HOW THE MUCH-TOUTED R.T.I. ACT-2005 DOES NOT WORK

Here follows the contents of a letter written by an info. seeker to the Activist and the Public Cause Research Foundation Chairman, Magsaysay Award winner  Kejariwal , lamenting how the spirit and the letter of the Act was trifled with by none other than its very custodians just to save the skin of the offending Public Authority.  Though the letter was written a year back, yet it still holds good as the matters relating to the RTI Act have been steadily deteriorating, in its practical application, instead of improving, and the very relevant provisions of the Act are also being sought to be diluted by the foot-dragging Officialdom, who has since managed to obtain the blessings of the person, no less than the Prime Minister himself, for carrying out their nefarious designs. It is reported that the timely intervention of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi had then saved the day for the much-harassed Info. seeker against the atrocities of the public authorities. Still they have many tricks up their dirty sleeves to render the Act redundant - A toothless and claw-less paper tiger.  Pl. read on:

To

            The Chairperson &  RTI Awards Team,

            Public Cause Research Foundation,

            A-119 Kaushmbi, Ghaziabad 201010 , U.P.

REF: Your No.FK/FB/CIC-ANT/2009/143 dt. 16-06-09  recd. on26-06-09.

            At the outset, my heartfelt congrats. on organizing National Award Ceremony 2009. Grateful to you for affording me an opportunity to offer my views on the Complaint case No. CIC/AT/A/2008/00247 u/s 18 of the RTI Act. disposed of by the Information Commissioner A.N.Tiwari.

Howlers:

1. Complaint u/s 18 (e) of the R.T.I.Act was misconstrued as 2^nd Appeal u/s 19(3) of the Act by the I.C., who could not make out the difference between the two in spite of the inscription:  “ COMPLAINT UNDER THE R.T.I. ACT-2008” in the bold letters at the top of the document - Complaint dated 12-10-2007- (Photocopy enclosed)

.

2.  A very simple case in which the I.C was expected only to determine (a)Whether the Public Authority, represented by the P.I.O. and the 1^st Appellate Authority, has or has not supplied the correct, complete and to the point information and the certified copies of the documents requested for by the Info. Seeker (No big deal considering the fact that had  they done the needful already, the occasion to file the complaint would not have arisen).

3. Since very clearly there was a dereliction of duty on the part of the public authority which gave rise to filing of the Complaint, the Information Commissioner was required to simply (a) Issue necessary directions to the Public Authority to supply the information and the copies of the requested documents which were very clearly not barred u/s 8 of the Act. (b) Impose upon the Public Information Officer the prescribed penalty besides recommending disciplinary action against him under the service rules applicable to him, inter-alia for (i) not furnishing info. within the specified time,(ii) malafidely denying the request for info.  and copies of documents, (iii) knowingly giving incorrect, incomplete and misleading information (iv) destroying information which was the subject matter of the request (v) obstructing in furnishing the information and (vi) for all too obvious dereliction of duty. Instead of taking the obvious course of action as prescribed under the Act, the Information Commissioner conveniently glosses over the P.I.O’s blatant negligence and callousness in not supplying the required info. and documents, relies upon his white lie of not-receiving the Application though sent by the SPEED POST and to cap it all smugly suggests that  the Complainant should visit the Public Authority’s office in a wild goose chase- search for the documents etc in the custody of the Public authority which their own P.I.O. was unable to locate in his own office.!  And that too in a detestably condescending style enacts a show of considerate attitude, grants to the Complainant a meaningless favour: “ However, considering the fact that (appellant?) seems to be skeptical  about the responses from the public authority, he shall be entitled to inspect the documents held by the public authority.” knowing fully well that the Complainant has requested the copy of the document(s) which the P.I.O had not given to him and there is no way that they will ever be shown to the Complainant by the apparently unwilling, reluctant and arrogant  Public Authority on his visit to their office. If copies of the documents and information are requested they should be granted. Why should the  Complainant himself is required to unearth and locate them at a place where even their custodian has failed to trace them out or rather feigns ignorance about thei whereabouts. In a different context, in another Complaint case No. CIC/AT/A/2008/01329 against the same Public Authority- who perennially remains in the denial when it comes to supplying the requested  info or documents in their custody- ,  the undersigned grossly aggrieved and exasperated  Complainant, vide para 6 of his 2^nd Appeal cum Complaint dt. 07 March 09, inter-alia, had to submit to the same I.C: “That the Respondents themselves and not, the Complainant-the Information seeker- are the custodian of the requested documents and information and as such asking the latter to visit the office for the purpose of their search, or otherwise, instead of promptly making their duly certified copies available to him after charging the prescribed fee as mandated under the Act, to say the least, is most preposterous, ridiculous, irrelevant, incompetent and does not make any sense.”

