Narendra Modi vs the Dynasty: Contrasting Ideas of India

[Singha]

make no mistake, all of USA, Cheen, TSP will launch big provocations in any namo regime to test its mettle and hopefully cut it down to size. we can expect everything from border incidents to squatting to pharma sanctions.

[SaiK]

matrimc, mallice as a predictable event is a 100% possibility given kangrez behavior. no?

[Chandrasekhar]

Fear and loathing in Lutyens’ Delhi
Intimations of a New Establishment and the Return of Real India - Tavleen Singh

As I begin this essay on the feudal nature of political Delhi and why Narendra Modi is sending shivers up the spines of those who constitute the Durbar, the first thing that comes to my mind is a conversation from long ago. It was late summer in 1980 and Rajiv Gandhi had just announced his intention to enter politics. I was at a dinner party in a lavish Lutyens’ Delhi garden in which the scent of French perfume and expensive cigarettes mingled gently with the scent of summer flowers.

Ladies in jewels and saris of muslin and chiffon languished on cane chairs, their men drank and chatted at a cane bar. I was drifting about as one does at these parties when a close friend of Rajiv pulled me into a corner to tell me in tones of high excitement that a famous industrialist from Bombay (not yet Mumbai) had approached him. When I asked what he meant, he said, “He wants an introduction to Rajiv, silly, and he hinted that I could benefit from the introduction, I am trying to decide what I should ask for.”

The details of what he asked for are irrelevant. What is relevant is that when Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister four years later, this friend acquired the reputation of being a gatekeeper to the Prime Minister’s household. And, like a lot of Rajiv’s other friends became suddenly very rich.

This conversation has come back to me often in the past decade. Not only because crony socialism has caused scandal after scandal to fall out of government closets, but because I remember it as the first time that I became aware of the feudal nature of political Delhi. I had known Rajiv by then for some years, and in all that time had never heard him talk about public service or what he would like to do to make India’s political future better. His brother had not been motivated by high ideals either, but had shown a taste for political power while Rajiv had always been happy as a family man and a pilot. So for him to suddenly be in a position to become India’s future Prime Minister was reminiscent for me of feudal days of yore and a warning that Delhi, more specifically Lutyens’ Delhi, was now the capital of a new socialist kingdom.

No sooner did Rajiv become a politician than a group of his close friends became the most powerful people in India. In those fully socialist times, they could hand out contracts, appoint bureaucrats to high and low office and make a lot of money for themselves through government contracts. It was in Rajiv’s time that the foundations of the crony socialism that has flourished in the past decade were laid.

Anyone who calls it ‘crony capitalism’ has not understood the feudal nature of Indian politics. If we had even a semblance of real capitalism, India’s economic growth rate would not have plummeted the way it has and you would not have had so many billionaire politicians who have never built real businesses. It is true that crony socialism and dynastic succession now flourish from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, but it all began in Lutyens’ Delhi.

As someone who has spent most of my growing years and most of my career as a journalist in this socialist haven, I should know. My grandfather was one of the contractors who helped Edwin Lutyens build his city, so to me this part of Delhi was always home. In my childhood, it was a place of wide empty avenues and roundabouts with flowering trees, and really the only Delhi there was. Sometimes we went to Chandni Chowk to buy things like ittar, silk saris, trinkets and silver but the only colonies that existed were Golf Links and Sundar Nagar. They seemed like faraway places.

When we came home from boarding school in the summer holidays, my mother would bring us to stay a few days at her childhood home on Jantar Mantar Road, where my grandfather lived with her five brothers and their families.The older brothers lived in the main house, a place of dark, high ceilinged rooms that smelt of khus and that were built around a large sandstone courtyard in which we spent hot, uncomfortable summer nights. The younger brothers, and all sorts of other people, lived in roomy cottages in a compound that seemed so big to me that you could get lost in it. In the evenings we went with our ayahs to India Gate where we ate Kwality ice cream while they ate spicy chana that came wrapped in cones made of old exercise books. Sometimes my sister, brother and I would be taken up to South Block where our grandfather’s name engraved in a stone plaque would be pointed out to us proudly.

It was Lutyens’ Delhi’s age of innocence. No VIP enclaves, no roads blocked off, no high security. So unimportant were security concerns that the Prime Minister could be spotted driving around in an Ambassador car. And, because I had friends who were in the same class as Sanjay Gandhi in The Doon School, I remember playing Holi with him in the garden of a house in Teen Murti Lane. Rumours of his having a wild streak and a taste for pretty women abounded and he could often be seen at dinner parties and in Delhi’s first discotheque, the Cellar, that opened in the late 60s.

When during the Emergency, Sanjay Gandhi became the second most powerful political leader in India, it came as a shock to those of us who had known him in his more louche years. It was in that long-ago summer of 1975 that Lutyens’ Delhi first became the centre of total political power in India. How could it be otherwise when Indira Gandhi became personally the centre of all political power? Drunk with how much power she had, she got rid of judges who did not kowtow and transferred disobedient bureaucrats to primitive outposts of the new empire. Journalists who dared to criticise her were locked up along with opposition leaders. No feudal ruler could have hoped for more power.

