a new hope - kamal

i was a very keen observer of politics for many years. but not since i moved into the rural/farming life. in fact, i believe that we are always on the losing side.
even when the AAP phenomenon was developing, i remained disconnected, though marginally interested. while many may have moved on from the heydays of hope that anna hazare/kejriwal inspired, i believe that AAP phenomenon is still very worthwhile.

coming to the topic...
i am an unabashed fan of kamal hassan's movies. have been for a very long time.
since his turn into the political sphere, my non-existent interest in politics is showing signs of resurrection.
i strongly believe that kamal will be a positive force for our society.
there is skepticism and much rolling of eyes, especially from the upper classes.
i really like that he is taking his time to roll out his plans.
change needs time. we may be a society in a hurry, but speed rarely helps towards lasting change.
he is a fresh breath and i foresee his contribution to be very valuable. and i aim to be a part of this process.

being on the losing side

wendell berry responding  to the US Presidential elections, once again says it beautifully and precisely, "I’m still on the losing side and that’s where I’ve taken up my residence … If Hillary Clinton had won, I would still be on the losing side. And I would just have to go to work.”

we have been racking our brains for an appropriate response/comment to the many interesting events post november 2016. berry nails it.

as we enter the eighth year of this rural/agricultural based life, over the zillion interactions we have had, we can only smilingly nod at berry's wisdom and realise once again, that such a deep understanding will happen only to those who feel the earth between their fingers each day.

the demonetisation did not  affect us directly much, but its impact in our neighbouring areas has been severe. why would the govt do something this hurtful has been easily explained in this article.

new year greetings to all.

yunus is bangladesh's MMS !!

the hindu's haroon habib reports on the tussle between mohd yunus and the bangladesh government over control of grameen bank.

the latest news states that the bangladesh supreme court has upheld the government's removal of yunus from the post of Managing Director.
good for bangladesh.

i am convinced that america+world bank+IMF and their tribe has been grooming yunus to take on senior positions on the government and then pull their yoke. just like MMS has been doing their dirty work in india along with other economic hitmen like MSA and PC.

jaya ho!

this is election time in TN again.
in 2006, i had plumped for lok paritran. they are dead and gone.

i had written an open letter to 'captain' vijaykanth in 2006, hoping to see a new start in politics.
his performance, impressive as it was, in the 2 elections made it apparent that he was not going to make it on his own. a coalition was necessary for his survival.
happy to note that he made the appropriate choice.

i will be glad to see the end of DMK and karunanidhi and will be backing jayalalitha and the AIADMK coalition.
i think it will make sense for her to groom vijaykanth as her successor and hand over the reins of AIADMK to him after her time.

somehow, it does seem that a rotating system of political coalitions winning the elections is the norm.
so be it.

advani was spot on

over 2 years ago, pitched against the UPA coalition, the NDA prime ministerial candidate - advani - took a direct and headlong strategy of attacking MMS, calling him the 'weakest prime minister ever'.

while advani lost the battle, he could not have been more correct in his assessment of MMS.
gadkari says it very beautifully - 'PM has given DMK the freedom to loot the country'.

i was rejoicing in 2008, when the indian electorate returned the UPA into government.
in my support to UPA1 and my current disgust with UPA2, the commies cause the pivotal shift. wish they were still around.

colony

as per dictionary.com, colony means:
1. a group of people who leave their native country to form in a new land a settlement subject to, or connected with, the parent nation. 2. the country or district settled or colonized
3. any group of individuals having similar interests, occupations, etc., usually living in a particular locality; community: a colony of artists.
and a few other definitions...

scores of tamilians live in defined colonies in matunga and sion in mumbai (definition no. 1).
india was a british colony (definition no. 2).

my parents have lived in syndicate bank colony since 1975 (definition no. 3).

i have never thought of this word in any connotation other than the above definitions.
till Point Return happened and specifically the cycle trip.

