The demand for the withdrawal of army from Kashmir valley is strong. The People Democratic Party chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is leading the group which strongly opposes the presence uniformed men with guns. The argument advocated for the cause is that there is quite a good improvement in the law and order of the state, so there is no need for the continued big batallions.

On the other side there is a big opposition to the army withdrawal from some quarters. The chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad sings opposite tunes to PDP which is an alliance partner in the state government. Recently he had submitted a proposal to raise 51 batallions of state police. He wants to reduce the PDP to small status. that's why he is admant to adopt different approach from his coalition partner. Despite being a senior leader of the pan Indian party, Azad sounded kiddish in his remarks. In reply to Mehbooba Mufti's demand to withdraw army from the valley, Azad said "First let them say no to their security then we will withdraw". It has become customary for the Congress leaders to take the supporting partners for a ride. It happened in Karnataka with Janata Dal (S), in Maharastra with NCP and in many other states. It is very clear that the Congress party has not yet learnt lessons to live in a coalition era. Just to say opposite to what PDP demanded Azad puts his foot. In Delhi he said that it is important to give job to the Kashmirs in police. So we will raise 51 batallions and then allow army to withdraw.

The Prime Minister too clearly stated that the time has not yet come for the complete withdrawal or troop reduction in the terrorist troubled valley. He had directed the J&K chief minister to work out the modalities with the home ministry. It will cost the state exchequer huge amount but will provide employment to 60,000 youth.

What is the reality in the state? Although the situation is better than the recent past in violent activities and killings there is a constant threat from the millitants to cross over from the PoK. If the vigillance is lowered then it will lead to massive massacres. The past experiences in the state and erstwhile shows that unless terrorists are completely uprooted the presence of troops is required. The setback in Assam, Andra Pradesh and the other problematic spots of the country after the troop reduction is a powerful reminder to keep up the vigil. The millitants want cease fire to consolidate their power. After the bulldozing of the army and police, millitants feel demoralised and cut off from the power of terrorism. Every government is keen to bring out peace. In this enthusiasm they loudly proclaim cease fire. This is taken advantage by the millitants.

Why people are afraid of the army? After all it is a prime national institutional body which is meant to protect the lives of innocent people and every other citizen of the country. This is a million dollar question. primarily the army is considered to be an alien body which is full of predators. The involvement of army men in rape, killings and law breaking activities constantly tell the people of Kashmir that there is no peace unless they vacate the state.

If the army men are devoid of anti-people attitude then the public in the Kashmir valley or elsewhere in the country will invite them to stay forever. Given the poor track record of insenstivity of the some of the army members there is no good feeling for them. Now it is upto the army to redeem its image and infuse confidence among the commoners. Till then the army will be considered as a poisonous repetile crawling in the vicinity.

Rahul Dravid sounded so confident before boarding the flight to Caribbean. Many cricket fans thought that this year there is bright chances for the men in blue. The same feeling was given by Pakistani captain Inzmam ul Haq. Although his side is handicapped by the absence of popular players, Haque promised to lift the cup. The arch rivals of cricket from south Asia entered the far land to bring home the glittering world cup 2007. If the starting is the sample to be taken for the efficiency of India and Pakistan then there is nothing left out except total disappointment.

Pakistan's early surrender to Ireland and India's clowny play with Bangladesh does not board well for both the teams. The major blunder is complete underestimation of the rival teams. There is very few in the cricketing world estimated that Ireland and Bangladesh will triumph. Even their own countrymen did not pose hope in them. With all the pressure and no confidence in the tiny teams building up, it is to their credit a thorough professional game was given by Ireland and Bangladesh.

