Love Aaj Kal

With all the huffs and puffs regarding the price rise being the front page news nowadays, one wonders how our leaders will tackle the issue when they are busy in resolving their strained ‘love affairs’. In recent days we have seen all that we usually do in similar situations of crisis – bandhs, upheaval in the Parliament and resentment among the public.

In spite of all this, the only progress that we read on the papers is the truce between two parties. In the end we are back to square one – paying more out of our pockets.

They say, you feel the true value of something when you don’t have it. So must be the case with NCP. From what they called a disgrace to having an Italian rule their party, it’s the same foreigner they are running after and trying to court for survival. The tiff between the Congress of Gandhi and the Congress of Pawar has been going on for ages, but they always seem to realize their true love for each other only when the opposing parties seem to threaten their supremacy.
Likewise for BJP, who has been time and again the victim of infidelity. Be it the Sena snub during the President election or the BJD during the Orissa elections, the Saffron Brigade has always been sweating it out to find permanent friendship.
But it is really amusing to see the funny game called politics. The price rise and uproars seemed to fall on deaf ears and draw little attention from the ruling party, and ultimately led to the traditional enemies; the Left and the Sangh Parivaar join hands and go for the Cut Motion. But just when it seemed they might have it their way the JMM, the ‘Yadav’ Army and Maya Madam backtrack, instead going with the UPA. It could not have been more embarrassing for the NDA and Left, which is fast losing popularity even where they had a stronghold.

Nevertheless, the betrayal of JMM turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Gadkari and Co., as they now stand a chance to capture Jharkhand following Shibu Soren’s admitting defeat and paving the way for a BJP chief Minister. This will not only be a blow to JMM in Jharkhand, but also might be the much needed comeback for BJP ahead of the Bihar elections.

Although Maya and her BSP have never had any love for Congress or the UPA and still look for a chance to hit out at them at the first instance, they too, decided to stand by them in the Cut Motion, citing the reason of reluctance of allowing a ‘communal’ force from coming into power. It should seem funny the BSP, an ace in ‘Gundaraj’ alongside its arch rival the SP, points a finger at the saffron party for being communal when they themselves do not leave an opportunity to hit out at the upper castes.

The blame game will continue; the relationships will get strained and resolved, but it is less likely that the issue in concern shall ever be addressed, and we shall be destined to throw out some extra Rupees. If EROS had not the copyrights of the movie, I would certainly plan a remake of LOVE AAJ KAL starring our master Politicians. And this would definitely have turned out to be a bigger hit.

The Beginning or the End?

At a time when we should be concerned with hike in fuel prices or rather the sugar saga that has kept us worried for some weeks now, what we hear is the humming of tunes of a popular song titled the ‘women’s reservation’. As if the reservations for the so-called ‘backward’ classes and minorities were not enough, now the politicians have found a solid base to build upon their vote bank. 33% as a gift to women, and they call it women empowerment.
If the highly able ruling party and ‘Constructive’ Opposition are so worried about the social status of the ‘Bhartiya Nari’, then perhaps it’s high time they pay a visit to the largely predominant rural areas of this nation that still live in the 15th century. It is a shame for this country that boasts of the largest democratic base and being called the ‘new kid on the block’ to still be witnessing the age-old orthodox mentality and practices that make us bow down in disgrace.
First of all, what is the guarantee that the reservation provided for women goes to the right woman? And if she is able enough she will not require this facility. The obvious instances would be Sheila Dixit, Vasundhra Raje, Jayalalitha and Mayawati. Are these female leaders, who are viewed as the role-model in their states, products of this 33% balderdash? Has there been any product so far of reservations in the first place?
Yet again, what are our glorious leaders trying to prove? Women’s empowerment? How? Just by keeping ‘Hands-Off’ for the 33%? Is merit even being talked about, let alone being considered? And lastly, whom will the reservation benefit? The common woman, or daughters and relatives of the above mentioned personalities? In this democracy the last thing we would want is the faith in the system disappearing. And now that we have this provision in place masses will be forced to vote for a female candidate even if a male candidate may be more deserving.
So many women empowerment schemes have been being started. But have they managed to achieve the target? Shouldn’t the repair work be started there instead of such a high-level amendment? Amending the Constitutions every now and then and thinking the job is done is not enough. If this is what our elected leaders do then why are we compelled to cast our ‘valuable’ vote in every election? Reservation, of any kind just destroys our equality. For heaven’s sake, let’s not fall prey to vote bank politics!

