Re: The Great Indian Political Drama - 3 (Oct 2018 - )
Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 4:35 pm
Pranabda, Nanaji Desshmukh, Bhupen Hazarika have been given Bharat Ratna.
Voice of the Republic
https://bharatganrajya.com/forum/
This is not quite a sisterhood
Priyanka has always been considered a potential Indira reincarnation, perhaps a more amiable version of the woman potentate prototype.
25th January 2019
By Santwana Bhattacharya
There’s a well-known modern fable about passengers on a train that every Indian has probably experienced, but is universal enough for even German thinker Hans Enzensberger to have described as a way to analyse social behaviour. Imagine yourself travelling comfortably in a compartment, when suddenly another passenger comes and tries aggressively to intrude into your space. You obviously react equally aggressively and try to resist, but eventually fail and resign to travelling together with a distinct air of acrimony between the two of you. Now, suddenly, at the next station, another passenger comes and pushes to create space for himself in that same zone.
At this point, the first two, who has been cohabiting with a degree of tacit animus till now, suddenly turn into allies and try jointly to resist the new entrant. And if they too fail, and the third man also squeezes in, the pattern of hostility turning into cohesive behaviour continues when a fourth man arrives and tries to entrench himself. The story of opposition politics at this stage—especially in Uttar Pradesh but even beyond, across states— resembles this fable somewhat, with just minor variations. Foes turning into allies, and assuming the shape of a united phalanx against a third trying to make an entry. The variation lies in the fact that real politics does not offer a straightforward, linear equation.
The first passenger can ditch the second and team up with the third, or whoever. If you think of Mayawati and the Congress, for instance, it is clear that— theoretically speaking, since no alliance exists as of now —any coming together can only be temporary. The sheer logic of lebensraum (literally, ‘room to live’) dictates thus. They not only need to share a coupe, they are rivals for the same seat.
If you think of Uttar Pradesh as a crowded train compartment, which is not far off the mark, it is easy to see why the status of the Congress—regardless of its old history, it’s an outsider now, seeking a way in—resembles a new claimant in the fable. Till early December, it had been hoping to subsist on the munificence of potential allies in a proposed (and much-touted) mahagathbandhan that the anti-BJP spectrum was hoping would fructify. The Assembly contests in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan put that equation off-balance, with the BSP and Congress palpably falling out over seat-sharing, having realised that it’s a zero sum game, and each can prosper only at the other’s expense.
That bit of sabre-rattling was in reality a bit of preparatory show for the difficult match-making that loomed in UP. Mayawati had been among the first to react negatively to the prospect of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, then just a heir apparent, aiming for prominence with his well-publicised visits and stayovers at Dalit homes. It was clear as air: her basic votebank would be under threat in the event of any Congress resurgence.
Now, the arrival of Priyanka Gandhi on the stage, as a general secretary in charge of eastern UP, marks a tacit uptick in the level of hostilities. Her natural flair with people makes her an even more clear and present danger for the BSP supremo. Recall only that, of the relatively healthy haul of 21 seats the Congress managed in UP in 2009, a good portion came from the eastern part of the state, which also happens to be the BSP’s stronghold. This relative escalation of Congress aggression, in the shape of Priyanka, was of course brought about by Mayawati’s intransigence on the question of admitting the GOP into the anti-BJP axis formed unilaterally by the SP-BSP. But that too had a larger reason.
Priyanka has always been considered a potential Indira reincarnation, perhaps a more amiable version of the woman potentate prototype. But she’s hardly the first. Jayalalithaa’s exit from the stage still leaves two very powerful women politicians who can, justifiably, aspire for the highest office of the land. Both Mayawati and Mamata Banerjee are would-be prime ministers.
And it is no coincidence that it is the same duo who are the main stumbling blocks behind a real, all-inclusive anti-BJP front that contains the Congress, whether or not in a leading role. Mamata, like Mayawati, naturally wants to maximise her harvest of Lok Sabha seats from the 42 seats West Bengal has, so as to bolster her claims post-May. Her unwillingness to cede even an inch is reflected in the fact that Mausam Noor, niece of the titanic A B A Ghani Khan Chowdhury, who had been till now sitting pretty in the pocketborough of Malda, the sole holdout of the GOP in Bengal, is now rumoured to be eyeing the TMC for sheer survival.
