If My Idea Mattered

While the whole of India is stuck with Congress’s loss and Yadav’s win, the Congress’s inner circle is looking too naive. More importantly, why is Gandhi family looking so stupid? For sure these results are disheartening and need a new perspective. But to revive UPA, they need a political masterstroke. And the fall of Mayawati could just be the opportunity.

BSP was still the second largest party in U.P, far ahead of both BJP and Congress. Largely it is attributable to the Dalit vote bank of Mayawati. But there is footnote in Uttarakhand’s results that should give the impetus to Congress is they are willing. With only 3 seats in Uttarakhand, BSP might not seem a potent force. But it gives a lending hand to Congress.

Use BSP to make government in Uttarakhand and take a very bold step of making Mayawati the CM of Uttarakhand. There you go, I said it. I am no supporter of Mayawati but I will agree to be a bit inclined towards Congress at the centre. That is more attributable to the fact that I can’t stand the Hindutava ideology. So I still want Congress to rule. And today, they have no better ally than Mayawati and her voters.

I declare today that there will be no mid-term elections. No party will benefit from it. Even Anna Hazare will not gain from it. So we are looking towards 2014 and that is where Congress will need Mayawati’s support. Traditionally, Congress held the Dalit vote until BSP came in. So Congress needs to dismantle BSP piece by piece. But it will not be possible until Mayawati is alive. For the moment, Congress needs to use BSP’s Dalit vote bank to return to power.

The politics of Uttarakhand and U.P are not that different. After all, they used to be one state. And Khanduri’s loss and Nishankh’s win suggests that Uttarahand voter is not too sensitive about Corruption issue. Mayawati still has a huge rooting in U.P. People still accept that she brought Law and Order to U.P. So naturally, she will bring the same to Uttarakhand as well.

For Congress, more important gain will be at Centre. Trinamool and NCP are almost ready to jump off the ship. And this is where BSP’s Lok Sabha seats might help. Moreover, if I was Rahul Gandhi and wants to be a Game Changer, I would really try and merge BSP into Congress. A bold idea for sure and not possible today, but 2-3 years and it could be achieved.

The idea is not obscure and unfounded as well. After 2009 Lok Sabha results, Congress did try to merge Ajit Singh’s RLD. They have successfully merged Chiranjeevi’s party. And that’s the plan should be. Annihilate the regional parties who cut the votes. In U.P, even something like Peace Party needs to be merged to Congress.

So far, Rahul Gandhi’s approach seems either naive or uninformed. If he actually knew that Congress has no organisation in U.P to win it, then he is really daring. If he didn’t know, then that makes him, his sister and his mother, the whole Gandhi clan, most arrogant and out-of-touch. Never sail in a ship that has no lifeboats. And Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Dijvijay Singh are no lifeboats.

Gandhi family has charisma and popularity. But other than Sonia, nobody seems to know how to bring seats. In U.P, they lost but they can’t win even in future if they use Rahul Gandhi’s approach. He cannot build roots when there are no trees. Instead use a parasitic approach. Thrive on someone else’s roots and somebody else’s genius. Mayawati knows her politics.

Just really think. On the counting day of U.P, SP came to power but not actually to the government. Still law and order in U.P has just gone downhill since that day. Akhilesh is already using the “conspiracy” card and Mulayam is already  It’s not because SP workers are rowdy, it’s just that Mayawati simply took her hand away from U.P’s Police. That shows the administrative rule of Mayawati.

Of course one will raise the question, how can Congress achieve the merger of BSP? Answer comes from the renowned Decision Theory, more specifically, using the “Loss Aversion Theory”. Try and avert another loss by using the current one into you favour. We know Mayawati is egotistical but thrives on power. At the same time, Mulayam still sees her as a threat. Her being in power in a neighbouring state will haunt SP more than a Mayawati sitting in opposition. There is an obvious uncertainty that she will not abide by Congress’s rules but in Uttarakhand, she will be only is power as long as she behaves.

Congress needs to understand that they need a new kind of politics to rule. Rolling heads due to U.P fiasco is too old and too useless. So is the use of “jumping MLAs”. While the whole of media is trying to call it the Age of Regional Parties, the future lies in dissolving these parties. And 2012 is the year it should start. Play real politics by arm-twisting others not getting bogged down. NCP, BSP and DMK are standing on a sticky surface. Rather than fearing them, stand up and use them instead.

The time for Digvijay Singhs and Salman Khurshids is over. Politics of caste and religion doesn’t rule anymore. If didn’t work in U.P, mark the ideology under a tombstone. More than Rahul and Priyanka, Akhilesh looks like the real “Gamechanger.” If Congress needs U.P to extend their rule, it surely can’t be done without dissolving SP and BSP. So is anyone in Congress listening, I hope Sonia listens more than Rahul Gandhi!

