Janlokpal movement and the Left

As the fast of Anna Hazare continues in Ramlila maidan the question of the position to be taken by Leftists towards this Janlokpal movement is being fiercely discussed in Intellectual circles. As I have stated in an earlier post in April,for me there was no confusion about whether I am for or against the movement. I had concluded in that post that

"Any movement which brings out ordinarily selfish and inert people out into the streets for a peaceful agitation for the betterment of the Society should always be hailed"

 This I feel should be the view point from the Left of the political spectrum.

Now more articles have come out both in favor and against Janlokpal movement.

Arundhati Roy has criticised the movement terming it elitist,casteist, Hindutvaised and one that is threatening to topple the State.

What she wrote is in red while my comments are in black.

For completely different reasons, and in completely different ways, you could say that the Maoists and the Jan Lokpal Bill have one thing in common — they both seek the overthrow of the Indian State

Now where did I hear Team Anna saying they want to overthrow the Indian State. Why Ms Roy is beginning her article with a falsehood? Is this to frighten away middle class supporters of Anna?

In April 2011, a few days into Anna Hazare's first “fast unto death,” searching for some way of distracting attention from the massive corruption scams which had battered its credibility, the Government invited Team Anna, the brand name chosen by this “civil society” group, to be part of a joint drafting committee for a new anti-corruption law. A few months down the line it abandoned that effort and tabled its own bill in Parliament, a bill so flawed that it was impossible to take seriously.

 Ms Roy herself agree that Government abandoned talks and came out with a very flawed draft bill. Then why she is not supporting the strongest political movement against that flawed bill?

Meanwhile the props and the choreography, the aggressive nationalism and flag waving of Anna's Revolution are all borrowed, from the anti-reservation protests, the world-cup victory parade, and the celebration of the nuclear tests.

Where she got this idea that this movement is dominated by upper caste reactionaries? Read Nivedita here after she went to see what is happening in Ramlila maidan.

‘The People' does not mean the Manipuris who support Irom Sharmila's fast. Nor does it mean the thousands who are facing down armed policemen and mining mafias in Jagatsinghpur, or Kalinganagar, or Niyamgiri, or Bastar, or Jaitapur. Nor do we mean the victims of the Bhopal gas leak, or the people displaced by dams in the Narmada Valley. Nor do we mean the farmers in NOIDA, or Pune or Haryana or elsewhere in the country, resisting the takeover of the land.

Who is he really, this new saint, this Voice of the People? Oddly enough we've heard him say nothing about things of urgent concern. Nothing about the farmer's suicides in his neighbourhood, or about Operation Green Hunt further away. Nothing about Singur, Nandigram, Lalgarh, nothing about Posco, about farmer's agitations or the blight of SEZs. He doesn't seem to have a view about the Government's plans to deploy the Indian Army in the forests of Central India. The Team Anna's movement includes people from diverse backgrounds and political views. They have joined together for a narrow aim,the passing of a strong anti-corruption law. Bringing other issues here is needless. Team Anna is not a political party with manifesto having a view on each and every issue under the Sun. Asking Team Anna about these issues is same as Sangh Parivar asking Arundhati Roy why she is not supporting  Kashmiri Pandits when she speaks about oppression of Gujarati Muslims.

Will the 830 million people living on Rs.20 a day really benefit from the strengthening of a set of policies that is impoverishing them and driving this country to civil war?


Will a strong anti-corruption law harm the poor? Why it will not help the poor? Crores of rupees for poverty alleviation are diverted to pockets of many year after year. Will this law at least stem the tide? Why Roy is then against it?

This awful crisis has been forged out of the utter failure of India's representative democracy, in which the legislatures are made up of criminals and millionaire politicians who have ceased to represent its people. In which not a single democratic institution is accessible to ordinary people

True. So what is Ms Roy's solution for that? Armed struggle? If so say it openly or come out with a better solution. It is easy to critisize but difficult to act to bring a positive change.

For a change the Leftist web portal Kafila came out with a non-cynical article about Janlokpal movement.

Nivedita Menon wrote:

how do we on ‘the Left’ manage so unerringly to be exactly where ‘the people’ are not, time after time?Increasingly though, in the course of the current mass upsurge that has coalesced around the figure of Anna Hazare, I have been feeling more and more alienated in my community, by its strident demands for absolute purity of the radical position; its aggressive self-marginalization and self-exile to a high ground where credentials are closely scrutinized; its absolute incomprehension of and contempt for ’the people’ when actually confronted by them.

Any mass movement brings together disparate and sometimes starkly contradictory tendencies. Don’t we know that from the Indian struggle for independence? Was the Indian bourgeoisie absent from it? Or the religious right of all sorts? Or casteist and Brahminical forces? (Of course the Left – the CPI – even during the independence struggle was painfully tortured by such questions, and often did exile itself to its high ground, missing the moment completely. This time round, that historical memory seems to have stood them well.

