Electoral reforms Needed in India

The way last 2-3 years have witnessed the peoples' movements (India Against Corruption), the nation has clearly come to realize that there are many fallacies with our system of politics and governance. Hence the need of reforms is being starkly felt!
The world's largest democracy - as India is - needs more teeth so as to be optimally effective. The most powerful player of the democracy - the voter- is helpless because the politicians of today have exploited the situation and whether you vote or not, they are going to rule over you. What we need today most are:
1.Criminals should not be able to gain entry into electoral politics. Thus the move to debar charge-sheeted persons to contest is a welcome move.
2.The provision for 'negative voting' so that a 'bad' person could be precluded from getting elected.
3.Vote to 'recall': even though a complex exercise, voters should have access to this electoral weapon!
4. Initiative: Where public could initiate a proposal. If it reaches certain threshold, the legislation must be bound to take it up and enact the law,
4.Anti-defection law should be made much more stringent
5.Post-poll alliances should be governed by certain rules.
6. Election Funding by State: This will greatly help reduce the influence of money in elections and motivate well-meaning people to try electoral politics.
7. Election Commission should audit the accounts of political parties. This will help decrease the influence of black-money.
Similarly there could be many more reforms to sharpen our electoral system.

Indira Gandhi: Symbol of Ills of Indian Politics

Today (November 19) is the birth anniversery of Indira Gandhi, the late Prime Minister of India.
I have a few observations to make on this occasion.
Indira Gandhi took a strong position and truly owns the credit for creation of Bangladesh. When uncontrolled migration of people from East Bangladesh started increasing, she took this as an opportunity to draw the global attention to this hazard for India. RAW was given free hand to infiltrate in East Bangladesh to turn the tide against Pakistan and when the time for military operations became ripe, she let the army do the rest.

Understandably the Indo-Pak war for in Eastern Pakistan (now Bangladesh) did not please the US. She did not fear the super-power at that time and created the course that was in favor of her own country (India). Even her open distaste for the then US President Nixon was truly daring and remarkable. Despite the convictions that the Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had, President Nixon just hated the lady as well as our country. However, Indira Gandhi was not to be put down too! The 1971 meeting between president Nixon and Indian PM Indira Gandhi was a "classical dialogue of the deaf" as Henry kissinger sensed.
But  Indira's legacy to India is unfortunately full of ills. Her regimen was a watershed in Indian politics where the preceding era was characterized by men of integrity serving the nation (at least they were not corrupt), like Nehru, Patel, Shastri and many more. She initiated the systematic indulgence of corruption in politics and governance and centralized power around her, belittling the concept of intra-party democracy. The country continues to suffer from these phenomena till today. 
She took socialist economic model to a further height, thereby delaying the liberalization of economy (and the consequences are easy to understand). The nationalization of banks, increasing Inspector -License-Raj are her gifts to the nation, further increasing the state-control on markets, thereby hampering the growth. She was a deeply corrupt politician and was so insecure within Congress party that she ultimately led to her own party. The undemocratic elevation of Sanjay Gandhi was harbinger of family -politics on Indian political landscape. Punjab terrorism was her own creation, but I am happy to note that she crushed it with an iron hand when it went overboard. And who can forget the Emergency!
Note: Nov 19,1835 was coincidentally the birth day of LakshiBai, the Rani of Jhansi! I shall leave it to the readers to indulge in the pleasure of comparison!

