Category Archives: Politics

Jul
01
2010

Home they brought their Jaswant Singh

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Home they brought their Jaswant Singh

Home they brought their Jaswant Singh

A statement issued by the Gujarat government had said that Jaswant Singh’s book questions the role of Sardar Patel during the partition of India as well as his patriotic spirit and charged him for trying to defame Patel by distorting facts.

IT IS the story of Jaswant Singh. His book titled “Jinnah, India, Independence and Partition” was released on August 17, 2009 and banned in Gujarat with immediate effect a Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state. He was given a cold shoulder and finally shown the door in the initial storm of political hara-kiri.

Let us not discuss here about the very open arms that this party always held out to Salman Rushdie and Taslima Nasreen in the name of freedom of speech. A statement issued by the Gujarat government had said that Jaswant Singh’s book questions the role of Sardar Patel during the partition of India as well as his patriotic spirit and charged him for trying to defame Patel by distorting historical facts.

In his intuitive moments of sincerity and honesty the ex-army men and ex-foreign minister of India Jaswant Singh has emphatically blamed Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and the Congress rather than Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah for partition of India. Ihe paid his tributes to Jinnah in the following words “ the epic journey of Jinnah from being the ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity, the liberal constitutionalist and Indian nationalist to the Quaid-e-Azam of Pakistan”. Jaswant Singh set no inhibitions in declaring in an interview with Karan Thapar on television channel.

“I was attracted by his (Jinnah’s) personality, which has resulted in a book. If I was not drawn to his personality, I would not have written the book… He [not only] fought the British for an independent India but also fought resolutely and relentlessly for the interest of the Muslims of India”. When Thapar asked, “Was Jinnah was a great man ?“ He replied, “Oh yes, self made man who resolutely worked towards achieving what he had set for himself.”

And here are his more than million billion $ comments on the plight of the Indian Muslims today: “Look into the eyes of the Muslims that live in India and if you truly see through the pain in which they live in to [the] land which they belong; we treat them as aliens”.

Pearls of wisdom from the honest man“…He (Jinnah) created something out of nothing and single-handedly stood against the might of the Congress and the British who didn’t really like him…Gandhi himself called Jinnah a great Indian. Why don’t we recognise that? Why don’t we see (and try to understand) why he called him that?…I admire certain aspects of his personality; his determination and the will to rise. He was a self-made man.

Mahatma Gandhi was the son of a Diwan. All these (people) – Nehru and others – were born to wealth and position. Jinnah created for himself a position. He carved in Bombay a position for himself. He was so poor that he had to walk to work…He told one of his biographers that there was always room at the top but no lift…and he never sought a lift”.

According to Jaswant Singh : Indian leaders had not only misunderstood Jinnah but made a demon out of him. According to him the demonisation of Jinnah was a direct result of the trauma of partition.

So Mr. Bhagwat and Mr. Gadkari, let us know if Jaswant Singh has disown any of his statements ? If your answer is Yes, please show us.

If your answer is a singular No, God bless you in whatever form you worship.

You are making compromise after compromise. You accepted Advani Ji’s double speak in many on many of faux pas and blunders. The saving grace in Advani Ji’s case is that he did put many Alzheimer kind of excuses in his comments on Kandhar and made a 180 degree turn on Jinnah when caught in the wrong box.

Jaswant Singh is made up of a different mettle. Jaswant Singh has come a long way from the deserts of Rajasthan.

He had also been rough two wars whilst in service (1962 and 1965) before joining politics. He has served seven terms in Parliament, and, in the BJP-led governments of 1996 and 1998-2004, held charge of six ministries of the Government of India, including External Affairs, Defence and Finance. He is as an authority on Indian foreign policy and national Due credit should be accorded to him for dexterously steering India out of the turbulent diplomatic times in the aftermath of the nuclear tests.

Today he is returning on his own terms – only to show you that your party is devoid of any ideology. You need power at the expense of every principle you trumpeted since the birth and rebirth of you communal out-fit.

I welcome the honorable comeback of Jaswant Singh. It augurs well for Indian Democracy. Good-bye the divisive philosophy of Golwalker, Hedgware and Shyama !

