Internet Hindus - entire interview (more or less)

The chat between me and Jason *reference the article in Global Post)

Participants:


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Jits Gajaria, Jason Overdorf

Messages:

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Jits Gajaria: And after Ghose used that term, more and more youth
started asserting themselves as IH or right wing.

Jits Gajaria: I have always maintained that disagreements have full

space in democracy but abuse does not. I have called up abusive

tweeple more than a few times for crossing the line. I feel abuse

weakens your argument and chance to win a debate

Jason Overdorf: In what ways do you think the pro-Congress bias

manifests? We certainly see a lot of articles slamming Manmohan Singh

for kowtowing to the coalition, and plenty of anti-dynasty pieces and

articles about Rahul's incompetence....

Jits Gajaria: Well.. To give a simple example, the silence of national

media on death of a terror accussed in a jail in Maharashtra. Had it

been a BJP ruled state, national media would have been all over it

unlike the current near silence. If you observe carefully, anti-BJP

news are amplified and positive stories from BJP states either

downplayed or grudingly accepted

Jason Overdorf: Or is the national media just automatically tilted a

bit toward the ruling party? Things seemed pretty cosy in the days of

"India Shining," the Gujarat riots notwithstanding.

Jits Gajaria: If you compare the 2 periods, media has a lot more

traction and viewership today. Also the kind of criticism the govt

should take for the current state in India, is not coming from media.

A simple Q - even a kid knows this govt can't do anything without

Sonia Gandhis permission. Why is then media shying from questioning

her? Sonia Gandhi's NAC is largely responsible for the mismanagement

of economy, how many media houses have bothered to call that out?

Jits Gajaria: Maybe more than pro-Cong, Media is pro-Gandhi family

Jason Overdorf: What have been the biggest successes of the Hindu

right (or whatever) in social media? (i.e. Any big wins?)

Jits Gajaria: They have been able to offset and balance out a lot of

false stories. For eg - when Business Standard published an op-ed on

Guj showing Guj growth story a myth followed by rediff and BBC, the

counter in form of data and facts given by a twitter used Vijay

(centerofright) was so spot on, all had to withdraw their stories

because their data was wrong ( or intentionally fudged). Many such

cases of levelling the information fields

Jits Gajaria: And even traditional media houses will have to accept

that information field is getting levelled or they risk being called

out for their unintentional or unintentional bluffs

Jason Overdorf: Do you agree that the Hindu right / Hindu nationalists

are more organized and focused in their use of social media than the

left / secularists?

Jits Gajaria: Hindu right\Hindu nationalists are a part of the

society. They generally represent the country's middle class... And it

is this class which is pre-dominant on the net given its upwardly

mobile status since NDA rule. Hence you will always see them more on

social media. Also they seem more organised because of a common sense

of hurt and disappointment vis-a-vis traditional media

Jits Gajaria: Let's not forget most of the people in this section a

Jason Overdorf: Fair enough.

Jits Gajaria: Are extremely nationalists in their own way

Jason Overdorf: One does seem to find that the right is more

passionate than the left about politics these days in the States as

well. Maybe that's true here, too. (Apart from in Kerala & WB ;-)

Jits Gajaria: Oh yes.. Maybe because there is hardly any Left left in

India.. Many seem to have moved towards centre and are enjoying fruits

of govt eg NAC

Jason Overdorf: One of the common threads in political discussions is

that the middle class is too small to make a difference. Are they

underestimating your potential?

Jits Gajaria: I think they are. There are 80 parliament seats in core

Urban areas and further 40 in semi urban. Also middle class is found

in rural areas too now.. Roughly I wud say middle class can impact

around 180 parliament seats if it comes out to vote

Jason Overdorf: Here's one more for you, then we can wrap it up...

What's your view of the 'battle for the youth?' Are the 'Internet

Hindus' a bigger force than Rahul Gandhi's recruitment drive? Are

your tweeters actually joining the BJP/RSS to get out there and drum

up votes? And can Hindu nationalism compete with regionalism / caste

politics in today's India?