Freedom Team of India

Logo of Freedom Team of India

We are looking for leaders who want to transform the Indian system of governance and politics. The current political parties- starting form Congress and BJP to regional forces like DMK, BSP and Samajwadi Party (SP) - have no short term or long term vision and perspective to curb corruption, deliver better governance to an extent that it brings succor to us. Their economic policies are at the best socialist. The free-market concept and ideas of liberty do not appeal to them , as they want to continue vote-ban politics by offering populism, quotas and catering to interest groups.
India needs a revamp of the system where democracy can thrive on the principles of freedom of expression, liberty and free market policies.
We need leaders who are willing to join hands to bring revolution to India. Here is the link for Freedom Team of India. This is not a chat group, nor a think tank. This is a political group (not yet a political party). I invite you to have an in-depth study of the concept.
www.freedomteam.in

Corruption: the Major Issue for Elections

Corruption is the major issue for the upcoming LS elections, but it should not surprise the countrymen that political parties are just not talking about it. Instead, the national and regional political parties are busy aligning and re-aligning, shuffling and re-shuffling their stands! Purpose: How to increase the bargaining power so that in post-poll market, they will be able to raise the bar. Raise the bar for ideals, and principles! No, raise the bar for extracting maximum for the power-sharing.

The three fronts are emerging: i) BJP and its allies making NDA, ii) UPA now representing mainly Congress as all the allies have deserted it, and iii) Third Front: a conglomerate of various parties who do not believe in pre-poll alliance and are not ready to even guess until elections are over because they will weigh the possibilites after the results are out. Expect these self-serving parties to do the task of nation-building!

My fellow countrymen, leave your notions of party ideologies, shake the boxes of your affiliations! These are parasites who are sucking our blood, draining our (tax payers') money and just busy politicking! Not to disparage the honest and sincere political leaders, I must say that unless the whole vision of what politics is all about, our democracy will remain in peril. We need elected leaders who commit to nation building by focusing on education, health, better public and civic administration, national security and integrity, social security for the all (particularly underprivileges masses), economic security, etc. We do not elected leaders who have come to understand that politics is all about indulging in populistic measures and making false promises!

The only solution for the short term:

1. Come out and vote on the day of voting!

2. Vote for candidates based upon the track-record, performance and profile. Do not be swayed by caste and party affiliations.

3. Destroy Regional Parties: Vote for candidates who can provide clean leadership. Throw these small regional parties out of the window as they are going to pollute the post-poll environment by extracting their flesh. These regional parties should not have any stake on the national issues! They were created to fulfill local aspirations and at national level, they will at the best create instability by producing a hung parliament!

Until political reforms are brought in so that the menace of cross over (dal badal) , unholy post-poll alliance is checked and pol parties are disciplined, these short term measures will at least give some relief to stabilize our democracy.

Negative Voting: Empower Us ASAP! Can Not Wait!

I was delighted to read this news item that SC is still acting upon the issue of negative voting as a voter's right. This right still exists, but is not simple to carry out and majority of the people do not know about it. Negative voting as a right should be as simple as casting a ( positive) vote. And this right will be revolutionary in many steps: the right to cast a negative vote will bring the real power to the voters. If this is combined with a provision to set a minimum percentage of votes to be gained to emerge victorious, this will fundamentally weed out goons of our political system. Think about it: this is a real right which is long due.

The full news story is: (NDTV)

The Supreme Court on Feb 23, 2009 referred to a larger bench the question as to whether a voter should be permitted to cast a negative vote during elections.

A two-judge bench of Justices B N Agrawal and G S Singhvi said the issue needs to be examined by a larger bench as the question involved interpretation of a citizen's fundamental right.

The bench also requested the Chief Justice to refer the matter to an appropriate larger bench for further consideration.

People Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), an NGO, had approached the apex court seeking directions to the Centre to ensure amendment to the Representation of People's Act (RPA) so that a voter can mark "none of the above" in the electronic voting machine.

This is because presently a voter if he or she desires not to cast vote in favour of any candidate, he or she should mandatorily inform the presiding officer of the polling booth.

Such a pre-condition was violative of the citizens right under Article 19(2) (Freedom of Expression and Speech) and makes the voter vulnerable to threats and intimidation from political parties, the PUCL had state

Swat Valley and Islamic Law

This week Pakistani Government agreed to allow implementation of Islamic law ((Shariya) in Swat valley (bordering Afghanistan).

Obviously this is a victory for Taliban and pro-Taliban elements. India and US have expressed concern over this development. The government of Pakistan has justified this decision by saying that this was necessary to restore peace in the valley.