The Diversion called Kony

It has more than 40 years since the U.S has tried to tackle the issue of Iranian Oil. World’s biggest oil consumer has tried everything to control the oil supplies of the world. In 1951, when Iran nationalised its oil industry, U.S suggested the creation of a cartel called “Seven Sisters”. But U.S called the cartel as “Consortium for Iran.”

The cartel constituted of seven big oil companies of the world, namely, Anglo-Persian Oil Company (now BP), Gulf Oil, Standard Oil of California (Socal), Texaco (now Chevron), Royal Dutch Shell, Standard Oil of New Jersey (Esso) and Standard Oil Company of New York (Socony) (now ExxonMobil).It was not a consortium but a way to run the oil markets of the world. From mid-1940s to 1970s, the Seven Sisters controlled 85% of the world’s petroleum reserves.

U.S involvement in World War II did help end Nazism, but during the course of it, U.S emptied most of its oil reserves. But with a huge standing army (returning from the War) and the ever-growing need for oil, America embarked on an international policy of war. The world’s history and present has always been a lesson in violence. So using the fake humanitarian cause, U.S gets involved in every country’s internal problems.

Wait, I think I made a mistake there. Not every country, U.S gets involved in Oil-rich countries’ problems. One can easily deny and reject these claims as “conspiracy theories”. But the facts tell about a plan well-planned. In 2003, a few meetings in California, Washington and Middle-East saw the plan to force a coup d’état in Iraq. One can easily think that only U.S officials participated in these meetings. But in reality, more than the officials the plan to invade Baghdad involved the “Big Oil” executives.

The reason given, as usual, was “human rights violations”, this time by Saddam Hussain. And today, U.S is poised to invade Iran, using the “nuclear proliferation” question. But the world is too naive and far behind the U.S diplomats. They have never worked to promote peace in the world when then can’t gain anything. In 1994, when the Rawandan Genocide was taking place, there were no U.S troops in Rwanda.

Similarly, when Ugandas were getting butchered by Idi Amin, U.S stayed completely out of it. Even the death of 300000 people was not enough to persuade the so-called “protector of world peace” to act. Iraq and Afghanistan were possible due to 9/11 sentiments. Barack Obama doesn’t have that privilege. Americans don’t want to get involved into another war. But the nation of United States of America has different plans.

In 2009, huge and untapped oil reserves were found in Uganda. World powers are rushing to tap these oil wells, but through conventional ways. For America, the conventional way it to invade on a pretext. And this time, its Joseph Kony. And this is where the genius of American diplomats becomes evident. You cannot go to war if the citizens don’t want it. So they are using Youtube to secretly convince Americans of the need to intervene in Uganda. And when one puts in the perspective that Chinese have started dominating the industrial scene of Uganda, America’s insecurity becomes more palpable.

Just yesterday celebrities have started to take interested in Lord’s Resistance Army and Joseph Kony. Justin Beiber tweeted “This is not a joke. This is serious”. Oprah said “Have supported with $’s and voice and will not stop.” This is how you bring people onboard. Instead of promoting an idea through government, get people to appeal to the government. Then what you have is recipe to invade another country.

Joseph Kony is no saint and certainly needs to be brought to justice for his crimes. Important question is why just now? As rightly pointed out by a Ugandan writer Angelo Izama, “While it draws attention to the fact that Kony, indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in 2005, is still on the loose, its portrayal of his alleged crimes in Northern Uganda are from a bygone era.”

Kony is not a potent force anymore. His crimes are old and in press terms, they are not today’s news. So why this sudden surge to bring Kony to justice? The simplest answer is Oil. But will the world see through this American ploy? I hope India, Russia and China are watching these developments carefully.

The Ego, the Id and Mamta Banerjee

Aristotle, by any means, was the most influential philosopher of the human history. His writings ranged from physics to metaphysics to politics. One of his greatest works, Nicomachean Ethics, is a very debatable legend. More than the text, it raises questions if Aristotle was an egoist or an altruist. His writings bring contradictions about what is a ruler and what is a leader.

And Mamata Banerjee’s rise and her administration is the classic example of such a theory. Didi is an emotional and egoistic leader. With Left in power, she was thrown out of Writer’s Building for holding a protest. She took a vow to not to return to that place until she rules it. More than the determination, it is the trait of an ego.

John Maxwell once said, “A big man is one who makes us feel bigger when we are with him.” And this is where the contradiction of Didi starts. She “was” a mass-leader who came to power by indulging the people. She fought Communists views to try and bring Bengal in sync with India’s growth story. Trade Unions strikes and No-to-Big-Corporates is what made her the “ruler” of Bengal.

