Living fossils in a dynamic world

In many dictatorships across the world, lampooning the ‘supreme leader’ is a crime punishable by death or prison sentences worse than death itself. Before we pat ourselves for our ‘vibrant’ democracy, as our political stalwarts and their foreign counterparts put it, let us take a realistic stock of our country.
If you thought it was the whimsical Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee alone who threw tantrums over cartoons and threw people into dungeons, you got it wrong.
The row over political cartoons in the NCERT textbooks is the best examples. Netas of all hues have thundered against a 50-year-old cartoon showing Jawaharlal Nehru whipping BR Ambedkar for the snail’s pace of work in drafting the Constitution. Both have played their roles in nation building, but are now dead and gone. The cartoon was published in a national daily and is a matter of historical record.
Now suddenly we find some groups taking umbrage to that cartoon (getting offended, developing feeling of animosity... the list goes on) and has got the government to agree to delete it.
The incident made several interest groups realise that if children were allowed free (or rather uncensored) access to political developments of the past, there would be little future for several ideologies based on divisiveness. It also dawned on many that if the origins of their political movements were laid bare before the smart schoolchildren, their out-dated and irrational outfits would soon run out of takers.
 And so began the clamour from across the country for text books to be ‘politically correct’. The designated panel of ‘experts’ sifted through the NCERT curriculum for political booby traps. And lo! 36 out of 176 cartoons were found to be inappropriate and the panel has recommended their removal.
These cartoons reflect the critical political analysis of the times when the corresponding incident occurred. Going back to them now and trying to erase their presence is nothing short of juvenile conduct. And the current ‘revision’ reeks of the dictatorship we see in George Orwell’s 1984. In the book, there is a government department dedicated to destroying records of all follies of the past and rewriting them to make the leadership look like infallible visionaries — we are not far.
Tolerance to criticism, no matter how vitriolic it is, is an indicator of the maturity of a leader or an organisation. The more convinced the party is about its ideology and history, the less will be the tendency to throw tantrums over ‘offensive content’.
It is an attempt at the impossible to keep historic realities away from the children as they are not confined to text book knowledge. Information of all shades is available in the media, especially on the internet.
We also need to understand that perspectives on the same person or event are divergent, depending on the level of involvement and impact in the life of the person involved.
 For example, Indira Gandhi is a great leader but others perceive her as the only dictator the country has had since independence. So who gets to decide the political ‘acceptability’ of a cartoon on the Emergency?
Many political parties that ran decades of mindless ‘education in mother tongue only’ campaigns are now struggling to own up their folly when English-speaking youths from other liberal states corner the best jobs. Attempting to erase the records of their actions will not undo the damage done.
We should come out from the state of denial and learn to accept criticism as inputs for introspection and course correction. Ego-driven ideas of self-glorification must not ossify us into living fossils in a dynamic world.
(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on July 4, 2012)

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)

There’s nothing Holy about what we See

The Vatican, the seat of Roman Catholic Church, has throughout its history, found itself digging in on the wrong side of history — the latest scandals to shake the bedrock of a billion faithful have proved that not much has changed.
It was barely a week ago that the board of Vatican Bank (official name, Institute for Religious Works) was forced to sack its chief Ettore Gotti Tedeschi after an Italian police probe and a freeze on a £19-million account.
Tedeschi is lucky, at least so far. In 1982, Banco Ambrosiano (whose main shareholder is Vatican Bank) collapsed after close to $1.5 billion was siphoned off.
Its then chief Roberto Calvi, who was popularly known as ‘God’s Banker’ for his proximity with the Holy See, tried to change his appearance and flee the country. A few days later, his body was found hanging from a London bridge — an inquiry in 1983 found that he was murdered.
Witch-hunts are not new to the Church. It has a long history of ‘silencing’ its critics and using all means necessary to suppress dissemination of information that will hurt the credibility of its doctrines. Philosophers, litterateurs, artists, scientists, social reformers have all faced the brunt of these actions.
Tens of thousands were persecuted, detained, tortured and executed in attempts to enforce the ‘infallibility’ of the Catholic doctrine and the Pope’s unquestionable authority.
For all what Jesus might have had to say, the Church’s activities haven’t been towering examples of righteousness, honesty, transparency and tolerance.
The deafening silence on, if not tacit approval of, Hitler’s persecution of Jews is an excellent example. The Church requires celibacy from its priests (I thought the good book said something about God making woman for man — feminists, no offense intended).
Tens of thousands of children have been abused by priests and I have lost track of the millions, if not billions shelled out by the church of St Peter to keep matters hush-hush. Not only were reported cases of abuse hidden from police, many of the offenders were allowed to continue in key posts — and presumably continue their ‘activities’.
HIV/Aids has killed thousands and the number of cases are skyrocketing. A large chunk of the affected population is in Africa and the Church’s long-standing opposition to condoms have made its mark in a rather deadly way. It was only in 2010, after decades of criticism from human rights activists and medical fraternity, that the Pope decided to condone use of condoms.
The latest leak of highly confidential Vatican documents has revealed battles for supremacy and control raging within its walls have left the Church red in its face.
However, instead of coming clean on the matter, the Church has taken upon itself to target the whistleblowers — the arrest of Pope’s butler is just the tip of the iceberg if we take history into account.
In focus is the secretary of state Tarcisio Bertone, a powerful figure and confidant of Pope Benedict XI, who is the real authority behind Vatican Bank.
The leaked documents also say that Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who had been trying to clean up the state’s finances, was abruptly removed — allegedly for cracking down on corruption. The world has come a long way since inquisitions and burnings at stake.
People, individualism and nation states are the order of the day. If someone’s under the assumption that they can live the unquestioned, opaque lives of medieval ages forever, they are living in a fool’s paradise.
The dark secrets, skeletons in the cupboard and blood under the carpet will be exposed — the Judgement Day is not far away.
(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on May 30, 2012)