When India’s first non-Congress government took power in 1977, things could have changed, and may have had the Janata Party Government lasted a full term and had there been a serious attempt to investigate the misuse of political power during the Emergency. But this did not happen and when Mrs Gandhi and Sanjay returned to power in 1980 with a huge majority, it was inevitable that democratic feudalism should become the most important and most toxic feature of Indian politics.

Until her tragic death, Mrs Gandhi remained more powerful than the political party she led, and after her assassination her son was handed her job as if this was a normal democratic transition. By the time Rajiv was assassinated in 1991, India had totally accepted democratic feudalism, so it surprised nobody that the Congress Party’s Working Committee announced that the only person worthy of taking Rajiv’s place was his apolitical Italian widow. There is no question that since then, she has more than proved her mettle. But for obvious reasons she needed to keep democratic feudalism alive. Under her leadership, more than 30 per cent of younger Congress MPs are those who come to the Lok Sabha for dynastic reasons. Mini-dynasties now flourish from Kashmir to Kanyakumari not just in the Congress, but in almost every other political party as well. The idea of feudal succession is now so acceptable that it has trickled down to the grassroots. No sarpanch likes to gives up his job these days, unless he can hand it to a relation.

It is a disease that has spread from the tree-lined avenues of Lutyens’ Delhi, where it now thrives, bringing into electoral politics the usually unemployable children of major and minor political leaders. This trend that can be seen across party lines often happens only to keep possession of houses that if rented at market rates would fetch a minimum monthly rent of around Rs 50 lakh each. Those who live in this part of the city get so used to its salubrious surroundings that retiring bureaucrats and judges do their best to find a post retirement job to keep living in Lutyens’ Delhi. This has had a deleterious effect on public life in general and India’s tragedy is that it has become increasingly impossible to change things.

A second chance to change a political culture that has done India immense harm came when the Bharatiya Janata Party had its brief shot at ruling India under Atal Behari Vajpayee. Sadly, he behaved exactly like Congress Prime Ministers had done. So the socialites and courtiers merely moved from one court to the next, and fawned over the new prime minister’s daughter and son-in-law in the same way they once did over the Gandhi family. The high walls of Lutyens’ Delhi remained secure.

Democratic feudalism has put down deeper and stronger roots in the past decade because Sonia Gandhi’s main political purpose appears to have been to ensure that her son is able to claim his heritage: India. It is no secret that the Prime Minister has acted mostly as a regent for the young prince and this became so obvious during his second tenure that it has felt in the past two or three years as if India has drifted leaderless in no clear economic or political direction.

The worst consequences of democratic feudalism have been economic because when the economic boom began as a result of Dr Manmohan Singh’s reforms, political leaders, big and small, quickly realised that they could use their discretionary powers to make lots and lots of money. The political and economic infrastructure to do this is so vast and so unshakeable that perhaps not even Narendra Modi will be able to change anything if he becomes Prime Minister. But, behind the high walls of Lutyens’ Delhi, these days, I sense panic wherever I go.

In government offices, I meet gloomy officials who admit without hesitation that things are going to change. By this, what they mean is that there is likely to be a prime minister who will not be from the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty or from the political ethos to which they have become accustomed. Modi is seen as a brash outsider from another world and nobody is sure what he is likely to do, but there are fears that he could bring drastic changes like putting an end to the lavish lifestyle of the denizens of Lutyens’ Delhi.

Ministers, high officials, judges and more privileged Members of Parliament live at taxpayers’ expense in a style to which they should never have been allowed to grow accustomed. No modern democratic country pays through its nose to accommodate its officials and elected representatives in homes that only billionaires can afford. Will Modi notice this? Will he notice that the only private citizens in Lutyens’ Delhi are billionaires who have paid between Rs 100 crore and Rs 150 crore to buy a bungalow on Amrita Shergil Marg or Aurangzeb Road? Will he notice that if the bungalows of Lutyens’ Delhi were sold to private citizens, it could bring in thousands of crores to the national exchequer? Will he notice that it is also time to end the socialist perks and privileges that we provide our officials like free airline tickets, cheap domestic gas and a long list of other things?

These are questions being asked discreetly in Delhi’s corridors of power these days. And, not just in government circles even in the homes of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders who have become just as spoiled by the luxuries of Lutyens’ Delhi. One big reason why the veteran battalion in the BJP, led by Lal Krishan Advani, has been publicly opposed to the rise of Modi is that they would rather be in opposition than have someone like him break down the high walls that conceal the lifestyle of those who live in Lutyens’ Delhi. They fear him perhaps more than anyone else because he might start clearing deadwood in the BJP headquarters, and where would they go then?

At a more frivolous level, there is another group that fears the advent of Modi and they are those who constitute the drawing room set. This includes socialites, English-speaking journalists, writers of Leftist persuasion and a motley group of secularists who consider themselves guardians of the last bastion of India’s pluralist traditions. What they all have in common is that almost not a single one of them speaks an Indian language, so how will they deal with a man who speaks almost no English? It is from this drawing room set that diplomats and foreign correspondents routinely get a description of India as a country that is in serious danger of breaking up if Modi becomes Prime Minister.

