A Fistful of Salt

seeking sense within all this noise

Buckle Up For the Great Indian Election’s Global Ride

Posted on September 7, 2023 by SV Rao

The 2024 General Elections will be a Great Indian Blockbuster Tamasha. The stakes couldn’t be higher: for the I.N.D.I.A bloc of 26 opposition parties, have come together solely to overthrow the Modi Sarkar; and for the BJP-led NDA coalition, which is trying for an unprecedented hat-trick of wins. The sheer scale of the elections will be breathtaking. The magnitude of efforts taken by the Election Commission, the administrative and law and order eco-system, will be awe-inspiring. The ultimate salute to democracy.

Unfortunately, the toxic side will also be on full display. The old Congress playbook with its ‘winnability’ formula – Money, Muscle, Caste, Creed – has been embraced across the entire political spectrum. Many candidates with criminal backgrounds, dubious credentials, and low merit will be voted in as our future Members of Parliament. Vitriolic language and uncouth barbs will capture our media headlines. Political families will break up, and even long-affiliated leaders will head for supposedly greener pastures. Divisive rhetoric will prevail, and even some communal and regional disturbances may be instigated or inflamed to consolidate vote banks. TV channels, print media, and social media influencers will go berserk, spewing out a lot of stuff – less real news and loads of propaganda and negativity.

However, the X factor in the 2024 election will be the global interest, and more so, the meddling and interference, and even infiltration by some governments and nations, special interest groups, and social media disruptors. Indian political parties slugging it out is all okay. When foreign money and deliberate disinformation come in to subvert the election process, it takes on a dark and troubling dimension.

Let’s take the case of the Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros and his Open Society Policy Centre (OSPC). Ostensibly to push back against strident nationalism in any country, Soros publicly announced at the Davos Conference that he was going all out against the Modi Government. Hardly surprising! In 2018, the Sherpa Association backed by Soros filed a complaint with the financial prosecutor of France against the 36 Rafale Aircraft deals with India. The Opposition parties in India raised the decibel meter of ‘Corruption’ in the months before the 2019 elections. Is it a coincidence or is there more to it than meets the eye? Then his Organised Crime and Corrupt Repairing Project (OCCRP) targeted industrialist Adani immediately after the Hindenburg allegations (Investment firm with a focus on short selling). Are they just separate events or is there a definite pattern to it? If there is any substance in the allegations, Indian Regulatory and Investigative agencies are perfectly capable of probing into it. Period. It’s extremely likely that in the next few months, another top Indian industrialist comes on their radar, and ‘crony capitalism’ becomes the most uttered jibe by our desi politicos. Beyond this, it will lead to shocks in the stock market and jolt the Indian economy.

Generally, in conspiracy theories, there is talk of a ‘Deep State.’ Here, it is all out in the open if you know where to look. The BBC, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Guardian, Observer… The BBC keeps talking about the instability and unrest in the Indian State of Kashmir. They have to keep the pot boiling. Remember that it was in a 2001 BBC interview that Yasin Malik (JKLF) had casually admitted to killing a judge, some unarmed Indian Air Force personnel, and some civilians. (Fact check – more than 13 million Indian tourists have visited the Valley till July this year, with another 3 months of the season to go. The hotels and guesthouses are full, and also the buses, cabs, and shikaras.)

After the inspiring success of ISRO’s Chandrayan 3 landing on the South face of the moon, a British news anchor patronizingly asked India to return 2.3 billion pounds in aid given between 2016 and 2021. The years cited are the giveaway. The British Foreign Office has formally acknowledged that no British aid has been given to India since 2015. The corpus relates to a joint investment fund for fighting challenges like climate change. Sadly, our news media did not directly rebut the fake news but instead spoke about reparations of $45 trillion dollars which the colonizers had looted from India. Remember that it was the BBC that played up the big lie about Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) to justify the invasion and destruction of Iraq by Anglo-American forces. Christiane Amanpour, in a CNN interview, spoke of the Indian PM in the same breath as Putin & Xi Jinping. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post’s default setting on India is to showcase the country in a negative light. $2000 per Op-ed article is given to members of our very own Vodka Biryani brigade (you know the names) to highlight the slow death of democracy in India and the persecution of its minorities. Remember that our national Opposition leader brandished a copy of the Guardian paper with the same headlines as he spoke to a gathering at Cambridge. The Empire Strikes Back!!

The hypocrisy and double standards in peddling news is staggering. A few months back, an unarmed 17-year-old man of North African descent was killed by the police in a Paris suburb, sparking off weeks of violence in the city and across the country. Cut to BBC reporting on the banlieue (suburbs) where the migrant populace stays, “Is the violence the result of poverty and discrimination?” Not quite. “It’s a law and order problem. Gangs and petty criminals use anger over a tragic death to sow mayhem. Their problems have long been recognized by the authorities. But it will not be resolved anyway soon.” BBC Verify also talked about false posts and images about the French riots spreading online. Remember that Brexit happened with a 52%-48% leave vote majorly influenced by images of a wave of immigrants from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia swamping the country. These images were dropped by Putin’s army of social media manipulators sitting in St. Petersburg. Rest assured that the handlers from ISPR (Inter-Services Public Relations Unit of the Pakistani ISI) will be extremely active in fear-mongering and spreading toxic disinformation in India in the run-up to the 2024 election. Insidious versions of Chinese whispers will also pass around.

Sticking to Britain, the extradition of fugitives Nirav Modi & Vijay Mallya will be drummed up by our Opposition bloc as a major election issue. Status – Nirav Modi – his case is said to be ‘statute barred,’ indicating further pending litigation. This after he lost his final appeal in November 2022. The latest about the ‘King of Good Times’ is that he cannot be extradited till a ‘confidential legal issue’ concerning him is resolved. When our MEA tells us that the entire extradition process is tortuous, it is exactly right. No wonder that London is the haven for financial fraudsters and oligarchs.

Recently, liberal France banned the wearing of the Islamic Abaya dress in schools. Check out the reaction from the Western media. Zilch!! Why then the uproar when the erstwhile Karnataka Government talked about standard school uniforms for all. Think about the profound disrespect shown against a Great Religion in Sweden and Denmark in recent months. Shrugged off by the Western media and channels like Fox News as mere ‘freedom of expression.’

Let’s move to Canada. Justin Trudeau openly supported the farmers’ agitation in India, which was confined to 2 States and went on for months in a heavily politicized manner. His vote bank politics led him to interfere in another sovereign country’s internal affairs. The funding for the agitation came from Khalistanis and allies in Canada, the UK, the US, and Australia. Fast Forward. How did the Canadian PM respond to the country-wide transporters’ strike in his nation relating to some Covid regulations? He went missing and underground for a week. He emerged to declare a national emergency (Fact Check – which was the party in power in India when the Khalistan crises came to a boil?).

It is an undeniable fact that the Union and State Governments in India handled the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic challenges more effectively than any advanced nation. Yet papers in the US and Europe showed photos of dead bodies at the Varanasi ghats as Covid deaths, which were being suppressed by the Indian authorities. India supplying vaccines to more than 100 countries also did not receive the media attention it deserved.

Selective Outrage. Remember that the World Health Organisation (WHO) and reputed Western virologists and bio-scientists played PR for Beijing after the Wuhan leak. China is the second-largest funder of WHO, and The Gain of Function Research which resulted in the leak has been a financial bonanza for the scientific community. Likewise, the persecution of over a million Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province of China does not raise protests from even Islamic countries. It’s not surprising that our human-rights Comrade activists are quiet.

In the 60’s & 70’s, the KGB infiltrated the top rungs of the Indian government, public service, media, university campuses, and even the Hindi film industry (The Mitrokhin Papers). If not Ideology, Vodka, Money, or a Honey Trap did the trick. Now it is Chinese money that is funding leftist media outlets, some political parties, NGOs, and social influencers. It’s distressing to hear the complete silence from the Opposition parties and this eco-system when China recently released a map claiming Arunachal Pradesh as its territory. All political parties in the Philippines joined together to lambast China’s claims to their part of the South China Sea. A joint US-Philippines naval exercise followed. It is high time that our political parties, irrespective of ideology or political compulsions, do not undermine serious matters of National Security. Remember that ahead of the 2019 election a national political leader after meeting the Chinese Ambassador claimed that the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) had occupied 2400 sq km of Indian territory. Mocking the Indian Army just to take some political potshots.

China’s remarkable growth over the last 3 decades has been propelled by the Communist Party’s absolute dictatorship and State Controlled Capitalism. No dissent is allowed. India as the world’s largest democracy has made a more gradual but definite progress. With the additional internal challenge that some elements in the political domain and media have actively worked to undermine the national interest. Today the bottom line is that India’s growing geo-political clout and economic rise do not sit well with 2 neighbors, some Western countries, and their special interest NGOs and agenda-driven Think Tanks. It is interesting to note that Harvard has received $1 billion from China over the last decade, mainly as gifts. Show me the money. Be prepared for a lot of negative flak from Ivy League intellectuals over the next 10 months.

