NEW DEHLI — A priest in a Shiva temple deep inside the Gir Forest in Gujarat made the news recently when he became the only man in India to vote in a polling station set up solely for him. The quirky and the sublime are all part of the great Indian election road show, now wilting in the face of incredible temperatures soaring across the Hindi heartland.
As many as 714 million men and women will end up voting when the five-phase election ends on May 13, but one thing is already clear in this massive exercise: The first, that despite the globalizing power of the fitful economic reforms that have been underway for the better part of 17 years (they began when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was finance minister in 1992), India largely remains inward looking. If the rest of the world is obsessed with the economic downturn, India is still largely consumed with stories as they unfold within.
All this while events evolve dramatically in India’s own neighborhood. In Pakistan the government has ceded political space to the Taliban, in Sri Lanka the pro-Sinhala government of Mahinda Rajapaksa refuses to allow humanitarian aid for Tamil noncombatants claiming it comes in the way of its war on the Tamil Tigers, in Nepal tensions between the new democrats and self-styled Maoists over the sacking of the army chief have reached a fever-pitch, and in Bangladesh the newly installed government of Sheikh Hasina has been gravely challenged by a barely suppressed mutiny within its paramilitary forces.
The Indian idea of democracy goes back to Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro (even though, ironically, these great cities of the Indus Valley civilization are now located in Pakistan, which has spent 36 years out of its own 62 years of independence under army rule), it continues to be confounded by a caste and feudal nature, and is characterized by political dynasties.
And yet, dynasties must also fight for the right to be elected every five years, especially since the sheen wears off somewhat in between and there are others vying for the same spot. At a recent rally by Mayawati, India’s low-caste leader and chief minister of Uttar Pradesh province (population 190 million) who is now aiming to be prime minister, I noticed the thousands of women and men who had come to hear her in the blazing afternoon sun were treating her like a star. They craned their necks to see her, raised their palms as if in blessing, and roared back their support when she asked for it.
Fact is, Mayawati is giving the family of Sonia Gandhi—her son, Rahul, is a key figure in the Congress party, while daughter Priyanka is campaigning for her mother and brother—a run on the idea of dynasty. While the Gandhi charisma runs deep, the family is keenly aware that they cannot take the voter for granted. A variation of the slogan “India is Indira,” after then prime minister Indira Gandhi (and Sonia’s mother-in-law) went to war against Pakistan in 1971 and helped midwife Bangladesh, would be anathema in the country today.
The thing about democracy, however imperfect, in India is that it has come to be impregnated with the idea of ballot-box revenge. Twenty-five years after anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, following the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984, the Congress party has been forced to drop two leaders allegedly involved in the rioting from contesting the current elections, because of continuing public outrage. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has never been able to live down its role in fomenting Hindu-Muslim tensions in 1992 which led to the demolition of the 16th century Babri mosque—which is why the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani will always be suspect.
According to Mahesh Rangarajan, a political scientist, “Democracy prevents the Indian state from resorting to amnesia, and while it may not always secure justice for the victims, it allows them to talk about it.” Unlike Tibet, Mr. Rangarajan said, which has still not been settled despite the massive development that has been undertaken by China over the last 50 years, India’s democratic experiment allows the resolution of religious and ethnic tensions, even if it’s imperfect.
Even in Gujarat, where the BJP’s Narendra Modi has won election after election on the plank of “development,” in the hope that public memory will forget his role in the 2002 pogrom in which nearly 2,000 Muslims were killed. But the media won’t let him forget. Mr. Modi has walked out of interviews when asked about the Gujarat riots and made fun of the “pseudo-secular” opposition, but journalists stubbornly return to the question each time. Now the Supreme Court has ordered that riots cases be “fast-tracked” because their malingering is a denial of justice.
Meanwhile, as the elections draw to a close, the debate on economic liberalization with Indian characteristics continues. Is, for example, the $15 billion government waiver of rural debt good or bad economics? The fact that the Congress-led government determinedly pushed reforms to enable around 9% annual GDP growth in recent years so as to be able to service loans for farmers during these critical elections means that economics can also be good politics.
