No power to the people

The nuke deal controversy shows a chilling distance
between politicians and people The fracas over the Indo-US Nuclear deal, 123 Agreement and Hyde Act has revealed one chilling fact. It has revealed how easily the elite politics of Jawaharlal Nehru University and the India International Centre - politics that have no resonance with the people - can dominate parliament and government. It has also shown how so called "people's representatives" are bizarrely removed from the people and how a complete non-issue has become a reason to talk of a change of government. The dangers of becoming distant from voters were revealed in the Shining India campaign of the NDA when debates in the CII and the financial papers were seen to be reflective of the entire country. Now there is a similar danger that the UPA government is becoming a prisoner of Lutyensland and confusing gossip sessions in Central....

The Cult of the Sex Goddess

In its 60th year as an independent nation, India has just elected its first woman president. Yet the ascent of the demure Pratibha Patil - with her covered head and long career in "women's issues" - may not necessarily be a victory for Indian women. Today, in India, "women's empowerment" is a government slogan; it is a feature of every party manifesto. There is a ministry for women and child development. There are laws against female foeticide, domestic violence and sexual harassment in the workplace. The number of working women is exploding: businesswomen such as Kiran Majumdar Shaw and sportswomen such as Sania Mirza show that talented, determined women are making it in every corner of this traditional society - a society that was entirely male-dominated in 1947. Yet, in the first decade of the 21st century, Indian women - seemingly protected by law, celebrated by the media and nursed....

Shshsh... Muslim!

A conspiracy of silence has followed the conspiracy of terror. There is a certain chilling predictability about the list of convicts, a dreadful Orwellian litany of sameness. After a mammoth 14 years of trial and the dramatic sentencing of Sanjay Dutt, the Bombay Blasts case of 1993, is closed. Of 123 accused, 100 have been sentenced. 12 have been given death. 20 have been given life terms, 15 of them with Rigorous Imprisonment. What are the names of those who will die? Among others, Memon. Turk. Tarani. Shaikh. Mukadam. Ghansar. Malik. Pawle. And Khan. What are the names of those who will serve life terms with RI? Among others, Shaikh. Khairulla. Qureshi. Memon. Rehman. And Kadar. In the 1998 Coimbatore blast verdict this week, the main accused Abdul Nazar Madani has been acquitted, but SA Basha, founder of al-Umma has been found guilty, along with 157 others. Muslim after....