Jits Gajaria: My theory is whenever economy is in doldrums, middle

class votes big.. Add to that the anti-corruption drives and it gives

you an angry middle class and 180 LS seats where they can swing votes

Jits Gajaria: To the last Q. Yes I think this is a much larger

platform to get youth into politics. Won't compare with Rahul's drive

since it has been found how numbers were highly fudged in TN n other

places. So don't know the result of Rahul model. But coming to social

media, I see more and more youth ready to make a switch from online to

offline too. On an average I get 3-4 requests a week for same

Jits Gajaria: Nationalism is the only thing that can take on regional

and casteist politics. Its a glue which binds the ppl and not divide

them

_______________________________________________________________

i wasnt able to save the chat before this since my Blackberry died for a few seconds but here I will just summarise what I said

On Internet Hindus - i feel the term is very derogatory and by using this term people are showing their bigotory and lack of intellect. Sagarika and others stand guilty of bigotory and racism by coining and using this terme

on whether RSS or BJP runs a cell for organised social media and if i have been ever aske to do it - no, the right wing on social media is an unorganised loosely knit group of people across globes who care for India. no organisation or party has so far tried to make special cells for it.

i rest my case

Nitin Gadkari and 2nd term

Too much being written and said about Nitin Gadkari and his possible 2nd term in social media. Sadly the unkindest cuts have come from people, office bearers of organisations or media columnists who declare themselves as staunch BJP supporters. Before coming to 2nd term, let's have a look at how Gadkari fared in his first term and conditions in which he took the leadership.

After 2009 LS debacle, BJP looked not only like a house divided but also looked like someone within would bomb it to oblivion. Vasundhra Raje was sulking in Rajasthan after overseeing a campaign which saw BJP nearly whitewashed in state in LS polls. Khanduri was removed under pressure since BJP lost all 5 seats there. Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie, Jaswant Singh were all feeling left out and in a mood for an open rebellion. In terms of seats, BJP had been washed out in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Assam, Delhi and done badly in Gujarat, Maharashtra, MP in relation to what was expected and past performances. Parliamentary performance in LS and RS between 2004-2009 was worst BJP show for years. It won't be unfair to say that party was in self-destruct mode.

RSS had no choice but to step in. RSS too was going through a generational change in leadership. Many BJP leaders were considered to the top post. Some refused to take the tough job while others were objected to by either RSS or BJP leadership. A decision to bring younger leadership was already taken. While Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley were chosen as leaders of the party in LS and RS, the Party President was still not decided. It was then that Nitin Gadkari was chosen as a consensus candidate.

Many things have happened since then. Let's see at the positives.
To start with, Nitin Gadkari set upon to put the house in order. While Vasundhra Raje was pacified in Rajasthan, Yashwant Sinha was given the respect he deserved. Same with Murali Manohar Joshi. Jaswant Singh was brought back into the party after being unfairly expelled earlier. Over a period of time, fences with Gopinath Munde were mended. Uma Bharti too was brought back into the party.

A Party President's value is generally done on basis of performance in elections. In Bihar, Nitin Gadkari with Arun Jaitley and Dharamendra Pradhan worked with local leaders over campaign strategy and ticket allocation. By agreeing shrewdly to JD-U's opposition for Modi, BJP ensured Laloo could not make the contest Hindu vs Muslim. Result was a stupendous performance. While BJP had no role in WB, TN, Kerala, it did lose some ground in Assam. In the meantime BJP swept local polls in Urban Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Gujarat. Even in Rural Maharashtra, BJP increased number of seats from what they won last time. In Uttarakhand, Gadkari smartly brought back Khanduri and BJP won 31 seats against earlier surveys of total washout with 7 seats. Same in Punjab. Compared to 2009 and contrary to public perception, BJP did manage to win 8 seats. After long, Goa got a single party power under BJP. BJP has been making smart gains in Andhra Pradesh specially in Telengana belt,.

In last 3 years, BJP has put up a sterling performance in Parliamentary debates and proceedings.BJP kept up the pressure within Parliament on 2G and CWG issues. BJP has been able to corner the government on corruption, price rise and other important issues. BJP's stand post Ram Janmabhoomi HC judgement was praised by critics too. Even the last India Today polls showed BJP gaining. A lot of ground still to be covered but still better position than in 2009.

Coming to the negatives. First and foremost to everyone's mind is UP elections. How many seats did BJP lose? 6. How worse was the performance from 2009 elections? Well, just about the same. While one can blame Nitin Gadkari for taking false decisions (like Kushwaha, where he erred in beliving local inputs), one can't blame him for not trying. Unlike 2007 VS and 2009 LS campaigns, this year UP campaign did see worker motivation at a high. Time is ripe to build on it. Another accusation hurled at him is his 'mishandling' of Karnataka. How exactly do people expect him to handle it? He could have braved it out like Congress and let Yeddyurapa stay but strongest opposition was from party seniors. Fact is Gadkari has been doing tight rope walk on this issue which honestly now is now a ego issue. Imagine his condition, for electoral success if he brings in a corruption accussed he is criticised, and if he removes someone accussed of corruption, he is criticised. Same on Jharkhand RS nomination. Fact is BJP didn't have numbers and Mishra was propped by MLAs across parties. BJP never had numbers to put up their own candidate. So MLAs could support whoever they wanted. For that matter even 2 Cong MLAs had supported Mishra. Neither media nor Cong supporters hauled Sonia over coals for this.

