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The return of the fragrance of jasmine of India.
“I am alive today, I may not be there tomorrow. I shall continue to serve till my last breath and when I die every drop of my blood will strengthen India and keep a united India alive.” Indira Gandhi.
No one had called Indira Gandhi
the jasmine of India. But just when the
ideal of a United India which she nurtured, toiled a lifetime and eventually gave
her life for seems to be falling apart,
there is some refreshing fragrance of
hope emanating from Indira’s own flesh and blood.
It is as if Indira Gandhi, who had
made millions feel immensely proud to be Indian while she was alive, has cast a
spell on her grant daughter Priyanka Gandhi. A magical yet mesmerising spell
which even Priyanka seems to be unaware of, something only those who lived in the
times of Indira can discern.
Such is the simplicity of a few words
she spoke recently, manner and mannerism with which she has delivered them, the
confidence she has exuded while delivering them and the immense destructive
power with which they have destroyed the fake facade she had hit them with, all
reminiscent of her grant mother, that one may be excused to indulge in spells
and charms and nostalgic glory of India.
The North South Divide of India Narendra Modi Can Bring Back.
Everyone agrees that the self
appointed next Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, is a fragmenting
character. Did the US Ambassador to India, Nancy Powell see the writings on the
wall and decided to throw in the towel because Washington won’t see?
Can the United States and the
rest of the world, already beleaguered by a divisive and aggressive Putin in
Europe, deal with a North South divide of a strong India, a guarantee against aggressive
China, on top of all other kinds of splintering Narendra Modi seems to have
abetted so far?
To list out the divisions Modi
has achieved so far, critics can point out his hype of Gujarat Model
Development, his professed Urban support base, his orchestrated cyber follower
base, the blind admiration of young techies he has mustered and numerous other
factors which the rest of India lack, as Modi’s own versus the rest of India
which divide the fabric of India in some
undesirable way.
“Give me three hundred seats and I will empower
the nation” Narendra Modi , who has so
far been refused a US visa on account of his role in 2002 religious riots in
Gujarat, has stated in a pre election speech.
Why Does Its Manifesto Make Not Just the BJP but Everyone Else Too So Nervous?
BJP has finally released a
Manifesto on the election day. The Congress party and others have questioned
the delay and BJP has come with enough plausible explanations which have been
ridiculed by various opponents.
As one congress leader put it, If
the BJP can’t take out a Manifesto in time how are they going to manage the
country’s affairs?
But the real reason for the BJP to be so defensive
and nervous about publishing its manifesto well before the start of the
election instead of putting it off till the last moment is in the Manifesto
itself.
Perhaps the simplest of
explanation is that with the reference to Ayodhya and Article 370, the BJP Manifesto
resembles the proverbial Wolf in Sheep’s clothing.
The BJP was not sure if, for the
one billion voters of India, it will look anything but a dressed up version of
the old wolf they have shunned twice. The party obviously didn’t want to scare
them away by the inevitable media exposure, scrutiny and debate the Manifesto
would have generated in the crucial weeks before the election.
Why Does John Kerry Let the Devyani Imbroglio to Explode in to His Benghazi?
With the recent Chinese belligerence over air and naval supremacy, the US secretary of state John Kerry has a lot of tofu on his platter. Then, it is really baffling why the US state department is letting a bizarre brawl between an Indian diplomat, her Indian maid and an Indian Attorney of a new York district turn in to a Benghazi like crisis.
The looming diplomatic crisis is not between any two countries. It is between, as many Americans claim, the oldest and the biggest democratic nations in the world. For any other country, the diplomatic mission to the USA is the most important, whether some countries admit or not. For the USA, the diplomatic mission from India, the biggest democracy, is bound to be vital for the whole idea of the democratic system.
Then why humiliate the acting head of the Indian mission to the USA, who happens to be a lady, for a six months old dispute with her Indian maid, by public arrest and, reportedly, with cavity search under police custody? Surely, there were better ways to deal with the issue, which has actually sent out a message of utter humiliation to a country of 1.3 billion people. Devyani Khobragade, a medical doctor turned diplomat and acting head of the Indian mission, had this to say about the incident although disputed by US authorities.
While I was going through it, although I must admit that I broke down many times as the indignities of repeated handcuffing, stripping and cavity searches, swabbing, hold up with common criminals and drug addicts were all being imposed upon me despite my incessant assertions of immunity, I got the strength to regain composure and remain dignified thinking that I must represent all of my colleagues and my country with confidence and pride.
The predictable reaction from the Indian government has not just opened up an immense sore in the forty years old amity the USA has been trying to build up with a country with a huge population next door to China but has exposed the US mission in Delhi and other Indian cities to Benghazi like vulnerability, in country where terrorist were easily able to strike at the parliament and other famous targets. The treatment of Devyani by the US government has also lead to unprecedented public anger and outrage in India, in the Indian media and social networks which seems to beescalating with the lukewarm reaction from the US government to solve the issue.
Make no mistake, it is not an election issue.
