Swamy and the Mahatma

Janta Party President Subramaniam Swamy has definitely made a case for a Hindu Rashtra that would have surpassed the dreams even of the most rabid Hindu fanatic. He of course argues vehemently in favour of removal of Article 370 and resettlement of retired army personnel in J&K. Perhaps what learned Dr Swamy seems to forget is that this was one of the planks in which the BJP rode to power at the height of it's Ram Mandir campaign in the nineties. All of us know what happened to the noisy pro Hindutva agenda during the NDA regime. None of these issues were taken up, instead hard core terrorists were released who are still killing innocents in India from across the border. Preponing general elections once again showed how the NDA failed to feel the pulse of the people and their India Shining Campaign was a reflection of why the UPA came to power in 2004.

Well this would make one wonder as to why am I equating the NDA's fortunes with Dr Swamy. The purpose is to just reiterate that the people of India have consistently rejected such ideas which are too extreme in nature. Mr Swamy is right when he says that despite 800 years of Mughal rule, India still remained 75% Hindu. That is because if the inherent nature of our country, we reject anything that is forced upon us. The NDA lasted for 6 years not because it pursued an aggressive pro Hindu agenda, but because Atal Bihari Vajpayee gave it a moderate and practical look to the Govt.

In the first Election manifesto (1977), the Janata Party, had declared: "The Janata Party is dedicated to the values and ideals of Gandhiji. It is dedicated to the task of building a democratic state in India, drawing inspiration from our rich heritage, and the noble traditions of our struggle for independence". In other words, the Janata Party's ideology is to foster democracy in all its dimensions, economic, political, social and cultural. This has to be done by learning from our ancient history and the Freedom struggle; within the Gandhian framework."

Now the President of the same Janta Party says Article 370 should be scrapped. And if that was not enough to wake up Gandhiji in his heavenly abode, Dr Swamy wants to remove the Masjid from Kashi and another 300 Masjids from India. It was the same Mahatma Gandhi who was against the creation of Pakistan and was even ridiculed for calling Pakistanis his brothers and sisters. His frustration was obvious in one of his last speeches. On the eve of his last fast on 12th January, 1948 Mahatma said " I yearn for heart friendship between the Hindus, the Sikhs and the Muslims. It subsisted between them the other day. Today it is non existent. It is a state no India patriot worthy of the name can contemplate with equanimity".

Janata Party also wants to create a society with a political government powerful in its legitimate domain and minimal elsewhere, a government that governs but does not dabble in business, arts, media, justice, religion and piety. Now how would one justify the ideals of a political party with the suggestions made by Dr Swamy. Is not removal of Masjids dabbling in religion, and creating a Hindu Rashtra against the very ideals his party is striving for. Let me quote the Mahatma again to drive home the point. He said "A votary of Ahimsa cannot subscribe to the utilitarian formula (of the greatest good of the greatest number). He will strive for the greatest good of all and die in the attempt to realise the ideal".

Of course illegal migrants from Bangladesh remains a sticky issue and both Govt's of India and Bangladesh are trying to sort the issue. But the whole talk of annexing parts of Bangladesh is a bit far fetched. Will we not have the same problems that the Bangladesh Govt is facing. Then who will provide security and funds to keep those lands under our control. Will that not give rise to more extremism and tension in the region. Is it really worth it ? Mahatma said "Hindus, if they want unity among different races, must have the courage to trust the minorities".

And one can't help but remember he famous quote "practice what you preach". If Dr Swamy couldn't help but bring home a "Muslim" son in law, then he sure has a long way to go to convince others. It is not aimed at bringing disrespect to anyone including Dr Swamy, but with his flights of fancy, he sure has forced some to think of Indians as Hindus and Muslims and of course Sikhs. I would like to end with another small line from Mahatma again. He said " I cannot picture to myself a time when all mankind will have one religion". Maybe Dr Swamy needs to give more attention to the Mahatma's teachings.

Anna's Crusaders

So the TV channels won the battle for Anna Hazare. Govt finally bows to the demands of Anna Hazare's front, India Against Corruption (IAC). Not surprising at all that it was the period between India's historic world cup win in Cricket and IPL 4 that Anna chose for this crusade. TV channels needed an issue to keep their TRP's ahead of others and Jantar Mantar was ground zero for them. It was Peepli Live playing out as channels competed to outdo each other.

