Why Both are Wrong

Why Both are Wrong

The leaders of the two main political formations in the country — Congress and BJP — have already started their campaign for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections accusing each other of divisiveness and endangering the security of the country. The BJP has returned to the Ram temple sloganeering and lambasted the ruling Congress for having failed to spare ‘‘even five minutes’’ for initiating dialogue to resolve the Ram Janmabhoomi issue. BJP president Rajnath Singh has thundered that no one can ‘‘shake’’ the party’s ‘‘faith in Lord Ram and dedication to him’’. But faith in a deity is a strictly private affair. A political party’s mandate in a democracy should be different — modernist and developmentist — while at the same time be to lead a sustained and meaningful campaign against pseudo-secularism. The BJP’s articulation of that theory, therefore, is wrong. No one is asking any of the BJP leaders and members to abandon Lord Ram, but that should be strictly in the private domain as we have said. However, the saffron party has every reason to harangue the Congress brand of secularism and how it has undermined the very foundation of Indian democracy. Yet, the BJP’s argument could have been far more convincing if it had freed itself of emotionalism and worked out a thesis attuned to the needs of the country at this defining moment in history. A temple at the birth place of a deity who millions of Hindus worship, and in a country where Hindus are an overwhelming majority, cannot be a bad idea. But can a political party survive only on that agenda? Can it attract and expand its constituency by invoking religion alone, and by making it the main thrust of its electoral campaign, in a young country like India — and in a country with one of the highest rates of malnutrition, undernourishment, and infant and maternal mortality in the world? Our cities are dirty, urban poverty is on the rise, rural areas face continued neglect, farmers are committing suicide, armed movements stemming from social injustices and discriminations continue unabated, infrastructure development is notoriously tardy, crime against women and children is rampant, female foeticide is commonplace even in the 21st century — the list is endless when it comes to the real face of ‘rising’ India. Are not these issues far more important? As for the Congress, it has a lot of explaining to do for its complete misrule of the country. Party president Sonia Gandhi has said that the BJP-led NDA has done a ‘‘grave damage to our secular polity, society and economy’’ and the BJP’s voice is of ‘‘polarization, division and hatred’’, while the Congress is ‘‘a voice of social justice, communal harmony and inclusiveness’’. Quite a joke, this. Would Mrs Gandhi enlighten the people of the country as to what kind of social justice, communal harmony and inclusiveness she has in mind? Would she tell us whether the victims of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 — following the assassination of her mother-in-law and the pogrom organized by the Congress against the Sikh community in the national capital in one of the worst communal massacres in independent India — have got justice? Or does by ‘‘communal harmony’’ and ‘‘inclusiveness’’ she mean the so-called secular compulsion to make one particular religious minority community the greatest beneficiary of someone else’s secular way of way? Either Mrs Gandhi is very poorly informed or she has evolved like a true Congress leader to hoodwink the gullible voter by means of empty rhetoric and pretence in the name of ‘secularism’. But there is a limit to that too, and the sensible voter can see through that grandstanding. It is another matter if the Congress has nothing new to offer.

War over Water?

War over Water?

A Planning Commission report says that the demand for water in the country will go beyond a thousand billion cubic metres in 2025. The demand will primarily be from irrigation, drinking and energy or hydro-power. Therefore, it is not without reason that the Supreme Court has warned that paucity of water could lead to great suffering and social unrest. Giving its view in a judgement directing the Centre to constitute a special water tribunal to solve an inter-State water dispute between Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, the apex court has asked the Centre to immediately constitute a high-powered committee to evolve ways to overcome any possible water crisis in the future, failing which ‘‘the hardships of the people will further increase causing great suffering and social unrest’’. So is a war over water inevitable? The Centre must wake up to the grim reality and devise ways and means for the sustenance of the country in 2025 when it will need 1,093 billion cubic metres of water. Only a professional approach can help the country tide over the impending crisis — which means scientists must be roped in for expert guidance and suggestions.

Rhino killed at Kaziranga

Rhino killed at Kaziranga

: GUWAHATI, Feb 9: An adult rhino was killed near Kaziranga National Park (KNP) early this morning, with the poachers escaping with the horn. Local officials informed that the rhino was killed at Deothor near Numaligarh, about one km inside Karbi Anglong district, with the villagers later confirming of hearing gun shots at about 5.15 hrs.
The rhino was possibly chased to the spot by the poachers as the Deothor village headman claimed that the pachyderms do not stray into the area at any point of time. The forest officials, retracing the footprints of the killed rhino, said the animal had moved into Deothor from Numaligarh end. They suspect that the poachers waited till day-break to kill the rhino and later fled after extracting the horn. The poaching for horns is endangering the one-horned rhinos as superstitious beliefs maintain that the horn has medicinal values, though it has been proved otherwise scientifically. Rhino horns are sold for crores of rupees at the international market. The KNP faces serious poaching threats, with all efforts to check poaching with a little success so far.

Majhi inaugurates handloom expo

DIBRUGARH, Feb 9: Water Resources, Labour and Employment Minister Prithibi Majhi inaugurated the Special Handloom Expo 2009 today at a function held here at the Government High School playground.
The Special Handloom Expo 2009, organized by Assam Apex Weavers and Artisans’ Co-operative Federation Limited (ARTFED) and in collaboration with the Development Commissioner for Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles, Government Of India will continue up to February 23.
General manager of the ARTFED MC Deka while welcoming the guests, weavers and others stated that the sale target for the expo was fixed at Rs 2 crore. He further disclosed that the Central Government sanctioned Rs 10 lakh and the Asom Government rupees two and half lakh for successful holding of the Special Handloom Expo 2009.
Majhi in his inaugural address, called upon the artisans, weavers for utilization of the available resources of the State. Referring to inadequate marketing facilities for locally produced goods, Majhi said the government has taken special drive to facilitate marketing activities by offering subsidy in their finish products.
Speaking on the occasion as an honoured guest, Deputy Commissioner Ashutosh Agnihotri spoke about the uniqueness of Asomiya pat (silk) and the expertise of the weavers of the State to make quality products but regretted lack of marketing has hindered it from taking its right place in the market.
The meeting was attended by administrator of Dibrugarh Municipality Board Bitul Talukdar and chairman of Dibrugarh Zila Parishad Meena Teli.