India at 79: Economic strides vs social realities

Image source: Pixabay

On the 15th of August, India will enter the 80th year of its Independence. As every year, the air will be rent with patriotic songs; there will be the nation's Tricolour aflutter almost everywhere, and there will be lofty speeches that ooze nationalistic fervour. Everyone gets involuntarily drawn into the celebratory atmosphere.

No doubt, during the past 79 years, we have made tremendous progress in almost all walks of life. India is today a self-reliant nation, almost on a par with any developed nation. That's something to be really proud of.

IT'S A DIFFERENT INDIA TODAY

Be that as it may, all is not very well. India today is not the same India as it was many years ago. While a lot of good things have happened and are happening, as if to counter them, in many ways we are sliding back in some aspects. The entire socio-political-economic landscape has undergone a huge change. The extent of this change has only accentuated in the past two decades, which is worrying.

My anecdotal experiences tell me that Indians by and large have become prosperous. The newer generations, be it in cities or villages, are far better off economically than the previous ones. There is a lot of economic prosperity, which is a really good thing.

FREEDOM TO QUESTION

What is worrying are the changes in the socio-political space. More and more people have become less and less accommodative and inclusive. Their tolerance levels have dropped, and they are unable to see a point of view that is different from theirs. Worse, a person with a different opinion is harshly and unfairly judged and condemned.

Take for example, if one criticises the policies of the Union government, there are a large number of people willing to brand you as anti-national. This was never the case earlier, say when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister. She too was nationalistic and authoritarian. Not even during the time of Atal Behari Vajpayee (who headed a right-wing BJP-led coalition government).

ENFORCED NATIONALISM

Today, for some inexplicable reason, after 79 years of steady progress as a nation, an inferiority complex is being injected into the social fabric; so much so that thrusting nationalism on people has almost become a state policy.

I don't understand where this sense of insecurity is coming from. If our country is more developed and stronger, as the government claims and to which I do agree, the government should actually be more confident and accommodative.

FREEDOM WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY

While on one side we have freedom of expression against ruling parties being limited, on the other side, a lack of strong enforcement of rules has given people the freedom to do anything and get away with it.

Freedom comes with a lot of responsibility; on the part of the government functionaries as well as citizens. One area where India really lags behind is in civic sense. The sense of discipline, societal well-being, social responsibility, civic duty, and a concern for other people, are very much in short supply. Examples are aplenty all around us, like the way motorists drive, the way garbage is disposed of, the way we behave in public spaces, etc.

As we enter the 80th year of Independence, there is of course a lot to celebrate. But there is just as much to introspect on, and plenty of scope to make course corrections as well -- for the government, the politicians, the public servants and the citizens.

(This post is a part the Blogchatter Blog Hop)

Non-politicians as national leaders

Balendra (Balen) Shah, Gen-Z's choice in Nepal.
Image courtesy: BBC

Politics is for politicians, right? They spend decades climbing the ladder; beginning as party workers, legislators and ministers before finally reaching the top.

But not always. Voters sometimes prefer non-politicians to lead their country.

The most recent example comes from Nepal, where rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah is widely expected to become the country’s next prime minister after his party, the Rashtriya Swatantra Party, won the recent elections.

The 35-year-old rapper first became famous for songs criticising corruption and the political establishment. In 2022, he became the first independent candidate to be elected mayor of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.

He has a Bengaluru connection too. He did his M Tech in Structural Engineering from Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology in the city.

GEN-Z's CHOICE

This election must be one of the few where the Gen-Z have changed the political landscape of an entire nation through an election.

Many voters, particularly young people, are quite frustrated with traditional parties, which they feel have failed to address corruption, unemployment and poor governance. Shah’s popularity as a rapper helped him connect with this sentiment. 

His tenure as Kathmandu’s mayor only strengthened his image as an outsider willing to challenge the system, and that momentum seems to have carried him to national politics.

Actually, this is a familiar pattern across the world. When voters grow frustrated with traditional parties, they often look for fresh faces from outside politics.

COMEDY STAGE TO PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE

One of the most striking examples is Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine.

Before entering politics, he was a comedian, actor and television producer. In a curious twist of fate, he even played the role of a fictional president in a popular television series. In 2019, voters elected him president in real life.

What he has been dealing with since then, especially after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is anything but funny.

Another television comedian who became president was Jimmy Morales of Guatemala, who was elected in 2015.  

INSTANCES ELSEWHERE

The United States has seen several leaders who began their careers outside politics.

Ronald Reagan, who became president in 1981, was a Hollywood actor who appeared in films during the 1940s and 1950s.

Then, decades later, came, Donald Trump, a real-estate businessman and television personality, whom most countries around the world, with a few exceptions, are finding difficult to deal with. 

Dwight D. Eisenhower was a five-star general during the Second World War before serving two terms as US president from 1953 to 1961.

Another Second World War general who later became a national leader was Charles de Gaulle of France. He served as president for ten years from 1959.

Woodrow Wilson, who held a PhD in history and political science from Johns Hopkins University, moved from academia into politics. He served as governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913 and then as US president from 1913 to 1921.

Britain had a leader who began his career in journalism. Boris Johnson, who served as mayor of London, foreign secretary and prime minister, earlier worked as a journalist with The Daily Telegraph and later became editor of The Spectator.

Playwright and dissident Václav Havel became president of Czechoslovakia in 1989. After the country split on 1 January 1993, he continued as president of the Czech Republic until 2003.

In Poland, shipyard electrician and trade-union leader Lech Wałęsa was elected president in 1990 after leading the Solidarity movement.

In the Philippines, hugely popular action-movie star Joseph Estrada was elected president in 1998.

Sport has also produced a national leader.

Former Pakistan cricket captain Imran Khan, who played at the international level from 1971 to 1992 and was hugely popular in India, served as Pakistan’s prime minister from 2018 to 2022.

INDIA'S EXAMPLES

India too has seen many public figures from outside politics entering public life.

Perhaps the most famous is M G Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR. A hugely successful film star in Tamil Nadu, he served as chief minister for a decade from 1977.

Jayalalithaa, another star from Tamil cinema, served as chief minister of Tamil Nadu for a total of 14 years between 1991 and 2016.

Yet another was N T Rama Rao, revered by cinema fans for portraying mythological characters on screen. He founded the Telugu Desam Party in 1982 and became chief minister of Andhra Pradesh the following year.

Economist and academic Manmohan Singh served as India’s prime minister from 2004 to 2014. But he was not directly elected by the people; he was a member of the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Parliament.

