AAP and me

Addiction to twitter has kept me away from this space that I so loved. This was where I used to pen my thoughts which would seldom fit within 140 words. Twitter is different; there is more cacophony. It is easy to lose yourself in it if one is not careful. Anyway, here I am once more with no guarantee that I shall return soon!


The success of AAP has many implications/conclusions in our so called democratic nation. Thought I would pen down few that came to my mind after the not so bad victory of the Aam Aadmy party.


1- It proves beyond doubt that democracy is still alive and can function well within the existing frameworks. Compare this to nations where people have given up voting due to various reasons.

2- For poll victory, the nation need not have a party claiming years of experience or certain ideologies.

3- That the nation is thirsting for a drastic change which the current political parties may not suffice or they fail to give such a hope to the voter.

4- That each citizen craves for clean governance and nothing more.


Arvind Kejrival's speech echoes the thoughts that goes through the mind of every well meaning citizen. Do listen to it without prejudice. His Delhi Assembly speech has been compiled here: Know 42 Facts from Arvind Kejriwal Speech in Delhi Assembly.


It is a fact that the victory of AAP has disturbed the Congress, BJP and the Communist party. It was amusing to see the Communist party trying to claim AAP as one of their own while the media did the same for Congress and mainly Rahul! BJP at least showed the sense not to do so knowing well that it will not be bought.

The commentary said that the virtues that AAP claims for itself - a clean image, incorruptibility, denial of perks and privileges of power and funding based on people's contributions - “are all part of the style and practice of the communists from the outset”.Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/politics/aap-is-like-left-but-it-must-reveal-its-economic-policies-karat-1319547.html?utm_source=ref_article

http://m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/rahul-gandhi-the-arvind-kejriwal-of-congress-tries-to-inject-aam-aadmi-blood-into-a-decrepit-party/articleshow/msid-27370665.cmsRahul is talking about "transformation" of "traditional" politics, "embedding" people's voice in the party and pushing "aggressively" for change of the kind we "cannot imagine" whereas Sonia is happy to "rectify" the party's "mistakes" and "way of functioning". If that is not political maturity let's have some more of Rahul's political naivete because soon all political parties will be forced to respond to the challenge called Arvind Kejriwal. The Congress is lucky. It will not have to work too hard because Rahul is their Kejriwal, the outlier within.

But a skeptic I am, let me wait and watch how AAP will govern now that power is in their hands. They may not sound realistic at times and may even falter under pressure since the old dogs in the system will be up to their usual tricks. But if the intentions of AAP is right, then I see no reason why it should not succeed. The voters may not be hoping for utopia but they will sense very quickly if there is even a hint of  insincerity.

And if it does not succeed, let me at least hope that it will change the current political parties in the way they function. Maybe even a kill a few in the process!

Voted to kill

Licensed to kill is associated with James Bond and we saw him kill the bad guys and gals. Now if one wants to see those voted to kill then please come to God's Own Country aka Kerala.

Just today we heard one of the communist chota leader from Peerumade tell us that the great party has killed and will kill again if needed. And to imagine that these goons were voted to power by the common man. Are the police listening? Cant they arrest this man and charge him for the murders he is publicly owning in the name of the party? Are we in a Banana Republic?

Voted to power to uplift the voters but now they say that they were voted to even kill. I do not think that it is only the communist party who has indulged in this act but the others too. But it is only the communist party who has blatantly challenged democracy by saying that they have killed and will continue to kill.

If they can retain power only by killing then they have lost all credibility. VS is right to ask the criminals to step down from power.

Voters, are you listening? They are obviously not listening since they have gathered like donkeys today at the court premises. There is a leader shouting loud that the party has not killed while his chota leader has already declared that the party has killed and will kill.

As they say, you get what you deserve.

I am angry

For so many reasons…

Today’s headline read thus:

Pak officers working with jihadis, Headley confirms to FBI

The FBI interrogation of David Coleman Headley has revealed a Lashkar training project involving jihadi fugitives from India. The youth, after they are trained by Pakistani army officials, are sent back to India as part of the game plan to conceal the Pakistani involvement and pass off the terror in India as a home-grown phenomenon.

Is it not frustrating to read this now when the same was being conveyed by the Indian side over and over since many years?

