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Year of consolidation for Modi

By Sidharth Mishra

It’s just three more days before the year ends. Prime Minister Narendra Modi can look back at 2016 with some satisfaction, and be at peace at least for the next three months before the results of the state Assembly polls in the four states of Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, and Uttarakhand come out. However, given the state of our federalism, it’s unlikely that even adverse results for the BJP in the aforementioned state polls would impact the government at the Centre much.
If we look back at the year, we do not see very many challenges which the government faced and have remained unresolved. The tasks which remain are the political battles to be fought at state level, where the issues vary from national one day to something very local the next day. With regional forces playing a dominant role in two of the major states going to polls, their focus certainly will be on local matters.
Both Akhilesh Yadav, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, are pushing hard to make the performance of their respective governments on the development front into a major poll issue. They, especially Akhilesh Yadav, who is in an adversarial position against BJP in the Uttar Pradesh, would want their personal charisma to do the talking and overshadow that of Narendra Modi.
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Restore trust in force brass

By Sidharth Mishra

Last week, soon after Lt General Bipin Rawat was announced the next Chief of Army Staff (COAS) superceding two officers senior to him, the armed forces family, consisting of the serving officers and the veterans, gave out a mixed reaction. In this era and time of social media, such reactions are easy to express but difficult to be comprehended.
One thing which your reporter understood going through inputs on various platforms was that the men in the uniform react differently to a situation depending on their years of service in the force. While for some appointment of Gen Rawat was celebration of their regimental, arm brotherhood, for others it was a case of “unnecessary” political interference.
The Army has largely maintained seniority as the main quotient among the serving army commanders and the vice-chief for elevating one among them as the COAS. In recent history, this has been seldom disrupted but for the instance of Lt General SK Sinha being overlooked and Gen AS Vaidya being elevated. Interestingly, Gen Vaidya was an Armoured Corp (9 Deccan) officer, who had superseded an infantry officer Gen Sinha (Gorkha Rifles).
Now we have a situation reversal,
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Do or die situation for Centre

By Sidharth Mishra

Another week has ended, and there has been no debate during the ongoing winter session of Parliament. The session so far has faced a near washout, and the treasury and opposition benches are pointing fingers at each other for the logjam saying that their voice is being muzzled.
BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani expressed his angst at the non-functioning of the House, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says that since he is not being allowed to speak in the Rajya or Lok Sabha so he has taken to addressing Jan Sabhas (public meetings) and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has said that if he speaks inside the house, there would be an earthquake. What’s stopping him to measure his speech on Richter scale is beyond your reporter’s comprehension.
Before one loses the sight of the cause that has led to the logjam, it would be worthwhile to tell the political class that across the spectrum they have not been of any help to the people suffering from the hardships caused by the demonetisation move. If the trumpeters of the government want us to believe that people are taking the hardships in their stride, they must be told that the patience is gradually wearing out.
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Man of his master’s bidding

By Sidharth Mishra

The debate in the Parliament on demonetisation is lying in limbo with the Opposition and the treasury benches unable to find a meeting point to start dialogue. The last word so far in the debate has been from former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
In his quarter of a century long political career, the veteran public servant for sure has shown the knack to use famous quotes at appropriate times to demolish the adversary. On such occasions, especially when under fire, he has also shown the unique quality to maintain an expressionless silence.
No wonder last fortnight he took refuge once again in quotes to corner Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the policy of demonetisation. Two excerpts from his seven-minute-long address are worth mentioning. The first, “Even those who say that this measure will do harm or cause distress in the short term but be in the interests of the country in the long run should be reminded of what John Keynes said once -- In the long run all of us are dead.”
The second being, “So, in all these measures, convince me that the way this scheme has been implemented is a monumental management failure, and in fact, it is a case of organised loot, legalised plunder of the common people.” The speech immediately reminded me of Singh retaining his traits as politicians even at this ripe age and probably during his last term in Parliament.
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Despicable demonetization debate

