I shall not Vote

Lok Sabha elections are round the corner and we are going to have to witness a huge propaganda drive all over again. We all shall be asked to vote. Vote for our future. Vote for our country. Vote for expressing our support the institution of democracy. Vote for the best candidate. We will be told to vote – why (?) because it is our right.

So – will you vote? I can’t say about you. But no Sir – I won’t. I never have and neither will I vote in the foreseeable future.

Have you ever thought about the harm that you do to this country by using your Oh (!) such precious vote? Most of you would have voted in some of the Assembly and Parliament elections. You would have voted for the best of the candidates in the fray. I mean the one who you think would do all the best things in life and would develop your region or area or for that matter your country as a whole – isn’t it? Good. You did your part of the destruction. Allow me to show you how. Allow me – to tell you how you all have allowed systematic decimation of the fabric of this country by using your vote to elect our representatives.

We are asked to vote for one of the several candidates that are in the fray. More often than not (if not in all the cases) we are asked to select the lesser of the evils and vote for him or her. And you dutifully cast our votes in favor of the lesser of the devils. Have you ever thought of how this same smaller elected devil takes your precious vote and makes a mockery of your trust? This is the same small devil that goes up to represent you in the Parliament and then uses his power to do everything that goes against our basic ethos Any scam or scandal, a murder or a loot – you will find that your beloved representative is involved in some or the other way. He is involved in the scams, He is involved in the bribery cases, he is involved in Rapes, in Murders and worst of all – he is involved in looting the money of the same people that perhaps got him or her elected. You chose him and he loots you in turn. Some justice that! Huh.

And no – That is not all – wait till I finish this off.

Look further – You vote a Devil to represent you and that person in turn rules you or rather thrusts his will on you. You elect this sick person to rule you and he ends up making abnormal laws to govern you! A candidate who does not have the basic minimum educational qualification gets to make laws for you and me. That’s some democracy I say! An uneducated person with dubious intention and a criminal background makes laws for you and forces you to follow them too. He who does not know a right from wrong is supposed to debate and tell what is right or wrong for us? I mean have you ever heard of it? Can you justify it? He who does not adhere to any law himself is telling we educated and proportionately more law abiding people what laws we should follow? C’mon is there any sense left in this world?

And hey – he does not stop there – now does he? You have given him powers and he uses it to its optimum capacity. Who cares if he makes wrong use of the powers? He does all that wrong things and then expects you to fall all over him – to praise him and vote for him – again and again. And boy – don’t you stand in long queues to do exactly that! But he is not at fault. Now is he? He is not at fault because you my dear friends have made him feel like a God. And you make him invincible by electing him again. And how? Yep – by using your vote. You all do want this country to fall on its knees. I have no doubt about it. I mean how can you digest that? We see everyday how MPs and MLAs are sold. We see how they take bribes – thanks to Tehelka – we now know the modus operandi. We hear them talk on phone offering money to switch over parties. We see how they are involved in so many scandals. But then we are not bothered since it is all a political game we are told. Huh! And we do believe them. Matters have come to such a state where Corruption does not even raise an eyebrow. A Harshad Mehta becomes a hero. A Charles Shobhraj is looked up in awe. We tell our kids – our younger ones to shun lying and avoid corruption – but we ourselves don’t have the conviction to stand against the corrupt.

Look at the chain of reactions/events that you trigger by casting your precious twin votes. You elect a representative for you in both State Assembly and in the Parliament. And by casting your vote you have:

·   Given the power of representation of your own self and your problems to a man/woman whose integrity is in question.

·   You have given power to the elected representative to make laws and govern you. A person who wastes no opportunity to fall on others feat to get his way out of trouble with utmost indignity. A person who wastes no opportunity to frisk away taxpayers money (Your Money) for his ulterior ends. A person who himself has a dark and shady background makes laws for you. And you expect justice to be done? No wonder you get acts like TADA and POTA to contend with. You are made to believe that it is best for the country. Country? Do they really care about the welfare of the country?

·   You have given this person the rights to elect the constitutional head of the country – The President himself! You expect the best person to become President in such scenarios? You should be thankful that President does not have major play in the politics and the policies designed by these people – or else you would not have seen some brilliant men getting elected. Still, the election of President as you must be aware is not on merits but on whether he is a troublemaker or not. Everybody knows why people like T.N.Seshan can never become the President of the country – because he will not take the games of our elected Representative lying down. He will react. And as you must be aware a President in our constitutional system has immense individual powers. So your elected representatives would rather have a puppet than a man who has his conscience in place. To the credit of some past Presidents though they have proved to be any thing but Puppets – at least in some instances.

·   You have given the person the right to elect the Head of our Parliamentary Democracy – The Prime Minister! You expect a noble and an honest guy to become a Prime Minister? Hmmm… your expectations are pretty high.

·   You have given him the power to decide who will be our representative in the Upper House i.e. Rajya Sabha. He uses his right to vote in the parliament to elect the Rajya Sabha members. So what? Well – here’s what you have done. By electing a corrupt man or a woman you have ensured that another corrupt person (in all likelihood a corrupt man will not chose an honest person – it would defy logic) sits in the Rajya Sabha too. Which again means that these people in Lok Sabha pass a Bill or a constitution amendment to suit their own interests and the same corrupt Rajya Sabha members pass it to the President for signature! Nothing wrong – except that the Bill actually affects you and me as the normal law abiding citizens.

·   You have given him powers through your vote to disburse the funds, provided by the Government of India, for welfare and development of the country. You expect them to disburse the money in a just manner? They are the lesser of the Evils – remember? Now c’mon – you only elected him. You expect him to be at the height of his honesty and use the fund to raise the standards of living of the public? Has anybody ever done it? Even Rajiv Gandhi had to comment that out of every Rupee that is given for development to your elected representative – only 15 paise reaches the actual beneficiary. Welfare? Huh.

·   You have voted a person because he/she may be representing a particular political party. But does he/she honor that commitment or trust shown by you. It takes but a moment for him/her to switch their loyalty to the opposing party and that too by accepting huge bribes. Remember the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MPs accepting money and voting to save the Government of the day? Surprisingly no one talked about whether giving or taking money was wrong in that case. What everybody especially the politicians talked about were whether the money was given inside or outside the Parliament! And since it was given inside the Parliament – the act could not be punished as MPs have immunity for an act inside the Parliament! These people are still your representatives in the Parliament/ State Assemblies. And how? Oh! You elected them dear readers – remember?

