Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day!
India's pledge of Allegiance

Today is the 63rd Anniversary of the Republic of India, a beacon of pluralistic democracy where every one has a right to the pursuit of happiness and his or her dreams.

We are proud of our heritage - a multi-faith, multi-cultural, multi-regional and multi-linguistic society, where we have come to accept and respect every which way people have lived their lives.

For over 5000 years, India has been a beacon of pluralism - it has embraced Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Baha’i and Zoroastrianism to include in the array of the indigenous religions; Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. It also has several hundred local traditions that people follow.

India led the way to the freedom movement, since 1947 every country has been liberated from colonialism. Indian democracy is a shining example to the world, where the people have peacefully transferred the powers and express their aspirations to be in governance through the power of ballot.

We Indians are inherently PLURALISTS and economically capitalistic. We believe in "live-and-let-live" life style, which is the essence of capitalism.

Through the years we have expressed the highest degree of maturity on handling extreme situations; the more divergent opinions we hear, the larger our heart grows, the bigger our embrace would be and we can cushion more differences.

We still have a small percentage of population clamoring to see the value of co-existence and about 1/10th of 1% of Indians are far from getting it. In my reach out to about 10,000 Indians across the world, my formula should produce about 1000 individuals to be abhorrent to the idea of peaceful co-existence. Thank God, I have found them to be less than 100 Indians among the 10,000 on my list who are obdurate to the idea of co-existence, i.e., they are less than 1/100th of 1% of Indians, regardless of what faith they follow, are they significant statistically? A majority of all of us, i.e., over 99.9% of us are good people.

On this occasion, I have included the link to our National Anthem, please play it and see the beauty of our Pluralism. I have been playing it since 5:00 AM this morning and must have played at least 20 times and I love it. It grows on me.

National Anthem: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7399792002477900458

If you are a You Tube Member, you can click the following link and play 22 patriotic Songs, I may upload another 15 later this afternoon, but you have 22. The individual songs are also listed below

http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?pi=0&ps=20&sf=&sa=0&sq=&dm=0&p=11804D049D6DA550

I am proud of my heritage and am proud to be an Indian-American. Below my signature I have included a new Pledge of Allegiance to Mother India, please take time to think about it and invite you to write comments as well.

Jai Hind.

Mike Ghouse is a thinker, writer speaker and an activist of pluralism, interfaith, co-existence, peace, Islam and India. He is a frequent guest at the TV, radio and print media offering pluralistic solutions to issues of the day. His websites and Blogs are listed on http://www.mikeghouse.net/
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INDIAN PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Mike Ghouse

With the belief that every Indian wants justice to every human being; rich or poor, connected or not, and demands fair treatment of every one of the 1.1 Billion Indians, we must come to grips with the social and community life to create an exemplary India, that will become a model nation in the world.

We have to give room to the extremists in every section of our communities be it Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Zoroastrian or other, hoping they would recognize the God given space to each one of us and eventually see the benefits of co-existence.

I propose that the parliament of India introduce a bill for every political, cultural and religious organization in India to register with the Home Ministry, state their purpose, list their assets for public scrutiny, list the membership roster to be updated annually. Include a modified version of the 7 items into Indian Penal Code, and make it in to the law to punish the violators of the law.

Patriotism should be defined in terms of what you do to uplift the hopes of people, in terms of education to all, jobs to as many as we can in each successive year, home for every human, and a better life style to every Indian.

Every public office holder from the Peon to the President of India, and every one in between must take this pledge and live by it. Violation should disqualify him or her from holding the public office. Let it be monitored publicly.

1. I pledge allegiance to India, the nation that stands for liberty and justice for all.

2. I pledge that I honor and treat every Indian with "full" dignity.

3. I pledge that all individuals would be treated on par.

4. I pledge that I will treat all religions with equal respect, equal access and equal treatment.

5. I pledge that I will oppose any act that treats any Indian less than myself.

6. I Pledge that I will work for a India, where every individual can live with security and aspire for prosperity.

7. I pledge that I will protect, preserve and value every inch of India and every human soul in India

This would be the first step towards ensuring a Just, peaceful and prosperous India, that can sustain its progress and peace.

