Why I am a Hindu as explained by Perimpilavil Ramadasan and forwarded by C.P.Valsala

On Thu, May 24, 2012 at 4:25 PM, Valsala Gopi wrote:

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: mohan chandran
To: valsala.gopi@yahoo.com; V RAGHUNATHAN ; VINOD UNNIKRISHNAN ; SANUP BHASKARAN ; BALAKRISHNAN ERADY ; NARAYANAN KVG ; JAYA UNNI ; haridasan46@gmail.com; GOURI ERADY ; GOPI KRISHNAN ; gokulachandran@gmail.com; SMRUTHI MANOJ ; ANUP BHASKARAN ; ramakrishnan_tm@yahoo.co.in; CHITHRA K.KUTTY  
Sent: Thursday, 24 May 2012 10:29 AM
Subject: Fw: : WHY I AM A HINDU.
Hidus must read fully so that we can explain what is Hinduism

--- On Mon, 21/5/12, Perimpilavil Ramadasan wrote:

From: Perimpilavil Ramadasan
Subject: Fw: : WHY I AM A HINDU.
To: "Arun Menon" , "Vijayan Perumpilavil" , "Rohini jayakumar" , "baby shree" , "cd gautam" , "Gen. Ashok Kumar " , "Vinod Menon" , "Sabarinathan" , "rajkamal shrivastav" , "MOHANACHANDRAN" , "Ashish" , "Chandrika Ramadasan"
Date: Monday, 21 May, 2012, 6:56 PM

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Ramachandra Subramanyam
To: shobha  
Sent: Sunday, May 20, 2012 8:38 AM
Subject: FW: : WHY I AM A HINDU.


WHY  I AM    HINDU

MUST READ  Four years ago, I was flying from JFK NY Airport to SFO to attend a meeting at Monterey , CA. An American girl was sitting on the right side, near the window seat. It indeed was a long journey - it would take nearly seven hours. I was surprised to see the young girl reading a Bible ...unusual for a  young American. After some time. she smiled and we had few getting-acquainted words.  I told her that I am from India
Then suddenly the girl asked: 'What's your faith?' 'What?' I didn't understand the question..
'I mean, what's your religion? Are you a Christian? Or a Muslim?'
'No!' I replied, 'I am neither Christian nor Muslim'. Apparently she appeared shocked to listen to that. 'Then who are you?'

'I am a Hindu', I said. She looked at me as if she was seeing a caged animal. She could not understand what I was talking about.
A common man in Europe or US knows about Christianity and Islam, as they are the leading religions of the world today. But a Hindu, what?
I explained to her - I am born to a Hindu father and Hindu mother. Therefore, I am a Hindu by birth.
'Who is your prophet?' she asked.
'We don't have a prophet,' I replied.
'What's your Holy Book?'
'We don't have a single Holy Book, but we have hundreds and thousands of philosophical and sacred scriptures,' I replied.
'Oh, come on at least tell me who is your God?'
'What do you mean by that?'
'Like we have Jesus and Muslims have Allah - don't you have a God?'
I thought for a moment. Muslims and Christians believe one God (Male God) who created the world and takes an interest in the humans who inhabit it. Her mind is conditioned with that kind of belief.
According to her (or anybody who doesn't know about Hinduism), a religion needs to have one Prophet, one Holy book and one God. The mind is so conditioned and rigidly narrowed down to such a notion that anything else is not acceptable. I understood her perception and concept about faith.. You can't compare Hinduism with any of the present leading religions where you have to believe in one concept of god.
I tried to explain to her: 'You can believe in one god and he can be a Hindu.. You may believe in multiple deities and still you can be a Hindu. What's more - you may not believe in god at all, still you can be a Hindu. An atheist can also be a Hindu.'
This sounded very crazy to her. She couldn't imagine a religion so unorganized, still surviving for thousands of years, even after onslaught from foreign forces.
'I don't understand but it seems very interesting. Are you religious?'
What can I tell to this American girl?
I said: 'I do not go to temple regularly. I do not make any regular rituals. I have learned some of the rituals in my younger days. I still enjoy doing it sometimes..'
'Enjoy? Are you not afraid of God?'
'God is a friend. No- I am not afraid of God. Nobody has made any compulsions on me to perform these rituals regularly.'
She thought for a while and then asked: 'Have you ever thought of converting to any other religion?'
'Why should I? Even if I challenge some of the rituals and faith in Hinduism, nobody can convert me from Hinduism. Because, being a Hindu allows me to think independently and objectively, without conditioning. I remain as a Hindu never by force, but choice.' I told her that Hinduism is not a religion, but a set of beliefs and practices. It is not a religion like Christianity or Islam because it is not founded by any one person or does not have an organized controlling body like the Church or the Order, I added. There is no institution or authority..
'So, you don't believe in God?' she wanted everything in black and white.
'I didn't say that. I do not discard the divine reality. Our scripture, or Sruthis or Smrithis - Vedas and Upanishads or the Gita - say God might be there or he might not be there. But we pray to that supreme abstract authority (Para Brahma) that is the creator of this universe.'
'Why can't you believe in one personal God?'
'We have a concept - abstract - not a personal god. The concept or notion of a personal God, hiding behind the clouds of secrecy, telling us irrational stories through few men whom he sends as messengers, demanding us to worship him or punish us, does not make sense. I don't think that God is as silly as an autocratic emperor who wants others to respect him or fear him.' I told her that such notions are just fancies of less educated human imagination and fallacies, adding that generally ethnic religious practitioners in Hinduism believe in personal gods. The entry level Hinduism has over-whelming superstitions too. The philosophical side of Hinduism negates all superstitions..
'Good that you agree God might exist. You told that you pray. What is your prayer then?'
'Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti,'
'Funny,' she laughed, 'What does it mean?'
'May all the beings in all the worlds be happy. Om Peace, Peace, Peace.'
'Hmm ..very interesting.. I want to learn more about this religion. It is so democratic, broad-minded and free' she exclaimed. 'The fact is Hinduism is a religion of the individual, for the individual and by the individual with its roots in the Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita.. It is all about an individual approaching a personal God in an individual way according to his temperament and inner evolution - it is as simple as that.'
'How does anybody convert to Hinduism?'
'Nobody can convert you to Hinduism, because it is not a religion, but a set of beliefs and practices. Everything is acceptable in Hinduism because there is no single authority or organization either to accept it or to reject it or to oppose it on behalf of Hinduism.'
I told her - if you look for meaning in life, don't look for it in religions; don't go from one cult to another or from one guru to the next..
For a real seeker, I told her, the Bible itself gives guidelines when it says ' Kingdom of God is within you.' I reminded her of Christ's teaching about the love that we have for each other. That is where you can find the meaning of life.
Loving each and every creation of the God is absolute and real. 'Isavasyam idam sarvam' Isam (the God) is present (inhabits) here everywhere - nothing exists separate from the God, because God is present everywhere. Respect every living being and non-living things as God. That's what Hinduism teaches you.
Hinduism is referred to as Sanathana Dharma, the eternal faith. It is based on the practice of Dharma, the code of life. The most important aspect of Hinduism is being truthful to oneself. Hinduism has no monopoly on ideas.- It is open to all. Hindus believe in one God (not a personal one) expressed in different forms. For them, God is timeless and formless entity.
Ancestors of today's Hindus believe in eternal truths and cosmic laws and these truths are opened to anyone who seeks them. But there is a section of Hindus who are either superstitious or turned fanatic to make this an organized religion like others. The British coin the word 'Hindu' and considered it as a religion.
I said: 'Religions have become an MLM (multi-level- marketing) industry that has been trying to expand the market share by conversion. The biggest business in today's world is Spirituality. Hinduism is no exception'
I am a Hindu primarily because it professes Non-violence - 'Ahimsa Paramo Dharma' - Non violence is the highest duty. I am a Hindu because it doesn't condition my mind with any faith system.
A man/ woman who changes his/her birth religion to another religion is a fake and does not value his/her morals, culture and values in life. Hinduism was the first religion originated. Be proud of your religion and be proud of who you are.
Om Namo shiva……………
Send it to all Hindus who you think will find it interesting!