4.  What takes the cake is that the Information Commissioner, an ex-bureaucrat of long standing himself, does not know the difference between loose sheets of Pension Audit Register and the P.P.O.,   how the all-too-famous and familiar document known as Pension Payment Order (P.P.O.) looks like, and could not tell it from the loose sheets of the copies of a few pages of Pension Audit Register provided by the P.I.O when requested to provide a certified copy of the P.P.O. If he was so ridiculously feigning ignorance about Pension Payment Order, quite a common document, then for what purpose and for whose benefit?  The uncomfortable questions scream for answer. And why such important official document should not be readily traceable? Even if it was not readily traceable, as alleged, then what prevented the Public Authority to recreate it from all other available collateral documents? And what were the compelling reasons to faking it with Pension Audit Register sheets? Was not a period more than two years sufficient enough to recreate such a simple document?  What were the immediate compulsions for the Information Commissioner to bail out an hopelessly indefensible P.I.O in this unseemly and untenable manner?  Everybody in the govt. service, except perhaps the P.I.O and, sadly enough in this case, the Information Commissioner knows that the P.P.Os come in   book form and not in loose sheets.

5 Why should any Information Commissioner exceed his brief in such a ridiculous manner just to put out a genuine Info-seeker who has great stakes in a case but does not have the deep pockets to fight it out in the costly law courts?.

6 The Information Commissioner is simply unable to come out of the skin of the bureaucrat he had always been- neither in this case nor in any other case he has decided so far.

My take:

1 The cases reaching to the CIC in  2^nd Appeal/Complaint could just be slashed by more than half their present number, if only the P.I.Os are made to work a little more responsibly and the Information  Commissioners restrict themselves just to determine whether the sought information and documents, if not otherwise barred by section 8 of the Act, have been provided correct and complete to the last details as per the specifications of the Info-seeker and if not promptly hand out deterrent penalties and punishments to the arrogant Public Information Officers, not yet able to get rid of  the colonial  mind-set and  devil- may-care attitude and behaviour.

2. If only the Complaints/Appeals are gone through a little bit more intelligently, there would be no reason for any info. seeker to attend the hearing unless he himself chooses to do so of his own volition for making some extra point(s) not already covered in the Complaint or 2^nd Appeal as the case may be.

  3. Effective Social audit should be the aim of the Act which should be amended in such a way that it ensures it to happen with precision and perfection- the Info-seeker acting as a freelance unpaid Social Auditor helping the Government and the Society by helping himself in his pursuit for Information.  He should be welcome whole-heartedly and assisted by the Information Commissioners in his noble task of setting the Government records and functioning in proper order, streamlining its systems and operations and force them to be transparent and honest in their dealings..

4. Though it is impossible to achieve zero-level corruption in the Govt. departments and corridors of power but some effort should be directed towards it through the Act made as an instrument of Social Audit.

5.  There should be provision for review of a decision given by a single Information Commissioner by a larger bench who should have the powers to countermand   wrong and biased orders/decisions and reprimand the errant and erratic Information Commissioners responsible for such decisions/orders as above.

Thanks and regards,.

LETTER TO SH. R.SANKARAN,TIRUVALLUR (T.N)-602002

Subject: My “Open Forum contribution captioned ‘WOES OF THE URBAN MIDDLE-CLASS IN THE WAKE OF URBANISATION’ appearing IN THE ORGANISER dt. May 16, 2010

Respected Sir,

            Saadar Namaskar,

           

            While thanking you very much for your kind letter dt. 16.06.2010 on the above subject, I regret my inability to have responded to it earlier as I had been out of station for about a fortnight and could get it only on my coming back home. I am deeply touched by your gesture suggesting, inter-alia, to move the magazine management for grant of permission to ‘have the article published in all language magazines at least through out Bharath inviting suggestions from the readers with the end in view that the regional groups are set up, a national body is formed and matters get to the ears of present and would be rulers so that an enforceable legislation emerges as quickly as possible’.

