Why Musharraf Deserves Credit

A lot of people were (and still are) amazed at Pervez Musharraf's decision to come back to Pakistan, to contest the just concluded general election. As daft & unrealistic his decision to vie for votes and save Pakistan might seem, it has been one of the most important moments in Pakistan's history.

 

Firstly, Pakistan which has been ruled by military dictators for than half of its existence, has never before seen an erstwhile military head of state being arrested. That moment alone, ought to have inspired many millions rooting for the cause of democracy. For all its faults and vindictiveness, the system in Pakistan seems to have gotten something right. The image and narratives of an ex-General running from court and his subsequent arrest; has to have satisfied people's need for justice. Moreover, it also serves an important notice to the Generals sitting in Islamabad, who until now have thought themselves to be above the law. These events will have a long standing effect on the military establishment's psyche.

 

People in the military might look down upon Musharraf for subjecting himself to the law of the civilians, but that arrogance alone has been the bane of the country for a long time now. This moment in Pakistan's history will be hard to forget and in the scenario the military does choose to pull a ghajini, the fight back will be more intense than ever.

 

Secondly, there is no greater endorsement of the democratic process than being a part of it. When Musharraf decided to participate in the electoral process, he not only endorsed the need for a working democracy in Pakistan, he also foretold the future for Pakistan's military. It is about time that the country stops running on agendas set by war mongering- fear inducing-power hungry generals.

 

The lessons this shift brings out, for Pakistan and India are extremely valuable. If Pakistan, got around to fixing its own mess, there would be little time to meddle in affairs which promise to take the country back to chaos and violent capitulation.

 

What Musharraf has done here by subjecting himself to the judicial and the political system of the country is to make sure that these arms of the government are returned to their intended positions of hierarchy. India would do well to learn lessons from our village-bum cousin. We have had a number of ex-head of states (and thousands of politicians & bureaucrats) under investigation for a variety of alleged crimes. And they have all got away. It is about time we too bring these abusers of power to task, it is time we uphold the faith we so easily put in our sputtering democracy.

 

Lastly, Musharraf seems to have learnt his lessons quickly. He is one of the few from his class of dictators to be alive. The fact that he chose to come back and then be denied and jailed, does entitle him to redemption. It does entitle him some credit for helping his country move in the right direction. And the way all well-meaning intentions end up in a democracy, it does entitle him to failure. At the hand of seasoned, corrupt politicians.

Look Within

The recent exodus of people from the north-east, back to their home states, from various parts of the country has shone a not so flattering light on our status as a free, secular republic. The fact that this happened right after the 65th Independence Day makes it all the more shameful. This blog has repeatedly lamented the lack of governance in this country, and the level of fear psychosis being generated amongst the North-eastern community in Bangalore and other parts of the country yet again highlights the absolute absence of any framework or structure resembling a government.

In the absence of an effective government people in this country have a free run, left to do as they please, not exactly the idea of independence our freedom fighters had. From the initial violence in Assam, to mindless rioting in Bombay to the exodus down south. The police and other law enforcing agencies have left us at the mercy of mischief mongers. Anybody with the minutest nuisance value and political clout can butcher and rape people, threaten an entire community in any city , burn buses and attack civilians and generally make merry, like they are fucking Genghis Khan! And what does the Indian Government do? It blames Pakistan! How bloody unpredictable! Is there anything this government will not pin on our western neighbor?

As per one govt estimate 40% of the SMSs doing the rounds are from Pakistan (source: NDTV). Really now? 40%? Now how did we exactly arrive at that number, pray do tell which government agency has been keeping a track of all the SMSs being sent out and received in India, with their source of origin and other necessary information. Did these messages come with a subject line lucid enough for our intelligence agencies to distinguish threatening messages from the regular santa-banta jokes -

"Please drive out Assamese non-muslim people from your respective states, regards, (blank) Mujaheddin.

