"...I am sure, thousands like me will be shocked by the Nandigram incident. Please, please have some regard for those who feel that socialism is not terrorism, but humanism; and misrule by gun will not be the rule of the Left in State authority."
V.R.Krishna Iyer in his open letter to Prakash Karat.
Beat the squares with the tramp of rebels!
Higher, rangers of haughty heads!
We'll wash the world with a second deluge,
Now’s the hour whose coming it dreads.
Too slow, the wagon of years,
The oxen of days — too glum.
Our god is the god of speed,
Our heart — our battle drum.
Is there a gold diviner than ours
What wasp of a bullet us can sting?
Songs are our weapons, our power of powers,
Our gold — our voices — just hear us sing!
- Mayakovski,1917
When did the Communist government in Bengal forget to sing, when did the lover of Marquez and modernism start writing his whim around the echo of a bullet shot, why did the communist lose his vow of burning patience. Every excuse of governance from the Writer's Building notwithstanding, the bottom line is a democratically elected communist government opened fire on its own people, killing them. A left front government used the brute force of state machinery to repress its own people. This is unprecedented and shameful.This is not revolution through parliamentary democracy, this is not 'struggle and governance', this is the mother of all nightmares and this will haunt the leftist struggle in India for years to come. This is sad.
Buddha could argue citing the metaphor that Agricultural Bharat met eyeball to eyeball with Industrial India in Nandigram. He could argue that rapid industrialization is key to India's growth with the agricultural sector growing at one third the rate of industrial growth and that a failure in Nandigram and Singur will have national implications. But try explaining the Hindu growth rate to the farmer and the farm labourer who is wedded to his soil -its hard ; but then, thats why we need communists and them compassionate.
Buddha could argue citing the facts that the rule of law had to be brought back in Nandigram, that a chief executive has to make hard decisions, that the Trinamool, fringe left and Muslim groups in Nandigram and across Bengal are dangerous and he had to act, that the villagers in Nandigram are under siege by external elements. But why can't a democratic communist government with its roots in the hearts of Bengalis talk with its own people, convince its own people. If Trinamool and the Naxals are able to convince the villagers, why can't the Communist party do it. A progressive movement which is impotent to talk to its own stakeholders, be it due to the arrogance of power or reactionary influences on the people will be in due course of time be relegated to its rightful place in the waste paper basket of history unless it changes its course.
Buddha needs to understand that we live in an India where state violence in Bengal and Naxal violence in Chattisgarh are both called Red Terror. The removal of this Indian cataract will be a long and painful journey, in which songs will be more effective than bullets. Being the darling of capitalist enterprise might be hailed by the media which believes in gulping rather than savouring, but the leftist struggle in India draws its energy not from the news cycles but from the ground realities which are strangled by the news media. The Indian news media never asks what the Naxalites want, then the Naxalites are terrorists.
The Buddha government and the party in Bengal needs to go through a process of self-critical analysis on what went wrong. The decision to accept the peoples' verdict on Nandigram will be the first step towards that. The damage that has been done will take time to heal, but the 'astounding arrogance' of the CPIM will have to be cured now. There are a lot of difficult questions that will haunt CPIM for long, Buddha better have some answers or else the humility to ask for forgiveness. Millions of Hindutva sympathizers died exactly five years before in Gujarat, a lot of Indian communists died on March 14th in Bengal. The death toll is rising, maybe, Buddha should go.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
The State of the Union
Joseph Palmi: Let me ask you something... we Italians, we got our families, and we got the chuch; the Irish they have the homeland, jews their tradition; even the niggas, they got their music. What about you people, Mr. Wilson, what do you have?
Edward Wilson: The United States of America, and the rest of you are just visiting.
- Good Shepherd, 2006
Pfizer announced Monday that it will cut 10,000 jobs and close five plants, including three R&D sites and two factories, by the end of 2008. Pfizer reported that fourth-quarter sales were $12.6 billion, while net income surged 257 percent.
Source : CNN-Money
CNN and NYTimes imply there is a gradual leftward shift in US politics (after the far right days of '01) . FOX says the new legislature is leftist with San Fransisco values. I listen. Its not my job to analyse news, I pay for Advanced Cable.
