Across the Aisle: Defend The Land, Win Over The People
Continuing from his column last week, P Chidambaram attempts at tackling the problem of ‘definitions’ that is the crux of the Kashmir issue. While several parliamentarians agreed last week that the Valley is more than just ‘land’ to its people, Chidambaram stresses that they must not look back at the last 40 years to find solutions. He suggests an alternative list of eight points to restore peace in the Valley by recreating the conditions of having a special status under which J&K acceded to India while taking steps to demilitarize, negotiate and rework legislature.
The overwhelming opinion in the Kashmir valley is that Article 370 was honoured in the breach and that the autonomy promised to J&K has been chipped away from time to time. The cry of azaadi is a response to this perception. Militancy is another. We unequivocally reject militancy and vow to put it down with the power of the State. But is that a reason to equate the cry of azaadi with militancy? Is that a reason to label every young man or woman who raises the slogan as an anti-national? Is that a reason to regard every speech as seditious?
(Source: The Indian Express)
Even the Most Stringent Law Must Have a Gate Pass
Karan Thapar, in his column, hits upon an epiphany while watching the news (thanks to Pertie) about happenings in Arunachal Pradesh. The problem lies in the way we dealt with the government losing majority in the state, even Uttarakhand for that matter. Thapar says the law is more than just its letter; why does the Center insist on not delving into the emotion and the intent of the law? Had that been our mindset, a vote of no confidence would have seen the Rawat and the Tuki governments well on their way out, in time. Thapar does not restrict himself to the Modi government, to be fair, and makes it clear that this has been the pattern of decision-making since the time of Indira Gandhi, especially with regards to Article 356.
We understand the power element of law but not its moral dimension. We address the question ‘has the time come to use a law’ but never reflect on the more important issue ‘is it right to use it’? Just because a law exists and only because the circumstances permit its use doesn’t mean it’s best to invoke it. It also has to be the right thing to do. That’s where the spirit as opposed to the letter becomes important. Unfortunately, that’s where we fall short and fail.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
West loves Its Iron Ladies, but Frowns at Iron Men Elsewhere
Why is it that the public mood in London has undergone a sudden shift with the coronation of Theresa May as Prime Minister, and yet Putin is looked at with suspicion and derision even though he clearly pulled Russia out of the post-Soviet trauma seamlessly? Swapan Dasgupta, in his column, mulls over the history of the West celebrating politically audacious female leaders at home, and yet when the question of a strong willed male leader outside of the West arises, he is seen as heading an “illiberal democracy”. Dasgupta proves his hypothesis by placing the discussion in the context of the recent attempted coup in Turkey. Even though Erdogan was successful in restoring the popular, democratic government, the strong objections raised by the European Union on the quantum of retribution to be meted out to the planners of the coup proves that the military somewhere had the emotional support of the West.
On paper, the West expressed satisfaction that the military takeover had been thwarted and Turkey’s democracy — however imperfect — preserved. However, there was no mistaking the tinge of regret in many western capitals that Erdogan emerged from the crisis, not only unscathed, but even more powerful. This is not to suggest that the plot to overthrow Erdogan had the active blessings of the West. There is certainly no evidence as yet that last week’s coup was organised on the same lines as the exercises that overthrew, say, Mossadeq in Iran and Salvador Allende in Chile. However, it would be fair to say that the plotters genuinely believed that their adventurism would secure the backing of some powerful foreign powers in the event of it succeeding.
(Source: The Times of India)
Out of My Mind: Self-Goal Heroes
Meghnad Desai, in his column, picks at the real problem the BJP is facing as seen by a recent spat of “self-goals” against the Congress: Misreading the situation in Arunachal Pradesh, Navjot Singh Sidhu quitting the party, the Gujarat government maintaining eerie silence on the recent developments in Una and Dayashankar Singh, a BJP Vice-President in UP shooting his mouth off against Mayawati. While Amit Shah can win elections, and the RSS can provide foot soldiers, Desai comments that at the center there is only Modi and a handful of leaders who can truly understand and predict political trends, and that may not be enough to keep the winning streak going.
The BJP is obviously climbing a steep learning curve. It seemed so easy for successive Congress prime ministers to invoke Article 356. But that was then. This is now. The government ought to learn from Uttarakhand and Arunachal that people in charge of state politics need intelligence, not just enthusiasm. Deviousness is one thing. People may not approve but will understand if you win. But they laugh at incompetence. The BJP should foreswear the use of Article 356 until it has better quality people who understand federal politics.
(Source: The Indian Express)
Swaminomics: Do Not Misuse Lokpal Act to Harass NGOs
In his column, Swaminathan Aiyar, draws our attention to a vile, diversionary tactic our government is using to shield its corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, unprecedented anywhere else in the world. Despite all parties enthusiastically agreeing to the formation of an independent Lokpal to check corruption as demanded by NGOs led by Anna Hazare in 2013, the truth is even three years later, no Lokpal has been formed. To make matters worse, all public servants are required to file annual returns on assets owned by them, their spouses and their dependent children. There’s one catch: In June, the government quietly released a notice declaring any official related to an NGO which receives a grant of over one crore rupees from the government or Rs 10 lakh from a foreign organisation as a public servant.
