As things stand today, getting murkier by the moment, it is obvious that while former MOS for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor was perhaps a “ misfit” , IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi for sure is “ unfit” to govern IPL going by his expanding grocery-list of alleged indiscretions.

While Tharoor quit from his ministerial position over “ potential material gains to be realized , if at all, in the future and that too indirectly” , Modi despite a tank full of crawling worms alleging irregularities committed and gains siphoned off , says—-I will not resign. Honestly, quite a remarkable contrast.

While Tharoor has not earned a single paisa and has resigned over the “ perception of both wrongful intent and misuse of public office”, Modi’s advance tax payments increased from around Rs 2 million ( pre-IPL) in 2007 to Rs 110 million 2010. Frankly, one cannot doubt the integrity of the numbers as he may be having several sources of income delivering outstanding returns and as a private citizen he has a full right to confidentiality. Moreover, if there is any irregularity it is for the Income Tax to investigate. But that celestial jump of over 5500% in 3 years is mind-numbing, don’t you think?

I don’t agree with Tharoor entirely that he was not so naïve as to have Sunanda Pushkar be his “ front” in the franchise. Sometimes we are all consumed by either casual recklessness or sheer arrogance. Assuming that she is indeed not a benami beneficiary , Tharoor should have still realized that prima facie even a novice could easily allude to a quid pro quo between Tharoor’s “ blessings” and his chelas , with the latter rewarding their high-priest with a big bounty for his benedictions. I think he should have been extremely sensitive about that disclosure in view of his close relationship with Ms Pushkar. There are just three possibilities; either Tharoor is genuinely totally innocent and has acted in pure good faith ( personally, I hope that is the case) and has no commercial interests whatsoever, or he was gullible enough to trust the wily , calculating Modi who upset his applecart or Ms Pushkar is indeed an authentic service provider being provided with sweat equity with Tharoor’s presence in her personal life being purely incidental.

It is obvious though looking at Tharoor’s perceptible discomfiture that there is a vast difference between being an international diplomat and an Indian politician. It is not an easy transition but the skill-sets required are not so dissimilar ; one needs to jump into troubled waters without making a splash. But Tharoor still has an honorable way-out of this unending chaos and emerge unscathed, if he chooses to.

The reality is that the Kochi IPL franchise is going to struggle to break-even or make nominal profits for a considerable period ( in my estimation over 5-8 years ) , so where is the exit route for actually encashing the stocks held? Even if sold to a private investor where is the guarantee of increased valuation ? In fact, the hype over IPL valuation triggered by Modi’s office is a manifestation of something wishy-washy being done to create an artificial big bubble and is actually at the heart of the entire controversy . It is said that anyone who believes that exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either mad or an economist. Modi is neither. We are still trying to figure out what unique category does he belong to. Thus, Ms Pushkar’s contract willy-nilly has a huge financial risk and is not a walk in the rose garden as has been generally prognosticated by some newspapers.

Tharoor , in the circumstances, should ideally request or persuade his friend Sunanda Pushkar to exit the Kochi franchise by withdrawing her professional services . After all , the shares allocated to her are a financial reward for services to be rendered in the future. The franchise has not even started operations and thus by walking out of it now , Tharoor and Ms Pushkar could establish a few things beyond dispute:

1) He has NO engagement whatsoever DIRECTLY with the Kochi franchise.

2) With Pushkar walking out , there would be no INDIRECT connection as well. Thus, the benami story would also be nullified and nipped in the bud.

3) This would not tantamount to a confession of guilt ; on the contrary, Tharoor could walk with his head held high in a morally upright stance.

4) Tharoor then could have the complete rights to demand a full-scale investigation into the cross-holdings in the other franchisees which is now already being investigated by appropriate statutory authorities.

5) If Sunanda were to hold on to the Kochi equity ownership the stigma of misuse of his public office would haunt Tharoor forever , irrespective of the factual issues. Worse, they would not necessarily realize monetary gains despite the clause of “ undilutable in perpetuity”.

6) Tharoor would save the Congress an unwarranted mess to untangle.

Tharoor must look at the criticality of the ministerial portfolio he currently holds in the world’s largest democracy in a dynamic geopolitical environment . I am assuming he has long-term political aspirations of making a credible impact and growing to higher positions. The Congress-UPA government looks to be on a solid wicket and should last a full-term. Is it then worth losing the confidence of his own party and government over an allegedly dubious, nebulous financial arrangement that could permanently tarnish his otherwise infallible image?

Life is about making choices, sometimes difficult ones. For Shashi Tharoor that moment has arrived. He should make it easy.

On April 6, 1998, Sonia Gandhi was unanimously elected the Congress president. The intervening 12 years have seen huge changes. In Gandhi herself and in the way we see her.

Soon after taking over the Congress presidency, Gandhi visited, Mumbai. Murli Deora, then the head of the state Congress, hosted a lunch to introduce her to the media and prominent people. With her was Manmohan Singh. When she sat down for lunch and was asked a question about politics, her response was to look at Singh and say, “Manmohanji aap hi boliye.” The diffident manner may still be much in evidence, but the diffidence itself has long since gone. Gandhi’s unsure outward manner, in fact, hides a remarkable metamorphosis, one through which a simple, uncomplicated homemaker unfamiliar with India’s intricate social structure and its complex political nuances of caste and region, has become adept at handling them with consummate ease.