            Sir, I am a Youngman, about half your age. All around me, I see the venerable septuagenarians and octogenarians- even a couple on the wrong side of eighties- valiantly battling with multiple odds and  terminal debilitating diseases with great courage and fortitude, and at the same time contending with the inevitable ‘Empty Nest Syndrome’ as their near and dear ones have to be away from them mostly due to the pressing economic compulsions and their job related pressures. While they abhor the very idea of neglecting their old parents in the twilight years of their life or for that matter raising nuclear families and thereby contribute to harming the traditional joint-family institution, which so long  and so far has stood the test of time, rooted as it is in antiquity.  However, the job-related compulsions force them to take unpleasant decisions that they despise most.

            On the other hand, nothing, and absolutely nothing has so far been done with regard to the  welfare and healthcare of the aged and elderly by the successive governments (excepting occasional lip-services paid in the run-up of elections). They have not even cared to enact a very much overdue  Right to Health Act, so far.

            While the fact remains that the ruling political elite is  squarely responsible for the plight and miserable condition of these ‘dear old fossils’,  they  mindlessly  go on  creating extremely difficult conditions- one after the other- for them, in pursuit of the so-called economic growth, which at best is lop-sided, and at worst tyrannical, as it ensures that  less than 10% of the population comprising of the  rich, mighty and powerful forming the elite class corner more than 90% of the national wealth and resources, created through the sweat and blood of the rest more than 90% comprising of the poor and the middle-class.

             Handsomely paid writers and columnists incessantly write millions of words eulogising this dubious growth rate as a great achievement of the government, which are greedily lapped up by the ever-obliging, out and out pro-establishment mainstream media that have to stay pro-establishment for the sake of their own survival and growth in a hugely competitive environment. That, however, is just another story requiring threadbare analysis for which there is little scope in this letter.

                My heart bleeds, and then I write something about such and other related matters which occasionally gets published, not always without editing.   In the process the piece is cut to size, both literally and figuratively, perhaps, due to the space-crunch in the concerned journal/daily. Generally, I don’t keep any record of the published stuff by way of preserving the clippings. That way, I am a free-lancer.  Obviously, I don’t know the ropes to reach wider audience in order to put across my views to the cross sections of the society via some committed and aggressive media (both print and electronic). In fact, my humble efforts so far vis-a-vis the magnitude and enormity of the problem, are of little value. Naturally, they cut little ice with the authorities that be. I would, therefore, consider myself lucky if some extra efforts on my part could be instrumental in bringing about some relief to the elderly and a thousand tortured souls. I also take liberty to pass on the copy of the correspondence on the subject to the other correspondents as well.

            With best regards,

                       

                                                                                                                 Yours sincerely,

                                                                                                            ( SANJOG MAHESHWARI)

Muslims in India need to get integrated 06-12-08(1)Microsoft Wor

SANJOG MAHESHWARI

                                                                                             

 

MINORITISM IS DANGEROUS

 

                                                                                                  -SANJOG MAHESHWARI.

 

 

More than six decades have passed by since Independence and   the Indian Muslim community is yet to get integrated into the mainstream India. Such   is the fate of India’s second largest majority community. (By what stretch   of imagination a community comprising about 15% of Indian population could   be termed as “minority’?)

While all other religious communities stand   fully integrated into the national life, all the while beautifully   preserving their distinct identities, majority of Indian Muslims allow   themselves to be used as a vote bank only as has again been amply proved by the results of the recently held general elections. For very obvious reasons, while the Congress party won’t ever admit that their Muslim-vote bank only has won the elections for them and once again the identity politics yielded rich dividends for the party, the stinking fact sticks out in all its ugliness. The related issues of minority,   minority institution and reservation, however, call for a serious rethink and definition in the larger national interests..

