Happy New Year 2012

It is time to welcome a new year and this writer wishes all the readers of this blog a very happy and prosperous year ahead. Let the year 2012 bring in new hopes of peace, safety and tranquility all over the world.

End Chauvinism and Double Standard on Mullaperiyar

Those regular readers of this Candid Minds blog, who personally don’t know this writer may be worried on his safety, for in his last essay Build New Dam at Mullaperiyar or We’re Dead he spoke about his fear of being washed away by the deluge if Mullaperiyar dam collapses. If that was the case then this piece should assure them that this writer is still alive as Mullaperiyar hasn’t collapsed yet, but the danger of such a catastrophe is also still alive as no permanent solution for the issue has been found yet.

Before continuing with this essay this writer wants to put things in the right perspective and hence would say in unequivocal terms that he is not against the Tamilians as a whole, for he has many friends, sisters and brothers who are Tamilians, who have been bestowing on him affection of the supreme kind, which he is sure, thanking of no measure would adequately compensate. However Tamil politicians, from Vaiko to Stalin, from Jayalalithaa to Karunanidhi are all whipping up passion of the Tamil people to revolt against Malayalees on what they consider as unrealistic and unwarranted call of Malayalees for a new dam at Mullaperiyar. Voltaire would be laughing in his grave for most of the Tamil politicians are proving him to be right again. It was Voltaire in the 18th century who famously said ‘common sense is not so common’ and Tamil politicians defies common sense when they say that the Mullaperiyar dam, which was declared to have a life of just 50 years when it was made, is safe even after 116 years of functioning. They are giving the example of Kallanai, Grand Anicut dam that was made in the 2nd century to show that not all old dams are unsafe. However they are not considering the fact that Kallanai was made of using unhewn stone, while Mullaperiyar with lime surkhi which will weather down with time. Moreover comparing the Kallanai dam which is located only 5.4 m from River basin to 53.6 m high Mullaperiyar dam located at 881 m above see level is not reasonable but foolish. One would have to believe that there was some sort of conspiracy in making a lease agreement for 999 years for a dam that had just 50 years of declared life time.

In a classic example of double standards Tamil politicians are making a huge cry at Tamil Nadu against Koodankulam Nuclear Plant, which has been constructed using the latest technology that could even withstand a tsunami and all safety measures taken to prevent radiation. In order to prove their claim that Mullaperiyar dam is safe, Tamil politicians show studies conducted by various educational and technical institutions around the country that say the dam is safe. If we use the same logic they should approve of the safety of the Koodankulam nuclear plant which has been tested safe by many technical institutions in India and abroad. Should Tamilians need approval from any one more than APJ Abdul Kalam, the great Indian scientist who has said in more than one occasion that the Koodankulam plant is safe and there need be no concern on its safety? However Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa made a statement yesterday that said Koodankulam plant should be approved only after removing the “concerns of the people.” Let us not go to the merits of the arguments of the nuclear plant supporters or its detractors as that is not the purpose of this essay. But there could not be different standards for the Tamilians and for Keralites. As Jayalalithaa wants to remove the concerns of the people of Tamil Nadu before approving the nuclear plant, let her accept that she and her people need to remove the concerns of the Keralites before going against the construction of a new dam at Mullaperiyar.

It is understandable when a trivial regional political party like the MDMK under the leadership of Vaiko whip up chauvinistic sentiments to earn political points. However when the state committee of a national party like Indian National Congress speak on chauvinistic lines it shows how bad the political environment around Mullaperiyar has become and that was what happened yesterday at the meeting organised by Tamil Nadu Congress Committee. To make matters worse, in that meeting P Chidambaram (PC as he is popularly known among scribes), Home Minister of India made the ludicrous statement yesterday that he is sure that the Supreme Court decision on Mullaperiyar would come in favour of the wishes of the Tamil people. It is a matter of grave irresponsibility to see a Cabinet Minister in the central government stooping so low. In contrast take the case of AK Antony, the Defence Minister of India, who hails from Kerala and how gentlemanly a stand he has taken in this issue, where he hasn’t taken any position in favour of Kerala but is working for finding an amicable solution to the issue. In a federal democratic system it is incumbent upon Union ministers to take a nationalistic stance in matters regarding conflict between two states. It is difficult to believe that a politician like Chidambaram, who is not only known for his high intelligence but also known for his disdain for anyone who falls below his intelligence quotient, would make a mistake by making such a statement. It is sure that he has taken a very wise position to influence the court’s decision in favour of Tamil Nadu. Moreover PC is now surrounded by many problems including the 2G scam issue and this seems to be his shrewd plan to get the support of the Tamil people if he is fired from the Cabinet on the issue, so that he can claim that he has fallen victim for his support of the Tamil cause in Mullaperiyar issue and thus gain martyrdom. PC’s allegation that political parties in Kerala have kicked up the dam row keeping an eye on the by-poll from Piravom constituency shows his political depravity. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should show courage (though it is not his wont to show courage) to kick out such senseless ministers from his Cabinet.

A few stray incidents of violence against Tamilians in Kerala had been reported earlier, but now things are coming to normalcy in Kerala as the state government took some rapid actions to stop such vandalism by a minority. At the same time, violence against Malayalees is on the rise in Tamil Nadu. In Chennai, Coimbaore and Tanjavur many shops of Malayalees have been attacked; in Gudalor a Kerala bound bus was set ablaze by attackers after asking passengers to alight, to name a few incidents. Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and opposition leader VS Achuthananthan have written letters to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa to take steps to stop violence against Malayalees.

It is imperative for the Central Government to step in immediately and find an amicable political solution to the Mullaperiyar issue. Kerala has made the promise umpteen number of times that it is not against giving water to Tamil Nadu and even after building a new dam it is ready to give Tamil Nadu the same amount of water that it is drawing now. Kerala CM Oommen Chandy made the statement that Kerala’s stance is ‘water for Tamil Nadu, safety for Kerala.’ But Tamil Nadu CM, Jayalalithaa’s arrogance and intransigence have made it impossible for the central government to call upon both states for a discussion to find a solution to the issue. If the central government doesn’t have the political will to compel a state to come for discussion to solve an inter-state dispute, it is better for it to resign and go to exile.

I humbly appeal to the people of Tamil Nadu, our brothers and sisters, to not believe the misinformation propagated by the chauvinistic politicians and media of Tamil Nadu. (In Facebook I saw a Tamil brother saying that all the villages near the Mullaperiyar dam are above the water level of the dam and in the event of dam collapse water won’t flow upwards and therefore there is no need to panic in Kerala and all these are false propagation of political parties in Kerala; he can’t be blamed, may be that is how is being misinformed and made to believe.) We Malayalees are not against giving water to Tamil Nadu as many people there are made to believe by the unscrupulous politicians. We are ready to give water to your state in as much quantity as you are drawing now and what we want is only the safety to the life and property of the millions of people in our state living downstream the Mullaperiyar dam.

Build New Dam at Mullaperiyar or We’re Dead

Right now this writer is sinking; sinking in messages, discussions and appeals from all over the world from Malayalees on the subject matter of Mullaperiyar dam and the hazards it poses to four districts in Kerala – Idukki, Ernakulam, Kottayam and Alapuzha. The dilapidated dam that was built in 1895 holds 15 TMC of water. When the dam was built it was said that the life span of the dam was just 50 years and now it is more than 115 years. The dam can’t withstand an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 in ritcher scale and it compromises the safety of about 3 million people living downstream. If a new dam is not built sooner this writer would also sink in the deluge that would inundate central Kerala.