Was it not for the same reason India has been demanding that Dawood and the rest of the scums be turned over? It was frustrating when US did nothing to persuade Pakistan to hand over him then and one wondered why.

And now that US have discovered Headley to be behind the Mumbai attacks will he be turned over or should we just watch the same old drama being enacted? For India, will Headley also rest on the Fact Sheet pages just like Dawood? (The only difference being that Headley has been captured while Dawood still reigns)

Anyway let me leave US out since one cannot compel them to discard their own interests for the sake of another country.

But what is happening in God’s own country?

Why did it turn out to be terrorists own abode?

One was hoping against hope that at least at this juncture when things have taken a serious turn our politicians would act in a mature manner. Alas.. all they want to do is throw mud at each other while the public are left wondering if they all had indeed joined the Dawood network.

Both the Congress and the Communists parties have governed, dutifully taking turns, while the terrorist networks flourished. They have obliged enough and more for votes. And now every terrorists attack in the country is being linked to someone from Kerala. Nazir used to be a name loved and cherished by Keralites since it was the name of the beloved cine actor who ruled the Malayalam Cinema for years and more so since he deserved the adulation in every way; on or off the screen. The new Nasir has thrown it all away for reasons which we are now tired of listening. He has left many families in despair and a whole state in utter confusion.

Will Kerala be left unscathed after the dust has settled?

V.S. Achudanandan Zindabad

Don’t ask me why and when I started to respect this man but the events that unfolded the recent week has made me sad. He seems to have been ditched by all and only the welcome slogans at the Airport when VS returned from Delhi gave a bit of solace.

If one looks at Kerala’s political scene, out of those politicians who have emerged as leaders, there are only two living politicians whom one can confidently say are honest and clean. One is A. K. Anthony and the other V.S. Achudanandan. Forget the rest of their character flaws that the press and most of us love to joke about but let us admit that being honest in politics and for that matter in any field has become a rarity these days. And yes one will say that politics is not the place to be honest. But then honesty and integrity has become outdated and the last place one expects to find it is in the political arena.

V.S. fought life the hard way. He lost his parents at a young age and had to discontinue his studies to earn his bread. He climbed the party rungs with his hard work and dedication. He was also tortured by the police and almost left to die. He was punished even earlier by his party since he thought beyond the party and for the common man. Yet he doggedly stood for his beliefs and continues to be a wonder at his age – 87 years! But this party seems to have lost it all. V.S. was voted to power by those who trusted him and the party that he stood for, but alas the party’s agenda had already taken a different route.

In a democratic set up does one really care for a political party if it cannot meet the expectation of those who voted it to power? If the party feels that V.S. is the cause for the party’s downfall then what fear makes them keep him in the CM’s chair? Does the party think that the Lavlin and the PDP ghosts will stop haunting the party? I am sure the camps of other political parties in Kerala are heaving a sigh of relief since their job has now become easier.

But then I am also made to believe that communism has done its job and Kerala no longer requires it. The party’s fight for the poor and against the caste system did help a section of the society while inviting irk from others. But now Kerala no longer seems to have those sections and this may be called progress if one can also forget the lost opportunities. Earlier, it was easy to find help around the house and for whatever land is now left for cultivation. But such helping hands have become a rarity in many places these days, even if one is ready to pay the exorbitant wages. Yes, the labour class is having it good. Not that one can attribute this entirely to the Communists since the exodus to the Gulf and other countries is also another reason. Communism also made us take a harder look at our religious idiosyncrasies when at times our religious fervor went beyond normalcy.

Yes, Communism in Kerala could have stood for what its leaders envisaged but alas the party doesn’t care to have lost it.

Cuba Mukundan

While we were in Kerala, we tried our best to watch the movie, “Arabi Katha” but couldn’t catch it in any of the nearest theatres. Well Kuwait will definitely bring it we thought. We waited patiently without succumbing to the CD guys’s endless offers of good print etc, etc. but to our disappointment due to some dispute going on, no more Malayalam movies are being shown in the Kuwait Cinema halls. Finally we bought a pirated CD (forgive us!) and a worthless camera print too.

