The President of India - From Figurehead to Token?

For long there has been an impression among many that the President of India has always been a figurehead with all actual power being concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister and his council of ministers. This is true to an extent. However the current presidential election has brought into focus the importance of a President in especially the current political scenario of India. When fractured verdicts have become more common than before the President holds the prerogative of inviting who he thinks can form the government. Also I am currently reading Turning Points by APJ Abdul Kalam. This further shows how a President can play an active role.

However our Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces seems to be increasingly becoming a token. Why was Pratibha Patil made the President? One reason was that she was pliable and not at all likely to do anything controversial or inimical to the interests of the ruling authorities. It is another matter that her post-retirement home (which was to have been constructed on Army land), her foreign trips and of late her pardoning spree have made her anything but controversial. However probably the most important reason was that she was a woman. And not only a woman, but the first woman President. When KR Narayanan was made the President there was a lot of noise made about a Dalit having become the President, never mind the millions of Dalits facing persecution and oppression, the failure of successive governments to improve their plight via reservation or otherwise.

Today we have a politician in Pranab Mukherjee who has all the essential qualifications to be the next President. But no, PA Sangma will not hand it to him on a platter. He wants a tribal to be the next President. The opposition, sniffing a different front to attack the government pounced on the opportunity. I wonder when we will move ahead of these tokenisms and re-elect a person of Abdul Kalam's stature unanimously!

Moving on, Time magazine has dubbed our PM an underachiever. I would be quite interested to see how the government and the Congress react to this. This is something that people in the country are well aware. The Time article only serves to show that outside India also the PM is losing his veneer of respectability. Of what use are power, fame or intellect if you cannot exercise or utilize them?

A Manmohan encore? Unlikely

Manmohan Singh (MMS) has taken responsibility of the Finance Ministry (FM), probably leaving P Chidambaram (PC) one disappointed guy. There are many who expect MMS to do an encore of his 1991 act when he shook the Indian economy out of its slumber. However this seems hardly likely this time round. There are multiple commentators who have expressed the view that this time round MMS does not have a PV Narasimha Rao to back him up. He has Sonia Gandhi who is the power behind the throne. Sonia Gandhi's NAC for instance seems to be acting as a separate cabinet. There were some points made with respect to the proposed legislation on land acquisition and rehabilitation by a Parliamentary Standing Committee. It seems that post these there were discussions internal to the NAC and with Rahul Gandhi. What is the sanctity of the Standing Committee in this scenario? Had the proposals been rejected by the Cabinet it would have been one matter. However here we have a body which is unelected and extra-constitutional. Sonia Gandhi seems more interested in maintaining all subsidies and her pet projects like the MGNREGA and the Food Security Act, irrespective of the impact on our economy. India today is facing its highest current account deficit (CAD) in 20 years. India has not been able to fully capitalize on the weak Rupee to boost exports. One reason is probably the weak external demand due to sluggish growth or contraction abroad. The CAD is also being affected as a weak Rupee also increases the cost of our imports. 

It is time that the government woke up and did something before we face another 1991-like situation. The government keeps making all the right noises about reforms and requirements of the economy - whether it be FDI in infrastructure or in the retail sector. However when the PM is not the actual decision maker implementing anything becomes difficult. We have ministers booing the international rating agencies (the fact that their credibility is under question post the sub-prime crisis is a different story). We have a minister asking Lakshmi Mittal  not to defame India abroad. We have Pranab Mukherjee, who by the way seems all set to become the next President, who has been saying that the government will take steps. We never get to know what these steps exactly are. 

Moving on, India seems to be making some progress in investigating various terrorist attacks. Jundal or Zabiuddin or whatever his name is has been brought back to India. Now another operative called Fasih will probably be brought back soon. However the media seems to be getting overly zealous in reporting. In fact Jundal's arrest was supposed to have been kept a secret. Also everyday we seem to be getting updates about the investigation. Do the media personnel realize that these are matters related to national security? That their reports will serve to alert other operatives and can potentially give them enough prior notice to escape the law? There should be some self-restraint that has to be practised by our media. Also the government should investigate who it is that is leaking these reports to the media. Further we know Pakistan is a slippery customer as it is. Give them proof of their complicity and they will give 10 reasons to escape responsibility however hollow they might sound. Hence secrecy becomes all the more important.