Kerala’s neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu which makes use of the water in the Mullaperiyar dam for irrigating their four districts is against Kerala building a new dam as they fear that they would lose control of the dam and hence the water. The water sharing agreement on the Mullaperiyar was signed during the British rule for 999 years. It defies common sense why an agreement for 999 years was signed for a dam that had a life span of just 50 years. When the British left India and we got independence in 1947 all agreements between princely states became void and hence the Mullaperiyar agreement also got void. But in 1970s Kerala government magnanimously re-entered into an agreement with Tamil Nadu for water sharing as farmers in that state were reeling because of lack of water for irrigation. Tamil Nadu uses the water from Mullaperiyar for agricultural purposes and for generation of electricity and accrues a profit of about 1200 crores a year and gives Kerala a meagre 30 lakhs as rent. Even now Kerala agrees that it will not reduce the amount of water given to Tamil Nadu even after building a new dam, but Tamil Nadu is obstinate that they will not allow a new dam. As the matter is pending before the Supreme Court and because of the clauses in the water sharing agreement Kerala is not able to build a new dam without the approval of Tamil Nadu. But growing indignation from the people of Kerala has forced Kerala government to look for legal loopholes in the agreement to build a new dam.

If Mullaperiyar dam gets demolished as a result of an earthquake the water from the dam will reach the Idukki dam, which is situated just 36 kilometres away, in 45 minutes time. Idukki dam has a capacity of holding 70 TMC water and 79% of it is already filled. Hence it won’t be able to hold the water coming from Mullaperiyar and it would also collapse leading to a flood of enormous magnitude which would wash away four districts of Kerala. The people in these four districts of Kerala are living in perpetual danger as a water bomb is hanging above their heads. It is estimated that if the dam collapses the destruction it would cause would be 180 times as severe as the destruction caused by the atom bomb in Hiroshima.

All over the four districts in Kerala everywhere people are discussing about the dangers of the dam collapse and thinking about saving themselves and their loved ones if and when such a calamity occurs. Tamil Nadu shows scientific studies done by some experts which show that there is no danger to the Mullaperiyar dam and is saying that politicians and people in Kerala are foolishly panicking for something that is not going to happen. But they are oblivious or pretending to be oblivious of the grave danger that the dam holds as a result of the weathering down of the lime surkhi mortar used to build the dam. The increasing number of tremors in the dam region recently has added to the danger to the dam.

The time to act is now and if the Central Government won’t take immediate steps to find an amicable solution to this dam row we are on to something extremely terrible. If Tamil Nadu government doesn’t agree to a new dam to be built by Kerala they will have to take the responsibility of 3 million lives that would be lost when the dam collapses. There is no time to wait and the people of Kerala are up in arms in a bid to save their own lives. The catastrophe of a dam collapse can happen anytime and this could well be this writer’s last essay. We, the people of Kerala, are not against our brothers and sisters in Tamil Nadu, but no one can stop us from fighting for our lives and fight we will.

The Folly of Celebrating Contempt of Court

MV Jayarajan, a leader of the CPI (M) who was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment by Kerala High Court for contempt of court is out on bail and he was given a rousing welcome by the party cadre and leaders. When the High Court ordered to put Mr. Jayarajan behind the bars without giving him bail or time to appeal against the verdict, legal experts pointed out that it is against principles of natural justice as in Indian legal system bail is the rule, jail is the exception. There is no doubt that the verdict of the Supreme Court in quashing High Court order and granting bail to Mr. Jayarajan is a victory for the CPI (M); however to celebrate the release on bail of a person convicted of contempt of court is an absolute folly which has no place in a democracy like India.

It must be noted that the Supreme Court of India has only upheld Mr. Jayarajan’s right to bail and hasn’t given any verdict on the charges of contempt of court. The celebration on account of his release on bail was made in a magnificent fashion as if he was acquitted of all charges. It is for the leaders of the party to think how morally or politically correct it is for a political party working in Indian democracy to do such a thing. In a democracy it is quite true that political parties carry the greatest worth as they directly represent the people. But it is incumbent upon all political parties and their leaders and activists to respect other democratic institutions, particularly the court. By no stretch of imagination is it a matter of pride for political parties to celebrate the deeds of someone who has been convicted of contempt of court. In the past, during pre-independence period, it was certainly a matter of pride as the courts were illegitimate institutions governed by laws and rules made by the British, who were unlawful occupiers of our country. However in present day courts are democratic institutions established under the constitution of India and any denunciation of such courts is the denunciation of democracy, denunciation of the constitution.

Having said that this writer is not at all making an impression that democratic courts are above criticism, but one should maintain certain level of decency in the choice of words in such criticisms. Mr. Jayarajan crossed all boundaries of decency when he used the Malayalam word “shumbhan” (that roughly translates to fool) to describe judges of the court. He made further mockery of the Indian judicial system when he unsuccessfully made arguments by bringing Malayalam and Sanskrit professors from colleges to establish that the word didn’t mean fool but have some positive meaning.

Politicians are supposed to be the role models, watching and emulating whom the younger generations of a country would become ideal citizens. However the standards set by present generation of politicians is so poor that it is always better for the young people not to make them their role models. Politicians cutting across party lines use such bad and terrible words in their criticism of their opponents that it is honourable not to speak about it. Kerala, a state that prides itself of far better social indicators and education in comparison to other states in India, has been greatly ashamed by the recent conduct of politicians - of UDF as well as LDF - who have used foul language and did uncivilised deeds in the legislature and outside. If they don’t mend their ways sooner, Keralites would lose the trust in them and that would not be a good sign for the state of democracy in Kerala.

Certainly the CPI (M) has set a very bad example in democratic India by celebrating the release of a leader who has been convicted for contempt of court. By doing that the party has sent a message to the civil society that contempt of court is not a crime but a matter of great pride and glory which anyone and everyone can follow and gain appreciation of the crowd. Had it been so that MV Jayarajan had accepted his mistake or the court found that all allegations against him on matters of contempt of court were void, it would have been fine to bestow on him such lavish praise; but incidentally it is not the case. Freedom of speech and expression that Indian constitution grants us comes with reasonable restrictions. Therefore the claim that what Mr. Jayarajan did was upholding that freedom holds no water. This writer wants to point out that getting behind the bars for contempt of a constitutional institution is a matter of shame and disgrace and not pride, if anyone holds such a view.

It is precisely true that politicians epitomise all the vices that human ingenuity could invent, a fact proven time and time again by the politicians of all hues in Kerala. Some sort of shock treatment from the people is needed for these politicians to understand their mistakes and blunders. Whenever anyone criticise the politicians for being unscrupulous they would make a huge cry saying that such opinaions and criticisms would belittle the whole tribe of politicians in the eyes of people which would be inimical to the existence of democracy in the country. But they themselves often use harsh words to criticise the judicial system in the country knowing very well that rubbishing courts is as inimical to democracy as is belittling politicians, as they claim. Politicians in our country often behave as spoilt brats and are incorrigible to a great extend and the day that they would have a rude awakening is not any far off as people have reached their threshold of patience.