Nevertheless the movie is too good. Srinivas can really bring any character to the screen. I am sure there is no living communist similar to the one portrayed by Srinivas as Cuba Mukundan. There are many touching moments too. It is hilarious when Mukundan refuses to serve a bottle of Cococola while remembering the strike that he made back in GOC, refusing to work on a LAPTOP for the same reason etc. And when he is harassed by the Paki Supervisor he raises his fist on reflex but suddenly realizes that he is not in Kerala but in Dubai and instead runs to the toilet and completes his protest in style “Inquilab Sindabad”! Srinivas also reminds those "ever ready to strike at the drop of a hat" comrades back in GOC that there is more to life, specially when one is forced to work in a place like Dubai. Life in the Gulf for the majority is potrayed with no exaggeration.

I guess one may find the likes of Cuba Mukundan among those communist that still work among the lower cadres but once they taste power and money, they lose their will power. But it is surprising to note that people still support those leaders. I guess it is because of their undying love for the party and not wanting to smear the party image. The crooks are still surviving for this reason alone. And those who protest openly are banished from the parties for one reason or the other. If you take a look at the current communist party in Kerala, one can find only Achumama who can come at least a bit close to Cuba Mukundan.

Nuclear deal...finally some light in this room..

Finally I read something worthwhile in the paper!

1- Bashing the Left for its opposition to the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal has, indeed, become the flavour of the month.

I agree.. since none of the papers gave a favourable article and they were very keen in publishing polls showing that more than 95% of the Indians are for the nuclear deal. They never asked for my opinion!

2- B Raman, a former senior officer of India’s intelligence apparatus, slanderously wrote on this page (The Manchurian candidates, August 21) that the Left’s campaign against India’s nuclear deal is “driven by China’s concerns”.

I don’t agree with this.. of course they share the same ideologies but when it comes to policies I trust the communists more. I can use many examples from my own state Kerala, although we use every opportunity to batter them, deep in our hearts we know that the most honest and able leaders came from the communist party.

3- In 2006, 3.9 gw of nuclear power was generated, 3 per cent of India’s total power generation. In the most optimistic scenario, after the operationalisation of this deal, this would grow, at best, to 20 gw by 2016, or just over 6 per cent of the projected generation.

So what are we giving up for this increase in 6%? When the facts are thus.....

4- Further, is nuclear power cost-effective? On the contrary, it is the most expensive option. As compared to coal, it would be one-and-a-half times more expensive. Compared with gas, it is twice as expensive. So is the case with hydro-electricity. Given the abundance of coal reserves in India, the Planning Commission estimates that thermal energy would dominate power generation in India. As far as hydro-electricity is concerned, given the potential of nearly 150 gw, only 33 gw has been installed as of 2006. In addition, over 55,000 MW could be imported from Nepal and Bhutan. The tapping of such huge hydro-potential will not only augment our energy capacities at half the cost of nuclear energy, but will also tame these rivers, which regularly consume the lives of thousands. This year’s floods according to the United Nations, are ‘unprecedented’ in human memory.

Yes, there is more to this wonderful deal..

5- Huge commercial orders running into thousands of crores of rupees for the purchase of nuclear reactors would be placed on the US. The profit bonanza to multinational corporations is there for all to see with the attendant benefits to sections of corporate India. Recollect that for more than three decades the West has not installed new nuclear power reactors.

And..

6-Apart from drawing India into the US strategic military alliances in the region like the forthcoming joint military exercises with the US, Japan, Australia and Singapore, and the effort at pressurising India’s foreign policy positions, this deal does not even guarantee full and complete access to civilian nuclear technology as assured by the Prime Minister in the Rajya Sabha. In fact, the 123 agreement forbids the transfer of dual-use technologies.

Thank you Mr. Sitaram Yechury… I see some light in this room now…

Communism

I have voted only once in my life time and I am sure I dint vote for the Communist. My family and those whom I have known for years are all not communists. But my perspective on many aspects on life changed once I moved away from home and its related support systems. I began to relate with communism. I saw life through an entirely different window and through the eyes of those not very fortunate in their life. I myself was tossed around and without the natural comfort of home and your own country one tends to ask questions. I do not see communism the way I saw it during my college days. Those days there were students drawn towards communism and I could never understand their fervor. Their ideas seemed mad and suicidal to me, but not anymore. During my last visit, we met with our Uncle and Aunty and had a heated debate on the same subject. They just couldn’t understand what me and hubby were trying to say. Of course.. I am not saying that Communism is perfect but right now they are far better than the