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!
Showing posts with label UPA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UPA. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
The curious case of Assam
The good Doctor's recent statement in Tinsukhia, Assam addresses the plight of the innocent Bihari migrant whilst asserting the UPA Govt's policy in the following manner:
“no one should mistake our openness for talks as a sign of weakness. I would like to make it clear that there is no room for violence and it will not be tolerated. At the same time, I will also emphasise that all problems can be sorted out through dialogue.......The Indian state has an obligation to provide security and protect the lives of its law-abiding citizens. This we will discharge, let there be no doubt on that score.”
While the speech may indeed have been inspiring and rousing, it is yet another reflection of the difference of opinion between the Government and the Congress party. Perhaps the affable Dr. Singh is not aware of the fact that the Congress came to power in Assam last year, only after having received the endorsement of the ULFA - the very outfit New Delhi seeks to now target.
There are other links here as well which are disconcerting. One, the ULFA is known to receive logistic and financial support from Islamic terrorist outfits operating out of Bangladesh. Two, because of its proximity to Bangladesh, Assam attracts the maximum number of illegal Bangladeshi migrants who have over the years become a source for vote bank politics, especially for the Congress. Three, that the Congress does not discriminate between illegal migrants and Indian citizens becomes evident with its desire to re-introduce the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act with a few necessary amendments after the same was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2005.
For all the aforementioned reasons above, it should not come as any surprise that the ULFA seeks to target Bihari and not Bangladeshi migrants in the state of Assam and with this understanding there is also a disconcerting realisation that the words of our PM are just that - words. After all, it would be very silly politics if the Congress were to target its only political ally in the state of Assam......
“no one should mistake our openness for talks as a sign of weakness. I would like to make it clear that there is no room for violence and it will not be tolerated. At the same time, I will also emphasise that all problems can be sorted out through dialogue.......The Indian state has an obligation to provide security and protect the lives of its law-abiding citizens. This we will discharge, let there be no doubt on that score.”
While the speech may indeed have been inspiring and rousing, it is yet another reflection of the difference of opinion between the Government and the Congress party. Perhaps the affable Dr. Singh is not aware of the fact that the Congress came to power in Assam last year, only after having received the endorsement of the ULFA - the very outfit New Delhi seeks to now target.
There are other links here as well which are disconcerting. One, the ULFA is known to receive logistic and financial support from Islamic terrorist outfits operating out of Bangladesh. Two, because of its proximity to Bangladesh, Assam attracts the maximum number of illegal Bangladeshi migrants who have over the years become a source for vote bank politics, especially for the Congress. Three, that the Congress does not discriminate between illegal migrants and Indian citizens becomes evident with its desire to re-introduce the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act with a few necessary amendments after the same was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2005.
For all the aforementioned reasons above, it should not come as any surprise that the ULFA seeks to target Bihari and not Bangladeshi migrants in the state of Assam and with this understanding there is also a disconcerting realisation that the words of our PM are just that - words. After all, it would be very silly politics if the Congress were to target its only political ally in the state of Assam......
Monday, November 20, 2006
The Politics of policy making
Statements from Human Resources Development (HRD) Minister Arjun Singh reflect his determination to ensure that 27% of seats are reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBC) students in institutions of higher education. Despite growing agitation against the move, one must list the reasons why such a move was proposed in the first place. Contrary to popular perceptions, vote bank politics remains an outcome of reservation as opposed to the cause and this article seeks to highlight the same.
The reason behind the proposal for the hike in reserved categories, ostensibly, is to bring about the alleviation of OBC’s in India. While the intentions maybe noble, the Government is surely not going about the same in a very methodical fashion. For one, they have not considered the percentage of OBC’s who could benefit from such a move, since a census on their numbers and need has not been tabulated. Two, it seems the Government seems to have ignored the question of whether the implementation of an extra 27% reservation for Other Backward Castes would finally ensure their attaining educational and economic parity. Three, if the Government seeks to offset the hike in reserved categories with an increase in the number of seats in the general category, one must wonder whether, practically speaking, this increase can be met especially considering the acute shortfall of qualified teachers institutes of higher learning are already facing? With these stupefying questions and in the face of growing agitation against the proposal it seems very odd that the UPA government seems intent on pushing the hike in reservation. What specifically are the reasons guiding their ‘hand’ in this matter?
