A Letter to Mr. Shekhar Gupta

Shekhar Gupta writes in Indian Express (June 6) that the jolt Rajeev Gandhi got in 1989 elections is a worth learning lesson for present UPA government. His inference is that Rajeev's decline started when party's clergy and polity overpowered his fresh and ameture overtures after almost 2 years of his historic 3/4th victory. Mr. Gupta counts Shahbano case and subsequent unlocking of Ayodhya temple as the beginning of Rajeev's political blunders. I wrote a letter to Mr. Gupta in his personal official mail over his article, which I am publishing here on my blog for the Jury:
　
Dear Shekhar,
I am a journalist working with a Hindi business newspaper. Indian Express has been a newspaper closest to my heart for a long time now. I very often read your articles in the newspaper and so I did today also. I want to say something about the article and so am writing this letter.
Sir, you have done a great analysis of what went wrong with Rajeev Gandhi, even though he had led a historic electoral victory for Congress. But, what I doubt in the whole analysis, is the marks given to the general Indian voter's wit. With due respect to the public's maturity and wisdom, I have completely failed to analyse the recently concluded election outcome. You have rightly pointed out that Rajeev Gandhi's flip-flop over first, Shahbano case and then, unlocking the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple was the inception point of Rajeev's decline. But here lies my doubt. Was it really the issue alone that started the decline process or it was the powerful manifestation by the VHP and BJP of government's pro-Muslim and pseudo-secularism agenda, that worked really.
If one Shahbano can mitigate a party having 3/4th majority to such an extent that even after 25 years, it is rejoicing its 200 mark in Lok Sabha like a fantasy, how can one explain numerous Shahbano's in last 5 years having made no impact on Congress's electoral impact. Consider some events in last 5 years,
1. Prime Minister of more than a billion people resolving again and again that minorities (often synonymous with Muslims in our country) have the first right on nation's resources. Meaning 80% of the country are in second priority only because they follow a particular faith. (Is this the definition of a secular country?)
2. Government has been exerting pressure on publicly listed banks to reserve 15% of their loan fund for Muslims. Is it not ridiculous? How can a particular style of prayer or specific religion be the basis of economic decisions? I am a poor farmer but deserve secondary consideration on my loan application form vis-a-vis a Muslim trader only because I go to a temple or I recite Ram Charit Manas or my name doesn't contain Mohammad as prefix.
3. Supreme Court's stern comments on IMDT and Congress's subsequent stand on the issue. In fact, it no longer needs a RSS ideologue to prove that the provision of IMDT were framed only to provide Bangladeshi's an effective cover to settle down on Indian soil. Even Supreme Court has articulated the same in the most ardent voice.
4. We kept on losing numerous lives in one after one terrorist's attack for 5 years. For 80 per cent of the tenure we were compelled to endure the most feeble and weakest home minister at the helm. The person was same who had lost his personal constituency and elevated to the coveted post only due to his devotion towards Sonia Gandhi. Only before 6 months of the general elections, Mrs. Gandhi got the revelation of his inefficiency. Was not it a glazing proof of her apathy towards the plight of common people.
5. The Mumbai terrorist attack. Your ongoing series in itself is an eye opener and nothing left to say in that particular regard.
I can cite 10s of more incidents. Each incident is greater in both magnitude and impact than what Shahbano case was. But the only difference this time is that there is no VHP or BJP of the kind that we had in 90's. One Shahbano is echoing in our political system even after 25 years of its existence, but we are told that hanging of Afzal is a non-issue. Some 20 odd convicted persons, who have got capital punishment in some family feud or land related murders are being equated with a terrorist caught for attacking Parliament. Our Prime Minister and Home Minister are making this comparison and our intellectual class is pioneering the idea of being it a dead issue. So Shahbanos are there, Rajiv Gandhis are there, Mullas are there. The only missing link is the fierce opposition who can snatch the hijab from the faces.
If one Shahbano can change the course of Indian Politics, how can 100s of Shahbanos go unnoticed. The corrupt, beleaguered and bemused BJP have lost its way and so a vaccum has been created in political space. Otherwise, there is no explanation why none of the above issues could be heard all over the one and half months of electoral campaign. I have been always of the view that failure of BJP in Indian polity is no less than a catastrophe or our democratic process and I still stand by with my view. The reason is because, once the people lose the faith in any alternative on national level, they will finally fall in the lap of piffle regional and cast vested interests. And that would ultimately cost the integrity of our country.

We Are Still An Immature Democracy, Aren't We?

We very often boast to be the greatest and biggest democracy of this world. But are we really...? We are going to face the most mammoth democratic exercise in a few weeks.

We just saw a similar exercise in America. Incidentally, Americans boast in a same way, to be the oldest democracy (in modern definition of democracy, of course) in the world. Now just compare the political activities during a couple of weeks preceding the elections in both the countries.

The Democratic and Republican parties were both busy making their people understand about the policies regarding foreign, economic and social security policies. And see what Congress and the Bhartiya Janata Party is striving for in the run up to the general election. The most decisive factor that would decide the fate of these two national parties are not their policies towards terrorism, poverty, education, internal security, Pakistan etc. Amazingly, the factors are how likes of Ramvilas Paswan, Mamata Banerjee, Naveen Patnayak, Chandrababu Naydu, Jayalalitha etc. think of their political foes and freinds. Is not it ridiculous?

It is an election to decide the fate of our whole country or to decide the fate of bank balances and cheap power brokering capacities of these regional players? If Patnayak and Naydu has snapped their ties with BJP, has it anything to do with how BJP thinks about the national, economic or foreign issues. Or, if Ramvilas joins hands with Lalu and Ajit Singh sits in BJP’s lap, has it anything to do with what these two leaders and parties have common in between. I don't think so and I guess not even any of them gonna claim the same. Therefore, It is a shame on the part of our democracy, that people with narrow visibility and sight far from national paradigm, are having the keys of our national politics.
No matter, how loudly we shout the slogans of our democracy being matured and great, I think it is not only immature but have fully derailed from the tracks of our constitutional dream.

Are we at the mercy of terrorists till May 16th ?

India is preparing for the most mammoth democratic drill of this world. So, it is very natural that all our security forces, para military forces, police forces and all other institutions bestowed with the responsibility to protect Indian citizens are busy with preperations of general elections. But is it equally natural that the Home Minister should tell the country that during the election process, the government is incapable of giving protection to the countrymen.

Mr. P Chidambaram, incharge of internal security of our country and the UPA Govt in the leadership of Congress party had done exactly the same thing. They have pleaded that the govt can't secure the IPL tournament because the all the
security instruments are busy conducting elections. But can the govt be absolved of his responsibilities in the name of elections.

Should we conclude that no ambassy, no national leader, no monument, no market, no mall, no railway station and no public place is safe enough during the two month long election process. So, if the government has conceded its incompetence vis a vis the terror netword in and out side of this country, why don't this government send a request letter to LeT, JeM, Taliban and Al Qaeda pleading for a recess period because more than 1 billion people in Hindusthan are at their mercy as long as the biggest democratic exercise is on.