi should help the efforts of the NCDC in every way they can. Awareness and cleanliness are two simple ways of dealing with such problems. If we see conditions like stagnant and dirty water or heaps of garbage, we need to lean on civic authorities to get is cleaned up. Of course the local authorities need to be receptive to such complaints. All of us working together can beat this problem.

The following url's provided the information:
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/201410/gorakhpur-encephalitis-mystery-may-soon.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16535150
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Drug-resistant-TB-patients-set-to-be-isolated-in-Maharashtra/articleshow/11494463.cms

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi: The M A N For UP

Finally, the BJP is making amends for Gadkari’s blunder of inducting Kushwaha into the party. An even bigger blunder by Congress (reservation for Muslims) has given them an opportunity. To assuage the fears of the Hindu OBCs they are now bringing their biggest gun, Bhai Narendra Modi who is a Hindu OBC himself. No better person to convince the Hindu OBCs of the difference between a well-wisher and a manipulator. The BJP are also bringing all their star campaigners. Yes. Finally they are according this election the importance it deserves.

I would urge them to go a step further. They need to project their candidate for the top job. I have proposed his name in one of my earlier blogs and I would reiterate it here – Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. He is lawyer from Allahabad University with excellent leadership credentials. He has held various positions in the BJP including a minister of state in the Vajpai government and All India Party VP. Among the others are

Member, Committee on Finance, Defence, External Affairs and Commerce, Member, Haj Committee, Chairman, Joint Committee on the Functioning of Wakf Boards, Member, Court of the Aligarh Muslim University, Member, Joint Parliamentary Committee on WakfAug.

Along with what is clearly a superior administrative resume, he also is young, a very good and articulate speaker, author and a well-travelled man. From all his statements, he strongly comes across as an “India First” nationalist. He joined the BJP before they were a national force, which tells me that he is not like the opportunistic Aaya Rams –Gayaa Rams who inundated the party after its first stint at the center. His is a Muslim in a Hindu nationalist party. He would not be there if he did not believe in the ideology. He has not shied away from taking strong positions on Hindu–Muslim issues which may not have resonated well with the extreme right wing of the BJP. It clear to all but a few that India can progress with EVERYONE in it or not at all. Naqvi has spoken against the Muslim demagogues on many occasions. He is a proud Muslim who understands and appreciates the Hindu ethos of the nation and denounces the victimhood that other parties seem to force on the Muslim community. Who better to lead a state like UP than the star of the BJP from the UP heartland – Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi?

A small point to be mentioned here is that of all the parties who claim to be champions of the Muslim cause, none has ever put a Muslim in the CM’s seat. Congress, SP and BSP can scream and shout all they want but all they really want is for the Muslims to be mired in the same problems as they always have been. Naqvi as a BJP candidate will not only be the most capable person to lead UP but will also cause the pseudo-seculars to choke on the irony.

Read the following statements by him and read the articles posted and then you will realize why I want this man to lead UP.

On Muslim demands:

"we want Muslims to look at our socio-economic policies. We want to focus on their education and employment ... Other political parties harp on narrow and sentimental non-issues like personal law, Kashmir and Urdu, and they exploit Muslims by whipping up their passions."

On reservation for Muslims (which reflects his sentiments on reservation itself – signs of a fair man):

"Speaking to reporters, Naqvi said that during Congress, BSP and SP rule in the state, the socio-economic conditions of Muslims has turned from bad to worse. Muslim recruitment in government services has gone down by 42% in last 10 years in UP, whereas in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh it has gone up by 31%, in Bihar by 38%, Gujarat by 34% and Chhattisgarh by 24%. He said that had Congress, BSP and SP worked sincerely for the welfare of Muslims, there would have been no need of quota for the community."

On Haj Subsidies:

As a first step, we stopped the `haj' subsidy for income-tax payees. One cannot stop this subsidy at one go. It is not only a question of India being a secular state, even in Islamic countries `haj' is not subsidised.

On peace with Pakistan:

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that no steps detrimental to national security should be taken in pursuit of peace with Pakistan and people will not accept it.

On the issue of Vande Mataram:

"Those who oppose our national song should better leave the country. Their opposition is a reflection of their separatist mindset," Naqvi had said, adding, "Every faith preaches patriotism. Those who are opposing singing of Vande Mataram in the name of Islam are going against the tenets of the faith.”

On Varun Gandhi’s anti Muslim speech:

The issue was raised by BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi who said while he believed in Hindutva, the Pilibhit "brand" of saffron had left him shaken. He said the real credit for Congress did not go to Rahul Gandhi but rather to the BJP's Pilibhit MP. He blamed the party for not unequivocally distancing itself from the hate speech.

There you have the views of the man. You may say that he is providing a lip service for the BJP speaking only on Muslim issues. But you have to look beyond that and see a proud Indian who rejects victimhood and wants ALL Indians to rise based on their abilities and hard work. Isn’t that what we all want?

He is the tallest leader in the BJP from UP. It is time to accept it and accord the man some recognition and respect. Project him as the next CM candidate of the BJP.