Cartoon from German Magazine Der Spiegel

In April 2023, a cartoon in the German magazine Der Spiegel depicted an overcrowded Indian train passing a modern Chinese bullet train on a parallel track with only 2 drivers inside. The many passengers on top of the Indian train are holding the tricolor.

‘Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But they are not entitled to their own facts.’ Daniel P. Moynihan-US Senator and Ambassador to India. The stakes and criticality of the 2024 Lok Sabha election cannot be overstated. Please fact-check. Please don’t get misled. Please see through the clutter and noise. Then please cast your valuable vote. Once the dust has settled and the debris removed we will have our new Government per the mandate and will of the people.

Why our high profile Investigations usually wind up nowhere?

Posted on January 10, 2022 by SV Rao

The scourge of corruption and the unaccountability of the political class and their complicit bureaucrats have seriously undermined India’s well-being and development. Good, transparent and fair governance has never been front and centre. In our country the rich and the connected are above the law.

Let’s start with the sensational potboilers playing out in Mumbai for the last 2 years and more. The unexplained death of film actor Sushant Singh Rajput (SSR) which the city police immediately dismissed as a suicide. This tragic event was preceded 3 days earlier by another mysterious death of Disha Salian, one time manager of SSR. Passed off as another suicide. Accompanied by a curious, affirmative chorus from a section of the media, some film people and some politicos. Both the cases were closed in the first week itself by the Mumbai police, supported by botched up post mortems at a convenient hospital. The entire approach seemed casually pre-determined. The professional Mumbai police of yesteryears under Julio Ribeiro would not have contaminated the possible crime- scenes. Once evidence surfaced of a possible link between the 2 suspicious deaths, the detectives should have been smacking their lips. Instead, a narco-racket connection, missing hard-drive from SSR’s systems and trails leading to the film industry and the corridors of power were ignored and buried. Thanks to massive outrage on social media the CBI and NCB were brought into the picture and raised hopes of a thorough investigation. Over the last 18 months there have been political theatrics and lots of planted news but justice has not been served. The Central Agencies have flattered to deceive. Why the inordinate silence. ?! At least let the final official version come out.

The other matter is equally sensational and has many strands. The “Vasooligate” or extortion scandal masterminded by some politicians and their police lackeys. Collecting monthly money from dance clubs, bars, restaurants et al. Shades of the protection money or hafta collected by the goons of the underworld. The Home Minister had to resign, a big wicket to fall. That’s all. The Sarkar’s hand-picked Commissioner of Police ended up on the wrong side of this venal churning and disappeared for more than 220 days. What were the State Police and the Central Agencies doing??!! An absolute disgrace. A re-instated sub-inspector goon presumably ran the racket at the behest of the powers that be and went around with a note counting machine. Was the administration sleeping?! Amidst all this a dead body was found floating near a creek. Quickly pronounced as another suicide by the local police authorities. However, in this case the charade could not be kept up and Murder it was. Another link to this curious plot was the planting of explosive devices outside the residence of India’s richest man, Mr Mukesh Ambani. Central Agencies like the CBI and NIA joined the fray with the Mumbai CID and Police going great guns. With so much time, energy and resource invested what has been the outcome so far. Another never-ending saga. Till the next episode. For public memory is short.

This leads to 3 assumptions. First, that the police are under the control of their political masters and will not rock the boat. The colonial police of the British Raj has evolved into the “Feudal” force of present times. All political parties are one on this matter. Ironically, if given a free hand the cops will not cop-out but can solve difficult cases like the Nirbhaya rape and murder.

The investigating agencies have not been provided with the professional know-how and infrastructure to crack today’s crimes. Forensic training, social data recovery, tracking cyber-hacking footprints and money-laundering trails and sharing of inputs between different agencies. In the much publicised “Aarushi” murder case incompetent police and forensic work has led to the question of whether the conviction of the Talwars was a miscarriage of justice.

Last but not least is to whether there is a quiet understanding between the political parties to have each other’s backs if a big scandal erupts. A few pawns will have to be sacrificed but that’s the political chess-board, isn’t it. The long-hands of the law rarely grasp the necks of the biggie politicians, business and media tycoons and stars and celebrities.

Please draw your own conclusions. Are these raids or arrests – witch-hunts or political or personal vendetta? Or just to gain political capital from a gullible populace and garner votes during elections. For many of these arrests and allegations are made just before election season kicks off? Or to deflect and distract public attention from some sordid goings on in their own camp? Here, a word of caution. In all fairness, such fraud or crime issues should not be kept simmering indefinitely. The Government of the day (the BJP led government now or the State governments) should give it a closure if there be no conclusive evidence. It should not be raked up again for a hit job during the next election season. As the Bard said, “a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

The unearthing of the Rs 270 crs cache of black money from the residence of a perfume baron in UP coincides with the upcoming UP election. Probably, these monies were to fund rallies and campaigns; to buy and swing votes for some political party in the State polls. With some part of the country always in election mode, such news snippets give a sense that the anti- black money mission is very effective. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Despite De-Monetisation, unaccounted cash continues to grow and thrive. This dark side of our election story harks back many decades. The Nagarvala case of 1971. Supposedly a RAW agent gone rogue. The Rs 60 lakhs of unaccounted cash was kept in suitcases at a leading nationalised bank branch and handed over to this mystery man on the basis of a purported phone call from the PMO office. He was nabbed the next day, confessed and sentenced within 2 days, to a 4 years imprisonment and died in prison a few months later. One of the speculations was that this was KGB sponsored election funds. The Agency had infiltrated the highest levels of our Government per the Mitrokhin documents. Today’s Chinese whispers are that Chinese money is propping up some of our political outfits, media houses and activists. A serious national security issue. Indian intelligence agencies will be on high alert.

Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi are our poster-boys of financial crimes. The two have duped our PSU banks of thousands of crores and are financial fugitives in London. Their passports could have been impounded as evidence of their scams had already surfaced. That the King of Good Times attended a Rajya Sabha session on the 1^st March 2016 before fleeing the next day is telling. Coincidentally, it was on the 2^nd March 2016 that a cluster of PSU banks moved the Debt Recovery Tribunal against Mallya. The diamond merchant escaped from the country on the 1st Jan 2018. On the 29^th Jan 2018, the PNB filed a case with the CBI against Modi. Is it just sloppiness on display here or is there more to it? The Panama papers were released in 2016 with the names of 930 Indians or entities parking their monies in off-shore accounts in tax havens. The Pandora papers of 2021 exposed the names of 300 Indian businessmen and celebrities with such accounts. These reports are the work of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICICJ) and many European countries have taken serious note and action. Other than a few snippets here and there like the actress Aishwarya Rai being called for questioning, there does not seem to be much headway. It needs to be said that some of these off-shore accounts may have been disclosed and legitimate. Official statements to such effect must also be released.

Over the last 70+ years Independent India has seen thousands of public frauds, corruption scandals, corporate favouritism cases, and ties with the underworld. But the administrative will to go after the big-wig culprits has simply not been there. Yes in the late 50’s Mundhra went to jail in the LIC scam as did Big Bull Harshad Mehta in the stocks-scam of the 1990’s. But the exception proves the rule. The defence procurement scams of HDW submarine, Bofors and Augusta Westland have never been laid to rest. The middle-men have been outed and named (foreign nationals) but the investigators have lacked the balls or the skills to connect them with senior political figures or bureaucrats. Mr VP Singh, our Mr Clean PM, used them to win an election, period. The leaked Nira Radia tapes not only brought to light the corporate lobbying interface with the Union Ministers. It also hinted at how coalition political partners were vying for lucrative ministerial berths and how influential media persons were facilitating the same. The Saradha Chit fund Ponzi scam claimed a couple of MLA’s in Bengal and the file was closed. Coming to the present, is it so difficult to establish whether in the Rafale fighter aircraft deal kickbacks of 7.5 million euros were paid in secret commission to a middleman to seal the deal (alleged by a French investigative journal in 2021). Although, the Supreme Court has already ruled on the matter in 2019.

Some may pertinently point out that Bihar’s CM Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav went to jail in the fodder scam. Sure. His wife, Smt Rabri Devi became the interim CM. Madam Jayalalitha also spent time in jail in a disproportionate assets case, but her life is celebrated in a recent film drama called “Thalaivi” or Revolutionary leader. Sahara Shree Subroto Roy is in the Tihar jail. But he is frequently out on parole and by all accounts having a cushy arrangement in the prison quarters also. The Sahara group long innings was enabled by political patronage. Mr Ramalinga Raju spent only 35 months behind bars for the Satyam Corporate scam which shook the Indian business world at that time. Not even a slap on the wrist. Film star Sanjay Dutt was jailed for illegal possession of weapons but was out on parole for a large chunk of his sentence time. And then there was the film, “Sanju” and director Raj Kumar Hirani doing a great white-wash job on his buddy’s very dubious connections.

