BJP-PDP government formation in Kashmir: Why it was needed

Politics is game of uncertainties where often seemingly impossible becomes possible. After 49 days of governor rule Jammu and Kashmir finally saw a government of elected representatives. BJP-PDP alliance formed the government. Soon to be octogenarian, 79 years old mufti Mohammed Saeed took oath as per the constitution of “India” to uphold the “unity and integrity of the country”. BJP-PDP alliance is being called coming together the two poles as BJP-PDP could not be any more different in their core ideologies. On the same day Nirmal Singh was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister. Furthermore, Sajjad Lone a former separatist leader also took oath as a cabinet minister though much to his displeasure he got Animal husbandry department.

Making the occasion special, Narendra Modi himself was present along with L.K.Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Ram Madhav, a man who played a key role in the discussions during the run up to the government. PDP legislator Haseeb Drabu, who was the chief negotiator from the party in formulating a Common Minimum Program (CMP), was welcomed by the Prime Minister with all hugs and smiles for making the BJP-PDP alliance possible.

The success of these elections holds a many promises to its people. The recent flood that had inundated almost entire valley caused great damage in the state and daunting task of rehabilitation lies ahead. The task of bridging the gap between the three regions Jammu, Kashmir and Laddakh is going to be a big challenge. This is where maximum opportunities lie for BJP making inroads into the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir. 

The most important outcome of BJP-PDP alliance is coming together of two different regions of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu emerged as a BJP stronghold region whereas Kashmir was almost swiped by PDP. Jammu has had historical grievances since independence and people of Jammu allege step motherly treatment from Srinagar.

This BJP-PDP government is emancipation of hopes of people of Jammu region. There are other important issues like Section 370 and resettlement of Kasmiri Pundits. The issue of refugees (mainly Hindu) from Pakistan also remains very vital. The Armed Forces special powers act is also another very important issue which is very vital to the people of Kashmir region.

For now, BJP has put the section 370 on a backburner and it is a good and farsighted decision. At this moment especially after the devastating floods, the issues like development and rehabilitation are more important as they will bring immediate relief to the people of the state. Though section 370 is one of the core issues of BJP since the time of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee but at this moment providing relief to the people is more important.

In a statement, the BJP spokesman Khalid Jahangir said, “The BJP-PDP government is committed to serve the people and provide them with all the possible relief. “He further said, “New government would ensure that all the issues concerning common people are addressed and they get all the benefits of the centrally sponsored schemes.

Any decision on AFSPA will be taken after consulting and taking the army on board. This would also require a thorough check of ground realties in the notified disturbed areas.

The resettlement of Kashmiri pundits and refugees from Pakistan is one issue which in my opinion is the most important right now. Refugee status is one’s own country is moral defeat for any government worth its salt. I am certain the BJP under the leadership of Narendra Modi would leave no stone unturned to bring respite to these people.

 “People of Jammu and Kashmir have voted for a change and new government is committed to bring the change,” he added. The Laddakh region often gets overshadowed by the bitterness of the two other parts of Jammu and Kashmir.

The people of Kashmir region also have their share of grievances. With the start of militancy in the late 80s, Kashmir lost an entire generation, as in the future of those who were in their youth was held hostage to the separatist elements in the society. It didn’t bring good to anyone. Mothers lost sons, wives lost husbands and families were destroyed because the earning members were either languishing in jails or lost their lives to militancy.

A land aptly called heaven or earth for which Shahjahan once said “Gar Fardaus baru e zamin asto, hami asto hami asto hami asto”, meaning if there is paradise on earth it is here. Kashmir is named after sage Kashyap and has a rich history of Buddhism. The state has immense potential of growth particularly in handicrafts industry and tourism. This BJP-PDP dispensation is paving way for a more representative government. 

