Why I think Swadeshi Push and Atmanirbhar Bharat Will be Largely Ineffective in Addressing the Problem

India is facing many crises today. One of the crises is that most of the great Indian companies are either being shutdown or being sold out to foreign firms. And it is not about profitability of business or value creation. Even innovative companies get sold and stakes in even large profitable companies get sold. The problem is serious and reflective of the problems our "economy" is facing. Be it Flipkart which got sold, or all Anil Ambani businesses which failed to take off, Jet Airways or any other airlines which shut down, or even Reliance Industries needing to sell stake in its profitable Jio business to reduce debt, the list is long. 

In the middle of the economic disaster of Lockdown and economy at near bottom, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a new slogan of "Atmanirbhar Bharat" (Self-Reliant India) and asked people to buy "Swadeshi". The great fan followers of PM Modi have lapped up the idea and started spreading the message. But many fans do not understand that the "version of Swadeshi" our Govt is promoting will by and large do not do any benefit to our economy. It is because in our Govt's version of "Swadeshi", even foreign companies' India units are treated at par with Indian companies. 

Therefore, except Chinese toys, there won't be much impact of Swadeshi push because most foreign companies are already manufacturing in India. Most of the items consumed in our household are already made in India. And I bet people will still buy Chinese phones, no matter what PM Modi or our govt says.

How many people are reading this and tweeting #atmanirbharbharat using their Chinese phones? Indians are cost conscious and have little real pride of their motherland. Remember, many Indians still take pride that their ancestors served in colonial era British army. Most Indians traveled or wanted to travel abroad for honeymoons after marriage - that is also how many brought Coronavirus to India and poor people are dying. If given a choice, most Indians will go settle down abroad. Just look at parents whose kids are settled abroad. Raising slogans is easy.

And Govt gets the share of blame too. After every big scheme launch from Govt, huge orders go to China. E.g. after International Yoga day was conceptualized, millions of yoga mats were bought from China. After Coronavirus outbreak too, testing kits were bought from China. Govt should first practice "Swadeshi" itself before preaching it to common people. 

As per our govt, buying a Toyota car, Unilever or P&G products are all "Swadeshi". One-by-one, all our Indian companies are getting sold out and our govt's version of "Swadeshi" will not stop it.

There is a good decision made by Govt that tenders below Rs 200 Crores won't be allowed to be global tenders. But this too is expected to be little impact since most of the MNCs which have India units will still take part in these tenders and can outbid Indian rivals. 

If our government is really serious about "Swadeshi", it should adopt it in its true and real version, not in this pseudo version where Indian units of Foreign companies are also treated at par with Indian companies. 

Maharashtra: High Proportion of Minority Patients in a Secular State

This news is from today's Financial Express: 

Of the 548 deaths recorded in Maharashtra as of May 3, 239 (44%) are from the minority Muslim community— almost thrice their share (just under 12%) in the state population. As per FE, the data analysis was done by Indian Express newspaper. 

The above data tells the following points: 

A lot of these cases would be connected with Tablighi Jamat whose members were all Muslims. Since the Muslim attendees of Islamic conference were the first source of Corona virus, they would naturally have spread it more among fellow Muslims. 

Since Maharashtra is being ruled by pro-minority political parties including Con/NCP, the state government would not be acting harsh against incidents of lockdown-violations and people not following social distancing. The police may not be acting against these people since they know that govt does not want to trouble these people much. This would have come as a setback for the community. 

The above reminds me of a theory. As per this theory, minorities are more safe and better-off during a Rightist government rule. For example, there used to be lot of communal riots during Con Party rule but not much in the BJP rule. Why? It is so because the "rightist" parties are aware of their "impression" and take extra care not to harm their image any further. On the other hand, a Leftist party in rule would take minorities "for granted" since they know that minorities would vote for them "no matter what". 

Because of this reason, the Rightist parties may run a government which would be better for minorities. 

I hope the minorities of Maharashtra give it a thought if they are really better off now. 

New Ordinance by Modi Govt to Protect Health Workers: Welcome Act But Caution Also Needs to be Applied to Prevent Misuse

Modi Govt has approved an Ordinance to make acts of violence against doctors and other medical staff a cognizable and non-bailable offence, with punishment up to 7 years in jail, as the government sought to assuage fears of the health workers amid increasing reports of attacks on them. The attackers will also have to pay double the cost of the property they damage. [News]

Briefing media after the decision was taken in a meeting, information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar said the Cabinet has approved the Ordinance to amend the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.

This is a good decision in itself since there has been many incidents of attacks on medical staff majorly by Muslim community members in their dominated areas. 

But at the same time, this is a stringent act and history has shown that any harsh law which is made by government soon starts getting misused. Even this act is not only for "doctors" who are well qualified people and hence expected to behave properly, but also for "health workers" who are not educated and sometimes come from doubtful background. In such cases they may use this law to settle old scores by labeling charges against their enemies or in order to harass anyone threatening to file a case under this harsh law. It can also lead to extortion like situations. 

