MyVoice: Views of our readers 25th June 2023

A chimera or an idea whose time has come?

Even as 17 parties of the Opposition met in Patna the other day to chalk out a united front against the BJP there was more disagreement on modalities to be followed than a common stand to be taken in the upcoming general election in the country, in 2024. It was more of a family get together when Lalu Prasad Yadav of RJD asked Rahul Gandhi to marry soon, and get busy raising a family.

Different views expressed by the gathered leaders on the need for a united front against the BJP were interesting. To begin with Mamata Banerjee, she said if the NDA is allowed to come to power again in the next general elections, there would be no elections in future at all. When it was Rahul Gandhi’s turn to say it was his usual litany that he said during his visit to the US that democracy is in danger in India, and the need to bring it on an even rail; and the constitutional bodies and central agencies being usurped by the government.

It was Mehbooba Mufti’s turn to say that restoration of the abrogated Article 370 would be a true demonstration of India’s democratic credentials in taking the minorities into confidence and restoring faith in them. The AAP leader Kejriwal was angered by Congress’s stand on the Delhi ordinance; and swore AAP would not share any platform with others if Congress is an invitee. The saving grace however was the absence of YSRCP and BRS in the conclave. It is good to see that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is careful in making political moves not to be part of Opposition unity though he has overplayed his role vigorously earlier that seemed a one-man show in cobbling up support against the Centre. In fact he proved an initiator in this regard, who met DMK, TMC, and the nameless Uddhav faction. The sudden move of cold ‘shoulder’ by KCR is a precursor to the futility of the Opposition plan that he could guess beforehand, not allowing Telangana to slip out of BRS hands.

The irresponsible and despicable propaganda by the Muslim community that the Centre is against their interests must stop. People like Asaduddin Owaisi and other radical groups must learn to play a constructive role in the overall development and progress of the country without becoming a stumbling block, with a hidden agenda of their own. There is a need for prudent and enlightened voters to see through the designs of vested interest in the society; thus enriching the democratic and secular credentials of the country to posterity.

–K V Raghuram, Wayanad

II

It refers to "Forging Oppn unity: An uphill task.” From KCR, Mamata Banerjee to Arvind Kejriwal to Nitish Kumar each of these CMs have tried to rally all opposition parties under one umbrella to take on the ruling party, BJP in 2024. Latest effort where 11 parties have gathered at Patna to discuss their way forward strategy is also critical from the perspective that it is clear that a united opposition is best suited to take on BJP. But there is still a long road ahead because many regional parties have one on one fights with Congress at their home turf and expecting Congress to concede ground to them or walkover will be a foolish thing to do, especially after Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka results. And the way AAP and Congress engaged in a war of words over Delhi ordinance does not augur well for opposition unity. Many elephant size egos have to be mellowed down, and a lot of give and take will have to take place, besides they will have to share their vision for the country in next few months to project themselves as a potent force.

–Bal Govind, Noida

III

The Opposition meet in Patna has made a good beginning towards forming a united front and mounting a united fight against the BJP in the 2024 general election. It augurs well for the country and its future. The decision to meet again in Shimla indicates the resolve to continue their efforts for unity. Opposition unity cannot be a work in progress indefinitely or for long. Time is running out for it to become a fait accompli sooner than later. It would be an uphill task for the Opposition to overcome the appeal of Hindutva and the determination of the upper classes and corporate behemoths to perpetuate the BJP rule to their benefit and stop the Modi-Shah juggernaut. At the same time, the fact that BJP’s vote share has always been below 40% underlines that avoidance of a split in the secular vote would be to the Opposition’s advantage. The Congress should let other like-minded Opposition parties contest in states where it is weak and they are strong without fielding its candidates. On their part, the regional parties should let the Congress contest in states where they are weak and it is strong without fielding their candidates. The Opposition parties owe it to the nation that they unite to field a single candidate against the BJP in as many constituencies as possible – it shouldn’t be less than 450 seats. The Opposition unity meet in Patna is sure to strengthen the fight against the BJP that represents the worst in Indian politics and for redeeming the founding fathers’ vision of India based on an inclusive and integrated nationalism, as against virulent religious nationalism.

