Numbers don't lie. (Indian Muslims are no longer a minority)

Author : Vivek Gumaste
(Vivek Gumaste is a US-based academic and political commentator.)
Article Date : 01/11/2012

The Ranganath Misra panel report cannot be the basis for quotas for Muslims 

With assembly polls around the corner in Uttar Pradesh, the rush to dole out goodies by political parties to Muslims has turned into a free-for-all stampede. First it was Rahul Gandhi dangling the carrot of reservations for the community.
Then Mayawati's proposed their inclusion in an expanded OBC quota. To invest credibility to their
assertions, protagonists of reservation flaunt what they claim to be the gospel of truth -the Ranganath
Misra Commission report. But has anyone -politicians or the media -really read it? The answer is a
resounding `no'.
Devolved with a specific brief, a commission is required to objectively analyse data and draft proposals that mirror the evidence. The National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, better known as the Ranganath Misra Commission, does exactly the opposite. The report, a rambling 198-page dossier of repetitious material, meanders through irrelevant issues and makes recommendations that are not sustained by its findings.
The question at the heart of any demand for affirmative action is whether the concerned parties are
disadvantaged or not. The Commission responds to this query by a comparative analysis of India's
religious communities using educational, health and economic parameters. All data presented below,
unless otherwise stated, is extracted from the Commission's report.

First, let us look at economic criteria like the worker participation rate (WPR), defined as percentage
of workers to total population), household incomes and poverty levels. Overall, Muslims register a
low WPR of 31.3% compared to Hindus (40.4%) and Christians (39.7%). But this low number is
skewed by the dismal 14.1% WPR for Muslim women. When analysed separately, WPR for Muslim
men is 47.5% -marginally lower than the national average of 51.7% and not a significant difference
that would warrant reservations. To address low WPR among Muslim women, we need to ask it it's
due to the non-availability of opportunities or reasons germane to the community itself, like a
voluntary embargo on working women, which can't be resolved by reservations.
The household income information presented in the report is sketchy, leaving out figures for Hindu,
Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). A survey by the National Council of Applied
Economic Research (NCAER) provides a better perspective, as indicated by a report from the
Economic Times (April 5, 2007): “....
Hindus and Muslims, at a national level, run neck-and-neck on average annual household income
(AHI) of R61,423 and R58,420, respectively....Or, to put it differently, an average Hindu
household has an income of R168 per day, while an average Muslim household earns R160 a day.“
The Indian Human Development Survey indicates that annual household income of Muslims is better
than SC, ST and OBC categories, which constitute 70% of the Hindu community. The below poverty
level statistics state that Muslims are on par with Hindus in rural areas with figures of 27.22% and
27.80%. Only urban Muslims with a BPL rate of 36.9% appear disadvantaged.
In education, Christians have the highest literacy rate countrywide (80.3%), while Muslims stand at
59.1%. It's below the national average of 64.1% but far above the literacy rate among SCs (54.7%)
and STs (47.1%). At the primary school level, nationwide, Muslims surpass every community with
65.31% enrolment, followed by Hindus at 54.91%. But at the graduate level, Muslims (3.6%) lag
behind Christians (8.71%) and Hindus (7.01%). This could be due to inadequate secular training in
religious schools, which the report also acknowledges.
The health indices don't bolster the final recommendations. The infant mortality rate (IMR)is the
worst for Hindus (77.1).
Muslims fare better with an IMR of 58.8 and Christians top with an IMR of 49.2.
Therefore, in healthcare, Hindus are disadvantaged; in economic terms, Muslims are as good as all
Hindus; in education, the results are a mixed bag. A quota, while no doubt politically expedient, is
not a panacea.
The politics of reservation will only dilute the concept of merit. Any solution must therefore
subscribe to these basic principles: equal opportunity for all, aid to the economically-deprived regardless of caste or religion and preservation of merit.

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HD/2012/01/11/ArticleHtmls/Numbers-dont-lie-11012012010009.shtml?Mode=1

How to wipe out Islamic terror?

The problem can be solved in five years if the country learns its lessons with a 'virat' Hindu mindset to take bold, hard decisions...

