Abu Asim Azmi attacked in Assembly for taking oath in Hindi

Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi was thrashed in the Maharashtra assembly by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) MLAs for taking oath in Hindi.

Azmi had earlier announced that he respects Marathi but would take oath in Hindi, which is the national language. Today as he stood up for taking oath, he was surrounded by MNS legislators.

The MLAs of MNS thrashed, hit and kicked Azmi for continuing to speak in Hindi. Their hooliganism continued and they snatched the mike and threw it. The incident of not letting an elected representative speak in Hindi, sent shockwaves across the country.

MNS supremo Raj Thackeray had earlier said that all the MLAs should take the oath in Marathi alone. MNS had earlier been responsible for widespread attacks on North Indians, especially people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who were living in Mumbai.

The question is that for how long will flimsy conflicts over linguistic, communal, casteist and regional issues continue to dog this nation and keep hurting the citizens. Meanwhile, the real issues remain sidelined and we all suffer.

Hardline Hindutva: Terror grips Goa, 2 killed in bomb blast

When the country was relieved because of a decline in terrorist attacks for the last few months, suddenly there was a resurgence of Maoist violence. Now it's the so-called 'Hindu terrorism' that shows signs of resuscitation.

The blast that killed two workers of the right-wing Hindu group, Sanathan Saunstha, suggests that the threat of extremist Hindu outfits can't be overlooked. The activists linked to the Sanstha were caught for planting bombs in Mumbai and Thane earlier.

In Goa, IEDs were planted at other places but were fortunately diffused. This particular bomb went off prematurely in Margaon and as a result the two persons, Malgondi Patil and Yogesh Naik, died. But for the peaceful residents of Goa, it is a shocking development.

Why should fundamentalist groups choose Goa. Which gathering they waned to target. What was their objective behind the blasts. Did they want to establish a strong base in Goa, where they could have evaded police and intelligence.

The organisation workers have links with another militant outfit, Abhinav Bharat led by Pragya Thakur, which was blamed for the bomb blasts in Malegaon. There are several questions and the police have to find out answers.

After all, what incited the organisation's workers to make bombs? Radical outfits belonging to any religion or ideology must not be allowed to spread their tentacles and the government should act tough against such groups irrespective of their political affiliations--be they left-wing Naxalites, Muslim militants or Hindu hardliners.

Indian Taliban: Diktat against marriages within 'Gotra'

The Panchayats of North Indian states have emerged as the desi versions of Taliban but their mindless acts evoke little response despite the hazard they pose to our society.

If a young girl and boy who belong to same clan marry, the Panchayats don't think twice before ordering their execution. Ved Pal and Shilpa were not cousins. They just belonged to same khap (clan).

This was enough for the elders to not just issue the diktat of their deaths. But they killed Ved Pal. This happened even after the case had reached the High Court.

In the name of honour, customs and traditions, young couples in Haryana, western UP and parts of Punjab, have been facing threats to life and are killed. Ironically this dastardly practice gets social sanction.

Police fail to act due to popular support to such regressive and barbarian traditions. The Jats and Gujjars are most vocal on this issue and don't want any intervention in their 'culture'. For them marriage within the Gotra is anathema, even if it is lawful.

In this part of Northern India, umpteen such murders take place. The administration remains apathetic and political class turns askance. Hindustan Times' Vikas Pathak and Satvir S Sarwari have covered the issue of 'honour killings'.

The report titled 'Honourable murderes in Haryana' should serve as an eye-opener to us. How thugs hijack our system. It's shameful as couples keep getting lynched, for no fault of theirs.

The growing influence of these panchayats in 21st century is a shame and the courts along with national commissions and the polity must act, to put an end to the local Taliban.

Mob violence in India: Punjab in flames after attack on Sikh sect guru in Vienna

Either it's attack on North Indians in Maharashtra, the Gujjar agitation or the recent mob violence across Punjab and Haryana after the Dera leader of a Sikh sect was shot in farway Austria's Vienna--all incidents manifest the growing mobocracy in Indian society.

Property worth billions was gutted and destroyed in the mindless violence. Trains were set afire, trucks and buses torched, houses and shops stoned and people attacked by the incensed mob.