It is a story I have heard often before. When I was very young I heard people talk of how India would be finished once Jawaharlal Nehru died. When the Babri Masjid came down, I heard once more that India was finished, and now once more I hear that India is finished. Personally, as someone who has spent most of my life in the most privileged enclave in the whole of India, I cannot wait for the walls of Lutyens’ Delhi to be torn down. If Modi can just bring with him a scent of the real India that lies beyond, more power to him

[Prem Kumar]

make no mistake, all of USA, Cheen, TSP will launch big provocations in any namo regime to test its mettle and hopefully cut it down to size. we can expect everything from border incidents to squatting to pharma sanctions.

And they will have enough Indian media sepoys who will taunt "what happened to your bravado?". Expect terms like chickenhawk to appear. Modi will be held to Lord Rama standards

[kancha]

Here's an anecdote that might warm some hearts

My wife runs a small business. The other day when she called up her supplier, she realised that his caller tone had been changed to some pro BJP song. When she asked him he said one of his clients had given him a contract with a condition attached - that he change his ring tone to this one!

[rgsrini]

Nothing significant. But one more point of reference about the "feelings" in TN. Yesterday, I took an auto in Trichy to go to the Train Station. The auto driver, on his own, started a conversation about the impending elections. Portions of Trichy is getting decked up to receive Jaya. He was upset about it and said the on normal days even the street light will not work properly. Now, the roads are washed, painted and cleaned for one person to travel on it for a few seconds. Instead, they could have fixed all the broken streetlights all over Trichy. He and his family have decided to only vote for someone who is not corrupt. They will vote for Modi in the coming election. I asked him if he was BJP. He said, that his entire family has been hardcore DMK fanatics for decades. Now they are fed up with DMK, after 2G and want Modi to come and clean this mess up once and for all.

I asked him about Sonia, and he said, no matter what, her loyalty will always be with Italy and not with India. So he is not able to trust her.

Simple guy. I don't think he has studied a lot. But quite a bit of clarity and conviction, and most importantly a lot of hope on Modi.

For a common man, that is what Modi represents. Hope.

[member_22539]

^Like someone else said, I hope some of our more educated and economically better off friends show the same sense. One thing I have noticed is that the poor are able to admit their mistake, change their opinion and give a new guy a chance. But, the so called upper middle classes are filled with egotistical morons who hold on to their prejudices just out of pride. It just sickens me to see these people who are immune to common sense no matter what.

[Arunkumar]

There seems to be more to the DGCA inspection. Inspecting every minor detail. To top that the delayed ATC clearance. Things getting a bit uncomfortable.

[patel]

Couldn't agree more with you Kapilji. Brilliant post. NM infact did a great dis-service and willingly destroyed VHP and BD type orgs, I would go as far as to say that post 202 NM single-handedly made sure that any Hindu resistance to the future inter-religion conflicts has it's edges blunt.

NM did not do any dis-service. Those guys destroyed themselves with their bravado. All this talk about getting "edges blunt" etc. is all bravado and fear-mongering.

Nobody - NOBODY - has right to go and kill innocents. Or even loot or arson or rape innocents.

At the same times it should be understood riots happen and riots happen precisely because of complete governance deficit. That is humans as a group realize that the best way they will be protected is by protecting themselves. And this is where people like Babu Bajrangi and Maya Kodnani failed. They played right into the hands of the media pimps and the sootradhars of the useful idiots. One can do without such useless idiots.

Dishaji, riots has nothing to do with governance deficit, riots are religious wars being fought on the streets. Linking of development and governance with riots between hindus and muslims is like providing burkha to Islam to cover it's inherent hatred for the "other". BRF of all places should know this since the dissection of Islam and it's politico-culture doctrine has been done over and over again here for ages.

Saving and organizing Hindus to fight better is bravado? What's your opinion on RSS btw? If we go by what you say we should immediately ban VHP and other such bodies and make Hindus nanga when it comes to saving their keith and kin when $hit hits the fan.

Op Parakram was going on and army had to be called from the border. Who benefitted?

Are you saying that the whole army was called to stop the riots? Op Parakaram failed because army was called in to stop the riots? NO right?

Think about it this way., your own brother is deluded. How will you bring back your deluded brother to mainstream? Yes a combination of shamam-damam-dandam-bhedam has to be employed., but the dandam part is not to be applied on your delusional brother's kids (who are innocent) but on your delusional brother.

It's always pretty convenient to think of this in the hindsight isn't it? When the passions run high esp. when the relations between the 2 communities were never known for it's "peace & brotherhood" things do get out of control. Normal avg people whom you wouldn't even think of calling a rioter were on the streets when Godhra happened. You might want to call all of them communal but all this business of brushing the real issues under the carpet is very "Secular" won't you agree?

An even worse sacrilege happened during akshardham. Gujaratis did not resort to burning their own state but actually came together beautifully to defeat the purpose of the terrorists. Akshardham was to trigger a similar post-Godhra riot., but it did not happen. Think why! So much so that even media had to put a tail between its legs and behave.