The quotes were taken from the following urls which may be of interest:

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/a-bjp-candidate-who-believes-in-namaz-and-hindu-gods_100188644.html

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/naqvi-issued-fatwa-for-vande-mataram/20453-4-2.html

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2005-02-16/india/27864118_1_srinagar-muzaffarabad-bus-service-national-security-upa-government

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-02/lucknow/30349799_1_mukhtar-abbas-naqvi-muslims-cbi-probe

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-06-20/india/28212536_1_hindutva-varun-gandhi-hindu-voters

http://hindu.com/2004/03/21/stories/2004032103091200.htm

Gadkari's Mess In UP - The Reason And How To Clean It.

Nitin Gadkari is uninspiring, elitist (what kind of an Indian faints in sun?), loudmouth and the second worst BJP president (the worst is Rajnath Singh) but he is not inept. He did the right things with the Bihar elections, which the BJP won handily. So why did he do what he did in UP? Why would anyone bring in a crook like Kushwaha, a cast off of one of the most corrupt group of politicians i.e. the BSP? Why would someone prefer to have Kushwaha on his side rather than Narendra Modi? I have though about it hard and will try to come up with an explanation. Please read the following points.

1. The crucial Muslims votes in UP are going to be divided between various champions of secularism and new Muslim parties. Good news for the BJP but is it good enough to put the party over the top?


2. Opinion polls said that the BJP was going to finish fourth but those polls are often wrong. It is those internal party polls, which are closer to the truth. We do not know what the BJP party polls say but as per Congress’ polls, the BJP will be finishing a close second behind Congress. This brings the BJP close to a win but what about a clear win?


3. Mayawati, who is one of the most corrupt politicians in the nation, is trying to clean her administration in order to look clean to her upper caste and middle class voters. She knows that if she loses, she will spend the next five years trying to sty out of jail. She got rid of Kushwaha who is mired in a major scam, which may even involve murder. Kushwaha is an MBC (most backward class, that we have such a category is mind boggling) and a very powerful one at that. The CBI raided his holdings because SP and Congress do not want him joining the BJP as he can then help the BJP break the hereto-unbreakable hold of SP and BSP on the western UP votes.


4. Gadkari was aware of Kushwaha’s power. He also knew how close the BJP may be to winning in UP and he is desperate to prove his worth to his bosses (which include the RSS bigwigs). That is why he took a risk. He arm-twisted the UP BJP leaders and inducted Kushwaha and four other crooks. He risked the wrath of the real BJP members, the ones beholden to the Hindu Nationalist ideals and took this step out of desperation.

We all want the BJP to win in UP and then 2014 general elections. What we don’t want is the dilution of the ideology, which makes the BJP the party of difference. They did something like this in the past with DP Yadav and that move blew in their face. That did not teach them anything.

However, things need to be done to erase this ugliness. A straightforward mea culpa is extremely important. That does not look likely right now because Gadkari has invested everything in this move and is trying to justify this act by using all and every excuse in the book. Hopefully after the UP elections, someone from the party will have the moral fortitude to apologize to their supporters.

The second is the issue of leadership needs to be resolves once and forever. It has to be democratically resolved instead of being decided by the RSS leadership. The RSS elders need to adopt an advisory role and let the party members elect someone they respect and can rally behind.

I am an ex member of the RSS and come from a family of RSS members and officials. It is probably the most admirable organization of India. Its leaders are nationalist patriots but not politicians and thus not adept in political machinations. They should also allow alternate views and visions for the party and even the nation as long as the aam aadmi benefits and the spirit of the nation remains in line with Hindu ethos and accepting the demands of the modern times. This is very important because Bhai Narendra Modi is the tallest leader in the BJP but he has a different way of functioning than what is acceptable to the RSS elders (even though he served the organization for most of his life). Now he has been cast aside from any leadership considerations. On the other hand the RSS elders have made mistakes with ineffective leaders like Gadkari and Rajnath Singh. The UP BJP leaders wanted Modi to campaign in UP. Gadkari ignored that and then went ahead with his Kushwaha plan, which has now given the Congress something to hold over the BJP. This is all Gadkari’s fault and no amount of backtracking is going to remove that black spot. It was Advani and Pramod Mahajan who lost the 2004 elections with their ill-timed India Shining campaign. It was Advani and Sudheendra Kulkarni who lost the 2009 elections. Now it is Gadkari who will ruin BJP’s chances in 2014. Something needs to be done about this.

The following urls have been referred to in the article:
http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-which-way-will-the-muslim-vote-go-in-uttar-pradesh/20120104.htm
http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-congress-will-emerge-as-the-winner-in-up-polls-says-survey/20120104.htm
http://www.rediff.com/news/report/mayawati-richest-among-cms-of-5-poll-bound-states/20120106.htm
http://newsinsight.net/archivedebates/nat2.asp?recno=2241

Clear And Present Danger To India

In non-democratic nations, governments in peril usually start something to divert the attention of the population. This enables them to validate their hold on power. The day Kim Jong Il died, North Koreans test fired a nuclear capable missile. This forced the South Koreans to go on defensive. That is one way.

