Juggernaut: Indian General Election Part III

I have briefly discussed about both Congress and BJP in previous posts. Today my focus is on a relative new comer in Indian politics i.e. AAP. AAP is an offshoot of the popular movement against corruption in the leadership of Anaa Hazare. AAP is led by Arvind Kejriwal who was the main negotiator of Anna Hazare camp during India Against Corruption movement. When the movement fizzled out by the apathy of UPA Govt, Arvind Kejriwal started a political outfit to fight the battle against corruption.

AAP was launched in Nov 2012 and their first battle was the assembly election of Delhi in Dec 2013. AAP was launched as a political alternative against mainstream parties like Congress and BJP. They employed some remarkable methods to fight the elections whether it is selecting the upright candidates, funding of elections, campaigning by utilising non profit volunteers. AAP was talking about people's revolution against the unimaginative and corrupt political class of India. It was the manifestation of anger among the people for loss of economic opportunity because of the financial meltdown across all over the world including India.

AAP's idea, about Swaraj, corruption free country and empowerment of people so that minimum government would be required, struck a cord in Delhi. AAP formed the Govt. in Delhi taking issue based outside support from Congress. But soon it became clearer that there are many areas on which AAP has to evolve to become a larger political party. Anti-corruption and decentralization can not be the only two planks on which AAP can contribute. In its haste to go for an all out change, AAP has made major mistakes by resigning from Delhi and then subsequently contesting national elections at a pan India level. There are micro level changes which are introduced by the entry of AAP style politics but one has to bear in mind that for overhauling of any institution we need systemic changes which comes incrementally keeping in mind the adaptability of general pubic to appreciate it fully. Sadly, AAP will have to learn this the hard way.

Juggernaut: Indian General Election Part II

Picking from where I left yesterday, today I am going to put my analysis on the prospective BJP Govt and its PM nominee Narendra Modi.

First we need to see the state of BJP before the announcement of Narendra Modi as PM. In my view, BJP failed miserably as an opposition in the 15th Lok Sabha. It could not question Govt on issues like corruption, price rise and women safety. In fact Congress was even successful to lay the blame of non functioning of parliament on BJP. For general voters, BJP was loosing the ground (at least in urban space) as an alternative of Congress to IAC and later to AAP till few months back. But things started turning around with the nomination of Modi as Prime ministerial candidate of BJP. Modi's energetic campaigning has made BJP as the clear frontrunner to make the next Govt along with its coalition partners unless something dramatic is happening which is missed by all the pollsters. In India, Modi is one of the most talked about politician of this era. Nothing is moderate when it comes to Modi. He commands blind adulation from his supporters or intense contempt from his adversaries. There are reasons for both. In his reign, independent India witnessed its worst communal riot where more than thousand people lost their life. Modi never took moral responsibility for the abject failure of state administration during the riots nor did he apologize on behalf of his Govt. Modi looked visibly uneasy over the demand of apology from sections of media aftermath the riots and evaded the question related to communal violence completely on number of occasions. On the other hand, after the riots Modi has put his focus on development of Gujarat. He has provided relatively clean governance in Gujarat by adopting technology and removing red tape. Infrastructure has got a big boost under his watch. He initiated a no of programs to improve the opportunities in agriculture, medium and small scale industries, solar energy, social programs e.g. JyotiGram Yojana, high enrolment of girl child in primary schools etc. In addition to that Modi has mastered the art of marketing Gujarat story across all of India. One thing is clear that both the supporters and detractors of Modi have indulged into passionate arguments with each other without conceding the inherent dichotomy in Modi's personality which is decisive as well as divisive. In election campaigning so far Modi is staying away from hard-line approach and focusing on development and governance but it will be interesting to watch whether he is genuinely having a change of heart or being a shrewd politician. 

