" Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
------------
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity "
Yeats could have had the present day state of affairs within the BJP in his mind when he wrote these lines. Indeed, the locus has become unidentifiable.
Quetelet says, a thousand Stalinist purges and a country full of Gulags will not solve the BJPs problem. For it is not an issue of ideological purity, cadre motivation or alignment. It is more elemental than that...
The BJP is in utter chaos because it does not have a first family. Since there is no family there is no interest in perpetuating the party and keeping it in power. In the absence of this family, there are only individuals power hungry individuals.
Perverse (and sad) though the argument may be, it is entirely true and Quetelet believes that the truth is the only substrate on which politics can lead to power.
The BJP needs to subscribe more affirmatively to the theoretical and practical reality that a political formation in a democracy has to ‘sell’ itself to the voters. Therefore positioning is as important as advertising – i.e.- Who am I (or Who are We) is not more important than Why Buy Me (Or Why vote for us in this case). A party in the electoral fray will have to modify the voter’s current frame of reference by increasing the salience of that benefit which it is best capable of presenting to her/him. Since a family grows, evolves and perpetuates itself, it can control its positioning as a political brand much better than a consortium of individuals.
The persuasiveness of an appeal to the voter finds sharper cut through with a living family. Not for nothing has the family survived as the core unit of society, business even crime !!
To twist up a famous quote from Leo Tolstoy :
Happy (parties) are all alike; every unhappy ( party ) (lacks a family) of its own.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Jinnah Jugular Jaswant
Mr Jaswant Singh was an articulate ‘Vajpayee courtier’ who rose to cabinet positions in his government.
He has written books and continues to write. They are important mostly because of ‘who’ has written them rather than what has been written.
Now , at last, he seems to have qualified on both counts.
Alas, what he wrote is also important because of who he is.
Jinnah – India, Independence, Partition, cost Jaswant Singh his primary membership of the Bhartiya Janata Party.
Quetelet says, it ought to hardly matter to him or to the party , least of all to the country. It is only of interest to illustrate a case of an entire political formation reading the mood of the country so incorrectly and being stubborn in holding on to its erroneous conclusions.
This is, prima facie, a move that reflects the primacy of the most hard-line elements within the party. They are rumored to be on the ascendant since the party’s recent parliamentary election defeat.
It is one more instance of ‘political management by entropy’ so typical of the BJP nowadays. It seems to be in deep disarray, catalysed by the infighting since the May parliamentary elections when it was reduced to 116 seats, its worst performance in years.
Quetelet says that ideological purity and political necessity weigh in the balance . The BJP needs to get itself to the centre but it seems to be drifting to the right.
The BJP top brass is in the Chintan Baithak to ponder on why they have reached where they are and how to become more electable and appealing .
Will book bashing take them there ?
He has written books and continues to write. They are important mostly because of ‘who’ has written them rather than what has been written.
Now , at last, he seems to have qualified on both counts.
Alas, what he wrote is also important because of who he is.
Jinnah – India, Independence, Partition, cost Jaswant Singh his primary membership of the Bhartiya Janata Party.
Quetelet says, it ought to hardly matter to him or to the party , least of all to the country. It is only of interest to illustrate a case of an entire political formation reading the mood of the country so incorrectly and being stubborn in holding on to its erroneous conclusions.
This is, prima facie, a move that reflects the primacy of the most hard-line elements within the party. They are rumored to be on the ascendant since the party’s recent parliamentary election defeat.
It is one more instance of ‘political management by entropy’ so typical of the BJP nowadays. It seems to be in deep disarray, catalysed by the infighting since the May parliamentary elections when it was reduced to 116 seats, its worst performance in years.
Quetelet says that ideological purity and political necessity weigh in the balance . The BJP needs to get itself to the centre but it seems to be drifting to the right.
The BJP top brass is in the Chintan Baithak to ponder on why they have reached where they are and how to become more electable and appealing .
Will book bashing take them there ?
