WHY I SUPPORT THE ANNA MOVEMENT, BUT NOT HIS DEMANDS

‘Yes, we can’, this caption coined by Obama during his election campaign in 2008 for the U.S.presidential election caught the imagination of the country. And the end result was that not only did Obama win the election but won it comprehensively.

Three years later, a similar anthem is buzzing across all the major URBAN centres in the world’s biggest democracy. ‘Karengey, ya Marengay’ is the caption that is been played across the streets.

But are the two campaigns similar? On the face of it yes, they are the same, but the substance and texture are completely different.

First let’s talk about the similarities.

Obama & Anna both are underdogs fighting against the system.

In Obama’s case, a black man with no political or affluent moorings took on the system and garnered mass support to overhaul the system.

Anna on the other hand again is a simple Gandhian, who stays in a temple, has no wealth or property, with no corporate or political backing and is fighting the battle against the all powerful & mighty establishment.

Both are charismatic personalities that can woo the masses .Both took up issues that worry the common man. Both are effective communicators who seemed to have mastered the art of handling the media which in effect reaches out to a larger audience.

The media loves underdogs and it’s no surprise that in these cases they have the full support of the media.

But inspite of so many similarities there is one glaring difference between the two men.
Obama took on the system by being part of the system (political system), while Anna is taking on the system by staying out of it.

Obama’s appeal inspired his supporters to go out and cast their vote for him which translated in to him becoming the President of United States of America.This support empowered him to become the legitimate people’s representative who could take up their causes within the ambit of the constitution and bring in laws that would fundamentally bring about change in a common American’s life.

Anna on the other hand represents a section of the civil society. He is primarily an urban, middle class icon who has taken on a popular cause which has been haunting the country for the last 65 years.

Yes, corruption is an issue in the villages as well, but how many are aware of Anna’s movement? Not to forget that majority of Anna’s supporters are people who do not vote.

I totally support Anna’s movement – when he says it is a ‘Fight against corruption’. But I do not support his demand that he will fast till his ‘version of the Jan Lokpal Bill’ is passed

Anna has all the rights to protest against the establishment for not doing enough to eradicate corruption, but to blackmail that it’s ‘his way or the highway’ is not correct.

Majority of his supporters on the streets do not know the details of the Jan Lokpal bill. And these people are a' part' of the total population. By no means can we assume that they represent the majorty’s view.

As I mentioned earlier, the cause Anna is standing for is absolutely correct and the majority support him, but to say that his version of the lokpal bill is the best cannot be accepted.

Anna is not an elected people’s representative. No matter how much we argue or protest, the fact remains that the parliament is the supreme institution of democracy. The parliament is elected by the people who may or may not agree with his draft of the Lokpal bill. MPs are legitimate, elected representatives of the people. They maybe corrupt, dishonest, selfish, whatever it is, but they have been elected by the people.

This demand of Anna completely undermines the constitution which is the strongest pillar of our democracy.

Anna is an icon which this country has desperately been seeking for a long time. For a country where movie stars & sportsmen are the biggest icons for the youth, Anna is a fresh change, a real hero who inspires people.He represents the popular sentiment of the people but that does not give him the right to question the validity of the 552 individuals in the parliament who have been elected by the people across the length and breadth of this country.

Anna’s bill should be tabled through the parliament. It should be debated & fine tuned. Instead of asking the people to fast till his ‘version’of the bill is not accepted, he should ask the same people to protest till their MPs do not engage them in the process of drafting the bill and go to the parliament with their view points for a strong Jan Lokpal bill which will help address the root cause of corruption.

The Anna movement is like a flashback of the movie Rang De Basanti. In the movie the protagonists kill the corrupt minister to avenge the death of their pilot friend. But that didn’t kill corruption.

Similarly we don’t need to kill the political system, but cure it. And the best way to fight corruption and in this case of the Jan Lokpal bill is to get educated & educate others about the bill and push our elected members to pass a strong anti-corruption bill.

