India that every Indian envisages for
A little bit more than patriotism. A little bit lower than jingoism. --- Nirendra Dev
Friday, March 29, 2024
Will India's friends 'west' including US and traditional rival China gang up to defeat Narendra Modi ?
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Given India's insistence on a stronger ties with Russia; the 'much robust and dynamic' Indo-US relations can come under scanner
Diplomatically, there are reasons to believe that the US may not be too pleased with the Narendra Modi government over its insistence for a robust and stronger ties with Moscow. Thus, notwithstanding very good relation between New Delhi and Washington, there are some issues of 'flux' !
Lately the US raked up the issue of arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and said Washington continues to "follow these actions closely".
It also said: "We are also aware of the Congress party’s allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts". India's MEA has reacted strongly, and these were as expected. The liquor policy scam could have certain bigger implications; and there are apprehensions in some quarters that NIA could also step in sooner than later.
It is worth mentioning that some 'protests' in and around Delhi including a few like that of farmers 'from Punjab' have left New Delhi disturbed. Some of these activities need probe. And if the government goes ahead with any such investigations, obviously the issues may not be left only to the CBI and ED.
NIA's entry will be a big development.
Meanwhile, it is also worth mentioning that the Americans have also taken up issues like CAA in recent past. On this too, no less than US envoy to India, Eric Garcetti, has been left leaking the wounds. His remarks "we have principles" were well countered by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar -- who said "We also have principles" and pointed out the Modi government would like to stand by those who were left in the enemy nations Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh in 1947.
Notably, Dr Jaishankar also asked a question that might have gone 'deep' :: - if the US understood India’s 'history' and do they know something called Partition is a reality.
"I am not questioning the imperfections or otherwise of their democracy or their principles or lack of it. I am questioning their understanding of our history. If you hear comments from many parts of the world, it is as if the Partition of India never happened, there were no consequential problems which the CAA is supposed to address," Dr Jaishankar said at the 'India Today'conclave.
The Minister also said, the Indian government has principles too. “So, if you take a problem and remove all the historical context from it, sanitise it and make it into a political correctness argument, and say, ‘I have principles and don’t you have principles’, I have principles too, and one of them is obligation to people who were let down at the time of Partition,” he added.
Some remarks came from US envoy during Manipur violence also and the then MEA spokesman Arindam Bagchi also played it down and had said: “I am not sure foreign diplomats would usually comment on internal developments in India.”
Now how does MEA or the 'foreign policy engine room' pursue some crucial strategies vis-a-vis its American policy remains to be seen. The American statement that it wants to keep a track on what India does with CAA, Kejriwal and even Congress bank accounts freezing -- will be quite significant.
One 'real harsh' statement or reaction from India could actually embarrass Washington to the core. That is -- if US wants to peen inside Indian internal matters; 'New Delhi can also do so ...New Delhi can even keep a track on how US handles Donald Trump on multiple matters'.
There are many aspects to NIA's involvement and that can embarrass several global players. Recently, Indian diplomatic mantle was proved when it came to handling hyperbole styles of Canada. In fact, some dossier shared about an individual might have forced Canadian leadership see reason.
Dr Jaishankar also used one word 'Ludicrous' for China and it was related to Beijing's claim over Arunachal Pradesh.
Look how Jaishankar snubbed China.
“This is not a new issue. I mean China has laid claim, it has expanded its claim. The claims are ludicrous to begin with and remain ludicrous today,” Jaishankar, who is on a three-day visit to Singapore, said while responding to a question on the Arunachal issue after delivering a lecture at the prestigious NUS Institute of South Asian Studies. This was a bit tough word used.
The word Ludicrous means 'out of place as to be amusing'. One does now know any Indian foreign minister used such a strong word. Dr Jaishankar is a career diplomat and so one can say the word was 'measured' well before putting it across. The message from New Delhi is --- 'patience is running out ....you better'.
What can NIA find out ? Among other things it can look into 'deep' angles.
PM accuses Congress of wanting 'committed judiciary' for selfish interests .... Congress retorts, stating Modi 'orchestrated' attack on judiciary
"To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture. 5 decades ago itself they had called for a "committed judiciary" - they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests but desist from any commitment towards the nation," PM Narendra Modi wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Modi in effect launched a scathing attack on Congress hours after about 600 lawyers across the country wrote to Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud, alleging that a "vested interest group" is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame the courts.
"No wonder, 140 crore Indians are rejecting them," Modi tweeted.
PM's unprecedented remarks drew an immediate response from the Congress leadership.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge took to X and wrote a three-point post highlighting crisis in the judiciary under the Modi government's regime.