 

Nothing in our Constitution implies that   every religious community other than Hindu, irrespective of its size and population, should be termed “minority” In fact the “Secularism” as enshrined in the Preamble of our Constitution, slams down such a suggestion.             

 

The Constitution which enjoins “equality of status and of opportunity” within the framework of “Secular Democratic” polity in its Preamble itself totally rubbishes and out rightly rejects the concept of “religion-based minority”. Article 29 of it clearly, in the most unambiguous terms, and in sync with the secular ideals it propounds, excludes ‘religion’ as any determinant of minority status for any community. It says, “Any section of the citizens…….having a distinct language, script of culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same.” The word “religion” here is most justifiably conspicuous by its absence. By no means “Urdu” – the language and the script- is exclusively Muslim.  Born and cradled in India, it is as much an indigenous language as are the other languages: Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Gujrati etc. And there is no room for exclusiveness in our colourful cosmopolitan culture.  Article 29 (2), ibid, prohibits all manner of discrimination in the State maintained or aided educational institutions least of all  on the grounds of religion, race, caste, language or any of them.

There seems to be persistent misunderstanding about Article 30 of the Constitution as well. It grants minorities- again not the religion-based- the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice without the State’s interference in their administration if only unaided by the State. In the event of State funding or aiding an educational institution, the State acquires the right to supervise the administration of the institution even if established by minority. Article 30 does not stonewall state laws that are enacted to achieve secular objectives, as they are sine-qua-non for the health of our democratic set up.

While any religion-based reservation in an educational institution aided by the State is ultra vires constitutional provisions, these Articles are misinterpreted by the pseudo-secularists to promote their own entrenched vested interests. The devious minority (read Muslim) vote-bank and identity politics inimical to the larger national interests are pursued relentlessly to gain political mileage and win elections.               Unfortunately, the vested interests, in an all out effort to appease the so called minority, are hell bent to make a mockery of the Constitution, its secular ideals and circumventing the successive judicial orders and decisions. Ours seem to be a deeply flawed democracy. While the challenge   before the nation is to combat and liquidate  “Minoritism” as it is an antithesis to our secular ideals and gives fillip to fissiparous  tendencies, politicians and political parties  use it to promote the vote bank politics. Polarization of communities into religion-based “majority” and “minority” serves only the political designs of the wily politicos, divides the nation on communal lines and is inimical to the harmonious relations between the communities.

 

Questioned about doing something for the Minority (read Muslims) in Gujarat, the C.M. Narendra Modi rightly observed, “In my Gujarat there is only one community, and it is called ‘Gujarati’. So where is the question of doing anything for something which does not exist at all?” That is the secularism manifested in its truest form and spirit. How many politicians can afford the luxury of losing their cherished vote-bank by expressing such nationalist sentiments?

 

In the recent general elections, the Congress Party’s way to winning post went via its “Muslims-having- first- right- to- National Resources” theory of the Party. In situations like these, where means justify the end, the ‘foul’ becomes ‘fair’ and the only thing that counts is the success who cares for the ‘principled approach and secularism in its truest form as enshrined in our Constitution? The long term and far bigger National Interests are sacrificed at the altar of pseudo-secularism?

  While many, if not the most, politicians keep engaged in dividing the country on caste, community and religion lines and that too in the name of secularism, Mr. Modi seems to beckon Indians to be more circumspect and consider themselves as Indians first and last. It is not for nothing that the people of India consider Mr.Modi made of the stuff the P.Ms are made-secular to the core and unambiguously assertive about it.

 

If the very concept of minority is completely obliterated from the psyche    of our polity and the society and in its place secularism is ingrained therein then as sure as the day follows the night we will achieve full national integration – perhaps, we can do without a full-fledged Ministry of Minority Affairs at the Centre and put the money so saved to some better use. By all means let us junk this identity politics and our minority-fixation. It is fraught with serious dangers to the political and economic health of the nation. But the demagogues, across the board, dread the change. For if concepts of minoritism and identity politics are abolished, those who can’t think of any other route to the winning post, will get marginalized and lose their lucrative jobs. This malady, however, will continue to play havoc with the long term national interests, till we replaced this deeply flawed Westminster type of Parliamentary democracy by the Presidential model of democratic governance. See, who will bell the cat?                                

