<b>Is electoral verdict 2009 a vote for secularism?</b>
Nandakumar Chandran
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->I read with amusement MJ Akbar's words in a recent article in Times of India : The BJP might want to consider a fundamental fact about our country. India is not a secular nation because Indian Muslims want it to be secular. India is a secular nation because Indian Hindus want it to be secular.
Are we to really think that secularism really matters to the masses?
Considering the condition and status of minorities in most Islamic countries (especially Pakistan and Bangladesh), I don' t think anybody in his right mind will claim secularism is successful in India because of Muslims.
Secularism is possible in India primarily because the majority Hindus subscribe to a faith which is not exclusive. So it is not so much positive secularism but rather a mentality which doesn't find a reason to be non-secular. For most Hindus secularism is simply not an election issue. The Congress also does not use secularism as a main issue in its electoral pitch - it simply blames the BJP for being against secularism which in many Hindu minds is a bothersome activity which diverts attention from real issues - development etc.
The only people interested in secularism are the minorities, the politicians and the idealists.
The first to ensure their survival and relevance, the second for minority votes and the third for ideology.
The average Hindu is highly self-centered and only cares about his own welfare. Even casteism in politics is about individual benefit only - because when a caste gets special preference individual members in the caste benefit. That is pretty much their interest in casteism and within themselves they will fight as viciously as without.
So to claim that the electoral verdict is a vote for secularism is at best a flight of fancy.
So how did the UPA win?
Their performance in both economics and security has been dismal in the years of their rule. The rise in the prices of essentials and the terrorist attacks in Mumbai stand out prominently highlighting the ineptness of UPA rule. The ambiguity in the "benefits" of the nuclear deal with the USA throws into question the UPA's commitment to national interest and also its deliberate aiding and abetting in the escape of Quadrocci and the de-freezing of his funds only strengthens claims about the Congress being corrupt at the highest levels.
So why would people vote for them?
If we look for a political answer to the question of UPAs win, then two main things could have helped them.
Non-productive largesse and freebies to the rural masses which has run up our public debt to record levels.
Reservation for dominant sections of the populace.
Both the above are tried and trusted policies of the Congress to specifically sustain its votebank without a thought to improving the overall conditions in the country. The Congress continues to politically benefit by populist policies more aimed at sustaining votebanks than towards the actual progress of the country. For the Congress it is political power first and then the country's progress. So where the latter is in conflict with the former it will suffer.
Also possibly contributing to the UPAs success is the BJP's idiotic harping on Hindutva and Ram Mandir. Even Narendra Modi was more known as a Hindutva hawk than the efficient and honest pro-industry/development dynamo that he is. And Varun Gandhi's fiery speeches only served to cement the Hindutva image of the party. The BJP should understand that for the Hindus their daily life and the factors contributing to its welfare is much more important than any ideology. Protection of native culture is not unimportant - but only after the basics are met. So the BJPs inability to project itself as a solid alternative primarily geared towards economic/social growth and development might have also contributed to the UPA's success.
But if we look elsewhere for reasons for the UPA's win my main suspicion is rigged EVMs. Apparently every party which is opposed to the UPA has lost out in the elections (the UPA has won even in Mumbai - this after last years terror attacks!). Forget India, even in as developed and literate a country as the USA, in presidential elections people only vote based on regional issues. It is primarily how they are going to personally benefit from the situation which matters more than any "country level" issue. When this is the case in even advanced countries, are we to believe that the illiterate masses of India voted for "stability at the centre"? The 2009 electoral verdict goes against all previous voting patterns (anti-incumbancy etc) and logic.
As anybody in the information technology industry knows it is not that difficult to manipulate these machines to provide specific results irrespective of how the actual voting has been. As this article in the Newsweek illustrates, even in Europe people do not trust voting machines for precisely this reason : http://www.newsweek.com/id/199102 . And we all know that the Congress will simply do anything to be in power. If the UPA had not done so well in the elections they would have tried every dirty trick in the book to subvert their opposition to retain power (in contrast to the BJP which "humbly" accepted the people's verdict and did not utter a word of protest)! In my opinion the current election and its result is a fraud foisted on the people. I had suspected rigged EVMs even in the last central election. So with a pliant CEC hardly known for his integrity, did they pull it off this time as well? Even more surprising is the BJP's meek acceptance of the so called "people's mandate".
I wonder what the results would be if manual voting is undertaken in 10 areas around the country where the results have been surprising and dubious. I have a feeling that the results will be otherwise than has happened in the just concluded election.
So another term of UPA rule. Expect more populist policies that waste our country's resources, divides its people (reservation to divide castes, "secularism" to divide religious communities etc), looting/stashing of public money in banks abroad, abetting criminals like Ottavio Quadrocci, dangerous surrender of national/strategic interests to the USA for something as dubious as its "friendship", soft pedaling of jihadi elements/institutions, politicising state institutions like the CBI and the army and also an alarmingly pro-Christian (encouraging/aiding evengalism, crosses on coins replacing 'satyameva jayate', allowing American 'truth' finding commissions to conduct investigations in Orissa etc) and anti-Hindu dispensation. Also prepare for King Rahul to ascend the throne in the near future.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Nandakumar Chandran
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->I read with amusement MJ Akbar's words in a recent article in Times of India : The BJP might want to consider a fundamental fact about our country. India is not a secular nation because Indian Muslims want it to be secular. India is a secular nation because Indian Hindus want it to be secular.