We have two such countries in our neighborhood- China and Pakistan. Both of them are going through problems. Pakistan is dealing with their own security issues thanks to all the terrorist organizations they have spawned. Then there is the economy, which now has to deal with the possibility of the loss of multimillion-dollar “bheekh” from the US. There is the memogate, which has brought the fight between the civilian government and the army out in the open. Even PM Gilani who seemed to be an army lapdog is showing signs of dissention. Then there is that American problem where they are dealing with the drone attacks and the whole Afghanistan mess. It is becoming clear that the Paki army is not going to go gently into the night. They are going to flex muscles and establish their relevance to the Paki people. How can they do it without much effort? They can foment problems for India using the many terrorist organizations at their disposal. Even the prospect of a strong response from India would then send the pakis running to their saviors in the army.

As far as China is concerned, their problems larger because they are a larger country. Their economy which was bulldozing through seems to be slowing down because of a global economic slowdown.

For years analysts have warned of a looming real estate bubble in China, but the predicted downturn, the bursting of that bubble, never occurred -- that is, until now. In a telling scene two months ago, Shanghai property developers started slashing prices on their latest luxury condos by up to one-third. Crowds of owners who had recently bought apartments at full price converged on sales offices throughout the city, demanding refunds. Some angry investors went on a rampage, breaking windows and smashing showrooms.

The above is only one of the many examples of violent protest that the government has not been able to control. Another example is the farmer protest against real estate developers in Wukan. We are also witnessing a tectonic change in the security paradigms in the Pacific. The Chinese hubris is not going unnoticed anywhere and the world is preparing for the new bad guy. The PLA and the new Chinese leadership are itching to flex their muscles. That desire coupled with a strong need to divert the attention of the populace from domestic troubles could spell trouble for neighbors like India. I don’t think that the Chinese are actually going to march down into India but that does not mean they cannot ratchet up the tensions on some premise or the other (harassing our diplomats and traders could just be the start).

I hope against hope that the current GoI’s ineptitude does not extend into defending our borders. We already have surrendered to the Chinese in trade. Surrendering our safety would be an entirely different beast.

Analysis of the dangers from Pakistan can be read in an analysis by Mr. B Raman at : http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers49/paper4824.html
An excellent paper on the China's financial troubles especially the real estate bubble can be read at(The highlighted portion is from the article): http://www.foreignaffairs.com/ARTICLES/136963/patrick-chovanec/chinas-real-estate-bubble-may-have-just-popped
Our own blogpost on the new hotspot in the Pacific can be read at: http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/11/samudra-manthan-in-pacific.html
The picture is from http://www.tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ws071011China.asp

Searching For Narendra Modi Clones In UP

On this blog, we have been lamenting the projected fourth place finish for the BJP and the lackadaisical and confused approach of their leadership towards the most important election before the 2014 general elections.

Caste politics in UP is definitely as bad as anywhere else if not worse. Being a large state, there are pockets where different castes are prominent. In western UP, the Lodh community votes are so important that Uma Bharati was re-inducted into the party (she should never have been fired to begin with). Of course the step was a case of too little, too late. She does not seem to be making much of a difference. OBC’s, Muslims and dalits form the other major groups. Kalraj Mishra and Rajnath Singh have claimed to have control over Brahmin and Thakur votes respectively (although evidence of those claims have not been seen in the past decade). So already we have three leaders with their eyes on the CM’s seat. Of course the party is so desperate that they have started to recruit BSP discarded ministers with scams and criminal cases behind them. Is this the way they are going to project themselves as a party of difference? These criminal MLAs are supposed to help the BJP break into the BSP bastions. The UP elections are not a surprise to anyone. Why did the party not start to work at it before? Why not approach this thing from a grassroots level and work at it. This current approach is shameful and speaks volumes of the ineptitude of party leadership.

BJP has always sent mixed messages to their voters on UP leadership issues. They have alienated their voters in the urban areas in a big way. They are no longer the party of difference, discipline and integrity.

What should have been done is to cultivate local leaders because all politics is local. Instead of bringing organizers from outside of state, they should go after local leaders who know the state well. One such leader is Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. He is younger than most of the CM wannabes. He is educated (Law from Allahabad University) and well spoken. He is currently a high ranking member of the party. He has been a member of the Waqf board and on AMU administrative body. All this speaks well of his administrative qualities. He is a Muslim in a Hindu Nationalist party which speaks of his commitment to the ideology and his strength of character. All these are the kind of characteristics which one often sees in great leaders like Bhai Narendra Modi. Why is Naqvi not at the forefront of UP elections is beyond me?

It may be too late for the UP state elections but the BJP can still make inroads into the UP voters by doing the right things which includes a grass roots level movement against bad governance and corruption and projecting good leaders who are committed to the cause rather than “gaddi / kursi” as a sign of stability. That may go a long way towards winning in 2014.

An interview with Naqvi can be read at: http://hindu.com/2004/03/21/stories/2004032103091200.htm