I add:
This is representative of the group thinking among a good number of educated Hindus who are sincere and serious about understanding their beliefs but are unable to comprehend what they think or want to communicate. They mouth quotes from some ancient Brahmanical works, like "Loka samastha sukhino bhavantu", "Isavasyam idam sarvam", "Ahimsa paramo dharmam", and perhaps, "Vasudhaiva kutumbakam"!
Ms. Valsala is a retired Professor of Chemistry and a former colleague of mine, now associated with humanitarian work at Prashanti of Ramakrishnan Palat..

I sent her the following note as a tentative reply:


Valsala,

I wish I could share your faith in what Sarvasree Perimpilavil Ramadasan explains as Hinduism with the same amount of enthusiasm.

What he has posted is full of contradictions, like, "Hinduism is a religion of the individual, for the individual and by the individual", "it is not a religion, but a set of beliefs and practices", "Hinduism was the first religion originated", and "The British coin[sic] the word 'Hindu' and considered it as a religion".

At one place he says, he is "a Hindu by birth", at another that Hindus are Hindus by choice, and at still another that "Nobody can convert you to Hinduism, because it is not a religion". If one is a Hindu by birth, how does it become his religion by choice?

I think he ought to have asked himself first what he understood by 'Hinduism' and then only posted his confused thoughts on the net based on the quizzing of a girl, real or imaginary but certainly ignorant, he met on a flight.

I am happy I was born a Hindu for the sheer latitude of thoughts and life styles it used to permit. But, of late, things have changed a great deal and are changing very fast.

My best wishes to you and Gopi.

Sudhakaran

  

How to save the PDF copy of Gundert's Malayalam English Dictionary

After downloading the PDF version, look for the options offered. One of the options is 'save a copy'. Click it, type a title and cick 'save'.

Gundert's A Malayalam English Dictionary

Free download of Gundert's A Malayalam English Dictionary in PDF from Columbia University is available at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/cul/texts/ldpd_8661431_000/index.html

Pulappedi - Honor Killing in Disguise

Pulappedi ‘Pulappedi’ literally means ‘scare of the Pulayas’. It refers to a popular belief prevalent in some parts of Kerala roughly till the middle of the 20th cent. that men of the lowliest of the polluting castes such as Pulayas, Parayas and Mannans could appropriate young women of the higher Nair caste after defiling them. Depending upon the caste and the region involved, it was also called Parappedi or Mannappedi. The earliest known mention of this scare, though not by the name, was made by Duarte Barbosa, a Portuguese national stationed in Kerala at the beginning of the 16th century, in the context of describing the social plight of the Pulaya caste. [The Book, Vol. II, Hakluyt Society, London, 1921, pp.68-69]. In current popular belief, Pulappedi was a customary ritual observed every year with the permission of the local community in the month of ‘Karkitakam’ (July middle to August middle). During that period, men of the Pulaya, Paraya and Mannan castes, the so called ‘slave castes’, would roam around to defile Nair women who strayed alone outside their houses or were left unprotected inside their homes or wished to be defiled and possessed. Defiling could be by touching the woman or hitting her with a twig or a pebble, or by just sighting her and hollering ‘kande, kande’ (I saw, I saw). When defiled, the woman would lose her caste. She should declare it publicly and run away from her home and subject herself to be appropriated by the defiler, or become a beggar or a mendicant, or allow to be converted to another religion. If not, she could be killed with impunity by her own people, or killed or sold to any willing bidder by the local chief. The defiler and his kith and kin, on their part, could also be killed or tortured as the Nairs or the local chiefs pleased. The apparent definitiveness of this belief and its details owe largely to the fanciful descriptions of Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai [''Mannappediyum Pulappediyum'', Mathrubhumi Weekly, November 1957] who mixed local folk lore with a liberal misreading of Barbosa. He assumed that Pulappedi was actually practised in many parts of Kerala until ‘recent times’. Following him uncritically, other historians and text book writers only popularized his views. The fact is that there is no historical record of any instance of a Nair woman ever coming under Pulappedi. There is also absolutely no way of ascertaining whether it was ever practised as was popularly believed. Even Barbosa was not a witness to any actual instance of Pulappedi. He had most probably only reported what his local contacts had told him. The scare was, however, palpable as is indicated by a proclamation issued by a local chief in C.E.1696 prohibiting it in his domain and threatening its perpetrators and their families with summary execution. But, the historians had generally assumed that Pulappedi was actually practised in extreme secrecy, which was why records were not kept. Therefore, they tried only to explain its origin, significance and other related issues. Elamkulam, for instance, explained it as a community licence given to the slave castes to procreate in Nair women a mixed caste of agricultural slaves. According to him, the practice began sometime in 12th century C.E. after the size of the original slave castes in Kerala began to dwindle. [Elamkulam, 1957]. Another historian saw in it the instance of the ubiquitous class conflict between the Nair oppressors and the oppressed slave castes [K.N.Ganesh, Keralathinte Innalekal (in Malayalam), 1990]. Considering all the available facts, it is extremely doubtful that Pulappedi, including its other two variants, was ever practised as a custom in its popularly depicted form. Rather, it was only a scare consciously perpetrated by Nairs themselves to control their own women from straying outside the family and caste diktats, and to punish those who actually broke or were feared would break those diktats. The role of the polluter, a bonded slave of the Nairs, in this plot would have been to obey the commands of the master and defile or claim to have defiled the woman chosen by the master, or acquiesce to the charge of defiling the woman without actually defiling. Whichever way, the Nairs could punish the polluter also. Interestingly, the polluter castes connected with Pulappedi were known as practitioners of voodoo and magic, which gave those who scripted the story of defiling and abduction a credible excuse for failing. This view was first put forward in 1994 in an article, ‘Pulappedi – Puthiya Oranveshanam’ [in Malayalam], by P.P.Sudhakaran [Kerala Padanangal 4, January – March, 1994, Ed. K.T.Ram Mohan, Chithira Printers & Publishers, Ernakulam]. These are the reasons advanced in support of the view: 1. The social distancing between the polluting castes and the Nairs was so pernicious, the habitats of the polluting castes were located in such isolated areas, and the physical marks of the polluting castes were so distinct and loud that it would have been impossible for a polluter man to go anywhere near a Nair habitat even in ordinary times except perhaps with the overt or covert permission of the Nairs. 2. The polluter could not have defiled any Nair woman by surprise either as the Pulappedi season was known to all in advance, and it needed only some extra vigilance by the Nair men during that period to prevent it if they wanted to. 3. The life environment of the polluting castes compared to that of the Nairs being so depressing, and the other options available to a defiled woman being so devastating, no Nair woman in her senses would ever have risked coming under Pulappedi. 4. The punishment for the polluter, whether caught before the act or after, was known in advance to be so cruel and certain that none but a maniac would have dared to provoke the Nair fury