 

                                                                                                   -SANJOG MAHESHWARI

 

Muslims in India need to get integrated 06-12-08(1)Microsoft Wor

SANJOG MAHESHWARI

                                                                                                  C1-A-42 B M.I.G.FLATS,

                                                                                    JANAKPURI, NEW DELHI- 110 058

 MINORITY-FIXATION OF SOME STRAY LEADERS STILL HURTS  NATIONALISM

                                                                                                  -SANJOG MAHESHWARI.

              Only because the Constitution of India does not give any precise, concise and clear-cut definition of ‘minority’ or for that matter ‘minority community’- either intentionally or by design or just inadvertently (what?) nobody knows for sure- every now and then, one or the other section of citizens, tears itself out of its original Hindu fold and stakes its claims to the  minority status,  which is more than readily, rather greedily, accepted by the ruling combine for the sake of inflating its vote-bank comprising of thus obligated section(s).  In turn, these sections of citizens, who arrogate to themselves the minority status in connivance with the ruling political class, enjoy: ever inflating kitty particularly of quota /reservation benefits in government jobs and services, and establishing and running educational institutions of their choice, and other favours and privileges generously doled out to them, as quid-pro-quo, by the ruling political combine at the cost of larger national interests.

The latest group to be so admitted as minority is the Jain community. “Maheshwaris” , reportedly next in the queue, are trying desperately to fit in the loose and lousy ‘minority frame’ in terms of Article 29 of the Constitution. They argue that they have a distinct language- ‘Marwari’ with a distinct script ‘Mudia’ as also a distinct culture ‘Shaivait’ – the one and the only one quite distinct and distinguished community claiming to be descendants from Lord Shiva. The bonanza, however, is generally orchestrated in the run-up of the general elections, for the obvious reasons.

WHAT IS HINDUISM?

Hinduism arguably is a way of life and living, and not a religion, the strict sense in which the term ‘religion’ is generally understood and accepted world over. While all the so-called religions have a distinct identity with their closed, compartmentalized pre-structured formulation, Hinduism is a value-based cultural bouquet adorned by many religious beliefs and practices- all flowers blooming in their individual identity, fragrance and glory.  Thus we see there have been (some still are) the sects like Sikhs, Jains, Shaivas, Veerashaivas, Aryasamajis, Brahmosamajis, and numerous others coexisting, within a broad all embracing framework without prejudice to their distinct faith, religious practices, rituals, ways of worship, beliefs, legends and so forth in the perennial fraternal love for each other since ages..  Thus Hinduism can be defined and described as a cultural ‘Federation of National Religions& Faiths’.

STRENGTH WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES & THREATS – SWOT ANALYSIS OF HINDUISM

While this liberal and elastic arrangement should be looked up to as the strength of Hinduism due to its potent power of assimilation and inclusiveness, sadly turns out to be its weakness;  thanks only to the existing political dispensation that encourages divisive politics of ‘vote-bank and identity.’ In the quest for power via the ‘vote-banks’, almost every political outfit vies with each other to divide and subdivide the nation in various targeted identifiable independent groups on the basis of religion, community, caste, region, language, culture, backward, dalit, non-dalit and every other conceivable or even non-conceivable formulation. This policy of the politicos and political classes  relentlessly pursued all through the last more than six decades is further solidly backed and reinforced by ‘quota/ reservation’ plans for the targeted, identified classes and so-called minorities. Thus this cultural steel structure and the framework called Hinduism which have been bonding the civic society of India since Aryan days is now increasingly getting vulnerable to the repeated planned attacks on it to weaken, and if possible, dismantle it altogether. United States of America, which once was inhabited by the people of more than a dozen nationalities, several different races, followers of various religious faiths and beliefs, soon became one solid nation, thanks only to their loose federal structure which, at best, is a political replication of our own more than 5000 years old cultural federation, which around 6th AD , had come to be known as “Hinduis”  - the  proud Aryan legacy which our own political class is bent upon weakening.  As of now, it is surely and systematically being dismantled by the entrenched vested self-interests of politicos and political outfits.  Brick by brick and block by block, the framework is being pulled apart.

