Sonia and Advani... loners within their own party...?

In a social event, Sonia Gandhi and LK Advani got adjacent seats. After exchanging the customary pleasantries, Advani Asked Sonia, ‘Soniaji, you look to be slightly worried since last few days. What is the matter, all well?’

Sonia at first hesitated and then said, ‘Yes Advaniji, things have not remained same as before. Circumstances are fast changing…’

Advani did not understand at first. He asked for more clarification.

Sonia said, ‘See Advaniji, we had made Manmohan Singh as the Prime minister in 2004 as he was the most harmless person around. Of course, his mastery in economics and clean image were major reasons as well. And everything was going on well even after our 2009 victory… till recently.

Advani asked, ‘Why? What happened now?’

Sonia said, ‘Advani ji, now a days, he is behaving like he is the ‘real’ Prime minister. Earlier, he used to obey all my instructions word to word, without fail and in all earnest. Now he is also using his personal judgment on matters related to the government. It appears as though he is on a mission to remove the image about being a ‘proxy PM’ from the mind of people as soon as possible…’

Advani was surprised. He said, ‘But what could be the motive behind his sudden change in behavior?’

Sonia said, ‘It is hard to guess. Sometimes he hints at the third term as PM. I am worried about that prospect, since his image as an inefficient administrator is still fresh in people’s minds and any attempt to project him as the next PM would most likely backfire on us.’

Advani thought for a while and said, ‘Then why don’t you put forward Rahul’s name straightway without any further delays?’

Sonia sighed and said, ‘Unfortunately I cannot do that as well, simply because he is still not ready to takeover. In the last few months, after much pushing and prompting, he has started showing signs of growing up to take on the role, but he is still on a b c and he needs to reach z to justify the high position. At times he makes some statements in media like ‘everyone is accountable and have to deliver results’ or ‘I am more strict than my mother’ etc. But everyone know that one day he will also have to be accountable and deliver results himself, if he expects the same from party men. His statement about being more strict is taken more as an amusement by the leaders, much like the first few words uttered by a growing up infant.’

Advani said, ‘But that should not be a problem, right? Rahul will be efficiently guided by the coterie of minister and Congress loyalists, shielding him from the hostile media and opposition?’

Sonia looked more worried and said, ‘That is my new problem. I am not sure about the support of senior congress leaders to Rahul same as they supported me for all these years. I sense that there is some discontent brewing among many of them…’

Advani was surprised.

Sonia said, ‘For example, in the hour of reckoning, I feel Chidambaram may put his claim for Prime minister ship as he thinks that he holds the copyrights for all intellectual wealth within Congress. Sharad Pawar would desert us without batting an eyelid to join with Mulayam to throw us out of power any moment. And more over I am not sure, how many ministers belong to the ‘Manmohan group’. You know very well, how much efforts I had to make to get Bansal and Kumar dropped from the ministry…’

Advani wondered at this recently developed internal power struggle within Congress.

Sonia asked, ‘And Advaniji, what about BJP? How are things with you?’

Now it was Advani’s turn to open his heart out.

He said, ‘I have been associated with this party for several decades. I spent my entire life time in devoting myself for RSS and then BJP. I was also the number two in Vajpayee regime… but sadly, today I am being totally ignored by my party.’

Sonia was listening.

Advani continued, ‘Today the party is suffering from an excessive leadership crisis. There are several power centers within BJP. Narendra Modi is increasingly becoming an unstoppable force. Other leaders like Rajnath, Jaitly and Sushma are hoping against hope that Modi will not be a prime ministerial candidate because of his communal past. That is why they are garnering support from wherever they can, like Sushma has Shiv Sena backing while Rajnath is propping up Varun as his prodigy.’

Sonia asked, ‘But Advaniji, are you also not in the race?’

Advani said, ‘Of course, I am very much in the race. This is also my last chance because by 2019 I shall be on the wrong side of my 80s. I would become a Vajpayee by then.’

Sonia said, ‘Advaniji, don’t you think that this internal power struggle can actually cost you these elections. People may not vote you because they would be disillusioned with your power structure within BJP…’

Advani replied, ‘Yes all of us know this. But you know it very well, politics is a dirty game. At one point or other people will put their personal priorities above the party’s… and that is happening currently in BJP. All the leaders are of the mindset that ‘If I do not get this fine, but he also should not get this…’

Sonia said, ‘In such a scenario, we both become weak and it will give rise to the regional forces like Mulayam, Mayawati, Pawar etc who will also start dreaming about Prime minister ship.’

Advani said, ‘That is the misfortune of the people of this country. No one can help them.’

The function ended and they both left. While leaving the place, both went in their normal manner but both of them knew that from inside they were shaken at the prospects of 2014….