The NCB raids especially on Bollywood stars have attracted a lot of media attention. Drug peddlers have been nabbed and there have been drug seizures across the country. Some film stars have been grilled eliciting excited reactions on social media. The spotlight on drug trafficking and the film world is welcome. These celebrities are role models to millions of youngsters and their being held accountable is a good thing. So is the counselling of some of the young stars and star scions. But here again are we missing the forest for the trees. Drugs are the main source of income for the underworld and the Pakistani establishment and terror outfits in the region use it to fund terrorism. It finally boils down to a national security issue. No political party or law and order machinery can compromise on this. Also, what of the 3000 kgs of heroin worth Rs 20,000 crores seized at Adani port in Oct 2021. The Director of Revenue Intelligence and the National Intelligence Agency are seized of the matter. But will we know more about the origins and the kingpins or will it just remain one of the largest drug seizures in the world?

This leads me to another headline grabber- the incarceration of businessman Raj Kundra for 60 days around Sept 2021. He was arrested by the Mumbai police in connection with an adult film racket. Released on a surety of a paltry Rs 50,000. Was this yet another case of Much Ado About Nothing; or was it the Maharashtra Sarkar trying to deflect attention from the “Vasooligate” crises; or with the accused being the husband of Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty was it signalling that it was not being soft on the film industry. Perhaps the Mumbai police was trying to reclaim its lost glory. Else, did this exemplify another case-study of poor diligence and follow-up in building up a convincing case? An aside. Raj Kundra is a joint-owner of the Rajasthan Royals franchise which was banned from the IPL tournament for 2 years on match fixing charges.

Take the case of match-fixing in Indian cricket. Would the truth have ever come out had not South African captain Hansie Cronje admitted and confessed to South Africa’s King Commission in 2000 that he had fixed matches for money and had been first introduced in 1996 by Azharuddin, the India captain, to a bookie. Granted that the Delhi police had shared the initial findings with the South African Cricket Board in March 2000. A side-note is that a PR movie called “Azhar” was made to clean the slate and he became the Congress MP from Moradabad and now is a senior functionary in the Telangana Congress. Then the IPL match fixing and spot fixing scandal saw CSK and RR being banned for 2 years from the tournament. Sreesanth being the only well- known cricketer to take the rap. Why the top promoters, administrators and players got away is not really a mystery. Incidentally, the film on MS Dhoni makes no mention of this sordid saga.

The toxic effect of unbridled corruption and power on our society is there for all to see. The black-money economy has become a large, parallel and unregulated sector with all its corrosive impact. But it is the top-down trickle syndrome which has earned us the stigma of a highly corrupt nation. People in all walks of life are now emboldened to be corrupt and not only for financial gain. Integrity has lost its value and currency. The real brunt is being felt by the poor and the middle-class. Think of the labourer whose 50% wages is siphoned off on a daily basis by the contractor through his agent. The Government proclaims that a lot of government transactions and document related work can be completed on-line. Things have improved in certain areas like passport issuance and renewal. Otherwise, the ground reality is that one has to download forms and submit the documents physically. If one wants prompt results, enter the agent. You know what this means. This palm greasing for every little thing is what earns us the honors on global corruption indexes. The heroism of front-line health workers, policemen and sanitary workers and many common folk are being justly applauded in these Covid hit times. But one cannot turn a blind-eye to the huge profiteering during the pandemic. Whether it being availability of the Remdesivir drug or the scarcity of oxygen or hospital beds. Covid 19 has shown us both the good and bad sides of who we are as a people. The Aam Aadmi has just given up or become indifferent to this plague of corruption.

What is also worrying is that even educated people tend to shrug off this unsavoury aspect of life. As if it was just another tax to pay as a common citizen. Even more worrying is that many of them tend to look at corruption through the prism of community, State or ideology. Underhand dealings are ok if done by a leader from ones’s own community, State or preferred political party. Some of these charlatans are feted as Chanakyas- Masters of the political chess-board.

The pandemic of corruption is rampant throughout India and has hollowed us out as a nation. Is it better or worse in a certain area or region or government is a relative concept. The misdeeds of the present Union Government will also be exposed after a few years. After all, they have adopted the same old playbook. Then the skeletons will be out of the closet and will dance to the tunes of the new regime in place.

One of the lowest points of the current dispensation has been the handling of the 2017 Unnao rape and subsequent murder cases. The BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar continued to get the support of his party till the shit hit the ceiling. The 17 year old rape victim tried to immolate herself in front of the CM’s residence and the media and activists thankfully jumped in from thereon. Amidst the uproar, the Supreme Court and the CBI had to step in to send this so called local bahubali to life imprisonment in 2019.

One of the ways to break this insidious status quo is the tabling of the Vohra Committee report in its entirety in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for an intensive debate. It should also be made available for public scrutiny and consumption. Submitted in Oct 1993, it is deemed to be an expose of the links between the Mumbai underworld and top politicians and officials at the State and Central governments. Only 7 or 8 pages have been briefly discussed in some Parliamentary Committee and the 100+ page exhaustive dossier has apparently gone missing. Why??? By Whom??? The PIL matter is pending with the Supreme Court.

Police reforms will be the game-changer. A litmus test for the Central Government. Incredibly, the Police Act of 1861 is still in place. The landmark SC ruling of 2006 with its 7 crucial directives for implementation has been gathering dust for many years. A law-oriented, fair, impartial and apolitical police force is a hallmark of a mature and progressive nation. But an anathema to the powers that be. This vital force has to be ramped up by half a million personnel; their abysmal working conditions and below- par salary structure requires significant improvement; with modern equipment and training enhancing their effectiveness and public perception. But considering the general disenchantment with the police, it will make sense to expand the Community-Policing initiative. To foster engagement and trust between the people and the police in an area. The other side of the same coin is to invest in, to overhaul and build a robust judicial system. Most administrations have been very miserly on their judicial related budgets.

Our Netas and their Enablers are averse to any change and they rejoice in the general public apathy. As a people we are quite indifferent to reform although we will benefit the most from it. Change for the common good has to be forced into the system. Constant pressure has to be built up and applied on the powers that be. Social media now provides a vast and instant connect and it’s for the citizens and especially the younger, aspirational generation to put the writing on the wall.

First World Hypocrisy

Posted on October 15, 2021 by SV Rao

Photo by Tristan Sparks on https://www.flickr.com/photos/friendly-fire/252169955/

The First World refers to the USA and its Western Allies opposed to the Soviet Union after WW2. Nations characterised by democracy, prosperity, stability and progress. Over the last 7 decades this bloc has called the shots and controlled the narrative. Developing and Third World countries like India have tacitly accepted their superiority, condescending attitude and sermons without question. As an emerging power now, it is high time we shed our colonial mind-set and see the world in starkly real terms.

The game-changing ideas and policies, innovations and inventions from these western countries are richly acknowledged and warmly celebrated. But it is time to show the mirror to capture the less known darker side also. This blog has been triggered by the American debacle in Afghanistan. Recommend that you please take it with A Fistful of Salt.

Geopolitics. Think about the chaotic retreat of the US from Afghanistan after 20 years of occupation. Leaving almost 40 million Afghans (half of them female) to the mercy of a cruel and regressive regime which harks back to the medieval ages. Leaving a huge cache of deadly weapons and armaments for their ready use. Ironically, the Taliban was created by the US and their partner Pakistan to oust the Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Mission accomplished in 1989. The land of the free and the brave sponsoring and promoting a terror outfit. The monster comes back to drive them out in 2021. During these 20 years almost $3 trillion was spent with only a miniscule going to build hospitals, schools and much needed infrastructure. Funds were splurged on state of the art weaponry and equipment- cheered on by the domestic military-industrial complex. With generous cutbacks going to the defence contractors and their political patrons.

This super-power also exited Vietnam in ignominy in 1974. After dropping more bombs on Vietnam and Cambodia than in the entire second world war. Napalm was deployed to execute the scorched earth policy. Rivers were poisoned to kill civilians and livestock. History is generally written by the winners. Here the loser cleverly covered up all the war crimes and misadventures.

Turn the clock back to the late 1930’s when Hitler’s Nazis started the most devastating war in human history-WW II. Italy, Spain played willing accomplices and second fiddle to the Fuhrer. Those long, dark, destructive days and the brutal genocide of 6 million Jews have been well documented. The War ended with the Americans dropping atomic bombs- Little Boy and Fat Man- on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

All the hotspots in recent times have had the signature of the US and its Allies. That there were no WMD’s (Weapons of Mass Destruction) did not deter the old firm of Bush & Blair from toppling Saddam in Iraq with their eyes on the oil-fields. Syria, Lebanon, Libya and the cursed land of Yemen- the tentacles go back to this Western bloc. This is not to absolve Russia and the regional powers like Saudi Arabia and Iran who are equally complicit. But the First World nations have left these countries to a worse state and fate than when they first invaded. The geo-political chessboard has been played for ideology, hegemony, natural resources, trade routes and military bases. The Iron Curtain fell in 1989 but today the world is still a very divided and troubled place. The First World has not been the civilising influence it credits itself to be.

