Raniganj!

Religious festivals in India always had a special flavour, everyone partaking in all joyous occasions. Durga pujas, Ganesh festivals, Navrathri or Deepavali, the festivals for Hindus, were noteworthy for the minorities too. Reciprocally Id and Christmas were celebrated by Hindus as well. Unity in diversity was evident everywhere, be it in the of slurping vermicelli sweets during the Muslim festivals, laddoos and sandesh during Hindu festivals, or munching cakes during Christmas. Everyone looked forward for these occasions to reaffirm the faith in each other and in their larger commitment of fellowship.

Religious festivals now churn the belly with scare, children advised to keep indoors by apprehensive elders, particularly when a Hindu and a Muslim festival overlap and processions are taken out. Government and administration burn midnight oil to ensure peace. Communities are becoming increasingly insulated and uncaring for others.

More and more gods are invoked and celebrated unlike ever before and each new celebration bestowing a sense of belligerence with their devotees. Suddenly everyone is on the edge, ready to take on at the slightest and often mistaken provocation spread out by malicious and criminal elements. These elements are not the conventional rowdies carrying petrol bombs or pelting stones and missiles. They are suave, white collared criminals, armed with a new weapon, fake news; spreading canards through social networking sites like Facebook, WhatsApp and twitter.

A recent classic example is the fake news that a Jain muni was assaulted by a Muslim youth, which resulted in communal clashes in Bengaluru. The founder of the web portal Postcard News, the author of the fake news has been arrested. Raniganj in West Bengal too has seen severe unrest in the days following Ram Navami and news, including videos allegedly uploaded by a Union minister of state is to have further aggravated the situation, resulting in the death of 6 persons. It’s a shame to add fuel to the fire, rather than helping in containment of any flare up by empowered leaders.

Bengal, with a high population of minorities had never any major problems in its harmonious coexistence between communities. What changed the situation suddenly, that we tend to address ourselves as a Hindu first or a Muslim first rather than an Indian first? For a few, polarisation on religious grounds seems to be an easier route to hold sway over the masses, but the damage that it is causing to the society is being ignored for immediate gains.

Ram was an embodiment of righteousness, who lovingly embraced man and animals alike. Where’s the need to brandish swords, Trishul, spears and maces? The wanton display of an intolerant and aggressive face is just not true Hinduism, nor does it fit the ever-tolerant Bengali ethos.

I wish and pray for the return of the days of mutual religious tolerance that is devoid of hate crimes in the name of gods, castes and communities.

Jai Hind!

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix

Mamata on right tracks!

Close on the heels of her meet with Chandra Sekhara Rao, the CM of Telangana, who paid a visit on her to announce the likelihood of the formation of a Federal Front, Mamata, earlier this week camped at Delhi, meeting leaders of various opposition parties to forge a common path to take on BJP during the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

She met NCP leaders Praful Patel, Sharad Pawar, Sanjay Raut from Shiv Sena, Misa Bharati of the RJD and is on her way soon to Chennai to seek the blessings of Karunanidhi, the nonagenarian leader of DMK. She has already met Kanimozhi of the DMK and is in touch with Stalin. Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, the former CM of UP and Arvind Kejriwal had earlier called on her at Kolkata.

Interestingly the critics of PM Modi from within BJP, Shatrugan Sinha and Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie too called on Mamata in a brazen violation of their rigid party discipline. Mamata met Sonia Gndhi too, who earlier was icy to the former’s earlier attempts to grab the limelight, which could cloud her son Rahul Gandhi’s rise in the national scenario as the undisputed face and voice of the opposition.

For those, who were laughing away at Mamata’s earlier feeble attempts to galvanise support against BJP, now have begun to take notice of her deft manoeuvres and admit her consistent stand against the government led by Modi. No criticisms or reprimands have come from BJP over the actions of their disgruntled leaders, who have voiced support for Mamata ‘to save the nation from an autocratic leadership,’ revealing an uneasiness in the BJP.

The efforts are not without challenges from the other opposition leaders. Chandrababu Naidu, the CM of Andhra Pradesh is likely to visit Delhi and meet the opposition leaders on a similar parallel project. Though Mamata had welcomed TDP’s snapping their ties with the NDA government, no reciprocity has been extended by Naidu on Mamata’s overtures. Merely opposing and attempting to defeat BJP may not bind parties with opposed philosophies like the left and TMC, or the BSP and SP, despite the latter’s public display of bonhomie.