US is all about its foreign policy for the rest of the world, but foreign policy did not figure much in the agenda of the new Democratic Congress, the supposedly left leaning one. The much hyped tag First 100 hours wasn't such a waste - Ethics reform, An increase in the federal minimum wage for the first time in 10 years, Enactment of the 9-11 commission's recommendations, Expanded stem-cell research, Government negotiation of prices with prescription drug companies, Student loan interest rates cut in half and The elimination of billions in subsidies for big oil companies. Not bad for the first hundred hours - NYTimes calls it a qualified success. The United States has a mature democracy that comes home again and again after straying right or left. Which makes one feel, maybe the founding fathers got it right.
The tag Speaker Nancy Pelosi implies just one thing - the Bush Presidency is over. There is no point in discussing Bush anymore, he'll be a lame duck keeping that chair in the Oval office warm till that cold January morning of 2009.With the rout the Republicans faced last November in both the House and the Senate and the overwhelming public opinion disapproving of his performance, you don't need a Karl Rove to figure out that Bush's only option is to buy time and then get out.
President Hillary Clinton or so it seems (blogger relies completely on Las Vegas bookies for future prediction; more on the '08 race later) will inherit Iraq for sure. But the tag Adm William J Fallon could be a trojan. The appointment of this Navy patriarch to head the Central Command (including the hotbeds Afghanistan, Iraq and Horn of Africa) has been ridiculed, as operations and combat in the region is overwhelmingly army. But this could be part of another broad move for more involvement in the Persian Gulf (Iran - the obvious target) and Somalia (which was bombed last week). The war has to go on somewhere.
Iran -an armed intervention by the US in Iran seems unlikely, but that prediction is based completely on the mood of the nation, opinion of experts and the stand of the legislators - three things Bush really don't care about. Will Israel unilaterally make a move against Iran, which threatens its existence quite vocally. Quite possible, but in that case, conflict in the middle-east will reach a level never seen before with a total realignment of forces stretching from Beirut to Kashmir.
Israel - Palestine ; Condi Rice will not accomplish anything in the mid-east even if the Bush Administration changes its "Dont give a damn about Palestine" stand. Because Israel and Palestine have their weakest leaders in history now - Ehud Olmert (with the least popularity ratings of any Israeli leader) and Abbas who is more concerned about his life. Other than that, there will be an overall lack of support for any bold political moves in the middle-east or Iran or North Korea, with Japan and France going into elections,Tony Blair retiring and US public opinion hovering around Iraq and nothing else.
In the few minutes they have between news and opinions on the War, the media rages on immigration and Racism in the US. Paula Zahn *She's got the most genuine look and the most pretty face in Prime-time news* follows the Duke rape case and the LA gang wars hinging on the racist side of this nation. But no one crying over immigration seems to mention the fact that this country is 80% white and it will remain so. It is more like Hindu fundamentalists in India crying over the higher growth rate of the Muslim population - while being completely unaware of the actual figures. And in the US, no one crying over race seems to mention or want to change the fact that cities like Detroit and Michigan and almost all major retirement destinations in Florida are 70-80% segregated in terms of housing. Which means , if you are a white kid, chances are that you wouldn't see a black kid anywhere near your house. And this is the America of 2007.
Back to politics, the Bush presidency will die out into insignificance in the days to come, as T S Elliot put it, 'not with a bang, but with a whimper', while USA will survive, bringing glory and disrepute to the human kind with their huge complex of myths, values, recipes, slogans, figures, and rites - the height of which one will see this coming Tuesday in Miami when the Bears meets the Colts for the crowning glory. Because USA is not just a melting pot, its a Super Bowl.
Good Night and Good Luck !
Edward Wilson: The United States of America, and the rest of you are just visiting.
- Good Shepherd, 2006
Pfizer announced Monday that it will cut 10,000 jobs and close five plants, including three R&D sites and two factories, by the end of 2008. Pfizer reported that fourth-quarter sales were $12.6 billion, while net income surged 257 percent.
Source : CNN-Money
"Hey, hey, Uncle Sam,
we remember Vietnam.
They cheer you on when you attack,
when you come home they turn their back
Bush and Cheney talk war-talk,
but we know they’re chicken hawks.
Bring our troops back to our soil.
We say NO blood for oil.
Hey, hey Uncle Sam
We remember Vietnam
We don't want your I-raq war
Peace is what we're marchin' for
We don't want another war
Peace is what we're marchin' for"
we remember Vietnam.
They cheer you on when you attack,
when you come home they turn their back
Bush and Cheney talk war-talk,
but we know they’re chicken hawks.
Bring our troops back to our soil.
We say NO blood for oil.