This personal transformation has taken place undeterred by the hostility she faced from the chattering classes. It’s difficult to imagine that just 12 years ago, a vast majority of India’s educated elite disliked the very idea of Sonia Gandhi. They resented the fact that a foreigner was elevated to such an important post, sniggered at her unimpressive academic qualifications and mocked her political naiveté. Many of those critics have now become admirers, others converts to her cause.

If she weathered this disparagement it was because Gandhi’s instincts must have told her that their disapproval didn’t matter. What mattered was the affection with which the poor of India welcomed her, evident in the ‘huge’ or ‘frenzied’ or ‘rousing’ election rallies.

Why was there such a diametrically opposite response to one individual? The poor of India weren’t put off by her foreign identity because they saw that she had embraced an Indian one: in clothes, in deportment, in language and in family values.

Why did India’s upper classes take a dozen years see what the poor and illiterate masses saw instinctively? There is a simple explanation for it, so simple in fact that we may be tempted to reject it. That explanation is this: the educated elite has over the years become cynical.

So cynical, in fact, that it fails to see the possibility of good in others. Not good as in good, better, best which it understands, but good as in morally right and virtuous, as in a person of noble character, which its cynicism won’t allow it to accept.

This is the reason why the educated elite was unable to comprehend Gandhi’s turning down of the prime ministership in 2004. They invented ‘reasons’ for her refusal: that the president advised her to do so because there would be constitutional objections to her foreign origins (Rashtrapati Bhavan denied this). Some said she was afraid for her life, a ridiculous statement when you considered the openness of her election campaign.

The ‘inner voice’ she referred to had advised her earlier too: first when she refused the Congress presidency which came as an emotional response to Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991, and seven years later in 1998 when she relented and accepted the job reluctantly. The cynicism of the chatterati made them think she did so because of ambition; what they were unable to see is that she did so from a sense of duty to save the Congress from the oblivion it was hurtling to under the ‘leadership’ of the likes of Sitaram Kesri and Arjun Singh, Sharad Pawar and N.D. Tiwari. That sense of duty, born of being a part of the Nehru-Gandhi family from the age of 24, was so strong that it overrode her shyness and the horror of living through the assassinations of Indira and Rajiv.

That sense of duty to the Congress and the nation now also drives Gandhi’s aggressive pursuit of social legislation: against poverty (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and farm debt waiver), against corruption (Right to Information Act), against gender inequality (Women’s Bill). This continues the tradition of legislation brought in by the Nehru-Gandhi family: Jawaharlal Nehru’s ‘temples of modern India’ and ‘commanding heights’ of socialism, Indira Gandhi’s abolition of privy purses and bank nationalisation, Rajiv Gandhi’s panchayati raj and communication network to rural and small town India. In retrospect, not all these ideas stand the test of time, but their intention was always for the greater good of the majority. In short, the intention was always — and there’s that word again — noble.

It takes some effort to use that word. It probably makes some of you cringe to read it. But when you think about it, the fact that it lacks currency in today’s world is a sad reflection on our times and the people who occupy our public space. If Sonia Gandhi and her steadfast ally Manmohan Singh restore it and give it back to us so we can use it without self-consciousness, they will have given to our national life something far greater than all the bills and legislations put together. But they need us to meet them half away; they need us to let go of our deep-seated cynicism.

Anil Dharker is a Mumbai-based writer. The views expressed by the author are personal.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/525954.aspx

Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s re-appointment as the Chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC) is a clear signal from the party of its overall assertion over the government. It is also, in a way, an admission by the party that the government needed better direction to implement the party agenda that was in tune with the aam aadmi. By institutionalising her position as NAC supremo, the party expects ministers to be more committed in their approach. The Congress is clear — its focus remains on social causes.

The announcement was made even before information about Ms Gandhi’s appointment had been formally conveyed to the UPA allies. While there had been widespread speculation about her taking over as the NAC Chairperson for sometime now, the announcement assumes significance in view of reports that several ministers were busy pursuing their individual, rather than the party’s, agenda. The move is likely to curb the activities of those ministers who did not prioritise the party’s interests. This will also spell out in definite terms that, apart from the Prime Minister, even the party is watching their performance closely.

The start of the UPA-II government has not been impressive. The party and its supporters have been worried that if this perception is allowed to persist, it may prove to be very costly. During the first edition, the support from the Left parties had also contributed to ensuring that the government’s agenda remained more focused on the downtrodden sections. But after the formation of the new government in May last year, there has been a perception in many quarters that the UPA-II had been unable to control rising prices and that the statements and actions of some ministers were diluting the aam aadmi agenda of the Congress. In the process, policies were tilting towards the corporate world. In a few matters, the country’s interests seemed to have been undermined.

Even though the equation between the PM and the Congress president remains unchanged, Ms Gandhi — as the party president — has to look at its interests beyond the present government. In other words, she also has to bring the government around to implementing its promises so that the Congress continues to be a potent force even beyond 2014. The party has to look towards the future.

The possible reason for her looking ahead is that she has always been a visionary. She had given a call to secular and like-minded parties during the Congress’s Shimla conclave in August 2003 to come together to defeat the communal forces led by the BJP. Now she perhaps feels that if the government does not implement the party’s agenda with commitment, the Congress she leaves to Generation Next might have a credibility problem.