Brides are not cattle

Marriage is not just acquiring or keeping an object for lust release. It is the foundation for building a family. Thinking of importing brides duty free or at subsidized rates is typically male centered. Think beyond. A wife is not cattle that can be bought or sold according to man's means and pleasure. Studies have shown that femicide is not confined to the urban 'middle class' alone. Among the rural poor also it is practised, perhaps under the pressure of more urgent economic constraints, but almost always after the delivery. February 9 at 12:44pm Sreejith, I sensed sarcasm in Parthapratim's, but preferred to ignore whatever little was in yours, because, sarcasm cannot usually expect a serious response. Barring the one about getting fairer ones duty free, your remarks to Parthapratim's, I thought, was meant to be taken seriously. Your end-question especially, 'will that in any way end the discrimination and violence against the girl child...?', did not seem to dismiss the idea of import as a non option. The sarcasm, if at all there was any, was obviously lost on me. Overall, I feel, importing of women even as a flippant idea would occur only where it is thought of as an option, however distant it could be. Or, should we have just taken to the question as a light-hearted tease? Finally, happy to note that you are not an MCP even remotely. February 10 at 6:58am Parthapratim responds: logging on to fb after a while - i see that my comment was sarcastic, quite dark at that. i am truly sorry, if it sounded offensive. the comment was kind of triggered by the last of the tag lines: 'bike ke picche ---'. i realize that while trying to add a darker tone to the dark comic signpost, i have only managed to lighten the seriousness of the issue. really sorry for that. now i am not a feminist, but i am not against women or their rights. i believe, as sincerely as all you do, that female foeticide is a crime. i believe so because i guess that a female foetus is as good a foetus as a male one; not because some of these would make good mothers and wives and solid foundations of innumerable indian families. some believe, and i find some of their points quite noteworthy, that the family is the root of many social evils. having a family makes one selfish, family-centric. having a family leads to the idea of lineage and legacy, the patriarchy, irrespective of if the society is patriarchal or matriarchal or whatever. women's rights are to be supported not because they are more virtuous, but because they are a lot of people just as the lot of men. i really am rather shaky to post this long monologue in fb which is frequented by people wiser than those who are not in touch with the virtual reality. finally, dramatically or melodramatically i am not sure, but seriously, i would prefer a woman on my bike infinitely better than a tiger in a thousand years, or at least until i die or the tigers go extinct. have a good time folks, and blasted be the ones who cannot take a serious matter seriously, but seriously. February 16 at 1:29pm · My response: Parthapratim, after reading your latest post, I am convinced that your earlier response was not intended to hurt anyone, least of all me. Even before reading it, I did not feel any offence. What I usually do is, after taking note of what might help me introspect and improve my attitude to life and life itself, I move on. What is not worth it, I ignore. You have however touched upon a weighty issue as to what is the real worth of the family as a social institution. About that, another time, hopefully. About the worth of the female gender etc; everyone with a view should have a rationale for it. This is my reasoning: Gender equality is not a physical fact, whatever the women’s libbers might claim. I don't also carry any baggage of religious mumbo jumbo, like, all are equal in the eyes of god. Unlike the female cannibals among some species like spiders, praying mantis and fire flies, human females, overall, are physically weak. According to one estimate, 1 out of 3 women world-wide are being physically abused every day; that is more than one billion women a day, every day. See, for example, [http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/273-40/9999-one-billion-rising] Those abusers are a depraved lot, and there is nothing brave in joining them. They are bullies, and there are enough studies to believe that bullies are, beneath their skin, really miserable cowards. I don’t want to be counted among them. Instead of raping and beating and passing snide remarks in the guise of sarcasm (I don’t mean you), the last of which I believe is bullying on the sly, what is needed is concern for fellow lives, compassion for the weak. But, what I don’t know is this: While some are seen to even empathise with the weak, what makes some others tormenters and sadists? May be, some are born with compassion. Studies about the psychology of compassion are not definitive yet, as far as I know. Oxytocin, the enzyme the pituitary gland normally secretes, and lactating mothers are known to secrete in larger quantities, has been suggested as the one that makes the difference. Whatever that be, I believe compassion can be consciously cultivated. At least, men can learn to let the women live their lives; better still, though, will be learning to love them as fellow human beings, to protect them and be their friends, not possessors. There are, of course, black widows among human species also. But, that is a different problem, and gender imbalance in India’s demography is not related to it. February 17 at 7:25am

Gravity as energy

The total kinetic energy that winds can generate may be lesser than what was estimated earlier. But that need not make it undesirable. Whatever sources of energy that are environment-friendly and economical and can be stored and transported should be explored. One source for all regions and all seasons, which is a poisoned luxury oil has nurtured, will not and need not work any more. Among the different sources of energy discussed, one that is generally seen missed or bypassed is gravity. Transportation is one area that now burns away a large portion of the oil extracted the world over. At least this sector of energy-needs can be directly taken care of by gravity, especially in naturally inclined landscapes, with very little investment in erecting/installing monorails and rope-ways. Its potential for any type of landscape is also worth exploring. Besides, by tapping the motion gravity can generate, electricity can be generated without any technological hassles. The idea of using gravity for transportation is not new, but, the strangle hold of the oil-based automobile industry is bent upon killing all other options and enterprises.

Subramanian Swamy advocated disenfranchisement of the offending community

Dr.Subramanian Swamy published an article in DNA on 16 July 2011, How to wipe out Islamic terror.
Here is the url: http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/comment_analysis-how-to-wipe-out-islamic-terror_1566203-all
I cannot copy and paste the article as it is prohibited if done without permission.