Arvind Kejriwal, a mechanical engineer who later joined the Indian Revenue Service, first became known as an anti-corruption activist before entering politics and becoming chief minister of Delhi in 2013. He faced allegations of, ironically, corruption and lost elections in February last year. But, a lower court, last month, acquitted him of all the charges.  

WHY VOTERS CHOOSE OUTSIDERS

There is usually a pattern behind these political surprises. Outsiders tend to succeed when:

• Public are frustrated with traditional politicians
  
  
• Established political parties appear too similar in policies and people want change
  
  
• Younger voters look for new ideas
  
  
• Leaders capitalise on a major social or economic issue, like price rise or corruption
  
  
• They get high visibility on media and social platforms and become popular

GOVERNANCE IS DIFFERENT

Whether non-politicians succeed in governing is altogether another question. Running a government is no easy task. It requires skills in areas like administration, team management, and resolving crises.

But one thing is sure. Over decades we have seen that voters are ready to take the risk, look out of the box, and experiement with leadership.

One Nation One Election: Will it work?

The electronic voting machine
and the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail 

In India, the talk of having simultaneous elections to both the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) and Assemblies in all 28 states and 8 Union Territories is back.

Not a new idea. India did have simultaneous elections in 1951, 1957, 1962 and 1967. After that, it has never worked out.

The issue is back on the centre stage now because the Union government yesterday appointed a committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to look into the feasibility of what is called "One Nation One Election".

The members of the committee were announced today:

1. Home Minister Amit Shah
   
   
2. Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (but he declined to join the panel)
   
   
3. Former Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad
   
   
4. Former Finance Commission chairperson N.K. Singh
   
   
5. Senior advocate Harish Salve
   
   
6. Former Lok Sabha Secretary General Subhash C. Kashyap
   
   
7. Former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will attend the meetings as a special invitee

Legal Affairs Secretary Niten Chandra will serve as Secretary to the panel

PROS

• Simultaneous elections can cut expenditures. So many processes are repeated for each election, and it costs crores of rupees, affecting the nation's economy on the whole.
  
  
• Less disruption. Elections are like a festival in India, with so much excitement, disrupting the normal pace of work in various sectors. Besides that, during the election season, governance pretty much comes to a standstill. No important policy decisions are taken.
  
  
• The idea that people have to vote only once in, say, five years might boost the number of people who will turn up to vote.

CONS

• National and State Assembly elections are fought on totally different issues. Holding both elections together will result in a mixing up of both issues during the election campaigning, leading to confusion among voters. The final verdict might not be representative.
  
  
• The predictability of elections will bring in a sense of complacency among the elected representatives.
  
  
• Presently, individual States have the autonomy to decide when to hold elections. That will cease to be the case. The diversity of different dynamics each State brings to the Union of India will be significantly diminished.

CHALLENGES

• What if the incumbent government loses the majority or is voted out by a no-confidence vote, and no one is able to form a stable government? Who will then rule the country or the State? If it happens close to the end of the tenure of the incumbent government, it might not be a big issue. But if it happens within a year or two of the elections, then it will be a full-blown crisis.
  
  
• The One Nation One Election will require a major constitutional amendment that will require ratification by a majority of States of the country. It might not be that easy.
  
  
• Considering the vastness of India and the complicated nature and issues each region has, it might not be possible to hold elections on one single day or even a single month. It might have to be spread over at least two or three months to take care of logistic challenges like moving security forces and ensuring the presence of election officials. Whether we have enough resources is a moot point.

HAS IT WORKED ELSEWHERE?

• Only three nations in the world have simultaneous elections - Belgium, Sweden and South Africa.

WILL IT WORK IN INDIA?

It's not going to be easy, though the advantages are very clear and significant. It can work if there is an across-the-board consensus and all the challenges are addressed.

Oppenheimer: Free speech and political correctness

I recently watched Oppenheimer. It was after a long time that I went to a cinema.

Needless to mention, it's such a well-made film, with excellent acting, photography, editing, and direction.

What struck me the most was how little has changed when it comes to socio-political dynamics. Everything has remained the same; only situations, issues, organisations, and people have changed.

Oppenheimer's political views and activities were at odds with what prevailed at that time. He was closely monitored and was the subject of many an investigation.

It's said that being politically correct need not be a total infringement of free speech and that it means being respectful of other viewpoints and avoiding language that can be disrespectful.

However, balancing freedom of speech and being politically correct can be a tightrope walk. Plenty of examples in these times, aren't there?

Did Oppenheimer accept the invitation to join the Manhatten Project only because the scientific challenge was irresistible? 

What if he hadn't joined the Manhattan Project citing the dangers of developing the atomic bomb? 

Would that have been cited as him being unpatriotic, especially in light of his political views?

Big win for Congress in Karnataka

A huge setback for the ruling BJP, as the opposition Congress party is all set to form a government on its own in this southwestern state of Karnataka.

The counting of votes cast on May 10 began at 8 am today, and about five hours later, the trends were so clear that BJP conceded defeat.

Results on the Election Commission website

I am glad that we have a decisive mandate. That's good for governance. 

A big worry all these days was if the election would throw up a fractured verdict, as has been the case in the past. Unstable coalition governments are no good. 

BJP ERRED

It's a huge setback for the BJP, which had staked so much on this election. They were the incumbent and were facing allegations of massive corruption.

BJP, which has all along been saying that Congress is a party of corrupt leaders, probably never expected that the refrain would boomerang on them. BJP never addressed the issue of corruption in the state, and they have paid a huge price. 

The second big mistake BJP made was that it ignored regional issues and leaders. They went with a macro view and national leaders. 

There was a high-voltage campaign led by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union home minister Amit Shah for the BJP. 

There was a perception all around -- hope in BJP and fear in Congress -- that Modi's charisma and oratorical skills would decisively swing the votes in favour of the BJP.

One of their pitches was that if the same party is in power in the centre and the state, that would aid development, which they sloganised as "double-engine government".

This argument attracted a lot of criticism since it implicitly means that state governments in India have no major role.

CONGRESS CAPITALISED

Congress focused on the failings of the government. They micro-managed the campaign with local issues and leaders. They were proactive rather than reactive.

Finally, after all the speeches and roadshows, people voted the way they felt was right, resulting in an outcome that jolted the BJP.

I am also happy that all the cherished values like diversity and democratic choices are very much alive in our country. People don't get swayed by rhetoric; they think independently.

They opted for change and gave Congress a chance to rule the state for the next five years.

Congress will now call a meeting of its legislative party (comprising the lawmakers who have been elected), and they will choose their leader, who will be sworn in as the chief minister.