Conceding to the demands of fundamentalists and extremists, this development has exposed the weakness of Pakistan government. Pakistani political leadership has always been pre-occupied in destabilizing the regional peace (be it India or Afghanistan): Taliban is a creation of Pakistan as the world knows! Let loose the extremism and it comes back to devour you! That is what has been happening there! As the recent times indicate, Taliban seems to be re-emerging in Afghanistan (hence a troop increase by USA in Afghanistan). Similarly, experts say that this so-called peace-making move in Swat valley will actually allow Taliban forces to regroup and re-strengthen.

Ban on Exit Polls: A Welcome Step

The recent decision by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on opinion and exit polls is a welcome step.

According to the new guidelines, the Commission has barred dissemination of opinion and exit polls by the print and electronic media 48 hours prior to the date of the Lok Sabha or Assembly elections in case of a single-phase election and a blanket ban on these surveys till the end of polling in the event of multi-phase elections.

Obviously free and fair elections are a pre-condition for a democracy. The exit polls being displayed while the whole election process has not been completed, has the potential to introduce the bias.

It may be noted that in January 1998, the Election Commission had banned the airing of exit polls during elections till the final phase of voting. However, this order was challenged in the Supreme Court and was quashed.

The ECI recently again asked the Supreme Court to decide whether there should be a reasonable restriction on the opinion polls during certain specified periods during the election process. The apex court gave a verdict leaving the issue to its discretion to lay down guidelines till the Union Government frames regulations. Hence ECI jumped on this opportunity to bring in a healthy practice.

Corruption is Our National Religion!

Every nation has its own USP (Unique Selling Point). Ours is there too. It is: Corruption in civic life! Winston Churchill- the British Prime-Minister during the 1940s when India was at full peaceful 'revolt' (in other words, Satyagraha) to gain independence from British rule- would often mock that India would go dogs if British left them at their mercy! He was fiercely anti -India and there is enough of evidence to point to that mindset. BUT, is his prophecy coming true! Without being pejorative to our country and its citizens, I am afraid that when we look at the civic administration we have set up in last 6 decades somehow conforms to what Churchill said. The sheer indulgence in corruption and lethargic judicial delivery system speak volumes of our commitment of a fair play for common man! The politicians and babus are systematically looting the country and common man finds unable to get a grasp as to where to start to contain this degeneration!

Latest in this story is another high profile bureaucrat who is by the way an Election Commissioner too. He is Navin Chawla. In a country which professes herself to be a democracy, I need not elaborate how important is the role of Election Commission and its officers. Chawla is in another controversy now. A lower court in Jaipur has ordered that the case be investigated about Land-row where Chawla happens to be the accused (click to read the full story). With the patronage of Congress party, as the Indian Law Minsiter Bhardwaj has made it amply clear, Chawla is going to be a Chief EC in weeks to come! It is a bluff to the charges that the current CEC has raised against Chawla.

So much for our liberty and fair rights to vote! Who supervises that: a babu who has not learnt the ethics of beaurocracy!
Never mind! Corruption is our national religion!

Election Commission and Ethical Issues

The current controversy at the Election Commission of India drew my attention to a fact that the former Chief Election Commissioner M S Gill is now a Rajya Sabha member! I used to perceive Mr. Gill as a righteous person, but his accepting a political nomination has undone whatever he gained as a CEC. Now, before we get into the expectations of individual-based adherence to ethics and morals, let us admit that it is the State that teaches its citizens discipline, and ethics, otherwise man has its own fallibility. In my judegement- and I am sure many will agree with me- an individual who has served as an Election Commissioner or Chief EC- should be barred from accepting any political nomination or post ( if not for life, surely for at least certain period so that he/she is not enticed to behave in a partisan manner).

A democracy without regulations and oversight is a dysfunctional democracy and may actually border the realm of a dictatorship. Our 62 years old democracy needs many more refinements so as to serve our nation in an optimal manner.