By Subramanian Swamy

The terrorist blast in Mumbai on July 13, 2011, requires decisive soul-searching by the Hindus of India. Hindus cannot accept to be killed in this halal fashion, continuously bleeding every day till the nation finally collapses. Terrorism I define here as the illegal use of force to overawe the civilian population to make it do or not do an act against its will and well-being.
Islamic terrorism is India's number one problem of national security. About this there will be no doubt after 2012. By that year, I expect a Taliban takeover in Pakistan and the Americans to flee Afghanistan. Then, Islam will confront Hinduism to "complete unfinished business". Already the successor to Osama bin Laden as al-Qaeda leader has declared that India is the priority target for that terrorist organisation and not the USA.
Fanatic Muslims consider Hindu-dominated India "an unfinished chapter of Islamic conquests". All other countries conquered by Islam 100% converted to Islam within two decades of the Islamic invasion. Undivided India in 1947 was 75% Hindu even after 800 years of brutal Islamic rule. That is jarring for the fanatics.
In one sense, I do not blame the Muslim fanatics for targeting Hindus. I blame Hindus who have taken their individuality permitted in Sanatan Dharma to the extreme. Millions of Hindus can assemble without state patronage for the Kumbh Mela, completely self-organised, but they all leave for home oblivious of the targeting of Hindus in Kashmir, Mau, Melvisharam and Malappuram and do not lift their little finger to help organise Hindus. If half the Hindus voted together, rising above caste and language, a genuine Hindu party would have a two-thirds majority in Parliament and the assemblies.
The first lesson to be learnt from the recent history of Islamic terrorism against India and for tackling terrorism in India is that the Hindu is the target and that Muslims of India are being programmed by a slow reactive process to become radical and thus slide into suicide against Hindus. It is to undermine the Hindu psyche and create the fear of civil war that terror attacks are organised.
Hindus must collectively respond as Hindus against the terrorist and not feel individually isolated or, worse, be complacent because he or she is not personally affected. If one Hindu dies merely because he or she was a Hindu, then a bit of every Hindu also dies. This is an essential mental attitude, a necessary part of a virat (committed) Hindu.
We need a collective mindset as Hindus to stand against the Islamic terrorist. The Muslims of India can join us if they genuinely feel for the Hindu. That they do I will not believe unless they acknowledge with pride that though they may be Muslims, their ancestors were Hindus. If any Muslim acknowledges his or her Hindu legacy, then we Hindus can accept him or her as a part of the Brihad Hindu Samaj (greater Hindu society) which is Hindustan. India that is Bharat that is Hindustan is a nation of Hindus and others whose ancestors were Hindus. Others, who refuse to acknowledge this, or those foreigners who become Indian citizens by registration, can remain in India but should not have voting rights (which means they cannot be elected representatives).
Any policy to combat terrorism must begin with requiring each and every Hindu becoming a virat Hindu. For this, one must have a Hindu mindset that recognises that there is vyaktigat charitra (personal character) and rashtriya charitra (national character). For example, Manmohan Singh has high personal character, but by being a rubber stamp of a semi-literate Sonia Gandhi and waffling on all national issues, he has proved that he has no rashtriya charitra.
The second lesson for combating terrorism is that we must never capitulate or concede any demand, as we did in 1989 (freeing five terrorists in exchange for Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's daughter Rubaiya) and in 1999, freeing three terrorists after the hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC-814.
The third lesson is that whatever and however small the terrorist incident, the nation must retaliate massively. For example, when the Ayodhya temple was sought to be attacked, we should have retaliated by re-building the Ram temple at the site.
According to bleeding heart liberals, terrorists are born or bred because of illiteracy, poverty, oppression, and discrimination. They argue that instead of eliminating them, the root cause of these four disabilities in society should be removed. This is rubbish. Osama bin laden was a billionaire. In the failed Times Square episode, failed terrorist Shahzad was from a highly placed family in Pakistan and had an MBA from a reputed US university.
It is also a ridiculous idea that terrorists cannot be deterred because they are irrational and willing to die. Terrorist masterminds have political goals and a method in their madness. An effective strategy to deter terrorism is to defeat those political goals and to rubbish them by counter-terrorist action. Thus, I advocate the following strategy to negate the political goals of Islamic terrorism in India.
Goal 1: Overawe India on Kashmir.
Strategy: Remove Article 370 and resettle ex-servicemen in the valley. Create Panun Kashmir for the Hindu Pandit community. Look for or create an opportunity to take over PoK. If Pakistan continues to back terrorists, assist the Baluchis and Sindhis to get their independence.
Goal 2: Blast temples, kill Hindu devotees.
Strategy: Remove the masjid in Kashi Vishwanath temple and the 300 masjids at other temple sites.
Goal 3: Turn India into Darul Islam.
Strategy: Implement the uniform civil code, make learning of Sanskrit and singing of Vande Mataram mandatory, and declare India a Hindu Rashtra in which non-Hindus can vote only if they proudly acknowledge that their ancestors were Hindus. Rename India Hindustan as a nation of Hindus and those whose ancestors were Hindus.
Goal 4: Change India's demography by illegal immigration, conversion, and refusal to adopt family planning.
Strategy: Enact a national law prohibiting conversion from Hinduism to any other religion. Re-conversion will not be banned. Declare that caste is not based on birth but on code or discipline. Welcome non-Hindus to re-convert to the caste of their choice provided they adhere to the code of discipline. Annex land from Bangladesh in proportion to the illegal migrants from that country staying in India. At present, the northern third from Sylhet to Khulna can be annexed to re-settle illegal migrants.
Goal 5: Denigrate Hinduism through vulgar writings and preaching in mosques, madrassas, and churches to create loss of self-respect amongst Hindus and make them fit for capitulation.
Strategy: Propagate the development of a Hindu mindset.
India can solve its terrorist problem within five years by such a deterrent strategy, but for that we have to learn the four lessons outlined above, and have a Hindu mindset to take bold, risky, and hard decisions to defend the nation. If the Jews could be transformed from lambs walking meekly to the gas chambers to fiery lions in just 10 years, it should not be difficult for Hindus in much better circumstances (after all we are 83% of India), to do so in five years.
Guru Gobind Singh showed us how just five fearless persons under spiritual guidance can transform a society. Even if half the Hindu voters are persuaded to collectively vote as Hindus, and for a party sincerely committed to a Hindu agenda, then we can forge an instrument for change. And that is the bottom line in the strategy to deter terrorism in a democratic Hindustan at this moment of truth.