Hey, hey Uncle Sam
We remember Vietnam
We don't want your I-raq war
Peace is what we're marchin' for
We don't want another war
Peace is what we're marchin' for"
- Vietnam Veterans, Peace March on Washington, Jan 27, 2006
CNN and NYTimes imply there is a gradual leftward shift in US politics (after the far right days of '01) . FOX says the new legislature is leftist with San Fransisco values. I listen. Its not my job to analyse news, I pay for Advanced Cable.
State of the Union
Tags from outside the speech, or as it seems to a couch news-freak, scavenger.US is all about its foreign policy for the rest of the world, but foreign policy did not figure much in the agenda of the new Democratic Congress, the supposedly left leaning one. The much hyped tag First 100 hours wasn't such a waste - Ethics reform, An increase in the federal minimum wage for the first time in 10 years, Enactment of the 9-11 commission's recommendations, Expanded stem-cell research, Government negotiation of prices with prescription drug companies, Student loan interest rates cut in half and The elimination of billions in subsidies for big oil companies. Not bad for the first hundred hours - NYTimes calls it a qualified success. The United States has a mature democracy that comes home again and again after straying right or left. Which makes one feel, maybe the founding fathers got it right.
The tag Speaker Nancy Pelosi implies just one thing - the Bush Presidency is over. There is no point in discussing Bush anymore, he'll be a lame duck keeping that chair in the Oval office warm till that cold January morning of 2009.With the rout the Republicans faced last November in both the House and the Senate and the overwhelming public opinion disapproving of his performance, you don't need a Karl Rove to figure out that Bush's only option is to buy time and then get out.
President Hillary Clinton or so it seems (blogger relies completely on Las Vegas bookies for future prediction; more on the '08 race later) will inherit Iraq for sure. But the tag Adm William J Fallon could be a trojan. The appointment of this Navy patriarch to head the Central Command (including the hotbeds Afghanistan, Iraq and Horn of Africa) has been ridiculed, as operations and combat in the region is overwhelmingly army. But this could be part of another broad move for more involvement in the Persian Gulf (Iran - the obvious target) and Somalia (which was bombed last week). The war has to go on somewhere.
Iran -an armed intervention by the US in Iran seems unlikely, but that prediction is based completely on the mood of the nation, opinion of experts and the stand of the legislators - three things Bush really don't care about. Will Israel unilaterally make a move against Iran, which threatens its existence quite vocally. Quite possible, but in that case, conflict in the middle-east will reach a level never seen before with a total realignment of forces stretching from Beirut to Kashmir.
Israel - Palestine ; Condi Rice will not accomplish anything in the mid-east even if the Bush Administration changes its "Dont give a damn about Palestine" stand. Because Israel and Palestine have their weakest leaders in history now - Ehud Olmert (with the least popularity ratings of any Israeli leader) and Abbas who is more concerned about his life. Other than that, there will be an overall lack of support for any bold political moves in the middle-east or Iran or North Korea, with Japan and France going into elections,Tony Blair retiring and US public opinion hovering around Iraq and nothing else.
In the few minutes they have between news and opinions on the War, the media rages on immigration and Racism in the US. Paula Zahn *She's got the most genuine look and the most pretty face in Prime-time news* follows the Duke rape case and the LA gang wars hinging on the racist side of this nation. But no one crying over immigration seems to mention the fact that this country is 80% white and it will remain so. It is more like Hindu fundamentalists in India crying over the higher growth rate of the Muslim population - while being completely unaware of the actual figures. And in the US, no one crying over race seems to mention or want to change the fact that cities like Detroit and Michigan and almost all major retirement destinations in Florida are 70-80% segregated in terms of housing. Which means , if you are a white kid, chances are that you wouldn't see a black kid anywhere near your house. And this is the America of 2007.
Back to politics, the Bush presidency will die out into insignificance in the days to come, as T S Elliot put it, 'not with a bang, but with a whimper', while USA will survive, bringing glory and disrepute to the human kind with their huge complex of myths, values, recipes, slogans, figures, and rites - the height of which one will see this coming Tuesday in Miami when the Bears meets the Colts for the crowning glory. Because USA is not just a melting pot, its a Super Bowl.
Good Night and Good Luck !
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Antony,Defense Minister
A K Antony, kerala's perennial Mr Clean is India's Defense Minister. Kerala has had its own share of men in the national cabinet - but its a different feeling when one of the state's most respected leaders has the responsibility thrust upon him by the sheer strength of his character. It is a different feeling from when Kannoth Karu became the Industries minister back in '95. It defenitely is.
