The last few days have been some kind of a roller coaster ride for the people of Andhra Pradesh, especially those from Hyderabad. Mr. KCR's fast unto death for separate Telangana has stirred up a hornet's nest. The separate Telangana stir was going on full throttle and its repercussions were being felt elsewhere in faraway Rayalseema when the state BJP leader Ms. K. Shanta Reddy(does anybody know her anyway ??) called for a dialogue for a separate Rayalseema state. The BJP's call for such a dialogue is outrageous. At a time when enough heartache has been caused due to the ongoing separate Telangana agitation, its rather surprising that the BJP had the temerity to make such a mindless call. The statement by Ms. Shanta Reddy that, demands for separate statehood are the handiwork of unemployed politicians, is itself a self reflecting one. At this moment there isn't any party in the AP other than the BJP whose leaders are unemployed. Probably she was trying to find some means of employment for her poor party men. But we don't see that happening in the near future even if the state is trifurcated, as the BJP has no base whatsoever in any regions of Andhra Pradesh. The only time the party managed to find some employment was when they tied up with the TDP, something which proved too costly for Mr. Chandra Babu Naidu as he came out battered and bruised from the alliance having lost his credibility as well as votes and most importantly having lost something he cherished the most i.e. Power.
Many a times these politicians cite non development and backwardness as excuses for demanding separate statehood. But who is actually responsible for such backwardness ? Is it not the responsibility of the elected representatives to look after the development of their respective constituencies ? The only discernible reason why certain areas are lagging behind in development, is the corrupt practices of these politicians, whose hunger for power and money overrides all other considerations. Unfortunately our elected representatives are also the biggest hoarders and money launderers we would ever find(Remember Madhu Koda ??). No surprises then that Mr. Rajiv Gandhi once famously said that only 16 paise out of every 1 rupee sanctioned by the government reaches its desired destination. No small observation this, coming from a former Prime Minister himself. What it means is that a staggering 84% is gobbled up by the middlemen that includes ministers, MLAs and the bureaucracy.
While we may not forgive our next door neighbour for even minor trespasses, we often seem to forget and forgive our politicians, who by now have turned into habitual offenders. The problem with we Indians is that we adore our politicians as much as we love to hate them. Time and again we grant them power, and time and again we are taken for granted. This eventually results in building up of resentment among the people which makes them further vulnerable to the mind games being played by the politicians. The unscrupulous politician again exploits this vulnerability to the hilt and to his favour and the end result is that we have worthless people like Mr. KCR turning into overnight messiahs.
For Mr. KCR there appears to be some kind of a magic wand that would transform Telangana from a backward region into a modern day Rome once the bifurcation takes place. Even the resource rich state, the not so newly created state of Jharkhand that was craved out of Bihar, hasn't seen any ground breaking development since its creation, so one wonders how that is going to happen for Telangana(if created) sans any resources. One wonders why Mr. KCR never bothered to raise the Telangana issue when he was the speaker during his TDP days. His love for Telangana seems to have trebled only after he was kicked out of the TDP by Mr. Chandra Babu Naidu. Probably in this game of one upmanship with Mr. Naidu he has gone a bit too far, so much so that an entire state is on the verge of collapse.
Student unions have always acted as instruments of terror in the hands of politicians. The reason ? They get easily worked up and once provoked and unleashed, they are like an exploding oil well, always difficult to control. In this respect Mr. KCR is playing with fire, literally. Using the student community for political causes is a devilish ploy. Students, the future of this country, indulging in unlawful activities completely by themselves is something very unfathomable. There is more to it than what meets the eye.
It appears as if sowing seeds of hatred is the easiest way for the Indian politicians to attain political gratification. When a Telugu speaking Telanganite can't stand a Telugu speaking Andhrite or vice versa then why blame a certain Marathi speaking Raj Thackeray for whipping up regional sentiments against Hindi speaking North Indians. Both KCR and Raj Thackeray are proponents of hate filled divisive politics and one gets the feeling that India will be better off without these thugs in white robes. People like KCR and Raj Thackery are hell bent on shredding to pieces, India's proud history of 'unity in diversity', and the common man is playing into their hands by towing their line blindly. We always seem to forget the age old saying that "United We Stand, Divided We Fall".