The only safeguard I can see is that this ordinance has been passed as part of the Epidemic Diseases Act and after the current Chinese Virus (NCov19) crisis is passed, it should practically stop being in affect. But since a country like ours faces several disease outbreaks, it should be seen with caution that such extreme laws are not used every time. 

At the same time, it will remain up to the state Police department to impose this law or not. It can be argued that the Police were already empowered to arrest the culprits under existing laws and to prevent attack on health workers using standard means without this act. 

But Police is under control of the state governments and many states do not have BJP in power and hence do not implement Modi government's ideas in full spirits and hence this can be seen as an attempt by Modi government to further "centralize" powers with Center; which is not a good thing for our democracy. 

If this ordinance and the act is used only in exceptional cases, it can help the cause immensely. And hence we should welcome it. But since every stringent law is misused by many, the Police should see to it that this stringent law is not misused against innocent individuals.

Jharkhand: Virtue Signaling by Hemant Soren

As soon as counting of votes reached to the final rounds and it became clear that JMM led alliance was getting maximum seats and Hemant Soren was all set to become next Chief Minister of Jharkhand, news channels on the television started airing a curious picture. Hemant Soren was shown riding a bicycle inside his quarters area, carrying a small kid on it. He was shown making joyful circles on the bicycle while members of his large family were hanging around. News reporters started praising Junior Soren for his "simplicity", "humility" and remaining grounded to his "roots". 

It should be noted that ever since the counting of votes for state assembly elections had started since morning, Hemant Soren was not to be seen anywhere. He was "hiding" in his bungalow, as the news reporters had informed us. On the other hand, outgoing Chief Minister Raghubar Das was caught on camera many times as he moved in and out of his residence for work. Hemant Soren on the other hand seemed to have no other work that day. His entire political career was staked on the election result and he seemed to have planned it well. The fact that he did not need to move out of his residence since morning till evening tells about the planning he did for the "D Day". It is obvious that the bicycle ride was planned for camera too. It gave him a good "starting point". 

The next day, below picture came out on the front page of a Hindi newspaper in Delhi: 

The picture shows Hemant Soren in "shorts", checking his mobile, while a small bathroom towel is resting on his shoulder. The picture has been labelled as "Hemant: From simplicity to power". 

Two things are remarkable in above picture and its caption. First, this is a very casual picture. Anyone else could also have got similar picture clicked using a mobile phone of any family member or a friend, if one wanted to. This is nothing of the outstanding sort of picture. And if you notice the place, you would notice costly tiles on the floor along with costly furniture. These also do not raise any eyebrows. After all, Hemant Soren is the son Shibu Soren of three-time Chief Minister who has a huge list of corruption charges to exhibit as his achievement.

The fact that his father is a three-time Chief Minister and was hounded by the CBI for years on corruption charges, also explains how the newspaper has called him only "Hemant" in the caption title, and not "Hemant Soren". Is Hemant trying to break away from the burden of his family name since it is nothing to be proud of? Time will tell. 

Both images - of Hemant riding a bicycle inside the boundary of his bungalow and Hemant wearing a shorts inside the comfort of his home are pretty ordinary images. But the manner in which many media houses have used these images to create a larger-than-life image of Hemant Soren as a man who has kept his "roots" intact; tells about a larger picture. It seems Hemant Soren and his JMM are managing the media very well. And in a planned manner, media is showcasing his "virtue signaling" as genuine signs of virtue. At this stage, this is the only speculation I can make. Time will tell the rest. But did the BJP / Raghubar Das Government failed where Hemant Soren succeeded? Managing the "impression war" better? 

Racism in Assam Must be Discouraged. Fear Against Citizenship Amendment Bill is not Entirely Rational

After Indian parliament passed "Citizenship Amendment Bill", widespread violence was seen in Assam. As explained by ET, the fear among people is that since now India allows citizenship to minority Hindus of Bangladesh, a large number of Bangladeshi Hindu migrants would arrive in Assam; which local people won't like to happen. Is the fear rational? 

It may be true that more Bangladeshi Hindu migrants would arrive in India after this bill. But the things to note are as following:

The Hindus in Bangladesh are living in far greater threat and are not able to express themselves as well as their religious sentiments freely. Their daughters are not safe and often women are abducted and forcibly converted into Islam. Indian parliament took up the initiative to protect them by facilitating Indian citizenship to them, if they choose to come to India. This was a noble gesture. And people of Assam must look at this noble angle, instead of their own petty interests. 

Today, lakhs of Assamese people are living in all Indian metro cities. In Delhi, they have even created ghettos where you would see more people from Assam and North East than you would see local Delhiites. And no one asks them to go back to their home state. People of Assam must think about it. 

