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Kashmir conflict-revisited

In early1980s, walking through the lush green fields, on crisp spring and summer mornings, on my way from the student hostel to the chemis...

Friday, May 30, 2014

Ascendency of a descendent

On 30th January 1948, when Gandhi fell to the assassin's bullets, the head quarters of Hindu rabid organization RSS burst into celebrations all over India. When the country went into mourning, they were feeding each other sweets. They had all the reasons in the world for strutting around that despicably. The killer of Mahatma came from their ranks. And now more than a three score years later a person who owes his existence to that rabid organization has become prime minister of the same country for which Gandhi gave his life. One only wishes he had spared the farce of visiting the memorial of Gandhi and instead had laid a wreath in memory of Godse, the killer of Gandhi. At least his silent supporters are not holding back and they immediately peddled themselves to the gloating planet, like all their prayers have been answered and their liberator is at their doorsteps to release them from ten years of misery. They are descendants of those who wept at the death of Mahatma; they are celebrating ascendancy of a descendant of Godse. May be dimwits do not even get it!

Sunday, May 25, 2014

The Rubicon and a morphed moderate

Tomorrow, or already today in some places, Modi will officially become prime minister in India, and with that the Rubicon will have been crossed. Nothing will ever be able to undo that leap into darkness and that will without salvage become condemned in history for all times to come. Not that there were any doubts about the emphatic magnitude of the victory; it is that categorical dominance that poked a dogmatic finger at the nation that had its genesis in idealistic principles based on universal inclusiveness and egalitarian principles of justice. The person who in his not so distant past displayed all the symptoms of a parochial behavior with complete disregard for the lives of minorities will assume power in a nation that once revered Gandhi. Ironically, or perhaps not so ironically, the man who murdered Gandhi used be member of the rabid Hindu organization that nurtured Modi. His much trumpeted development in the state he ruled stopped at boundaries of the Muslim ghettos of Ahmadabad with members of that community actively denied residences in Hindu areas through intimidation. Who could have fancied apartheid in the land of Gandhi in twenty first century without causing an outrage and anguish? The fact there were no protests, no outrages and no condemnations, makes it easier to understand saffron sweep in the country. Ironically, the same day as he was declared as winner of elections, the supreme court of India released three persons charged in a so called terrorist attack. The court admonished the home minister of the state for 'not applying his mind' and that home minister was none other than Modi. Three innocents lost eleven years of their lives and those of their kins. The word is Modi ever since his win has morphed into a moderate. A true moderate would have apologized to those three hapless poors whose life is shattered or would ask Zakia Jafri for her forgiveness. Even if he wanted to be a moderate from this day on, will his constituency of bigots let him?

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Likudization of India

To state that I am disappointed by the outcome of Indian election would be a colossal understatement. The fact that a man, who by any civilized standard should have been long indicted and Imprisoned, has landed into prime ministerial chair of a country that was famed and fabled by its diversity. Rather than the beginning, election of Modi represents the culmination of a gradual process of communalisation of the country. One could draw a parallel with Pakistan, but an apt comparison would be with the Likudization of Israel. How else can one explain that out of 170 million Muslims living in India, the newly constituted parliament will have only 24 Muslim members in the lower house? And the rabid right wing party of fundamentalists, which is now the ruling party is totally bereft of any Muslim in its vast newly elected group in parliament. May be at some level the recently concluded elections have vindicated Jinnah!