Narendra Modi emphasizes on Solar Energy to tackle Climate Change and US Pressure

One of the most important qualities that sets leaders apart from followers is thinking ahead of time. Narendra Modi falls into that rare category of leaders. Climate change seems to be the buzzword for the intellectuals in the west. May be not so much so in the developing countries, but climate change discussions today feature prominently in renowned newspapers across the globe. Almost on every international platform the leaders are expected to come clear of their vision of tackling this imminent danger before humanity. On his maiden speech from Red Fort he addressed the need of ZERO EFFECT, referring to manufacturing products which have zero effect on our climate. This is significant as Climate Change is something that is affecting all us. We all are in it together. We survive together. It would be naïve to assume that Climate Change is a thing of the west, we have to own it together as responsible citizens.

Climate change is an issue that should concern all of us. There are countries and populations which are more vulnerable to climate change by the virtue of their geographic location. The small island nations like Maldives, Mauritius and many other small island nations in the oceans across the world face an existential threat. About 50% of world's population lives within 200 kilometers from the coast. The cities located on the coast line like Mumbai, Shanghai and those like Singapore and Hong Kong are among the biggest business centers of the world. 

On the recent visit Barak Obama urged India to do more on the climate change front. As expected it was one of the two question asked in the joint press conference. Answering a question on whether India is under any pressure from US and China with regards to its efforts on climate change Narendra Modi responded that India is not under any pressure and in fact is strong enough to resist any such pressure. However as a responsible country we understand our collective responsibility and will contribute towards mitigating the effects of climate change.

It is worth noting that Narendra Modi while serving the state of Gujarat as the chief Minister has taken big initiatives to tap the solar energy potential of Gujarat. The Charanka solar park in Gujarat is an “ultra-mega” power project and the biggest in Asia. A brainchild of Narendra Modi. As chief minister of Gujarat, Modi urged the companies to build a solar plants across the state in just a couple of years adding 900 MW to the electricity production. Now, as prime minister, we trust him to deliver more on this front.

Keeping in line with his man of action reputation, the government has identified 17 critically polluting sectors. The Environment Ministry has also mandated stringent rules for cement industries to lessen the pollution. The government plans to engage 3206 units to put in place the monitoring devices on the affluent discharge points and on chimneys of the industries to check the level of pollution”.

The electric fences on our Northern border will be solar powered too. The Military plans to install solar panels producing 1000 MW of electricity. Another 7,000MW of solar is out for tender across the country and the rooftops of Delhi are to be bedecked with panels under a new scheme. The country needs more decentralized power. These rooftop solar panels can also reach the large parts of the country where the grid has not reached yet.

Prakash Javadekar, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Tuesday stated that India can conserve one lakh megawatts of energy by increasing its solar power production to 100,000 Mega Watts by the year 2020. This is a fivefold increase in the previous government’s plan which was 20,000 MW.

Energy efficiency should become the way of life for all Indians," Javadekar stated, speaking at conference on India's climate policy.

This stand of Narendra Modi has to be seen in context of the Blame from the Developed world that India has not done enough to deal with climate change.

US media has often criticized India for not doing enough as the 4th biggest emitter but what they conveniently forget is that India's per capita emission is about 1.5 tons which is far too less than the world average at 4 and far too below than that of US and China despite its huge population. China has said that it is going to peak around 2030, which means that they are going to add more. India happens to be the fourth biggest polluter because of it 1250 million strong populations. It ranks far below the world average per capita emission.

Like always USA is playing it cleverly and has come together with China to pressurize India which at present is a distant 4th in carbon footprint. China as expected is the largest at 24 per cent contribution followed by USA at 17 per cent. If the rise in world's average temperature has to be kept below 2 degrees Celsius then these two countries need to do more and not just act like it. As per Sunita Narain, Director at Centre for Science and Environment China and USA together will account for 50 per cent of 1000 giga billion tons of carbon emission by 2100. At present these two countries contribute about 40 per cent. China and USA have signed a deal this November. Under the deal, China committed to cap its output of carbon pollution by 2030 or earlier and to increase its use of zero emission energy to 20% by 2030. The US agreed to reduce its emissions by between 26% and 28% from their 2005 levels by 2025.