All problems in Congress and BJP today stem from the fact that most of their leaders act as though there is no tomorrow….

The sons who discredited their father…!

In history, there are some celebrity sons who have brought immense disrepute to their celebrity father. What must be going through the minds of these fathers to see their sons behaving like this? We look at some recent cases and then go to history.

Vindoo Dara Singh - Son of Dara Singh

The IPL match fixing scandal is spreading like wild fire and daily new names are added in the list of those who are suspected to have played a role in the entire bad game. Vindoo Dara Singh has gained more popularity during last few days than what he got during his entire filmy career, although for a very wrong reason. He remarked that it was good that his father was not alive to see this day; otherwise he would have felt very bad. True, Dara Singh was a principled man. Very few people know that throughout his Bollywood career spanning several decades, Dara Singh has never played a negative role. He did not compromise on his principles that he should be seen by people as a villain, even in films. And for such a person, it would have been a shock of his life to see his son being arrested and charged with criminal conspiracy.

Abhijit Mukherjee - Son of Pranab Mukherjee

No one can forget the evening of 27 December 2012, the day on which Abhijit Mukherjee made the sexist comment saying that women came ‘dented and painted’ for agitations in Delhi. Such was the uproar throughout the country that he was literally begging to be pardoned on every news channel that evening. The only words he continuously repeated were, ‘I unconditionally apologize to all, I take back my words…’. Pranab Mukherjee is a much respected man today because he has built his reputation brick by brick over the years. He is one of the few congressmen who are respected by all parties. And he was deeply ashamed because of his son on that day.

Sanjay Dutt - Son of Sunil Dutt

Sanjay Dutt has given much pain to his father throughout much of his life time. Sanjay Dutt got addicted to drugs in his teenage and was sent to rehabilitation centers to get rid of his addiction. Then he was caught with weapons for no justifiable reasons. He has been mingling with underworld on and off which is not an honorable act by any means. All this must have pricked Sunil Dutt’s mind immensely at various times during his last few years. Sunil Dutt had an impeccable image as a statesman… a thorough gentleman. So, this was a bad dream for him to have his son indulge in these ignominious acts.

Salim - Son of Akbar

Akbar had conquered many parts of the world and was riding on a wave of success. His army was one of the strongest during those days. He was appreciated by his janata for his benevolent nature and good deeds towards his citizens. However, he was devastated to know that his son was interested in marrying a dancer from his court, Anarkali. He could not fathom the idea of seeing a slave girl as his daughter in law and carrying forward the legacy created by him. He ordered her to be buried between walls and waged a war with his son to stop them from getting married.

Duryodhana - Son of Dhritarashtra

Dhritarashtra, though blind by birth was a very knowledgeable, good natured and mighty person. His only problem was his excessive love for his son. In fact he never nurtured any ill feelings towards Pandavas. He always wished in his mind and expressed to his wife Gandhari that some amicable settlement should be reached between Kauravas and Pandavas. However, the ‘blind’ love for his son prevented him from being assertive in his ideas. It was Duryodhana who had all the negative traits. On numerous occasions he tried to cheat, deceive and even kill Pandavas. Dhritarashtra would have been remembered by history as a good person if he had not yielded to his son’s wrong wishes.

…

Having a good natured child is the biggest blessings anyone can receive. A person may earn lot of respect from outside world, he may amass wealth, acquire properties etc… but if his son brings disrepute to him, then he is the poorest of poor in this world….!     

Power of Southern stars in Indian Politics...!

The four southern states viz. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala have something in common as far as politics is concerned. They have produced some very strong leaders who had the guts and courage to challenge the high commands of their parties sitting in New Delhi, based purely on their charisma and / or performance.

In Tamil Nadu, ever since independence, Annadurai, MG Ramachandran and Jayalalitha have controlled the local politics. And there is every possibility that their legacy would be carried forward by Karunanidhi’s family in coming years. It would be interesting to see who will challenge Karunanidhi’s family in coming decades, as Jayalalitha has no family to carry forward her legacy. Some of the popular tollywood stars have successfully entered politics in Tamil Nadu, but they do not have the fan following enough to start a political outfit by themselves. 

In Andhra Pradesh, there have been two charismatic leaders - NT Rama Rao and YS Rajasekhara Reddy. They had such a mesmerizing effect on masses that people considered NTR a god, while they almost treated YSR as a messenger of god. NTR gained his popularity through acting in mythological films in god’s roles and even today, it is said that there are some temples of NTR in Andhra Pradesh. NTR’s name is in Guinness book for forming a political party and bringing it to power within 9 months of inception. It looks unbelievable now, but at one time, Telugu Desam had 42 MPs while BJP had only 2 MPs. YSR earned much of his popularity through hard work. He toiled very hard for almost 3 years before coming to power. He extensively toured the interior parts of Andhra Pradesh. Both NTR and YSR initiated and carried through several populist measures which helped the poor people a lot. When YSR died in a helicopter crash few years ago, 68 people committed suicide, unable to bear the tragic news. Such was his charisma among the masses…!

