Story of my attachment and detachment with BJP

While I was watching the documentary "Ram ke naam" by Anand Patwardhan I remembered the tension and turmoil of those days. Back then (between 1989-1992) I was a teenager with a very confused and impressionable mind. Along with me Indian politics and society were also going through a transition phase. Political and economic discourse was changing for the first time after independence. The central government was thinking of opening its economy, radical reservation policy was announced to increase the participation of backward sections of society. During the same time there was a new emerging star on the horizon of Indian politics in the name of BJP. The actual party was formed in 1980 but it could make its presence felt only after it started Ram janmabhoomi aandolan.

The propaganda and highly charged speeches delivered by some excellent orators of that time (like Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Bal Thackrey) attracted many people to this movement. It was said that as Babur and the Mughal king destroyed a temple and built the mosque (Babri mosque) now it is our (Hindus) turn to take revenge. We Hindus should destroy that mosque and build a Ram temple as that was the very place where lord Ram was born. I don't know what archaeological evidence they had to claim that the site of the mosque was the exact spot where Ram was born but this was what was propagated very aggressively. It was also told to us that it is not a legal matter but it is a matter of faith and when there is a question of faith then all laws and courts should stay away from this as it is a matter of faith for 80% of the population of India, if they all think this is right then it is right and the court has no authority to say anything about this. The logic and oratory skills of many speakers who were propagating these ideas very aggressively attracted a lot of people to this movement. Young kids like me also felt that it was very logical to reclaim our heritage and build a temple by destroying a mosque. There was huge polarization in Indian society with a lot of tension, this polarization worked in favor of the BJP and it slowly became a major political force in many states as well as in the center.

After listening to all these speeches and watching some videos made by VHP and related organizations about why it was necessary to destroy that mosque I had many questions in my mind. Some of them were, what problems that one more Ram temple would solve? What evidence do we have that Ram was born at exactly that place where the mosque stands? India was facing many serious problems back then (many of them still exist) what purpose does this temple was going to serve to solve any of those problems? If Babur broke any temple back then and now we go and break that mosque then what is the difference between him and us? No one from my immediate surroundings was willing or capable of answering those questions so I decided to get more information and study the issue myself. After much research and reading I discovered that all this movement and polarization was purely for political gain. It was all done to get votes and grab power, no one was actually interested in a temple there but everyone was interested in using that issue as a political tool to polarize voters. That was the time when I got detached from the political philosophy of the BJP. I was attracted to it because of my young and impressionable mind but when I realized that it was instilling communal feelings in me, making me hate Muslims for no reason or for something that happened centuries back, I moved away from it. Since then I have seen some leader or other belonging to BJP trying to make use of this brand of politics to serve their political purpose. This type of brand spreads divisiveness and hatred among different sections of society. There is no doubt that this polarization helps to consolidate votes based on religion or caste, and win elections but I feel this is really bad for society as it sowed seeds of divisiveness among different sections of society. It encourages hatred and demolishes trust between communities. It destroys the social fabric of a country by creating a rift between different sections of society, especially, the majority and minority. This is the main reason why I stay away from their brand of politics. This is a very simple story of my attachment and detachment from the BJP. I don't oppose BJP blindly but I oppose their brand of politics. I oppose each and every attempt by any party or politician to create a communal rift in society. It seems that the BJP is trying to improve, they and their supporters claim that it is a secular party and believe in taking all sections of society together but so far it doesn't reflect in their actions. The day they really start practicing all-inclusive politics, I am sure many more people from different communities and religions will join them to take India forward. Until then, they may win elections and stay in power, but their brand of politics will only polarize India. 

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. In the Name of God - Ram ke Naam (1992 Documentary on Babri Masjid Demolition)
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQaV2cWL1D4

Who owns Jawaharlal Nehru?