What Should the World Offer to its 7 Billion Population

The global population has reached the dubious number of 7 billion according to some UN estimates. This news has raised alarm bells among many population experts as they see this as a matter of concern, for the natural resources that would support this bludgeoning population is shrinking at an alarming pace. If radical and drastic measures are not taken immediately this perilous situation would run out of control. World leaders at the forthcoming G20 meet at Cannes would brainstorm on finding solutions that would kick-start actions for sustainable development in the world.

The force of the 7 billion population is gathering steam as is evident from the various instances of street protests that we see around in the different countries of the world. The realisation about the superiority of democracy over other forms of government is driving people to fight against the autocrats who had usurped power from them through unscrupulous means. The defeat of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak in Egypt or Muammar Gadhafi in Libya is a sign of this growing people’s power. The lesson we have learnt is that whenever people tend to have trust deficit on their rulers they will get out on to the streets and can bring down powerful rulers.

The Census Bureau estimates show that about 255 people are born every minute whereas about 106 people die per minute. With the advancement of science and technology and the subsequent improvement in health facilities around the world life expectancy of people has increased. High quality health care provided by welfare governments in the various countries of the world has accounted for such an improvement in human life. Even then there are millions of people around the world who die every minute because they don’t get access to good health care facilities. With population increase every government has this additional responsibility to make sure that the whole population get the health care benefits offered by them. Insofar as the plight of the millions of poor people of the world is concerned, there is much left to be done.

Growing economic uncertainty in the world, coupled with market volatility and increasing inequality result in losing trust of the people on their leaders as well as the public institutions. In many countries people believe that the government works for the rich and often forget the poor. The bailing out of big banks by governments when they were in financial trouble because of their poor management of finances has caused much indignation among people. The moral force behind movements like ‘Occupy Wall Street’ comes from such public fury. Governments around the world have got their task cut out, for unless and until they stop this growing tide of people’s legitimate discontent, they are sure to perish.

Sustainable growth and development should be the slogan of the welfare states around the world. For improving the lives of people and to lift them from the pits of abject poverty it is essential for governments to increase welfare spending on infrastructure development. However many governments struck by financial troubles are looking for fiscal austerity, which results in reduced government spending. This would automatically result in reduced developmental activities which would pull down countries further down to economic instability. Governments must continue investing on developmental policies and programmes including women and children’s health, agricultural growth as well as gender equality.

Women and young people are taking to the streets and asking for economic and political improvements in their life. They constitute two-thirds of the world population and governments around the world can no longer exist without hearing their voices and demands. Even some Islamic countries are making amendments in their constitutions to give greater representation of women in the political arena. Their involvement in many recent pro-democracy movements in the world is worth mentioning. The world recognised the growing involvement of women in the societal improvement of many populations by naming three women for this year’s Nobel Prize for Peace.

7 billion is a mere number but the human lives that it signifies are our hope for the future. Now is the time for making the hard choices and with wisdom, foresight and commitment we can start on the path of sustainable growth and development. We have squandered many such opportunities in the past but let us not waste anymore, for it is now or never.

Join Amnesty International’s Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon

(For Amnesty International)

Around the world many governments incarcerate human rights defenders by closing them behind the bars, where they are tortured and their lives put in jeopardy - their crime, they spoke against state sponsored human rights abuses.

Your words have got enormous power and can bring the spotlight on to the dark chambers where these human rights defenders are being tortured. Your letters of support and solidarity can bring in hope in these forgotten 'prisoners of conscience'. Join with me and hundreds of thousands of people around the world in marking International Human Rights Day on 10 December by taking part in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon, the world’s largest human rights event. Through our letters, post cards and more we take action to demand human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled around the world and show our solidarity to those who suffer human rights abuses as well as to those human rights defenders who are languishing in state prisons around the world.

Join Amnesty International’s Write-a-thon by going to the following link and by pledging your letters and your support. You can find all information and resources in that page.

Join Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon

December 3-11 are the key dates for writing the letters, but feel free to start earlier or later. Let us come together and save lives and protect human rights around the world.

Myanmar: Political prisoners must be freed - Amnesty International

(Amnesty International Appeal)

On the third anniversary of the violent crackdown on the “Saffron Revolution”, Amnesty International calls on the Myanmar government to immediately and unconditionally free all political prisoners arrested for their peaceful activism.

The Myanmar authorities continue to imprison over 2,200 political prisoners—more than double the number held before the August 2007 protests against sharp fuel and commodity price rises.

“While the international community, including Myanmar’s ASEAN neighbours, has been calling for free, fair and inclusive elections there, the plight of thousands of political prisoners has been overlooked,” said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International’s Myanmar Researcher.

Amnesty International believes the vast majority of those held are prisoners of conscience who are being punished merely for peacefully exercising their rights to free expression, assembly and association.

The Myanmar government will hold its first elections in 20 years on 7 November 2010 against a backdrop of political repression and systematic violence. Under Electoral Laws enacted in March 2010, no political prisoner can take part in the elections or hold membership in any political party.

International attention in recent months has focused on the power-play between the military and the government’s proxy parties on the one hand; and the armed ethnic minority groups, the National League for Democracy, and a small number of new opposition parties on the other.

“The long-standing problem of political imprisonment in Myanmar remains very much at the heart of the political impasse in the country”, said Benjamin Zawacki. “These prisoners constitute a significant part of the political opposition”.

In the largest show of public discontent against the military government in Myanmar since the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, tens of thousands of protesters—led by Buddhist monks—took to the streets in August and September 2007, demanding economic and political reforms.

The peaceful country-wide demonstrations were violently put down by the authorities in late September 2007. At least 31 (and possibly more than a hundred) people were killed—with many more injured and at least 74 disappeared—and thousands detained.

The brutal crackdown provoked international condemnation, including an unprecedented expression of revulsion and demands for change from the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Yet even as Myanmar prepares for its first elections in two decades, as part of what it calls a “Roadmap to Democracy”, it continues to repress political opposition.

“It beggars belief that the government can attempt to burnish its democratic credentials by holding elections, while it also holds more than 2,200 political prisoners behind bars and out of sight of the campaigns and polls”, said Benjamin Zawacki . “The international community should point out to Myanmar that these practices cannot be reconciled under any genuine Roadmap to Democracy”.

Political prisoners in Myanmar are held in deplorable conditions

Many of those who took part in the Saffron Revolution, such as labour rights campaigner Su Su Nway, monk leader and activist U Gambira, and 88 Generation Student group members Min Ko Naing, Htay Kywe, Mie Mie, Ko Mya Aye and Zaw Htet Ko Ko, are in poor health. In the past two years, at least 238 political prisoners have been moved to extremely remote prisons, restricting their access to relatives, lawyers and medical care. Reports of torture and other ill-treatment are rife. The International Committee of the Red Cross has been denied access to prisons in Myanmar since late 2005.

“On this third anniversary of the Saffron Revolution, Amnesty International calls on world leaders to demand that the Myanmar government free all political prisoners at once, and ensure human rights protection throughout the elections period and beyond”, said Benjamin Zawacki.

Visit the following URL and add your name to this petition calling on the Chairman of the newly-established Myanmar National Human Rights Commission to press the President of Myanmar to immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience.

http://amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/Myanmar-must-release-all-prisoners-of-conscience

Meet the Nobel Laureates 2011

The Nobel Prize for the year 2011 in the field of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace and Economic Sciences was announced recently. Just a note on who those Nobel laureates are and their contributions in their respective fields that made them the winners.