Here I choose the word “ruler” with utmost thinking. She was once a “leader” but as the Chief Minister of West Bengal, she is a “ruler”. Her grass-root and individualistic background is the reason for it. And one cannot help but draw comparisons to the predicted fall of Mayawati in U.P. Mayawati’s results are now and if Mamata doesn’t change, her’s will come in 4.5 years.

Mayawati, like Didi, is a grass-root leader. They have risen from very poor baground’s to the forefront of politics. They rode on the wave of anti-power individuals. Mayawati grew not because she was considered a great leader, but because Mulayam Singh Yadav had made U.P a mafia-state. Similarily, Mamata won because people wanted Left’s demise and she became an obvious choice. “Aam Aadmi” was their supporter but they certainly didn’t have any plans for the future. A good leader is not always equal to a genius idea.

Both the leaders in question fought, not for the people, but against the current government. And this is the reason which breeds the feeling of insecurity. For some reason, no one of these leaders were worried about the present, but inclined more towards the re-election. And the fear is what ruled one’s government and is ruling other’s current government.

All this insecurity and arrogance brings about a circle of trusted friends. When the issue of trust is paramount, one forgets the people and relies on the “advisors”. But when none of these advisors are leaders as you, you are obliged to believe that they will keep you in power. And suddenly you lose the sight that the organisation is no more.

Maywati’s U.P loss is the biggest testament to this fact. In order to “believe” she is safe, she built walls who even tasted her daily meals three times before she took them. And in a land where Dalits are striving to even get meals, this cannot help a political career. But unlike Mayawati, Mamta still has 4.5 years to not to fall in a similar trap.

The rise of children death’s, increased rape cases and general economic fall can be subdued but intellectual politics. Blunder is when you either blame it on previous administration or simply deny their existence. Theory of conspiracy needs a platform. It needs an enthusiastic and understanding audience. But loss of babies and loss of dignity for women can’t be it.

Even if the Left is responsible for deaths or rapes, what stops you police from preventing it? There are no coalition boundations. But what prevents you more is your “baggage” from previous life. The deals with Maoisits and deals at the Centre are bound to pose a problem one day. Money can’s solve a state’s problem unless the ideology is correct.

Mamata was at the front to throw out Tata’s Nano project out of West Bengal. SEZ’s were the future, as evident from Gujarat model, and Mamta shunned it. As a solution, she thought more money will solve her problems and she overestimated her “state recognition” to gain access. Her constant “fake” pull-out threat did not affect the voters, but instead demeaned her position.

But the fall of Mamata is looking much faster than Mayawati’s. Law and Order is the most “now” activity. People don’t have to wait 5 years to see if things have deteriorated or not. And this is where Mayawati survived her 5 years. On the other hand, Mamta seems to be aloof from the very start. Even her rise to power was not a dignified one. Her tactics to win voters was of strikes and convenient deal. Her aggressive and almost arrogant behaviour might have won her votes but it also gave rise to a sort of unruly leader.

Just few months in the administration and her wild behaviour has reached unmanageable proportions. And the examples to it are endless. She ordered release of partymen involved in looting and arson, shouted at Police Commissioner of Kolkata, etc. And biggest blunder of all is the arm-twisting of Congress-led UPA government. Just like Mayawati, she is overestimating her win and current position.

Her constant threat to withdraw support is a very dangerous move. And if one seems things in the context of U.P poll results, she might just commit a political-suicide by not gauging the political intellect of 120 year old Party. More than Trinamool Congress, UPA survives on the outside support of both SP and BSP. In Uttarakhand, Congress will use BSP to make government and in U.P Congress might help SP in one way or another to provide stable government. In return, Congress keeps its numbers intact in Lok Sabha, even if Mamta quits.

Mamata might have been a good spokesperson and an inspiring lady. But by no means is she a great politicians or a great administrator. The sorry state of Railway Ministry is one of the shining examples of how Mamta dodges her responsibilities. As a Cabinet Minister, her prime responsibility was to stay in Delhi and look after her ministry. Instead she spent more time in plotting Left’s fall.

At this point of time, Mayawati’s life can be the biggest lesson she can learn. One CM has tried to dodge the media and inturn became aloof to the people. Another CM is on the same path. But is Mamata’s arrogance ready to accept this fact?

The Year of the Lost Rabbit

The Shēngxiào, better known as Chinese Zodiac, relates each year to an animal. It is believed that every animal’s character and living habits can be extrapolated to how a year will influence a person’s life. Interestingly, the year 2011 was the Year of the Rabbit. It should have been the one in which the world calms down and gets relaxed. Negotiations should have been the buzz world and issues shouldn’t have been forced.

Looking at the past, these predictions are surely not in sync with the reality. The year 2011 was a mixed bag. Some great losses, some minor gains, but no relaxed environment for sure. Unlike the personality of the Rabbit, the world was very extrovert and in your face.