Colonial powers. UK, France, Spain, Portugal with vassal states across the world. The dream of an Empire has been a recurrent human theme throughout history. But the driving force was to exploit natural resources and wealth and cheap labour in the colonies and boast of a global footprint. “The Sun never sets on the British Empire.’ The plundering of minerals and crops, cruelty towards the native population and determined efforts to uproot local cultures and traditions are not even foot notes in the history books we read. It has all been white-washed.

Slave trade epitomises how the US, UK and other European empires manned their farms and mines and mansions. Even today statues of glorified and knighted slave merchants dot the United Kingdom. Some of the founding fathers of the US of A owned hundreds of slaves. Slaves were officially traded as cargo and even insured. Claims were paid for the goods lost at sea. But the colonisers with their rich history are quick to lecture other nations on human rights. Smells of hypocrisy, right!!

Let’s turn back the page to August 1947 and the India-Pakistan independence story. PM Attlee announced in the House of Commons that the transfer of power would happen before June 1948. But Lord Mountbatten, wanted to have it done asap. The 3323 km border line was drawn by Radcliffe, a British lawyer, who had never been to the sub-continent and had no clue about the demography. The mammoth and complex task was completed by him and his team within 2 months in the cool environs of Shimla. IMAGINE!!! It does not take hindsight to see that the additional months would have been very valuable in communicating and planning for the inevitable cross-migration of 12-15 million people. Instead a million died in the panic and violence that erupted. The last Viceroy couldn’t care less. Nor did his political masters at the Whitehall.

The USA is deeply polarised country today. The Trump fan base of 30% voters are largely an alienated tribe who are at odds with their increasingly multicultural land. The main reason why the Brexiteers won was because Russian social media manipulators scared enough of the populace through images of immigrants flooding into their nation, from the hotspots of the Middle East, Africa and Asia. France, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands (the cradle of liberalism) are sounding the bugle of a clash of civilisations and enacting restrictive laws and social measures. But all these happenings have not been a wake-up call for India and other developing nations . We continue with our mongrel behaviour of constantly putting ourselves down and lapping whatever criticism these elite western nations and their proxies throw at us.

The beacons of democracy. On the 6^th Jan 2021 the US Capitol was attacked by an angry, vicious mob goaded on by President Trump who had lost the election and could not take it. This would have been sneered at as” a banana republic episode” in a third world country. But in the US of A the TV pundits kept sagely saying that ‘this is not who we are’ and the Trumpians even dismissed the rampaging crowd as tourists at the Capitol. The Caribbean island of Puerto Rico has been a territory of the United States since 1898 and its current President is Joe Biden. But Puerto Ricans remain second class citizens and have no representation and voting rights in the US Congress. Again, with the most funded and militarised police force in the world in place, automatic guns are available and sold over-the –counter across the nation as a fundamental right to defend oneself.

Across continents, the patronising First World has propped up and supported despots, brutal dictators and puppet rulers. From the Shah of Iran, Libya’s Gaddafi, the Pakistani Generals, Marcos of the Philippines and so on and on. Else, a coup was orchestrated as the one to remove Allende in Chile. The UK grappled with the Irish problem for 70 years. For nearly 25 of those it was a violent cauldron of bomb attacks and guerrilla warfare- ruthlessly dealt with by the British forces. But hey, shrug, shrug. This was an internal matter of the United Kingdom and the English could deal with it.

The fault-lines of racism are now very evident in the fractured societies of the US and Europe. But these have been glossed over for decades as the developing world has been lectured on how to be civilised people. The lid has always been kept on the rape and murder of thousands of indigenous people in Canada. But now corpses of hundreds of native children have been recovered from many Catholic school sites. How many news channels carried this tragic story which played over from the 1890’s to the late 1970’s?!! PM Trudeau merely called for the Pope to apologise. Of course, the State had no role to play. News reports from France state that more than 300000 children have been abused over the last few decades by priests of the Catholic Church. The powerful Church protected its clergy from the law and order arms of the State. On the other side of the world in Australia the aborigines got a taste of hell in their own land as the white settlers discovered their paradise.

Yes, the Industrial Revolution took off in England and the technological one in the Silicon Valley. The world has benefitted in many, many ways. But not in the humane way. Many big brands in the west sourced their material and parts through sweat shops in the poorer countries. Cheap and exploitative labour was the way to big profit margins. Why, even in North America today, Amazon runs boot-camps with the workers having little time to pee. “Show me the Money,” is the corporate war cry. As a whistleblower has recently revealed, Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook allowed disturbing messages and images to trend on their platforms as it made them astronomical profits. So what, if it inflamed some racial hatred and divisions or drove more suicides or even put democracy at risk. A lot of good has been done by the charitable Gates foundation. But the halo of the ultimate billionaire do-gooder has paled off. Bill Gates batted to protect the turf of big pharma at the height of Covid. Disparaging suggestions for low-cost generic vaccines to help the world battling the pandemic. And his curious association with the late sex trafficker and power broker Epstein. Presumably to help him get the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the movie ‘Wall Street’ Gordon Gekko says the famous lines, “Greed is good.” Sure. The top 1% of the US rich pay tax at a lower rate than any other segment of the society. In the rush to cover-up the origins of Covid 19 were many top scientists from Europe and the USA. The stakes were too high. Billions of dollars for the Gain of Function research which possibly led to the leak at the Wuhan Lab in China. The 2008 US financial meltdown featured a lot of Gordon Gekko characters. Banks, Insurers, Wall Street Finance companies, housing corporates, credit rating agencies and big name audit firms all collaborating and looking the other way as the sub-prime and derivatives fuelled crises unravelled. “Too big to fail” and the Government bailed them out. Deregulation of the financial markets from the Reagan years and lack of oversight caused the global crises. And the CXO’s walked away with fat bonuses as millions across the globe lost their jobs and pensions and savings.

The Volkswagen emission cheating scandal represented an ethical breakdown and would have shut-down a lesser Company. The German Government stepped in to bail out this auto-giant which was poised at becoming the largest in the world. High-level talks with the Americans, some big penalties and back to business as usual. What also came out was the European Union’s somewhat lax attitude in applying emission norms to vehicle manufacturers on the Continent.

Let’s come to the Panama Papers and its latest edition called the Pandora Papers. Most of the attractive tax-havens are in the West. Of course, the scenic Switzerland heads the list which has South Dakota in the US, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Lichtenstein… It’s not only the Colombian and Mexican drug lords or Russian oligarchs or the Arab Sheikhs or super-rich Indians stashing away their money through shell companies. The First World had long earned this rite of passage. It is also not surprising that the UK is a preferred destination for financial scamsters. Perhaps, the tough extradition laws appeal to these criminal fugitives. And staying with Colombia and Mexico which are derided for their Narcos cartels. Guess which are the most lucrative markets for the drug peddlers??

We can go on and on. The corruption at the highest levels of FIFA. The systematic doping on the Tour de France. Match fixing in football at the Serie A in Italy. These are all malaises associated with ‘those other countries.’

Human nature is what it is. Power and greed corrupts and no nation or peoples are immune to it. India is a work in progress. A huge and complex nation. We have a surfeit of venal politicians and problems of poverty, un-employment, education and public health. Community and regional divides and the scourges of corruption, and casteism. But we are only 75 years old as a nation and progress is also being made. The young generation will signal the tipping point through its confidence and aspirations.

However, to really discover its own identity India will have to work to protect and serve its interests. That is Realpolitik. Absorb good initiatives and ideas and learn from the failures and blunders. There are positive takeaways from countries in Asia, Africa, Oceania, Middle East and South America. As an emerging power, strive to be a more responsible force both domestically and on the global stage.

The bottom-line is that ideas and philosophies and policies are revisited and revamped or fine-tuned or discarded when actually challenged by ground realities. The world is changing and the struggles and evolution of each nation needs more empathy and a better understanding. The only path towards achieving the Greater Good on the planet.

A Strange and Troubled World

Posted on July 8, 2020 by SV Rao

We live in disturbing times. Eerily reminiscent of a century back. The Spanish flu, the British and French colonies, the failure of the League of Nations, the rise of Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler and of course the Great Depression.

Take COVID 19 which has brought the world to its knees. The secrecy shrouding its origins and spread- the buck stops with China. Check-out the reckless social behaviour of millions- defying medical science and data. In the US, to wear or not wear a mask has become a political statement.

The anti-mask group belong to the Trump cult. A racist, divisive, incompetent, venal and corrupt President. Surely, the holy Evalengicals would deride and oppose him. No, they are his biggest supporters. A quid-pro-quo to get their agenda on anti-abortion, LGBTQIA+ and immigration passed or ruled into laws.