Karnataka elections: Why you should vote, and what if you don't want to vote

The state assembly elections in Karnataka on May 10 are just a couple of days away. 

There is now full-throttle campaigning by the two big parties -- BJP, which is in power, and the opposition Congress.

BJP campaign is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Congress has deployed a battery of both national leaders like its president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party president Rahul Gandhi, general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, as well as regional leaders like the leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah and state Congress president D K Shivakumar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading BJP campaign

What BJP is banking on:

- Oratorical skills and charisma of Narendra Modi.

- Many developmental and social welfare schemes that the current BJP state government and BJP federal government have implemented.

- The hope that people will like the status quo to continue.

Congress leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah.

What Congress is banking on:

- Allegations of corruption against BJP leaders in the state.

- Perception that BJP is ignoring local issues and sentiments in favour of a national narrative.

- Hope that people would want a change and many previous instances of the incumbent party losing.

WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE

Democracy is not perfect, nor are our democratic governments. But we are certainly lucky that we have that form of governance. 

That's because it gives us the freedom to be who we are and to do what we want to, of course, within the ambit of the law.

If that freedom is misused, the fault is ours and of the system.

In a democracy, we elect our representatives who form the government. So, we have a responsibility to participate in the political process. 

We must come out and vote because it is a fundamental aspect of democracy. When we vote, we are exercising our right to shape our own lives and communities.

On the left is the voting machine and, on the right,
is the VVPAT, a unit to indicate that the vote
has been cast correctly.

WHAT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO VOTE

In India, voting is not mandatory, and many people don't vote. While some places record around 90% polling, there are others that register just about 50%.

Two reasons why people choose not to vote.

One, no candidate is good enough.

Two, elected representatives never do their job well, so there is no point in electing anyone.

'Whom do I vote for?'

It's quite possible no candidate measures up to the electorates' expectations. In such cases, they choose not to vote. 

There is a solution to this problem. You can still vote. 

In 2009, the Election Commission of India introduced an option of "None of the Above" or NOTA in the electronic voting machines. If you choose that, it means you haven't chosen to vote for any candidate.

However, NOTA has no electoral value. If NOTA votes are in the majority, still the candidate who has secured the most votes will be declared the winner. 

There have been suggestions that in such a case, the election should be annulled and fresh voting held.

So far, there has never been an instance when NOTA secured the most votes. But NOTA has always picked up votes. And that does indeed send out a message.

'They are irresponsible'

It's a fact that there is disenchantment with legislators' commitment. Many feel that they are not doing their job well. 

But the counter to that is not we also not doing our job well. 

If someone is irresponsible, that doesn't mean we also should be irresponsible.

When we do our part well, we have the moral right to insist that lawmakers also do their job well.

VOTING DAY - MAY 10

This time the Election Commission took care to ensure that the voting day is mid-week to obviate the possibility of people clubbing polling day with the weekend and taking off on holiday.

So, on May 10, let us do our part of the job well. 

It's very simple.

Go out and vote.

--------------------

Image credits

Narendra Modi - Hindustan Times

Siddaramaiah - NDTV

Electronic voting machine - Wikipedia

India election season

I just realised that it's been a month since I blogged last. I have been erratic in following my blog pals' posts as well.

I have been trying to do too many things, and as I prioritized, the blogosphere went down the to-do list.

However, I mustn't let one month go without a post!

Politics is one topic I have kept away from my blog for many years. That might not be so in the near future.

All the talk everywhere here now is about elections.

As many as nine states in India go to the polls to elect their Assemblies this year. Of them, three are over - Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland. 

Karnataka will have the elections on May 10, and the counting of votes is on May 13. It's an election that a lot of politics-friendly people are keenly watching.

An electronic voting machine and VVPAT
(Voter-verifiable paper audit trail) machine.
They are used for all elections in India.
(Source: Election Commission website)

After that, in November-December, people in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, and Telangana cast their ballots.

Next year, around April-May, we will have the Lok Sabha (national) elections. This and the US Presidential polls at the end of the next year will attract interest around the world.

India may have many problems. But, one thing that the nation and its people can be proud of is democracy. It's not perfect by any means. But it has truly stood the test of time, over the past 76 years.

The political discourse in India also has its flaws. But it has been proved many times that politicians can't take their electorate people for granted.

Politics in no democratic country is clean. The gloves are off at some time or the other. It can get very personal and dirty at times. That's probably the price we pay for the freedom to choose our governments.

Already it's hotting up in the run-up to the polls.

Elections in India are like a festival or sports tournaments. However disinterested, you are bound to know about it. There is nothing to indicate that it won't be so this time around.

India at 75 and looking ahead

Today is the 75th anniversary of India's independence. 

As part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the celebration of freedom, the government announced the Har Khar Tiranga campaign, an exhortation to all Indians to fly the Tricolour at their homes from August 13 to 15.

It generated a lot of enthusiasm and I could see a number of houses, besides government and private buildings flying the Tricolour. Like countless others, we too joined in, got a flag, and put it up on our balcony.

TRIUMPH OVER ADVERSITIES

At 75, we can always look at the pitfalls, the cracks, and various other downsides. They journey hasn't been easy; it wouldn't be either.

However, I would look at it from the other side - the achievements we have made in spite of the enormous challenges during this journey of 75 years. 

I really doubt if there is any other nation in this world that is as diverse as India is -- from climate and languages to dress and food; from seemingly infinite local customs based on religion, caste or sub-caste, to a multitude of regional historical legacies. It's just too mindboggling.

This will be evident to anyone who travels the length and breadth of India -- from south to central to west to north to east of the nation. It's a maze of not just complexities but sometimes even contradictions. 

In this context, look at human endeavour in any segment of life -- be it science and technology, sociology, economics, politics, civil services, armed forces, sports or games -- there are countless stories of triumph over adversities.

There are hundreds of thousands of people in every strata -- be they of any state, gender, religion, caste, creed -- making use of the opportunities that our nation provides them. These opportunities have been stepping stones to better livelihood and lifestyle.

It's this progress that gives me the hope that we will continue to do well; the journey will only get better and better in the years to come.

THE ASSETS TO CHERISH

As we look ahead, in this land of extreme diversity, there are a few features that stand out, and bind us together as one nation: democracy, freedom, unity, constitution, legislature, executive, judiciary, and media.

We have them all in robust health. We need to cherish them, nurture them, because they are the assets on which a nation is built.

'Abide With Me' at Beating Retreat

Beating Retreat is a 17th century British military tradition wherein bands perform as a signal for the troops to return to their castles, and end military operations for the day.

India's Republic Day, celebrated on the 26th of January, marks the final severing of British administrative control over the nation in 1950. 