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Barack Nobel Obama
Eureka! The American president Mr. Barack Hussein Obama has been conferred The Nobel Peace Prize. Congratulations Mr. Obama and thank you the Nobel jury for giving us something to laugh about. It is common knowledge that almost all awards are rigged and bogus barring a few viz. the Oscars, the Pulitzer award, the Man Booker award and the Nobel prize to name a few. But this peace Nobel to Mr. Obama runs the risk of causing a great dent to the clean image of the Nobel Prizes. Alfred Nobel, in whose remembrance the Nobel Prizes are given, must be turning in his grave thinking about the audacity of the selection for the peace Nobel. By these standards (with all due respect to Mr. Obama) even Asif Ali Zardari would start dreaming about winning a Nobel one day (Isn't he fighting the most deadly war against terrorism ? Atleast he says so) !
The press release from The White House says that Mr. Obama is humbled and surprised at being chosen for such a coveted honour. Humbled he may be, but surprised we are not! Given the clout of the US and the kind of influence that it wields, they could have managed to secure the prize even for Mr. George Bush, had he not been such a hate figure across the world. Deep down inside his heart Mr. Obama himself knows that he does not deserve the honour and to his credit has acknowledged the same in public.
What has Mr. Obama done to merit the peace Nobel? The American forces haven't yet started their withdrawal from Iraq, war still rages in Afghanistan, Israel still continues its atrocious acts in Palestine, diplomatic relations with Iran have hit rock bottom, North Korea still behaves as if George Bush is helming the US presidency and to top it all Pakistan still continues to be the hub of terrorism, that too with diverted American aid (something that even the American intelligence agencies have acknowledged). Weren't all these causes that the American president (read Mr. Obama) championed about before he actually became the president?
Agreed that winning the elections for the premiership of America in a racially charged atmosphere is no child's play and by doing so Mr. Obama has done a world of good to the sagging image of America, but that doesn't make you eligible for the Nobel Prize, does it? That's the only noticeable thing Mr. Obama has done in the past one year other than making promises and getting his daughters a pet dog. Mrs. Hillary Clinton must be rueing her missed chances. Her's is a case of being so near yet so far! For, her victory in the elections would have been hailed as the victory for gender equality and women liberation and who knows, landed her a Nobel Prize.
Quite a few world leaders have said and quite rightly that this peace Nobel for Mr. Obama has come way too early, too fast. There's no denying the fact that Mr. Obama has vision and genuine concern for world peace, but he must put his vision into work first. Simply attending the climate change conference and showing cooperation with the United Nations cannot be the criteria for winning the Nobel Peace Prize (Sorry Mr. Ban Ki Moon). The Indian prime minister, the honourable Dr. Manmohan Singh has a zillion more achievements to his credit in the economic sector and has done much more for the Indian economy (considering India's status as a developing nation) than the Clintons, the Obamas or the Putins have collectively done for their respective countries, yet he is not considered good enough for the Nobel Prize for economics ! Speak of double standards !!
When Mr. Nelson Mandela won the Nobel Prize the world knew about his contributions, when Mr. Yasser Arafat won it the world knew how deserving a candidate he was, but with Mr. Obama the world is divided with some trying to reason it and some searching reasons for it. This peace Nobel for Mr. Obama is nothing but an extension of the world's obsession with the phenomenon called Barack Hussein Obama. At a time when his approval ratings are on a decline in his own country Mr. Obama continues to be the toast of the town outside of it.
The press release from The White House says that Mr. Obama is humbled and surprised at being chosen for such a coveted honour. Humbled he may be, but surprised we are not! Given the clout of the US and the kind of influence that it wields, they could have managed to secure the prize even for Mr. George Bush, had he not been such a hate figure across the world. Deep down inside his heart Mr. Obama himself knows that he does not deserve the honour and to his credit has acknowledged the same in public.
What has Mr. Obama done to merit the peace Nobel? The American forces haven't yet started their withdrawal from Iraq, war still rages in Afghanistan, Israel still continues its atrocious acts in Palestine, diplomatic relations with Iran have hit rock bottom, North Korea still behaves as if George Bush is helming the US presidency and to top it all Pakistan still continues to be the hub of terrorism, that too with diverted American aid (something that even the American intelligence agencies have acknowledged). Weren't all these causes that the American president (read Mr. Obama) championed about before he actually became the president?