The Hindu population is thinning vis-a-vis the Muslim population which is increasing in geometrical progression as against the Hindu increasing in arithmetical progression only, but at the same time, also rapidly diminishing with the big chunks of it furiously breaking-off from the parent body to form minority communities. They do so just to get an edge over other communities and gain numerous other benefits and advantages, which come along with the minority status

HINDUS BREAKING UP

      All Hindu communities crave for the minority, backward or dalit and scheduled caste or scheduled tribe status. And why should they not, if it is politically, socially and economically expedient to do so. For the ruling political class the newly formed vote-banks promise rich dividends in elections. If such a divisive politics is detrimental to the larger national interests, and inhibits national integration, who cares?

ABUSES  OF THE BIGGEST MINORITY (READ MUSLIM) VOTE BANK

              Indian Muslims allow   themselves to be used as a solid vote bank- a floorboard from which to demand limitless concessions in exchange of votes from the much-too-willing political outfits. For very obvious reasons, while the Congress party won’t ever admit that their Muslim-vote bank only had won most of the elections for them so far ever since independence and every time the identity politics yielded rich dividends for the party, the stinking fact stinks sky-high. The related issues of minority,   minority institutions and reservation ( proposed 15% reservation for Muslims in jobs, seats in educational institutions etc. could be seen as the reward proposed to be given to the community in recognition of its king-size contribution in the victory of the  Congress party in the Lok Sabha elections and, also in substantially improving the party’s presence in the states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh etc. leading it to winning the Assembly elections as well in the later two), need to be revisited, reviewed and redefined in the context of larger national interests. The provisions of the Article 29 & 30 of the Constitution have already been put to much abuse in cultivating and promoting the identity and vote-bank politics to the detriment of larger national interests. While any religion-based reservation in an educational institution aided by the State is ultra vires constitutional provisions, these Articles are constantly misinterpreted by the pseudo-secularists to promote their own entrenched vested interests. The devious minority (read Muslim) vote-bank and identity politics that is inimical to the larger national interests is relentlessly pursued to gain political mileage over the rivals and win elections.

ARTICLES 29 & 30 OF THE CONSTITUTION

Enough of the divisive politics and balkanization of the nation on communal lines in the guise of safeguarding minority (read Muslim) interests. It is high time now that we rubbished and scrapped Articles 29 & 30 being detrimental to the national integration. They seriously offend  larger national interests in more than one way.  In fact the “Secularism” as enshrined in the Preamble of our Constitution, slams down such a suggestion of dividing nation on communal lines. There is no room for exclusiveness in our colourful cosmopolitan composite culture. Let all political parties contest elections on their own merit instead of resorting to the identity politics to win them.

VOTE-BANK & IDENTITY POLITICS-MOCKERY OF THE CONSTITUTION

              Unfortunately, the vested interests, in an all out effort to appease the so called minority, are hell bent to make a mockery of the Constitution, its secular ideals and circumventing the successive judicial orders and decisions also. Ours seem to be a deeply flawed democracy. While the challenge   before the nation is to combat and liquidate  “Minoritism” as it is an antithesis to our secular ideals and stimulates fissiparous  tendencies; politicians and political parties vie with each other for gaining maximum political mileage by practicing the vote-bank and identity politics, which has since been fine-tuned and perfected as an art and science of winning elections. They nurse, promote and consolidate the minority(read Muslim) vote bank to win elections and having won the elections, don’t have the moral strength to interfere with the community’s population-boosting programmes, even when the burgeoning population of the country has been posing the biggest and the greatest challenge ( mother of most of our national problems and maladies) of all the times, before the nation as it results in a huge surge of scramble for the severely limited national resources resulting in hunger, poverty, mal-nutrition, suicides etc. for more than 37% of the population below the poverty line and a miserable existence for the next 50%. Thus, as of now, the whole country is fit for living only for the remaining less than 13% rich, mighty and powerful.