The event formally concludes three days later, on the 29th, with the Beating Retreat ceremony at the expansive boulevard of Vijay Chowk. Bands from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Central Armed Police Forces, besides buglers, and pipes and drum bands feature on the occasion.

It's a spectacular musical extravaganza which I think everyone must see it at least once in their lifetime. I went to New Delhi to see it in 2014. Unfortunately, I don't have photos of the ceremony since mobile phones were banned because of security reasons.

(You will find at the end of the post, the recording of the live telecast of the entire one-and-a-half-hour long ceremony of last year. Every year, the pattern is more or less the same. This year's event begins today at 5 p.m. IST. It will be telecast by all news channels and streamed live on Doordarshan, the national broadcaster.) 

ABIDE WITH ME

Abide With Me is a hymn written by an Anglican poet, the Rev. Henry Francis Lyte in the 19th century. It's a prayer to God to be present all through life and its trials. 

Every year, the Beating Retreat ceremony ends with the bands playing Abide With Me. But, this year, the world famous tune has been dropped.

The hymn is said to be a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi, and its exclusion instantly became controversial and hit international headlines. 

There were no official explanations, but spin doctors attributed it to the government's decision to play only Indian tunes at the function, this time. There are periodic changes to the ceremony to make the traditionally British Army practice, more Indian.

Incidentally, last year too, Abide With Me was initially dropped. But after protests, the government included it.

Though the government can rightly take credit for executing many constructive, development-oriented policies and projects, it has also been equally proactive in junking many traditional practices, sometimes not in a very complimentary manner.

So, I am not surprised Abide With Me won't be heard today evening. But, I think it could have stayed.

BEATING RETREAT 2021

Here's a recording of the live telecast of last year's Beating the Retreat. The commentary is alternately in English and Hindi. 

Abide With Me comes at 1:11:42 (Perhaps, the last time it's played at this event.)

Since it's such a long event, I have given below the timestamp of some of the significant moments.

04:10 - Introduction

11:10 - Arrival of the Prime Minister

14:19 - President arrives at Vijay Chowk

20:40 - National Salute - the National Anthem

22:40 - Various bands start marching in.

25:32 - Tunes by the Pipes and Drums Band

31:20 - Tunes by the CAPF Band

38:15 - Tunes by the Air Force Band

47:28 - Tunes by the Naval Band

56:20 - Tunes by the Army Band

1:06:55 - Tunes by the Massed Band

1:07:45 - Drummers Call by Massed Band

1:11:42 - Abide With Me played by Massed Band

1:15:03 - Retreat by buglers; lowering of the National Flag

1:17:10 - Bands retreat to the tunes of Sare Jahan Se Accha

1:20:10 - Buildings light up

1:21:08 - President's Body Guard arrives to escort the President to Rashtrapati Bhavan. 

LYRICS OF ABIDE WITH ME

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;

The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.

When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;

Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;

Change and decay in all around I see;

O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word,

But as Thou dwell'st with Thy disciples, Lord,

Familiar, condescending, patient, free.

Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.

Come not in terror, as the King of kings,

But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings;

Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea.

Come, Friend of sinners, thus abide with me.

Thou on my head in early youth didst smile,

And though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,

Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee.

On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.

What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?

Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?

Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;

Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.

Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?

I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;

Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.

Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;

In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Hope scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir's special status will usher in a new era there

The right-wing Union government led by BJP's Narendra Modi, today took a hugely important decision regarding the status of one of the most sensitive states in the country, Jammu and Kashmir.

It's a decision that no previous government in the 72 years of independent India has dared to take: to revoke a provision that was incorporated into the Indian constitution in 1954.

That provision, contained in Article 370, conferred on the state a huge amount of autonomy, so much so that the state, unlike the other states of the Indian Union, had its own constitution and its flag. There were also limitations to the applicability of the Indian federal law in the state.

Basically, the provision enabled the state of Jammu and Kashmir to be a part of India but without having to follow all the laws of the Indian government.

WHAT DID THE GOVT DO

Today, the government delivered on its good-old promise, and revoked the provision, stripping the state of the preferred treatment it enjoyed all along, ever since it came into being in the late 1940s.

The government went beyond just that: it split the state into two Union territories: Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature, and Ladakh without a legislature.

A Union Territory is an administrative division of India, wherein the federal government holds a lot of administrative powers, unlike in the case of States which have far more administrative powers.

The sensitivity of this momentous decision can be gauged from the preparations the government did over the past week in J&K. There has been a huge induction of Indian Army troops, yesterday the government snapped all telecommunication networks - landline, mobile and internet - and late last night, it placed major political party leaders of J&K under house arrest; and declared curfew in Kashmir.

Not surprisingly, the government move has set the cat among the pigeons.

THE PROS AND CONS

Three key arguments for keeping the special status

- The provision was part of a solemn guarantee granted to the people of J&K considering the special circumstances surrounding the way the state became a part of the Indian Union, immediately after the British left India in August 1947.

- People and its leaders value the autonomy that came along with the special status, and removing it should have been done only with the concurrence of the people.

- Jammu and Kashmir state is not like any other state in India; it has a different history and that must be taken into account while deciding the policies of the state.

Three key arguments for removing the special status

- The special status created a dichotomous situation wherein J&K, a sensitive border state of India, is a part of Indian Union but had its own administrative and governance mechanism thereby limiting the control of the Indian government -- be it for security or for the development of the state and its people.

- There was a context in which the provisions were incorporated into the Indian constitution. After many decades, those situations have vastly changed, thereby necessitating a new look.

- The autonomy provision was a temporary one incorporated into the constitution with a purpose. It has not been able to bring about peace in Kashmir, and it can be said that the provision has failed to achieve any purpose.

MY TAKE

For me, today's development is just another turning point in the tumultuous journey the state, its polity and people have had for close to 80 years, pre-dating the exit of the British.

What has happened today is only a change in the law; what finally matters is a change in the hearts of the people of the state. How they take the changes remains to be seen.

Hope the new law will help the Union government to bring in the much-needed reforms in the governance of J&K and thereby bring about the required change in the hearts of the people.

We all know that there is tacit support from a section of the people of J&K for the decades-long militancy. Will it end with the development and prosperity of the people? Only if that happens will we be able to say that what the government did today was right.

As of today, we can't totally blame the government for exploring an out-of-box solution to find a way out of the problem that has been simmering for decades, costing hundreds of thousands of lives.

We have to just patiently wait and watch.

