Category: India

Ironical as it might sound, Advani’s reason for quitting his various party posts was because ”most leaders of ours are now concerned just with their personal agendas.’’ It is easy to argue that the veteran BJP leader has his own life-long personal agenda of becoming the PM and yet blames everyone else in the party, particularly Mr. Modi of having his own personal agenda. Despite this irony, in reality, Mr. Advani is expressing a very valid concern that many in the BJP seem to concur with in private but do not have the stature or simply the “guts” to bring up in public.

For the first time in its history, the BJP has a leader in Mr. Modi who, through clever, sustained propaganda and self-promotional events, has positioned himself as a de-facto savior of the party. To his credit, he has repeatedly won elections in Gujarat. He also goes around talking of an agenda of development and progress, showcasing his successful administration in Gujarat. Over time, he has slowly developed a cult following of sorts, particularly in his home state. Party and ideology has given way to Modi masks. It’s a Modi show all the way. Today, there is one Modi and many Modi masks. Number twos or number threes in the hierarchy are non-existent as in Gujarat.  Have a lot of dough and want to start a project in Gujarat? No problem. Modi will personally lay out the red carpet, welcome you with open arms, sanction the land, and take care of associated irritants, crush environmentalists, or anyone else who stands in the way; and before you know it, you are in business, and of course, singing his praise. While this approach might seem attractive to young, restless, and ambitious Indians, the fact remains that this approach smacks of dictatorship. No one has a say except Modi. There is no debate, no consensus, little discussion, and virtually no inclusive process in decision-making. The fundamental tenets of democracy are thrown out of the window, in exchange for rapid pace of development in the name of progress.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

It is universally accepted that elections are the very source of corruption. You need several crores to contest and campaign in an election and ultimately win it. According to the Election Commission, each candidate is allowed to spend a maximum of Rs. 15 lakhs in a constituency in the state assembly election. This amount is a real joke in this day and age. Despite this stipulation, no candidate has ever landed in serious trouble for spending more than this amount. As a result, candidates, especially from major political parties, spend several crores of rupees to contest and win elections. Where does this money come from? Clearly, these are from vested interests and undeclared black money that pours in from different quarters. These contributors automatically expect favors once the candidate wins the election. So, compromises are made at the very start of the process.

None of the current political parties are ever going to bring about any reforms whatsoever to fix this problem. Over the years, they have established a well-oiled fund raising machinery that ensures the smooth and steady influx of hordes of cash to fight elections. This is often used to dole out goodies at the time of election ranging from liquor, plain hard cash, TV sets, laptops, etc., in order to win votes. The Election Commission has not shown the wherewithal to do anything about this either. So sadly, the practice continues undeterred. The amounts required to fight elections increase so dramatically with each election that it has now become virtually impossible for an honest candidate to contest and dream of winning an election without making compromises. Under these circumstances, what choices do we have? We can continue to remain bystanders while our elected representatives are well and truly sold out to big donors even before they are elected, or we can take steps to reform the process ourselves by crowd-funding candidates and parties we support that are committed to a process of open and transparent fund raising.

The Aam Aadmi party (AAP) has taken a unique step in this direction. They have sought funds directly from the people and routinely list the contributors and the amounts collected on their website. The party announced that it has managed to raise about 2 crores from the public. At the 15 lakhs per constituency stipulated by the Election Commission, AAP is going to need five times as much as it has raised to date before November to contest all 70 seats in Delhi. A tall order indeed. Considering that AAP is up against the endless funds of BJP and the Congress, this amount is clearly a paltry sum. Nevertheless, it’s a start. As a nation, if we care to curtail corruption at the very source, we need to step up and support parties like AAP that say no to contributors who wish to remain anonymous.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

The current clamor for Srinivasan’s resignation is in no way going to solve the IPL spot fixing mess and BCCI’s woes. While I am no fan of Srinivasan, the public must realize that the attempt to phase out Mr. Srinivasan is just a routine internal power struggle within the BCCI. If you think back, there was a time when Mr. Jagmohan Dalmiya (East Zone lobby) called the shots. Then, he was slowly phased out by the ever-savvy Pawar lobby. After Pawar captured the BCCI, he went on to greener pastures and became the head of the ICC. Then, it was the turn of the southern lobby. In came Srinivasan, despite opposition from veterans even from the south like Mr. Muthiah.