in rural TN, colony refers to the part of the village where the lower castes (dalits) stay. see outlook's report where this definition is detailed.
the situation of the lower castes (dalits) in TN is pretty abysmal (a simple search with 'dalit tamilnadu' tells this story).
and contrary to popular rhetoric (of the dravidian parties - DMK, AIADMK, etc), the current atrocities on dalits are not inflicted by brahmins, but by those who are just above them in the caste hierarchy.
but it is true that the brahmins (including a few in my own family) hold the dalits (sudras) in extremely low regard.

so how does it look, out there in the villages and in the segregated 'colonies'.
1. they are filthier/dirtier
2. they are visibly poorer (from the type of huts)
3. the kids wear lesser clothes and look scruffier and scrawnier.
4. ambedkar statues and busts are aplenty.
5. plethora of paraphernalia of dalit based political parties like VCK (dalit panther's party) and BSP (of mayawati).

in addition to these visible differences, the colonies face a high level of violence inflicted by the higher castes and are easy target for religious conversions.

saddening as it was to assimilate these visuals and read the reports, there is a newer form of economic casteism evolving in the cities, which could be just as dangerous.

about time - netas under IT scanner

TOI reports that the IT dept has decided to scrutinise the poll affidavits of the candidates of the recent Lok Sabha polls as against their annual filings for income tax declarations.

about time. the extraordinary wealth that they are accumulating is obviously at our expense.

the recent mah state elections was analysed by Mah Election Watch - 200 crorepatis!!

association of democratic reforms (ADR India) is a must-follow election watchdog.
read their report on the MPs in the current Lok Sabha.

but since the chor and police are bhai-bhai, where do you think this investigation will go?

double estranged

the math is obvious.
bal thackeray has 2 sons - jaidev and uddhav.
jaidev married smita thackeray but they got a divorce. but she retained her place in the thackeray family, while jaidev was evicted. so jaidev is estranged from the thackeray family.............(1)

smita continued to increase her presence and power till bal thackeray was completely controlling the shiv sena. once uddhav took over, she has been relegated to the household activities.

but she makes it back in the news, announcing her intentions of joining the congress.
so that would mean she would be evicted. hence she will be estranged from the thackeray family...(2)

concluding from (1) and (2), there is a clear case of double estrangement.QED

PC vs Kishenji

the Union Home Minister vs the Naxal chief.
their interviews are the cover stories in this week's tehelka.

PC is (as usual), extremely articulate and lucid and is saying a lot of things which are positive indicators. such as:

1. There is no Operation Green Hunt. Name me an officer who has said this and I will take action.
2. I am totally opposed to staged encounters. It’s possible that in a gun battle between the police and those who take to the gun, people could get killed, but that’s unfortunately a battle. But if you arrest a person, he must be produced before a magistrate.
3. If any civil rights group or tribal representative will organise it, I am ready to come (to the affected areas).
4. I am prepared to request the Prime Minister to freeze all these MOUs and order a comprehensive review of all the MOUs that have been signed in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and South Bihar, and then decide which MOU should be implemented, with or without modification. I am prepared to request the PM to do that.

but he continually draws a line between centre and state, which i found jarring and a deliberate 'washing off hands' tactic.
also his response to the conflict on interests issues (he represent several mining companies as a lawyer) is quite tepid.

kishenji's interview in comparison is aggressive, unyielding, self-deluding and loaded with ungrounded idealism.

1. The PM should apologise to the tribals and withdraw all the troops deployed in these areas.
2. (long term vision is to)...is to gain political power, to establish new democracy, socialism and then communism.
3. (on fund raising)...There are no extortions. We collect taxes from the corporates and big bourgeoisie, but it’s not any different from the corporate sector funding the political parties.

guess that after one spends over 30 years fighting, one gets caught up in distrust and animosity.

parallely, arundhati roy is scathing in her last outlook cover story - Mr Chidambaram's War.

praying that these tentative feelers get stronger in the coming months and we see a full scale de-escalation of violence.