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Apr
18
2010

A cruel joke near Batla House

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The Amnesty International report highlights how trials of political or security detainees in Saudi Arabia take place in extreme secrecy and fail to meet international standards of fairness.

Nothing could be a more flagrant travesty of truth, mockery of norms of the civil society and an insult to the dignity of human beings than the following news : “JAMIA MILLIA Islamia has conferred the Doctor of Letters ‘Honoris Causa’ degree on Prince Salman, Saudi Arabia for his contributions to humanitarian causes.”

Whoever is behind this joke of the millennium should know that this felicitation was a slap on the Democratic Values of Secular World Society. I am referring some reports of Amnesty International to open the eyes of JAMEYEES if these are not available in their libraries:

The Saudi Arabian authorities have launched a sustained assault on human rights under the façade of countering terrorism, Amnesty International said in a new report in July 2009.

Thousands of people have been arrested and detained in virtual secrecy, while others have been killed in uncertain circumstances. Hundreds more people face secret and summary trials and possible execution. Many are reported to have been tortured in order to extract confessions or as punishment after conviction.

As recently as 8 July 2009, the Ministry of Justice announced that 330 people had been tried for terrorism offences with sentences ranging from fines to the death penalty. However, neither the names of those tried nor the details of the charges against them were disclosed, maintaining the extreme secrecy of the trial process.

Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Program had made the following comments: “These unjust anti-terrorism measures have made an already dire human rights situation worse. The Saudi Arabian government has used its powerful international clout to get away with it. And the international community has failed to hold the government to account for these gross violations.”

Of the thousands detained by the authorities, some are prisoners of conscience, targeted for their peaceful criticism of government policies. The majority are suspected supporters of Islamist groups or factions opposed to the Saudi Arabian government’s close links to the USA and other Western countries. Such groups have carried out a number of attacks targeting Westerners and others, and are officially dubbed as “misguided”. The detained also include people forcibly returned from Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen and other countries.

“The abuses take place behind a wall of secrecy. Detainees are held with no idea of what is going to happen to them,” said Malcolm Smart.

“Most are held incommunicado for years without trial, and are denied access to lawyers and the courts to challenge the legality of their detention. This has a devastating effect on both the individuals who are detained and on their families.”

The anti-terrorism measures adopted by the government since the attacks in the USA on 11 September 2001 have exacerbated long-standing human rights abuses in the country.

Arbitrary arrests and prolonged detention of political and security suspects without trial and without access to lawyers have been long-standing human rights problems in Saudi Arabia. However, the number of people being detained arbitrarily has risen from hundreds to thousands since 2001. Those arrested include Saudi Arabians and foreign nationals.

In July 2007, the Interior Minister reported that 9,000 security suspects had been detained between 2003 and 2007 and that 3,106 of them are still being held. Others have been moved to an official “re-education” program, though it is unclear how they are selected and under what conditions they can obtain release.

Reported methods of torture and other ill-treatment include severe beatings with sticks, punching, and suspension from the ceiling, use of electric shocks and sleep deprivation. Flogging is also imposed as a legal punishment by itself or in addition to imprisonment, and sentences can include thousands of lashes.

The Amnesty International report highlights how trials of political or security detainees in Saudi Arabia take place in extreme secrecy and fail to meet international standards of fairness. In March this year, the government announced that the trials of 991 detainees accused of capital offences had begun in a special criminal court.

I don’t know how the peace-loving students who value the dignity of human life really felt about this felicitation.

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Apr
18
2010

IPL nautanki must be checked, accounted for

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Sharad Pawar is one of India’s powerful regional politicians, at times on the cusp of becoming prime minister. The closest he got – and perhaps ever will – was following Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, when Narasimha Rao got the job.

FLASH BACK a few years and many of the readers would recollect a speech in parliament delivered by ex Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar. In one of his poignant remarks he had reminded Sharad Pawar that money and power is not to be the all and end all of life.

The speech could still be retrieved from the archives of Parliament. I have loved and respected Pawar as the last vestige of Chanakya brand politics. As a horse of long race, he somehow always clinged to power but I am sorry to observe he is also a perennial loser where moral standards are concerned. Sharad Pawar is one of India’s powerful regional politicians, at times on the cusp of becoming prime minister.