The most powerful man in the world is Putin’s puppet. The Russian mob-boss and his oligarchs do as they please- manipulate elections and poison their enemies. The former KGB agent has only one life purpose and that is to restore the glory of the former Soviet Union. He has high approval ratings in Russia.

Xi Jinping fancies himself as the Chinese Emperor. He covets lands in India, Bhutan, Nepal, Taiwan , Japan, Philippines and surprise, the city of Vladivostok in Russia. He wants to control the South China sea. His one-belt one road policy is not just the revival of an old trade route. Chinese footprints have reduced Pakistan, Sri Lanka, some African countries to debt-ridden vassal states.

After the collapse of the Soviet bloc, it was hoped that democracy would thrive. Instead, there is a plethora of strongmen across Brazil, Venezuela, Turkey, Hungary, Philippines, North Korea (is he alive?). These authoritarian leaders (some with elected credentials?) take their cue and inspiration from the master manipulator, Putin.

The fickleness and spinelessness of the political class has become obnoxious. In India, the Grand Old Party and their leftist comrades shed copious tears for the plight of the Rohingya Muslims. But there is deafening silence about the incarceration of a million Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province in China. It does not suit the narrative of these human rights activists. And the Islamic Republic of Pakistan remains subservient and loyal.

Even in the 1990’s the UN, NATO and the ICJ (International Court of Justice) played an effective role in ending the long-drawn genocide and hostilities in Eastern Europe. The Syrian and Yemen conflicts drag on and on. The world has become numb to the devastation and human suffering.

The United Nations is impotent. The US, Russia or China veto whatever does not suit their geopolitics. India should have a permanent seat at the Security Council. The largest democracy of 1.3 billion people and a growing economy does not get a seat at the table.

The WHO has disgraced itself with its mishandling of COVID 19. In the critical first months, it covered up for China and played PR in glowing terms. It called out the pandemic very late and its confusing directives on the spread and even measures like wearing the mask have been very disappointing.

Free media, the vaunted fourth pillar of free nations, is past tense. Jamal Khashoggi, a well-known Saudi journalist in exile is dismembered in the Saudi embassy in Turkey- on the orders of Prince Salman. The outrage lasts for a few months. Then, it is back to business.

Fox News exemplifies the mockery of an independent, objective media. It has degenerated into a Trump channel. And the President gets his opinions, sound-bites and Twitter content from these TV anchors.

The Virus has dealt a body blow to the world economy. Manufacturing, IT and service sector, airlines, hospitality, tourism, local shopkeepers have all taken the brunt. Especially heartrending is the desperation of the down the line workers with no safety nets and the daily wagers and migrant laborers. Another nightmarish scenario lurks ahead-the eviction of millions of ordinary tenants who are unable to pay their rent.

In the movie “Wall Street” the Gordon Gekko character says the famous lines “Greed is Good”. Mark Zuckerberg of the $ 70 billion Facebook Empire could not agree more. He shrugs off hate content, misinformation and manipulation on his global social platform. It was used to undermine the 2016 US Presidential election and possibly even to swing the Brexit vote. Who cares!

Think Jeff Bezos at Amazon. He runs a boot camp where front-line workers do not have time to even take a leak. Show me the Money. Who Cares!

You can scratch your head on this. The great Warren Buffett has at times paid less Income tax as a percentage than his Secretary!!! With income disparities growing, the top 1% does not pay its fair share of the taxes.

Football is the most popular sport on the planet. Sports transcend borders. It should aspire to higher standards of human behaviour. The powerful apex body FIFA hands over the 2022 world cup to Qatar. Dubious, Controversial. A Disgrace!!! Meanwhile, poor migrant workers slog it out in inhuman conditions to build the grand infrastructure. Hundreds have died. Deadly silence. When the kick-off happens, blood would have already seeped into the grounds. The players will be left to sweat it out in this hot Gulf country.

George Floyd whispers “I can’t breathe” in a chilling 9 min video as he is murdered by a racist white American cop. In 2020, ‘the land of the free and the brave’ and ‘the leader of the free world’ is a deeply divided and polarised country. Anti-Semitism is again rearing its head in Europe and the US. Fault-lines are developing all over on ethnic, religion or color basis.

Indians also have to wake up to how we treat our North Eastern brethren. Ostracising them for how they look or speak reflects poorly on us. We have a lot to learn from the cultures of this beautiful part of our land.

But there is reason for hope. The Black Lives Matter protests are resonating as never before. The protests in the US and Europe have been largely peaceful and have attracted world-wide attention. Thousands of whites, Asians and Hispanics have joined the cause and taken to the streets.

But as Angela Davies, a black activist, cautions- “It is no longer enough to be a non-racist. One has to be an anti-racist.”

Marquee corporates have started to move away from Facebook to advertise their products and services. The filthy rich billionaire is now being forced to discuss and review the toxic content on the platform.

In India also, many people are turning away from the negativity of their TV channels. These only spew propaganda, bias, hatred and sensationalism. Here’s hoping that we will be slowly moving to more mature and credible content.

Colin Kaepernick, the courageous NFL star, protested against racism a few years back by kneeling during the anthem. He was immediately kicked out of the league and vilified. He may now get a chance to play again this season. The powerful National Football League (host of the Super Bowl) has also publicly apologised for its denial of this serious issue over the years. NASCAR has withdrawn Confederate flags from its car-racing venues- the symbols of slave-owners. Even, statues of knighted and glorified slave traders are being taken down in the UK and Spain. Many players in the revived English Premier League took a knee to show their solidarity in the fight to end racial injustice.

The Indian State of Kerala was the first COVID 19 hotspot. With the Nipah success behind them, the public health officials acted efficiently to contain this new scourge. This southern state can also teach us about the laudable community model policing. With urgent need for police reforms in diverse lands like India, US, UK, Hong Kong, Venezuela, Egypt…… they can take a leaf out of this successful programme.

If the world has to become a better place, civic action and community participation are a must. The bar has been set very low for politicians, public departments, community leaders and business tycoons. It is time for a reckoning. Also time for truth and reconciliation forums. Time to tell the rich and influential that they cannot get away with everything. Take them off the pedestals and hold them accountable. Only strong institutions and responsible governance can take us across the line. Then and only then can the common citizen- BREATHE.

Reflections in the Nation’s Mirror

Posted on October 19, 2019 by SV Rao

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It is election season again and I have this feeling of deja-vu. Been there, heard that. The ruling BJP in many ways has become a mirror-image of what the Congress once was. This goes beyond their appropriation of national icons like Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel. Instead of a Congress-mukt Bharat we would be better served if the current dispensation renders us Mukti (freedom) from the bad governance, wrong practices, precedents and policies of the Grand Old Party. But look closer-