It is natural for a forward-thinking person to be worried about this. Had the BJP implemented its Ram mandir agenda during its six-and-a-half years in power, it may have continued to be in the government. Ms Gandhi is seized of the fact that if the Congress fails to fulfil its promises and allows an extraneous agenda to be implemented, the repercussions for the party may be wide-ranging.

Critics may question her appointment on the ground that as the Congress president she could accomplish whatever she wanted; so where was the need to head the NAC? It is true that she is an extremely powerful person but, in politics, occasions arise when there is need to institutionalise advice as also to assert the party’s position without hesitation.

Ms Gandhi is looking at the future and at the aspirations of Generation Next. She is committed to the aam aadmi agenda and wants to perhaps ensure that the government remains on course. Between us.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/527105.aspx

2) Uddhav Thackeray says the Shiv Shainiks are taking to the roads in a “ spontaneous reaction” but Manohar Joshi states that “ we will not allow the screening of the film MNIK till SRK apologises”. Spontaneous ? Or clearly deliberately provocative?

3) One particular TV editor kept asking SRK if his statement on Pak players was a “ publicity stunt”. But the same channel brazenly promoted the SRK interview a thousand times during the day. Bottomline; who really needed the “ publicity”, SRK or the channel itself? And why are channels still inviting Shiv Sena spokesmen to spew their venom instead of allowing for a rational discussion amongst saner elements ? Or is the prepared mayhem part of TRP strategy?

4) NDTV’s coverage of the SRK-SS conflict was the best, moderate, reasonable and mature and brought out the endearing human traits and inner strength of India’s superstar. Dr Prannoy Roy’s interaction with SRK-Karan Johar was indeed rich, dignified and had sheer class written all over it. But what of the others?

5) It was great to see Headlines Today’s anchor Rahul, the first TV anchor ( or maybe second to Nidhi Razdan of NDTV ) to have effectively put his namesake from the Shiv Sena in place. Now can the others learn their lessons fast enough ?

6) How come no one is asking about the conspicuous silence of the MNS? Let me give the media a story opportunity here , why do Shiv Sena and MNS hunt in an alternate pattern, one follows when the other finishes , when their targets and goals are the same?

I thought Barkha Dutt’s quick-fire interview with KSR from TRS established beyond doubt that the Congress made a political miscalculation in giving the sharp fellow an early VRS. It has created an absolutely unthinkable chaos in Andhra Pradesh, totally inconceivable till just a while ago when YSR was AKR ( Andhra ka Raja). Full credit to Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Manish Tiwari of the Congress for a valiant effort at sustainability even as the odds mounted with every passing faux pas.

I think Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh is one of our most erudite, articulate and market-friendly politicians with an acidic wit and biting sarcasm. It is good to have a savvy negotiator who knows his onions and potatoes as India’s representative at Copenhagen. It made for amusing viewing , however, as Jairam walked the red-carpet being serenaded by TV microphones on both sides , yet speaking with remarkable equanimity and choosing carefully crafted language to avoid skirting another controversy. The Ayatollah will be pleased.

CNN-IBN has managed to make it’s 9 pm bulletin fairly well-paced with multiple news in proportionate distribution to the importance of the event. It works although with due respects to Rajdeep Sardesai’s regular co-hosts , it is a program that Sardesai is better equipped to make a signature program solo. Unlike Arnab Goswami of Times Now who hogs the complete program with his telltale bulldozing , Rajdeep for all his fire and brimstone is an accommodating senior partner to his visibly impressed colleagues.

The Haagen-Dazs ice-cream ad campaign manifests the chronic bug that bites all “ creative types” ; let’s be different. Frankly, the “ international passport holders” line is neither stimulating, funny nor wacky, it is unalloyed rubbish for which the multinational giant must have paid a whopping sum after midnight-oil burning brainstorming (?) sessions. They have been correctly chastised. First round to apna Amul and vegetarian Baskin Robbins! Maybe American businessmen need to learn from the mistakes of their noble counterparts like KFC, for example, who blundered their way into Indian sensibilities. Both the creative team and General Mills who approved the infantile text have chocolate chip with mint on their faces.

Which brings me to the ridiculous installment of titillating details on the sexual excesses, pun intended, of the most famous face of golf, Tiger Woods. Woods has no skeletons in the cupboards, he has them in abundant flesh in hour glass figures of varying age-groups. Since sex sells 24×7×365 we had Headlines Today promoting it as a tacky Whimpering Tiger and Crouching Dragons ( with silhouettes of skimpy women resembling Sherlyn Chopra look-alikes) . It was not just grossly exaggerated but pointedly stupid; just what does Wood’s manic obsession for just-in-time-demand for instant gratification have to do with an average Indian whose life is stretched daily to merely eke a survival? Just why do Indian TV channels blindly follow the US media has me flummoxed. I can imagine Headlines Today coming up with some pedestrian golf joke when the 18th woman surfaces with her nocturnal tale. Expect the worst.

Anyway, they say that golf and sex are the only two things that you can enjoy without being good at either of them. Clearly from the salacious sound bytes from his grocery-list of surreptitious conquests and 14 Grand Slam titles, Woods was good at both of them. But it is about time we left the legendary master of the green grass alone in his trying moments of self-discovery. Letting people be is part of responsible journalism.