Now for the results on May 16, when new rulers incarnated by the people will hope to rule India.
Jyoti Malhotra is a free-lance journalist based in New Delhi.
Comment:
Posted May 11, 2009
NEW DEHLI — A priest in a Shiva temple deep inside the Gir Forest in Gujarat made the news recently when he became the only man in India to vote in a polling station set up solely for him. The quirky and the sublime are all part of the great Indian election road show, now wilting in the face of incredible temperatures soaring across the Hindi heartland.
As many as 714 million men and women will end up voting when the five-phase election ends on May 13, but one thing is already clear in this massive exercise: The first, that despite the globalizing power of the fitful economic reforms that have been underway for the better part of 17 years (they began when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was finance minister in 1992), India largely remains inward looking. If the rest of the world is obsessed with the economic downturn, India is still largely consumed with stories as they unfold within.
All this while events evolve dramatically in India’s own neighborhood. In Pakistan the government has ceded political space to the Taliban, in Sri Lanka the pro-Sinhala government of Mahinda Rajapaksa refuses to allow humanitarian aid for Tamil noncombatants claiming it comes in the way of its war on the Tamil Tigers, in Nepal tensions between the new democrats and self-styled Maoists over the sacking of the army chief have reached a fever-pitch, and in Bangladesh the newly installed government of Sheikh Hasina has been gravely challenged by a barely suppressed mutiny within its paramilitary forces.
The Indian idea of democracy goes back to Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro (even though, ironically, these great cities of the Indus Valley civilization are now located in Pakistan, which has spent 36 years out of its own 62 years of independence under army rule), it continues to be confounded by a caste and feudal nature, and is characterized by political dynasties.
And yet, dynasties must also fight for the right to be elected every five years, especially since the sheen wears off somewhat in between and there are others vying for the same spot. At a recent rally by Mayawati, India’s low-caste leader and chief minister of Uttar Pradesh province (population 190 million) who is now aiming to be prime minister, I noticed the thousands of women and men who had come to hear her in the blazing afternoon sun were treating her like a star. They craned their necks to see her, raised their palms as if in blessing, and roared back their support when she asked for it.
Fact is, Mayawati is giving the family of Sonia Gandhi—her son, Rahul, is a key figure in the Congress party, while daughter Priyanka is campaigning for her mother and brother—a run on the idea of dynasty. While the Gandhi charisma runs deep, the family is keenly aware that they cannot take the voter for granted. A variation of the slogan “India is Indira,” after then prime minister Indira Gandhi (and Sonia’s mother-in-law) went to war against Pakistan in 1971 and helped midwife Bangladesh, would be anathema in the country today.
The thing about democracy, however imperfect, in India is that it has come to be impregnated with the idea of ballot-box revenge. Twenty-five years after anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, following the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984, the Congress party has been forced to drop two leaders allegedly involved in the rioting from contesting the current elections, because of continuing public outrage. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has never been able to live down its role in fomenting Hindu-Muslim tensions in 1992 which led to the demolition of the 16th century Babri mosque—which is why the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani will always be suspect.
According to Mahesh Rangarajan, a political scientist, “Democracy prevents the Indian state from resorting to amnesia, and while it may not always secure justice for the victims, it allows them to talk about it.” Unlike Tibet, Mr. Rangarajan said, which has still not been settled despite the massive development that has been undertaken by China over the last 50 years, India’s democratic experiment allows the resolution of religious and ethnic tensions, even if it’s imperfect.
Even in Gujarat, where the BJP’s Narendra Modi has won election after election on the plank of “development,” in the hope that public memory will forget his role in the 2002 pogrom in which nearly 2,000 Muslims were killed. But the media won’t let him forget. Mr. Modi has walked out of interviews when asked about the Gujarat riots and made fun of the “pseudo-secular” opposition, but journalists stubbornly return to the question each time. Now the Supreme Court has ordered that riots cases be “fast-tracked” because their malingering is a denial of justice.