One can debate endlessly on gains and losses. My personal view is he has done the best given the circumstances in which he took over. He ensured that the party does not slip into coma as it looked like in 2009. Yes, he might have made some mistakes but show me a man who hasn't erred. Some people talk of stature. But how many remember the BJP Party President in period 1998-2000 when BJP had most electoral success nationally? It was Late Kushabhau Thakre, never counted as a man of stature by the media or party supporters (not party members). To win elections, you need a public face. But much more than that you need someone who can handle the party cadre and get them to work on the ground. In BJP's case, you also need someone who can get RSS ecosystem to be working zealously and seamlessly with the party. BJP failed in doing that in 2004 and rest is history because just a public face does not guarantee electoral success.

Coming to current political situation, one can not predict if and when government will fall. Everyone can sniff mid-term polls. Having a Party President yet in a transitory state during elections isn't a smart thing to do. Most parties maintain status quo in organisation structure during an election year because new people need time.

Hence in current situation, Nitin Gadkari getting a second term is the best available option with BJP. If the proposal is presented and approved during National Executive Council meeting in May in Mumbai, it would again draw up criticism from some quarters. While one agrees that supporters have right to voice their views, supporters too need to know that once Gadkari is made the chief, the party will go to battlefield with him at helm. You can choose if you want to join (with full faith in him) or sit on the fence and continue giving free advice.

Revisiting 1996?

Elections are rightly called the dance of democracy. Nothing captures the change of dynamics in a democracy better than elections. Right from local elections to general elections, it is a game of 'join the dots'. The elections is few states have just concluded and also we have crossed the half-term mark of UPA2. What better time than this to play a political pandit and see how things are shaping up for next general elections in 2014.

Let's take a electoral tour of India, as we try and see how parties are faring in various elections since 2009. Starting with states with more number of LS seats.

UP
Recently concluded elections in UP showed how SP and BSP have literally squeezed out the national parties BJP and Cong in the state. While for BJP, the worry is that it is unable to take an upward turn from 15-16% where it has been stuck since 2007 Assembly polls. So it should plateau at around 10 seats if it does not improve it's leadership or fields winnable candidates in 2014. But for Congress, it is a matter of worry because UP gave it atleast 10 more seats in 2009 than expected. In current scenario, highly unlikely that they can cross 5 seats. It would be safe to assume that SP and BSP should share the remaining 65 seats (40 and 25 respectively)

Maharashtra
A lot has changed in Maharashtra since Assembly 2009 and LS 2009. While NCP has either managed or grown it's rural base, Congress has been a laggard in both rural and urban centres. It has lost badly in local body polls. NCP while growing in rural areas, seems to have hit a plateau in urban centres. BJP on other hand has improved its standing in Vidarbha and also in most urban centres. Shiv Sena on other hand has been on a downward spiral except in the urban centres. MNS is slowly and steadily occupying the space that Shiv Sena is vacating. But the real game changer in Maharashtra are the RPI (Athawle group) alliance with BJP and SS and the tacit understanding between BJP-SS and MNS before and post local elections. In 2009, BJP-SS had lost nearly 10 seats due to MNS. 2014 won't be the same. Also I see NCP contesting independently. I see BJP-SS-RPI improving majorly under current scenario with NCP marginally improving. MNS should make it's debut in Parliament with a couple of seats. Congress seems to be losing touch with ground reality in Maharashtra and could end up in single digits.

Andhra Pradesh
AP has seen a huge churning since 2009. Jagan's exit and subsequent showing in by-polls has pushed Congress to merge PRP with it while Telengana movement has led to massive political changes. Not only has Congress lost by-polls in AP, it has lost them badly with TRS continuing it's grip over the region. TDP on other hand seems to be dealing with internal demons as of now. In last 2 general elections, Congress win was powered by its showing in AP. Seems next to impossible for it to repeat it until and unless they do both, merge Jagan's party and ally with TRS. Highly unlikely. TDP can surely hope to do better and tap the double incumbency. This is where I feel Congress losing seats and regional players (Jagan, TRS, TDP) gaining a few.