The defense minister, National Security Adviser, Foreign Secretary of India, Space agency Chairman , India's candidate for the UN secretary bid , Primeminister's secretary, President's secretary and a home-rule government at centre - the line up in Delhi looks pretty impressive for a state notorious for its indifference to Delhi and highly under represented in the nation's capital. Is kerala becoming less introvert ?
Comparing Mr Antony to Krishna Menon would be doing injustice to both of them. The frames of reference have changed - Indian defense is on the right track of modernisation and in the process of redefining our strategic goals in the sub-continent and the Indian ocean region. A laissez-faire approach with respect to the defense policy makers will be more beneficial here. Calling A K Antony inexperienced makes no sense here - the only experience that would help a defense minister will be experience as a defense minister ; that argument will lead us to Catch 22 then.
Where A K Antony and his zero tolerance to corruption will - I hope - come into play is in the already notorious defense deals of India. 890,000 million rupees annual budget allocation is sure to attract a lot of Ottavio Quattrochi's and Barak missile sellers. Sonia Gandhi would be remembering that early winter Diwali in Delhi when there were no crackers because Bofors had provided enough. The choice of Antony as the defense minister would be a right step towards some clean-up.
Tailpiece : If the battered Congress party plans to fight another election in Kerala, they badly need to reunite the warring factions - especially the DIC (K) faction which has a considerable
influence in South Kerala and Malabar (cause there are a lot of people still wanting to make kannoth karu the Kerala CM) . The only figure who could rise about the partisan squabbles while leading the party is 'Saint' Antony and the Maino high-command realizes it pretty well. His new role is a pointer towards the future of the congress party in kerala.
Good Night and Good Luck !
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Will Kannur explode again ?
I'm not a soothsayer nor am I sitting on top of Kerala's state intelligence to say this. Its just a few news reports across the last few weeks and some conversations here and there. There have been reports of a gradual build up of ammunition and bomb making in the north malabar district of Kannur. There are reported incidents of accidental explosions and some real steel bomb testing being done. Anyone who follows Kerala's immediate political history will know the color of Kannur and the history of violence in the district.
Most of us in Kerala would remember the december 1999 and december 2000 incidents in Kannur which had a total death toll of around fifty and caused near stand-still in the state. I fear another build up this time as the 'martyr's month' approaches. It might be a wild guess of sorts but it needs to be read in the overall climate created by the release of the 'Marad riots' report last week. The hindu fundamentalist sangh could turn this to their advantage by inciting fresh violence in malabar as the Marad report squarely blames the NDF and elements within the Muslim league for the killings. We need to be careful ,very careful.
The clashes between the RSS and the communists had subsided after both parties agreed on a ceasefire and after the leadership of both parties realized the unacceptability of damages. The RSS must realize that they have nothing to gain politically from these violent acts - in the last elections BJP polled a pathetic 0.5% of the total votes in Kannur. The clout they have among the Bharatiya Masdoor Sangh could be put to better use than building bombs.
The CPIM should realize that retaliatory attacks from its side will not improve the situation any further. Moreover the wounds of Nadapuram and the muslim fundamentalist elements waiting there could use Kannur as a new ploy. As the governing party, I hope CPIM will show more maturity in case something bad happens. Kannur is the citadel of Communism in Kerala and let it not be a wound in our psyche. Revolution comes through disciplined, peaceful party building, and not through tit-for-tat acts of violence.
Peace prevails in Kannur today only because of the maturity of our political leadership - both CPIM and the BJP. Some credit also goes to A K Antony's police policy that reined in the IUML and NDF elements in Malabar. Let peace prevail but let us be aware of the ides of December. Let us be very aware.
Good Night and Good Luck !
Most of us in Kerala would remember the december 1999 and december 2000 incidents in Kannur which had a total death toll of around fifty and caused near stand-still in the state. I fear another build up this time as the 'martyr's month' approaches. It might be a wild guess of sorts but it needs to be read in the overall climate created by the release of the 'Marad riots' report last week. The hindu fundamentalist sangh could turn this to their advantage by inciting fresh violence in malabar as the Marad report squarely blames the NDF and elements within the Muslim league for the killings. We need to be careful ,very careful.