The Jan Lokpal bill is a strong instrument that will help us fight and eliminate corruption. But to believe that this alone will eradicate corruption is too simplistic. The battle is against corruption which is a much broader issue. We cannot make this a single point issue. And if we do then we may end up winning this battle but surely not this war.

THE EGYPT UPRISING: GAME CHANGER FOR THE WORLD?

The Middle East uprising that began in Tunisia and turned into a conflagration by the time it reached Egypt has caught the world attention like never before.After eighteen days of relentless protests, Hosni Mubarakh was finally ousted after thirty years of rule. So what does this ‘Egypt Uprising’ mean for the world and what will be its implications?

An interesting study by Larry Diamond on Arab world and democracy highlights a few interesting points as to why there are no democracies in the Arab world.
The study observes that the notion that Muslim countries are not successful democracies is not true. Twenty nine Muslim dominated countries have a reasonably descent record of political rights as compared to sixteen Arab countries. These include –Turkey, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Albania & Senegal.

Another interesting point illustrated in the study is that out of the sixteen Arab countries, eleven states are heavily depended on the rents from oil & gas exports. In some of these countries as much as 90% of the earnings come from these exports. Most of these countries are so cash rich that they don’t have to tax their own citizens. And that is also a part of the problem. These states do not develop the organic expectations of accountability that emerges when states make citizens pay tax.
The other argument could be that not all Arab countries have oil. Now in these countries the ‘geo-politics’ comes in to play. The two prominent countries that are not oil based economies are Jordan & Egypt. But the other factor that also binds these countries is that they thrive on U.S financial aid.
Since 1975, U.S. financial assistance to Egypt has totaled more than $28 billion. And this does not include the $50 billion that has flowed to that country in unconditional military aid since the 1978 Camp David Peace Accords.
Similarly since 2001, Jordan on an average has been receiving $ 650 million in the form of economic & military aid from the U.S. This has helped both the countries to spend on public jobs without charging steep taxes.

Not surprisingly, Egypt & Jordan are the only two Arab nations that have a peace treaty with Israel. Not only has this prevented any military attack on Israel from the numerous Arab nations including Iran but allowed US to create military bases on these countries to safe guard Israel from any external threat.
But these methods could work only for the last three decades. The 21st century has a new generation in place which is more determined and ambitious. Money alone would not comfort and satisfy them, they want democratic & political rights like the millions of youngsters around the world.

But as many cynics argue that Arabs are still not ready to handle democracy because there is a deep ethnic divide in many countries. This argument also does not hold true. India & Indonesia are two good examples that prove that no matter how fragmented and deep the ethnic divide maybe, democracy given all its flaws can work.
This new revolution is bound to have an impact on the Geo- political situation in the Middle East, especially on Israel. If after Egypt a few more uprisings lead to the fall of more authoritarian regimes in fellow Arab countries than that would change the complete political landscape. The most crucial factor that will decide the future of this region would be the popularity of ‘Right wing Islamic parties’.

A huge chunk in the Arab world, especially the youth is secular. Though many of them may be anti-US because of the Israel-Palestine issue but are not radical Islamists. For example in Egypt the ‘Muslim brotherhood’ is considered a hard right wing Islamic party. But will it find support from the likes of Wale Ghonim, the google executive who used social media & the internet as a tool to ignite the Egypt revolution for freedom is the big question.

The elections in Egypt will be a litmus test not only for the nation but for the whole Arab world as that would give a sense of what the new generation of Arabs is all about. These are not only interesting times for Arabs but the whole world, as the Egypt uprising may be just the beginning of a wave that may well change the geo-politics of this century.

PRESIDENT & GOVERNORS SHOULD NOT BE POLITICIANS

The ongoing political tussle between governor HR Bharadwaj & chief minister BS Yeddyurappa in Karnataka has not only turned ugly but has reached a new low in Indian polity. It is true there are some grave charges against Yeddyurappa and morally he should have stepped down till he is proven innocent in this case but the governor has also jumped the gun by giving a go ahead for the prosecution of Yeddyurappa before receiving the investigation report.

This is not the first time that the head of state has given a sanction for the prosecution of a state chief minister but the fact that they belong to opposition parties and the manner in which both the sides are acting clearly suggest that it has become a political war.