West Bengal
Now this state will be a tricky one. Not only is Mamata having a rocky start to her tenure as CM but her relation with the Congress are bad at the best. Does not seem Left Parties have picked up steam after it's last defeat. And Congress still is dependent on TMC. Mamata and Congress had more or less peaked out in last elections. So there are chances that while Mamata could still hold onto her seats or lose a couple, Left Parties should pick up seats in Cong areas and increase its tally. Given the nature of relation between Mamata and Congress, I think it safer to think she will be scouting for alliances in 2014

Bihar
The most spoken about state when it comes to how people defy traditional logic. Also it seems Bihar's love affair with JD-U and BJP is still not over. Also the RJD and LJP have failed to recover from the string of defeats. As for Congress, it really looks an uncared child. Looks like they are squandering away whatever chance they have of occupying the space once taken by RJD. While JD-U and BJP had done exceedingly well in 2009 and looks set to repeat it as of now, some local MP level anti-incumbency could cost them a few seats to RJD. But nothing alarming.

Tamil Nadu
A Dravidian party is always in centre irrespective of who rules. And I don't think that rule will change in 2014. AIADMK and DMK will possibly fight elections independently and share seats. Post elections they could gravitate towards one or the other front depending on the 'value'. AIADMK is more likely to go with NDA but with maverick Jaya, you never know.

Madhya Pradesh
MP for long is now as BJP bastion. It's performance in 2009 LS polls was quite disappointing considering it ducked anti-incumbency in 2008. Some seats lost were facing same MP fatigue as losing MPs were multiple times winner from those seats. Interestingly SP did well in LS 2009 in MP and now being in power in UP, could shock Congress in the border areas. As of now, looking at absence of any major wave for or against, one could bet on a status-quo or a few seats more for BJP in 2014 with Congress losing some.

Karnataka
The Lotus state in south. While BJP has faced troubled both within and outside, it has not impacted its performance in the by-polls. It has won most of the by-polls in last 3 years. Reason could be lacklustre leadership of Congress and the utter nepotism of JD-S. A lot will depend on how these parties gear up for next Assembly elections in 2008. If the BJP internal bickering is taken care of and governance put on a good track, Karnataka should give BJP 20 MPs in 2014. Else it is back to the 10-14 figures where it was earlier.

Gujarat
The NaMo land. While one can safely say this is a BJP fort for years gone and more to come, it's contribution to BJP's LS kitty has been very poor in 2004 and 2014 compared to the 90s. In the 90s right from 1991, for 4 elections, Gujarat sent more than 20 MPs for the BJP, twice even 25. In last 2 elections, the figure is down to 15. The reason behind this needs to be analysed. For 2014, BJP should try and change the trend back to 90s and increase it's tally instead of being at constant 15 level.

Rajasthan
In 2009 LS, Rajasthan was another state which sent a big contingent of MPs for Congress. BJP still smarting under the loss in Assembly then was left with just 5 seats. Much has changed since then. On one hand, Congress government has serious image issues, on the other BJP under Vasundhra Raje is making a smart recovery. Much would depend on how both perform in Assembly polls in 2013 end. But for now safe to look at BJP gaining lot of seats at the expense of the Congress.

For the other states with less than 20 seats, here is my view:

Kerala seems to be happy with Congress as of now and hence it should not have much trouble getting a lion's share of the seats in LS. Orissa is where Congress could make smart gains due to rising unpopularity of Biju Patnaik government. Last time BJD swept the polls but could be vice versa now with Congress and BJD swapping seats and BJP winning a couple. Congress should also hold on to Assam due to absence of any credible opposition. Haryana could surprise the Congress which swept it last time. But going will be very tough as seen from the LS by-poll is Hisar. BJP with Kuldeep Bishnoi is making smart inroads and could win more seats come 2014. Punjab too could witness the same. With SAD-BJP bucking anti-incumbency, am sure it has learnt its lessons and could win more than 5 it won last time. Delhi is there for BJP to sweep if it picks candidates carefully. Dreadfully out of MP race in Delhi for 2 terms, corrupt Sheila regima has given enough reason for BJP to return with a bang. Jharkhand which went in favour of BJP should this time highly likely that BJP will have to share seats with Congress. I would put both parties at even. Chattishgarh is another place where BJP is ruling for 2nd term now. Nothing seems to have gone wrong for the party there yet and should continue it's strong showing. For rest of the states, I see BJP and Congress winning equal seats in J and K, HP, Uttarakhand, Goa and Congress sharing with regional players in North East.

Talking of parties and fronts, one can see that in 2009, Congress peaked out in a few states and is slipping big there while holding on in couple of smaller ones. For the BJP, 2009 was one of its weakest campaigns in 2 decades. Hence it could not maximise even in its bastions. Now its on a path to steady recovery. But while one can see Congress losing major ground and BJP gaining some ground, it is not enough to replace it completely. Hence part of the vaccum is being filled by a group of regional players and left front. Since in TN, WB, AP, UP, Bihar there are more than one regional players, one player will move towards so-called 3rd Front while another will inch towards BJP or Congress, depending on who is in a better position. As of today BJP is surely better placed and so one could see a bigger NDA during and after LS polls.