More than a dozen former Chief Ministers - mostly from BJP - and three from Congress including Digvijaya Singh to sweat it out
The BJP's list of candidates for the battle of 2024 has several former Chief Ministers. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is one of them. He is seeking re-election from BJP's traditional stronghold Vidisha -- a seat he represented before becoming Chief Minister in November 2005.
From Haryana, not surprisingly it is ex-CM Manohorlal Khattar - said to be a personal friend of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was replaced as CM only recently and now fielded from Karnal. In Assam, it is former Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal contesting from Dibrugarh. Sonowal is in fact the first BJP Chief Minister and he represented Dibrugarh in Lok Sabha earlier as an AGP lawmaker. From northeast - BJP has Biplab Kumar Deb from Tripura.
From Andhra Pradesh, BJP has fielded former CM Kiran Kumar Reddy -- who was actually a Congress Chief Minister but is in the Lotus party now. He will be trying his luck from Rajampet. Notably, BJP is contesting six Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh as an alliance partner of the TDP. Former Union Minister Ms Purandeswari, daughter of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder and former Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao, will contest from Rajahmundry.
There are a few others such as Arjun Munda from Jharkhand and ex Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai. In Uttar Pradesh there is party stalwart Rajnath Singh, the Defence Minister and the sitting Lucknow MP. There is another UP man in this category - Jagadambika Pal -- a former CM of the 1990s and a well known turncoat.
From the Congress stock comes Digvijaya Singh in Madhya Pradesh. Singh had lost Bhopal seat in 2019 and is now Rajya Sabha member. In Arunachal Pradesh, former CM Nabam Tuki has been fielded from Arunachal Pradesh West and he will take on BJP's sitting member and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju. From Karnataka, former CM H D Kumaraswamy of JD-S will be trying his luck from Mandya.
Uttarakhand's famous temple city Haridwar constituency will be hot seat for veterans this year.
The seat will see two stalwarts ex-CM Harish Rawat from Congress and Trivendra Rawat, also an ex-Chief Minister of BJP fight an uneasy battle. The fact of the matter - however is Harish Rawat is not contesting himself.
But for him, the battle has become a question of prestige as his son Virendra Rawat is contesting for the seat Harish Rawat had lost to former Chief Minister Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in 2019. Nishank has been dropped by the saffron party this year.
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
No RSS man said so ...."The last bit of England in Indian politics looks set to die a slow death" --- said an article in London's newspaper 'The Guardian'
"The last bit of England in Indian politics looks set to die a slow death," wrote Ian Jack for 'The Guardian' .... May 24, 2014 ....
Are we really heading towards the same in 2024?
In 1998, former cricket captain Krishnamachari Srikanth had walked into a leading media organisation - that is PTI. To a question from me how he rated Sachin Tendulkar as 'captain material'; Srikanth had said - "Captainship is just based on results...You change a baller and he gets you couple of wickets you will be called an innovative and so on and the moment the batsman hits two boundaries, they will say arey pagal....and so on".
In 2021 months before a few state elections, BJP changed its chief ministers - four of them in three states. Two of them were in Uttarakhand and the reshuffle also included Gujarat - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's native state. The results went in favour of BJP.
In contrast, the Congress changed Capt Amarinder Singh, the 79-year-old who served as the chief minister for nine-and-a-half years in Punjab and the results in 2022 went in favour of the AAP. This has been Rahul Gandhi's problem all along and to an extent sympathy and benefit of doubt should go to him.
Rahul Gandhi often banked on his select set of advisors - old and new. A few from Hindi-heartland like Digvijaya Singh and others like K C Venugopal. But the results never gave him the dividends he expected.
Charanjit Singh Channi's elevation to chief minister in Punjab fractured the power held by the Jat Sikh community since the state's creation in 1966. And it also aimed to appeal to the Dalits, a dominant vote bank not just in Punjab but in all-important Uttar Pradesh state, which also just after four months went to the polls in February 2022. But neither Punjab could be protected nor did the move make any impact in Uttar Pradesh.
There was another important factor. In the run up to the 2022 polls in UP and Punjab; if you followed English media - both desi and run by firangis - you could read in plenty that sacking Amarinder and Channi's appointment showed an "uncharacteristic political savvy" on the part of the Gandhis - Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi and daughter, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Ting Tong !!
Looking back, one can trace that Indira Gandhi was not so openly groomed to succeed Jawaharlal Nehru but bringing her in suited power brokers and some elements outside India too.
Post-Emergency as Indira Gandhi stormed back to power, there was 'no alternative' (TINA factor) to Congress. Today, Narendra Modi is basking on this factor.