The ugly spat between Congress and BJP, the two largest national parties of India over the legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru during the celebration of his 125th birth anniversary has generated a lot of political drama. The issue was really a trivia. The Congress party organized an international symposium to celebrate the 125th birth anniversary of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. They invited leaders from various political parties (like Mamta Banerjee from Trinamool) to take part in the symposium but not the current prime minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi. This has created a political storm and wrestling match between the BJP and Congress over who owns the legacy of Nehru. Who can appropriate Nehru and who can't. This controversy is totally unnecessary and displays the primitive and shallow nature of politics which both national parties are trying to play just to score some brownie points. One can agree or disagree with Nehru's policies, one can analyze or criticize his tenure as first prime minister of India, but one can not deny his contribution to India's freedom struggle and his role in establishing a democratic system in India. One also can not ignore his role in recognizing the importance of science and scientific aptitude for a young country like India. He took an active interest and all the necessary steps to establish some of the major scientific institutes which we cherish even today. No leader is perfect, they all have their own strengths and weaknesses, and that is why we debate and discuss them, and Nohru or Gandhi were no different. But it is really unfortunate to see such a pathetic tug-of-war between two major political parties over the legacy of a national icon.

The question people are asking is, who owns Nehru? Is he Congress party's personal property as he belonged and represented Congress for his entire political career? Is he the personal property of the Nehru-Gandhi family which is still a major player in Indian politics? Do India and its people own him as he was their first prime minister? According to me, no single political party or family owns the legacy of a leader like Nehru. Of course, the family in which such individuals are born and parties or people with whom they were directly or indirectly associated might feel more strongly for them, but any public figure is open to praise or criticism by anyone. Saying that only Congress can appropriate Nehru and no one else should dare to honor him or celebrate his birth anniversary is a sign of extreme narrow-mindedness. National icons belong to the entire country irrespective of any party or group. It is not easy to become a national icon, winning an election is fine, becoming prime minister or chief minister is also okay but not every PM or CM becomes a national icon and Jawaharlal Nehru has the status of an international icon. He belongs to everyone. Any praise and criticism about his policies or actions should not be considered a direct attack on his legacy or personality. People who don't believe in Nehru's ideology or his policies are free to disagree with him or criticize him. Of course, people will feel odd if the group or party that continuously insults and discredits Nehru or Gandhi suddenly tries to claim their legacy. At the same time, one also should understand that people may change their opinion and if now suddenly they feel that Gandhi or Nehru's policies or ideas were right, and they should respect them, then this opportunity should be given to them. Only time will tell us what the real purpose behind the sudden change of hearts of these groups is. One should not doubt anyone's intentions without any evidence, a chance must be given to prove that their feelings and intentions are honest.

I feel this drama was totally avoidable and unnecessary. Unfortunately, political parties are making personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, or Sardar Patel tools of political tug-of-war between them (especially Congress and BJP). Both parties are actually insulting these people by engaging in such public spats. The whole of India is proud of these people and everyone who is influenced by their work should celebrate their legacy, at the same time, any constructive criticism should also be welcomed. No particular party should claim ownership of these national icons. I hope this controversy settles down soon and we get to celebrate the real legacy of these people. Let's hope that people remember them for the work they have done for India not just because of the party they represented.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Dr. Vedik's case - display of double standards by BJP

A recent meeting between Dr. Ved Pratap Vedik (known to be close to Baba Ramdev, BJP, and RSS) and 26/11 terrorist attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed created a lot of controversy and uproar in Indian media and political circles. This event was heavily politicized just because of the involvement of these organizations. As a reporter Dr. Vedik has the right to meet anyone and conduct an interview, this view was expressed by almost everyone involved in this discussion. But he should tell for which newspaper or magazine or channel he conducted this interview? Where did he publish it so that people can know the contents of that interview? Is he an active journalist, if yes, associated with which journal? He was part of some delegation when he visited Pakistan, I assume that this delegation must have got the Indian government's permission to visit Pakistan as Pakistan is not like any other country where any Indian can go and visit without going through a rigorous review process. Did he inform anyone from the delegation about his plans to conduct this interview? It will be also interesting to know who sponsored his trip to the residence of Hafiz? This guy Hafiz Saeed is an internationally wanted terrorist, and he is accused of carrying out some major terrorist attacks on India which killed hundreds of people. If Dr. Vedik was aware of all these facts then he also must have been aware of the repercussions of this meeting in India, so what was his purpose behind interviewing this terrorist? Why did he publish a photo of his meeting before publishing the interview? He needs to give satisfactory answers to all these questions.

