Passionate About India

What’s gone wrong with the Congress? My answer is: nothing! Absolutely nothing new has gone wrong with the Congress Party. If there was anything wrong, it’s been for about 70 years. There is nothing new that has happened. The media painted these elections as the wipeout of Congress and the mega win of BJP. I am totally stunned as to how the conclusion was reached. Which party ever (apart from the extreme case of CPM through brutal force and scientific rigging) has ever come back to power after 15 continuous years in power. The anti incumbency was sure to take its toll in Assam and Kerala. And yet, in these five state elections, Congress won almost double of BJP’s 64 seats; their winning ratio per seat contested was three times that of BJP. All of BJP seats came virtually from one of the five states while Congress’ seats were well distributed in all states. It’s also strange that the Congress PR machinery too – after two weeks of the same – failed to put this simple point across. Tho...

UPA recently called for a blanket ban on opinion polls in India, tagging these as subjective and manipulative. Undoubtedly, such a demand by a ruling government showcases the complexes the party is suffering from and the insecurity that is prevailing amongst the party members. How wonderful it would have been if, on the contrary, the party had called for a full fledged public debate between all Prime Ministerial candidates, and influenced the results of these opinion polls through their arguments and vision? At any given point of time, a public debate between political leaders goes a long way in shaping public perception, much better than opinion polls. Really, what could have been more transparent than a public debate where the potential candidates defend themselves and their parties’ policies? The history of such debates dates back to Abraham Lincoln times, when a series of seven debates took place that lasted for a few hours. However, it was in the 1970s that President Gerald For...

To me, this latest Narendra Modi versus Rahul Gandhi battle is definitely looking more like a circus with every passing day. And in this circus, a number of Congress and BJP spokespersons are looking like jokers; as are a lot of media personalities who are salivating at the prospect of an American Presidential style election – which this surely isn’t. However, yes, the more this debate is becoming bitterer, aggressive, and cantankerous, the more are the viewers watching it! So American style elections or not, this circus is certainly becoming entertaining! And say what I may, none of us can escape this circus till the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Television channels have in fact started live telecasts of speeches being delivered by Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi. Like in a Hindi blockbuster, there is this likable guy who was born with many silver, gold and diamond spoons. He is a child of dynasty and privilege and has the power to actually make a difference. Opposing him is a person ...

I had too busy a schedule and was not planning to watch television when the Gujarat election results were supposed to be declared. But my colleagues insisted that I must watch at least some news channel, even if just for entertainment! So I sat in front of the TV; and while surfing channels, I saw a lot of important journalists and analysts on Times Now and decided to stay there for a while. Honestly, I could not but help a Bangla expletive escape my mouth when I heard what some experts were saying. One was saying that Narendra Modi and his electoral victory was against the Constitution of India. Another was saying how the Gujarat verdict goes against the spirit of India and how the Idea of India is in danger. I always thought free and fair elections were a celebration of the Constitution, democracy and the Idea of India. So what was all this nonsense talk all about? The more I watched and the more I followed analysts in other news channels, I realized something simple: these individ...

It is the race of a lifetime. Who is most likely to be the Prime Minister of India in 2014? That is the billion rupee question that this issue of TSI seeks to answer. In an exclusive survey, Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi emerge as the two frontrunners. But by all accounts, it is going to be a close fight.   Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi are frontrunners for the Prime Minister's post in 2014. Would you say the two candidates are most appropriate, somewhat appropriate or not appropriate at all? Support for Rahul Gandhi among supporters of different parties  Net support for both leaders among supporters of different political parties Support for Narendra Modi among supporters of different parties   As Prime Minister, which politician according to you, would provide the most effective leadership to the country on the following issues: Has Narendra Modi's time finally come? That would be the germane of the exclusive survey condu...

Five very important things happened in the month of May for India. They have actually made an impact on our destiny. I will write just in a while about what those events are and how they affected India. Two words seem to have become very popular in popular media: governance and leadership. From America to Greece to Venezuela to India, the big journalists that I know and the media that I read and watch seem to complain that the world faces a crisis of governance and leadership. Even during my recent trip to America, I sensed a public cry about great leadership. I think almost all of us will agree that there is indeed a crisis. People across continents are angry and the media is doing a wonderful job of highlighting that anger. Frankly, I am more concerned about India. In my last editorial, I wrote that the Indian media seems to have forgotten its purpose and mission as the fourth pillar of our democracy. In fact, I often call it a demonocracy! But perhaps, it is also time to remember le...

My colleagues tell me that India changed decisively in 1982. I was in school so I don’t really remember the detailed newspaper headlines of those days. But I do know that the politics of Andhra Pradesh changed forever in 1982. Apparently, the then Chief Minister of AP T. Anjaiah wanted to pick up the slippers of Rajiv Gandhi. And history was made. Rajiv Gandhi was the anointed leader of Congress and somehow, fact or not, that gesture to please Rajiv Gandhi prompted a film star called NT Rama Rao to launch a movement and a party to reclaim Telugu pride. Rao and his Telugu Desam party swept the assembly elections in 1983. Cut to about 30 years down the line and you see something dramatically different; and yet dramatically similar. Despite the huge hype that surrounded the Congress campaign led by Rahul Gandhi, it is Akhilesh Yadav of a regional outfit called Samajwadi Party who has won. In 1982, when Rajiv Gandhi took over the reins, Tamil Nadu was the only major state where the Congres...

