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Season of Long Knives
Gang wars shake politics – 2
by Rajinder Puri

It would be futile to search for any issue behind this power struggle. It would be more rewarding to identify its underlying cause. Because, this time a ferocious power struggle could develop without any issues separating opponents. If that happens it could signal the collapse of the prevalent political culture. It could herald the transition to a new era. To appreciate the reasons for this the current political situation needs to be thoroughly understood.

The various sting operations by the media have brought into open all the hatred and criminality that had remained bottled up among politicians. To recognize this, one has to heed merely the level of political discourse. Mr. Mulayam Singh and Mr. Amar Singh have accused a big industrialist of abetting Mrs. Sonia Gandhi in getting their phones tapped. They did not name the industrialist to avoid perhaps a defamation case. However, it became fairly clear to media persons covering the event the person they had in mind. The matter did not end there. Later both leaders claimed that there was a plot being hatched by the same industrialist to kill them. Such charges are being made in all seriousness. If the charges have substance it would be regrettable. If they are made to create an atmosphere it would be no better. The casual way in which murder and criminal conspiracy charges are leveled against contemporaries is symptomatic of the dreadful malaise that has overtaken India’s political class.

Parties have ceased to be relevant. It is open war between individuals displaying hatred that would do gangsters proud. The Sanjay Joshi tape which ended his tenure as secretary of BJP is being sourced to circles within the BJP. On the dais BJP leaders are described as Ram or Laxman or Hanuman. But off the dais they brazenly pursue a policy of God-eat-God. The infighting within Congress is less crude but not less fierce. The overall scene therefore is reminiscent of the mafia gangs in America during the last century. The police and FBI succeeded in fomenting disputes among the gang leaders. The ensuing gang wars destroyed some of America’s leading gangsters. On India’s political turf there was no police to ignite this war being fought by thieves fallen out. God and nature seem to be at work. But the future of the present political class may not differ very much from what befell the mafia gangsters of America.

The worrisome aspect is that India may soon have to make crucial decisions in foreign policy. It is a time when rule by a stable coherent government is imperative. How will India cope in the months ahead? Will the instinct to survive restrain our politicians sufficiently to restore a semblance of stability to tide over the critical days ahead? If that does happen there could be restraint in the short term and reform in the long term. Otherwise the days ahead could be grim, very grim.      

January 18, 2006

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The Week of January 15, 2006     
Season of Long Knives : Gang wars shake politics by Rajinder Puri
Pakistan : Musharraf's Cauldron on the Boil by Dr. Subhash Kapila 
Strategy for Rural Electrification by Dr. Anil K. Rajvanshi
New Zealand on My Mind : My Favorite KIWI Destinations by Neha Girotra 
Isomers, Prions, Homonyms, Necker Cubes,
              Us and the Universe Part 2 by Gaurang Bhatt, MD
Inspiration Series 'Bolography' by William C. Gladish
The Spiritual Dimension of Parenting by Rajgopal Nidamboor 
Unforgettable Times: Indo English Poetry in the Seventies by Dr. Amitabh Mitra   
No Kidding by Pallavi Bhattacharya
Perception Defines Life by Mahesh Sharma
Truth is No Longer Required by Michael Levy  
Life's a Charade by Anjali Anand Seth 
The Spirit of Indian Philosophy by Dr. R.K. Lahiri, Ph.D
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SPARROW'S Flight to Success by Fatima Chowdhury  
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America : A Land of Opportunities by Arya Bhushan 
Biography of the place named Kasaragod by Dr. V. Sankaran Nair
The Unwritten History of the Saurashtrians of the South India by T.A. Ramesh
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