But when it comes to allowing people from outside North East into North East, they react as if their local culture would get spoiled merely if 100 people from outside their state start living in their city or town. Local politicians playing the race card and regional card merely exploit their sentiments. If people did not support their racist policies, how would political parties exploit them?

People of Assam must stop being racists. They must stop being hypocritical where they themselves are living in very large numbers in all Indian cities but do not allow others to live in their state. Also, it is not reasonable to expect that lakhs of Bangladeshi Hindus will really arrive in India. Since not all people decide to migrate; there are always risks in migration. Plus, not all Bangladeshi people would choose to live in Assam, when they already know that local Assamese people are racists and hostile to others. So the fear of Assamese people may be true only to a less extent. 

Assamese people living outside Assam must call their folks in the state and ask them to calm down. They should stop burning buses and public infrastructure since it is a suicidal step. Once they will destroy all the railways and government infrastructure and later they will cry that no development happens in their city. The large participation of young students is also weird. After education, most of these students will head to Delhi and other India metro cities like Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. How would they show their face to the outside world, if they do open violence against so called "outsiders" like this? And what will others think about them; does education bring no sense of civilized behavior in them? 

Let us hope Assam returns to normalcy soon and violence stops there as soon as possible. 

Unnao Rape Case – End-to-End, it is a Different Story

Poverty changes people. But when there are buyers, there is no end poverty can go to sell itself. This fact has been proven recently in the much hyped Unnao rape case.

In this famous case of crime which was highlighted by media day and night, a woman had accused her live-in partner and some of his friends of raping her. As per reports, she was living with the man for some time and the man had promised to marry her. Later, as the relationship got sour, she filed a “rape case” on the man and his friends. Many people say this was a typical fake case; similar to the ones filed by spurned lovers and discarded live-in partners. But the men were arrested for real and put in the jail. It tarnished their and their family's image. Recently the men had come out of the jail on bail. And then the woman was found to have been set on fire, and died. In hospital before she died, she accused the very same men for setting her on fire. 

There are several angles to this case, but if we look at end-to-end story, we can understand what would have happened. Several women stay in physical relationship with men for years and when the relationship is broken, they accuse the men for “rape”. Police also file such cases as rape cases. This is wrong. In such cases, it can’t be called rape since at the time it happened, the couple had done it consensually. Women can’t file such a case as a pressure technique to force the concerned men to marry them. Such fake cases tarnish the image of not only the man but his family and some of such men do end up retaliating. It may be possible that in this case the men would have retaliated. Still, it is difficult to believe that the men would be so reckless that they would do such a crime while they had just come out on bail. Such a decision would have been suicidal. But if the men did it directly or indirectly, we can easily see that there intention was revenge.

It is a matter of probe but it is possible that someone else would have done this to the woman to frame the men. Since it is common knowledge that whatever happened to this woman, police were sure to arrest those men. It is also possible that the woman did self-immolation in order to frame the men since she knew that her fake-rape case was weak and the men were bound to go free sooner or later. There are several clues which point to this, including the following:

1.   No one saw any man setting her on fire so we can't be sure what really happened before she was spotted burning

2.   If some men would have set her on fire, why did they let her run away? Since she ran away, there was a great chance of survival. So if they wanted her dead, why did not they really kill her? 

3.   She was spotted running for about 1 Km while being on fire. Her first natural response should have been to dowse the fire by throwing herself on the soil or in the grass. But in an over-dramatic scene, she was running while on fire. And she ran for a great distance of 1 Kilo meter; before she went unconscious. No one does that. It seems she wanted herself to be seen burning by maximum people possible (to ensure media coverage). 

Looking at the clues from the incident, it might be a possibility that the woman set herself on fire in order to frame the men and to create a sensation. To dramatize it, she ran to a distance while on fire. Perhaps she had assumed that she would survive. This is also proven by her last recorded statement from the hospital where she was recorded as asking for a confirmation that she would survive. She said, "But I would survive, right?" I know this is a speculation and merely a theory; and police should investigate it with an open eye. Anything is possible. People setting themselves or others on fire or harming themselves in order to frame their enemies is nothing new.

At the same time, media’s tendency to pick up random cases to target is also very curious. Unnao is in Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh has been crime-infested for decades, mainly from the era it was ruled by Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Law and order in the state deteriorated to unrecoverable extent. The BJP came to power in the state recently after promising a crime-free state. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who is known for his high-handedness against crime took the matter in his own hands. He ensured that UP Police was ruthless against criminals. I was in UP during the time he took over and witnessed the changes myself. Every day some big-shot criminal was killed or arrested by the police. Finally, law and order was much into control. Obviously, opposition and the media houses hands-in-glove with them won’t like it. This seems to be the reason why media chose to highlight only Unnao case while factually grave crimes against women happen all over the country. Their intent is to prove that Yogi Adityanath has failed in improving law-and-order in the state, which would make a strong point for return of SP/BSP’s “Gunda Raaj”. Also, the timing was "politically right" since people were already up in arms after Hyderabad rape case; and media wanted to channelize this anger towards Yogi's Uttar Pradesh. 