The word “Protest” received the Time’s Person of the Year award, and deservingly so. The Arab Spring might have started in 2010, but its defining moments came in 2011. We saw revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, uprisings in Bahrain, Syria and Yemen, etc. etc. Dictators and despots fell during the quest for Democracy.

There are no perfect nations, proven by the U.K wide riots. People throughout the world face problems. Libyans were fed up with their political system, Americans with their Corporate Greed and Indians with their Corruption.

Anna Hazare stole the limelight throughout the year with his anti-corruption crusade. Thousands of middle-class Indians in scores of cities took the streets. Children dressed as freedom fighters, Gandhiji’s bhajans sung by the generation Y & Z; Youth saw a glimpse of the Indian Independence Movement. By the end of the year, the results were undesirable, but atleast Indians learnt an important lesson in Civics; they have the right to peaceful protest and revolt.

But it was not only India which used the motto of “Non-violence” to bring about change. Egyptian uprising saw a bloodless coup d’état that led to the fall of President Hosni Mubarak. Tunisians successfully led a similar uprising. On the other hand, other Arab nationals were not that lucky.

Libya saw a bloody war that lasted more than six months. With the help foreign powers, Libyan rebels scripted the fall of their former leader Muammar Gaddafi. At least 20,000 were killed and more than 50,000 wounded. In the end they won their battle, unlike Syria, where thousands have already died and the end is nowhere near.

Syrians are still hopeful and trying to use whatever means they can. A puppet show called “Top Goon: Diaries of a Little Dictator” has gone viral on Youtube. It’s a lampooning of Syrian President and goes on to show the power of theatre and films on society.

So when cinema loses a member, the society loses a benefactor. And last year saw huge dents in the world of Cinema. One of the great screen actresses of the Hollywood’s Golden Age, Elizabeth Taylor, lost the battle to old age. A two-time Academy award winning beauty will always be remembered for her distinctive violet eyes.

With Hollywood in shock, the other side of the globe mourned the death of some of its Legendary Actors and Singers. Bollywood lost an 88-year old youth icon in Dev Anand. An actor, producer, director; India’s Gregory Peck did it all and continued it till the very end. His last movie, Chragesheet in 2011, showed the character of a man who refused to give up. Throughout his career, he remained loyal to the art he knew best “Cinema”.

While Dev Anand stood for the mainstream art, there were others who strived for greatness in more eccentric fields. Folk music, like in every country, is survived only through a few proponents. And Bhupen Hazarika was one of them. Who can forget the music video of him sitting on the banks of Ganges, questioning the virtue of the mighty river or the internationally acclaimed songs of Rudali. The death of Folk virtuoso clouded the music industry for weeks .But this chain of mourning started when one of the pillars between the mainstream and the unconventional fell.

When the Kirana Gharna lost one of its greatest Khayal singers, the idea of convergence in “traditional values and mass-culture tastes” was dealt with a severe blow. After all, Pt. Joshi had one of the largest commercially recorded repertoires in Hindustani vocal music. His music directly descended from ancient India. Unlike a Ghazal, which is derived to perfection from the Classical music.

The perfect mix of Classical genius and some personal pain produced Jagjit Singh. Everyone respected him, he was famous, but he never got the credit he deserved. His last days in oblivion never bothered the Indian music fans. Its only when he died did we bowed to the great Ghazal-Man of India. India owes a lot the late artist who re-introduced India to the greatness of Ghalib, Zafar, etc.

But when Zafar famously said “How unlucky Zafar was that he couldn’t find two yards of land for his burial in his home country,” I am sure he was not thinking of Osama Bin Laden. Some of the losses in 2011 were for good. And death of Osama Bin Laden was such a person. Similarly, the world celebrated the death of a cruel dictator in Gaddafi. This news buzzed the internet world for months.

But for technology world, there was no bigger loss than the death of Steve Jobs, founder of Apple. Though arrogant and self-centred, his genius brought back the idea “self” into mainstream. He created beautiful, but expensive products and gave people the idea that “being a little spoilt” never hurts. Interestingly he also named his entire product range with the letter “i”, enforcing the importance of an individual. His company made the Operating Systems sound cooler by giving name like Cheetah, Leopard, etc.

While the operating systems prospered, most of these Big Cats became more threatened. Their numbers are not improving and last year was gloomy for the animal kingdom as well. Tiger population declined this year as well; still they survived extinction. Not so lucky were the Western Black Rihnos and the Easter Cougars, who were declared officially extinct in 2011.

Extinction and re-birth is what defines the world. So some losses are for good as well. When children saw Lord Voldermort finally getting killed by Harry Potter, it was a loss to cherish. As they say in Hindu mythology “Victory of Good Over Evil.” Some things have to end to bring a brave new world.

