Hazare dare to India, Hurriyat style - Disdain for democracy common link

SANKARSHAN THAKUR

New Delhi, Aug. 26: Between television and the real thing lies a deceptive parallax. That insistent image — a portly frame shifting, screaming at the bottom of a cinemascope Gandhi, almost an appendage to the plastered muse of his mesmeric ventriloquism — is barely even accessible to the naked eye at close range.

Click to read the full article

Rahul Gandhi begins long march from Greater Noida to Aligarh Kisan Mahapanchayat

Nagla Bhatona, Uttar Pradesh, July 5: Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi began his four-day long march from Parsaul village near Greater Noida to Aligarh, where he will participate in a Kisan Mahapanchayat. Flanked by the Special Protection Group (SPG), state police and Congressmen, Gandhi is covering the distance of almost 130 km on foot- stopping at villages to convene public meetings over land acquisition.

He came unannounced for a panchayat at Parsaul village at 6 AM today, almost two months after he was whisked away by the police from the same spot. On May 11, he was forcibly evacuated to Delhi during a sit-in against alleged police atrocities on farmers opposed to land acquisition for the Yamuna Expressway.

Gandhi has attempted a Dandi March, beginning his march from Parsaul at 630 A.M.- the same time at which the Mahatma broke the Salt Laws in Gujarat’s coastal village of Dandi on April 6, 1930. The Congress- which had planned a Kisan Mahapanchayat at Bhatta and Parsaul villages- was forced to shift the venue to Aligarh’s exhibition grounds due to pressure for the state government.

The initial venue was the place where police clashed with villagers who were holding three transport employees hostage, on May 7. Four people, including two policemen were killed.

From Parsaul, he moved to Rustampur and Bhaipur villages, meeting people, walking through fields and slush in the fierce sun. He kept rolling up his sleeves, deliberately showing off his biceps. After walking a distance of 16km he sat for a panchayat at Nagla Bhatona village.

The villager elders spoke over a megaphone one-by-one, all saying that the prices offered for their land to be acquired for the Yamuna Expressway was too low, on how MNREGA wages weren’t paid fully, on how their MP and MLA hadn’t visited them since May 7. The local MLA and MP are from the BSP.

“Every time farmers ask for their rights, they get shot at,” said Niranjan Singh- an elderly peasant leader- “You must lead a Congress government in UP next year. That is the only solution.”

Finally, Rahul took the megaphone and said, “From Delhi we can’t understand the land problem, that’s why I have come here… I haven’t found one farmer who will deny his land to the government. They only want a fair price. The rich will get a market, the poor need justice.” The villagers nodded in agreement.

Villager Subhash Bhati, who’s land yields him four crops annually said that all they want was for the government to negotiate the price with them, and not impose it. “There’s an atmosphere of fear and uncertainity. We don’t know when our land will be acquired,” he said looking fondly at his clay field with a standing maize crop.

His friend, hookah-smoking 70-year-old Jagbir Singh said, “Other parties just courted arrest at the border. After Rahul has come, it’s just one-way traffic for the Congress.” They begin to jeer at Mausam Khan a local BSP activist asking him, “Where’s your party now.” Mausam now denies the BSP, almost as vehemently as Peter denied Christ.

Many villagers said that even if they got a good price they wouldn’t know what to do with it. “All we know is farming. Our relatives in neighbouring villages who sold their land bought houses and cars. Now they are broke, their sons criminals,” said village elder Sundar Pal.

Congress sources said that the apart from getting inputs for amendment to the Land Acquisition Act, the march is also an attempt to win back the Gujjars who have drifted away from the Congress in the recent past. “Beyond Aligarh, it is the Jats who dominate and they largely remain loyal to Ajit Singh. This part of western UP- which is a Gujjar Belt- has great potential,” said a senior leader.

Gandhi rested for about 3 hours in a house in the village. As rain clouds gathered after a squall subsided by 5 PM, Gandhi continued his march, not speaking a word, towards Jewar 9km away- where Mayawati has been pushing for an airport.

The first story i filed for a mainstream paper, while interning at The Hindu, Puducherry

6th May, 2007
Second round of French Presidential polls

Hectic politicking in Puducherry

Reporter



PUDUCHERRY: France went to a second round of presidential polls today. The final contestants in the fray are Segolene Royal of the socialist party and Nicolas Sarkozy of the Union for the presidential majority (UMP). The latter is the incumbent Interior [Home] Minister of France. The French Consul General's office here is the voting centre for Puducherry. There are more than 5000 voters on the electoral rolls of Puducherry. The turnout is expected to be lower than the first round which took place last week, in which Ms. Royal led with a slim majority in Puducherry but was second overall.

The electorate here is sharply divided and both parties have been campaigning vigourously for their votes. The UMP has even advertised in Tamil dailies and pasted posters declaring victory for Sarkozy. Most young voters appeared to be in favour of Royal, due to Sarkozy's alleged racist leanings. A young female voter, from Auroville, said, "He's [Sarkozy] racist. Look what he's doing to the country! I voted [for the] Socialist." Yet, there were other youth, like Vijayan from Puducherry town, who was impressed with Sarkozy's punch line, 'Everything is possible.' He supported Sarkozy's tough stand against illegal migration.

Many senior citizens, even those infirm, turned out to vote. Among them were Gaullists who owe their allegiance to the UMP. Most of these individuals are ex-service personnel. One such Gaullist, Thiru Bichat Balaraman said, that the Socialists are dividing the country on basis of economic status. With the UMP, everyone would prosper. He criticised the youth supporting Royal without having a proper understanding of history.