After winning the toss, India elected to bat in the hope to score tons of runs. There is no fault in this decision. It is common to opt for batting with the weaker side in the opposition. But the crime is casual play and complete underestimation of the bowlers and fielders. The veterans as usual ditched the team and disoriented the million fans back home. Virendra Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Mahinder Dhoni all fell so quickly. The consolation was Saurav Ganguly and Yuvaraj Singh. The prince of Kolkata was disciplined by the decision of the board to chuck him out of the team. After he was thrown out of the team, even advertisers pull him out of all the deals. Saurav got frustrated and decided to concrete more in cricket. Above all the solid support of his fans from Bengal and around the country helped him to get back to cricket. Now he got the concentration in cricket than advertisement, money and merry making. The same punishment should be given to all others who are too much in modelling than cricketing. It is humanely impossible for them to concentrate in ten fields. More importantly the coach should be changed and powerful Indian cricketers like Kapil Dev or Gavaskar should be opted instead of foreigners. This will save alot of money and embrassment for BCCI. Lastly but not leastly the entire BCCI should be professionalised. Now it is a completely politicised body with ministers and MPs occupy the powerful positions. How is it possible for the ailing Sharad Pawar to manage the crucial agriculture portfoli, BCCI, his party - NCP and tens of other departments? It is high time the Govrnment of India takes a bold decision to get rid of politicians from the management of sports.

The reformation of the Indian cricket is long overdue. The earlier it is done the better for the country. This is not just a sport but it is a national passion where million of the citizens mortgage their time and soul to see India win the cup. Whereas the cricket dons spend more time in modelling, T.V interviews and merry making. It is high time they are trimmed and disciplined to save the nation from disgrace on the ground.

Fifteen innnocent lives were gunned by men in Khaki in Nandigram in West Bengal. Amidst the politicking of industralisation and development of the state, displacement of rural people are engineered by the machinery run by the Marxists. A self professed champions of poor, the red politicians of Bengal are known for high class hypocrisy. Drive one issue in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura and oppose the same in the rest of the country. This has become the DNA of the Indian Leftists. Despite experts sounding warning bells and upraising of common people against the proposed chemical complex in Nandigram, the Marxists are hell bent to bring the Indonesia based Salim group to blindly chemical industralise the state.

Having lost the control of Little Buddha in Kolkata, the politburo in Delhi thinks that singing the Bengal's CM tunes is good for the party for the time being. On the other side of the Leftist spectrum, V. Achutanandan in Kerala is professing anti-capitalist philosophy which is the baseline of the Marxists. How to ride both the veteran horses - Buddhadeb and Achutanandan in the same cart? This is a big headache for Prakash Karat sitting in the national capital. One, the Bengal Chief Minister was popular before the Nandigram episode so touching his position will back fire the young general secretary and put his political future in the dark . Two, Buddhadeb has emerged as the modern face of Marxists. Without him the industrial growth and real development is not possible. So pat him in Kolkata and abuse other politicians who do the same. What a convenient class of politics which the Marxists practise?

West Bengal which is sliding down the development graph for many years has just started to concentrate in development. With Communist goons running the state and the entire apparatus of the the government under the control of party men it is difficult for the other view people to exist in the state, leave alone taking against the policies and programmes of the Left front government. It is visible during the elections. A complete booth capturing and intimidation of the voters are normal in Bengal. Those who oppose the policies are killed mercilessly. This is called Communism under the shadow of democratic government in Kolkata.

Whether Singur or Nandigram or any other fertile land area, the public representatives should not touch it. They should know that it is disastrous for the present situations and the future generations. Industralisation is necessary but not at the cost of well grown agricultural lands. Lakhs of hectares of barren lands which are lying unused should be given to the industralist. It can be given even free of cost as long it benefits the people and the country at large. Unless this thinking comes to stay with those at the helm of governance, public protests and violence are inevitable.

There is an air of unease prevailing in the country regarding the announcement of reservations for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the higher educational institutions. Continuing with the vote bank consolidation measures, Arjun Singh, the Union minister for Human Resources Development without even considering the election commission rules in force went ahead to excite the community about the 27 percent quotas for OBCs in elite institutes like IITs, IIMs, and other central universities. After a strong snub from the E.C he clarified that it is an impending decision. This method of addressing the concerns and problems of backward communities are faulty in many fronts. But the most significant among them are three: No measures to ensure quality primary education for OBCs, lack of financial support after the admission and across the board reservation for OBCs will benefit only the well off people.

What is new in this move? Already states like Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh, Karnataka have enforced the massive reservation for OBCs in the state run colleges and universities. Now the OBC students without any cream differences can enter the portals of the prestigious institutions administered by the central government. There is no filtering of economically and socially deserving students in this new announcement. Across the OBC board reservation is not going to remove the poverty among this section of the people. It simply divides the people and creates communal tensions. A convinced and willful ruler needs not to be bothered about the uprising against his right move. But in this case the intention is not to uplift the backward communities through quality education. Several questions need concrete answers before going ahead with the implementation of this parliamentary approval.