Of course, the Nehru-Gandhi family was firmly established as a political dynasty by the 1980s. Even after Rajiv's assassination in 1991, thanks to family retainers such as Arjun Singh - the Congress party became a vehicle for the Nehru-Gandhi brand.
PM P V Narasimha Rao was embarrassed. Sitaram Kesri was humiliated in public and Rajiv's widow - Rahul Gandhi's mom Sonia, became the party president and the woman to whom the last Congress prime minister, Manmohan Singh, 'obeyed' dutifully.
It was natural even for old hats such as Pranab Mukherjee and Ambica Soni to see that Rahul Gandhi was groomed as his successor. There were mistakes and the corruption bogey rocked the party. But, if all had gone well for him, his family's position as India's ruling dynasty would have stretched across four generations.
Two PMs, four Congress Presidents : All in one frame |
Now the important part of the story. Do they really belong to India?
Indira often to her friend Dorothy Norman, a New York writer, that her "desire to be out of India and the malice, jealousies and envy, with which one is surrounded, are [sic] now overwhelming". Nehru's opinion on Hinduism could be traced in the following lines:
"The spectacle of what is called religion … in India and elsewhere has filled me with horror," Nehru wrote, "and I have frequently condemned it and wished to make a clean sweep of it."
Reports also say Rajiv Gandhi too was proud to have been brought up as an agnostic secular and he also admitted that towards the end of her life Indira Gandhi believed a lot of swamis and yogis and astrologers.
Hence if in 2024, the Congress leaders stayed away from Ram temple despite the risk of being called anti-Hindu; there is a background. It is altogether a different chapter that Indira Gandhi especially post-1971 war handled RSS pretty well.
Today, RSS and BJP are more than just detractors and bitter critics. But that the Congress party is in a deep morass maybe still too early to say.
There are numerous stories of inept handling of the challenges and the crises.
Arvind Kejriwal's custody with Enforcement Directorate extended till April 1, Monday ::::::::: A pinch of Salt : Modi's delivery of Peace
Arvind Kejriwal's custody with Enforcement Directorate extended till April 1, Monday
Delhi CM Kejriwal, now held in relation to Liquor policy scam, did not oppose the remand. ED had sought further 7 days of custody of Kejriwal
India reacted to the US second statement on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest, and said the remarks were "unwarranted" and "unacceptable".
"Any such external invitation on electoral and legal processes is completely unacceptable. In India, legal processes are driven only by the rule of law. Anyone who has a similar ethos, especially fellow democracies, should have no difficulty in appreciating this fact," said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
The foreign ministry also said that India is proud of its "independent and robust" democratic institutions and is committed to protect them from any form of undue external influences. "Mutual respect and understanding form the foundation of international relations and states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others," the MEA stated.
Special CBI judge Kaveri Baweja passed the order. Kejriwal remanded to further four days of ED custody. He will now be produced in court on April 01 at 11:30 AM.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller also said that it was aware of the Congress party's allegations that tax authorities had frozen some of their bank accounts. "We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal. We encourage fair, transparent and timely legal processes for each of these issues," Miller said.
Naga CM Rio and Manipur's Biren enjoy special 'blessings'
New Delhi
Ten months have rolled by since Manipur entered its mayhem stage. There can be no drum roll or any fanfare as the state's ruling dispensation and also the Narendra Modi-led regime in Delhi would be going to the people of Manipur seeking votes for two parliamentary segments.
In Inner Manipur, the traditional Meitei stronghold, the saffron party has fielded state Education Minister Th. Basantakumar Singh and in the Outer Manipur it is ally NPF nominee Kachui Timothy Zimik, a retired Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, and a Naga.
In 2023, Manipur witnessed a strategic Naga-Meitei bonhomie perhaps upsetting the Christian lobby and Kuki-Zo community by and large.
Was Manipur a case of being 'mishandled' or real failure will be debated for long.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to stay away from Mizoram election campaign as Mizos too were aggrieved in solidarity with the Kukis and other smaller tribes.
Will Modi campaign in Manipur and Mizoram in 2024 in his journey for 400 plus Mission is anybody's guess.
"The experience of being wrong is salutary....', - thus spoke former US Ambassador to India John Kenneth Galbraith. He was envoy in India under the Kennedy administration and his political activism and literary output brought him wide fame.
He had also written that Economics is "not a durable truth". When it comes to politics, we may believe it quickly and more so when the protagonist is a player by the name Narendra Modi.
In Manipur, the Modi-Amit Shah duo reposed faith in Chief Minister N Biren Singh
yet again and thus fielded Basanatakumar. The latter had earlier displayed intent and
ambition to replace Biren Singh -- whom Home Minister Amit Shah openly backed
during last August's No Trust motion debate in Lok Sabha.