1) We all know that the Liberhan Report on Ayodhya demolition was leaked to the Indian Express and NDTV who naturally expectedly propagated the same with kinetic vigour. Shouldn’t the government, parliament , media, opposition parties, public etc find out who actually did it? Where? Why? When? What for? Why not the HT, Dainik Bhaskar or TOI? Why not CNN-IBN , Aaj Tak or Times Now? Who benefited by the planned expose ? What was the real motive? How can one pretend to be callously indifferent on an issue that has since resulted in unprecedented disruption of parliamentary proceedings post-leak ?

The Indian Express , in fact, categorically stated that it was “Home Ministry sources”. If so, they do know who was the surreptitious bureaucrat. Did it have the Home Minister’s blessings? Were various parties working in coherence?

In fact, all it takes is a subpoena from the court to get to the bottom of the fact. But who is going to bell the cat?
I think the “ leak” deserves a serious investigation as it is fast becoming standard operating procedure in our country.
Even the Ram Pradhan report on 26/11 has been allegedly “ leaked”. Why ? Are there deals between certain media houses and the purported conspirators? Does anyone care to find out? Till today we have no idea about what really transpired in the cash-for-votes scam in parliament where the BJP was rumoredly hand-in-glove with CNN-IBN; I think the public has a right to that disclosure. RTI anyone? PIL maybe?

2) All the TV channels , in particular, have failed to focus on the key element of the entire debate ; why is the ATR so remarkably insipid ? I hope the Congress is not relying on some old-fogy advice that by taking serious action in the ATR it will bring Ayodhya center-stage and give BJP an electoral plank on a silver platter to queer the pitch in the upcoming UP assembly elections and may be even 2014. It may be a fallacious assumption and a glaring lapse ; remember the raison d’etre of BJPs existence is the Ayodhya temple objective anyway. The BJP will continue to raise the temple issue at sporadic intervals to keep it’s vote-bank in a tight grasp and to accumulate sundry disaffected elements in its fold on the emotive issue. In fact, I believe that by allowing the ATR to look so squeamish the Congress has allowed the BJP to ridicule the Liberhan Report, and worse, focus all the damaging repercussions on to their own PV Narasimha Rao. I was astonished to see Salman Khurshid painstakingly state that Atal Behari Vajpayee is not “technically indicted” by the Report. That was Chandan Mitra’s job and not his. Worse, the BJP public relations machinery found a bonanza to whip in the over-the-top Beni Prasad Verma. Look at the consequent irony; the highlight of the parliamentary debate which should have been the universal condemnation of the Sangh Parivar and the BJP for the disruptive Babri demolition instead had India’s Prime Minister apologizing to the BJP for the indiscretions of a Congress MP. In simple terms, we have seen a catastrophic collapse of the Congress in failing to check-mate the BJP for it’s blatant disregard of India’s secular character.

3) On Telengana, frankly, the Congress has blown away a tactical political opportunity to seize initiative by being characteristically reactive . Frankly, the writing was always on the wall since 2004 when it was publicly stated by the Congress-TRS ( who fought the elections together ) that they supported the formation of Telangana state. By allowing one man’s fast unto death to catapult the government to it’s knees so dramatically reflects poorly on our great Indian democracy no matter how legitimate the demand. Once gain, Congress continues to lose extraordinary ground on account of it’s abysmal low-levels of pro-activity.

It must be getting chilly cold in Delhi for Congress spokespeople at the moment.

It has been a year but 26/11 has become a topic which invariably crops up at frequent intervals in the life of the common man in Mumbai. It is unlikely to obliterate itself by even an iota from anyone’s memory—ever. Everyone I know has a story, and there are innumerable ones of those who providentially survived through some miraculous abrupt interventions. Like this girl Feroza who was all set to have dinner at Café Leopold that night till a last minute switch to the charming deli Theobrama. Of those who due to some quirky personal reasons caught a late-night local train from Churchgate instead of the traditional CST route. Of a friend from London staying at the Oberoi-Trident who chose to step out of the luxury hotel to have a quick bite at some tony restaurant in Colaba. Or my own daughter who was at Taj President at close proximity as the first shots rang and sent us all into a momentary hell of unparalleled fear . In short, 60 hours. 164 innocent people dead. But a billion scarred forever.

Sachin Tendulkar , Mumbai’s own noble son and India’s true-blue national icon played a Test match at Chennai a few weeks later , his emotions torn , his anger checked , his hurt so obvious. Yet his spirit was intact, as always. India was to beat England in the Chennai Test match by 6 wickets and Sachin would score an unbeaten hundred and in that touching poignant moment dedicate the win and century to Mumbai , in the process also exorcising the ghost of the heart-breaking defeat against Pakistan at the same ground 9 years before. . It was as if by some powerful divine intervention the Mumbai cricketing great was further becoming part of it’s soil, sand and breeze. I still remember the gleam of hope and faith and smiles returning on tired anxious faces as after a long time the headlines looked different. At least people pretended it was all over now and it was the return of happy tidings. In difficult times, every ray of sunshine is like a lifeline.

As I write this column on 26/11 Sachin Tendulkar stands accused by some political guardians of his own city of Mumbai of letting down his birth-place. And pray what is the sacrilegious violation that Tendulkar is guilty of for which he has been severely castigated by such parochial forces? “ I play for India and Mumbai belongs to all”—this is the supposedly “ blasphemous” statement that the modest master-blaster uttered. Since then it has led to a vitriolic attack of the greatest cricketer of the modern international era , even resulting in virulent assaults on media offices espousing sanity. In his own home town of Mumbai, India’s most lionized personality and respected role model is under siege. Sachin Tendulkar and Tukaram Omble—- two true Marathi manoos; lost amidst wilderness, literally.