The presence of Socialists in front of the Consulate was prominent. Thiru Bhupathi Bernard, the treasurer if their Puducherry unit said that the incumbent UMP's handling of issues like migration, racism and citizenship would prove to be its death knell. He added, "Over 1000 applications for citizenship for spouses of French nationals in Puducherry are pending in the consulate. This is due pressure from the French government to exclude those of non-European origin from France." Socialist youth were observed tearing off UMP posters pasted opposite the consulate.

The Muslim backlash against Sarkozy in France is absent in Puducherry. Even the UMP organiser here is Muslim, viz. Lieutenant Colonel Mouhamad Moustafa, a former intelligence officer in Armee de l'Air [French Air Force].

One voter, Thirumathi Camatchiammane complained of his lethargic attitude towards the campaign. As the fate of their presidency in far off France is decided, the French nationals of Puducherry will have an anxious night ahead.

Remains of the day- resentment over father-son duo in drafting committee

New Delhi, April 9: The music’s over, but unlike The Doors song, they aren’t ready to turn off the lights yet. The acceptance of Hazare’s demand of a joint drafting committee of both government and non-government representatives has opened a pandora’s box of questions from participants of his 98-hour fast.

Many refused to break their fast at 1045 AM along with 72-year-old Hazare until they were offered an explanation as to why ex-cop and activist Kiran Bedi was excluded and father-and-son laywer duo Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan were included in the committee.

Much of the 4-day street show featured activists crying hoarse over dynastic rule. Irate fasters got into verbal duels today afternoon with Swami Agnivesh, Arvind Kejriwal and Medha Patkar- whom Hazare had left behind to face the people. People jostled for the mic claiming that it was their right to ask questions after the 4-day fast.

A man got hold of the mic and asked who had elected the members of the committee. “You had the names ready when the government asked for it? You kept us in the dark about it. How can two members be from the same family,” he shouted at Agnivesh.

Agnivesh replied that Bedi had herself requested not to be part of the committee. “We couldn’t conduct polling to chose the members under the circumstances of the agitation. Chidambaram, Salman Khursheed and Sibal are big lawyers. We needed equally strong lawyers to shut them up in the meetings.” It is only a coincidence that they are father and son, he explained. Shanti Bhushan had represented Raj Narain against Indira Gandhi in 1975 and his pursued many PILs for free. Besides, they were instrumental in framing the bill.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Prashant Bhushan said that he would’ve preferred to stay out of the committee. “I wanted it to be more broad based. Retired Judges could have been included along with activists. It was Hazare and Kejriwal who insisted on my father and I being part of it as they needed legal inputs on the committee as the government has included many good lawyers.”

Those who hadn’t broken their fast in the morning, did do after Agnivesh’s speech at 330 PM with khichdi and curds. One such faster Mahipal Arya said that the challenge now was to get the bill, in the form they want, to be passed. He was sad that Bedi wasn’t in, but then “picture abhi baaki hai,” he said. At the clebrations at India Gate in the evening, many people carried posters with “Picture abhi baaki hai” written on them along with the uncharitable jibes- against Sonia Gandhi and the PM- which was characteristic of this campaign.

Agnivesh announced a conference in Delhi on June 4 and 5 of all anti-corruption activists to review the passage of the bill.

Medha bats for more power to the “people”

New Delhi, April 9: Having tasted success after the fast-unto-death led by social activist Anna Hazare, activist Medha Patkar- who has been leading the campaign against big dams on the River Narmada for 22 years- now wants a greater role for “people’s organizations” in lawmaking.

“It is not just us (activists) who want a greater role in framing laws, society as a whole wants that,” she said after the Hazare fast wound up today. Though Patkar wasn’t willing to specify if she wanted social activists nominated to the Lok Sabha in addition to the Rajya Sabha, she said that “people’s organizations” were already playing a big role in legislation, either in their drafting or lobbying or both.

“To avoid conflict the government, we want a joint drafting committee for the Development Planning Act too,” she told The Telegraph before heading to Swami Agnivesh’s office for a meeting.

The act, she said is a combination of the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill and the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill which the union government is working on. Patkar wants a comprehensive bill on both the issues.

Patkar’s demands found resonance with participants of the celebrations at India Gate and Jantar Mantar today. Akhilesh Rawat, an independent film producer, who usually supports the left parties said that he would vote for the leaders of the anti-corruption movement if they would contest for polls. “I don’t see any party that fully represents us. These people are known to be clean and I will definitely vote for them. Even if they don’t form a party they should have a greater say in law making as we don’t trust the Congress or BJP to make honest laws.”

It seems that the acceptance of a joint drafting committee will be used as a precedent, coupled with street shows to compel the government into submission. Akhilesh says that volunteers involved in the fast, will be regularly meeting. “We need to be vigilant and support whatever causes that may arise in future,” he said. Hazare and Agnivesh also exhorted the crowd to be ready for a long battle ahead.

“This is only the beginning. We cannot be complacent. As Swami Agnivesh said, there are many more struggles ahead; there are more reforms to be made,” said Hersh Vardhan- a demonstrator at India Gate.

Hazare’s flock increases even as he appeals to keep it secular. Uma, Chautala shown the door

New Delhi, April 6: Hundred and seventy-two people have joined Anna Hazare’s fast at Jantar Mantar, here. Banners of Baba Ramdev in front of the stage have given those of the Art of Living foundation and ex- service men supporting the agitation.