It is important to probe thoroughly into the fruits of existing reservation programmes for the deprived sections. How far the government intentions of transforming the lives of backward communities have helped them in the past? To what extent the affirmative programmes have worked out in the last six decades? In the absence of any strong empirical evidence it is difficult to either deny the positive aspect or negative ramifications. Most of the secret surveys conducted by the Central government to assess these programmes are not released for public consumption. Immediately the union government should make available the previous studies about the reservation impact to the public knowledge.

According to the Government of India estimates there is more than 70 percent dropout rate among the SC/ST students after admission into the higher educational institutions. This is due to the lack of financial support for the students to sustain their living in the campus.

It is sad that the higher educational institutions that are supposed to change the backward marching country into forward thinking one through sound syllabus and academic atmosphere are indulged in completely polar opposite activities. For instance the millennium goal of the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University was “To construct a separate SC/ST hostel”. After strong objections from some students this dark dream of the university was taken out of the millennium goal pamphlet. Even now there is a separate application forms exists for SC/ST and other students. In a way caste discrimination proliferates from the time the students enter educational institutions. Instead of working for casteless society no wonder that the students of high profile universities and colleges fight for caste based mobility in all the areas of their life. In short politically motivated reservation exacerbates caste based conflicts and tensions.

If the government is truly keen in its announcements and efforts to improve the conditions of socially poor people then it should start with the mitigation of the educational system from the childhood. In the absence of adequate financial means to avail the basic education, students from the deprived sections will be prevented from entering the higher education. In that situation any amount of reservation will either go unfilled or packed with financially sound OBCs candidates.

There are several peanut schemes been run to showcase the government of the day’s concerns for the poor people. In reality not even one percent of these programmes are effective. In paper the scheme has been described so appealing but due to the poor financial allocations and large number of beneficiaries the amount disbursed to the poor children are pathetically inadequate. Sample this scheme: In Tamil Nadu, Perarignar Anna Memorial Award is given at the rate of Rs.3000/- per annum per student for four/ five years to two boys and two girls belonging to Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes/Denotified Communities, who have secured the highest and next highest marks among the BC / MBC /DNC students in each district in the Twelfth Standard State Board Examination and joining Professional Degree Courses. How much can backward class students do with Rs. 3000 per annum in a professional college? The government schemes are just tokens and vote catching tricks.

Mostly the private individuals support them. Those who don’t have access to the wealthy circles lead a beggarly life despite getting admitted to prestigious colleges. In short inferiority complex among the backward community students have been bred in the higher educational institutes. A student’s life is not just tution fees and books. Proper nutritious food and minimum recreation are required. Economically backward students get discriminated in the classroom on the basis of their outlook and caste pronouncements everywhere.


Knowing well the sad state of backward students in higher education, the central government had created Backward Class Finance Development Corporations, SC/ST Finance Development Corporations to fund the education and entrepreneurial skills of the deprived communities. The amount of corruption and bureaucratic maneuvers in these commissions really frustrates poor students who with all hope approach them for financial aid.

An Equal Opportunity Office (EOO) was established in the central universities to check the caste discriminations. Especially among the backward community students. Most of the EOOs are headed by faculty members or officers from the deprived sections. But the amounts of indifference they show to the students from poor background are really discouraging and depressing for the students who are in desperate need of some assistance.

With all round corruption prevalent everywhere, caste certificates are not difficult to procure. An upper caste candidate can get SC certificate easily for Rs. 50. Many cases of relevant certificates forgery across the country are regular feature. Even some of the eminent judges and civil servants were accused of producing fake birth and caste certificates.

At this stage of acid test for development of the nation, government should not lose sight of the inherent problems. Education vouchers should be introduced from the elementary school level to create an equal ground for all students. Government should stop funding schools and colleges and start financing students who really deserve. This model of funding will make the teachers accountable to their job and reduce their high rate of absenteeism. Funds in the hands of students in the form of vouchers can improve quality of education by creating competition and eliminating inequality of all sorts. This is a radical step but a social revolution creating method to remove the centuries of social inequality in the Indian society.

