Centre Right Delusion

I don’t want to name names but I confess it is kind of amusing to observe the clamor for being centre-right. So far I have refrained from commenting because well even though it is superficial, I am not someone who antagonizes someone who is on my side (even marginally).

 

However as insignificant as I am in the blogosphere allow me to intervene. People who are advocating a demarcation between “Global Hindu Activism” and “Centre Right Activism” are engaging and wasting their time in a fool’s errand. Any political ideology which intends to preserve and improve India must be based upon a simple premise* (emphasis on simple), “To be Hindu is to be Indian and to be Indian is to be Hindu”. And no what I am saying is not the same as Mohan Bhagwat said earlier. Therefore as much as some people may believe by jettisoning Hindu concerns they can appease secular establishment, I must protest any attempt to separate Hindu concerns from Indian concerns as it is tantamount to ripping soul from the body.

 

Hence count me out of centre right bandwagon. I remain, an aspiring political Hindu.

 

* I simplify, but you get the picture or so I hope.

Not even a pretense

Despite knowing better, I still get surprised when I happen to encounter blatant media bias such as this

Dismissing India's tradition of religious and cultural pluralism, Rashtriya Swayam- sevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said, "He who is an Indian is Hindu and he who is not a Indian." [Emphasis Mine]

Now while RSS may or may not be subverting "India's tradition of religious and cultural pluralism" elsewhere, it is not doing in this instance. Mohan Bhagwat was trying to make a case for national integration on the bases of shared heritage. Except in the typical muddleheaded manner of  RSS apparatchik argue such issues he appealed to etymology. This is what it means, Hindu is a loan word from Persian meaning people living near river Sindhu, similarly India is a loan word from Greece meaning land of river Sindhu, this means Hindu is same as Indian.

Now I don't care much for this argument, (as the argument Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life, which is predictably forwarded by Mohan Bhagwat), but as the saying goes never attribute to malice what you can attribute to stupidity.

"Laws are for little people"

In news that you can’t use M. F Hussain is pained that no one spoke for him when he found himself in unpleasant situation. Yes, you read it right. Apparently the media blitzkrieg launched by self righteous secular liberal establishment was not enough for him. Now far be from me to condone threat of violence against the fossilized artist but that’s not why he left the country. If he was concerned for his safety, a perfectly understandable concern, he could have asked for security and it could have been easily provided to him. All in all I don’t really believe that there was any serious threat to his safety, again this doesn’t not justify threat of violence against him. What happened was both individuals and organizations filed cases against him for disrespect of religion, again one can argue that there shouldn’t be any law restricting freedom of speech on ground of offense to religion, and that is a legitimate argument (though I am of two minds about this), but that doesn’t apply here, as there was no conviction in this case. Now even if people find those filing cases disagreeable, approaching court for grievances is a fundamental legal right, and can not be curtailed. Further while it could have been construed as a case of legal intimidation if he were some aam admi, however he is not one, and he could have easily defended himself in the court. The only reason he didn’t choose to do so is because well, "laws are for little people".

Another one

It is a pity that Bhajan became extinct in 80's. I am sorry, what I meant was it is a pity Bhajans didn't die in 80's. Instead they assumed undead existence as paradies of Bollywood music (the main culprit, to no one's surprise, T-Series), but fortunately some Bhajans still managed to be written which could move you.

Keynesian Advaithin

In the long run we are all Maya.

Ready To Roll Over

That’s what the first servant of 10 Janpath really means when he says he is ready to discuss anything, yes anything, even Kashmir with Pakistan. Now if this were glories days of ancient times when the political leadership cared about spine or when the media was not such a word-which-rhymes-with-glitch of the GANDH dynasty (for ref see here), we could have rested peacefully known that these talks were nothing more than handshakes and smiles signifying nothing. This time however, there are reasons to be afraid that the circus that is UPA-II is up to no good, and will end up making up concessions that India has long refused to even discuss.

 

Now as unpalatable concessions may be to Hindu Fascist like me, one can grudgingly accept them if there is a return. However this is not going to be the case. Pakistan is not going to reciprocate, and if you believe otherwise, well can I tempt you with an offer of Taj Mahal at a discount which can be only described as criminal? Which is to say that the end result will be India: 0 Pakistan: 1. Now you might be wondering why Manmohan Singh will do this, well we will talk about it later.

 

But what should give nightmares to my fellow HF’s is more than throwing away of one or two games to Pakistan; rather it is the really disturbing trend of Indian leadership capitulating to US.

All the moves that Indian establishment has taken, from policy decision, to statements of intent, are with one objective in sight, to propitiate US. Now there are people who argue this is a legitimate strategy (of course they never call it propitiation) to further Indian interests, a sort of reach around, back scratching, help them us you get the picture,  Problem with this is Obama administration has no taste for a protracted involvement in Af-Pak theatre. Indeed the only reason Obama has not already withdrawn is American public doesn’t like losing and doesn’t like the presidents who lose. This only means that US administration is only looking for a face saving formula, a way to declare victory and go home by 2012. It thinks it is only possible if Taliban is pacified by carrot (power sharing arrangement with “good” Taliban) and sticks (targeted drone attacks backed by Pakistani assault) is impossible without Pakistan’s support, which is possible only if Pakistan is offered its pound of flesh, thus India is hosed no matter how much she plays nice.

 

However at this point, I am not sure that MMS even expects any quid pro quo from US. The question then arises why he will do this; well the answer to this is same as answer to the previous quandary. Two factors are at play here, one UPA-|| and that includes MMS, is spineless, and as such, is averse to having to make hard choices. Talking, even though inconsequential, is the safest choice, and they have taken it. Second, for MMS sycophancy is intrinsic part of his political DNA. He has succeeded in his carrier by unceasing sucking up to higher ups, and hence assumes what worked for him personally will also work for India.

 

Unfortunately for us, in diplomacy, as in dating, it is important to know when to say stop.

I don't what Scott Adams is talking aboot

... but one of the reasons to like Gmail is its awesome interface. How awesome is it, well it's so awesome that I make do without hot keys. Frankly I have no idea, why one will find multiple buttons so objectionable, they are just there to make life easy, man.