At the same time if you are following social media you would have noticed that in social media posts, Brahmins are specifically being targeted in this case, since one of the accused is said to be a Brahmin. There was a hash-tag on Twitter which clearly targeted Brahmins for this crime. It is a sham. The political mind behind this is simple. Using the British formula of “divide and rule”, evil forces have been trying to make Brahmins and Rajputs fight each other. Since Yogi Adityanath is a Rajput, the attempt in targeting Brahmins is to make them get angry with the CM. People have to prove this attempt futile by staying united.

Here are my conclusions in this case:

1.   If we see end-to-end story, the Unnao rape case is not a simple crime but it looks like a case of fake rape allegation and later extortion angles can’t be ruled out

2.   There is a clear attempt to target BJP ruled UP government in this case, since it had promised to save the state from Gunda Raj of SP/BSP.

3.   There is an attempt to spread hatred in society and divide Hindus by specifically targeting Brahmins.

Now coming to my comment on poverty, with which I had started this article. After the victim died, her family members started putting demands on the state government which was almost an “extortion” like scenario. The victim’s sister demanded a government job; her brother demanded a gun license; and her family demanded a big house. All these demands were being made while media was targeting UP government day and night. Result? State government agreed to all their demands. Government job will be given, gun license will be given and two flats will be given to the family since the family has too many members to be accommodated in one flat. Normally large compensation is given to deceased if they are the sole bread-winner of their family. But in this case it seems it was given to make peace with angry protesters. 

It seems that while in other places, families of victims want justice but in Unnao, such a family wants gun license, govt job, 2 flats and much more. It may be more profitable for them to milk the opportunity for money, rather than seek justice. After all, the dead can't see, and money will help them in future more than justice would do.

Therefore, Unnao rape case is not a simple case where you can easily take sides. Think again before lighting that candle and creating that Twitter outrage.

Rahul Gandhi and his Bad Mouthing Strategy To Win Votes

It seems Rahul Gandhi always suffered from spilt personality disorder. At one hand, he wanted people to take him seriously and hence wanted his public image to appear as of a dynamic mature leader. To get there, he visited colleges, conferences, reputed institutions including situated in several other countries. It is a different story that he always goofed up everywhere and his agents were busy explaining how this "goofing around" was his shrewd strategy to ensure coverage in "media" (no one bought it). On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi always wanted to appear as a dynamic angry young man. This mature Vs young; reliable Vs bubbly struggle got the better of him. In the end, he could prove only one thing about his consistent strategy - he has a "bad-mouthing strategy". And nothing else. Rahul Gandhi wants to win votes by bad-mouthing Modi. That is the bottom line of Con Party's war-room strategy. Kudos to the grand old party! 

Sometime back, Rahul Gandhi called PM Narendra Modi "a thief. "Hindustan ka chowkidar chor hai: Rahul Gandhi calls PM Modi a thief in Rajasthan" (Source: India Today)

This is just one sample. Everyday we can read permutations and combinations of his abuses at India's Prime Minister. And he is not doing this for any election. Rahul Gandhi was bad-mouthing PM Modi in 2015, he was abusing PM Modi in year 2016; year 2017 and in year 2018. It is evident that he has become nothing but a "Certified Abuser". But why does not anyone tell him how crass and third rate his speeches are and how uneducated and idiotic he appears while he is abusing India's Prime Minister? It is easy to understand. 

Long back, Congress Party was taken over by one family - Nehru family/dynasty. Anyone who tried to become a better leader than what the dynasty could offer, was cut down to size. This is why the recent decision to bring in Priyanka Gandhi into politics should be seen as a means to give a continued support to this dynasty since Rahul Gandhi does not seem to be marrying and producing any kids in the long future any soon. Rahul Gandhi is always surrounded by cronies and 'chamchas' who hail him no matter how foolish he appears to "outsiders". This is why, he is never given true or honest feedback and he keeps making better mockery of himself. 

Sometime back, Rahul Gandhi "winked" in Lok Sabha while a serious debate was going on. Whom did he wink at? His cronies - who else? "Rahul Gandhi ‘winks’ again in Lok Sabha, faces BJP ire" (Source: TOI). No matter how stupid Rahul Gandhi appears to the common Indians, his cronies keep reminding him how naturally superior he has because of his genes coming from the "dynasty". 

Every time Rahul Gandhi abuses India's popular Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he proves how stupid and unqualified he is. Yet, no one tells him this in his face. And hence he continues. 

If we look at Rahul Gandhi's "best" attacks on PM Modi, it is clear that he is driven by his own personal history. 

Back then, VP Singh had given this slogan, "Gali Gali me shor hai; Rajiv Gandhi chor hai" and hence today Rahul Gandhi shouts "chaukidar chor hai". 