In the 2004 general elections, when the Congress Party returned to power in the face of what seemed to be formidable odds, it also received a vantage point from where to correct the party’s thus far wavering fortunes. And, as is the norm of the times, the Congress could only return to power with a coalition of parties representing the various shades, ideologies and identities of Indian polity. If one were to study the broad spectrum of Indian politics today it becomes very easy to recognize the exact identity construct of the various political parties. With linguistic, religion, caste, regional, ethnic, secular, economic bases various parties have carved a niche for themselves. This sole identity ironically seems to be lacking for the Grand Old Party of India. Thus in an attempt to broad base the Party’s traditional support base various steps were introduced to ensure the same.
Judging the recent acts of the Congress Party it becomes clear that religious minorities and the OBC’s have been identified as potential categories of the electorate that can be won over. This understanding is not restricted to Central acts but extends to the various states under Congress rule as well. Thus to woo the religious minority the Party has introduced several proposals - from proposing a head count of a particular religious minority in the Indian Army to promising sops to illegal migrants in a border state of India etc. Not having a particular party representing the minority at the national level, barring secular outfits, assisted the attempts of the Congress. As far as the backward castes were concerned the situation was a little different. Most of them already had political representation in the form of various state level parties and as a result of coalition politics at the national level as well. In order to counter this, sops were proposed for the OBC’s - in the private sector by reserving jobs and in institutes of higher studies by reserving seats thus bringing the Indian electorate to the unfortunate crossroads it seems to have reached today. Let there be no doubt that reservation in educational institutes will go hand in hand with reservation in the private sector. Hence the two will have to go in tandem so if ever one is promulgated, the other would also see the light of day, eventually.
Thus in a clever, albeit unfortunate, play of politics the Congress party seems to have recognized the identified constituencies need of the hour – that of economic and educational opportunity. Ironically despite being a progressive thought, the step in it self is extremely retrograde. What relevance would it have to reserve seats for the backward castes in institutes of higher learning when their primary and basic education has been in want? This is the most basic of arguments to counter the proposal. Moreover one does wonder if the Congress high command has actually thought out the implications of such a step. Politically speaking the Congress party can never really command the loyalty of the backward castes, even if the sops are introduced, in subsequent election cycles. Political life is short and political memory shorter still. Besides, as has already been pointed out, various state level parties already exist to counter any significant move in electorate allegiance. Moreover such a step might just alienate the middle class voter, a traditional vote base for the Congress. Would the Congress want to alienate its traditional vote base for the option of unreliable possibilities? Therefore even if reservation is guided by political gains, however short term they maybe, at the end of the day the Congress high command would need to consider if greater divisive politics is in its favour in the long run and thereby its political fortunes.
Nonetheless, as things stand as of now, these counter arguments have seemingly not been considered by the Congress. What potentially makes the situation worse is that after having taken a determined stand in favour of the proposed reservations, they cannot appear to be forced into a rethink as a result of the growing agitations. So it is fast also becoming a case of ‘damned if you do and damned if you don’t’ for the Congress party.
Considering the statements of HRD Minister, one does expect the Government of the day to continue with a determined stand in favour of the proposals, at least for some time. What fails to be understood however is why the BJP has not moved to take advantage of the situation? Like the Congress, the BJP too has been trying to move beyond the confines of its current identity and acquire a more broad based identity but has so far been unsuccessful. Supporting the anti reservation stir would provide the BJP a positive standing amongst the urban, educated middle class youth that has been leading the anti reservation drive and has traditionally not been its primary electorate. It might also just be the opportunity the party has been seeking to move beyond its current identity construct.
At the end of the day politics means power and the current stand off on reservation holds testament to the power play that is currently being played out on the unassuming Indian electorate.
