openletter4jan2004 2pages

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Open Letter to Indian Voters

Hemanshu R. Pota

3 February 2004

Abstract

There is no Indian who doesnt brood on India and its problems. In this letter I discuss these problems and submit positive

and constructive solutions which are not in agreement with the prevailing wisdom. In view of the solutions proposed, I make

four requests in this letter. The first is to cast your vote in elections; second is to cast it in favour of the NDA. The third is to

shun the two most debilitating negative ideas which have taken hold of the Indian mind since independence: over-population

and poverty. The fourth and final is to force our politicians to tackle the problem of cleanliness on war footing and pay attention

to the issue of language.

Contents1 Introduction 2

2 Cast Your Vote 2

3 Banish Two Negative Ideas: Over-Population and Poverty 2

3.1 Over-Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3.1.1 Terrible Consequences of Misplaced Belief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3.1.2 Is it a Problem? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3.1.3 Practically Infinite Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3.2 An AsideThe Hiding of Great Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3.3 Are We Poor? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

3.3.1 Rich Enough to Waste Rs 30,000 Crores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43.3.2 We were Trained to Think Poor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

3.3.3 A Hundred Crore Service Providers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

4 Pursue Two Positive Ideas: Cleanliness and Language 5

4.1 Cleanliness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

4.1.1 The Powerful have Guns but use Stinking Toilets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

4.1.2 Cleanliness an Overall Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

4.2 Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

4.2.1 English Medium Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

4.2.2 Unshackling of Young Minds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

4.2.3 Adi Shankaracharya Didnt Use English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

5 Vote for the NDA in 2004 85.1 A Rich Supply of Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

5.2 Sonias Concept of Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

5.3 Lessons from Defeat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

5.4 Issues for Election . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

5.5 Parliament, Press, and Public Speaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

5.6 The Congress Stalwarts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

5.7 The Congress Alliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

5.8 The Unfinished Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

6 Prediction for the 2004 General Election 12

H. R. Pota

[email protected] is with the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, University College, The University of New

South Wales, ADFA Canberra ACT Australia 2600, Tel: +61 2 6268 8197, Fax: +61 2 6268 8443


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1 Introduction

When the next Lok Sabha elections take place in 2004 it would be the first time since Indian independence that a non-Congress

government, both in character and name, would have completed a full term in office. This has far reaching implications. The

most fundamental being that this has raised hopes of finally getting a functioning government, answerable to the people of India.

This is just a hope, not an established fact. We must now take hold of this hope and not let go of it till its an established fact.

In this open letter I request of you a few things which have the potential to bring an accelerated and silent revolution in our

countrys governance. None of us is too busy or outside the realm of interest in India that they cannot fully participate in this

revolution. What is required of us is very little, the greats have done most of the work before us. Lets look at that little whichwe can do with ease.

When I say easy, I mean its easy once we accept two things: (a) India can progress to become a society where people

dont work at the tasks they dont like or which machines can perform, and (b) you and I as individuals can make it happen.

Surprisingly this is difficult to accept. I have seen pain in peoples faces in their struggle to find convincing reasons why India

cannot progress. In most cases this struggle ends in that mother of all reasons: Its all well in theory but not in practice. Yet

what I say here is intensely practical. I am not the only one to think and believe in these ideas. I personally know of tens of very

practical people who agree with most of what I say and I am convinced that there are millions of others who have similar ideas

but they dont feel confident in expressing them. They cannot believe that the conclusions which follow from their own thinking

can be right, especially in contrast with their day-to-day experience of life in India. The reason for this letter is to reinforce it to

all the stake-holders in India that what they think and aspire has to come true but it cannot happen without a little help from all

of us.

Lets agree to take the hardest step of believing in our potential as a people and a nation and now look at the easy part in

realising it.

2 Cast Your Vote

Indians have chosen a democratic process to govern themselves. Democracy as a system of government is far from ideal. Platos

Republic gives a good perspective on limitations of democracy. As we are now locked into a democratic process we should make

the best use of it.

One unfortunate effect of democracy on politicians is that they are blind to everything other than votes. What good are ideas

if those ideas cannot get them elected? Everything is seen only for its ability to get votes.

Politicians are subjected to great abuse from us and yet most of us never bother to vote. Why would politicians listen to us

if we never vote? In the next Lok Sabha elections make it a point to vote. Not only you should vote but make sure each and

every individual in your locality has cast their vote. Tulsidasji in Ramacharitmanassays,bhaya bin preeta na hoya gosai, i.e.,

without fear there is not even affection. Unless we can scare politicians with the power of our votes they are not going to listen

to us.

The President of India cast his vote on 1 Dec 2003 in Delhi state elections. There was a senseless debate if he should vote

or be seen above party politics. I believe the President was telling Indian voters that voting is a very precious right; voting is not

party politics, its our fundamental civic duty.

Many successful professionals feel they are above politics and politicians are so beneath contempt that its not for them

to vote or worry about political matters. Here let me give two examples. The great physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac

Newton was fiercely nationalistic. His political activism included writing letters in assumed names to support his claim for

inventing differential calculus against that of the Frenchman Leibinz and thus defending the honour of England. After Newton

quit Science, he was appointed the governor of the Royal National Mint. Here he sent to gallows those who had supported

Leibinz by bringing false charges of currency forgery against them. The second example is of Albert Einstein. His political

activism in the US led to the development of the atom bomb. He was a very active member of the Zionist movement to form the

State of Israel. His political essays and letters are a good medicine for those who hold themselves above politics.Please make sure you vote in every election youare entitled to vote. This is easy and a sure way to bring in a silent revolution.

3 Banish Two Negative Ideas: Over-Population and Poverty

Indians are fiercely nationalistic. They think a lot on how to improve conditions in India. Indians do have a lot of difference of

opinionI have met Indians who are crooks and others who are saintsbut I am yet to meet an Indian who does not desire the

progress of India from the bottom of their hearts. Indians debate endlessly, with others and in their own minds, about the root

cause of all the national problems. They dont lack sincerity, their intellect is strong, and their reasoning perfect. With all these

positives what do we conclude?

3.1 Over-PopulationWe invariably conclude that Indias main problem is its population. But I contend population is Indias strength and not a

problem. We shall see why its our strength a bit later but first lets note practical consequences of accepting population as a

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problem.

3.1.1 Terrible Consequences of Misplaced Belief

Firstly, population problem has no well-defined solution. The ones who argue this is a problem will not say how much population

is over-population. They claim the current population of 100 crores is too much, but three decades ago it was 50 crores and

even then that was too much! Since over-population cannot be quantified, its an ill-defined problem. Secondly, when we say

we are overpoulated, we begin to fear each other. We think, only if the others werent there we would not have any problem.

This hardens our attitude towards each other and one section of the population is constantly at war with the other. Thirdly, bydeclaring population as a problem people can blame neither politicians nor bureaucrats. This absolves people in power of all

responsibility.

The more one thinks the more one admires the genius of people who managed to convince us that population is a problem.

There are many more ways in which this problem has had a debilitating effect on our psychology. This damage needs to be

repaired.