If absolute purity and a point-to-point matching of our full political agenda is required for us to support a movement, then feminists would be permanently stuck restively in the waiting room of history, for I can assure you that every mass demonstration you see anywhere ever, is packed with patriarchal men and patriarchalized women! Nor does any movement except the women’s movement ever raise patriarchy as an issue. But what is it that we take into account when we do support a movement? One – does the movement express a goal or demand that we support? Two – Does the movement as such explicitly take positions that are anti-women or anti-anything-we-stand-for? (Clue: the answers should be yes and no respectively).

This movement is centrally about corruption, and corruption touches every single life in India. It touches the labourers whose muster rolls are faked, it touches the agricultural worker whose NREGA payment is swallowed up, it touches every poor undertrial and prisoner in jail on trumped up charges (was it surprising then, that the undertrials in Tihar fasted in solidarity with Anna?), it touches the farmer whose land is seized to be passed on to corporates, an issue mentioned by Anna Hazare in his speech at Ramlila Maidan (kisanon ki zameen zabardasti chheeni ja rahi hai). Holding government and the bureaucracy accountable for corruption will check corporate corruption, because guess whom the corporations have to bribe to circumvent every law and every rule?

This is a moment pregnant with possibilities. Just as the attainment of national independence marked the beginning of new lines of conflict and the resurfacing of old ones, the success in any form of this campaign will only inaugurate more differences. Just as the coming into being of “India” opened up possibilities and dangers, so will this. This is true of any project of transformation.


And just as “they” have set aside their casteism and communalism within the space of the movement, “we” will have to set aside our radical critiques of what ‘they’ stand for. We cant go in there in confrontational mode, but in solidarity with a minimum common agenda. For there are many thousands in there who are not communal, not casteist, not elitist, and we cant afford to lose them

The movement doesn’t really need us, let’s be clear. But do we need it?

Shouldn’t we be there?

Yes, everyone should be there.

Why Anna Hazare's movement is popular?

The increasing popularity of Anna Hazare's movement and his fast against Corruption has baffled many,especially the intellectuals and  more so the Government.

Let me try to elucidate 5 important points that is making it popular.

1. Corruption is an important issue for every one in the country. It is a menace not only for the poorest of the poor but also for the richest of the rich.It is an issue in every corner of the country regardless of gender,class,religion, caste, language etc.

2. Non violent mode of protest is one of the most attractive and safe mode of protest and everyone including a woman carrying a baby or a physically challenged person in a wheelchair can participate.

3. Though the movement itself is one of the most important Nation-wide political activity in recent times in India,it is devoid of political color of any single Party. The movement can be broadly classified as on the Left of the political spectrum in the sense that it is liberal mass based protest against  anti-people State. But those participating it hold wide variety of political views.Lack of any political color makes it very popular.

4. Anna Hazare himself is a cute lovable character with a  clean image. Team Anna members are also held in  high esteem for the integrity of their character and for their track record in public life.

5. Inept handling of the protest movement by the Govt,especially the arrest of Anna and lodging him in Tihar jail and the way Anna handled it helped to increase his popularity.

 I have not included 24/7 visual media coverage among the 5 most important reasons  because I do not believe it played that important a role as many think. Media aims at improving TRP. Popular non-violent David vs Goliath movements with twists and turns every hour are their bread and butter unless their owners have a vested interest against it. The coverage has contributed to the popularity,but the coverage happened because it is popular.

 Though I am not sure how this movement will culminate, I am sure that it is a tremendously positive phenomenon in the Indian political scene.

MF Hussein; a victim of Sangh Parivar's cultural Policing

Yesterday a great  Indian Artiste, Painter M.F Husain died in exile in London. While the news channels and newspapers sang praises of him eloquently, I could hear an eerie silence in those eloquence.There was no direct criticism of the Indian 'Taliban' who hounded Hussein in the last 2 decades of his life. Everybody was criticising the Government and some name-less culture-less goons for the attacks on Hussein. But no one was brave enough to call the spade a spade.No one could name RSS as the prime instigator of violence against MF Husain.

This post is not about MF Husain but about the attack he faced from Sangh Parivar.

Why did the Sangh Parivar target Husain and some of his paintings?
1. Because he was a Muslim and painted scenes from Indian mythology.
 Aim of the Sangh Parivar is attaining political power in India and establishing a Hindutva State.For this they need to spread the fear of 'Hinduism in danger' to get votes. Since Hindus are in big majority and are firmly in power in India,they have to create a' threat' for Hinduism from some where and it has to come from other religions.
M.F Husain was an ideal candidate to create fear and hate hysteria in naive Indian upper class Hindus.Thus they circulated countless pamphlets with propaganda against Husain and created a large number of websites and circulated hate e mails.