Bulldozers are working overnight to pull down illegal constructions in Delhi. Acting on strict orders of the High Court, glittering malls, big buildings and small shops are razed to ground. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is forced to take harsh steps in Lal Dora, and other places where the big shots of the capital city have encroached government lands to built sleek structures without any respect for law and the rulebook. The greed of the encroacher, bribes to officials and the patronage of politicians emboldened people to illegally grab empty spaces of the city. The situation reached such a saturation point that everyone began feeling the heat of congestion and crowded clusters. Posh residential colonies posed a bad picture with a pathetic infrastructure like potholed roads, frequent power cuts, acute water shortage and, environmental pollution threatened to shake the luxurious lives of the wealthy sharks of Delhi. At this crucial stage, the judicial machinery stepped forward to put an end to the menace of law breaking encroachments.

According to a modest estimate of MCD, 40 lakh illegal constructions are happily standing strong in the city. This constitutes nearly 80 percent of buildings in the capital, a large majority of which belong to judges, politicians, bureaucrats and other public figures.

Three types of activities are considered to be illegal in the building rulebook of Delhi. One, encroachment of government land, two, altering a building after getting clearance from concerned authorities and three, running a commercial enterprise from residential areas. With uncontrollable migration, it is vital for the government or judicial bodies to act firmly against any type of illegal activity. Alternatively measures should be taken to reduce migration into cities.

The main culprits in the booming illegal construction business are not the innocent people who want to have a roof over their heads. The prolonged inaction and constant demand of politicians to regularize illegal colonies and constructions encouraged people to occupy government lands in the first place. The MCD, which is supposed to check building rules before giving water, electricity and other important amenities, is the main villain in the demolition tragedy of Delhi. An action against both upper and lower staff of the local administrative body is important to send a right signal to the future efficiency of government employees. Clearance papers are provided over the counter for a peanut payment. Those who bribe can get away with clerical hassles and paperwork through their backdoor. If we don’t act against the corrupt lobby of the government fast enough, it will only catalyze future illegal constructions.

Unfortunately, officials who perform their functions dutifully cannot stay in the same seat for a very long time. For those who act in favour of the common good and against those who violate the rules, it is a constant battle for survival. This has been the thumb rule for all political parties in power. Jagmohan, the bold and brilliant minister in Vajpayee headed NDA government, was chucked out of the urban development ministry for advocating demolition of illegal constructions, evacuation of industrial units in residential areas and host of other reform agendas. Today, Sheila Dikshit of Congress is on the verge of losing her chief ministership because of her keenness to abide by the rule of law. The world witnessed the biggest slum demolition in Mumbai recently and, almost immediately, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra was censured by the high command for this anti-poor measure. Finally, it was halted half way. Incidentally, the top brass of any political order can stop any reform movement anywhere in the country, if it so wishes. It is high time we rid ourselves of such political high handedness.

Why does the Supreme Court or the High Court not cap a moratorium on the nonsense of politicians in this case? The highest judicial body in the country issued prohibitory orders against street protests and newspaper articles against the arrival of French ship, Clemenceau. Why not have the same set of strictures against those who defend illegal constructions and encourage rule violations? Shamelessly ministers and elected representatives differentiate between need based and greed based encroachments. Disrupting parliament proceedings in support for illegal constructions cutting across party lines are unhealthy for the all round development of the nation. An early fitting lesson must be taught to those who go overboard in voicing their support for law violators.

Published by TCP 19 April 2006

The disqualification of Jaya Bachchan from the membership of Rajya Sabha for occupying the Uttar Pradesh Film Development Council as its chairperson has triggered a political crisis in the country. This has brought Article 102 (1a) of the constitution into the limelight once again.

Article 102 (1a) of the constitution prohibits members of parliament from holding any office of profit. Knowing well the consequences of this rule, the UPA government planned to promulgate an ordinance overnight to exempt the National Advisory Council from the purview of this constitutional requirement. The biggest blunder in this issue was to adjourn the parliament sine die to facilitate an ordinance route to save the Congress MPs and its alliance members of parliament from falling victim to the disqualification rule. The entire opposition has risen against this backdoor tactic of Manmohan Singh government.

The resignation of Sonia Gandhi from Lok Sabha as M.P and from the National Advisory Council as its chairperson yesterday has created a chain reaction among her sycophants and tension in the opposition circles. To emulate their President numerous Congress leaders are putting in their papers to quit from parliament, legislatures and honorary office holdings. Karan Singh was the first one to follow the footsteps of Sonia. Jairam Ramesh, Gurudas Kamat, T. Subbirami Reddy and many others are enthusiastic about doing the same.