The closest he got – and perhaps ever will – was following Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, when Narasimha Rao got the job. When he first became a state minister, way back in 1966, Pawar’s only connection to cricket was a tenuous one – his father-in-law, Sadu Shinde, was a Test legspinner, who toured England in 1946. With his stunning victory over Jagmohan Dalmiya’s nominee Ranbir Singh Mahendra at the 76th AGM of the board, Pawar is now at the head of the country’s cricket administration.

As the federal agriculture minister of a nation still prone to droughts and mass suicides by farmers he had hardly acquired any feather in his cap. Had he played his cards well, he could have been the Prime Minister of India today. His problem is – he wants to bite more than he could chew. Even with all his peculiarities and foxy politics he has been reduced to an inefficient minister who can’t even manage properly the stocks of wheat at his disposal. He can’t handle rats, forget about rest of animate or innanimate subjects or objects. He is squarely blamed for the rising prices of every essential commodity and his nexus with Bal Thackrey, though it got him some seats in Maharashtra had already made him a person you can’t trust.

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Apr
17
2010

Tharoor and PM

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Romesh Sharma seem to have left no pastime but to criticize PM Manmohan Singh. He is not perturbed because he is a man of principles. Three days back he had said in Washington that he had heard about the allegations against Tharoor.”I do not have all the facts before me. When I go back, I will get all the facts, and in the light of those, if any action is necessary, I think that would be the proper way to proceed.” What else Romesh Sharma was expecting him to say ? That Sonia Gandhi is a powerful leader and she had single handedly revived congress is a well known fact. If a P.M. of a ruling party consults the President of his party what is so strange in it ? Criticism just for the sake of criticism is the hobby of those who can’t see farther their nose or don’t want to see anything that disturbs their fancies. Tharoor is a flamboyant character who has given some color to an otherwise drab and dull profession. He should be punished if he is found guilty.

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Apr
08
2010

The tragic death of AMU Professor is shameful

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India is neither Darul Islam nor the Indian Constitution has permitted the prosecution if the act is committed with mutual consent by mature individuals.

THE ALIGARH Muslim University professor Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras was found dead Wednesday in his rented accommodation in mysterious circumstances. The death came to light after neighbors found foul smell emanating from his room. Police broke into his room to find the decomposed body on the bed. It has traces of blood that had oozed from his mouth. The circumstantial evidence was hardly enough to zero on the cause of death, police said.

That homosexuality has been a reality of life since time immemorial and no followers of any religion can claim to be immune to this habit. If a country is a declared Darul Islam (absolute majority of practicing Muslims) than homosexuality is a cardinal sin and subject to the rule of Shariah Code, provided the offender is also a Muslim. India is neither DI nor the Indian Constitution has permitted the prosecution if the act is committed with mutual consent by mature individuals.

The deceased Professor Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras was a Reader and Head of Modern Indian Languages department. He was suspended on February 9 for being gay (his partner was a rickshaw puller and he was an outsider) under Rule 403 – C of University Statute which covers gross misconduct.

He was not a Muslim and laws of Shariah were not applicable for him. His acts of homosexuality didn’t involve any student of the university and he did what he did exclusively in his private apartment. It was none of the University’s business.

Action should have been taken against those who had put the cameras in his private space. Instead of prosecuting these peeping toms and sting operators, a learned scholar was sacrificed at the altar of high standard of morality. Whatever might be the reasons for his death, no one can deny that he was forced to absolute humiliation and social mental torture as the university administration took a hasty action to prove their efficient HMS (high moral standard).

While no one can make a generalized statement in such a situation, one can ask these mace bearers of high morality if they can with 100 % assurance that the practice of homosexuality had never been or is not there today in absolute clinical terms? How many incidents have been reported in the past and what punishments were given? The ‘holier than thou’ attitude does no favour any ideology. May be the Old Boys of Aligarh would recollect and recall a few famous names of the past who were known for this activity. This unfortunate professor deserved a better treatment.

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Mar
29
2010

Crocodile tears and lip sympathy of BJP for Sikhs

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Narendra Modi finally steps into the SIT’s witness box to explain his role in the 2002 communal violence that engulfed Gujarat, which lives on as one of the most scarring episodes in our recent history. This is a reminder why the trials must be exemplary, and one that holds the state machinery of that time to full answer on their complicity.

