LK Advani Indian Express Interview on Emergency

I know this topic is sightly outdated now but let me share what I made out of reading Advani ji’s full review with Indian Express where he recollects Emergency. If you had felt negative about Advani ji by hearing news on TV, you will find my opinion interesting.

First of all, the interview was part of Indian Express’ (IE) series of articles remembering Emergency and to find out if we have learnt enough lessons to prevent it from occurring again. So it is not that Advani had called an IE journalist to express his points; it was the other way around. All through the interview, IE was asking the same question again and again – “Can emergency happen again?” If you think about it, it would have taken much naivety to say “no” to this question. I bet no other learned person interviewed in this series would say that emergency can never happen again. Such questions are also asked to make the person being interviewed say “yes” and then the beauty lies in how he justifies it after having said “yes”. It is like walking on a tight rope; once you have started there is no way to retreat.

So Advani says that there is nothing done to prevent Emergency in future and indeed it can happen again because the forces are stronger now. Here, it became controversial – what did he mean by these “forces” which he said could crush democracy even today or in future? The way I understood him, it seemed perhaps he meant to say that the coalition politics which made govts weak and provided a balance in the past are gone; in almost all states now there is a majority govt, be it in UP or Delhi or West Bengal etc… In fact the trend is that the public is giving more than absolute majorities; as it happened in the state of Delhi. This is indeed a threat to democracy. The trend indicates that people have not learnt their lessons well from the Emergency India went through.

Now, I don’t think he meant to count Modi Sarkar in these “forces”. Why? Because Modi Sarkar does not have majority in Rajya Sabha and we have seen how miserably it failed to pass the bills it considered critical for success of govt’s policies. Forget crushing democracy, Modi govt is chained and humbled by it – that is one fact we can’t deny from the last one year’s experience. Therefore, Advani won’t have meant to demean Modi govt by counting it as “dictatorial” or anything like that.

IE asked Advani specifically what he meant by saying that it can happen again. Advani says specifically only two things – compromise of “Civil Liberties” and denial of “Press Freedom”. Modi govt has done nothing which can be called to deny civil liberties and when it comes to “Press”, we all know who has an upper hand. Media today is so strong that it can spin the spin doctors to their graves. No matter what you say, media can make it appear completely opposite if it so desires. So why was Advani mentioning these two points? Because, as he rightly says, nothing has been done (no law passed for example) to prevent a govt in future from compromising these if it so desired. I find this statement an intellectual thinking and I completely agree with Advani on this.

By the end of his interview, Advani reflects on what has been done by the public in the years after emergency which can assure us that people have become wiser. He recalls only Anna Hazare’s Lokpal movement but then he takes a jibe at Aap, saying that leading a protest is one thing but recent experience has shown that if govts are made by such protesters, they are not successful. So I wondered if Delhi CM had actually read Advani’s interview till the end, when he was rushing to meet him to congratulate him and spread his ‘raaita’…

If we see it in context, Advani’s interview appears learned and intellectual. If you read it; you will see that all through he was trying to put focus on “those people” who had enforced Emergency but never apologized for it (i.e. he was targeting Congress party). But next day when the Television and electronic media read it; they took it at entirely different terms which is in a way sad but typical media-like…

If you don’t believe me; read his full interview yourself:

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/i-do-not-say-the-political-leadership-is-not-mature-but-kamiyon-ke-karan-vishwas-nahin-hota-l-k-advani/
Disclaimer: Views are personal and no, I am not Advani ji’s PR manager

—
PS: Later Advani ji clarified that Emergency comment was directed at Congress party, not at any individual. But almost no TV channel gave this clarification much importance. http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/advani-clarifies-emergency-comment-says-it-was-directed-at-congress/article1-1360776.aspx

Modi Sarkar Report Card - June 2015

Modi Sarkar Report Card - May 2015

Why I Support Ban on IIT Madras Hate Monger Group

From what I read, the guys who were part of the group called Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSC) were playing politics. They have gone there to study, not to do politics. Any institute would have expelled those loafers.

What kind of “study” it is to protest beef ban (in some other state) or against “Hindi enforcement” (as if it is really happening)? These guys as their group’s name suggests, are of a particular “ideology” and hence they were pitching up against some policies which are against their own ideology. I don’t know why it should be allowed, no matter how much anti-Modi forces speak for it. Because such politics could lead to civil wars and violence – a repeat in Tamil Nadu.

I read that this group has only been “derecognized” and has been refrained from using “IIT Madras” name or logo in its work. That is the least; we could not even call it “punishment”. And the whole anti-Modi brigade/media is shouting as if heaven has fallen on us. If I were dean I would suspend all such students which are playing such politics in the campus.

This is why I support action against this group at IIT Madras.

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal.

How Obama Shifts US Foreign Policy Against World Peace

As his term is nearing an end, there is increased efforts seen by Obama to change long going foreign policies. If you see the countries or regimes which have benefited from his ‘generosity’ we smell something fishy.

Obama removed sanctions against communist Cuba, which is an autocracy under Castro family with decades of human rights violations. So many Cubans had to flee from their nation in order to settle down in the US; and most of these Cuban-Americans oppose Obama’s kindness towards evil doers. Oil is second leading Cuban export; which is now cheap; and Obama acted ‘in time’ to help Cuban autocracy survive.

Then Obama seem to have worked hard to help Iran become nuclear power, with the premise that Iran will use it for peaceful purpose only. A nation with one of the biggest oil fields beneath its surface wants to become nuclear and you smell nothing in it – I wonder what Obama thinks? Shia Iran is increasingly exerting its military power in the region. Again, because of plummeting oil prices, Iran was under pressure; and removing sanctions was so much welcomed.

At the same time US-Israel relations are in the worst shape in history. When Netanyahu was reelected, Obama launched a verbal attack as if he was personally disappointed and resented Netanyahu getting reelected! What was Obama thinking? Most political analysts think that US-Israel relations are at the bottom. And we can’t blame Israel for it.

With terrorists winning everywhere be it in Iraq or Syria, I think Obama has also caused much more damage to world ‘peace’ by his ‘strategic inaction’ than Bush did by his selective actions. I am sure if one reviews and compares the status of world peace at the end of Bush’s term with Obama’s term, Bush will appear much better. So much violence, human rights violations, with terrorism thriving everywhere, are you sure you have earned your Nobel Peace Prize by now, Mr. Obama?

Disclaimer: Views are personal.