Another interesting thing was the response of the Indian government headed by the BJP. For some reason, they responded by defending Dr. Vedik's actions indirectly. This is the same party that reacted very aggressively when Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik shared the stage with the same terrorist in 2013. They demanded strong action against him (like revoking his passport and arresting him), but they didn't say the same things about Dr. Vedik. Dr. Vedik also gave one interview to some Pakistani media in which he talked about the possibility of granting independence to Kashmir. I have no problems with his personal views about Kashmir or any other issue and he has the right to express his thoughts, he should be able to share his views without worrying about any intimidation from the government or anyone else. But it seems the BJP and its supporters don't believe in the existence of freedom of expression when it doesn't suit them, and I am saying this based on their reactions to such statements in the past. Many times in the past they tried to vandalize homes and public buildings or even attack people who made controversial statements related to Kashmir or said anything that didn't align with their stand on any sensitive issue. Their silence in this case was a pleasant surprise. It is not that I would have liked their violent reactions but I am surprised to see that they base their reaction on who is making the statement but not the content of the statement. So, it seems to them the person who is making the statement is more important not the content of the statement. If the person is from their party or a supporter of their party or someone close to their associates (which Dr. Vedik is) then it is fine if they say anything but the same courtesy is not offered to other individuals (the example of Mr. Prashant Bhushan must be very fresh in people's memory). 

This is a blatant display of double standards by the BJP. If they believe in freedom of expression, it is really great news and I congratulate them for this. But they should show it in their behavior towards everyone irrespective of their party affiliations or political ideologies not only for selected individuals otherwise it is called double standards or hypocrisy. Surprisingly they are doing this when they have no pressure of coalition politics (this excuse was used by Congress on many occasions). The BJP has an absolute majority on its own in the parliament. It is easy to be harsh and critical about people from the opposition party or other people not related to you but when a person from your own group does something serious and you keep mum or try to justify their actions then it is hypocrisy. So far, the BJP's attitude is the same as Congress which used to justify each and every action of their leaders in the past. I hope the BJP realizes its mistake as they have a long way to go, these are just the initial days of their new government so I hope that they will take necessary corrective measures not to repeat these types of mistakes. If not, then we all know what happened to Congress same thing will happen to them sooner or later.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Mr. Modi your time starts now

BJP under the leadership of Mr. Narendra Modi has registered an impressive performance in the 2014 general elections of India. They not only emerged as the single largest party by outperforming their arch-rival Congress in almost every state, but also they secured a majority on their own which never happened in so many elections in India. No doubt this is a stunning performance and an incredible victory by any standards. There was a huge vacuum created by a very weak performance by the Congress-led UPA-2 government, BJP projected itself as a very viable alternative to solve all the problems India is facing in every sector and the results show that people believed in them. By % vote share BJP got ~30% votes all across India, which means there are still ~70% of voters who chose some other party than BJP. So there are many voters (~50%) who didn't accept either BJP or Congress (second largest single party in this parliament with ~ 19% vote share) as their choice, however, the truth is that BJP has won the majority in parliament on their own and they have a mandate in their hands to implement their manifesto.  Numbers are in BJP's favor so it will be interesting to see how they perform. After a long time, for the first time since Rajiv Gandhi won a majority for Congress in 1984, a single party secured a majority on its own in the Indian parliament. This is a unique opportunity for them, let's see how they make use of this.

During the election campaign, the BJP and its leaders made many tall promises along with equally tall claims (the so-called Gujarat model of development). They promised a uniform civil code, squashing of Article 370, and construction of a Temple in Ayodhya for so many years, and in their every election manifesto (including this one) these things were mentioned. It will be interesting to see what they do with these promises. They also promised to bring back black money from foreign banks to India and use it for people's welfare. The numbers floating in media about the amount of black money stashed in offshore accounts are ridiculously high, the range is enormous, now it will be the responsibility of the newly elected government to keep its promise and bring back that money or at least they should clarify how much truth is there in all these news articles about black money. Issues like price hikes (in every sector), the struggling economy, sluggish job market, rampant corruption in all sectors of public life, and opaque and non-accountable governance have been there for so many years, they have made so many promises to tackle these issues and I think people now expect them to deliver the results. One famous line of Prime Minister-elect Mr. Narendra Modi during the election campaign was, "You gave Congress 60 years, give BJP just 60 months." People liked his idea of seeing their fortunes change dramatically in 60 months, and they gladly gave him and his party the next 60 months to govern India, Mr. Modi promised to change India's future (hopefully in a good way) and bring development (hopefully for everyone not only for a certain section of society). Now all these people who gave them a chance with a lot of hope wait for their expectations to get fulfilled. People should be patient and wait at least for few years before forming any positive or negative opinion about this new government. There are many things that they can do immediately in many sectors which can boost people's confidence, it will be interesting to see if they are willing to take those steps. People are expecting a change in the governance not just a change in the government's face and I hope that happens.