There are other obstacles, of course, most arrantly in the shape of Telangana Rashtra Samiti supremo K Chandrashekar Rao. All these are parties that will not particularly cherish the thought of a Congress resurgence, because it will inevitably eat into their own sources of sustenance. Here, one may even add the oddball figure of Arvind Kejriwal. Though negotiations have been on between AAP and its one-time bete noire (Congress), and Rahul himself had been willing to share seats in Delhi and elsewhere, this time it’s Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh who’s proving unwilling. And for the same reason: it’s a zero sum game. This intense backstage rivalry is what really undercuts all the on-stage bonhomie and handholding by opposition stalwarts.
Santwana Bhattacharya
They should attack her dynastic roots, her utter lack of experience, and not shy away from the Italian colonial angle in bringing her in, all without appearing to attack her because she is a woman. Giriraj singh said it brilliantly. Were it not for Sonia's European looks, Congoons would have dumped her like a charmin roll. BJP should hammer this theme. I know I am dreaming.JohnTitor wrote: ↑Fri Jan 25, 2019 4:27 pm
The thing is, it's not important whether it's true or not. You simply don't back down even if it's a lie. Rafael isn't a scam, even the secular SC said so. But that isn't stopping congoons from crying scam.
BJP like Hindus are ready to throw their own under the bus so that they can "fit in".
KL Dubey wrote: ↑Fri Jan 25, 2019 5:59 pmA very good idea to send this letter, in the local/state languages as applicable:
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/a-lette ... on-1982993
Direct communication with average peeps...works much better than "press conferences".
Certainly rattled the commies in KL, it looks like...!
Rahul Gandhi accidentally reveals he had a secret meeting with Chinese ministers during his Kailash visit
During the much-published visit of Rahul Gandhi to Kailash Mansarovar in September last year, he had a meeting with a couple of Chinese ministers. And this sensational revelation has come from Rahul Gandhi himself, not from any other source.
While answering a question on concerns of automation in job creation, Rahul Gandhi said that a couple of Chinese ministers told him during his Kailash visit that China is facing no problem in job creation due to automation.
There was no report of Rahul Gandhi meeting Chinese ministers during his pilgrimage to the holy lake, this means the meeting was kept a secret, and Rahul Gandhi accidentally revealed it while talking about an unrelated matter in Odisha today. Rahul Gandhi is a member of parliament, and the president of the largest opposition party. Moreover, China is not a friendly country, it is hostile towards India. China claims Arunachal Pradesh to be their territory, their forces regularly intrude into the Indian side of the border. Therefore, any unpublished meeting with the Chinese government by Indian politicians is a serious issue.
It is not known whether the government of India is aware of this meeting.
This is not the first time the Congress president had secret meetings with foreign dignitaries to be revealed later. On 8th July 2017, Rahul Gandhi had a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui which was not made public. When some media houses reported the meeting, the Congress party termed it fake news. But later the meeting was confirmed by the Chinese embassy on its website.
The meeting between Rahul Gandhi and the Chinese Ambassador had happened when both the countries were engaged in the Doklam Standoff, which lasted till August 2017.
Nambi Narayanan, the former scientist of the Indian Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has been conferred the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India. The scientist was instrumental in developing the Vikas engine that would be used for the first PSLV that India launched. But, Nambi Narayanan, who was falsely implicated in the ISRO spy case, was accused of selling state secrets comprising confidential test data from rocket and satellite launches. He was arrested in December 1994 and charged with espionage.