Meanwhile, as the elections draw to a close, the debate on economic liberalization with Indian characteristics continues. Is, for example, the $15 billion government waiver of rural debt good or bad economics? The fact that the Congress-led government determinedly pushed reforms to enable around 9% annual GDP growth in recent years so as to be able to service loans for farmers during these critical elections means that economics can also be good politics.
Now for the results on May 16, when new rulers incarnated by the people will hope to rule India.
Jyoti Malhotra is a free-lance journalist based in New Delhi.
Comment:
Posted May 11, 2009
NEW DEHLI — A priest in a Shiva temple deep inside the Gir Forest in Gujarat made the news recently when he became the only man in India to vote in a polling station set up solely for him. The quirky and the sublime are all part of the great Indian election road show, now wilting in the face of incredible temperatures soaring across the Hindi heartland.
As many as 714 million men and women will end up voting when the five-phase election ends on May 13, but one thing is already clear in this massive exercise: The first, that despite the globalizing power of the fitful economic reforms that have been underway for the better part of 17 years (they began when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was finance minister in 1992), India largely remains inward looking. If the rest of the world is obsessed with the economic downturn, India is still largely consumed with stories as they unfold within.
All this while events evolve dramatically in India’s own neighborhood. In Pakistan the government has ceded political space to the Taliban, in Sri Lanka the pro-Sinhala government of Mahinda Rajapaksa refuses to allow humanitarian aid for Tamil noncombatants claiming it comes in the way of its war on the Tamil Tigers, in Nepal tensions between the new democrats and self-styled Maoists over the sacking of the army chief have reached a fever-pitch, and in Bangladesh the newly installed government of Sheikh Hasina has been gravely challenged by a barely suppressed mutiny within its paramilitary forces.
The Indian idea of democracy goes back to Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro (even though, ironically, these great cities of the Indus Valley civilization are now located in Pakistan, which has spent 36 years out of its own 62 years of independence under army rule), it continues to be confounded by a caste and feudal nature, and is characterized by political dynasties.
And yet, dynasties must also fight for the right to be elected every five years, especially since the sheen wears off somewhat in between and there are others vying for the same spot. At a recent rally by Mayawati, India’s low-caste leader and chief minister of Uttar Pradesh province (population 190 million) who is now aiming to be prime minister, I noticed the thousands of women and men who had come to hear her in the blazing afternoon sun were treating her like a star. They craned their necks to see her, raised their palms as if in blessing, and roared back their support when she asked for it.
Fact is, Mayawati is giving the family of Sonia Gandhi—her son, Rahul, is a key figure in the Congress party, while daughter Priyanka is campaigning for her mother and brother—a run on the idea of dynasty. While the Gandhi charisma runs deep, the family is keenly aware that they cannot take the voter for granted. A variation of the slogan “India is Indira,” after then prime minister Indira Gandhi (and Sonia’s mother-in-law) went to war against Pakistan in 1971 and helped midwife Bangladesh, would be anathema in the country today.
The thing about democracy, however imperfect, in India is that it has come to be impregnated with the idea of ballot-box revenge. Twenty-five years after anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, following the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984, the Congress party has been forced to drop two leaders allegedly involved in the rioting from contesting the current elections, because of continuing public outrage. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has never been able to live down its role in fomenting Hindu-Muslim tensions in 1992 which led to the demolition of the 16th century Babri mosque—which is why the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani will always be suspect.
According to Mahesh Rangarajan, a political scientist, “Democracy prevents the Indian state from resorting to amnesia, and while it may not always secure justice for the victims, it allows them to talk about it.” Unlike Tibet, Mr. Rangarajan said, which has still not been settled despite the massive development that has been undertaken by China over the last 50 years, India’s democratic experiment allows the resolution of religious and ethnic tensions, even if it’s imperfect.
Even in Gujarat, where the BJP’s Narendra Modi has won election after election on the plank of “development,” in the hope that public memory will forget his role in the 2002 pogrom in which nearly 2,000 Muslims were killed. But the media won’t let him forget. Mr. Modi has walked out of interviews when asked about the Gujarat riots and made fun of the “pseudo-secular” opposition, but journalists stubbornly return to the question each time. Now the Supreme Court has ordered that riots cases be “fast-tracked” because their malingering is a denial of justice.