The future of the inheritor, and more importantly, of India, depends on fighting corruption. Here is how Pranabda can use the Budget to tame the monster February 28, 1958: “While we should always be prepared to reconsider the methods we adopt, should this become necessary, we have to strive with all our strength for our planned development by conserving all our resources, increasing production and trying to ensure progressively a more equitable distribution and to thus raise the standards of the great mass of our people,” - Jawaharlal Nehru as Union Finance Minister February 28, 1970: “It is generally accepted that social, economic and political stability is not possible without the growth of productive forces and the augmentation of national wealth. Also, that such growth and increase in wealth cannot be sustained without due regard to the welfare of the weaker sections of the community,” - Indira Gandhi as Union Finance Minister February 28, 1987: “Twenty nine years ago, presenting t...

Yes, it’s 20 years since Rajiv Gandhi’s death. And all my readers are very well aware that if there was one prime minister in my adult lifetime who ever made me feel proud as an Indian, it was him. I wish I could write this edit only on him, but I think many brilliant people, in Rajiv’s memory, have written on him in this issue; so my writing on him is of lesser importance – especially given the most likely fact that by the time this magazine reaches your hands, a huge and significant chapter in Indian politics would have come to an end. Yes, I am talking about the rule of CPM in Bengal. As far as all exit polls are concerned – except for some ludicrous CPM channel polls – it’s Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool party which is all set to sweep the polls in Bengal. In fact, if the leading channel is to be believed, then the current chief minister Budhdhadeb Bhattacharya is expected to lose too! So I think I can safely say it’s the end of CPM in Bengal. Or should I say the end of Stalinism in B...

it would be his biggest contribution to the nation! In retrospect, the results of the 2009 General Elections have proved that the legacy of the Gandhi family and its deep union with the Congress Party is not just for namesake. The handsome numbers of seats with which the UPA roared back to power proved many pundits wrong – though the fact is, a deeper analysis of the factors which made the decisive victory of UPA possible indicates that probably even the UPA did not expect the mandate to be so much in their favour. Frankly speaking in terms of performance, the previous term of the UPA regime was not at all exciting, at least not enough to earn them such a landslide win. Although they had taken a few steps in terms of NREGA (which they have further consolidated, post their win) or the rural loan waiver scheme, those alone couldn’t have been so decisive in making the victory so seamless. Moreover, the nation then had just recovered from the mayhem of 26/11 and was reeling under an econom...

These are questions which must be top-of-the-mind for anyone who is even slightly politically conscious or committed. For merit or otherwise, the leadership of the largest serving party of independent India is being thrust upon this man. The big question is – will he be able to deliver ever? For, given the way the Indian political scenario is taking shape – with regional parties replacing national parties at the state level – if Rahul fails to deliver, it might take the party a few decades more to regroup and regain its position. In the framework of this context, it was indeed heartening to read Rahul’s latest views on reviving the Congress party. For the first time, someone could openly say that the party lacks inner party democracy and that the high-command system must give way – issues all Congress supporters and detractors have always been critical about. Probably thanks to his status of being the son of the dynasty, Rahul could say what everyone has always felt, but never dared to...

Immediately after Rahul Gandhi was appointed as the General Secretary of the AICC, he – along with a dozen other appointees – demanded to the Honourable Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh that the ‘iconic’ National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) be extended to the entire nation. This is a quantum jump considering that the scheme encompasses only 330 districts currently. Well, how much of this calibrated action would eventually help the Congress Party in the forthcoming elections is a matter of debate, but the bigger contention is the scheme in itself, which – though brilliant in theory – in practice, has failed to deliver as tangible benefits for the poorer masses of the country in its current form. The NREGA has been drawing flak for long. And surprisingly, the criticism of this scheme has not just been coming from liberal economists and market analysts alone, for whom the fiscal health of the government is more important than anything else. In fact, the more vociferous protest...

The last week of September couldn’t have been better for India. While on the one hand, a young team, coming out fresh from the shadows of the seniors, went to an experimental championship – primarily as underdogs – and eventually came out as victors, the same week also saw Congress eventually coming out of its inhibitions and getting ready to hand over the mantle to a whole new generation of young men. Although the Congress had been deliberating on the move for long, it was only now that it got the gumption to go ahead to appoint Rahul Gandhi as the General Secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC). Till now, Rahul Gandhi had not been leading from the front and was more active at the backend. But then, eventually, he had to accept this reality that without him at the helm of affairs, the Congress does not have a future. More so at a point in time where there is mounting speculation of an early election on account of the Left allies falling apart on the Indo-US Nuclear deal. To b...