Note: Write name of an Indian state in the space provided"

Even if this bullshit number were to be true, 60% of SMSs are still not from Pakistan. Unless the govt plans to apportion some of those amongst some other countries, I'd say the problem lies within. And there are many issues of concern that need to be looked at immediately, instead of accusing 'outside forces' for our very inherent indigenous flaws!

The fact that we as a country we still cannot guarantee the right to work or live anywhere in the country is the most appalling reminder of how little we have progressed. We continue to treat people migrating from other states as outsiders, why then blame Pakistan when we have created outsiders of our own people? The government has not managed to guarantee basic human rights, even those enshrined in the constitution. The administration continues to fail the people in every aspect of its role and duties.

We are supposed to have an effective police, an established intelligence network, if not actual cerebral prowess then at least the infrastructure to deal with such situations. Our ineptness in all security matters is complete. How do we expect to defend ourselves from Pakistan or any other 'external forces' when we cannot safeguard lives within our own borders. When we perpetuate a system where the netas hog a majority of the security forces, we deny ourselves the capability to do much else.

To add to the whole tamasha, a lout like Raj Thackrey decides to undertake a rally, adding fuel to fire. If nothing else, why does not the government grow a pair and arrest people like him? Adding to the confusion and the overall uncertain atmosphere prevailing in the affected states, the government is denying the people a chance at reconciliation and resettlement.

After 65 years of independence from the Brits we are still fighting to survive in this country, fighting to eke out an honorable living, a peaceful one, without the threat of violence, without the threat of having to leave every possession and run. Is it too much to ask? I know its not in the constitution (and it should be) but the right to live honorably is the single most important right. That is the differentiating factor between us and whatever microbe NASA will 'unmars' in its latest mission

Rubber Stamp Democracy

Don't say or see anything, get it boys?

With the election of Pranab Mukherjee to the highest constitutional post in the country, we have taken yet another step towards becoming a rubber stamp democracy. With the election of the long time minister and parliamentarian, we no doubt have a ‘qualified’ individual in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, but we have in the process added another lame duck in a long list of individuals who have found themselves occupying the biggest house in the country on the basis of their loyalty and their capability for total submission to political bosses.

The way the last few presidential elections have panned out (barring Dr. Kalam’s) the entire process has been either about finding someone totally incapacitated to interfere with what the government does or to find an honourable retirement option for a long term servant (to the family). Pranabda has the unique position of satisfying both the criterion. Though he might seem like an acceptable choice to the uninitiated and our congress loving media, the intentions behind him being elected speak of the ills marring our democracy.

Not only has he been shooed out of the government to pave way for Rahul Baba to emerge as the only option for the PM’s post come 2014, Pranab Mukherjee has also been thrown out  because his position in the cabinet was rivalling that of the Prime Minister’s. And that god sent North Korean-esque right belongs alone to Sonia Gandhi. Or Rahul.

It also helps that the next general elections are around the corner. And who better than the family’s trusted aide for decades to be in the position most crucial to government formation. God forbid the congress does not get 272 in 2014 or earlier (that is if Mulayam Singh’s plans bear fruit), because they think they will every time, their proven handyman will, well come in handy. Pranabda, would have served his life’s purpose. The trusted servant handing over the keys to the empire to the prince. Rajiv and Indira would have been so proud!

For once I thought, naively I admit, that the cold calculations that have gone into past presidential elections would have favoured P.A Sangma’s candidature for the top post. He after all meets many of the criteria required off the President, as have been defined by the past elections. He is in the minority, many minorities actually. He is short, from the north-east, belongs to the scheduled tribes, is well spoken etc. His candidature would have been perfectly in sync with the minority bill filling status of our last few presidents. Woman – minority, woman in long sleeves – double minority. Scientist – minority, Muslim scientist from the South of India – election ticket!

Poor Sangma almost made it on his multiple minority status. But that was until the Gandhi family asked themselves the silly question of who, in the wildest of imaginable scenarios has the ability to challenge Rahul baba within the party. And somebody whispered Pranabda. Poof! And a couple of months later he is the President! Because that is the biggest minority of all. No one in the congress party can dare to even think of becoming the PM until someone, anyone of electable age is alive in the Gandhi Family. Narasimha Rao was a speed bump, a mistake never to be made again. The way the party has purged itself of anybody with ambitions has made sure that if the congress is to come to power, the Gandhi family will continue to rule.