2.Why did Sangh Parivar found some of the Paintings objectionable?

Sangh Parivar originated in early 20th century inspired from ultra nationalist movements of Europe.It is not a secret that founding leaders of the RSS were great admirers of Hitler and Mussolini.

In 1939 in 'We, Our Nationhood Defined", Golwalkar, wrote like this in praise of Hitler:

"To keep up the purity of the Race and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the semitic Races — the Jews. Race pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well nigh impossible it is for Races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindusthan to learn and profit by........
Ever since that evil day, when Moslems first landed in Hindustan, right up to the present moment, the Hindu Nation has been gallantly fighting on to take on these despoilers. The Race Spirit has been awakening."
 
 Ultra-nationalist/fascist movements wants to create history and culture as per their philosophy.Anything against their view of culture will not be accepted. Thus the RSS wanted to become the sole custodian and curator of Indian culture, cut to shape to fit the concrete box of their own creation.
 
Husain's paintings became a suitable target as a painting drawn by a member of Race they wanted to hate in a way  not fitting their concrete box.
Attack on Hussein was an attempt to show to the Artistic Community who is the boss in regard to Arts and culture. It was an attack on thousands of years of syncretic Indian culture.It was an attempt to Talibanise Indian Society so that Sangh Parivar can easily attain power.
 
While Husain strengthened Indian Culture by giving such unique forms to mythological characters, the Sangh Parivar want to reduce it to a puritan intolerant one.
 
The eerie silence in the civil society when Husain was hounded out of India and the fear in naming Sangh Parivar as the main villain even at the time of his death make us resemble the society of our infamous neighbour,Pakistan.
It is a shame that Husein and others like Taslima Nasreen were not allowed to live and work in peace in 'secular' democratic India.

Victories for VS and Mamta. Will the 'Left" learn the lessons?

The Assembly election results are out. As expected and predicted Mamata Banerjee virtually wiped out the Left Front from West Bengal Assembly. Unexpectedly the LDF in Kerala only lost by a whisker.If about a 1000 votes changed hands they would have been still in power. The main reason for this remarkable performance by LDF is obviously the VS factor which made many neutrals and fence sitters vote LDF.



Thus these elections in CPM ruled States resulted in the Party losing power. The real victors were Mamata Banerjee the in coming Chief Minister of Bengal and VS Achuthanadan, the out going Chief Minister of Kerala. Will the CPM learn the lessons from their victories?


VS factor


In the 70s and 80s VS was just an 'Alleppy' leader of CPM. Those were the times of towering figures of EMS and AKG. In most meetings of the CPM, when VS finally get to the microphone the cadres used to get up and go rather than listen to his long drawn out mimcry like speeches. Then came the time of E.K.Nayanar the 'simpleton comedian' leader who also was very popular. Though VS was the Party Secretary for a long time he was never considered a popular leader. He was also never very popular inside his own Party. Many a time he was accused of 'group' politics inside the Party.He was also said to be very ambitious of power.In 1996 when VS was supposed to be the CM candidate he mysteriously lost the elections probably due to the mischief of his own Party men.From then onwards he was vary of some of his comrades and tried to creat a path of his own.




The graph of VS's popularity began to rise after he became the Opposition leader for the first time in 2001.That was a wonderful performance which got applause from each and every one. Mushrooming Malayalam TV News channels hungry for video and sound bytes feasted on VS's struggle against Corruption,Sex and Land mafia. Most of the time he never waited for the green signal from Party Committee but ploughed his own course. His image as a strong crusader against injustice became bigger and bigger.Many in his own Party was not amused with his rise in popularity.That resulted in VS being denied Party ticket to contest in 2006.Lack of discipline and 'groupism' were the reasons pointed out for the denial. An uproar in the Civil Society fuelled by the anti-Left media forced the Party to reverse it decision. May be for the first time in its history the Party instead of dictating to the public,was dictated by it.


The LDF won a massive victory and VS became the Chief Minister.The fight between the Official Party lead by Pinarayi Vijayan and VS continued. VS never lost a chance to make jibes at Pinarayi and the ensuing word-fight resulted in both of them demoted from the Politburo.


Meanwhile the LDF under some able ministers were able to provide fairly good governance to the State.VS might not have been directly instrumental in that but facilitated it.


But LDF lost most of the seats in Parliamentary elections in 2009 held after some sharp in fighting between alliance partners as result of arrogance of CPM. In the Local Bodies elections of 2010, LDF could fair only marginally better.In fighting in CPM, inability to convey the message of good governance,hostile mass media etc were considered to be the causes.