Hazare supporters even appealed to the crowd not to sing religious songs. Politicians- like former CMs Uma Bharti and Om Prakash Chautala- were also kept off the stage. Hazare is also drawing new followers- like the hundred temporary school teachers, sacked by the Delhi government, who marched to his tent raising slogans against corruption. Students in Delhi, are coming to the venue between exam papers.

“I’m damn sure this will work. We can’t hire or fire ministers. Anna’s stature will force the government to pass this bill,” said Bhumika Rai, a student of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

The closest Ram Awadh Gond (60) from Mau, Uttar Pradesh, had ever got to politics was voting for Kalyan Singh when the latter was CM. After Kalyan went, he stopped voting. “I read about this protest in the paper. I came here alone. I will fast for four days before going back to tend to my farm. I’m happy here because this will end corruption,” he said.

Volunteer doctors are conducting regular check-ups of those fasting. “We’ve been asking people to at least drink lime juice, as many are dehydrated and having low blood pressure. Once this goes on for 60 hours, then some may have to be admitted. Anna’s BP though is stable,” said a doctor on condition of anonymity.

A government ambulance with advanced life support systems has been stationed at the venue.Perhaps sensing the limit of endurance, Hazare announced that he would launch a jail bharo agitation of the government fails to form a joint committee with the civil society to frame the Jan Lokpal Bill.

The protest has also got more organised. There’s a daily timetable dividing the day into meetings, rest, press briefings and sangeet-bhajan. Volunteers wearing ‘India against corruption’ caps and badges go around distributing pamphlets with information on the Jan Lokpal Bill. They run a counter with the sign- We need your support, more than your donations. “Free Miss Call to 02261559789 to fight against corruption says another.” SMS from known BJP sources are flooding text message inboxes.

There’s also a huge vinyl sheet with tricolour roundels for people to write their views. At regular intervals fasters are given the mic. They say their name, where they’re from and then say what they think is wrong with the system and how they want to change.

Old timers in the crowd comment that this is like the emergency. Sampurna Kranti is on its way. As Anna lies down fasting, the comperes have declared an open season on the Congress. Personal attacks on the PM are routine.

A poster of former BJP leader K. N. Govindacharya along with the pantheon of Hindu freedom fighters and icons and with former president APJ Abdul Kalam has come up. Even an image of Lord Ganesha was put up on the stage. It was later taken off.

Sunil Sharma, who walked around with a banner of Ramdev wrapped around himself, thinks that this will turn into another Tahrir Square. Speakers on stage have been promising that since yesterday. “If this doesn’t force the government to end corruption, Baba has promised to start a new party. This is just the beginning,” he said.

Shaukat Ali, a Hazare supporter from Amravati, Maharashtra, said that these additions were done by Ramdev’s men. “I trust in Anna. He is secular. The rest will come and go.”

Anna Hazare begins indefinite fast for Jan Lokpal Bill- Saffron nationalists make presence felt

New Delhi, April 5: Tricolours fluttered atop SUVs also bearing BJP, Rahtriya Lok Dal and yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s Bharat Swabhiman Nyas’ stickers and flags near Jantar Mantar, in the capital, where social activist Kisan Baburao “Anna” Hazare began a fast-unto-death at for a Jan Lokpal Bill.

Hazare said that this bill- drafted by Karnataka Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde, activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan social worker Arvind Kejriwal- is more transparent and stringent than the government’s Lokpal Bill which, would give to give more teeth to the ombudsman to curb corruption.

Addressing a crowd of around 500- mostly salaried class and small trader audience- 73-year-old Padmashree winner Hazare said that he had is undertaking this fast because the government denied his demand that the drafting committee for the bill have an equal number of government and civil society representatives.

“The government proposed a four-member ministerial committee. I said if ministers could stop corruption, then why is it increasing for 61 years since we became a republic.”

Hazare added that before he attended Ramdev’s anti-corruption rally in Delhi on February 27, he had written to Sonia Gandhi about the bill. “She didn’t even reply. You can’t reply to a man who has given his whole life for the country,” said the 1965-war veteran.

The audience, mesmerized by his simple manner and apparent asceticism, started raising slogans of “Shame! Shame!”

“The NAC kept calling me, but I didn’t go. They want to just use me as a photo opportunity to take the wind out the sails of our movement. I will only go when the de facto PM Sonia Gandhi takes a decision,” he added.

He said that he expected the government to relent in three to four days.

Hazare shared the dais with Magsaysay award winners Kiran Bedi, Sandeep Pandey and Kejriwal, along with activist preacher Swami Agnivesh and Prashant Bhushan. He was also visited by the JD(U)’s Sharad Yadav and the BJP’s Prakash Javadekar, who expressed solidarity with his causebut asked him to call off the fast.

The backdrop of the stage has a large image of Bharat Mata. The compere Kumar Vishwas said that in history books Alexander, Akbar and Babur were on one side a poets like Kabir on the other. Hazare was like the latter. People like the former will be forced to leave the country. Flags and banners of Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living Foundation also fluttered at the tent, and their activists chanted nationalists slogans.

Bhushan termed the government’s Lokpal Bill as “useless.”

“The Lokpal,” he said, “should have the power to recover ill-gotten wealth from the guilty.” He explained that they weren’t insisting that the government accept their draft in its entirety. “We are also agreeable to the NAC choosing common people and government representatives to frame the bill.”