As in most other highly political organizations, there are always enemies who are trying to tear you down. Srinivasan, over the course of his tenure, made matters worse by getting rules changed, owning an IPL team, antagonizing advertisers and other IPL teams, and overruling selection committee choices. With the IPL spot fixing scandal at its peak, his detractors grabbed the opportunity to try and bring him down. The truth of the matter is that if Srinivasan is forced to resign, it will only signify a shift in power from one lobby to the other. Nothing as far as the BCCI or cricket is concerned is going to change.

There are a number of very fundamental questions that need to be addressed with regard to cricket administration in the country. Why should a private club of the rich and powerful get to control the most popular game in the country? Why should this club have the privilege of selecting the team that represents the country? Why should cricket enjoy the benefits of tax payer subsidies? Why should the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Arun Jaitley, be the head of DDCA? Why should Narendra Modi be the Chairman of the GCA? Why should Jyotiraditya Scindia be the President of the MPCA? In short, why should active politicians, who are supposed to be serving the country, have to dabble in sports? Where there is money and power and no ground rules, the ones with the biggest clout simply annex key positions as a form of spreading their fiefdom. Cricket administration, with its complete lack of accountability, provides a fertile ground for such activities.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

Ever since the Aam Aadmi party was formed, its national convener, Arvind Kejriwal, has spoken repeatedly about changing the politics of this country. While many have pooh-poohed this as the talk of just another newly minted politician, the AAP has shown that it is attempting something new and fundamentally different. The AAP has spoken extensvely about Swaraj and decentralization. They have highlighted the need for better governance. They strived for the Lokpal since their pre-political avatar. They dared to expose the powerful and connected. They have strived for transparency by publicizing all donations made to the party and refusing donations from people who wished to remain anonymous. Now, they have embarked on a civil disobedience movement of the kind not seen since independence.

Shortly after its formation, the AAP embarked on a series of exposes. The media took immediate notice because the exposes dared to take on the high and mighty across party lines. Interestingly, sections of the media privately praised the AAP party for its efforts, admitting that they had all this information all along but simply did not have the “guts” to lay it bare before the public — a classic example of the failure of our fourth estate. Unfortunately, despite the documentary evidence garnered from the public domain and from RTI filings, the government ignored the exposes. The media, meanwhile, was summarily threatened by large industrial houses from covering these exposes. The most recent of these exposes involved the Sheila Dikshit government of Delhi, and its hand in the inflated electricity and water bills of the residents of Delhi.

Sections of the media and several talking heads on TV have derided the AAP as a product of “OB Van” politics. They predicted boldly that they would vanish into insignificance once the OB Vans stopped covering them. The ongoing fast by Arvind Kejriwal has completely debunked this theory. This fast is labeled as an attempt to inspire people to overcome their fears and join the civil disobedience movement, one that involves refusing to pay the inflated electricity bills. Instead of creating a media spectacle, Arvind Kejriwal chose to fast in a nondescript slum in Sundar Nagari, far from the media’s sought-after areas. The AAP insisted that crowds not gather at the venue of the fast. Instead, volunteers and well-wishers were encouraged to participate in a well thought out “ground game” of signing up supporters for the civil disobedience movement. The result was that over eight lakh people signed up in a matter of a few days, and this list is growing by the day.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

When I was sick recently and lying in bed checking my email on my cell phone, it dawned on me that a large number of emails that I was receiving everyday included daily newsletters, updates, discussion group updates, etc., many of which I don’t even recall ever signing up for! Besides, I realized that I hardly read most of them. So I decided that this was a good time to clean up the clutter in my Inbox. While many emails give you a simple unsubscribe link at the bottom, there were many with an “update your preferences” link and when you click on it, the link takes you to a login/password screen! In other words, I have to login and then unsubscribe. I don’t even recall ever having registered at many of these sites, let alone remember the password. Every time you register at any website, you are unknowingly signed up to receive one or more email updates, newsletters, and the like. It’s easy to register at these sites and be bombarded for life, but it’s hard to stop the flood when you want to. In any case, lying sick in bed has the advantage of time, so I went on a rampage, and unsubscribed from all and sundry. I logged into LinkedIn and turned off “all” notifications. Now I am no longer notified if X endorsed Y for a skill, or if A changed jobs, or XYZ posted an article, or ABC liked another article.