Those 2 results made every one predict a cake-walk for UDF in Assembly elections of 2011.Even many in the Party openly indicated that next Government will be that of UDF.UDF leaders started discussions about ministries.


Then a few fortunate co-incidences helped to turn the tide for LDF.Balakrishna Pillay, a former UDF minister,widely regarded as corrupt was sentenced to 1 year jail by the Supreme Court. VS was personally responsible for pressing the appeal. Instead of keeping a distance from a person convicted for corruption ,UDF leaders arranged a 'martyr's' reception for Pillay. The in famous Ice-cream parlour sex-mafia case came back to haunt Muslim League's Kunjalikutty. Kunjalikutty's aide turned foe's revelations made it more clear for the public about his guilt. UPA Govt's scams never left the headline space of news papers.
An aggressive VS began to attack UDF with all the above issues.At the same time the rank and file of LDF began door to door campaign highlighting the achievements of LDF rule.UDF instead of trying to counter the points raised by VS,began to attack VS personally,which boomeranged on them. The anti-Left media tried in vain to create a villain out of VS, a leader who was till then their darling during in-fighting in CPM. All LDF candidates began begging VS for campaign stop in their constituencies. LDF posters contained only the picture of VS.


Thus the cake-walk every one expected became a photo-finish victory for UDF and the VS factor did play very important role in it.


Many of his critics believe that VS is not suitable to be a leader of a disciplined cadre party like CPM. They feel that he is a power hungry politician who will stab his colleague's back to gain some brownie points.They think that everything about VS is just a show for the media.

My answer is this.


CPM now is not a revolutionary Party but only a political party trying to get power by winning democratic elections.Along with disciplined cadres it needs leaders who can understand the wishes of the people and who can get support of neutrals.It also needs leaders who can use the media to its advantage. VS thus has only helped CPM to become more popular.

VS's LDF has lost the election but he will never stop being aggressive is evident from his Press Conference after resigning from the CM's post about the forthcoming UDF ministry:
"Under no circumstances should those with a tainted track record such as the corrupt and womanisers be thrust upon the people of Kerala," Achuthanandan told reporters who had gathered at his official residence here Saturday afternoon.


Asked to elaborate on whether he was pointing to people like Indian Union Muslim League leader P.K. Kunhalikutty, who is alleged to be involved in the Kozhikode ice cream sex case scandal, he shot back saying, "I have already said what I wanted to say."


The lessons VS taught the CPM leadership can be concluded like this.
1. Aspirations of the public is more important than the wishes of Party leadership


2. Listen to the people's grievances not to that of the Party members alone.


3 If you want the people to believe you are against Corruption/injustice you should not tolerate it in your Party


4.Not only you should be against injustice,but every one should know you are like that.


5. No point in criticising the media.One should learn to utilise it to one's advantage.


6. Timing is as important in politics as in cricket.If you wait for the Politburo decision you would have lost the opportunity


7.Be aggressive in your attack and never defend the indefensible just because it is the Party line.


Mamata Banerjee in her own also taught CPM the same lessons in Bengal


Actually CPM needs a VS in its central leadership and in Bengal to turn the tide in its favour.

End game for Modi?

Sanjiv Rajendra Bhatt IPS, a senior Gujarat police officer, who was posted in the Intelligence Department during the 2002 communal riots filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court on 14th April 2011.Here are the main points in the affidavit.

I am filing this affidavit to bring on record certain aspects concerning the enquiry/investigation being conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), appointed by this Hon’ble Court.



I am a Post-Graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. After completing my post-graduation, I joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1988 and was allotted to the Gujarat cadre.


I was posted as the Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence, State Intelligence Bureau, Gandhinagar, from December 1999 to September 2002. This was the post I was occupying at the time when the 2002 Gujarat Riots took place.
I respectfully state that owing to the post I was occupying in the State Intelligence Bureau, I came across huge amounts of intelligence and information pertaining to the events that had transpired prior to, as well as during the Gujarat Riots of 2002.


The information and documentary evidence, which I have already shared with the SIT, can throw light on the real nature of events that led to the incident of burning of the S-6 Coach of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra on 27th February 2002 and the larger conspiracy and official orchestration behind the subsequent Gujarat Riots of 2002.


On being summoned by SIT for the first time in November 2009, I had provided the SIT with certain relevant information and documents, including original floppy discs containing the entire cell phone/cell-site records of Godhra Town for 26th and 27th February 2002; as well as the original print-outs of very important call records of certain high-ranking functionaries of the State for 27th and 28th February 2002.