3.1.2 Is it a Problem?

We need to analyse if population really is a problem. Japan has a higher population density than India, it is almost totally bereft

of natural resources, and yet its a very prosperous nation. So population is not a problem as such. To convince the doubtful

lets look at some tangible examples.

First comes the problem of providing food for 100 crore people. Australia can feed the entire population of India. Australia

is a big country, approximately two and a half times the size of India. But only 2% its land is arable, and that is approximately5% of the land in India. Fifty percent of the land in India is arable, i.e., even if we cultivate one tenth of our arable land we

can support 100 crore people. It follows therefore that crores more can be provided with food. Next, using typical figures from

the developed countries for per capita living area, agriculture, roads, industry, etc., India can support an astonishing 700 crore

people. This is based on the current levels of productivity. If productivity increases then this figure would be even higher. It is

not claimed that India should have a population of 700 crore but that 100 crore is not a population figure which can be used as

an excuse to justify the lack of progress. Naturally some will retort, so you think we should let population grow forever, there

has to be a limit. The answer to this is simple. No developed nation has ever worried about checking its population and yet

they have the opposite problem of declining population so why should we worry about a question which has never demanded

an answer.

3.1.3 Practically Infinite Resources

Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of assembly line manufacturing, has written a remarkable book

The Great To-Day and Greater Future. The book was mainly written in 1920s and in the book Henry Ford has laboured to

suggest that assembly line manufacturing is but a by-product of his main philosophy. His philosophy was that human efforts

should not be wasted in thinking of ways to distribute limited resourse (for nature has provided us with practically infinite

resources) but in inventing new ideas for the improvement in living standards. As an example he states that before he entered

the car manufacturing business the established opinion of the day was that never more than 2% Americans will ever own a motor

car. Most car manufacturers were established before Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford organised the manufacture of cars so

that every American could own a car within a decade of his starting the production.

India has infinite resources of coal, gas, petroleum, iron ore, and whatever else is needed for survival. No other country

has as many perennial rivers as India. It is only a question of efficient utilisation of these resources to meet our needs. It is

one of the most interesting challenges for our generation and beyond. India has been singularly unfortunate to have had very

dullard leaders who preferred to invent bogus problems and excuses than get down and solve challenging problems of resource

distribution. As Henry Ford writes, The world shackles itself, blinds its eyes, and then wonders why it cannot run!Indian voters should banish from their minds the thought that population is a problem. Any politician or bureaucrat who

says it is should be bluntly told not to make excuses but to get on with providing an efficient government.

3.2 An AsideThe Hiding of Great Ideas

I wonder why I discover many great ideas by accident. We wonder why those ideas are not common knowledge; on the contrary

they are almost hidden. For example, books on management contain absurd things about Ford, like the quotation, You can have

any colour car as long as its black. His main theme is hidden unless you probe his original book.

There are three categories of people whose ideas have been obliterated from the English speaking world. The first is those

people who have at certain time in their life expressed anti-Jewish views. Henry Ford falls in this category.

The second is the group which under force or willingly showed sympathy for Germans during either of the two world wars.

A good example is P. G. Wodehouse. Most Indians, desirous of breaking into English circles, cut their teeth on the humour of

P. G. Wodehouse. In the last two decades I have been outside India I have rarely heard a mention of P. G. Wodehouse. This

puzzled me till I found that he was captured by Germans in France and he participated in German propaganda radio broadcasts.

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Leo Tolstoy falls in the third class of people. Tolstoy raised fundamental and unanswered objections to the established

religion of the West. Dissent is tolerated in the West, nay, even more, they say dissent is the strongest pillar of the Western

Society. Dissent is a bailiwick against error in arriving at the truth. This is true but with an overall rider that dissent shouldnt

hit at the foundations and it should never put questions which cannot be answered. A lot of criticism of the established religion

is tolerated and to some extent encouraged in the name of arriving at the truth. Less than 20% people in the English speaking

world call themselves religious. But if one makes the mistake of attacking the very foundation of the established religion, as Leo

Tolstoy did, then near 100% will draw their daggers and maul the attacker with primitive savagery. Leo Tolstoy, with a great

skill, uncovered the real message of Jesus Christ. He then boldly proclaimed that the established religions preach a message

diametrically opposite to the real message. Since his case was watertight and his objections near impossible to answer the worldused a different strategy to handle him. The strategy is first to attack in the name of principles and if that doesnt work then

make a personal attack. Whenever I mention Tolstoy to people they ask a counter question, Wasnt he the one who mistreated

his wife?

It is most instructive to read three masterpieces by TolstoyWhat I Believe?, What is Art?, What Must We Do? Indians

got a faint glimpse of Tolstoys ideas through Mahatma Gandhi. Since so much in India is done in the name of Gandhiji, it is

essential that Indians acquaint themselves of the main source of Gandhijis ideas by reading Tolstoy.

In India the Left uses similar strategies. They have been busy demonising people by declaring them terrorists because they

supported violent means for the overthrow of the British Government (e.g., Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Veer

Sarvarkar), or a member of the RSS (hence a murderer of Mahatma Gandhi), a part of the Babri Masjid demolition squad, and

lately a sympathiser of Shri Narendra Modi. Owing to the peculiar nature of the Indian mind none of these tricks have been

effective but a lazy mentality and an inherent desire to copy western methods continues to inspire them.

3.3 Are We Poor?

The second pernicious idea retarding our progress is that we are poor. The penultimate argument (the final being over-

population) justifying Indias present state is always, But we dont have money.

3.3.1 Rich Enough to Waste Rs 30,000 Crores

Let me mention an instance which shows that the common man is not the only one who suffers from this false idea. When

Jaswant Singh presented the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) project in the Rajya Sabha, the financial wizard of India Dr Manmohan

Singh raised a fundamental objection. He told Jaswant Singh that not only he needs to learn good governance but he also needs

to learn elementary arithmetic. As far as Manmohan Singh could see there was just no money for such an ambitious project.

Who can help if one ties ones hands behind ones back and then screams that one cannot fight? The same is the situation of

those who say, We have no money. In spite of Manmohanjis chiding Atalji went ahead with the project and as they say therest is history. The GQ project is going ahead with full steam. In the words of the Congress MP Manishankar Aiyar, the top

ranking self-promoter and sycophant (second only to K. Natwar Singh), More roads have been built in these five years than the

previous fifty. To put the costs in perspective: Rs 54,000 crores is the projected cost of this project as compared to Rs 30,000

crores of government revenue eaten up in one Telgi stamp-paper scam.

3.3.2 We were Trained to Think Poor

Lets repeat a little known fact: In early 1800s India and China together contributed to half the world production. This is just

two hundred years ago and after fifty years of the arrival of Robert Clive. Remember that the US was already independent by

then and steaming ahead on the back of African slave labour. Since early 1800s, the British played havoc with our economy

and education system, so much so that even now, after fifty years of independence, that great power of India which contributed

more than a quarter of world production says, We have no money.