The Hindu, on 16 July 2011 published the following news item, the gist of which was: Subramanian Swamy advocated disenfranchisement of the offending community

The following is the text of what The Hindu published on 30 July 2011.

The Hindu, Published: July 29, 2011 23:48 IST | Updated: July 29, 2011 23:48 IST http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2306235.ece

"Offended minorities' panel to decide on Swamy's article"
Special Correspondent
Subramanian Swamy had advocated disenfranchisement as a punishment for Muslims refusing to acknowledge their Hindu ancestry

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) will take a final view on Tuesday on an article written by Subramanian Swamy where he advocated disenfranchisement as a punishment for Muslims refusing to acknowledge their Hindu ancestry.

The NCM had taken suo moto notice of the article at its meeting on July 19. The article appeared in the Daily News and Analysis (DNA) on July 16 – three days after the serial bomb blasts in Mumbai. NCM chairperson Wajahat Habibullah told The Hindu that while the NCM found the article offensive in the extreme, a final decision on the commission's response would be taken when the full bench reconvened on Tuesday. He said the NCW will go by legal advice it had procured from within the government: “There are no two opinions that the article is highly offensive and violative of the law. I'm fairly clear about the course the NCM should follow, but the decision has to come from the full Bench.”

Since its publication, Dr. Swamy's article has been hotly debated on Twitter and Facebook, and last week it raised a storm in Harvard, where he taught Economics in the 1960s. In an online petition, students and faculty members demanded that Harvard end its association with him. The petition said: “While free expression and the vigorous contest of ideas are essential in any academic community, so too are respect and tolerance for human difference. By advocating measures that would grossly violate freedom of religion and the unqualified right to vote for different religious groups, and by aggressively vilifying an entire religious community, [Mr.] Swamy breaches the most basic standards of respect and tolerance.”

In the article titled, ‘How to wipe out Islamic terror' Dr. Swami, who is also president of the Janata Party said that by 2012, he expected Islam to confront Hindus to “complete unfinished business.” He said: “Fanatic Muslims consider Hindu-dominated India an unfinished chapter of Islamic conquests”. All other countries conquered by Islam 100 per cent converted to Islam within two decades of the Islamic invasion. Undivided India in 1947 was 75 per cent Hindu even after 800 years of brutal Islamic rule. That is jarring for the fanatics.”

Dr. Swami prescribed strategies to defeat the political goals of Islamic terrorism. Among them: “Implement the uniform civil code, make learning of Sanskrit and singing of Vande Mataram mandatory, and declare India a Hindu Rashtra in which non-Hindus can vote only if they proudly acknowledge that their ancestors were Hindus. Rename India Hindustan as a nation of Hindus and those whose ancestors were Hindus.”

“Enact a national law prohibiting conversion from Hinduism to any other religion. Re-conversion will not be banned. Declare that caste is not based on birth but on code or discipline. Welcome non-Hindus to re-convert to the caste of their choice provided they adhere to the code of discipline. Annex land from Bangladesh in proportion to the illegal migrants from that country staying in India. At present, the northern third from Sylhet to Khulna can be annexed to re-settle illegal migrants.”

My Comments:
I sent a comment, pointing out that Dr.Swamy's knowledge of Indian history was poor as he did not show any knowledge of when the Hindu label was applied to all the castes, and at least the disabled castes would not feel any "pride" in remembering their "Hindu" ancestors; and that his suggestion to de-link caste from birth and link it with code or discipline was naive as birth is the only determinant of the caste.
The Hindu, I feel, may edit it out.
So, I sent another comment: Perhaps, Dr.Swamy's article is not worthy of any comment, as remarked by Prof.Dipankar Gupta, and by extension, also any comments on Dr.Swamy. So, please moderate my previous comment out. Thank you.

Female feticide in India

Sent to Psychohistory to start a new topic:

Here is the link to a Guardian article on female feticide in India:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/24/india-families-aborting-girl-babies?CMP=EMCGT_250511&
The study based on the 2011 census shows that female feticide is prevalent more among the upper sections of the society, who can afford the expensive gender determination tests and selective abortions, than among the poor. It suspects that expatriate Indians living in the U.S. may also be practicing it.
One obvious differentiator between the Indian/South Asian people, wherever they live, and those of the rest of the world is the caste system. Parental practices among the lower castes are certainly less advanced than those among the upper castes mainly for two reasons: poverty and lack of education, which generally run along caste lines. But female feticide does not appear to follow this divide.
What is it then that drives the Indian parents to prefer boys over girls? It ought to be something that permeates the whole population. Could it be dowry?
Suzarin

Lokpal Bill, Civil Society and India's robber barons

The following was sent to Deccan Herald on 10.4.2011 and was published on 11.4.2011

Sir,
The victory of civil society over government’s filibustering of the Lokpal Bill has to be channelized now into making our political system truly democratic. What had corrupted Indian political establishment over time was the appropriation of power without accountability by an extremely narrow section of the so-called ‘public servants’ comprising of political leaders and bureaucrats abetted and supported by big industrialists and corporates. This powerful group of ‘robber barons’ has become a self-serving, self-sustaining narrow group, and entry into it by any route other than blood-bond or cronyism is almost completely blocked. It pampers the real repositories of power, the people, through entreaties and enticements during the election, but immediately after that, makes them cringe before it even for their legitimate rights. To make its strangle hold on power unhampered, it blocks all election reforms including the right to recall. Even in a representative democracy, the ultimate political power is never forfeited by the people. But through treating the election as an absolute license to do whatever they and their henchmen want, the ‘representatives’ turn themselves into masters and the real masters are turned into slaves. This needs to be corrected.
The civil society, now flushed with victory, however, has to be vigilant to see that its leaders do not ever become another power lobby and get sucked into the corrupt system.
P.P.Sudhakaran
Bangalore.
-_

Karnataka politics

Letter sent to the Deccan Herald on the 13th. It was not published.

Sir,

This is to remind us all that we owe our leaders a fervent apology or two! Saw the visuals of the happenings inside the Vidhana Soudha on the 11th? What a tremendous strain we are causing them by electing them to represent us! And how kind and graceful of them to reassure us even in the midst of the fight for survival that they want only to serve the people still better!



We know the adage about politicians as people roosting in their last resort. But we forget how taxing it is for them to live up to that adage. Hopping or allowing to be herded from resort to resort is not child’s play. Some cynically call it resort politics, as if it always is not! How naive! Being politicians, where else should they be?



The Chief Minister was visiting temples even in far flung places when the political crisis in the State was gathering into a storm. What else should he have done? For, is not the motto embossed on the façade of the Vidhana Soudha, “Government Work Is God’s Work”?