This special investigation team, headed by a former CBI director, was set up last year on the National Human Rights Commission’s plea to track 14 of the most critical cases from sites like Gulbarg Society, Naroda Patiya and Sadarpur. This is the first, preliminary step to determine whether Zakia Jafri’s (widow of a Congress MP killed in one of the communal flashpoints) testimony has enough substance for a full-blown FIR and criminal investigations against Modi and the other accused. Despite the Supreme Court’s full backing, the SIT’s integrity has been questioned by a range of civil society voices, who claimed that three of the investigating officers are from Gujarat cadre, one even directly implicated in Jafri’s list. But both Modi and the SIT director took pains to clarify that his interrogation was conducted by a non-Gujarat officer. The questioning lasted nine hours, though there is little detail on the content of the proceedings.

The legal process on Gujarat so far resembles an obstacle race, and it has created an exploitable vacuum — on one hand, stories about the 2002 violence have been inflated and dramatised by many activists, as if the real violence wasn’t terrible enough. On the other hand, Modi’s ideological brethren have reacted with defiance, keeping up a mechanical “1984” chant every time the matter is brought up. Of course, the Congress’s glibness was also on display, as they dismissed Modi’s SIT appearance. “In public perception, Modi has been held guilty,” the Congress spokesperson sweepingly claimed — never mind what public perception is of the 1984 accused who have managed to dodge justice this far. Between them, they have managed to reduce the tangible horror of Gujarat into a set of rhetorical talking points. Activists too must resist the temptation to turn every development into a point-scoring opportunity. It would be a great disservice to the victims if we turn the tragedy into a tale told, and distract from the laborious, important work left — that of making sure that we clinically extract a thorough accounting from those in Gujarat’s
administration during those awful days in 2002.

Crocodile tears of BJP for SIKH communityBy: Naim Naqvi | Monday , 29 Mar ‘10 10:32:54 AM  Reply | Forward  1984 was the horrendous incident of history. The perpetrators of that unfortunate aberration should have been dealt with long ago. Please tell me if congress was complacent than who stopped your great able Statesman P.M.Vajpayee and your Steel Loh Purush Advani to expedite the investigations when they were in power? Why they wasted so many years and didn’t bring the SIKH killing episode to the logical end ? These RSS bajrangess who are shedding crocodile tears for Sikhs today have no sympathy with any one. They need their votes and money to stay in power in Punjab and keep calling Congress names. I can understand the vulnerability of Sikh community to the propaganda of RSS but I’m sure, by now, they also have realized that this fascist organization which has many venomous heads of chimera is cornering the cow to the shed. They are trying to milk the cow of Sikh sympathy to divert the attention from the noose that is tightening for alleged complicity and patronage of Mody.

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Mar
19
2010

Mayawati – a queer fish of Indian Politics

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Mayawati

Mayawati

Mayawati is a strange phenomenon of emerging Indian politics. She is willing to rebel against any established norm of hitherto elite politics. She is going to write the new rules on her terms. I don’t approve the ostentatious display of garland of notes. However, countrymen are not unaware of the fact that its a mere flash in the pan of our political culture. What she accepted brazenly before a swarming crowd, our unscrupulous politicians practice behind close doors everyday. Let us be little more dispassionate of her politics and realize that she has not married. She has not to amass wealth for her progeny. Whatever she owns and bequeaths would go to the most trampled segment of society. She is working on the unfinished agenda of Gandhi and Baba Saheb Ambedkar. Granted that there is corruption in her set-up; granted that she flaunts her gifted wealth and granted that all she is doing is not correct. But, please let me know what other beholders of Indian values have done or doing.

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Mar
11
2010

Rebellion brewing in BJP over Women’s Reservation Bill

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Sometimes the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing ; sometimes the government doesn’t know what the public is thinking; some times leaders do not know what the party men are thinking.

THE WOMEN’S Reservation Bill has exposed once again what a hollow pantomime this talk of ‘inner party democracy’ is all about. We did hear brilliant speeches of Arun Jaitly in Rajya Sabha and Swashma Swaraj in Lok Sabha. We were enlightened about the genuine hear felt concerns of BJP for the fair sex which is deprived of their due rights by the crooked creatures of earth the vile man ! These leaders were basking in the borrowed glory of Sonia Gandhi.

