Why politicians get edgy when judiciary plays God

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The day union minister Shibhu Soren was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, the mood in parliament's central hall was distinctly somber. "Bechara Shibhu," said one member of parliament. "Phas gaya Shibhu", lamented another. As the MPs debated the verdict, one of them who is facing a possible conviction in a corruption case, protested, "These bloody courts, they just want to target politicians." That statement was enough to lead another member of the esteemed gathering to remark, "Don't worry, tumhara number bhee aayega (your name too will come) !" There was a loud laugh across the room as the MPs glanced at each other. Their laughter betrayed a sense of nervousness. For the first time in years, the Indian politician, the modern day rajah, is confronted with an emotion that he has not experienced so far: fear. Typically, our netas fear no one. The bureaucrats have been crushed....

In the name of Ambedkar

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The late Kanshi Ram was the hellraiser of the 1990s. His shirt always unbuttoned, hair uncombed, a towel around his neck, the Bahujan Samaj party leader was keen to maintain his distinctive identity. "I am not like your Maharashtra Dalit leaders who spend their time building statues in the name of Babasaheb Ambedkar," he told me. "When we come to power, we will bring genuine empowerment instead of renaming universities and building statues," he claimed. 16 years on, Kanshi Ram's legacy has taken a rather different turn. Spread right across Uttar Pradesh are districts, parks, auditoria named after Dr Ambedkar while statues of the man dot virtually every village and town square across the state. The desecration of one such statue in Kanpur has already led to a conflagration in Maharashtra. Why is it that there are more statues of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar in India than any other....