While Hazare and Bhushan insisted their objective wasn’t to fell the government, Agnivesh appealed to the crowd to “throw out these corrupt rulers.” He said that simultaneous fasts are on in 500 towns and cities. “If Anna dies don’t think you will win Manmohan Singh. Ten thousand more Annas are here from Dhanbad, Hyderabad, Indore and other places,” he thundered.

Many youth and school students in the crowd said that they had got to know of the meeting from Facebook. Various organizations supporting the fast, like India Against Corruption, have launched a vigorous online publicity campaign.

Defence veterans too had gathered wearing their regimental side caps. Recent scams were the last straw that has brought them out on the street said retired Colonel R. P. Chaturvedi. “As responsible citizens we can’t burn buses. We will protest by peacefully agitating with Gandhians like Hazare,” he said.

Vimla, a slum dweller associated with city based NGO Centre for Advocacy and Research, who attended the demonstration, “This may lead to at least a small change. We trust this movement because we area part of it. We slum dwellers suffer the most due to corruption. Anna will see to it the bug fish are caught, the smaller ones will then follow.”

MPs want roads, cops prefer water supply to combat Maoists

New Delhi, March 14: MPs may have won the battle to be included in the selection panel for schemes from Integrated Action Plan (IAP) funds for Left Wing Extremist (LWE) hit districts, but the war on how these will be spent is brewing between them and the police.

The IAP was started last year with a grant of 25 crore per district per year. This will increase to Rs. 30 crore for the next financial year. Funds have started pouring in by this year.

Chatra’s independent MP Inder Singh Namdhari threw down the gauntlet when he wrote the home minister last month about MPs being excluded from selection panels.

Currently selection panels include the district’s collector or magistrate, superintendent of police and forest officer. In some districts, even officers in charge of police stations, block development officers and sub divisional officers, of the areas in which the schemes are implemented, are included.

In his terse letter Namdhari cited the landmine blast on SP Anoop T. Mathew’s convoy on May 28 last year in Palmau district, in which a cop died and two of his colleagues were injured. He blamed it on the dilapidated road at Palamu’s Chak village where the attack happened.

He wrote, “… even after release of LWE fund, this road has not been incorporated by the concerned deputy commissioners of Palamu & [sic] Chatra. It is also unfortunate that the directive sent by the home ministry has eliminated the names of MPs from the selection panel of schemes… I feel frustrated because I am not in a position to face the public of the area which has elected me.”

His views are echoed by Jehanabad’s JD(U) MP Jagdish Sharma. “Local MPs know local problems. DC’s don’t know everything. They do what they will before being transferred, but we have to live here whether we remain MPs or not. How can they beat the naxals when work hasn’t even started with these funds?

The planning commission’s online progress report shows that work on anganwadis have started in Jehanabad in January. Sharma wasn’t willing to comment on his own CM scrapping the corruption ridden MLA LADS funds.

While the finance minister included MPs on the panel in his budget speech, their mention was amiss in the printed version. Sharma, Namdhari and others wrote to him to which he clarified that MPs would be included. The online version of the speech was subsequently edited.

Planning Commission sources say that initially they had proposed to only include panchayat representatives, and not legislators, to prevent corruption and politicization. Senior police officers too want politicians out.

“We take feedback and opinions from local people whenever we implement schemes. If politicians are on the panel these schemes will get unnecessarily politicized,” said an SP of an LWE hit district.

Disagreements with politicians aren’t just on procedure, but they also extend to the actual implementation of the schemes.

Namdhari explained that underdevelopment and unemployment aren’t the only reasons for naxals gaining strength. “They are addicted to the levy they extort from contractors. The more money you pump in the stronger they get. They have a vested interest in not letting development take place.”

He added that LWE funds should solely be spent on increasing the accessibility of the police, like road building. “You shouldn’t waste it on digging ponds.” He ever wrote to Pranab Mukherjee saying, “… in the previous lot of schemes selected by officials several useless schemes have been chosen.”

The IAP however specifies that schemes should show results in the short term. An SP of an LWE district in Jharkhand explained: “I want schools in interior villages. In Palamu and Latehar there is no water in summer. Drinking water, communications- these are of best use in interior villages. Only then will the public believe in us.”

SP Anoop Mathew said, “We take on schemes we can implement fast. They may be roads, but in areas where we can provide security for construction. We have to make visible changes. This is the first time the police are playing a major role in development planning. We’re confident they will contribute in curbing naxalism.”

With legislators finally set to enter selection panels, one can only hope against hopes for a productive synergy between the 2 pillars of democracy in curbing naxalism.

Pro Telangana students meet intellectuals, curse Congress in Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 6: Members of the Telangana Students Joint Action Committee came to Delhi to urge leaders to boycott the release of the Srikrishna Committee report. They also met students and intellectuals to support a separate state. They were hosted by Congressman V. Hanumantha Rao, Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh.

J. Ramesh Babu, of Hyderabad’s Osmania University, said the region’s youth given up on political parties to achieve Telangana. He dubbed the Srikrishna report as a betrayal of the people by Sonia Gandhi. It was on her birthday, on December 9, 2009, did home minister P. Chidambaram announce the initiation of the formation of Telangana.