Juggernaut: Indian General Election Part I

We all have been surrounded by the din and clamour of Indian general election for quite some time now. Amid all the noise, allegations and counter allegations it is a colossal task to have a sane and unbiased view regarding merits and demerits of political options contesting this time. Here is my small contribution to accentuate the confusion :)

PART I

Gandhis and INC : We are witnessing the lowest approval rating of Congress and Rahul Gandhi in this election. Multiple scams (2G, CWG, Coalgate, Adarsh) have tarnished the reputation of the incumbent dispensation in public eyes. In addition to that, Congress brass clinching to Rahul Gandhi for providing leadership despite evidence of his lack of ability is conspicuous to the middle class voters. Young and aspirational voters loathe dynastic succession of leadership in Congress which according to them is an anachronism in today's time of merit. But I want to discuss few more causes responsible for the bad prospects of Congress in this election apart from these two widely held popular views.

In my view, Congress suffered mostly for the lack of connect and communication with the public. They could not outline the vision of their policies like FSA, UIDAI, DTB etc to the public at large. Secondly, because of the gaping loopholes in the implementation of the policies e.g. MNREGA, distribution of natural resources ex: coal, spectrum, natural gas, huge wealth was amassed by the rogue politicians and businessmen. Thirdly, indictment by institutional bodies like CAG and Supreme court for lack of transparency and accountability resulted in the active scrutiny by media and SC and ultimately led to policy paralysis. Fourth, large public demonstrations in the form of IAC and the poor handling of the situation by Congress which made the public disenchanted with the Govt. Fifth, lack of co-ordination in various areas for example among PMO and ministries resulting in the delay of huge infrastructure projects, among centre and states which stalled passage of crucial bills like GST and DTC, between Govt. and opposition in the parliament which adversely impacted legislative performance. Sixth, negative global economic condition compounded economic problems domestically for the Congress. Seventh, high Inflation increased the price of daily use items substantially and resentment against government intensified in the common public.

Beyond doubt, Congress is fighting its most difficult election and given their campaigning so far it is uninspiring to say the least. My fear is that the mandate for Congress might be so low that they even might end up being second fiddle in the opposition's role. This is almost predictable for lot of us so tomorrow I am going to discuss the prospect of BJP led NDA and their chances of forming a majority Govt. 

Jaisalmer Travelogue

I have been itching to share my journey to Jaisalmer which I could not do during the travelling. Jaisalmer is one of the many beautiful cities in the culturally rich land of Rajasthan. Like other great cities in Rajasthan, Jaisalmer is magnificently known for its forts, Havelis, lakes, stones and last but not the least desert. So here is my itinerary in this beautiful city:

Day 1 : Sand dunes

I started my journey towards Jaisalmer on Thursday 09/01/2014 at 17:30 from Delhi on Delhi-Jaisalmer Express with friends. I enjoy travelling in indian railways despite not having the best of the amenities for you meet new people, play games and enjoy your sojourn in the commotion amongst passengers. We reached Jaisalmer at around 11:30 on Friday and thanks to the sagacity of my friend who contacted one of his acquaintance in Indian forest department, we got forest guest house to stay and a car to pick us from station. Guest house was 10-12 km away from railway station. After having our lunch in the guest house, we drove for desert safari which was pre-arranged by the forest department person. Desert Safari is one of the main attractions for the tourists visiting Jaisalmer. One has to start for the safari at most by 16:00 from the city so that he can reach in the dunes which is 50 km away from the city before the sunset. We reached in the dunes at around 17:15 before making a stop at the Jain temple in the city. Do not confuse this with the Jain temple within the main fort. Having reached in the dunes, we rode on our camels to move deeper in the desert. Cold breeze touching our face, sun rays penetrating the sand covered domes, crest of sands and infinite gaze - it was pure joy to say the least. We rode on the back of the camel for a good 45 mins before getting down and settling for sunset and some cool pics. We spent an hour or so enjoying the panorama then rode back to reach our camp for the cultural program and overnight stay. While riding back, our guide engaged us in camel race which was adventurous though it put a toll on the lower side of our body. Having reached at the camp side, we were served tea and poha while the cultural event was about to start. There was open air theatre where bone fire was lighted and singers were sitting over an elevated platform while the guests were sitting on the mats and cushions on the ground. The event was kick started by singing Rajasthani folk song by local singers. then one after another local folk songs were sung while female artists displayed traditional dance and skills e.g. balancing multiple mud pots over their head or picking a ring from their eyebrow etc.
Then guests were invited to have dance around the bone fire. Dinner was served immediately afterwards and then we proceeded towards our tent to rest ending an eventful day in the hope of an even better day to come.