The writer is president of the Janata Party, a former Union minister, and a professor of economics. Copyright Permission     www.3dsyndication.com

Dictatorship of sycophants

(Communalism i.e. minority appeasement is on its peak... most of the English as well as so-called national media and the channels are out to "protect" the Congress party, which is most dangerous party of India. Majority is being targeted even if they are right in their demand, and at the same time minority is being caressed even if they do wrong... in this situation, a just - balanced public figures are rare. Mr. Arindam Chaudhuri is of late coming out one of such persons who can make some difference, hence putting his views that was published in the Pioneer daily - Alkesh) 

By - ARINDAM CHAUDHURI
The modern day Jallianwala Bagh at Ramlila Ground shows the demonic attitude of the Government, the weak spine of the Opposition and the hypocrisy of the media. Are we living in the world's largest democracy? Or has India become a shameless, unapologetic dictatorship of sycophants?
My question is, are we living in a democracy or in a shamelessly unapologetic dictatorial regime? Has the Government finally lost it totally? Or do they believe that the people of the country are so foolish that they will quietly accept any amount of dictatorship and vote them to power again in 2014? Is there absolutely no learning from the DMK’s huge loss in Tamil Nadu where it virtually controlled the media and yet people kicked them out? What happened on June 5 is a blot on our democracy. There is absolutely no exaggeration when people compare the incidents of the day to the imposition of Emergency or the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. Today one doesn’t need to shove people inside a well and fire at them.
Descending on sleeping men, women and children, beating them up and taking the huge risk of a possible stampede and fire that could have killed thousands is Jallianwala Bagh. And this stinks of the thought process behind the Emergency.
Baba Ramdev has mostly raised very, very pertinent issues of national concern.
From asking the Government to ban the thousand rupee note (since that makes it 10 times easier to hoard black money than hundred rupee notes, a reason why countries like the US or the UK have the hundred dollar or hundred pound bills as the highest denominator for their currency) to asking the Government to bring back the $1.4 trillion stashed away in foreign banks (India has the largest pile of black money stashed abroad, the second being Russia with $400 billion, followed by the UK, Ukraine and China at the fifth place with $96 billion), the man is perhaps the only mass leader of the nation with a nationwide followership and someone whose remedies have benefited millions
of Indians for real -and they literally swear by him. Naturally, the Government had reasons to be scared -mighty scared, especially with civil societies around the world in a mood for rising in protest. So, to crush the mass movement that he was creating, they did what is unthinkable in a democracy and that too in the capital city of the country. The Government's actions are now a clear indication that it has turned demonic and is losing legitimacy to run the country with every passing day.
The incident also proves how spineless the Opposition, especially the BJP, has become. A strong Opposition would have, and should have, brought this country to a standstill till the Prime Minister tendered his resignation on moral grounds or at the least apologised for his demonic actions.
A strong Opposition would not have allowed the Prime Minister to shamelessly say that the police action was inevitable, or allowed Mr Rahul Gandhi to make statements to the effect that the Congress will not allow such protests.
What a joke in the world's so-called largest democracy. It is time that the BJP's leaders stop their infighting and show the Government its place. Had they seized this or the countless other opportunities this Government has been providing systematically, they would have been assured of a return to power. Not that it won't happen. But it looks now that if such a return to power happens, it wouldn't be so much because of the BJP but more despite the BJP.