Can Mamata succeed in tying up an alliance between her party, Congress and the CPI(M) in the coming Panchayat elections, as a forerunner to the next parliamentary elections? What could be the seat share like? I am curious as there could be a revolt from any party with a sizeable mandate to yield space and sacrifice seats to other weaker partners. And then there are leaders like Mulaym from SP, Sharad Pawar from NCP, Naidu, who had not hidden their aspirations to become the PM of this country, not to forget Rahul Gandhi, who, a section of Congress is forever trying hard to present as the PM incumbent. Mamata’s ability to build a consensus is a Herculean task, but it could pose a serious challenge to the invincibility of Modi, if she succeeds in her efforts.

Disappointing on many fronts, from lack of employment creation, Demonetisation, confused implementation of GST, bank scams and now paper leaks, the NDA’s credibility is certainly not what it was in 2014, making the efforts of opposition unity an interesting feature in Indian politics.

The bogey of nationalism cannot be a monopoly of BJP and any elected government must rule as per our constitution. Lastly the question is, can she?

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix

Why Mamata as PM?

15 hours ago, I posted on my Facebook wall thus: Quote: “If elections were to be held soon, Mamata Banerjee stands out with best chance to be the next PM.” – Unquote.

Soon there were a barrage of comments and reactions: disbelief, challenges and trolls. I am no member of Trinamul Congress and not even a great admirer of the West Bengal CM. A few were skeptical on her supposed soft pedaling on illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and now Rohingyas and a few others over her ineptitude. Some worried over craftier Sharad Pawar and Mulayam Singh Yadav, who could stab from her back. One or other, even sarcastically suggested controversial names for her future cabinet.

Be that as it may, I was discussing a possibility, should there be a severe backlash over the performance of the NDA government, particularly in failing to create employment, curb scams and book scammers. The result of an overkill of India Shining from NDA’s previous tenure cannot be soon forgotten and can repeat again from disgruntled voters.

A hung parliament with no absolute majority to the ruling party may not be an inconceivable scenario as of now. A coalition of sorts between regional parties, backed by Congress could be a distinct possibility. Who could be the PM face in such a scenario?

a) Chandrababu Naidu, who, until yesterday was with NDA has 15 MPs. YSR Congress has 8 MPs and the clout of its rich leader Jaganmohan Reddy is speedily growing and will try to dethrone Chandrababu Naidu. BJP has now the advantage campaigning on its own and cutting into TDP votes, thus disturbing Naidu’s tally and hopes.

b) AIADMK has 37 of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu, which is likely to go for a churn in the next poll. TN has no PM face in AIADMK or DMK and can be straight ruled out.

c) Navin Patanaik the Odisha CM has 20 of the total 21 LS seats, and is noted for his indecisiveness on national roles. He is not ambitious either. BJP has been growing in the coastal belt and can further reduce his tally and chances.

d) UP is important with 80 seats of which BJP had a massive 71 seats. The present alliance of SP, BSP combine would make the fight fiercer and cannot be the same cake walk for BJP. Mulayam is old and has lost out the battle to his son. A PM’s job is strenuous, though as a former wrestler, he too can claim to give a killer hug to his adversaries, but he may be happy if chosen as the next president rather than the PM.

e) Nitish of Bihar could have been a face, but BJP had earlier won 22 of the 40 LS seats. People in Bihar are angry with Nitish’s reneging his erstwhile partner RJD and chosen the very same party he had opposed tooth and nail during the elections to win. Tejashwi’s clout is growing as is evident from the recent by poll results, which could diminish any chance of Nitish’s ambitions.

f) INC, I guess will continue to play second fiddle to many regional satraps, with their singular objective of removing Modi led BJP. I secretly feel forced naming of Rahul as a PM face will face internal revolt in the party. The spirit of ‘Young Turks’ of the yesteryears are lurking in the mind! To me, Rahul cannot be the PM face!

g) Left in the list is Mamata, the mercurial firebrand leader, who has 34 LS seats. BJP has 2 from Darjeeling and Asansol, and these could be the last ever seats BJP held, which they would lose.CPIM has 2 seats, which too, they will concede to TMC. INC has 4 of which they may retain 2. Of course, these are merely my predictions on the present status. Mamata has emerged as a serious contender to the hot chair by default. The list of national leaders visiting her is increasing every day!

Many would be happy if I am proved wrong, a few if I am right, but that is inconsequential as the post is more an analytical one.

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix

The US Circus!