Back then, opposition parties had deflated his father's political career by accusing scam in "Bofors deal" which was a military procurement deal. Therefore, Rahul Gandhi today accuses government in a fictitious "Rafale deal" which is again a military procurement deal. 

Rahul Gandhi is so incompetent that he can't even come up with new accusations and new attacks. All he can do is to copy his own father's scandals and try to throw it on Narendra Modi. 

Only if mainstream media could stand up to this incompetent abusive man called Rahul Gandhi; that this menace could stop. As an Indian, I am anguished every time Rahul Gandhi throws abuses at our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He might not have learnt decency from his mother, since she has a history of saying abusive things about Narendra Modi herself; "Sonia Gandhi called Modi 'Maut ka Saudagar' (Source: India Today); but he can at least try to learn modesty from other great men outside his family. After all, in all these years when he has lived in India (when he is not holidaying abroad); if he does not pick up even a single Indian value; it would be a huge disappointment. 

Let us hope after his Con Party loses General Election of year 2019, hopefully Rahul Gandhi would abandon his "Bad Mouthing Strategy" to win votes. 

Modi Govt Passes amendment to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act

In a very welcome move, Modi Government has passed an amendment to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act; ensuring death penalty in case of children's abuse. 

This was long due and we all thank the BJP government and PM Narendra Modi for this act: 

Union Cabinet on Friday approved an amendment to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, seeking to ensure death penalty for aggravated sexual abuse of children. The amendment further levies heavy fine for not deleting, reporting and destroying child pornographic material. The POCSO Act, which was originally enacted in 2012, was later modified to make it as foolproof as possible.

Briefing the media, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "Our children should be protected from sexual offences. Now, those taking advantage of children in heinous ways will be severely punished".

https://www.newsnation.in/india-news/death-penalty-for-aggravated-assault-under-law-on-sexual-crimes-against-children-ravi-shankar-prasad-article-210077.html

Modi Govt Passes The Muslim Women Bill 2018 Against Triple Talaq

In a very welcome move, the BJP Government has passed The Muslim Women Bill 2018 which criminalizes so called "Triple Talaq". 

The Muslim Women Bill 2018, which criminalises triple talaq, was on Thursday passed in the Lok Sabha. The bill was passed despite opposition parties, including the Congress, the AIADMK and the Samajwadi Party, staging a walkout before the voting on the bill began.

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad replied to the debate on behalf of the government, asserting that the bill was not aimed at targeting any particular community or religion. He accused the Congress and other opposition parties of opposition the bill with the intention of protecting their votebanks.

http://zeenews.india.com/india/triple-talaq-bill-passed-in-lok-sabha-after-walkout-by-congress-led-opposition-2166312.html

This is a very welcome step and this will improve the life of millions of potentially impacted women in future. Triple Talaq was considered a shame by most people who care for women's rights and it is surprising how long this practice sustained itself, thanks largely to the minority vote bank politics of the Congress Party which has been in power in India most part of its post-independent history. 

With Triple Talaq gone, we can hope for more such moves being made for the Muslim Women's rights. India must serve as a good example for other nations in the neighborhood who are still plagued by archaic laws of a gone era. 

Thank you Mr. Modi and government for passing this bill. 

Modi Govt Passes Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 Banning Commercial Surrogacy

In a very welcome move, Lok Sabha has passed a bill which bans commercial surrogacy:

A bill that bars commercial surrogacy and allows only close relatives to act as surrogates to needy infertile couples for altruistic reasons was passed by the Lok Sabha Wednesday with Health Minister J P Nadda terming the proposed legislation historic. The 'Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016' was passed after an hour-long debate amid noisy protests by Congress and AIADMK members over various issues.

Nadda said different sections of society, political parties, the Supreme Court and the Law Commission have spoken against commercial surrogacy and that the bill addresses these concerns. India had become a hub of commercial surrogacy and surrogate mothers also suffered from exploitation, he told the House. "The bill protects women from exploitation and ensures the rights of the child born through surrogacy. It has been a demand from all sections of society," he said.

The bill proposes complete ban on commercial surrogacy, but altruistic surrogacy will be permitted for needy infertile couple under strict regulation. The bill entitles only Indian citizens to avail surrogacy. Foreigners, NRIs and PIOs are not allowed to seek surrogacy in the country. 

https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/policy/lok-sabha-passes-bill-which-bans-commercial-surrogacy/67170854

This is a very good step by our government. India had become a hub for global population seeking to exploit poor Indian women by making them act like surrogates while they went on with their life. This practice not only degraded women and made them appear like a vessel or a machine, but was also a disgrace on humanity. It is no surprise that this practice is already banned in so many advance or developed countries in the world.

It is also surprising how long it took for Indian government to wake up to the menace. Vested interests from the hospital business would have liked this practice to continue - after all they earn dollars from foreigners through this business. But turning motherhood and child bearing process into money-making business is something which intellectuals must think about.