Money/Muscle/Religion/Caste was the winning combination for the Congress for many decades. The BJP has whole-heartedly embraced this mantra. Even after 70 years the Reservation footprint is expanding and the ruling party is happy to oblige. It is all about power. And power corrupts. In 2019, it is exceedingly difficult for good, qualified and well-intentioned people to break into this toxic political system. Mr Modi and his advisors have also sold their souls to the Winability formula.
The ‘Aaya-Ram Gaya Ram’ politics of defection still holds currency. The Indian National Congress can claim a patent for its invention. Recent events in Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra demonstrate that the defectors are alive and kicking in this Naya Bharat. Many of them tainted by corruption charges.
Corruption became synonymous with the Congress Sarkar. The BJP looks better in comparison because no major skeletons have tumbled out of the closet so far. More importantly because of the personal clean image of the Prime Minister. But let’s not forget that Dr Manmohan Singh is also well regarded for his integrity. But what happened under his watch in UPA2! The rottenness and avarice reached its peak. Politics has become the first refuge of the scoundrel. Modiji’s government is also sacrificing good governance and integrity at the altar of power. The case of the rapist MLA in UP highlights this dalliance with criminality and is a wake-up call for the BJP leadership. Their UP CM clearly looked the other way. Such thugs are shockingly called Bahubalis in these parts and actively courted by the BJP, Congress and the regional outfits.. And what about the BJP brat in MP who wielded the cricket bat to poor effect. Just not cricket. The PM delivered a strongly worded sermon. No further action seems to have been taken. His doting father is too important for the party as he oversees the West Bengal election apparatus. Politics as usual. No signs of a New India.
The Anti-Corruption mission is also part of the sound and fury, signifying nothing. The Choksis and Nirav Modis and Mallyas are still living the good times abroad. After 5 years of the Modi government we are no wiser about illicit Swiss bank accounts and shell companies in Cyprus, Bahamas, Panama or Lichenstein. The P Chidambaram case may well turn out to be a litmus test. If the investigating agencies have not really done their work, the wheels will come off the anti-corruption drive. If the former FM and HM is released for lack of evidence, politicians of all hues will be celebrating. All future arrests will be termed vindictive and politically motivated.
The Congress was notorious in its heydays for undermining critical institutions like the Supreme Court, CBI and the Election Commission to promote the family or party agenda. Circa 2019. The BJP continues the good work by diluting the independence of the Reserve Bank and the autonomy of the CBI. The unseemly controversy at the top level of the CBI was disgusting. Mud-slinging by the top brass of our premier detective agency. One of the actors, known to be close to the ruling party may soon get a clean chit. Also check-out the appointment of loyalists and politicos to the constitutional post of the Governor. Many of their actions and words are embarrassing. Rewind to the grand old Congress days. And interestingly little news on the much hyped Lok Ayukata. The autonomous, anti-corruption ombudsman in each of the Indian States.
Both these national parties also seem to be on the same page in avoiding much needed bold structural reforms. Their leaders pay lip service to it. Nothing more. Think about the long pending women’s reservation bill for the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Police Reform Act to upgrade this much neglected force and to free them from the clutches of unscrupulous politicians. The Political Finance Bill to lay bare the source of funding for political parties and for elections. The BJP leaders, despite their holier than thou pravachans, are one with their political brethren. Let the status-quo remain. Let their political fiefdoms remain unchallenged. Dynastic politics thrive. For allowing sincere people in the fray is injurious to their political health.
Criminality and politics are a successful mix. Even the high-brow Communist parties have their goon squads. All political parties including the BJP and Congress have given tickets to very dubious characters. Many charge-sheeted. Some having done jail time. They wear it like a badge of honour. Our freedom fighters will be rolling in their graves. A frightening percentage of our representatives in the Parliament and the Assemblies are criminals. Three score and ten years after Independence. If the Judiciary or Election Commission want to clean-up things, our Honourable leaders scream that it is an assault on our democratic values. The more things change the more they remain the same. Modiji does not seem to realise that millions of voters voted him and not the BJP to power. Many did not know who the local BJP candidate was. He can dismantle this rotten system. Induct people of character. But does he really want to change the political landscape for good?
Delhi Durbar and Lutyens Delhi invoke the Congress rule. The First Family. The Power brokers. The Leftists and Liberals. All feeding off the perks and the privileges. Such clouds do hang-over the current regime as well. The Congress and Left parties had their mouth-pieces in the media. Many TV channels and news-houses have hitched on to the Modi band-wagon. Facts and reasoned reporting be damned. Modiji will have to reach out beyond the ‘Yes Men’, the inner-circle and the clique of babus to get a real sense of things. Get professionals like Deepak Parekh, Nandan Nilekani, Arif Mohamad Khan, Julio Riberio and Raghuram Rajan known for their independent views in the PMO. It was the former RBI Governor who blew the whistle on Bank NPA defaulters – which has led to a serious socio-economic crises today. Why not consult the new Nobel Laureate for Economics, Abhijit Banerjee. Yes, he has been critical of De-Mo. But he is an authority on Universal Basic Income and has a refreshing take on hard data evidence to back policy intervention. Very relevant to our economic growth story. Also have conversations with the critics in the media and academia. Sir, you are representing the country of 1.3 billion people in your own words, and not just those who elected you. Pay heed to those who disagree, listen-in to their perspective. Sabka Saath is an important part of your ringing slogan. It will herald a clean break-away from the cosy Congress club and coterie culture.
Our political parties are infested with crude motor-mouths. The Congress came up with the classic line for its uncouth who crossed the line”It is his personal opinion. It does not reflect the position of the party.” Now we have the BJP spokesperson plagiarizing this on a regular basis. Nobody is hauled-up, disciplined, suspended or expelled. The party fraternity hangs out together. Disparate elements from the Sangh Parivar have clambered on to the Modi Express.But the political tirades and personal attacks especially at election times have hit a new low. The Congress chanakyas had honed the personal attacks. The BJP seems to be determined to plumb the depths. Even their own allies are not spared. The party high-command should understand that the tragic demise of Manohar Parrikar, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitely has left a huge vaccum. These were the people who could reach out across the aisle. Speak and debate with facts and fervour. During Vajpayeeji’s stewardship, wit and banter and poetry gave flavour to political discourse. In the sound-bytes by today’s BJP netas, amplified by sensationalistic TV channels and the omnipresent social media, one can hear echoes of decadent Congress leaders and pravaktas.
The PM made a strong pitch for Sabka Vishwas. Resounding words, little action, no out-reach. Is he running with the hares and hunting with the hounds (just an uncomfortable thought!). Minorities, especially Muslims, are beginning to feel disengaged if not marginalised. The other side of the same coin was the appeasement or vote-bank politics played by the Congress- a legacy of the British rule. If the Constitution of India is the sacred book, then the Government must demonstrate that it is. Replaying the same old cynical politics is dangerous in times of connectivity and social media. A suggestion- why does the Home Ministry not step in to ensure justice for Pehlu Khan’s family in Rajasthan. Send a clear message to the lynchers and their fringe supporters. The law of the land is above all politics, it is Raj Dharma.
Radical Islam needs no introduction. However, it was startling to hear that barbers in some province in Pakistan were penalised for stylising beards. The customers were let off with stern warnings and presumably half-trimmed beards. In India also we have these self-styled guardians of morality and the Hinduvta elements are raising their disruptive heads again. From moral policing to telling women what to wear and other do’s and don’t’s, to monitoring the dietary habits of all and sundry. They really are the left-overs from some medieval age.And mob-lynchings are hate-crimes. Period. The perpetrators should be arrested and summarily punished. Through fast-track courts. These criminals and their cheerleaders showcase as to how people end up becoming what they hate the most. Sadly,in a recent TV interview, the Home Minister shrugged aside ‘these incidents’. Using the classic Congress playbook- Deny, Deflect and finally Rant out at some conspiracy.
The BJP’s timidity on the economy front is both an off-shoot and a hang-over from the Congress era. The hero of the ground-breaking reforms was Dr Manmohan Singh with full-backing from PV Narasimha Rao. More than 25 years ago. Still we have the BJP FM’s gingerly tip-toeing around wealth-creation, promoting entrepreneurship, divesting PSU white-elephants and creating a good eco-system to do business. Like their Congress brethren they also revel in a ‘pro-poor’ image- whatever that means.Subsidies and freebies, loan-waivers and reservations continue to be the staple and populist offerings. The status-quoists still control the narrative. Even a major initiative like the GST has not been well-thought through and implemented. WARNING: A young and aspirational population will be much less forgiving than the earlier generation. Nothing less than transformational change will be acceptable.During the Congress Raj, even the well patronised liberal economists used to sneer at the low- ‘Hindu rate of growth.’ Enough reason to provoke Mr Modi & team to focus on real growth.
Mr Modi’s stature rests on his no-nonsense approach to national security and tough stand against terrorism. Balakot, Uri, Abrogation of Article 370 have resonated well across the country. Made for TV spectacles like the “Howdy Modi” event have added to his 56- inch- chest aura. India is no longer a soft nation punching well below its weight in the global arena. We remember with acute shame our Government’s paralysis after 26/11 happened.

However, the BJP’s default strategy of blaming all the ills in the country on the Congress will harm its own political well-being. The PM and party have to walk the talk. NOW!

The Hon PM’s legions of followers will say with some justification- hey, this is unfair. India is a huge and complex country. Sure. But Modiji is at the top of his game. He is in prime form. He can hit the ball out of the park at will. The next 12 months can record the defining moments in the India growth story.

14. If NaMo.2.0 does not deliver on development and good governance, the BJP and Congress will share another dubious distinction. Letting India down despite absolute majority mandates and multiple terms in power.

The BJP has to carve out its own identity in national affairs, polity, economy and social change, and time is running out………

Is it the Hand touching the Lotus? Or is the Lotus striving to bloom in muddied waters?

The Art of the Spin

Posted on April 21, 2019 by SV Rao

Some years back I saw two top level state politicians from different political parties bonding together at a resort. They were hand-slapping and laughing loudly. The same morning they had been featured on the front page of a national newspaper calling each other derisive names. The esteemed correspondent had analysed that the parties could part ways soon.

Politicians are past-masters of Spin and it’s more extreme form- Propaganda. But their most effective spin has been that they are all bitter rivals on the grounds of ideology and policy. Nothing could be farther than the truth. With a few exceptions like the feud between Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi which had sunk to personal levels, behind the scenes the political fraternity is just that- a fraternity. When one is in power he ensures that the other is not unnecessarily harassed , leave alone prosecuted. All the name calling is for public consumption-during elections, on media and on the floors of Houses and Assemblies. Politicos switch parties whenever it suits them and political alignments are formed or dropped as the landscape changes.

Please think why lip-service is paid to some of the most significant legislations our country requires. But is never passed. Think 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha and the State legislatures. Think the police reform bill basically freeing the law enforcement agencies from the clutches and control of the political masters. Think about the Election Finance Bill making the source of political funding transparent to the public. The Criminality Law barring candidates with criminal records from contesting elections. Lots of talk but no action. No politician of any consequence wants these ground-breaking changes. They will destroy his well entrenched interests and derail their dynastic agendas.

