Narendra Modi vs the Dynasty: Contrasting Ideas of India

member_22539 · Post by **member_22539** » 13 Apr 2013 11:11

Hi guys, I have left this message in Google feedback regarding the filtering out of Manushi:

It has come to my notice that http://www.manushi.in/ has been removed from your search results, while there is no reason to do so considering the popularity of this website and the traffic it gets. What is apparent is that Google has sold out to the corrupt in power and has compromised on their much vaunted ideals and objectivity. This website has been taking an anti-establishment, yet free and fair outlook in the articles it has published and obviously Google has joined the very same establishment in punishing it. It is sad to see the famed Google beholden to the govt in power and take such a servile and supine posture. If you have any moral fibre left in you, you will rectify the situation at the earliest.

Having still some faith in Google,

Arun

member_23629 · Post by **member_23629** » 13 Apr 2013 11:19

^^^ Someone is actively managing Modi-related search results in Google. Negative news about him is often appearing for weeks on top, such as the one comparing him with Hitler. I think the Goras are behind this.

Google, Twitter and other Western websites are non-entities in China where the Chinese have set up their own competing websites and search engines. That is why China was threatening to ban Google as it was deliberately filtering results for China too. Goras have managed to find a new tool to shape the perception of Indians by feeding them information selectively through the search engines they control. The Goras were also actively managing Twitter feeds during the spring revolutions in the Arab world, particularly for Syria and Iran.

India should learn from China and develop their own competing search engines and social media platforms. When Modi comes to power, banning Google would be a good idea, like the Chinese were ready to do.

member_22539 · Post by **member_22539** » 13 Apr 2013 11:29

^It is just amazing to see the insects crawl from under the rocks, be it dynasty stooges or goras. I guess all those paranoid conspiracy theories were true after all. With proof like this, it is hard not to be a believer.

anmol · Post by **anmol** » 13 Apr 2013 11:31

Why Rahul Gandhi has understood the chaos of India

Rahul Gandhi’s CII speech was like a good movie that flops juxtaposing the romance of India and its reality

Aakar Patel

I think Rahul Gandhi has made the most mature and intelligent political speech from an Indian leader in 30 years. I don’t think his father ever had this quality of penetration into India. That explains Rajiv Gandhi’s bewilderment at why he could change India little and perhaps not at all despite sitting on the biggest majority in our history (over 400 seats).

One reason is because Rajiv spent little time in rural India, as his grandfather had done with Mahatma Gandhi. At 40, he was prime minister when two years younger than his son is today, and far less knowledgeable than him about the ways of India.

There are two things that stand out in the speech. The first is Rahul’s recognition of the chaos of India, for which he used the image of the beehive. I think this is wonderful realism, and excellent imagery.

We cannot look on ourselves as a normal state and a normal culture given the levels of chaos, if not anarchy, around us. For most of us, even observing this is not possible, let alone accepting it. In this view, we are just like any other society, actually better, but our bad leaders have ruined it all. This is incorrect.

One of my favourite books is Maurice Maeterlinck’s Life of the Bee. To appreciate Rahul’s beehive parallel, see how Maeterlinck’s observations describe our society and the culture of our cities:

“The first impression (of someone observing a beehive) will be one of some disappointment. He had been told that it contained an unparalleled activity, an infinite number of wise laws, and a startling amalgam of mystery, experience, genius, calculation, science, of various industries, of certitude and prescience, of intelligent habits and curious feelings and virtues.” However, Maeterlinck continues, “All that he sees is a confused mass...their movements are slow, incoherent, and incomprehensible.”

Could the romance of India and its reality be better juxtaposed?

There’s more: “The bee is above all, and even to a greater extent than the ant, a creature of the crowd. She can live only in the midst of a multitude. When she leaves the hive, which is so densely packed that she has to force her way with blows of her head through the living walls that enclose her, she departs from her proper element.”

Again, for me, an excellent account of how Indians are.

Maeterlinck tells us to “not too hastily deduce from these facts conclusions that apply to man. He possesses the power of withstanding certain of nature’s laws.”

Clearly, the Belgian aristocrat did not have the opportunity to observe us.

The other thing that Rahul says, and it will deflate most of the middle class, is that our problems are not about to be resolved by the man on horseback.

A strongman, no matter how strong, no matter how well-meaning, no matter how efficient, cannot change culture. This can only be done from the inside, not externally.

But the attraction of the strongman as a quick solution is universal and eternal. It is the common man of Rome who voted Julius Caesar dictator (it is the refined aristocrats of the Senate, bless them, who despatched him). It is the bazari, the pious shopkeeper of Tehran, whose rebellion demanded that Ayatollah Khomeini return as tyrant.

These two observations tell us Rahul’s time in rural India has served him well. He has learned the limits of what the state can do to make India more livable. He has discovered an essential truth about India.