Better late than never. It is a good news that the current government which is lead by our popular PM Narendra Modi is taking care of so many social issues which have been ignored for decades. At the same time, it looks like shame that the principal opposition party Congress even opposed this bill since it has gotten itself into a trance like situation where it ends up opposing whatever the Modi Government does. The opposition party should apply some mind before opposing such moves. 

Once again, thank you PM Modi and BJP government at the center for this good decision taken for our country.

Modi Government and Mainstream Media

Someone commented that the current India PM Mr. Narendra Modi does not appear to face mainstream media much and does not directly face questions thrown by TV journalists. The feeling was that the current government focuses too much on social media platforms and seem to be not relying on the mainstream media.

First, when you say that PM is "not facing the press"; you have to be more specific. Our PM does give interviews to the press as well as to TV channels. Then what specifically do you mean by "not facing"? I believe you are expecting him to hold press conferences where mainstream journalists could ask him a variety of questions about government policies and he would try to "conquer" them. In a nutshell, you expect some "drama" from him.

But alas, government works in a certain way for the benefit of all. Govt has specific spokespersons for that role. And hence PM does not have to hold a press conference after every policy move. Also, individual Ministers do hold press conferences explaining decisions of their ministries. In India we do not have USA type presidential rule; hence Mr. Modi does not hold press conferences like Mr. Trump does. 

Previous PM Manmohan Singh had also held only 3 press conferences during his tenure of about "10 years". But one can say that his tenure was marred by scandals and scams, and that would have made it necessary. Currently govt is running very smooth and hence there is not much need for press conference by PM.

I think the perception that Modi Government is not depending on mainstream media to some extent is true. Out of all India PMs, current PM Mr. Modi seems the best when it comes to be being directly in touch with people. And there is a history and reason behind it. After post-Godhra riots in Gujarat, he was ostracized and demonized both by opponents outside and within his party. There was a strong media campaign demonizing him both inside India and among NRIs (since Gujaratis have strong NRI presence). E.g. we constantly got news from media about Modi being denied Visa by US even though he never applied for the same! And we had seen what mainstream media had done to him with the famous "puppy remark" by Mr. Modi in an "interview". Hence, in order to survive; and in order to "turn stones thrown to him into a stepping stone"; Modi took "social media" by storm and got into direct contact with people. Media initially was baffled - why does not he talk to the media? Why does not he gave media interviews? Crooked media could not believe there initially that there could be such a Strong Willed Lion among Men who would "bypass" them totally!

After becoming PM, of course he had to give interviews to media and interact with media. Keeping aside media's hateful and funded campaign against him, he started loosening up. But it is important to know the history.

I think it is a mistake to think that PM Modi is out of touch with people and does not know our feedback. He is on Twitter and posts his events, thoughts and works several times every day and would also get people's reactions. He has this NaMo App for mobile phones through which he gets feedback. He does Mann Ki Baat on Radio and TV regularly on weekends. He goes to visit all across the country in election rallies as well as to inaugurate government projects. He regularly visits Temples and places of religious and cultural importance wherever he goes. When he sees children, he goes and plays with them. We never had such "human" PM in the recent times... This is why his supporters adore him like this... 

Plus, most of Big Indian Media Houses have been Left Leaning or Anti-Right Wing philosophy. E.g. The Hindu is a certified communist leaning paper. Hindustan Times Group from the Birla ownership who funded Congress. India Today and Rajdeep Sardesai are anti-BJP. NDTV is certified pro-Congress and anti-BJP channel. CNN-IBN and Sagarika Ghose are clearly Left leaning.

I accept that a few media / TV news houses are pro-BJP too; but all these are only recent upstarts. All old and biggest media houses are anti-BJP, pro-Congress/Left. Hence, if Modi Govt takes mainstream media too seriously, they will only bite it in the ear while standing on its shoulders. Hence Modi Govt still focuses on direct access to people through social media channels.

- Rahul Tiwary

Ironies in BJP's Struggles with Dalit Politics

News headline: "Dalit Members Cleanse Ambedkar Statue After Tributes by BJP Leaders". 

Looking at the news headlines hyped by media during last few weeks, it appears that the BJP is struggling hard trying to defend itself as a pro-dalit party. Smaller, niche and regional 'pro-dalit' political parties are giving it a run for its money. Recently its own 5 dalit MPs have written letter to PM accusing Govt of not doing anything for the dalits. And after Supreme Court's decision restricting immediate arrests in casteist cases, whole anger from the dalit protesters was diverted towards BJP as if BJP was the Supreme Court! This whole trend is full of ironies. 