I was present at the meeting called by the Chief Minister on the late night on 27.2.2002 and was personally aware about the instructions given there at and the events that transpired thereafter. I had also provided the SIT with verifiable details regarding the on-going cover up operation; including the contemporaneous efforts made by high official of the State administration to undermine the proceedings of Writ Petition (Civil) No. 221 of 2002., which was pending before this Hon’ble Court in 2002.

Upon my request, the SIT provided me with a relevant portion of the transcript of my testimony, pertaining to the instructions given by the Chief Minister, at the conclusion of meeting held on 27-02-200, where it was tried to impress upon him that the decision to bring the dead bodies to Ahmedabad and the BJP announcement of the supporting the VHP Bandh Call would definitely lead to outbreak of communal violence in Ahmedabad and across the state; and the Gujarat police did not have the manpower resources to deal with such a situation. The relevant portion of the transcript of my testimony, as recorded and provided to me by SIT, read as follow.


”The Chief minister Shri. Narendra Modi said that the bandh call had already been given and the party had decided to support the same, as incidents like the burning of Kar-Sevaks at Godhra could not be tolerated. He further impressed upon the gathering that for too long the Gujarat Police had been following the principle of balancing the actions against the Hindus and Muslims while dealing with the communal riots in Gujarat. This time the situation warranted that the Muslims be taught a lesson to ensure that such incidents do not recur ever again. The Chief Minister Shri. Narendra Modi expressed the view that the emotions were running high amongst the Hindus and it was imperative that they be allowed to vent out their anger.”




The effects of these directions given by the Chief Minister were widely manifested in the half-hearted approach and the evident lack of determination on the part of the Police while dealing with the widespread incidents of orchestrated violence during the State-sponsored Gujarat Bandh on 28th February 2002 and also during the weeks that followed.

I state and submit that, I had numerous meetings presided over by the Chief Minister, even before 27th February 2002 and continued to do so thereafter as well.


I have time and again tried to bring these facts to the notice of the Special Investigation Team but they seem to be disinclined to follow-up these important leads in the course of the enquiry/investigation being carried out by them.


During the course of my deposition before SIT, there were certain other occurrences which were highly indicative of real-time leakage of information from within the SIT.


On 25th March 2011, when I again tried to bring up the issue of a larger conspiracy or official orchestration behind the Gujarat Riots of 2002, as also the ongoing attempts at cover-up, I faced unconcealed hostility from the members of SIT. This was even more obvious when I gave names of witnesses who could corroborate the fact of my having attended the said meeting with the Chief Minister on 27.2.2002.


The SIT has chosen to intimidate certain witnesses and coerce them in to refraining from stating the true facts and thereby has created an impression that the SIT is becoming a party to the ongoing cover-up operation in Gujarat.


One of the witnesses I had named, Shri K. D. Panth (Assistant Intelligence Officer with the State Intelligence Bureau in 2002) informed me that he had been called before the Special Investigative Team on 5.4.2011 and was virtually treated like an accused and was threatened with arrest and other dire consequences.


I was approached by a very high-level functionary in the Government of Gujarat and was sought to be appropriately briefed prior to my scheduled interaction with SIT.


My fears regarding the confidentially of my deposition before SIT was eventually confirmed as the contents of my signed deposition as well as the details of my interaction with Shri. A. K. Malhotra and Shri. Paramveer Singh-Members SIT, were somehow available to the highest echelons of the Government of Gujarat. As a result and consequence of the said breach of confidentiality. I was visited and continue to be visited with unpleasant consequences.


I became highly apprehensive about my security and the safety and security of my family members. In view of the perceived security threat, I requested the Government of Gujarat to provide me and my family members with adequate and fool-proof security cover. Unfortunately, the Government of Gujarat has chosen not only to disregard my repeated requests, but has time and again, sought to jeopardize my security by withdrawing even the existing make-shift and minimal security arrangement, worked out from within the meager resources at my disposal.


I have serious and well-founded apprehensions regarding my own safety and and the safety and security of my family members.
I am constrained to take the liberty of filing this Affidavit before this Hon’ble Court to bring on record certain disquieting aspects and inadequacies in the manner and approach of the SIT, personally experience by me during my interaction with the SIT.


As Deputy Commissioner (Intelligence) with the State Intelligence Bureau, during the Gujarat Riots of 2002, I was privy to a plethora of information pertaining to the facts and circumstances that led to and facilitated the communal carnage that took place in Gujarat in 2002. I did not bring these facts to light earlier due to the fact that I was privy to this information in my capacity as an officer of the Intelligence Bureau and was not expected to divulge the details unless under a legal obligation to do so.


Many serious incidents of communal violence, including the carnage at Gulberg Society, could have been easily prevented by firm and determined action on part of the Police.