On September 14, the Supreme Court cleared the scientist of charges in the infamous ISRO espionage case and also directed the Kerala state government to pay him Rs 50 lakh as compensation. It was the first time that the Supreme Court erased all the adverse records against him to restore his reputation. The three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, had said, "The criminal law was set in motion without any basis. It was initiated, if one is allowed to say, on some kind of fancy or notion. The liberty and dignity of the appellant which are basic to his human rights were jeopardized as he was taken into custody and, eventually, despite all the glory of the past, he was compelled to face cynical abhorrence," the judgement read.
The bench also said, "If he obtaining factual matrix is adjudged on the aforesaid principles and parameters, there can be no scintilla of doubt that the appellant, a successful scientist having national reputation, has been compelled to undergo immense humiliation. The lackadaisical attitude of the State police to arrest anyone and put him in police custody has made the appellant to suffer the ignominy…The Court cannot lose sight of the wrongful imprisonment, malicious prosecution, the humiliation and the defamation faced by the appellant".
In October 2018, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, BJP MP from Bengaluru, had appealed to the Union government to honour the scientist with a Padma award. In his letter, the MP had highlighted some of the greatest achievements of the scientist.
"Nambi Narayanan, who was a senior scientist at ISRO, was in-charge of the cryogenics division making rapid progress in the field of liquid technology – a key technology in rocket propulsion that is being deployed in GSLV. He was one of the chief architects of the ‘Vikas’ engine that is at the heart of India’s rockets, the same ones that made missions like Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan possible and which will be involved in many more space voyages in future. Vikram Sarabhai, the father of Indian Space, put his trust in Narayanan and sent him to Princeton University for higher studies on rocket propulsion. He could have been the next pioneer in rocket propulsion and space technology.”
However, the arrest in 1994 brought his career to a standstill and mental agony to him and his family.
Following his arrest by the Kerala police, the case was transferred to the Intelligence Bureau (IB) for investigation and was in custody for 50 days. After his release, the scientist claimed that the IB officials, who interrogated him, wanted him to testify falsely against some of his superiors.
When the Central Bureau of Investigation took over the case, no evidence linking Nambi Narayanan to the accusations against him was found. In 1996, the CBI dismissed the charges against him. Subsequently, in 1998, the Supreme Court declared him not guilty and awarded him a compensation of Rs 1 lakh, which was to be paid by the Kerala government.
The scientist then approached the National Human Rights Commission, seeking compensation for the torture and mental agony that he and his family members were subjected to during the course of the false case against him.
The scientist was instrumental in developing the Vikas engine that would be used for the first PSLV that India launched.
Dr. Nambi Narayanan (Padma Bhushan) was arrested and tortured under Narasimha Rao's watch, and his brilliant career ruined. So if the former is being honored this year, I don't think it is appropriate to honor Rao since the episode was certainly a black mark on his administration.
Gandhi As He Really Was: The Empire Loyalist
The layperson should learn an important lesson here: having an elite western university accreditation is the perfect smokescreen to continue the Gandhi myth. Today’s younger generation may not realise that all through modern India’s independent period including as recently as the mid-90s, public criticism of Gandhi carried big risks.
B V Rudhraya
26-01-2019
2019 is the year the world celebrates the 150th birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. A question does need to be asked: do the common people of the world really know this “man of peace”? First, let us list what many have long assumed to be true within India itself. That he brought India freedom. That he gave the world the gift of non-violent resistance. That he brought the British Empire to its knees in India, and made them leave. These descriptions have been swallowed up, with little knowledge of how he has been critiqued within India itself. Unfortunately, most of the praise directed at Gandhi is not only false, but is also an outright lie.
Gandhi’s assassination 71 years ago in late January 1948, for various reasons that we don’t need to visit here, turned him into a martyr that he never deserved to be. [1] The vivisection of India by the British, using their Islamist oriented feudal elites and the British created Muslim League, along with some of the empire loyalists’ nominal Hindus in the British created Congress party, can be blamed largely on the empire friendly machinations of Gandhi and his large supporting cast. The cruelty and barbarism that accompanied the partition of India made Gandhi possibly the most hated man in 1947 India, which eventually became what is now three separate nations. By handpicking Nehru, an unpopular and deracinated “brown sahib” (the Indian version of “Uncle Tom”), Gandhi’s rebranded image as a saint was steadily pushed onto the public through the Nehru dynasty friendly media and the education system, which continue to whitewash Nehru as well.