Coming to the 3rd front, it always needs a strong fulcrum, this time it could be SP which could be a central figure. Add to it a Left, NCP, DMK or AIADMK, Jagan or TDP or TRS, RJD, BJD and one gets a stronger alliance than UPA.

So if I have to be a political pandit for a while and take my picks for LS2014, I will say NDA largest alliance , 3rd front second largest and Congress in a supporting role for 3rd front post elections if needed. Reminded of 1996, aren't you?

not about justice and rehab, silly

Titling the post so because in most of the op-eds or columns written about Narendra Modi hardly one is about justice and rehabilitation. People have demonstrated amazing lack of memory just to drive to one point - Modi should not be the PM. While some of these columns have been outright vitriolic, few are so low on facts that it surprises Specially the one written by Salil Tripathi had me surprised since it was not expected from him to have selective memory. So let me try and get the record straight for real life Ghajinis like him and many others.

To start with, Salil tries to draw a parralel between Narendra Modi and Rajiv Gandhi in a way that would possibly make Rajiv look like an innocent poor grieving kid all his tenure. Truth unfortunately is far from that. Even if I neglect Rajiv's role in 84 Sikh riots, how can you forget the 5 years rule which saw riots at Meerut, Moradabad, Bhagalpur, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Godhra (yes, the town was under curfew for months) and many more places. Was it just a sheer coincidence that all were Congress rules states and faced internal political wranglings? Rajiv's 'extra-smart' moves on Shah Bano and Ayodhya ensured communal harmony was never the same again. Compare this to the peace that one sees in Gujarat. Some might argue that it is just forced peace. Well, forced or otherwise, the fact that no major riot has broken (except one in Baroda during road widening) out in Gujarat since 2002. This despite the fact that state saw Akshardham Temple attack and bomb blasts in the interim period. Also the sensitive issue of demolition of religious structures for infrastructure projects. Neither the Muslim nor the Hindu radicals were allowed to misuse the situation and had to fall in line. If this does not speak of Modi's ability to ensure impartial strong administration, nothing does.

Next Salil speaks about the speed (or rather lack of it) with which Modi administration worked. It is public knowledge that Gujarat had requested the neighbouring states for additional forces. But none complied. And who ruled Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra then? Yes, the supposed torch-bearers of secularism, Congress. Many commentators even talk about 'delay' in deployment of army. They surely do not remember that the riots happened just after Parliament attack and India had mobilised its armed forces on the Pakistan border. Well, such facts are conveniently forgotten when the aim is not justice but demonisation of an individual, organisation or community.

Next thing most people speak about and specially Salil did is that the riots went on for months. While riots did go on for a month and half, for the remaining period there were stray incidents. But isn't this a common thing in places rocked by big riots? Mumbai riots took nearly 2 months to settle down and for calm to be restored. When a small city (in kms n size) can take 2 months to return to peace, here we was a state much bigger in size and with a history of communal disharmony. Why not look at Gujarat itself in 80s. Baroda, Ahmedabad and Godhra saw curfew and riots for months. And how did then CM Solanki and PM Rajiv Gandhi fare post that politically? While Solanki became a Minister of External Affairs, Rajiv Gandhi adorns half a dozen welfare schemes and a Bharat Ratna to boot. And yes, no Salil Tripathi or his friends could stop or protest it.

I won't try and argue on figures about Gujarat's economic growth because figures can be used selectively to strengthen a position and that's what Salil has done. If there is a testimony to Gujarat's growth and its impact on riot victims, Kutubuddin Ansari is a good case enough. Once known as a face of the riots, today he lives happily and peacefully in Gujarat. Not only that he is economically doing much better than he was in his foster states - West Bengal and Maharashtra. His reluctance to revisit those days and advice to all to move on obviously has no takers with Salil and ilk.

Finally, the often made argument that Modi deserves no praise for Gujarat's economic progress because it was always a state of people with business acumen. If same argument is taken forward, how can you call Modi as having sown seeds of communal disharmony when the fact is that Gujarat was rocked by riots since 1967. Why should he take the blame for a legacy when he is not being credit for other things attributed to legacy.

All just goes on to show one thing and that is - the aim of most of these writers and commentators is not to ensure justice, progress and peace for the victims and state of Gujarat.