Tip: Camel guides ask for extra money to extend camel ride. In my view, do not get lured by their offer because most of the spots in the desert which they sell as unique are no different from what you have in your camp package.



Day 2: City, Border and Tanot temple

Next day. we got up early to visit the dunes in sunrise. Red sun rays filled the desert and changed the colour and texture of the scene. We spent an hour in the dunes and returned back to the camp. After the breakfast, we checked out from the camp and decided to visit India-Pakistan border and the famous Tanot devi temple. On our way, we stopped at Kuldhara village which is considered to be haunted by the curse of villagers residing in it at 18th century. The village was completely deserted and abandoned for more than 200 years. Dilapidated houses were giving it a very mysterious and ghostly look. After an hour, we resumed our drive towards main city from where we had planned to move towards border which is 150 km away from city. As soon as we reached the city, we covered one more tourist spot - Gadisar lake. In Gadisar lake, People can do boating and enjoy the scenery and calmness of the scene. The fare was modest and we did boat for half an hour to be at peace: listening the sound of birds and splash of water. Before leaving city for the border, we had traditional Rajasthani food in our lunch esp. Bajre ki roti and jaggery. We started for border at 14:30 and reached Tanot village at 17:00 which was 120 km away from city. For border visit, tourists have to take permission from BSF and they allow permission till 16:00. We were disappointed to have missed the deadline. Arti in Tanot temple starts at 18:00 so we had full one hour to waste. We met one BSF soldier in nearby canteen and conversed with him about the border and the daily routine of BSF soldiers. He told us that Tanot temple is managed by the BSF. In the 1971 war when Pakistani shell and bombs were fired towards the temple, it escaped miraculously and since then BSF soldiers had great respect for Tanot Devi. We observed the arti inside the temple which was attended by a large cohort of soldiers. Inside the temple compound, shells and mortars fired by the enemy were displayed for the visitors. After attending 1 hour arti we drove back to the city to our guest house. The day did not go as planned but we had great time on the road while driving. Next day was reserved for the locations within the city.


Day 3: Forts, Havelis and fossil museum


After having good sleep, we enjoyed the morning in the forest guest house which was located 10 kms away from the city. There was lot of open space and greenery in it. Local labour was hired in it for horticultural work. After having breakfast, we moved to the city in car. Our first stopover was Jaisalmer fort. It was splendid as we entered in it from the main gate. It has its own stories but two stories which made me interesting in it was: It is the only fort in India where people live inside and it is called Sonar kella from the movie of the same name from the genius Satyajit Ray which brought international fame to it. Inside the fort the main attraction was King's Palace, Queen Palace, big cannon mounted at the highest point from where one can see the entire city and the most beautiful of them all: Jain Temple. There was museum inside the King's palace. There were different Rajasthani stones, predominantly yellow stone, which were used in its making. Fossil stone was also widespread inside Jain temple. The palace is built using interlocking of stone without cement or any other adhesive. Jain temple inside the fort is one of the key shrine for Jain community. It was built by the rich merchants from the community in 15th century. Stone work on the walls and roof of the temple is one of the highlights. One can find the stone image of all the 24 hermits of Jains in this temple. Inside the fort, one can also find local artisan shops where camel leather footwear and other local designs can be bought. After shopping from the fort, we went to visit Mandir palace. From mandir palace we went to visit Akal wood fossil park. In this park, fossilized woods were put under conservation which were millions of years old. From the park, we drove to railway station to catch our train.

Overall it was very enjoyable trip and we all had great time exploring this great city. 2-3 days is sufficient to enjoy the locations but our planning was bit faulty that is why we had to rush in the end. We could not cover Havelis for lack of available time hence there will be another trip to cover Jaisalmer along with Jodhpur... :)

I am sharing few pics for reference
Jaisalmer trip pics