I therefore request that this Hon’able Court be pleased to ensure that the SIT follows up on all the leads provided by me in such a manner that even reluctant witnesses feel safe and confident to state the truth. It is further requested that the Government of Gujarat and the authorities under its control may kindly be restrained from pressurizing witnesses with a view to prevent the truth from coming out.

My Take

Most of us are convinced about the main role played by Narendra Modi in deliberately escalating Communal tension in Gujarat leading to the Riots of 2002. The surprising and terrifying truth that is revealed here in this affidavit by Mr Sanjiv Bhatt is the fact that SIT appointed by the Supreme Court is trying to shield Modi from prosecution.

How will Supreme Court react to this?  Will  there be a new SIT? Then it may take many more years before any verdict can be expected. Or will the Supreme Court be brave enough to ask for charge sheeting Modi with all the present evidence? Or is there a remote and dreaded chance of Supreme Court rejecting this affidavit?
Most probably, as more and more truths are revealed  Modi will become a liability for BJP and will be asked to step down. The affidavit by this brave IPS Officer Sanjiv Bhatt may be the beginning of end game for Narendra Modi.


Affidavit full text

India's Tahrir Square Moment- But why the 'wise' men are sulking?

Last week we saw some extra-ordinary scenes from the Indian Capital Delhi.A frail old man named Anna Hazare started a fast on to Death demanding Central Government speed up the process of drafting a LokPal Bill in Parliament as a measure to control and reduce Corruption.He wanted some non-Governmental members in the Panel to draft the LokPal Bill.

The response to the Fast was amazing. Hundreds of people from all walks of life began visiting Jantar Mantar to express support. Social media outlets and TV news channels went on an over drive to mobilise support for Anna Hazare. Most Cities and towns held demonstrations and sit-ins in support of the anti-corruption drive. Reluctant Opposition politicians were also forced to express support for the movement.Jantar Mantar became a must go destinations for Celebrities and God men.Many started calling the place India's Tahrir square.

The Government first tried to defame the movement.Seeing the mass support Anna Hazare was getting Government started negotiating.An attempt to create another Group of Ministers for drafting the Bill was not accepted.By the end of 4 days the Government had to agree to almost all demands of Hazare.

By his fast Anna Hazare ensured that a stronger anti-corruption law will come into effect in India soon,probably with in few months.He also was able to put some of the key campaigners against Corruption in India in the panel to draft the Bill.

So far so good. I thought every one would be happy to see a such a public movement against Corruption.I thought the wise men/women writing newspaper columns,blogs and tweeting will be ecstatic as there is going to be a real big effort to reduce Corruption and prosecute and punish the Corrupt,one of their long standing demand.
Strangely I found most 'wise' men sulking. Whether it was a Right wing columnist or an extreme Left wing one or for that matter even a few Centrist voices, all were in  sulky mood.
Here are some excerpts.

We must now countenance the extra-constitutional authority with which ‘civil society’ representatives like Mr Shanti Bhushan and his son, Mr Prashant Bhushan, who between themselves passionately espouse the cause of mass killers, terrorists  and Maoists  have been vested.



We must also accept that in these terrible and terrifying times those who believe in the Constitution and constitutionalism have been abandoned to the not-so-tender mercies of the practitioners of ‘Gandhian’ blackmail disguised as ‘non-violence
 Journalist close to RSS,Kanchan Gupta in Pioneer


This kind of unison scares me. It reminds me of the happy synchronized calisthenics of the kind that totalitarian regimes love to use to produce the figure of their subjects. And all fascist regimes begin by sounding the tocsin of ‘cleansing’ society of corruption and evil...... Nothing can be more dangerous for democracy. Unrestrained debate and a fealty to accountable processes are the only means by which a democratic culture can sustain itself. The force of violence, whether it is inflicted on others, or on the self, or held out as a performance, can only act coercively. And coercion can never nourish democracy........

Shuddhabrata Sengupta a Left wing Columnist in Kafila

Sometimes a sense of unbridled virtue can also subvert democracy. The agitation by civil society activists over the Jan Lokpal Bill is a reminder of this uncomfortable truth........   the movement behind the Jan Lokpal Bill is crossing the lines of reasonableness. It is premised on an institutional imagination that is at best naïve; at worst subversive of representative democracy.

The morality of fasting unto death for a political cause in a constitutional democracy has always been a tricky issue. There is something deeply coercive about fasting unto death........ it amounts to blackmail.                                          
 Pratap Bhanu Mehta in Indian Express     

Anna Hazare and his movement has been called 'fascist',subverting democracy,black mailing the Government etc etc.
Oh........  and I thought that frail old man was just trying the least he can do to reduce Corruption.
Fascist?????   He was leading a most non-violent agitation.
Subversion of Democracy????? He was trying to push the Government to pass a Bill in the most democratic way inside the Parliament.

