what's the use of a dialogue so 'composite'?

Many great liaisons have happened and are happening this month. First with the Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari in Yekaterinburg, on the sidelines of G-8, then with Pakistani PM Yousuf Raja Gilani during the NAM summit and now the US secretary of states, Hillary Rodham Clinton's visit to India. It seems as our prime minister is finally busy tackling the 'real' issues. But is it really so? During his meeting with Asif Zardari in Yekaterinburg, he had conveyed the mandate he was provided by the people of India to book the perpetrators of the 26/11 and any repeat of such an incident will land Pakistan in trouble, which was welcomed from every quarter of the society. it was perceived as the Zero tolerance attitude of the Indian government. But recently, when he met the Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raja Gilani, in Sharm-el-sheikh, the two premiers cautioned not to repeat the last mistake this time by having a private conversation followed by a diplomat level meeting away from the reach of the media glare. However, the Indian Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh in a hurry to walk an 'extra mile' or probably to compensate the 'mistake' he made last time, forgot the mandate, he has been provided by the people of India. The Indo-Pak joint statement, in Sharm-al-Sheikh, is a huge compromise that India has made to please its western neighbor. It has been widely criticized as a non- compensate able foreign policy failure. Thus, our foreign policy needs to be chastened in order to avoid any repeat of such an incident. After the Mumbai invasion of 26/11, the Indian government ceased to any dialogue with Pakistan. Was it to douse the popular sentiment and provide a consolation prize to the victims and the rest of the country? The dialogue process resumed within 7 months of Mumbai carnage and just 2 months after congress got re-elected to the office. The immediate put-off of the dialogue process and now the dilution of the Indian stand can be sensed as a political gimmick. Mr. prime minister you have been provided with this mandate to fight terrorism without any compromise and not to please its exporters. For the first time in the history of Indian diplomatic relation with Pakistan, the Indian side has allowed Pakistan to accuse India of the turbulence in Balochistan and its presence in the joint statement strengthens the accusation. Infant, Pakistan has already started to encash this rare opportunity, it has got in 60 years of its existence, with Pm Yousuf Raja Gilani blaming India for 'exporting' terror to Balochistan. The reason given for compromising on the dialogue process with Pakistan is that the tension between the two nuke-powered nations can only be minimized through talks. But a talk like this one is highly unacceptable. What's the use of a dialogue so composite? Our government should acknowledge that we don't need any favour from our neighbour and that it's Pakistan who needs support for running its infrastructure and downtrodden economy. History repeats itself. Probably, this is our second biggest mistake since we took the Kashmir issue to the UN Security Council. And now, with this incident Pakistan is always going to have a upper hand. a nation so opportunist like Pakistan will not leave any chance for an innuendo directed towards India. So it is imperative not to overlook any indication about where we are heading.

MR. NILEKANI, welcome to the big bad worls of indian politics

DEAR MR. NANDAN NILEKANI. ITS HEARTWARMING TO KNOW THAT U"LL BE HEADING THE GOVERMENT'S ENDEAVOUR TO PROVIDE ALL THE INDIAN CITIZEN WITH A -'UNIQUE ID CARD', WHICH CAN BE OF MULTIPLE USES TO ONE AND ALL. AND WITH THE INVOLVEMENT OF AN ENTREPENUER OF UR CALIBER MAKES ME BELIEVE THAT THIS INITIATIVE WILL YIELD AND NOT SUCCUMB TO ANY DELAY AND PESSIMISM... BUT MR. NILEKANI, WHAT I M AFRAID OF IS THE FACT THAT, WILL U BE ABLE TO COPE WITH THE POLITICAL PRESSURE OR LET ME PUT IT LIKE THIS,.. WILL U BE PROVIDED A FREE HAND.... AND UR WAY TO CHUCK OUT PLANS AS EFFECTIVELY AS U WANT....WILL THE GOVT'S INTERVENTION IN THE DAY TO DAY MATTER WILL BE LIMITED ? MY CONCERNS ARE BASED ON THE FACT THAT... IN OUR COUNTRY MOST OF THE PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMES OF MASS WELFARE BECOMES A VICTIM OF THE REPRESENTATIVES ELECTED BY THEMSELVES............ YOUR ELEVATION TO THE CABINET RANK MINISTER IS A WELCOME MOVE BY THE GOVERNMENT... BUT BE SURE YOU DONT GIVE INTO THE DEMANDS OF OUR FLEDGLING DEMOCRACY... THE 'UID' PROGRAMME IS A HUGE 150-CRORE DREAM PROJECT.... WHICH WILL PROVIDE EVERY INDIAN CITIZEN A PROOF OF THEIR EXISTENCE IN THE INDIAN SOCIETY..... I HOPE U DELIVER AS PER THE EXPECTATION...... AT LAST, A VERY WARM WELCOME TO THE BIG BAD WORLD OF INDIAN POLITICS

BJP needs to correct the Basics

The debacle of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2009 general elections has been abit of surprise to many, not because it lagged behind the congress party but because the way it lagged.the difference between their seat share was expected to be around 10-15 seats as the psephologists and the pre-poll surveys had predicted. However, the results were quite in contrast to the prediction of the pundits. The difference was staggering around 40 deciding seats. The resuls proved to be nothing less than a shocker to the BJP top brass but it also was an unexpected victory for the Grand Old Party- which in this election was riding high on the youth factor with its poster boy Rahul Gandhi. Rahul with his innocent but intellectual lectures has led the Party from the front and to the core. While a Gandhi was the reason behind the revival of the party in U.P. to a record victory, after 18 years, since 1991, the other Gandhi scion is the answer to the present state of the BJP in UP and all over the country. The dilly-dallying behaviour of the party in disowning Varun Gandhi, after he allegedly spewed venom in Piliphit cost Mr. Advani his prime ministerial aspirations. Initialy, BJP supported Varun because it could not de-alienate from him on ground that the party itself may ahve master minded the incident but after facing wrath from its own members it tried to distance itself only to be sided in the end. After the UP govt. invoked the NSA upon him, BJ president visited Varun-in Custody which sent the message of the party allying with him in his testing time. Primarily the whole drama was supposed to be working completely in favour of BJP but the truth unearthed on may16, was very different. It questioned the fundamental of the party. the fundamental on which it had thrived since its inception- Hindutva. With voices getting vocal from within the party about the difference between real hindutva and the hindutva the party is propagating, BJP definitely is in a state of loosing its sheen let alone the shining. More and more leaders joining the chorus is leading to the debate, wheather it can take the risk of being percieved as a fundamentalist party or the party of a one dimensional thought. But as far as the post-poll developments are concerned, the party seems to be focussing more on silencing the voices rather than acknowledging the demands.The party needs to be revived with a novel thought and young face to uturn to the Atal age. BJP now needs some hard as well as harsh decisions. Shedding the hindutva face would be one. The hindutva BJP is talking about is alien to the hindutva the people want to acknowledge. The people's hindutva is that which deals with the whole Hindustan and not the one to appease a community and discard the other. They need a hindutva of national culture. Also, the projection of two different people at a time is leading to a confusion. The projection of party chief Rajnath Singh and PM-in waiting Lal Krishna Advani as the power centres is confusing. Also, the intervention of the VHP and RSS at different occasion in the internal matter of the party from a public stage is a non co-operative attitude of the sangh parivar. This is all what it needs to take care and understand to avoid any clash of interest within or outside the party and let the party blossom once again with a national culture. Afterall, a democracy is meaningless in the absence of rival parties of the same strength.