It is sad and shameful that the Supreme Court of India, instead of giving a 24-hour notice to the Government to explain its actions against Baba Ramdev and his supporters, and taking stern action thereafter, gave a shocking 14-day notice to the Government to file its reply on the happenings. The Government was thus given enough time for manipulations and passing the buck.
But worse perhaps is the clear divide between ‘Bharat’ and ‘India’ that came across during this event. The Government wouldn’t have dared to take such action had the crowd consisted of middle class and upper middle class people. They had this audacity because the people who were there with Baba Ramdev represented the hapless and poorer sections of the country. Even the media followed the same thought process, despite the fact that a majority in the media are from ‘Bharat’ .
When the Anna Hazare movement happened, there were designer-dress clad residents of Delhi out there to support him, and the media went gaga. Yet, when the same common man who represents ‘Bharat’ took to the streets, the same media looked at the movement with suspicion and raised questions.
Finally, I just want to say that we live in a country that is proud — and often criticised — to have inherited its Constitution, laws and democratic framework from the British. Yet, it’s astonishing that one of the greatest virtues of British democracy is missing in our country. When you enter London’s Hyde Park and Parliament area, you see all kinds of protesters sitting around, staging all kinds of demonstrations. In New Delhi if one wants to protest, he is denied a place.
This is unbelievable. In the land of Gandhi, people who want to protest peacefully are being thrashed mercilessly and declared ‘tadipaars’ . This is not the democracy that Gandhi dreamt of. In simple words, it is a shameful and unapologetic dictatorship of sycophants. And it must end.
(The writer is a management guru and Editor, The Sunday Indian.)

Fair share of Vibrant Gujarat

Sohini Das and Vinay Umarji find out if there is any truth in Narendra Modi’s claim that Muslim businessmen in Gujarat never had it better...

In a locality scarred by the Gujarat riots of 2002, one store stands apart – Hearty Mart. The “community store” in Ahmedabad’s Juhapura neighborhood is the brainchild of Nadeem Jafri. He started the mini-supermarket in 2004 in what was a ghetto. With discounted prices and a no-frills shopping environment, it is targeted at people who find big-brand organised retail intimidating. He also supplies food to the hotels and restaurants run by the Momin community across Gujarat. “We leveraged the strength of our community which lies in running restaurants, around 2,000 of which are in on the Ahmedabad-Vapi belt,” says Jafri, an MBA from FMS Indore. Hearty Mart has grown from one store in Ahmedabad to nine more in Gujarat.

The condition of Muslims in Gujarat under chief minister Narendra Modi has been the subject of much debate. The riots that followed the Godhra massacre tarnished the state’s secular image. Yet, Gujarat remains the most popular destination for investments, with businessmen falling over each other to put money into the state. Have Muslims got their rightful share of the prosperity? Modi has said Muslim businessmen never had it better in Gujarat. But what is the situation on the ground?

Almost every businessman in Gujarat has basked in the glory of the state’s growth story. “Muslims too have made the most of this opportunity, and have prospered,” says Talha Sareshwala, CEO and managing director of Parsoli Motors, the leading BMW dealer in the city. When the dealership started in 2008, it hardly had Muslim customers. “I have seen the spending power of Muslims rise tremendously in these 8 to 10 years. Now, around 10 to 12 per cent of my customers comprise Muslims,” he says.

“If one is living in a society, one cannot lead a secluded existence; one has to come forward and join the mainstream. Any setback is actually an investment and becomes the cause for going forward,” says Uves Sareshwala, Talha’s elder brother and one of the co-promoters of Parsoli Corporation. The Parsolis have tried their hand at several lines of businesses including poultry, industrial valves, stock broking, paints and luxury cars.