The media has become a willing accomplice in these manipulating games. Some have become propaganda mouthpieces. Think of Fox News in the US. In India the so-called high brow, intellectual channels are as guilty as the shrill competition they laugh at. The common man today does not have a single TV channel or newspaper she/he can turn to for unbiased, factual news content.

The avalanche on the social media platforms is also disturbing. Political parties and big business have their spin professionals and there is a lot of fake stuff floating around. The consequences can be scary and momentous. Think back to the 2016 US election or the Brexit referendum. Russian hackers with downloads of Immigrant hordes and impending marginalisation of the white population could easily have swung the results.

Spin is not the domain of only the political stream and need not have national or global repercussions. But even at this level there are interesting case-studies. Remember the ‘whitewash’ job done by Rajkumar Hirani in ‘Sanju’. A bio-pic of Sanjay Dutt?. A large hearted and at times misguided victim of circumstance and the media. His close ties to the mafia and the wanton ways of this privileged person are all glossed over. Hirani and Sanju Baba will soon team up for the third instalment of the lovable Munnabhai series.

Take the case of the legendary Dhoni. Embroiled in several controversies between 2013-15. He was VP at India Cements, captain of Chennai Super Kings and captain of India. His boss, Srinivasan was the owner of the first two and the Chairman of the BCCI. A cushy position for MSD. All bases covered. The Tamil-Nadu police officer who exposed the match-fixing racket has disappeared into the shadows. Smaller fish like Sreesanth have been sent to the cooler. Dhoni has manfully stood up for his boss’s son-in-law Meiyappan before the investigators, reportedly calling him’ just a special fan of CSK.’ Public memory is short. But this sordid episode is just not cricket. The Chennai team and RR are back after a two year ban. THALA IS BACK.

Then there is the small matter of Rhiti Sports, an agency run by his friend Arun Pandey. Co-owned then by Dhoni. Representing Jadeja, Raina and Ojha amongst others. Any conflict of interest, friends?

The same Pandey produced the hit movie “Dhoni”. The uplifting story of MSD from humble beginnings in Ranchi to railway conductor to captain of the World Cup winning team. The legend who finishes of the final with a six. Etched in our memories forever. But no mention of the match-fixing saga, the 2 year ban, the conflict of interest et al.

His accomplishments are undeniable. Captain Cool. Winner of two World Cups for India. One of the greatest cricketers ever. An inspiration to millions and millions. But with a spin-doctor in the background.

The latest chapter in what is at least this dubious- association tale is the case of the Amrapali Builders. The SC has come down like a ton of bricks on the real-estate operators who have duped thousands of middle-class buyers . Dhoni has been their public face and endorser for years. Now his lawyers claim that the cricketer has been duped of his Rs 40 crore fees. Another victim, right?

Is it any surprise that a docu-drama called “Roar of the Lion” is now streaming on HotStar. MSD setting the record straight. The cricketer-hero will soon be riding out into the sunset. But before that the country anticipates the Dhoni magic again-conjuring up the third ODI World Cup win for India.

The IPL event shows the Hype Machine in all its glory. This unusual mix of cricket, Bollywood, Big-Business and the Politicos is seductive. But the novelty may be wearing-off. The crass commercialisation may be its undoing. It has become more of a social event than a serious tournament. In which other top sports event will you hear the commentator screaming a ‘Yes Bank Six’? Even the ultimate cricket stroke is sponsored. Show-time it is. Great sport it is not. The passion, the edge is missing.

Make-believe and Bollywood are two sides of the same coin. Take the case of Salman Khan, the other bad-boy of the film-world. Maybe, Hirani can do another effective ‘white-wash job’ The super-star has been accused of killing an endangered species of deer whilst on a shoot in Rajasthan 20 years ago. Then there is the reckless driving and manslaughter case where a poor pavement dweller was run over and some others injured. In India, the rich and powerful can literally get away with anything. Then, the Spin kicked in. ‘Being Human’ a philanthropic organisation was born and promoted with gusto. Remember the T shirts with the logo.The large-hearted BHAI was taking shape.

Salman has become something of a social phenomenon, in the same way Rajnikanth is. But his is a carefully cultivated image off-scream. On-screen the swag, the attitude, the over-the –top action and the one-liners are the formula for success.

‘King Khan’ has however been having a disappointing run over the last few years. His last film Zero disappeared without a trace. But his PR machine is in top-gear. He is all over the social media. Everyday , there is some latest news about SRK. A honorary degree from some University, the doting father, some nostalgic pics from his early days, the enthusiastic owner of KKR, his grand visit to China. Hat’s off – the celebrity is happening while his career is in a slump. His friends in the media and his mega-star status ensure that there is little talk about his poor choice of movies and even taking his audience for granted. Now, he has hit the pause button and is on the look-out for the right role. His legion of fans are praying for a blockbuster. Here’s hoping that something of the quality of Swades or Chak De is in the offing.

But herein lies another example of the power and mystique of Spin. Many people will assume that SRK is the King of the Box Office. That has always been the title he is crowned with. Reality-check says different. In the last decade Aamir and Salman lead the honor list with 3 movies apiece in the top 10 Indian Movies list. A Shah-Rukh film does not make the cut.

The Corporate World has also bought into this game of Buzz and Hype. ‘The Best Company to Work with’, ‘the Best in the Industry’ are all trophies ardently solicited and even bought. There are media channels, newspapers and industry bodies willing to oblige. There are professional facilitators willing to show the way. All for a price. There are sponsored appearances on television and paid articles and interviews in the print-media to raise the profile of the CEO or the Company.

As for the tycoons, they own or have a stake in the media-houses and other hubs of influence. Need anything more be said.

In this spinning, at times manipulative world with its over-dose of planted news, it is difficult to sift through the real information. But for our own sake, let us hit the pause button at times, question what is being presented and try to make our own sense of things.

The Biryani-Vodka Brigade

Posted on March 16, 2019 by SV Rao

Biryani-Vodka Brigade

You all know whom I am talking about. That cabal of people who try to dominate and drive the narrative through the media-space, politics, academics and even the arts and literature. Who became very influential during Mrs Gandhi’s time and continued to enjoy special privileges in decades of Congress and UPA rule. Why, these self proclaimed intellectuals even evolved into “fixers” for the Congress. Check-out some of the tapes on You-Tube.

Under the garb of cultural exchanges, these very same people cross-over to Lahore or Karachi at the drop of a hat, be it a Lit Fest or a mehfil or simply for a biryani spread. The Pakistani establishment has played them skilfully and now it plays out “as a people to people contact”. The Pak hostilities since Independence do not seem to bother these regular Indian guests. That this neighbour has provoked four wars does not seem to matter. Constant shelling and tensions at our borders does not make any difference. That Pakistan is a global exporter of terrorism with our country as a prime-target is shrugged away by this coterie. That we have lost a large number of security forces and innocent civilians in these heinous terror attacks is not acknowledged. These are the people who have seriously undermined our national security and sovereignty for decades. They have insidiously contributed to making India a soft, lumbering State.

Which other self-respecting nation would have remained silent after 26/11. The world knows that it was handled and directed by the ISI from Karachi.

Once the denials from Pakistan as a terror-hub had moved past its shelf-life, the new spin emerged. The country is itself a major victim of terrorist attacks. Sure, this monster has wreaked havoc on Pakistanis but it is a monster they have created. Principally, the Taliban has been responsible. The other non-state actors like the Jaish and the Hizbul and the Lashkar have been nurtured by the Pakistan military and Intelligence services as anti-India forces- to keep our country bleeding and confused. It would be foolhardy to mess with India in a conventional war, so let’s unleash proxy actors to keep the pot simmering on the borders and especially in Kashmir.

The civilian government has never truly ruled Pakistan. The Army and the ISI call the shots. Imran Khan is a puppet. But the biryani brigade would like to project him as a powerful voice for peace. If nothing else just to diminish Modi. During his campaign, this ex-cricketer shared the stage with many extremists and fundamentalists and talked their talk. And he turned to the army to fulfil his dream.

This group of so-called intellectuals, with disproportionate power and influence has gravely undermined our nation. Because of their presence within and proximity to the government, they have shaped our weak policies and strategies over the years. As Indians, we have paid a heavy price for it.

Where does the Vodka part come in? The leftist angle, my friends. Comrades and Advisors to the Congress governments for years. Enjoying power much beyond their representation. You will see portraits of Mao, Stalin, Lenin, Castro and more recently of Chavez in their offices and at certain college campuses. Dictators who have butchered millions in their time. But these folks present a superior, patronising, human rights activist façade whilst one of their beloved leaders has famously uttered- “Power flows from the barrel of a gun”. Their hypocrisy is sickening.

Yes, it is right and just to call out the Rohingya massacre in Myanmar and cow-lynching incidents in our country. But are there no words about the goon-army which helped them retain power in West Bengal for 30 years? The mercenaries who en-bloc shifted their loyalties elsewhere. Total silence about the million Muslims incarcerated in Xinjiang province of China. No discussion about Putin’s crackdown on all media and public criticism of his government in Russia. The bill has yet to become law but it is a done deal. Nothing to say about Chinese arms being smuggled to prop up the Naxal movement in some States in India. These talking-heads only talk about selective issues which serve their cause.