Race and group behavior

My response to a post by Mats in Psychohistory-Historical Motivations:

Racial differences as far as the physical features are concerned are not imaginary, but to what extent they determine culture or group behavior or whatever Mats wanted to connect with them is not as clear as he assumes. Mats seems to believe that group identities, rivalries and affinities begin and end exclusively along ethnic fault lines. There are innumerable other fault lines, including parenting practices, which crisscross or overlap ethnic identities. Mats could have at least acknowledged the influence of parenting practices on group formation, which is a matter of utmost importance to psychohistorians.

Raising an assumption as a question may not make it any clearer. E.g.; ‘people are so fixated on skin colour – why?’; ‘most parents in the world get upset if their daughter brings home a Negro as her latest boyfriend – why?’. The problem here basically is the lack of evidence, which Jerry has already pointed out. Assuming that in the instance of a parent objecting to the daughter bringing home a Negro is solely because of the skin colour is unwarranted. Skin colour is only one of the many components of a complex matrix of group prejudices. What Mats says may be valid in the case of some ethnic sub groups, but not all.

A good example to illustrate this is that of the caste groups of South Asia, perhaps the most virulent bonding – differentiating social system ever known. There is definitely a sub-stratum of ethnic differences webbing through the castes but they are interwoven so thoroughly that the racial features of almost all the castes are blurred. Yet, the exclusiveness of the castes, the bond within castes and the tensions within and between castes were, perhaps, more intense than any among or between the races.

What bonds a caste and differentiates it from other castes is an extra-ethnic identity bundle each caste carries with it. Those identities are supposed to be two or more millennia old, but, except in the case of a few core caste groups such as the brahmins, they are actually only two or three centuries old. The caste ‘system’ as is known today is largely a colonial construct, almost an invention of the English colonisers of south Asia. The contours of even that are changing fast. To understand the bonding of a group and the tensions between groups, therefore, one may have to look beyond races.

In this context, I would like to bring to the notice of the List a recent article published in Science, 11 June 2010: Vol. 328. no. 5984, pp. 1408 – 1411, DOI: 10.1126/science.1189047, for responses.

This is the abstract:

The Neuropeptide Oxytocin Regulates Parochial Altruism in Intergroup Conflict Among Humans; Carsten K. W. De Dreu,1,* Lindred L. Greer,1 Michel J. J. Handgraaf,1 Shaul Shalvi,1Gerben A. Van Kleef,1 Matthijs Baas,1 Femke S. Ten Velden,1 Eric Van Dijk,2 Sander W. W. Feith3

Humans regulate intergroup conflict through parochial altruism; they self-sacrifice to contribute to in-group welfare and to aggress against competing out-groups. Parochial altruism has distinct survival functions, and the brain may have evolved to sustain and promote in- group cohesion and effectiveness and to ward off threatening out- groups. Here, we have linked oxytocin, a neuropeptide produced in the hypothalamus, to the regulation of intergroup conflict. In three experiments using double-blind placebo-controlled designs, male participants self-administered oxytocin or placebo and made decisions with financial consequences to themselves, their in-group, and a competing out-group. Results showed that oxytocin drives a "tend and defend" response in that it promoted in-group trust and cooperation, and defensive, but not offensive, aggression toward competing out- groups.

1 Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Roetersstraat 15, 1018 WB Amsterdam, Netherlands.
2 Department of Psychology, Leiden University, Postbox 9555, 2300 RB, Netherlands.
3 Stichting AllesKits, Cypruslaan 410, 3059 XA Rotterdam, Netherlands.

I may add, this need not diminish the importance of parenting practices in culture formation, or group behavior.

Link to abstract and full paper here (subscription needed for full paper):
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/328/5984/1408

Suzarin

The Hindu has egg on its face

The Hindu published the following news today, June 12, perhaps in a bid to please its newfound favourite – the BJP. The latest news from Bihar today is that Nitish Kumar has distanced himself from Narendra Modi. He has threatened to sue whoever that has brought out an advertisement showing Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi holding each other’s raised hand. Did The Hindu go to town this time without cross checking Neena Vyas’ input? Has The Hindu gone overboard in its bid to forge a BJP-JD(U)-CPI(M) front?


Bihar no longer out of bounds to Modi

Neena Vyas

BJP will signal that it is not just a junior partner in Nitish enterprise

Patna conclave will target Congress also for RJD “misrule”

PATNA: The big show of strength planned by the Bharatiya Janata Party here on Sunday evening will carry a double message: it will mark the start of its all-out election campaign, and signal that the party is not just a “junior” partner in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Bihar enterprise.

It may also turn out to be the ‘coming out in Bihar' party for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who has so far been virtually kept out of the election campaign in the State in due deference to the alliance partner, the Janata Dal (United).

The other significant aim of the rally on the historic Gandhi maidan is to send out a clear message that the Congress was equally responsible for the disastrous years of the Rashtriya Janata Dal rule as it was a partner in the coalition government in the last five years before the RJD was swept away.

The BJP seems wary of the sudden upswing in Congress electoral fortunes in Uttar Pradesh on the back of a ‘swing' of Muslim and “upper caste” votes towards it, and hopes to prevent that here by blaming the party equally for the RJD “misrule.”

“The 15 years of RJD rule was propped up by the Congress. It was RJD plus Congress raj,” Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi said here on Friday, a day before the start of the BJP's two-day national executive committee meeting, which will end with the rally.

Development is the ‘mantra' the party has adopted and the speakers lined up for the public meetings have apparently been told not to stray from this line. Significantly, Mr. Narendra Modi has been chosen to showcase “development” in Bihar. “Party president Nitin Gadkari, senior leader L.K. Advani and Mr. Narendra Modi will certainly be key speakers at the rally,” Mr. Sushil Modi said. Mr. Kumar had never directly or indirectly interfered in the BJP's internal affairs and the two decades-old alliance was a “model” for coalition governments, he added.

A senior BJP leader said the Gujarat Chief Minister was the “most qualified” as he himself had shown the road to development in his State. Over the last couple of days full-page advertisements have appeared in some local newspapers here on the better status of Muslims in Gujarat than in some regions — the statistics were sourced to the Sachar Committee report.

There would be nothing exceptional in the decision to field Mr. Narendra Modi except that for some days now senior party leaders had hinted that the Gujarat Chief Minister would not be a speaker. For, “normally Chief Ministers of States, other than those where the party conclave takes place, do not address the public meetings.”

A party leader here said the BJP wanted to send out a message to the JD(U) that it was its own master and would take its own decisions. It wants to dispel the impression that in each election the BJP decides to keep Mr. Narendra Modi out of the Bihar campaign for fear of annoying the JD(U).