It is not just the educated or the established Muslim business families that have managed to grow in the last few years. Ayub Pathan, who used to earn Rs 600 a month from his job at the city airport, owns a fleet of seven taxis. “In 2001, I had sold my wife’s jewellery, borrowed money at high interest rate from the unorganised market, and bought my first taxi. Bank loans were not easy for a Muslim entrepreneur then. But, things have improved. I have moved from my humble hutment at Camp Hanuman to an apartment at Shahibaug,” Pathan says with pride. He earns close to Rs 50,000 a month from his taxis.

Muslims, according to the 2001 census, make up nearly nine per cent of Gujarat’s population of 50 million. The Sachar Committee says Muslims aren’t badly off in Gujarat. Their literacy rate of 73.5 per cent is better than the national average of 59.1. The per capita income of Muslims in urban Gujarat is Rs 875 per month, higher than the national average of Rs 804. The number of Muslims living below the poverty line in Gujarat has also come down, from 54 per cent in 1987-88 to 34 per cent in 2004-2005. Muslims form 5.4 per cent in the state government’s roll call, compared with 2.1 per cent in West Bengal, 3.2 per cent in Delhi and 4.4 per cent in Maharashtra.

So, did government policies have a role to play? Yes, says Kaizar Mahuwala of Gurjar Images: “Our plant needs to run 24X7; if we shut down for a day, it would take 36 hours to restart production. Such a plant could possibly run only in a state like Gujarat where the power infrastructure can support industrial growth.” The sentiment is echoed by others. “The future is here. I cannot even think of living in any other city but Ahmedabad, everywhere else seems alien to me,” says Talha Sareshwala who is now planning to open BMW showrooms across Gujarat.

(Sohini Das And Vinay Umarji / Ahmedabad February 12, 2011)

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/fair-sharevibrant-gujarat/424871/

Grave sins of Congress are driving India to doom!

August 13, 2010

Shravan Shuddha Trutiya, Kaliyug Varsha 5112

Highest sins of the Congress which is taking the country to Hell and of all political parties who are doing nothing about it but just letting that happen !

India and Hindus have suffered enormous and irreparable damage during the 125 years of history of the Congress owing to the terrible mistakes and sins committed by the party. Most of the political parties have been just watching indifferently these unpardonable sins with the attitude like ‘Dhrutarashtra – Gandhari’ and therefore, we no more want the charade of democratic rule. We need ‘Divine Rule’ which will treat the citizens like in a patriarchal family. We are publishing a list of the highest sins committed by the Congress everyday so that everybody gets ready to bring in such ideal rule.

Sin 103 - Sin related to appeasement of separatist Muslims

13 August 2010
The pro-Muslim Congress rulers at the Centre, who are trying to appease anti-national separatists from Jammu and Kashmir for the past two decades instead of taking stringent action against them and trying to hold discussions for peace with them, are in fact, taking this country to further partition.

Sin 102 - Sin related to being indifferent to Hindus owing to love for Muslims

12 August 2010

In the year 1947 when Pakistan was created after partition, there were 300 Hindu temples in Pakistan. Presently, there are only 36 temples remaining in Pakistan. The above information has been published on the website of metransparent.com. It has been mentioned on this website that ‘out of the remaining 36 temples in Pakistan, many temples are in a very dilapidated condition and if those are not properly renovated, even they would be destroyed. Pakistan does not grant permission to local Hindus for maintenance of these temples. In 1992 when Babri Masjid was demolished in India, Muslims destroyed 200 temples in Pakistan. The 20 lakhs of Hindus now living in Pakistan are constantly threatened by Muslims and they have to tolerate everything without uttering a word.’

Sin 101 - Sin related to appeasement of Muslims

11 August 2010

‘Muslims kill Hindus by way of ‘jihad’; take out ‘fatwas’ to convert Hindu girls; declare that they would not hoist National Flag; will not say ‘Vande Mataram’; but the Congress Government keeps quiet and takes no action against such anti-national and anti-Dharma people. Whereas Varun Gandhi of BJP made some strong statements regarding Hinduism and the Congress Government immediately became active. Election Commission issued a notice to him and the mass media started his defamation.’