Critics of Rahul’s speech, my friend The Indian Express editor Shekhar Gupta is one, hold his political failures against him. It is true that Rahul is a political failure, both in Uttar Pradesh as well as in Bihar, the state where, Gupta points out, Rahul campaigned on homilies, banalities and, “Congress lost its deposits in 221 of 243 seats”.

Political success in India, particularly in Bihar, comes from tribalism and caste. There is no research to show that Nitish Kumar, the chief minister, has won his elections for anything other than bringing together castes through his alliance of socialists with Hindutva.

There is zero evidence to show that the Congress lost because of Rahul’s message, but let us accept he is a failure in politics. In any case that isn’t what his speech was about. He was describing to us fundamental aspects of India. If we accept his interpretation, we have to look at the problem differently than in terms of broad solutions coming to us through politics and elections and governance.

By most accounts, Rahul’s speech was a flop. It was like a good movie that flops. The content is rich and deep and may cause you to introspect. The audience, however, is seeking entertainment, and anticipates the hero on horseback coming to save the day.

Aakar Patel is a writer and a columnist.

Sushupti · Post by **Sushupti** » 13 Apr 2013 11:40

@abpnewstv 35m

JD-U says it will give 6-8 months to BJP to decide on PM candidate , don't want to break 17-year-old ties.

member_22539 · Post by **member_22539** » 13 Apr 2013 11:41

^Some people just refuse to see that the emperor has no clothes.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Apr 2013 11:56

^ or that the Queen they worship is infact a Sith lord in shroud robes.

Lilo · Post by **Lilo** » 13 Apr 2013 12:00

Sushupti wrote:@abpnewstv 35m

JD-U says it will give 6-8 months to BJP to decide on PM candidate , don't want to break 17-year-old ties.

Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar: A tale of two friends

Very few people know that Nitish Kumar has had a sneaking admiration for Narendra Modi. In fact, I can detect a tinge of camaraderie in their present antagonism. Psychology says that love and hatred are the two sides of the same coin. Their friendship and enmity have got so intermingled that it is difficult to make out one from the other.

I remember an incident. It was the summer of 2004. Lok Sabha results were out and in Bihar, the UPA under the leadership of Lalu Prasad Yadav had got a decisive lead. The NDA, led by George-Nitish had been badly mauled. Nitish ji came to my place. He was free and so we talked for hours on everything under the sun. My contention was that the NDA had to bite the dust because of Narendra Modi. Nitish ji was not ready to concede my point. That I was opposed to Modi was quite palpable to him. In a somber and firm voice, Nitish ji said, “Narendra Modi is the new face of the BJP. He comes from a Most Backward Class. He is Ghanchi, a Ghanchi! It is a minority backward caste there. The BJP’s Brahmin lobby is out to defame him. Even Vajpayee has joined its ranks. Modi is a dynamic man. Meet him once and you will become his admirer. He comes from a very poor family. He is extremely simple and very diligent.” Nitish ji appeared to be in a state of trance. He was unstoppable. Then, fondly recalling an occasion when Modi played host to him, he concluded his monologue, “I have become his fan.”

I am surprised how this fan of Modi's has turned his foe. Is this what is called politics? Is all this being done just to grab a share of the Muslim vote bank? Or, is there something more to it?

I cannot say what the truth is. At the personal level, I am not in touch with Nitish ji. And surmises are, after all, only surmises. Some say that Nitish Kumar is indirectly helping Narendra Modi by keeping the latter constantly in the news. Who would not like such a friend? Maybe there is some truth in this conjecture but, publicly, Nitish has turned their relations quite bitter. Probably, he is hoping for some big gain. But is that possible?

Narendra Modi is BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate. Nitish Kumar’s eyes are also set on the same position. This clash of interests has turned friends into foes. What else can be expected in such circumstances?

As far as I remember, in June 2010, just prior to the last Bihar Vidhan Sabha elections, Nitish Kumar had hosted a banquet at his official residence for the delegates of the BJP national executive meeting. However the banquet was cancelled at the last moment quoting an advertisement as an excuse. The said advertisement was inserted by a businessman in many newspapers. It included a photograph of Narendra Modi andNitish Kumar jointly campaigning for the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. The businessman wanted to welcome Modi to Bihar with this advertisement. However, Nitish Kumar went into such a tizzy that he even threw normal courtesies to the winds. The monetary aid extended by the Gujarat government for the flood victims of Bihar was also returned. Nitish did not want his close relations with Modi to be made public. The advertiser, probably, did not comprehend that some relations---especially those of love---are best kept private. Making them public is fraught with dangers. And that is what happened. The BJP leaders had to face humiliation. They bore it without demur. They are quite used to it. They had put up with the tantrums of Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh equally without complaint. These are the compulsions of alliance politics. The BJP doesn't mind being humiliated by persons from whom it hopes to benefit. And in this instance, the BJP is dependent on Nitish and not the other way round.