Agreed that winning the elections for the premiership of America in a racially charged atmosphere is no child's play and by doing so Mr. Obama has done a world of good to the sagging image of America, but that doesn't make you eligible for the Nobel Prize, does it? That's the only noticeable thing Mr. Obama has done in the past one year other than making promises and getting his daughters a pet dog. Mrs. Hillary Clinton must be rueing her missed chances. Her's is a case of being so near yet so far! For, her victory in the elections would have been hailed as the victory for gender equality and women liberation and who knows, landed her a Nobel Prize.
Quite a few world leaders have said and quite rightly that this peace Nobel for Mr. Obama has come way too early, too fast. There's no denying the fact that Mr. Obama has vision and genuine concern for world peace, but he must put his vision into work first. Simply attending the climate change conference and showing cooperation with the United Nations cannot be the criteria for winning the Nobel Peace Prize (Sorry Mr. Ban Ki Moon). The Indian prime minister, the honourable Dr. Manmohan Singh has a zillion more achievements to his credit in the economic sector and has done much more for the Indian economy (considering India's status as a developing nation) than the Clintons, the Obamas or the Putins have collectively done for their respective countries, yet he is not considered good enough for the Nobel Prize for economics ! Speak of double standards !!
When Mr. Nelson Mandela won the Nobel Prize the world knew about his contributions, when Mr. Yasser Arafat won it the world knew how deserving a candidate he was, but with Mr. Obama the world is divided with some trying to reason it and some searching reasons for it. This peace Nobel for Mr. Obama is nothing but an extension of the world's obsession with the phenomenon called Barack Hussein Obama. At a time when his approval ratings are on a decline in his own country Mr. Obama continues to be the toast of the town outside of it.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Succession Blues In Andhra Pradesh
The succession war in Andhra Pradesh is turning uglier by the day. It is rather unfortunate that Dr. Rajsekhar Reddy's death has undone what he himself manfully strived to achieve i.e. unity, in a party torn with factionism and coterie culture. The growing clamour for the CLP meet by legislators and party workers alike notwithstanding, the continued reluctance by the party high command and PCC to convene the same are nothing but attempts by the powers to be to save face by not facing the eventuality. In this backdrop one cannot blame Mr. Rosaiah for clinging on to the desire to continue as the Chief Minister for he, at the moment appears to be the most efficient and capable person to occupy the high chair. Fate has presented him on a platter his 15 seconds to fame and it is but natural that in his heydays as politician he wants to go out in glory. But the question is, can or how long can he survive not being the democratic choice within his own party ? What good it will do to the party in the longer run to have a leader who does not enjoy the support and confidence of his fellow party men ? Will it not be detrimental to the future prospects of the party to have split loyalties within its ranks ?
Mr. Rosaiah has been an able minister and statesman thus far and if he has to become the CM it has to be with the support of all sections of the party and not because people sitting in the corridors of power at Delhi wished so. It is a matter concerning the people of Andhra Pradesh and it must be ensured that popular choice is taken care of.
Mr. Rosaiah has been an able minister and statesman thus far and if he has to become the CM it has to be with the support of all sections of the party and not because people sitting in the corridors of power at Delhi wished so. It is a matter concerning the people of Andhra Pradesh and it must be ensured that popular choice is taken care of.
Friday, September 4, 2009
RIP YSR : A Tribute
A gripping sense of loss has engulfed the state that has sent an entire state into mourning. YSR is no more ! What a great loss ! The popular leader that he was, it is difficult to come to terms with his death. A life that promised so much was cut short by the cruel hands of fate. A man who dedicated himself for the cause of others deserved better. That a life, that strived to make the lives of others better came to such an abrupt end is indeed sad and heartbreaking !
To simply say that Dr. Rajshekhar Reddy was adored and admired by masses and classes alike would be an understatement. His popularity as a politician and as a leader was unparalled. To many he was not merely a political figure, but a father figure. Though actually belonging to the Rayalseema region, through his welfare schemes and projects he endeared himself to people accross the state. He was truely a common man's man in the sense that he found acceptability cutting accross region, religion, caste and lineage. A rarity in modern day politics. A true leader indeed !