These changes to my digital life happened shortly after I moved to a Google Nexus phone. While I am not a great fan of the user interface on Android phones, the Google Nexus is the best when it comes to limited number of apps. Unlike other phones, it does not come pre-installed with hordes of apps. You have a minimal number of apps that are sufficient to get you going. It was such a refreshing change. My previous phone, an HTC Android, would not let me uninstall the Facebook app! Talking of Facebook, another drastic step I took in the process of this partial digital detox is that I decided not to access Facebook for as long as possible. I don’t have the app installed on my phone either, so it was a complete break from Facebook. It’s close to three weeks now and I am managing to survive just fine.

I can’t describe what a wonderful difference I have observed in a matter of few days. I have started to receive only relevant emails. The task of cleaning up my Inbox has become so much more simpler and less time consuming. I feel like I have more time on my hands to be productive. My head seems that much less cluttered. I have even started to remember friends’ birthdays. I seem so much more efficient with my to-do list among other things.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

The public kerfuffle between Mr. Arun Jaitley and Justice Katju has been in the news of late. Justice Katju, in an opinion piece in a leading daily, criticized Mr. Modi and his track record in a blatant attempt to counter his growing popularity. Mr. Jaitley, in turn, accused Justice Katju of being overtly political and called for his dismissal from chief of the press council. Justice Katju responded by asking Mr. Jaitley to quit politics and take up “sanyas!”

Mr. Jaitley is the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. He is not directly elected by the people since he is a Rajya Sabha member from the state of Gujarat (though he has been Delhi-based for decades). As a senior member of the BJP, it makes sense for Mr. Jaitley to stand up for Mr. Modi and respond to such attacks. At the same time, it is quite understandable that at some level, he “owes’ Mr. Modi for his Rajya Sabha seat. Besides, Mr. Modi is being projected by many (including himself!) as the PM in waiting. Getting further into Mr. Modi’s good books can only help rather than hurt Mr. Jaitley’s future prospects. All in all, Mr. Jaitley has plenty of possible reasons for his open attack on Justice Katju.

Justice Katju, for his part, has been a very vocal figure since taking over as the chief of the press council. In a matter of months, he has gone from a virtual unknown to hitting the headlines every few weeks by attacking all and sundry. He has not even spared the people of the country at large, referring to Indians as “idiots, communal, etc.”. Despite the controversies that seem to follow Justice Katju’s statements, I think we need more visible, outspoken people. If anything, I would fault Justice Katju for not being even more outspoken. Even if one might agree with Justice Katju’s views on Mr. Modi, it is questionable as to why he chooses not to ever mention the attack on the Sikhs after the assassination of Mrs. Gandhi. Besides, an outspoken man of his stature has had little to say so far about the unrestrained corruption under the current government.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

With the 2014 elections not very far away, recent political developments of the two major parties in the country are worth looking into and pondering about. The Congress party gave its “yuvraj” a promotion. After accepting the promotion, Mr. Gandhi has gone back to where he is most comfortable – under the radar, away from the people, beyond the eyes of the media. There is little indication that this is likely to change anytime soon, and it appears that Mr. Gandhi wants to succeed his mother as the power behind the throne.

With the UPA government fighting a losing credibility battle, the Anna movement having fizzled out, and the Aam Aadmi Party’s future tied to its maiden polls in Delhi, the field is wide open for other entrants to grab the center stage. Narendra Modi seems to have expanded to fill this vacuum, armed with his 24×7 PR machinery, the strong backing of the industrial houses, and the blatant, appalling support of large sections of the media.