By Sidharth Mishra

In the past fortnight, left to following demonetisation news, as nothing else is getting reported, convalescing on the bed, I have started to ponder on what is making the debate deteriorate to a fathomless sinkhole. If I were to best summarise my feelings, it was encapsulated in a WhatsApp group message, which said, “If you are watching Zee News on status of exchanging cash, there is no problem; if you are watching Aaj Tak, there could be some problem, and if NDTV, the chances of catastrophe are very high.” Then the message went on to pun, “Thus, try and stand in the Zee News queue.”
Then there was this clip going viral of NDTV’s Ravish Kumar being questioned by a young man in Haryana, a ‘Jat Bhai’, for trying to do a negative report on demonetisation. Worse, to overcome his frustration at being outwitted, Kumar, who is celebrated by many, went on air saying that ‘Jat Bhai’ was phoning his friends to come and do whatever to him. Now is this dramatisation of news of any consequence as millions battle crisis to run their daily chores.
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Living with demonetisation

By Sidharth Mishra

Many of us, I am sure, will have a demonetisation story to share. Much more amusing and interesting than those ferreted out by our recalcitrant television medium. Indian TV is much too occupied by the dictum “camera loves sad pictures.” The tragedy of Indian media, especially television, has been its preoccupation with tragedy, playing just on the sadistic elements.
The most hilarious of the sad pictures was former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian pointing out to celebrated anchor Barkha Dutt during her talk show that even he had a swollen ankle and he could not blame it on Modi’s demonetisation policy! A bad pack of lady-fingers purchased from a store, too, gets blamed on Modi, “only if I had cash in hand I would have gone to a roadside vegetable cart.” I wonder if the spunky lady complaining of the lady's fingers would be last person standing when the corporation’s demolition and eviction drive against street vendors happen next.
I underwent the surgeon’s knife last week under, what’s called in medical parlance, a planned surgical intervention at Fortis Escorts Hospital in the national Capital last week .
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Scripting party’s doom

By Sidharth Mishra

Past fortnight has certainly shown that other than the leading opposition party of the country – the Congress, all the other outfits have chartered out their well-defined roadmaps for the times to come. Let us first take up the case of other parties and then come back to the Congress to show how in the absence of a mature and strong leadership, the nation’s oldest political parties is slowly but surely scripting its own political demise, with the increasing clamour to elevate him as party head.
First, the issue of the command and control the leadership enjoys over the party: Congress is the only party where the leader is perceived to be seen as functioning through advisor and coteries. A cursory glance on the other parties would make the difference very clear.
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Schizophrenic trends in Indian media

By Sidharth Mishra

At a recent seminar on India-Pakistan relation, a very erudite speaker made a very valid point. He said that we must realise that Pakistan was a drag on our progress and growth and we must learn to be indifferent to matters relating to the terror-sponsoring nation. Now this is easier said than done especially when the North Indian media and Bollywood is so bewitched of happenings in the neighbouring country and matters Pakistan raise such passions across the creative and political quarters.
Therefore I was not really surprised when the leading lights of Indian media, decided to uphold the editorial of Pakistan’s leading daily ‘Dawn’, defending its reporter Cyril Almeida’s report on the differences cropping up between the neighbouring nation’s civil and military establishment following the surgical carried out by the Indian Army commandoes inside Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, as beacon of a brave press.
The ‘Dawn’ report should not be seen in isolation. The day, Cyril Almeida’s story was carried by ‘Dawn’ delineating civilian leadership’s charge against the military establishment, the rival paper ‘The Nation’, which is seen to be closer to the army, carried a report quoting Pakistan army chief Raheel Sharif saying that through Operation Zarb-e-Azb, Pak army had successfully rooted out terrorist infrastructure and also defeated the residual terrorist elements in the form of facilitators. He was quoted as saying that enemies of Pakistan (meaning India) will make efforts to reverse the gains in the fight against terror, but “their nefarious designs will not be allowed to succeed at any cost.”
It’s also important to note that Cyril Almeida’s report was nothing extraordinary,
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