Sant Niranjan Das has survived the attack but the other guru, Sant Ramanand, was killed when he was attacked in a gurudwara in Europe. The loss is around 7,000 crores, as per industry sources. Thousands of passengers were stranded and many died in the violence. The followers of Dera Sachkhand are considerd heretic by mainstream Sikhs.

The Dera mainly has followers among Dalits and lower caste Sikhs who also believed in Raidas (or Saint Ravi Das).

Earlier, the deras had come under controversy when Dera Sacha Sauda's Baba Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim had courted controversy over his dress that resembled the Sikh guru.

Unfortunatedly, riots and mob violence are becoming more common in India. The phenomenon of lawlessness is growing and it reflects not just the failure of the administration and the state but also the citizens' apathy towards their own country.

It's time we take serious steps to discourage this mob mentality that is taking over the nation. Unfortunately we tend to let the culprits go softly as politics prevails in all such violent incidents, and every such violent reaction provokes more people to resort to such practices to show their anger.

Why BJP lost the Lok Sabha election: Afzal Guru, Amarnath Yatra, Varun Gandhi and emotive issues failed

The BJP is in a state of shock after the Congress' victory in the general elections. LK Advani must be wondering what went wrong with his strategy.

The party leaders also seem to be in an introspective mode and MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's comment that 'hanging Afzal Guru could not be an election issue' appears quite a valid observation.

Harping on Afzal Guru
The BJP should have sensed it early. We are all patriots but we don't need a dose of patriotism on a daily basis. Even electorate realises that the target is not Guru, but the Congress. The voters perhaps feels that yes Guru has to be sent to gallows but that's not the only issue facing this country.

The BJP unfortunately didn't learn. It tried to raise emotive issues that have lost favour with the citizens. The party and its allied organisations did their best to send the valley into communal flames by politicising the Amarnath Yatra.

Defending 'Hindu terrorism'
But it failed miserably and couldn't win a single seat. A person of the stature of Lord Meghnad Desai wrote in Indian Express criticising the BJP for justifying 'Hindu terrorism' to counter 'Muslim terrorism'. He was referring to LK Advani's softness towards Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.

She is the alleged mastermind of the Malegaon blast. Indeed, the BJP has to decide whether it has to fashion itself as a right-wing party or an extreme Hindutva fanatic group having links to not just splinter groups like Ram Sene but also terrorist organisations like Abhinav Bharat.

Flirting with Fascism
Though it has to keep its umbilical chord with the mother organisation--Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and other lumpen affiliates of the Parivar like VHP and Bajrang Dal, the BJP remains a party that loves to flirt with fascism.

Either it's the anti-Christian violence in Orissa or the anti-Muslim speeches of Varun Ganddhi, the party always appears to be behaving like a fundamentalist fringe outfit than a responsible national political party.

Voter has no time for communal nonsense
Varun Gandhi won the Pilibhit constituency but the polarisation didn't take place. Even hardliners like Vinay Katiyar had to face humiliating defeat. This is a signal to the party that the new age voter has no time for the communal nonsense.

He is too smart to understand that vitriol and violence against minorities are aimed at consolidating the Hindu vote bank against Muslims. Instilling fear of marauding Muslim mobs or Christian missionaries can't arouse the youths any more.

No clear vision on economy, nuclear-deal
In fact, the BJP should have understood that India has changed a lot. A party that talks about Article 370, Terrorism and Cow slaughter is not a party for the 21st century India. BJP remains confused about every other issue that matters to modern Indian--either rural folk or urban voter.

During the economic meltdown, it had no strategy or plans to offer. On Nuclear deal, it remained at sea and had no clear vision. Agriculture, employment and health are the sectors that need work but BJP remains a prisoner of its ideology.

Hailing Modi backfired
The businessmen did hail Modi as the future Prime Minister. But this didn't go down well with the Indian society that remains largely secular, plural and inclusive. The strategy to present Modi as 'future PM', seems to have backfired.