maha mess

the vidhan sabha election results are out.
maharashtra re-elects the Cong-NCP alliance into power.

my hopes have been powdered, but i had expected these results.

so here is a nice good bye to maharashtra.
the next 5 years will be destructive, if their previous 10 is any indication.

choices, tough ones

the LS elections just passed 5 months ago.
i did a prediction and fared miserably.

the maharashtra state elections are around the corner. on oct 13th 2009.
plans to boost voting percentage by shutting down the city is afoot.

against all that is me, i would prefer that the shiv sena-bjp combination comes to power as against the congress-ncp.
kumar ketkar's interview (loksatta editor) is a good read.
so is tvr shenoy's general analysis.
sainath has made it amply clear about how the farmers have suffered.

as much as i cant stand the right wing-hindutva chanting saffron combine, the cong-NCP have raped and plundered and pillaged maharashtra for the last 10 years.... a la ghazni, ghori et al.

so am hoping (not predicting) that ss-bjp come to power (sigh).

impending civil war!?

tehelka reports that we are at a warlike situation.
this war is against the maoists aka naxalites aka 'terrorists'.
these people are supposed to have resorted to excessive violence against the state to stake their claim/people's claim.
their main geography cover some states in central india - MP, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, AP, WB, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa. the government has made a monumental blunder by raising the Salwa Judum to counter the naxal violence.
people (with guns) against people (with guns) has never worked.

some simple nice people/orgs (like binayak sen/PUCL) have been accused of being naxalites/sympathisers.

coming back to the tehelka story which stung me:

Over this past year, the Home Ministry has been planning a major armed offensive against the Naxals, particularly in Chhattisgarh. According to reports, the plan involves stationing around 75,000 troops in the heartland of India — including special CRPF commandos, the ITBP and the BSF. Scattered newspaper accounts have spoken of forces being withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast; there is also talk of bringing in the feared Rashtriya Rifles — a battalion created specially for counter-insurgency work — and the purchase of bomb trucks, bomb blankets, bomb baskets, and sophisticated new weaponry. Minister Chidambaram has also said that if necessity dictates, he will bring in the special forces of the army.

why is it a scary thought?

The decision to launch such a massive armed operation on home ground — due to start this November — should have triggered animated political, civil society and media debate. But Operation Green Hunt — as the offensive is being termed — has been gathering force in almost complete silence. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Chidambaram have variously called Naxals — or “Maoists” — “the gravest threat to India’s internal security.” Perhaps a military offensive against them is the answer, but is it the only answer? Is it the best answer? Will it provide a solution? Who will be impacted by this offensive? What will be its repercussions? Who are we really declaring war on? What are we declaring war on? Are we going into this with eyes wide open? Is there anything we should have learned from the seemingly irreparable psychological mess in Kashmir and the Northeast? These are the questions a democratic society should be asking.

himanshu kumar needs to be heard.

As Himanshu Kumar, a Gandhian and the only human rights activist on ground zero in faraway Dantewada where Operation Green Hunt is to be launched, says, “We can all be agreed on the premise that Naxalism is a problem, but why are these poor people attracted to a politics that will end in death? Have we created such a heinous system that death is more attractive than the deprivations and humiliations this system doles out? If that is so, why should I defend this system? All that these people want is food, health care, school, clothes and their legitimate right over their land. Yet, instead of weaning them away by strengthening the democratic process, if we are going to run our democracy only on the strength of weapons, I fear we are entering a dangerous and irrepairable state. We are headed for civil war.”

i am seriously worried.

links

some of the good stuff i read recently:

1. dilip's simple but pointed analysis of the election results.
2. what we need to know about sleep, but dont ask.
3. aseem shrivastava on 'development without corporate globalisation'.

the cleanest backsides in india

belong to sonia and rahul gandhi.