·   You by casting your vote to this person again and again have given him/her such powers that he/she becomes difficult to dislodge. The Raja Bhaiyyas, The Jayalalithas, The Shahabuddins, The Laloos, and so many more are but a few examples of the same. They come to your home initially to ask for vote. Later they kick you to the polling stations to make you vote. And you poor powerless citizens of the country feel entirely helpless. And who gives them so much of power? You using your… remember?

·   You have given them powers to control the executive administrators. You cry and shout foul when you see an honest Director of General or a Collector being removed or transferred. But did you expect any thing else? Did you expect the criminal – the devil you have elected to keep an honest Administrator in his/her region? You must be dreaming I say.

·   You give this person power and immunity from every act of corruption that he/she indulges in. No wonder it is not The Bangaru Laxmans or The Jaya Jaitleys who are behind the bars or in the court. It is the Tehelka news portal employees and the owners who are harassed and brought to court, It is not The Fernandes of the political group who are out of power for Coffin Scam – it is some Army Personnel who have had to face the Court Martial. And similarly it is not the Kuntes, The Naidus who are removed from the respective political parties for the Telgi Stamp paper scam. It is Mumbai Police Commissioner who is behind bars. Why? Because he could not fight and election and become your leader. It is not The Judeos, The Jogis who are being prosecuted for accepting unlawful money. It is the people who planned and gave them the money. It is not the Jayalalithas and Mayawatis or the Thakreys who are behind bars for corruption or incitement of communal passion. How can they be arrested? They have YOU and your lifetime vote with them. Can anybody touch them? C’mon they can’t be brought to book? Isn’t it? Boy – you all do need some doze of rightful thinking.

You don’t need to be brilliant to understand how you have been systematically destroying the country. The corrupt have become so powerful that you are not able to dislodge them now. And who has made them into such powerful power brokers? It is you and only you. You have given them reason to believe that politics is not only for scoundrels but a safe heaven for Criminals too.

Strange are your ways. You - who consider yourself to be fair and efficient, actually elect these people to create such havoc. Times are such that if someone comes up to you and says that he/she is an honest person – you give him/her your most crooked wry and a sly smile and end up doubting his/her own judgment. Honest? Huh. It has become a rarity today to find an honest man. In the chain of corrupt system, if you are being honest – you can be sure of being thrown out. That’s how the system works these days and that is because of your adamant nature of voting the lesser of the evils to power. Remember  -Corruption does not start at the bottom. It is one of the rare things that grows at the top and then spills down to the lower echelons.

Wake up friends – because there isn’t much left. Don’t wait for something dramatic to happen – because it won’t happen on its own. You have helped in creating this damage. Only you can bring it in order by taking stern corrective action. You have voted too many times now. It’s enough. Stop it. You have no right to give this country a corrupt administrator just because someone asks you to vote. You have no right to handover a corrupt system to the next generation to come. You have no right to preach honesty and support the corrupt. And hey – You have no business to stand silently in a corner and vote and allow these buggers to loot and destroy my country.

We have to uproot this bane of society from its root. The only way of destroying it is to cut the tree from the top itself. You can nurture the root and get a fresh tree later. It is the only way you can rectify your follies. Democracy may not be the best form of governance – but in the situation you don’t have anything better. So stand up and be counted. Corruption has become multi hydra and we need to come together to fight it.

I ask you – Not to vote. Ask your Parents, Your Sisters, Your Brothers, Cousins, Friends, colleagues and who ever you can talk to – not to vote. Let us bring the voting percentage down by as much as possible. Let us make every one of the representatives realize that the majority of the eligible voters have not elected them. Let us make the Election Commission think on the reasons of low voter turnout. Let us create an atmosphere for a debate on the same in all the TV channels, in newspapers and any electronic or print media. If we can achieve a lower voting percentage in elections to the tune of 10-15 percent – you think it will go unnoticed? It will create uproar. Our Fourth Estate is very agile and they shout about every other thing. They cannot possibly stay quite on this. Can they? Let us force the Parliamentarians, the lawmakers to think on the ways to bring the people back to the polling booth to vote. Let them make laws for the minimum qualification required for a candidate to file his or her papers to start with. Let them make rules on the minimum percentage required for a candidate to be declared victorious. Let us force them to make laws for themselves for a change. Let us not make it easier for them to live peacefully while we suffer. Let us make them earn their seat in the esteemed and august house of Parliament and Assembly. Let us make them earn the victory with their deeds and behavior – the way we earn our respect and life. Make them earn the right to take oath on our behalf in the Parliament. Let us make them realize the truth – and the truth is – if not for us they would not be sitting in the Parliament. The truth is that they have to work for the constituency they represent. The truth is that we have given them a responsibility and they will have to deliver the goods if they wish to get re-elected. The truth is that we elect them to serve us and not to rule us. The days of being ruled are gone. Sadly we – the citizens of this country – have still not realized that. Remember if you are ready to be ruled – well – rulers will find you and crush you. Democracy makes the Common Man the Ruler and all the elected representatives of the country as servants. Till we get this equation right – we won’t benefit from this institution everyone calls as DEMOCRACY.

Let us bring a revolution – A revolution of its own kind. Together we can achieve it. I won’t rest till I achieve it.

And till I achieve it – I will not Vote.

Its Montoo..

The Nines Theory

Number ‘9’ is a mystical number. It is a Magical, Universal, Complete, and Sacred number. Number ‘9’ is seen as the number of completeness. It marks the end of the human gestation period and the end of a series of numbers (1-10), as well as a complete circle (360 degrees = 3 + 6 + 0 = 9). It is also believed that ‘9’ is the Universal Number, present within every other number. Number ‘9’ rules all life & electrical energy. Add 9 to any other number & 9 will be absorbed. Multiply 9 by any number and it can’t be destroyed. Add it to its own multiple & it always comes back. In Numerology it stands for complete cycle of growth. It is THE most important number in the chronological order of number system - I mean the single digit numbers from 0-9.

