Swearing by Stalin’s spectre

0ne day I was at the market in my town in Kerala, picking up item after item from the long list my mother had given me in the morning. Haggling with the vendor over the price of fish, I did not notice the slight commotion in the area.
After buying few good pieces of the pisces for a reasonable sum I was surprised to see vendors packing their wares and stalls closing. I thought: “Oh, some important trader must have died. His friends must be closing their business to show their respect…”
 My thoughts were interrupted by the high-pitched squeal from a loudspeaker attached to the carrier of a car that was cruising along the adjacent main road.
“Total shutdown today… We request (read ‘better comply or be battered’) you to join us in expressing our solidarity against US led capitalists, whose puppets have executed our beloved hero of the Arab world – Saddam Hussein,” the announcer croaked.
“No. It can’t be. I heard it wrong,” I thought as I checked what I heard.
The announcement is repeated, and this time there is no confusion. It is actually, Saddam, the butcher of Baghdad.
Welcome to God’s Own Country and its ‘global’ communists.
The red revolutionaries have come a long way from the days they bled and died in the hundreds against oppression, injustice and human rights violations. The tiny state owes them a lot for almost all things progressive that have made it comparable with developed countries in indicators such as human development index, maternal mortality, literacy and political participation.
When the state of Kerala was formed in 1957, they formed the government – the first democratically elected communist government in the world. However, some historical trends do not change, especially the effect of popularity and power.
The Communist Party of India and, later when the party split in 1964, the CPI-M began to show increasing intolerance to political rivals. The northern district of Kannur, a picturesque region, has seen hundreds of bloody clashes and dozens of political murders.
There are several areas divided into ‘party villages’ by the CPI-M, Congress and the BJP; murders and revenge killings are part and parcel of life in this region which was the original communist heartland.
Over the years, people have come to reject the culture of violence and there has been calm for several years now. But looks like history is repeating itself with the recent murder of TP Chandrasekharan, who quit the party along with his supporters to float a rebel outfit.
Even as CPI-M leaders were busy denying the party's role in the murder, a district chief, while giving a passionate speech about loyalty, blurted out that the party brooks no betrayal and has been bumping off its political rivals.
For a party that boasts of (or pays lip service to) intra-party democracy, the CPI-M has a culture of intolerance towards dissent. The party expels its critics or demotes them.
 Over the last couple of decades, the party has taken cue from its Chinese counterpart – and possibly from the military forces of Myanmar and Pakistan – by developing multi-billion investments and heavily entrenching itself as a state in itself.
Naturally, all the vices and aberrations brought about by such 'expansion and diversification' has given rise in its ranks a breed of ruthless leaders who condone and facilitate corruption, violence and nepotism.
The party has been ravaged by factionalism. On one side is former CM and current Leader of the Opposition VS Achuthanadan and on the other, all-powerful party state chief Pinarayi Vijayan.
The latter and his cronies have taken control of the party organisation and has been steadily purging the rival camp's followers on one pretext or the other. VS is immensely popular among Keralites for his relentless campaigns against corruption, crime syndicates, sex rackets and several evils that have been plaguing the state.
However, the official faction ridicules him as a dinosaur that refuses to understand the 'opportunities' of capitalism and its 'benefits' for all.
The ideology is outdated and even today (despite decades of ridicule) party leaders invoke Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Fidel Castro, and of late, Hugo Chavez, to tell people why their brand of authoritarianism and thuggery is the path to 'enlightened' progress.
While leadership qualities of these people are inspiring, the question is whether it was worth the suffering of the people of those countries.
For example, more Russians were killed by Stalin's purges than by World War II. Mao's Cultural Revolution was no different.
India is a democracy that allows freedom to criticise. If the CPI-M thinks that this is not acceptable, they are free to go and join their red brethren on the other side of the Himalayas – both have a lot in common dealing with critics.
Wake up comrades, Stalin is dead; Cold War is over; Berlin Wall has fallen; dictators are being ousted and democracy is gaining in strength.
It's time for some serious introspection and path correction so that a movement that once inspired millions and changed lives for better doesn't end up being a cartel to benefit a few.
(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on June 27, 2012)