In the Presidential elections of 2012, Nitish did not support the BJP’s candidate. He supported the Congress nominee Pranab Mukherjee and was once again patted on the back by the media for his “secularism”. The media did not care to enlighten us as to what secularism had to do with this. Was the BJP-backed Sangma communal? And if not, does the Congress have a monopoly over secularism? Judging from Nitish’s recent posturing, he seems to believe that he is the flag bearer-in-chief of secularism in the country and that the nation’s secular polity would collapse without him. No one even tried to bring the reality to the fore - the reality that Pranab Mukherjee was more a nominee of the Ambanis than of the Congress. An envoy of the Ambani family is an MP from Nitish’s party and he controls the entire party set-up. Those who are patting Nitish Kumar on the back should also remember that Bal Thakeray was also a member of the comity of leaders that supported Pranab Da.

I am not among those who have given a clean chit to Modi in the post-Godhra communal riots or have forgotten Advani's role in the Babri demolition. The 2002 riots in Gujarat were horrible and as chief minister, it was Modi's duty to stop the violence. I hold Modi guilty even today. But, was he alone guilty? At that time, Atal Behari Vaypayee’s government was ruling at the Centre. Why did it not dismiss the Gujarat government? After all, Vajpayee had the precedent of dismissal of a string of state governments after the demolition of the Babri masjid. Just before the riots, the Bihar government was dismissed for the ‘Senari massacre’. The Gujarat riots were much more serious and sinister than ‘Senari massacre’. When the Bihar government could be sacked for one single massacre why couldn't the government of Gujarat be dismissed? Was Modi alone guilty of not following the ‘rajdharma’? What sort of ‘rajdharma’ was Vajpayee following?

And Nitish Kumar--who considers Vajpayee a messiah--which ‘rajdharma’ did he follow? It should not be forgotten that Nitish Kumar was the Railways minister when the Godhra train arson took place. Nitish Kumar, who had offered to resign after the Gaisal train mishap did not even care to visit the site of the Godhra tragedy. It is surprising that the same man is now sermonising to Modi and that too regarding riots.

The role of both Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar in the Godhra train tragedy is not above reproach. Both of them and subsequently their common political ideal, Atal Bihari Vajpayee,did not fulfill the ‘rajdharma’. Both are publicity-crazy and both are self-anointed ‘Vikash Purush’. As for their achievements, economic inequality had grown in both Bihar and Gujarat. In both the States, the rich have become more powerful while the poor have sunken deeper into misery.

But there are some crucial differences between Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi. While Nitish Kumar comes from a kulak Kurmi family of Bihar, Narendra Modi hails from an extremely poor and most backward class Ghanchi family of Gujarat. Nitish's father was an Ayervedic ‘Vaidyaraj’ and a Congress leader while Narendra's father was a small-time tea vendor. Narendra Modi spent his childhood washing the used glasses at his father’s shop when Nitish was studying Engineering, Narendra was the domestic helper in a lawyer family’s home where his responsibilities included cleaning 9 rooms and preparing food for 15 members of the family. He somehow studied and acquired degrees by appearing in exams as private student. Whatever he learned, he learned in the school of hard knocks. He might be associated with rightist politics but his childhood was as full of struggle as that of the Russian writer Maxim Gorky. There is another crucial difference between Narendra and Nitish. Even as a chief minister, the former led a simple life. He maintained a safe distance from sycophants. He also avoided associating himself with tainted persons. All this is not true of Nitish Kumar. He once had a clean image but now he is embroiled in all sorts of controversies. His lifestyle has changed. According to information procured through RTI, he has spent crores of rupees from the state exchequer on his ancestral village and his official residence. He likes to be surrounded by sycophants, criminals and tainted persons. And he is just a bit behind Mayawati in erecting the statues of the members of his clan.

( Premkumar Mani is a leading Hindi writer,thinker and Political activist. Published in FORWARD Press, September,2012) {The author is currently a nominated JD(U) MLC}

Is it choreographed or is it a Kane & Abel esque confrontation ? (may not have the happy ending though)

I for one will be glad if its former.

Neela · Post by **Neela** » 13 Apr 2013 12:08

VikramS wrote:Guys send feedback to google.

Guys,
Use twitter.
Include mediacrooks in it. Tell them that Google is blocking manushi.in in results. Let it trend .

member_22539 · Post by **member_22539** » 13 Apr 2013 12:13

^^The more you hear about Mr. Modi, the more amazing he is. It is a shame that Niku has fallen to this level. Shame on him.

anmol · Post by **anmol** » 13 Apr 2013 12:40

Published: April 13, 2013 03:41 IST | Updated: April 13, 2013 09:27 IST

Gujarat, the gateway to India: fact or farce?