Are we to really think that secularism really matters to the masses?
Considering the condition and status of minorities in most Islamic countries (especially Pakistan and Bangladesh), I don' t think anybody in his right mind will claim secularism is successful in India because of Muslims.
Secularism is possible in India primarily because the majority Hindus subscribe to a faith which is not exclusive. So it is not so much positive secularism but rather a mentality which doesn't find a reason to be non-secular. For most Hindus secularism is simply not an election issue. The Congress also does not use secularism as a main issue in its electoral pitch - it simply blames the BJP for being against secularism which in many Hindu minds is a bothersome activity which diverts attention from real issues - development etc.
The only people interested in secularism are the minorities, the politicians and the idealists.
The first to ensure their survival and relevance, the second for minority votes and the third for ideology.
The average Hindu is highly self-centered and only cares about his own welfare. Even casteism in politics is about individual benefit only - because when a caste gets special preference individual members in the caste benefit. That is pretty much their interest in casteism and within themselves they will fight as viciously as without.
So to claim that the electoral verdict is a vote for secularism is at best a flight of fancy.
So how did the UPA win?
Their performance in both economics and security has been dismal in the years of their rule. The rise in the prices of essentials and the terrorist attacks in Mumbai stand out prominently highlighting the ineptness of UPA rule. The ambiguity in the "benefits" of the nuclear deal with the USA throws into question the UPA's commitment to national interest and also its deliberate aiding and abetting in the escape of Quadrocci and the de-freezing of his funds only strengthens claims about the Congress being corrupt at the highest levels.
So why would people vote for them?
If we look for a political answer to the question of UPAs win, then two main things could have helped them.
Non-productive largesse and freebies to the rural masses which has run up our public debt to record levels.
Reservation for dominant sections of the populace.
Both the above are tried and trusted policies of the Congress to specifically sustain its votebank without a thought to improving the overall conditions in the country. The Congress continues to politically benefit by populist policies more aimed at sustaining votebanks than towards the actual progress of the country. For the Congress it is political power first and then the country's progress. So where the latter is in conflict with the former it will suffer.
Also possibly contributing to the UPAs success is the BJP's idiotic harping on Hindutva and Ram Mandir. Even Narendra Modi was more known as a Hindutva hawk than the efficient and honest pro-industry/development dynamo that he is. And Varun Gandhi's fiery speeches only served to cement the Hindutva image of the party. The BJP should understand that for the Hindus their daily life and the factors contributing to its welfare is much more important than any ideology. Protection of native culture is not unimportant - but only after the basics are met. So the BJPs inability to project itself as a solid alternative primarily geared towards economic/social growth and development might have also contributed to the UPA's success.
But if we look elsewhere for reasons for the UPA's win my main suspicion is rigged EVMs. Apparently every party which is opposed to the UPA has lost out in the elections (the UPA has won even in Mumbai - this after last years terror attacks!). Forget India, even in as developed and literate a country as the USA, in presidential elections people only vote based on regional issues. It is primarily how they are going to personally benefit from the situation which matters more than any "country level" issue. When this is the case in even advanced countries, are we to believe that the illiterate masses of India voted for "stability at the centre"? The 2009 electoral verdict goes against all previous voting patterns (anti-incumbancy etc) and logic.
As anybody in the information technology industry knows it is not that difficult to manipulate these machines to provide specific results irrespective of how the actual voting has been. As this article in the Newsweek illustrates, even in Europe people do not trust voting machines for precisely this reason : http://www.newsweek.com/id/199102 . And we all know that the Congress will simply do anything to be in power. If the UPA had not done so well in the elections they would have tried every dirty trick in the book to subvert their opposition to retain power (in contrast to the BJP which "humbly" accepted the people's verdict and did not utter a word of protest)! In my opinion the current election and its result is a fraud foisted on the people. I had suspected rigged EVMs even in the last central election. So with a pliant CEC hardly known for his integrity, did they pull it off this time as well? Even more surprising is the BJP's meek acceptance of the so called "people's mandate".
I wonder what the results would be if manual voting is undertaken in 10 areas around the country where the results have been surprising and dubious. I have a feeling that the results will be otherwise than has happened in the just concluded election.
So another term of UPA rule. Expect more populist policies that waste our country's resources, divides its people (reservation to divide castes, "secularism" to divide religious communities etc), looting/stashing of public money in banks abroad, abetting criminals like Ottavio Quadrocci, dangerous surrender of national/strategic interests to the USA for something as dubious as its "friendship", soft pedaling of jihadi elements/institutions, politicising state institutions like the CBI and the army and also an alarmingly pro-Christian (encouraging/aiding evengalism, crosses on coins replacing 'satyameva jayate', allowing American 'truth' finding commissions to conduct investigations in Orissa etc) and anti-Hindu dispensation. Also prepare for King Rahul to ascend the throne in the near future.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->