Decisive action, not Acts, will help whistleblowers

While the Whistleblowers' Protection Bill, hailed as the ultimate shield that would protect those who expose corruption from harm, is listed for approval by Rajya Sabha in this session, the parched Earth is quenching its thirst with the blood of anti-corruption crusaders.
We have seen how the politicians, who otherwise clear laws left, right and centre, keep delaying key legislations that might hurt their ‘interests’.
The anti-corruption Lokpal Bill, pending for more than four decades, has been shuttled to yet another committee. We can only hope that this law will come into force before money swallowed by politicians and bureaucrats exceed the gross domestic product (GDP).
The Whistleblowers’ Bill also has not been a product of the desire of the political class to help the anti-graft efforts.
About a decade back, Satyendra Dubey, an NHAI official who exposed a massive scam in the NDA government’s Golden Quadrilateral project was murdered after his role in the expose was leaked from top government sources. It was the uproar over this incident that forcedsome movement on this legislation.
The latest to join the long list of martyrs who lost their lives to the cause of keeping the system clean was Karnataka Administrative Service officer SP Mahesh.
The upright officer was bludgeoned to death in the heart of Bangalore. He had exposed massive scams in co-operative societies. His wife told the police that he was attacked at least thrice earlier.
A few months back, a young IPS officer, NS Singh, was brutally murdered by the mining mafia in Madhya Pradesh.
If we take into account the number of social activists and NGO members who are butchered across the country, the list gets longer. Social activists, journalists, NGO members, honest government officials and RTI activists have been paying with their lives for upholding the right.
However, after the initial media hype and public outrage, the state of affairs returns to normal — and would return to limelight only at the next bloodshed. A recent article in the Outlook by Mathew Samuel, who conducted the Tehelka sting operation that exposed colossal corruption in defence deals, describes the unsavoury ordeal that lies in wait for those who expose corruption in high places.
Experience has taught us that an impressive array of laws is toothless as long as there is no effective implementation machinery; the legislation to protect whistleblowers is no exception to this.
What we need is an effective mechanism on the lines of witness protection programmes that are in place in developed countries. These countries are able to check corruption to a large extent due to the effectiveness of such programmes. Their governments allocate massive funds to ensure that whistleblowers are not exposed and provide them with adequate security.
In cases where the exposed corrupt are rich and well-connected, the whistleblowers are given new identities by the government itself so that they are beyond any harm.
We are a country where a footpath tout can get a driving licence in the name of the prime minister issued for a few thousand rupees. So it doesn’t require rocket science for the government to take a few lessons from their more vigilant Western counterparts to protect the people who risk everything in their lives to expose corruption.
We need to create a system of rewards and protection, backed by powerful laws that will enable more people to come out and expose those who eat into public money.
The scamsters should be made to realise that ‘eliminating’ informants is not going to be a cakewalk and that the system will take care of those who strive to keep it clean.
Satyameva Jayate.
(This article was published as the editorial column in Postnoon on May 23, 2012)