2011 was the year of losses, leading the world to explore more opportunities. By breaking the speed of light we lost E=mc2. But then Einstein’s theory lived far too long and needed to be disapproved to move forward. Retirement of Endeavour Space Shuttle was an emotional loss but it will pave way a fresh, new and more developed spacecrafts.

Similarly, Anna Hazare might have lost his movement, but still generated a band of “awakened” youth, ready to change India. Most of all, we should be happy that Harold Camping’s “End of The World” prediction was defeated and we saw the incoming of the New Year.

Human Race has so much capability. Every loss just creates many more leaders and more ways. One Steve Jobs might have been lost, but his loss might just be the trigger for many more “Steve Jobs” in the world. People simply raise their bar, stare down towards the losses and say “Bring It On.”

Astrologists needs to be scared, very scared. The Age of Change is coming and their usual predictions might not come true. People power is not ready to stand the monotony of stillness. They are learning, finding ways to bring the changes. 2012 might just go down in history as the Year That Change Human History!

The Lost Revolution

1046 BC, the Battle of Muye saw the collapse of Emperor Xin of Shang. With him also fell the 500 year rule of the Shang Dynasty. The new Zhou Dynasty brought Iron Age to China. But according to philosophers, their most important contribution to the world was the “Mandate of Heaven”. It was the reason given to overthrow Emperor Xin.

Mandate of Heaven was the first philosophical concept concerning the legitimacy of rulers. It was the first time that the conduct of the ruler was brought into question and the right of revolution was granted. It stated that “Heaven would bless the authority of a just ruler, but would be displeased and withdraw its mandate from a despotic ruler.”

The rise of Lokpal movement saw Indians exercise this right for the first time since independence. Everyone could sense that the “Second Revolution” was just nearby. A year has passed and that dream seems far, far away. Country is just where it started. Politicians and Officials are still the “despotic rulers” and another Bureaucracy in Lokpal will be made.

Government might or might not bring Lokpal. It might or might not remove Corruption. But is it the only problem country faces today? What about Poverty, flawed Democracy, Health Care? Surely removal of corruption can’t ensure progress. It might just make the officials do things “by the book” and just “what they are told”. Ask E.Sreedharan to run Delhi Metro like this and he will resign instantly.

I know Anna Hazare has announced “Election Reforms” as his next target. But the Government’s “delay tactics” have fizzed-out the whole movement. This is the Age of Impatience and Youth get over a fashion fairly quickly. When the movement depends on the Youth of India, a year for just a Lokpal Bill, which might still be ineffective, is far too long. Politicians understand the art of delaying perfectly. They avoided the “Second Revolution” by taking too much time, making sure people lose interest.

Then there is the case of poor negotiation. Lokpal is going to come but the nitty-gritty of it is in question. Team Anna had many opportunities for negotiating and entrapping politicians in public commitments. In the recent public debate, if Arvind Kejriwal had started with his speech and points first, we might have found the broad view on the smaller points as well.

Protesting against Congress in Bhiwani by-elections, asking courts to reduce fees for their venues, the RSS question, etc., show “naivety” of the movement. India Against Corruption is a shining case of “mismanagement” and “burst tactics”. It worked in short-spells like Zaheer Khan’s bowling. The First Public Debate was effective, promised regained momentum but soon lost sheen. The August Fast produced huge momentum but the negotiations produced negligible results. A few small protests and candle light vigils here and there; it’s not revolution by any stretch of imagination.

The biggest loss was the opportunity to bring mass changes. The citizens who thought their voices were unheard have gone full-circle. They are right where they started. A thinking-argumentative middle-class Indian has been put into a familiar situation. They have to choose between two extremes or choose to remain unheard and unwanted. Only this time, one side is the Civil Society.

We have seen that politicians don’t listen and our votes don’t count. They can’t count as the vote bank politics make the middle-class votes extremely redundant. Only we way we could comeback to polling booths would be by having choices. Right to Reject could have been the start. But if we choose the Civil Society’s campaign, we will have to choose Right to Recall as well.

Excess baggage is always there, rendering the whole movement dreary. We want to give government a chance in Parliament but Civil Society has gone too impatient. We want to give government’s Lokpal a chance but Team Anna just want Jan-Lokpal bill passed. A famous Biblical phrase has become their motto, “One who is not with me is against me.”

Jail Bharo might become successful, but what will it achieve? A few thousand people can’t twist arm of the representatives of 1.1 billion Indians. And even if they succeed, it won’t strengthen our democracy. The flaws of our democracy come from election-sops like quotas, lenient laws for candidates and money-power for tickets. Arm-twisting can’t seem to bring changes to these fundamental problems.