Election Commissioner Chawla:Resign or be Sacked!

With Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami recommending the removal of his colleague Navin Chawla, a kind of constitutional crisis has been precipitated. Former Lok Sabha secretary general and a constitutional expert Subash Kashyap said that the letter had put the government in a fix. He further stated that the President had recommended the letter to the PMO. "If Chawla is removed now and with the CEC retiring on April 20 - in the middle of the elections - the government will have to appoint a new election commissioner to supervise the elections," he said.
Whereas some legal experts have voiced concern that the timing by the CEC is ill-suited and smacks of some motivation.
One thing is for sure: Navin Chawla has been a controversial beaurocrat and has been perceived close to Congress party (remember Romesh Bhandari! An IAS officer who blatantly played to the tunes of Congress party, very vocal to defend his actions and ever eager to throw rules and regulations to the wind; he was later elevated to the gubernatorial post in Uttar Pradesh). Chawla belongs to that genre of self-serving beaurocrats! Election Commission and its image is jeopardized when tainted officers are appointed to its office. It is clear that Chawla would take a combative posture because such beaurocrats do not believe in ethics and morals. In the best interest of our democracy and to spare Election Commission the periods of controversy, the government should swiftly come into action and sack Chawla and appoint a new Election Commission. Will the recuperating Prime Minister pay any attention to Chawla controversy!

60th Republic Day: Reforms, Reforms Reforms: That is the Need of the Hour!

Januray 26: India would be celebrating its 60th Republic Day! A moment of pride and a sense of achievement! Yes, for sure! But the occasion also gives us an opportunity to reflect back upon the path traveled so far!
India is the world's largest democracy. It has survived and has shown the determination to grow despite the obvious obstacles that we as a country have: illiteracy, lop-sided development, sub-optimal delivery in social justice and inability to implement the fundamental right -as enshrined in our constitution- of uniform civil code.
The decades of experience with our democracy has thrown up a few stark realities: Lack of reforms in various branches of democracy, viz. legislative, executive, judiciary has resulted in stymied growth of our nation and has hampered the fruits of a democracy reaching uniformly to all sections of the society.

Since Independence, our political system has somehow become an example of "Revolving Door Democracy" and has been crippled with political sub-versions, maneuvers, and corruption. It may not be an under-statement that over 60 years our nation has failed to bring in regulations, and reforms into our system at a desired pace! Blatant misuse of muscle-power, money power and lung-power has meant that Laloos, Mayawatis , Jayapradas and Mulayams have thrived, whereas right-thinking voices have been systematically marginalized.
Bring in real reforms in all branches of our democracy: electoral reforms, judicial reforms, an eagle-like oversight on the use of money in elections, and rigorous implementation of conflict of interest and ethics are some of the badly needed actions without delay.
I often say that if a commoner like Manmohan Singh (who is not a typical politician) as a Prime Minister can be a mute spectator to the ills of our democratic polity (remember vote of confidence of Manmohan Singh Ministry! The whole nation was looking haplessly while open horse-trading was going on!) and has been unable to initiate reforms, then expect it from no one else! That means that there are flaws in the system that need to be fixed! To expect that our elected politicians would unite to bring in these reforms: would be a day-dreaming! Only solution is: we the people (and voters) must rise above partisan feelings and press for reforms ( in other words, empowerment for the people).
Let me conclude with a word of caution. Looking at American model, many in India have advocated a two-party electoral politics. That model has been working for USA, but I am very cynical about that for India in the current scenario. Give the voters the choice of only 2 parties: both would loot the whole country alternately! Whereas multi-party eletoral system has shown obvious drawbacks, I am afraid unregulated and unaccountable democracy would be further jeopardized if we choose to abbreviate it to a 2-party system!