The reason for that was fatigue from fighting and the constant pummeling that Gujarat and it's people were subjected to.

It will really help, whether you are a NaMo fan or a NaMo detractor to watch all this : http://www.newsx.com/modi-s-biggest-interview

Take your time out and go through the above.

Oh I'm a NAMO bhakt all the way, but I don't think he's perfect and neither should anyone think that he is. NAMO has done some brilliant things and some things which I don't agree with, I'm being fairly objective here.

And some talking points for Modi fans:

1. Kutch Earthquake: Gujarat came up with a Gujarat State Disaster Management Plan. This was copied without any changes by the UPA govt and became the National Disaster Management Plan (National Disaster Management Act 2005).

Here is a situation where a state's plan was adopted by the entire nation without giving any due credit to Gujarat. Why do not you tell your CongI/AAP friends about it?

2. The GSDM Act (Guj. State Disaster Mgmt Act) has become a corner piece reference by Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Iran and China. Several provisions and ideas from the act and in some cases the act itself were copied by the above.

No doubt, I've seen the change firsthand in Gujarat and NAMO has totally changed the way a goverment delivers.

Tell your CongI and AAP friends about it. Or ask them to follow this link: http://www.gsdma.org/awards-collaborati ... aring.aspx

Oh please, let's save this labelling of people who you don't agree with please. Let's have some room for a meaningful discourse shall we?. I hate Congress so much so that my blood boils when I see anyone from that party utter a single word, AAP is a all hot air no substance and I'm no AAPtard either.

3. Tell your deluded and cognitively challenged brothers to watch Madhu Kishwar's interview of Modi. Snippets will come out that Modi dashed from Gandhinagar to Vadodra on a single-engine helicopter - breaking protocols at severe risk to himself! He was only 17 weeks into government and working hard for kutch disaster relief!

Do you know that 20k people died (and some 200k were injured) and whole families including kids were to be rehabilitated. It was a massive undertaking.

Kutch rehabilitation has become the only successful post major disaster rehab programme in India. Even TN Tsunami rehab cannot come nearer to that.

Just for the above, NaMo deserves to be the PM of India. Our current PM just sucks his thumb and says #theekhai and the other kid on the block always talks about meri-daadi-mere naana and the third "national" leader ran away from responsibility in 49 days.

Again, NAMO has done shown how things can be done using the current setup their is no denying that!! All I'm saying is that orgs like VHP, BD etc have had their teeth and claws removed, when (I hope it doesn't but MALSI being MALSI eh?) the time comes in future to fight again Hindus would have their defenses weaker than in 2002.

[sum]

Very uplifting. I advise anyone feeling low about India to watch this. Requires knowledge of Hindi, however.

If this is not a "wave", dont know what is

[kish]

Seems like Americans did their own survey(PEW Research), 2/3 rd of Indians want Modi to be the prime minister. Now there is a reason why they shunted out nancy powel.

Key findings about India ahead of its national election

Congress party has long drawn much of its support from rural Indians and has pursued policies to solidify that backing, such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the National Food Security program, both of which Indians overwhelmingly favor. Nevertheless, rural Indians favor the BJP, not Congress, to lead the next government by more than three-to-one (64% to 18%), roughly the same proportion as favor the BJP in urban areas.

roughly three-to-one Indians ages 18 to 29 say the BJP will do a better job combatting corruption, creating jobs, curbing inflation, reducing terrorism, helping the poor and ending political gridlock.

[gandharva]

Fear and loathing in Lutyens’ Delhi
Intimations of a New Establishment and the Return of Real India

BY Tavleen Singh

http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/ ... yens-delhi

[Neela]

The one thing I realized from Pew survey - both rural and urban India seem to want a "Hindu Nationalist Party" to govern them. These vegetarians are crazy!

[kapilrdave]

kapil:
There are two aspects:
=> The need for Hindu Orgs
=> Their role in the riots and how Modi dealt with them.

Perhaps the Hindu Orgs were cut down because of the 'disproportionate' response. The fact is that Tagodia et. al. are no fans of Modi.

No. Hindu orgs were not cut down by NM. It was leaders like togadia who were cut to size. Unfortunately he has some hold on guj VHP so it didn't go well with them. NM has nothing against VHP or BD per se but with some of its leaders.

Couldn't agree more with you Kapilji. Brilliant post. NM infact did a great dis-service and willingly destroyed VHP and BD type orgs, I would go as far as to say that post 202 NM single-handedly made sure that any Hindu resistance to the future inter-religion conflicts has it's edges blunt.

Well it depends from what angle you see it. If you see it from Togadia's angle then yes, NM has done dis-service to VHP. But to be fair on NM, Togadia was/is bit too ambitious. So much so that he didn't mind colluding with die-nasty to achieve what he wanted. I have very very good reason to state this but I don't want to wash the laundry publically. But yes, in this tug-of-war it was guj VHP that suffered the most. The larger share of blame should go to Togadia. It is high time RSS puts its foot down in the matter and settle it forever. I have another hope also. It might just help local VHP if NM is exported to dilli. At the same time I'm also bit worried about the future CM.