I was under the impression that a good organization has great leaders and achievers chose and work with a dedicated and a formidable team to achieve targeted goals. A political party is no different and more so if it is the Grand Old Party of the United States of America, the oldest democracy in the world.

The current president Donald Trump has belied the routine and stands out in changing the status quo with his idiosyncrasies, often labelling the democratic party and all his predecessors as incompetent and blaming them for all the present mess, whether North Korea, Iran, or his country’s stance on climate change. His self-certification that he is the greatest president US has ever seen is outright funny and undermines the serenity associated with a world statesman.

White house has become a game of musical chairs with many important officials either quitting or sacked by the POTUS, often ingloriously. The latest on whom the axe had fallen is US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who braved to oppose many brash controversial stands taken by the US President.

It is up to the people and the Congress to elect any person of their choice, but they should realize that US is as much a part of a world order and should not allow U-turn of activities by past presidents and the democrats led government. The reversal of America’s committed stand on Climate change, on H1B visas, flip-flop on the border wall with Mexico, on penal import tariffs of steel and aluminum, on reneging the Iran Nuclear deal, his country’s position with its NATO partners, nuclear disarmament all expose US as an unsteady leader of the world and unworthy friend of allies.

The president of a democracy provides hope, guarantees freedom and motivates other countries in the world. He is the harbinger of peace, settler of disputes and above all should be a person of highest integrity and honour. Is the POTUS really is? Does he not evoke fear and anxiety when he claims he has a bigger switch to the nuclear button?

Trump, an accidental president, needs to introspect. Knowing the American adamancy, will he ever?

S S Kumar
Intrépide voix

Lessons from the by polls!

Chinks are appearing on the invincible wall of the fortress called NDA, which unless checked by the BJP, could grow in the coming months. If the by-poll results are a pointer for things to shape up, the discontent with the NDA alliance partners has begun a few months ago, with Shiv Sena, their erstwhile committed partner and a right-wing Hindutva party moving away from the BJP.

The size of the Lok Sabha win has perhaps blinded BJP, which is accused of being arrogant and treating its alliance partners like dirt. Telugu Desam Party too has embarrassed BJP by accusing the latter of going back on promises made, and has withdrawn its ministers from NDA and has further threatened to withdraw support to the government. Nitish is on edge, ever since the snub from PM Modi, despite his cheeky crossover belying the electorate. He won with the support of RJD, while opposing BJP and is now a constituent of NDA. It’s like a player changing to the opponent’s jersey in the middle of a game!

The By-poll results, despite the landslide win in Tripura, collective win in Nagaland, and manipulative win in Meghalaya cannot eclipse BJP’s travails nor the cudgelling at every by poll, from Ahmed Patel’s victory in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and now Bihar and U.P.

The polls in U.P. stand out significantly, as Gorakhpur has been a seat repeatedly won by Sanghis and the BJP for the last thirty years, which they have lost now.

BJP should start respecting their allies with more respect and in the light of their pre-poll positions. Invoking Hindu gods in elections, or pretending like the only legal heir to Hinduism may not yield many dividends. Protests cannot be treated as anti-national. Opponents to BJP are not agents of countries inimical to the interest of our nation. Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, the birthplace of Ram, is the dream of every Hindu, but the temple cannot be built on a bloody river of hatred and division of our citizens. Ram Mandir plank cannot win elections for BJP forever. Bludgeoning of every feeble dissent through well-oiled troll brigades should be stopped.

I am not comfortable over the abysmally poor non-show in the by-polls by the Congress party, despite its many ministers and functionaries steeped neck-deep into corruption scandals. The alternative is a ‘khichdi,’ comprising of very many parties, which even in the unlikely event of winning, would make governance of this country near impossible. The much-touted corruption-free governance of Modi stands violated with the emerging Mallaya, Nirav Modi and Choksi scams, exposing the irreverence of the poll promises.

BJP must realise that many regional satraps like Mayawati and Lalu have efficiently groomed their rank and file and are a force to reckon with, despite ups and downs in elections. They are long-distance marathon runners, unlike the president of the Congress party. BJP must shun their over-confidence and should not view all regional parties at par with a rudderless Congress.

Wish and pray the business of polarisation for polls end, and India forges ahead!

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix

Statues and more!

it’s statues, statues all the way, shaking them, breaking them and soon thereafter as atonement of the sins, pouring milk and purifying them. A part of India has, for no reason, sunk into a shithole of hatred and violence.

