BJP and the path to 2014

Elections, local, state or central, it seems are now looked at as casual affairs by the party. I would be very surprised to know that anybody in the party's central brass is disappointed at the results.

We know that Rajnath Singh's tenure is coming to an end in a few months. ( Remorseless being that he is, he was expecting to get a renewal of license to further damage the party. Thankfully the RSS has stepped in.)

Before we talk more about the leadership change I think it deserves mention here that party policy forbids an individual from holding two positions at the same time.

It also deserves mention that the RSS, which is being more assertive on party affairs these days, is more vocal about its aversion to politics driven around personalities. Its belief that the situation the party finds itself in currently is a result of personality driven politics is not going to help further larger cause.

The party should not try to please the RSS when it tries to address the leadership issue.

That it is Narendra Modi who can bring the party back into form is an incontestable truth. But how eager the party is to accept this fact and to expedite the process of anointing him the chief is to be seen.

A look at the issue from the 'BJP & Gujarat' perspective:

1. Is Modi ready to takeover immediately?
2. Is the PARTY ready to shift Modi from Gujarat to Delhi considering the fact that Gujarat goes for elections in 2012? Its going to be looked at as a gamble. Is the party willing to go into the elections without Modi being the CM candidate? It has to if it wants to put national affairs ahead of anything else.
3. What if the party choses to wait until after those elections, which would be around the same time when the new president's tenure comes to an end? Party might want to take Modi off Gujarat after winning it. I dread this possibility. Truth is, it would lose precious time and will never be able to recover. BJP needs this time badly not just to instill confidence into and reinvigorate the strength of its cadres but also to reach out to possible allies in crucial states. To approach these issues casually is to concede defeat this early.

Once the party decides in a sure manner which way it wants to go it can then face the task of convincing the RSS. The RSS may be trying to play the big brother but that is only because BJP is being erratic and dysfunctional. Once the critical issue of leadership is resolved, putting its agenda across the table to the RSS, with Modi in the driving seat, is a battle half won with the RSS.

The RSS on its part has to chose between understanding the realities on ground and taking to principled positions. Its aversion to personalities is a cause that helps neither the BJP nor the nation. India as a nation is still too young and not discerned enough for the kind of polity the RSS wants to prescribe. There is no harm dreaming for it and trying to work towards creating a more mature political space in the country. Those changes if and when they happen would certainly do a lot more good but it has to be a bottom-up approach starting with block level units of the party.

It is a process that has to run parallel to the running of the country, something the BJP could hardly afford losing focus on trying to do, and cannot be done by pulling all the stops on everything else. The sooner the RSS appreciates this fact the better it is for the party.

Read more...

The Chinese threat ...

After the recent visit to Arunachal pradesh by the prime minister China has 'demanded' that the PM not provoke them by making such tours . Dalai Lama's visit to Tawang late this year will be another TV time for me . Chinese were not 'demanding' such things so aggressively and so openly in the past . The recent chinese incursions into Indian territory and in some instances painting the rocks in the region 'red' had infuriated the media . There rose a typhoon of 'chinese threat' , confusing and terrifying ordinary citizens .

So for all those people who rants about the possibility of china attacking India before 2012 they would have tell us what political objective does the chinese have to wage a war against India ? The terriotarial claims of the chinese are vacuous . Tawang and Arunachal pradesh were supposed to be a part of Tibetan empire some where in history , and so everything Tibetan is Chinese , they claim .Tibet itself was forcefully occupied by Chinese . The question is will China wage a war and create an international crisis by waging a war for a piece of land that was never theirs . The people of Arunachal pradesh are completely Indian , they have accepted the Indian democracy so fondly that 70% of people turned out for the recent election . So why does the chinese achieve through such ranting ? Bargaining chips in the ongoing negotiations and pressure on India to stop any anti-chinese alliances in south-east asia and across pacific and Indian ocean with US , Japan , Australia and south eastern countries . It's a message that Chinese would raise the stakes for India in the region if it dares to have strategic relationships with it's ideological enemies . India might not have 60 submarines and chinese airforce could be 3 times the Indians but if India has a strategic military cooperation with US and Japan that would catapult it's defence preparedness and would nullify chinese military superiority .The border incursions , aggressive cooperation with south-eastern countries and Arunachal pradesh is a simple book tactic by the chinese .