Special Envoy to Pakistan & Afghanistan

Immediately after assuming the Presidency, Mr. Obama announced that former Senate majority leader George Mitchell has been named a special envoy to the Middle East peace process, and that former U.N. ambassador Richard Holbrooke will be a special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mr. Obama has rightly termed Afghanistand and Pakistan as "central front" in terror war. The President has carefully avoided to include India in this equation. This is a welcome development.
Pledging his best to undertake this daunting assignment, Holbrooke noted Afghanistan and Pakistan are "two very distinct countries with extraordinarily different histories, and yet intertwined by geography, ethnicity and the current drama." That is an apt statement! It is an indirect way of saying that Islamic terrorism is central to the issue that plagues the two countries!

Mr. Holbrook has gained a reputation as a peace-maker and actually has been nominated 7 times for the Noble Peace Prize. If USA could bring some sanity to the this phenomenon of religious terrorism, and that too from the epi-center of Pakistan, the world would be a more peaceful place! What could we expect from India in this direction? Well, the chicken-hearted India has demonstrated very clearly that it is not willing to protect its boundaries and pitch, so expecting some thing tangible from India would be more of an imagination!

How to deal with Pakistan?

Pakistan's role in Islamic terrorism is well known. It is simply a misfortune that India happens to be its neighbor. I have read many arguements in favor of containing Pakistan, but none is more powerful and convincing than the one made by Mr. Prem Prakash in this Op-Ed published in The Tribune Dec. 16, 2008. I have no hesitation in saying that India is not serious in dealing with Pakistan. Indian PM Mr. Manmohan Singh has reduced himself to a pitiable situation when he deals with this issue. India as a state does not want todefend itself, that is the impression everyone is gaining! I reproduce the whole piece of article here. Enjoy and think what could be against this arguement! Nothing, I bet!

It is the army that owns Pakistan
by Prem Prakash
It won’t be long before a large group of people march to Wagah on the India-Pakistan border carrying lit candles in their hands, seeking friendship with that country. Makes for great pictures, gives them all the publicity, but where does it take the relations between India and Pakistan?
It is high time that we learn to be realistic about our neighbour. There is far too much talk about the cultural affinity between India and Pakistan and the fact that we were one country at one time.
Yes, we were one at one time. They sought separation and got it. It is a different matter that they do not know what to do with the country that they got.
The founders of Pakistan failed to give that country a stable constitution. The present rulers have totally forgotten what their founder Mohammad Jinnah wanted the country to be like.
The country has become a fiefdom of its army ever since Gen. Ayub Khan staged a coup in 1958. It is not a country that has an army, but it is an army that owns the country.
The army in Pakistan can continue to control and own that country so long as it can project that it faces a threat from India. Take away that threat perception and the Pakistan army will lose all its clout.
This is clear like daylight to anyone who wishes to see it, yet there are people in India who keep making noises about “people-to-people relations”, “one culture” and so on as though the other side is waiting with open arms to befriend Indians.
Whatever cultural affinity existed between the two people has been destroyed. Pakistan today is an altogether a different kind of nation and people.
There may be a miniscule minority having values similar to the Indian middle class, but the large majority of the ruling class has been converted to ‘Wahabi’ Islam. Efforts have been made to indoctrinate Muslims in India as well.
The Pakistan army, which took over the country in the sixties, sought to legitimise itself by telling its people that India is its greatest enemy, and legitimately the ‘Moslems’ should have been ruling in the Red Fort. School books were rewritten and officers and soldiers in the armed forces were indoctrinated with that message.
So, how does India deal with a country with such a fragmented polity? One answer would be to deal with the army. Here again, it is a no-win scenario. Why should Pakistan’s army befriend India and destroy its legitimacy and necessity for that country?
Therefore, let us take a hard look. First, it is just too bad that we have a neighbour like Pakistan, which is hostile. The first and foremost thing to be done is to secure your own house.
The recent terror attack in Mumbai has exposed the fact that India has neither fully secured its land frontiers nor its coastline. We need to get that done.
The whole idea of these trains and buses travelling between the two countries needs a fresh look. We need to study the rise in the number of terror attacks on India ever since these so-called “people-to-people” contacts became too open. There has been a quantitative rise in these attacks as the enemy has been able to use these services for frequent incognito visits.
Yes, let trade relations grow, but strictly on a reciprocal basis. We have serious differences with China, yet trade between the two countries is multiplying. Surely we can do some thing similar with Pakistan if that is workable.
If the government in Pakistan is seen as trying to respond to Indian concerns following the Mumbai commando attack by elements from that country, it is because of international pressure on Pakistan, which is today on the brink of bankruptcy.
If Pakistan fails to get the second instalment of funds from the IMF this month, it won’t have funds in its treasury to pay for the salaries of its staff, and that perhaps includes the army as well.
Let us also not forget that the army there has received well over US $10 billion from the US to fund the so-called war against terror. Further income from this source could dry up too.
Let us deal with Pakistan realistically and without nostalgia. Let us deal with them as a country that is home to the world’s most wanted terrorists, a country that created the “mujahadeen” and “Taliban” as pawns to extend its reach into neighbouring territories.
Let us also remember that it was the so-called “Taliban” who overran Afghanistan, three years after the withdrawal of the Soviet troops. They publicly hanged the President of Afghanistan Najibullah.
Even since the murder of President Najibullah, Pakistan has pushed Afghanistan into the stone age with the help of the “Taliban”. Pakistan has always wanted to create a strategic depth for itself. Afghanistan had to lose its individuality.
India must be realistic about the situation that exists on the ground. Yes, we want a civilian government in Pakistan. Yes, we want the army of that country and its ISI to be brought under civilian control. But, then Americans too have their interests in the region. They want the Pakistan army to fight their war on terror.
For India, the choice is clear. We have had enough of this nonsense of one-way goodwill. It is time to deal with Pakistan as it is. Let us not expect that they will respond to any of our demands about closing down the terror camps or handing over the criminals wanted by India. We have to evolve our own options.
The world today respects the rich and powerful. India today is seen as an emerging power.
Let us strengthen our borders and our coastlines so that the enemy dare not attempt to come in again. Ignore your adversaries and isolate them for what they are doing to the world. Stop the candle light marches to the Wagah border, to shake hands with a neighbour who still dreams of marching into India. — ANI