After a meeting with BJP leaders Shahnawaz Hussain and Anurag Thakur, the students burnt an effigy of Sonia and a copy of the report in front of the AICC hadquarters. Hussain promised that the first bill his government would pass, if they won the parliamentary elections, would be that of forming Telangana.

Since they were refused entry into the premises, they left their memorandum with the security. “We have nothing to do Congress from now on,” said Babu. The activists were further angered as rumours of 3 students getting hit by police rubber bullets, in Osmania University, reached them.

His views were echoed by social activist Swami Agnivesh, who told the students to confine the report to the dustbin. “It’s a cruel joke on the people. All those who testified before Srikrishna feel betrayed,” he added.

On the swami’s suggestion that Telangana Rashtra Samiti was the most credible party in the region, student activist Rajesh told him that the party hadn’t taken a single concrete step to solve even the day to day problems of the people.

Rajesh is from the Backward Caste Students Federation of Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, in coastal Andhra. Politicians from the region have a firm stand against bifurcation. Yet a large proportion of the students came from outside Telangana.

“Ambedkar said that smaller states would strengthen the depressed classed. Only politicians and capitalists want a united Andhra,” said Y. Vasudeva from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, in the state’s Rayalaseema region.

He added that they expect trouble from their classmates, for their support for bifurcation, when they return. “We would still flock to Hyderabad’s superior colleges, but they deserve a separate state,” said Vasudeva.

The activists appeared in front of TV cameras near the home ministry, at North Block, where the report was released. The held up placards and shouted slogans despite prohibitory orders in the area. None of them were arrested.

A public meeting by Telangana supporters is scheduled in Jawaharlal Nehru University tomorrow. Activists say they want to rope in dissent icon Arundhati Roy too. Many far- left student outfits too, in the city, are supporting the agitation.

M. S. Swaminathan addresses RSS backed NGO forum

New Delhi, Dec 22: With an image of Bharat Mata holding a saffron flag in the background, National Advisory Council member Prof. M. S. Swaminathan spoke on sustainable development at the National Convention of Voluntary Organisations, in the city today.

Organised by the Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, an organization close to the Sangh Parivar, the 2 day seminar was on Ecology for Development. Dr. Swaminathan praised Gujarat for introducing soil health charts for farmers all over the state. “It is the first state to formulate a strategy for fertilizer based on the soil’s health,” he explained.

Swaminathan rued the fact that traditional cereals, like ragi, jowar and so on, are being confined only to tribal areas. The public distribution system (PDS) only gives rice and wheat. NGOs need to impress upon the government to include traditional cereals too in the PDS and noon meals,” he said.

He added that his research foundation will start a sea water farming project in Vedaranyam Tamil Nadu, on December 26. Sea water farming can be used to cultivate shrimp, medicinal plants and mangroves which serve as a shield against tsunamis and cyclones, he said.

The need of the hour is harmony, said the professor. “A greed revolution is engulfing the country with extravagant consumption.” He cited the examples of long convoys of politicians and “the 5000 crore house of an industrialist in Mumbai,” as examples of extravagant consumption.

Swaminathan stressed the need for good social values and education.

The great Congress mela

Pheroze L. Vincent

New Delhi, Dec 19: Putting to rest all queries about his religion, a huge banner with a smiling Rahul Gandhi read: “The Indian flag is my religion.” This was among a series of banners lining Dr. Hegdewar Marg, on the periphery of the The All India Congress Committee’s 83rd plenary session in Burari, near the Delhi- Haryana border.

The banners also had images of local Congressmen who had erected them, complete with even their aliases. Aliases like Bobby, Lalu, Bhairon unnerved a sexagenarian Congressman from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, who got off the van with me. “Yeh sab Kangressi hain,” (Are these Congressmen?) he remarked.

“Jaath se hum Brahmin hain. Naam hai mera Dubey,” (I am a Brahmin named Dubey) he said introducing himself. Dubey, visibly annoyed after realizing we had got off 4.5 km. from the main entrance, went on, “Corruption and price rise will kill this party. Coming here is just an obligation to the organization my family has been part of. Look how well, Nitish and Modi are working. Why can’t we abolish the (corruption ridden) MLA- LADS scheme like Nitish?”

The Burari complex is huge- an ocean of white tents and kurta-pyjamas- surrounded by a wall of khaki. Policemen from almost every state in the country have accompanied the Congressmen they guard. Though I didn’t have a pass, I could work my way through the Central Resreve Police cordon with the rudimentary Malayalam I know.

Budaun’s Suresh Goswami stood out among this white flood. Sporting a tattered tricolour kurta and bandana, with an array of shells and beads, he has been attending Congress sessions for 22 years. “Everyone knows me,” he said, rattling off names of every known Congress boss. “I want the Congress to win,” he shouted- his voice whistling between the four teeth he has left. “I dress like this for leaders to recognize me.”

The Burari complex also has a make shift post office, a railway reservation counter and a Directorate of Audio Visual Publicity stall selling “calandars” [sic] of endangered species. The post office says they haven’t made much of a profit. “We’re only here because we have been ordered to,” said a postal worker.

The stall with the largest crowd though is the ones selling Congress merchandise- flags, badges, diaries and posters of the Mahatma Gandhi, the Nehru- Gandhi family and even Ambedkar. Congressmen made a beeline at the section selling Kurta material.

“First me, mera teen metre kaato,” (cut three meters for me) barked a leader wearing a “We want Telangana” scarf. He wanted a mint green kurta for himself. He and a couple of others later took pains to explain to others that they were from Telangana, not Andhra Pradesh’s Congress.