A political party can decide its candidates obviously. But both the state Chief Minister Biren Singh
and also Home Minister Shah and PM Modi need to ensure that normalcy is returned
and voting place effectively with wider participation of all sections of people.
One can only hope that Kukus should participate in the polls with utmost sincerity and
numbers. However, it is well known that the state of Manipur has not yet been 'nursed'
back to good health.
In neighbouring Nagaland too, there are issues. Nagas are waiting for the historic occasion when
they will kiss 'farewell' to gunfight and extortion. While extortion has survived; the violence has not been much in Naga areas.
In fact, Nagas in Manipur and the United Naga Council have handled the crisis of 2023 haunting the
state very well.
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio is still in high command's good books.
But what happens to Naga peace talks? The Solution - it seems - is nothing but a pipedream.
The talks started in 1997 and stakeholders are counting their days. This is a very unusual way
of handling a peace process between two matured sides. The stakeholders are not realising the
urgency to arrive at a solution. Things have come so near; and yet so far off. It's like a Mirage.
They must realise that various pockets are simmering with discontent and a day may come when
'influential' leaders will appear powerless.
Individuals may not be important any longer. It's a collective failure. Looking back at history and factors and searching for those responsible in order to assign 'blame' may not serve any purpose.
Real statesmanship is required in handling a complex issue either in Nagaland or in Manipur.
Mere money play or even power play as is propagated by a school of wisdom in Delhi may not actually work.
Nagas are well aware that it "well managed" any violent group can portray themselves as "freedom fighters".
Extortion then comes to stay and yesteryear's patriots may turn out to be tomorrow's betrayers.
The trouble maker's big advantage is always propaganda. The media, even traditional and modern time's social media - when used skillfully can have a far greater effect than any amount of bullets.
The 2023 conflict in Manipur is a grim reminder. Troubles can still happen even if players in conflict need not be militarily equal or armed with moneybags.
The trouble makers like in Manipur are hardly burdened by accountability.
A couple of decades back when a Human Rights conference was organised at Kohima during the tenure of Vamuzo as the Chief Minister, Rajmohan Gandhi had aptly summed one part of the paradox.
The fight may be 'unequal' but good insurgent leaders can always balance their advantages against their disadvantages, he said. Narendra Modi has experts such as NSA Ajit Doval in his team and they all can advise him on certain urgent measures those need to be taken.
This is not to suggest we need to press panic button. But precaution is always good.
We need not dismiss the claim of involvement of overseas factors. From geo-strategic point of view, it is often argued that the aim of counter-insurgency is in effect the need to "separate the fish from the water". But insurgency survives with people's support and both can easily relate to each other.
Ethnic bonds matter a lot in this complex world of northeast India.
Ends
India summons US diplomat after Washington's remarks on Arvind Kejriwal
India summons US diplomat after Washington's remarks on Arvind Kejriwal
The Modi government summoned the US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, Gloria Berbena, a day after Washington's remarks against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest.
The ED sought time from the Delhi High Court to file its reply to a petition challenging Delhi CM's arrest.
US diplomat summoned by Centre over Washington's remarks on Arvind Kejriwal's arrest. Meeting with US diplomat lasted 40 minutes
The Ministry of External Affairs summoned the US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, Gloria Berbena on Wednesday, a day after the Washington government said it was "closely monitoring" the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the liquor policy scam.
In an official statement, the Ministry said that it "strongly objected to the remarks of the spokesperson of the US State Department about certain legal proceedings in India".
"In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others. This responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents," the statement said.
The Ministry noted that "India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted".
On Tuesday, the US State Department spokesperson said, "We encourage a fair, transparent, and timely legal process for Chief Minister Kejriwal.
Wednesday's development came just days after the Ministry of External Affairs summoned the Deputy Head of Mission of the German Embassy, Georg Enzweiler, to lodge a "strong protest" against remarks by a foreign affairs spokesperson in Berlin.
"This includes he can make use of all available legal avenues without restrictions. The presumption of innocence is a central element of the rule of law and must apply to him," the spokesperson added.
On March 23, External Affairs Ministry's spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal tweeted, "We see such remarks as interfering in our judicial process and undermining the independence of our judiciary. India is a vibrant and robust democracy with rule of law."
"As in all legal cases in the country, and elsewhere in the democratic world, law will take its own course in the instant matter. Biased assumptions made on this account are most unwarranted," he added.
Ends
Will India's friends 'west' including US and traditional rival China gang up to defeat Narendra Modi ?
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