Saturday, August 15, 2009
No need for Raje- sthan
Vasundhara Raje Scindia is a non entity in Indian Politics of the moment.
No matter how things shape out she is likely to be on a backburner for at least half a decade. For someone who was so intoxicated with power, it must hurt . We can see the withdrawl symptoms.
Even within the BJP, Rajasthan as a state is hardly on the top right quadrant of priority and importance. She flourished in part because of her ability to manage New Delhi and her backwater state. But now that the BJP has only the backwaters to paddle, all hell is breaking loose .
The constitution of India recognizes no such thing as a Political party. However, politics in India has crystallised thus. Those who control the party, get to be in Government at the helm of affairs when their political formation gets the mandate.
Vasundhara Raje did more damage to the BJP in Rajasthan than any other person(s).
Arrogant, imperious, megalomaniacal..the synonyms will run out and yet not manage to describe her overbearing style that reduced the party apparatus to naught. She perhaps never had ideological moorings or any idealism, but it was her feudal temperament that did so much more damage to her cadre than to her self.
Why did this degeneration take place? Why did the party make no effort to arrest the decline ?
Consider :
- Terror attacks in Jaipur - Any responsibility in the state administration ?
- Farmers shot dead like dogs in in Ganga nagar and Ghadsana -Any prosecutions ?
- Caste tensions across the state -What was done besides deal making ?
- Alleged land grabbing by private interests. Could we probe the benefactors ?
- Complete abandonment of official authority to extra constitutional authorities who played their innings by their own rules…..all of these things are in the public domain.
She demanded deference, was surrounded by hangers-on, crony business men, glitterati.
Rajasthan was party land , the kind that happens after a fashion show !!.
She thrived / survived because of patronage by Vajpayee and Advani, old time associates of her Mother, the Rajmata. She has now been reduced to petty antics to cling on to whatever little status she has as 'Leader (!) of the Opposition (!!)
It is not worthy of featuring on Indian Political radar but is a fit case to sample from source and analyse the degenration and fractal feudal monopolisation of ' the party with a difference' - Now, 'A party with (obvious) differences' !!!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Proactively tackling Swine Flu
With three more swine flu deaths in the space of a day, and many more cases streaming in from across the country, India is suddenly staring at the reality that the world has been preparing for since April 2009
The Centre, as well as the state governments, seem to be pressing the accelerator to tackle a deteriorating situation and contain the growing panic as fresh cases were reported from places like Delhi, Chennai, Goa and even Jaipur, while a few continued to battle for their lives in Mumbai and Pune.
This is a pandemic that WHO has worked with national Governments to tackle. It is unlikely that any Governmental action could have prevented its occurance in India but :
Why does it take a few hundred established cases to launch a website ?
Why does it take fatalities to add screening centers ?
Why , in the case of a pandemic, do we need to classify Government hospitals and private hospitals and the responsibilities attached to the respective status types ?
Why are simple facts not published every single day for public consumption ?
Why can daily briefings not happen in every Primary Health center ?
Why is it seeming like no one has been proactive here ? Why has the ramp up not happened on a war footing ?
Better late than never.
The Centre, as well as the state governments, seem to be pressing the accelerator to tackle a deteriorating situation and contain the growing panic as fresh cases were reported from places like Delhi, Chennai, Goa and even Jaipur, while a few continued to battle for their lives in Mumbai and Pune.
This is a pandemic that WHO has worked with national Governments to tackle. It is unlikely that any Governmental action could have prevented its occurance in India but :
Why does it take a few hundred established cases to launch a website ?
Why does it take fatalities to add screening centers ?
Why , in the case of a pandemic, do we need to classify Government hospitals and private hospitals and the responsibilities attached to the respective status types ?
Why are simple facts not published every single day for public consumption ?
Why can daily briefings not happen in every Primary Health center ?
Why is it seeming like no one has been proactive here ? Why has the ramp up not happened on a war footing ?
Better late than never.
