Soorya Festival at Kozhikode...

Soorya festival, the famous art and cultural event was held in Kozhikode for the first time from 26^th to 30^th December 2008. My pre-occupations kept me away from the even at the Tagore hall until the final day. The classical music concert by the famous music director Sarath was the main event yesterday. The opening item was a short drama by the students of Sanskrit University –Kalady. It was a comedy drama consisting of two characters. The actors gave a brilliant performance and succeeded in reaching out to the audience. There was an exhibition of paintings by budding artists from the Mural painting institute at Guruvayur and some local painters. I was especially enchanted by the Mural paintings of Radha-Krishna and the Mirabai.

 The concert itself was a sumptuous treat. This was the first time that I had attended a classical music concert. I was spell bound by the performance of the now-familiar, highly talented disciple of the maestro Balamurali Krishna. Sarath sir, as he is fondly called by his fans, had the audience spell bound by his rendition of the famous carnatic numbers like Vathapi and Nagumo. Apart from the pure classical songs, he also came up with such famous all-time hits like Mamankam, much to the delight of the crowd. I must admit I was totally mesmerised by the music. Truly a memorable evening for me and I suspect I might start going to carnatic concerts more often henceforth. 

The prodigal brother...

The Mumbai terror attacks have been a wake up call for India in many ways. India has finally realised that it can no longer afford to shy away from encountering the menace of cross border terrorism.

 Partition was the biggest mistake ever made by the erstwhile British colonialist regime, one that should have been resisted by the then political leadership dominated by the Indian National Congress. To be fair, there were many voices against the partition including that of the Mahatma himself. But, the majority of the leaders were unable to muster enough courage and will power to resist and defeat the last ditch effort of the Colonial regime to exploit the inherent diversity of the Indian nationhood. Many historians maintain that a prolonged freedom struggle may be for another ten or twenty years would have ensured a free, truly secular, unified sovereign republic of India. This would have saved India and the world from majority of the terrorist threats that exist today.

 The prodigal brother has been bleeding India for decades. Majority of the international community, especially the US and other western powers, chose to ignore the phenomenon until the 9/11 catastrophe. India should have learned its lessons from the pre-9/11 scenario. It is our prerogative to ensure our own safety. In the process, we have to force Pakistan to destroy the terror-factories operating from its soil. Pakistan will a tough time dealing with the extremist forces including the Taliban. In such a scenario, one could be fairly assured that the Pakistani army will topple the democratic government and will try to stand up to the ‘Hindu threat.’ This is when the US and other western powers will find the script unpalatable to them. They would prefer a Pakistan which is a base for their operations in Afghanistan. They would not want the Pakistani dispensation to be drawn away from the Afghan front by the Indian challenge. India must realise that this is the crux of the challenge that we have to overcome in our very own war against terror. India should draw the line here and must let the whole world know that the security of its people and assets are paramount to it. If in the process the US finds itself in a tough situation then, so be it. India must start getting its priorities right. US can flex its muscle and withdraw the economic and military aids given to Pakistan. The international community can impose enough restrictions on the Pakistani trade to make Islamabad fall in line. If and when India and the world adopt such a position, the prodigal brother will have no option but to fall in line. 

The inflation figures....retail prices still on the higher side...

The weekly figures say the inflation is down. But is the common man getting the benefits? Even yesterday when I went to the vegetable shop, I found the prices still on the higher side. I did not buy tomatoes because of the high prices. The groceries are also being sold at high prices across the retail stores. The only direct impact that I feel is the slashed prices of petrol. May be I should keep my fingers crossed for some more days for the prices to come down.

Politics at its worst.....

The remarks made by Union Minister Antulay has once again betrayed the ugly face of senseless politics played by the meanest of the bunch. Without going into the finer points of the comments made by the Minister, what disturbs me the most is the time, place and the manner in which the comments have been made. Mr. Antulay must have had the minimum common sense to remember that he is a Union Minister. The position he is in brings affords him much better forum than the media microphones to voice his genuine concerns. I assume that he has many mechanisms and official channels at his disposal to discharge his duties efficiently. By making such an irresponsible public statement, he has exposed himself as totally incapable of comprehending the responsibilities that have been entrusted upon him.

