Should we be worried for or about "Shehzada"?

Rahul Gandhi had recently remarked that he also may be killed the way his father and grandmother were, but that he did not care. He tried to emotionally involve the audience via the family references. One of the most controversial remarks, as everyone is aware now, was about an intelligence officer briefing him about some developments in UP. 

Now till date he has not clarified further on these remarks. Questions were raised as to why a mere (I don't think I can say this with a straight face) MP was briefed by an intelligence officer. The UP government itself does not seem to have received the inputs shared by Rahul Gandhi. As per news reports the officer in question might not have given accurate information also.

So on the one hand I think we should be worried for him, for his safety, that another young (again, difficult to say this with a straight face) life in the country might be lost. On the other hand I should be worried for this country. This person does not seem to have the maturity to keep sensitive intelligence reports (true or false) to himself. Also if I remember correctly he was blaming the BJP for creating hate via communal politics. This hate had supposedly given rise to terrorism to which his family had fallen victim. I am worried about this person's grasp on not only the country's history but also that of his family. I am currently reading a book called "India, a Potrait" by Patrick French which is quite informative. Indira Gandhi was assassinated after Operation Bluestar. The terrorist behind this Bhindranwale was propped by none other than Sanjay Gandhi and Indira Gandhi. Further Rajiv Gandhi had sent the IPKF to Sri Lanka. He was assassinated by the LTTE for his involvement in Sri Lanka. 

Thus Indira Gandhi fell victim to her own politics and there was nothing religious about Rajiv Gandhi's death. Does Rahul know this? Or is a potential future PM of this country simply lying to the people to garner votes? 

 

Another small technical point which had come to my mind. Jawaharlal Nehru is said to have come from a family of Kashmiri Pandits though there are doubters to this claim. Let us assume this is true. Now Feroze Gandhi came from a Parsi/Mohammedan family. Going by Indian traditions his progeny with Indira Gandhi would count as Parsis/Muslims. Apparently Rahul Gandhi countered a party member's claim that forward castes were not doing well in the party by pointing to himself. Leaving aside the point that this argument is null and void as he comes from the first family and he would still have made it had he not been able to spell his own name, how does he claim to be a Brahmin? I have no problems with any person from any caste occupying any role, I am just curious.

Omar's Dangerous Precedent

The younger Abdullah is becoming quite well known for his tweets. However the latest one has caused quite some controversy, and justifiedly. I do not believe what the Tamil Nadu Assembly did in the first place was right. Requesting clemency for Tamilians in spite of their offence set the wrong precedent in the first place. Murugan's daughter might be justified in asking clemency for her father and mother, after all, she has never been able to enjoy her childhood fully.

Karunanidhi finds himself in a strange situation today. His daughter is in jail. So is the dalit face of his party. Remember that this is a state which has 70% reservation (if I am not mistaken). His family and party members have been hounded on the basis of various accusations like land grabbing. He has faced a whitewash in the last assembly elections. The senior citizen is grasping at straws to reclaim some political legitimacy in this situation. The political situation in Sri Lanka has always been an emotive issue in Sri Lanka due to their language affinity. It is sad that the government and in fact the entire state assembly decided to jump onto this populist bandwagon. Remember, whether or not the visionary or saint that he is made out to be by the Congress today, Rajiv Gandhi was in fact a former Prime Minister of our nation. So by supporting his killers is not a state government not going against the law of the land? Does this not show disrespect to the entire legal process and to the position of the President of the Union of India itself?

In Omar's case the situation is a little more complicated. He should remember that Sri Lanka as a nation was never anti-India (to my knowledge). However this seems to be the raison d'etre of Pakistan, or at least the military and/or political leadership. Note that I took the name of the military first. Why is this? Even when Nawaz Sharif was talking peace with A B Vajpayee his army chief, Musharraf was planning and conducting the Kargil war. Thus in Afzal Guru's case the issue is not about simply supporting a person of your religion, or your native land. It is about supporting a nation, an ideology that by its very essence is against our nation. It is sad that the Chief Minister of a state, and that too of a state that has been the bone of contention between India and Pakistan (irrespective of whatever our political class might admit publicly), says this. Apparently now the J & K Assembly will pass a resolution on Afzal Guru. Omar Abdullah and the entire state assembly should be ashamed of their conduct. Two wrongs do not make a right. We have a saying in Telugu - pulini choosi nakka vaatha pettukunnattu - which essentially means says that a fox wanted to look regal like a tiger, it wanted the stripes, so it ended up branding itself with a hot iron.

At the same time the entire issue brings into question the time our legal process of disseminating justice takes. Raiv Gandhi died in 1991. Twenty years later we have still not completed the process. I am not advocating that the condemned be hanged. I am just remarking about the time the process takes. The Bofors case which came out in the 80s was recently closed inconclusively. Afzal Guru was convicted in the Parliament attack case, the attack happened in 2001. The longer the legal process takes the greater is the chance for complications to arise.