Imagine bye-elections in 50 parliamentary constituencies and over 200 assembly constituencies after this drama of resignations! The amount of public money to be spent in this fiasco will be more than Rs. 50 crores which can be better utilized for educating 5 million out of school children in the backwards areas.

Why is there is so much hooplah about holding for profit office if a person is a Member of Parliament or legislature? Is this a Practical proposition? After all, law and constitutional rules can be bent according to the whims and fancies of the ruling party! If the Congress party had majority on its own it could have amended the law to free the NAC from office of profit rule. It is high time for India to get out of the fake moral and pseudo ethical framework.

If there is a rule to allow our parliamentarians to enjoy profit legally their involvement in illegal activities like taking money for raising questions and underground linkages may be minimized. Especially for the MPs from poor economic background, bundles of currency notes are tempting. To give them enough honour and monetary benefits, parliament should allow them to make required earning. So there is no harm in them accepting for profit offices. The rule should prescribe the maximum number limit. It would be better for the parliament and people to fix maximum two for profit offices for each parliamentarian. This will also help them to concentrate in their constituencies and parliament rather than shuttling between one trust meeting and the other. There is a steady decline in the attendance in parliamentary sessions. Most of the MPs come to Delhi to do their personal business than attending the debates and taking part seriously in parliamentary matters. To revive their interest in nation building and better working of our parliamentary democracy it is important to remove the hassles like for profit offices.

India constitution blindly follows certain archaic and impossible ideas even today. Similarly there is a prohibition on for profit educational institutions. Who can run schools and colleges without making profit? To make law people friendly it is important to define them clearly and viably. If there was a review on obsolete constitutional provisions, the growth rate of India could have surpassed China umpteen numbers of time in every field.

The present provision should be amended to prevent members of parliament from occupying non-legislative businesses like cricket control boards, Rajiv Gandhi memorial trust, Indian Council for Cultural Relations and other socio-cultural organizations. The involvement of politicians in these forums really lowers its professional standards. One big service that our politicians can do to our nation is to keep themselves away from sports, cultural and social institutions to allow its organic growth.

The simple and down to earth nature of Indian Left leaders have always been adored and admired by many. Unfortunately, their posture and action are totally contradictory. While wearing no luxury on sleeves, comrades speak in multinational brand Nokia cell phone, drink Bisleri water, sport Reebok shoes, and yet, speak against MNCs. For a very long time, look and talk of the red brigade cheated Indian masses. Now there is a popular realization that the Left leaders shouting from Delhi should follow the practical path adopted by Little Buddha of Bengal and Hu Jintao in Beijing.

Left trade unionism creates everyday hardships for the people in the name of democratic protests. Airport modernization fiasco, Gurgaon Honda workers strike, recurring bank employees dharna and storming of Baba Ramdev’s pharmaceutical fort are clear reminders about the red game plan to recapture the lost territory of trade unionism. Providing political patronage to the unproductive employees amount to breeding laziness and undercutting of national growth.

Recalling the past performance of Left may help people understand their anti-development nature. In the 80s, Communists vehemently opposed the computerization of government offices and introduction of Navodaya schools. The rationale for Left’s protest against computer introduction was that employment generation would be affected. According to them, computers would eliminate the human workforce step by step. This fear was unfounded in the due course of time. In fact, computer technology helped India generate massive employment in the form of Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES). It helped the nation to recover its rightful space in the global trade that was lost during the industrial revolution and colonialism. Today India is rated as the champion of knowledge revolution and expected to do better in the coming years.

When Late. Rajiv Gandhi mooted the Navodaya schools to produce the best of human resources from backward areas by providing residential accommodation, the best of schooling ambience and financial support, Left opposed it saying that the Navodaya schools are luxury education institutes!

In the 60s, Left sided with the external aggressor – China during the war. Left revolutionary wing created endless trouble in the form of Naxalism for national security. Even today the violent arm of Left is debunking all development activities from Telegana to Jharkhand. Historically, Left blocked every move of development. Their contribution has been more towards underdevelopment than to development. How can one forget the contributions of Left to the success of BJP from 1989 when it supported V.P. Singh who came into power pulling down Rajiv Gandhi government in the mysterious Bofors case. Now they pretend to fight against the BJP and communal forces in the country.