– G David Milton, Maruthancode, TN

IV

The writer Ramu Sarma highlighting that 17 opposition parties coming together on June 23 in Patna and deciding to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha elections together seems a distant dream is absolutely correct. The meeting ended with more questions than answers. It was lacklustre all through except with a rider that modalities including the common minimum programme would be discussed and finalised in subsequent meetings. This has only cast a big question mark whether the much pronounced opposition unity will really take off? As the first meeting witnessed differences cropping up between AAP and Congress over the GOIs recent ordinance on the Delhi government's administrative powers, the moot question remains how Congress being the only party with pan-India presence will be able to meet the challenges of various parties in its united fight against BJP. In fact, for Congress and regional parties it poses a challenge to cope up with rebels' demand. Thus far, the opposition unity looks in disarray due to every party more than fighting unitedly will be trying to pull the strings in its favour. Further, the absence of prominent parties like BRS, BJD, YSRCP and BSP led by Mayawati and JD(S) has only made things tough and hard for the opposition unity to sustain itself to face the battle at the national elections where Modi factor comes to play.

K R Srinivasan, Secunderabad

V

As Ramu Sarma observed in his Bold Talk column, it is an uphill task for various opposition parties with their narrow own agendas to forge an anti BJP front to defeat the deep-rooted party BJP at national level is a myth and the front if any formed for the sake of trouncing BJP and its established and charismatic leader Narendra Modi, people are not ready to trust it. Any party formed without sound ideology just to defeat Modi out of personal hatred serves no purpose. Modi already proved himself a competent leader both at the national level and internationals level as many powerful nations including some Islamic nations accept Modi as genuine leader and praised him as Viswa guru. The recent addressing of the joint session of the

UN Congress by Modi is hailed by all right thinking people and the standing ovation he got number of times is an indication that how a clever

leader can impress even the mighty nations with chiseled speech and convinced distinguished audience his pro-democratic credentials. With the self-centered and egoistic leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Kejriwal and the diabolically opposite Congress, the forming of combined front to

face the mighty BJP and challenging the leader ship of well-entrenched Narendra Modi is next to impossible.

–Rama Krishna M, Kakinada

Adipurush writer under fire

It is usually the director, the producer or the leading stars who line up for the promotion of any movie. But, perhaps, for the first time we saw the dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir Shukla take center-stage in the promotion of the movie 'Adipurush.' Perhaps, his proximity to the corridors of power was the reason for this as he managed to get the blessings of some Chief Ministers and other important political leaders before the release of the movie.

Unfortunately for him, there has been widespread condemnation for the dialogues of the movie. Once regarded as some kind of Illuminati of the Hindutva world, the backlash of the movie has singed him as after failing in many attempts to justify his dialogues, he is now out of public view as he has been provided with police protection since he was threatened of physical harm by the very same group whose which were once his most ardent admirers.

Adipurush was supposed to be some kind of extension of the ideology of the earlier two films, The Kashmir Files and the Kerala Story. Unfortunately for some, the move has backfired and is a disaster movie in filmy parlance. Religion and patriotism are the flavour of the season and the makers of the film thought they could encash on the sentiments of the people. The people also need to understnd that it is not any religious motive for making Adipurush but a mere means of making money.

Instead of accepting the dialogues, Manoj went on television explaining why they were appropriate. This has further enraged the Hindutva groups. It now seems that certain dialogues have been replaced. But this has come too late and the damage has already been done.

It is believed the writer took off his footwear as a sign of respect when he was writing the dialogues. Had the people got hold of them, they would have been throwing them at him or worse by now!

–Anthony Henriques, Mumbai

A letter to Mahatma

Respected Gandhiji,

I'm sorry to disturb you when you are peacefully under the place where you were made to rest in peace. I'm an ordinary Indian who never got to see you in action or when someone who had a different point of view on the division of Bharat in 1947 went on to pump bullets into your chest when you came out to participate in sarvadharma prayer on 30 January 1948. From whatever we have been told or read in literature about you and your role during India's freedom struggle. Probably you are only amongst few leaders who participated in freedom struggle not with any motive but with sole aim of self and not selfie (or selfish) rule as we are witnessing without people like you or others who still believe in the principles left behind by you.

However, this letter is about what's happening in a state of Manipur which joined our nation in 1949 much after you became a victim of hot-headed fanatic from the same community which you and many Indians belong. After reading and viewing what's happening in Manipur, I and maybe other Indians would be wondering if you had been in the midst of us, you would have been the first person not only to make an appeal for peace but would have camped in the state to bring together all the aggreived sections. I would like to apologise for disturbing your peaceful soul as those who have been elected to govern are too busy to govern. Our PM who belongs to the state where you were born saw visiting USA more important than to strive for peace back hom. The other counterpart who calls himself as home minister, though made a formal visit, it's unclear whether he went there to restore peace or otherwise. Sadly, those who are involved in shouting against the government, none of their leaders had shown the courage to visit the state and bring back normalcy.

Aa jare bapu Desh tumein pukaray aur akay Manipur ko bajale!