Sin 100 - Sin related to suppression of pro-Hindu organizations

10 August 2010

The Congress imposed a ban on RSS after assassination of Gandhi. The then newspapers ‘Crisis’ and ‘Karmayogi’ published from Prayag, so also ‘Dainik Bharat’ published from Pune and Nagpur had to face suppression by the Congress Government for their extending support to the ‘Satyagrah (passive political resistance)’ drive started by RSS. These newspapers, however, continued to present the just side of RSS by strongly opposing the Government

Sin 99 - Sin related to appeasement of Muslims

9 August 2010

In a function organized by Jamat-e-Ulma, the President of UPA Government, Sonia Gandhi said, “The principles of Jamat-e-Ulema Hind and Congress are similar. ‘Ulema Hind’ and ‘Congress’ had only fought for freedom of this country.” The statement was made in a program while addressing the citizens which resulted in insulting feelings of 85% of the citizens of this country.

Sin 98 - Sin related to appeasement of Muslims

8 August 2010

Pakistan never paid a few billions of rupees due to Hindu refugees. India gave Rs.300 crores to England that were supposed to be paid by Pakistan. Pakistan has still not returned that money to India. We are, however, shamelessly showing this amount under ‘Receivables’ in our budgetary provisions.

Sin 97 - Sin related to encouraging dissident thinking

7 August 2010

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi kept mum on the disintegrating demand made in the year 2009, by the Finance Minister Tariq Ahmad in Congress-led Jammu and Kashmir Government, for a separate currency for that State which is different from the one used all over India.

Sin 96 - Sin related to extreme appeasement of Muslims

6 August 2010

Anti-national governance of the Congress, which gives citizenship to ‘infiltrating Muslims with ‘jihadi’ mentality; but bans Indians from settling in Jammu and Kashmir !

Sin 95 - Sin with regard to inaction against ‘jihadi’ terrorism and let it spread everywhere in the country

and so on......................

Please refer link to see unending list of Congi's sins

http://www.hindujagruti.org/news/10953.html

Sree Krushna eliminated Shishupal when his 100 sins were over. Similarly, as the sins of Congress and other parties cross the limits, God will punish them severely !

Flawed teacher, ignorant pupil

Digvijay Singh's aggressive wooing of Muslim hardliners seems to have led Rahul Gandhi down a slippery political slope. Is it time to change the teacher? Or is the pupil beyond redemption?