From our recent memory, it was BJP and Modi who snubbed a veteran like LK Advani to make Ram Nath Kovind, a Dalit, India's president (second dalit president of India). Before that, BJP had inducted Udit Raj in its fold; who had spent his whole life advocating caste-based quota system in India (Irony: Still, BJP is accused of conspiring to remove quota!) Uma Bharti has been a popular dalit face in BJP for long. BJP has long history of association with dalit parties like Ramvilas Paswan, Mayawati etc. The manner in which BJP's own Dalit MPs are allowed to openly speak against the govt, tells how much the party respects them. And the BJP has 40 Dalit MPs! During last general elections of 2014, out of the 66 reserved Dalit Lok Sabha constituencies, BJP had won 40 seats. Almost 15% of BJP’s Lok Sabha strength consists of Dalit MPs. It is ironical that the BJP is still accused by media of being anti-dalit. 

On the other hand, Congress does a “fasting with chhole-bhature” and yet the news is subdued in a few days and no media house accuses Congress of being ‘anti-dalit’. And media has been doing nothing to expose those leaders who have long played dalit politics without doing anything for the community. 

Getting to the basics also tells a story full of ironies. “Conceptually”, the Congress party before India’s independence was a pro-poor, pro-dalit party; because of the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and other great nationalist leaders who genuinely wanted development of these ignored sections of society. On the other hand, “conceptually”, the Congress party post India’s independence has been an elitist and progressive party; majorly due to influence of Nehru who was always elitist and progressive. Despite that, the party maintained its ‘pro-poor’, ‘pro-dalit’ image, because whenever needed, it just drew imagery and inspiration from the ‘pre-independence era’. It helped that people still considered it “Gandhi’s party” and only after a long-long time people realized what the party had become – a “dynasty of Nehru family”. That is why the BJP and Modi kept chanting “dynasty” “dynasty” in order to make people realize the truth about what the Congress party had become. Once people realized that, they made sure that Congress won less than 50 seats from total 543 seats in Lok Sabha in 2014. 

The smaller regional fringe ‘pro-dalit’ parties have proven enough that they do not want complete development and progress of Dalits; because if Dalits become highly educated and rich, they would start behaving like the other Hindus; ignoring their ‘caste appeals’. Hence, all that these smaller regional dalit parties want to do is, first, to keep accusing the government of being anti-dalit, so as to keep getting dalit votes due to ‘anti-incumbancy’; and secondly, keep negotiating and getting better beneficial positions for their own Party Chiefs. 

Coming to the BJP. “Conceptually” the BJP looks like best fit party to work for dalits’ advantage. It is so because “conceptually”, the BJP is predominantly two things: a nationalistic party; and a party drawing inspiration from Hindutva. As a nationalistic party, BJP would definitely like those sections at the bottom of pyramid to come to the forefront. Because of lower denominator effect, this has potential to propel our nation to a higher growth path in the least time. (This is also the reason why regional parties from the poorest corners of India are so scared of the BJP; e.g. Nitish Kumar as he was and Mamata Banerjee as she is. To improve India’s GDP quickly, it makes sense for the Center to focus on and turnaround the poorest and most regressive states first. And hence these regional leaders were scared to death of losing their privileged positions if BJP succeeded.) As a pro-Hindutva party as well, it makes sense for BJP to win the hearts and minds of the Dalits because the Dalits have a very high trend of converting to other religions. First the Islamists forced them away, then the Christian missionaries lured them away and now the Buddhists are cajoling them away. As a pro-Hindutva party, it makes sense for the BJP to try best to integrate Dalits with the mainstream nation; break all caste barriers in order to unify Hindus into a single set; and to make all sections strong and powerful. (And this is also the reason BJP will never scrap caste-quota even in its dream!) The BJP won’t succeed in its vision of creating a strong great nation if there are communities still living in the medieval times; if there are caste-based discrimination running deep and wide; and if Dalits are still downtrodden. 

Another news headline tells that yesterday, PM Modi helped a tribal woman wear her chappals with his own hands. 

Conclusion: It seems so unjustified and unfair that the BJP is accused by media of being anti-dalit while a party like Congress still enjoys ‘pro-dalit’ image. It just tells that our media is not fair. The worst possible repercussion of all this can be that the BJP might lost its sight on its “development agenda” and remain engaged in such unproductive image management exercises. That would be very unfortunate. 

Who is causing caste riots in India?

Looking at the trends of caste based riots happening in India, it looks like an organized one where some forces are trying to destabilize the government at the center.

This is being done with General Elections 2018 in the mind. Needless to say this is dangerous for our democracy and all Indians must expose those who are creating this environment of conflict. India must focus on development alone. 

Here is a cartoon which very aptly frames it:

Thug Life of Arvind Kejriwal

Thug Life was an American hip hop group. It released their only album in 1994 called Thug Life: Volume 1. Today, we all know 'thug life as an urban slang. It stands for many things including the philosophy of not following any rules and trying to succeed somehow against all odds. In India not many can qualify as leading a 'thug life' for very long. Vijay Mallya led a 'thug life' for some time; today he is hardly successful and hence he became just a 'criminal' instead of a 'thug'. There is only one great 'thug life' title awardee in my opinion currently - and that is Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

That was a time when the "honesty gang" was trying to gain much wider audience. It chose a strategy of hurling shoes at big people, getting beaten up, and becoming famous in the process. At that point of time there was an "empty space" in Indian political landscape. BJP as primary opposition party had already lost that space after gaining power at the center. Congress which ruled the country for so long, did not quality as opposition (it is still trying hard to make people believe that it is an opposition party despite having lost power everywhere). Media, anti-national people and chronic skeptics looked at Kejrwal and his gang as the "right choice" for taking that empty space of a "spoiler".