The Gujarat communal carnage is something which it not easily forgettable. It's a blot on the face of secular India. The violence had brought shame to us. While the Congress has learnt its lesson by seeking apology from Sikhs for the 1984 riots, BJP is yet to follow the suit.

It would have been graceful had the BJP apologised for the large scale of deaths and destruction that had taken place during the post-Godhra communal riots. However, far from that, BJP is seen championing the cause of lumpen elements like Pramod Muthalik whose goons attack women.

Will the BJP change? Let's wait and watch.

UPA wins: Victory for secularism in Indian elections!

The Indian electorate delivered a strong message by rejecting the 'communal' BJP and voting for the 'secular' Congress-led UPA.

LK Advani's dream to become Prime Minister ends with the dismal show of NDA in the Lok Sabha election.

The BJP's plank of terrorism fell flat, as voters handed over a convincing victory to the Congress. The BJP that was harping on terrorism and had been pushing tainted Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as a strong leader, failed to gauge the public mood.

The apparently divisive and communal agenda of the party that often seemd to spoke in dual voices, didn't go down well with the people. While in State Assemblies (Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa), the UPA didn't perform as well, the voters exercised their franchise differently for the Lok Sabha.

For the centre, the citizens voted for Congress. This will send the BJP (and the RSS) into introspective mode. After the terror attacks and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, the BJP had pushed the agenda of Hindutva and nationalism, but it failed to get the confidence of the Indian voters.

Even it couldn't capitalise on the anti-incumbency against the PM Manmohan Singh's government. Regional parties like RJD and BSP are not going to play as important a role as they played in the past. Even the Left has received setbacks.

In all, it's clearly a vote for the Congress.

Throwing shoes: Is it a manifestation of citizens' disgust with politicians?

Shoes have been thrown publicly at three politicians in the country in recent days.

A serving Home Minister, a former Union Home Minister and a young parliamentarian, have been targeted separately.

Though it is uncivilised and condemnable, hurling shoes seems to have become a trend in this country. Either to express anger and disapproval or just for the heck for it, nothing appears as easy as taking off your footwear and throw it.

So what if you miss the target? You get into limelight. But there is another aspect to this trend. It shows that how unpopular our politicians are becoming and how little respect they command among the citizens.

There is no outrage in the society when a shoe is thrown. Sikh journalist emulated Muntazir Al Zaidi's act, to protest the Congress ticket for Lok Sabha election to Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar. P Chidambaram made light of it and acted gracefully.

Navin Jindal and LK Advani have recently been targeted in Haryana and Katni respsectively. Navin forgave the person but Advani didn't do the same. It seems the trend of throwing shoes is catching on as it doesn't cause physical harm to a person but does send a strong message across.

More so, the lack of any outrage over such incidents shows how little respect the politicians command in our society now a days. Over the years the leaders have lost credibility and respect. Hence the shoes keep flying.

Varun's venom: From Gandhi to Godse

Varun Gandhi's speeches in Pilibhit are ample proof of the downfall of the standard of politicians and politics in this country.

His words were not just inflammatory. The speeches were fascistic and hit at the core of our values. Ironically, the man is a great grandson of none other than Jawaharlal Nehru.

His grandfather Feroze Gandhi was a leading Parliamentarian who stood for harmony and had the courage to expose corruption cases that embarrassed his own Congress government soon after independence.

But the son of late Sanjay Gandhi and Maneka, has sought to communalise and divide the society. The speeches were even more provocative than the ones we heard during the Ram Janmabhumi movement that led to the demolition of Babri mosque.

Varun not just sought to cut the heads of Muslims but also wanted them transported elsewhere. He tried to ridicule Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and incited the masses in the name of Hindutva.

He must be made to pay for his hate-filled speeches. This should deter other leaders from using religion to divide the society in future. We have had enough of rabble-rousers in the past.

Though this young politicians apparently aims to outdo all of them. Varun claims that he is a defender of Hindutva and calls himself a proud Indian. Unfortunately he has failed to become even a Human.

Will Congress win and BJP again fail to form government?

The dates for the Lok Sabha elections have been announced. Political pundits give Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) the edge.

Though it is risky to make any prediction but Arun Nehru, former Congress Union minister who later joined BJP, has predicted that the Congress would increase its tally and get more seats than the BJP.