For the last 4 years, the space for the Biryani-Vodka brigade has shrunk and they have become strident to get attention, even dropping all pretensions about their agenda.

Take the case of the movie, “Uri – The Surgical Strike”. First, they questioned whether it actually happened. Casting aspersions on our Armed Forces! Do we really need external enemies? Then, some critics panned it for jingoism. How else would they want an officer to charge his commandoes for a life or death mission? Probably with a “Let’s go and play the game, boys.”

This true-life story was lambasted as a propaganda film for the current BJP government. The heroism of the Indian Armed Forces be damned. Do we need to politicise everything?

The answer is simple. If the mission to take out Osama Bin laden happened during the Obama years, so be it. Obama and his key team will obviously be shown and mentioned in every film and book based on the mission.

And, where was Osama found? At Abbottabad, near the capital Islamabad and near a military campus. So much for Pakistan and their fight against terror.

As Aditya Dhar, the director of Uri, succinctly put it, “The surgical strike happened under the current dispensation. They took the hard decision.”

Despite these biased reviews, the film is continuing in its ninth-week breaking all records. In box-office /ROI terms it has become the biggest hit ever. As for the critics-well they have rotten eggs and a lot else on their faces.

The same agenda was in plain sight after the Pulawama outrage. A former Chief Minister of J&K certified that Pakistan had nothing to do with it. That the Jaish claimed it and the global intelligence chatter supported it did not matter. The Security Council’s singling out the Jaish and Pakistan did not count.

The swift retribution by the IAF in destroying the Balakot terror camp took our friends by surprise. The story had to be shifted. Providentially for them, one of our brave pilots, Wing Cdr Abhinanadan was shot down, captured and released by the Pakis within 60 hours. His release was turned into a made for TV spectacle by our neighbour and Imran Khan was saluted by these pandits for his “noble gesture”.

The huge international pressure and unexpected snub from China was cleverly relegated to the background. These news channels and newspapers also did not mention the enemy F16 being shot down by our MIG21 pilot. It did not suit their script.

These elements represent our own deep State. They have their own nefarious and selfish designs. But their goal is clear- to regain their lost status of unfettered power and privilege.

‘Tis the political season, after all! The anti-Modi brigade have him plainly in their sights.

By all means focus on the faults and blunders of the BJP Govt. The De-Mo fiasco which only helped them to win the UP elections and stopped stone pelting in Kashmir for months as Pak stooges did not have the cash. The disappointing delivery on their tall promises on development. Also the fault lines developing because of the Hinduvta ideology. The continued erosion of certain institutions like the CBI with the ugly Verma-Asthana spat. The undermining of the RBI Governor post…

Take all the shots you may like. However, please do not put your own Armed Forces in the dock to score some petty political points. National security is sacred and cannot be trifled with. And India’s global stature and standing cannot be compromised. Irrespective of which party is in power at the centre.

The New Normal

Posted on June 17, 2018 by SV Rao

Wien_-_Donald-Trump-_und_Kim-Jong-un-Graffiti_von_Lush_Sux

Josef Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister, famously said that if you tell a lie a hundred times it becomes the truth. Those were strange and abnormal times. We are reliving them today.

Vladimir Putin is a throwback to those sinister times. An ex-KGB officer, he is a master of intrigue. A master of spin. His is the ultimate macho-image, a bare-chested leader on horseback for the cameras. The billionaire oligarchs are part of this Mafioso culture sworn to do his every bidding. The interference in the US elections and the poisoning of the ex-Russian agent are straight out of a spy’s playbook. Even the shooting down of a Malaysian passenger plane by a Russian missile and the outrage which followed was met with a shrug and a raised eyebrow. His popularity in Russia is huge- after all he is bringing back the glory days of the Soviet Union.

The Russian Boss also has some hold on Trump. The erstwhile reality show host is a purveyor of blatant lies, lies and half-truths. But he is a saviour to his core constituency. This master of deal making has filed for bankruptcy four times (Or is it six times? Does it even matter?), and not released his tax returns. Sex scandals, shady financial deals, racist comments, and the Russia probe – nothing sticks to him. He is made of Teflon. You can fool some of the people all the time and Donald J Trump is a hero and an unfairly targeted victim to his voter base.

Three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the world has become a dangerous place. Despots like Erdogan from Turkey, the Filipino Duterte and Kim Jong Un of North Korea are now described as “Strong Men” and featured in a TIME magazine cover story. Right wing and ultra-nationalist parties have come to power in Italy, the Five Star Movement, Hungary and made big gains in Germany and France. Brexit is another assertion of sovereignty and nationalism. The BJP’s rise to power in India also is partly powered by this same undercurrent. Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its invasion of Georgia have led to sanctions but no solutions.

China’s strongman Xi Jinping – Supreme Leader for life-has imperial ambitions. His adventures in the South China Sea have raised alarms. The grand initiative of resurrecting the old Silk Route with the One Belt-One Road project is one with this dream. It will drive many poorer or smaller countries into the Chinese hegemony and debt. The Chinese Empire is taking shape.

Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia and Iran are fighting proxy wars to achieve dominance in the Arab world. Yemen is one such cursed country, which seems to have fallen off the world map. Nobody seems to be interested in resolving this acute humanitarian crisis. The Syrian war has gone on for 7 years but the numbing impact of the TV images has not led to peace. Who is fighting on whose side? It is a veritable jigsaw puzzle. The actors in this inhuman conflict fill a big round table.

True, in the 90’s the Balkan wars dragged on for nearly a decade. Remember Croatia, Bosnia, Slovenia and Serbia of the former Yugoslav Republic? But international efforts for a resolution were genuine and consistent. It was finally the NATO bombings that ended the war. Also many at the forefront of the genocides were dragged to the International Court at Hague.

The massacre of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar reeks of ethnic cleansing. The silence of the Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is baffling. The rise of Hinduvta fundamentalism, the Chinese crack-down in Xianjing province, the perennial African hotspots all point to a disturbing trend. A world simmering with tensions.

Geopolitical, religious, ethnic, ideological, racial issues keep the pot boiling. A more globalised and connected world should have been a better place. Instead it has only become more complex and insular. We are not learning our lessons from history.

Compounding matters is the growth of both global and home-grown terrorism. Recruits for the cause are being brainwashed on the internet. The ISIS may be on the back-foot in Syria and Iraq but it has expanded to East Africa as Al Shabaab and in Indonesia as ISIL. Boko Haram holds sway in parts of Nigeria and the Philippines has also been battling the terror scourge for the last decade. Al Qaeda and Taliban are familiar names in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Egypt. Deadly individual terrorist attacks have taken place in many European cities, a vehicle replacing the bomb as the weapon of choice in some instances. Chilling!

And meanwhile the media, the Fourth Estate, has lost its venerable status. Fox News and Sean Hannity openly champion the Trump agenda. “Deep State”, “Fake News”, “Witch Hunt”, “Liberal Conspiracy”- the new phrases are lapped up by the conservative core base. The rest of the media is tying itself into knots trying to come to terms with this new alternative reality. In their attempt to be fair and neutral no one is calling the bluff. In their misplaced efforts to analyse the latest Twitter tirade, the real issues of health-care, DACA, immigration, racism, tax-cuts are relegated to footnotes.

In India too, the media channels and news outlets have aligned themselves with either the previous Congress regime-the Opposition or the BJP led government. There is no attempt to seek the truth or present facts in a balanced manner. No commitment to present an unbiased narrative. In their quest for the sensational, the worst stories and soundbites are being played out. Social media has followed suit with each party presenting its version of the truth. A negative, divisive atmosphere is being built up with each power-broker thinking this will work to their advantage.

Duterte the Filipino strongman comes across like a mob-boss. So does the secretive Putin and the Trump team. In your face. In the US, well- meaning politicians, news anchors, business leaders, academics are struggling to wrap their heads around these new situations. No tough questions are asked. Only the Late Night hosts have got it right, having the gumption to call out this bull-shit. But are they being taken seriously?

You can see how weird the world has become when the US President shares the stage with the brutal North Korean dictator, who commands a nuclear arsenal, and calls it an honour. Trump’s only agenda is the Nobel Peace Prize. Kim Jong Un aka the Rocket Man walks away with most of the spoils. What is wrong with the multilateral Iran Nuclear agreement which the USA has walked out off?

As for the Strong-Men! Well, we have, the world over, bought into their lies and their megalomania. Being corrupt, tyrannical, ruthless, repressive, immoral, manipulative and even incompetent does not matter anymore if you have a loyal fan-base.

This is then the New Normal. Bizarre, unpredictable, erratic, unstable, scary. And we are all adapting to it instead of trying to confront, change and correct it.

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