There is one more thing that I noticed after this election, some people or groups of people are acting this if something catastrophic political disaster happened in India and its democracy is in acute danger. They think that the BJP's victory is like doomsday for the Indian parliamentary system. Maybe they have a very good rationale behind all these fears but honestly, I am a little surprised by their extreme pessimism and negative attitude towards this democratically elected government. After all, they won this election by a huge majority. One can differ with their ideology, and raise questions about the way they fought the election, the amount of money they spent during elections, and various other related issues but to question the legitimacy of their victory too much. They are trying to paint a very negative picture of India under BJP (or NDA) rule. Rather than doing all this if they are really worried about something really bad happening, they should go back to work, they should work hard to strengthen their respective organizations and spread public awareness so that even if the current government wants to do anything wrong they won't dare to do it. Crying foul and offering lame excuses for their own bad performance is not going to help them in any way. There is no doubt that India needs major electoral reforms and political parties, and their funding should come under RTI but these things are not going to happen overnight, we need to put on a long and persistent fight to make it happen. Let's see how this government performs to tackle these problems, let's see what steps they take, and how they govern. People should judge the performance of this government based on results, not based on perceptions or hypothetical scenarios. We should continue asking questions and raising important issues, let it be about 2002 (or any other) riots or fake encounters, inflation, pollution, corruption, or anything else. No government or prime minister should be immune to questioning. But it is too early to paint a doomsday picture, first, give this government a chance and see how it performs. I agree that many BJP supporters have become extremely aggressive about their attack on people criticizing their leader or party (this was clear during the election campaign). All such hyperactive supporters from all parties first need to learn how to control their emotions, if not, then at least learn how to talk in civilized language. Mr. Modi and his team don't have much time before people start asking them about the results that they promised and start evaluating their performance. Their time starts now, and it is better for our country if they utilize this unique opportunity very wisely.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

We have now new group of employees to work for us in the government

The results of the 2014 general elections in India are out. People have given a clear-cut mandate in favor of the BJP, this is the first time in many years that a single party has got a clear majority in parliament. This is a very good sign, one can agree or disagree with BJP's core policies or can question their communal history, those things are open for debate, but now they have a clear mandate to fulfill whatever they promised in their manifesto. The people of India have decided to give them a chance to implement their manifesto. Recently AAP has shown in Delhi that if there is political will and a strong desire to implement the manifesto it can be done, even though it was for a really short time but they displayed a proof of concept. Now this government has no excuse to offer for lack of performance. If they even try to blame the previous government it will be considered as an attempt to offer lame excuses to cover their inability to perform.  

Now we have a new set of employees in the office, let's see how they perform for us. All elected members of any public house or public service are employees of all citizens of India. Their salaries, perks, and benefits are paid from the taxpayer's money. So in every election, we elect employees to work for us for some specific tenure, they are supposed to fulfill all the promises that they made to us during their selection process (elections). For many decades these employees behaved as if they were owners of the office (our country) and we all citizens were their workers, and we voters (who are real owners of this enterprise) allowed them to do this. We allowed them to get away with this arrogance. These people cheated us again and again, misused our trust and made false promises on many occasions, offered lame excuses whenever we asked for any explanations, this whole drama was going on for many decades. All political parties (including the current one which is coming back in power after 10 years of gap) are guilty of this crime. But I think now hopefully people are tired of this game, people showed some of that attitude in asking questions to the AAP's government in Delhi, and I hope they will show a similar attitude towards each and every state and national government in India. We had enough of the blame game, BJP blaming Congress and Congress blaming BLP and in reality, none of them doing anything to fulfill their promises. This needs to stop, we need accountable and transparent government in every state and at the center. BJP with its clear mandate and majority of its own now has that chance, they also claim to have a leader with a proven track record and the ability to make tough decisions, so they should not have any difficulty in doing all the good work for all sections of society. These all claims and promises they made will be now put to the test. It is easy to talk, and easy to make tall claims and populist promises, but it's not easy to fulfill them all, their time and real test starts from the day their party assumes power.

