Whirlwind

A number of events have taken place since I last updated the blog not least of which include - the trouncing of the Congress in 2 of the 3 states in which elections were held, Quattrocchi's arrest by Argentinean police and the failure of New Delhi in disclosing the same, bombing of the Samjhauta express by Muslims/Hindus/religious/communal/secular/Indians/Pakistanis, growing instability in Pakistan and Afghanistan with bombings taking place with increasing frequency, sustained confusion in the state of Dhaka's politics so on and so forth. These are events with a distinct S Asia focus. I am not even considering the escalating violence in Iraq and Syria, interesting verbal spats between Obama and Clinton, Iran's steadfast refusal to halt uranium enrichment, renewed violence between the Israeli and Palestinians over the construction of a rampart near the Al Aqsa mosque - I mean really - the list can get pretty lengthy!

A few thoughts however on the aforementioned events as time and days passed me by

- While I am personally gleeful at BJP victories in the states of Punjab and Uttaranchal, I do highly doubt if these would have an impact on the electoral fortunes of the NDA at a national level. There are a few reasons for this - the core party structure is still unsteady in its Hindutva ways having shunted out Modi and other RSS stalwarts who posed a threat to the power of party President Rajnath Singh; the party is still grappling to replace the power centres of the Vajpayee-Advani combine; the top down imposition by the RSS that 'the party is bigger than the person' is not so ironically, fuelling ego clashes and power struggles within the party are just some of the institutional issues that the BJP is facing. Fortunately for the BJP and unfortunately for the state of Indian politics the Congress is faring no better when it comes to putting its house in order.

- I am not quite sure how New Delhi and indeed Sanjaya Baru - the PMO's press advisor can utilise the government's propaganda machinery to spin news about the Gandhi family's close associate and key accused in the Bofors case, Quattrocchi’s arrest almost a month by Argentinean police at the Iguazu airport in response to an Interpol Red Corner notice issued against him in 1997. I don't think that explanations regarding the delayed disclosure of this vital news can be sought in any of the humbug reasons the Government has so far put forth -verification of the man arrested, difficulties in translating the Spanish text (Quoi??!!!) etc etc. So if spin is not the answer in this situation, the Govt has sought the next best thing - to keep the hum about Quattrocchi to a bare minimum in national dailies. Strange as it may be, the losses faced by the Congress in state elections allowed for public and indeed media attention to shift from Quattrocchi to Punjab/Uttaranchal; from the state of the Government to the state of the party. Even the BJP dropped the issue and reverted to crowing about its victories. Currently the annual Budget occupies the remarkably short span of collective political memory in India. A good overview of the Q saga can however be found here.

- The bomb blasts on the Samjhauta express were indeed disconcerting but what probably worried more were news reports on the 'terrorists' responsible for it. The usual suspects were spelt out with no conclusive evidence to back claims by either Pakistan or India; the doves of the Kashmir peace process were convinced that this was an effort to sabotage the peace process while the hawks were convinced that the bombings were another proof of Pakistan's complicity in sponsored terrorism in Kashmir. Both camps thus reached their near sighted conclusions and favour of and against peace talks. Unfortunately it did not end here. Ridiculous news reports claiming that since Muslims were targeted meant that some right wing Hindu outfit was involved whilst others were convinced that the blasts were part of Pakistan's dirty game plan to foil communal harmony in secular India. The fact that no one has as yet claimed responsibility does not matter. Conspiracy theories are aplenty. My question is - why does the religion of the victims matter when a terrorist act is carried out? Aren't victims faceless? Isn't the grief of a Muslim equal to that of a Hindu? Terrorism is terrorism - period. Why typify it on the basis of a man made construct - religion?!

- I have given up tracking the bomb blasts, suicide attacks, rocket attacks, IEDs and other sundry devices that have recently been deployed against the military and state installations in an increasingly volatile Pakistan. Unfortunately however, the victims are mostly innocent civilians. With daily reports referring to a growing presence of Taliban and that of a regrouped Al Qaeda in the lawless FATA and North western province of Pakistan, one wonders if this is indeed another case of a self fulfilling prophecy for Musharraf which would have allowed him to re-establish the Taliban in Afghanistan. Fortunately the US has at least started seeing the fallacy of believing everything that the General promises. It remains to be seen of course what Musharraf can do in the face of this increasing pressure or the alternatives that the US can employ in such a situation.

- Politics in Dhaka of late has begun to remind me of those extreme acrobatics that can only be witnessed in the Cirque du Soleil and therefore it has sparked renewed interest! The BNP and AL - two parties consistently at loggerheads with each other, have suddenly joined hands to demand early elections from the caretaker Govt. Of course the rationale for this sudden desire to impart good governance can be sought in the anti corruption drive that was recently launched by the caretaker government and the announcement of the formation of a political party by Nobel Peace prize winner Mohammed Yunus. Realising that their political space was being targeted - both by the Government and by the new entrant - the two parties decided to bury their differences and survive together to fight another day. Their ploy may however not be working as latest reports suggest that the caretaker government of Dr Fakruddin Ahmed has decided to postpone elections indefinitely! Oh well - I give the BNP and AL full marks for trying at least. Interestingly, Dr Yunus had recently stated that were elections to be held soon he would not be able to form an effective party structure or for that matter affect a change in the political stage of Bangladesh! Food for thought?!

My whirlwind recollection of recent political events with a S Asia/India focus concludes here. More regular posts to follow soon.

PS: Oh and Kim Jong Il, the venerable leader of North Korea, celebrated his 65th birthday amidst much fanfare in February. Joy!