I mention this British onslaught on our system for a good reason. The other day I was watching a Discovery Channel TVshow on Indian Railways. They had a long chat with one of the General Managers of Indian Railways. He was proudly showing

his Maharaja like status with custom built coaches he uses for inspecting the tracks, etc. This was all very good. After all why

shouldnt the GM of Indian Railways have plentiful resources at his command. But then what he told his interlocutor shocked

me. He said, British have given us two thingsRailways and a justice system. This is from someone who has influence

over thousands of minds and who should know how the British systematically destroyed Indian infrastructure; after all the

manufacturer of a quarter of the goods of the world must have had some system to be able to manufacture and then transport

them before the august arrival of Robert Clive in India. Once we accept this half-truth that British gave us the railways and legal

system then its a short step away from accepting a lot of pernicious ideas that British floated to enslave us in body and mind.

3.3.3 A Hundred Crore Service Providers

In the last century goods were money and in this century service is money. The world economy has altered. It takes about 10%

of the population to produce agricultural as well as industrial goods for the entire population. The world has come to accept

that most natural resources are infinite if used properly. Thus money really means available services. The business of political

leadership is to actively propose and encourage those services which dont degrade humans and are required by the society.

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Its a challenge for our intellect. Most members of the society dont have a handle on the big picture. Our leaders have access

to data and a hand on the pulse of the society; the latter is a distinguishing sign of first rank politicians which separates them

from paper pushing bureaucrats. Its the task of parliaments and assemblies to enact laws to regulate commerce in services so

innovative ideas are respected and promoted. We are poor only because we have a poor infrastructure which doesnt enable the

common man to provide services he or she is competent to provide. The present laws are such that when services are provided

the fruit of the providers labour is stolen by someone else. This should change.

A sustained reflection will lead us to the conviction that we are poor only because the indicator we use is false. In this new

world of service economy, India with its 100 crore service providers is a very rich country. So the next time people in power

make an excuse about us being poor ask them to take off their blinkers and get on with the job of governing the second richestnation on earth.

4 Pursue Two Positive Ideas: Cleanliness and Language

Once the shackles of the two most debilitating ideas of over-population and poverty are cut asunder we will feel a great release

of intellectual and emotional energy. Every progressive idea can then live its natural life without being strangled by the terminal

arguments of population and poverty. Let us now look with an unshackled mind on two fundamental ideas. They are easy to

comprehend and they have the potential to push our society on a progressive path in all spheres of human activity.

4.1 Cleanliness

In India, even the richest and the most powerful are in the midst of dirt and squalor the moment they step out of their confinedenvirons. Let me narrate an incidence from may be 7-8 years ago which best brings home the severe limitations of free movement

even for our rich and powerful.

4.1.1 The Powerful have Guns but use Stinking Toilets

I was travelling from Udaipur to Ahmedabad. Rajasthan Roadways has a premier service called Silverline. I was booked to

travel by that service. The wife of the then Rajasthan Home Minister was also to travel in the same coach. Private cars are

not allowed inside bus-stands due to the obvious reasons of overcrowding, security, etc., but she being the Home Ministers

wife, she was brought in a government car and the car was parked next to the coach. A few police officers were guarding her

car while she was sitting comfortably inside. The coach was late so the government machinery escorting her kept idling there.

When finally passengers started boarding the bus, the attending police officers rushed in and stopped them from boarding the

bus. The waiting car was then so reversed that the door of the car was aligned with the coach door with as little space between

the two as possible. Then the lady got out of the car and boarded the coach. Obviously she was too special to keep her luggage

in the storage area at the back of the coach like other passengers so the police officers got a few passengers to take down their

luggage from the luggage rack above passenger seats. This meant that an unfortunate passenger had to keep his suitcase in front

of him and this left only a six inch space for his legs. Naturally he protested that he couldnt sit in that uncomfortable position

for a six hour journey and the ladys luggage should be stored in the proper storage area. The protests were silenced by brutal

threats from rifle wielding police. Such was the naked display of terror that no other passenger could utter a word. Anyhow

the coach started its journey. Most coaches stop on the way at roadside eating places (after duly receiving commission from the

hotel owners) and we also stopped. People use this as a convenience stop too. I got down and to ease myself I walked in the

direction everyone was walking. As I came closer to the general convenience area a strong stench hit me and I uncontrollably

vomited then and there. As I was turning back after this uneasy experience I saw the Home Ministers wife entering that very

convenience area! The area I couldnt get within 15-20 metres was happily entered by that lady and made use of!

On seeing this I asked myself, was it more important for that lady to have so many police officers wait on her for an hour

and bully fellow passengers or to have used a clean toilet? The time and resources used up by these senior police officers couldhave been easily used to clean toilets with a great improvement in the quality of life of hundreds of people.

I wish to make one important point from this. There is something which is common both to the rich and powerful and the

common citizen and thats an overall clean environment. As a nation we should direct our energies to have a clean environment

and this can be used as a key to unlock several doors which have imprisoned our citizens in miserable dungeons.

In the present state of India, even the rich are so poor that their children, when they go to the developed nations in the name

of education, take pride in securing a job of cleaning toilets. That is, our rich are poorer than the poorest in the developed

nations. When the standards of cleanliness will rise in India even its poorest will enjoy the same quality of life as its richest.

4.1.2 Cleanliness an Overall Indicator

Fanatic insistence on cleanliness by voters will force our governments to seal dusty lanes, clear up piles of garbage, move

stagnant water (hence no mosquitoes), improve drainage, plant trees, get rid of pollution, and attend to myriad of civic projects

which they neglect with impunity. This will direct applied sciences towards national progress. It will increase employment and

those employees will have a dignity. In private matters, home construction will improve, plumbing will get better and so much

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worry every household has about cleaning dust will be gone. Our longevity, health, happiness and so much more depends on

cleanliness that its astounding we have let our leaders get away with it for so long.

It has been drummed into us that cleanliness is next to Godliness but so far we have been all contended with cleaning our

own little corner. We need to take this local concept to the next step and force our governments to attack general cleanliness on

war footing. Cleanliness is the key to almost every aspect which enriches the quality of life, this we well know. Another related

point about cleanliness which hasnt entered the collective consciousness of Indian voters is that its the easiest indicator to

make governments accountable for their performance. You cannot hide behind figures and statistics, cleanliness can be seen and

judged by all. You cannot print cleanliness like printed money, the work has to be actually done. You cannot hide cleanliness

like defence and police intelligence, it is in the open. Finally remember that there is no excuse for not cleaning; if there are morepeople then there are more people to clean too. More people use Tokyo subway system than Mumbai local trains but the stations

and toilets in Tokyo are spick-and-span. Solutions to all cleanliness problems are known and in use by developed countries for

over a fifty years now. It might interest voters to know that our politicians and bureaucrats spend crores of rupees every year

visiting these places to study their system and when they return its only with duty-free goods and some foreign exchange.

Redirecting just the money spent in their foreign junkets on cleanliness will alleviate most of this problem.

Badger politicians and bureaucrats into providing us with a clean environment. Judge their work continuously, complain

loud and clear if they dont do their job. Above all remember that very high levels of cleanliness have been achieved in most of

the world without any magic wand and it can be done in India with ease.