Let’s pitch in to keep the City of Pearls shining

The saying ‘All good things must come to an end’ appears to be proving true in the case of Hyderabad. The capital of a resource-rich state has become the hub for the dark side of human nature.
The economy is in doldrums; the government in paralysis; and the judiciary — the last hope for the public — has fallen prey to corruption: dark clouds of despair cover our skies.
The latest wave of Telangana agitation — that began in 2009 yet inconclusive in realising its objective — has resulted in scaring away investors from the state. The beating that the infrastructure took and the crores spent in maintaining law and order have added to the State’s woes.
Last year’s 45-day general strike (Sakala Janula Samme) caused losses of thousands of crores, disrupted academic calendar and dampened the spirit of the people. Maintenance of infrastructure is not rocket science but basic planning with common sense.
Considering the chaos the City is going through since the start of the monsoons, one realises little headway has been made there. While civic agencies contend all is well, water-logged roads and traffic gridlocks that last for hours tell a different story.
Under attack on different fronts, the Kiran Kumar Reddy government has been spending all its energy on the bypolls to demonstrate to the powers that be in Delhi that the CM is on top of the affairs of the state. He definitely is on top, but has little ground under his feet. If there is anything that is in plenty in the State it is scams.
There is not a single sphere of administration that is free from corruption at the highest levels and in massive scale. The recent multi-crore cash-for-bail incident has thrown light on how legal ‘technicalities’ emerge that allow the rich and connected to stay out of jail.
The otherwise lengthy court proceedings, that condemn people as under-trials for periods several times the maximum possible sentence, are tweaked to suit the convenience of these VIPs.
Not only is our tax money looted, but we end up financing financing the looters’ ‘special class’ facilities in jail also! With a minister in jail and several others on the verge of joining him, one can’t help but remember a headline this paper carried a few months back — ‘Next Cabinet meeting in Chanchalguda’.
The agency that ensures the safety of lives and property of the public, the police, is in total disarray. With the DGP’s appointment set aside by the Central Administrative Tribunal and another top official on the run, the idea of going to the cops sounds like a joke.
However, one can’t blame all the woes of Hyderabad on men in khadar, khaki, and black and white. The blatant violation of every rule, disregard for fellow denizens that one sees in every sphere of life is the cement that holds the bricks laid by the big boys.
When caste and community loyalties, and irrational sentiments handout massive victories to parties that are neck-deep in corruption and disruptive activities, one can’t just blame the system. We are responsible in creating the monsters that exploit, humiliate and terrorise us. The first step to solving a problem is admitting that one exists.
Whether it is for a day or a five-year term, the government must carry out its primary duty — governance. The CM must quell crippling dissidence and take his colleagues on board to ensure that the numerous welfare schemes reach the beneficiaries.
The State capital, which is set to hold an international conclave on biodiversity in a few months, is in need of a facelift. The work of civic agencies should be coordinated better to avoid hassles to public and wastage of money. The denizens too should pitch in by following rules and procedures so that the City of Pearls doesn’t lose its sheen.
(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on June 20, 2012)

The last thing we want in Goa is Ram Sene

Pristine beaches, sunshine, picturesque locales and great parties; these are pictures that come to the mind of an average Indian when one thinks about Goa.
Unfortunately, it looks like all good things will be forced to end – thanks to limelight-hungry Pramod Muthalik and his saffron moral police outfit, the Sri Ram Sene.
Like many other vermin, Muthalik began his political career in mid-seventies as a swayamsevak and soon his potent venom was appreciated by ultra-right saffron outfits such as VHP and Bajrang Dal, who put him in charge of key organisational affairs.
His anti-Muslim diatribe was music to the ears of the BJP that was rapidly expanding its presence across Karnataka. His vitriolic hate speeches against Muslims helped BJP to strengthen itself in North Karnataka.
If it was BS Yeddyurappa who can be credited with steering the ship till it docked at the port of power, Muthalik was one among the several cannons that regularly pounded anything non-saffron and secular that appeared in their sights.
The local Hindutva chieftain, who was hitherto unheard of in the rest of the country, literally stole the limelight with an attack on a Mangalore pub in 2009. Muthalik and his goons stormed a pub to enforce their diktat of routing ‘Western moral corruption’ and attacked the patrons, including women.
The move was leaked to selective media groups and they were present, cameras on, when the moral police beat up, groped and molested women in the melee, as one would put it, in full media glare.
Considering that Muthalik is close to scoring a half-century in the number of criminal cases against him, his freedom and unabated activities are tributes to an impotent system that spares offenders and targets victims.
Goa is famous for its pluralistic culture where people from all religions have been living in harmony and happiness in the Goan way of life. Life in this tiny state allows you to be what you are and enjoy it to the fullest, as long as you are not a nuisance to others. And this is the reason people from all over the world flock to this tiny sun-kissed state to savour all things good in life.
The beach parties are nothing short of legendary and the environment is one of the safest in the country for tourists, especially for women. However, this may no longer be the case when bloodhounds of moral police patrol the area looking for fresh meat.
If Muthalik has his way and his outfit opens shop in Goa, all that we know as Goa and its way of life are under threat. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has ‘warned’ the outfit that it won’t be allowed to take law into its hands and has talked about ‘dire consequences’ if there is violence.
Bravo CM, but sorry no one is fooled here. Parrikar should know, as anyone with average intelligence would, that outfits like the one headed by Muthalik survive on extreme action and use of force.
If Muthalik and his cronies are so concerned about women, they should be out on the streets protecting the fairer sex from eve-teasers, molesters and rapists. Of course, that’s not possible as the moral police believes that women are to blame for attacks on them.
Every region in the country is unique in its culture, traditions and way of life. No one should be allowed to force their version of ‘acceptable behaviour’ on others.
We don’t need these saffron Taliban here. They are dinosaurs, belonging to the era when widows were thrown into their husbands’ pyres.
Media should ignore them and deny them the limelight that is the lifeblood for such outfits; and the government should crush them without mercy.
Self-appointed defenders of moral fabric, you are alone in your journey to the Dark Ages.
(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on June 13, 2012)