The challenges before Narendra Modi today are of mammoth proportions. The country has to grow and for that we have huge requirements of energy (read petrol, coal, solar etc.). However the need of the hour is sustainable development which requires utmost pragmatism in using the available resources. We have to cut down on coal energy and the way forward is clean energy like solar energy. Narendra has already done wonders in his tenure as Gujarat CM and we are certain that he is the right man to find solutions to India’s unquenchable energy needs. 

Bharat Ratna for Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Madan Mohan Malviya

Government announced Bharat Ratna for former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and founder of Banaras Hindu University and Hindu Mahasabha leader Madan Mohan Malviya. Bharat Ratna is India’s highest civilian honor awarded to persons who have made exceptional contributions in any field of human endeavor. The decision comes ahead of 90^th birth anniversary of the former and 153^rd birth anniversary of the later. 

Bharat Ratna is awarded by the president of India upon receiving recommendations from the prime minister limited to a maximum of three persons. Conferring Bharat Ratna to these two comes at a time when there are voices within BJP to recognize those who have made significant contributions to India but have been ignored by the previous governments. In the past there have been controversies, the most recent when Sachin Tendulkar was conferred the same. Many great personalities in the past have denied receiving the Padma awards saying that they will not receive anything below Bharat Ratna, Singer S. Janki and dancer Sitara Devi who passed away recently denied receiving the Padma awards. 

Bharat Ratna awardee is seventh in the order of precedence however they are prohibited from using the title before name. Bharat Ratna recipients get a sanad (certificate) and a peepal leaf shaped medallion. There is no cash prize associated with the award. So far 45 people have been conferred this prestigious award including 12 who were awarded posthumously. 

Image : Madan Mohan Malviya

The first recipients of the Bharat Ratna were politician C. Rajagopalachari, scientist C. V. Raman and philosopher and academician Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who were honored in 1954.Sachin Tendulkar is the youngest to receive this award at the age of 40. So far only 2 non-Indians have been awarded Bharat Ratna. They are Nelson Mandela, first Black president of South Africa and Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan of Pakistan. Mother Teresa is the first and only naturalized Indian to receive Bharat Ratna in 1980.

It's raining Beauty for India : Wins 4 beauty pageants this month

Indian beauty on a roll

India is considered a super power in beauty pageants with 5 Miss World and 2 Miss Universe crowns. India is one of the most successful countries in the beauty pageants. India holds a unique record of winning the two most coveted crowns Miss Universe and Miss World in the same year twice, in 1994 and 2000. In fact in 2000 India held 4 major crowns in the world of pageants. This year has been somewhat a repeat of the year 2000 with Indian girls winning four beauty crowns. Though Koyal Rana was not able to make the final cut at Miss World, she made India proud by emerging the topper of the leader board before the final round. She made it to top 10 as the highest scorer. She also won Beauty with a Purpose title and was adjudged the best in designer gown. She was also in top 5 of beach beauty and Multimedia.  After the semi-final the scores were set to zero again and no rounds happened to shortlist the candidates for final. Transparency was missing from Miss World this year as we do not know how the top 5 were chosen. Nevertheless it was a good performance from Koyal Rana. 

Asha Bhatt, 22 year old engineering student from Karnataka won Miss Supranational 2014 on December 6, 2014 beating 70 other contestants. Miss.Miss Supranational is considered 3^rd most coveted title after Miss Universe and Miss World. It is better than Miss Earth and Miss International in terms of production quality and Brazilian Beauty portal Globalbeauties lists it as a Grand slam pageant. Miss Earth 2014 was won by host country girl Jamie Herrell. It was second time in 14 years that Philippines won the title of Miss Earth. There has been a lot of criticism surrounding this pageant as the host country makes the semifinal cut almost every year.

Miss Supranational 2014 was held in Warsaw, Poland. She also won the Miss talent round at the contest. Thailand took second place and Gabon emerged third. USA and host country Poland were 4th and 5th respectively

In the same month of December India won three other beauty pageants.

Ruhi Singh, won Miss Universal Peace and humanity in Beirut Lebanon. This is the very First year for this pageant and it hopes to bring peace in the most unsettled part of the world, Middle East..