The clashes between the RSS and the communists had subsided after both parties agreed on a ceasefire and after the leadership of both parties realized the unacceptability of damages. The RSS must realize that they have nothing to gain politically from these violent acts - in the last elections BJP polled a pathetic 0.5% of the total votes in Kannur. The clout they have among the Bharatiya Masdoor Sangh could be put to better use than building bombs.
The CPIM should realize that retaliatory attacks from its side will not improve the situation any further. Moreover the wounds of Nadapuram and the muslim fundamentalist elements waiting there could use Kannur as a new ploy. As the governing party, I hope CPIM will show more maturity in case something bad happens. Kannur is the citadel of Communism in Kerala and let it not be a wound in our psyche. Revolution comes through disciplined, peaceful party building, and not through tit-for-tat acts of violence.
Peace prevails in Kannur today only because of the maturity of our political leadership - both CPIM and the BJP. Some credit also goes to A K Antony's police policy that reined in the IUML and NDF elements in Malabar. Let peace prevail but let us be aware of the ides of December. Let us be very aware.
Good Night and Good Luck !
Friday, September 01, 2006
The Commandments of Fascism
George Bush has coined the new term 'Islamo Fasicm'. The new rhetoric is going around with the punch line that if you do not support the War in Iraq ,if you do not support the invasion of Lebanon and if you do not support the bombing plans for Iran - you are a supporter of Fasicm . The rhetoric is very similar to the "either you are with us or against us" doctrine advocated by the Republican administration immediately after the '01 invasion of Afghanistan.
Comparisons are being made wherever possible to the War against Fasicm in WWII - repeated over and over in press conferences, policy statements,University addresses and the right-wing 'fox' media. It might appear attractive to a world blinded by the fear of Islamic terrorism and its global derivatives but on a closer look there are a few very subtle differences between Europe in 1940s and Iraq in 2005.
1. Germany,Japan and Italy were countries trying to take over the world and had invaded other nations making a war inevitable. Iran and Iraq had no plans to take over the world ; They never declared war on USA ; Iran never invaded another country.
2. Allied forces in WWII had more than two thirds of humanity behind it . "Alliance of the willing" in Iraq has a coalation strength less than the fingers on one hand .
3. America's participation in WWII was approved and supported by almost every American, latest polls put support to war in Iraq or plans to invade Iran at less than thiry percent.
4. America's sacrifices in WWII made the world a safer place,its invasion of Iraq has made the free world a lot lot more vulnerable.
Wickipedia defenition of Fascism says - Fascism is a radical totalitarian political philosophy that combines elements of corporatism, authoritarianism, extreme nationalism, militarism, anti-anarchism, anti-communism and anti-liberalism.
And look who's Fascist going by that - The 14 Commandments of Fascism
Dear Mr.Bush , movie-makers in hollywood invoke Hitler and the Nazi party to sell holocaust movies -thats for a living , but should the most powerful man on the planet start imitating
Joseph Goebbels for a living .
Comparisons are being made wherever possible to the War against Fasicm in WWII - repeated over and over in press conferences, policy statements,University addresses and the right-wing 'fox' media. It might appear attractive to a world blinded by the fear of Islamic terrorism and its global derivatives but on a closer look there are a few very subtle differences between Europe in 1940s and Iraq in 2005.
1. Germany,Japan and Italy were countries trying to take over the world and had invaded other nations making a war inevitable. Iran and Iraq had no plans to take over the world ; They never declared war on USA ; Iran never invaded another country.
2. Allied forces in WWII had more than two thirds of humanity behind it . "Alliance of the willing" in Iraq has a coalation strength less than the fingers on one hand .
3. America's participation in WWII was approved and supported by almost every American, latest polls put support to war in Iraq or plans to invade Iran at less than thiry percent.
4. America's sacrifices in WWII made the world a safer place,its invasion of Iraq has made the free world a lot lot more vulnerable.
Wickipedia defenition of Fascism says - Fascism is a radical totalitarian political philosophy that combines elements of corporatism, authoritarianism, extreme nationalism, militarism, anti-anarchism, anti-communism and anti-liberalism.
And look who's Fascist going by that - The 14 Commandments of Fascism
Dear Mr.Bush , movie-makers in hollywood invoke Hitler and the Nazi party to sell holocaust movies -thats for a living , but should the most powerful man on the planet start imitating
Joseph Goebbels for a living .