Hoof! That is too much of theory. Well you ain’t heard even half of them! There are many more magical and mystical reasoning to number ‘9’. I am not here to lecture you with all of these, which many of you would know in some or the other form anyways. I am here to share with you a realization that has hit me recently and hit me hard. And it also concerns this number – yes – our very own – number ‘9’.

Before I get into the specifics and concept of what I have found, let me share the abstract of the theory that drives this concept.

Carefully observe – since your birth – every ninth year (9^th, 18^th, 27^th, 36^th and so on) of your life would have been significant years. These years would have had profound effect on you – Incidents or events that would have defined your personality, your thought process, your career and things of that kind. Good or bad – these years would have been path-defining year for you.

Allow me to demonstrate this with the history of our country since independence. I am sure you will appreciate this theory before you reach the end of this article

India was born when the whole world “Slept”. As Jawaharlal Nehru said on that fateful night of 14^th August 1947 – and I quote – “At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom”. Yes, a new India was born at that stroke of that midnight. Our dream had taken the shape of reality. And this nation has never been the same since!

I wish to prove my point with the example of the history of India from the year of her Inception (i.e. 1947). I will highlight only the most significant incidents of every ninth year of our Independent history. I won’t go into too much of detail lest we lose focus of the scope of this article.

Year 1947: We got Independence and symbolically at-least we were born. So we will take this year as the start of our Great history to prove my point.

Year 1956: First significant event of this year was the declaration of Naga resistance/ Movement by the feared Naga Militants. We are still struggling to bring peace in that region of the state of Nagaland. Second significant event of this year was the much-hyped visit of the Chinese Chairman of Communist Party and Premier, Zhou Enlai to India. The message that he brought was of peace and friendship. India was truly foxed by his visit. Now, China had always had aggressive intents in those times and the Indo-China border was anything but peaceful. It is widely believed that we went easy on the borders against China after the Premier’s visit and lost the war that ensued, much sooner than we should have. That is the only war we have lost since. It was a master political move by Zhou Enlai though and his visit of 1956 is thus considered as one of the major events of Indian history.

Year 1965: Pakistan attacked India. We fought back ferociously and won the war. This is the first victory of Indian Armed Forces in any direct war. And since it was against Pakistan – it was all the more sweeter and memorable.

Year 1974: First significant event of this year was India’s first successful test of nuclear bomb in Pokharan. More formally dubbed the "Peaceful Nuclear Explosive" or PNE, but commonly called “Smiling Buddha”, this test made India a major player in the world affairs. We were only the sixth nation in the world to have successfully developed and tested a nuclear bomb. The Second most significant decision taken in this year was the proclamation of a National “Emergency” for the first time in our democratic history. Most of the members of our ruling elite today, were put behind bars during that phase. That was the first and fortunately the last time an Emergency was proclaimed in India. Though it was a disaster for Congress (I) – it nevertheless is an important event in our independent political history.

Year 1983: First significant achievement of this year was the victory of Indian cricket team in “Prudential World Cup”. An unsuspecting team from India, popularly known as “Kapil’s Devils” now, won the world championship of cricket! We had never before, and have never since, got this honor in cricket arena. The popularity of this game rose to such heights that today cricket is considered to be THE only religion that binds India! And that speaks volumes about that achievement. The second most significant event was the imposition of President’s rule in the state of Punjab (to curb the secessionist movement spreading rapidly in the state). Article 356 of the constitution (Imposition of President’s Rule) was used for the first time against any state in India. Since then, many state governments have been dismissed using Article 356. The imposition of the State of Emergency in Punjab worsened the situation in the state. This eventually led to “Operation Blue Star” (planned by the political elite and executed by the Indian Army in the famous Golden Temple of Amritsar). And it would not be wrong to say that the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, had to eventually pay with her life for the unfortunate act.

Year 1992: Babri Masjid was demolished in this historic year. Well – The lesser said the better on this shameful event. We are a declared secular state and a permanent damage has been made to the secular fabric of this country due to this one incident. The people of this nation we all love have never been the same since. The country is yet to see the end of this demoralizing saga. Only time will tell how this incident is judged by the future generation.

Year 2001: A thunderous earthquake hit Bhuj (Gujarat) in this fateful year. Bhuj was the epicenter of the biggest earthquake India has ever witnessed in its own land. It killed more than 100,000 people - and I am only talking of official figures here.
Year 2010: Hmmm…we will see. Now - Won’t we?

Isn’t it amazing?

Critics of this logic may say that sometimes we are so intent on seeing things that we
see them even when they are not there. They may argue that all these are huge coincidences. Well – yes – that may also be true. But here the facts are there for us to see and fathom. And remember, a “Coincident” event, occurring more than once, simply cannot be a coincidence. Period. It has to have a theory or a law governing it and this theory can be defined.

I call this my “Nines Theory”. And I say:

An Object undergoes huge changes in its property on every consecutive Ninth year of its inception.

Well…I would have been able to define my theory in more powerful words, if only I had the Einsteins and the Darwins as my advisors or assistants. Since they are no more with us – this possibility is unfortunately ruled out. You all will have to live with my way of defining the “Nines” Theory! The events (as mentioned in the above example of Indian Independent History) do prove that “Nines” theory is more than what I have put in words here. It is hugely significant and worth taking note of.

As I like saying my dear friends – “The evidence as we see is – Overwhelming!”

Any Questions?

Mantosh Singh..

23^rd Nov 2003’

Is it possible?

So the Lok Sabha elections are going to happen next year. I guess it is time for some analysis to be done on what could be the strategy, adopted by the party in power, to save their seats. All the parties would already have started the process of deriving the strategies. As we all know, BJP is at the helm of affairs with the conglomerate of 16 other parties. It is perhaps the only party with the toughest task. The question that they would be asking themselves is – Should they go alone in the elections or with all their NDA partners? All parties would like to win maximum number of seats and grab power. But for BJP it is a matter of existence. And whether we like it or not BJP will do everything possible in their powers to ensure that they remain firmly seated to their positions in the government. Well – that holds true for all the parties trying to get majority in elections. As you will observe – I said – BJP will do everything possible. And their lies the catch!

Looking at the present situation it hardly seems that BJP will regain the number of seats that they presently have in the parliament. That the BJP is fed up with its coalition partners is a known fact. BJP is one party that never believed in compromises. But because the common minimum agenda of the NDA their hands are tied. In elections, getting a simple majority in the current political scenario is near to impossible for any single party, especially with so many regional parties also in the fray. For BJP it is becoming difficult by the day.