According to media reports and political and social commentators, Mr. Modi has more than a streak of authoritarianism in him. Even his ardent supporters admit that he rules Gujarat with an “iron hand.” Want to open a factory, no problem. The CM will quickly and single-handedly steamroll the environmentalists and displaced villagers into submission and lay out the red carpet, practically overnight. In his government, there are no number twos or threes. Everything is centralized and controlled by one man. This approach has clearly made the power rungs within the BJP nervous. Slowly but surely, many are starting to fall in line, lest they fall by the way side. They realize that it’s better not to stand in the way of the Modi juggernaut. If you can’t beat him, join him, seems to be the fast emerging rationale in the BJP ranks.

The fact is that with each passing day, an India beyond the Congress and the BJP is emerging, as is evident in the virtual absence of these parties in many states and the rise of regional parties. Under these circumstances, the odds of a leader with a pan-Indian appeal emerging is less likely. In light of this, the Rahul vs. Modi battle that is being played up by the media seems so out of tune with where the country is headed. Clearly, media, which can play an objective and constructive role in shaping the debate and educating the masses, is failing miserably. A perfect example is the recent needless euphoria in sections of the media over a speech by Narendra Modi at SRCC in Delhi. Thankfully, one major newspaper from down south didn’t bother to report on it. The editor, to his credit, tweeted, “We refuse to be part of the herd. Every story on our p1 was far more newsworthy than a speech by a CM to a Delhi college.”

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

Mr. Gandhi had nothing of significance to say during the Anna movement, on the various blatant scams of the current government, the Delhi rape issue, to list a few of the many issues of recent times, where he could have added his highly audible voice to the raging debates. His worldview is unknown and he chooses not to comment on most things until well after the fact, if at all. He led the Congress election effort in UP and the party was badly routed. To his credit, he accepted responsibility for the defeat. Thank goodness for small mercies. He never speaks to the media. All his public appearances are carefully choreographed. As a result, Mr. Gandhi remains a mystery to most Indians after close to a decade in the political limelight.

And yet, he earns himself a promotion. In his much touted speech, he addresses issues of accountability, leadership development, our value for position over knowledge, among other challenges. Ironically, if all of these were in place, he wouldn’t find himself in the position he holds today. To add to the irony, sycophants in the party are going gaga over his speech and falling over each other to praise the man.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

The recent Delhi rape case is yet another example in an endless string of poorly managed issues by the current UPA government. The Delhi CM is at logger heads with the police. The Home Minister defends not meeting protesters. Then the Finance minister issues a statement on the issue after a cabinet meeting. The President’s son then sticks his foot in his mouth. When things get out of hand, the PM addresses the nation. Then, the victim is flown to Singapore. The doctors say it’s a government decision, while the External affairs minister says it’s a medical decision. Finally, Sonia Gandhi issues a statement and then the victim dies. One can’t help but wonder, “Who exactly runs this ship?”

Dynasty politics has been the bane of Indian politics for several decades now. The pioneers in this regard are India’s first family — the Gandhi family — which has set the gold standard for dynasty politics. They sit atop the massive financial and political complex, the Congress party. This giant colossus feeds and breeds an endless ever-growing army of sycophants, corrupt politicians, and bureaucrats. At the front end of this, is a sprinkling of honest faces like the PM and the Defense minister, for example. Over the last several decades, the Karunandhis, the Mulayams, the Pawars, among others, across the country, have strived to emulate this model.

But let’s take a step back and assess the Gandhis based on their public persona. Clearly, there is no Indira Gandhi equivalent in the Gandhi family today. By this, I mean someone with unstinted ambition, formidable drive, and steadfast ruthlessness. There is no Sanjay Gandhi equivalent either. What we have today is a reluctant Rahul Gandhi, an aging Sonia Gandhi with an unfortunate mystery illness, a Priyanka Gandhi who does not seem inclined to take the political plunge, and a Robert Vadera who rakes in the moolah by leveraging the family connections (assuming for a moment that the recent daring exposes about him have some merit). The result of this state of affairs is that the ruling party repeatedly appears completely rudderless.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times