Tag: Congress

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Enough said

Same same, but different

These elections have the potential to be a turning point in our country’s history, but what if nothing changes later?
Humra Quraishiby Humra Quraishi

These elections and their results could well prove to be the proverbial turning point in the history of our country. Of course, it’s far too early to predict if the so-called ‘Modi wave’ will actually bring the BJP to power, or if it’s just a lot of hype. But one thing is clear – we are doomed if we are to be ruled by the likes of Narendra Modi and his aide, Amit Shah.

Modi has become quite restrained in his utterances, but Amit Shah is going all out, especially with his latest hate speech in Muzaffarnagar. Was his speech a hint of things to come – are we to expect more killings, more displacements of hapless innocents from their homes?

Just last evening, I had a heated argument with some others, when I said that under Modi, we cannot expect even a semblance of stability. Who is to say that tremendous upheavals will not take place under his stewardship?

No, this is not a question of the welfare of majority communities, or the safety of minorities. Have you ever wondered that with the BJPBJP, the RSS will follow? There is little need for me to elaborate on the kind of functioning of the RSS, which has often been intolerant of ‘others’. The turbulence I speak of started with LK Advani’s rath yatra, which started a series of events that led to the eventual destruction of the Babri Masjid, on December 6, 1992. Ever since that day, the poison of communalism has been steadily seeping into our psyche.

That is not to say that the Congress or Samajwadi Party can fare any better – if they had done what responsible political parties should do, then we wouldn’t have a situation like the one in Muzaffarnagar. The Congress had completely betrayed people’s expectations, and have been insensitive and unfair.

And in this bleak scenario, one is maybe forced to put its faith in AAP, which at least debuted in a stunning fashion this year. I have been interacting with several citizens during the campaigning phase, and here in Delhi, a high percentage of the population seems supportive of AAP. These citizens include people who are daily wagers and those from the lower middle class segments, and all of them are fed up of the ‘uselessness’ of the Congress and the BJP. Several told me that they would rather see the topi show its prowess this time around.

And while we are seemingly obsessed with the negatives of the AAP and Arvind Kejriwal, we are failing to see that the AAP has actually managed to rattle two biggies – the Congress and the BJP – and is being spoken of as the Number 3 option this election. That’s a huge achievement for a party so young.

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

(Pictures courtesy www.indiatvnews.com, www.ndtv.com)

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Enough said

Pehle AAP?

What set the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) apart was their fresh approach to campaigning, which the Congress and BJP lacked.
by Humra Quraishi

From Gurgaon I have been travelling to New Delhi on almost all the days of this last week, and on my travels and at my destination, I have been watching and observing the election build up in the national capital. As expected, in the so-called ‘strongholds’ of the Congress and the BJP camps, the mood has been nothing but typical.

When I say ‘typical’, I speak from the experience of past elections, when one saw the same mood and campaigning tactics as those employed in recent times. There have been the same hackneyed slogans and shouting matches between opponents. The same mud-slinging. The same one-liners and cheap shots. Yes, there have been a couple of new inputs concerning Mr Modi, but there has been nothing novel or exciting about the two parties’ campaigning. Which is why the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came as a breath of fresh air.

I was actually taken aback on seeing the enthusiasm amongst the AAP volunteers and workers, who did not look like they had been ‘bought over’ or ‘paid’ to do their jobs. They looked sincere in their efforts, making it quite obvious that they were out on the streets to campaign because they genuinely wanted to bring about a change in governance at the grassroots level. With brooms in their hands and topis on their heads, they were seen interacting with all people, establishing an instant connect.

Interestingly, while so many of the AAP volunteers walked the streets and campaigned, there was never any need for any police bandobast. I was rather touched on seeing these AAP men and women mingling with the crowds and getting a very positive response from the public. There was also a lot of cheering as the party’s topis were placed on each head. I also received one such topi!

There is no saying what the influence of AAP will be on the future course of politics, but if ever an indication was needed for those currently in power that the country is desperately looking for a change in leadership, the welcome AAP received in Delhi should sound a loud warning bell to all.