Breaking statues is nothing new in our country as the Moghuls and Muslim invaders vandalized every statue they passed, breaking the noses or cutting of the voluptuous breasts of the statues and idols. From the decapitation of figures during the olden times to breaking down the 1700-year-old Bamiyan Buddha a few years ago, to more recent ruination of Iraqi cultural heritage by ISIS, humanity has tried to erase or rewrite history by attempting to erase any evidence unsuitable to their way of thinking.

Worldwide tens of thousands of statues of Lenin, a symbol of control and oppression, have been destroyed after perestroika. Every ruler and their cadres erect statues of their favourite persons to promote their ideologies. Ambedkar sprang up at every slum and in every Dalit zone and Periyar occupied alongside space in Tamil Nadu. Most of the statues symbolize one or other kind of reform, which a few always opposed if not publicly, secretly, waiting for an opportunity to vandalize them.

It is therefore easy to stir up unrest by breaking statues and in retaliation, the offended persons break up other statues thus unleashing a mindless battle. Installing statues should be licensed and limited to the greats and confined to a few public places only.

I saw a bust of Modi vandalized too, but had confusion on the utter dissimilarity between the PM and his bust. I would have, if I was the sculptor, pulverized my creation before anyone would have ever seen it.

Sad that even small issues magnify into big trouble in our country, as emotional and restive people ready to jump in at the slightest mischief.

There’s a funny side to statue breaking that has emerged. Thousands of Periyar statues could have been declared as bronze statues and charged from public exchequer. Breaking the nose revealed clay under a bronze layers of paint! That’s innovative indeed!

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix

In Pic: PM Modi’s(!) bust in a Shiva temple in Kaushambi District in UP

RIP Old Kenilworth

For nearly forty years, I have had the pleasure of taking my foreign friends to various parts of the country, showing them around the richness of our cultural heritage. Kolkata always occupied a high place, given the fact that there were many buildings, colonial, art-deco etc, which had merged many architectural styles, Greek, Roman, Dutch, Danish, French, Armenian, English et al.

 

The last years of the left front regime saw many old buildings demolished and grotesque concrete monsters emerging, changing the Kolkata’s landscape forever. Apparently, the need for funds forced political parties to tweak the heritage rules to let promoters amok. The trend has only intensified with the present government, the Corporation and Municipalities showing scant respect towards maintaining Heritage structures intact.

 

Heritage structures, often occupied by govt. departments suffer the most, like a minor gang raped. Betel stains on the walls, urinals and wash rooms with obnoxious filth and stench, rickety stairs etc. I saw on the other side of Ganges a beautiful Dutch Heritage mansion converted as the Presidency Commissioner’s Bungalow! The bureaucracy somehow managed to extricate the building from the heritage list.

 

Bengalis are always fiercely passionate, be it about their countless famed freedom-fighters, , literary icons like Rabindra Nath Tagore or religious gurus like Chaitanya, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda or the many Nobel laureates with connection to the state. The community had just too many stalwarts in every field to be proud of, arrogant and possessive about, though the present generation may have drifted a lot and is dismembered from history.

 

Each old building tells a tale, leave a bit of history, to be relished by the future generations and one such old mansion was the Sarkee’s property, owned by Joyce Purdy and later after her demise, by her son David. It was a Regal structure, more like the State Bank of India’s Bungalow on Shakespere Sarani on the far end of the same lane that housed Purdy’s. Formerly called the Kenilworth and to avoid being misunderstood for another hotel in the same name on the other end of the same road, Purdy opted for a prefix ‘old,’ and the other ‘new.’

 

The old Kenilworth building was declared a heritage structure but had to yield to the insatiable hunger of the promoters thereafter, prompting a tweak in their heritage status and ball-hammers pounding the thick walls into rubble for the fear of court stays. I hear that a 35-storied concrete horn will rise on the bloodied heart of Kolkata, the Municipal Corporation making a kill, on and off records in the deal.

 

Save a few posts of lament on the social networks, Kolkatans seem to have forgotten all about this 1792 building and the need to preserve such historical legacies. One even quipped others to stop living in the past, consoling that the new 35 storied too will become a heritage building in the next 200 years!

 

RIP Purdy’s Inn aka Old Kenilworth! Pause dear Kolkatans and voice your dismay at the wanton destruction of history.

 

Sampath Kumar

Intrépide voix

pic courtesy: The Telegraph

Doves Vs Hawks

Tectonic shift is seen in the minds of the minorities, who seem to shun the hardliners like Asaduddin Owaisi the thudering Indian politician and the President of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, who doesn’t waste a chance to take a dig at the BJP and Modi on any issue. The proof was, when Maulana Salman Nadvi from the AIMPLB, who had met Sri Sri Ravishankar, an Indian Guru who has been trying to untangle the vexed Ram temple issue at Ayodhya, notwithstanding the fact that Nadvi’s public statements resulted in his expulsion from the board. The talks are still on and may even result in the long elusive consensus for the temple.