More worrying part is how the Civil Society lost the overall view of the movement. What started as an inclusive and thinking system has become an ideologically arrogant body. Their “my way or highway” approach highlights their insecurities. The loose collection of individuals in India Against Corruption movement don’t agree on anything other than Lokpal. This might be their last battle together. There are no long-term plans; just a short-sighted win is wanted.

All Indians don’t want to be that short-sighted. When Delhi University students mobbed Chatrasal, they were looking for long-term plan to change India. When Delhiites dressed their children as Freedom Fighters for Anna’s campaign, they were looking to be heard. When those physically-disabled citizens marched from India Gate to Ramlila-Grounds, they were fighting against denied rights.

But when they hear their leader promote “public flogging” for alcoholics, their faith is stirred. Anna’s motives are clean but his methods are not truly Gandhian. His lack of public speaking skills doesn’t instil the power of “Veer Ras” poets. His team’s adulterated interests has made the movement muddled. Their lack of political brain has costed them dearly. They are using the Jail Bharo card too early. They virtually have no support from Farmers. And personal attack on Rahul Gandhi just brought Sonia Gandhi into battle-mode.

India needs a “Second Revolution”, but the not the kind India Against Corruption has been running. It’s barely a movement let alone a revolution. Anna Hazare needs to rejig his whole team if he wants a revolution. He needs to learn more tactics, some political and some management. He will have to ensure his personal ideology is in sync with the masses. Adaptation will be the key and wider inclusion will be necessary. A few thousand white-collared citizens of metros can’t budge the Indian Parliament.

Protests outside MPs’ houses are futile. Villages are their vote bank and striking their base is what will bring the revolution to the gates of politicians. Strength will come from numbers and when 75% of citizens are villagers, the target is obvious. Gandhiji had similar problesm in his early campaigns. But he shook them off and came back with new ideas. Anna Hazare is no barrister. His ideas and political skills can only come from people around him. Does he have the courage to re-incarnate his team? That is the real question!!!

The First Elite-Fest of India

It was a last minute decision due to both, money and time, constraints. Moreover, I have never been a big fan of speed. But still, the prospect of becoming a part of history was overwhelming. Then I met a few racing enthusiasts at my MBA coaching. Their group of 8 was going together and still had 1 ticket left. Call it peer pressure but caved in and shelled out Rs. 6500 for the 3-day affair.

The experience started as we stepped on to the Yamuna Expressway. I have never been to that side of the city but have heard rumours about its development. To an extent, the rumours were true. The road didn’t look like it was situated in India. A road without pot-holes and bullock carts blocking your movement is a rarity in India. Without such distractions and the cars doing 120-130 kph easily, the expressway surely depicted the story of “fast” and “modern” India. We didn’t see any villages or small towns or signs of  the Third-world India. The average car price on the road was atleast Rs 10 lakhs. Porsches and Jaguar’s showed up at will and the smallest car I saw was a Rs 4.5 lakh worth Maruti Wagon R. One could easily judge the mood, the first F1 race in India was meant for Elite not the “common” man of India.

My amazement continued as I read the number plates on these already expensive cars. Coming from states like Maharashtra to Chandigarh to Punjab to West Bengal, the numbers were VIP as well like 0001, 0007, etc etc. If expensive cars were not enough to flaunt the money, some people came in convoys. Generally, one sees the convoys like these with Country Diplomats or Ministers or Politicians, which all were there. But some rich men of India had brought their own private security. A Mahindra Scorpio with atleast 7 uniform-dressed security guards with walky-talkies were clearing road for a Land Rover behind it.

Once near the Buddha Circuit, the road signs were clear and there were many policemen and guides of F1 to direct traffic to their correct destinations. All in all, it was a smooth drive until we parked at our W6 parking spot.

With our entry from Gate 17, we stepped in for mandatory security checks. It was thoroughly done. But surprising was the concept of no “outside” food or beverages. Really, we couldn’t even take water bottles inside. Fair enough, they didn’t want to take any risks. We enter the circuit and come the first shocker. I thought once inside, it won’t look all that “elitist”. But what do I know. Let alone a rich setup, it looked a scene direct from a Royal Garden Party or Chelsea Flower Show. All dressed in western wear and almost customary Hats. All of types of headgear could be seen, not the kind you see in an IPL match, but the exotic stuff like Boaters, Fedoras, Somberas, Panams etc. etc. Women in sarees and suits were a rarity. Men in capris and Hawaii t-shirts bathing in sun looked like a scene from summer times in London.

It was a hot winter day and sun was above our heads. First thing we did was bought two mineral water bottles. Unlike Multiplex cinemas, they weren’t “specially” designed for the event and were sold at Rs. 15 alone. But that’s where the dissimilarity stopped between the foods stalls. Only Soft Drinks and Water bottles were fairly priced, everything else was again “exclusive”. Rs 100 will get you 2 samosas and Rs. 150 for a veg sandwich or a veg Panini. Even a cup of Tea or Coffee was priced at Rs. 50 each. Of course we didn’t buy it as we weren’t that rich!