 At a time when the nation, most of all the common man, has restrained from indulging in divisive politics, the Minister has indeed let down himself and the state.

The right to fair trial...

There has been a debate about whether Ajmal Kasab, the terrorist captured in Mumbai, deserves the right to defend himself in a court of law. Questions have been raised about the ethics of lawyers who are willing to offer their services to Kasab. It is a fact that the whole world saw the pictures of Kasab committing heinous crimes against humanity. I don’t think there is any point spending millions of rupees on prosecuting this terrorist. It would be a criminal wastage of time and energy of all those who are involved in the criminal prosecution process.

 But, India is a democracy and we do have certain obligations to ourselves when it comes to human rights. We cannot afford to lay down a wrong precedence by not allowing Kasab the opportunity to defend himself, though I certainly cannot imagine what any lawyer can do or say to defend such a convict.  The problem is that the country’s system is so slow and tedious when it comes to convicting the hard core criminals. We certainly would hate to see Kasab being let loose after another Kandahar like situation.And the legal aid must not come from any political parties, NGOs or other institutions. It is a technical legal process and must remain so.

 Anyway, I think we should let Kasab defend himself and keep our fingers crossed. This could be the ultimate trial for the country’s judicial system. 

The negative industrial growth.......

The country’s industrial growth for the month of October 2008 has dipped alarmingly to -0.4%. The figure for the month of November 2008 is also expected to be as dismal as that of October. Much has been said about the global economic crisis and its repercussion in India. But the Prime Minister and the former Finance Minister Mr.P.Chidambaram have always been in self-denial mode. They kept saying that the Indian economy is somehow immune to the global trends to a large extend.

The RBI also was focusing almost entirely on containing the inflation. Lot of liquidity has been flushed out of the system. Now, the inflation figures have started coming down, but the prices of food and vegetables continue to be on the higher side.

While taking part in the parliamentary debate in the wake of the Mumbai terror attack, Mr.P.Chidambaram made a candid admission that our government system is such that at crisis times instead of making decisions, we often gets caught up in indecision. The statement may well apply to the government’s handling of the economic crisis as well.

United we stand....

Yesterday’s debate in the Indian Parliament regarding the recent terror attacks was reassuring for the common man. After a long time, we got to see our leaders participation in a meaningful, constructive and thoughtful debate. 

Even some leaders who were known to be of poor oratory skills made stirring and effective speeches. What enabled them to come out with such memorable performance is that, this time around all of them were speaking from their heart. The passion, emotion and the anger made the speakers rise above the average. The spirit of unity displayed in the Parliament amply demonstrates an angry but mature India.

The dysfunctional government in Kerala..yet again....

The LDF government in Kerala, led by V.S.Achuthananthan has been reeling under the pressure of factional feud, both within the CPI(M) and among the allies that constitute the LDF. We are well acquainted with the bitter factional feuds and the resulting paralysis of the government machinery under the Congress led UDF regimes. But the LDF always made sure that their governments were not affected by the factional feud which within the CPI(M). In retrospect, I believe the presence of such eminent luminaries like E.M.S and Nayanar had enabled the LDF governments to function without such blatant disregard for the principle of collective responsibility.

 It is another matter that even these governments were ineffective in capturing the imagination of the people by implementing long-term projects and charting out a clear road map for the state. In fact as the people kept getting disillusioned by the ruling coalition, they kept changing the government every five years. This made the two coalitions even more laid back and dysfunctional.

 Kerala has always been a pioneer in the socio-political arena, many practices in the state later being emulated in the national level. It is about time the people in Kerala came up with a new, effective tactic to make the government function.

The assembly poll results...

The results of the recent polls held in five states have been on the expected lines, save the Shiela magic in Delhi. It is heartening to see that in Delhi, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh people have acknowledged good governance. In Rajasthan, the infighting cost the BJP dearly, in spite of the reasonably good job done by Vasundhra Raje.

 I hope that people will utilise the power of ballots wisely and decisively in the general elections coming up in the next few months. One can only hope that there will not be a hung parliament which will give rise to all sorts of post-poll alliances, horse trading and corruption. At this crucial juncture, that would be a disaster for the nation.