There weren’t any foreign delegates of fraternal parties to be seen, except for Adrian Forster from London. Part of the West Bengal Congress’ theatre troop, Adrian is playing the role of Allan Octavian Hume- the party’s founder.

“The presentation will recreate the first session of the party in Bombay in 1885. It is a combination of theatre, dance, cinema and music. There is also film footage of the anti-partition movement of Bengal,” said the director and WBPCC spokesperson Sukhendu Sekhar Roy.

The 17 minute show has 60 actors drawn from various theatres of Calcutta. “We don’t want to mention their names else it may unnecessarily give political colour to these theatre groups,” Roy added.

Behind the scenes, an army of cooks stacked piles of jalebis, kachoris, and other sweets. Sambar, with an overdose of red chillies, simmered as Congress leaders and cops dropped by to sample the grub.

Some felt that the food wasn’t up to the mark and the power cuts were unacceptable. But for Chandy Oomen, of the Youth Congress, “the session gave a feel of India.”

“It’s a great exposure for youngsters to the party's line of thought,” he added.

At the exit, Mary Babychan of the All India Womens’ Association created a ruckus. “The Lord is coming she said,” holding up a bible. “I want to see Sonia. They should give each family 5 kg rice at Re. 1 per kilo like Tamil Nadu. You policemen, who are you to stop me? Will you stop me when judgment day comes.”

A crowd of Seva Dal cadre and police gathered. “Am I saying anything wrong,” Mary asked them. A plain-clothes police man came and took her name and address. On his list were a couple of other names too.

I asked him if he would take action against her. He asked me where my pass was.

The red orchestra

Pakistani fusion band Laal has catapulted to fame with its uplifting music and poetic lyrics. Pheroze L Vincent interviews Taimur Rahman, the composer of the band.

A former teacher at the Lahore School of Economics and the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Taimur Rahman used to play the guitar in his classes to entertain and teach. In fact, Shahram Azhar, the lead vocalist of the band, was his student at LUMS. Taimur is also famous in Pakistani theatre as a producer, director and actor.

The tragi-comedy of choice

I don't get it! Why on earth was Amma cribbing over the Chennai Central seat (CPM was dying to have it) so much, when her party isn't even campaigning for it? D. Pandian, CPI’s state secretary and Chennai North candidate, may have had a better chance here against a candidate that can match his arrogance.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) isn't splitting too many hairs on the seat because they are sure of victory; the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) candidate S. M. K. M. A. Jinnah is sticking to his pocket borough of Triplicane while the Desiya Murpoku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) is going berserk printing pamphlets in English.

The BJP, which has forgotten Sukumaran Nambiar, hasn’t even fielded a candidate and the BSP’s Yunus Khan remains content with sending a campaign jeep into Triplicane Mosque in the dead of the night.

The Youth and Students Party, which seems strangely familiar to the Syrian Christian Youth Club, is parading its pathetic slogans on a tempo on Uttamar Gandhi Salai. As if all this wasn’t enough, Nungambakkam residents found themselves staring at Pyramid Party of India pamphlets (with a flowing white bearded Maharishi peeping out), as they started their vehicles in the morning.

I am sorry to say that I may have ended up voting for Hyder Bhai of the Manithaneeya Makkal Katchi (MMK), if I had a vote in the constituency. The joke that the Chennai Central campaign has been reduced to, has made even a party like MMK seem ideal to the few incurable romantic socialists that live in this constituency. No, there’s no sign of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI).

Coming home, to vote in Krishnagiri constituency, was fun. The Election Commission has played the perfect party pooper (literally) from the hinterland to the state capital, ensuring nobody has any campaign kondattam except the BJP.

This is the only party I find actually campaigning in Tamil Nadu. Kovai to Krishnagiri is dotted with saffron flags and banners with images of Advani, Karthik and Sarath Kumar and Subramanian Swamy on them. What a sangam;D

The flags don’t seem to bother either of the squabbling Dravidian twins, who are busy clashing from Luz Corner to Anchetti forest, apart from stoning the Central Industrial Security Force in Krishnagiri. The vinyl banners though, are a comic relief.

Much to the chagrin of my photographer roomie Kapil Ganesh, the election stalls of the DMK in Hosur are attracting more crowds than any others. I think I spotted late Com. Mohit Sen’s United Communist Party of India flag, among the many others, decorating a DMK stall opposite the town’s police station.

T. Rajendharr’s Latchiya Makkal Katchi’s teeny-weenie stall lay barren beside it. I actually appreciate the man for not joining the bandwagon of ‘election-parties’ that are the NDA in TN this time, but he really does push his luck to ensure the joke is on him doesn’t he?

The UPA may not be so lucky in Salem, where the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s mobilisation coupled with the Vanniyar loyalty to the PMK is punishing poor Mr. Thangkabalu. Yes, all you Tamil nationalists, I actually like Mega TV :)

Nowhere have I seen the DMDK so popular, as in my district. The night before polling two bubbly gentlemen came home to give our voting slips with the ‘Murasu’ (DMDK’s drum symbol) on it. These courageous poll code violators seemed like excited little children stealing mangoes in the dead of the night.

Despite their charm, I violated the Party line and pressed the ‘Udaya Suryan.’

Poll Punch:

1. All you Dakshin Kannada voters who think you did a favour to the cause of pub-going by voting for BJP rebel Ram Bhat, think again; he's backed the the Sri Ram Sene.

