INSAF Bulletin 111 Jully 2011
International South Asia Forum (32 Cowan Ave, St. John’s, NL,Canada A1E 3N7 (Tel.709-368-3252; e-mail; ; or visit our website Editors, Daya Varma (St. John’s, Newfoundland) and Vinod Mubayi (New York). Guest contributors: Asghar Ali Engineer and Ram Puniyani. Circulation/website: Feroz Mehdi (On behalf of Alternatives, Montreal).
1. UPA’S MISPLACED PRIORITIES
Daya Varma and Vinod Mubayi
The performance of the UPA in its second term of government seems to be far worse than in the first term. Although the leadership has not talked much lately about the Maoist “threat”, which is any case more a symptom than a cause, the government has not taken any steps to address the plight of Adivasis, tribals and forest dwellers, whose only friends seem to be the Maoists. BJP-led governments in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and their allied regimes in Orissa and even Bihar are doing whatever they want to, while the Congress leaders are indulging in paying homage to obscurantist, fundamentalist and religious bigots. Read more..
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress Leader Sonia Gandhi went all the way to Shirdi to pay homage to the departed Sathya Sai Baba and thus give extra credit to his vast empire constructed on fraud and obscurantism. The government is unduly scared of an Army corporal turned Gandhian like Anna Hazare who is threatening to free India of corruption, when this task certainly devolves on government. Finally the UPA leaders along with some otherwise busy ministers found hours to plead with the self-proclaimed “demigod” Baba Ramdev, because, for some unfathomable reason, it believes that he has millions of devotees in India and the world who would rise to topple the government should he so decide. In short, the UPA has stooped to a level of believing in fantasies and is attempting to run a government of over one billion people on its utterly misplaced priorities.
In reality, Ramdev, whose ambition is to become the Prime Minister of India on the foundations of Hindu ethos, Yogic tricks and dubious concoctions cannot win the confidence of the Indian people. Others like him have tried in the past and failed and so will he.
Why then does the government cater to him? We are aware of many instances when a group of people with real concern for India wanted to see the PM or Mrs. Sonia Gandhi but were refused permission or allowed a mere five minutes after going through the horrors of a security check. This happened in fact to a group which walked all the way from Bhopal to Delhi.
The PM and the Congress leadership claim to be leading a Party which stood for secularism and which at some stage declared India to be a Socialist Republic. On both these matters, no matter how shoddily these promises were implemented, the only allies of the Congress, which believes in secular India, are the left progressives and democrats, including those in the communist parties of all brands, despite the aberrant behavior of the CPM leadership in floating a Third Front or joining hands with BJP in the parliamentary debate on the US-India nuclear deal. The leftists might not be practical on all issues but they are principled nonetheless.
Our view is that the government should completely refrain from catering to the most backward segments of the society represented by Sai Baba and Baba Ramdev types. If Ramdev dies by fasting, which is admittedly highly unlikely as he is basically a coward apart from being a fraud, it will be a great benefit to India by removing another manipulator and trickster from the political scene. The UPA needs to take renewed steps to seek cooperation of the most advanced, principled and organized sections of the society. It took these steps at the outset of its first term but seems to have lost all sense of direction, not to say purpose, in its second term. Maoists will eventually learn from their own experience that they are on the wrong path. Many of their cadre and middle leaders are sincere if misguided and, potentially, they have a lot to offer the country. Attempts should be made to treat them as a legal party and harassment of their leaders, members and sympathizers should end.
If this road is taken, a victory for a third term of the UPA is very possible. In our view, under no circumstances should the BJP have another chance to rule India and we think the Third Front is as much of a fantasy as Ramdev’s claim of having millions of followers.
2. BABA RAMDEV’S ANTI CORRUPTION FAST: NEW FACE OF COMMUNAL POLITICS
Ram Puniyani
Since this article was written, Baba Ramdev has given up his fast. He promised to fast until death if his demands are not met, but being too coward to die, found some alibi. From time to time India produces great men and women but also from time to time it produces great crooks. Baba Ramdev is the latest fraud who combines everything despicable into one person. People who assembled around Ramdev in the anticorruption fast are like people who assembled in Ayodhya to demolish the Babri Masjid. In both cases the bone-less government allowed the assembly but used its baton in the wrong one. Read more…
The police crackdown on people assembled to participate on the anticorruption fast by Baba Ramdev on the Sunday night, 5th June 2011, needs tobe condemned to no end. As the police methods are, in their effort to
evacuate the Ramlila ground, they did resort to the firing of tear gasshells and lathi (baton) charge leading to injuries to many, including womenand children. The police action was the culmination of the failure of the
negotiations between Government and Ramdev. Ramdev is continuing his fast inhis Patanjali Yoga Ashram in Haridwar.