4.2 Language

Our ability to speak our thoughts and emotions is the most important part of our personality. I am sure most of us personally

know people who have brought a great harm to themselves for the sake of, I told so on his face. In most cases the speaker

knows that absolutely nothing will be achieved by I told them because I just wanted them to know that I also know and yet

they go ahead and make a mess of things. Why? Being able to speak is one of our strongest desire. Its then natural that we

must strive very hard to polish, improve, and perfect our ability to speak. Most discussions and arguments go wrong because

people say what they dont intend to say and they are unable to say how they really feel. As a society cultivation of languages

should be one of our top priorities.

We have to concentrate our energies in the use of language in realising the hidden human potential of our society. The

first step in making this happen is to use our native language for every single activity including business, education, legal and

official work. That is, in Gujarat, Gujarati should be used for all education (professional and otherwise), business (by local,

state, national, and multinational companies), legislation, court work, and by bureaucracy. The same for Tamil in Tamil Nadu,

Assamese in Assam, Hindi in Rajasthan, etc. This will mean replacing English by local languages.

There are two chief practical reasons why English maintains its dominance in India. Firstly its the medium of instruction in

professional courses like engineering and medicine and secondly employers use it as a filtering mechanism to recruit employees.Then of course there is the psychological reason which equates power with English. We put the psychological factor aside for

the moment and look at the consequences of the use of English in professional education and business.

4.2.1 English Medium Schools

To prepare students for two lucrative markets of professional education and employment, every street corner now has an En-

glish medium school. Parents sacrifice many necessities in life to educate their children in these privately run English

medium schools. What sort of education can one expect from these schools? Education is not a mere passing of information

from the teacher to the taught. Education is to train students to derive general principles from careful observation of diverse

phenomena. This training is given by exposing the student to already discovered principles. Every educator knows the difficulty

in getting the student to appreciate the problem which motivated the principle, then learn the principle itself, and finally extend

it to its entire domain of application. We have thousands of teachers in these English medium schools who have an extremely

weak command of their medium of instruction and these very teachers try to go through this complex process of education.What result can we expect from this? In most of these English medium schools education is turned into learning by rote

because thats about the only thing one can do in a foreign medium of instruction. The situation cannot be otherwise.

There are two fundamental factors which limit this process of education. Firstly English as a language is foreign to Indians.

Let it be understood that no one speaks English in India outside of professional necessity (discounting a few thousand students in

elite educational institutions). We have textbook knowledge of English and what we can say or express is limited to stock phrases

in textbooks related to our professional education. But to explain, throw light from different angles, to get inside the mind of

the student, this limited set of stock phrases are woefully inadequate. We cannot have the required command of the English

language unless we abandon our own native language and use English exclusively. The choice is cleareither impart education

in pidgin English forever or give up our native languages completely. The second fundamental difficulty is with the English

language itselfit is a very defective language without proper roots and hence very difficult to learn. I often read statements

like, English is a rich language because it has borrowed from many other languages. Now I ask, who borrowrich or poor?

Let me briefly answer a question which cannot but pose itself to all of us regarding how new words appear in a language. Richlanguages like Sanskrit have within them supple rules to form new words from its own root-words thus preserving its character.

English having borrowed extensively has lost that facility and so it has no option but to keep borrowing words and using them

in an ad-hoc manner. This is the reason why the wise and learned object to mixing words from other languages. Its intellectual

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laziness to pick up words from another language instead of drawing it out from roots in ones own language. Our ancestors were

well aware of this and hence they kept our language pure (and easy to learn) as compared to the corrupt English. This is not the

place to discuss the English language but suffice it to say that to learn English is a very tedious and difficult task.

A very famous Marathi playwriter, a relative of one of our friends, visited us several years ago. As usual we were discussing

the various problems that plague India and we got on to the issue of language. My guess is that about 2% of Indians know

English and I repeated that figure in our discussion. The wise playwriter was listening to the discussion quietly but on hearing

the figure of 2% he asked me if I have heard a rider to this, I said no and then he said, Of these 2%, only 2% really know

English. This to my mind sums up the situation. I know most of my friends will hit the roof on the suggestion that they may not

be 2% of the 2% but the fact of the matter is that English has served us very poorly and we have become dumb creatures becausewe neither know English outside our bank of stock phrases nor we have used our native language to express our thoughts and

emotions in a satisfactory manner.

4.2.2 Unshackling of Young Minds

Our young ones who are gifted, in intellect or opportunity, get most of their education in English. This means they carry twice

the load on their intellect to acquire the same learning as one who learns through the medium of their native language. The

situation is even worseeven after twice the labour majority of us can never achieve the proficiency in communication that is

necessary to spread the benefits of our professional learning to the society at large.

I spent three weeks in Taiwan in November 2003 at one of their National Universities. The entire education is in Chinese,

including professional education. PhD theses are written in Chinese, all scientific writing is done in Chinese. Most have only

a passing acquaintance with English. Now where is Taiwan that tiny island with 3 crore inhabitants and where is India of 100

crore inhabitants with all its English expertise. In top US universities there are many Indians but also just as many Taiwanesestudents and academics. Instruction in Chinese has not prevented them from making their mark internationally, on the contrary

it has afforded opportunities to many more students than India. Since Chinese is the medium of instruction, they have a much

larger supply of educators and so the system of education is more egalitarian as opposed to the elitism in education in India. I

give the example of Taiwan because Taiwan is considered a developing nation. Of course the medium of instruction in Japan is

Japanese, in Germany its German and so is true of all non English speaking developed nations.

We should seriously consider changing our medium of education to the native language of the state. Proficiency in English

or some other foreign language maybe made essential to obtain a professional degree. All these things can be easily worked out

once we agree on the principle of not burdening our young minds with the unnecessary and difficult task of learning English.

I personally think that its a scandal of the highest order that in the High Courts in Indian states one cannot plead in ones

native language. I know for sure that in Gujarat High Court lawyers cannot plead in Gujarati, they have to put their case in

English. I presume the same must be true in other states. Similarly much of the high level official work is done in English under

the pretext that IAS officers are recruited from all over India. One must remember that once IAS officers join services in onestate they spend their entire career in that state. There is no excuse why a hundred or so officers cannot learn the local language

instead of forcing crores of unfortunate citizens to learn English for the mere convenience of getting the bureaucrats to listen to

their supplications.

Sports commentary, news, parliament proceedings, and most other things can be simultaneously broadcast or printed in all

the Indian languages. This will provide high-level employment and decentralise the present strongly centralised structure.