Zardari's Op-Ed in NY Times: Hocus -pocus

So we read a op-Ed in NY Times on Dec. 9 contributed by The Pakistani President Zardari (remember Mr. 10 % !). The title is: "The Terrorists Want to Destroy Pakistan, Too!"
Some of the observations are:

1. "The Mumbai attacks were directed not only at India but also at Pakistan’s new democratic government and the peace process with India that we have initiated. Supporters of authoritarianism in Pakistan and non-state actors with a vested interest in perpetuating conflict do not want change in Pakistan to take root. "
2. To foil the designs of the terrorists, the two great nations of Pakistan and India, born together from the same revolution and mandate in 1947, must continue to move forward with the peace process.
3. India is a mature nation and a stable democracy. Pakistanis appreciate India’s democratic contributions. But as rage fueled by the Mumbai attacks catches on, Indians must pause and take a breath. India and Pakistan — and the rest of the world — must work together to track down the terrorists who caused mayhem in Mumbai, attacked New York, London and Madrid in the past, and destroyed the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad in September. The terrorists who killed my wife are connected by ideology to these enemies of civilization.
4. For India, Pakistan and the United States, the best response to the Mumbai carnage is to coordinate in counteracting the scourge of terrorism. The world must act to strengthen Pakistan’s economy (Mr. 10 % asking for more money!) and democracy, help us build civil society and provide us with the law enforcement and counterterrorism capacities that will enable us to fight the terrorists effectively.

To your charges, Mr. Zardari, I think the best response is what Indian Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed in a veiled reference to Pakistan said in the UN: "Raising dust to confuse the trail so that the "merchants of terror can hide" is not acceptable. "
Mr. Zardari, do not you know that Pakistan has over the decades become an established hub of terrorism! It is a failed state, a rogue nation who must be dealt sternly! It is an international migraine! What ever is happening in Pakistan is regrettable and worrisome for India, and pakistan has become an incorrigible rogue for India! India has not been able to set its own house in order and Pakistan is exacerbating the issues for India. Can India take some effective measures to solve the issues, I doubt it!