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

(Picture courtesy www.livemint.com)

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Enough said

Revisiting Gandhi’s present-day legacy

Would our politics be any different if Mahatma Gandhi’s grandchildren had joined active politics? Or would things continue as before?
by Humra Quraishi

As I write this column a little after Gandhi jayanti this year, I have been recollecting several things about the Mahatma. The very crux of his philosophy was simplicity laced with truth. Nothing complicated or layered, just a subtle and direct way of communicating. Probably this is why we can so easily relate to the great man even today.

gopalkrishna gandhiEvery time I meet any of his four grandchildren, children of his son Devdas Gandhi, I get the sense the same sense of uncomplicated communication. Each time I’ve interviewed Ramchandra Gandhi, Rajmohan Gandhi, Gopalkrishna Gandhi (in pic on left) and Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee, I’ve always got a sense of ‘genuineness’ in their words and views. Even when I visited Tara and Rajmohan’s homes, I was struck by the simplicity. In fact, the late Ramchandra Gandhi had never even owned a home and lived all his life in a rented annexe in very tight financial conditions.

When I first visited Tara (in pic below) at her South Delhi home, I could see it was a very ‘different’ space. Huge hand-made dolls stood in the house, as did charkhas and khadi weaves. When I asked her about her grandfather, she’d said, “Bapu kept a very tight schedule so we couldn’t interact for hours at a stretch, though I’d spent most of my childhood with him and Ba. He spoke on ‘mulya’(values), taught us to value time, to focus on ‘buniyadi usul’(fundamental values). I never saw him angry or cranky. But very often he’d looked sad. In fact, whenever he was upset he’d stop talking and fast or tara gandhi bhattacharjeekeep a maun or roza and stop eating. When upset, he would sit at the charkha spinning for hours at a stretch.”

Rajmohan described his relationship with Gandhiji thus: “As his grandchildren, we didn’t have any special rights to his time. He belonged to the entire nation. At that time, I was a child so I couldn’t understand it, but I later realised that the family had to pay a heavy price to achieve freedom. Looking back, I think even then I had some inkling of why we, his grandchildren, couldn’t spend much time with him.

rajmohan gandhiHe recounted the values he inherited from his grandfather and father, “My father Devdas Gandhi brought us up on the same values – that money making was not to be the purpose of life, that service was to be part of life and that any service ought to be totally unconnected with personal advancement. He always stood for freedom of the Press and told us how important it was for the Press to be free.”

There is much to share on the subject of Bapu and the many anecdotes of his life and times, but I have to share this one thought: I wish Gandhi’s grandchildren had joined active politics. Who knows, the situation in the country could have been somewhat better with their presence? Rajmohan (in pic above), who had joined the Janata Dal briefly before leaving the party and politics after huge disillusionment, said, “Today, political parties have hardened their stance on questions of caste and religion. My inability to do that prevents me from finding a strong voice in any political party. As far as the Congress is concerned, the refusal of the party to fight out corruption keeps me away from it.

“The BJP is out of the question because of its ideology. I am too old to start a new party of movement. I would have done it years back but not now…today I find my skull too  fragile!”

Humra Quraishi is a senior journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

(Pictures courtesy www.thehindu.com, www.zimbio.com, www.theguardian.com, www.hss.iitm.ac.in)

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Big story

Kya hua tera waada?

State Government has still not taken action against errant cops who had arrested two Palghar girls for a Facebook post.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The two-day deadline set by Maharashtra State Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan for declaring the action his government would take in the matter of two Palghar-based girls arrested for a post on Facebook, has ended. And still, there is no word from Chavan or the State Home Minister RR Patil on what action they are contemplating against the alleged high-handed police action in arresting the girls, one of whom had questioned the shutdown of Mumbai following Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray’s death, and the other, who had ‘liked’ the comment.

In fact, the ongoing political tussle between the Congress and the NCP in the State has once again come to the fore with both sides using the Palghar arrests episode to deflect blame on the other. This could explain the NCP’s Nawab Malik exonerating RR Patil from blame with the comment, “RR Patil did not order the arrest of the two girls.” Meanwhile, the CM has declined to comment on the matter as yet.

It is now learnt that the Home Department is seeking legal counsel in the matter; RR Patil says that his department is considering making it mandatory for the police to seek legal opinion before making arrests falling under the purview of ‘hurting of sentiments’, and that he would approach the Centre to seek clarity on the IT Act, so that such arrests would be avoided in the future.