The time has come that the post of President & governor should be strictly reserved for individuals outside politics. The role of a President & governor is to over see that the elected government and political parties are performing their duty properly. In times of emergency & crisis they have to step in to protect the welfare of the people and the state.The notion that these posts are a mere rubber stamp with no power is not true. In times of constitutional crisis and emergency the role of a President & governors becomes extremely important. The post has a lot of significance and should be reserved only for highly educated and qualified individuals from across the spectrum.

But unfortunately in India this post has become a ‘medal’ to award the loyal party workers. Rarely do you find that the head of state is someone outside the political circle and belongs to another walk of life. Even the president’s post has become a reward for party allegiance. For example, Pratibha Patel was chosen by Sonia Gandhi to become the first lady President of India despite India having so many successful women with impeccable record in public life. Patel’s biggest edge was that she had been a loyal Congress worker and extremely close to the Gandhi family.Even today out of the thirty three governors in India a majority are politicians & bureaucrats. A majority of them were part of the Congress party at some stage or the other or held important bureaucratic positions during Congress rule at the centre.

Even when the BJP led NDA was in power it chose many BJP veterans as governors. No matter how unbiased the individual may try to be in most cases he/she ends up acting biased one way or the other. Especially during crunch situations the governor is expected to favour the party he or she has been associated with. To avoid such a scenario the constitution should be amended and it should be made mandatory that the President & governors are a non-politicians. India is rich when it comes to individuals who have been successful in different disciplines of life. The best examples of a head of state were former Presidents Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam & second president of India – Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan. Both had no political background & did true justice to the post.

It has been a Congress tradition to award its loyal party leaders the ‘medal of governorship’ at the end of their political careers. The same trend was followed by other parties when they came to power. Its time for a course correction and the Congress should take the lead by awarding this post only to individuals with no history of political affiliation. Not only will this avoid biased decisions but also bolster the image of a President & governor’s post.

THE WORLD CUP IS HERE

The countdown for the cricket world cup has started which is just three weeks away. After a cracker one-day series between India & South Africa, the tournament is been tipped to be a huge success. This world cup is important for various reasons.

It will decide the future of one-day cricket. This is the first major one-day tournament after the arrival of T20 cricket which has taken the cricket world by storm. So will the spectator turn out for the forty day tournament be as high as it used to be during the pre- T20 cricket time? Will the television viewership be as high as it used to be during the previous editions are some of the big questions. The ICC will go all out to make sure that the pitches for the event are batsmen friendly as that will make the matches high scoring.

Now what hasn’t changed is the buzz around who are the favourites to win this World Cup. Many Indian cricket experts, media houses & fans have already started believing that India is the strongest team to win this world cup. The reasons- that India has the best side, we are playing on our home ground etc. My take is that India is one of the favourites but definitely not the favourite to win this edition.

The reason is that though India has probably the best batting side but their bowling is a big concern. The two world cups in which India performed exceptionally well were 1983 & 2003. In both these edition one key reason for India’s superior performance was India’s bowling. In 1983 – Roger Binny and Madan Lal were the top two wicket takers of the tournament. Between the two they took 35 wickets in 8 matches. Kapil Dev & Mohinder Amarnath had an economy rate of less than 3 which made it difficult for the opposition to score runs. Kapil Dev also took 12 wickets in the tournament.

Similarly in the 2003 – Zaheer, Srinath & Nehra took 49 wickets together in 11 matches. Harbhajan’s economy rate was less than 4. Along with India’s batting the bowlers also played an equal important role. Now the argument could be that In India the conditions are different but even then any team would need atleast 3 bowlers who perform well. It is not necessarily to be the highest wicket takers but atleast bowl tight.

This time around India’s bowling is one of the weakest ever. Nehra is still to in to rhythm, harbhajan has been inconsistent. Praveen Kumar is struggling for fitness and even though Munaf bowled well in South Africa, in India he has never been very effective. Zaheer is the only reliable force. But given that India will play four bowlers in all matches atleast 3 will have to be in prime form. Luckily India’s part time bowlers- Yuvraj, Yousuf & raina have been bowling well. Sehwag & tendulkar are also very effective bowlers. So getting useful ten overs out of these three to four bowlers will not be a major concern.