Mr. Narendra Modi is also to be fielded as the key speaker on the third resolution — on the alleged step-motherly treatment meted out to non-UPA States by the Manmohan Singh government — that the party conclave is expected to adopt.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu

This is regarding the editorial The Hindu carried on May 25.
It is a jumbo editorial written with a pre-set mind and possessing near zero noteworthiness.
Its first paragraph attempts to create space to say what it had decided beforehand: that the UPA II government is a “failure”. This it expands later on mentioning mainly two “defining” failures, namely, controlling the spiraling of prices of essential commodities, above all food items, and managing law and order.
That the prices have gone up is an indisputable fact, and the Government cannot hide behind any excuses, at least morally, for its failure. But whether it was entirely due to the government’s “lethargy” or “indecisiveness” or “complacency” or “corruption” is not that undisputable. That is OK and there is no need to repeat the truism that while facts are sacred, opinions are free!
But what it says further, at least the following, is a little baffling.
It says that the UPA II government seems to have spent its first 12 months “in a do-little state bred by political complacency and neo-liberal conservatism”.

I sent the following letter to The Hindu:
Sir,
This is regarding the editorial (May 25). It says that the UPA II government seems to have spent its first 12 months “in a do-little state bred by political complacency and neo-liberal conservatism”. ‘
As a diligent reader of The Hindu, I was curious to know what is neo-liberal conservatism and whether there is any other government in the world that is also Neo-liberal conservative, and I googled, but drew a blank. I understand ‘liberal conservatism’ itself is an oxymoron, in which case, ‘neo-liberal conservatism’ may only worsen the ambiguity.
Was it a Freudian slip? Was The Hindu, perhaps, thinking about a future coalition government of the (neo-conservative) BJP and the (neo-liberal) Left parties while writing the edit?

A Post Script to this response could be:
The Hindu seems to have achieved what it had been working for during the last two years, specifically, ever since the Left withdrew its support to UPA I and the government moved a confidence motion in the Parliament in July 2008. The BJP and the Left, as opposed to a common enemy, worked in unison to oust the UPA from power. They attacked the government almost on identical points and voted together on the same side. That it failed was only of incidental importance. The real significance of this coming together of the neo-conservative BJP and the neo-liberal Left was a new phenomenon in Indian politics – something almost everybody following the Indian political developments would have thought was impossible till a few years back. The Hindu with its inherent streak of Hindu orthodoxy (what else does the choice of its name ‘Hindu’ signify?) and the acquired leaning towards Left liberalism (a baggage its present Editor in Chief carried from his JNU days and the All India Vice Presidentship of the SFI) was eminently qualified to work towards this. Therefore, the use of ‘neo-liberal conservatism’ need not be an innocent slip; it could very well be a Freudian slip - making the impossible possible!

Under the the title, Traders' leader shot dead in Sopore, The Hindu carried a report on 24 May 2010 on the killing of Ghulam Nabi Khan, President of the Traders' Federation of Sopore, by Kashmiri militants. That was passe. What was extraordinary was the picture accompaying the report. Here is the relevant part of the report:

The Hindu, Date:24/05/2010 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2010/05/24/stories/2010052454721400.htm
Front Page

Traders' leader shot dead in Sopore

Shujaat Bukhari
SRINAGAR: Militants on Sunday shot dead a prominent businessman in the north Kashmir town of Sopore. The Traders' Federation has called a protest strike against the killing on Monday.

Police sources told The Hindu that Federation's Sopore president Ghulam Nabi Khan was shot point blank while travelling in a horse-cart in the main chowk.

Mr. Khan was taken to a hospital, but declared dead on arrival. The militants, the sources said, managed to escape.

The killing resulted in panic in the town and the markets soon closed. Police rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area.

Thousands of people gathered at Mr. Khan's home as his body was taken there. Mr. Khan was a popular businessman in the town and his murder has enraged the traders, who have called for a strike to protest the “senseless murder.” Mr. Khan was buried later.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu


And here is the letter I sent to The Hindu on the 24th:

Sir,

The picture accompanying the report, ‘Traders' leader shot dead in Sopore’ (May 24), has captured a strange spectacle. The caption of the picture says, the body of the slain trader was being “carried”. With the bearers at the ends of the bier appearing to face opposite sides, to which side could it have been carried? Convention is for the head-side to lead. But one cannot make out from the picture which was the head-side and which the feet-side as the kalma on the mantle over the bier is not clear. That the cortege in this instance would have reached the khabaristan is in no doubt, but the picture, interestingly, has symbolised the true state of Kashmiri politics. With so many conflicting interests pulling it in all directions, it may not reach anywhere.

The Hindu going out of the way to please Narendra Modi?

Sir,
The Hindu, among all other major Indian newspapers, has voluntarily decided to explain to its readers where ever it finds necessary, what it prints and why, which is what you do through your column. Hence this letter.
Under the title, ‘Report on comment attributed to Narendra Modi denied’, The Hindu published on 29.4.2010 a long, 789 words, denial statement with the following endorsement: “Gujarat government spokespersons Jaynarayan Vyas and Saurabh Patel, both State Ministers, have issued the following statement in Gandhinagar on Wednesday. This statement is in the context of a report published by Gujarat Samachar that falsely attributed to Chief Minister Narendra Modi a comment on Dalits”.
As far as I know, The Hindu had not published the news item that appeared in the Gujarat Samachar and had provoked this rebuttal. What was then the context for The Hindu to publish it?
The statement is a diatribe against the Congress, which it mentions by name 23 times. It is the business of the BJP to do.
There is also a photo of Mr. Modi accompanying the mews, to print which, of late, The Hindu seldom misses a chance.
I was wondering whether it was necessary for The Hindu, an ‘independent’ English newspaper, to join issue with Gujarat Samachar, a regional vernacular newspaper, in which it had apparently no stakes and to do which it had apparently no obligations.
More serious than that, was it necessary for The Hindu to endorse the denial statement by calling the Samachar report ‘false’?
If The Hindu had carried a misinformation earlier, journalistic ethics required it to issue a correction for the sake of its readers. The Hindu here was not trying to dispel a misunderstanding it had caused to its readers. The rebuttal was, therefore, published for some other reason.
We are hearing a lot about paid news these days. The Hindu had been in the forefront of the campaign against the scourge of paid news. But nobody ever discusses other genres of news. All that is not paid news is not clean news. For that matter, news is never clean. There are sponsored news, subsidised news, favored news and captive news, to mention a few.
Just as there is no unbiased news, there is no unbiased newspaper also. The problem for a professedly ‘independent’ newspaper, however, is when the interest becomes patent.
There are newspapers, which are mouthpieces of political parties and corporate interests. Nobody expects them to be unbiased. They are self-admitted captive news media. What they publish is, strictly speaking, paid news. The only difference is that they do not ‘sell’ the print space to outsiders as they are ‘owned’ by their publishers and print only what the boss permits.
In between the ‘owned’ and the ‘sold’, fall all other kinds of news, such as, the ‘sponsored’, the ‘favored’ and the ‘subsidised’. They are definitely contaminated. Incidentally, of all the different kinds, they are the most dangerous. If the reader knows what dish to expect, he may prepare himself to take it with less or more salt as the case is. In the case of interested news camouflaged as ‘independent’, the reader becomes a victim of duplicity.
My fervent question to you is, in which category will a report like the rebuttal statement in respect of Mr. Narendra Modi fall?

