India and the future of the world

It might seem that India has too much democracy - elections in one state or another every few months, a fragmented political establishment (with more than 40 parties represented in Parliament) and electoral processes that do little to strengthen a stable system built on two dominant parties. Indeed, some look with envy across the Himalayas at India's giant neighbour, China, which, untroubled by the vagaries of democratic politics, is in the process of stage-managing a long-planned leadership change completely from above.

By contrast, India strikes many as maddening, chaotic, divided and seemingly directionless as it muddles its way through the second decade of the 21st century. Another view, though, is that India is a country that has found in democracy the most effective way to manage its immense contradictions. This should be exciting, not alarming.

"India," wrote the late British historian EP Thompson, "is perhaps the most important country for the future of the world. All the convergent influences of the world run through this society... There is not a thought that is being thought in the West or East that is not active in some Indian mind."

India expresses itself in many ways. Its strength is that it has preserved an idea of itself as one land embracing many - a country that endures differences of caste, creed, colour, culture, conviction, costume and custom, yet still rallies around a democratic consensus.

That consensus is the simple principle that, in a democracy, it is not necessary to agree - except in terms of how to disagree. The reason that India, despite predictions of its imminent disintegration, has survived the stresses that have beset it during more than six decades of independence, is that it has maintained a consensus on how to manage without consensus. This is the India that Mahatma Gandhi fought to free, and its turbulent politics is well worth celebrating.

Shashi Tharoor in AlJazeera. Here

A case for Proportionate Electorate System

After the Punjab fiasco Congress must have courage to look into it and ponder over Proportionate Electoral System and its benefits. India must adopt a political system which strengthen its integrity yet be more representative.

It is also a fact that if BSP support PES, it has larger chances in the electoral system. Even today, as far as vote share is concern, Mayawati has got 26% of total votes polled in UP which should have given her 105 seats in the current assembly in PES.

India will pay a heavy price if we do not shift to a better political alternative which is more representative in nature and yet unite India and its diverse communities where those who do not vote to a particular parties do not get thrashed as happening in Uttar-Pradesh at the moment., a system which give minorities their right to participate in power on equitable term and not at the mercy of a dominant community.

The current trend of democracy revolve around ‘particular’ community in each states which cobble together a few others ‘like minded’ while pitched in against those who ‘differ’. This has resulted in chaos and virtual caste war in different parts of the country which media may be reporting some time and hiding at other. Uttar-Pradesh will go through this phase now and it is the biggest challenge but then the poll results of Uttar-Pradesh and Punjab are an opportunity for those who fights for genuine representative democracy to push forward agenda for Proportionate Electorate System.

Vidya Bhushan Rawat in Counter currents. Here

Rahul Gandhi's mistake and Akilesh Yadav's charm

Akhilesh is not an orator. But his speech is like a calm, even-toned drizzle in the abusive maelstrom of Uttar Pradesh politics. He lists the usual stuff: Mayawati’s corruption; her infamous statue-building hubris. He promises loan waivers to farmers, free education for girls, unemployment funds, roads, hospitals and electricity. He dismisses the BJP as a party not even in the fray but reserves some time to take down the Congress. He makes some fun of Rahul Gandhi for tearing his kurta and the much-talked of list of promises and suggests he might jump off the stage next in anger. Some of his talk draws laughs and cheers. Then he delivers his winning shot: he promises free laptops to the young and says he will ensure they can be used in Hindi and Urdu — and if necessary — in English too.

This might sound like unremarkable stuff, but Akhilesh is more astute than he seems. “I have been determined to keep our campaign positive,” he says. “Everything positive. No abuse. Nothing too caste specific. Just talk development and hope. That’s why our slogan this time is ‘ummeed ki cycle’ (cycle of hope).”

“Rahul made a mistake tearing that sheet of promises on the stage,” he continues. “What are elections but a promise, a chance at hope? It remains to be seen whether different parties will deliver what they promise, but if you tear up that hope then what else is there?” 