Can you arrest a sitting lawmaker in India: Nope!

Can this happen in India? Nope, never!
I live in Illinois and the Governor of Illinois - land of Linclon- has been arrested today (December 09, 2008) on corruption charges. He was actually put in custody (though later on released on bail, but his passport was forfeited). Read part of the story as narrated by CNN:

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich appeared in court Tuesday afternoon to hear federal corruption charges against him. He was released on $4,500 bail.

Rod Blagojevich is serving his second term as governor of Illinois.

The governor, who appeared in court in a blue jogging suit, also had to forfeit his passport.
FBI agents arrested Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, early Tuesday on federal corruption charges related in part to the selection of President-elect Barack Obama's successor to the Senate, the U.S. attorney's office said.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald declared Tuesday a "sad day for government."
"Gov. Blagojevich has taken us to a new low," he said. "This conduct would make [Abraham] Lincoln roll over in his grave."
Lincoln was a congressman from Illinois before becoming president.
Fitzgerald said the government had bugged the governor's campaign office and placed a tap on his home phone.
Each was charged with a count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and a count of solicitation of bribery, authorities said.

Charges are also that he tried to sell the senator seat vacated by the President -elect Obama (senator from Illinois). In USA constitution, if a senator seat is vacated, the Governor has the right to nominate a person for rest of the term.

In India, politicians cutting across party lines, ideology and of all sizes and shapes and gender indulge in blatant scandals, misappropriation of public funds. They are thick-skinned to whom no law authorities can touch. You touch a politician in India and huge roar and cry will be there! How dare you! Can a credible governance emerge in our counrty?
To read the whole story about Blagojevich, click on this link.

State Elections

So the verdict is out for 2008 State Assembly elections (results our December 8):
Delhi remains with Congress, MP and Chattisgarh remain with BJP. BJP loses Rajasthan.

Congress despite the wins is the biggest threat to our national unity and security. It has shamlelessly indulged in divisive politics. It has not taken to set the home turf in order. One after another terrorist attack has been ignored.
And about BJP: Rediff has rightly observed: "The BJP has not only lost, but its entire stance on terrorism stands exposed. It will need many chintan baithaks (seminars) for party leaders to discover why the voters did not buy their serious and quite justifiable allegation of the Congress party being soft on terror".

Lok Sabha elections are a few months away. Will the nation make a firm decision to press for national security?

Welcome Initiative from Indian Muslims Scholars

"I have heard that the terrorists were avenging the demolition of the Babri Masjid, the Gujarat riots and other issues. But, we (Indian Muslims) have never asked for any kind of help from outside India. We don't ask for help, we don't complain to outsiders. We are living in a secular country. Whatever we want to say, we will tell our Prime Minister, our Cabinet ministers. It makes no sense to talk about our issues to outsiders. Why are others coming here and taking up our issues? We don't need them."

How heart- warming! These are the words of Mr. Kamal Faruqui, well-known leader and founder member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, who had organised a seminar to launch the movement in New Delhi , where each speaker emphasised that it was time to stand up and be counted.

Similarly, Mr. Faruqui added: "Indian Muslims must come out of self-denial.
Read the whole news- piece at this link from Rediff news portal.

Civic Engagement

key words when we talk about society, community and its empowerment:
1. Civic engagement
2. Community Development
3. Peace and social justice: Human rights, civil society and governance

Civic Engagement : Wikipedia gives a good narration of this concept.
"Civic engagement" can mean not only a set of actions and efforts, but a feeling of belonging, an experience of investment and ownership in the local, regional, national, and/or international political communities to which citizens belong. According to the New York Times , "Civic engagement means working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference."