Nobel for Physics: Nobel Prize for Physics for the year 2011 was shared by Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt and Adam G. Reiss for their discovery that the universe is expanding at an ever-accelerating rate. They made the discovery based on their studies on distant supernovae or the exploding stars.

Nobel for Chemistry: Israeli scientist Daniel Shechtman won the 2011 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his discovery of ‘quasicrystals’, a mosaic-like chemical structure that scientist earlier thought would not be possible. Contrary to what was earlier thought that atoms were packed in crystals in symmetrical patterns, Prof. Shechman showed that atoms in a crystal could be packed in a pattern that could not be repeated.

Nobel for Physiology or Medicine: Three scientists shared the Nobel for Physiology or Medicine for the year 2011 for their discoveries about the immune system that opened new avenues for the treatment and prevention of many infectious diseases as well as cancer. One half of the Nobel would be shared by Bruce A. Beutler and Jules A. Hoffman for their discovery concerning the activation of innate immunity and the other half by Ralph M. Steinman for his discovery of the dendritic cells and its role in adaptive immunity.

Nobel for Literature: Tomas Transtromer bagged the 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature. According to the Nobel Committee the Swedish poet was awarded the Nobel because through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality.

Nobel for Peace: The 2011 Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded jointly to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee bagged the coveted prize for organising women for ending the long war in Liberia and Tawakkul Karman for her leading part in the struggle for women’s right, democracy and peace in Yemen.

Nobel for Economic Science: Thomas J. Sargent and Christopher A. Sims won the Nobel Prize for Economics for developing methods to answer questions regarding the causal relationship between economic policy and different macroeconomic variables such as GDP, inflation, employment and investment.

Source: Official website of the Nobel Prize and The Hindu newspaper

10 Years of Afghan War

Today on 7th October 2011 it is 10 long years since the start of the Afghan War initiated by the United States and now under the aegis of NATO. The United States is at their longest war in the history, longer that the Vietnam War and the number of American causalities has reached around 1,800. Add to this the millions of Afghans who lost their life in this destructive war and a million others who have become physically incapacitated. The most terrible news is that we are not any near to an end to this war and the NATO apparently has no genuine strategy at their hands for the withdrawal of the troops from the Afghan soil.

One of the biggest mistakes done by the United States when they started the war was that they entered into war in a country about which they didn’t had any in-depth knowledge. The socio-cultural fabric of Afghanistan was quite different from what had been understood by the United States. As the retired US army general Stanley McChrystal remarked recently the United States began the Afghan war with a “frighteningly simplistic” view of the country. A war that was started by the US with the popular support of the American public on account of their outrage after the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaeda has disintegrated into an unpopular war in the United States mainly because of the high causality of the war and the financial burden on the exchequer. Barack Obama during his campaign trail promised troop withdrawal as one of the main items of his presidential agenda. But he has failed miserably to keep up with his promise and the Afghan War is being considered as one of the main failures of his foreign policy. The killing of the al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden seems to be the only noteworthy result of the Afghan War for the United States.

In this 10th year of the Afghan War one must analyse what changes have been brought about in the country as a result of this long war. The Taliban that was in power in Afghanistan was heavily influenced by the Deobandi fundamentalism and enforced one of the strictest interpretations of Sharia law, which came under heavy criticism from the various Muslim scholars all over the world, particularly for their treatment of women. With the fall of the Taliban there have been vast improvements in the living condition of women. There has been reduction in the discrimination against women and greater access to education and health care. In Afghanistan many laws were enacted that gave equal status for men and women and set apart a quarter of parliamentary seats for the women. There has been improvement in the condition of human rights in the country, yet corruption and mismanagement have put many of these improvements in jeopardy. The new Afghan government has fallen well short of expectation and is not able to improve the sense of security among the people of Afghanistan.

Though the Taliban is out of power they still exist in many pockets of Afghanistan and find many hiding places in Pakistan. From these centres they are still fighting the NATO troops and killing common Afghans in large numbers. Suicide attacks have increased manifold and are putting Afghan lives in danger. The outrageous suicide attack by Taliban that killed peace negotiator Burrhanuddin Rabbani shows the murderous ability that the Taliban still holds. Afghan authorities blame Pakistan for harbouring the deadly Taliban commanders in different places in that country. It is commonly believed by many international security experts that the plot for killing Rabbani was hatched in Quetta, Pakistan, which is considered as the headquarters of the Taliban in Pakistan with the support of the Pakistani spy agency, the Inter Service Intelligence or the ISI.

One of the most important facts that the United States and the NATO have now recognised and realised is that the Afghans largely resent the existence of foreign troops in their soil. Many Afghans have taken to the streets demanding the immediate withdrawal of the foreign troops from Afghanistan. They protest against the continuous existence of foreign troops and condemned the killing of the civilians. At the same time many Afghans believe that once the foreign troops leave the country the Taliban would come back to power and establish their cruel and oppressive government in the country. The trust of the Afghans on the Afghan police and army that are driven by corruption, illiteracy and drug use is quite minimal and many believe that they will not able to fight against the battle-hardened Taliban forces for long.

Anyways the United States and NATO are planning for a phased exit from Afghanistan with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen claiming that the overall security situation in Afghanistan has improved and that the Afghan forces have taken lead in maintaining security in seven provinces and districts in Afghanistan. US President Barack Obama announced this year his plan to withdraw 10,000 US troops by year end and another 23,000 more by next summer.

10 years, without any doubt, is a very long time for a war to continue and therefore it is imperative for the United States and the NATO to strategise to leave Afghanistan after giving the responsibility for security to the Afghan troops. The later it becomes the graver would be the causality of the war, not to mention the increase in the enormous financial resources that should be committed for the war.

What have we Achieved from the Hartals?

It has been more than one month since this blog has been updated as this writer has been busy with some personal preoccupations. However the recent hartals in Kerala (one in his city of Thiruvananthapuram and the other all over the state) and the subsequent violence have left this writer with no other option but to hit the online world with an essay damning hartals and the violence associated with it. The essay wants to put a question to all those who support violent hartals on what they have achieved from it.

Contrary to those supporters of violent hartals who claim that those who criticise hartals are chamchas of the UPA government and are in support of the petrol price rise, this writer wants to say that it is not so and we, those who damn violent hartals, are equally outraged as the supporters of hartals at the anti-people stand of the UPA government in increasing the price of petrol which is intended to help the private fuel distributors. We are also for protesting against this injustice to the people of India but we don’t believe in violence in any such protests. As this writer had already pointed out in another essay, hartals were used during India’s independence struggle by the non-violent freedom fighters as a successful form of protest as in those days the produce of various economic activities in India used to go to the United Kingdom. Therefore when you protest using hartals, by not working on that day and by closing down your shops, you were preventing the United Kingdom from getting the benefits of the economic activity. So that made sense. But when you use the same form of protest now against our own Indian government, you should know that you are hampering your own prosperity as the produce of economic activities doesn’t go to any other country but to your own country.