Honesty Is Overrated

Especially in our country, where it is the exception to the rule. Things have been deteriorated to such a level that merely being honest is sufficient criteria to be India’s prime minister. For the second time running. When certain civil activists raised the issue of mass scale misappropriations in the coal ministry, headed by our PM, the party and the government came out in strong defence of Dr. Singh. He is honest they said. Whatever happened to competence, integrity and all such virtues desirable of the leader of a nation, any nation? Whatever happened to his duty to uphold the law, to work within it? To not just seem to be honest, but to execute his duties, honestly.

We all knew Dr. Singh’s fondness for keeping mum; must we now start appreciating his blindness to what goes on in his government too? When are we going to have enough of him prostrating in front of his political bosses and ask him to get on with the job of governance? Why have we as a nation set such low standards for ourselves, why are we content or indifferent to such incompetence? Here is a man, devoid of any meaningful influence in the government, and yet he is allowed to fumble around the south block posing as a man in control of a nation of more than a billion!

Dr. Singh is by far the worst prime minister we have ever had. He has led a government which in its time has managed to reverse the economic growth of the country, seen unprecedented evidence of ubiquitous corruption and a total breakdown of governance. Yet, we treat him as some messiah from heaven. The one who could not be corrupted. In his time we have witnessed the worst of coalition politics, with measly ‘partners’ impeding day to day functioning of the world’s largest bureaucracy. He is a man who has little respect amongst his peers, why else would people like Mamata Banerjee Mulayam Singh Yadav and Karunanidhi be such important decision makers.

And the press is completely silent. They are more interested on when Rahul baba is going to jump in the fray rather than asking some tough questions from the current prime minister. In a shameful misplaced display of loyalty to the country Vinod Mehta is asking questions of Barak Obama. He would do better to look within and do his job properly to begin with rather than taking cheap shots something totally irrelevant to us.

The guardian recently called Dr. Singh, Sonia Gandhi’s poodle. And our press sits idly by analyzing Digvijay Singh’s verbal diarrhoea for clues on when Rahul Gandhi will honour us with his presence in the government. Instead of feeling indignant, it is time we woke up and looked within. And recognize this government for what it is. An utter failure.

Important legislation is stuck in parliament, ministers have been arrested, the economy is in shambles, military-govt relations have never been worse and essential reforms have been forgotten. The only positive aspect that this government can somewhat take credit for is the fact they are still in power. Only if they had shown the same deftness in managing national concerns as they have shown while handling Mamta, DMK, Ajit Singh, things would have been much better today. Alas, this government is of the view that staying in power is its number one priority. While some of the readers might say, why not, I would like to remind them of one simple thing – governance. And the two are not linked. If you can’t govern, you get the hell out. You don’t cling on to the gaddi for however longer you can. Imagine if average Indians started hanging on to their jobs after being told they suck at it. I mean in the non-government sectors of course. Why do we accept exceptionally low standards of our government officers when the same is not applicable to the average Indian?

Surprisingly the only opposition to his rule has come from within the Congress party. Though their motives are hard to guess, to think of that the only challenge is from a cherubic looking, untested member of parliament is reflective of the despondency of the situation.

At a time when one would think, the circumstances were congenial for the opposition to make a decisive move, the people have been let down yet again. In the face of the whole nation surrendering its right to question and protest; only one person can save us from this situation. Dr. Singh, if you have any shame or self-respect or any sense of duty, one angry columnist urges you to step down. Do what you have not in either of your terms. Show courage and take a stand. Stand Down.

Crazy Mamata, Crazy Calcutta

If, the Governor of West Bengal's statement (or is it Paschim Banga???), "today is the true poribartan (change) that our chief minister promised a year ago" reflects change, then the state is doomed. As it has been for the last 30 odd years. Not to forget Mamata's slightly exaggerated description of the significance of the victory - "Bengal is proud. The victory of the Knight Riders is like a victory of the world". Not the championship, not the sport, not the country. The world.