I will write this piece as will several media columnists. We will all do our perfunctory anniversary activities, as if like a routine process. I will even join social groups in their private endeavors to express solidarity and say prayers . We will hold candle-light marches and observe two-minute silences for those who fell a tragic victim to barbarous backpackers not knowing why till the very end. Of those incredible heroes who emerged to become saviours for their guests and martyrs for the nation. Everyone will animatedly discuss what could have been. And promise to change and learn from the loss. But finally, as they say life will move on.

26/11 is over. But yet sadly enough India’s siege continues.

As Yashwant Sinha quits party posts, Jaswant Singh raises his baritone into an inflammatory  crescendo, and Sushma Swaraj describes the situation “ volcanic” even without  her characteristic hyperbole, it is discernible that the BJP is perhaps going through it’s most turbulent, tumultuous times. In a great number of ways, it manifests a political party that has remained in a self-contained cocoon, totally segregated from practical realities, lying lazily like a couch potato watching the idiot box, consumed by some strange self-delusional arrogance. Since every political commentator is having an open field day providing prognosis for the future and diagnosis of the past, I am feeling singularly left out ; hence,  my pearls of wisdom and the prescription for the BJP, following the American  style of “ 10 things to do model” ( where you can happily extend 7 ideas  into 3 more, or abbreviate 15 suggestions to 10); either way, it works. I have chosen 11 just to be a step ahead.

1)  THE POOR HAVE NO RELIGION

Please believe that Mr Narendra Modi ! The truth is that the UPA did an above average to good job, bordering on commendable,  but more importantly, it focused on India’s real needy and hopelessly under-priveleged, not merely the Ambani brothers,  stock –market punters ( who are less than 100 basis points of India’s population) and frequent fliers. The BJP still looks to represent only the middle-class, nothing wrong with that in terms of electoral targeting. But the middle class is precisely that, in the middle of nowhere, primarily indifferent and essentially a fair weather friend as far as political loyalties go. But it is those who live in the other side of midnight who really matter. The media and the BJP sniggered when Rahul Gandhi visited Dalit homes, slept overnight on charpoys,  and went unnoticed when visiting tribal areas in Orissa. In fact, barring Suman Jha from Indian Express , no one was even willing to cover the Youth Congress elections being held in Punjab, compelling Rahul’s crack-team to work on a press release draft! But the reason  why Rahul is today getting his much-delayed but well deserved appreciation ( although knowing him it makes not an iota of difference to him whether anyone notices or not) is because he is genuine and is pursuing a larger agenda of political purification.

The BJP is stuck on the middle-class story for vote purposes , but unfortunately, it is no longer anyone’s sweet spot . It is time they went “ swades” and read Jawaharlal Nehru’s Discovery of India. Back to the classroom, folks!

2)      2009 IS NOT SEMIS, ONLY A QUARTER-FINAL

Despite three successive heart-breaking defeats against Rafael Nadal at the French Open , Roger Federer never gave up. Finally against all odds and certainly not rated as the top-most favorite, he still won. But as the current quagmire reveals, the BJP is not the greatest tennis player, as it looks devastated at it’s humiliating rout in May 2009. I am sure a second successive defeat hurts, but what should bother the party think-tank is that they have not learnt any lessons. The BJP does not listen; on the contrary, it loves to live in a fool’s paradise. They were  wrong on two fronts; firstly, it can only be cocky arrogance that makes them feel and look so remarkably disappointed at their abject failure. On what basis, may I ask , did they even harbour notions of a 7, Race Course Rd entry ? Ram Mandir? Narendra Modi’s “ development record’? LK Advani’s best-seller book? Or merely sound byte speak in TV studios? Secondly, they looked like a rag-tag bunch who were clueless about popular issues affecting the common man; bottom-line,  Advani came across as being simply obsessed with personal PM ambitions, and the BJP seemed logically subverted to fulfilling his private wish-list. It’s manifesto was never debated by it’s candidates or spokespeople.

If the BJP is truly committed to national welfare, they should treat elections 2009 not just as a semi-final, but a quarter-final; and get down to brass-tacks of grass-root engagement, which does not mean shakhas alone. .

3) JUST DUMP HINDUTVA

I know this will sound like sacrilegious nonsense to arm-chair critics, but the truth is that the age-old Hindu vote bank politics is over. Frankly, it was over in 2004 itself, but I was surprised how no one ever analysed that. Just think: although the India Shining campaign was definitely pre-mature and terribly opportunistic, it was not that the Atal Behari Vajpayee government was a complete disaster either. In areas like infrastructure, commercial liberalization, even foreign policy they had done reasonably well. Now logically a moderately  performing BJP should be a natural magnet for  core “Hindu voters” ( I agree with Kulkarni that this so-called constituency may actually be a chimera though ) . The BJP should have ideally increased both their vote share and parliamentary seats, and not reduced it. That’s why their stunned disbelief at the electoral verdict last time.