2. Ever visited Kerala's Left Democatic Front website. There's only CPM, CPI and Kerala Congress (Joseph). See, Mr. smarts pants RSP and AIFB, the CPM finally gave it to you tit-for-tat for South 24 Parganas and Dinhata. Long live Left Unity!

The rise and fall of public health in Tamil Nadu

“Tamil Nadu has always been the leader in immunization,” says Dr. T. Jacob John, virologist at the Christian Medical College, Vellore. Though small pox was eradicated in India in 1974, Tamil Nadu had already accomplished this almost a decade earlier, in 1965.

In 1977, India accepted the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), without the measles vaccine. But, in 1978, Tamil Nadu introduced the Measles vaccine against national policy. In 1984, the Planning Commission acknowledged this as a “fantastic success” and by 1990 it was introduced all over the country, says Dr. John. Tamil Nadu also became the first state to conduct laboratory investigations of measles outbreaks. There are no more deaths to due measles in the state.

Dr. John attributes these strides in public health to the state’s former health minister Dr. H. V. Hande. In 1986, Hande mandated five doses of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) for infants. The national policy only mandated three doses, so Hande got Rotary International to sponsor the additional doses. Tamil Nadu became the first state to eradicate Polio.

Sadly, this trend is in reverse. The second National Family Health Survey (NFHS-2) in 1998-99, recorded 89 per cent complete vaccine coverage of children between 12 and 23 months old. This has fallen to 81 per cent, according to the NFHS-3 in 2005-06.

Nowadays, only the first OPV dose is given free and peopled are forced to spend Rs. 500-600 on vaccines for infants, says Dr. Shanmugavelayutham, Professor of Social Work at Loyola College, Chennai. He adds that the poor spend upto 40 per cent of their income on medical expenses in states like Tamil Nadu, where health awareness is high.

After the deaths of four babies in Tiruvallur district, close to Chennai, in April, last year, due to a mix up of the measles vaccine, the state government ordered that vaccines only be given in primary health centres (PHCs).

Before this tragedy, health workers went to individual households and vaccinated infants. As a result of the government order, daily wage earners, who cannot afford to take a day off to travel to a PHC, are not getting their children vaccinated. This has lead to the number of vaccine recipients decreasing by almost 50 per cent, says Dr. Shanmugavelayutham.

Immunity from communicable diseases can be achieved by vaccinating up to a critical threshold of 80 to 85 per cent of the population and hence it will take two to three years for the immunity to fall below the threshold and diseases like measles, diphtheria and polio to make a comeback. Diphtheria outbreaks have already been reported from Vellore and Tuticorin districts of the state.

Where were you...

CPI mum on Lok Sabha candidates for TN

The Communist Party of India (CPI) remains tight lipped on its candidates in Tamil Nadu for the general elections this year. Speaking to the Daily Word, the party’s assistant secretary C. Mahendran said it would be unethical to leak the list before coming to an understanding with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). The AIADMK is the Left’s main ally, in Tamil Nadu for the elections.

The Party has announced that it would be contesting from 50 seats all over the country. The first list of 33 candidates has been released. The lists for Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are to be announced after consulting local allies.

CPI’s main left front ally, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) will be contesting for 80 parliamentary seats.

Refusing to talk about ideological differences between the AIADMK and the CPI, Mahendran said that the objective was to form a government without the Congress or Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The AIADMK has not been participating in the agitation, of which the CPI is a part, against the conflict in Sri Lanka. R. Thirumalai, state secretary of the All India Students’ Federation (AISF), the party’s student wing, said, “Alliance partners may not be of the same opinion. The Congress led government is supplying arms to Sri Lanka.”

The CPI(M) is also not part of the agitation. “The CPI(M) stand is wrong. They have failed to understand the emotions of the people for Sri Lankan Tamils,” said Thirumalai.

Mahendran emphasized that his party has no electoral understanding with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). “The BSP has a policy of no pre-poll alliances, hence we are not having any seat adjustments with the BSP,” he added. The CPI and CPI(M) are fielding 8 and 6 candidates, respectively, from BSP ruled Uttar Pradesh. CPI’s Atul Anjan is contesting from Ghosi.

Thirumalai explained that though some of the party’s supporters may temporarily shift to the BSP, they would come back to the party in the long run. “The party will continue to be the vanguard of the downtrodden,” he added.

Advani riding on the Tiger's back?

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Lal Krishna Advani’s veiled demand for a ceasefire in Sri Lanka during a Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) led fast in Chennai on Friday has surprised political pundits. Advani, who has consistently opposed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wants the issue to be resolved through negotiated political settlement and not by "brutal use of force".

During the BJP-led-National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime, Advani, then home minister, opposed the former defence minister George Fernandes, over his support to the LTTE. Fernandes was even asked not to host Tamil nationalist leader P. Nedumaran or other LTTE supporters.

Advani’s new stance has upset conservative politicians like Subramanian Swamy of the Janata Party. Swamy said that Advani's statement at the fast was not in line with BJP's zero tolerance policy on terrorism. Swamy who is believed to be supportive of BJP’s ideology, said that there can't be any talks with Tamil Tigers and India must support the government of Sri Lanka in eliminating the LTTE.

During the release of the Tamil edition of BJP leader Narendra Modi’s quotes on education yesterday, Thuglak editor, Cho Ramaswamy, criticized Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi for demanding a ceasefire in Sri Lanka. Cho compared Eelam to Kashmir implying that India should oppose secessionism in both.