He also forecasts a Congress-led government in May 2009 rather than National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coming to the power at the Centre. Though Nehru is no qualified psephologist, he has been making such predictions for well over a decade.

He says that ongress will get 149 seats while the BJP will muster 135 seats. So will LK Advani's dream of becoming India's Prime Minister remain unfulfilled? Even CNN-IBN pre-elections poll had predicted that despite the terrorist strikes in the country and Mumbai terror attack (26/11), BJP is not looking like winning.

Nehru is considerd to be a BJP sympathiser but he appears convinced that the party is not going to perform better than the 2004 elections when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the party mascot and led the election campaign.

Though Nehru predicts a fall in the tally of Left parties including the CPI, CPM and other minor outfits, it appears that aided by the third front and regional parties like RJD, Congress may yet again pull off a victory.

Arun Nehru's pre-election estimate

Congress 149
BJP 135

Rest:

TDP 13 TRS 6, MIM 1
JD (U) 18, RJD (8), Lok Janshakti (3), JMM (2)
National Conference (2), PDP (1)
JD (S) 2
Shiv Sena (12), NCP (9), RPI (1)
AIADMK (16), DMK (7), PMK (6), MDMK (2)
BJD (7) JD (S) 2
Trinamool Congress [AITC] 10
Akali Dal 5
LEFT PARTIES 36
Uttar Pradesh: BSP 36, SP 26, Rashtriya Lok Dal 3


Will it prove wrong and can BJP form the government?

A few factors that will be crucial in the formation of the next government:

1. Jayalalitha is on nobody's side but can join any coalition. Right now she is flirting with HD Devegodwa's third front. IT may still go to BJP. It seems Karunanidhi's DMK may not fare too well and Jaya will emerge stronger.

2. Telugu Desam Party isn't keen to go with BJP after the polls as if feels it cost the party, minority vote. Will it change mind and go to BJP?

3. Mayawati's BSP can go either way. It remains unpredictable. SP may not be a big player again but it will also have numbers.

Though Left is not going to support the Congress, there is no question of the Communists allowing the 'communal and fascist' BJP to form the government. This gives Congress, an advantage. But will it brave anti-incumbency and hand over power back to Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh?

Over to the Indian voter.

Will Indian CEOs take salary cuts?

So what if the global meltdown is causing job losses, the CEOs and top managers keep getting filthy amounts of salaries.

Despite losses the breathtaking salaries are somehow justified by the companies and bonuses are obtained by job cuts at lower and middle-level.

After US president Barack Obama chided the American industry honchos for their shamelessness in getting perks and raising their own salaries in times of recession, India Inc needs to introspect and take a decision.

For a country like India where there is a huge disparity between the poor and the middle class as also between the middle and upper-middle class, the high salaries are simply unjustifiable.

In fact, Indian CEOs and managers have the highest salaries in the world. Stung by the criticism, the Citigroup's CEO Vikram Pandit has announced that he will take a token $1 monthly salary till the bank again gets into profit.

Will this shame Indian CEOs and managers or they are even more shameless? If only a few top officials take salary cuts, dozens of jobs can be saved. See the chart above that shows how companies went into losses but the CEOs or MDs didn't give a damn and increased their pays without an iota of shame.

Mangalore's Taliban: Is Pramod Muthalik's Hindutva=Hinduism?

Pramod Muthalik, the chief of Sri Ram Sena, symbolises what is wrong with our society. Anybody who has a band of ruffians and can create trouble or flirt with the law-and-order, becomes bigger than the law.

You or I will get harassed by the cops and official machinery. But if you have a saffron shawl slung on your shoulder and you can force your way in with goons, you can enjoy power over every institution.

Pramod Muthalik has dozens of criminal cases against him. In his speeches, he talks about making bombs and engineering communal clashes. His outfit has attacked Churches and the recent attack on pubs in just a reflection of what has band of vandals is capable of.

But when the BJP government came to power, it withdrew several cases that were registered against him. The BJP's claim of a party with a difference have long been exposed, as its cadre engage in violence.