The reason behind the shock 2004 defeat and now are strikingly similar; a complete disconnect with the Congress’s “aam admi” .  Hindutva,  communal separatism and religious polarization can only succeed in times of either unusual social disturbances or great  economic turmoil. In normal times, such extremist philosophies become redundant.  I believe that the BJP , even more than   regional caste-outfits like Mayawati-BSP  and Mulayam Yaday-SP was the biggest beneficiary of youth joblessness and the VP Singh-inspired Mandal agitations; the social realignment meant a fresh consolidation of rural votes , but the trigger was not based on communal-caste issues, but on  economic imperatives such as educational quotas,  job opportunities, and  protection of basic fundamental rights. The BJP with its then rabid- fire rabble -rousing won, just like Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany with rising inflation and high unemployment.  But this frenetic nationalism will never work in a regular, stable society with relatively higher economic resilience and a promising future.

To be pan-India and not to draw a blank on 143 seats and more, the BJP has to have an economic and social formula, not Ram Mandir. The latter and it’s bloody aftermath  is history, and India’s blotched stigma in post-Independence times. It is time to calculatedly walk away from RSS influence, publicly disassociate itself from the Sangh parivar , and instead work as a pure political organization focused on people welfare. It will take extraordinary leadership for this humongous transition to happen.

4)      MODERNIZTION IS INEVITABLE

Considering they take pride in religious identity  , they should read world history to know that modernization, freedom from obscurantist thinking and strait-jacketed ideology is an inevitable aspect of human evolution.  Even though the Roman Catholic church resisted the Protestant movement, even after a bloody 150 years, the Reformation finally succeeded.  It is natural, you can delay it, but you cannot prevent it. The BJP needs to modernize its philosophy, become open minded, and stop believing that  fossilized issues can be its raison d’etre  for existence. Isn’t it incongruous that on the one hand their national leader Modi is being touted as a future PM because of his developmental credentials, and yet , they espouse the hardline philosophy of religious extremities; in a country as diverse as India, the two cannot co-exist.  The BJP needs to make a choice.

5)      APOLOGIZE FOR GODHRA

It is about time the BJP stops shedding crocodile tears on Gujarat 2002. They must categorically ,deeply apologise for what happened in Godhra, and outright condemn the heinous genocide. The whole world knows it was terribly wrong, and whatever the judicial process unearths ( so far blatantly circumvented by wily politicians) ,  Narendra Modi will continue to suffer from the “OJ Simpson” syndrome; guilty but unpunished . The people of India are extremely forgiving ( of course, the BJP is so off-track , they do not know that). It is important for the BJP to shed the heavy historical baggage, or else it will haunt them till the milky way  exists. Until till such time, the party can never have the moral strength to claim that they can ever build a unified India. Modi, like Sharad Pawar will remain a regional single -state satrap; both have had reputations for administrative abilities. Unfortunately, one could not speak the national language too well, and  the other only speaks the language of divisiveness.

President Barack Obama has offered an unprecedented olive branch to the Muslim world in his candid Cairo speech , a sincere gesture of transparent reconciliation ( forget the usual media cynics and the prophets of doom ). BJP needs to consider a similar strategy; a complete 360* turnaround.

6)      DO A STRESS TEST ON LEADERSHIP

With due respects,  from the moment they chose LK Advani as the PM candidate I thought they were on the defensive. I had also mentioned earlier that the Varun Gandhi episode would be a turning point in the elections; it did. Varun’s speech was universally condemned by all self respecting Indians, it was ridiculously pathetic, insufferably guttural, and viciously malevolent. But what did Mr Advani do? Nothing. Despite EC apprehensions, they endorsed Varun, when facts proved that he was a clinical liar and honestly, quite stupid. Varun won his Pilibhit seat, but the BJP lost votes across the nation. And the country’s goodwill, faith and trust.

If you take a look at the old bunch  in a standard BJP congregation, one realizes that they are so remarkably oblivious of ground realities. It looks like they are meeting to elect Head—Retirement Benefits. The newly christened ( pun unintended) Friends of BJP believed that a digital campaign will give Mr Advani those missing triceps; it was myopic. TV anchors looked mighty pleased with the phrase that “150 is the new 272”. But what everyone (tragically enough , particularly the BJP) forgot was that “35 is the new 60”. Rahul Gandhi painstakingly clarified that he felt old at 38 , but the BJP was projecting Modi as their “ young face”. The contrast was glaring.

The BJP has no alternative leaders ( to Advani) today with a national aura, that’s why the crisis.

7)      KNOW YOUR STATS; IT’S 145 MILLION

The BJP needs to come to terms with the fact that their existential dilemma  is largely on account of their continued warped ideology on 16% of the country’s population. But they forget that the numerical strength of that small percentage  is 145 million ( more than the population of neighboring Pakistan). You do not need to be a research scholar to know that any sensible, pragmatic, far-sighted political party should look at “ inclusive integration” of the minority communities, not orchestrate a deliberate alienation. Bluntly put, I think the BJPs anti-Muslim slant is grotesque, impractical and self-destructive in current times. Can a modern-day India on a high trajectory really afford to alienate the entire Muslim class , just because they have a few flawed short-sighted leaders ? Do we want young kids learning militant ideology in Indian madrasas ? Indian Muslims have been a peaceful lot , and they have demonstrated exemplary character in condemning 26/11. Al Qaeda can never perhaps set base in India if we have a secular healthy social fabric.  But the BJPs policy of intentional divide can willingly drive many innocuous young children susceptible to planned propaganda into the  school of terrorist philosophy. It could seriously endanger our otherwise peaceful existence.