Statistics has shown that the state lost around 200 crores as a result of the hartals including 5.5 crore loss for KSRTC. Hartal supporters damaged many state vehicles and other state properties and it must be remembered that the state would use tax payers’ money to purchase new vehicles and rebuild those damaged state properties. As if the burden of increased petrol prices is not enough, these hartals have put an additional monetary load on the millions of poor people of our state. In the mindless violence that the hartal supporters unleash, there have often been occasions of individuals getting hurt. A poor man who drives KSRTC buses to make both ends meet was severely hurt during one of the stone pelting incidents that happened in the recent hartal at Thiruvananthapuram. Private vehicles are not left alone by hartal supporters either and they often threaten those who venture outside for urgent errands. It is a general rule in the political circle of the state that a hartal could be considered successful only if people are blocked from travelling freely in the state and therefore the hartal supporters will do whatever is possible to make sure that it happens. They will create blockades on the road, threaten people and even attack them to achieve this and after the hartal ends the political leaders would make tall claims in the media that the hartal had been a success and people had acquiesced with their hartal which was evident from the fact that there had been no significant traffic on the road. Quite laughable indeed!

Now the question that needs to be re-asked is what have we achieved from the hartals? The petrol price remains as high as it was earlier and the central government has no intention to reduce it. The state government of Kerala decided to forego the additional revenue which it would have got from the price rise. And how much that is? 70 paise, which means you would save only Rs. 7 on filling 10 litres of petrol; a savings of Rs. 7 in Rs. 690 (Kochi price). So when you are sure that hartals won’t result in any concrete change and you are protesting for the sake of protest, is it not sensible to find a less violent form of protest than hartal? If your intention is just to show your protest, you could have sit in for a fast for a day, you could have gone for a peaceful demonstration in front of the Secretariat or district headquarters or conducted a seminar against petrol price hike. Whenever people speak against hartals those who support it challenge them to come up with a more effective alternative to hartal (as if hartal is a very effective one). That is for the politicians to discover and promote, that is their responsibility and that is for what we Indians elect them and call them leaders. However this much is true, contrary to what a leftist leader in the state said, many things can be achieved by peaceful protest as was shown by Anna Hazare’s peaceful protest for Janlokpal bill. For the many flaws it had, Anna Hazare’s protest was a mass protest that got significant support from the different walks of life.

It is high time politicians understand that there is no place for violence in the Indian society. Being people who have seen and learnt how Mahatma Gandhi’s peaceful sathyagraha decimated the arrogance of mighty English and achieved independence for the country, we Indians can never be cajoled by the evanescent strength of violence. All those political ideologies that are based on the supremacy of armed struggle and violence would certainly sink into the oblivion of Indian history sooner rather than later.

What we need is a new law that would put all the responsibility of monetary loss to the state and personal attacks on the people on a hartal day to the party and its leaders who call for it. As of now no one can be held responsible for the damages and this encourages political parties to call for hartals as and when they fancy. Politicians who oppose such a law often come up with the argument that the opposition parties may commit a crime on a hartal day to defame them and put the blame on the party that has called for the hartal. But that is the risk that they take on calling for a hartal and a party should call for a hartal only after taking into consideration such a turn of event. Having said this much, this writer holds no such hopes for a law of that kind to come up in our Parliament, for laws are created by these politicians only (rightists, leftists and the centrists) who are still very much convinced about the possibility of gaining political points out of a hartal. We Indians are destined to such a poor fate of falling prey to the treacherous intentions of these unscrupulous politicians all our lives.

The Lokpal Turmoil

The Lokpal bill issue has once again become the talk of the nation with every nook and corner of the nation brimming with discussions, opinions, arguments and deliberations on the subject. The government’s repressive action of arresting Anna Hazare and his team when they were organising a peaceful protest has united the country against the government. It is an irony that the party of the Mahatma has jailed someone who has been fighting a non-violent struggle against a deeply flawed system. The array of people from various social and educational backgrounds joining Anna’s protest shows that this is a real people’s movement and not a movement of the select few as the government wants to portray.

It is altogether a different issue whether everyone in this country, this writer included, acquiesce with Team Anna’s demand that the Lokpal bill that they submitted should be introduced and reviewed by the Parliament. But it must be reiterated that the right to assembly and hold peaceful demonstrations is the birth right of every Indian guaranteed by the constitution and any violation of this right by the authorities should be protested. It is true that introducing bills and making laws are the prerogative of the Parliament and any effort to sabotage this system will have grave consequences for the future of the democracy in the country. In this regard the government’s argument is quite right, but at the same time democracy not only means making laws by the people’s representatives in the Parliament but also the right of every individual to protest peacefully, to build up public opinion on various matters affecting her/his life and to tell the people’s representatives what they like and dislike by making their opinions clear through public discourse.

The opposition parties in India are acting against the government in this issue too but not because of their moral position on it. They too don’t seem to be of the view that the ideas expressed by Team Anna, which consists of many legal and administrative luminaries known for their personal integrity and legal knowledge, should also be discussed in the Parliament. All the parties are of the view that all discussions and ideas of the Lokpal bill should come only from the elected representatives in the Parliament. Most parties are dismissive of the role played by Team Anna in bringing suggestions on Lokpal bill for the government to consider and they constantly preach about the pre-eminence of elected representative of the Parliament in making the Lokpal bill. But it would be good if these parties acknowledge the fact that the laymen, the ‘aam aadmi’, have lost confidence in the politicians, their elected representatives, in checking corruption in the country and are therefore forced to come out on to the streets in support of the anti-graft crusaders in Team Anna. Instead of blaming Anna Hazare and the scores of people supporting him, the political parties should introspect and try to find out and rectify the reasons that have prompted people to take to the streets for a corruption bill with teeth.

The way in which the Congress party has come up with allegations against Anna Hazare – that he is himself corrupt and that he has the backing of the United States – shows how ugly and farcical a national political party can become when confronted by a man with enormous popular support. The allegation that someone is backed by the United States is one that has been made infamous by the Communists in our country whenever they were challenged by the people’s force. By toeing the same line the Congress party in the country appears to look stupid and has become a laughing stock. By attacking Anna Hazare’s non-violent, peaceful protests the Congress party has disgraced itself to the ranks of the British authoritarian government of the pre-independence period when it used to launch scathing attacks on Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent struggles.

As in Tahrir Square in Egypt, where pro-democracy activists assembled against the oppressive government of Hosni Mubarak, people from all walks of life gathered at JP Park in Delhi in support of Anna Hazare. Contrary to government propaganda that only white-collared employees or only the upper strata of the society was present in the gathering, farmers, rickshaw pullers as well as housewives and even school students participated in the protests. The use of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter in sending across the message and gathering people at places of protest was also a feature of this people’s movement as in the pro-democracy movement in Egypt.

As the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley said, the popular support that Anna Hazare got for his anti-graft movement should act as a wake up call for the government, which is not at all sincere about checking the growth of corruption in the public sphere. They should understand that it is not Anna Hazare who is trying to destroy the democratic ethos of our nations but the unscrupulous politicians who are bereft of any democratic values or ideals, becoming disillusioned of whom the common people get to the streets to support crusaders like Anna. At the same time, all political parties should know that finally the soul and morality of the young generation of India are showing some signs of revival and it would be difficult for the politicians to exist until and unless they remain accountable to the people they represent.

On This Independence Day - Re-publishing My Article

The article “Setting Priorities on the 60th Birthday” was published four years back, 17 August 2007, on some of the areas in which India should focus in order to become a super power it aspires to become in the future. Few things have changed in the last four years and therefore this same article has got a lot of significance in this day too.