Narendra Modi stays as India’s Prime Minister: 5 reasons why

The leads began trickling in some time after 8 am today, and the trend didn’t change at any point during the last 5 hours. The incumbent NDA (National Democratic Alliance, comprising the BJP and its allies) are ahead, and there is no way it will now change.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is back in the Prime Minister’s chair, leading an aggressive campaign of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party or Indian people’s party). Their focus areas were corruption-free governance, taking India ahead, the security of the nation, stability of the government, etc.

The BJP faced a spirited fight put up by a galaxy of opposition parties, over 20 of them, all regional parties, except the Congress, the only national party, whose stock had plummeted to a historic low in the previous election. The major opposition alliance was the UPA or the United Progressive Alliance.

THE ONLY SURPRISE

It was generally acknowledged that the BJP will be back in power, but considering the intensity and ferocity of the opposition campaign, there were doubts about whether the BJP would get a good majority or not.

The surprise, if at all there is any, is the big lead the NDA has gained over the opposition. Clearly, a good majority of Indians are happy with the way Narendra Modi government has ruled over the past five years, and they want status quo; and they don’t find any reason to give the opposition a chance.

WHY OPPOSITION LOST

Here are a few reasons why the election results have gone the way it has:

1. No corruption allegations: That was what the BJP promised five years ago when they took on the Congress-led government which faced a spate of corruption charges. The BJP clearly delivered on that promise.

There were allegations of crony capitalism though, which the opposition highlighted very vociferously. Either people didn’t believe in them or they didn’t care.

2. Stability factor: If we look back at the previous elections, Indians don’t like unstable coalition governments at the federal level. There have been a few, and the people have voted them out as quickly as possible and they stayed with stable governments.

In the absence of a strong national opposition party (the Congress today is a pale shadow of what it was once), the opposition is a combination of over 20 parties. It doesn’t look like the people wanted to risk giving them a chance.

3. Strong leadership: India doesn’t elect a prime minister. It elects a party, which then elects a leader who is appointed as the prime minister. But for all practical purposes, the prime ministerial face matters a lot. Modi comes across as a strong leader, who takes bold decisions.

There was no prime ministerial face in the opposition to take on Modi. If the opposition were voted in, there was a risk of at least half a dozen opposition leaders squabbling to become the prime minister. Not worth it.

4. Poor opposition strategy: Their main focus was the removal of Modi as the prime minister. But they didn’t project who could replace him.

Congress party president Rahul Gandhi kept harping on the theme that the “prime minister is a thief”. I think that went against him because he had nothing substantial to back his claim. No money trail or any illegal transaction of funds could be showcased.

It must be said that the BJP was very smart to convert major attacks against them into an advantage.

5. National vision and policy: The incumbent NDA government had enacted a slew of new policies and rolled out many welfare schemes for different sections of people, both in the urban and rural areas. It is all there on the government website https://www.mygov.in/

The opposition slammed them as mere misleading claims and numbers but they didn’t have anything concrete as an alternative. I guess people have either been benefited by these government policies or, if they have not been, they have given the government the benefit of doubt.

Pressing the button - once in five years

Electronic voting machine
Photo credit: Election Commission

While democracy vests in people the right to vote, there are many people who prefer not to exercise their franchise. My father, who was an erudite teacher, was one.

He had contempt for politicians, though he was never vocal about it. He always felt politicians were poor role models for the citizens, especially the youngsters.

There are many who share that view. Even I do. So, I always wondered if I should vote or not. Most politicians are always busy "playing politics" rather than governing.

MY FIRST VOTE

When I turned 21 and became eligible to vote, I decided to go out and choose the representative of my area. I was in Kerala then. Though I shared the cynism of the democratic process, the reason I cast my ballot was I wanted to know how it was like inside a polling booth and how it felt like having voted.

A few years later, I left the state for the north of the country when I got my first job. After that, I didn't vote for many years, since I never took the trouble to enrol myself as a voter in the places I lived.

The next time I voted was many years later when I moved to Bengaluru. (On November 1, 2014, the city changed its anglicised name of Bangalore to its original name in the local language.)

AN EASY TASK

The reason I voted for the state assembly elections was, I thought voting is the simplest and the easiest way (and probably one of the most important ways) to keep the democratic system of governance alive.

When I accuse the politicians of not having done their job, I should have done mine, is it not?

Especially when it is so easy to actually go to the voting station and make the choice, though choosing whom to vote might not be as easy.

I have exercised my franchise in all the elections since then, including on April 23 when Bengaluru voted in the third phase of the general election that is currently on. One more phase is remaining. That is on May 19.

The process has become easier and simpler over the years, and the Election Commission and the federal government should be given due credit for ensuring that the whole process -- right from enrolling oneself in the voters' list to finding the voting station to actually casting the vote -- is a breeze.

AWAITING THE RESULTS

Voting is not compulsory in India, where the votes are cast electronically -- the voter presses the button against the name of the candidate on an electronic voting machine, commonly called here as the EVM.

The once-in-five-years national elections to choose a new parliament is being held in seven phases over one and a half months, considering the enormous scale of the exercise -- there are as many as 900 million voters -- the biggest in the world.

We will know the results on the 23rd of this month. We will know which party will get the majority in parliament and who will be the next prime minister.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Have you voted? Do you always have good candidates to choose from?

The Great Indian Festival of Democracy

Among the many features of India that the nation and its people can be truly proud of is how deep-rooted democracy is. 

The nation won Independence from the UK in August 1947. (India was referred to as the Jewel in the British Crown.) Ever since that, the nation has regularly held elections to the national parliament, and to the Assemblies of each State. 

The First General Election was held in 1951. Now, the 17th one will be held from April 11 in seven phases.

Elections are an inalienable part of democracy and every single time an election is held in India, the results have been accepted graciously and magnanimously by the losers. Of course, there have been many occasions when losers have contested the result, but that is by going to the court. The court's decisions are respected and accepted by all without any reservation.

THE ONLY BLEMISH

The only setback in India's democratic journey was in 1975 when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi used a provision in Constitution to declare Emergency, resulting in the suspension of many democratic rights of citizens. It was not only widely considered as an unjustified move but it had led to large-scale misuse of various provisions to target political opponents.

Ironically, it was her belief in the strength of India's democracy that led her to lift the Emergency, which lasted 21 months. In the elections that followed, she and her party, the Congress, was routed massively, once again demonstrating how deep-rooted democracy is in the country.

India has had many occasions of horrible political instability. But it has always got sorted out in the way it should be, and governments formed.