No doubt that India has a very potent batting side with the top seven batsmen capable of winning the match for the team on any given day. But out of the seven batsmen atleast four will have to perform consistently & be in great form. Sehwag & Tendulkar will be a lethal opening combination. But Sehwag will play his natural game and like always his consistency will be the key. But his & Tendulkar’s form will be the most critical factor if India is to go through till the finals. In the middle order with Yuvraj & Dhoni struggling to for form, Gambhir & Kohli have a very pivotal role to play. Gambhir at number 3 and Kohli at number 4 will have to play the anchor sheet role. One of them will have to raise their hand in every match and stay at the crease till the end. Yuvraj has been out of form for a very long time but given his talent & calibre Dhoni has no choice but to back him. The day he finds his rhythm he can demolish the opposition. Dhoni like always will play according to the situation. His temperament is his key and will provide the reprieve to the batting.

But the ‘X factor will be Yousuf Pathan.I think it is imperative that Dhoni plays Yousuf Pathan in all the matches even if that means dropping Raina. Yousuf is a special player and he cannot be expected to play a miracle innings each & every time India is in trouble. He may click say 3 times out 10 matches. But the day he gets going he can win India the match single handedly. Sehwag & Yousuf are two batsmen who can alter the course of a match in a matter of few overs. They have to be backed no matter how inconsistent they are. If India has to win this world cup both of them will have to produce special innings in some crucial matches.

Lastly, since the 2002 Natwest trophy in England, India has not won a single major one day tournament. They have always cracked under pressure in major tournaments. So the temperament will be another key factor.


As if now without naming any favourites the four teams that should make it to semis are – India, South Africa, England & Sri Lanka. Anyone of them can win this world cup. But the surprise package of the world cup could be Pakistan. They have it in them to surprise everyone.

CONGRESS’S BIGGEST WORRY: THE COMMON MAN

During the general election of 2009 the Congress manifesto’s cover page had two opening lines that encapsulated the campaign theme for the party. The lines were –

Aam Aadmi kay badhtey kadam
Har Kadam Par Bharat Buland

This essentially means ‘As the common man moves forward, India gets stronger with every step’. And fortunately for the Congress this theme did find resonance amongst the masses which voted for them in huge numbers. But today barely eighteen months after the elections, the above message has changed to- ‘The more the common man tries to move forward, the more he will get punished’.

The events that have unfolded in the last six months have left the common man completely disillusioned. The series of scams that have unearthed, the price rise of essential food items, the growing inflation and now the second price increase of crude oil in a month has left the common man battered. The various scams that have been erupting from time to time have been disturbing, because of which the common man is saying, that first of all the hard earned tax payers money has been gobbeled by corrupt ministers and if that was not enough the price rise has become a constant phenomenon. But the bigger worry is the government’s inability to control price rise. All these events are compelling the common man to question himself –whether it was a mistake to vote for the Congress & allies for the second time?

The emergency cabinet meeting which took place for over two days and ended without any guarantee from the governement to contain the price rise has left everyone even more bemused. The government message that it can do little to bring down the prices in the immediate future but can work towards a more secure future has suddenly shaken the confidence of the common man.

There are two stark messages that the government has send out in the last six months.Firstly that ministers and bureaucrats who are involved in corruption will be brought to book only when they are proven guilty. It is easier for us to take action against our own ministers (e.g.- Tharoor, Chavan, Kalmadi etc) but difficult to take action against ministers from other parties who are our coalition partners. But how much time will it take to finish these investigations is still not known. Second, that our intention is to control price rise but there is very little we can do as most of the stock is with private players. Suddenly the common man’s confidence and faith in the Indian growth story has shaken. Now the questions is that – what is the use of this 9% growth if the we have to suffer due to due price rise and the extra wealth that is created by the government is eaten up corrupt politicians and ministers.