On this occasion of another Independence Day I am re-publishing my article “Setting Priorities on the 60th Birthday”. Please click on the title of the article in the above sentence or click on the below mentioned link to find the article.

http://candidminds.blogspot.com/2007/08/setting-priorities-on-60th-birthday.html

UPA 2 - The Curious Case of the Most Incorrupt Heading the Most Corrupt

More skeletons are tumbling out of the cupboard of UPA-2. Corruption charges like never before have dented the image of the coalition. As if the corruption charges that have already come out are not enough, new ones are getting out from the darkness of obscurity to the light of public discourse. It has already received the name of being the most corrupt government in the history of independent India. However the most curious thing about this dubious distinction of this government is that it is headed by a man, Dr. Manmohan Singh, known for his personal integrity; a man on whom even the most valiant opposition politician may think a million times before pointing an accusing finger of even a minor wrongdoing or dereliction of duty.

The reputation of the UPA 2 is so much besmirched with corruption scams that people have lost count of it and adding to it, each single day new scams are coming out causing nightmares for the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Commonwealth games scam, Adarsh flat scam, corruption in 2G spectrum allocation, corruption in the allocation of S Band, reneging on the promises made on a strong Lokpal bill and the fickleness of the government in taking actions on bringing back black money stashed away in Swiss banks etc. have all made this government a laughing stock. As a result of these corruption charges, the government has failed to gather enough courage to go ahead with governance and is not confident enough to take bold initiatives that could result in the economic and societal development of the country.

The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has become only the shadow of the man who took bold initiatives in the early 1990s to liberalise the economy and bring in fresh lease of life to a sinking Indian economy. He was bold in his decision making and brought in fresh changes in the way business was done in the country. From the dark ages of ‘licence raj’ India got into a very energetic and vibrant globalised business system. By thwarting all opposition made by the leftists in the country, who could only oppose his ideas but could not bring any alternative for wealth creation and was only able to come up with economic ideas that could only help in 'equitable distribution of poverty', Manmohan Singh brought in economic reforms. However now he is rather silent – either he is hand-tied or he has no courage left in him to bring about big changes in the Indian economy and hence the economy is struggling. Statistics show that foreign direct investment declined by 25% in 2010-11 compared to previous year. Domestic investment is also in the decline and many Indian companies are looking to investment opportunities abroad. Because of the recent scams government machinery has become so ridiculously risk averse that it is not ready to make investment and hence government spending has become minimal. Inflation is rising to dangerous level and Reserve Bank is making all efforts to control it by changing the bank rates, but from the government’s side no fiscal policy measures have been declared to tame the inflation.

If Dr. Manmohan Singh and his government become so timid and cowardly in their governance then India is in for a big trouble in the near future. Lot of work remains to be done in the various sectors of the economy. The government needs to make more investments in the agricultural sector to improve the storage and transport, so that we can avoid a situation where grains are rotting at a place when thousands are dying out of poverty in various parts of the country. We need to speed up building roads and increase investment in other infrastructural projects like power sector. There is an urgent need to spend money by the government but checks should be made more stringent to make sure that corruption becomes the exception and not the rule (wiping out corruption completely in a democratic system like ours is a difficult task indeed). Investigation on the corruption charges should be done scrupulously but it must not turn into a witch-hunt of the honest.

One of the most honest politicians of our times, Dr. Manmohan Singh has certainly got his task cut out. But it is very important for him to make sure that his government doesn’t go down in the dustbin of Indian history. It would certainly be a sad thing, a certain deviation from the maxim of natural justice, if the most incorrupt politician, the architect of India’s economic reforms program, is remembered only as the head of the most corrupt government in the history of the country.

Ask India to Help Stop the Bloodshed in Syria

(Amnesty International Appeal)

It has been over four months since the beginning of largely peaceful protests in Syria calling for political reform and for the Syrian President to step down. The Syrian authorities’ response to their people’s demands has so far been brutal.

According to Amnesty International’s research, the human rights violations committed by the Syrian security forces and army since mass protests began in mid-March include unlawful killings and torture. They appear to have been committed as part of a widespread - as well as systematic - attack on the civilian population and, in some cases, to amount to crimes against humanity.

That is why Amnesty International has called on the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC), to impose an arms embargo and to freeze the assets abroad of the Syrian President and his senior associates.

So far the UN Security Council has been silent on Syria – failing to take action to help protect peaceful dissent in the country.

Some members of the Council have introduced a resolution on Syria which could be a first step towards a referral to the ICC. However, voting on the resolution is currently blocked by six other members. We believe that, three of those six, Brazil, South Africa and India, could be persuaded to change their position with sufficient international pressure.

Brazil, South Africa and India aspire to become permanent members of the UN Security Council and, as such, we believe that they have an increasing responsibility to try to bring an end to the violent crackdown in Syria. Please sign this petition to help ensure that Brazil, South Africa and India do not shy away from their responsibilities. As an Indian you need to pressure your government to change its position. Sign here to let the government hear your voice.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/ask-brazil-south-africa-and-india-to-help-stop-the-bloodshed-in-syria

Take Action Now

Send an email to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, South Africa and India urging them to join other members of the UN Security Council in supporting the current draft resolution on Syria and calling on the Syrian authorities to help bring an end to the violent crackdown in the country.

Dear Ministers,

I am writing to urge you, as representatives of the governments of Brazil, South Africa and India, to support the current draft UN Security Council resolution on Syria and thereby to join other members of the Council in calling on the Syrian government to stop the use of tanks, snipers and torture to suppress peaceful dissent.

So far the UN Security Council has remained silent on the situation in Syria. This is despite reports of widespread human rights violations across the country and Amnesty International’s assessment that crimes against humanity are being committed by the Syrian security forces and army in their crackdown on dissent.

As key players in the international arena and members of the UN Security Council, Brazil, South Africa and India have the possibility and we believe the responsibility to change this.

I appeal to you and your governments to show leadership and to use your international influence to help stop the bloodshed in Syria and ensure accountability for abuses committed there.

Yours sincerely,

Brazil:

Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Minister of Foreign Affairs

ministro.estado@itamaraty.gov.br

South Africa:

Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister of International Relations and Co-operation

Email: minister@foreign.gov.za

India:

S M Krishna, Minister of External Affairs

E-mail: eam@mea.gov.in

India’s Tour of England 2011

It is all set for the 2000th test match in the history of the great game of cricket tomorrow and it is to be the home of cricket, Lord’s Cricket Ground that is going to be the venue for the match. The England team would be challenging the number one ranked test team in the world, India in what is going to be the 100th test match between the two countries. India will play 4 tests, 5 one dayers, a one-off T20 game in England and four tour matches, of which one match against Somerset has already been played.

The anticipation of Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th international hundred is one certain factor that is going to spice up the first test at Lord’s. Many essays and articles have already been written on this factor. Not only Indians, but also the whole world is waiting for that moment. What a great occasion it would be if the great man can hit his 100th hundred in the home of cricket, a place where he hasn’t got any hundred till now and his highest score is a meagre 37. As is always the case, the British media is flooding with essays on Tendulkar’s greatness, memoirs of him by his former colleagues in Yorkshire and his former opponents from the English team, tips and advices for the English bowlers on how to minimise the threat of Tendulkar and so on.