They promised to bring back black money in a specified time (like AAP promised Lokpal), they promised to punish criminal politicians, they promised to bring a uniform civil code, squash Article 370, etc. One can read BJP's manifesto or hear speeches of BJP's prominent leaders to know what they promised. Some promises (like Article 370 and uniform civil code) they have been making for decades and offered an excuse of lack of clear majority for not fulfilling them, now they don't have that excuse. They now have to deliver these things, they can not hide behind the shield of coalition politics or coalition dharma, because now they have an absolute majority. AAP delivered in Delhi without having any majority and with very hostile opposition in the assembly. This government doesn't even have any strong opposition in parliament, and this can be a very dangerous situation for any democracy. A strong opposition is a very important part of any democracy but this can be a big plus for this government if they really want to do something good for this country. That is why I said in one way this is good that they have an absolute majority, there will be no place to hide for them even if they fail on any single major promise.

I am looking forward to their work, and I will evaluate their performance after some time. One should give them some time and then ask our questions. So, don't stop questioning them, don't forget any past issues, debate and discuss them as strongly as we did in the past. All parties who did not perform well in this election should not lose all hope, and their supporters should not get disheartened just because their party has lost the election or didn't win any seat, win or loss is part of any election, get back to the basics, work hard to strengthen your organization and keep your eyes and ears open to listen to people's problem and issues. Building a better and stronger India for everyone is important who is doing it is not that important, so let's work to build a strong, free, and vibrant country for everyone. Let's build India which we all dream of, a country which is not only great in slogans but in reality also. 

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

How Mr. Modi is going to stop rise of another Modi?

The general elections of 2014 are going on in full swing, their results will be declared very soon (May 2014). Based on several opinion polls BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is expected to emerge as the single largest party in this election. All credit for this performance is supposed to be given to the spectacular leadership of Mr. Narendra Modi, who also happens to be its prime ministerial candidate. Mr. Modi's name came into national news for the first time because of the infamous 2002 Godhra riots. These riots happened in Gujarat during his first year as chief minister and he faced a lot of criticism for the way he and his administration handled that incident which resulted in the killing of more than 1000 people in his state. He won three consecutive assembly elections in Gujarat since then, but his role in those riots is still debated and some survivors are still pursuing cases against him. These riots gave him a certain image that he hardly tried to change, he never even apologized to riot victims. He emerged as a conservative, right-wing politician, and a self-proclaimed Hindu nationalist leader. A very aggressive and well-planned media campaign, support of the organizational network of BJP, and lots and lots of money helped him to build this image. Now please don't ask about the source of all this money that these big national and regional parties use in India as political parties don't need to declare the source of all their donations. These organized efforts and extensive propaganda have a created certain image of him in people's minds. This campaign tried to maintain his image as a conservative Hindu leader but added another dimension of developmental messiah based on some recent economic developments in Gujarat. Based on the very much debated Gujarat model he is projected as a leader who can solve all the problems that India is currently facing. The dismal performance of the UPA-2 government headed by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the anti-incumbency factor along with the number of scams and corruption charges on some ministers helped Mr. Modi to become the front-runner for the next PM's post. 

No one can deny the role the 2002 Godhra riots played in helping Mr. Modi to emerge on the national scene of Indian politics, at least I heard about him for the first time after those riots. I also heard a lot of praise for him from many people for the way he handled those riots, most of the praise was from Hindu conservatives. They were happy that he gave time to Hindus to vent their anger about the killing of Godhra train burning incident victims by delaying any strict action against rioters. We all know that this cannot be proven in any court, but this was my personal experience while interacting with these people and I am writing it based on that, not based on something that I read. These riots helped him a lot to win the 2002 Gujarat assembly elections. Now the question that comes to my mind is how Mr. Modi is going to stop the emergence of another Modi, who might want to use a similar strategy to achieve political gains? And I am not talking here about something that never happened in Indian politics, there are some examples from the recent past where people from the same party (or same family) tried to use a similar formula used by their seniors to achieve their own political goals. Maybe these people thought why design any new strategy when they have something that has already been tested and proven to work. This happened with the firebrand leader of Maharashtra Mr. Bal Thackeray, he couldn't stop his nephew from becoming another firebrand leader and launching his own political party using a similar strategy that Balasaheb used to launch his own political career. Mr. Modi also used tactics similar to what his political guru and mentor Mr. L.K. Advani used in the past. Mr. Advani was a leading political figure in the Ram Mandir movement. That movement polarized India at that time and created a lot of disturbance and violence but it also helped BJP to gain power in center for the first time in 1996. The Ram Mandir movement polarized the country and so did the Godhra riots, both incidents helped a political leader to become a national figure. Recently even a young leader like Mr. Akhilesh Yadav (CM of UP) is also using similar political tricks that his father used to stay in power.