17TH EDITION OF GENERAL ELECTION

The elections in India must be one of the very few in the world where the whole process is electronic. Voting machines were first used in 1982 in the North Paravoor constituency of Kerala Assembly. But the use of EVMs was struck down by the court as the machines had been used without creating a legal provision for it. It was then properly introduced in a select manner from 1999 in state assembly elections. The first time a Lok Sabha election was held using only EVMs was in 2004.

The elections will be held in seven phases on April 11, 18, 23, 29, May 6, 12, 19. 

One reason elections are staggered over many days is because of the large number of voters (900 million), spread across the vast area of the country (3.287 million sq km). It is a great logistic challenge: a large number of polling officials, electronic voting machines, security forces etc.

The previous election in 2014 was the longest ever, it was held over nine days between April 7 and May 12.

THE CONTEST

All the talk in India is whether Narendra Modi and the National Democratic Alliance will retain power. The situation is not the same as in 2014. Then, Modi was a new player on the national political scene, who came in with some fresh ideas to counter the then ruling party Congress which was very unpopular due to a string of corruption allegations. 

Today, Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi are trying hard to regain the lost ground. Some, who voted against them in 2014, might be inclined to give them a chance this time. But though Modi and his government might not have done anything spectacular to assure itself of an assured big win like in 2014, the fact that they haven't done too badly to be voted out will be a great challenge for the Congress and allies.

Election season in India resembles a festival, in the sense of the excitement it causes among people. Right now different parties are finalising their candidates for different constituencies. Soon electioneering will get into full throttle, with public meetings in every nook and corner of the country. Colourful posters, banners and flags, loud music and songs, entertaining street theatre ... the nation will soon be gripped by the intense battle of the ballot.

India, Pakistan on the edge again

There is only question many Indians and Pakistanis are asking now: Is the tit-for-tat armed combat on the border over, or will we see an escalation? My prayers are two-fold: one, may the conflict not escalate. Two, may the cause of the conflict be resolved once and for all.

The troubles began right on the night the two nations were born in August 1947. The first war broke out just after two months. The second in 1965, and the third 1971. After this, there was low-level warfare in 1999. Then in 2001, there was heavy troop buildup and a fullscale conflict was narrowly averted.

At the centre of it is the status of the border state Kashmir. A part of it is with India and the other is with Pakistan. The unresolved issue is not just an open wound; it's been bleeding, and bleeding badly all these years; a source of great pain for both the nations.

It's extremely sad that when Pakistan leadership (just as the rest of world too) knows very well that Pakistan itself is a victim of terrorism, and that there are many radical organisations with violent ideologies within Pakistan's borders, neither Pakistan itself, nor other nations (US, UK, Russia, China etc.) do anything about it. 

India has been always saying talks and terror can't go together. But still, out of goodwill, in between wars and terror attacks, India has initiated a number of confidence-building measures over many decades, by separating the people-to-people interactions from the larger political and military issues. But all these years, Pakistan has simply not reciprocated them.

Take the latest incident. On February 14, there was a terror attack in Pulwama, when a bomb-laden truck rammed into a convoy of paramilitary soldiers; and Pakistan-based militant organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility. India asked Pakistan to do something about it.

If Pakistan had been sincere in its desire to end violence and ring in peace, it would have done something, at least now, with a new Prime Minister Imran Khan at the helm who promised a 'New Pakistan'. It didn't do anything. Not even a condemnation of the incident.

And India was forced to act yesterday -- a terror camp in Pakistan was hit by Indian Air Force jets. It provoked Pakistan which retaliated today by targeting Indian military assets. Luckily, the Pak jet was brought down. India lost a fighter jet in this first air-to-air combat between the two nations after 1971. The pilot of the Indian fighter is in the custody of Pakistan.

A military route will not be the end solution. So, India must explore all other avenues -- diplomatic, political, social, economic and cultural -- to make Pakistan realise that it has to put an end to harbouring and encouraging radical and militant ideologies that threaten peace not just in India and its neighbourhood but the world at large. I hope and pray we all will see that day sooner than later.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee - poet, orator, politician, statesman, Prime Minister

Photo courtesy: The Hindu

India is in mourning. The nation lost one of its greatest leaders, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, yesterday evening at 5.05, at the age of 93.

He straddled the Indian political scene for nearly 60 years. He was elected to parliament for the first time in 1957; he was the foreign minister from 1977 to 1979, and later the Prime Minister thrice between 1996 and 2004. In 2005, he retired from all public activities and politics.

UNUSUAL GENTLE POLITICIAN

One reason why the sense of loss is extremely heavy is because Vajpayee was the type of politician, we all miss today, not just in India but in many other nations. He belonged to a political party, the BJP, which has always been perceived as radically nationalist, sectarian and divisive.

But, he transformed the image of that party, and made it acceptable to a huge majority of people. As a result, not only the BJP came to power, but Vajpayee, leading a coalition of over 20 parties, completed his tenure of five years - the only non-Congress party prime minister ever to do so.

POET, DIPLOMAT, ORATOR

There are multiple reasons he endeared himself to a vast section of people.

He used his deft diplomacy, poetic way with words and arresting oratorical skills to powerful effect turning adversities into strengths, and setback into success.

He was a great consensus builder. And he was a politician last.

He was willing to give respect and space even to his arch political rivals. The way he fought elections without indulging in personal, below-the-belt-level attacks on his competitors is well known. He proved that politics can also be practised by adhering to certain basic human values. There is no need to make it crass and ugly.

RARE MAGNANIMITY

There are many anecdotes that illustrate the person Vajpayee was:

When India got its first non-Congress government in 1977 (after 30 years of rule by Congress party), Vajpayee was appointed as the foreign minister. When he entered his office, he found that a photo of the first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru (of Congress party) had been removed. Evidently, someone thought that it was only appropriate the photo should be removed as the Congress had lost power. But, Vajpayee got the photo back in place.

Here is another one. India embarked on its historic economic liberalisation during Congress rule in 1991. Economist Manmohan Singh was the finance minister. In a parliament debate, Singh faced harsh criticism of his liberalisation policy from the opposition, especially Vajpayee. Soon after, a hurt Singh went up to Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and submitted his resignation. When Vajpayee got to hear about this, he called Singh; and advised that in politics such debates and criticisms should not be taken personally, and urged him to stay in office.

How many politicians today would have such magnanimity.