Though the impact of Sachin Tendulkar’s imminent 100th hundred is going to be quite big in this series, it is not the only thing that people are looking forward to. This series is where the number one ranked team in the world is being challenged by a team that is biting on its heels to become the number one. England has had a great couple of seasons of test match cricket at home and away, the most important one being their Ashes win down under in 2010-2011. There are a lot of high impact players in the team including Kevin Pietersen, Alistair Cook, Ian Bell, James Anderson, Graeme Swann and the captain Andrew Strauss himself. There are also some Englishmen, who have made great progress in the recent years including Chris Tremlett, Tim Bresnan, Eoin Morgan and Jonathan Trott. There are lot of Indian players too who are ready to make an impact in the series. The great wall of India Rahul Dravid, the very very special Laxman, captain cool MSD, pace ace Zaheer Khan, the irascible yet highly talented Gautam Gambhir and the lanky Ishant Sharma are some of them.

The series would also be an occasion for some mouth watering duels between players of both sides. The cricket enthusiasts are looking forward to see the one-on-one between Andrew Strauss and Zaheer Khan, Alistair Cook and Ishant Sharma and Graeme Swann against the big three of Indian batting Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. There would also be face offs between Eoin Morgan and Suresh Raina to judge who is the better No.6 batman among the two and also between the captains MS Dhoni and Andrew Strauss on their tactical moves as captains.

The series between India and England would also be the 100th match as head coach for Duncan Fletcher, the first coach to achieve that. The Zimbabwean who has been instrumental in making the English team a strong outfit will have the curious responsibility of strategising their downfall in this series. It would be interesting to see how he is going to handle this enormous onus.

This 16th tour of India to England is one great occasion to revive the losing magic of test match cricket. As this is the second part of English summer, there won’t be a lot of moisture in the pitches and the prediction is that it is going to be a batting paradise for the batsmen of both sides. When that is the case, much would depend on how well the bowlers on both sides bowl to the opponent batsmen. England would be trying to use the pace and bounce of the pitch to their advantage and would be looking to put the Indian batsmen to the backfoot, both literally and figuratively, by bowling short. They are already speaking about how Chris Tremlett can bowl short and put the Indian batsmen on to the defensive. But unlike in the past India also has got excellent pacers in the team including the lanky pacer Ishant Sharma who can extract bounce on any surface with his height and high arm action.

The entire cricketing world is closely watching this series and if England can win the series with a margin of 2 tests they would knock down India from the top position and become the No.1 test team in the world. So there is a lot at stake for both teams in this series and we are surely going to witness a hard fought series in the English grounds this summer.

A Former Student Looks Back at Students’ Strikes

Once again this writer got caught up amidst the huge march of the student’s wing of the major leftist party in Thiruvananthapuram. Well, it was after eight long years that it happened, for after graduating out of college, this writer never had such a misfortune. A shop keeper in front of the Government Secretariat told this writer to flee the place as soon as possible as there was a great chance for this march to turn ugly and get violent. But with the experience of being a student in the earlier-famous-now-notorious University College for three eventful years, where students’ marches and violent protests were only daily affairs, this writer told the shop keeper that he need not worry as it was sure that the march won’t turn violent. As the march had a very large number of girl students it was sure that the leaders of the march were not looking for a violent event but a peaceful one and had there been an intention for a violent protest, they wouldn’t have had this many girls in the march. Yes, this writer would dare to make a controversial statement that almost all violent students’ protests are well thought out and planned, not spontaneous as these political leaders want us to believe.

Of the three years that this writer studied in University College, the first thing that he (and his co-students) did every day on entering the college campus was to look for the union leader; not because of any particular affection for the man, but to see if he is in the traditional mundu or in western trousers. If he is in the traditional dress, then it is an indication that there is a strike planned on that particular day (you know, these so-called politicians excel in these sort of treacherous ways of making people believe that they are important people by coming in traditional guise). After about one or two years in the college, you will start gaining that sixth sense of sniffing out from the air the probability of a march turning violent, hours before that march actually start, for by then you will be able to decipher from the surroundings of the college and the demeanour of the leaders and major activists what they are planning to do. Once you comprehend from the above mentioned factors that the protest would turn violent, the first thing you need to do was turn back, go out of the gate of the college, and take the first bus to your home. This is the only reason why you won’t find many final years students in a protest march.

The process that the leaders of these college union follow to gather students for the marches would appear rather preposterous when you take into account what the general public is made to believe by these people. When the public see large number of students marching in unison behind the “able” leadership of the union chairman or any other such trivial bloke, they tend to believe that this students’ political party has got such a huge following and all those students empathise with the issue on which the march is being held. However, the truth lies somewhere else. From personal experience this writer can say that most of these students are threatened or bullied into participating by the activists of the party and 99% of them wouldn’t know for what they are protesting for. Though in hindsight it appears rather cowardly, this writer still remembers how he and his friends fearfully hid in the darkness of the department library to save themselves from the clutches of activists who came searching for students hiding in that place.

In another similar occasion this writer was not able to hide anywhere and the party activists got hold him and ordered him to go for the march. Another one gave a party flag in his hands and instructed him to shout their party slogan. In that college, while students are preparing for a march, this party flag is an interesting thing, for once it reaches a person’s hand no one else would agree to take it in their hands. So this writer was all at sea thinking what to do with it? If it is in his hands he will have to carry it and go along with the march till Secretariat, where violence is almost a surety; but no one else is ready to accept it from his hands either. Then this writer gathered all his courage and placed the flag in one of the corners of the college building and tried to escape from the place. But once he got to the gate, he was again “captured” and was directed to join the march. Then we were made to march to Secretariat, the place of violent protests, under the watchful eyes of the activists, like sheep to the slaughter.

As the march approach the Secretariat it often happens in a students strike that the activists who would be walking at the back end of the march would start to feel such a curious sense of great enthusiasm that they will start running to reach the front end of the march, shouting with all sorts of weird and hostile sounds. This writer is inclined to believe that these activists rush to reach the front end of the march lest only those activists at the front end get beaten up by police, get injured, get caught in the camera of news channels, get instant fame and get appreciation and sympathy from the party leaders, which is a short cut to get into the higher echelons of the party. However, in this rushing up of activists from the back end of the march to the front end lies the chance for the ordinary students to escape from the march. On the way from University College to Secretariat there is a church and on that particular day, when this writer was caught up in the march, there was some wedding function going on. He and his friends stealthily entered the crowd in the wedding function and escaped from the march that turned violent once it reached Secretariat.

Now this is the truth behind students’ strike that we always see in our state, which more often than not, turn violent. The striking students would not leave any stone unturned to make sure that the police beat them up. They would try to jump over the barricade, would push the police, would call them names, would throw stones at them and would even fling petrol bombs at them. Though the police would try to maintain peace even when pushed to their limit, they would ultimately fall into the trap of the strikers and would use sticks to disperse the crowd – even the policemen are human. Then the politicians would make all sorts of hue and cry in the street and in the legislative assembly claiming that ‘innocent’ students are being targeted by the police and that no one should think that they can douse the fire in the striking protesters through violence.

It is high time that the conscience of the public rise against such devilish attempts by the politicians to gain political points at the expense of the lives of innocent students. The unscrupulous politicians exploit the youthful passion of the teenagers for their benefit, putting the careers, lives and future of the students at enormous risk. These deceitful politicians hold neither good moral values in their hearts nor any compassion for the innocent students. It is imperative that civil society show them their rightful place, which is in the dustbin of history.