I declare the field open for anyone to counter what I say specially Salil Tripathi for whom I have greatest regards.

Link to Salil Tripathi's aolumn - http://www.livemint.com/2012/02/29202235/Incredible-impunity.html

Painful journey of Lokpal in 2011

The year 2011 ends and what a what a way it ends for the Indian democracy. If there are a few words to describe this year, they would be corruption, anger, arrogance etc. But entire thing can be summed up in one or two words as Lokpal Bill. Never possibly in history of India would a bill would have seen such a wide variety of reactions (with possible exception of Hindu Code Bill). Let’s look at the journey this year to understand what went wrong and who the real culprit is.
Act 1 – Indulging Anna team
Early this year when Team Anna sat protesting at Jantar Mantar, Congress tried to indulge him to erase public memory and reduce anger over 2G and CWG. Hence they hurriedly formed a drafting committee with govt and Team Anna. They completely ignored the political class. No members of other parties were part of this drafting committee. What better way to show your utter contempt of Parliamentary Democracy?

Act 2 - Games with Anna
After side lining the Parliament and other political parties, Congress started the process of taking team Anna for a ride. The drafting committee could not come to a common draft as government was non-committal on many fronts. This was the stage where Team Anna saw through the Government's lack of intention on Lokpal Bill.

Act 3 - Abuse and misuse
When the drafting committee failed to conjure a proper bill, Congress tried its old games of abuse and misuse. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari fired the first salvo by questioning Anna Hazare's personal integrity. Digvijay Singh as usual joined the slander game with his trademark effectiveness. Post the abuse came misuse. Anna Hazare was arrested and ironically taken to same jail as Kalmadi, Raja. If this was a joke, it was so cruel it backfired. But Congress wasn't listening. Having curbed Baba Ramdev's protest with an iron hand, Congress was sure of repeating it with Anna Hazare. It misjudged the people's mood completely.

Act 4 - Pitching Parliament vs Anna
After it was forced to release Anna from Tihar, Congress tried to use speeches of some supporters of Team Anna. They tried to change the contour of the movement as being Team Anna vs Parliament. While Congress was right that many Anna supporters were undermining the Parliament, they forgot that they had started the process of undermining of Parliament. Congress in a bid to provide a 'halo' to its Yuvraj Rahul Gandhi, allowed the Anna protest to carry on for few days. Finally it allowed a discussion on Lokpal only after providing a chance to Rahul to try for a 'game changer'. Sadly the game changer was as much a damp squib as the player. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha then got Anna to break his fast after making some commitments.

Act 5 - Farce at Standing Committee
Once Anna's fast was over with commitments from the Parliament, it became necessary for the Standing Committee to provide a strong Lokpal Bill. But Congress members had different thoughts. They went back on issues such as CBI, inclusion of PM, inclusion of Type C and D employees. Most of non-Congress members and few Congress members gave their dissent note. The height of cheating was when Standing Committee called an emergency meeting with extremely less notice after telling members that the sessions were over. They pushed their side of contentious argument in the bill and presented a half baked, weak Lokpal to cabinet.

Act 6 - Playing the Religion card
Now that the world knew about Congress's fraud at the Standing Committee, Anna decided to fast again from 27th Dec followed by a Jail Bharo stir. Congress compromised a bit on contentious issues and got cabinet approval. But it had already made a plan to scuttle the bill by using friends like Laloo Prasad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav. They started the dangerous divisive game of reservations on religious basis. Everyone knew this was unconstitutional but Congress just played along. BP protested that reservations in a constitutional body (as wished by all) would be dangerous for the country.

Act 7 - The internal sabotage
Once the bill was brought to the Lok Sabha, Congress used it's friends in RJD, SP to create chaos. While the bill was passed, it did not get constitutional status as government fell short of 2\3rd mark. 12 Congress MPs were absent including some loyalists of Ahmed Patel. Yet Congress wanted to blame only BJP, which had consistently said that while it was all for Lokpal being a constitutional body, it was against the constitutional status for such a weak bill. All indications showed internal sabotage of Rahul's wish.