In a crass, disgusting display of deriving mileage out of a nothing affair, the state government has clearly shown its abilities and intentions to rule what is quickly becoming a failed state in India. Mamata Banerjee personifies the incompetence, irrelevance and ignorance, that has driven the state into insignificance.

Just watching her move around the stadium, handling the mic, giving instructions to senior policemen (who should have been working instead of managing what was essentially a corporate party) stirred extremely strong feelings of despondency. What a waste of time of the chief minister's office, of the many policemen, doctors, fire officials deployed. An absolutely unnecessary exercise undertaken to hide the shortcomings of the present government in Calcutta. Just because SRK is the brand ambassador of the state, does the government owe him a celebration of this scale. In fact, has it even earned the right to celebrate anything? To put things in perspective, one has to just look at the debt, unemployment and other development parameters in the state.

But why blame Mamata alone. She did what any politician does, exaggerate whatever little emotion people have. And what can one say about the people of Bengal?! The people seem to have no work and poured out in celebration as if Brazil had won another soccer world cup. I really think its the desperation of the people, an overreaction stemming from being left out of the progress and prosperity seen across other metros. What shame. The city famous for its attitude towards work, where siestas are romanticized and where strikes take up most of the working calendar, saw the capital come to a stand still because a team bearing their name won a cup. One needs to ask, do they really deserve any better.

Some might argue and compare the fans' celebrations in Calcutta with those witnessed in European countries post important soccer victories. But they seem to be more driven by a particular sport than the amplified satisfaction of 'we' won something. Are they really that desperate, or as Swapan Dasgupta said in a debate today, the state has not had any real reason to celebrate in a long time.

It is time people woke up to the impending disaster the state is moving towards. With the chief minister in no mood to even discuss governance, with increasing vendetta against the opposition, with growing intolerance for disagreements, there needs to be urgent course correction. They need to put things in perspective. Instead of celebrating a stupid, bastardized version of cricket, they should really be trying to extract more out of the government.

With Mamata running wild in the state, painting cities blue, arresting professors, terming students Maoists, there is little hope for the state of Bengal. After the many decades of plunder by the Communists, can the state really afford another five years of misrule?

Sunday Blatherings

Helmets for Women

In line with our long standing tradition of making laws useless and subverting them to appease one section of the society or the other, Sheila Auntyji has pretty much rendered useless the transport department's written undertaking to the Delhi High Court on women compulsorily wearing helmets. Now we know she comes from a generation and class where she has not ridden on a two-wheeler, but surely she has enough brains to figure this one out. Or maybe no protective gear on her head all these years has made her brain soft.

In what started as an effort to not piss off the Sikh community once again, after the 1984 killings of men, women and children identified with the clothed version of the helmet, the same state government extended the undermining of the law to the women voters as well.

It is primitive, short-sighted, criminal and akin to a cult leader asking its member to commit mass suicide. Religious sensibilities and vanity apart, the law should be the same for all, especially in matters of life and death. The government will do well to ensure that it is at least seen as being concerned for our well being. If it means banning sikh drivers from operating two-wheelers, then so be it. I know it will cause a lot of furore in the country but it needs to be done. If it means women will have to figure out ways to adjust their dupattas or redo their hair after every trip on a motorbike, well it needs to be done.


Sachin as MP

My dad made me see the light on this one. For no explainable reason my first reaction to the nomination was one of disgust, mistrust and cynicism. Maybe it was the fear of seeing politicians call Sachin one of their own. Maybe it was the apprehension that he would truly begin to be identified by the company he is about to keep. Maybe I just did not want to see, the one hero this country has, who is loved and respected by all, enter that building teeming with the people we despise so passionately.