Black Mail?
 If the Government had credibility and people's support and if it was brave,it should have just ignored the Fast  or arrest Anna Hazare and force feed him as being done for Irom Sharmilla.
What stopped the Government from doing that?
Lack of credibility as UPA is neck deep in corruption scams.
The Govt knew that hundreds of others were ready to carry on the fast.
The fact that an insensitive Government lacking credibility was forced to obey the wishes of vast majority of people reminds us of the famous Fasts of Gandhiji during British regime.You can call it emotional black mail but many a time ordinary citizens of the country is left with only that legitimate weapon to get attention of insensitive Governments.
How can I be sure that vast majority of people supported Hazare?
From the way the movement was attracting supporters in a huge scale increasing hour to hour.
Good Politicians knows the people's mind.Vast majority of them sensing the mood of the people began supporting Hazare. With Assembly elections around the corner the Govt had to back track from earlier position and agree to Hazare's demand.

It was strange to see Commentators from across the political spectrum unite in condemning Hazare using similar words. They all were so critical of status quo,but when someone began an agitation to change it,they became insecure and confused. Most of these 'wise' men and the Government was caught by surprise by Hazare's Fast and the response it got.

Instead of respecting the people's sentiment they are trying to belittle its sincerity and importance. The people's response was  even called  "tele-evangelised pop agitation of Page 3 elite".

Both the Left and Right wing Commentators agreed on the theory that whole agitation was 'stage-managed' by the Government to prevent a real agitation taking roots.This claim of theirs is with no proof  while all the  circumstantial evidence and logical thinking easily allow us to reach the conclusion that it was a spontaneous and genuine movement,the response of which far exceeded the expectations of the organizers.

Is Lokpal Bill the panacea of all evils in the system?

No. It is just a short step of a long journey the country has to take.
As many pointed out the Jan Lokpal Bill has several controversial clauses needing modification.Even if a good law is passed it has to be implemented properly.


More than the Bill,constant Public questioning and pressure on Corrupt officials/politicians can help in cleansing the Polity.The Public sentiment in coming out in large numbers for a peaceful agitation against Corruption augurs well for Indian Society.It gives us hope about future of our Country.

Any movement which brings out ordinarily selfish and inert people out into the streets for a peaceful agitation for the betterment of the Society should always be hailed.

 

Godhra Verdict.Whose conspiracy?

"It (burning of the Sabarmati Express) was a pre-planned act. The culprits will have to pay for it. It was not communal violence. It was a violent, one-sided, collective act by only one community."

- Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat, in a press statement made during his visit to Godhra on February 27, 2002. few hours after the tragedy.

After Narendra Modi pronounced this verdict, the Godhra incident was used to carry out a retaliatory pogrom, in which more than 1,000 people were killed. Modi then manipulated the public sympathy and sense of insecurity generated in the post-Godhra phase and was able to win two State Assembly elections.
 The Police in Gujarat from the day of the incident was trying their best to prove the Chief Minister's verdict was correct.Now the Special Court has accepted the conspiracy theory and convicted 31 people. Has justice been delivered?

At the offset it is clear that it is Narendra Modi and his party BJP which will get maximum advantage if the Godhra killings were proved to be a pre-planned attack.That is why immediately after the incident Modi,in charge of Governing the State clearly pronounced without any evidence it was pre-planned attack.
The first FIR only speaks about a mob fury and not any conspiracy,But after Modi has declared it was a conspiracy Police began to change stance. Several FIRs were made. On 3 March 2002, the stringent anti-terror law POTA was invoked and the Godhra case became an act of terrorism. But since mob fury could not be called  terrorism without introducing the element of conspiracy,on 9 March, the police invoked section 120(b) of the Indian Penal Code, which pertains to criminal conspiracy.


But was there really a conspiracy?
 Read  here how Ashish Khetan picks apart Judge Patel’s verdict of conspiracy in this article in Tehelka.
Here are some excerpts.

What the Police claim?
 On the night of 26 February 2002, two secret meetings were held at Aman Guest House near Godhra railway station. It was decided there that petrol should be bought and used the next morning to set coach S-6 of the passing Sabarmati train on fire.


 Five Muslim vendors were present at the first meeting. At the second meeting, which happened after the buying of the petrol, two vendors and two Muslim corporators — Bilal Haji and Farooq Bhana — were present.
Though Maulvi Umarji himself was not present at any of these meetings, it was he who had chosen coach S-6 as a target and it was at his behest that the meetings were held and 140 litres of petrol were bought from a nearby petrol pump called Kalabhai Petrol Pump. The police claimed that two attendants from Kalabhai Petrol Pump had told them that the accused had indeed bought 140 litres of petrol.
The police also claim that the next morning, taking advantage of an altercation between karsevaks on the train and Muslim vendors on the platform, the conspirators mobilised a violent Muslim mob and used the petrol bought the previous night to set the train on fire. According to the police, though Kalota was not part of the original conspiracy, he incited the rioters to burn the train once the mob had built up.