Disha ji, are you saying that godhra train burning and the subsequent hindu response, both were planted by cong? I can agree with the first (since some of the convicted in that case were congi workers) but not with the latter. The hindu response was spontanious. Yes some crowds were led by the convicted VHP/BD folks but there was no way thousands size of mobs in all over the state were 'ignited' by congis. It was the frustration and anger of years that suddenly burst out on that day. Very similar to muzzaffarnagar. Yes, local news papers did deliver the necessary spark to blow up the condensed gas cloud but the cloud was not built overnight. My point is that Madhu's conclusion that, all it required was to remove hindu orgs who were creating communal tension, is totally wrong and devised to attract sekoolar crowd. Hindus should not consume that coolaid.

Extending to my original post, IMO it is very important to somehow ensure that muslims' financial interests are always depended on hindus. That is perhaps the only way to keep them in check always. More than the violence, it was the financial boycott which ensured the peace in Guj post godhra.

[gandharva]

Fun begins!

BJP booklet accuses Sonia of lying about her education

The booklet mentions that Sonia’s actual name, as per her birth certificate, is Antonia Maino and goes on to allege that she lied about her education. “The claim that Sonia Gandhi did a diploma course in English from Cambridge University is a lie, while the truth is that she had never even attended college,” the booklet claims. The party also accused Sonia of being a KGB agent.

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ ... education/

[Aditya_V]

Regardding Togadia, I always found him suspect, he gets away with audacious speeches in MH, asks people in MP, GUJ to vote not for bJP- guess who benefits, and makes wild claims 4000-5000 killed by Hindus in Assam and minorities should fear the Sangh Parivar. He is less proHindu but someone who frigtens Minorities into the Lap of INC.

Like Justice Katju's father also a former President of VHP, INC has it claws in unlikely places.

[rohitvats]

<SNIP>Very uplifting. I advise anyone feeling low about India to watch this. Requires knowledge of Hindi, however.

This village is literally in heard of Noida.

This should tell you where the Noida LS seat is going where there is a strong vote bank between Dalits, Gujjars and Muslims.

[patel]

Couldn't agree more with you Kapilji. Brilliant post. NM infact did a great dis-service and willingly destroyed VHP and BD type orgs, I would go as far as to say that post 202 NM single-handedly made sure that any Hindu resistance to the future inter-religion conflicts has it's edges blunt.

Well it depends from what angle you see it. If you see it from Togadia's angle then yes, NM has done dis-service to VHP. But to be fair on NM, Togadia was/is bit too ambitious. So much so that he didn't mind colluding with die-nasty to achieve what he wanted. I have very very good reason to state this but I don't want to wash the laundry publically. But yes, in this tug-of-war it was guj VHP that suffered the most. The larger share of blame should go to Togadia. It is high time RSS puts its foot down in the matter and settle it forever. I have another hope also. It might just help local VHP if NM is exported to dilli. At the same time I'm also bit worried about the future CM.

Togadia is as much to be blamed no doubt about it. But NM could have reeled him like he has done now with so many allies for the NDA. Now I don't know the exact dynamics of who ticked whom, but the bottom line is that VHP suffered and that is what matters the most to me.

Disha ji, are you saying that godhra train burning and the subsequent hindu response, both were planted by cong? I can agree with the first (since some of the convicted in that case were congi workers) but not with the latter. The hindu response was spontanious. Yes some crowds were led by the convicted VHP/BD folks but there was no way thousands size of mobs in all over the state were 'ignited' by congis. It was the frustration and anger of years that suddenly burst out on that day. Very similar to muzzaffarnagar. Yes, local news papers did deliver the necessary spark to blow up the condensed gas cloud but the cloud was not built overnight. My point is that Madhu's conclusion that, all it required was to remove hindu orgs who were creating communal tension, is totally wrong and devised to attract sekoolar crowd. Hindus should not consume that coolaid.

Exactly my point, it was spontaneous. General public who worked 9-5 was on the streets enraged by Godhra incident PERIOD

Never trusted Madhu, never will, But she has played an important role so far and would love to see how far she will go on doing so in the future.

Extending to my original post, IMO it is very important to somehow ensure that muslims' financial interests are always depended on hindus. That is perhaps the only way to keep them in check always. More than the violence, it was the financial boycott which ensured the peace in Guj post godhra.

Economics has it's ways and the muslim community in Gujarat is afterall Gujaratis no doubt but mere economic dependence does not fix the inherent ideological hatred for the "others" does it? We need a multi-pronged strategy to rid MALSI of this and Economics is merely one of the tool of many.

[patel]

Regardding Togadia, I always found him suspect, he gets away with audacious speeches in MH, asks people in MP, GUJ to vote not for bJP- guess who benefits, and makes wild claims 4000-5000 killed by Hindus in Assam and minorities should fear the Sangh Parivar. He is less proHindu but someone who frigtens Minorities into the Lap of INC.