This sudden change in the national environment is really disturbing. The last time the country went through this phase was way back in the 90’s. But suddenly after the Kargil war the nation found renewed confidence and after that the rise in the economic growth completely changed the mood of the nation. But when ordinary citizens start questioning the growth and prosperity of the nation then it means that the government is in serious trouble.

Analysts’ believe that if elections were to be held today then the UPA will suffer a huge defeat. And for the Congress the timing could not have been worse as it is losing political ground in one of its key states - Andhra Pradesh.
The unfortunate part is that this govenrment has some very reputed ministers who have a great image and are genuinely good administrators. But the overall performance of this government is in question. The Congress cannot blame its allies because evntually it is the big brother of this coalition.Manmohan Singh is still considered an honest man and his integrity is still intact but now people want him to take some tough steps to change this mood.

If the governmet fails to act quickly, it may find it difficult to last for a full five year term. And all the ground that the Congress had recovered in the six years it may just get undone in a matter of few months. It’s time that the Congress fulfills its campaign theme on the back of which it came to power otherwise those very lines which it used as its campaign theme will become its nightmare in the next election.

TIME TO FIX THE FIXERS

The Radia tapes revelation which is now famously been referred as the ‘Radigate’has become the biggest talking point in New Delhi. Never before has the deep nexus between the corporates, politicians and a section of the media been exposed to this degree that has left everyone stunned.

Niira Radia who was famous in the political & corporate circle has now become an instant star. She has become the symbol of a power lobbying or should we say power broker. Everyone wants to know and hear more abour Radia and her conversations with people cutting across political and business circles.The proximity between politicians & businessmen was never a secret. For decades business houses and tycoons have been funding political parties and in return politicians have helped them in growing their businesses. Many businessmen have a politician’s money invested in their companies and are business partners with them. The relationship has always been of scratching each others back and safe guarding each others interest. So why is everyone shocked to discover this nexus now?

Niira Radia who in many ways has emerged as the face of this nexus is not an exception nor does she represent a new breed which has recently taken birth. Brokers or deal fixers or dalals or let me use a dignified term - lobbyists as they are called have always existed in the system. The job of a lobbyist has always been of bridging the gap between politicians & businessmen. They are faceless but wield more power than the many potent faces in power. If the Indian system is considered corrupt then one major reason for that without a doubt are lobbyists. Whenever the businessman faces an obstacle in his business it has always been these lobbyists that solved their problem through these politicians & ministers.

There is a sense of disappointment within corporate India that these scams may shake their morale which may in turn effect the stupendous economic growth India has been riding on. Many have even send a message to the prime minister and finance minister that this crusade needs to stop otherwise it will impact the markets which in turn will impact the governments plan to raise money through capital market for expenditure. This may be a subtle blackmail or maybe even a warning.

But many belief that this whole 2G scam and the Radigate has really upset the prime minister and the Congress high command. And if the prime minister as it suggests at the moment decides to go to the bottom of this issue even at the cost of political vulnerability then it will surely send the right message to the angry public.

This is a golden opportunity for prime minister to crack down on this unholy nexus between the politicians and businessmen. By nailing down the culprits the government can actually intimidate this convenient working model shared between politicians and businessmen. And if Raja & Radia are found guilty then the government should surely punish them in the most severe fashion. The crackdown should be so severe that it sends down a shiver among politicians, businessmen & lobbyists (fixers). These fixers are the genesis of corruption as it has been proved through the Radia tapes. If the government can intimidates them it will surely have an impact on the politician-businessman nexus. This step could go a really long way in at least subsiding corruption on that level even if not completely but to a great extent. Given Manmohan Singh’s track record of being the most honest prime minister, he surely would not want to go down in history as the ‘most honest prime minister of the most corrupt government ever’.It’s time to fix the ‘fixers’ that can pave the way for India’s inclusive growth The onus is on the prime minister and his government.

RADIA TAPES- IS THE MEDIA GUILTY?

‘When the Hunter got hunted’

This was the status message of one of my friend’s on his facebook account after the Radia tapes were leaked. Much has been spoken about the 2G scam but it’s a very interesting case to actually discuss media ethics.