P.P.Sudhakaran,
(Retired Professor of History)
301, East Mansion,
No.2, Hutchins Road,
Cooke Town,
Bangalore 5.
Ph. 080 25467483.

Reconciling the irreconcilable

IPL controversy and The Hindu.
Ever since the IPL controversy broke out, The Hindu had been reporting it prominently. It has already written two editorials about it. But, I am sorry to say that, over all, the impression it helped to create is that they were loaded against Shashi Tharoor and were supportive of Nalin Modi. It carried titles that were explicit about Tharoor’s guilt and suggestive of Modi’s innocence - like “BJP wants Shashi Tharoor sacked as IPL row hots up”, “Tharoor abused office, says BJP”, “Question mark over Kochi IPL owners: Modi”, and “Pawar backs Lalit Modi in IPL Kochi row”. The Hindu would be knowing that for many readers the title is the news, and there were enough of them to make the readers feel that Nalin Modi was not guilty of any wrong doing. But, it now turns out that Modi is being investigated for match fixing, tax evasion and many other serious wrong doings.

The latest editorial, ‘Behind and beyond Tharoor’, while squarely condemning Tharoor for his “egregious acts of ministerial misconduct” and demanding a CBI enquiry, saw only an indiscretion on the part of Modi, of only doing “enough to provoke the Income Tax department to carry out a survey on the IPL's funding”. But it now turns out that it is not a survey but an all out investigation of the murky dealings of the IPL during the last three years it was running the 20/20 show, during which time Modi was its Chairman and Commissioner. As Tharoor has already admitted his role in sponsoring Ms.Pushkar, a CBI investigation is needed more in the case of Modi who has not admitted a single wrongdoing.

As a side thought, it occurred to me that The Hindu might have found in Tharoor a perfect punching bag as he had become a common target of both the BJP and the Left Parties. Being able to concur two irreconcilable political outfits is not a mean achievement. Congratulations.

One of the best editorials in my recent memory

This is the The Hindu editorial of 20.3.2010:

Behind the plea bargain of Headley
Date:20/03/2010 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2010/03/20/stories/2010032056461200.htm
Opinion - Editorials

Behind Headley's plea bargain
Five years after he began the surveillance operation that finally guided a ten-man death squad through the streets of Mumbai in November, 2008, Pakistani-American jihadist David Headley has entered into a plea bargain with U.S. prosecutors. In India, the deal has provoked media outrage but careful study of the Plea Agreement (accessible under Resources at beta.thehindu.com) shows that claims that Headley has got off lightly are misplaced. Plea bargains in the United States work around a complex points system set up by the United States Sentencing Commission. In return for pleading guilty to all the 12 terrorism-related charges, and for meeting specified obligations for cooperation with investigators, prosecutors will recommend a reduction in sentence. In essence, Headley will avoid facing the death penalty and will not be extradited to India, Pakistan, or Denmark. However, the judge hearing the case is not bound by the sentencing recommendations — and if they are rejected, Headley will not be able to withdraw his guilty plea. Nor, unlike an approver in an Indian criminal trial, will he be granted a pardon in return for giving state's evidence. Some commentators have speculated that the Plea Agreement means Headley was a secret U.S. agent. The truth is that the U.S. repeatedly passed on substantial intelligence to India of the looming threat to Mumbai in the months before 26/11. Had Headley been the source of those warnings, he would be in the process of receiving a medal — not life in prison.

Just what has Headley — who made a similar plea bargain earlier in his troubled life, in connection with a narcotics-trafficking prosecution — promised in return for his life? Paragraph 12 of the Plea Agreement states that he will, when directed to do so by the U.S. Attorney's office, “fully and truthfully participate in any debriefings for the purpose of gathering intelligence or national security information.” In addition, he will “fully and truthfully testify in foreign judicial proceedings held in the United States, videoconferencing or letters rogatory.” This means he will have no choice but to testify in the ongoing trial of Mumbai attack suspects if called on to do so by Maharashtra prosecutors. He must also cooperate in any future criminal proceedings initiated by the National Investigations Agency on the Lashkar-e-Taiba's plot to attack the National Defence College in New Delhi. Further, Headley has agreed to “the postponement of his sentencing until after the conclusion of his cooperation.” Paragraph 8 of the Plea Agreement reveals that he has already “provided substantial assistance to the criminal investigation, and also has provided information of significant intelligence value.” This cooperation should strengthen the case against his co-accused, Tahawwur Rana, as well as key Lashkar operatives in Pakistan. Barring death-penalty enthusiasts, no one has any reason to bemoan the Plea Agreement. India's investigators and justice system must move quickly to capitalise on Headley's intelligence and testimony.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu.

In appreciation, I sent the following to The Hindu's Letters Editor on 21.3.2010:

Sir,
The editorial, Behind Headley's plea bargain (20 March), must have made The Hindu’s committed readers happy about their commitment. When most of the English media, print as well as TV, were wildly speculating about a secret deal between the US prosecution and Headley, and were dubbing the plea agreement as a ruse, beside other things, to prevent his interrogation by India, The Hindu showed extreme restraint and circumspection. Actually, the prospect of not giving Headley death penalty should help the Indian cause as he would now live and be available to answer under oath India’s questions.
This is the kind of editorials that will enhance the reputation of The Hindu as an independent, thoughtful and responsible newspaper.

The Hindu errs!

The following letter I sent to The Readers' Editor of The Hindu on 10th Mar. 2010:
The Hindu carried the article ‘UPA fails to pull through Women's Bill in Upper House’ by Gargi Parsai on Tuesday, Mar 09, 2010, which claimed that SP and RJD had withdrawn support to the UPA government. This is what it said:
“On a day of fast moving developments, the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal withdrew support to the government, and its leaders met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Leader of the House, Pranab Mukherjee, while the Bill itself was deferred to Tuesday.”

The fact, as reported by other newspapers and news channels, was that on the 8th the two Yadavs had only decided to withdraw support, which is not the same as withdrawing support. To use The Hindu’s own terminology, they had only “threatened” to withdraw support.

But, instead of correcting the error next day, The Hindu carried the headline: “Lalu withdraws support”. The text of the news, however, was correct: “Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Tuesday announced his decision to formally withdraw support to the government….
Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh, who too had threatened to do so, however, was evasive on the issue. When journalists persisted with their questions, he said he would inform the media when he took a decision in this regard. Mr. Prasad said he would call on President Pratibha Patil and submit his letter to her on Wednesday”.

How on earth did this mixup occur?

Ideology of the CPI (Maoists) and Arundhati Roy

The following letter I sent to The Hindu Letters to the Editor on 6.3.2010. The next letters day is on the 8th.