Dr. Rajshekhar Reddy as a politician belonged to the rare breed of earnest leaders. How often do we see leaders making promises before elections and then doing the vanishing act afterwards. Always the one to keep his word, Dr. Reddy was different in the sense that he always delivered more than what he promised. All his schemes are testemonial to his unwavering desire for the upliftment of the downtrodden. The state will always remain indebted to him for schemes like Free Power, Jalayagnam, Indiramma Houses, Rajiv Arogyasri, Oldage Pension, Subsidised Rice, Student Scholarship, Student Fee Reimbursement and many other simillar schemes that have brought smiles on many a faces. Even the Rachhabanda program that he was undertaking at the time of the crash was supposed to make the state delivery mechanism more effective so that no deserving person is deprived of what is rightfully his. He was the only CM who did anything worth mentioning for the minorities for which the minority community will hold him dear for years to come.
His demise has created a void in the state politics that would be difficult to fill if not impossible. Great leaders are not born overnight. Leaders like YSR come once in a lifetime and the loss of such leaders is always difficult to comprehend. There will always be people who will try to run him down by saying all kinds of things about him. He was afterall human and he had his flaws, but his virtues far outweigh his vice if any. And it is by the worth of his virtues that he bacame what he was till his last breath : an extraordinarily gifted politician and an extremely popular leader. The fact remains that even his most bitter adversaries would vouch for his commitment towards public welfare and admit that he championed the cause of the poor and the needy like none other. And at the end of the day that is what matters.
In his death Andhra Pradesh has lost a visionary. As a Chief Minister he was a cut above everyone else, a CM par excellence. Andhra Pradesh will probably never ever see another leader of his ilk and stature. He was destined for greatness in life and this untimely death has made him immortal in that he will always remain in the hearts of his people whom he loved so much and who in turn loved him so much. The rest of the world will remember him as the messiah of the poor and the needy. Long live YSR, long live Raja !
To simply say that Dr. Rajshekhar Reddy was adored and admired by masses and classes alike would be an understatement. His popularity as a politician and as a leader was unparalled. To many he was not merely a political figure, but a father figure. Though actually belonging to the Rayalseema region, through his welfare schemes and projects he endeared himself to people accross the state. He was truely a common man's man in the sense that he found acceptability cutting accross region, religion, caste and lineage. A rarity in modern day politics. A true leader indeed !
Dr. Rajshekhar Reddy as a politician belonged to the rare breed of earnest leaders. How often do we see leaders making promises before elections and then doing the vanishing act afterwards. Always the one to keep his word, Dr. Reddy was different in the sense that he always delivered more than what he promised. All his schemes are testemonial to his unwavering desire for the upliftment of the downtrodden. The state will always remain indebted to him for schemes like Free Power, Jalayagnam, Indiramma Houses, Rajiv Arogyasri, Oldage Pension, Subsidised Rice, Student Scholarship, Student Fee Reimbursement and many other simillar schemes that have brought smiles on many a faces. Even the Rachhabanda program that he was undertaking at the time of the crash was supposed to make the state delivery mechanism more effective so that no deserving person is deprived of what is rightfully his. He was the only CM who did anything worth mentioning for the minorities for which the minority community will hold him dear for years to come.
His demise has created a void in the state politics that would be difficult to fill if not impossible. Great leaders are not born overnight. Leaders like YSR come once in a lifetime and the loss of such leaders is always difficult to comprehend. There will always be people who will try to run him down by saying all kinds of things about him. He was afterall human and he had his flaws, but his virtues far outweigh his vice if any. And it is by the worth of his virtues that he bacame what he was till his last breath : an extraordinarily gifted politician and an extremely popular leader. The fact remains that even his most bitter adversaries would vouch for his commitment towards public welfare and admit that he championed the cause of the poor and the needy like none other. And at the end of the day that is what matters.
In his death Andhra Pradesh has lost a visionary. As a Chief Minister he was a cut above everyone else, a CM par excellence. Andhra Pradesh will probably never ever see another leader of his ilk and stature. He was destined for greatness in life and this untimely death has made him immortal in that he will always remain in the hearts of his people whom he loved so much and who in turn loved him so much. The rest of the world will remember him as the messiah of the poor and the needy. Long live YSR, long live Raja !
Accidental Blog
My first experience with blogging was something accidental. My first blog was not meant to be a blog. I had written a letter to the editor of the Deccan Chronicle in response to an article. Part of the letter got published the next day and to my surprise the complete letter ended up on the newspaper's blog generating so much response (136 comments) that it flattered me. That's why I call it an accidental blog. Here is the permanent link of the aforesaid blog on DC's web page;
Check it out and feel free to comment.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)