When aspiring leaders see that a particular formula worked very well for someone to achieve their political ambitions in a short time then at least some of them cannot avoid the temptation to reuse that same formula for their own political benefit and that's where lies the biggest danger. This creates a real possibility of the emergence of many such leaders who are ready to travel the same path to reach the same goals. Maybe Mr. Modi is a good administrator, maybe leaders like him or Mr. Thackeray are really good in decision making, maybe they know how to control their cadre but the question is, do we want to encourage others to use similar methods to become another Thackeray or Modi? If not, then how are we going to stop this from happening? Just hoping that nothing like this will happen in the future is not going to help. Why don't we question these leaders and make them come clean before they occupy any public office? Minority or majority appeasement both are wrong, there should not be any appeasement politics at all. We need to object whenever it happens no matter which party is playing such politics.

No one likes to remember these unfortunate incidents and argue about them again and again. This is not a very pleasant experience at least for me and memories of these incidents are also very painful for the victims, survivors, and their relatives. But if perpetrators of these types of crimes are not punished and worst if there is no hope that they will ever get punished then how come someone can forget these incidents? Because of this passive attitude of many people, these types of crimes repeatedly happen and every time people who complain or protest are targeted. They are advised to forget and move on or they are reminded that this is not the first time it happened so it's not a big deal that it happened again. Have we become so insensitive? Have we totally lost faith in humanity? Do we value human life only based on religion, race, caste, and political affiliation? Has politics become more important than human life to us? What is the reason that these types of incidents keep on happening and no big politician accused in these riots has ever been convicted? Do all these victims lie or there is a serious flaw in our investigating agencies and law system that allows the culprits to escape easily?

No one can undermine the need for economic prosperity for any nation, it is required for any country to remain competitive but it should not come at the cost of injustice to riot victims. Economic progress without humanity is no progress at all. This post is not about Mr. Modi, Mr. Thackeray, or Mr Yadav, I am using them just as examples because they are from the recent past. This is about our passive mindset which makes us keep quiet and ignore such crimes. We behave as if the death of 100s of people is not a big deal at all, it's politics and development that only matter. Maybe it is not a big deal for some people but for me, it's a big deal, and the fight for justice needs to continue until justice is done to Kashmiri Pandits, 1984 victims, 2002 victims, or any other riot victims. This is not about some individual or party or some election but about people who suffer in these incidents. If we can't protect them then at least we can fight for their justice and apologize to them so that their pain becomes bearable. No one can understand their pain but at least we can try to reduce it to as much as possible. Let the best candidate or party win this election but let's not try to trivialize serious incidents like riots which affect the lives of many people. Please remember what George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:

1. The remaking of Narendra Modi- Shiv Visvanathan
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Gujarat_violence

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_anti-Sikh_riots

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Muzaffarnagar_riots
5. BJP declares war on India

Why the heck Modi needs US visa?

Recent news about 65 MPs (members of parliament) who wrote a letter to US President Mr. Barack Obama requesting him not to grant a US visa to Gujarat chief minister (CM) Mr. Narendra Modi caught my attention. I was interested in the logic behind these people's requests and why they think is US visa is so important for Modi or for any person of his stature. The copy of the letter which is circulating in media with signatures on it looks very genuine. So, if we believe the contents of this letter then their major emphasis is on the 2002 Godhra riots, and because the MPs believe that Modi was responsible for those riots the US government should not allow him to enter their own country. 

The letter paints a picture of Gujarat as a most horrible place in India where minorities are butchered and raped daily. These people don't even realize that they are talking about one of the state in their own country. They consider Modi an anti-social and dangerous person, based on his human rights record they want the US to prevent his entry, but they are fine with his presence in their own country (that too as CM). If they believe and have solid proof about Modi's crimes then why is he free even in India? If his crimes are so serious and there is enough evidence about it, then he should be in jail. Why a person who these 65 lawmakers think is so dangerous and antisocial is roaming free in their own country? If they want the US to ban his entry, then why don't they criminally prosecute him in India? Do they think that in India criminals can stay, they can even rule, it's all fine, but they should not enter the US? Many questions like these should be asked to these 65 people and they should provide satisfactory answers to them or resign from their posts.