TUMULTUOUS PREMIERSHIP

The five years he was the Prime Minister from 1999 to 2004 was momentous. Some of the significant events during those years were:

• The rise of India as an Information Technology super power; 
• The nuclear tests, and how India survived the international sanctions without a scratch
• Strengthening of India's relations with the US and many other countries
• Vajpayee's outreach to Pakistan by extending a hand of friendship even though it was fomenting trouble in Kashmir.
• Kargil war, and Pakistan's defeat
• Hijack of an Indian Airlines plane, planned in and directed from Pakistan
• Overthrow of the civilian government by Pak army
• Pak-sponsored terror attack on India's parliament. 
• Vajpayee's continued efforts at friendship with Pakistan, by agreeing to a summit with Pak President Gen Musharraf, who had engineered the Kargil war.
• A host of development schemes for different sections of the people across the country.

In spite of Vajpayee's popularity and good performance, his party BJP lost the 2004 election to the Congress, and Manmohan Singh became the PM.

In 2005, beset with multiple old-age related ailments, he retired from politics and public life.

Vajpayee was, more than anything, a good human being. He had his fair share of successes and setbacks; but there was never any doubt about the spirit and objectives of his actions. He played straight from his heart. A glorious life, of multiple hues, has come to an end.

Rest in Peace.

REFERENCES AND VIDEO CLIPS

The news in BBC, The New York Times and The Guardian

"Never Thought I Would Be A Politician, Always Wanted To Be A Poet"

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Wasn’t Jealous, Or Insecure, Says Arun Shourie

Vajpayee's Best Speeches & Poetry


Vajpayee's "Here Comes My Resignation, Mr. Speaker" speech in Parliament


Pokhran II- Atal Bihari Vajpayee's major nuclear initiative


Vajpayee's speech in Parliament after Pokaran Test

Karnataka election - a contest that no political party won

(This post has multiple updates at the end, added on May 16, 17, 18, 19)

In any democracy, the most exciting part is the elections, and the announcement of the results.

Virtually the whole of yesterday, I spent tracking – on television and social media – the results of the election to the State Assembly in my State, Karnataka.

Most of the exit polls on the day of polling, on May 12, had predicted a hung Assembly (a House in which no single party gets a majority). And true to that, the election produced no winner yesterday.

The BJP, which was steadily picking up seats at the start of counting, finally stopped its march at 104 (112 is what the winner should get). Its tally however had improved substantially from 40, what it had got in the previous election five years ago.

The Congress, the party of the outgoing government, ended up in the 2nd place, with its tally down from 122 to 78.

The JD(S), a local party, came in third, with its tally down by two: 38 this time, against 40 five years ago.

Instability ahead

Elections around the world throw up such verdicts. And, what follows is usually a period when parties try to strike deals with one another to cobble the required numbers. (Just to cite a recent example, Germany got a government only last month, six months after elections.)

Here in Karnataka, there is a very interesting situation.

In the seats tally, the top spot is for the BJP which doesn't have the majority: they are 8 short. But the No 2 and the No 3 combined (an alliance that was formed by two parties that were opposing each other till yesterday) have a majority.

Why this is controversial

In such situations, it is not very clear in India's Constitution, whether the governor (the head of state) should call the single largest party or the single largest coalition (that too a post-poll alliance in this case) to explore the possibility of forming a government.

If the alliance was a pre-poll one, there would have been no controversy. The alliance would have emerged winner and formed the government.

If one were to look at precedents, there have been cases of both.

Those who are interested can read the following links:

Karnataka election results: For governor, no scripted path, only precedents and conventions (Hindustan Times)

With no clear rules for Governors in hung verdict, BJP & Congress cite precedents that suit them best (The Economic Times)

Karnataka election results: It's now over to governor's 'subjective judgment' (The Times of India)

Anyway, the quick alliance between two parties (the Congress and the JDS) that were till yesterday hurling barbs against each other, generated lots of mirth, with memes and jokes flooding social media platforms.

Who should be invited

Someone has to be invited to form a government. Right now, both the BJP (the winner) and alliance of Congress and JDS (the runners-up) are staking claim to form the government.

Logically looking at it, the mandate evidently was for the BJP. And my personal opinion is that it must be given the first shot at forming a viable government, and given not more than two days to prove their numbers in the Assembly.

If they fail, the let the post-poll coalition can be given the chance, and given not more than two days to prove their strength. This looks the most fair way.

Though the runners-up seem to have the numbers, as they claim, my objection to them being called in first is: one, they didn't contest polls jointly. So, their alliance, in order to claim the mandate, is not fair. Two, going by the sheer number of seats Congress and JDS got, they are way behind the BJP.

Update

2130 hours: Governor invites BJP's Legislative Leader B S Yeddyurappa to form a government; and gives him 15 days to prove majority in the Assembly. Swearing in tomorrow at 9 am.

That is too long a time. If not two days, which I think is ideal, it shouldn't have been more than five or seven days.

2200 hours: The Congress has approached Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Justice Deepak Misra to hold an urgent hearing in the night and cancel tomorrow's swearing-in.

2300 hours: Supreme Court admits Congress and JDS petitions.

May 17

0015 hours: Chief Justice decides that a three-judge bench will hear the petitions at 1.45 am. Only once before the Supreme Court has had such a midnight hearing: on a petition challenging the death sentence to Yakhub Memon.

0200 hours: Supreme Court begins hearing the case.

0400 hours: It's two hours. Arguments still on.

0430 hours: Supreme Court says it is not inclined to stay the swearing in of the new government. But arguments on other aspects raised by the petitions are still on. The court says that its observation is subject to the outcome of the petition. Which means, the swearing-in is only an interim measure.

0900 hours: Yeddyurappa sworn in as chief minister. No ministers. Opposition Congress and JDS are protesting outside the Vidhana Soudha (the central government office complex).

May 18

1130 hours: Supreme Court resumed the hearing, from where it left off in the wee hours of yesterday. It ordered the day-old Chief Minister Yeddyurappa to prove his majority in the Assembly at 4 pm tomorrow.
Now speculation as to how he and his party, which has only 104 lawmakers, will cobble the magic figure of 112.

1600 hours: Now a fresh controversy. The governor, Vajubhai Vala (who is a political appointee of the federal government, which is ruled by the BJP) appointed a lawmaker of BJP, K G Boppaiah as pro tem Speaker. By convention the government recommends the seniormost lawmaker to the governor to be appointed as the pro tem Speaker, who will conduct the initial process of constituting the new Assembly, administering the oath to the new lawmakers etc.
But the controversy is that the the long-standing convention of having the senior-most lawmaker as the pro tem Speaker. Now Congress-JDS is objecting to it, on two counts. One, that Boppaiah was partisan towards BJP once when he was the pro tem Speaker. Two, many senior MLAs were bypassed. They are even planning to move the Supreme Court.

2000 hours: The Supreme Court says that the petition challenging the appointment of Boppaiah as the pro tem speaker will be taken up for hearing tomorrow at 10.30 am.