 By Chandan Mitra in Pioneer

Achild does not decide the school in which he or she will study. This decision, like many others taken before the child reaches adulthood, is left to parents. For a number of reasons Mr Rahul Gandhi received his education mostly at home under the guidance of carefully chosen tutors. In recent years, his mother evidently decided to entrust his political training to the care of the redoubtable Digvijay Singh whose reputation precedes him. We do not know whether Mr Gandhi's political grooming has been formal or informal, but from all account Mr Singh has been setting the agenda for his celebrity student. In the process, Mr Singh's clout has increased manifold; most Congressmen hold him in awe, believing he has the ears of the First Family more than anyone else. Others such as the low-profile but clinically efficient Ahmed Patel are also high in the pecking order, but Mr Singh has managed to position himself as the only one who enjoys the blessings of both Ms Sonia Gandhi and her son.
In an earlier era when structured tutorial classes were not so common and school education was supplemented by individual private tutors, parents often monitored a child's academic progress by way of marks obtained in school examinations. If performance did not show significant improvement, they were quick to dismiss the tutor and experiment with another. Sometimes, the lack of improvement was not the tutor's fault for disinterested kids defeated the teacher's effort by being inattentive or playing truant.
We can safely assume that Mr Rahul Gandhi is neither. He is keen to learn, often travelling to the interiors to rub shoulders with the great unwashed masses in a contemporary re-enactment of his great-grandfather's discovery of India nearly a century ago. Mr Gandhi is also rather forthcoming in his interactions with young people in particular. He drops in at hang-outs crowded with 20somethings in metros, small towns and even roadside dhabas, pleasantly surprising them by his freewheeling comments on everything under the sun. Sometimes he provokes a controversy by arrogant assertions such as "If my family had been at the helm at that time, the Babri Masjid would not have fallen," or by proudly, even if undiplomatically, asserting that the break-up of Pakistan was his family's great achievement. Probably because some of these remarks were unrehearsed and led to storms of protest, the advisory council at 10 Janpath decided to bar him from interacting with the pesky regional media. Throughout his frenetic election campaign in Bihar earlier this year, in which he addressed as many as 19 public meetings, he carefully stayed away from speaking to the media. When the much-hyped revival of the Congress ended in unmitigated disaster with the party winning a laughable four seats out of 243, Mr Gandhi simply went underground -whether on account of depression or embarrassment we do not know. And that's where he would probably have stayed at least till the Burari AICC session this weekend, but for the unfortunately timed (for him) WikiLeaks revelations.
Much has already been said and written on the Gandhi scion's stupefying observations, made to the US Ambassador during an official lun cheon hosted by the Prime Minister in July 2009. To summarise, the remarks demonstrated (a) humungous knowledge deficit; (b) pathological hatred of pro-Hindu opinion and organisations; (c) dangerous disregard of India's national security concerns with regard to Pakistan-sponsored jihadi terror; (d) callous unconcern for the magnitude of the terrorist threat to India; and, (e) ineligibility to be considered for a responsible position in Government, leave alone be projected as a potential Prime Minister. Incidentally, it must be also pointed out that despite his deceptively boyish looks, Mr Gandhi is not exactly young. At 40, many of his contemporaries are heading big MNCs and his father was already Prime Minister at that age.
Stung by the heir-apparent's dangerously ignorant streak, Congress leaders have been busy rubbishing WikiLeaks, accusing the BJP of basing its offensive on unsub stantiated and questionable `leaks', whose timing they claim is suspect.
But this is not the first time that Mr Gandhi has revealed this trait. A few months ago at Bhopal, he got sufficiently carried away at a meeting to claim that the banned extremist outfit Students' Islamic Movement of India was as dangerous as the RSS! He later modified this to assert that he only meant that persons who adhered to hardline ideologies were not welcome to join NSUI, the Congress's students' wing.
Similarly, his unconvincing clarification on the WikiLeaks revelation merely reiterates the homily that all forms of terror and communal ideologies are dangerous, which, in fact is not what he reportedly told the US Ambassador. Mr Gandhi clearly enunciated that Hindu groups posed a "greater threat". Significantly, this observation was made in August 2009, less than eight months after 26/11, when the Indian Establishment was busy pressuring Islamabad to accept guilt for the horrendous Mumbai carnage and crack down on the LeT and related organisations such as Jamaat-ud-Dawa'h. Also, this was the time that the apparently senile Congress leader AR Antulay levelled a fanciful charge against Hindu outfits for the death of celebrated policeman Hemant Karkare.
Over the last few years, Mr Gandhi's tutor Mr Singh has been on a Hindu-bashing spree, questioning the Batla House encounter, visiting families of suspected terror merchants in Azamgarh and repeatedly claiming that so-called Hindu terrorist groups enjoy RSS patronage. Much of this has been outrightly rejected by public opinion because it is well known that, even assuming some misguided Hindu freelancers were involved in a few bomb blasts (though nothing has yet been proved against anyone), the RSS has nothing to do with such people.
Clearly, by repeating lies ad nauseum, Mr Singh hopes to attract fulsome Muslim support for the Congress in Uttar Pradesh. Not only is he the senior party leader incharge of the State, but Mr Singh also knows how crucial the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly results are for Mr Gandhi's political future. It appears he has convinced his pupil that unless Muslims vote for Congress en bloc, other groups such as upper castes would not consider the party to be a potential winner and thus continue to stay their `hand'. So, Mr Gandhi is parroting his teacher's line and hoping the first set of examiners, namely voters of Uttar Pradesh, will give him high marks.
There is no evidence that appeasement of Muslim hardliners will yield the community's votes.
Bihar certainly didn't; in fact, more Muslims voted for JD(U)-BJP than Congress. But in the process, Mr Gandhi is steadily acquiring the image of an unabashed Hindu-basher. Most Hindus may have no sympathy for the community's radical fringe, but to suggest that SIMI is as dangerous as the well-regarded RSS or that Hindu groups are a greater threat to India than Pakistan-sponsored terrorists is bound to offend even the most avowedly `secular' Hindu. Has the time then come to change Mr Gandhi's tutor lest his flawed teaching sends the pupil to his doom? Or is the pupil beyond redemption anyway?

Rahul's comments call into question his understanding of issues

By Swapan Dasgupta in Pioneer.