Having said that i am for completely modernising and augmenting India's military strength proportional to it's threat and not rely on it's 'allies' . We have to engage with China economically and culturally to raise the stakes for both the countries if China decides on something crazy . If China ever wages a war against India then it's image will take a severe beating in the world and the entire free world will turn against china . Even without any of those allies India can inflict unacceptable damage to chinese economy by blocking out Indian ocean . Chinese did not build those beautiful cities only to be destroyed in a nuclear for a piece of land called Arunachal pradesh that was never theirs .while we shouldn't get into the business of predicting we shouldn't be unnerved by Chinese pressure tactics . We should pursue our strategic relationships with US and Japan in the region , increase our co-operation both militarily and economically with south eastern coutries which have conflicts with China like Vietnam , Indonesis , Malaysia and Singapore . We shall move in silence towards conflict resolution with China by engaging with them through more trade and cultural exchange .

Read more...

Operation green hunt ...

The Indian state is at war . We are faced with war against naxals a war which we have to fight to decimate the communist insurgency . For years there has been a debate on the strategy that the Indian governement needs to adopt . Naxals were seen as victims of state insensitivity and not as a motivated and organized communist movement . As a result the government has always been consumed by morality and refused to take sweeping actions against naxals . Not even when their own statistics say that 1000 people are killed in naxal violence every year . Police man walked into those remote police stations only to be ambushed by a superior numbered naxal force , people were kidnapped murdered and in extreme cases of brutality even were beheaded , but the human right activists argue about the governments insensitivity to peoples problems and the naxals fame with the tribals . The human right organization is taken over by communists who believe that the problems of this country can be solved by communists autocracy .

In the last 5 years approximately 3500 innocent law abiding citizens of this country have been eliminated by naxals . A lot many were injured by naxal attacks . No body can dispute the fact that politicians could have done more to alleviate the problems of this country but it should be well acknowledged that this country's problems are huge and despite the best political effort there are going to people suffering from poverty . Of all the political systems tried in the history democracy is considered to be the best system . Democracy offers the country to change it's leadership peacefully which is denied in anyother autocractic systems . There is no place for violent armed struggles in a democratic system . This country needs more enterprise , more freedom and more democracy to move forward . As a country we should re-structure and re create our institutions to solve our problems . Violent armed struggles in a political system where there is genuine possibility to echo and manifest your political views is criminal . Naxals have committed those crimes for 4 decades now . They simply dont realise how big and powerful Indian state is and how much the democracy has been accepted by it's people .

This struggle is not about land struggles are government insensitivity to tribals and poor people .This is an ideological war and human right activists and intellectuals who are communists themselves wear this mask of activsts criticizing the government and protecting the insurgents from civilian anger . The Human right activists and left leaning intellectuals are valuable propaganda elements . Abraham Lincoln has declared a war against his own people . Your own people might adopt and cultivate and idea which would decimate the state , leaders should realize that not all problems could be solved by persuasion and absolute use of force is a necessary evil . It is necessary to decimate the naxal movement primarily to enhance the internal security of the country and to demonstrate to all Indians that a group of people cannot take weapons and threaten the very democracy of this country .Operation "Green hunt" will exactly do that .

Read more...

Trading Kashmir for terrorism

In response to Siddharth varadarajan's blog 'The road ahead for Indian and pakistan'

http://svaradarajan.blogspot.com/ i have written the below comment .

At the heights of Vietnam war when 500 American marines were dying every week , Richard Nixon has authorized Kissinger to talk to Vietnamese . That is a situation of collateral damage and perfectly understandable if you intend to talk to your enemy .But this is a case of terrorism . Pakistan has used terrorism as a bargaining tool and we all admit pakistan has achieved something out of it , atleast Indians were talking about 'options' .

Pakistan having realized this fully will keep the terrorism card open unless it gets a favourable terms on Kashmir . First they intend to get autonomy for Kashmir after that they will foment another political struggle to actually favour a merger with Pakistan . It will only complicate matters for India if India accepts any of the proposals linking Kashmir .

Terrorism should not be traded with concessions on Kashmir , it would be naive of India to believe that Pakistan will give up terrorism if some concessions were to be given on Kashmir .Pakistan has 1971 to avenge and will believe terrorism works if India gives concessions on Kashmir .

To give a death blow to Pakistan claims India should completely integrate Kashmir abolishing the special status Kashmir has today .India talking means offering concessions on Kashmir . This is frighteningly naive . Pakistan will reward concession on Kashmir with more terrorism . India should carry out hot pursuit , international pressure and internal sabotage . India should threaten pakistan of same treatment forcing pakistan to understand the vanity of it's terror policy .

Read more...

How did we miss twitter ?

I have found a great place for knowledge . "Twitter' gives us an unparalleled platform to follow great analysts . Dude Get into 'Twitter' right now ......

Read more...