Sometimes the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing ; sometimes the government doesn’t know what the public is thinking; some times leaders do not know what the party men are thinking.

Today a very awkward and funny situation is developing in BJP as so many of its MPs are demonstrating open rebellion against the party’s plank. BJP never stops trumpeting the virtue of inner party democracy. What has happened in reality in this party was a blatant run of bleak dictatorship. The bosses of BJP thought that their dictats would be accepted by the party members with absolute submission.

Now listen what our dear Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav, senior leader and MP from Madhubani: “History will not spare the BJP. The BJP was like Bhishmapitamah and Dronacharya in Mahabharata who remained mute spectators to the disrobing of Draupadi. If they issue a whip (to vote in favor of the Bill), I will break it and vote against it. Let them end my membership, I am not bothered. I am a socialist and I cannot compromise on issues of social justice.”
He warned his party that BJP would “decline further” if it ignored the backward classes. and supported the bill.

Singing in the same tune the a senior leader in Lok Sabha today claimed “at least 70 per cent of MPs” were against the Bill while a senior BJP MP said he would defy any whip to vote in its favor even though his party had offered it “unequivocal support” in the Rajya Sabha.

Caught in Catch-22 situation top leaders of the party are assuring that grievances of the MPs will be taken into account,” Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav, senior leader and BJP MP from Madhubani in Bihar, declared he would defy any party whip in Lok Sabha and vote against the Bill.

The fiery Yogi Adityanath, MP from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh is also airing his protest, wondering why the party had shown such eagerness to back the women’s reservation Bill when there were more pressing matters on hand.

As far as I am concerned, I don’t doubt the pious intentions of Sonia Ji who has pushed hard this bill. However, Women-Bill is not an innocent bill as it appears to a casual observer. Are we inviting a situation where in addition to 33% reservation, women will get some more seats from the general category and OBC/SC/ST category also with an extra of 20-30%.

The gross total would soar as high as nearly 60% or above. I wonder how Rajya Sabha accepted such important Bill without knowing any details. Congress has created the same brouhaha about different Commissions recommending the reservations of Muslims. Congress did never do anything except lip sympathy and garnering Muslim vote and support.

I accept that Indian women have traveled a long way from kitchen and fields to President House and Parliament; I agree that they must get their fair share. However, sometimes you suffocate or choke a cat with butter. Are we not going too fast ???

This best solution could have been a situation where there is no whip from any party. In all the august houses – Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha and State Assemblies the members are allowed to vote according to their conscience. That will be the real representation of the will of the people.

Last but not the least, I would request Mamta Banerji and Yadav Trinity to stop playing the DIRGE of Muslim community. We are quite capable to take care of ourselves. We don’t need enemies if we have friends like you. Jai Ho !

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Mar
06
2010

Debate – The ornament of a parliament

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parliament

parliament

Last week the Lok Sabha witnessed a rare event in our democracy. An intelligent, dignified debate. It gives heart to the country to see its leaders indulge in healthy argument instead of wasteful walkouts. May this be the start of a new trend?

WHEN WAS the last time we saw, or our ebullient members of Parliament allowed us to witness their arduous intelligent debates about any one problem plaguing the millions of this country? My memory is as good or as bad as any of our readers’.

Of course it was last week! Those were the best of the moments of Indian Parliament. The leader of opposition Lal Krishna Advani and P.M. Manmohan Singh were debating at their best and the country and world realized what a healthy democracy India is. It was in sharp contrast to the pointless opposition walkouts.

Disruptions and adjournments are no way to advance discussions on any serious issues. This debate should be a lesson for the neophyte politicians and green horn parliamentarians. It proved that Lok Sabha is still more than capable of serving its intended purpose – a venue for the discussion of pressing issues, where the executive are held accountable.

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday witnessed an interesting and intriguing dialogue when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intervened repeatedly and rejected senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani’s charge that United States’ pressure was behind India’s decision to talk to Pakistan. Advani suggested that the US was behind the recent Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level meet as President Obama had publicly said during his Presidential campaign that he would try to resolve the Kashmir issue.