Like Justice Katju's father also a former President of VHP, INC has it claws in unlikely places.

It goes both ways I guess, Sangh might have claws in the CongI setup for all we know, might not get deep in the inner circle of the madam where Ahmed Patel seem to be holding the line of defence. We need to ensure that the right has it's line of defense as well, we don't want a repeat of ABV that should be the bottom line.

[patel]

<SNIP>Very uplifting. I advise anyone feeling low about India to watch this. Requires knowledge of Hindi, however.

This village is literally in heard of Noida.

This should tell you where the Noida LS seat is going where there is a strong vote bank between Dalits, Gujjars and Muslims.

Felt so proud of our rural folks: "Desh ke liye Modi, Pradesh ke liye Bhenji" (Modi for country, Mayawati for state).

They seem to have much more clarity and understanding of politics than a majority of Urban folks I come across. Future of India looks bright!!

[rohitvats]

The video of Sagarika Ghose in conversation with Dalits from a village in Noida is too good to be missed. Here is an attempt at translating the important excerpts from the video for larger BRFites junta.

1. Don’t the 2002 incidents/riots bother you? (Reply: Well, as long as this country exists, there will be riots. Also, the supreme court appointed SIT has exonerated him)

2. Since you people are Dalits, do you still consider yourself as hard-core Hindu? (reply – Yes)

3. But weren’t you people persecuted under the Hindu religion and you still consider yourself as hard-core Hindus? (Reply: Whatever happened is past is history; there is no such thing now. People are educated and going about their jobs. The standard of life for us has changed. People are judged based on their qualification and not caste)

4. The caste hierarchy places you at the bottom and exploits you? (Reply: But these standards don’t apply nowadays. What matters is the development of youth and their growth and participation in nation building. We feel Modi will be able to provide opportunities for the youth. The youth shout out – ‘Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi’)

5. What about the slogan of ‘Jai Bhim, Jai Bharat’? (Reply – the debate is about the nation and only Modi can do something. Rahul is useless. We won’t even allow Congress to enter our village. Modi for PM and Mayawati for state.)

6.People’s comment on Modi –

a.He is a dabang who takes decisions.
b.He will tackle the issue of Pakistanis infiltrating inside India and cutting our soldier’s head.
c.He is a good orator and speaks clearly and firmly.
d.Someone who thinks about the nation
e.We (Dalits) voted for AAP earlier because they were educated people but someone who could not run and manage a government for 50 days, how can he be a PM?
f.If the PM is right, the nation will correct itself automatically.

7. Do you face discrimination because you’re Dalit? (Reply: We don’t face any such discrimination; not in work, neither in college/schools. People stay together as a society)

8. Challenges and problems faced by people in the region? (Reply: No specific issue or challenges but we want overall development. The vote for nation is a vote for Modi – the entire vote from our village will be for Modi. The HINDU vote should go to Modi irrespective of caste. We need a good Hindu leader.)

9. Are you not afraid of communal issues coming to fore? (Reply: None. We’re not afraid of anyone. One fellow said that I speak to 200-250 people from Gujarat every day – has a day calling job - and the reason Muslims vote for him because of economic development and not fear.

10. Who are the main competitors in LS polls? (Reply: BSP and BJP with BJP having an edge. We will vote for nation and hence, Modi. The vote is for Modi and not exactly BJP. We even request Muslims to vote for BJP/Modi if they want the wellbeing of the nation)

11. Should Muslims vote for Modi? (Reply: If they want development of nation, they should vote for Modi or the nation will slip by another 10-years)

[rohitv]

The video of Sagarika Ghose in conversation with Dalits from a village in Noida is too good to be missed. Here is an attempt at translating the important excerpts from the video for larger BRFites junta.

1. Don’t the 2002 incidents/riots bother you? (Reply: Well, as long as this country exists, there will be riots. Also, the supreme court appointed SIT has exonerated him)

2. Since you people are Dalits, do you still consider yourself as hard-core Hindu? (reply – Yes)

3. But weren’t you people persecuted under the Hindu religion and you still consider yourself as hard-core Hindus? (Reply: Whatever happened is past is history; there is no such thing now. People are educated and going about their jobs. The standard of life for us has changed. People are judged based on their qualification and not caste)

4. The caste hierarchy places you at the bottom and exploits you? (Reply: But these standards don’t apply nowadays. What matters is the development of youth and their growth and participation in nation building. We feel Modi will be able to provide opportunities for the youth. The youth shout out – ‘Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi’)

Sagarika Ghosh shamelessly tried to drive a wedge between dalits and "hindus" as if Dalits are not Hindus. I would have blamed only her had she got slapped by one of those pehalwans sitting there for asking stupid provocative questions.

You missed one of her stupid question , she asked something on the line of - "Arent you concerned that people associated with Narendra Modi are communal/kattar (hard-core) hindus".
Following this she asked "are you a kattar hindu" to which the guy replied "yes i am"

[habal]

a.He is a dabang who takes decisions.
b.He will tackle the issue of Pakistanis infiltrating inside India and cutting our soldier’s head.