Jai Hind

Mike Ghouse is a thinker, writer speaker and an activist of pluralism, interfaith, co-existence, peace, Islam and India. He is a frequent guest at the TV, radio and print media offering pluralistic solutions to issues of the day. His websites and Blogs are listed on http://www.mikeghouse.net/

NATIONAL SONGS ARE ON THE LEFT COLUMN OF THE BLOG http://www.mikeghouseforindia.net/

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Democratic Faiths

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Democtratic Faiths

The following article “Democratic faiths” by Ajith Kumar is an excellent piece on roots and sustenance of democracy, however, the author exhibits his inadequacy and bias in his research.

The Muslims around the world are waking up and figuring out the effects of cold wars, the power struggles of nations to control the resources and extricating themselves from these tentacles. It is time for Muslims to wake up and figure out how to bring sustainable democracies in their nations. While the majority of Muslims want the democratic form of governance which is indeed rooted in Islam, they have been unable to speak up against their rules, we Americans also have experienced that since 2001. The Saudi King made a statement that his subjects are not ready for democracy. Is that the faith he has in his people? No one is eternal and immortal, except the continuance of human race and it is our obligation to bring sustainable governance, where people are continually involved in its checks and balances for harmonious co-existence.

Author’s bias comes through when he subtly claims superiority for Hinduism and Christianity and shows his ignorance about Islam or rather Prejudice against Islam.

This is not how you build peaceful societies by creating bias against another faith. One has to find the truth, point the specific errors and not generalize it to suit one’s bias.

Continued: http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/06/democratic-faiths.html

Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker and a Writer. He is a frequent guest on talk radio and local television network discussing Pluralism, Terrorism, India, Islam, Peace and civic issues. His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the Websites and several Blogs listed on his personal website http://www.mikeghouse.net/

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Uniform Civil Code in not the Panacea

UCC IS NOT THE PANACEA
Uniform Civil Code for all Indians
Mike Ghouse

Our Laws punish one for murdering, stealing, raping and robbing. Has that stopped the violators? Bribery is a crime, has that stopped any politicians and a government servant from taking bribes? Don’t most people contribute to that behavior?

How many shameless men have an illegal second woman on their side? Certainly, more in numbers than the ones who have a second wife? The spousal abuse continues, the shameless men say that a woman is like a man’s footwear, that a woman must be kept in place. Dowry continues to be a demoralizing aspect of our society leaving several young girls remains single and some times victims of bad guys.

It takes time to bring about a social change. Many have suggested that UCC is the panacea; the real question is, is it?

The reasons Muslims were allowed to marry more than one wife are gradually disappearing; historically during wars many a women became widow and bad guys took advantage of them, they do that in every place in the world, instead of leaving them on street to beg and sell their flesh, the Muslim society wanted to give them dignity and respect; Women who cannot get married due to financial difficulties, it was a respect shown to them; Marriages that did not bear children and several social reasons. The condition was that the first wife must approve the other marriages to prevent a guy from marrying for sex, as marriage is a social institution.

Our motivation to change the laws should be driven by goodness to every one and not depriving some one from their right. Both sides dig in their heels and it becomes a power struggle, one wants to strip the rights and the other wants to challenge. Those that are small in their minds make it their business t to hassle Muslims, without verifying the facts on the ground. They need to clean their hearts from ill-will.

If there is goodwill, things will change. Less than a fraction of Muslims marry more than one woman, it is rarity and we should not base our laws on rarities. There are a higher percentage of men in India having more than one woman in their life, illegally of course.

All of us need to come together as Indians, not as Hindus, Muslims and others to have a generational plan, a 20 year plan to create societies with fewer problems. These values must be incorporated into our education system without derailing the existing one.

Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker, Writer, Moderator and a Blogger on Pluralism, Interfaith, civil societies, Terrorism, Peace, Islam, and India. He is a frequent guest on talk radio and local television networks offering a pluralistic perspective on issues of the day. His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the Websites and Blogs listed at his personal website www.MikeGhouse.net Mike is a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer. The theme is consistent in his speeches, writings and workshops he conducts.

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Convert to Islam, bypass bigamy laws?

21 Jun 2009, 0446 hrs IST, Insiya Amir, TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Convert-to-Islam-bypass-bigamy-laws/articleshow/4681888.cms
Most people famously proclaim that love is their religion, but there are some who use religion for love. Perhaps one such is Haryana's former deputy chief minister Chander Mohan, who became Chand Mohammed to marry his new love Anuradha Bali.

Mohan was with Seema Bishnoi, his wife of 13 years, when he met and fell in love with Bali. The Hindu Marriage Act 1955 does not allow a man to take a second wife so Mohan converted to Islam. So did Bali. Both dropped their Hindu names and assumed Muslim ones.

She became Fiza Parveen. And thus began a salacious soap opera played out before the media - Mohan abandons Fiza, who attempts suicide. She accuses him of playing with her sentiments and using religion to make a mockery of her love. He returns to Bishnoi, then dramatically goes back to Fiza. Was religion used and abused to commit adultery?

It is not the first time a high-profile Hindu couple has converted to Islam to 'marry' even though the first wife is alive. More than two decades ago, film stars Dharmendra and Hema Malini married secretly. Women activists protested against the "illegal" marriage. Dharmendra, they pointed out, was already married and had teenaged children. But in order to give legitimacy to his union with Hema Malini, the couple had converted to Islam.

Advocate and activist Neelofar Akhtar says that such conversions and marriages are made worse because they both are a "sham". She points out that "there are no strict laws to register a conversion (so) people are misusing the religion to have more than one wife. In all Muslim countries, there are very stringent rules if a man wants to take a second wife". But in India "it is done this easily. There is need for a regulatory body to monitor such misuse."

Akhtar makes a good point. In 1995, the Supreme Court ruled in the Sarla Mudgal case that under the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, a Hindu husband cannot marry a second time simply by embracing Islam without lawfully dissolving the first marriage. He would be guilty of bigamy, the Court ruled.

V Mohini Giri, chairperson of the social service organization Guild of Service and former head of the National Commission for Women, says, "Dharmendra's wife Prakash Kaur could have fought her case in court. But, like most Indian women who have been conditioned to ultimately accept their husbands' mistakes, she didn't complain and the controversy died down". Giri has been trying to close a loophole that allows a Hindu man to have more than one wife by simply converting.

"There is a law now that all marriages should be registered, regardless of religion. However, that is not being properly implemented. While we know of only high-profile cases like that of a married Raj Babbar tying the knot with Smita Patil, there are scores of ordinary women who have been abandoned by their husbands who have misused Islam," she says.

Akhtar says the only change is that "women are becoming more financially independent and aware of their rights".

She says forgotten first wives now "gather the courage to divorce their husbands or at least ask for maintenance if they remarry".

Change of a sort then. But not enough.

Qn: What is the greatest punishment for bigamy?

‘Jodha Akbar’ sweeps the 10th IIFA awards

‘Jodha Akbar’ sweeps the 10th IIFA awards

Ashutosh Gowariker directed ‘Jodha Akbar’ zoomed past most of its contemporaries at the 10th International Indian Film Academy award by grabbing six awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.‘The Venetian Macao’ in Macau; China’s gambling capital had hosted the event this year in June with Bollywood celebrities gathering at the ceremony to vie for the statue as well as to cheer for their loved ones.

‘Jodha Akbar’ the story of a Muslim Emperor falling in love with Hindu princesses won maximum accolades with announcements made for Ashutosh Gowariker as ‘Best Director’, Hrithik Roshan as ‘Best Actor’, and A.R.Rahman as ‘Best Music Director’. Arjun Rampal for his role in ‘Rock On’, the film about the reunion of band members won the award for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ while Abhishek Bachchan took to the stage as the ‘Best Actor in a comic role’ for his act in the movie ‘Dostana’. Rajesh Khanna who is best known for his roles in Anand, Amar Prem, Do Raaste was bestowed with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ while Aishwarya Rai was gifted with the ‘Best Actress of the Decade’ for her achievement in International Cinema.

The event which lasted for more than five hours was incorporated with various thrilling acts and circus performances. But the song and dance routines for which Bollywood is best known for topped the entertainment stakes.

Macau is promoting itself as the Las Vegas of the east with gambling opportunities offering a lion’s share in its tourism industry. A former Portuguese colony, Macau came into limelight when investors from Nevada started financially supporting the city.

Bollywood’s interest in Chinese and Far East market for promoting its films has started increasing and Macau has provided ample opportunities for the same through this event.

Muslim Revolt: Congress victory

A Muslim Revolt: The Hidden story of Congress’ stunning victory in UP

By Amaresh Misra

Each and every observer of Indian politics is angling for a simple answer to the vexed question: how and why did the Congress perform so well in Uttar Pradesh?

The answer however is complex: apart from other reasons, the Muslim voting pattern in UP proved decisive. Muslims were known to be disillusioned with Congress beyond repair. Then what made them switch over from the BSP or the SP to the Congress, and that too at the last minute?

Since 2004, Muslims in UP have been nursing a sense of betrayal vis-à-vis the SP and the BSP. This alienation was sharpened after the Batala House encounter, in which boys from Azamgarh were targeted systematically by the UP ATS. Yet, Muslim MPs of the BSP and SP were virtually gagged by their respective party leaders—the MPs were unable to even demand a judicial probe in the affair. After that episode most Muslim MPs were seen more as third grade power brokers
The incident and its fallout, and the wave of Muslim persecution that followed the July 26th 2008 Ahmedabad/Jaipur and subsequent bomb blasts, led Muslims to grope for a way to establish their independent forums. The thinking amongst the new Muslim leadership then was that if 7% Yadavs in UP can capture power, negotiate with the central government, cut deals and make and unmake governments on the basis of 18% Muslim votes, why can’t, Muslims form alliances with other castes and bargain or negotiate directly?

This thinking found an echo in the Ulema Council of Azamgarh in eastern UP, which emerged suddenly in the wake of the Batala House encounter. The Council rejected Muslim power brokers; it was soon taking protest trains to Delhi and Lucknow; opposition to all four major parties—the SP, BSP, Congress and the BJP—was announced. Riding on a wave of popular support, the Council also announced 7 candidates—including one from Lucknow in Avadh—from UP for the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

In the wake of the Council’s appeal, several other small Muslim parties of UP also formed a Muslim political front. That this phenomenon was not limited to UP, was borne out by Badruddin Ajmal who also tried taking his AUDF outside Assam and launch it in Maharashtra and UP.
In Kerala and Bengal as well, attempts were made to float independent Muslim political parties. The Jamat-e-Islami too experimented with the idea. Factions of the Jamiat Ulama Hind also were seen looking for Independent options.

None of these Muslim formations envisaged themselves as a communal forum. Right from AUDF to the Ulema Council, the attempt was to attract as many Hindus as possible.

Most, not all, Muslim formations were led by Ulemas, the Deobandis in particular. Jamiat Ulama Hind was always the premier Indian Deobandi organization—it had opposed Jinnah’s two nation theory before partition and had stood by the Congress in the post-Independence phase. Yet on eve of the 2009 elections it was locked in internecine internal strife.

Otherwise also, the Ulemas were facing a crisis of credibility. Most of the Delhi and Lucknow Ulemas, the two major cities with a sizeable concentration of Muslim clerics, had issued political fatwas in the past. Looking upon political fatwas as retrograde, the Muslim electorate had rejected these; however, the Ulemas of the AUDF and Ulema Council were seen in a different light. Both Badruddin Ajmal and Amir Rashadi, the convener of the Ulema Council, were respected for having aroused political aspirations amongst Muslims.

But as the 2009 elections proceeded, it became clear that even the AUDF and the Ulema Council were not sticking to their promise of carving out an independent niche for Muslims. The Ulema Council and Amir Rashadi were seen as hobnobbing with the BSP and the BJP, while the AUDF was looked at as a rich man’s Bania-Muslim party, lacking a sense of real Muslim issues at the grassroots outside Assam. It was not interested say, in uniting the Barelvi and the Shia Ulema and in issues like Muslim harassment by the Indian State.

In UP, the Ulema Council seemed to be on its own trip—parochialism ruled the roost—the attempt was to remind the Muslims repetitively that they have to create their own BSP.
In this, the Ulema Council missed a vital point—namely that Indian Muslims are not Dalits. They do not have a BAMCEF type support organization; secondly, they form part of the ex-ruling class and would like their party to be progressive and forward looking as well.

In Azamgarh and other strong Ulema Council constituencies, the Council failed to link the issue of Muslim persecution with the massive anti-BJP, anti-sectarian, middle-path undercurrent that was perhaps the single most important feature of the 2009 elections.

Seeing their leaders lacking in anti-BJP fervor, Muslims began to doubt the secular credentials of the Ulema Council. The same happened to a lesser degree with the AUDF on seats outside Assam. Then, the Lucknavi Ulema issued directives or semi-fatwas, asking votes blatantly for the Lucknow BSP candidate, known as a big neo-rich, money-bag.

Enraged Muslims of Lucknow revolted—the Ulema Council failed to read, or ignored deliberately, the anti-big Ulema sentiment. Ditching the Ulema Council as well, Muslims voted en masse for the Congress all over Avadh.

For the first time in the history of Independent India, Muslims launched a passive political revolt against their own Ulema, who filled their own pockets while the community starved; who bought huge donations from Arab countries for madrasas but seldom paid heed to the plight of the Muslim under-trials; who while asking Muslims to unite themselves remained fragmented; who never taught the Muslims their glorious secular past in India or elsewhere; who kept the community backward while acting as dishonorable and parochial middlemen. While reaping the harvest of what Shah Waliullah and Shah Abdul Aziz—the premier, reformist Muslim clerics and political thinkers of the 18th-19th century—sowed, these Ulemas had forgotten to even mention their legacy.

This anti-Ulema revolt is against Muslim power brokers as well—that is why there are so few Muslim MPs in the new Lok Sabha. Secular forces ought to grab this moment and provide justice and a modern vision to Muslims. This is also the time for the non-Ulema, non-broker Muslim leadership to assert itself.

(The author is a historian and was the Lucknow Lok Sabha candidate of the Ulema Council)

India: the world's biggest vote

India: the world's biggest vote
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/20/india-elections-2009-results

Compared to what is happening in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, or indeed in a wider region not noted for democratic engagement, the elections in India are both to be saluted and celebrated. Saluted because the election shows a popular commitment to democracy, which goes back long before the arrival of the British, to the village parliament or panchayat. Celebrated because it produced the right result. The pundits, who to a man, predicted a weak and fractious coalition dependent on regional leaders, were stuffed. So was the rightwing Hindu nationalist BJP, which lost a large amount of territory. Congress was returned not just with a strong mandate but a national one.

This is important for the renewal of a 124-year-old party deemed to be in irreversible decline. It is even more important for the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, who invested substantial amounts of political as well as financial capital in a project during his first term, which defied conventional wisdom. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) provides 100 days of unskilled labour at the minimum wage to at least one member of a rural household. As an unashamed handout, the scheme has many critics. But as a substitute for absent social welfare, NREGA was a vote-winner. If Mr Singh is right to say that India is fissiparous, with vast rural swaths untouched by 9% growth rates in the last three years, then the solution has to be giving the poorest states such as Bihar a slice, however thin, of the national cake. The massive social welfare schemes Mr Singh launched in his first term were instrumental in his return to power. It runs counter to the Anglo-Saxon model with which too much of the world fell in love, but India's economy can not be run exclusively for and by its English-speaking urban elites.

If rural development emerged as the leitmotiv of the campaign, it is all the more surprising that India's new government should have yesterday named security and promoting Hindu-Muslim tolerance as its two priorities. It was, after all, the BJP which played the terror card with campaign ads showing its 81-year-old leader, LK Advani, pumping iron at the gym. And Mr Singh's resistance to calls for an attack on Pakistan after the Mumbai bombings did not emerge as an election issue. The BJP turned off voters with its strident anti-Muslim rhetoric, and with the record of Narendra Modi, Gujarat's chief minister, who stood by during the riots in his state, in which 1,000 Muslims were killed. It is important to promote Hindu-Muslim tolerance, although this is not the central issue.

But the part that a strong Indian ¬government can play in regional security should not be underestimated. India's elites dislike being linked to a dysfunctional Pakistan, preferring to be ranked with China as a booming regional power. Delhi was horrified to think it would be included in Richard Holbrooke's Af-Pak regional remit, which in the end it was not. But none of that precludes the role that India could play in starting to defuse tensions with Pakistan over Kashmir. This could, in turn, work against the logic of Pakistan's military and security elites who persist in viewing India as the existential threat.

Talks started under the now discredited Gen Pervez Musharraf. It would be extraordinarily difficult to continue under the fire of suicide squads trained on, and despatched from, Pakistani soil. It may not be easy to persuade India to make concessions on Kashmir to a weak government in Islamabad. But it is impossible to think of a regional Af-Pak solution without India. And it is all too easy to imagine a US withdrawal under fire if India is ignored.

India is more than a country. It is also an idea, expressed by Gandhi, Nehru and Ambedkar (the untouchable who wrote so much of India's constitution). As India grows in regional importance, the challenge will be to express that idea clearly and attractively to others.

India elections 2009

I have not been able to write a whole lot in the last two months - due to my full time schooling, work and other responsibilities - Mike

Shashi Tharoor Creates History

By T.P.Sreenivasan

Shashi Tharoor has created history by winning the Lok Sabha seat from
the Kerala capital, Trivandrum by an unprecedented margin. Never
before has any one not born in Kerala or not educated here or not
proficient in Malayalam registered an electoral victory in the state.
V.K.Krishna Menon and K.R.Narayanan claimed victories on the basis of
their accomplishments abroad, but they had their places of birth and
educational institutions in Kerala to speak of and they spoke
reasonable Malayalam. More significantly, Tharoor has never worked for
India or represented India at any international forum. He came, he
saw, he conquered.

I was not surprised when Shashi told me more than a year ago that he
intended to seek the Congress ticket for Trivandrum. I knew from his
various moves since his leaving the United Nations that he would seek
political fortunes in India in one way or another. He visited Kerala
many times, held meetings with political leaders, set up an academy of
communications and was generally seen and heard. He had said long ago
that India always mattered to him and that he hoped that one day he
would matter to India. But I had many doubts as to whether his quest
for a political role would be successful. I told him that he had to
overcome several hurdles, which had been built by vested interests in
the political system to prevent new entrants. Dynasty, party hierarchy
and money power were powerful deterrents, I said. I told him that it
would be an uphill task even to get nominated by the Congress Party
and the fact remained also that no Congress candidate had won in
Trivandrum for several years. Shashi had no ready answers, but he
seemed well aware of those challenges and determined to meet them as
they came. He had a sense of mission and nothing would stop him.
In the days that followed, I saw closely how he tackled each issue and
overcame his many opponents. Several Congress leaders were sceptical
about his chances of success on account of his lack of experience and
past record of disapproval of Congress icons. Efforts were made to get
him to contest in a Communist stronghold, Palakkad, which eventually
went to the Left Front. At one stage, Shashi himself seemed to be
reconciled to contesting from his ancestral constituency. In the end,
it was the strong position taken by the Congress high command that
clinched the Congress seat for him.

Once he won the Congress seat, his transformation was complete and he
became a professional politician with gusto. He dressed himself in the
Congress uniform of white khadi, merged into the Congress mainstream
and conducted himself as a traditional Congress candidate, including
hugging babies and throwing garlands to the crowds. He followed the
directives of the local Congress leadership, even though he was aware
of the murmurs of protest among them and went about charming the
electorate. Not many knew who he was or what his achievements were,
but even in the poorest localities, he was welcomed like a new
messiah, untainted by corruption or nepotism. He turned his lack of
proficiency in Malayalam into an advantage by using a few words with
electrifying effect. “If you elect me, I shall work for you
wholeheartedly. I shall try and turn Trivandrum into a city of
international standards”, was his refrain. He did not have to say more
and his transparency and sincerity of purpose won him an army of
admirers, among them many young people, who were attracted by his
pleasing personality.

The Left Front strategy was to discredit Shashi in every possible way
rather than counter his message of change in Indian politics and his
vision for his constituency and his country. A former diplomat,
currently a leftist commentator on international affairs, was brought
in to hatch one theory after another to paint him as pro-US,
pro-Israel and anti-Muslim. Shashi’s writings over the years were
dissected to demolish his image. A 700-word article about Israel, in
which Shashi had argued that India could not emulate Israel in dealing
with Pakistan, was shown as evidence of his love for Israel. Of
course, the article was not publicised, but its many interpretations
were given by Ministers and “intellectuals”. At the same time,
Shashi’s admiration for M.F.Hussein was projected as anti-Hindu. A
frivolous charge about showing disrespect to the national anthem
dragged him to a District Court in Kochi. Shashi was not shaken by any
of these; he simply brought out the facts of his position without
disowning what he wrote in the past. He had his record at the United
Nations and his many articles on contemporary events to show his
objectivity and convictions. His campaign team merely had to invite
attention to those to prove the Left Front wrong. Perhaps, Trivandrum
was the only constituency in India where the nuclear deal and policy
towards the US were made into election issues. I was amused that I had
to debate foreign policy with a former colleague on a Trivandrum beach
with bewildered fishermen watching us!

Shashi, having declared his wealth, did not seek campaign
contributions from the public and found the money for the campaign
himself. This made a remarkable impression on the public mind and
assured them that he will not serve the rich campaign contributors. He
had his supporters around the globe, some of whom camped in Kerala to
work quietly for him. They kept away from the Party campaign, but
worked away on their laptops through night and day to spread the word
around in favour of Shashi Tharoor. The NRI excitement over Shashi’s
candidature resulted in their relatives back home extending support to
him. The cyber space was agog with campaign slogans. Facebook, Orkut,
Twitter and other modern means of communications among young people
must have helped him in various ways.

Shashi Tharoor and Congress party coming together was a recipe for
success. If Shashi had chosen to contest on his own on the basis of
his personal accomplishments, he could have presented an agenda for
change and made a splash, but like some of the other independent
stars, he would have made a point, but not gone any further. But once
he made the necessary changes in his perspectives to come to terms
with the Congress ideology, the way was clear for him to claim
victory. In the ultimate analysis, he can take the credit for taking
the right decisions at the right moments in the last few months. No
one has played a more decisive role in his victory than himself.
In giving a massive mandate to Shashi, Trivandrum has not only elected
a Member of Parliament, but also a Minister in the central cabinet.
There is a clear expectation that his talents in foreign affairs and
his contacts around the globe will be put to productive use by the
Prime Minister. The fact that the Congress will not have too many
pressures on cabinet formation in the present scenario has raised
these hopes further. But whether this happens or not, Shashi is sure
to make an impact in New Delhi.

Shashi did not overplay the “change” card as Barrack Obama did,
because he was seeking to get elected on the ticket of the grand old
party of India. But he does represent the urge for change---change
from an old generation to the new, from corruption to cleanliness in
politics and from inefficiency to effective action. He has already
created history; he should now proceed to prove that change is
possible.