In Karnataka, BJP could form its first state government in south India solely based on the popularity of Yeddyurappa. He worked very hard for several months to achieve victory. However, the corruption charges against him got his first to be replaced as Chief Minister and subsequently being expelled from the party. BJP was almost cornered as far as Yeddyurappa’s case was concerned.  If they continued with him, their attack on Congress on corruption issues was getting blunted. And if they got rid of him, it affected the party. Finally, they bit the bullet and expelled him, resulting in a very big setback in the recently concluded assembly elections. Post poll analysis shows that if BJP and Yeddyurappa were together, they would have got another 36 seats, almost double of their existing count of 40 seats.

In Kerala, the political scene is equally divided between Congress and Left parties. However, the leaders of both these parties are so much focused on regional issues that they dictate the terms to centre and not vice versa. This was evident recently, when the centre would have definitely let the two Italian marines escape, if not for Oommen Chandy, who forced them to put pressure on Italian government to return them back. In this case, the pressure from Kerala government was much more than the opposition in parliament to get the accused back in India.

No national party can ever dream of having a hold on these regional leaders in their respective states. They need to play second fiddle always, in larger interests of the party.

In a stark contrast, in North India, the leaders are very servile to the high command and obey all instructions without hesitation. They dare not challenge the high command. Can we ever imagine Bhupinder Singh Hooda or Ashok Gehlot disobeying Sonia Gandhi’s orders? Never...! For whatsoever reasons, they psychologically cannot violate the party high commands diktats.

The high commands do not have same control over leaders from South India. Imagine Rahul Gandhi giving instructions to Siddaramaiah, the likely CM of Karnataka. It is anybody’s guess whether he would listen to him. Similarly, one theory suggests that Congress high command was actually somewhat relieved at the untimely demise of YSR, because he was growing much larger than the party and it was becoming too difficult for the high command to contain him.

One of the primary reasons why the south leaders are so strong is probably because they did perform to the expectations of masses and did something tangible for their welfare. Annadurai, MGR, NTR and YSR were very much popular among the poor people because these leaders gave a feeling to the masses they understood the problems and issues of poor. And they did take measures. NTR initiated the schemes of giving Rice at Rs. 2 per Kg & a Saree and a Dhoti at Rs. 10 or so. The government canteens were made available to give food items at subsidized prices. In other hotels, apart from their normal priced items they were made to keep items at subsidized rates as well. So, there was a NTR Dosa and NTR Idli etc. These actions made them very popular. When the news of MGR’s death spread, several people self immolated themselves, not able to bear the loss.

Such leaders are rarely seen in North India. We do not see the fanfare of leaders to such an extent where people will give their life for their leaders.

One more major difference… When the leaders defected in North India, there was no effect on the party. When Sharad Pawar, Kalyan Singh and Uma Bharati etc left their party, there was no difference to the party. However, when Yeddyurappa left BJP in Karnataka, BJP lost the state.

It would take a very long time for the BJP to stage a comeback in Karnataka… the path is difficult, but much better travelled without Yeddyurappa, than with him.

What made Sarabjit Singh a Martyr...?

Sarabjit Singh was cremated with full state honors in his hometown Bikhiwind, Punjab yesterday. Everyone was in tears in his hometown and several high profile dignitaries were present for his funeral. He was declared a Martyr as well.

However, one is not really very clear, how Sarabjit Singh was considered a Martyr? Or why was he given state honors? Was he a patriot who died while fighting with the opponents? Or he died while fighting for protecting the sovereignty of the nation? Unfortunately, none of the above is true.

Before, we proceed further, let me clear that the torture unleashed by Pakistan on Sarabjit is absolutely unwarranted, uncouth and condemnable. Sarabjit deserves full sympathy for having been attacked inside a Pakistan jail which led to his death. Pakistan needs to be taken to task seriously for having allowed such a thing to happen. However, all these things do not automatically translate in deducing that Sarabjit was a martyr.

Let us go back in history a bit to get this in proper perspective. On 28^th August 1990, Sarabjit strayed into Pakistan in a drunken state. There, he was arrested by Pakistan as Manjit Singh and subsequently charged with killing 14 people in a bomb explosion, which had happened few days before. Pakistan had claimed that he was from Indian intelligence who had come to Lahore to carry out the bombings. However, neither Sarabjit Singh nor the Indian government ever acknowledged that he was an Indian spy.