Communists’ anti-development attitude has not gone well with the common people. Even in their citadels like Bengal, Kerala and Tripura there is a widespread resentment against politburo’s response to modernization. Lack of better political alternative compels the voters to go with Left parties during elections in these states. If the present public anger is not addressed, voters may be forced to go anytime in favour of their archrivals. The status of Communist parties in Indian politics has vastly declined to the extent that the Election Commission had to derecognise the CPI(M) as a national political party. To avoid future embarrassment like this and to increase its relevance in public service, Left parties need to rethink its approach to development.

In order to recapture the lost social groups in the electoral battle, the Congress party is mind blankly acting without any future directions. The recent controversial episodes are minority institution status to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) by the Central government and five percent reservation for Muslims in public appointments and educational institutions by Andra Pradesh government. The first issue was enacted by the Union Human Resources Minister, Arjun Singh who enthusiastically got the Cabinet approval for the AMU academic council resolution demanding minority tag for AMU and the second one was introduced by Chief Minister, Rajasekhar Reddy in A.P. Both these acts were politically motivated and electorally aimed at than helping Muslims to overcome their social problems. So both these anti-secular initiatives deserve the judicial rebuffing which the courts have delivered one after another. Without any recourse and respect for the legal authority, HRD minister is now dreaming of bringing in a central ordinance to give back the quashed minority university status to AMU. No surprise if his dream turns into reality. But that will puncture future court rulings and set wrong precedence. Apart from insulting the court ruling, this act of Arjun Singh will create communal tensions.

It all started when the AMU academic council passed a resolution on 15 January 2005 giving 50 percent reservation for Muslims in the professional courses. This resolution was endorsed by the executive council of the university on 19 February 2005 and Union Cabinet gave the green signal on 25 February 2005. On 4 October, the Allahabad High Court invalidated the academic council resolution after taking up the petition filled by 34 affected students of post graduate medical courses. Hearing the petition filled by Dr. Naresh Agarwal and others, Justice. Arun Tandon in his 48 page verdict pronounced that AMU as a central university cannot discriminate students in admissions on the basis of religion or caste or race. He invoked article 29(2) of the constitution to make the point clear. That verdict allowed already admitted students to continue their studies but put a lid on the future recruitments using fifty percent reservation for Muslims provision. If the AMU administration has gone deep into the issue of fifty percent reservation for Muslims before seeking the union government approval, it could have easily avoided the legal defeat. But it did not look into St. Stephen’s College Vs. University of Delhi; (1993) SCC 558, T.M.Pai Foundation Vs State of Karnataka (2002), 8 SCC 481 and Islamic Academy of Education and another Vs. State of Karnataka and others (2003), 6 SCC 697 as well as in Vs Saruabh Chaduri case. In all these matters, Hon’ble Supreme Court has made it clear that there is no need for permission for any central university to make reservations. The issue is not just reservation but to spin politically explosive controversies and communal divisions in the society.

On 5 January 2006, the Allahabad High Court quashed the central Act 1981 giving minority institution status to AMU. It was Indira Gandhi government’s in 1981 which changed the name of Aligarh University into Aligarh Muslim University for political reasons. After twenty five years, the Court feels the heat of religious name hidden in a central university. Implanting religion in the government aided institutions is totally against the preamble of the constitution. State patronizing an educational institution with religious overtones is dangerous symptom for the future health of education in the country. Hence it is fair on the part of the court to take away the myth propagated ignorant elements. They wrongly quote article 30 of the constitution which prevents the state from stopping minorities to start and run educational institutions. While this article blocks negative function of the state it did not say that the state should be proactively involved in promoting minorityism. Article 29 clearly states no individual can be denied admission into an educational institute on the basis of religion, caste or religion. It calls for unbiased and objective mode of education. With such a clear cut constitutional prescriptions it is funny to have shortcuts in the name of minority institute. This will simply communalise the education system which has been built after innumerable sacrifices. The best way to promote national integration and religious unity is to make educational institutes open for those who are competent, brilliant and bright rather than giving admission on the community basis.