After all what Anna is saying is correct and the cause is just. And till when will people take corruption in their stride. It is high time that people came and out and rooted out this evil from society. The NGO's got together and mela had started at Jantar Mantar. TV channels termed the gathering of hundreds or so as a 'revolution' and India was finally coming into its own. But do we even know what Anna and his crusaders want ?

The Jan Lokpal Bill that the 'civil society' wants is to create another power structure that has unbridled powers and accountable only to themselves. Also the Lokayukta will have the authority to summon anyone and it will be considered as having the required permissions, warrants etc to do so at their will. Their disgust for politicians is absolute as the Bill mentions that anyone who has been an MLA or an MP or even remotely associated with politics is not eligible to be a member of the Lokayukta.  But interestingly it says that only a Magsaysay awardee is eligible for the same. Their faith in the Ramon Magsaysay award is obviously more than other prestigious awards like Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan and others. Or it could be to bring in members of their own choice. So even before the actual work has begun, bias has already stepped in. Then why is this 'civil society' taking the moral high ground ?.

Will it really help to create another super structure that interferes with various arms of our Govt. Our constitution has spelt out the role of all institutions clearly. The Legislature, Judiciary and Executive. After all didnt our founding fathers have the highest ideals in mind when these institutions were being set up. But over time, things change as is the normal course of nature. So we need to keep changing and adapting to the times. We need to clean the system from within rather than create another monster to deal with inherent problems. After all, even Ram Rajya didnt last too long and we were once again caught in the hollowness of the caste system.

Considering we are the world's biggest democracy, it surely makes us wonder why the 'civil society' is so much against elected representatives. Members of this society are the people who take out candle marches after a Mumbai 26/11 attack at Gateway of India. But it is the very same class that preferred to go on a vacation rather than vote in Maharashtra elections where polling percentage dipped in South Mumbai during the 2009 elections. They did the same across a few metros in India after Anna's crusade against corruption. But how many of them voted in an election last ?

At best, our national polling average hovers around the 50% to 60% mark. Which obviously means that half the country doesnt vote. And then the very class that doesnt want to stand in a queue to vote, blames the netas for ignoring them. It is the slum dweller, poor and the daily wage labourer that votes in urban areas. It is the very same common man that was sadly missing at Jantar Mantar when Anna was fasting. The 'civil society' has time to go and shout slogans against the Govt for not doing their job, but forget that they too have abdicated their fundamental duty. Their right to vote, and if they do get together. Then our polling percentage will jump over 75% and our netas will have no option but to take them seriously.


When Anna Hazare praises a Narendra Modi and then has to clarify that it was only for developmental work, he is stepping on a minefield. Does he know that Modi's Govt is sitting on a Lokpal Bill for the past 8 years ? He is right when he pushes away leaders from coming close to him to gain political mileage. But is he correct when he puts the blame on LK Advani that if his path was correct, then he wouldnt have to start a movement ?  Is it fair to blame one person for all faults in society or political class ?. Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh is right when he says that people should know who funded the entire campaign at Jantar Mantar. Where was the money coming from ? Diggi Raja also wants Corporates and NGO's to come under the ambit of the Lokpal Bill. How come our 'civil society' forgot to add their own class ?

We have all heard of massive corruption in the NGO sector. Dont look beyond Jantar Mantar, reports are already doing the rounds that all the money donated to India Against Corruption (IAC) could be going into an NGO run by Arvind Kejriwal himself ! Crores and crores of money is pumped by the Govt to various NGO's in far flung areas for developmental work. Though some of them do a good job, but what about the majority of them. If they were actually utilising the money, then rural India wouldnt cut a sorry figure. Should we then blame Anna Hazare for all the corruption in the NGO sector as he blamed Advani ? And if the crusaders of 'civil society' against corruption have any sense of responsibility, the least they can do is to ask the members of the Joint Commitee on Corruption to declare their assets.

All 5 members of the Govt on the Committee have declared their assets. Why just 5 of them, all our elected representatives have to declare their assets before contesting any election. And yet they get a limited tenure of 5 years to prove their worth. It is the power of the people in democracy that is supreme. And it is the people of India who wield that power to change Governments with their right to vote. People need to shed their bias against elected representatives and become aware of their rights. Nothing will change till one forces their way through. As for our 'civil society', its always easier to preach than practice.So its time to step out and become a part of the solution rather than remain a part of the problem.