The party uses them to further its plans. When it doesn't need them, it washes its hands off them. That's why the Sangh Parivar remains a danger to this country. After turning Gujarat into a hate lab, this experiment is now on in South India's Karnataka.

Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) terrorises North Indians, Shiv Sena terrorises Hindi speakers and the Kannadigas over Belgaum issue and Sri Ram Sene terrorises Chrisitans and women. They are all criminals but have no law applicable to them.

Sadly, in Indian society citizen has no right. Of course, hooligan has all rights. It is because citizens remain mute spectators to violence, whether it is in the name of caste, religion, region or any other damn issue.

And when these hooligans target them, there is nobody to speak for them. Shame on all of us for letting Hinduism hijacked by Hindutva-vadis.

Mangalore pub attack: Saffron siege in Southern India

The shocking attack on women in a pub in Mangalore reflects that this malaise that had earlier afflicted North Indian states and Maharashtra, has now reached Southern India also.

The goons of a saffron outfit that ironically has the name, 'Sri Ram Sena', not just humiliated girls but also crossed all limits of decency and civility when they kicked, pushed and molested them.

Worse, the Sena leaders were unapologetic. A Sri Ram Sena leader said that he had no regret and the group did the right thing. He said that these girls were not acting as per the Hindu traditions and needed to be taught a lesson.

"On receiving the report that these women were consuming alcohol, which is not allowed in our culture, our workers reached the pub and punished them", he said. The Sena has earlier attacked Churches in various Cities of Karnataka including the capital Bangalore.

But the latest incident has once again proved that the Hindutva Taliban are ready to act as guardians of Indian culture and morality. In the name of safeguarding the tradition, they performed indecent acts and assaulted girls. The Bajrang Dal activists were also involved in this attack.

Sadly, the governments fail to act and as a result India is getting swept by such hooliganism.

BJP in Disarray: Disgruntled leaders spoil Advani's dream

With Kalyan Singh again quitting the BJP and the party losing one of its most recognisable faces in Uttar Pradesh, the Saffron outfit suddenly appears faltering just at the last hurdle.

Everything was going on well for LK Advani and his party. After the Mumbai terrorist attack, the BJP hoped that its tough stand on the issue of terrorism would make it a natural favourite among the voters. But the results of the Assembly elections proved otherwise.

Now Bhairon Singh Shekhawat's rebellious pose and the exit of Kalyan Singh are likely to hurt the BJP. Though Uma Bharti had failed to make an impact in the Madhya Pradesh election, the 'parallel BJP' that is almost getting established outside the BJP, will eat into the traditional votes of the party.

The BJP can't hope to replicate its best performance. Currently it has just 138 seats in the 545 member Lok Sabha. It can't hope to improve its performance drastically and suddenly reach a magic figure.

At best, the BJP can hope that the Congress falters so that with the help of allies, it can form the government. But the situation isn't as rosy for its allies either, many of which are facing anti-incumbency in states.

With dissidents leaving the party and ganging up to defeat the official candidates, it will not be very easy for Lal Kishenchand Advani to become the Prime Minister of India though he must be expecting a miracle.

Can he become India's PM: No, This Bunch of Businessmen can't make Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

The voices in support of Narendra Modi have clearly grown louder in recent times.

But the top traders' (err...businessmen) declaration alone can't propel Modi to the post of India's Prime Minister (PM).

The sycophancy for which our society is known (the British were first to spot it and much before them the Mughals also did the same and exploited it) was at its most obscene display when at the Investors' Meet.

The so-called India Inc leaders or business honchos were trying to outdo each other in going to extra lengths and showering praise on Narendra Damodar Modi's administration skills and his support to the businessmen in Gujarat.

Yes, Modi has changed his state. There has been no major communal conflagration and now there is focus on development. Modi has also shifted his own agenda. But the turnaround is not exactly his work alone. Gujarati business acumen is known for centuries.


Upwardly Mobile Middle Class Can't Be 
Considered The Real Voice Of India


Further, six years is not a long time. Even sixty years can't wash away the past. Ask the Jagdish Tytler, who despite his comparatively lesser role in the Sikh riots, still finds it tough to live with his head high. Earlier, HKL Bhagat had an ignominious end to his political career.

