SHORT RESPONSES

[Thanks to severe chikungunya I skipped SPRAT today and have therefore the liberty of breaking convention. Otherwise I normally connect to FB only late evenings, in my private time. Daytime is usually public service time.] Thank you friends for sharing in and showing sensitivity to my personal pain and anguish. Here are some quick responses. - Congress’ nepotism, arrogance, over-dependence on Nehru family, long tolerance of corruption, non-radical and soft-status-quoist thinking.. have bothered me. Not until Rahul’s Jaipur AICC Session speech did I even approve of him as a possible leader. And I have never forgiven Sonia for not fixing the Robert Vadra issue, at least through a public probe. But pl remember, after Rajiv assassination what did Narasimha Raos and Kasturis do: Congress was nearly wiped out, and a reluctant Sonia was roped it. That point otherwise was the voluntary disassociation of Nehru family from the Congress and active politics. So, it is more that the party depended on dynasty than the other way round. We can’t dismiss Sonia’s decline of PMship and Rahul’s hitherto reluctance to seize governance cheaply. - BJP during Vajpayee ending became nearly acceptable to the moderates and one hoped that if RSS could be confined to Nagpur this could in due time become an acceptable national alternative. There were huge deficiencies in that party even then. But what happened next was intolerable: Modi – inarguably a far lesser BJP leader – rises almost entirely due to a heinous genocide, and is catapulted to kingship. This mindset – of hate, of subjugation of Muslims, of invoking antiquity, religion, of sadhudom, of superstition and general conservatism – scares me both as a deeply nationalist Indian and also as a Muslim. - No third front alternative has appeared even a remote viable national alternative. Recall what the Gujrals and the Gowdas did. Mulayams and Mayawatis have already ever inspired. - AAP brought on the table fresh ideas. They appeared men of integrity. But it was more like Mamata: agitations, protests, objections. No concrete ideas of How To Fix. And already if they need 20 crore for just Delhi elections, they surely need 2000 crore for national contest. They will end up being quite like Congress and BJP. Anarchy and iconoclasm towards institutions scares me considering our vast complexities. Evolution and not revolution is a more desirable option. - So unless we have a Gandhi, a JP, a Nehru arriving on contemporary political scene, unless a revolution happens by a revolutionary leader who rises from the dust and sweeps the nation with fresh ideas, complete and transparent sincerity, honesty, and genuine commitment and dedication to the nation, Congress alone remains the least evil option in my estimation of things. And not supporting it would mathematically translate to supporting Modi. Hence my post of anguish. And in the event Modi becomes the PM of India, this nation would mean very differently to persons like me in many senses and will affect my goals and directions irretrievably. Perhaps I will quit social work, or may migrate to oblivion. At 60 one can’t hope to waste his remaining years in fruitless battles that can destroy years of goodwill in one swell Muzaffarnagar like episode, and alter political fortunes.