I agree that the Congress needs to correct the wrong perception of minority appeasement and being soft on terror, but that can hardly be a substantive argument for BJP to ostracize  Muslims. Time to do a serious re-think.

8)      BE A GOOD OPPOSITION

As I have written before, LK Advani and the BJP lost a massive opportunity for winning a landslide national approval when they foolishly voted against the Indo-US nuclear deal for petty , partisan reasons. Advani was extraordinarily hackneyed, and the BJP sounded more old-fashioned and regressive than the Left comrades. Over the next 5 years, it will be pertinent how the BJP conducts itself, despite positive early assurances by Arun Jaitley and Advani. Constructive opposition is not just about motherhood statements, but to support the government in what it does right. BJP needs to change it’s DNA; sure, they should not abandon their confrontationist ways where they deem appropriate, but a collaborative attitude will help.

9)      BE A “COOL PARTY”; IMPROVE PR

The BJP looks as if they are constantly simmering with a bad stomach; usually trenchant, visibly unsmiling and naturally paranoid. The way the BJP spokespeople went bonkers on the flogged- to- extinction Bofors issue just before the elections revealed a hollow vacuum  in their ability to comprehend their own priorities. They need to take a deep breath ( what the ABVP may be call a “chill-pill”) and rework their public profile. From being the cool party of the urban affluent, they now resemble a tired, fuddy- duddy gang  in a retro time- machine stuck on reverse gear, while going uphill.

10)  IT”S ABOUT ASSIMILATION ; WELCOME DIVERSITY

The globalisation theme of tomorrow rests entirely on world-wide diversity. Australia is paying a price for it’s racist propensities , it will at least in the short- term hurt its tourist traffic, and in the long- run, drastically cut back immigrant movement, and even investment, business and trade with affected countries. . The BJP should understand that intolerance of communities based on issues of origin, has become irrelevant as the world shrinks. Countries that practise discrimination will experience political isolation.   India’s diversity is a natural advantage, we are a country of amazing contradictions; we should leverage that, not make it a casualty of hate politics.

It is time the BJP thought “ global” if they want to represent 16% of the world’s population.

11)   IT IS NOT JUST A DEMOGRPAHIC DIVIDEND, BUT A DEMOGRAPHIC BONUS

The youth are not just a demographic dividend, they are a demographic bonus for India. An incredible windfall. The BJPs core philosophy of Hindu identity is beyond comprehension for most simple down to earth young people. In fact, it is asinine for the BJP to believe that these identity issues will have much relevance with every passing year as India gets more progressive, prosperous, modern and open.  The youth want to know about IIM-IIT admissions, career options, vocational courses, education loans, job reservations, saving and investment routes, admission criteria, deemed universities status  etc. The BJP and the Indian media frequently scoffed at Rahul’s several initiatives branding him as a rookie politician, they missed the point that he has a statesmanlike vision  , uncorrupted by power and untouched by arrogance. Gandhi is inspiring a silent metamorphosis of epic proportions, because he is with the pulse of India’s future. The BJP can and should take lessons from the young Gandhi’s far-sighted vision. As an international news-weekly says, Rahul is India’s “ quiet revolutionary”.

My suggestions may seem prima facie over the top and radical, but they are within parameters of high potentiality. Maybe it is time for BJP to split down the middle; I don’t recommend forming another party but a clear shift to other political formations could be an option. The Congress has split several times and survived, thrived and  emerged stronger, so why not the BJP? They need to completely abandon the religious bandwagon, and recreate a new secular entity, solid, focused on governance and good values. Why can’t a  Yashwant Sinha or Arun Jaitley aspire to join the Congress? Kulkarni talked of a national government and several immediately conveniently ridiculed him, but I honestly believe that BJPs future lies in being similar to the Congress, not distinctively, ideologically biased on some obfuscated Hindu agenda. The voter must choose a party on issues like farm and agricultural policy and wages, capital punishment, land reforms,  taxation, foreign policy, SEZs, labor and exit policies, PSU s and privatization, infrastructure , internal security, anti-terrorist agendas, child welfare, education and health. Even gay rights .

Both the Congress and the BJP must strive to increase their vote share and  relevance on the  national stage and bring about a culture of consensus and candor in our political environment,  not always seething with preordained distrust and pugilistic postures. Of course, they should have a belligerent bull-fight come election time peppered with sarcasm , intelligence , humor and wit, but it need not touch the abysmal depths of personal abuse, false accusations  and pedestrian maligning to which Modi took it this time.

In an era of great transformation that is India , a good beginning means a real head-start. The BJP should take  Kulkarni and others seriously . One should never shirk from listening to “ home truths”; facts don’t cease to exist because we ignore them. The gag order makes the BJP veterans look like silly schoolboys who have flunked a test and are being forced to maintain pin-drop-silence. Yes, Sir!

America had the courage , vision and strength to vote a colored man as a president. Within his first 100 days, he has embarked on a path-breaking mission. Change, and positive change, is in the air. World-wide. His Cairo speech will echo a millennium from now. In every sphere, from Wall Street, Cuba, Afghanistan, outsourcing, Detroit, Iran and Palestine, he has taken steps and expressed his intent to make a difference. He has been a leader. Fearless, determined and decisive. More importantly, honest. The BJP can take a leaf and more from Obama’s orchard.