Of course the AMU issue whips up emotion strongly among the Muslim community which can polarize the society communally. Therefore it requires extreme care and caution to handle it. No doubt, there are vested interests operate behind AMU in fighting for minority institution status. The university should not fall into such hands.

AMU which is known for scholarship nearly for a century cannot be reduced to a minority institution. Without Sir. Syed Ahmad Khan’s sacrifices and vision, AMU could not have been materialized. He bore all the insults heaped on him by the royal and wealthy Muslims when he went around the country to collect donation for constructing a college for Muslims. So any effort to undermine the contributions of Sir. Syed Ahmad Khan needs to be condemned.

The goal of the minority institution status to AMU was to allow the university to give ample reservation for Muslim students in the professional courses where they are now underrepresented. If the aim is to improve the socio-economic conditions of Muslims in the country, why only in AMU? The initiative should be to identify the economically backward sections of Muslims and provide them all social benefits including livelihood, education, housing, healthcare etc. But giving blind concession across the Muslim community is not a commendable solution. The previous methods of affirmative actions have benefited only the richer sections of Muslims like Ashraffs, pathans, seikhs not the low caste Muslims. The poor Muslims are exploited using their ignorance and economic weakness as advantage.

Progressive and foresighted Muslim intellectuals like Asghar Ali Engineer and Irfan Habib have voiced against across the board reservation for Muslims. They advocated that proper social security is provided to economically backward Muslims which are highly relevant in the current social context.


At this stage, NDA is not dead. It is surviving with life supporting system. If there is any possibility of saving the life of NDA it will be surely with the help of Congress not by the doctors (read voters). Every policy of the UPA government aimed just winning the minority and SC/ST votes will help the right wing to regain politically. In the matters of corruption both the parties stand equally. If NDA committed coffin scam, there is an oil gate scam in Congress rule. If NDA was known for Tehelka scandal, congress has got Mitrokin exposure.

Now, the agenda for the Congress should be to identify the needy sections of the population without any caste, regional or any other bias to provide all social benefits rather than giving concessions to minorities blindly. The first priority can be to the socially disadvantageous groups among the economically backward class. But every poor and suffering Indian should be covered otherwise the reservation and affirmative actions will be futile.

It is nothing but natural for people to write off Lalu Prasad Yadav after he lost majority to his archrival National Democratic Alliance in the just concluded Bihar assembly elections. Only few can break this euphoric environment and look at the reality logically.

Given the hidden fissures in the NDA coalition and splitting talents of RJD supremo it is difficult to give five years guarantee to Nitish Kumar government. Factionalism is higher in the NDA camp than in any other groups. This is evident from the everyday revolt against the Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Rajasthan. Even the national level setup is shaken by the serious camp troubles. L.K. Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharathi, Venkaiah Naidu and Arun Jaitley are spending sleepless nights to chart out their course of action to defeat the other camp. George Fernandes’s explicit anger against Nitish is another teething trouble spot.

The entire world is aware of the political poaching skills of Lantern carrying Lalu Yadav. Systematically Lalu devastated Lok Jan Shakti Party of Ram Vilas Paswan after the last assembly election. Soon after the majority members of LJP joined hands with NDA, Lalu broke in to Paswan’s camp so easily. Giving the possible ascend of NDA into the throne as a threat, he convinced Sonia Gandhi to advise P.M to do the necessary work to dissolve the assembly. In the middle of night, Lalu had the last laugh after President Abdul Kalam signed the proclamation dissolving Bihar assembly from Iceland.



Although Lalu lost his kingdom which he ruled without any development his vote share was intact. Really none of the political parties lost their vote share heavily. Only the number of independents was reduced this time and vote for non political candidates were minimized. The success of NDA lies in the efficient coalition management and excellent co-ordination. Early start of the election process is another plus point of the NDA which gave a majority despite every media group predicting a hung assembly.

After this setback, Lalu’s all time joking abilities will be reduced now. As a pragmatic politician, Lalu will reach out to his bitter enemies like Ram Vilas Paswan to reclaim his lost bastion. This is crystal clear if one compares Lalu’s approach to Paswan in the pre and post election scenario.