Write to india.political.report@gmail.com
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Drought declared by the Doctor
On Saturday, 8th August,2009, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said there was drought in 141 districts in the country and people must be prepared for a further rise in prices. There is a shortfall of six million hectares under paddy, this kharif season, owing to a deficient southwest monsoon.
So it’s official . The government has admitted to drought, price rise and a specific shortfall in kharif sowing.
Addressing a meeting of the State Chief Secretaries, Dr. Singh assured the states of the Centre’s full support for tackling drought. The States should quickly send detailed memoranda for assistance under the Calamity Relief Fund or the National Calamity Contingency Fund, he declared.
A meeting of all state Chief Secretaries is anyways a wasteful indulgence where also only doubt and lack of clarity has been displayed. What have they been told which could not have been guessed in their respective state capitals or indeed communicated over phone, fax or file ?
The response is neither proactive nor reactive. The PM’s expression of concern over drought conditions on August 8th is a bit too little and way too late.
Asking people to be prepared and alluding to calamity relief is bemusing.
Dr Singh preached to the choir declaring that “in no case should we allow citizens to go hungry,” and if need be, the government would take strong measures and intervene in the market. No news on what those could be. “We are helped by the fact that there were adequate food stocks owing to record production and procurement of foodgrains in 2007-08 and 2008-09.” he stated and that “We expect the State governments to intervene in procurement and act against hoarders.”
Dr. Singh wanted the States to operate a contingency plan for crops, drinking water, fodder, human and animal health and keep a close watch on food grain prices.
Qu says that from the earliest origin of government in this country, through successive reigns, occurrence of drought and resulting famine has been proactively monitored and actions taken
All forms of government in this country, even the dictatorial ones, had been receptive to the purpose of mitigating drought & alleviating suffering. Always, attempts were made to put in place a blue print and a well thought out cascading contingency plan.
For a 21st century Prime Minister aided by Super computers , latest Met technologies and global Information access to make pronouncements of this nature seems like a old village Mukhiya advising his community to trek over the hill in an attempt to survive.
Consider :
- Contingency scenarios , famine relief works scope and schedule , community water resources investments - Where is the master plan?
- Along with this prophecy of calamity, was it not incumbent upon the PM to disclose to the nation at least 10 concrete measures which are anyhow fairly ritualistic rather than bemoan lack of budget utilization etc and merely press the panic button?
- That this drought was anticipated is a matter of record. Mr Pawar had , from London, decided that it was enough of a rainy condition to call off the match (pun intended !) and left the prognosis to his lethargic mandarins. When exactly did it dawn upon the rulers that we were dry and desperate?
Finally, Union Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar blamed hoarding and speculation in the market for the “sudden” spurt in the prices of essential commodities, particularly pulses. He said that unless the States took action, the Centre would not be able to control the prices. We need effective response, not a lesson in Civics !!
Write to india.political.report@gmail.com
So it’s official . The government has admitted to drought, price rise and a specific shortfall in kharif sowing.
Addressing a meeting of the State Chief Secretaries, Dr. Singh assured the states of the Centre’s full support for tackling drought. The States should quickly send detailed memoranda for assistance under the Calamity Relief Fund or the National Calamity Contingency Fund, he declared.
A meeting of all state Chief Secretaries is anyways a wasteful indulgence where also only doubt and lack of clarity has been displayed. What have they been told which could not have been guessed in their respective state capitals or indeed communicated over phone, fax or file ?
The response is neither proactive nor reactive. The PM’s expression of concern over drought conditions on August 8th is a bit too little and way too late.
Asking people to be prepared and alluding to calamity relief is bemusing.
Dr Singh preached to the choir declaring that “in no case should we allow citizens to go hungry,” and if need be, the government would take strong measures and intervene in the market. No news on what those could be. “We are helped by the fact that there were adequate food stocks owing to record production and procurement of foodgrains in 2007-08 and 2008-09.” he stated and that “We expect the State governments to intervene in procurement and act against hoarders.”