So what can they do to at least try to get that majority?

Before we get into the specifics I believe it is important to keep certain facts in mind.  Starting with the disadvantages for BJP – as it is in power for last six years:

Ø      It is the party in power – so the famous “incumbency factor” will play its part.

Ø      They have not had any major successes in any of the Assembly elections in last 3-4 years – except Gujarat. In fact they have had reverses in most of the Assembly elections held till date. That will play its part. Though it should be stressed here that the results of coming Assembly elections in 6-7 states will play a crucial part in deciding the look of the next Parliament elections.

Ø      Next, They have had too many scams and scandals in this term to answer for.

Ø      Irritatingly, the coalition partners are in too fragile a condition to fight alongside BJP

Ø      One of the most important factors that spoils the party is perhaps the loss of support in their own backyard – the northern belt of the country. States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan have all ceased to be the sole domain of BJP – which they were once. These are the places from where they used to get maximum seats till the last elections.

Ø      And last and perhaps THE biggest headache for them is – Atal Bihari Vajpayee has declared time and again that he will not fight next elections.

Again, before we go ahead – Here is an interesting step-by-step analysis of the rise and rise of BJP to its current state.

BJP as a party came into being in 1980 with initial members coming from the broken Janata Party and all die hard members of Bhartiya Jan Sangh. This party fought its first Parliamentary elections in 1984 and I will start from there:

Ø      1984: They opened their account! BJP won two seats in these elections.

Ø      1989: It went from 2 seats to 89 seats in 1989. A phenomenal jump I must say. This was achieved because of the huge wave of Hindutva and the nascent Ayodhya movement. They extended support to the Janata Dal party to form the new government. The only promise they wanted from the new PM – V. P. Singh – was that his government would not become a hindrance in BJP’s Ram Mandir movement in Ayodhya. This promise was too dangerous and was bound to be broken. Well finally it did break when L.K. Advani was arrested in Bihar (by the then Janata Dal Chief Minister – Lallo Prasad Yadav) during his now infamous Rath Yatra in 1990. All hell broke loose. BJP withdrew support from the Government and the government fell. Though Mandal Issue was also one of the reasons for the fall. Lot of human life was lost in the aftermath of L.K. Advani’s arrest across the country, especially in northern belt during this period. This led to the mid term poll in 1991.

Ø      1991: At this height of the Ram Mandir movement BJP increased its strength to 119 seats. As expected – 2/3^rd of the seats came from the state of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Just for the record, Congress lost all its seats from Delhi. Such was the impact of the movement. In this mood of success – BJP I think made the biggest mistake they could have made. They helped in bringing the Babri Masjid down. Some call it the blackest day in the history of this country. How will the history judge them for this? Well time will tell. Having said that, BJP did gain one thing out of this incident: They were termed as a party, which delivers on its promise. A party with a difference! They had promised to demolish the Masjid and make a Ram Temple in its place. They almost did it – against all odds.

Ø      1996: BJP went into this election with huge confidence. The confidence showed in the results. They got 161 seats in this 13^th Lok Sahba election. Only Nazis in Germany had been able to get such amount of power in short span. Hitler’s Nazi party got 107 Seats in the Reichstag in 1930 and finally after 2-3 elections between 1930 and 1934 garnered 444 seats! It is also a fact that once they got the majority vote they never allowed another elections to be held – Till finally in 1948 when West Germany voted again in an election! Coming back to the present era, BJP with 161 seats did form the government with the help of like-minded parties. This experiment ironically lasted for just 13 days. (Interestingly even Nazis also supported the Socialist Party of Germany in 1930 from outside and finally ended up getting majority of seats in Reichstag by 1934!). BJP knew right from start that they wouldn’t be able to survive for long without a clear-cut majority in parliament. They also realized that mid-term polls would have to be held soon. To make matters worse they did not have any issue to fight an election incase a mid term poll was called for! They had already lost their biggest rider – the Ayodhya issue. In this moment of despair they coined a new phrase – a new mantra – National Pride! They very smartly linked National pride to testing of Nuclear Weapons. They then secretly made all the preparations for the nuclear tests to happen in 1996. Before they could do it – well – the government fell. A mid term poll was called for within a year.

Ø      1998: The mantra of National Pride with the usual Kashmir, Pakistan, Nuclear Weapons was the main topic of discussion for BJP. And behold – suddenly Hindutva was not one of their main poll planks! It was a remarkable change for BJP. Anyways, the result showed that BJP without the Hindutva issue does not have much appeal. They ended up getting only 179 seats. This was an increase of less than 20 seats from the last elections. Not impressive one would say. In all this, they did get a new status though. They were the second largest party in the Lok Sabha – just behind Congress. BJP put forth their stake to form the government in N-Delhi. A coalition that we now know by the famous name – NDA – was formed! The bargain was made. Each party would get a share in the cabinet depending on the number of seats they held in Lok Sabha. The result? For the first time in the history of Lok Sabha we had a mammoth Cabinet of around 50-55 Ministers!! Gone are the days when you would get a cabinet birth on your skills and experience. Now you get a cabinet birth on the number of seats that you control in the parliament! Some logic that! Anyways, BJP did not waste any time this time around. On May 11^th and 13^th they arranged for the Nuclear Weapons to be tested in Pokharan. Budha did smile after a gap of almost 20 years! World was seemingly shocked. A series of economic sanctions followed. BJP was unfazed though. Unfazed – till the thunder struck. This time the thunder was a beauty! Our own J. Jayalalitha delivered the head-blow and withdrew support from the government. The country was forced into another Midterm Poll. The fourth in that decade. BJP was running helter and scare looking for some issue to gather sympathy and support of the people. What followed was exactly what the doctor ordered and they did what most Nationalist party do – they went on a war. Remember the Kargil War? Remember also that the war was declared only after our JJ withdrew support and elections were supposed to be called for? Coincidence? My foot. Read Nazis History to understand what I am saying. Hitler was in the same position when he became the Chancellor. He had to win the elections of 1933/34. The biggest threat to Nazis was from Communists. Hitler with the help of his Minister for Interior Mr. Goering – burnt the Reichstag and blamed Communists for it. He arrested and killed almost all the communist leaders. Took charge of the polity and eventually declared election. That was the last election in Germany before WW-II. Ok – coming back to our own country. The war ended on an honorable note for India. And within 2 months of this war – elections were held. Just for the records – the militants and Pakistan’s Army occupied Kargil since August 1998. Shouldn’t we be curious as to why did our government sit on the intelligence report for almost 8-10 months? Huh! Anyways, Who cares to know that now?