33.33% hit rate

that is my success on the mumbai LS results.
only priya dutt and eknath gaikwad hit my jackpot.
i had anticipated the low turnout and the "angry muslim voters" to hurt the congress - NCP.
but it turns out that the MNS has run riot through the saffron combine and split the 'marathi manoos'.
net net, it is a better result for the nation.

waiting for the captain

i first wrote an open letter to vijaykanth - almost exactly 3 years ago.

since then, i have grown to like and appreciate DMDK and his style of politics. he seems to be willing to guts it out.
i share the same hope for telugu superstar chiranjeevi and his praja rajyam.

one of corporate india's success stories, pandiarajan (who started Ma Foi - the HR consulting firm), has joined DMDK.
pandiarajan is an family friend.

people are waiting for the captain to upturn the mess of the DMK and AIADMK.
i am also one of them.

media hyperventilates over mumbai low voter turnout

as initiated here, the low urban voting percentages has most people (in the media space) flummoxed.
especially the media went ballistic with their campaigns.
here is an analysis of why mumbai caused much anxiety.

Subsequent to 26/11, an illusion was created by the media that people in general and Mumbaikars in particular were so angry with the political class that they may vote with a vengeance. Since it did not happen in the first two phases, Mumbai being crucial because of 26/11 coupled with the high stakes of the channel in showing a higher percentage of polling, there was a scramble to get hold of Bollywood stars as they were coming out of the booths for a "vote you must" message. Anyone with an identifiable face was asked to show his or her left middle finger so as to "inspire" others to come out and vote. If you were watching the channels on April 30, it would seem that the elections were for some Film Chamber of Commerce and not for the 15^th Lok Sabha. Despite such an exercise to shore up credibility, the result was shocking. There was a drop of 6% in polling in Mumbai.

these campaigns will have to last another 2 more election for it to start yielding results.
will our impatient media friends be ready to guts it out?

mumbai LS elections

constituency - key candidates (my forecasted winner in bold).
note that the forecasted winner does not indicate my personal preferences in any way.

1. Mumbai South - milind deora (INC), mohan rawle (SS), bala nandgaonkar (MNS)
both deora and rawle are sitting MPs in this redrawn/delimited consituency. deora is charming and erudite and all that, but is likely to lose a close contest even though MNS will take away some of the marathi votes from SS.

2. Mumbai South Central - eknath gaikwad (INC), suresh gambhir (SS)
gaikwad was the giant killer from 2004. he beat, manohar joshi (ex- CM of maharashtra). gambhir is a newbie and may find it tough to wrest this from the incumbent.

3. Mumbai North Central - priya dutt (INC), mahesh jethmalani (BJP)
almost a no-contest.

4. Mumbai North East - kirit somaiyya (BJP), sanjay patil (NCP), shishir shinde (MNS)
somaiyya is a veteran social-political figure in this area and will run this through quite confortably.

5. Mumbai North West - gurudas kamat (INC), gajanan kirtikar (SS), abu asmi (SP)
close to call. i would think kirtikar will tubmle the might kamat as asmi is likely to be the spoiler with cutting heavily into the INC traditional north indian/muslim vote bank. my erstwhile acquaintance, rishi aggarwal is also contesting as an independant.

6. Mumbai North - ram naik (BJP), sanjay inrupam (INC)

others predicting.

since the last 2 months - internet and TV based campaigns are all over the place. we have been buffeted by the jaagore, one billion vote movements.
but check out the polling percentages in the silicon cities of india - pune and bangalore.
abysmal and atrocious. this is a lesson in understanding that "great campaigns do not translate to great results". it is like the model in the ad being more popular that the brand advertised for.
and large scale social changes take years to fruition.

other links:
1. election commission of india
2. indian election
3. websites of political parties

grass roots person

in hindi is ज़मीन से रगडा हुआ खिलाडी
came out in a conversation last evening with a friend.
we were talking politics, when he popped this gem.

WTF is in a name?

names are in the news again.
check the overflowing irony in this headline:
Name your children in Tamil: Stalin

mainstream tamilnadu govt/politics/governance is in the throes of extreme degeneration.
more later.