The Empire’s western media and universities also participated and often led in this whitewashing effort, with real critiques mainly available for scholars, who mostly toed the official line. The layperson should learn an important lesson here: having an elite western university accreditation is the perfect smokescreen to continue the Gandhi myth. This trend has continued through empire loyalists and dynasty sycophants like Ramchandra Guha, whose recent book on Gandhi was described by one writer in The Guardian as craven. Cowardly. [2]
Today’s younger generation may not realise that all through modern India’s independent period including as recently as the mid-90s, public criticism of Gandhi carried big risks. Brave were the writers who could survive threats to their careers, if not their lives, and write honestly about both Gandhi and Nehru. We are indeed fortunate that courageous writers exist, even if they had to publish their work in obscure places, or publishing houses with lower mass reach, while surviving continual personal attacks on their reputation. It will take time and a reclaiming of the education system, before the public can be sufficiently informed to take action and bring down every statue, and rename the innumerable roads, public programs, and institutions that carry his name. Efforts by certain African nations to take down his statue can be applauded, with the caveat that they should have greater clarity about what exactly they are rejecting. A nation and a world that idolises false heroes will struggle to progress.
The critiques on Gandhi that are publicly available today are extensive, so let us focus on just a few salient points that should have given the layperson some hints about this “Mahatma”. His initial life from his time in South Africa as a young lawyer till the early 1920s already expose him.
Firstly, was the early Gandhi even mildly familiar with dharma and Hindu teachings? By various accounts, the answer is an unequivocal no. As writer Radha Rajan pointed out [3], there is no precedence in Hindu teachings of using passive resistance or non-violence against an enemy with whom this does not resonate. “…he was not a scholar of Hindu texts with knowledge of precise words to be used for specific concepts. English words like ‘soul force’, ‘love’ and ‘passive resistance’ denote Christian ideals, and while Christians may claim (incorrectly, in view of the Crusades, colonialism and the slave trade) that these are the defining features of their faith…”.
In short, this “great leader” of the Hindu native lands was unfamiliar with Hindu teachings, yet preaching with great conviction and eloquence. As multiple writers have pointed out [4], Gandhi’s selective and muddled interpretation of ahimsa itself confirmed his illiteracy.
Secondly, what was his actual track record in South Africa? When even Ram Guha now announces that early Gandhi was a racist, one might be grateful for such tender mercies and a “balanced assessment”. Yet, Guha is actually letting him off lightly. Telling oppressed Africans and Indians to engage with the tyranny of the church and its western European subjects who carry out the criminal repression is neither in line with Indian teachings, nor helpful to the oppressed. It merely and most usefully helps the oppressor channelize dissent in the colonies, to the safety and benefit of the Empire. Here Gandhi plays the role of “controlled opposition” to the highest level. However, simply calling him a racist is hiding something far more sinister, that controlled opposition is another word for empire loyalist. If it suited the British Empire to have their decorated war veteran Gandhi appease native Africans, then he might have adopted a most charming demeanour towards them. Over-emphasis about race or caste by Gandhi critics misses this key distinction. [5]
Thirdly, what was his view of natives who genuinely stood for their native lands, and were willing to exhort the masses to violently fight back? After all, the British army in India was largely comprised of native Indians on the payroll. By the mid-1940s, they were finally able to wake up and reject their British superiors, being inspired by another popular leader (Bose) who was not “Gandhian”, and who was in fact side-lined by Gandhi from the party leadership.