A brief run down of the background and few details of the event are inorder. After Anna Hazare started his fast for Lokpal bill at Jantar Mantar,baba did join it. The fast by Anna Hazare got a lot of support from themiddle class sections. All over one could see the hand of well organizedmachinery trying to crystallize the spontaneous upsurge of people in supportof Anti Corruption movement led by Hazare. This again, one can see came in
the backdrop of massive scams, 2G etc. the scale of graft shook the peopleand the middle classes spontaneously supported it, and RSS backed up andmade the upsurge more organized. During this fast the whole attention was
focused on Anna HAzare who was labeled as Second Gandhi! Baba had hisdifferences with Annaji, as he had his own scheme of things to capitalize onthe issue around his following. This following has been built up to his very‘successful’ business of Yoga teaching. This Yoga is being lapped up incountry with new anxieties and to overcome the new tensions of theglobalized era.
Baba claims to have a massive following and after Annaji’s fast he declaredthat he too will go on fast with a focus on the illicit money stashed inforeign countries. He began his mobilizing work and his advisors included
the RSS trained Govindacharya. His protest hunger strike was well organized,a sort of five star arrangements were put in place with massive expenditure.
The support base of Ramdev is the section of middle class, including thetrading community and the one’s with organizations like Khaps, who came inlarge number. Those who have seen the dharnas and protests of the deprivedsections of society must have been gripped with shock that such massivefunds can be mobilized with such a huge number participating in a protest,which though genuine, still just looks at the issue in a superficial way.
One concedes that corruption is one of the major scourges of our country,but one also knows that corruption is a superficial manifestation of thedeeper rot of the system as a whole. The attempts to weed out corruption
without addressing the gross inadequacies of the system and massiveinjustice prevailing it the society cannot work, as repeatedly demonstratedduring the agitations led by Jaya Praksh Narayan and later V. P. Singh.
Still the section of population which participates in these protests isthose who are very different from the large suffering masses of the country.Generally this section is those based on which the BJP slogan of ‘Shining
India’ depends. In addition, there is another following of Baba, whose ownsource of wealth may have dubious origin. Coming to Baba himself he is quitea phenomenon, a successful yoga teacher turned businessman and now on thethreshold of the political ambition, hiding it all under the cover ofsaffron garb and religious image.
To pick up the sequence of events, once Baba was close to begin his fast,the Government got panicky for obvious reasons of electoral politics. RSScombine has the parallel support base like that of Baba. Negotiations withRSS were already on, about starting a new political party or to undertakemaneuvers which can shift away substantial votes in the kitty of RSSpolitics, its progeny BJP; politics aimed at Hindu nation. The Government
was keen to prevent his fast and in that direction they kneeled in front ofRamdev. The negotiation began and in the second round of negotiations theagreement was reached that government will undertake measures to ensure allin the direction of getting the illicit money from abroad and tighten thenoose around those who have stashed such wealth. Ramdev’s associates signedthe agreement and Ramdev declared that 99% of his demands have been met.Obviously it meant that there was no need for him to sit on the hungerstrike.Still once he came to Ramlila maidan (ground), he persisted on the fast. Nowhis associate claims that they purposely gave a letter of approval, as theyfeared being arrested. At this point of time the Government felt ditched.
Normally these agitations are undertaken so that your demands are fulfilledand 99% is the highest success rate possible. So what was the intention incontinuing the agitation? Obviously the fast was a pretext to ensure that
the mobilization done for political goals should be consolidated and not beallowed to fritter away. The anti corruption label was just a façade and thegoal was to strengthen the politics for Hindu Nation, something which hadled to divisive tendencies in the country. Interesting things followed.