Ø      1999: Riding high on the victory in Kargil war – BJP won 182 seats in this election. A rise of just 3 seats from the last time! Can you believe that? A party, which got us our land, back from enemy? Which got us an honorable victory in war? How can this be possible? Well – now you know why that war was necessary. Imagine the fate of this party if the war had not happened. We must give credit to BJP where it is due – it does know how to read the pulse of the public. If not for this war they would not only have lost the elections – there was a big danger of them being wiped out! BJP’s pride was dented. They got saved by their skin this time. They knew they have to survive the full tenure of the new term in the government to recoup and recharge. They needed some new issues, some new drama. For all this – they needed time. They had to wait. And wait – they did.

They have been able to survive the heat for almost 5 years now. Must say here that it did not seem possible at the outset that they would be able to survive this long. To their credit they have been able to do it by bribing the Members of Parliament with Cabinet Seats. Come to think of it – P.V. Narsimha Rao was called a cheat when he bribed 5 Members of Parliament in 1994 to save his government. Today it has become a norm to buy the same kind of support by offering Cabinet seats! Isn’t it ironical? Poor Narasimha Rao – he is still defending himself in the court of law for the act! And here we have a government in which coalition partners threaten to withdraw support if their party men are not given a particular ministry! What a shame.

Anyways, lets us move ahead. Having taken you through the exhaustive history of BJP’s rise to power. It is time we dwelled over how could BJP win the next elections? What can it do to win a simple majority in parliament? They have failed with all the issues like Hindutva, National Pride, Kashmir, Pakistan, and A tag of a Party with a difference etc. What else can they do now?

We all also know that:

Ø      BJP will at no cost leave the power. And when I say at no cost – well it means that – in those many words. They will go to any lengths to stay in power.

Ø      BJP has got fed up with the bindings of coalition partners and would like to get enough seats to make government on their own or with parties like Shiv Sena, which is predominantly pro-Hindu. 

Ø      Atal Bihari Vajpayee will not contest elections and hence will not be the Prime Ministerial candidate. L.K. Advani is not acceptable to anyone other than a handful of the people in BJP (as the PM). And if coalition politics is to be continued then BJP has to have someone like Vajpayee – which they themselves know they don’t have. The irony of BJP is that there is no other successor, other than L.K. Advani. And since he is unacceptable to majority – they have to take drastic measures to achieve absolute majority in the next elections and make him the PM. They won’t then, have to depend on any third party to decide who will be the PM.

I have my own thoughts on what could the BJP do to win. Allow me to share those with you today.

I see four scenarios that will get BJP the desired victory in the Parliamentary elections. These four scenarios will make them not only the single largest party in the parliament – they may even get absolute majority on their own. In all the cases we have to remember that BJP’s policy will be Pakistan Centric – because they know that other than cricket it is only Pakistan that gets the attention of the our countrymen and sentiments run high on both of the above! The thoughts that I am sharing with you here may be too offensive, odious, detestable and repulsive. But then future turn of events in this country will prove me either wrong or right.

So what are the options open for BJP to ensure victory? Let us see.

Option #1: Atal Bihari Vajpayee is assassinated.

Reasons: The option sounds unbelievable. Atrocious. But if you know the game of politics then you learn to understand that nothing is impossible here. If Vajpayee has to go for the over all cause of the party and nation – well – he must go. Period. Assassination is not unusual in Indian Politics. To substantiate my point let me take you through the history of Indian Politics for a moment. Mahatma Gandhi – the ideological head of Congress party, was killed in 1949. In 1966 the then PM of India Lal Bahadur Shastri died in Tashkent after signing the Tashkent agreement with Pakistan’s President Ayub Khan. His death is still shrouded in mystery and there is a very strong case of him being poisoned in his hotel room. Then in 1984 Indira Gandhi was killed at her own residence. Then again in 1991 Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. These are glaring examples of how nothing is impossible in India. And here I have only taken the cases that have occurred in Independent India. The picture looks more gruesome if you look at the last 700 years of our history. Moreover, look at the advantages of Vajpayee’s assassination. The BJP has everything to gain. Vajpayee has already said that he has grown too old for such high voltage responsibility and hence would not like to continue beyond this term. What is the use of Vajpayee if BJP loses the elections? BJP does not need an elderly statesman sitting on the sidelines with BJP in opposition. They would rather have a martyr in their ranks. And moreover even if he decides to fight the next elections – does anyone believe here that they will be able to get majority in the next Parliament? No Sir – not by any stretch of imagination. They have fought three elections with him at the helm of the party affairs – but the magic number of simple majority in Parliament has always been elusive.

Indicators to the plan: We may find a lot of praise going Vajapyee’s way from February 2004 onwards. Intention would be to portray him as a hero. A Messiah.

Plan: Get him assassinated around May/ June of 2004. Get your Spin Doctors to work overnight. Create a rumor that terrorists on instruction of Pakistanis killed our beloved PM. Judge the pulse of the public. If the feeling of revenge is at its peak and if it can be converted into votes then keep beating the drum till elections. Create hysteria all across. Move the Army on the border and put them on high alert. Keep feeling the pulse – if that targeted figure of victory still seems impossible – then attack Pakistan. Fight for a few months and eventually after all the destruction – get an honorable truce. Declare elections immediately. Keep beating the drums of how our country fights for its honor. How we will not leave anyone who has corroborated in assassination of our PM. Victory in elections will be for the taking. And here, I am talking of absolute majority in Parliament.