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Mid-East Explodes
"Let us not ignore the truth among ourselves ... politically we are the aggressors and they defend themselves... The country is theirs, because they inhabit it, whereas we want to come here and settle down, and in their view we want to take away from them their country" - David Ben Gurion, Prime Minister of Israel(1949-1963)"We plan to eliminate the state of Israel and establish a purely Palestinian state. We will make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion. We Palestinians will take over everything, including all of Jerusalem" - Yasser Arafat
There would not be another place in the world about which so much has been written,explained and hoped for.Conflicts of apocalyptical proportions and overtones have swept across this region throughout the last one and a half millenia,be it the Arab-Persian conflicts or the Crusades for Jerusalem or the Sunni-Shia rivalries or the conflict we all have grown up with - the Israel-Palestine deadlock.
They fight and kill in the name of old rivalries and from every killing, a new rivalry is born.
A vicious circle.What is it with this land ? Centuries of exploitation for the abundant resources of the region ? The tribal underpinnings of their religion ? or a direct message to God that time is ripe for kingdom come !
Israel finds herself surrounded by nations and mass movements that deny its right to exist and would love to wipe it off the map.Its a very sad state of affairs . Imagine being an Israelite in Jerusalem.When Iraq was invaded by the Allies during the first Gulf war,Iraq hit Israel - which deliberately didnt take part in the war,with Scud missiles . If the US attacks Iran and if Iran has a nuclear weapon,its anybody's guess whos going to get nuked . Israel has been attacked by all nations surrounding it,every child born in those nations grow up in an environment thirsty for Israels blood.Israel cannot afford to be weak.
They withdrew from Gaza,parts of WestBank and were ready to negotiate on parts of Jerusalem,Sharon had driven out his own people to give the land back to the Arabs.But that move was arguably treated as a sign of weakness.Israel was attacked again and as I said Israel cannot afford to look ridiculous.Now we see her rage,as her well oiled war machine pounds the mid-east.Israel has changed the game,it has raised the price of attacking it,Beirut is paying.
Do we remember the random gunfire by Israel a couple of weeks back on a Palestinian beach,do we remember the helpless girl child crying out her heart in the beach sand while all her family lies there dead.If Arab world found that worthy of revenge,would they be asking for a little too much.
Wherever conflicts happen in the world,muslims get killed.Be it Kashmir , Karachi , Bali , Bosnia , Chechnya , Kabul , Baghdad , Gaza or Beirut.Can you name anyother place where unabated killings happen.Their resources are held hostage by global hawks and western corporations,consider the anglo-american military presence across middle east,even in countries with prevailing peace like Saudi and Bahrain . What should the Arab-muslim think about this,what can they do,what can they imagine as a way out of this .
At the end of this barren imagination,they become a suicide bomber . What goes inside the mind of a fidayeen ? will it be cluttered visions of a promised heaven which would any given day be a better bargain than the living hell they are in or will it be the heart wrenching cry of a eight year old girl?
One day,I hope,mothers and fathers and sisters and wifes from Iran and Israel,Iraq and Syria,Palestine and Lebanon will sit together and count their losses.Finally they would realise that they all have lost.Lost sons,husbands,livelihood and future.They would realise that at the end of each war they had only a handful of ash left,that they cant distinguish the blood on the mutilated corpses as Israeli or Sunni or Shia.Then they would cry,every one of them,it would be the swan-song of the senseless killings,brutality and exodus of thousands of years . At the end of it,the whole world will hear a loud silence from Mecca and Persia and Nazreth and Galile and Damascus and Jerusalem.That will be serenity,there would be peace.
Good Night and Good Luck !
Thursday, May 11, 2006
It is May 11th in Kerala
A Red wave has swept across Kerala,the left front has swept back to power in the state with an emphatic record breaking victory.As counting of votes reach the last lap,the writing on the wall is clear and is very red in colour.
Across the state stalwarts of the outgoing government are facing defeat.Muslim league is facing defeat in all its bastions,fallen include its general secretary P.K.Kunhalikutty.The three top leaders of league Kunhalikutty,Muneer and Basheer have been defeated at home.Eleven time winner Gauriamma has been defeated,Balkrishna pillai,Murali and around fifteen ministers have lost,M V Raghavan and T M Jacob have been defeated.It is as if Keralites have chased and defeated the bad apples.In the southern districts Congress party has been wiped out,forts have fallen across the cochin belt and in Malabar,muslim league is facing its worst nightmare - malappuram the league fort has turned red.
The final seats will be available later in the day and the new Chief Minister will be decided.It is a great day for the progressive,secular forces in the state,adding to the euphoria is the left front's seventh consecutive victory in West Bengal with another record majority.It appears the Kerala voter has swayed leftward and democracy has come home after a short break.