Jagan-naut or Jagan-nought?

This is my first post from the land of Lord Jagannatha. Juggernaut is a term I find cute. Now coming to the topic, I will first of all confess that I have greatly lost touch with the general events in my home state of Andhra Pradesh. It is due to the obsession, for lack of a better word, with Jaganmohan Reddy (Jagan), the late YSR's son that I have started taking interest again. My wife and I both have been victims of this media saturation. Thus when she suggested a post on this, I though, why not?

For the uninitiated, the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, an extremely charismatic leader was a former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Ever since he died his son Jagan had been nurtuting chief ministerial ambitions. When "Madam" Sonia Gandhi did not show any interest he broke away from the Congress and formed the YSR Congress Party. He seems to be quite popular, at least as per the response to his public rallies and the margin of his victory in his Lok Sabha contest. He has been accused of illegally profiting during the rule of his father. It is said that there have been quid pro quo investments in his companies. His rise has been spectacular. Now we have to see whether his downfall, if it happens will be as spectacular.

Today Jagan is a strange factor in Andhra politics. There has been strong clamour for Telangana to be carved out of AP. The Congress is a fence-sitter while the TDP has turned pro-Telangana. To my knowledge Jagan is yet to make his stand clear. This political ambiguity, while having its critics can actually help him as people will not have a clear reason to not vote for him. His entry into politics has queered the pitch for the TDP and Congress. There are leaders from both parties who can very well switch to YSRCP. This can directly lead to the present Congress govt. falling. Thus it is in the Congress' interests to ensure that Jagan is sidelined. Further YSR effectively ensured that there was no other leader of his standing or popularity in the state unit of the Congress. As per a news item I read (probably in the NDTV website) he ensured that all leaders above Zilla Parishad posts were his relations - family or business wise. Thus the Congress finds itself in disarray today. In spite of all its protestations of not having used the CBI as a weapon against Jagan the timing of his recent arrest and the duration raises key questions. His present custody will extend till just one day before the scheduled by-elections in Andhra Pradesh. His mother and YSR's widow has actively jumped into the fray. She is sure to use Jagan's arrest as a point to garner sympathy of the voters. Thus it is quite possible that these elections will see a very strong performance by YSRCP. 

The outcome of these elections can decide the future of the political scenario in the state. If YSRCP performs strongly and Jagan is able to at least temporarily escape the CBI's custody it is very possible he will emerge as a very very strong political candidate, possibly even the next CM. However if he is found guilty and sentenced he might end up as a damp squib. In the latter scenario the Congress and the TDP both will find it easy to keep their flock together. 

Jagan belongs to the politically influential Reddy community. He has Sakshi TV and Sakshi newspaper through which he can influence public opinion, at least to some extent. His father was immensely popular. He is seen as the successor to his father and he does not seem to have any problems money wise. These are the things going in his favour today. A probable lack of equivalent leaders in at least the Congress can probably be added as a point in his favour.

Thus we will soon see whether Jagan will be a juggernaut, crushing his opposition and cruising to victory, or whether he will be incarcerated and be reduced to nothing. Given the nature of Indian politics even if he is found guilty he might return one day and play the role of the innocent victim in front of the voters. The Indian public can probably forgive everything and anything. So will this be Jagan's year? Wait and watch!

The Great Indian Intelligence Smorgasbord

I was reminded of this term somehow and looked it. Though the word was originally meant for a dish it has become synonymous with a heterogeneous mixture.

Moving on, I was reading an article on why there is some opposition to the NCTC mooted by the Home Minister, P Chidambaram (PC). Apparently PC envisaged an umbrella organization with an operations wing and which would report solely to him. I initially thought Mamata, among various others, was being extremely impractical when she was opposing the very idea of the NCTC. Now I have mixed feelings. On the one hand we have a number of intelligence agencies. Look at this list. For quite some time there has been a clamour for centralized analysis of intelligence collected by various agencies. It is quite possible that a piece of information collected by an agency in Tamil Nadu, which seems insignificant to the local personnel could be the key piece in a puzzle being put together by a central intelligence agency.