One has to keep in mind that the word native should be seen in a similar lens with the fightback of the native African and the native American tribes against the church and its colonialists. While true blooded patriots (or nationalists, rebranded as “extremists” in most school textbooks, with empire loyalists packaged as “moderates”) like Tilak, Aurobindo, Savakar, Lala Lajpat Rai, Chidambaram Pillai [6], and a long list of several others were being tortured in prison, hanged, bankrupted, brutally killed, shunted off to exile or plea bargained into silence, Gandhi’s own abysmal response on their treatment, while exhorting the Hindu masses to maintain non-violence, appears bizarre, to use a euphemism. Gandhi was essentially discouraging native resistance, and leaders who have followed him in history and exemplify his teachings or were inspired by him were also playing similar roles. Leave aside India, can the African or the African-American public think of any big name Gandhi-esque leaders preaching non-violence, but just happened to be playing to the empire’s tune? This realisation is not easy to digest.
Fourthly, Gandhi’s pandering to the Islamists of India had a disastrous effect, something that we are living with even till today. Deep thinkers such as Sita Ram Goel have stated that the average Muslim’s character is no worse or better than the average Hindu, but it is the fundamentalists themselves that are one of the biggest hurdles to unity. Gandhi meanwhile went all out to engage and whitewash them, and did very little to help the common Muslim by his refusal to insist on reform, truth and reconciliation, given that most of the Muslims in India were former native Hindus. He must have known that he would not have lasted very long if he took that line with the Islamist feudal elites, or for that matter, the British. If anything, Gandhi’s dealings made the situation for moderate Muslims worse, as they had nowhere to turn to escape from self-serving fanatical minority leaders. As legendary historian R.C. Majumdar stated: “…(Gandhi) did incalculable harm to Hindu-Muslim unity by putting a premium on Muslim intransigence…” [7]
His statement about “Hindus as a rule being cowards” (written in 1924) also indicated that he had a very poor understanding of the native Indian resistance to the invasions. While many nations that converted to Islam did so within decades (Egypt, Persia are just two of many examples), the former Hindu-Buddhist-Tengrist natives of Afghanistan and Central Asia (Turkestan) took close to four centuries to fully convert by the 11th century, after long periods of violent resistance to the inflicted slavery and other atrocities. Meanwhile, it took five centuries for the Islamists from largely now converted central and western Asia to even set up a sultanate in Delhi in 1206 C.E. After six more centuries, by 1800, the estimated Muslim population of (greater) India was no higher than 15% [8]. Exactly which Hindus were the cowards that Gandhi was referring to?
More recently, the sheer atrocities perpetrated in the Malabar region by the Khilafatists in the 1921 Moplah massacres did nothing to dissuade Gandhi from his appeasement policies. [9] What would Gandhi have done with ISIS, their slave markets and mass rapes in the current decade? If 1921 is anything to go by, we already know. He’d be making excuses for them, while suggesting that their victims welcome them. It is a good thing that the people of today’s Syria and their leaders are not “Gandhian”. In short, Gandhi was illiterate about the incredible courage and resilience of the native Indians; he also had little knowledge about the nature of Islamic expansion into India and Asia.
Keep in mind, the above are only a few examples taken till 1924. Gandhi before age 55, the great soul or “Mahatma”, was an illiterate coward who should have been fully rejected by the public who were being subjected to the social media of that time, which was the British controlled press, radio broadcasts and the early days of television. Somehow the few true patriots within the Congress party leadership also knew better than to cross him.
The next time you hear opportunistic politicians like George Galloway shouting about Hindu nationalists killing this “great soul”, who pretty much every partition victim of every community wanted to harm, stop for a moment and realise that Galloway himself is a gatekeeper to the truth. As is Suzanna Arundhati Roy, whose rants about race and caste at no point informs the public that Gandhi was very much an empire loyalist. This type of opportunistic cowardice is lucrative. Gandhian.
If the British weren’t so busy burning records on their exit out of India, perhaps there would be much more apt and confirmed descriptions for Gandhi. Here is one that has been whispered in India for decades: stooge.
References
Gandhi’s assassination and Godse’s truth, Virendra Parekh, January 2015, Indiafacts.org
Gandhi 1914-1948 by Ramachandra Guha review – the Mahatma as a liberal icon, Faisal Devji, October 2018, The Guardian
Radha Rajan’s entire series of articles exposing Gandhi is time well spent, especially her coverage of early Gandhi in South Africa. Both are available on Vijayvaani.com (starting with “Eclipse of a Hindu Nation”) and Indiafacts.org (the “Deconstructing Gandhi” series).