The final argument against using just the native language exclusively (as opposed to English) is about providing fodder

to the multinationals who want to set up their shop in India. This is the question of employment by businesses who evaluate

suitability of prospective employees based on their English proficiency. There is a very easy way out. State Legislatures should

bring in laws that forbid discrimination of future employees based on language. Unless the employer can prove that English

proficiency needed for the job cannot be acquired by training, they cannot make it as a basis for selection. Heavy penalties

should be prescribed and it will be seen that these same multinationals will just as happily recruit local employees with no

expertise in English. Again lets look at the employment situation in Taiwan (November 2003). In their Technology Park more

than 100,000 people are employed. This Park is adjacent to the University I visited. Most hi-tech US companies and universities

come on the University campus to recruit students but with very modest success. Most students prefer to work in the Technology

Park because the wages are higher than in the US. Here we are talking about students who have had their complete education in

Chinese and they are employed by hi-tech multinationals on wages higher than what they pay an equivalent engineer in their own

country. So Taiwan is not a source of cheap labour but its supplying hi-tech companies with a very expensive but highly trained

technological force. Compare this with our pathetic Indian situation where one needs to learn English to work at call centres

where you cannot even use your own name to answer calls. Where are we with our English? Only a source of cheap labour.

Arun Shourie in a recent article claimed that real IT jobs in India total only about 50,000, so in one single Technological Park

in Taiwan double that number is employed on wages higher than most developed countries. Where are we with our English?

People claim that via English Indians have migrated to developed nations forming a major source of foreign exchange. But this

is also a specious argument; overseas Chinese are four times the number of overseas Indians. On a cool reflection none of the

touted benefits of English add up but the damage done is immense.

As our youngsters use more and more of their native language they will experience the emotions of their ancestors viaits literature and join themselves to rich traditions of their land. This will connect them to their fellow citizens and it will

greatly contribute to the social, cultural, and economic life of our country. No one can predict the the impact of these vibrant

contributions. It will be an explosion after a long repression of our emotional energy.

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4.2.3 Adi Shankaracharya Didnt Use English

Of course the final argument in favour of English is the need for one common language. The problem is not as serious as

its made out to be; most Indian languages are cognate and with some effort one can understand the other. Its sickening to

repeatedly hear that British united India via English. Adi Sankaracharya predates the British arrival by at least a millennium

and who can deny the influence of Sankaracharya all over India. He personally travelled on foot through the length and breadth

of India thrice. He founded institutions which exist even today. He held debates with most learned people of the day and guess

what he didnt use English. India was united in culture long before the British arrived and it still is fifty years after they left us.

The conclusion from this is that we dont need English to unite us. However outlandish it may seem but if we need a national

language then Sanskrit can very easily meet that need. Please dont pass your judgement without learning about languages in

general and Sanskrit in particular. It will be much cheaper for Indians to learn Sanskrit than English. There are many other

solutions which will present themselves once we remove the English blinkers and start thinking our own thoughts.

5 Vote for the NDA in 2004

Most Indians prayed with utmost sincerity that the Morarji Desai government, elected in 1977, would last its full five-year term.

Unfortunately Charan Singh fell for the oldest trick and believed that Indira Gandhi will support him as the Prime Minister if

he topples Morarji Desai. Charan Singhs vanity toppled Morarji and then the very next instant Indira toppled Charan Singh.

Finally in 1979 the Indian electorate rewarded Indira Gandhi for her troubles in playing the duplicitous toppling game with a

victory in the mid-term polls.

Indian voters have matured since then. Indiras daughter-in-law Sonia toppled governments thrice between 1996 and 1999,purely for personal reasons. Once it was to force a penalty on the DMK and the next time to have a cup of tea with the AIADMK.

I say personal reasons because the once accused murderers of Rajiv Gandhi (the DMK) are its bed-fellows again today. Nothing

has changed; its the same cast of characters and policies now as were then. Greedy politicians dont changeCharan Singh,

Deve Gowda, Gujaral, and Jayalalita have all fallen for the oldest trick with textbook accuracy but the Indian voter has changed.

In the general elections in 1996, 1998, and 1999, the Congress party has been returned with a decreasing share of seats and

people have stubbornly refused to reward Sonia for her troubles in toppling legitimately elected governments. This maturity of

Indian voters needs to go up one notch higher to make sure that no party dares to gift its leadership (hence the leadership of the

country) based on an accident of birth or marriage and not ability.

5.1 A Rich Supply of Leaders

The sincere desire of the Indian people to see Morarji government last five years has come good in the form of the NDA

government lasting a full term in office. This has given hope to thousands of highly talented politicians to aspire for the topjob in Indian politicsthe Prime Minister of India. And if one can go a bit further it can now be said that the sham of Indian

democracy is finally coming to an end and the democratic process is beginning to take roots in India.

The first requirement for democratic governments to be effective is for each and every of its citizen to feel that one day they

can get ahead in politics on merit alone. At this stage, ponder the consequence of putting Sonia in that chair. She might last a

few years, and then it will be Priyanka, and then their children. When does such blatant anti-democratic rule work? Only when

its citizens are poor, ignorant, and in a state of fear. This is precisely what Indians will get if they go the Sonia way. Every

PM from that family from Nehruji down to Rajiv Gandhi has kept Indians in poverty, ignorance, and fear. It was only with

Narasimha Rao that India saw information trickle in from outside India. What a glorious change it has been since then!

In the coming months I am sure that the NDA government will shout from rooftops about its achievements in the last five

yearsand there have been manyso I leave it to them to make their case to the Indian voters. As a voter like yourself my

concern is with the long term strengthening of our system of governance. And its in that sense that I urge you to vote for the

NDA.For effective democratic process we need tens of top class talented leaders. In 1996, 1998, and again in 1999 the refrain

was, Vajpayee is great but whos there after him? Advani was considered unfit and none of the young ones had the ticker for the

top job. How delicious it is to see things change in these five years of a non-Congress rule.

Soon after the formation of the 1999 NDA Cabinet, India Today declared it to be the most talented Cabinet in independent

India. The NDA has successfully nurtured leaders in the last five years. After the results of the state elections in four states

were announced on 4 December 2003, every newspaper columnist was busy educating the readers with their wisdom. But now

a different question was asked: the BJP has all these leaders (names filled three or four rows) as prime minister material but

whos there after Sonia? What a change! Lal Kishanchand Advani has grown in stature every passing day. How our journalists

tried to convince the voters of a rivalry between Vajpayee and Advani? What paucity of journalistic talent when the so called

tall journalists like Kuldip Nayar are forced to repeat their those who love Ram are in Ayodhya and those who love India are

here jibe on several occasions with a view to creating a rift between Advani and Vajpayee! I think MJ Akbar finally got tired

of this perversity and declared that there is no one alive who understands these two men better than they understand each other.

The prime ministerial material is in plenty of supply just five years after the eclipse of the sycophantic Congress rule. It is bound

to grow as we march ahead. I think its the duty of the Indian voter to continue with this wonderful tradition and make sure

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we have practically infinite supply of quality leaders and it will happen with the voters showing their approval of this healthy

process by voting for the NDA.

I as a voter will vote for the NDA simply on the principle that I will not under any circumstances vote to place in the PMs

chair a person not appointed by due democratic process but by sycophants to please a family. Maybe you are large hearted and

broad-minded. You can overlook this one aberration. But there are many other strong reasons which should convince the Indian

voter never to cast a vote for Sonia.