Possibility of Victory in elections incase of Option #1: 100%

Option #2: President Abdul Kalam Azad is assassinated

Reason: Let us assume for a moment that assassinating a much-loved PM is considered to be too big for the planners. Who then can be used as the golden goat for achieving the larger goal? It has to be someone who is much admired and respected and is held in high esteem by the public. Well? Enter APJ Kalam – Our “People’s President” Abdul Kalam. Why he – you may ask? Let us look at some of the reasons. BJP has already played its card by getting a Muslim elected as the President of the country (So no one can say that they are against the minorities). That was, without doubt, a masterstroke by them. So if something was to happen to this lovable President – imagine the public’s reaction. It will be attack on our nation’s well-established secular fabric. It will be very clear that someone does not want communal harmony to last in this country. And who else other than Pakistan, which would want that? APJ is a likeable person. We would not tolerate his assassination even if he were not our President. He has contributed a lot for upholding the high standards of our scientific temper. His killing cannot be taken lightly.

Indicators to the Plan: APJ will suddenly be more visible. That means, media will be allowed to accompany him to all the places he visits and also ensuring that full coverage is given to news related to him and his achievements in prime time news programs. APJ will become more lovable and adorable. The trick is to raise him to such levels as only great men can reach.

Plan: Assassinate APJ when he is meeting some of the kids in some function somewhere in or around April/ May 2004. The nation will be in obvious shock. Play the whole sequence on media time and again. Get the public’s anger to reach its maximum and then attack Pakistan without a second thought. Continue it to the pre- defined limit and withdraw. Demonstrate that India will not take things lying down if Pakistan or terrorists sponsored by Pakistan will try to play around with the secularism in this country. Keep talking about how BJP believes in secular values and equal rights to all citizens belonging to any religion. Declare elections in mourning and play the revenge card. Hindus will vote for BJP since BJP would have demonstrated that trait of Hindus that we all take pride in – generosity. Muslims will for the first time vote overwhelmingly in favor of BJP for the obvious reasons. And if that happens BJP will win maximum seats that it contests on.

Possibility of Victory in elections incase of Option #2: 90%

Option #3: Some of our Cricketers are killed in Pakistan during their official tour

Reason: Now this is a wild scenario but not impossible. Indian Cricket team’s tour to Pakistan is long due and pending. The tour has not happened due to political reasons. The government has put on hold all the sporting relations with Pakistan. Cricket is a passion in both the countries. It has a potential to be manipulated by the political masters. It is also a known fact that the cricketers in this country are more loved than any politician worth his salt. Imagine if something were to happen to any of the major players in this team while in Pakistan? There are two risks though in execution of this plan. One, the plan will be very difficult to hide because it will involve quite a number of people to set the ball rolling. Second, it has to be executed in some other country. Still I have included this option because of two reasons. Even though the security around the visiting cricket team is always high – we know that a bomb did explode in the premises of the hotel in Pakistan, where New Zealand cricket team was staying. This happened in 2001 tour of New Zealand to Pakistan. The security in Pakistan was at its peak in that period because of the Afghanistan’s war. The point to be noted here is that what happened to New Zealand team can happen to Indian Team too. Secondly, our intelligence wing, the Research And Development Wing – known popularly as RAW is a strong element in Pakistan. The Pakistanis fear them. If anybody here thinks that ISI is more powerful in India than RAW in Pakistan - well I say, look again. It is a known fact that we have more people operating for RAW in Pakistan than ISI has in India. We do manage and execute coercive operations in Pakistan too. And if the government so desires – it can get things arranged for this operation also. Though this will be more risky since it will be hard to hide it from the public for long. But it’s a chance never the less. Considering that it is planned well to the minutest detail – it is not impossible to cause harm to our cricketers in Pakistan.

Indicators to the Plan: The government will give clearance to the Cricket Tour of Indian team to Pakistan. Hype will be created w.r.t. the security aspects of our players on the tour.

Plan: The government can allow the team to travel around February/March of 2004 for a two-month full tour. The trip will draw a lot of attention. The sentiments are bound to run high. The whole nation will be watching every match with lot of interest. That’s it. Arrange for a bomb blast in the hotel where Indians will be staying. Create the shock. The nation will dumb with shock. Take advantage. Cancel the tour and call the remaining team back. Move the troops to borders and attack Pakistan. Gain some sort of victory and make a truce. BJP can then shout from all nook and corner as to how they saved the country and brought them the honor of revenge. Declare elections. BJP can then ask votes in the name of the Honor of the Country. People will definitely vote in huge numbers and even the staunchest opponent of BJP will vote for them. If the plan is executed properly this plan will be a sure short way of ensuring victory in elections – And remember that is more important than some cricketers life.

Possibility of Victory in elections incase of Option #3: 100%

Option #4: Sonia Gandhi is killed

Reasons: Considering that the planners may get cold feet on both of the above since the persons mentioned above are very powerful and possibly have the highest category of security. To eliminate them will involve high risks. There is one more likely target. Though low on count but of a high potential never the less. Yes. Sonia Gandhi.  She is currently the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and also Head of the Congress party. There are quite a few advantages if she is assassinated. To start with – the BJP can claim that it was an act of terrorism and is inclined to spread communal tension in the country – because she is a Christian! They can then blame and attack Pakistan and get all the credit for the revenge. As usual the evergreen Pakistan Drum, which is ready to be beaten anytime, can be used here too! There is one more inherent advantage. Once she is gone – there will be no one in the Gandhi family to take over the reins of Congress party and that will be to the advantage of BJP! Will be a masterstroke if you ask me.

Indicators to the Plan: There will be a lot of leakages into the press and media about how BJP respects and has considered the views of Sonia Gandhi in some critical/crucial matters. Sonia will be praised for the struggle she has had to undergo to keep an old party alive. Praise will be showered on her organizational skills. Finally she may get facilitated with the Parliamentarian of the Year award or some other prestigious award. In short – everything would be done to increase her stature in the eyes of the public.

Plan:  Assassinate Sonia Gandhi around April of 2004. The sympathy will definitely be with Sonia and Congress. BJP can mourn the death of great leader like Sonia and promise revenge for the terrorist attack. Bring Pakistan’s name in the whole thing. Beat the drums of revenge and attack Pakistan without blinking! Stop the war after all the killings and all the destructions. Go back to public with a victorious smile and tell them that BJP’s Government has taken revenge for the assassination of one of Mother India’s most loved Daughter-in-Law! Public will forget that this is the same party who was calling Sonia an Italian till very recently! Declare elections and talk only about honor. Praise Sonia as much as possible. I am sure they will eat into the traditional votes of Congress itself. This plan does not have much potential compared to others – but if used in a planned way – it can fetch rich dividends for BJP. And as I said – Congress Party will disintegrate without a Gandhi clan to lead them!