Having political or ideological differences is one thing, those differences can be debated, and discussed in civilized manure but to plead for another country to act on your behalf is a pathetic display of immaturity. I didn't expect this from these people. Another question is, why the hell does Modi need a US visa? He is the chief minister of one of the states of India, he is a democratically elected leader and holding that office for more than a decade. He can talk with anyone anywhere in the world without physically visiting that place, recent developments in communication technology have given every one of us that power and capability. So even if he wants to talk with the Indian community in the US he doesn't need to visit the US physically, he can do it right from his office in Gujarat. So, why the hell he need that visa? If US companies want to invest in Gujarat they will automatically invite him and arrange a visa for him. I am sure then there will be no question about human rights violations and other things when business and money are involved.

No government in this world has an absolutely clean record of human rights. Every country is involved somewhere directly or indirectly where human rights violations, either in their own country or on foreign soil. No one can claim high moral ground at least on this aspect alone. These people should fight against Modi politically based on valid and rational points, challenge him, and question him but please don't play a dirty game like this. I have only one request to all these people, please stop this circus and talk about more serious issues. I am sure India has many of them, whether Modi or anyone else gets any visa or not is not a big deal. We have much bigger issues to address and I expect these intelligent MPs to think about that rather than thinking about how they get some cheap media publicity.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
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Lal Krishna Advani, always number two

The resignation of the senior leader of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) Mr. Lal Krishna Advani (LKA) and its subsequent rejection and withdrawal was in the news for the last few days. It seems Mr. Advani is not happy with the direction his party is going and the way decisions are taken nowadays (without consulting him). LKA never hid his aspiration for the PM (prime minister of India) position. He always wanted to become PM but somehow destiny denied him that chance. He worked really hard to make BJP a strong political force (from just 2 seats in Loksabha in 1984 to 161 seats in 1996, and then subsequently to power in 1999). He was a central figure in the Ram Mandir movement which actually helped the BJP to attain the status of a major opposition party. He created a vote bank for them and also helped them to win the 1999 general election. But despite all his efforts and aggressive politics LKA always remained number two in BJP with Atal Bihari Vajpayee being a more acceptable face to other coalition partners of NDA (national democratic alliance).

Mr. Narendra Modi is an emerging and very popular face in national politics. He already proved his power of governance and decision-making as Gujarat's chief minister and is now aspiring for a bigger role in national politics (prime minister's post). Everyone related to Indian politics knows how much LKA wanted to become PM. He lost his chance to ABV in 1999, because LKA was considered too radical or too extremist to be a leader of a coalition front that consisted of some so-called secular parties such as TDP and JD(U) (his pro-Hindu ideology and close association with the Ram mandir movement). One can say that today NM is what LKA was a few decades back. But with a proven track record of success he achieved as Gujarat CM, gives NM a better creditability and chance to secure the top position compared to LKA. However, like LKA even NM has the tag of too radical Hindu extremist leader (more because of the Godhra incident in 2002) and there is no doubt this label will be a roadblock in his journey to achieve a wider acceptance among other partners of NDA. So, I think LKA is not happy with the fact that what he couldn't achieve some years back someone else with a similar background and credentials can achieve so easily that too in his own party. Actually, all three ABV, LKA, and NM come with RSS backgrounds, they all believe in the same ideology but for their party workers, some are more acceptable compared to others.

I think by this time Mr. Advani must have realized that there was no point in fighting on the issue of Modi as the future leader of BJP. LKA did whatever he could to achieve success to his party, but he feels that he didn't get his due but that's how it is. In life sometimes you have to compromise. I think LKA realized this and that's why withdrew his resignation. BJP is definitely stronger with LKA with them than without him. Whether Modi can win this election or not is another big issue to discuss but right now there is a lot of buzz in the media about his name and he is very popular. It will be interesting to see how other partners of NDA react to the selection of his name. It's good that LKA realized that there was no point in stretching this drama any longer, better to be late than never. I think he made the right decision, let's see what happens next.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)