Believe you me, even the most hardcore Kashmiri seperatists will appreciate this feature about Modi. Nobody likes a squeamish leader in national security issues. This is a very salable point, everyone likes a strong leader.

Rahul G, & Sonia G even amidst their foremost supporters breed plain insecurity regarding vital issues of national security.

[Karan M]

Ghose is basically completely deracinated - she thinks dalits shouldnt be hindus and only self flagellating sorts are hindus.

[sum]

^^ Really liked the straight faced repies and jhappads to Ghose by all the folks there. Can only imagine the kind of thinking and penetration by NaMo going on in the heartland going by the ease with which slogans like "Har har Modi, Ghar ghar Modi" and "is bar Modi sarkaar" were uttered by all.

[SanjayC]

Ghose is basically completely deracinated - she thinks dalits shouldnt be hindus and only self flagellating sorts are hindus.

Ghose has internalized the missionary view about the Hindu society. She is a flagship product of the Macaulay system, her brain a captive of the White Man.

[habal]

^^ Really liked the straight faced repies and jhappads to Ghose by all the folks there. Can only imagine the kind of thinking and penetration by NaMo going on in the heartland going by the ease with which slogans like "Har har Modi, Ghar ghar Modi" and "is bar Modi sarkaar" were uttered by all.

they would be doing hai hai Gandhi every time they go to tank up their bikes at the petrol pump. Or even in the past year every time they had to order the Rs. 1500 worth LPG cylinder. It's a big deal for a daily wager to scamper up 1500 for every gas refill, even if he gets back 800 from the bank. Nothing hurts 'hearts & minds' like a mediocre economy and spiraling fuel prices.

One good thing that happened with UPA 2 is that the dynasty will now, hopefully in perpetuity, be confined to being backroom players in the Indian political scene. They will never again be able to cobble a majority on their own or even with allies, maybe give outside support to a future govt. Such has been their performance.

[negi]

She is a pakka bimbo; basically her job is to put words in audiences' mouth and this time she failed miserably.

[kapilrdave]

Togadia is as much to be blamed no doubt about it. But NM could have reeled him like he has done now with so many allies for the NDA. Now I don't know the exact dynamics of who ticked whom, but the bottom line is that VHP suffered and that is what matters the most to me.

Togadia is the VHP chief not NM. It should be Togadia's responsibility to ensure VHP doesn't suffer. NM minded his own business.

Economics has it's ways and the muslim community in Gujarat is afterall Gujaratis no doubt but mere economic dependence does not fix the inherent ideological hatred for the "others" does it? We need a multi-pronged strategy to rid MALSI of this and Economics is merely one of the tool of many.

No. What I meant to say is that if you have their financial interests in tight leash you can control them in tricky situation. For example it did preempt the counter counter attack in 2002. The sense of realization on muslims was so much that from then onwards whenever the Jagannath Yatra passes through those area they welcome it with huge banner and cold drinks . Hindus, true to their nature also started welcoming tajia then. And there is peace and harmony since. So much so that they propagated the message in Ahmedabad that in times of riots the safest place is the place where there are majority muslim shops, because they will never allow any muslim to kill any hindu . A two days war can give you something that piss of decades can't give you.

[sum]

^^ The only sad thing was the "chaupal" of this %^$& with some muslims in Delhi.

Guess even the "dalits" have moved on but nothing will make the IMs come out of their regressed mindset and do something meaningful and think about country first. Really depressing to see the attitude and though process of the "educated" muslims in the show. I really have no hope of this particular minority( all others are progressing by leaps and bounds) ever coming out of their self imposed backwardness and selfish attitude.

[Virendra]

Fear and loathing in Lutyens’ Delhi
Intimations of a New Establishment and the Return of Real India
BY Tavleen Singh
http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/ ... yens-delhi

Tavleen Singh loves to bash Lutyens Delhi and the leftists

[patel]

Togadia is as much to be blamed no doubt about it. But NM could have reeled him like he has done now with so many allies for the NDA. Now I don't know the exact dynamics of who ticked whom, but the bottom line is that VHP suffered and that is what matters the most to me.

Togadia is the VHP chief not NM. It should be Togadia's responsibility to ensure VHP doesn't suffer. NM minded his own business.

Now now Kapil bhai, are they all under the same umbrella? even the RSS was pissed with NaMo for sometime in Gujarat. Why so?

Economics has it's ways and the muslim community in Gujarat is afterall Gujaratis no doubt but mere economic dependence does not fix the inherent ideological hatred for the "others" does it? We need a multi-pronged strategy to rid MALSI of this and Economics is merely one of the tool of many.

No. What I meant to say is that if you have their financial interests in tight leash you can control them in tricky situation. For example it did evade the counter counter attack in 2002. The sense of realization on muslims was so much that from then onwards whenever the Jagannath Yatra passes through those area they welcome it with huge banner and cold drinks . Hindus, true to their nature also started welcoming tajia then. And there is peace and harmony since. So much so that they propagated the message in Ahmedabad that in times of riots the safest place is the place where there are majority muslim shops, because they will never allow any muslim to kill any hindu . A two days war can give you something that piss of decades can't give you.