Thereafter, over several years, his mercy petition was reviewed, cancelled and goofed up a couple of time amidst protests as well. So, the case of Sarabjit Singh became a negotiation tool for both the governments. Till last week, when he was attacked inside the prison.

Now, in this entire story, there is no one act of Sarabjit which can be classified as patriotic. The story only highlights the insensitivity of Pakistan and ineffective diplomacy by India, but by any stretch of imagination, does not show Sarabjit Singh as a patriot or fighting for the cause of the nation. At the most, he wanted to be freed so that he can return back to India and lead a happy family life as a farmer.

So, how come there was so much brouhaha over his killing and the actual reasons for state honors? It is cheap politics by the government which is currently under immense pressure from the opposition and the public in general. So, the government wanted to hide its inefficient diplomacy under the garb of excessive sympathy for Sarabjit Singh. The cartoon in a newspaper which said that Rahul Gandhi attended the funeral because the dead bodies do not ask questions seems to be correct. Otherwise, why we do not see him at the protest sites by students in Delhi, which have unfortunately become so common these days?

The media, which has become addicted to showing some spicy news or the other, as shown in ‘Peepli Live’, has also played their part in telecasting a live coverage for extended periods.

His sister, Dalbir Kaur, deserves full sympathy for the loss. But at times, she too has overdone her part, by talking in front of the mikes as though she is slowly revealing her political ambitions. A person in genuine grief cannot generally speak so tactfully, taking names of people and urging action. No one knows who the bigger beneficiary was, when she hugged Rahul Gandhi and wept on his shoulders.

Therefore, we are compelled to ask this question – What made Sarabjit Singh a martyr?

Sadly, it was not his patriotism, but political opportunism which made him a martyr.

Anyone for Mars? Trips start in 2023…!

A company in Netherlands called ‘Mars-one’ has undertaken a very ambitious project. It plans to send 4 astronauts in its first batch to Mars in 2023 with an intention to start human colony on Mars. It is inviting applications from interested people all over the world and they have already received more than 10,000 applications.

What is most interesting is the fact that there is a unique condition for this travel. And that condition is that - whoever goes there should not expect to come back. They will have to spend their remaining lives on Mars. Because, for a return journey, they would require the rocket fuel in huge quantity to escape from Mars’ atmosphere and travel all the distance and then land safely on earth, which is simply not available on Mars.

Then there are many questions unanswered. Let us discuss some of them here.

What about the food supply on Mars? The people are going there with limited food. They need to make some ‘local’ arrangements before their stock gets exhausted, otherwise they will starve to death. Also, no one is sure about the climatic condition over there and the different seasons. Obviously, there shall be no electricity to switch on lights or fans in night times. The people shall be forced to spend their nights looking at the stars above, fancily pointing at one star saying that it is earth, their home planet...!

No one knows whether life, in any form, exists over there as of now. There could be dangerous creatures, or aliens, but very unlikely human beings like us. How will these people cope with them, when confronted? It is said that the gravity on Mars is 38% of that on earth. That means, people can jump 3 – 4 times higher with same force. Would it make some kind of difficulty in walking or running normally?

After the initial excitement of having landed successfully on Mars, would not these people get terribly bored over there? There are no other people to talk around, except these four, no markets to do shopping, no movies etc. No doctor to treat illness, no rule of land. These people will set the rules for the people landing there in next batches. In that sense, they would have a big responsibility of ‘shaping the culture’ of a planet. Thankfully, all the following people would also come from earth, so the experiences and aspirations are similar for everyone. But what would happen, if simultaneously, some aliens from other planet also venture in sending some of their people on Mars? Would they gel with each other or fight?

What would be the psyche of people applying for going there? Are they excited to experience a thrilling experience at the cost of their remaining lives on earth? Won’t they feel sad for leaving their near and dear ones forever, without dying? Or they are fed up with their lives on earth? It is a strange feeling to bid permanent goodbye to a person knowing that he is going to live elsewhere for some more time.

What about heaven and hell? Would they be same as the ones for people on earth? But how would the soul navigate its way from Mars to the heaven, wherever it is? It has never travelled the way from Earth to Mars by itself. And the exact location of Heaven is still unknown to mankind. And would there be a separate section in heaven for people arriving from Mars?

Year 2050

There would be a competition among the builders to start selling plots on Mars. And after the humans start settling down on Mars, the technology would gear up to provide telephone facility for communication between the two planets. And then, the TV channels would also spread their wings to accommodate Mars in its area of coverage. The High society people would be heard saying, ‘our daughter is getting married… the boy is from Mars.’ The businessmen would proudly include Mars in their list of branches.

. . . . . .

Somewhere, the god would be smiling, wondering in his mind, ‘These humans are very surprising… give them a little and they look for more…They have damaged the beautiful earth I gave them… now they are out to destroy other planes as well…!