–N Nagarajan, Hyderabad

A ground-breaking initiative in AP

The Jagan Mohan Reddy government has taken one more initiative in the education field by signing an MoU with US-based Educational Testing Service (ETS). As per the agreement, the ETS is to evaluate English language at Primary, Junior and Senior level from 3 standard to 12 standard through the Test of English and Foreign Language (TOFEL). It is really a ground-breaking initiative as it would orient the students in American as well as European Union accent. It enhances both educational and employment opportunities across the globe. It is to be recalled that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government has been doing yeoman service since it assumed office. The government has designed several programmes aiming at infusing government educational institutions thereby benefitting poor and downtrodden families. Among them Nadu-Nedu, Amma Vodi etc., have greatly improved not only infrastructure but also quality of education in the government-run schools. The government has also fulfilled long-cherished dream of girls junior colleges in each mandal across the state by upgrading girls high schools into high school plus for the Intermediate education. However, the government should make permanent appointments for the high school plus so that the teachers discharge their duties whole-heartedly to sustain the concept of junior colleges for girls.

–Pratapa Reddy Y, Tiruvuru, AP

Defining relationship of the 21st Century

Apropos, "Modi's visit will take India-US ties to next level: V P Kamala," THI, June 24. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the United States has added depth and content to the comprehensive global strategic partnership between the oldest and the largest democracies of the world. If the New York leg of his four-day trip showcased India’s soft power by leading the International Yoga Day celebrations, the Washington DC leg buttressed the country’s hard power of defence and economic capabilities. There were broad-ranging outcomes from closer defence cooperation, harnessing the shared expertise of both nations in critical and emerging technologies, and tackling climate change to treating cancer and diabetes and collaborating on human space flight. India is aligned with the new Washington consensus to de-risk from overdependence on China through a modern industrial and innovation strategy with trusted partners by building resilient supply chains in semiconductors and critical minerals like lithium. While Indo-US economic engagement needs more ballast with greater flows of investment and trade, the bolstering of India’s strategic partnership with the US is critical for it to become a developed nation by encouraging manufacturing-led export growth and infrastructural development. This cannot succeed without greater access to the US market and technological cooperation like it did with the miracle economies of East Asia, including China, which achieved rapid rates of economic growth for long periods of time, thanks to booming exports to the US.

This is the promise of what has been described as the “defining relationship of the 21st century” and a “global public good” by US president Biden.

–N Sadhasiva Reddy, Washington

The heart of giving

"Helping hands are better than praying lips," according to Mother Teresa.

We can proudly say that India is the birth place of charity, thanks to mythological people like Karna, Bali Chakravati,and King Harichandra,to name a few.

Most of us often indulge in acts of charity. It can be in cash or kind. We donate money to schools, to places of worship, hospitals, oldage homes, and orphanags. Some of us give alms, clothes, blankets and even shelter to poor people. Again when you buy Colgate paste or order something on Amazon, you donate something in an indirect way.

Both Colgate and Amazon punctually give away a part of their profts as donations. We do this magnanimous act in our own, personalised way because our Scriptures say that "Service to Man is service to God". Small people do it in small ways and big people, in big ways. When a beggar died in Tirupati some time ago, police found thousands of rupees in his possession. A politician, when his bosom friend had become the CM of a State, donated an ornament worth about Rs 40 crore to Lord Balaji! Nandan Nilekani,the co-founder of Infosys, did it the other day in his own way. He declared a huge donation of Rs 315 crore to IIT-Bombay, his alma mater. With this 'anchor donation', Nilekani's total charity amount to this premium educational institute comes to Rs 400 crore 'so far'. Nilekani belongs to a group of opulent alumni who have made great wealth in India and abroad and have given huge amounts for R&D in that institution.

There are many billionaires like the Ambanis, Ajim Premji of Wipro, Mallikarjuna Rao of GMR, Shiv Nadar of HCL and Sudha Murthy of Infosys who have given thousands of crores as a 'privilege' for carrying out educational, health and other philanthropic activities here. As the top donor in India, Premji's total lifetime donations come to about 70 billions to date and he was the first Indian to sign the agreement, "The Giving Pledge", an American way of doing charity as a part of 'CSR' (Corporate Social Responsibility). Bill Gates is the top donor in the world today and there are many such model billionaires all over the world, doing charity without expecting any awards and rewards in return. Again there are many ordinary, generous people, unsung humanitarians, and Goodsamaritans who think that their life purpose is to give back to their society in the form of, to quote William Wordsworth, "Little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love". They know that in making money there is mere fleeting happiness, but in using it for the benefit of others lies the real, and everlasting joy. It is said that in India the entire wealth is in the hands of just 1% of our population. If all of them emulate Nilekani and Premji and et al. and give their mite, I am sure, the man-made penury and pain can be removed from our society.

M Somasekhar Prasad, Hyderabad