The news item in The Hindu was:

Ideology can't be wiped out by attacking tribals: Arundhati Roy
Manisha Jha

NEW DELHI: Dubbing the Centre's talk of ceasefire and talks with naxals “non-serious,” members of democratic and civil rights organisations on Friday demanded that the state stop the military offensive, Operation Greenhunt, “against its own people” and initiate back-channel talks with the CPI (Maoist).

Addressing a press conference here, writer and human rights activist Arundhati Roy said: “The government's use of the military to solve political problems is not new. The government has long since followed a policy of extermination against the Maoist movement. But each time the movement has come back stronger and better organised as it is not the people but an ideology under attack and this ideology cannot be wiped out by attacking tribals in the name of defeating Maoism. Moreover, considering the fact that no one has defined the word ‘Maoist', if the government talks of wiping them out, then it refers to a genocidal language where it could be dispensing with lakhs of people who are anyway fragile and on the brink of survival.”

Ms. Roy said: “We are in a situation wherein corporatisation of natural resources such as coal and iron ore has led to scandals galore and it is this money which can buy governments, elections, courts and media, making our democracy the best democracy that money can buy today. Despite a large number of farmer suicides and a majority of the population living below poverty line, we have the most expensive elections in the world and the money for the same comes from the iron ores of Karnataka and Chhattisgarh and bauxite in Orissa which is then is used to cleverly subvert democracy and wage war against its own people.”

Sumit Chakravartty, Editor, Mainstream magazine, said: “The Union government has undertaken the task of launching a full-scale war against the indigenous tribal population in the vast tribal heartlands. The most important thing for talks to be successful between the CPI (Maoist) and the government is that it has to be a mutual affair of cessation of hostilities. It cannot be one-sided. While asking the Maoists to abjure violence, the Centre should also do the same and initiate back-channel talks, but so far this seriousness and initiative on the part of the government has been lacking.”

Alluding to the treatment meted out to social activists working in naxal-affected areas in Chhattisgarh, he said: “The government's allegation that the Maoists are not allowing development works to take place is hollow because if that was true, then why would civil society and voluntary organisation representatives working for the uplift of the Maoists be targeted? Since the government is not interested in the development of tribals, a large number of them have joined the Maoists as it is a question of survival for them.”

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu
Sir,
One cannot agree more with Arundhati Roy in her assessment of the present Indian democracy and the State. But her demand to stop the Operation Greenhunt against the CPI (Maoist) is baffling. Assuming that the ideology Roy refers to is a programme to install a people’s government after overthrowing the present State through a relentless and protracted armed struggle, one may wonder how it can ever propose a ceasefire except as part of a strategy. Is Roy a partisan to this strategy? Or is she romanticizing the Maoist violence as mere acts of ‘innocent savages’?

Modi and the vote bank politics in disguise

The letter I posted to the Letters in The Hindu.
Sir, This is with reference to the bill passed by the Gujarat Assembly to make voting in local body elections mandatory. The Chief Minister is reported to have explained that the new rule was not to ‘punish’ the ‘defaulters’ but only to instill in them a sense of ‘discipline’ so as to strengthen democracy. But the wish to discipline and punish is authoritarian, not democratic. Whatever the bill says, no one can be punished on this count.
It is common knowledge that the right to vote is not an obligation or a duty one can default or breach, or a largesse of the State government, but an inalienable right guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. The right of a voter to choose a candidate is absolute, which includes also the right not to choose any candidate.
The real purpose of the bill, it appears, is to bring all the voters of the majority community to the polling booths, hoping that they would vote en bloc only for their community candidates. Vote-bank politics in disguise!
P.P.Sudhakaran
Bangalore

The occasion was the news item given below.
Modi makes it compulsory to vote in local bodies elections in Gujarat

The Hindu, Date:20/12/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/12/20/stories/2009122060790800.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National

Now, it is compulsory to vote in local bodies elections in Gujarat
Manas Dasgupta

Assembly adopts Bill; a historic move to strengthen democracy, says Chief Minister

GANDHINAGAR: The Gujarat Assembly on Saturday adopted an official Bill making voting compulsory in elections to all the local bodies in the State amidst opposition from the Congress which termed the move as “impractical and designed with political motives.”

Gujarat has emerged as the first State in the country to make voting compulsory in the local elections following the example, as Chief Minister Narendra Modi described, of 32 countries where the pattern of exercising the adult franchise showed a remarkable improvement from 45 per cent to over 90 per cent.

Earlier, the House also adopted another official Bill providing for death penalty for those who manufacture, supply and distribute spurious liquor causing loss of precious human lives. The Bill, which was earlier adopted by the House in July but was returned by the then Governor, S. C. Jamir, for reconsideration on grounds that the provision of death penalty could be prescribed only in the Central Acts, was re-introduced in the same form without taking the Governor’s concern into account and passed by the House second time amidst protests from the Congress Opposition benches.

Talking to journalists after the adoption of the “Gujarat Local Authorities Laws (Amendment), 2009,” the Chief Minister described the measure to make voting compulsory in the local body elections as a “historic move to strengthen democracy” and taking it from “drawing room politics to the polling booth level.”

Regretting that the kind of solidarity the people showed in lighting the candles in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attack was not demonstrated in the elections to choose their own rulers who would handle such situations, Mr. Modi said Gujarat had shown the way and hopefully other States and the country would follow suit. Claiming that the move would help eliminate some corrupt practices in the electoral process, he said, “politics and politicians would have to think beyond vote bank politics and ethnic groups and regional settings.”

He said the idea was not to “punish” the “defaulters” who fail to cast their votes without a valid reason, but to instill a sense of discipline. “Why should not people spare just half-an-hour as and when the elections are held to cast their votes?” he asked. It was intriguing that the candidates and parties with support of less than 25 per cent of the total voters ruled for years because a large majority of people did not participate in the voting and had no voice in selecting their rulers, he said.

The Bill seeks to make voting compulsory in all the seven municipal corporations, 159 municipalities, 26 district panchayats, 223 taluka panchayats and over 13,000 village panchayats in the State. It empowers an official chosen by the State Election Commission to declare an absent voter as a “defaulter” except under the circumstances of illness or being away from the state or the country on the voting day. The defaulter could be “punished” under rules to be framed by the government later after giving due notice.

The House also passed another official measure providing 50 per cent reservation for women in all the local bodies in the state.

After a marathon debate, the House passed the “Bombay Prohibition (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2009” providing for death penalty for the handlers of the spurious liquor. The Bill was originally passed in July in the aftermath of the hooch tragedy in Ahmedabad in which 136 people were killed and many others affected by partial blindness and other complications. The then Governor, however, had returned the bill for re-consideration and wider discussions with various sections of the society before re-adoption. Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Shaktisinh Gohil said, the Bill was “merely a political gimmick of the ruling BJP to garner cheap popularity and indulge in muscle flexing to show that the Central government is not helpful. It is an extension of the confrontationist mindset of the State against the Centre,” he said.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu