Elections a family affair in Uttar Pradesh

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The first recorded dynasty in India is the Nair Dynasty which ruled the South Indian state of Kerala from the pre-Vedic age to the 18th century. Since then, more than 35 dynasties have ruled India. Interestingly, the last one is the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty - politically the most powerful family in India. No matter how hard we try to convince ourselves that dynastic rule (or what is called 'bhai bhatijawad' in local parlance) is a matter of the past, history suggests that dynastic rule has thrived in this country for more than 2000 years and will continue to be in our politicians' blood. Be it the 'party with a difference' - the BJP, the Congress, Samajwadi Party, BSP or Ajit Singh's Rastriya Lok Dal. All these parties are plagued with dynastic culture right at the grass-root level and often it manifests itself in an ugly form just before the elections.....

When will Rahul Gandhi play mixed doubles?

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We live in a country where people seem to be obsessed with politicians, their lives and their past lives. And, perhaps no other family in India has drawn people's attention than the Nehru-Gandhi parivar. From the days of lawyer and Congress leader Moti Lal Nehru, to the family's fifth generation and poster-boy Rahul Gandhi, people's thirst for knowing minutest details about India's numero uno dynasty hasn't quenched at all. So as Rahul Gandhi turns 40 today, most Gandhi watchers seem to have the same question on their lips: When will India's most eligible bachelor get married? What will happen to this country if there is no sixth generation of the Nehru-Gandhi clan? Although Priyanka Gandhi is blessed with two children, she - at the moment- does not intend to join politics. (Cannot say what her children will do in the future). Says, Mohammad Irfan Sheikh,....

A long queue awaits Kasab

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On Thursday morning millions of Indians remained glued to their TV sets to see whether India's most wanted man - Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab -- gets a death sentence or not. Dozens of guests from all walks of life -- lawyers, politicians and opinion-makers -- were seen moving in and out of the air-conditioned television studios of channels, while in the scorching sun outside the special court in Mumbai, reporters tried their best to get that one piece of information from the jam packed court room - a news which they believed will change the people's mindset about the judiciary in dealing with terrorism related cases in India. At around 2 pm, the entire world came to know that the 22-year-old Kasab was awarded death sentence by the court. People cheered on the streets of Mumbai, burst crackers, while inside Parliament the Indian Home Minister....

Nano means small, and small means development

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Uttarakhand was once a state reliant on the money order economy and huge liquor revenues. Today the hill state has come a long way. And there is no better example than the fact that when the Tata Nano car rolls out at the end of March, it will do so from the Pantnagar plant in Uttarakhand. Unlike Uttar Pradesh - which has always been an epicenter of Indian politics - Uttarakhand might not have a history full of glorious political tales and flamboyant political stars such as the Nehrus and Gandhis, tall leaders of the stature of Atal Bihari Vajpayee or political heavy-weights like the Mulayams and the Mayawatis; but read Uttrakhand's brief political history and you will be forced to believe in the maxim: 'the smaller the better'. Unlike its 'elder sibling'-- Uttar Pradesh --from which the hill state was carved out in 2000, Uttarakhand....

Mayawati: The Inside Story

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Letter from the states: Uttar Pradesh The year was 2001. I was attending Mayawati's press conference in Lucknow. Quite unlike her lavish PCs held these days, whenever out of power Mayawati used to invite journalists to her Mal Avenue residence (allotted in her name as a former chief minister of UP) where the conference used to be held in a small portico - Mayawati sat at a small table covered with white linen facing a dozen odd plastic chairs fixed neatly for the reporters. On that hot summer day Mayawati further charged the atmosphere by quickly announcing the removal of her party's three important leaders - R. K Chowdhary, Barkhu Ram Varma and Krishan Pal Singh for their alleged anti-party stand on the controversial reservation issue. Even as the conference was in progress, the news got flashed on the TV channels. After the conference got over journalists....

Maulana Mulayam and perils of nuclear deal

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August 2007: UNPA leaders meet in New Delhi to hold discussions over the crucial Nuclear Deal. After the meeting UNPA chairperson and SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav addresses a press conference and tells the reporters: "We have no foreign policy. Even the Congress does not know what our foreign policy is. We will go to the parliament and the people." Now cut to 3rd July, 2008: The same UNPA leaders again meet in New Delhi to discuss their stand over the Nuclear Deal. Now Mulayam Singh Yadav is neither willing to oppose the Nuclear Deal either inside the parliament or out on the streets. Instead the Samajwadi Party Chief has taken a U turn. While the UNPA leaders pose photographs holding each other hands for the camera and try to send a message that they stand united, Samajwadi Party's dramatic shift towards the Congress marks the beginning of the....

Art of chamchagiri: From Sonia Gandhi to Mayawati - Jai Akhilesh Das

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The exit of Akhilesh Das Gupta from the Congress might not cause a severe damage to the party in Uttar Pradesh but it has brought to fore the constant infighting in the party's UP unit. Congress high command at 10, Janpath either fails to realize the growing unrest among the state Congressmen or it seems to have chosen to ignore this problem that is plaguing the party for quite some time now. While Akhilesh Das has joined the Bahujan Samaj Party after his removal as a minister in Manhoman Singh's cabinet, the roots of Das's exit from Congress can be traced back to the change of guard in the UP Congress, following the party's dismal performance in the May 2007 Assembly Elections. Son of a former Chief Minister of UP, Babu Banarsi Das Gupta and Das - a flourishing businessman - always remained an eyesore for....

Flesh, blood or stone: Mayawati's Maya.

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Occasion: 117th birth anniversary of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar. The Venue: Newly renovated Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal, Lucknow. The event: UP's Chief Minister and firebrand Dalit leader unveils four statues - of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar, his wife Ramabai Ambedkar and of Mayawati's guru and BSP founder Kanshi Ram. But there is something else which has generated curiosity among all those gathered in the Ambedkar sthal. It is unveiling of the fourth statue. 'Mayawati In flesh and blood' will be unveiling, 'Mayawati in stone.' But why did Mayawati unveil her own statue? Perhaps the answer lies in the reactions given by the people who had gathered for this occasion. Three categories of people witnessed this event: Firstly, the bureaucrats who it seemed had not slept for several days because they wanted to make the event a 'special one'. Second, the....

Dhyanchand to Dhoni: Demise of great Indian hockey

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For any reporter a Vox populi or voice of the people can be one of the easiest assignments ....When you are scrambling for news ideas every evening, a call from the assignment desk asking you to send a few vox-pops (that's what they are called in journalistic parlance) next morning comes as a ray of hope. And there is nothing like it when the topic happens to be cricket. Throw questions on cricket and public will crowd around you and your gun-mike will start to pick up voices from all directions. "Tendulkar! What a player he is." "Had he not got back his form...India would have lost the series." Public hai saab janti hai.... So you start talking cricket, even a street smart paanwallah can turn one of the best critics of the game. "Sachin is doing well because he has started to wait....

JOURNALISTS: AND Post Hoc Fallacy

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Twelve years ago when I passed out of journalism school....The only thing I remembered as a cub reporter were the five Ws and one H of a news report. These fives were: Who, What, When, Where and Why... And the lone H meant: How" The pundits of journalism those days believed that for a news report to be authentic and complete the reporter must follow this basic rule of 5W and one H. I still remember my first assignment was for the Pioneer. My editor assigned me the task of filing a report on a flyover which was under construction. Its construction caused a lot of resentment in the saffron brigade as a temple was proposed to be razed to the ground to make way for the flyover. It was a straight forward story which any sensible reporter could have completed and filed the evening. But it took me....