Battleground Kashmir

The incident regarding the land transfer to the Amarnath Shrine Board highlight the games that the pseudo-secular parties of our nation play with the religious sentiments of the people. Not only that, the plight of the Hindus in the valley also comes to light. Kashmir has always witnessed the dirtiest of communal violence since independence, with the so-called ‘Indian Muslims’ claiming to be ‘Pakistanis’. Perhaps this is the reason why they remember Pakistan’s Independence Day, but not India’s.

It is shameful that in a country that is reputed to be secular despite a vast majority of a certain religion witnesses violence against the same religion. The Congress government has handled the entire issue very cheaply. The ruling government’s decision to revoke the land allotment displays their tilt towards Fundamentalists. Furthermore, if the ruling party’s allies, the PDP were present during the announcement of the decision, the fact that their objection came at a later time out of nowhere shows that it is nothing other than vote-bank politics in a bid to instigate communal violence. In the entire game, it is the common man that suffers.

The reaction of the Sangh Parivar, that followed the decision to revoke land, was expected and in a way justified too. But if the same scenario, with just the Hindus and Muslims exchanging places, had occurred, then the entire country would have looked at it as a communal game played by the Sangh Parivar and slogans of Muslims being dubbed as ‘second class citizens’ in secular India would have been raised. But in this case no such thing happened, as this time the Hindus were at the receiving end.

We have no place for ‘fundamentalists’ in this country. They just create communal tension. And because of them, non-violent Muslims in other regions have to be bear humiliation. Contrary to the Muslims who build Raths in Puri during the Rath Yatra, these ‘Radical’ Muslims destroy the peaceful Amarnath yatra. It’s time we all unite and oust these radicals from the nation who have no other work except for destroying our unity.

Har Har Ramdev

Before you go by the title, let me make it clear – I am not religiously ignorant. I know the correct chant is ‘Har Har Mahadev’, but now this is what will be heard. And why not, if the spiritual idol of the nation Baba Ramdev has finally decided to take centre stage and reveal his political aspirations, be it the determination to change the system, or the serious attempt at absorbing back the lump of black money stored like unused materials in the Godowns (Swiss Bank) in Europe.
But what it actually makes us think – when it comes to politics and religion, which do people prioritize? In our country religion has always been ‘The Weapon’ brandished by Politicians to sway circumstances and votes in their favour, and thus the two go hand in hand. So, does that give Baba Ramdev an upper hand given his credibility and huge ‘fan’ base (remember, even the most orthodox and radical Muslim clerics of Deoband honoured him by inviting him to their rally)?
Having made his intentions clear that he himself has no political aspirations and will stand up as nothing more than a mentor to his partymen, does he feel that will be enough to bend people’s faith away from the party they’ve been rooting for since generations? He cannot guarantee that just because his partymen shall comprise of his disciples, first, they won’t tread the path of dishonesty or corruption, and second, entry into the political arena will not fuel the hunger for power. And third, they actually will have the caliber to tackle the already established best-in-the-business category of leaders. So, isn’t it clear it’ll be compromise of merit once again?
But looking at the bright side, people do want a leader who is the icon for the youth and an icon for change. And a little bit of convincing from the Guru might just do the trick. This sure is not Football, but mind games do play a big part. And comprehension of the Indian psychology (as usual, being influenced by external factors) will pave way for the long awaited change. And if they do it for the right cause I shall support them any day.
For instance, when Rahul Gandhi made the trip to Bhaidas a month ago, leaving the Sena factor aside, we witnessed the large number of students who had flocked for a few minutes of interaction with the new icon of ‘Young India’. But how many of these were actually Gandhi supporters? Answer: Not many. May seem weird, but true. The reason – they comprised of anti-Sainiks, hungry for a chance to defy Sena and break through the protests, obviously to prove that – “We are not scared of you hooligans so hands-off!” – and members of NSUI.
No one did actually think of that, but went by the numbers. ‘One Up’ for Congress, isn’t it? Now, Baba Ramdev will have to come up with a similar strategy if he were to swing the political scenario in his favour. But it will not be an overnight job and given the never-ending hurdles in Indian Politics there is a doubt how far he can go. But one thing is certain; his concept of breathing in and out will not help him on this field. He’ll have to do much more than that if the chant of ‘Har Har Ramdev’ has to become a possibility.