5.2 Sonias Concept of Government

A full month or so after the Kargil War in July 1999, Sonia visited wounded soldiers in hospitals. On her visit she distributed

blankets to those soldiers! After the massive loss in Gujarat in December 2002 one of the sycophantic journalist writing for

the Indian Express, Ms Neerja Chowdhury, suggested that Sonia should have perhaps gone to Gujarat after the Godhra riots

and distributed food and blankets to the effected people living in shelters. Journalists filing reports of Sonias campaign in UP

(Jan 2004) are in a delirious state because Sonia is making direct contact with the people and asking them if they are receiving

government assistance or not!

This is the precious idea of government that Sonia has so painfully learnt sitting at the feet of that master politician Indira

Gandhi! What a shame! Sonias intellect cannot comprehend the function of government beyond distributing free gifts to the

supplicating citizens. Imagine distributing blankets to soldiers in military hospitals. Does she have any idea of the facilities in

military hospitals? Is it Nehrus 1962 China War when soldiers froze to death for the want of warm clothes? Those days are

long gone. Even beggars dont accept food and clothes, they want cash. Sonia is still stuck with the image of India as a land of

beggars. Firstly she has no clue as to what India is and secondly there is no possible way she can learn about India. She cannot

understandany Indian language, she cannot meet any real Indian other than her sycophants, and she has shown no desire for

independent education and learning. The situation is impossible: Sonia has not the least idea about India and she is incapable

of learning. Is the Indian Prime Ministers position so cheap that we should offer it to a person, with little to recommend her,

for her personal on-the-job training? Apart from the limitations of her intellect she is arrogant and has lied I have 272 votes

to the nation on the steps of Rashtrapati Bhavan in April 1999. The picture is quite bleak.

On the morning of the Boxing Day (26 Dec 2003) Test in Melbourne, Ravi Sastry was asked by a news reader: how scared

are Indians of Australian fast bowlers? Ravi Sastry replied, Where have you been? Dont you know that Indians are no more

scared of fast bowlers. The humble Indian voter should similarly reply to Sonia when she comes distributing blankets and food

packages: Where have you been? Gone are the days of perpetual poverty that Nehru, Indira, and Rajiv put us in. We dont

need blankets and food parcels, we need solid policies, we need infrastructure, we need intellectual strength to solve problems

and not be given terminal responses, we need our leaders to govern, we need our leaders to make laws so that we all can get rich

and not suffer in eternal poverty; with due respects to you we dont need blankets.

5.3 Lessons from Defeat

Every general election since 1991 has returned the Congress with lesser seats. This shows what the voters think of Sonia but

her sycophants are blind to what the voters show them. They tout the 1998 victory in state elections as Sonias endorsement by

the voters. I didnt know that journalists have such short memories. In discussing the Congress victories in 1998 state elections,

vis-a-vis the current losses, none of them mentioned that it was, in the words of Amar Singh Mr Potato and Mrs Onion which

gave the Congress a victory and not Sonia. Most voters dont know that after that election Vajpayee formed a special cell which

reports daily average prices of vegetables from all over the country. Thats what happens in a functioning democracyvoters

express their opinion and politicians react to it. Now compare how the Congress reacted after the loss in December 2003 state

elections.

The Congress had mainly two responses to their defeat. The first and lasting one was that it was incumbency and the second

one was that even if they lost they forced the BJP to campaign on development issues. The voters must make a very careful note

of what the Congress leadership is saying via incumbency argument: it doesnt really matter if we do anything or not, one term

we will be in power and the next term the opposition. Performance is not critical, governance is just musical chairs between

political parties. Can voters be more insulted? How can any self-respecting voter vote for the Congress after this?

5.4 Issues for Election

Lets look at the second argument about forcing the BJP into development issues during the elections. I was in India on 4 Dec

2003. I had an opportunity to watchAaj Takfor five minutes as the state election results were coming. Prabhu Chawla was

interviewing some Congress spokesperson. The spokesperson started boasting about forcing the BJP to development issues, etc.

Prabhu Chawla smiled and gently pointed out to him that in all the footage they saw of Sonias election campaign there was

never a mention of development, it was all corruption, communal tension, minorities, and such stuff. Although the Congress was

quick to invent this fig-leaf defence and there will always be sycophantic journalists to further that line but the truth of the matter

is that the Congress needs issues like Babari Masjid, Godhara, Sonias foreign origin, Rahul and Priyanka, more than the BJP.Just witness the drama that takes place in the Indian Parliament on 6 December every year. Sonias toadies (e.g., Vir Sanghvi -

Hindustan Times, Bhavdeep Kang - Outlook, Neerja Chowdhury - Indian Express, Harish Khare - The Hindu, and most of The

Times of India) are resurrecting the foreign origin and Rahul-Priyanka issue in full length columns. The plethora of gratutious

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explanations which rubbish Sonia foreign origin as an issue make for an amusing reading; they range from Pankaj Vohras (HT)

and Neerja Chowdhurys (IE) gloom and doom without the dynasty to Kushwant Singhs Sonia is not only an Indian but

superior to us since she choseto become an Indian unlike us, the Indians with no choice! They know its a controversial issue

and many Indians feel strongly about it but this is the onlyissue they have when it comes to Sonia so better a non-issue then no

issue at all. These issues will be mainly raised by the Congress and its supporters in the media to distract from Sonias miserable

performance as a politician on all fronts.

5.5 Parliament, Press, and Public Speaking

Sonias performance in the parliament in the last five years was below pathetic. She never once participated in a debate unless

she had something from her speech writers in hand. What a terrible handicap? It is customary for parliamentarians to read

prepared maiden speech only; all the speeches thereafter cannot be read from prepared texts. Alas for Indian voters, Sonias not

only the first but also the last 20 minute speech to the 13th Lok Sabha was read verbatim from a prepared text. Since she knows

no Indian language nor English she cannot participate in parliamentary debates. Parliament is the most important forum in a

democracy and here Sonias performance is nil. To top it all Sonia has never given an open press conference. Either she has

off-line interviews with chosen journalists or when she faces the media its only to read prepared statements. No one has any

idea of what she is capable of all by herself.

A point worth keeping in mind is that most newspaper owners and influential editors are given seats in Rajya Sabha on party

ticketsGoenkaji of The Indian Express via the Congress, Chandan Mitra of The Pioneer via the BJP, Birlaji of The Hindustan

Times via the Congress, journalists Rajiv Shukla and Kuldip Nayar via the Congress. For a seat in Rajya Sabha newspapers

sell their soul. It is foolish to expect independent reporting from them. Indian voters should develop other means of keeping

themselves informed independent of the commercial media. Even with such heavy patronage, the media has been unable to

successfully plant any story attributing a single idea to Sonia. The most they are able to report is the colour of her saree or

shawl and such inanities. Imagine what it would be like if Sonia is covered by the hostile national and international media that

demonises the BJP as the right wing Hindu fundamentalists who are also the murderers of Mahatma Gandhi. Sonia wouldnt

last a single day where Vajpayee and Co. have kept their cool and provided a stable government for five years.

Indian voters have no idea of Sonias policies on any issue of significance. The few occasions when she has spoken it was

to undermine the national security by demoralising our defence forces and also to openly encourage terrorists by opposing the

use of POTA in the Congress ruled states.