Despite the general impression that the Indian outrage is to do with the impending election, and both the ruling UPA and the main opposition BJP have political stake in taking a tough stance against the US on account of national pride, the issue is more fundamental and hurting the Indian psyche.
In reality not many people in India are familiar with "cavity search" or understand what it involves. That is until Devyani has let the nation know .
In a country not familiar with people hiding drugs and weapons in body cavities where no police procedure exists for searching of such niches, even strip searching of a woman have connotation to the barbaric denuding of mythological characters, the whole things have only one meaning. Barbaric and utterly humiliating.
Don't Kill the messenger
That, such treatment was meted out to a country in which a large majority look at American capitalism and hegemony with suspicion despite an educated section believe in building bridges and cooperation with the US, hasn't gone well at all, no matter any amount of rationalising and justification.
USA being a nation living on Nike shoes to a million other things made with cheap labour from China and sweat shops from Bangladesh and India, and out sourcing work to India at quarter of the rates, the argument about the wages to an Indian made appear nothing but a farce.
The US has touched the Indian Caste Nerve.
To make things worse for John Kerry and the US, Devyani Khobragade happens to belong to a schedule caste, a factor with extremely sensitive socio political implications in India and something which its most outspoken leader, Mayavathi, has already taken on herself to fight for.
The US State department may be adept at dealing with diplomatic crisis, but certainly not equipped for Indian caste system which many astute Indian leaders find hard to tackle.
Born an Indian, always an Indian.
The US Attorney General, Preet Bharara may have political ambitions and a need to prove himself by following Giuliani and Christie by acting tough. But for 1.3 billion Indians, he is just another one of them, no matter what he does in New York, the villain of the piece and someone who is out to harm India.
The timing couldn't be worse.
Unfortunately the whole episode of humiliation of one of their folk in a friendly foreign country has coincided with the painful anniversary of the mass rape and murder of a girl, which has shaken the conscience of the country and many abroad.
John Kerry and the State Department undoubtedly has a crisis of unprecedented gravity at their hands which seems to be escalating by the day. An effort to assess correctly and not underestimate the Indian sensitivities is the need of the day.
One Shot And Two Birds Of Raghuram Rajan
Can't blame Raghuram Rajan, the
new Governor of the Reserve Bank Of India, for springing a surprise on everyone
concerned with the Indian stock markets and the growth of Indian economy by
hiking the interest rate instead of lowering it.
Every sensible Indian who is able
to think for himself and even a little for his country would do the same if he
or she were in the RBI Governor's shoes.
It may not be rocket science the
Indian Media and financial market has started to expect from a financial whiz
who is famously credited with correctly predicting the last world financial crisis,
but it certainly smacks of a well thought out political strategy, in resonance
with the need of the hour and the ruling government.
If the media, especially the
Indian set up which struggle to prove to be a biting one has failed to see the
truth, it is because their myriads of persons touting a mike with a satellite
dish at the other end, somehow forget to ask the right questions at the right
time.
It may be an understandable
lapse, especially when the celebrity they are facing is someone as
charismatic and charming as the young
RBI governor who seems to have turned the press meet to be an occasion more glamorous
than the latest Bollywood release of a
super star.
How else can you explain why none
of the media persons and expert reporters at the Governor's press meet raised
the question with Rajan if his measure had anything to do with the impending
state elections?
Reuters have sited analysts
explaining out the governor's action as "interesting experiment".
However, the Governor's actions seem to be only the beginning of a well thought out strategy which goes beyond economic policy."I am not saying whether I know it will work or not, but I think it sort of shows the RBI's hand in the sense that they really want to focus more on the inflation side of things than on growth at this point."
At his first-day press conference on assuming charge of the RBI Rajan had hinted at a comprehensive action plan to bolster the rupee and strengthen financial markets but also joked his job was not to accumulate "likes" on Facebook.
Somerset Maugham
once said If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its
freedom, and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values
more, it will lose that too.
Whether Raghuram Rajan ever read
any of Maugham, he seems to have had some similar insight guiding his actions
when he accepted his new post as the Governor of the RBI. Why else should he
take some steps which has wiped out a large chunk of capital off the market in
a few minutes, when country's Industrial lobby had been hankering for
concession in the name of growth.
Rajan seems to believe that by
harnessing and clamping inflation for once, he can bring the much needed stability to the economy, which
as an ex IMF economist he knows is what the foreign investors love. But doing
that now has also advantages which are not strictly financial, at the least.
For one thing, a lower steady
inflation over a few months leading up to any election is what the voters like.
On the other, there is no big merit in fattening up a lobby working against the
government just before the elections, giving it additional clout, especially
when things can wait until after the general elections.
The proof of the pudding in this occasion
is the lack of visible whining from the North Block about the Governor's
action. It was only a short while ago statements like "if we have to, we
will walk alone" emanated from the Finance Minister when RBI actions did
not meet its expectations.
One thing was clear from his
"tounge in cheek" responses
punctuated by disabling smiles and jokes at the press meet. Rajan was seriously
wondering why no one was raising the obvious question he would have found so
difficult to answer. Has it got anything with the coming elections ?
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