 

 

 

 

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Guest writer

Ek tha tiger

Prakash Bal Joshi writes on the life and times of Bal Keshav Thackeray, Maharashtra state’s most enigmatic politician to date.

Bal Keshav Thackeray who ruled Mumbai, the commercial capital of India for four decades and ran his right wing outfit, the Shiv Sena, with an iron fist, passed away today after a long battle with a pancreatic illness. With his passing has gone an enigma from state politics.

Born on January 23, 1926, he began his career as a cartoonist for The Free Press Journal and later created a sort of world record by addressing huge public rallies  year after year at the same venue – Shivaji Park – for a straight 46 years.

After working with a renowned cartoonist like RK Laxman, he launched and edited Marmik, a weekly periodical that carried cartoons drawn by Balasaheb. His subject was Marathi ethos. It was easy for him to turn the periodical into a mouthpiece for the Shiv Sena in 1966, to organise and fight for unemployed Marathi-speaking youths. Initially, he went after the South Indian population in the city, for depriving Marathi youth of clerical jobs in government as well as the private sector in Mumbai and around.

Under his stewardship, the Shiv Sena grew from strength to strength in the decade signalling the 1970s, when communist trade unions in Mumbai metropolis controlling most of the textile mills began losing their grip. The then Congress Chief Minister Vasantrao Naik used the aggressive Shiv Sena against Leftist organisations, as well as maverick trade union leader Datta Samant, who had launched a historic strike in textile mills in the state capital. Thackeray first slowly captured power in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the neighboring Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), later rising to turn the Shiv Sena into the most militant right wing Hindu nationalist organisation in Maharashtra. He molded his father ‘Prabodhankar’ Thackeray’s progressive philosophy to suit his line of action.

Thackeray grew from strength to strength and from one controversy to another; his rallies were always massive as people came from far off places to listen to his colourful speeches lampooning Congress leaders. Unlike traditional political leaders, he never considered caste factor while promoting his party workers or appointing them on plum posts. His political friends as well as opponents always respected him for his direct approach and ability to take decisions against popular sentiments.

He had penchant for making highly inflammable and controversial statements and always remain in the lime light. Due to political compulsions, the Congress government in the State never took any serious action against him, even when demands were made for strong action for his provocative statements. His appreciation of Hitler as an artist and orator created such a kind of controversy that even international media took note of this politician.

In the early 1980s, he changed his political track in a bid to expand his base. From merely talking about the ethos of the Marathi manoos, he began projecting the Shiv Sena as the most militant Hindutva organisation. Despite strong opposition from a section within the BJP – later to become its ally in the State, when Pramod Mahajan succeeded in forging an alliance owing to his excellent personal relations with Balasaheb – the relationship between the two remained intact and helped both the parties grow in the Congress-dominated State, and later catapulted the BJP to power in Delhi by aligning with like-minded regional parties.  As the Shiv Sena grew in rural Maharashtra, Thackeray started Saamna, a daily newspaper that till date serves as the party’s mouthpiece.

The Shiv Sena always remained a key player in Maharashtra, and when the saffron alliance came to power, Balasaheb decided to appoint Manohar Joshi as the State’s first non-Congress Chief Minister. At this time, he also earned the nickname ‘Remote Control’. In 1992, he claimed that his Sainiks were responsible for the demolition of the controversial Babri Masjid, and the Remote Control earned a new sobriquet – Hindu Hriday Samrat (Emperor of Hindus’ heart).

He also faced and weathered many political crises, as some of his trusted lieutenants left him for one or the other reason. Chhagan Bhujbal left when he opposed the Mandal Commission, later former Sena Chief Minister Narayan Rane left with his supporters and joined the Congress. A much bigger shock was in store when his nephew and supposed political heir Raj Thackeray left the Sena and set up his own political party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). In recent times, Thackeray Sr made several attempts to reconcile his son Uddhav and Raj, with his last attempt being the pre-recorded speech at Shivaji Park that he made in this year’s Dussehra rally. His appeal to the Marathi people to remain united would be his last appeal at his beloved Shivaji Park.

Prakash Bal Joshi is a veteran state political journalist and renowned artist. He last worked with The Times of India, Mumbai. 

(Picture courtesy www.hindustantimes.com) 

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