random thoughts

“Work for Loot” Bill
You work and we loot seems to be what the politicians of India are telling the poor when the Congress Chairperson has so proudly introduced the Employment Guarantee Act in the Parliament recently. Once again the politicians, supported fully by the “ma-baap” of the poor – the Communists, will take the poor people of the country for a ride. Already the Communists have started trumpeting about their “supportive” role in introducing the bill.
Every study has shown that not more than 20% of such grants reach the poor. The balance goes to fill the pockets of sundry others! Rupees forty thousand crores will be there for the grabs! And whose money the Congress Chairperson is offering for the grabs? The hard earned savings of the middle class. The Congress Chairperson may be naïve in doing this Hara-kiri but the wily Communists are counting the votes! The economist PM and the capitalist Finance minister must be two sad people today! In the name of defeating communalism the Congress chairperson is playing with fire.

This is not the way to wipe out unemployment. The Government should create more jobs not by holding out Rs.60/- per day to the unemployed, but by encouraging private investments and labour reforms. But the Communists are opposed to these reforms because they say these are anti worker policies. Ask the Communist CM of West Bengal for some lessons on wisdom!

Young men and women of today are a confident lot. They are sure of what they want, quite unlike many of us of the past generation. The young romantics of the past generation were idealistic and a lot of them were drawn to Socialism or Communism. But today most youngsters are taken by Pragmatism. Why has the change happened? I think, today life is not about just earning a livelihood, because that is within the reach of most people. Some years ago the living conditions of most people were extremely difficult but that situation has changed somewhat. Though the gap between the rich and the poor is huge and widening still, I think, the number of people who had no hope to look forward to has come down steeply in recent times. People are also realising that Socialism and Communism has not delivered what they promised in all those countries where they were or are still in power.
Though our Communists are crying hoarse about the inhumanities perpetrated by Capitalism in America and the western countries the arguments are hollow. No one is saying that Big Brother USA is doing everything right. Yes, they have done wrong in Iraq. Not everyone in India think that they did wrong in Afghanistan. Before the Talibans took over the Afghan administration who was occupying that country. Was it right for USSR to do it in Afghanistan? Was the Stalin regime such a sweetie pie? They have butchered more innocents than Hitler did, in the name of Socialism! But for Indian Communists Stalin and Lenin are still big heroes. Talk about Stalin’s misdeeds and the Indian Communists will go red in the face!
Our Communists are stalling disinvestments of PSUs, labour reforms, removal of subsidies on a number of items etc ostensibly for the benefit of the working class. But are they really good for the working class? Trade unions are relevant only up to a point. When the Trade Unions have no cause to fight against managements they invent causes to continue to do things to prove their relevance and in the process they become a burden to the community and the working class itself. They have done much harm to the working class and the community in general.

The disinvestments minister of the previous Government was undoubtedly an honest person and he has publicly offered to answer all the allegations the Communists are levelling against him. And the ruling Congress coalition government looks on helplessly and trying to weekly support the views of the Communists!! The clear policy of the ex-minister Arun Shourie, rightly was that it is not the Government’s business to run business houses. The Government’s business is to provide proper Governance and to intervene when norms are flouted. Yes, the private business class is interested in profits only. Does that mean that the Government should keep holding on to profit making companies till they become sick like mud? The private business would maximise their profits in whatever manner they want. What is the problem there for the Communists? If the workers get all their dues and more why are the Communists bothered? The poor unsuspecting workers are always taken for a ride. Up to a point it was the businessmen who took the working class for a ride and then it is by the trade unions! When an honest minister goes about his work seriously and earnestly, the entire political class sits up and finds faults with him. The present finance minister who is known to be a supporter of private capital is also finding faults with Arun Shourie for untenable reasons. That is politics!

The tragedy is that the way this Government is going, the working class will get cheated again. The Congress is giving away to the Communists in all matters, be it private enterprise or Naxalism. They have emerged as the force behind the Government and for all wrong reasons they may do better if elections were held again. This will be a tragedy because the working class will be the real sufferers in the long run if the Communists gain strength in this country. If this happens the Congress can take credit for that!

A very large section of the population of this country considered it improper (to use the mildest word) that a person of foreign origin should become the PM of this country. But the Congress had no alternative but to have a leader of foreign origins or perish. Millions of people could just only gulp and eat their pride in silence when it became a reality that Sonia Gandhi would become the PM. Though it was a relief when she renounced (!) the throne it is only a matter of time before she would claim it with strength on her side.

The NDA has really spoiled the chances to build a strong base for itself. Their leaders were too immature to gauge the atmosphere in the country. Who would be interested to see on the TV screen, some BJP leaders doing push ups in five star gymnasiums and eating such rich food which only the Mughal Kings of a different era could afford? Compared to that the young Congress new comers wore turbans, like villagers and sat on “Charpoys” drinking tea from mud pots! That really caught the voter’s imagination! Though all that is spurious humility, that worked.

Now the popular belief is that if we want a stable and strong Government The Hindus must unite. Hindus must unite not against any one but to give this country a strong Government, which has to keep the country from chaos and disintegration. The Hindu political class has to work for the up-liftment of the poorer sections and the underprivileged classes including the OBC, ST/SC and minorities. All the sections should be united which only the Hindu community can do.