So why can't we change the NCTC into such an agency? Unless I am mistaken we do not have a proper central agency today which does that. We have the NSA and CCS (Cabinet Committee on Security). However they cannot sift through the huge volume of information that keeps flowing in. This could be something that is handed over to the NCTC. It can act as a central collator of information coming in from various quarters. It can analyze the same and then give appropriate directions to various government agencies.

This would also require setting up a secure and robust communication network for information sharing between central agencies. Given today's instances like spyware originating from China, the Stuxnet attack in Iran, this should be all the more secure as it would be used to share very sensitive information. Now we can only wait and watch as to how the NCTC game plays out.

Is Mamata trying to do an Indira?

Birth is something that is more associated with a mother than a father. Thus it is not surprising when one's native place or country is compared to a mother. The saying attributed to Rama - jananee janmabhoomischa swargaadapi gareeyasee (mother and motherland are greater than heaven - this is the national motto of Nepal) - is apparently apocryphal. Valimiki's Ramayana is considered to be the authoritative version and this does not have that line. There is however a difference between justified adoration and simple sycophancy. 

There was a former politician Dev Kant Baruah who once said, "Indira is India and India is Indira". I do not know whether Indira Gandhi actually believed him. However she is known as one of India's most authoritarian figures ever. Mamata seems to be en route to becoming like her day by day. She does not seem to be financially benefiting out of politics. The next aim seems to be power. She seems to be identifying herself too literally with the mother part in her slogan maa, maaTee, maanush. She is brooking no kind of challenge to her authority. There was a rape incident some time back. In spite of being a woman she simply claimed it was a ploy to defame her government. Then her government sent a list of approved papers to various libraries in West Bengal or Paschim Bongo to be politically correct. Now a professor who forwarded a political cartoon has been arrested. First he was assaulted by her supporters. The police instead of first dealing with the assaulters slapped cases against him on what charges? Eve teasing, assaulting the modesty of a woman etc. Agreed, didi is not married, but eve teasing? Seriously? For a cartoon?

The professor is rightly receiving support from students who are forwarding various cartoons on her. Mamata having wrested power from the CPM is seeing them in every shadow. She should come out of her paranoia. In fact by her actions she is probably increasing the popularity of the CPM in a way CPM members could not probably have done.

She can probably take a leaf out of Modi's book. He is another politician who has claimed complete identification with Gujarat publicly. Any attack on him is made out to be one on the dignity of Gujarat. However I don't think he has resorted to Mamata's means. He has taken the path of promoting development and that has reaped rich political dividends. Will Mamata learn from him?

On the institution of marriage - 2

I had written a post earlier on the institution of marriage. I have been asked to comment on life post marriage. To protect our privacy I cannot comment directly on the same. However I will write about a few things which I believe are part of or essential to any couple's happy married life. Before I am pilloried I will put a disclaimer here - the sequence does not necessarily indicate the importance of the topic being discussed.

The first is companionship. Before marriage a person comes into contact with a lot of people in his/her life - parents, relatives, friends, girl/boy (generally not both!) friends. However in an inexpressible way the companionship provided by one's spouse is completely different. Here are two people who have made a (generally) public pact to remain wedded to each other, come what may, for the rest of their lives, or as said at Christian weddings, till death does them part. Who said it is not possible to fall in love after marriage? It is possible to realize the extent to which a person can love you truly after the wedding only. Before marriage one generally sees only the rosy aspects of life. Things can change even between people who were in love before marriage. A kind of complacency can set in which can prove to be most dangerous. However when you find a person who loves you beyond what you thought was humanly possible after the wedding, that is when you find true bliss on earth. This companionship is the hallmark of any successful marriage. As I mentioned before, the thing that must be avoided at all costs is taking the other person for granted. Thus a healthy respect for the other individual coupled with other emotions is essential. In Indian philosophy there is the concept of "neti" or not this. When one is asked to describe Brahman (the ultimate form of God, and not the caste) one can only say that it is not such and such. One can never truly describe what it is. Similar is the concept of this companionship. It can only be experienced felt and cannot be described.