Swetha Raj, won the coveted Miss Asia Pacific World 2014. This was third year in a row that India won this title. Swetha raj was Miss India Australia as well. The 2014 Miss Asia Pacific World, May Myat Noe from Burma, was crowned on 31 May 2014 but was dethroned after three months.

India’s fourth crown for the month and year is Miss Tourism Queen International 2014 (China Version). India’s Parul Bindal won the crown in Shenzen China on December 12. Here is video link for her crowning moment.

Parul Bindal Miss Tourism Queen International

Asha Bhatt, Miss Supranational 2014

The US says it is monitoring 'forced conversions' in India : India doesn't need to learn either secularism nor it needs to learn managing diversity from a 300 year old country formed on the debris of native american cultures.

United States recently said that it’s monitoring the situation with regards to the forced conversions of non-Hindus to Hinduism. The situation is not as grim as it is made to look in the western media.  Take a look at this for example:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/christian-enclave-in-india-fears-violence-tension-after-religious-conversions/2014/12/17/4a144784-846b-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html

The situation is not as grim as they have tried to make it look in the above mentioned news report.

Christianity came to India before it even reached Europe. They have been living here peacefully and have been allowed to preach their religion. What the above news story completely ignores is the background to the current situation. For centuries the missionaries have tried to lure people to Christianity.It is needless to say that they failed terribly in doing that. Well, that can be part of a different discussion. Religious propaganda of missionaries was one of the reasons behind the 1857 rising , It was then that the British decided not to carry on their religious propaganda in India

Well , it seems that US has forgotten the days when it obliterated the native Indians of North America , In fact wherever the westerners have gone to settle they have almost completely ruined the native cultures there. South American civilizations are a good example of that. The same happened in Australia where the aborigines were sent to the missionary schools to make them civilized. They tried to do the same but were quick to realize that it will not be possible in India. The white man's burden theories were evolved to help them convert Blacks to Christianity. Not long ago Blacks were lynched publicly in that country and racism is still pretty alive. 

India has done a tremendous job at managing its diversity for thousands of years. Western and Islamic cultures are too monolithic and lack the vibrancy that India has. The recent changes may hide the true picture that both Christianity and Islam have tried to convert people. With regards to the present situation, these so called religious conversions are just a strategy to bring notice to the conversions going unchecked for so long. Hindu religion has not been a religion of equality and it is beginning to reform itself. But USA does not have any moral character to preach us. 

India doesn't need to learn either secularism nor it needs to learn managing diversity from a 300 year old country formed on the debris of native american cultures. They should focus more on protecting Blacks from bullets of trigger happy white American policemen and killings of school children. India is capable of managing its issues US lacks the moral ground to preach India.It lacks history and character to preach India. India is not an "ally" in their war against terror. They were the creators of Taliban for their interests in Afghanistan They ignored ISIS thinking that it will help them throw out Assad regime in Syria. Where ever they have gone , be it Vietnam , be it Iraq or Afghanistan or Pakistan they have only made the situation worse. USA is bigger powerful version of Pakistan, may be even worse. Sitting in white house US presidents have changed many governments and then they claim to be the protectors and torch bearers of democracy in other countries. It creates terror outfits to use them then leave them to destroy that country. 

 India does well in keeping them at a safe distance and keep telling them their "place" every now then , in WTO and in climate Talks.We are not yearning to win  America's friendship. They should better look within before they tell India what to do. 

Pakistan and its perceived existential threat from India or is it that it needs India for its existence

It would not be an exaggeration to say that despite an independent existence for past 67 years Pakistan continues to see India as an existential threat. The two countries stand at different platforms today in the gamut of world affairs. Ever since Pakistan became an idea and consequently a reality, it has seen India as a threat to its existence but it is also a bigger fact that it needs a perceived threat from India for its very existence today . Pakistan is a country supposedly created for Indian muslims. What could be a bigger irony for a nation created on an identity of religion alone that it could not even keep itself together for 25 years. With creation of Bangladesh in 1971, the very ideology behind Pakistan ceased to exist. It blamed India for the loss of its eastern part not realizing that it never did justice to the Bengali Pakistanis. Pakistani text books continue to hide the truth and blame the Hindu Baniya (merchants) for “Sakut e Dhaka” or fall of Dhaka.  More than 40 years later not much has changed , even today many Pakistanis believe that India carried out 26/11 attacks itself and there are ‘analysts’ in Pakistan who believe that 9/11 attacks were a handiwork of USA so that it could attack Saddam Hussein. Knowing that it cannot defeat India in a direct war, it resorted to covert war (read terrorism).