Darshan Desai

Going by the Gujarat government’s figures, memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) worth $876 billion were signed during its five biannual Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summits from 2003 to 2011 and a whopping 84 per cent of the projects have already been implemented or are under implementation.

This would mean Gujarat has overtaken all of China, whose FDI inflows during this period were to the tune of $600 billion. And, interestingly, after the 2013 Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit, the government chose not to give out any MoU numbers when Chief Minister Narendra Modi declared that, “Gujarat is now the gateway to India.”

Behind the envelope calculations show that if the State had implemented even 60 per cent of the investments promised, it would have left the dragon behind.

But, as it were, the latest figures of FDI inflows for the financial year 2012-13 up to January this year indicate that Gujarat ranks sixth in the country with Rs. 2,470 crore or 2.38 per cent share.

Maharashtra continues to top the FDI numbers with FDI of Rs. 40,999 crore or 40 per cent, followed by Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Gujarat was slightly ahead of West Bengal in 2012-13, which got FDI of Rs. 1,934 crore.

In fact, Gujarat’s share in the FDI kitty has been heading southward during the last three financial years from 3.38 per cent (Rs. 3,294 crore) in 2010-11, 2.85 per cent (Rs. 4,730 crore) in 2011-12 to 2.38 per cent (Rs. 2,470 crore) now. These numbers contradict the State government’s claim that Gujarat had bucked the worldwide overall economic downturn to become the engine of India’s growth.

Nothwithstanding the government claims, it is an open fact that Gujarat’s FDI numbers have always been the same or lower through the years.

Reserve Bank of India’s FDI figures encompassing the decade of 2000 to 2011 reveal that while Gujarat received just about $7.2 billion in FDI, Maharashtra got $45.8 billion and Delhi over $26 billion. Even Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, with a $8.3 billion and $7.3 billion share, got a larger piece of the national FDI pie.

Albeit the overall FDI inflow into India fell by some 30 per cent during 2012-13, Gujarat has beaten this, as the numbers suggest, with a bigger decline close to 50 per cent.

Gujarat share in FDI slips to 2.38%, 6th rank
Friday, Apr 12, 2013, 17:01 IST | Place: Gandhinagar | Agency: DNA

Sumit Khanna

In contrast, Maharashtra's share rises to 40% ; Gujarat govt officials say they are not surprised as state has never been foreign investors' favourite.

If Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is any indicator of the economic success of a state, Gujarat, which takes pride in calling itself the ‘Growth Engine of India’, is surprisingly nowhere in the picture. The state’s share in FDI inflows in the country currently stands at a negligible 2.38%.

According to the department of industry policy & promotion, Gujarat attracted FDI of Rs3,294 crore in 2010-11, and had a 3.38% share of the FDI pie. The FDI inflows rose to Rs4,730 crore in 2011-12, but the state’s share came down to 2.85%. In 2012-13, the state attracted FDI of Rs2,470 crore as of January this year.

The fall in FDI inflows in 2012-13 was a countrywide trend, but the worrying thing is that the state’s share in foreign inflows has fallen further to a miniscule 2.38%. Gujarat’s rank among states attracting the highest FDI has fallen a notch from 5th last year to 6th.

Big Brother Maharashtra (to which Gujarat is often compared) continues to account for the maximum FDI inflows, with close to 40% share.

In fact, its share has been going up. Maharashtra’s share of FDI pie was 28.5% in 2010-11, which fell marginally to 27.2% in 2011-12. However, its share has gone up to a staggering 39.4% with FDI of Rs41,000 crore in 2012-13.

“The fall in FDI in Gujarat is a result of the overall slowdown in the West. And this trend is not limited to Gujarat alone,” said a senior official, requesting anonymity.

Delhi also slipped in attracting FDI, but it still has more than 16.4% share. Delhi attracted foreign investment of Rs17,020 crore between April 2012 and January 2013. Next are the three southern states.

Tamil Nadu attracted foreign direct investment of Rs11,850 crore in 2012-13, almost double as compared to the previous year, and jumped to third position. It overtook Andhra Pradesh, which attracted FDI of Rs5,635 crore, whereas Karnataka rounded the top five with foreign investment of Rs4,342 crore. Gujarat was just ahead of West Bengal, which attracted FDI of Rs1,934 crore in the first 10 months of 2012-13.

FDI inflows in the country as a whole fell by more than 30% in the first ten months of 2012-13 as against 2012-12. In the case of Gujarat, the fall seems to have been sharper, more than 50%. However, another senior official said that Gujarat has never been high on the list of foreign investors.