Today every section of the Indian polity is trying to find their identity. The words nationalism and patriotism have lost their meaning. Secularism of thought and deed is more important than building a religious identity. The Hindus will have to win the minds and hearts of the other communities, and that is possible only if they themselves stand strong and united. Spirituality is the Ethos of India and the Hindus must take the lead to preserve that. Today secularism is a hollow word in Indian politics. All political parties are caste oriented and call themselves secular. The Communists and the Congress are experts in fishing in these troubled waters! The relevance of the Congress and the Communist parties for the future of India is highly debatable.

Different people have different emotions on Independence Day. For most of us it means very little, and little more than just a holiday to look forward to. The speeches of the country’s rulers and leaders hardly matters anyone. The parades and pageantry does not interest most people. It hardly means anything even to those leaders who make speeches and the soldiers and students and others who take part in these festivities. May be, a small number of freedom fighters have deep feeling about the day the county was rid of the colonial rulers.
But still the celebrations go on year after year the Government spending huge amounts of money for the same without a thought whether the spending is justified. Today people are questioning the need for Patriotism. I read so many articles in the newspapers questioning the relevance of the “P” factor! Why should one love ones own country more than that of others? In these days of so-called globalisation, the “P” should have no boundaries!! The word Patriotism itself will become irrelevant and be removed from the dictionary! Samuel Johnson said that Patriotism is the last resort of the scoundrel! It is politically correct to cheer the Pakistani Cricket team rather than boo them out!
What if Henry Kissinger called Indians, “Bastards”? He said that long ago. Isn’t Bush now saying that the Indians are really Yuppie!! How long are you going to sulk about what Kissinger said long, long, long ago? Forget it maaan! You should know where lies the ‘Moolah’!
I am reminded of a very interesting play I saw many years ago. It was called “SNAFU”.
Here, an ambitious young man, Raghunath, from lower middle class background befriends rich kids in college. The rich kids also want sidekicks around for their egos and also to do their errands and so they cultivate him and encourage him to all the “in” things they do, like smoking a grass for fun etc. So, Raghnath thought he has arrived in Pedder Road, where the rich and famous of Bombay of those days lived!! The last scene shows all the ‘Yuppies’ and Raghunath stretched out on the floor, only half awake from smoking grass, and one of the ‘Yuppie’ kids fondling Raghunath and trying to bugger him and suddenly his middle class morality awakens in Raghunath and he extricates himself from the tight grip of the ‘Yuppie’ kid and runs away from the scene. Wow!!

I do not think that any one in this world would have anything to say against our PM Manmohan Singhji. He is sincere, clean, erudite, scholarly, soft-spoken, hardworking and above all a very decent person. He is a Satvik person. We have great expectations from him. But we must remember that he is in the midst of mud. How long can he remain untouched by the mud of our politics? He is the author of India’s economic reforms and liberalisation when Narasimha Rao was the PM. He stayed with Narasimha Rao even as many faithfuls left him for this or that reason. And when at last he left PVN’s company he quoted the famous words “ Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion”.
But when he became the PM, he was forced to cohabit with all kinds of tainted politicians! Can’t blame the PM. His Government did all kinds of dirty tricks in Goa, Jharkhand and Bihar! Why blame the PM. Did the BJP Government not do similar nasty things?? Well, that is why I say one cannot remain unstained living in mud pit.

The important thing is, the PM is sincere and he is trying his best to perform well. Take for instance his US visit. Did he not become only the fifth head of State to be invited to the White House for dinner with President Bush. Did President Bush not shower praise on the PM and the Indian economy and Indian BPO, and the Indian population in general? Then there was this nuclear agreement and so on. The PM also mentioned that he would stick to principles and at the same time be pragmatic. Or pragmatic and be principled at the same time. As the Congress spokes person Dr. Abhishek Singhvi would say, a win win situation! Never at a loss for words.

The PM has also done the best he could under the circumstances with regard to the Nanavati Commission Report on the 1984 riots against the Sikhs. The Secularists would not like to call it riot against the Sikh community. It was anti Indian riots. The Congress Party is appalled that the report has in no uncertain terms said that there is sufficient evidence to show that many Congressmen were involved in the riots. Surprise of surprises! But who did not know this from the day one?!

The last big riot was the one in Gujrat. The one in which 2000 or 3000 or 4000 people were killed. Like all such riots of the past we do not really know what all happened and how all that happened even though the media covered it in detail. The BJP says 44 riots have taken place in Gujarat during the Congress rule. What happened to all those thousands who were killed and the perpetrators of those riots? Not much is talked about the burning of people in the Godhra train. Who did that? Some politicians suggest that the BJP and the Parivar did it. The Railway Minister appointed a separate Commission, to get to the truth of the matter and he waved the report to the public that gathered to hear him speak just before the Jharkhand election. Was it ever made public? Who knows? But the election fever is over. The fever will start again in Bihar soon.

The Communists are pulling down the PM in all matters. The country is fighting external terrorism and the Communists are encouraging the Naxals! In the rally held in Malapuram in Kerala the Communists sang in praise of the Naxal Movement. Communists are said to be Godless, because in Russia they abolished God long ago. But, with the fall of the Soviet Union, God and Church has returned to Russia I believe! The Communists want to divide the Hindu Community for vote bank politics, the same tactics which was used by the British and later by the Congress party.

Communists are the ones who count today. One gets the impression that what the Communists want, the Government will do. See how tame P. Chidambaram has become?
The Communists behave as though they have the mandate to do what they want to do. Is that right? I think their numbers in the Parliament has slightly increased this time around because of the Antony – Karunakaran feud in Kerala. Not because the people love them. But, Congress beware! People are watching!