Be it giving support to Khalistan movement or Kashmir separatists, Pakistan has always tried to bleed India. It helped USA to set up Taliban in order to help arrest the Russian influence in Afghanistan all through the late 70s and 80s. After Russia’s withdrawal from Afghanistan it used them against India.  It even supported Taliban who have taken Afghanistan to dark-age but now the same Taliban is destroying it.  Now it is realizing that it has achieved nothing but only self-destruction and a tarnished global image as well. All because it wanted to ‘settle’ some score with India, wanted to bleed India by thousand cuts. Pakistani establishment need to re-think its attitude towards India. Pakistan cannot claim to be frontline state by fighting against terrorists on its western borders if it breeds terrorists on its eastern borders. Else the results would only worsen with time.The fact of the matter is that Pakistan has failed terribly at evolving a national identity. Pakistan has ceased to exist in many areas in FATA and Baluchistan. Shias are being killed for being shia, sunnis( ahmadis) are being targeted for not being the right kind of muslim. Christians are being targeted with blasphemy laws. The plight of Hazaras is not even discussed in the media because no one seems to care for them. Hindu girls are kidnapped and forced into marrying muslims. The only thing that seems to bring Pakistanis( well most of them ) is hatred towards  India. It was not surprising to see Hamid Gul blaming India for the attack on the army school in Peshawar.

 It needs India to survive else everybody has allegiances which are more towards religion and sects and religions don't need countries to survive. Pakistan needs a huge shift in its orientation towards terrorism. If TTP is a terrorist group them Laskar is a terrorist group too else the time is not far when there would be similar attacks in Pakistani Punjab too. Extremist ideologies do not leave any room for others. We should not be too hopeful that much is going to change in Pakistan  in its attitude towards India because now it is at a point where it needs India to survive , hatred towards India.

Sanskrit Vs German and India

Two centuries of British rule over India have certainly left a deep imprint on Indian psyche. It could be seen even during the national struggle where a so called nationalist leader like Jawaharlal went on to say that he is British by education and it was true. Many so called nationalist leaders with their Oxford backgrounds seemed to shun the very impression that Indian education could have some positives as well . Today the convent educated girls are the most sought after in the Indian matrimonial ads and unfortunately it is seen as the only certificate required for being 'cultured' among many wannabe elites of Indian society. Yet they still want a girl " Grihakarya Daksha " meaning adept at managing house chores. Recent controversy of German vs Sanskrit was marked by many jokes doing the rounds in the Indian net sphere targeting Sanskrit  bolster the impression that Indians are yet to understand the antiquity and greatness of Sanskrit. German may have many advantages to offer its students.

English language is a part of Germanic language family of European languages and that way it is German which can be said to be the mother of English. The Indian Foreign services officers give priority to German because only then they get priority to work in English speaking countries. Our Foreign secretary is a German speaker. First modern Europeans to show interest in India were German like Max Mueller and it was his study that made the ground work for the Aryan theory. Though Nazi Germany's claims to Aryan roots were complete bogus. Probably they just stole this word from Sanskrit which means someone from noble family and has been used in India for thousands of years unlike Nazi Germany where it made a sudden appearance. Keeping history aside ,Germany is one of the most sought after countries for pursuing higher education courses and engineering in particular. Knowledge of German may be very useful for those Students. But I was left aghast at the stupidity of some Delhi Radio jockeys using Sanskrit for jokes not realizing that it is Sanskrit which binds us together. A language much older than Greek and Latin. To this day many East Asian languages like Burmese, Cambodian, Thai, Malay and  Indonesian Bahasa show unmistakable imprint of Sanskrit . A languages that predates early christian and Judaism era by a  thousand years.  It is a classical language , a language whose influence continues to extend beyond the time when it is no longer spoken colloquially. Sanskrit and Geeta should not be used for political mileage. The previous government may have had its reason to teach German as the third language in Indian schools but it is our responsibility to make students familiar our future generations with our past. The antiquity of India's civilization and richness of its culture has many admirers. History should not be tweaked for political reasons but history should not be untold as well for the reason that no country can survive being cutoff from its identity and past . The ministry's decision to teach Sanskrit is correct.