“The average FDI inflows in the state have been in the region of Rs3,00-4,000 crore over the past many years. The inflow has been lower this year due to economic concerns,” the official said.

Modi: hype vs reality

Praful Bidwai
Saturday, April 13, 2013

“Modi moves centre-stage!” “Modi storms in as the BJP’s PM candidate.” “It’s Narendra Modi vs Rahul Gandhi!” “Modi wants to serve the nation” (read, become prime minister).

Thus scream the headlines in leading Indian publications and TV channels. At work is a systematic corporate blitzkrieg to build up Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as a messiah of ‘development’ and ‘dynamism’, who is destined to lead India. This replicates the Big Business’s pitch for Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1998.

In contrast to this media hype, totally unprecedented in Indian history, Modi remains a deeply polarising figure internationally and nationally, and even within the Sangh Parivar, which is reluctant to name him as its prime ministerial candidate. Nothing can remove the stigma he earned for Independent India’s worst pogrom of a religious minority, in 2002.

The EU’s myopic governments, driven by crass greed, have ended their political boycott of Modi. But Modi continues to be an abomination to conscientious citizens globally, as well as to millions of Hindus and non-Hindus in India, who treasure political decency and the values of secularism, tolerance and social inclusion. Internationally, he’s the most hated Indian.

This was once again demonstrated by the spirited protest against the invitation extended to Modi by Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania in the US to speak long-distance, which caused its cancellation. The issue was not Modi’s right to free expression, but hate speech and sanctification of the Gujarat butchery and his own pivotal role in it, documented by over 40 independent reports.

The protest was wholly in keeping with the ethos and culture of US universities, which registered their opposition to the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s by organising successful demonstrations against its apologists and preventing them from venting their imperialist views. The demonstrations helped end that unjust war and advance the causes of global justice and peace.

In contrast stands the ignominious chanting of support for Modi by Indian business groups and the media they control. Their campaign lionises Modi by depicting him as a knight in shining armour who will rescue India from economic stagnation, grinding poverty and missed opportunities towards ‘progress’ and promote the ‘Gujarat Model’ of development.

Politically, it would be egregiously wrong, and morally impermissible, to normalise a perverse, autocratic and crassly communal politician like Modi – who has repeatedly justified the 2002 violence, covered it up and shielded its perpetrators – even if Gujarat under him had registered India’s best growth rates and the ‘Gujarat Model’ worth emulating.

As it happens, the much-hyped up model is deeply flawed. Gujarat’s rank in per capita GDP has fallen between 1996 and 1997 from fourth to eighth among 19 major Indian states. Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh are ahead of it. Bigger states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are only a notch below.

True, at 10.1 percent a year, Gujarat’s GDP growth during 2004-2012 exceeded the 8.3 percent national average. But growth was even higher in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Bihar (respectively, 10.8, 10.3 and 11.4 percent). Even Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh have recently outperformed Gujarat.

Madhya Pradesh (MP), with 10.1 percent current growth, has become India’s fastest-growing state. It posted impressive agricultural growth of 18.9 and 14.3 percent in the last two years. Since 2003-04, MP’s revenue collection has risen fivefold and its capital outlay sixfold. Its revenue deficit has been wiped out despite a fourfold expenditure increase.

Unlike Gujarat’s ‘trickle-down’ approach, MP is state-interventionist in providing food and electricity to its people. Its growth is also more balanced and inclusive – unlike Gujarat, which has neglected agriculture and the social sector. Gujarat’s industrial growth is unbalanced, dominated by sectors like toxic chemicals production, ultra-hazardous ship breaking and diamond polishing, and of late, polluting power generation.

Gujarat’s agricultural growth has been unstable. Food grains output recently suffered two sharp dips of 22 and 11 percent, highlighting the vulnerability of agriculture on which 52 percent of its people are dependent.

Contrary to propaganda, Gujarat isn’t uniquely successful in attracting foreign direct investment. Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are well ahead of Gujarat. In fact, Maharashtra drew in 6.78 times more FDI than Gujarat in 2000-2012.

If Gujarat’s growth story isn’t outstanding – it is largely built on past gains in industry and infrastructure – its human development index (HDI) story is mostly poor. Its all-India HDI rank fell from six in the mid-1990s to nine in the mid-2000s. Gujarat ranks a poor 18th in literacy rates among Indian states.

In infant mortality, Gujarat stood 25th among India’s 35 provinces in 2010-11. Its female infant mortality rate (51) was higher than the national average (46). Worse, its sex ratio in 2011 was an abysmal 918 females per 1,000 males, much lower than the national ratio of 940. The 0-6 sex ratio was just 886 compared to 914 nationally, giving Gujarat a shameful 27th rank in India.