Possibility of Victory in elections incase of Option #4: 70%

Remember that Public’s sentiments are of paramount importance in any election. This sentiment has to be played with and eventually be tilted towards the intended direction. That is the key. All parties do it. Some do it in the parameters of undefined ethical political rules. Some do it without caring a damn about anything. Well – BJP does fall in the second category.

Even otherwise - look at the times when they have had major gains in the elections – first during 1991, next during 1996 elections and again during 1999 (when they would have been rooted out because of their not so impressive one year performance). And in all these times they had major blood bath to back them up. In 1991 elections – it was the Rath Yatra and subsequent movement in Ayodhya in which thousands were killed in UP. In 1996 elections – they were backed up by the Bloody sequences that followed (in states like UP, Gujarat and Maharashtra) after the Babri Masjid was broken. And again in 1999 – they benefited from a war where thousands were killed in Kargil. All three have been major turning points for them. And since we are on this topic – it will not be out of the place to mention the recent Gujarat Elections where BJP won handsomely! Have we ever thought – why did Godhra massacre happen just 3-4 months before elections? Hmmm… There is much more than what meets the eye here. Anyways –here again BJP benefited from all the Blood Bath! Now that Ayodhya as an issue is almost over and National Security drama has been played umpteen numbers of times – it is time for some new mantra. And I have a feeling that the name of the game will now be “Honor of the Country”. And whatever they do, will be in the name of Honor of the Country. Wait and watch.

For this party life of a human being is not important. Ask them and they will possibly say – that some lives will be lost for the cause of the nation (!!). It is of a cheap value and so is expendable anyways.  Huh. Anything that would help them in retaining the power is fine with them. And if the cost is Human Lives – then so be it. If anybody here thinks that BJP believes in democracy and democratic values – I suggest you sit back and think again.

I will leave you with certain questions to ponder.

• How many bills have been passed in all the parliament sessions that we have had in last 5 years? Has anybody noticed that in BJP’s rule there has been more number of Ordinances than actual Bills passed by the parliament?
• If POTA was supposed to be used for people working against the national interests, people contributing to terrorist activities and also against people trying to create unrest in the country – then why has POTA not used to ban RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal? Why was VHP or Bajrang Dal not banned for their role in Gujarat Riots and Violence?
• If this party ever believed in democratic values – why was there never a discussion in Parliament on the Tehelka Scandal, Coffin scandal, Kargil war? Why does BJP always relate all the issues with national security and avoid discussions in Parliament? Are they afraid or they just don’t think that they need to discuss this with anyone?
• Narendra Modi (Chief Minister of Gujarat) compared the riots and violence after Godhra incident with the Newton’s Law – which says every action has an equal and opposite reaction! And he gets away with it? Why? Because he is from BJP? What more - he is praised for all the violence in his party! And this is the same party, which wanted to bump off Laloo Prasad Yadav because he was not able to maintain law and order in his state of Bihar?

Do you think a party with such a record believes in democracy? And I am quoting only a few instances here. For all of you who think they believe in democracy – I say – better watch out. You are in for some real eye opener in the coming year.

I would back myself on these options. I don’t know whether you are with me on this.

Think about it.

Its Montoo..

Sun becomes a slave – Again?

The British Empire was known as the "Empire On Which the Sun Never Sets" due to its shear size. No matter what time of day or night, somewhere in some place the sun was shinning on a part of the Empire. At its height, over a quarter of the world's population (around 400 million people!!) lived within the Empire's boundaries, and its indirect control has been estimated at covering over 2/3 of the entire planet! Even though the Empire has been replaced with the British Commonwealth, never in the history of humankind has one nation ruled so many and so much.

This remarkable achievement by a country half the size of France was a tribute to the superb organizational skills of the White empire builders of that nation.

This astonishing empire was never undone in the way that the Roman Empire was: In fact, it was the extension of the Roman Empire to the east which ultimately led to its downfall, for through the inclusion of eastern territories, vast numbers of people were drawn into Rome who shared a different genetic inheritance than the original founders - unlike the situation in the West. Once again, as had been the case with every great civilization before it, Rome fell because the original people who created the Empire disappeared: submerged into a mass of foreigners - replaced by immigrants and the descendants of slaves brought in from all over North Africa, the wider Mediterranean and the Middle and Near East.

The British Empire instead dissolved peacefully, by mutual consent, and the British, apart from creating the world's largest empire, also had the privilege of being the only empire builders not to be destroyed in their far-flung empire itself.

The British Empire finally started dissolving after the First World War, with the process being speeded up dramatically in the aftermath of the Second World War. The primary reason for the dissolution of the empire was economic and political rather than racial: after the Second World War, Britain was simply too impoverished to continue holding on to an empire created in a previous century, and it was easier to grant independence to the far flung colonies, especially when some of these turned violent.

Having had the brief of the great empires of the past – let us look at the present geographical scenario or may I say the present Empire – the AMERICAN EMPIRE! This is a thought, which some may not agree to – but then it is hard to disagree either.

So, Does the Sun really set on the American Empire?

Let us try and analyze the dynamics existing in today’s world. I will try and take you through the dependence, on USA, of the countries in each of the continent.

We will start by looking at our own Asia: The countries across the length and breadth of this continent like Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Russia, etc. are dependent on America for one or the other reason. Countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan are directly being administered by the Americans. I think no body will dispute that. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are militarily supported by America without whose support they would not have seen such prosperity. Imagine a country that need not bother about its security. They can totally concentrate on the economics directed towards progress. Russia’s economy is running on American Dollars and World Bank’s support. Russia may shout and protest against America – but the reality remains that they cannot survive today without American support or money.  India as we know makes a lot of noise about resisting America but eventually falls in line on a bit of arm-twisting here and there. I know most of you may disagree on the last one but it is the truth and we should not run away from it.

If you notice, the American influence covers almost every corner of Asia accept China. Though Americans have not got much influence on China – but they have been systematically allowing their entrepreneurs to open businesses in China. They want a say in defining Chinese policies and they plan to start with influencing economic policies. Only time will tell if that happens. I have my own doubts though.