When the second volume of the Mitrokhin Archive was W published in 2005, there was understandable nervousness in Whitehall over its possible impact on bilatera relations with India. The contents of Vasili Mitrokhin's notes o KGB's worldwide operations, as gleamed from the agency's own archives, were hugely sensitive. This was particularly true of the sections on India, where the KGB had managed to penetrate deep into the political establishment. Having carefully vetted and sanitised the papers to negate any possible damage to reputations of the great and good and facilitated its publication, the British Government was nevertheless worried that that the erstwhile `friends of the Soviet Union' would direct their ire at the messenger, if only to divert attention from the explosive details of how India wa systematically compromised.
Whitehall's apprehensions turned out to be completely unfounded. The Mitrokhin Archive attracted some editorial comment but didn't create even a political ripple. The attempts by some concerned Opposition MPs to raise the subject was peremptorily disallowed on the astonishing ground that it was not the job of Parliament to deliberate on books of `fiction'.
Compared to the indifference that greeted the Mitrokhin Archive, the WikiLeaks files emanating from the US Embassy in New Delhi have created a political storm. Some of the excitement is understandable: Mitrokhin's revelations centred on events that were regarded as history while the WikiLeaks disclosures have a contemporary resonance.
Moreover, those who vetted Mitrokhin's notes were meticulous in ensuring that names of politicians and officials who served as KGB `assets' were not divulged. The WikiLeaks releases aren't CIA reports; they are Embassy cables concerned with either political assessments or conversations with `open' sources, sometimes in structured meetings. As such, the cables aren't squeamish about the identities of politicians and officials.
Despite these obvious differences, it is worth noting that throughout last Friday the Congress spokespersons fell back on a variant of the `fiction' argument that killed the debate on Mitrokhin in 2005. Although the authenticity of the cables wasn't questioned (except by the gentleman who whiffed a "conspiracy"), it was argued that there was nothing "official" about WikiLeaks. Therefore, the disclosures weren't worthy of being dignified. They were, Congress spokespersons claimed insouciantly, at best, individual assessments peppered with reports of conversations torn out of context.
There was, predictably, no mention of the fact that just prior to the first instalment of WikiLeaks, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had alerted world capitals of the possible embarrassment from their disclosures. It is possible the Congress wouldn't have bothered with WikiLeaks had Rahul Gandhi's conversation with the US Ambassador at a lunch hosted by the Prime Minister on July 20, 2009, not featured in the disclosures.
The earlier release of a report on the Congress trying to play identity politics with the 26/11 Mumbai attacks hadn't resulted in a flurry of clarifications and explanations. And rightly so since the US Embassy cable was an assessment based on public statements. on public statements.
Nor was there excitement over the unflattering assessment of Sonia Gandhi's leadership during the stalemate on the nuclear debate. The colourful charge that the Congress president doesn't miss any opportunity to miss an opportunity was the Ambassador's assessment. Envoys are expected to provide such blunt reports to headquarters in confidence. Just because WikiLeaks breached that confidentiality doesn't undermine the validity of the exercise.
Nor does it suggest that any US desire to be implacably hostile to the lady. Diplomacy is rarely conducted on such black and white terms, not even by the US.
The importance of Rahul Gandhi's conversation with the US Ambassador won't be found within the framework of India-US bilateral ties. Rahul's suggestion that "radicalised Hindu groups" posed a "bigger threat" to India than the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba didn't lead to the US immediately discounting all that India had said about the 26/11 attack.
The US has its own counter-terrorism establishment that does its own assessments, and it is highly unlikely that any of its functionaries had reason to conclude that Abhinav Bharat was the new Hindu Al Qaeda. The conversation was important not for what it reveals about the Government's approach to internal security, but for its insights into the mind of India's "elusive" heir designate.
Rahul is not merely "elusive" for American diplomats; he has also eluded all meaningful interrogation of his views by Indians. Apart from his template speech on the two India's, Indians know precious little or nothing about the heir designate's views on subjects of crucial importance to the country. What does he think of Jammu & Kashmir, apart from his friendship with Omar Abdullah? What has he to say on foreign policy, economic strategies and education? Indians are as clueless about the man tipped to succeed Manmohan Singh. Rahul has kept his views severely rationed.
Unfortunately for Rahul, this non-scripted account of his view on internal security doesn't suggest a grasp of the subject. If Rahul thinks that the terror version of the kachchhabaniyan gang that worked the badlands of Uttar Pradesh is a "greater threat" to India than the LeT -and that too just eight months after 26/11 -it calls into question his understanding of issues. Worse, by revealing his zany views to the Ambassador of a country whose assistance has been sought to tame Pakistan, he has shown an incredible lack of judgement.
Some people have greatness thrust on them. This Emperor-to-be, it now emerges, has no clothes.