In poverty reduction (8.6 percentage-points between 2004 and 2009), Gujarat lags behind Tamil Nadu (13.1), Maharashtra (13.7), Odisha (19.2), Madhya Pradesh (11.9) and Rajasthan (9.6). Employment has been almost stagnant in Gujarat since 2004-05. Less than five percent of its households are covered under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Rural wage rates in Gujarat are among the bottom half of state rankings.

On the hunger index, Gujarat’s rank is an appalling 13 among 17 major Indian states. Even sub-Saharan Africa’s poorer countries do better. Nearly 45 percent of Gujarati children under five are malnourished. Gujarat’s hunger incidence exceeds that of Punjab, Kerala and Haryana, and even of much poorer Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Rajasthan. It’s in the same ‘acute hunger’ league as Bihar and Orissa.

So much for Gujarat’s growth, (mal-)development and ‘progress’! Gujarat has gaping economic inequalities and unacceptably poor social indices. Yet, Big Business loves the ‘Gujarat Model’ precisely because it likes imbalances biased towards private industry and because Modi lavishes favours upon capital through huge tax write-offs (for instance over 60 percent on the Tatas’ Nano car project).

Equally, Modi is a ‘man of action’ – a quick decision-maker personifying single-window approvals for business. He’s an autocrat who consults nobody – a one-person cabinet. ‘Big business’ adores him for his ruthless decisiveness. That’s why magnates from the Tatas and Ambanis to the Adanis, Ruias and various Gujarati businessmen have rushed to befriend and praise him.

The media reflects Indian business’s admiration for Modi. Instead of soberly reporting what he says and does, and reflecting critically on his authoritarian politics, it has joined the pro-Modi bandwagon. It gives him respectability and insinuates that he has the edge in a presidential-style contest, which Indian elections aren’t.

The mediating factor here is the ‘aspirational’ metropolitan upper-caste upper middle class, which is impatient with democracy and wants increasingly elitist approaches in economy and society. If that means welcoming a new fuehrer, so be it!

Most decision-makers in the corporate media, including owners, anchors and editors, belong to this class. In promoting Modi, they are committing the same blunders that Hitler’s and Mussolini’s business-backers made in the 1920s and 1930s. Some of them will rue this someday. Meanwhile, however, Indian democracy could face an extraordinary threat from the communal Extreme Right.

The writer, a former newspaper editor, is a researcher and peace and human-rights activist based in Delhi. Email: [email protected]

anmol · Post by **anmol** » 13 Apr 2013 12:46

So a lot of Cong thinking have gone into Pappu's speech.

Pappu says:

a) Problems we are facing are because of out chaotic society.
b) Cong can't be blamed for not being able to fix those problems.
c) No one else can fix those problems.
d) We the people should clean up the mess.

Then Pappu's people on SM and MSM(Notice how Praful Bidwai, DNA, Hindu wrote pretty much same article on same day.) tell us:

a) Modi is Feku(liar)
b) Gujarat is not getting FDI and Modi is lying about its growth story.

So I think that is Congresses poll strategy.

Sagar G · Post by **Sagar G** » 13 Apr 2013 13:04

Arun Menon wrote:^^The more you hear about Mr. Modi, the more amazing he is. It is a shame that Niku has fallen to this level. Shame on him.

Bhikari had a level to start with !!!!! That's news for me.

member_22539 · Post by **member_22539** » 13 Apr 2013 13:09

^ You mean Niku? Ya, thats news to me too. He has kept that silent quite well. In contrast Modi never harps on his humble beginnings. He doesn't want people to judge him by anything other than his current capabilities, his past is just that, in the past.

member_22539 · Post by **member_22539** » 13 Apr 2013 13:18

Is there anyone who can counter the statistical propaganda vomited by the dynasty goons. Can you guys come up with a detailed counter for every point? I have had some friends ask these questions and I would like to shove these answers right under their noses, might get a few voters come election.

Sagar G · Post by **Sagar G** » 13 Apr 2013 13:19

Arun Menon wrote:^ You mean Niku? Ya, thats news to me too. He has kept that silent quite well. In contrast Modi never harps on his humble beginnings.

Yup I was talking about "special status bhikari" but by level I didn't mean his background but capabilities.

kapilrdave · Post by **kapilrdave** » 13 Apr 2013 13:20

If die-nasty had spent the score of money they spent in opinion making for the development of India, they would not need to begging the votes. In fact, there would have been no NM to rise against them. But in the current wind, no matter what they do, the people have decided who they want. They may block google search results, print reams and reams of venom, throw crumbs to MSM, play 'smart' tactics of coalition, highlight and exploit the bitterness within BJP and NDA, lure voters to freebies... but the people know the ground reality. All these 1000 hands of die-nasty also know this. They just want to get the maximum out of this final feast. In a way it is good that we get some money back in local economy from swiss a/c

.