So muslims in Gujarat will be the torchbearers for muslims across the world for religious tolerance? I don't think so. We are trying our best to avoid looking at the problem straight in the eye, MALSI and it's doctrine has to be tackled with each and every tool at our disposal. We can buy temporary peace but what we need is a permanent solution.

[Karan M]

Ghose is basically completely deracinated - she thinks dalits shouldnt be hindus and only self flagellating sorts are hindus.

Ghose has internalized the missionary view about the Hindu society. She is a flagship product of the Macaulay system, her brain a captive of the White Man.

http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/sagarikagho ... sukta.html

sampler:

Every upper caste child grows up with a mind's eye image of the "achchut", the "untouchable", the "scheduled caste". The imagined Untouchable is perpetually filthy just as the Brahmin is perpetually pure.



Note, all upper caste children apparently grow up like this. All of them. No exceptions.

And..

The Purusa-Sukta is the hymn which states that brahmins are born from the forehead of the creator, khsatriyas from the arm, vaishyas from the stomach and shudras from the foot.

--
it never struck the maharani that other folks have noted that a) its referring to qualities in terms of varnas, i.e. all the unenlightened irrespective of birth would be shudras irrespective of what family they were born into, enlightenment being a rigorous meritocratic system and devotion to vedic principles irrespective of family/origin and driven by individual choice

and, because of the hardship of which, the b) the vast majority of folks, ie most of us, would be shudras who are still the bed rock of a society hence the foot on which the body ie society can stand, without which it would fall.

Net, the queen is completely delusional about anything H-related & has a reflexive loathing of the faith, nuance is completely absent & its devout adherents are "kattar" (the manner of use of that word in that interview said it all).

[kapilrdave]

Now now Kapil bhai, are they all under the same umbrella? even the RSS was pissed with NaMo for sometime in Gujarat. Why so?

It is a myth peddled by Keshubhais and his chamchas out of their own illusion. Actually Keshu bapa tried to double cross RSS, but instead shikari khud shikar ban gaya . Togadia et al are from same camp with everyone having their own pet ambition. There has been lot of conspiracy going on for a decade against NM but till date he has not seen any defeat. As if some divine forces want him to win every single battle. With each new battle he has become more ruthless. Let's see how it goes at national level for we know that there will be no dearth of conspiracy there also.

[Manish_Sharma]

Fun begins!

BJP booklet accuses Sonia of lying about her education

The booklet mentions that Sonia’s actual name, as per her birth certificate, is Antonia Maino and goes on to allege that she lied about her education. “The claim that Sonia Gandhi did a diploma course in English from Cambridge University is a lie, while the truth is that she had never even attended college,” the booklet claims. The party also accused Sonia of being a KGB agent.

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ ... education/

Subramanian Swamy ki Jai Ho!

[Manish_Sharma]

Ghose is basically completely deracinated - she thinks dalits shouldnt be hindus and only self flagellating sorts are hindus.

Sagarika, rajdeep, burkha, pranav & radhika roy are all coverted christians.

When rajiv took over, sonia went on to handpick the christians for creating a whole network. In this pranav roy was given a special slot of 'Newsmagazine' every friday of doordarshan. It was a very juicy program compared to deadpan doordarshan, and showing mostly british + european + US news items with clippings.

Shri P Christiandambaram also owes his rise due to being christian.

[Chandragupta]

So muslims in Gujarat will be the torchbearers for muslims across the world for religious tolerance? I don't think so. We are trying our best to avoid looking at the problem straight in the eye, MALSI and it's doctrine has to be tackled with each and every tool at our disposal. We can buy temporary peace but what we need is a permanent solution.

+1

There is no evidence to support the hypothesis that Muslims in Gujarat have suddenly turned secular under Modi rule. There is nothing like a secular muslim, it is an oxymoron.

[kapilrdave]

Well that is not at all I'm saying. Muslims turning soft has actually nothing to do with modi rule, that is what I'm saying from the first post. I don't have problem if NM uses that fact to his political gain though. The point is that you need to have control over their financial interests. That is one hell of a shot in the arm in critical time. Obviousely it is not the solution of M's hatred towards other religion. In fact there is no permanent solution. That fact is fore-concluded.

[RajeshA]

Well that is not at all I'm saying. Muslims turning soft has actually nothing to do with modi rule, that is what I'm saying from the first post. I don't have problem if NM uses that fact to his political gain though. The point is that you need to have control over their financial interests. That is one hell of a shot in the arm in critical time. Obviousely it is not the solution of M's hatred towards other religion. In fact there is no permanent solution. That fact is fore-concluded.

Modi appropriates Sardar Patel and Lal Bahadur Shastri and throws Nehru into the dustbin. He appropriates Kashi Ram and blasts Mayawati. He lauds Jagjivan Ram but rejects Meira Kumar. He honors Biju Patnaik and asks people to throw out Naveen Patnaik.

AoA onlee!

[member_20292]

Buxar rally- Modi is very confident of victory - said that this is the only election in which the result is already known.