Unfortunately. we weren’t actually allowed to carry water or beverages or eatables to our seats. We had to involuntarily finish our both water bottles so it doesn’t go to waste – Middle Class mentality I guess. But most of the people were just leaving them as it is. Only explanation I could imagine for these restrictions might have been the past experience with Indian audience. Throwing of empty bottles towards stage or ground is normal. Just yesterday it was seen at the cancelled Metallica concert. And an empty bottle on the track in the middle of the race can be deadly. So, in all fairness they didn’t want to take chances.

The extravaganza started with Driver’s Parade around the circuit. Old vintage cars of Maharajas were used to carry the F1 drivers around the circuit. Drivers could be seen waving to the crowds and the audience cheered back. Naturally, Vettel and Schumacher received maximum applause. But the cars on which they were driving were exquisite. From 1925 Phantom to Lagonda M45 to Triumph TR-3 to 1968 Mustang, all the cars were vintage. And to my surprise, one of them was actually driven by an old lady in saree. These cars were so expensive that even renting them for a day cost around Rs. 35000. Showcase of money at its best.

During the race, people were quite excited and enjoyed the race to fullest. But no one skipped any chance to flaunt their class and money. Audience was flaunting expensive binoculars, chatting loudly about VIP tickets, and talking just in English, trying ever so hard to not to give the event any feel of India. The ironic thing was that the National Anthem was sang patriotically and the Tri-Color could be seen everywhere, even the seats were painted in Flag pattern.

Once race had finished and Vettel had completed his victory lap, we didn’t wait for the Presentation Ceremony, thinking we could avoid the jam. But boy were we proven wrong big time. The numbers of cars coming out, or actually trying to come of out, might have been easily 30,000. With this number and average price being Rs. 10lakh, the total worth of cars parked outside Buddh Circuit was atleast Rs. 300 crores !!!

And just when we thought we have seen it all, came the private helicopters. In our naivety, we had assumed that people like Vijay Mallya and Mayawati would have come in cars. But instead they had got a temporary helipad built outside the circuit with atleast 5 choppers parked there. There we saw the stark contrast of Modern India – an enclosed helipad catering to VIPs and some 20 labour class Indians trying to peek in to see a glimpse of money. That image got stamped into my memory, more than Vettel’s winning finger or Buemi’s burning car.

Here is an India, advised to try and live on Rs. 32 a day. And in just 4 hours time, some 1 lakh Indians must have spent together atleast Rs. 20 crores in a day. It raises an evergreen question; do we need such blatant display of money? Is it moral for some Indians to spend such money on pleasure when their fellow citizens are dying of starvation?

In my opinion, both sides have their arguments. The rich and the new-rich will say, they have earned that money. They also do philanthropy and pay taxes. So they have a right to enjoy themselves as well. Just because the Government of India is inefficient in caring for its citizens, rich people can’t be blamed for it. Moreover, discrediting the rich by saying that all of them avoid taxes and have become rich from illegal means would be wrong on our part. There are live examples of people who were born in poverty but have gone big now. Dalit Millionaire’s Club is the biggest example of such growth.

The F1 circuit had costed $ 400 million. But that money was not sent to waste. It came into circulation in India only. Moreover, it created tremendous employment opportunities; after all you need people to make things happen. Also, if Indian GP didn’t happen, the rich-club of India would actually spend this money abroad, watching racing in other countries. That certainly will drain the money out of India. It should also get fair appreciation to have not become another embarrassing event like Commonwealth Games. For once, India can be seen as a country able to host world-class events.

Even though all this is true, it still doesn’t justifies the ugly display by the super-rich of India. Private security convoys and VIP attitude hurts much more than their expense rounds. Their “Do you know who I am” attitude just degrades whatever they have earned so far. The act of Humility and Modesty could have given them some moral high-ground. But as usual, they missed the trick and only ended up extending the ever increasing divide between 20^th Century India and the 22^nd Century India.

An Obituary for India

Date : 15^th August 2047.

Friends, Family and former Citizens! We are all gathered here to pay homage to a great nation, which almost survived for 100 years. Yesterday evening was the last sunset for the nation of India. Alas, she was just 1 day short of completing her centenary. An identity of “Bharat” which lasted for more 3000 years is no more.