Gandhi: A Modern Medievalist, Dr. Bharat Gupt, October 2015, IndiaFacts.org /Gandhi: Militarist turned Mahatma, Dr. N S Rajaram, January 2018, Vijayvaani.com
Ram Guha is wrong. Gandhi went from a racist young man to a racist middle-aged man, Ọbádélé Kambon, December 2018, theprint.in
VOC – The Tamil Patriot Who ‘Steered The Ship’, Aravindan Neelakandan, September 2017, Swarajyamag.com
As R.C. Majumdar observed (History of the Freedom Movement in India, Volume II, pp 313-14): “The first sentence is one of those pro-Muslim sayings which bore the special trademark of Gandhi and did incalculable harm to Hindu-Muslim unity by putting a premium on Muslim intransigence. It was repeated in 1947 when Gandhi made the proposal, which astounded even his devout followers, that Jinnah should be the supreme ruler of India, with a cabinet of his own choice, which might consist only of Muslim ministers. The word ‘mutual’ in the second sentence is meaningless, as Gandhi never dared make similar request to the Muslims, and they never showed the slightest intention of doing any such foolish thing.” via “Gandhi: Militarist turned Mahatma” by Navaratna S Rajaram
K.S. Lal, Indian Muslims: Who Are They, Voice of India, 1990
Gandhi and Anarchy, Sir C. Sankaran Nair, 1922, Tagore & Co. |Moplah Riots: How Gandhi Maintained Silence on Cruel Attacks on Hindus, Dr. Vivek Arya, December 2018, myindiamyglory.com|B V Rudhraya’s work can also be read on https://yourawesomeindia.com/
Rupa Subramanya Verified account @rupasubramanya
This is real award wapsi even before the award is actually given. Good on Gita Mehta for taking a principled position unlike the bogus award wapsi winners who returned their awards for electoral purposes decades after the award was given.
Kanchan Gupta Verified account @KanchanGupta
Kanchan Gupta Retweeted Rupa Subramanya
Padma awards are announced only after concurrence of the individual (if living) or next of kin (if dead) is secured.
You beat me to it. Yes, looks like Choksi and maybe some other guys holed up on various Caribbean islands. The article even says they may pick up Nirav Modi in Europe on the way back. ... that is, if the plane can get off the ground after loading the fatazz Choksihanumadu wrote: ↑Sat Jan 26, 2019 10:01 pmhttps://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ind ... 705811.cms
Rumors of a secret Air India flight to Carribean to fetch a high value economic offender.
Mehul Choksi?
State governments in the past have already done so. I remember YSR wife in Andhra during the time of their own openly coming out and stating that state funds would be used for building of churches and for pensions for priests. However this was quickly brushed off. I still cannot understand how people can vote for Jagan Reddy with this kind of background.Muns ji, the bold part sounds good, as long the government is pro-Indic. But what happens when Cong(I)s/UPA cobbles together a coalition government? The new govt. will notify a new set of organizations, contributions to which will get special tax benefits. What if these organizations are into BIF activities ( for ex. conversions etc)?
If memory serves me right, this happened in UPA2. As part of CSR, PSUs were asked to contribute to all kinds of worthless, shady causes/organizations. One of these was Aman ki asha
Quite a long article but going through it I did feel already quite a lot of misplaced facts. While it seems that he has read quite a lot of books on Gandhi to formulate those facts, it might be worthwhile to know that Gandhi wrote his own autobiography,http://indiafacts.org/gandhi-as-he-real ... -loyalist/
Gandhi As He Really Was: The Empire Loyalist
The layperson should learn an important lesson here: having an elite western university accreditation is the perfect smokescreen to continue the Gandhi myth. Today’s younger generation may not realise that all through modern India’s independent period including as recently as the mid-90s, public criticism of Gandhi carried big risks.