The crowd, largely of BJP supporters erupted in defiance, forcing the police to intervene to maintain order. Advani seems to have recognised this latent pan-Tamil solidarity even in his party supporters in Tamil Nadu.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), which is close to the BJP, has long been trying to project the Sri Lankan conflict as a Buddhist genocide of Hindus in Lanka. Even the LTTE attempted to enforce a traditional Tamil dress code for women, in the late 1990s, in areas they controlled. The LTTE brand of nationalism, thus appeals to a section of the Hindu right.

Left without an alliance partner in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Advani has joined the bandwagon of politicians attempting to ride on a wave of sympathy for Sri Lankan Tamils caught in the crossfire between the LTTE and Sri Lankan forces. He is also attempting to get close to subtle Tamil chauvinists like Vijaykanth in order to bolster support for his party in the General elections.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has promised to field three “forward community” candidates from Tamil Nadu in these elections. Currently Jayalalithaa and S. V. Sekhar, both of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), are the only Brahmin members of the states legislative assembly. None of Tamil Nadu’s Members of Parliament are Brahmin. Brahmins are a little more than three per cent of the state’s population and are considered BJP’s core vote bank in the state.

Brahmin leaders like S. V. Sekhar are getting close to the BSP, whose ranks have swelled with defectors from the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), a pro-LTTE party. The BSP’s Tamil Nadu and Puducherry units are openly supporting the LTTE in their rallies.

The BJP is attempting to mobilize the Hindu vote bank on this issue. During a protest in Coimbatore on January 30th, against the killing of Tamil Hindus in Sri Lanka, BJP leader S. R. Sekhar was quoted saying, “"The BJP is the only party, which is viewing it as a Hindu problem. The whole nation will be responding. The Central Government is not responding because they are thinking it's a Tamil problem alone.”

The BJP is clearly interested in exploiting the Sri Lankan Tamil issue for national mobilization, something the other national parties have failed to do.

Prabhakaran Praises Karuna as TN MPs defer resignation

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader, V. Prabhakaran in a recent interview to Tamil magazine Nakkeeran, has praised Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi for his efforts to send relief to Tamils in Sri Lanka. Prabhakaran has said, “Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Kalaignar is a Tamil nationalist. He has not only voiced his concern against the Sinhala state terrorism in Tamil Eelam, but has also showed it in action.” Prabhakaran has also condemned Tamil Nadu opposition leader of All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK), J. Jayalalithaa, for distancing herself from the Sri Lankan Tamil issue.

This recent interview of Prabhakaran takes the steam out of protests led by parties like the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), whose leader V. Gopalaswamy alias Vaiko, is now in jail for making speeches in support of the LTTE, and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK).

Prabhakaran, in his interview, has chosen to praise Karunanidhi, whom pro-LTTE groups, like the MDMK, VCK and the Tamil National Movement, have condemned for allegedly paying lip-service to the Eelam cause while continuing to be a part of the United Progressive Alliance at the Centre. Karunanidhi has also withdrawn his threat to pull out of the Union Government after External Affairs Minster Pranab Mukherjee recently called on him, in Chennai.

When asked how the MDMK felt on losing the glory of supporting Eelam, to the DMK, party spokesperson Mr. Nanmaran said, “We are not a narrow-minded party. Karunanidhi is talking about the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils only now, whereas we have been constantly supporting the (Eelam) cause for a long time. It is with generosity, that Prabhakaran has given this statement praising Karunanidhi for his relief efforts.”

The current wave of protests, in Tamil Nadu, against the alleged atrocities on Sri Lankan Tamils was started off on October 2, with the Communist Party of India (CPI) holding a public fast. The DMK, later, took up the issue with the Centre, and convened an all-party meeting that called for the resignation of Tamil MPs from parliament. The Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) leader Vijaykanth has accused the DMK of hijacking the issue from the CPI.

Com. Mahendran, Assistant Secretary of the CPI, Tamil Nadu, speaking to this reporter, said that after the October 2 fast, the whole state recognizes that the CPI is completely committed to the well-being of Sri Lankan Tamils. “Our All India Party Congress, in Hyderabad, had decided that there has to only be a political solution for the self-determination of Sri Lankan Tamils within a united Sri Lanka. Instead of an Indian federal setup, we support the Quebec model for Lanka.”

On being asked about whether the CPI’s decisions were coordinated with the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, which is a part of the ruling coalition there, Com. Mahendran said that they too want an end to atrocities on Tamils.” Being the Tamil Nadu branch of the CPI, we have to consider the sentiments of the Tamil people first. Every communist party acts according to how it assesses the national condition.” This year’s May Day rallies in Sri Lanka echoed a strong anti-war sentiment.

The bulk of the LTTE’s support in India comes Dalit youth, who, rightly or wrongly, look upon the LTTE as an ideal movement for Dalit emancipation. Dalit parties like the VCK are the militant in their support for Eelam. Bala, a young Bahujan Samaj Party worker in Nungambakkam, who was formerly a supporter of the VCK, spoke to this reporter. “Our CM has fulfilled his responsibility by organizing aid for Sri Lankan Tamils. The MDMK and VCK have taken money from the LTTE, hence they are doing this propaganda.”

The credibility of Tamil nationalist groups is in doubt as political exigencies have caused them to swing between the ADMK and DMK, threatening to erode their core base of Tamil nationalists and Dalits.