Climate Change : China and USA the real spoilers come together, Likely to put blame on India for not doing enough in the scheduled climate talks in Lima

Climate change is an issue that should concern all of us. There are countries and populations which are more vulnerable to climate change by the virtue of their geographic location. The small island nations like Maldives, Mauritius and many other small island nations in the oceans across the world face an existential threat. About 50% of world's population lives within 200 kilometres from the coast. The cities located on the coast line like Mumbai, Shanghai and those like Singapore and Hong Kong are among the biggest business centres of the world. Climate change articles have now become permanent features in the newspapers across the world.

 Like always USA is playing it cleverly and has come together with China to play spoil sport and put the blame on India which at present is a distant 4th in carbon footprint. China as expected is the largest at 24 per cent contribution followed by USA at 17 per cent. If the rise in world's average temperature has to be kept below 2 degrees Celsius then these two countries need to do more and not just act like it. As per Sunita Narain, Director at Centre for Science and Environment China and USA together will account for 50 per cent of 1000 giga billion tons of carbon emission by 2100. At present these two countries contribute about 40 per cent. China and USA have signed a deal this November in the run up to the talk being held in Lima, Peru. Under the deal, China committed to cap its output of carbon pollution by 2030 or earlier and to increase its use of zero emission energy to 20% by 2030. The US agreed to reduce its emissions by between 26% and 28% from their 2005 levels by 2025.

“The US-China deal is a game changer, and it adds tremendous momentum to these talks in Lima," says Jody Freeman, the director of Harvard University's environmental law program and the former White House counsellor for energy and climate change. "The US and China are the two indispensable nations on this problem. Together, they’re responsible for 40 per cent of global emissions.”

Todd Stern, the US state department’s climate change envoy, said the US-China deal could push other big polluters such as India, Japan, Brazil and Russia to come forward with their own post-2020 targets. That in turn boosted prospects for a good outcome in Paris

US media has often criticized India for not doing enough as the 4th biggest emitter but what they conveniently forget is that India's per capita emission is about 1.5 tons which is far too less than the world average at 4 and far too below than that of US and China despite its huge population. China has said that it is going to peak around 2030, which means that they are going to add more. India happens to be the fourth biggest polluter because of it 1250 million strong populations. It ranks far below the world average per capita emission. US politicians should focus more on the domestic issues like racism and come to terms with the fact that US no longer has the influence it once had and the world is not going to toe their line. Indians can see beyond beautifully crafted statements and are not fooled by aura of orators. They criticize India for not doing enough for the relationship that Obama once said was important to them. They need to understand that India is not going to be an "ally" they are used to having. When it comes to taking the actions that can really help mitigate the challenges posed by climate change they back off for instance sharing the energy efficient technology with the developing countries as it hurts their companies. India has done commendable job in tackling climate change issues. From ambitious solar energy targets to energy efficiency, we are doing a good job and will continue to do so as we understand that it is for our own benefit.

The Lima talks are a run up to the climate pact deal to be finalized next year in Paris. India is often called the spoiler by the US media be it the WTO deal that it is said to have sabotage a few weeks back. India must resist any pressures and be firm to its stand of universal but differentiated responsibilities. I expect that India's representatives to the talks in Lima will be able to show mirror to USA and China and show to the world that the so called deal is actually an attempt of biggest polluters getting together, acting like they are acting but in reality it falls far behind what they need to do as the 41% contributor to the current situation.