The mighty Indian civilization which assimilated the Greek Invasion, integrated the Muslim Sultanate and developed on British-styled Governance was finally disintegrated by its own people. When Pt. Nehru spoke of “India’s Tryst with Destiny”, he was blinded by nationalism to see the reality. Independence from British was only one step for most people living in India. They didn’t want to be called Indians, but Dalits or Muslims or Sikhs or Tamilians or Marathis or Gujaratis instead.  After all, there was nothing similar throughout the whole of India. No single religion, no single caste, no single language. It was just a matter of time before India crumbled.

After the fall of Mughal empire in India, the social fabric of India was turned upside down. Once the British Empire was established, the Muslims who were at the top during Mughal period, were suddenly pushed to the bottom.  British wanted English-speaking educated Indians, the criterion filled mainly by Hindus of that time. This led to serious differences between Hindus and Muslims, and when British left, both sides divided India between them. But pro-Independence India was still left with too many grudges.

The Constitution of India 1949 was result one of these grudges. Since the Middle-Ages, the Hindu society has been in control of Brahmins. They oppressed Lower Castes and denied them all rights. So naturally when liberation became the buzzword, the backward classes of India jumped to take their share.  One of their idols, Dr. Ambedkar was able to achieve this target very well. He used the Constituent Assembly to give “his” people, not Indians, reservations. Once done with giving “extra” provisions for backward classes, Dr. Ambedkar launched a massive anti-Hindu drive throughout India from 1956. He openly called Hinduism a farce, a high-headed and undemocratic religion, which was solely built to oppress “his” people. His teachings wrongly influenced many future Dalit leaders.

Two such examples are Mayawati, the new Prime Minister of Bahujan Sthan, and Dr. Kancha Ilaiah, the Education Minister in Mayawati’s government. Both used the “backwardness” of lower castes as foot steps to power and misconstrued Dr. Ambedkar’s ideas to gain political mileage. Dr. Ilaiah had clarified his intentions in 2009 alone. In his book, “Post-Hindu India”, he called Hinduism “spiritual fascism” and advocated the banning of Sanskrit-based literature and languages. He openly said, “If there had been no Bible and Koran in India, the nation would not have got freedom. If there had been no English, India would not have been a nation.” His words and Mayawati’s political genius provoked Dalits to an extent that they acceded India long before Christians or Sikhs.

India also paid heavily for its abandoning of Sanskrit roots. The idea that came closest to unite India was Sanskrit language. North or south, most Indians agreed on Sanskrit “principally”, but didn’t make any efforts to revive it. And today when we see around us, none of can speak or write Hindi or Tamil for that matter. We now know only English. Many of us could attribute this to the need of globalisation. This is the same globalisation which was an essential part in India’s downfall.

Since the late 1980s, caste, minority and regional movements were on rise in India. Political movements like Telangana, Kashmir and violent movements like Naxalism, all were there to see. The caste based census of 2013 could have been the biggest eye opener. Yet we ignored it. It clearly showed that Upper Castes were just 10% of the whole Hindu population. But still they never received the benefits of being minorities. But instead of taking the issue head on, “learned” non-Dalit Hindus fled the country, hiding behind the mask of Globalisation. Whenever the idea of India came in front of them, they just said “Broaden your horizons, think globally.” When asked about Reservation, they said ,”Its politics and we can’t do anything about it.” In fact, the reality is that their cowardice during those times is why we are standing here today. They forgot to fight back, they were so stuck in Technologies that they left the unprivileged non-Dalit Hindus to rot. And today, what we have is a small nation of Bharat. The nation of Bharat has the highest population density in the world today. All the non-Dalit Hindus, who had no relatives in Western nations, were forced to migrate to Bharat. Most Brahmis of the world live here, small Baniya traders and majority of Kshatriyas, all live in Bharat under abject-poverty.

Sikhs have also carved the nation of Khalistan for themselves. Their movement was primarily funded and maintained by a few thousand Sikhs that lived in Canada or Britain. Their failed efforts during 1980s didn’t go in vain. Under the blanket of “political asylum”, they moved to western nations like Canada and started building their communities there. They raised money and political power in these nations and when the right time came, they forced a Khalistan from India. Now the great nation of Khalistan consists of three colonies, one in India, one in Canada and one in Britain.  Muslims of India were the last to exit India. They already had two nations before Independence, and when the rest of India was divided, they carved two more nations out of Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. They are still to decide on names for these nations.

Today, it pains me heavily to see such a small assembly of true Indians, gathered here. The nation which once boasted on more than 1.5 billion citizens, its last passage is not attended by even 100 its former citizens. The statues of Gandhiji are rubbles, Ashoka Chakra of Sarnath is history and the Indian Tri-Color has not takers. The biggest shame is upon the deaths of Freedom Fighters and soldiers of India, who fought for their country. Their deaths are buried deep down in archives as their nation is no more. Where we live today is changed world. Axis of power has shifted with the dissolution of India. But still, as true Indians, we still hope that new nations live happily and prosper further.