Act 8 - Assault on democracy
Now that the Congress had egg on it's face in LS, it faced the uphill task of passing it in RS where numbers went against them. Though LS had passed the bill on 27th, Congress wasted whole of 28th on procedural issues and made no attempt to bring the bill for discussion and vote. It used the time to negotiate with allies and other parties but failed as TMC hardened its stand. Finally when the bill came up for discussion on 29th, the house was delayed due to absence of the PM. Later at night, when S S Ahluwalia and Sitaram Yechury asked the Speaker what happens if voting does not happer till 12 midnight, the speaker brushed their concerns aside. Meanwhile most channels were talking of a disruption plan being worked out between Congress, SP and RJD. Exactly the same thing happened. Government now buoyed by failure and hasty end of Anna's fast in Mumbai, was ready to do anything to either stop the bill or shove its own preferred version. First disruption as RJD MP Rajneeti Prasad who tore papers (as Congress MPs tried their best to act as shocked. Instead of tackling one rogue MP, RS speaker adjourned the house for sometime inspite of knowing that midnight was approaching. BJP MPs sat quitely without getting provoked by barbs of various Congress ministers and MPs. When the clock neared 12, BJP leader Arun Jaitley expressed BJP's willingness to sit all night for the bill to be passed. But by then the Vice President and Speaker of RS had made up his mind to act like a Congress slave . Amidst the matchfixing, the bill was deffered indefinitely.

The entire sequence of this journey shows complete shamelessness, arrogance, penchant for cheating all and a disdain for democracy that Congress always had.

The Land of Elite

Last few days there have been a series of articles saying how and why Narendra Modi cannot be and should not be made the PM. I wondered if this was just ideological disdain for Modi. If it was just disdain in terms of ideology, I am sure the writers, thinktanks, media barons (all now called The Elite in this post) cannot ignore the good he brings to the table. So naturally it is more than just ideological disdain. Then I looked at history, from 80s till today. Realised that there is a blanket dislike for any politician who was born and brought up in an average family in any far-off village or town. Such a person was an outside for these elites till the time he or she does not use his mass appeal and charishma to break into it like Atal Bihari Vajpayee did. Others like Advani, George Fernandes, Sushma Swaraj and many others have not been so lucky. Smallest of their error was magnified to manifold and achivements underestimated. The phrase 'benefit of doubt' is reserved only for the Gandhi family or the politicians who owe complete loyalty to Gandhi family or those from the charmed circles of the metros or from an established political family. Let's take some examples to expose the prejudice of the elite.

1. Just around the time, Mayawati was taken to the cleaners for the mega money garland, similar thing had happened in Maharashtra. President of Maharashtra Congress Manikrao Thakre was openly caught saying how much money he demanded from the CM and other ministers for a rally of Sonia Gandhi. Later at the rally in Wardha, Sonia Gandhi congratulated Thakre for 'arrangements' and patted his back. The same set of 'elite' who cried as if hell had broken loose in Mayawati's case did not utter a word against Sonia Gandhi though both Mayawati and Sonia were guilty of same crime. Just because Mayawati was a Dalit woman not born or married to a royalty? Or because she dared to dream of a place supposedly reserved for the Gandhi Family?

2. This has been long debated hence will be brief. The amount of flak Narendra Modi received for 2002 is multiple times more than what Rajiv Gandhi got for 1984. I have seen people like Vir Sanghvi defending Rajiv but absuing Modi.Again question is why? Just because Modi was a tea-stall boy who made it big and now threatens the Gandhi monopoly? Or because he is an OBC who has scored over all other administrators in terms of good governance?

3. The uproar that we heard when Yeddiyurappa was named in a scam and the relentless pressure that brought his downfall is completely missing when it comes to the far more corrupt deeds of Sheila Dikshit or Naveen Patnaik. Just because he was a rank outsider, a typical rural man with no pretensions to be a city slicker?

4. The set of elites who who sniggered at anyone who questioned the secrecy over Sonia Gandhi's health had no qualms about cracking jokes on Nitin Gadkari's surgery because here was an unknown man (for them) who has taken over a national party and is proving a credible opposition today. Just that fact that he came from a small city in Maharashtra and never hid his discomfort with the air kissing and hypocritical ways of the metro circles, meant he was an outsider and hence can be mocked.

5. R R Patil at the worst can be called an inefficient Home Minister. At no point can he be called a corrupt one. Yet he has drawn more criticism and ridicule from the elites than Prithviraj Chavan, Vilasrao Deshmukh who are equally inefficient and definitely corrupt in latter's case. R R Patil is a small village boy who made it good. His kids study in a public school in his village and RR can barely speak decent Hindi or English. And hence the mockery?

6. Let's see the list of CMs who are currently darlings of the elite (no pun intened). Prithviraj Chavan, Omar Abdullah, Sheila Dikshit are some names that come to mind. But a look at their performance and you will see they don't stand a patch compared to Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar, Raman Singh when it comes to governance. Yet, you will rarely see articles or shows critical of the darling CMs while others are either bashed or ignored

There are many such examples. The point is why such disdain for people from ordinary backgrounds, unknown families and not the so-called higher castes.