Shoma Chaudhury in Tehelka. Here 

Rahul Vs Akilesh

Only Rahul stood out in all this as a fresh face: a promise of a new, inclusive, development- driven politics. No one was betting that the Congress was going to finish first or even that it would do phenomenally well electorally, but there was a distinct swell of goodwill around Rahul, and his courageous bid to revive and recast the comatose Congress in UP was the big dramatic story.

Now, that story of fresh-faced hope has a virile new entrant. A challenger no one quite anticipated on this scale. Akhilesh’s optimism about a clean sweep may be a bit misplaced, but he’s undoubtedly upped the stakes for the SP and made Rahul’s own job more difficult. His older opponents’ disrepute must certainly have been part of Rahul’s long-term calculations. Suddenly now, there’s another young new leader with a clean image talking development and inclusiveness. Suddenly the youth (especially the rural youth), OBC and Muslim vote, target groups for both leaders, have not one but two new credible counters. Suddenly Rahul’s marathon lap has a sharp short-distance competitor.

Shoma Chaudhury in Tehelka. Here 

Muslims were behind SP's victory: Welfare Party leader

"Muslim vote played a crucial role in Samajwadi Party's landslide victory. Muslims shifted to SP as the Muslim youth were being targeted in the Congress - ruled states even as Mayawati let loose a wave harassment. Also, Muslims have rejected the caste-based politics propagated by smaller Muslim political parties and instead exhibited unity by voting for SP en masse." said Dr S Q R Ilyas in an interview to DNA.
Here.

Muslim representation has shot up to the highest-ever figure of 66 in the Uttar Pradesh (UP) assembly, with the community believed to have gone all out in favour of the winner, Samajwadi Party (SP). As many as 41 Muslims have got elected on the SP ticket, followed by 15 from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Just 4 Muslim candidates could make up on the Congress ticket, 3 from Peace Party, 2 from Qaumi Ekta Dal and one from Ittehade Millat Council.

As for the Congress, it’s not just in UP that Muslims rejected it, even in the Muslim majority seat of Malerkotla in Punjab they preferred to go with Akali Dal. In UP, the Congress’s magic mantra of ‘quota within quota’ clearly flopped, so much so that Union law minister Salman Khurshid’s wife Louise Khurshid trailed fifth from the Farrukhabad constituency. Salman Khurshid had risked the Election Commission wrath for enhancing this quota during aggressive campaigning.

While the outgoing assembly had 55 Muslim legislators — the highest since independence — the minority is no longer so in the newly-elected assembly, which has a record 66 legislators. Political analysts believe that Muslims overturned results in as many as 136 seats, with the main contenders — the SP and the BSP — fielding 85 Muslims each, while the Congress giving tickets to 59 Muslims. The BJP had fielded a lone Muslim candidate, Shakeel Alam from Sahaswan in Badaun district, who had to forfeit his deposit.

The 2012 results are being seen as en-masse endorsement of the SP and a rejection of Congress and small ‘Muslim’ parties by the Muslims in the state.

The Peace Party has won just four seats, while Rashtriya Ulema Council has drawn a blank. Shazil Islam Ansari, the lone winner from Ittehad Millat Council, was the wakf minister in the Mayawati ministry but denied a ticket by the BSP.

Secretary general of Welfare Party Dr SQR Ilyas told DNA that the Muslim vote played a crucial role in SP’s overwhelming victory. Explaining reasons for this shift, Dr Ilyas said the Muslim youth were being targeted in the Congress-ruled states even as Mayawati let loose a wave harassment. Also, Muslims have rejected the caste-based politics propagated by smaller Muslim political parties and instead exhibited unity by voting for SP en masse.

While professor and political analyst Dr Zahid Ali Khan of the Aligarh Muslim University said it was for the first time that the community overwhelmingly supported a single party, general secretary of All-India Milli Council Dr Manzoor Alam said the results were a warning for the Congress “The BSP neglected Muslims in a planned way in all spheres. Like other parties, it wanted to win over Muslims just on security issue,” said Alam

As for the reasons why Muslims rejected the Congress, Alam said it was mainly because the party continued targeting Muslim youth in terror charges.