Sonia has to keep all her public addresses to the superficial and senseless. She has to get her speech writers to write the

speech for her. Just imagine the back stabbing and all the other drama that must go on to get near Sonia in the Congress party and

how careful her speech writers have to be to avoid wrath for one little mistake. Moreover where would you find a self-respecting

politician to just sit and write speeches for Sonia? Only second grade speech writers will agree to do that sort of a hatchet job

and so all they can come up with is one liners on inanities. On 13 Jan 2004 Sonia addressed a rally of hired crowd in Mumbai.When she read the corruption harangue of her speech writers, even the hired crowd started to laugh. How can they forget Ajit

Jogi, Sonias number one man, and Telgi? Those who find Sonias feigned anger at Ajit Jogi cute should realise that Ajit Jogi

had performed a similar stunt in Chattisgarh just a couple of years ago with a full approval from Sonia. This time Sonia dropped

him like a hot potato only because he got caught. This should be a good lesson for all Sonia henchmenthe moment they are

caught, Sonia will disown them.

5.6 The Congress Stalwarts?

The next question is about those sincere and honest Congress leaders who have proved their abilities in the past; should we not

vote for them? My suggestion is a clear NO. A vote for them is a vote for Sonia. There is no Congress leader who dare speak in

front of Sonia and Sonia will use every seat won by the Congress for her own personal ends. I will present two exhibits. Exhibit

A is Dr Manmohan Singh. He sits in the Rajya Sabha as Sonias poodle and opposes the very same policies he championed

when he was the Finance Minister. You may vote for Manmohan Singh but he isnt going to say what he thinks, he will only

say what Sonia wants him to say. Exhibit B is Shiela Dikshit. After Shiela Dikshit won her second election as the Chief

Ministerial candidate in December 2003, Sonias vultures immediately swooped on her. Even though the Congress went to the

voters promising Shiela Dikshit as the CM, Sonia toadies started intrigues as to how Shiela Dikshit is becoming too big for her

chappals and she should be replaced with a more pliant person. It took Shiela Dikshit full ten days to clear the mess and be

sworn-in as the Delhi CM. There couldnt be a louder and clearer mandate than what Shiela Dikshit got and yet the Congress

Party thought nothing of replacing her. Always remember, a vote for anyone in the Congress is a vote for Sonias personal

ambition.

Let the Congress remove Sonia as their undisputed leader-for-life and then voters can vote on merit between the Congress

and other parties. Till then not a single vote to the Congress. Much credit is given to Sonia for holding the Congress Party

together. That may be true but first you must ask an honest question, Doesnt the party have an internal cohesion which binds

it together, Sonia or no Sonia? The answer is: Since most of the Congress politicians are power-hungry they will destroy each

other if an autocratic Sonia doesnt preside over this feuding bunch of politicians. Should you really vote for characters suchas these? This much is by their own admission and yet the true state of their desires and minds could be much worse. Should

we take the risk?

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I dont want the main issue about the importance of voting to strengthen the democratic institution be forgotten in the debris

of the disaster that is Sonia. A vote for the NDA is a vote for a healthy democracy and a vote for the Congress is a vote for

Sonias personal ambition and no more. Even the most liberated Congress workers cannot deny that as of today the entire

Congress machinery has only one objective and that is to please Sonia. Is it safe to put the serious business of government in

the hands of an inexperienced person who will run the government by personal whims? I think not. Whenever Nehruji put his

person above the Cabinet he committed huge disasters like Jammu & Kashmir and the 1962 war with China. Indira Gandhi

created the Punjab disaster and the Emergency. Rajiv Gandhi list is rather long for a short five year rule; the Shah Bano case,

Ayodhya, again Jammu & Kashmir, IPKF to Sri Lanka, Punjab again, etc., etc.

5.7 The Congress Alliance

The latest delirium for the journalists is courtesy of Sonia trying to form an alliance to fight the NDA. Her hurried run to Paswan,

telephone calls to Mayawati and Mulayam, a call to Karunanidhi, is driving journalists wild with excitement. They think these

few steps and calls will now surely place Sonia on the throne of India. Their hatred for the BJP has blinded them to electoral

politics. Our esteemed journalists dont as much report as they make up the news. Those who followed the Gujarat elections in

December 2002 would remember what newspapers said about Modis chances. They screamed that the people of Gujarat have

had enough of this communal politics. Gujaratis are peace loving people and they will certainly throw out Narendra Modi. I

only recall one Muslim reporter who plainly said that he has extensively toured Gujarat and he sees nothing but a huge wave

in favour of Narendra Modi. Other than him the refrain from all other journalists was, people want Modi out, When the

results were out, a few journalists with a vestige of conscience admitted that they overdid it, i.e., they overdid their business of

manufacturing news and next time they should moderate their manufacturing. It will be a long time before Indian newspapers

start reporting, and not manufacturing, news. Most journalists fancy themselves as Sonias advisers and hence this gratuitous

news reporting.

The first strategy that Sonia has adopted is to form blind alliances with one and all. We have to wait and see if they will

be pre-poll or post-poll alliances. I personally think that they are more working towards post-poll alliances which avoid the

inconvenience of seat sharing. Post-poll alliances further give them a satisfaction of having rubbished the voters mandate;

arent voters an unavoidable nuisance on the way to power?

The 1971 war with Pakistan is a landmark in our post-independence history. I remember the great sense of achievement

we felt at the success of India in separating Bangladesh from Pakistan. I was 13 then. When I got some exposure to how

nations arrange their strategic affairs I felt uneasy about us helping Bangladesh. I couldnt believe that Indira Gandhi could

be wrong, Atal Bihari Vajapayeewho called Indira Gandhi an incarnation of Durga Matacould be wrong, and millions of

Indians who shed tears of joy could be wrong. I keep these thoughts to myself but now and again I make a mention of how it

was utterly foolish to have broken East Pakistan from West Pakistan. I felt a great satisfaction on reading, in an article by MJ

Akbar, that Morarji Desai too had then felt that we not so much as liberated Bangladesh from Pakistan as we liberated Pakistanfrom Bangladesh! West Pakistan would have forever wanted to keep East Pakistan under its control. Imagine the heavy drain

on West Pakistan to maintain a subordinate military, communications, and other infrastructure working in East Pakistan. The

long sea-route and the expensive air-route would have bankrupted them jointly. How could our so called master strategists be

so wrong? This is a problem with majority opinion, especially when the majority consists of power hungry politicians and not

experienced wise men with something larger in mind than just personal ambition. Something similar is happening with Sonia

running helter skelter looking for alliance partners for the Lok Sabha elections in 2004. It all seems such a wise move now but

the result is bound to be disastrous for the Congress.