It is a night to celebrate democracy.
Good Night and Good Luck !
Across the state stalwarts of the outgoing government are facing defeat.Muslim league is facing defeat in all its bastions,fallen include its general secretary P.K.Kunhalikutty.The three top leaders of league Kunhalikutty,Muneer and Basheer have been defeated at home.Eleven time winner Gauriamma has been defeated,Balkrishna pillai,Murali and around fifteen ministers have lost,M V Raghavan and T M Jacob have been defeated.It is as if Keralites have chased and defeated the bad apples.In the southern districts Congress party has been wiped out,forts have fallen across the cochin belt and in Malabar,muslim league is facing its worst nightmare - malappuram the league fort has turned red.
The final seats will be available later in the day and the new Chief Minister will be decided.It is a great day for the progressive,secular forces in the state,adding to the euphoria is the left front's seventh consecutive victory in West Bengal with another record majority.It appears the Kerala voter has swayed leftward and democracy has come home after a short break.
It is a night to celebrate democracy.
Good Night and Good Luck !
Sunday, April 16, 2006
On May 11th in Kerala
Elias John (Aniyara,Surya Tv),May 2001 :
"Inspite of all the criticism this programme has aired against the Nayanar government,we feel sad today.Because Kerala is losing yet another left front government.Because our past experiences tells us not to expect anything in the next five years"
five years since,its seems malayalam telivision's Ed Murrow was in a prophetic mood that day.
A change is inevitable in gods own country.Because we've had enough of dysfunctional governance.Because we've had enough of aya ram gaya ram squabbles.Because we've had enough of ice cream parlour rapists.Because we've mortaged most of the state.Because all our exam papers leak.Because we dont need muslim league and its casanova kuttis.Because we've become a land of mafias.Because the father,son and the holy spirit suck.Because the chief executive is a convenor of corruption.Because Devils own land is a tagline in the making.
Not to forget we have one of the highest consumption of liquor,highest suicide rate and high unemployment as well.
In his book,Development as Freedom,Sen compares US,China and Kerala.I read again,its US,China and Kerala.It was a pleasant surprise.This was not the first time the Kerala model was being touted as a road map for all the developing world,time and again the green strip has been on the radar of global think tanks.
Kerala is a land where social development has gone hand in hand with economic and political development,rather it has overtook the two.Its Human development index compares with North America and Europe in many parameters.Areas like medical care,education,social harmony,rural infrastructure and political vigilance have reached a point where developmental economists sit up and take note.
Because Kerala has the least mortality of infants.Because kerala has the highest sex ratio - which means if you are a girl child,you dont get killed down here.Because kerala has one of the worlds highest life expectancies.Because kerala is one urban stretch of four hundred miles.Because ink pads dont sell in kerala - they use pens instead.Because kerala is one place where extinction of lion tailed monkey or the ghat deer can bring down cabinets.Because the ubiquitous tea shops discuss 'mandari' disease in coconuts and lula of brazil with the same concern.Because people on an average read three newspapers down here.
If one looks at Kerala's political history - the state is 50 years old,the left front has been in power for around fifteen years.(excluding the right wing left front party).The congress lead governments ruled the rest of the years.Now if you look at path breaking reforms that made all the above possible,it was more or less during those fifteen years.Be it the land reforms,educational reforms and wage reforms brought about in 1957 by the EMS government (the first democratically elected left front government in the world).The coalation politics dharma of the sixties - another first in India.The literacy campaign of the eighties - another first in India.The peoples plan of the nineties - ditto.
The last term of the left front saw the Peoples plan campaign,stretching four long years.The idea was to eliminate centralised power and centralised planning.How could a beurocrat or a minister sitting somewhere in a capital city know what is good for a far away village,whether they need a bridge or a school or an internet kiosk.All across the state people met in schools,everyweek and made their list of developmental demands,based on ground realities and burning needs of the time.Village roads and bridges were built in places not even on the surveyor of India maps.Power percolated to lowest levels of society.Development and its benefits were not anymore confined to the urban shopping centres,goverment offices and kitchen coteries of the men in power.Every village and every town in kerala felt energized,it was probably the greatest leap forward in the history of development in Kerala.