Didi reigns supreme with little mamata

It’s been more than a year since Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee ended the three-decade-old rule of CPM and occupied the chief minister’s chair at Writers’ Building.
The firebrand leader rode the crest of anti-incumbency wave, powered by her ‘ma, mati, manush’ campaign: the communist government’s heavy-handed land acquisition made her victory easier.
If one were to judge the CM by the state of affairs during her rule, Didi, as she is popularly known, presents a disturbing picture.
Trinamool numbers are crucial to the survival of the Union government, and Mamata has never missed an opportunity to assert herself — though it might not be exactly in the interest of the nation.
She threw spanner in the works on crucial policies like FDI in retail and National Counter-terrorism Centre and even managed to derail an important river water treaty with Bangladesh. While her populist stance may win her applause from the masses, the damage that is being done will be hard to undo.
Like any leader who is dependent solely on personality cult, Mamata has shown extreme paranoia when it comes to facing criticism. Her conspiracy theories are ludicrous and at times would make one doubt the mental stability of the chief minister.
For all her rhetoric about the empty state coffers and the ultimatum to the Centre to provide a bailout package, the chief minister ordered all government structures to be painted light blue — it doesn’t take rocket science to understand the colossal waste of money.
Fires, rapes, baby deaths, train accidents and failures of governance are attributed to CPM-sponsored conspiracies ‘to tarnish the paribortan (change)’ she has ushered in. So far she has not suspected aliens, thank goodness! The much-hyped ‘surprise visits’ to check public amenities and open criticism of officials concerned has not changed much for the people.
When cornered over failures of the government, especially on law and order, she goes into a denial mode and lashes out at critics. When the story of a mother-of-two who was raped near a night club was highlighted by the media, the CM dismissed it off as another conspiracy — her minister went a step further to question the moral fabric of the victim.
Later, a diligent IPS officer who cracked the case and arrested the suspects, and therefore proving the chief minister wrong, was shunted out to an insignificant administrative post.
In a reminder of Emergency-era censorship, a professor was arrested for circulating a cartoon lampooning Mamata and Trinamool leaders. And, in a literal blacking out of criticism, the CM has ordered removal of English dailies from state libraries.
Even schools have not been spared. The history text books will be dropping sections about Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to ‘correct the imbalance’. A basic understanding of history would have told the firebrand CM that she is not the first one to try this route (and fail).
The ally has now become a burden for the UPA government. She forced senior party leader Dinesh Trivedi to quit as railway minister because he defied her diktat and used common sense to hike passenger fares. Every time she forces the Centre to backtrack on a key policy, it is the credibility of the government that goes for a toss.
After yesterday’s civic poll victory, the Trinamool has made it clear that it doesn’t need the junior partner’s support anymore — more bad news for the already humiliated and marginalised state Congress. West Bengal definitely needs change, and for this the chief minister must rise above her self-obsession and put the state’s interest first.
(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on June 6, 2012)