Genocides are not poetry. When an elected government that has ministers swearing in for safety and justice to its citizens and commitment to the society, oversees a mass killing spree that resembled the Jewish holocaust and was worse that pirates did in medieval age, it is an unpardonable sin.

This government in the previous term had turned a blind eye and refused to act on rioters. Businessmen like Ratan Tata, Anil Ambani, Mukesh Ambani and Rahul Bajaj, who were pouring heaps of praise on Gujarat government and hinted that Modi should be the CEO (read Prime Minister) of India, hurt their own credibility with the statements.

Fascism may be fashion but can any businessman in Europe dare declare his support to the German regime of pre-World War era? The trading class is interested in its own welfare. It gets concessions, cheap land, easy loans, and it's happy.

But can its support decide truth and falsehood and redeem the tainted? Indian society may be changing but it has not changed so much that it would listen to the diktats of a bunch of some self-interested traders.

It will take years for the wounds of victims of Ahmedabad-Godhra riots to heal. In India, poor may not have anything but they do have the vote. Not every Indian belongs to the 'shining upwardly mobile Indian middle-class' which media often considers to be the real voice of the nation.

Morality and justice remain an issue with them. Though so-called leaders of the trading class and business community may not consider them an issue any longer.

Fearing jobloss young Satyam engineer ends life

A 23 year old young software professional committed suicide by consuming poison.

Vishwa Venkatasan, who was employed with the IT major at Chennai, was fearing that he would be sacked.

On way back home he had consumed poison while travelling in the bus. His family members took him to the hospital where he died. Just before his death he told police that he feared for his job.

It's a tragic story of a young man ending his life, because he feared that his career was in jeopardy. Satyam Computers is in the midst of the controversy after the Rs 7000 crore fraud that was detected recently. Its Chairman Ramalinga Raju has been arrested and sent to jail.

After Satyam, it's Wipro: Tough time for Indian IT companies

Just when India Inc was trying to recover from the Satyam Computers' fiasco after the arrest of it's former CEO Ramalinga Raju, the World Bank (WB) whip on another IT major Wipro has come as a shock.

The World Bank decision to debar Wipro and stall future contracts of outsourcing to the software company has left the IT industry bewildered. In all, five Indian entities have been taken to task which include Megasoft.

The reason cites is that Wipro violated the provisions and procurement guidelines and offered improper benefits to WB staff. Naturally, Indian Information Technology industry is feeling the heat, as also the share market.

Worse, the IT professionals are getting panicky. Wipro, which is India's third largest software company after Infosys and TCS, has held that it's business and revenue will not be affected due to the World Bank ban (for violation of 'fraud and corruption provisions' of the Procurement Guidelines) till 2011. The company head Azim Premji was once the richest Indian.

Satyam has already been banned for eight years after the Rs 7000 crore scam came to light and Ramalinga Raju had to go to jail for inflated balance sheets. Two other Indian financial firms Nestor Pharmaceuticals and Gap International have been barred from doing business with the bank for violating guidelines.

Still, all is not lost. The situation isn't as bad. Industry watchers say that it can't go worse. Government has already constituted a new Board for Satyam and offered a bailout package. Satyam's share is already looking up after the crash. Of course, the government now needs to keep an eye on the functioning of IT firms in future with the help of Industry bigwigs.

Assam blasts: Ominous New Year beginning for India

Just when we were praying that the nation would usher into a peaceful New Year after a series of terrorist attacks in 2008, the first day of the year 2009 brought bad news.

The serial bomb blasts in Assam took the lives of five persons and over 50 were injured. Though the initial reports suggested that Bodo militants were involved, it is now believed that the ULFA [United Liberation Front of Asom] was responsible.

Assam was targeted just two months back when 89 persons had died in blasts on October 30. The fresh attacks have once again shaken the confidence of the citizens. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi accepted security lapses.

The blasts occurred just before Home Minister P Chidambaram was expected to reach the state. So what about the intelligence agencies and the plans to do a shakeup that were made after the Mumbai terror strikes?