Manmohan Singh says the crackdown was inevitable; the details are not given so one cannot say as to what was there in Government’s mind. It is at this time that the state authorities decided to take Ramdev away and get theRamlila maidan cleared of those assembled there. When police approached to take Ramdev away, he jumped from the stage in the midst of his women supporters and disappeared. Few hours later he was spotted wearing theclothes of a women and hiding his beard with a duppata (scarf), from where he was taken away.So far the experience of agitations is that the leader takes the first blow. The leader is there to protect the followers from the wrath of the police action. But this is politics of different hue. Here cowardice is paraded asbravery and honesty is replaced by tricks! After giving the letter to the Government, Ramdev backed out from that and like a ‘brave’ leader when the police wanted to take him away he hid behind the women and ran away wearing women’s clothes, leaving his followers to face the consequences of his mobilization! While giving the letter to withdraw the fast and after this disguise to escape, Ramdev justifies it by saying that these are the tacticsfollowed by Shivaji. This argument lacks all the understanding of a democratic society. Shivaji was a king, battling with other kings for power. In democracy the agitations and discussions are undertaken to lead the pathfor pressure on Government. So cowardice is being paraded under the garb of a King’s methods.The political aspects of the whole phenomenon are very curious. The RSS combine has underwritten the whole movement. It seems after two defeats at the general elections, this political outfit is on the lookout for anotherissue which can give them the electoral rewards the way communal violence gives or the way Babri masjid demolition gave them. The present mobilization is the same which is for the Hindu nation, by and large, which is opposed to the rights of the Adivasis, Dalits and other marginalized sections of society. This was the pattern of the mobilization of Babri Masjid demolition. The things are not so unclear. All the actors of demolitionpolitics are very much around. Govindacharya, Sadhvi Ritambhara, Uma Bharit, in overt or covert manner. The other actors of demolition assault, Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi have joined in post dispersal protests. RSSfunctionaries have been the one’s who are the major backers of Ramdev. They have so far kept quiet after the atrocities against marginalized sections, against the violence against farmers or against minorities. Now the Babri demolition gang is leading the procession to Rashtrapati Bhavan and having a ‘celebratory dharna’, dancing and singing, to call for the joint session of parliament.While the issue of corruption measures against corrupt is to be supported to the hilt, one has to distinguish the genuine and deeper efforts to root out this phenomenon from the sensational efforts and still bigger sensationalpresentation of the same by the large section of media. The glorification of Ramdev and the efforts around that are aimed to create a mass hysteria of the pre-Babri Masjid demolition days. The efforts for rooting out corruption had been on at various levels even earlier. What adds to the suspicion about the motives of the breast beating against corruption now is the very timing and the well organized nature of the protest.The current protests also should bring our attention to another part of our democracy. In a democracy whether the Government is to be seen as less responsible than the civic action groups? While the civic actions groupsplay a most valuable part in the democracy, by putting pressures on the government in a multiple ways, we need to see that it is still through the elected government that the programs can be implemented. So where do we drawthe line. If Government accepts 99% of your demands, is there a need for continuing your agitation. If there are differences in the joint committee formed by civic action groups and the government, what should be theweight-age of each group? After all government is an elected body. The trend of Babas and Swamis coming to the political arena gives a very dangerous message. Is it that we want to emulate Pakistan where Mullahs ruled the roost for long time and even now have a big weight in the political affairs, and that is one of the major reasons for the problems through which Pakistan is going through currently. Baba Ramdev, Sadhvi Ritambhara, Sri Sri Ravishanker have full right as a citizen, but to dabble in politics with the claims of spiritual following is to abuse of religious spirituality.Many a theories will be tumbling out of the whole Ramdev episode, one of the role it has played is that it has diverted the attention away form the Sangh terror trails which have ravaged the country from Malegaon to Ajmer. The deeper links of those involved in the acts of terrorism with functionaries of affiliated organizations is out in the open now, one hopes that the authorities don’t loose sight to ensure that guilty of acts of terror aregiven the punishment due to them.One reiterates that any violation of the peaceful protest for social issues is condemnable, at the same time the betrayal of compromises and five star dharnas may be having more to it than meets the eye is more than clear bynow. 3. PAKISTAN AFTER OSAMA
Pervez Hoodbhoy (Himal, June 20, 2011)
The killing of Osama bin Laden could provide Pakistan an opportunity to reverse its downward slide, though changing course will not be easy. The country must decide whether to decisively confront Islamist violence, or continue with the military’s current policy of supporting jihadi militants with one hand even as it slaps them with the other. Read more…
The most intensive manhunt in history ended on 2 May 2011 with the killing of Osama bin Laden. When an elite squad of helicopter-borne US Navy SEALs slipped into Pakistan from Afghanistan, they returned with the body of al-Qaeda’s founder-king. To the relief of many around the world, the man who had attacked and physically eliminated all he perceived as enemies of Islam – Soviets and Americans, Iraqis and Pakistanis – was dispatched to his watery grave.
Initially, the Pakistani government claimed cooperation in the operation. But this was flatly rejected by those who had laid and executed the intricate plans. John Brennan, assistant to President Barack Obama for homeland security and counterterrorism, said, ‘We didn’t contact the Pakistanis until after all of our people, all of our aircraft were out of Pakistani airspace … we were watching and making sure that our people and our aircraft were able to get out of Pakistani airspace. And thankfully, there was no engagement with Pakistani forces.’ The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Leon Panetta, hinted at Pakistan’s complicity with al-Qaeda when he said, ‘It was decided that any effort to work with the Pakistanis might jeopardise the mission: they might alert the targets.’ Significantly, President Obama did not thank Pakistan.