It surely increased the overall debt of the state manifold and drew a lot of crticism from world bank and the Asian bank.Today after five years when one looks back at the days of Peoples Plan (the brain child of late EMS Namboodiridpad)we realise the good it has done to the state,it was an astute marxist's understanding of kerala's developmental needs in a economy which was getting liberalised from all the sides,it was a theoritician's insightful comparison of Kerala's present state with meiji era Japan and pre-reform China.
The new left front government which I believe will take oath in May,will have to lead Kerala from a support led success story to a growth meditated success.As a close adulator of kerala model and its politics,I am excited at what will be in store for the state this time around.I am optimistic about change because these guys been there before,they've delivered before.On May 11 th Kerala will have its tyrst with destiny and 'hope' may be retuned to us after a long wait of five years.
Good Night and Good Luck !
"Inspite of all the criticism this programme has aired against the Nayanar government,we feel sad today.Because Kerala is losing yet another left front government.Because our past experiences tells us not to expect anything in the next five years"
five years since,its seems malayalam telivision's Ed Murrow was in a prophetic mood that day.
A change is inevitable in gods own country.Because we've had enough of dysfunctional governance.Because we've had enough of aya ram gaya ram squabbles.Because we've had enough of ice cream parlour rapists.Because we've mortaged most of the state.Because all our exam papers leak.Because we dont need muslim league and its casanova kuttis.Because we've become a land of mafias.Because the father,son and the holy spirit suck.Because the chief executive is a convenor of corruption.Because Devils own land is a tagline in the making.
Not to forget we have one of the highest consumption of liquor,highest suicide rate and high unemployment as well.
In his book,Development as Freedom,Sen compares US,China and Kerala.I read again,its US,China and Kerala.It was a pleasant surprise.This was not the first time the Kerala model was being touted as a road map for all the developing world,time and again the green strip has been on the radar of global think tanks.
Kerala is a land where social development has gone hand in hand with economic and political development,rather it has overtook the two.Its Human development index compares with North America and Europe in many parameters.Areas like medical care,education,social harmony,rural infrastructure and political vigilance have reached a point where developmental economists sit up and take note.
Because Kerala has the least mortality of infants.Because kerala has the highest sex ratio - which means if you are a girl child,you dont get killed down here.Because kerala has one of the worlds highest life expectancies.Because kerala is one urban stretch of four hundred miles.Because ink pads dont sell in kerala - they use pens instead.Because kerala is one place where extinction of lion tailed monkey or the ghat deer can bring down cabinets.Because the ubiquitous tea shops discuss 'mandari' disease in coconuts and lula of brazil with the same concern.Because people on an average read three newspapers down here.
If one looks at Kerala's political history - the state is 50 years old,the left front has been in power for around fifteen years.(excluding the right wing left front party).The congress lead governments ruled the rest of the years.Now if you look at path breaking reforms that made all the above possible,it was more or less during those fifteen years.Be it the land reforms,educational reforms and wage reforms brought about in 1957 by the EMS government (the first democratically elected left front government in the world).The coalation politics dharma of the sixties - another first in India.The literacy campaign of the eighties - another first in India.The peoples plan of the nineties - ditto.
The last term of the left front saw the Peoples plan campaign,stretching four long years.The idea was to eliminate centralised power and centralised planning.How could a beurocrat or a minister sitting somewhere in a capital city know what is good for a far away village,whether they need a bridge or a school or an internet kiosk.All across the state people met in schools,everyweek and made their list of developmental demands,based on ground realities and burning needs of the time.Village roads and bridges were built in places not even on the surveyor of India maps.Power percolated to lowest levels of society.Development and its benefits were not anymore confined to the urban shopping centres,goverment offices and kitchen coteries of the men in power.Every village and every town in kerala felt energized,it was probably the greatest leap forward in the history of development in Kerala.
It surely increased the overall debt of the state manifold and drew a lot of crticism from world bank and the Asian bank.Today after five years when one looks back at the days of Peoples Plan (the brain child of late EMS Namboodiridpad)we realise the good it has done to the state,it was an astute marxist's understanding of kerala's developmental needs in a economy which was getting liberalised from all the sides,it was a theoritician's insightful comparison of Kerala's present state with meiji era Japan and pre-reform China.
The new left front government which I believe will take oath in May,will have to lead Kerala from a support led success story to a growth meditated success.As a close adulator of kerala model and its politics,I am excited at what will be in store for the state this time around.I am optimistic about change because these guys been there before,they've delivered before.On May 11 th Kerala will have its tyrst with destiny and 'hope' may be retuned to us after a long wait of five years.
Good Night and Good Luck !
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