Let us move on to Europe: Well the lesser said the better of this Region. Most of the countries cannot raise their voice against America. Look at the countries here – Britain, Spain, France, Germany, Ukraine, Poland and so on. France and Germany have taken great risk by opposing the Americans in its war against Iraq. It will be interesting to see how America eventually reacts. I feel these two countries will have tough times in future. We will see. It is interesting to note though that the same countries now want a share of the Americans victory and hence have toned down their opposition. Britain is like a pet to America – so there is no point even discussing about it. Ukraine has got independence and is totally dependent on America for their struggle against Russia. That leaves smaller countries like Italy, Poland and others. They as usual though will follow the path of their bigger brothers like England and Germany.

Looking at Middle East and Africa. Countries in Middle East: like Israel, Turkey, Oman, UAE and now Iraq. Well Israel and America have been ‘Close Allies’ for too long now and moreover Israel accepts America’s decisions whether they are solicited or unsolicited. Americans have their permanent bases in almost all the Middle East countries and hence control almost all of Middle East. Africa is not all that significant a continent in today’s scenario. But if we look closely – even here Americans have been financing most of the countries like South Africa, Niger, Ghana, Egypt, Tunisia, Namibia and some others. For the countries facing civil war or nations that are strife stricken - The Americans support one or the other rival groups in that war. Once the groups supported by Americans win – they will hold influence and power in these countries too.

Coming nearer to the country in discussion – South American countries like Brazil, Argentina are surviving either on American Money or World Bank’s loan and are heavily in debt (just like Russia). There are not many countries in this continent of forest and Mountains anyways.

Australia has got Nuclear Cover from America (same is true for Japan and South Korea) i.e. America will protect Australia from any Nuclear attack on its territory from another nation. No wonder Australia, Japan, South Korea and others harp about Non-proliferation and sanctions against nations that hold Nuclear Weapons. After all they need not produce Weapons of Mass destruction – Uncle Sam will do the dirty work!! Huh.

And finally North America: This continent is the domain of USA, with Canada and Mexico being stooges of the Great Uncle Sam!

We can also take into consideration US’s power and control in the area that constitutes 2/3^rd of the area of the earth. Yes – the area covered by water. Americans have the exclusive rights to patrol and move across all the oceans like Pacific, Arctic, Indian and Atlantic! Their aircraft carriers and naval ships are located in most of these oceans. These are international waters they say – but only when they are doing the patrolling. Let an Indian Naval ship get into Pacific Ocean and we will all hear about the breach of international accord on territorial integrity being maintained. And more over which country has the power to challenge or question America today? It is with this superiority in water that they are able to reach any part of the world in no time and prepare to launch!

It is actually surprising that a single country can hold or influence so many other nations across the face of the earth! No other nation with the exception of the erstwhile Great Britain has had such control/influence. The difference perhaps is the kind of control that British had. Britain actually held power through its Viceroys in all the countries that were in its control. They would make rules and define policies to govern the land they controlled. Americans (having learnt from the British experience on the disadvantages of ruling a country directly) rule by what we call as ‘Remote Control’. They influence the policies of the nations they have control over – be it defense, economical or territorial. And when some nation (like Iraq) does not follow their diktat – Well – They pay the price by facing the well equipped, technically strong defense forces of Uncle Sam! And no organization or group of countries can stop them. Yeah – now it is official – even UN cannot stop them these days.

Just reiterating here – American military bases are located in Middle East, in Taiwan, In Australia, In Japan, In South Korea, In Britain, In Germany, In Yugoslavia, In Pakistan, In Afghanistan, In Egypt, In Ghana, In Argentina, In Canada, In Panama and some more countries. That they have a strong defense force is a foregone conclusion – be it on Land, in Air or in Water. That they are economically stronger than any other individual nation is something we know for a long time now. They are politically more stable and claim to be much more superior in their thoughts and deeds. Any contradiction to the last point friends?

But I think they will be destroyed for the same reason as the other great powers have been. The Americans have now started behaving like a bunch of superior human race! It is this sense of superiority complex that will eventually lay the foundation for their downfall. How many times have we seen America launching a missile or an attack on a nation just because some terrorist group, in some other country has killed some of its nationals? We have time and again heard about how PRECIOUS an American life is! Lives of Indians killed in Kashmir, Lives of Israelis or Palestinians in Gaza Strip, Lives of Iraqis, Vietnamese, Afghanis, Cubans, Libyans, Russians, Chinese and all the others are not important to Human Kind. What we should only bother about is an AMERICAN LIFE!

But then we can take this topic for discussion in some other forum.

What is significant here is to note that from north to south – from east to west – there hardly is a country on this earth, which is economically and militarily not supported by America! That they have slowly built up this amount of power is thanks to their great organizational as well as political skills.

Think of an award ceremony and you will immediately get Oscar or Grammy as the name more often than not. Think of the Space Shuttles and exploration of space – you will get the name of NASA. Think of great speeches given by Head of States – you will immediately find yourself remembering the speech of Kennedy where he said “My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man”. Think of the most democratic nation in the world –America will be the name you will get first. Think of one Currency and you will end up naming Dollar. Think of wars and soldiers – a picture of Americans fighting Iraqis or Afghanis will be formed. Think of a cold drink and most of us will get the name of Pepsi or Coke. Think of fast food joints and we will end up saying McDonalds. Think of one national flag other than your own – chances are you will immediately find yourself thinking of that Great American Flag with those blue stripes and stars! The list is endless.

This is how they have systematically marketed them selves and must say have been extremely successful at that. Hollywood has been instrumental in portraying America’s image. They have very slickly shown Americans as the most tough, most happening, most loving, most caring, scientifically more advanced and above all as the people who are saviors of the entire world. How would we survive without Americans saving us from some UFO, which is creating havoc across the world? OOH!

Huh.

It has taken them a few years to make an impression on the residents of this earth. But impression – they have made. Now that they are the Number One nation – they deserve to bask in the limelight! History has proved that no one nation can remain in control for long. Let the Sun shine on this nation for now.  Darkness will eventually come. And I fear this time it is not going to be as peaceful a transition as was the last time when British were dethroned. Well – we will not have to wait long I guess.

Having taken you through all of this – I am sure you will agree to one fact though – THE SUN HAS REALLY BEEN ENSLAVED again and that this time when it sets – it shall be a long dark night.

Mantosh Singh..

24^th May 2003’