The police also claim that the Muslim conspirators forced a Hindu tea vendor to help them burn the train.  Ajay Kanu Baria claimed that on the morning of 27 February 2002, just after the arrival of the Sabarmati Express, nine Muslim hawkers whom he knew since they all sold wares at Godhra station, forcibly took him to the house of Razzak Kurkur, the owner of Aman Guest House. Once there, the nine went inside Kurkur’s house and brought out carboys filled with ‘kerosene’ (he doesn’t specify the number of carboys and he specifically uses the word kerosene). One of the hawkers, he said, then forced him to load a carboy onto a rickshaw while the other hawkers loaded the rest.


The prosecution’s conspiracy theory against Godhra Muslims rested primarily on five sets of witnesses


1. Nine BJPmen who claimed to be eyewitnesses to the carnage


These men accused 41 Muslims who spent nine years in jail. A TEHELKA sting caught two of these BJP men admitting on camera they were actually at home that day and the police fabricated their statements. They went along to “serve the cause of Hindutva”. The judge has now discarded all nine testimonies


2. Ajay Baria, a Hindu vendor, forced into the plot; saw it all


Judge Patel has relied hugely on Baria’s account. But why would Muslim conspirators pick a Hindu man at the last minute to help load the petrol and burn the train? TEHELKA tried to track him but failed. His mother said he had been coerced into becoming a police witness and lived under constant police surveillance.


3. Two petrol pump attendants who claim they sold 140 litres of fuel to some Muslims on 26 Feb


Ranjitsinh and Pratapsinh Patel had first told the police that they had not sold any loose petrol that crucial night. In a shocking turnaround, six months later, they changed their version. However, TEHELKA caught Ranjitsinh admitting on camera that he and Pratap had been bribed Rs. 50,000 by police officer Noel Parmar to do that. He also tutored them to identify particular Muslims in court as being the buyers


4. Jabir Bahera, a petty criminal, who first named Maulvi Umarji as a mastermind


Bahera claimed it was UmarjiUmarji was not at any conspiracy meetings. He later retracted everything


5. Sikandar Siddique, another petty criminal, said he had pulled the chain the second time


Siddique is an obvious unreliable witness. Besides Umarji, he had said Maulvi Punjabi had incited the mob. But Punjabi was not even in the country that day


The main questions raised by the defence were:


 There was no reason why the accused would specifically target coach S-6. There was no material to show Maulvi Umarji had any knowledge of who was travelling on this coach, or of having any enmity with them.


. The entire train was full of karsevaks drawn from VHP and Bajrang Dal. Why would Umarji and his co-conspirators target coach S-6 alone?


. There was nothing to show that on or before 26 February 2002, there was any friction between karsevaks and Godhra Muslims grave enough to provoke premeditated carnage.


. Nothing to show that any Godhra resident was even aware that karsevaks were travelling back on this train.


. Nothing to show the altercation between tea vendors and karsevaks on February 27 or the alleged molestation of a Muslim girl were ever an element of the conspiracy.




Let me add

The Sabarmati Express was late by about 5 hours. If it came on time it would have reached Godhra around 230AM. At that time every body would have been sleeping in the train and outside. What was the conspirators original plan assuming the train is on right time? How would they be able to mobilise a mob at that time?

Curiously all the attack on train was from one side. Not a single stone was thrown from the other side.If it was a conspiracy one expects attackers to surround the train from both sides.

It seems that Narendra Modi, being an opportunist and a clever/wicked politician as he is,used the horrific burning of 59 people in coach S-6 of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra on 27 February 2002  by a Muslim mob to his and his Party's advantage.By reiterating the Godhra incident was a pre-planned attack [before any investigation] by Muslims on Hindus, he set the tone for  the carnage in Gujarat which resulted in deaths of more than 1000 people. By further dividing the Gujarat society on religious grounds he ensured his election victory.


 Using his loyal followers in Gujarat Police he must have tried to and succeeded in manufacturing evidences and even some verdicts so as to further malign the name of Muslims and to ensure that he remain in power.

There is no doubt that the culprits who formed the Muslim mob who attacked and burned the train and killed the Hindu Karsevaks should be given the harshest punishment possible.But that do not mean that there should be a Government led conspiracy to manufacture evidences and witnesses so that whole Muslim community of an area could be painted as enemy of the State.Such an attempt may give you some short term gains as votes but the long term consequences for the Country will be disastrous.