I saw very similar thing happening in last GJ poll where cong did all these things even more aggrasively but lost in a big way. Their ALL top notch leaders in GJ lost miserably. People punished them for spreading lies and venom. Now they are free and have no work other then coming to NDTV debate and spread lies again thinking they can succeed against non Gujjus. Whereas NM did only development and never succumbed to media in GJ. Even today GJ news papers twist the news against NM everyday. That is because he doesn't feed them.

member_22539 · Post by **member_22539** » 13 Apr 2013 13:28

The MSM must be punished for their traitorous agenda. They must be made to pay through their noses, so much so that the likes of Bakara, Goat, etc. must become foreign citizens overnight. I hope Mr. Modi does not forget about their venom when he comes to power.

Sagar G · Post by **Sagar G** » 13 Apr 2013 13:31

Arun Menon wrote:Is there anyone who can counter the statistical propaganda vomited by the dynasty goons. Can you guys come up with a detailed counter for every point? I have had some friends ask these questions and I would like to shove these answers right under their noses, might get a few voters come election.

The best way to do that would be to find the stats yourself as you are the one who knows your friends and there questions inside out.

VikramS · Post by **VikramS** » 13 Apr 2013 13:32

NitiCentral has articles debunking most anti NaMo propaganda.
FDI stuff is bogus since it is recorded in HQ. They are not building factories in Narimon Point or CP

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 13 Apr 2013 13:34

^^^ No need for vengeance. Just dig their shoddy deals and finances, and make a watertight case. Only NaMo should tell to world "let the law course take its course and we will not interfere directly in these matters."

Arjun · Post by **Arjun** » 13 Apr 2013 13:35

anmol wrote:So I think that is Congresses poll strategy.

Well if it is, its not going to work. Anybody who knows anything about economics, would laugh these silly statistics away...

Firstly Investment and Consumption are input parameters and the interplay between them produces the output parameter of interest - which is GDP growth. Gujarat has consistently been one of the drivers of high growth rates in the country. Even with regard to investment, FDI is just one part of Total Investment. On the parameter of Total Private Investment, which matters much more than FDI - Gujarat is #1 in the country.

Even if FDI is important for some to track - it is hugely influenced by large individual deals (eg a takeover of an Indian firm by an overseas corporation)...so one single deal can completely overturn any trend. Really the minor fall in FDI % is not what any economist would be worried about in the least.

member_22539 · Post by **member_22539** » 13 Apr 2013 13:35

VikramS wrote:NitiCentral has articles debunking most anti NaMo propaganda.
FDI stuff is bogus since it is recorded in HQ. They are not building factories in Narimon Point or CP

Can you please forward some links, I've been trying Google "chamcha" for some time now with no success, maybe by design.

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 13 Apr 2013 13:37

Sushupti wrote:@abpnewstv 35m

JD-U says it will give 6-8 months to BJP to decide on PM candidate , don't want to break 17-year-old ties.

JD-U is posturing, in 6-8 months there will be elections and NDA will go to polls with a diffuse candidate, de facto Modi but not announced.

Post this (allowing JD U to mop up muslim votes which is interest of both BJP and JDU) -- Modi may be announced PM if there is a strong win.

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 13 Apr 2013 14:15

It seems dynasty is creating a big drama on CG, by claiming that law ministry and PMO are watering down the CBI report that is to be submitted by CBI. Since media houses (PaidPoodles) are singing the tune, I think its an orchestrated drama by Dynasty to throw mud on MMS.

So I am expecting some damning revelation about dynasty with proofs. If that thing happens, think that empire (MMS) is striking back. He learned enough lessons from PVNR and Sitram Kesari fiasco and he does not another toiler paper to dynasty.

I wish to call media houses as PaidPoodles.

kittoo · Post by **kittoo** » 13 Apr 2013 14:57

Arun Menon wrote:Hi guys, I have left this message in Google feedback regarding the filtering out of Manushi:

It has come to my notice that http://www.manushi.in/ has been removed from your search results, while there is no reason to do so considering the popularity of this website and the traffic it gets. What is apparent is that Google has sold out to the corrupt in power and has compromised on their much vaunted ideals and objectivity. This website has been taking an anti-establishment, yet free and fair outlook in the articles it has published and obviously Google has joined the very same establishment in punishing it. It is sad to see the famed Google beholden to the govt in power and take such a servile and supine posture. If you have any moral fibre left in you, you will rectify the situation at the earliest.

Having still some faith in Google,

Arun

I also sent a message to a friend of mine who works at Google. Lets see what he says. Its true that the results don't appear, which is very suspicious.

James B · Post by **James B** » 13 Apr 2013 15:06

For me Manushi.in is coming up in google results. I'm in eirope.

member_22539 · Post by **member_22539** » 13 Apr 2013 15:25

^^Someone should tweet about the Manushi and Google thing to Ms. Madhu Kishwar. I wonder if she knows.