A wake up call for the citizens as well...

The Mumbai terror attacks continue to dominate the national imagination, rightly so. It has been quite some time since the common man has expressed himself in such a transparent, forceful and united manner. India is so diverse a nation that there cricket and bollywood may well be the only common factors among two different parts of the country. All other factors of life varies from place to place and I do feel it is this diversity that makes India such an enigmatic and vibrant nation.

 Still, it is about time we the people realized our own responsibilities and duties. We should stop jumping the queue at every available opportunity, stop attempting to bribe our way through the systems of this country. Stop placing ‘myself and my family above everything else’ in an attempt to outdo one’s neighbours, colleagues, friends and the entire society in pursuit of material success. It is time for us to go back to the principles, knowledge and the science which is the basis of India, the great nation.

 We do have so much to offer to this world and to ourselves. But sadly we have misplaced our priorities. We have become selfish, callous and self-centred. We have become cowards and shy away from facing the hardships of modern life. We don’t want to question our callous politicians, we don’t have the guts to stand up to the local goondas and thugs, we don’t have the courage to question the system of bribery and we are too scared to live life on our own terms......

 Now is the time, the time to change ourselves. 

Akram has a great suggestion............

Wasim Akram has suggested that India and Pakistan should play a cricket test match at Mumbai to express solidarity. Though cricket is not on anybody’s mind at present, I do think Akram has come up with an interesting suggestion.

 It is true that Pakistan is at the centre of the anti-India activities. But, unlike at the time of the Kargil war, this time around I do believe the Pakistani government or the Army does not have a direct role in the terror attacks. In fact, I think the Pakistani establishment has lost control over the terrorist groups operating in that country. The ISI could still be involved in the anti-India activities, but the onus is on the Indian government to come out with concrete evidence of the same. Mere allegations would not suffice, though most of us in India are convinced about the truthfulness of the same.

 Meanwhile India has to move forward. It has to regain credibility in the international community as a place safe enough to live, do business and to visit. As always, sports could be the answer. If India and Pakistan manage to come together and play a cricket match in Mumbai, it would be a stupendous achievement.

 It is true that the wounds are still too fresh to heal, too raw to be touched. Still we owe it to ourselves to keep working towards a safer India, a safer sub-continent and a safer world.

The Indian response........

The Indian government’s response to the recent terror attacks in Mumbai falls well short of expectations. I understand that each time something like this happens India cannot be seen to be placing a finger on the dreaded button, threatening to blow up Pakistan and destroying the sub-continent in the process.

 Still, I want my government to confront Pakistan with all the evidence that we have, and pressurize them to take stern action against the use of their territory for anti-Indian activities. I want my government to do the same with all other nations that are the base for anti-Indian activities, including Bangladesh.

 I want India to secure the extradition of all wanted criminals including Dawood Ibrahim by any means required.

 I want punishment of the convicted terrorists who are enjoying their stay in various jails, the expense for which is paid by the common Indian, to be carried out immediately.

I want my government to deport the illegal migrants from Bangladesh and secure our borders against all kinds of infiltration.

 I want the government to come up with a time-bound mechanism to dispose of all the pending cases related to terrorism. We cannot afford to have these sensitive cases to drag on endlessly.

 I want the intelligence agencies of this country to be made accountable at some level, either to the legislature or to the judiciary.

 There are so many factors that need to be looked into, so many loose ends to be tied up. The task is difficult but not impossible for a government which has the will power, the right persons at the right posts and above all the dedication and the commitment towards the people they are supposed to serve.

At last, the heads start rolling.............

It is good that at last the Home Minister has obliged us. The Maharsahtra Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister are also on their way out. These two insensitive, petty politicians have displayed an amazing ability to antagonize the already angry citizens of the country. All the three had to be asked for their resignations covertly and overtly by their respective ‘high commands’, demonstrating the total lack of conscience and morality among a large section of our politician.

 The process of getting some ministers or officials replaced is not a solution in itself. Still, it does send out a signal that after all, people’s wrath has some value in the Indian democracy.