I AND MY WORDS

तुझसे पहले वो जो एक शख्स यहाँ तख्तनशीं था  उसको भी अपने ख़ुदा होने पे इतना ही यकीन था Roughly tanslated, this couplet in Urdu would implore the ruler that the one before him had the same grand delusions about himself . Arvind Kejriwal's full circle by Sudhir Tailang So, the 48 day drama has come to an end. Here was a Chief Minister who was found everywhere but in his office. Much like the principal character of Sanskrit one-act play  Duta-Vakyam by Bhaasa, Sri Krishna, Arvind Kejriwal could he seen here, there everywhere. Only he wasn't interested in issuing any paeans for peace. Instead, sowing the seeds of fiscal impropriety and upholding the unbelievable, he and his party just wrecked havoc in Delhi much like the Communists did in Kerala and West Bengal's early years of dalliance with them. Money that was meant to be given to the municipal bodies for their functioning was diverted towards BSES to 'provide subsidy' on electricity tariffs . Did the

Rahul Gandhi (or his PR team) finally decided that after ten years in Indian politics he could give a one-on-one interview to a news channel. And interview he did give , though it was reduced to the butt of jokes both on the incoherent Rahul Gandhi and the unbelievably restrained Arnab Goswami. To sum up the interview, you need not watch it for the entire one and a half hour of its duration. The chaos that Rahul Gandhi's mind is on display, when he tries to explain himself and whether he fears a certain political unspeakable or not. His faff like responses to questions on Sikh Riots or for that matter on why Gujarat riots were really a blot seemed rote, under-prepared. This was shocking, since it is understood that when people of considerable political importance are interviewed, the questions are usually vetted by a set of people around the person in question. To then have a ramble pass on as an interview was incredible. Even someone as tempestuous as Arnab Goswami, despite his

Perception is a major thing in politics. You may not be doing anything constructive or visionary, but even when resorting to sheer populism a political party must be able to create a perception of having done things. After all, in the age of marketing, part of the game is about how you present yourself in the market. The only political party in India that seems to have some semblance of that is BJP, though their lemmings - sorry, I mean speakers - just go berserk on television in an effort to be seen and heard, if only for nonsense.In this context, AAP was a refreshing change. They seem more of a CFP (Camera Friendly Party) since they managed to package their appearance and wording very carefully. Notice the way Arvind Kejriwal and co. tie their mufflers - it reminds you of how a migrant rickshaw puller or resident auto driver of Delhi would cover his ears in the biting winter of Delhi. Packaging however, is only half the game; substance revealed under pressure and the performance o

There is too much deliberation and discussion on what to make of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Indian political scenario. The problem with this discussion for me lies at several loose ends, none of which are tight enough to enable the curious onlooker any sense of the party and its moorings. My own two bits of 'wisdom' stem from distant viewing of the phenomenon. I may certainly be wrong; I may be right. But it is my submission that when seen from these perspectives, AAP and what it stands for can be perhaps better understood. AAP behaves not so much as a political party as it does like a Non Governmental Organization (NGO). This stems from the fact that most people who lead it have been associated with think tanks, NGOs and academia, and a major part of the base comprises of volunteers who have spared time for several causes close to their hearts. Even the campaign for Delhi's assembly elections ran more in the mode of a social enterprise networking with a large ma

A friend of mine often disagree with me. He also thinks that I have disproportionate influence. Well here it is then, his opinion on something that I have great faith in. Bouquets and brickbats are welcome. In my country, India, if you talk to the urban intellectuals most of the times they would cite the lack of education as the major problem of the country. Rarely, they would say that the huge population is the problem (which underlies almost every other problem in India). Many people –and this one is especially popular now a days- would say it’s corruption. Some would say it is lack of good laws. Others would point out failing to enforce them as the real problem. Whatever the problem, most of us want the government to solve them. The idea is quite logical. The only entity with “legal” power to effect any change is the government. However, in India the government is structured in such a way that it could please all the ethnicities and castes. The constitution (which was suppose

So the carnival has come to an end, and the victors have been declared. The losers are in a deep sense of despair, trying to figure out the message that people of this country, particularly when it concerns states that add up to nearly 60 seats in the Lok Sabha. There are a few clear takeaways from this election, which I shall elaborate upon: 1. You cannot parachute leaders from Delhi in a country where sub-nationalism runs high (Regional leaders shine all the way - courtesy LiveMint) The Congress party's high command culture has been severely threatened by the rise of sub-nationalism in India. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have clearly shown that weak state leadership devoid of ideas and ridden with factionalism cannot work to the advantage of Congress or BJP. The BJP scored in all but Delhi where it exists only because it's regional leaders had been identified and were leading charge well in advance. Vasundhara Raje, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Dr Raman Singh underto

So much viewer heckling happens in the Indian media nowadays that I feel glad sitting far away from it. However, there are certain things that just catch your attention in ways and means that could have puzzled even the mysterious Sphinx of yore. The timing of two cases that have come to public light has been wonderful; it has taken the veil of political leanings to quite an extent. Many media houses are a little surprised by the political tone that Tarun Tejpal's story has obtained. However, this was waiting to happen for several reasons. When within a few days of shrilly berating Narendra Modi and Amit Shah of BJP for 'snooping on a girl', we are now seeing an altogether different song being sung. What is even more disappointing is the fact that since one of the media's 'pillars of credibility' has been found wanting on several grounds, the tone adopted by many of them has been defensive, with many of their resident experts saying that the case should neith