Ideally, the lokpal bill should have confined its targets to ministers and top bureaucrats, exposing big corruption. By casting its net so wide as to cover all public servants, the Act has distracted attention from big corruption, and created ways for the government to appear to be tackling corruption while shielding the big guns. Now, by including thousands of NGOs in the definition of public servants, the government has made a mockery of the original aims of the Anna Hazare crusade.
(Source: The Times of India)
Fifth Column: Of Cows and Caste
Tavleen Singh, in her column, calls it as it is: “The BJP today is facing a serious Dalit problem”. She runs through all the recent atrocities against Dalits by murderous cow vigilantes that have been met with the stony silence of Modi, despite social media, public and media furor. Singh compares the final blow to Dayashankar Singh comparing Mayawati to a prostitute, ironically so considering it was UP’s 71 seats that lead to Modi winning his majority for the first time in 30 years.
The Prime Minister should have spoken after Mohammad Akhlaq became the first victim but chose not to. So the violence continued. Now Dalit communities who depend on the leather business to earn their livelihood have become new targets. The irony is that although Hindus do not kill cows or eat beef, it is mostly Hindus who are involved in the leather business and the cattle trade. But cow vigilantes appear not to know this. Last year the Pushkar fair reported a drop of 94 per cent in cattle sales. It is insane to believe that only Muslims were affected. From Kolhapur which makes the most famous of India’s slippers there have been complaints of leather shortages, but for reasons unknown, senior BJP leaders remained oblivious to the depredations of murderous vigilantes.
(Source: The Indian Express)
Twenty Five Years Ago This Day
Jairam Ramesh, Congressman, MP and author of To the Brink and Back: India’s 1991 Story takes the reader down memory lane and revisits the days leading up to July 24, when then Finance Minister (FM) Manmohan Singh, in “jugalbandi” with the Prime Minister, Narasimha Rao managed to convince an entire government to approve of the most drastic economic reforms through sheer determination and utilisation of skill sets between the two. Ramesh’s piece is sprinkled with intriguing anecdotes, like the time the FM personally made an unscheduled appearance at the usual post-budget press conference to defend his proposal for hours on end, worried that uninterested officials may send the wrong idea out.
The new industrial policy almost did not happen. It was rejected by the Cabinet when it was first taken up on July 19. Many ministers objected to the sweeping changes being proposed, saying that it was a wholesale and unwarranted condemnation of over four decades of planned development. Some were not convinced that a strong case had been made out for these far-reaching changes. It is only after consultations in a Group of Ministers, and some political repackaging and repositioning, that the Cabinet had approved the proposals on July 23. Thereafter, they were given the go-ahead in a special meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in which Dr. Singh quoted chapter and verse from the Congress’s 1991 Lok Sabha election manifesto to demonstrate that he and Rao were only implementing what might be considered Rajiv Gandhi’s last will and testament. As Dr. Singh was coming out of the CWC meeting, his senior Cabinet colleague Arjun Singh told him: “Doctor Saab, you have read the manifesto more thoroughly than all Congressmen”.
(Source: The Hindu)
Bridge the Partition
In his article, former Union Minister Manish Tiwari, sheds light on an aspect of Indo-Pak relations often taken for granted. Tiwari suggests that maybe it is more than just border control, maybe at a person-to-person level all is not okay between Indians and Pakistanis. While those alive during the partition had strong emotions of nostalgia and longing to humanise the other, the generations now only have putrid accounts of war, rape and violence that have been handed down to them. Added to that is another truth: most Indians have not met a Pakistani and the same applies the other way around. Tiwari suggests easing of travel restrictions, among other seemingly trivial but genuine suggestions to bridge the partition.
Why can’t we have joint concerts with both Indian and Pakistani artistes at Wagah and other border crossings at least twice a year, telecast live across both nations? Surely if we can have military ceremonies daily, we can have music on two days to demonstrate our shared syncretic cultural heritage. It’s strange that while you can read every Pakistani newspaper and see every TV channel on the Internet, they are proscribed in India. The converse is true in Pakistan too, though many Indian channels are available over a DTH platform. While rabid ones should not get downlinking permission, the question is how successful has the government been in controlling their illegal proliferation.
(Source: The Asian Age)
TS Eliot and the Tax Treatment of the Brain
To begin your Sunday on a lighter note, read Manas Chakravarty’s radical but long-due proposal: the government must include tax deduction for the wear and tear of the human brain that is used in the daily jobs we go to. For if machines are compensated for their continuous use, why not the limbs of footballers who make a living using those parts of their bodies? Chakravarty’s entertaining and legitimate musing ends with a radical analysis of T S Eliot’s famous poem, The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock: “In the room the women come and go, talking of the ITO.”
Consider the advantages if humans are treated like machines or companies. All expenditure on medicines, hospitalisation and doctors’ fees would be deducted from income as repairs, while that on food will be deducted as maintenance. For accelerated-brain-depreciation jobs such as writing newspaper columns, booze expenses are an essential part of maintenance.
(Source: The Hindustan Times)
From The Quint:
- Why Sheila Was Picked up and Priyanka Kept in Reserve
- In Gujarat, First They Came for Muslims, then Patidars, Now Dalits
- Pak Hardline Stand on Kashmir Reflects Sharif, Army on Same Page
- SC’s Message to BJP on Arunachal: Don’t Meddle With Constitution
- Post Nice, How to Outwit Terrorists and New Means of Attack
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