Kejriwal and his gang alleged financial irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association when Arun Jaitley was its president. The massive army of part time Aam Aadmi party members and full time skeptics took his words as a gospel. BJP supporters kept calling them "blind supporters" and more urban slang like "Aaptards" were born but it just did not fade. Thug Life succeeded against all odds.

But today, Kejriwal has apologized to Arun Jaitley.

"These allegations made by me were based on information and papers furnished to me by certain individuals who represented to have first-hand insight into the affairs of DDCA. However, I have recently discovered that the information and the imputations contained therein are unfounded and warranted and I was clearly misinformed into making these allegations," wrote Kejriwal in the apology to Jaitley.

"I offer my sincere apology to you and your family members for any harm caused to your reputation as a consequence of my allegations," the apology further said.

Just like Kejriwal was on "allegation spree" back then, he is on "apology spree" now. Kejriwal's apology spree consists of his apologies to BJP's Nitin Gadkari, Congress party's Kapil Sibal and Akali Dal's Bikram SIngh Majithia.

"I made certain statements, without regard to its verifiability, which seem to have hurt you. I have nothing personal against you. I regret the same. Let us put the incident behind us and bring the court proceedings to a closure." wrote Kejriwal to Gadkari.

I remember that due to Kejriwal's allegations, Gadkari had gained really bad name and was considered a corrupt man in the popular psyche by most people outside Maharashtra.

One interesting fact is also that these apologies are actually the final nail. You would remember that Kejriwal had shrewdly hired Ram Jethmalani as a lawyer to represent himself against Jaitley in the later's defamation case. He knew that Ram Jethmalani was immensely angry against the BJP; and he wanted to use that anger in winning that defamation case. But sadly, his experience also did not go well as he had a spat with Jethmalani over the controversy around payment of fees from the state treasury.

So where do these apologies stand in the overall 'thug life' of Arvind Kejriwal? I think these are just a new feather in his cap. He is the greatest thug of our time - he first fooled people with his allegations against these established political leaders and he has fooled people by his apologies against the same leaders. He meant nothing personally against those leaders when he alleged corruption charges against them. He means nothing now when he says "my sincere apology" to them. There is nothing "sincere" in the psyche of Arvind Kejriwal. There never was; except a very deep motivation to become a bigger man than he is by riding over shoulders of other men.

That is how I would always remember him - a man who stood over shoulders of poor old Anna Hazare and made his own name and bucks. He brought deep distrust among the masses against any possibility of an honest "non political" alternative to the current political landscape.

The reason I don't like Kejriwal is not because he has flaws. Everyone has "flaws" - but not everyone lives a "thug life".

- Disclaimer: Views are personal

Union & Rail budget of Modi Sarkar 2015-16

My opinion on the Union & Rail budget of Modi Sarkar: 

Though I am a Modi fan, initially I was a bit disappointed. I knew people had very high hopes for Govt and the budget did not keep up to it - I would accept it since I can't be dishonest with myself. But then I thought about the true purpose of the 'budget' and why it had come down to 'give relief to public' rather than planning and scheduling of Govt's financial activities, which it should actually mean anywhere in the world. 

Govt needs money and hence it taxes those of us who are comfortable to pay. Govt needs money so that it can spend on nation building, infrastructure, universities, hospitals, roads, etc, which ultimately is for people of India. 

But what the Cong govts were doing in the past were - collect the taxes and then return some of it to 'targeted voters' like religious minorities, farmers, etc, do some development work so that budget sounds like budget, and then anywhere and everywhere do big and bigger scams and ghotalas - to fill their own coffers and also fund the dynasty's coffers. People's faith in govt was shaken. Hence the salaried class public mentality was changed to- "when you are taking away so much for yourself, at least give us something!" So occasionally (not every time) some tax reliefs were given to salaried class - because in India our tax rates are very high. People expected the same (tax reliefs) to be carried forward by Modi Sarkar. But then we wanted govt to do nation building which needs money and did not expect govt to do scams and scandals! 

So I am still happy if my money which Govt collects as taxes is not "given back to me in part" in the form of sops, freebies and tax reliefs - because I know that my money (tax collection) is in "safe hands"; my govt is "honest" (does not do scams); and it will utilize the tax collection in budgetary allocations towards national building! After all, this is what the role of Govt is supposed to be! Hence I don't mind if my govt is not being populist enough... Now we shall all wait to see how the actual work happens on the ground in the next years...