Round The States
New Delhi, 15 October 2008
Special NIC Meeting
INTEGRATION OR
DISINTEGRATION?
By Insaf
The National Integration Council’s much-hyped meeting in Delhi is over. The Chief
Ministers are back in their respective States. None is, however, any the wiser
than they were on the basic issue before the meet. How could they? Beginning
with the Prime Minister, each CM simply said his piece, laced with the same old
rhetoric veering around communalism vs secularism. There was no debate or
interaction. Not even on the crucial issue of terrorism. Instead, many UPA leaders
sought to score brownie points over their deep concern for the minorities. They
wanted their identity preserved and promoted and institutional follow-up
provided. In simple words, they bent over backwards to further promote their
vote bank politics. Few talked of us as Indians? No one paused to think that
you cannot talk of national integration and promote minorityism in the same
breath. The truth is that the Congress-led UPA, like the Indira Gandhi Congress
is pursuing the colonial British policy of divide and rule.
Monday last also saw the BJP Chief Ministers charging the
UPA with lack of will to tackle terrorism and the latter hitting out at them
for instigating communal violence and demanding a ban on the Bajrang Dal. (Surprisingly,
“terrorism” was not on the agenda.) Each side seemed more interested in setting
out its campaign focus for the ensuing State elections and the general election
next year. Consequently, the meeting proved to be of little help in carving out
a national agenda to combat the growing disharmony and disunity in the country.
For starters, the venue, of Balayogi
auditorium in Parliament House was a bad choice. The ‘creamy layer’ of leaders
such as Prime Minister, Sonia Gandhi, Shivraj Patil, Lalu Yadav, Ramvilas
Paswan sat on the stage while the rest of the hoi polloi were in the hall below.
As in the past, the NIC should have been held round a table in the Vigyan
Bhavan, encouraging meaningful discussion and debate in an informal atmosphere
of give and take. It’s a different matter of course if our leaders simply want
to play politics and are not genuinely interested in integration.
* * * *
Mini General
Election
All the State capitals are buzzing with poll excitement now
that the Election Commission has announced its curtain raiser for the general
elections next year. Though the three-member body has declared dates for five
States, barring Jammu and Kashmir,
the Assembly polls are a mini general election for the political parties vying
to capture power at the Centre---individually and in like-minded coalitions.
Chhattisgarh will open the innings with a two-day poll on November 14 and 20
because of the Maoists threat. Madhya
Pradesh (November 25), Delhi
and Mizoram (November 29) and Rajasthan (December 4) will follow with a one-day
poll. The results will be announced on a single day, December 8, after all the
polls are complete. Importantly, this time there will be no exit polls, which
tend to influence voters, according to a decision of the Union government.
Opinion on the J&K poll was divided in the Election Commission on whether
the poll should be held now or later. Its decision is expected at an early
date.
* * * *
Pak Flag In Assam
District?
Illegal migration in Assam is now assuming sinister
aggressive designs. A Pakistani flag is reported to have been hoisted in a
village in Udalguri district of the State recently. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi,
who had earlier rubbished local media reports about the flag, has been forced
to order a CBI inquiry into the incident. The probe, surprisingly, does not
come in the wake of last week’s violent clashes between migrant Muslims and the
Bodos, which claimed 55 lives and displaced about two lakh people, but on an article
in a Pakistani news portal. The piece entitled “Pakistan’s
flag is a symbol of freedom in India,”
reads: “This should come as news for Pakistani defeatists. After Kashmir, the
rest of the dozen or so freedom movements in India
see Pakistan
as a symbol of liberty and freedom. Pakistan media and intelligence should
project this incident and gather support inside these Indian States as
retaliation for Indian terrorism inside Pakistan Baluchistan, tribal belt and
other cities.” Clearly, it is time for the Centre to act. Why even await the
CBI inquiry report.
* * * *
First-ever Train in
Kashmir
The Centre has finally made a beginning in keeping a promise
it made two decades ago to the people of Kashmir.
The trouble-torn Valley now has a train service, the first service of which was
flagged off by none less than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself on Saturday
last from Nowgam station. Initially the train will run from Budgam district in
central Kashmir down south to Anantnag -- a
distance of 66 km to be covered in about an hour and a half and at a cost of
just Rs 15. Later it will connect the
Valley to the other parts of the country. A distant dream, which if fulfilled
will be the Indian Railway’s biggest project since Independence -- of constructing
a 345 km-long railway line between Srinagar and Jammu at an estimated cost of Rs 11,270 crore. More importantly, the
train service would not only help in the overall development in the State but perhaps
peace may finally take a ride. The question is how soon?
* * * *
Mayawati Takes On
Sonia
UP Chief Minister Mayawati has done it again. This time she
has left Mulayam Singh alone and instead trained her guns on Congress supremo
Sonia Gandhi. But in doing so, the BSP leader unexpectedly finds herself upstaged.
The Congress President not only defied
prohibitory orders virtually barring her entry into Rae Bareli on Tuesday last but
vowed to battle it out with the State
government, even if it meant “going to jail.” The battle royale began when the
UP Government cancelled the allotment of land for a rail coach factory at
Lalganj in Sonia’s Rae Bareli constituency on the ground that “the farmers were
against it.” This was followed by the Rae Bareli DM denying Sonia permission to
hold a public rally in the district on Tuesday by imposing Section 144. Lady
luck, however, seems to be on Sonia’s side. Not only has the Allahabad High
Court stayed the government’s order, but the farmers, impressed by the job
potential of the coach factory are openly protesting against Mayawati’s decision
and even burning her effigy. The war for the political turf of UP is clearly
between the country’s two most powerful women.
* * * *
China Town In Vellore
Believe it or not, we now have a China
Town in Vellore --- as of today. Until three months
ago, the only Chinese connection Vellore
had was the “Hunan Chicken”, its eateries were able to stir up. Now, with 450
Chinese students training at the Vellore Institute of Technology, the town
known for its unrivalled medical facilities has a distinct Chinese flavour. The
Chinese students are at VIT to learn computer science, software development,
communication skills and even management courses. Said one student: “We have the
hardware; you have the software skills.” Every Chinese student at VIT has to
undergo a two-month training in English, prior to their arrival in India. But this
does not help instantly. Said another student: “A lot of Indians speak English.
But we are not able to follow them. So, we have now learnt Indian English!”
Most students are looking forward to returning to China. But some may stay back if
there are “good opportunities in India.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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