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.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
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.
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