Dr. Singh wanted the States to operate a contingency plan for crops, drinking water, fodder, human and animal health and keep a close watch on food grain prices.
Qu says that from the earliest origin of government in this country, through successive reigns, occurrence of drought and resulting famine has been proactively monitored and actions taken
All forms of government in this country, even the dictatorial ones, had been receptive to the purpose of mitigating drought & alleviating suffering. Always, attempts were made to put in place a blue print and a well thought out cascading contingency plan.
For a 21st century Prime Minister aided by Super computers , latest Met technologies and global Information access to make pronouncements of this nature seems like a old village Mukhiya advising his community to trek over the hill in an attempt to survive.
Consider :
- Contingency scenarios , famine relief works scope and schedule , community water resources investments - Where is the master plan?
- Along with this prophecy of calamity, was it not incumbent upon the PM to disclose to the nation at least 10 concrete measures which are anyhow fairly ritualistic rather than bemoan lack of budget utilization etc and merely press the panic button?
- That this drought was anticipated is a matter of record. Mr Pawar had , from London, decided that it was enough of a rainy condition to call off the match (pun intended !) and left the prognosis to his lethargic mandarins. When exactly did it dawn upon the rulers that we were dry and desperate?
Finally, Union Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar blamed hoarding and speculation in the market for the “sudden” spurt in the prices of essential commodities, particularly pulses. He said that unless the States took action, the Centre would not be able to control the prices. We need effective response, not a lesson in Civics !!
Write to india.political.report@gmail.com
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Indian Anari (The poor Indian Amateur)
Government in India seems to have got off its knees after the departure of Mrs Clinton.
Wellesley’s subsidiary alliance will seem cozy when compared to the status that the Americans now reserve for us.
Some questions to consider .
- Did India agree on a formulation on 'climate change', essentially agreeing to a two-degree rise cap on global temperatures from the pre-industrial era?
- The final preparatory meeting for the Doha Round of trade negotiations under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will be held in India, where it is claimed that India will ensure that finally an agreement will be reached ?? why the change ??
- And at Shame Shame…..Sharm el Sheikh our Prime Minister formally delinked terrorism from an all-encompassing bilateral dialogue. Who authorized this ?
It appears that the PM believes he is an ‘American style’ president and his new government /administration has decided to restate policy position on national and international issues, without notice or debate and consensus
Hillary Clinton's clear agenda was to open up the Indian market for US exports, particularly on technology areas; thus the proposal for two nuclear power plants during this visit. What did India get in return ?
As this PMO asserts itself over each facet of governance, in an undemocratic matter, unfettered by political considerations and minding more the American constituency than its (absent) Indian one is forced to think of the Indian common man “Sab kucch seekha hamney Na seekhi hoshiyari; sach hai duniya waalon ki hum hai Anari “
Wellesley’s subsidiary alliance will seem cozy when compared to the status that the Americans now reserve for us.
Some questions to consider .
- Did India agree on a formulation on 'climate change', essentially agreeing to a two-degree rise cap on global temperatures from the pre-industrial era?
- The final preparatory meeting for the Doha Round of trade negotiations under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will be held in India, where it is claimed that India will ensure that finally an agreement will be reached ?? why the change ??
- And at Shame Shame…..Sharm el Sheikh our Prime Minister formally delinked terrorism from an all-encompassing bilateral dialogue. Who authorized this ?
It appears that the PM believes he is an ‘American style’ president and his new government /administration has decided to restate policy position on national and international issues, without notice or debate and consensus
Hillary Clinton's clear agenda was to open up the Indian market for US exports, particularly on technology areas; thus the proposal for two nuclear power plants during this visit. What did India get in return ?
As this PMO asserts itself over each facet of governance, in an undemocratic matter, unfettered by political considerations and minding more the American constituency than its (absent) Indian one is forced to think of the Indian common man “Sab kucch seekha hamney Na seekhi hoshiyari; sach hai duniya waalon ki hum hai Anari “
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