Two Years Since I Met Up with an Accident

I remember it as if it happened only yesterday. But it was this day, two years back that I met up with an accident. On that rainy night on 30 June 2009, I was heading back to my room in my bike after a day of hectic work in the office. Then suddenly a villainous dog with sinister designs in its mind jumped across my bike, I applied the brakes and skidded off the road; the dog was saved, I wasn’t.

On this occasion I republish my article 'The Peculiar Living – Life of a Temporarily Handicapped Man', which was written immediately after getting back to normalcy after the accident. Please click on the title of the article in the above sentence or click on the below mentioned link to find the article.

http://candidminds.blogspot.com/2009/09/peculiar-living-life-of-temporarily.html

Assembly Elections 2011 – Results and Implications

The result of the 2011 Assembly elections came on 10 May, exactly one month back. One month is a good enough time for emotions to settle down and for better judgement to take control of politics-savvy minds. With such a perceived improvement in our judgement we can analyse the result of the Assembly Elections.

The April-May 2011 round of the assembly elections in the four states and one Union Territory had mixed results for all major parties in India, except BJP. Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam as well as Puducherry went for polls and in all places, except Assam, anti-incumbency factor played a major role in bringing down the ruling coalitions. However in Assam, the Congress ministry retained power and its leader Tarun Gogoi returned for a third consecutive time as Chief Minister. In Puducherry, ruling Congress suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of ex-Congress leader NR. Rangasamy led All India NR Congress (AINRC). In Kerala the UDF under the leadership of Congress has come to power with Oommen Chandy as the Chief Minister. In the 140 member Kerala assembly, UDF got a wafer thin majority of 72 seats, while the LDF under the leadership of CPI (M), which was the incumbent government, got 68 seats. In Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK decimated the DMK and snatched a landslide victory by ambushing the ruling front headed by DMK. AIADMK led Front, which has CPI (M), CPI and Vijayakant’s DMDK got 195 seats in the 234 member TN assembly. In a much awaited election result, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress demolished the left’s dilapidated fortress in West Bengal. In the 294 seats West Bengal Assembly, Trinamool led front got 227 seats and the combined left got only 67 seats.

One of the most important outcomes of this election is that the national parties have lost their prominence in these states and that many regional parties have gained a lot of seats as well as majority vote share. Congress, the CPI (M) and the BJP fared miserably in the election. Congress was able to win in Kerala by the skin of their teeth and they lost in Puducherry, got only few seats in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Already reeling under scores of corruption charges in the centre, the Congress party has gone down further back after the election results. In both Kerala and West Bengal the Congress party is under the mercy of their allies. In Kerala, though Congress is the major partner, it is particularly vulnerable to the pressures of their allies, the Muslim League and the Kerala Congress (M). At the same time, Congress is the minor partner in West Bengal, where Trinamool Congress has achieved a major victory. Congress is besieged with a lot of problems in the national level as well as in the regional level in most states. Corruption charges, lack of leadership and the problem of rebels are holding Congress back from regaining its lost position. Though the Congress is trying its best to come out of the cloud of corruption charges by taking legal actions against politicians like Suresh Kalmadi, A Raja and Kanimozhi, it doesn’t seems to be completely honest about dealing with corruption. The way in which the party is dragging its feet on the Lokpal issue and the fascist way in which it has responded to the fast conducted by Baba Ramdev, where police swooped on the protesters assembled at Baba Ramdev’s protest meeting, show the moral penury in which the Indian National Congress finds itself in. The party doesn’t seem to be interested to involve in political discourse, which is quite imperative in a working democracy.

The condition of the CPI (M) and the leftists at large has become pathetic after the elections. The Communist cadre had always been extremely proud of their great record in the West Bengal Assembly. In what turned out to be a historic election, the CPI (M) led Left front was swept out of power after a record seven consecutive terms in office. The left has mainly itself to blame for this result. The traditional left has always been arrogant and thought they were always right and looked at others with absolute disdain. They were never comfortable with criticisms and almost always responded to criticism with arrogance, which sometimes led to violent attacks on the critics. Intolerance, which has been the hallmark of many Communist regimes in the world (regimes of Stalin in Russia and Mao in China, being best examples), has led to an alienation of the party from the wishes and ideas of the people. They often forget that constructive criticism is important for the growth of any organised system and any absence of such criticism, or the intolerance towards criticism, will make an organised system morbid. To think that one is always right is not only foolish but is a prescription for disaster, as the left has found out in West Bengal. Though the CPI (M) was able to gain some lost ground in Kerala as a result of VS Achuthanandan’s perceived action against corruption, they were not able to regain power in the state (it is a matter of argument whether VS was against corruption as a social malady or was trying to gain some political points as he was acting only against corruption committed by his opponents, but stayed disgracefully mum on those done by his own party men). The left parties, particularly the CPI (M), have to do a serious introspection to find out the reasons for their defeat in Kerala and West Bengal. They have to see whether their failure has been in the organisational level or in the leadership level. They should also reassess their political priorities in the changing political and social landscape of the country. It is also important to be more responsive to the needs of the people and to not get struck up in their theoretical dogma. However the most important thing to do for the party, if it has to regain its lost position in the country, is to rein in the thuggish and violent party cadre who are always inclined to violence and hostility.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition in the country, is languishing in the oblivion of political India and in this assembly election they had no real role to play. However they have now an opportune time to lash out at the government in the centre, which is weighed down by many corruption charges. But instead of taking the lead in the agitations against the corrupt government, they are trying to support people like Baba Ramdev who has got no political ideals or democratic convictions. After the retirement of the legendary Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the BJP was unable to bring an inspirational leader to guide it. Now that the Babri Masjid issue is not appealing to their support base, the BJP is trying to find out some other issues, but is failing miserably to come up with any.

Assembly Elections 2011 has made a lot of changes in the political landscape of the country. It must be seen what changes are going to happen in the country as the result of this elections. The new governments in the states have already started to make changes in the way in which the erstwhile governments were working. At the same time, as citizens of India we must ask ourselves whether we have matured enough as a political class after the elections. From the periphery it looks as if there had been a massive vote against political cynicism and superfluous populism.

Help protect children in Jammu and Kashmir

(Amnesty International Appeal)

When teenage boys turn 16 in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in India they suddenly face a new threat. If they get arrested, they are treated as adults while according to international law only those above 18 should be.

Raheel Khursheed, who recently joined an Amnesty International Twitter campaign to demand the release of a teenager said, “The government has to decide whether the approach of talking to these young people should be humane or whether they want to go down as a government that uses legal brutality.”

According to the Jammu and Kashmir Juvenile Justice Act (JKJJA) teenage boys above 16 are adults and the government routinely locks them up in adult prisons in harsh conditions. There is a real need for reform in the area of juvenile justice and this has been recognised by the J&K Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah himself.

By signing this petition you can ensure that Omar Abdullah keeps his word. We will deliver your signatures to him ahead of the monsoon session of the J&K Assembly in September.

Join Amnesty International's campaign to make the adult age 18 so that the JKJJA becomes compatible with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Please go to the following URL and sign in the online petition.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/node/24915

(Image Copyright: Owais Zargar)