Everyone in this country thinks they own a part of Sachin, his legacy. They truly believe that he owes his continued service by scoring runs, by remaining apolitical, by being more identifiable with the public that loves him. But wait a minute. It is his life. If he chooses to accept a nomination to the Rajya Sabha that is his business. No matter if the government wants to delay the Bharat Ratna, no matter what their ulterior motives are. If this man can, in a split second decide where he is going to plonk a Shoaib Akhtar delivery, I am sure he has thought this one through too.

I am anyways more concerned about the fact that our president can nominate people to the upper house of the parliament. We treat it like an honorable posting, not as an office, which it essentially is. Anyhow, good luck to Sachin, and am glad that he improves the percentage of candidates in parliament who are literate and do not have criminal cases against their names.


 Mamata's (a) Cartoon

Miss Banerjee seems to have lost her wits. With the arrest of a professor who dared to publish and email a cartoon about her and the general going-ons in the Trinamool Congress, she has showcased yet again how much our politicians really hate democracy. With so much that is wrong with Bengal, it is amazing to me as a tax-payer, how she even gets the time to get agitated about something like this. Instead of arresting bad cartoonists and painting the city blue, she should re-read her campaign speeches for inspiration. Even though she came to power with great electoral success it will be advisable to focus on governance and not take the mandate for granted. Else in another 4 odd years she will be relegated to just political cartoons and not much more. And keeping up with the whole freedom of speech thing, here is the cartoon which made all the fuss. Please enlist your well read bengali friends for an accurate translation.

Banana Republic

 Today, the Maoists in Odisha (Orissa) produced abducted MLA; Jhina Hikaka in the ‘praja court’ (people’s court) for a hearing. Just a few facts before we go on:
·         Orissa is a state within India
·         It is 2012 A.D (some 60+ years since independence)
·         We have an Army

Now I don’t want to get into the reasons behind why the Maoists are protesting; the Indian government’s prolonged marginalization, skewed policies, the Maoists own primitive agenda, etc etc. I just want to highlight how inept and emasculated our government is. The Government of India, minus of course parts of Orissa, Andhra, all of North-east India, J&K…you get the picture.

An elected representative has been abducted and produced before a parallel court; while we struggle to get known criminals in our own courts. Maybe those little people in the jungles are onto something! However, on the day we are proudly showing off the Agni 5, we must zoom out from the farthest stretches of China and zoom in within our own boundaries.

To say that the Maoists are making the government look silly is not accurate; this government has done that enough times on its own. They (the Maoists) are however very ably pointing it out to the people and the world that we really don’t have a fully functional government or a working democratic setup. The powers that be have for long ignored the Maoist problem and the issues nudging them towards rebellion. There seems to be no shame, no sense of responsibility or duty to find a solution. The state government, in its selfishness has displayed an unmatched eagerness to capitulate; since we were made aware of Hansie Cronje’s decision to choose an alternate career.

It is not that this is the first time since someone of significance has been kidnapped. It definitely isn’t the last. But the governments at the centre and the federal level continue to operate on an ‘as and when it happens’ basis. There are no policies defining how to engage with Maoists or terrorists in case of abductions/hostage scenarios, there are no clear definitions of ‘no-go’ areas, there are any meaningful channels of communication with known aggrieved parties to avoid repetition of such acts in the future. The government continues to deploy armed forces to fight its own people. And people continue die on both sides. Imagine the frustration of a soldier deployed by the government to fight these people, when another arm of the establishment agrees to free 13 of those people. Makes one wonder, what is the point of deploying our forces in the first place?

Apart from some noises Dr. Singh and his predecessors have made at regular intervals about how the Maoist problem is the biggest threat to the nation, they haven’t done much else. We need to be focused on issues; affecting our own people at a daily level, rather than spending considerable effort and resources plotting foreign policy and shoring up defences to counter external strengths. It is imperative we have policies in place, a mechanism to engage the dissidents and a clear vision regarding what we want to make of the situation at hand. The way we function is absolutely clear that we haven’t given any thought, to quote Dr. Singh to ‘The single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country’. About time we give it thought and more.  Else the people’s court won’t stay limited to the jungles of our forgotten states.