India is growing and with that aspirations of people are also growing. And aspirations do not discriminate on basis of family, caste, religion, region or language. We can no longer have a mentality that only some family., some people and some caste can rule India. It is an absolute insult of democracy to have that mindset.

I do not know if any elite would read this post. But if you do, I would be glad to see you prove me wrong with your counter views or atleast you can introspect on whether you are strengthening democracy or weakening it.

Let Gujarat be

For long I have resisted the temptation of writing on this subject because a lot has been spoken and written about it. But today as the SC puts the wheels of justice back in place, I might as well pen down by thoughts gathered over these years.

Godhra 2002 and the riots after that were a blot on society just as Sikh Genocide of 1984 or Mumbai riots or Neyveli, Meerut, Bhiwandi, Bhagalpur riots or ethnic cleansing of Pandits in Kashmir. But the fact also remains that this incident has drawn more attention that all other cases of violence in India put together. The skewed attention matrix does draw suspicion to the political and social interests' behind keeping the wounds open.

No discussion of a riot can be complete without understanding the social dynamics at work behing it. Gujarat has seen the maximum number of riots in post independence India. Right from 1967 till late 80s, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat were waylaid by bloody riots every year. Ahmedabad in particular used to witness riots on every Jagannath Rath Yatra. The underworld of Gujarat for long was controlled by gangsters like Latif who enjoyed open political patronage from then Congress governments. This changed in the period post 1990. Congress lost power to JD and BJP alliance. Contrary to the popular belief that Advani's Rath Yatra was divisive, in Gujarat it actually united the otherwise highly fragmented Hindu community. It started the period of Hindus asserting their religious identities. First glimpse of this aggressiveness and anger against local Muslim community (mainly because of the belief that Latif and gangs troubled Hindus the most) was seen in 92 riots. In a way, Gujarat for long was on a tinterbox of Hindu anger and that exploded in 2002. It was also the period when anti-Islamic sentiments were at the peak due to 9/11 and other local reasons mentioned below.

India was out of a bloody war with Pakistan. Kandahar hijack was fresh in public memories and the Parliament attack had happened just a few months ago. The subsequent deployment of the forces on the India-Pakistan border meant there were not much forces to be used within the country at times of an emergency.

After the incident at Godhra happened, it is well-known that Gujarat did ask Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra for additional forces and those states refused the plea. Is it sheer coincidence that all the 3 states were then ruled by Congress? The delay in deploying police and other forces led to the riots spreading across the state except for some parts of Kutch and Saurashtra. Though this can't be a justification, it also means that administration or the ruling class was not hand in glove with the rioters. At the worst, it shows administrative inefficiency and nothing more. But to call these riots a genocide is unfair. 11,000 rounds were fired and most of those killed were Hindus. So in no way was the administration trying to shield the majority community. Also one can rioting happened from both the communities and hence high number of deaths on each side. Figures have no emotion nor any bias and they just tell you the sad story as it was.

Once the riots were over, the long road to recovery meant 3 things - Legal Justice, Political Justice and Reconcilliation. Narendra Modi did the right thing by dissolving the assembly and calling for fresh elections. Only the people of Gujarat had the right to say then if they believed their leader was a murderer or not. Once that was done, he set on to the path of rebuilding Gujarat and confidence of its people. Today that is showing results. Muslims in Gujarat as far more in the mainstream (socially, economically) than most other states. The inclusive development of the state has ensured that the community which languishes in despair in other states is living a life of dignity and prosperity in Gujarat.

Coming to the critical issue of legal justice. Of all riot cases in Indian history, Gujarat riot cases have seen the fastest trials anc convictions. Many of it even before activists like Teesta came to fore. Compare this to 84 where no chargesheet too was filed and hardly anybody has been convicted. Or with Bhagalpur where justice took nearly 2 decades. Congress-NCP government in power for nearly 15 yrs after Mumbai riots have not pushed for legal closure to the cases. More than 4000 cases registered and nearly 25000 people were arrested and brought to trial. More than 40 cases have already seen convictions. This cannot happen if the state is trying to prevent justice. Also point to note is that those arrested and facing trials include politicians both from the BJP and the Congress. Process of Justiceujarat riots cases has been the most unbiased and the faster in the country till date.

For long Narendra Modi has been suffering at the hands of those who believed that justice has to be subservient to their instints and beliefs only. By readily co-operaitng with the probe agencies he has shown his willingness to confront the blot and come out clean. And by ensuring the smooth reconcilliation process he has ensured that hurt feelings of a community are healed.

Now it's only good for India if the vested interests let Gujarat be.