Sonia suddenly remembered Paswan and she thinks her visit will make Paswan a putty in her hands. Paswan has reached

Janpath by sheer hard labour; he had no family ties to recommend him and he knows he will be left hanging alone once he loses

an election. Paswan himself wants to be the PM, what chance does he have if he comes under Sonias umbrella? His only motive

for joining Sonia would be to finish Sonia first and then train his guns at Vajpayee. Kanshi Ram is too shrewd to transfer his vote

to Sonia. After his vitriol against the Manuwadi BJP and Congress he is not suddenly going to have love for Sonia well up in his

heart. He will join the Congress alliance only to drive a hard bargain for seats outside UP and push his BSP towards becoming

a national party. Since Sonia is so desperate to win the next election Kanshi Ram will make sure that the BSP advances at the

cost of desperate Sonia. The Congress and the media are gleefully celebrating Karunanidhis return to the Congress alliance.

The two DMKs have finished the Congress as a political party in Tamil Nadu so much so that in 1999 elections the BJP won

four seats compared to two by the Congress. Now if a continuance of this decline makes the Congress ecstatic then what can

one say about the state of affairs in the Congress. Every alliance partner that the Congress gets will first make sure that the

Congress never enters their stronghold ever again as is the situation in Tamil Nadu. In Bihar Laloo Prasad forced the Congress

to a mere four seats in 1999. In West Bengal the Congress won 3 seats and this time around Communists will finish them off.

The Congress had a measly ten seats (out of 85) in UP in 1999 and its flirtations with Mayawati and Mulayam will further

reduce it to two; one Amethi and another the constituency Priyanka will deign to choose. Its Sonias naked personal ambition

which makes her think nothing of the decline in the Congress Party as long as her cobbled alliance wins a majority and she is

anointed the Queen of India. In the words of irrepressible Amar Singh, Sonias attitude is, mein banoongi raani tum bhariyo

paani (I will become the Queen and you my water bearing girls).From the third week of January 2004 Sonia is taking the line, the leader of the alliance will be chosen after the elections.

Let people not be fooled by this. Sonia cannot be trusted. How can the voters trust someone who forgot to take Indian

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citizenship for full 16 years, who lied about 272 votes on the steps of Rashtrapati Bhavan, who by mistake got her name

in electoral rolls without being an Indian citizen, who fraudulently claimed to have certain educational qualifications from

Cambridge and when caught blamed it on a typographical error? The litany of Sonias frauds is too long to forget.

To deflect attention from Sonias myriad handicaps, journalists have gone a step further in suggesting that Sonia is thinking

of proposing Dr Manmohan Singhs name as the PM candidate of the Congress alliance. They say that even in April 1999 it

was Manmohan whom Sonia wanted as the PM but inter-party rivalry forced Sonia to come forward herself. The story goes

even further to suggest that Manmohans loss in Oct 1999 was due to back stabbing by his colleagues in the Congress! Should

a single vote be given to the party in which politicians are more busy fighting each other than building a nation? Moreover,

Manmohan has neverwon a Lok Sabha election. How does someone who cannot even get himself elected to the Lok Sabhaget another 271 representatives elected? Any leader without a directmandate from the people would be a disaster. Manmohan

pledged that he will quit his Rajya Sabha seat if he lost the Lok Sabha election in Oct 1999. But then he bent to the wishes of

Sonia and stayed on. Do we want a leader who dances to someone elses tune? India needs a strong leader, a leader who is

capable of obtaining a direct mandate from Indian voters. Sonia doesnt have guts to seek a direct mandate, she wants to hide

and put people like Manmohan in the firing line. Manmohan and other Congress persons are Sonias pets with no ability to

display a mind of their own; weakness and instability is in-built in any alliance with Sonia as its leader. Not a single vote should

go their way.

Neither voters nor her alliance partners will take her talk of electing the leader after the elections seriously. But the alliance

partners will play along with it to avoid an Atal-vs-Sonia campaign and also to create confusion after the election in case they are

in a position to blackmail alliance partners by their numbers. Voters should be very worried about this; remember the Morarji-

Charan Singh; VP Singh-Chandrashekhar; Deve Gowda-Gujaral disasters? Do we want another one of them? No. Dont give a

single vote to the Congress coalition unless they announce their leader before the election and get a mandate from the voters for

thatleader.

All the hype surrounding the Congress led alliance centres around the hope that when three or four cornered contests become

two way contests then the Oct 1999 non-NDA votes will automatically flow on to the Congress alliance. It will be healthy to

remember that Atalji has been in office for the last five years. Much has changed in the attitude of voters and the state of our

country. When Atal Bihari will visit his voters in 2004 and thunder the five years versus fifty years theme, he will swing a larger

percentage of voters in favour of the NDA than the marginal gains in vote transfer amongst the Congress alliance members.

Voters are not going to transfer their votes at the whims and fancy of their leaders. The proponents of a Congress alliance have

built their castles in air. They cannot do otherwise. Most of Sonias advisers have not and cannot win an election. Harkishan

Singh Surjeet has never won a seat in the Lok Sabha. For them the voter dynamics doesnt exist. They treat voters as herds of

cattle to be steered at their owners wishes. Vajpayee and Lal Kishanchand Advani have done nothing but fought elections all

their lives. They have a healthy respect for the voter dynamics. They cajole them, cultivate them, service them, and then go and

beg for their votes.

In the unlikely event that Sonias coalition crosses the 272 mark, the Congress will still win less than 100 seats. Regionalparties will dominate the scene. The Congress stalwarts might bow to Sonia but not Paswans and Pawars and Mayawatis and

Mulayams. The day after they cross the 272 mark these regional satraps will bare their claws and tear apart Sonia and with it the

Congress Party will go into oblivion. The cowardice of the Congress stalwarts in giving an unchecked rein to Sonias ambition

will be the end of the Congress Party.

5.8 The Unfinished Work

Just as the liberation of Bangladesh then seemed such a great strategic win but now we know it was a very foolish thing to

do; similarly historians will one day sit and wonder how could the collective wisdom of all newspaper editors, Mani Shankar

Aiyars, Khushwant Singhs, Natwar Singhs, Bidwais, Harkishan Singh Surjeets, be so short sighted that it finished off the

Congress Party? How could they agree to alliances which destroyed its national character? How could a party with a hold in

every nook and corner of India agree to play second and third fiddle to jokers like Laloo Prasad Yadav? The BJP has got Sonia

exactly where they wanted her. She is running like a headless chook and yet screaming, Why are they scared of a woman?

No one is scared of Sonia they just pretend they are. They know that her mission in life is to complete the unfinished work

of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhiji wanted the Congress party dissolved after the independence but Nehruji was too busy playing

the emperor of India and paid little heed to Gandhiji. It will take another GandhiSonia Gandhito eventually dissolve the

Congress Party. One of my cousins on reading this letter commented, There should be at least one positive thing about Sonia.

There is and its her potential contribution in finishing off a lingering sycophantic culture in Indian politics. Her name will form

the third in the troika of Hume, Banerjee, and Sonia.

6 Prediction for the 2004 General Election

Voters who voted for the NDA in 1999 are more or less satisfied with this governments performance and they will again vote

for the NDA. First time voters in 2004 will vote for the NDA. The Congress has won no new voters in the last five years. Basedon these simple indicators the BJP will touch 200 seats and the Congress will not even make it to three digits this time. The

NDA will get over 300 seats and it will rule comfortably for the next five years. That is if all of us do our basic civic duty and

cast a vote.

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