May 19

1145 hours: The Supreme Court dismissed the Congress-JDS plea against Boppaiah. The court said, one, there have been instances in the past of lawmakers, not the senior-most, being appointed as the pro tem speaker. Two, if the petitioner wants Boppaiah's suitability to be considered then he too will have to be issued notice, and the assembly session and trust vote will have to be postponed, which the court implicitly wasn't in favour of.

1430 hours:  Rumours flying thick and fast that Yeddyurappa is considering resigning after making a speech, since he hasn't been able to cobble up the required number. There was no provision for making a speech in the original agenda. But it looks like that it's been made.

1630 hours: Yeddyurappa makes an emotional speech, saying till his last breath he would fight for the welfare of the people of the state; and that he and his party will come back with big majority next time round. And, he says that he is tending his resignation.
One chapter in the whole saga has now ended.

2000 hours: H D Kumaraswamy invited to form the government. The day of swearing in still not known.

Gadfly CitiHub -- Know your elected representatives and connect with them

This post will be of particular interest to readers in the US and Canada, besides India.

It's about an app called Gadfly CitiHub, which is available on iOS as well as Android, developed by a startup based in Delhi called Wabi Tech.

What you can do with with the app

• When you switch on the app, it automatically detects your location and tells you, who your elected representatives in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of national Parliament), State Assembly and the local city municipal corporation are, along with their details. 
• You can change location manually to find out who the representatives are for other places as well. 
• You can contact them via phone, SMS, email or any other medium they are on.   
• The app gives the social media feed of the elected representatives and also the feed of the news articles in which they figure.

Why this app

• The founder of the company Nikhil Bapna decided to develop this app because he felt in India it is very difficult to not only easily find out who your elected representatives are, but also contact them to convey any information or views regarding governance issues or feedback.
• The app is available in India, the US and Canada. The information regarding elected representatives in the US and Canada are still being updated.

Related links

• I tried out this app and also spoke to Bapna. Read my article here.
• The iOS version of the app.
• The Android version of the app.

Voting is not all in a democracy

People in India will hear a lot about voting in the months to come.

State Assembly election in Karnataka is on May 12. This will be followed by polls to Assemblies in the States of Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, by January next year. And, we will have the grand national election to the Lok Sabha (the Lower House of Parliament), by May next year.

Right to vote irrespective of any discrimination – or universal suffrage – is considered the bedrock of democracy. So much effort is made to encourage people to vote. There is celebration of democracy when there is a huge turnout. Democracy is identified with voting, and nothing else, so much so that the general feeling is that democracy begins and ends with voting.

I think differently.

Whether people vote or not is one thing. It is immaterial how many people finally voted. The ultimate success or failure of democracy has to do more with how an elected government functions (irrespective of how many people voted them to power.)

Voting is just one day's affair. But governance by the party that has been elected to power is a five-year affair. And what matter really is governance not voting.

(This post is a part of the "Blogging from A to Z Challenge April 2018.")

Saurashtra made all the difference for BJP in Gujarat

Post election results in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the BJP, the winner in both the States, has plenty to pause and rethink.

Gujarat was showcased as the battleground for various reasons, and BJP's victory there, ironically, leaves nothing much to cheer about. It aimed 150 seats, and is ending up just close to 100. They have just about 20 MLA more than Congress. While BJP's number in the Assembly has come down, that of the Congress has gone up.

The big loss for them in Saurashtra region of Gujarat. where BJP lost 13 seats and Congress gained 15 seats. In the rest of the State, BJP lost three seats and Congress gained four. This area has high density of farmers (73%) and Patel (55%). The numbers indicate that a good number of that section of society was angry with BJP.

Himachal Pradesh has always alternated between the two parties. So, to that extent, the BJP win was expected. But importantly, their chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal lost.

What next

For BJP, it is not enough that they talk of development and roll out grandiose schemes. There has to be changes for the better on the ground - real development to talk about. No room for complacency.

For Congress, the Gujarat result gives them lot of hope. It also shows that they are a force to reckon with. How that will play out in next year's assembly elections in eight states will depend on how they consolidate their gains and convince the people that Congress is still a party they can rely on.

Rahul Gandhi -- the new Congress president

Source: NDTV

So, the much-expected elevation has happened. A few hours ago, Rahul Gandhi, took over as the president of Indian National Congress.

I don't think anyone even in their wildest dreams thought Congress would have a different person - someone not in the Nehru family - as the president of the party.

There have been many non-Nehru family persons in that position. The most recent one I can remember is Sitaram Kesri, and before him P V Narasimha Rao. They followed Rajiv Gandhi and preceded Sonia Gandhi.

The shadow of Nehru family on the party has been particularly imposing in post-independent India, though there has been lot of discussion and debates on the subject of how the Congress should not be a party controlled overtly and covertly by the Nehru family members. But that simply hasn't happened.

Is there anything wrong in a Nehru family member being the party president?

Theoretically, no. But it's a well-known fact, though not articulated by any Congress worker, that any Nehru family member is the first among the equals. That would have been less objected to, if the person, Rahul now, had a wealth of experience in politics and / or public service. His only qualification is that he is a member of the Nehru family. Shouldn't the Congress president have a more robust resume?

Not many ardent Congress supporters are happy about this development. They all wish that more competent and accomplished persons should be given a chance to helm India's oldest political party. Everyone just accepts what is happening as nothing but a fait accompli.

Why is the Nehru family not taking a back seat?

The only reason I can think of is a deep sense of insecurity. They have been in this comfort zone for far too long, and they can't even vaguely visualize a time when they are just ordinary members in a party they tightly control.

However, the earlier the family realizes that their stranglehold on the party, isn't helping, the better.

Now that Rahul is at the helm, what should be his strategy?

Adding to the problem of the family's overarching hold on the party, is the fact that Rahul doesn't have a good strategy to take on the BJP, and Narendra Modi. He has been basically only criticising Modi; and those criticisms aren't quite convincing either.

Aadhaar and GST, are two major policy decisions over which Modi is being hauled over the coals. But those aren't even BJP's or Modi's ideas. They have been in the works right from the time UPA was in power. Modi just carried it through and implemented. Could Modi have done better. May be, but Congress isn't telling how.

Congress says Modi's administration is only all show and noise, that nothing much has changed, on the ground. But Congress hasn't been able to prove that nothing has changed. So, since politics is all about perception, people are generally happy, that "Modi is doing a lot".

What Rahul could have done, and should do, is showcase his government's achievements in the states where Congress is ruling. Showcasing deeds done, works better than running someone down relentlessly.