Beginning in 2001, a major international research initiative on civic engagement was initiated by the Global Service Institute (GSI) at the Center for Social Development, at Washington University in St. Louis to more carefully define this term.
Forms:
Civic engagement can take many forms— from individual volunteerism to organizational involvement to electoral participation. It can include efforts to directly address an issue, work with others in a communityy to solve a problem or interact with the institutions of representative democracy.
Activities:
In a study published by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at the University of Maryland researchers developed a quantifiable definition of civic engagement. The following measure is based on 19 measures of civic engagement, which is divided into 3 categories: civic, electoral, and political voice.
Measures of Civic Engagement:

a] Civic b] Electoral c] Political Voice

Thomas Ehrlich says:
"Educational attainment is a powerful predictor of civic engagement. The more education people have, the more likely it is that they will participate in civic affairs."
He further adds: Voice and Equality analyzed nine types of political activity: voting, campaign work, campaign contributions, contacting an official, protests, informal community work, membership on a local board, affiliation with a political organization, and contribution to a political cause. One could debate the presence or absence of one or more categories on this list, but in sum they reflect the range of activities that make our democracy work.

To summarize in simple words, Civic Engagement means as the organization PACE puts:
Civic Engagement:"There are many ways in which people participate in civic, community and political life and, by doing so, express their engaged citizenship. From volunteering to voting, from community organizing to political advocacy, the defining characteristic of active civic engagement is the commitment to participate and contribute to the improvement of one’s community, neighborhood and nation."

Secularism: Indian Brand!

Obviuosly this nation called Bharat- that has secular ethos in its roots- chose agains as if to restress the fact- in 1947 to be a secular country officially! Good step. But the official India has deviated from the path of secularism gradually over last 6 decades. What we see today is classification of Indians as Majority and Minority based upon the faith they practice. Hindu Citizens are treated as "Reserved class" and "Non-reserved class" based upon the caste they belong to. The Constitution allows special treatment of states (read Kashmir). This is divisive polity at its best. The nation has been bleeding since last 2 decades for sure becuase of Jehadi terrorism yet there is a debate - unduly prolonged debate- whether to call this terrorism as Jehadi terrorism! What else this is? Are we blind?

India is paying the price. Congress party has done the utmost dis-service to the nation in this regard. BJP has disappointed too. The current Government -headed by de facto Prime Minister Sonia Gandhi - is crying publically that they have the evidence that Pakistan is involved in the recent terrorist attack in Mumabi. US agency CIA has come out with a verdict towards that conclusion too. US Secretary of State - Ms Rice - is already here to cool the tempers: in actual pour water on something concrete action that India might be considering against Pakistan. What happened when we knew that LeT was involved in the Parliament attack in 2001. Is there something more sacrosanct than Parliament?
India has to first set its own house in order. I quote François Gautier here: "Under Sonia's rule, Indian Muslims, too, have been used as electoral pawns. They have been encouraged to shun the Sufi streak, a blend of the best of Islam and Vedanta, for a hard-line Sunni brand imported from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan."
Ok, may be the nation will get rid of Sonia regime in the next Lok sabha elections which are hardly 6 months away. Ok, may be L K Advaani will become the Prime Minister. Will he bring about a true secularism in practice? I doubt it. The division of citizens on the basis of majority and minority will continue. The demon of caste-based reservation will raise its head again and again. Kashmir would continue to be isolated because of the special attention it receives ( I call it discrimination with Kashmir itself!).

New adjectives for Pakistan

Given its role in Jehadi terrorism, Pakistan has been painted in media in last several years with various descriptions:

Hub of terrorism, a rogue nation, a failed state and Time described as 'the most dangerous nation on earth'.

In wake of Mumbai terrorist attack last week which was carried out by -as the evidence suggest so far- by Pakistani Jehadi terrorists- western media has coined 2 new phrases to the list:

1) Madeline Albright has called Pakistan 'an International Migraine'.
2) "Intersection of nuclear weapons and terrorism."

The US media has said that next attack in US will originate in Pakistan. Click over here to read the news-item.