This, the BJP leader contended, marked a change in the US position as the previous US administrations had maintained that they would not mediate in Indo-Pak relations unless both the countries wanted it.

In a sharp verbal duel during the debate Singh asserted that there has been no change in the US policy on Indo-Pak relations since US President Barack Obama came to power. He intervened on more than two occasions during the 75-minute speech by Advani, seeking to set the record straight on the Indo-Pak talks besides other issues like ‘one-rank-one-pension’ for armed forces.

“You are using this debate to sow seeds of rift between the government and the armed services,” Singh said.

”What you are attributing to President Obama is certainly not true. In my discussions with President Obama, he has unambiguously said that there is no change in the US policy towards India and Pakistan (relations),” the Prime Minister asserted.

Advani claimed that India and Pakistan had held “secret” talks over Kashmir and wanted the government to tell the Parliament what the parleys are about. P.M. countered him with the details of the series of parleys held between the former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott not being shared with the Parliament when BJP was in power.

“Let me ask you one question. How many times did Jaswant Singh hold talks with Strobe Talbott. Was Parliament kept informed about the over dozen meetings? Why then are you expecting me to answer hypothetical questions,” Dr. Singh said.

At this, Advani appeared to be defensive and said he had read about these “secret” meetings in the media. “If there is no substance, I will be happy,” he said. He, however, said the government should be cautious “even if there is an iota of truth”. Advani also questioned the utility of the recent talks with Pakistan, which he suggested marked a shift in India’s post 26/11 stand of not holding dialogue with Pakistan till it ended terrorism. He suggested that the government appeared to lack unanimity in approach over talks with Pakistan.

Noted economist and Noble laureate Dr Amartya Sen had raised some fundamental issues confronting democracy in his book ‘The Argumentative Indian’. Politics and current state of affairs have always been amongst the favorite topics for a vast majority of Indians. These debates do not play any significant role in national affairs but they illustrate that political awareness is the essential ingredient of democracy and has always been inherent in the Indian psyche.

The opposition must understand that ‘Dharnas’ & ‘walk-outs’ serve no purpose except that the precious Parliament time is lost. It leads to rallies and violence once it spills out on the roads. Our worthy leaders must realize that it is always better to stay and debate – even condemn and criticize – than to walk out and that too often en masse.

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Feb
20
2010

Gujrat & the Festering Wounds of Secular India

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Cities are where strangers meet. But in Ahmedabad, a town which is yet to recover from the intense trauma of the 2002 communal riots, both Hindus and Muslims still perceive each other purely through a lens of fear and insecurity. The municipal corporation randomly picked some 8,000 families to resettle them along the Sabarmati Riverfront project — a list that naturally included Hindus and Muslims, and placed them in proximity to each other. There was no deliberate social engineering element to this exercise, but both communities protested and demanded to be kept separate because they felt this situation would leave them defenceless in the event of communal violence.

Ahmedabad is notable for its lack of civic mixing. Generally speaking, associational forms of civic engagement (through trade unions, business associations, non-communal cadre-based parties) blunt religious tension and prevent it from spiralling into violence.

As political scientist Ashutosh Varshney has pointed out, in 1969, the town witnessed one of the worst riots India had seen, but unlike in 2002 state machinery was not perceived as complicit. Cities of stark partitions are always vulnerable to communal conflagration — making them highly dependent on the police and administration to make sure the sparks are doused in time. In this case, the fact that representatives of both communities insist on fresh allotment, and intend petitioning the courts to undo this decision, goes to prove how little faith they repose in the state’s capacity to deal with incidents, or in each other. This nervous and dysfunctional dynamic means that citizens possess a true sense of trust and security only when they live among neighbours of their own community. Obviously, this kind of set-up would only sharpen existing fissures, and create an even more destructive, mutually suspicious climate.

If the state accedes to this demand, it would be a clear admission of its own failure in keeping the peace. If it has any intention of subduing the flickering animosities and moving on from the pain and anger of the riots, it must insist on keeping the relocation plan as it is, and then ensure that the neighbourhood remains utterly safe. But then again, if only a single housing project could ensure integration.

 

 

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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