“The Congress played a double game, it must appreciate that era of tokenism is over,” he added.

Iftikhar Gilani in DNA .Here

Aam Aadmi has slapped the UPA Government

 

The message from the five states is loud and clear. No to Congress (Read inefficiency, corruption,.cunningness). Congress has forgotten the Aam Aadmi. It has failed to check the rising prices. It wants to demolish the retail trade by allowing FDI in retail business. It wants to pursue a blatant pro-US foreign policy. It does not care for the welfare of the citizens.

An emphatic NO to BJP (read Hindutva, anti-Muslim, anti-Dalit). Bharatiya Janata Party has landed in noman's island. It does not have a clear vision for the multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious, multi-cultural plural nation that is called INDIA. It's divisive policies and politics has failed to strike a chord with the peace loving Aam Aadmi. It has refused to shed the burden of Narendra Modi. It has no agenda and has lost its relevance.

And a Big NO to BSP (read inefficiency, autocracy, corruption). Mayawati has lost a golden chance to evolve into a statesman and towering leader. She failed to cultivate, nourish, and groom second line of leadership. She has no clear vision for the emancipation of the dalits and her alliance with the Brahmins has taken away the sheen from her sole armour.

And a fresh lease of life for the THIRD FRONT. Both Congress and BJP have failed to care for the welfare of the Aam Aadmi. Hope for the emergence of the third front has got revived. Mulayam Singh Yadav has  bigger role to play at the centre.

Once again Muslims have played their cards well and voted tactically defeating both Congress and BJP. The number of Muslim MLAs has risen to all time high 69. The emergence of the Peace Party is significant.  Here

Anti-Congressism gets a new lease of life

Rahul Gandhi’s perpetual attempt to run as an outsider, as if the Congress is not responsible for the tales of woe he recounts, is patently disingenuous. Every single issue he took up, from Bhatta-Parsaul to Bundelkhand, had no follow-up.

There is little aspirational about the Congress politics: it is still tethered to a discourse of noblesse oblige that is out of touch with the dynamism of a society. And personal sincerity has done little to transform the party’s political structure. There are limits to leadership by avoidance. And there are limits to how much he can substitute for local candidates. Rahul, like Rajiv Gandhi, risks being done in by sycophants masquerading as strategists, communalists masquerading as minority protectors, and party officials who do not think that governance matters.

The implications for national politics are immense. Even if it is magnanimous, the incentive for the SP is to ensure that the Congress does not grow. Anti-Congressism also gets a new lease of life. The motive for every party is now to demonstrate that the Congress cannot govern. The Central government has been facing a crisis of authority. Its moral image has been battered; its capacity for negotiating with regional parties has been diminished. These results only exacerbate this crisis of authority. In the short run, expect a rocky political ride. It will take something drastic to reverse this erosion of authority.

Bhanu Pratap Mehta in Indian Express. Here

  

Akilesh Vs Rahul

The emergence of Akhilesh Yadav, son of Mulayam Singh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party which has won a spectacular victory on its own, as the new shining star of UP politics was totally unexpected by large sections of the public and the Congress Party. The electorate tired of old faces and old style of politics and gimmicks was looking for a Mr.Different and they saw Mr.Different in Akhilesh. Whereas they found Rahul young in looks, but old in thinking and articulation, they found Akhilesh young in looks and young and refreshingly different in his thinking and articulation.

When one saw Akhilesh and Rahul on the TV screen, the difference between the two young personalities was striking. What came out in the case of Akhilesh was his earnestness, seriousness, sincerity and his ability to articulate in a manner that could carry conviction to the public. What came out in the case of Rahul was a lack of such qualities. Akhilesh’s ability to connect instantly with the public and the media stood in refreshing contrast to the inability of Rahul to do so.

B. Raman. Here