Next I want to mention trust. This is the foundation of any marriage. When one cannot trust the other partner completely there is never complete peace of mind. Today I was talking to a friend of mine who is in the FMCG industry. We were comparing notes on the tours and travails (apart from travels) of people in employment today. Even people in stationary jobs come into contact with a lot of people. The husband who starts suspecting his software employee wife as she comes late everyday is setting up their relationship for disaster. Thus both have to build this trust and maintain it. It goes without saying that they should remain true to each other!

One very important aspect is understanding. This probably is as important if not more than any other parameter in a marriage. When two human beings stay under a roof there are bound to be disagreements. The success of the marriage depends on how these are overcome. There is also a delicious feeling to making up after a fight. This is another thing that probably only a married couple can understand. This parameter is more prominently required in an arranged marriage as the two do not know each other properly.

In my opinion any other parameter would be secondary as compared to the ones mentioned above. Now we come to love. I believe this develops (or does not) as a consequence of either the combined effect of the above mentioned parameters or the expectation of the above parameters. The sitcom Friends had an episode where Joey says that there is no selfless act. Let us look at what might be perceived to be a selfless act - I see a hungry person on the street. Though I have my lunch with me I wish to give to the hungry person. In the process I have foregone my physical nourishment. However I have gained mental happiness. Thus one would be hard pressed to find something that is truly selfless (with all due respects and apologies I do confess that I am leaving out instances of martyrdom). Love is something similar. We love someone who we want in our lives. We love because of the mental image we have of them. However this is one emotion that beats everything! As it is said, it is love that makes the world go round!

For those of my friends out there who are in doubt whether or not to marry, or whether it is too soon to marry I can only tell them this - it is a blessed experience to be married to a person, to be insanely in love with that person and to be loved back with as much if not greater intensity. There is probably no other joy a man or woman can experience (with due respect to parents and siblings) than that of wedded bliss.

The Lankan Link and China's String of Pearls

First of all I have decided to hate all those who insist on attaching "gate" to any scandal - Porngate, coalgate (some marketing executives must be moaning) etc.

 

Coming to the topic, let us consider something in the very recent past. Twice, Sri Lanka held the fate of India's entry into the finals of cricket tournaments, and we were let down, so to say both times. As an interesting sideline in both series Kohli put up heroic performances, to no avail in the larger scenario. Let us look at the political scenario. India has voted in favour of the US resolution condemning Sri Lanka, and as I had expected China opposed it. What needs to be noted is that in its pursuit of power China has been seen to support not-so-palatable regimes and practices, be it in Africa or elsewhere.

If there were human rights abuses in Sri Lanka they need to be condemned, and strongly so. However how advisable was it to vote publicly? India could very well have given a private dressing down. But, no, as we have seen the present UPA government has consistently been at the receiving end from its partners and in this case it was the DMK. Having failed miserably in the last assembly elections the DMK is trying to play to the gallery to the hilt. The Congress also does not want to be seen as anti-Tamil. 

China has this policy called String of Pearls. More information can be obtained from here, here and here. From the looks of it, India does seem to be doing something to counter China. The Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka was not exactly a success. Unless I am mistaken this was one of the main reasons why Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. So how exactly are we trying to build goodwill in Lanka? I do not know. Whenever Sri Lanka is in the news it is either because the Lankan navy has fired at or detained Indian fishermen or because of our Tamilian parties crying themselves hoarse about injustice to their brethren across the Palk Strait. We must focus more on the positives and get the Lankans to appreciate our just demands rather than act like a big brother. The IDSA article, a link to which is given above specifically focuses on the importance of diplomacy. 

 

Much has been written of late how today influence is being increasingly wielded by economic rather than military means. China is building the Gwadar port in Pakistan. India can similarly work with Bangladesh (as it already is I believe) to link its north east to other parts via sea and road. It should continue its work in Iran, whether it be the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline or working with Iran on its ports to ensure a supply route to Afghanistan in the event Pakistan turns (further) hostile. Goodwill must be the primary means by which India should strive to first counter China. This would rather akin to the ancient Indian medicinal science of Ayurveda which focuses on prevention as importantly if not more than on cure. Charm and win over potential allies of China denying them any hostile space there. Remember the saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. India does not need to create the negative emotion of hostility which is in fact more difficult. I believe we are generally not perceived to be as aggressive (in a negative way) as China. Leverage this and counter those who wish us ill.