The reason behind the proposal for the hike in reserved categories, ostensibly, is to bring about the alleviation of OBC’s in India. While the intentions maybe noble, the Government is surely not going about the same in a very methodical fashion. For one, they have not considered the percentage of OBC’s who could benefit from such a move, since a census on their numbers and need has not been tabulated. Two, it seems the Government seems to have ignored the question of whether the implementation of an extra 27% reservation for Other Backward Castes would finally ensure their attaining educational and economic parity. Three, if the Government seeks to offset the hike in reserved categories with an increase in the number of seats in the general category, one must wonder whether, practically speaking, this increase can be met especially considering the acute shortfall of qualified teachers institutes of higher learning are already facing? With these stupefying questions and in the face of growing agitation against the proposal it seems very odd that the UPA government seems intent on pushing the hike in reservation. What specifically are the reasons guiding their ‘hand’ in this matter?
In the 2004 general elections, when the Congress Party returned to power in the face of what seemed to be formidable odds, it also received a vantage point from where to correct the party’s thus far wavering fortunes. And, as is the norm of the times, the Congress could only return to power with a coalition of parties representing the various shades, ideologies and identities of Indian polity. If one were to study the broad spectrum of Indian politics today it becomes very easy to recognize the exact identity construct of the various political parties. With linguistic, religion, caste, regional, ethnic, secular, economic bases various parties have carved a niche for themselves. This sole identity ironically seems to be lacking for the Grand Old Party of India. Thus in an attempt to broad base the Party’s traditional support base various steps were introduced to ensure the same.
Judging the recent acts of the Congress Party it becomes clear that religious minorities and the OBC’s have been identified as potential categories of the electorate that can be won over. This understanding is not restricted to Central acts but extends to the various states under Congress rule as well. Thus to woo the religious minority the Party has introduced several proposals - from proposing a head count of a particular religious minority in the Indian Army to promising sops to illegal migrants in a border state of India etc. Not having a particular party representing the minority at the national level, barring secular outfits, assisted the attempts of the Congress. As far as the backward castes were concerned the situation was a little different. Most of them already had political representation in the form of various state level parties and as a result of coalition politics at the national level as well. In order to counter this, sops were proposed for the OBC’s - in the private sector by reserving jobs and in institutes of higher studies by reserving seats thus bringing the Indian electorate to the unfortunate crossroads it seems to have reached today. Let there be no doubt that reservation in educational institutes will go hand in hand with reservation in the private sector. Hence the two will have to go in tandem so if ever one is promulgated, the other would also see the light of day, eventually.
Thus in a clever, albeit unfortunate, play of politics the Congress party seems to have recognized the identified constituencies need of the hour – that of economic and educational opportunity. Ironically despite being a progressive thought, the step in it self is extremely retrograde. What relevance would it have to reserve seats for the backward castes in institutes of higher learning when their primary and basic education has been in want? This is the most basic of arguments to counter the proposal. Moreover one does wonder if the Congress high command has actually thought out the implications of such a step. Politically speaking the Congress party can never really command the loyalty of the backward castes, even if the sops are introduced, in subsequent election cycles. Political life is short and political memory shorter still. Besides, as has already been pointed out, various state level parties already exist to counter any significant move in electorate allegiance. Moreover such a step might just alienate the middle class voter, a traditional vote base for the Congress. Would the Congress want to alienate its traditional vote base for the option of unreliable possibilities? Therefore even if reservation is guided by political gains, however short term they maybe, at the end of the day the Congress high command would need to consider if greater divisive politics is in its favour in the long run and thereby its political fortunes.
Nonetheless, as things stand as of now, these counter arguments have seemingly not been considered by the Congress. What potentially makes the situation worse is that after having taken a determined stand in favour of the proposed reservations, they cannot appear to be forced into a rethink as a result of the growing agitations. So it is fast also becoming a case of ‘damned if you do and damned if you don’t’ for the Congress party.
Considering the statements of HRD Minister, one does expect the Government of the day to continue with a determined stand in favour of the proposals, at least for some time. What fails to be understood however is why the BJP has not moved to take advantage of the situation? Like the Congress, the BJP too has been trying to move beyond the confines of its current identity and acquire a more broad based identity but has so far been unsuccessful. Supporting the anti reservation stir would provide the BJP a positive standing amongst the urban, educated middle class youth that has been leading the anti reservation drive and has traditionally not been its primary electorate. It might also just be the opportunity the party has been seeking to move beyond its current identity construct.
At the end of the day politics means power and the current stand off on reservation holds testament to the power play that is currently being played out on the unassuming Indian electorate.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)