The BJP will have to now do some serious thinking. Honestly. Leadership is not for the meek, cowardly or the weak-hearted. Or for those who fail to look within. It is indeed time for them to do a chintan-baithak.

Sharad Yadav, the portly, chubby-cheeked, black-bearded veteran politician has threatened to hang himself from the tallest tree with the thinnest thread or consume tick-20 poison ( actually meant for cocky rodents on a nocturnal prowl). Now I do not have any reservations if that is breaking news or news flash or lightning thunder on our TV channels. After all, it is not every day that a professional practitioner of kurta-pyjama politics in the Hindi heartland , and that too a seasoned, hard-core cow-belt politician, threatens suicide. Yadav reminded me of a lachrymose Rekha in the 1970s Gemini melodrama, Maang Bhari Sindoor, ready to break bangles every time Jeetendra’s white-shoes turned caramel brown , and consume an unbranded tonic ( resembling cough-syrup Glycodin) in one deadly gulp, head held high at 85 degrees . In the absence of Bollywood humour of the Govinda variety thanks to striking feuds this Indian summer, Sharadji or Socrates has provided us with some much –needed comic relief. Now that’s what women can do to otherwise fairly rational men .

While he has not yet contemplated anything as remotely deathly as his bearded counterpart, Mulayam Singh Yadav is equally obdurate in his philosophy. His party hates computers, English and women, and his recent fall-out with Amitabh Bachchan is on account of the latter’s habitual bad boy behavior of blogging. Yadav, whose ubiquitous fund-raiser Amar Singh is supposed to be a ladies man ( am assuming most of those lovely apparitions suffer from chronic incurable cataract), is viciously trenchant in his criticism of the Women’s Reservation Bill terming it as a calculated “conspiracy”. Whew! Can you just imagine poor ole Manmohan Singh , moving circumspectly in Sansad Bhavan past the midnight hour in dark robes and a pen-sized torch, sending secret SMS messages to MPs with a not-so-subtle ultimatum to vote in favor of the 33% reservation bill, or else?????

Of course, Mulayam Singh conveniently forgets how his opportunistic party exploited the late Phoolan Devi, the much-publicised bandit queen, whose mysterious killing still remains unresolved. She was a woman, Yadav saab, but when it suited your political strategies, she was made into a sacrificial lamb. Jayaprada’s ludicrous case this time around exposed a woman’s vulnerabilities in a male-dominated world, where slime, sleaze and scurrilous elements are used to create a stigma on a woman with political aspirations.

Doubtlessly women’s emancipation and genuine empowerment is a serious national challenge. We still remain highly chauvinistic, and a repugnantly parochial society. Frankly, it has amazed me as to why we have never had capital punishment for dowry deaths ( a sickening phenomenon) , and special fast-track courts for providing speedy time-bound justice in cases of rape, sexual harassment, eve-teasing and other social crimes against women ? Even in the so-called sophisticated urban landscape, gender discrimination rules. India’s high-profile executive professionals from the tender gender still complain about the glass-ceiling effect. And even if a well-deserving Chanda Kochar or Shikha Sharma head large financial institutions, it invariably creates a hurricane like hullabaloo. During the contemptible attack on women in Mangalore pubs, one heard the lone voice of Renuka Chowdhary rising in protest. Ultimately, it took the collective resonance of a social networking site to embarrass the Ram Sene and leave them pink-faced. For women in India, there is still a long way to go. The Bill is timely.

I agree with the Yadav brothers , only to the extent , that the last thing I want is Shobha De as my Page 3 Minister of Internal Affairs and Meera Sanyal as Derivatives Minister of Empty Cabinets .Or an assortment of famous divorced columnists as Minister of Animal Husbandry . Or Ms Sheetal Socialite as Minister for Imports. I had rather endure Mamata’s screech and Mayawati’s speech than the elitist wisdom of our celebrity brigade. Of course, the Bill will have to ensure that it results in fair representation to those women who have an authentic commitment, and are not mainstream entrants because of the “Rabri syndrome”.

I would , however, offer a modified suggestion to the Women’s Reservation Bill:
1) Keep it time-bound , for a maximum period of 20 years only or four general elections, whichever is higher . A reservation cannot be justified in perpetuity, as it has to have a defined outer limit by which time a level-playing field and necessary social empowerment ought to occur. If not, it has an inherent flaw. Honestly, if twenty years at the highest level of policy-making ,popular representation, nation-wide exposure and good work does not change things, nothing can or will. 20 years is two decades in a fast-moving world, impatient with status-quo.
2) The reservation portion to be at a maximum of 20% instead of 33%, with women free to contest in limitless unreserved seats as well.
3) In short, it should be a 20/20 bill; 20 per cent for 20 years.

They say that that if you help a woman, one seems patronizing. If you don’t, you are a pig. Perhaps Sharadji and Mulayam’s best bet is to turn the tables and demand a Men’s Reservation Bill instead, what with some recent medical research reports suggesting that we macho men with the stylish stubbles ,gleaming bald plates and affected baritones are now the real “ weaker” sex? If we are then denied our natural birth-right, then the suicide threat will be totally justified.

Then Sharad Yadav and Mulayam Yadav and whoever else can go hammer and tongs, tick-20 bottle in one hand; “ Hamaari Maang (e) poori karo”!