Polarization of communities into religion-based “majority” and “minority” serves only the political designs of the wily politicos, divides the nation on communal lines, encourages the Minority (read Muslims) to increase its number through rapid reproduction for gaining undue advantages and concessions for the community from the all too-willing political outfits in exchange of their votes. Who bothers if it leads to the cut-throat scramble for severely limited National resources, so long as the compromise helps win the elections (which it invariably does)? In the process the relations between the various communities are also get stressed and threatened.

              It would be interesting to recall that some time ago, questioned about doing something for the Minority (read Muslims) in Gujarat, the C.M. Narendra Modi aptly observed, “In my Gujarat there is only one community, and it is called ‘Gujarati’. So where is the question of doing something for anything which does not exist at all?” That is the secularism manifested in its truest form, glory and spirit. Muslims of Gujarat were quick to recognize it and again voted Modi to power, who brought prosperity to Gujarat benefiting all sections of Gujaratis- Muslims of the state included. 

DIVISIVE POLITICS

In all the elections so far, the Congress Party’s trajectory to the winning post went via the expressed or implied “Muslims having the first right to the National Resources” theory of the party. This divisive approach has been replicated by other players in different forms as well- In several U.P. Assembly elections, Mr.Mulayam Singh experimented with: Muslims +OBC, and Ms. Mayawati with: Muslims + SC/ST combination of the vote-bank with resounding success.  Earlier, late V.P. Singh, then the wiliest cat of the U.P’s. Political jungle, showed the path to his minor aficionados by catapulting himself to the top post on the strength of the formidable vote-bank comprising  of Muslims + SC/ST +OBC votes. Thus in many cases,- U.P and Bihar Assembly elections, in particular,- the Congress Party was forced to kiss the dust by its one time rivals using the very weapon, it had earlier invented and used to the hilt, to win elections. In the process, the loser all the way has been the nation as a whole, and the all-time gainer: the identified community, getting politically stronger by the day, simply by increasing its numerical strength through rapid reproduction. Even the short-term winner- the pro-tempore winning political party, to its great chagrin, may find, but never admit, that all those were it’s spurious victories at the cost of larger national interests-unity and solidarity of the nation.

In situations like these, where means justify the end, the ‘foul’ becomes ‘fair’ and the only thing that counts is the success; who cares for the ‘principled approach and secularism in its truest form as enshrined in our Constitution? The long term and far bigger National Interests are sacrificed at the altar of pseudo-secularism.

The unfortunate culture of divisive politics does not end here.  It goes on to spread its poisonous tentacles in yet another vicious manner and form: Demand for bifurcation and trifurcation of the existing states into smaller units, and that too in the name of development.  The local out-of- the- job politicians weave dreams of becoming C.Ms of the smaller units-more the merrier. After all, a C.M. or a M.L.A of a Lilliputian state enjoys all power, pelf, perks, pay, pension, govt. mansion etc. all at par with his counterpart of a big state. The only loser is the nation and the people. The former gets divided and fragmented, and the later having to foot hugely vulgar bills to keep the augmented armies of the politicians and the bureaucrats of the new states, good humoured.  

  While many, if not the most, politicians keep engaged in dividing the country on caste, community, region and religion lines and that too in the name of secularism, Mr. Modi seems to beckon Indians to be more circumspect and consider themselves as Indians first and last. It is not for nothing that the people of India regard Mr.Modi as made of the stuff the P.Ms are made-secular to the core and unambiguously assertive about it.

If the very concept of minority is completely obliterated from the psyche    of our polity and the society and in its place secularism is ingrained therein then as sure as the day follows the night we will achieve full national integration – perhaps, we can do without a full-fledged Ministry of Minority Affairs at the Centre and/or at the State level and put the money so saved to some better use. By all means let us junk this identity politics and our minority-fixation. It is fraught with serious dangers to the political and economic health of the nation. But the demagogues, across the board, dread the change. For if concepts of minoritism and identity politics are given the go-by, those who can’t rely on their merit to get to the winning post, will get marginalized and lose their lucrative jobs. This malady, however, will continue to play havoc with the long term national interests, till we replaced this deeply flawed Westminster type of Parliamentary democracy by the Presidential model of democratic governance. See, who bells the cat?                                

                                                                                                   -SANJOG MAHESHWARI

C1-A-42 B M.I.G. FLATS,

JANAKPURI, NEW DELHI- 110 058