Meanwhile, as the elections draw to a close, the debate on economic liberalization with Indian characteristics continues. Is, for example, the $15 billion government waiver of rural debt good or bad economics? The fact that the Congress-led government determinedly pushed reforms to enable around 9% annual GDP growth in recent years so as to be able to service loans for farmers during these critical elections means that economics can also be good politics.
Now for the results on May 16, when new rulers incarnated by the people will hope to rule India.
Jyoti Malhotra is a free-lance journalist based in New Delhi.
Comment:
Posted May 11, 2009
NEW DEHLI — A priest in a Shiva temple deep inside the Gir Forest in Gujarat made the news recently when he became the only man in India to vote in a polling station set up solely for him. The quirky and the sublime are all part of the great Indian election road show, now wilting in the face of incredible temperatures soaring across the Hindi heartland.
As many as 714 million men and women will end up voting when the five-phase election ends on May 13, but one thing is already clear in this massive exercise: The first, that despite the globalizing power of the fitful economic reforms that have been underway for the better part of 17 years (they began when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was finance minister in 1992), India largely remains inward looking. If the rest of the world is obsessed with the economic downturn, India is still largely consumed with stories as they unfold within.
All this while events evolve dramatically in India’s own neighborhood. In Pakistan the government has ceded political space to the Taliban, in Sri Lanka the pro-Sinhala government of Mahinda Rajapaksa refuses to allow humanitarian aid for Tamil noncombatants claiming it comes in the way of its war on the Tamil Tigers, in Nepal tensions between the new democrats and self-styled Maoists over the sacking of the army chief have reached a fever-pitch, and in Bangladesh the newly installed government of Sheikh Hasina has been gravely challenged by a barely suppressed mutiny within its paramilitary forces.
The Indian idea of democracy goes back to Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro (even though, ironically, these great cities of the Indus Valley civilization are now located in Pakistan, which has spent 36 years out of its own 62 years of independence under army rule), it continues to be confounded by a caste and feudal nature, and is characterized by political dynasties.
And yet, dynasties must also fight for the right to be elected every five years, especially since the sheen wears off somewhat in between and there are others vying for the same spot. At a recent rally by Mayawati, India’s low-caste leader and chief minister of Uttar Pradesh province (population 190 million) who is now aiming to be prime minister, I noticed the thousands of women and men who had come to hear her in the blazing afternoon sun were treating her like a star. They craned their necks to see her, raised their palms as if in blessing, and roared back their support when she asked for it.
Fact is, Mayawati is giving the family of Sonia Gandhi—her son, Rahul, is a key figure in the Congress party, while daughter Priyanka is campaigning for her mother and brother—a run on the idea of dynasty. While the Gandhi charisma runs deep, the family is keenly aware that they cannot take the voter for granted. A variation of the slogan “India is Indira,” after then prime minister Indira Gandhi (and Sonia’s mother-in-law) went to war against Pakistan in 1971 and helped midwife Bangladesh, would be anathema in the country today.
The thing about democracy, however imperfect, in India is that it has come to be impregnated with the idea of ballot-box revenge. Twenty-five years after anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, following the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984, the Congress party has been forced to drop two leaders allegedly involved in the rioting from contesting the current elections, because of continuing public outrage. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has never been able to live down its role in fomenting Hindu-Muslim tensions in 1992 which led to the demolition of the 16th century Babri mosque—which is why the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani will always be suspect.
According to Mahesh Rangarajan, a political scientist, “Democracy prevents the Indian state from resorting to amnesia, and while it may not always secure justice for the victims, it allows them to talk about it.” Unlike Tibet, Mr. Rangarajan said, which has still not been settled despite the massive development that has been undertaken by China over the last 50 years, India’s democratic experiment allows the resolution of religious and ethnic tensions, even if it’s imperfect.
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