Lilo · Post by **Lilo** » 13 Apr 2013 15:33

Time for Marriage.

member_22539 · Post by **member_22539** » 13 Apr 2013 15:52

^

JohnTitor · Post by **JohnTitor** » 13 Apr 2013 16:28

anmol wrote:So a lot of Cong thinking have gone into Pappu's speech.

Pappu says:

a) Problems we are facing are because of out chaotic society.
b) Cong can't be blamed for not being able to fix those problems.
c) No one else can fix those problems.
d) We the people should clean up the mess.

Then Pappu's people on SM and MSM(Notice how Praful Bidwai, DNA, Hindu wrote pretty much same article on same day.) tell us:

a) Modi is Feku(liar)
b) Gujarat is not getting FDI and Modi is lying about its growth story.

So I think that is Congresses poll strategy.

what is SM and MSM? I keep hearing it but google provides no answers. is MSM mass social media??

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 13 Apr 2013 16:29

Don't know what is wrong with your search. I typed Manushi and it is the 1st entry on Google. I am in India. All 1st 7 entries are on Manushi and Modinama. This is page 1:

Screen-reader users, click here to turn off Google Instant.
About 929,000 results (0.17 seconds)
Search Results

Manushi
www.manushi.in/
MODINAMA 4. Author(s): Madhu Purnima Kishwar In the 2012 Gujarat Assembly elections, 31% of Gujarati Muslims voted for Modi led BJP despite&nbs.
Manushi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manushi
Manushi: A Journal about Women and Society is an Indian magazine devoted to feminism as well as to gender studies and activism. It was founded in 1978 by ...
Manushi Sangathan
www.manushi-india.org/manushi-sangathan.htm
Manushi Journal, Manushi Sangathan, Manushi Magazine, Activities and Goals of Manushi Sangathan, Deepening Democracy, Indic Studies Network, Madhu ...
Manushi, on India Together
www.indiatogether.org/manushi/
A non-commercial journal about women and society in India. Includes articles on civil liberties, human rights issues, interviews, historical pieces, film and book ...
Manushi | Centre For Women's Development and Research
cwdr.org/manushi
Manushi is a Trade Union for women domestic workers, Manushi is initiated through our education and motivation for domestic workers, it had nearly 3000 ...
Manushi - India
in.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Manushi/+
View the profiles of professionals on LinkedIn named Manushi located in the India. There are 25 professionals named Manushi in the India, who use LinkedIn to ...

kittoo · Post by **kittoo** » 13 Apr 2013 16:32

harbans wrote:Don't know what is wrong with your search. I typed Manushi and it is the 1st entry on Google. I am in India. All 1st 7 entries are on Manushi and Modinama. This is page 1:

About an hour ago I wasnt getting it in search, now I am too!

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Apr 2013 16:35

probably just some temp glitches in their global cacheing and indexing services.

member_22539 · Post by **member_22539** » 13 Apr 2013 16:37

^Yep they fixed it. Wonder how many people complained. Quick rectification anyway.

James B · Post by **James B** » 13 Apr 2013 16:50

Shonu wrote: what is SM and MSM? I keep hearing it but google provides no answers. is MSM mass social media??

SM = Secular Media
MSM = Main Stream Media

James B · Post by **James B** » 13 Apr 2013 16:52

Hit piece against Modi in Tehelka

Modi’s Operandi

Twitter, blogs, news portals, investor summits, celebrities – nothing seems to have escaped the public relations blitzkrieg driving Narendra Modi’s prime ministerial ambitions

by RANA AYYUB
http://tehelka.com/modis-operandi/?singlepage=1o

muraliravi · Post by **muraliravi** » 13 Apr 2013 17:03

Sanku wrote:
Sushupti wrote:@abpnewstv 35m

JD-U says it will give 6-8 months to BJP to decide on PM candidate , don't want to break 17-year-old ties.
JD-U is posturing, in 6-8 months there will be elections and NDA will go to polls with a diffuse candidate, de facto Modi but not announced.

Post this (allowing JD U to mop up muslim votes which is interest of both BJP and JDU) -- Modi may be announced PM if there is a strong win.

I think jdu and ss are just bargaining with bjp for more seats to contest by using namo issue.

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 13 Apr 2013 17:09

James B wrote:
Shonu wrote: what is SM and MSM? I keep hearing it but google provides no answers. is MSM mass social media??
SM = Secular Media
MSM = Main Stream Media

No. SM == social media and MSM is the dinosaur traditional media (a.k.a. mainstream media that has sold out fully and then some to the psec establishment)

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 13 Apr 2013 17:11

SM = social media
MSM = mainstream media