Entertaining the people around him was the hobby of Laluji. All time tamsha maker, Lalu was not serious about any development issue. While the rest of India and Indian politicians were changing to the circumstances, the RJD leader refused to learn. Till the last vote counted, he was asserting the irrelevance of BSP equation (Bijali, Sadak and Pani) in the electoral politics. For him only one issue which mattered was caste. Although he was cracking jokes before the final election results, he was aware of the possible ouster. . Taking advantage of the poverty and innocence of the Bihar populace, Lalu lived in 1. Anne Marg for fifteen years. Now he realizes the heat of public anger and caste miscalculation.


Defeat is not that consequential for Lalu now. If he is not the union minister, he might have faced tremendous trouble and embarrassment. God is in his side at this critical moment of his overthrow from the Bihar dynasty. He can circle the world with same pomp and show. But that’s not the only criteria for a politician to be powerful. To survive successfully in the Indian politics and reclaim his lost dynasty, Lalu needs to reorient his approach to politics and development. His talents can be utilized for better results than just spitting one-liners.

Finally the official man accused in the Oilgate scam is gone. The former external affairs minister, K. Natwar Singh who refused to resign after the Paul Volcker committee report pointed finger at him had to bow down to the pressure building in the Congress party to drop him from the cabinet. As the chairperson of Congress Party Foreign Affairs Cell, Natwar Singh led a delegation to Iraq in 2001 to see the humanitarian crisis created by the American invasion. P. Shiva Shankar, A.R. Antulay, and Anil Matherani were the official accompanies of Natwar Singh. Unofficially his son Jagat Singh and Andaleeb Sehgal (Jagat’s cousin) also joined the delegation. In the name of moral booster to Iraq, Natwar used his position to provide business prospectus to his son to the tune of eight million barrels of oil

Natwar jumped in to advocate Iraq’s cause when Saddam Hussain was desperately looking for supporters across the world after America started bombing the streets of Baghdad. Sonia Gandhi and Congress were convinced by Natwar to support Iraq to regain the lost minority votes after Babri Masjid demolition. His point struck chord with Congress leaders as they were looking for the right avenues to corner BJP. That was the heydays of NDA. So without much hitch Sonia said yes to Natwar’s proposals. More importantly nobody had the guts to question the clean short man’s credibility. Everything passed without any censure or debate. Finally this had landed the party into a major embarrassment and trouble

Charges against Natwar Singh indicate the amount of power abuse even in the matters of humanitarian assistance. This also shows that even opposition party members can earn in millions. Nothing is more horrific than to take a share from the funds meant to assist common people at times of crisis. Iraq which got devastated first by the misrule of Saddam Hussain and second by the bombings of America. To rub salt in the wounds of Iraq, Natwar misused his office to help his son’s business ambitions. Tragically they had the heart to exchange oil coupons for money instead of food without even thinking about the tender babies who were dying without milk. All the ill gotten wealth went to the banks in Jordan. Instead of digging these bank accounts the enforcement directorate is after the lives of those who gave supportive evidence to Oil scam. This happens with every government cutting across party lines. For political reason they save the sinner and punish those who tell the truth.

Ample examples can be citied. Dinesh Goswami in Bihar floods, George Fernandes in the coffin scam, corruption in the relief material sent to earthquake, cyclone and tsunami hit area sent shockwaves across the spines. It is a pity to hear these petty minded people who wreck havoc during the period of human suffering created by nature.

Unfortunately those who expose these humanitarian scandals are victimized. The Indian institutions by the order of political masters target those who dare give evidence about corruption. Tehelka group was harrased beyond the limitations by the NDA government soon after it brought the coffin scam to common knowledge through sting operations. Satyendra Dubey and Manjunath just remain martyrs for blowing the whistle. No extra action to punish the criminals apart from one minute mourning after their murder.

Public is also bored of the boomeranging scams everyday. They know very well nothing is going to come out of the political uproar against these scandals. Only the functioning of parliament gets disturbed quite often due to the new scams. It gives enough ammunition to the opposition to weaken the moral of government. Once the parliament session is over, no effect is seen around that issue.

What is required at this crucial junction is to restore the public confidence in judiciary. For this investigating agencies and judiciary should be given enough autonomy. Prime Minister or Home Minster appointing a lame duck judge to investigate a sensitive case must be abandoned. Sincerity of purpose of the judicial commissions should be shown. Otherwise public disrespect for these institutions will keep growing and that will lead to anarchy in the society. Corruption in humanitarian matters should be checked immediately to assure people of some institutional effect.