 

Back in West Bengal too Noor-Ur-Rahman Barkati, the Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque had enjoyed the privileges like a minister, his vehicle fitted with a red beacon and siren despite severe restrictions on its use by the Supreme Court. His proximity and clout on CM Mamata Banerjee was well known and he defied all law and logic as a clergy, indulging in politicking and attacking BJP, much to the pleasure of the ruling party.

 

A few months ago, Barkati was summarily removed by his board, which has been now filled with Maulana Mufti Abdush Shakur, a scholar and an apolitical person. He has stated that his role does not include giving political statements, issuing fatwas or formalising divorces and has already made a good beginning.

 

In many places in India, Mosques had altered their prayer timings and Aazan, so as not to clash with the Holi revelry. Churches too are not lagging and are permitting Carnatic and Bharatanatyam performances in South India, Hindu temples too are reciprocating the gestures. Minorities have realised that by exploiting their status and drawing extra pounds of favour from a few state governments, the benefit reaches only their top representatives. To ensure overall growth akin to the mainstream India, they need to walk together reposing trust and gaining it from others.

 

Even if other religions are to be misunderstood, they must be understood first and a quiet change is happening around, which might augur well for the country. It’s a lesson for all political parties, thriving on religious divisions to survive that they should change their strategies too.

 

Sampath Kumar

Intrépide voix

 

 

 

Karthi Chidambaram

Preamble: I must begin by stating that I am not a member of BJP. I also wish to state that political parties are the vehicle to fulfil the aspirations in a democracy and there is no alternative to that. It is also a fact that any and every party has black sheep, who subvert the system to enrich themselves to the detriment of the country. This is often carried out by sons, daughters or close relatives, who gain extra-judicial authority in ‘fixing’ things for a personal gain. Personal secretaries and assistants often act as ‘agents,’ of leaders, capable of providing deliverables out-of-turn and beyond normal speed or channels.

 

The story: Karthi Chidambaram son of former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram was arrested yesterday at Chennai airport as soon he touched down from his London flight. It’s just four days PC was in Kolkata, during a visit to our Chamber spoke on “Speaking Truth to power,” presenting a nonchalant and innocent face. It seems that his son may have did the former minister in, as the latter rushed concerned and cancelling his scheduled speech at Oxford to be present at the Delhi trial court to witness the proceedings.

 

Be that as it may, the murky deals of the son started as the father’s clout grew as a Union home minister and later as the Union Finance Minister. The man standing out exposing the many scams of P. Chidambaram and his son Karthi is S. Gurumurthy, a well-connected Chartered Accountant from Chennai, who is also close to BJP having liaised between Jayalalithaa and the NDA when the relations hit the nadir.

 

His first missile was on the Vasan Eye care in which Gurumurthy claimed that Chidambarams’, made a windfall by the sale of part-paid shares of Rs.30 palmed off for Rs.7500 making a Rs.223 crores profit in benami. The present arrest is over the statement of Indrani Mukherjee admitting payment of bribes on the specific advice of Chidambaram while he was the Finance Minister to companies directly or indirectly having interests to Karthi.

 

Indrani is a convict, who pre-planned a cold-blooded murder of her daughter and is in jail. Her statements may be suspect and even prompted with a view to get a lenient sentence for her crime to help send Karthi to jail and deeply embarrass his father and the Congress party. However, Gurumurthy is not so and has brought out charges much earlier in 2016. Chidambaram strangely has not challenged them, nor has taken Gurumurthy to court on defaming and character assassinating him and his son, which raises eyebrows.

 

Charges against Karthi as a ‘fixer’ during UPA tenure was not unknown. His list of indulgences in scams have been detailed by Gurumurthy and are mind-blogging. PC’s connivance may be to the extent of ignoring his son’s overreach or even further.

 

Congress party should get ready to weed-out corrupt elements at all levels, right from the top, if it must present a viable alternative to BJP and if its members think their party is more important than a few leaders forced to retire to oblivion for a greater cause. The sycophancy will not permit do that, as I surmise.

 

Many Karthis are in every party and should be plucked and thrown out, if the fruits of true democracy is to be tasted.

 

Sampath Kumar

Intrépide voix