Media which is often referred as the fourth estate has become an integral part of Indian democracy. The print media was always vigil for the past six decades but the real turning point came when the electronic media (TV) made an entry. The whole coverage & news reporting approach has taken a three sixty degree turn in the last one decade or so. Expose, sting operations, sound bytes, powerful visuals have all changed the dynamics of the way media functions. Till one & half decade back the only piece of television news one saw was on state run Doordarshan which at best can be described as the mouth piece of the government. The entry of private media players marked the real change in news reporting.

But unlike other institutions media is primarily a private driven enterprise and therefore is not under pressure from the government. The involvement of two celebrated journalists- Barkha Dutt (Group Editor of NDTV English) & Vir Sangvi (Consulting Editor of Hindustan times) in breaking the deadlock between Congress-DMK at the time of government formation in 2009 has come as a real shocker.
Just to give a clear context the tapes also contains conversations of Radia with Barkha Dutt & Vir Sanghvi at the time of government formation in 2009. Radia is heard lobbying for the DMK, while both Dutt & Sanghvi are seen to be presenting views of the Congress. The conversations indicate that Radia asked Dutt & Sanghvi to use their access to the Congress to pass on messages from the DMK.

Most people are shocked to see that two stalwarts of Indian journalism were involved in the lobbying process which has to a great extent tarnished their image. Journalists are not expected to be involved in any sort of deal which may not be monetary in nature but may lead to one party benefiting.

Dutt & Sanghvi are not corrupt but the fact that they were part of the lobbying process is a shameful act. On their part both have denied to have passed on those messages to the Congress leaders. They both claim that they were playing along to extract information and did not pass on those messages.

So what are the charges against these two journalists? No one is alleging corruption charges against them this act is a clear breach of media ethics. Journalism is all about of credibility and if that takes a beating then the journalist’s past track record & image does gets tarnished. Both have accepted that they should have handled Niira in a proper manner.

Journalist as a part of their job to extract information talk to all sorts of people from all walks of life. But there is a thin line between extracting information and divulging details that can benefit the source. Both Dutt & Sanghvi have crossed that line or at least seemed to have crossed that line. Both have done a mistake and should apologize to for that

But this brings me to a bigger question- Can the whole institution (Media) be painted with same brush. Now that is a very narrow & prejudice way at the looking at it. Yes, this incident has raised questions on the ethics followed by journalists but the medium is still fair & honest in its approach. The biggest testimony of that it is that the very same media that has actually made these tapes public without any fear of the whole institution’s image take a beating.

Like any other institution media also has grey areas and these tapes are example of that. So if there is a certain section (which is a small section) that believes that media in general is like that then by that principle – the army will have to also called corrupt because some its top officials were involved in Adarsh scam and the Tehelka scam which broke a few years back. They will also have to call the whole judiciary corrupt because of judges like Justice Dinakaran. Outlook magazine have made 141 tapes public, out which Radia has spoken to over thirty journalists. But the ones who have been found guilty on account of breach of ethics are hardly six to seven. The remaining twenty five odd have come out clean. This clearly shows that it’s not the whole institution that practices poor journalism. There are always a few rotten apples in the basket and it’s important to throw them out before they spoil the basket. And that is what is needed.

The same friend who I mentioned at the beginning of this piece also put a this status message
‘Radia deserves the Padma Bhushan for this expose’

For those people – had it been not this media then the multi crore scams like – CWG games, IPL, Adarsh society & now 2G scam which saw the exit of two cabinet minister, one chief minister & one sports administrator would have never happened. That is the impact of a genuine & vibrant media. Instead of asking for severe punishment for corporate lobbyists who work only & only for the benefit of corporates & politicians this friend of mine is much happier to see media found guilty for once forgetting all the work media has done for so many decades. Well, despite a section of cynic Indians the nation has overcome obstacles and shall continue to in the future as well. As for the media and journalists- this is a big lesson to look within and take corrective measures to ensure that the over all credibility remains intact.