Bunch of Thoughts

As the number of Covid cases spike, citizens are using social media to vent out their frustration. Most of the Chief Ministers of states seem helpless despite Health being a state subject. CMs have full control over the health budget and infrastructure within the states but are now limited to writing SOS letters to the Prime Minister and giving ads on TVs. Over the last year most of India's cases come from a few states - Maharashtra, Delhi etc. There has been no improvement in these states for a year now. It is hard to believe that India's most industrialised state Maharashtra cannot even produce enough oxygen and blames the Prime Minister.  This is a great opportunity for the Prime Minister to centralise all power. As Chief Ministers have virtually abdicated their own responsibility, the doors are now open to centralise all health infrastructure. This plays right into Modi's strength - just as he has centralised many of the welfare schemes which were earlier with the state...

  I firmly believe that we should never idolise or demonise but always analyse On #RSSVijaydasdhmi day, here is my analysis on why RSS continues to grow year over year 1) Service to Society - There can be no doubt that when society faces any threat, swayamsevaks are the first on the ground to help people. Many people do not understand Hindutva but see the service of swyamsevaks and join them. 2) Uniting society - Even Gandhi and Ambedkar have recognised this aspect of RSS. Caste divisions are just not there in the RSS. 3) Leadership development - There is no other organisation in the world that has build a pipeline of leaders. RSS swayamsevaks are now at leadership positions in virtually every sector. 4) Resilience - Despite being banned multiple times and having to work under a hostile environment, RSS has not only survived but thrived. 5) Courage and Commitment - You may mock them but even when they have no resources, they demonstrate courage and commitment to cause. Swayamsevak...

Lots of people around the world are analysing if India can even fight the mighty China. To them, I would like to offer a couplet from Iqbal यूनान-ओ-मिस्र-ओ-रूमा सब मिट गए जहाँ से अब तक मगर है बाक़ी नाम-ओ-निशाँ हमारा कुछ बात है कि हस्ती मिटती नहीं हमारी सदियों रहा है दुश्मन दौर-ए-ज़माँ हमारा In a world in which ancient Greece, Egypt, and Rome have all vanished Our own attributes (name and sign) live on today. There is something about our existence for it doesn't get wiped Even though, for centuries, the time-cycle of the world has been our enemy. Indian civilisation is perhaps the only civilisation that has been fighting and surviving since 2000 years. 1) Alexander the Greek(not Great) fought with us, he won a battle but lost the will to fight. 2) It took the Mughals more than 400 years of fighting with us to cover a distance from Afghanistan to Delhi. We lost everything - temples destroyed, women sold in slave markets but we kept...

I remember meeting Arun Jaitley in 2013. Elections were around the corner,  BJP had yet to decide on its Prime Ministerial candidate and the Congress was seeking a third term. It was a day when the Congress had termed RSS and BJP as outfits supporting Hindu terror. A small group of social media activists, bloggers and authors were invited to a closed-door meeting with Arun Jaitley. There was no agenda, idea was to take inputs and questions over tea and coffee The most popular question was - 'Who would be the Prime Ministerial candidate for 2014?'. People were anxious that the BJP remained unsure of its leader for 2014. Next was corruption, inflation and the issue of Hindu terrorism. While answering all these questions, Arun ji never mentioned individuals. He always focussed on the issue and provided us with all perspectives before sharing his recommendation. For me, it was very unusual for a politician to show so much composure and grace. Politicians often change col...

They say that it is easy to defeat anyone, winning people over is the most difficult thing to do. Manohar Parrikar true to his name dedicated his life to winning people over. My first interaction with Manohar Parikkar was 5 years ago. Elections had been announced and Manohar Parikkar was asked to address IT professionals living in and around Outer Ring Road in Bangalore. New Horizon College was the venue. On that lazy Sunday, I managed to show up at the venue 15 before time. Politicians are known to arrive late but Manohar Parrikar was already there mingling with the IT crowd. He speech consisted of 2-3 stories with foksy humor and wisdom. He wanted the IT crowd to engage in politics, to participate in nation building, I still remember his story "Once upon a time, Goa was known for the best watermelons. Every year post the harvest season, farmers in every village would invite people to taste the best watermelons for free. There was only one condition, they had to spit ou...

Over the last 9 months, regional leaders had worked very hard to build an anti-Modi front. They did not contest seats, swallowed pride and also shared a platform with the very parties against whom they had contested all their lives. These regional parties did all this with only one hope - survival. They believed that if they all came together, they could put up a credible fight against Modi in 2019. It would be painful for each one of them to concede seats but at least survival was possible. The Mahaghatbandhan strategy was put to test during the bypolls. Vote banks were combined; lifelong enemies (BSP-SP) came together and the BJP was defeated in the bypolls. Mahaghatbahndhan despite its inherent contradictions seemed to work. Desperation was the binding glue. NDA, on the other hand, seemed to lose friends. The Shiv Sena remains miffed as it is relegated to a supporting role, TDP walked out as it was unable to take on YSR at the local level. On top of this, media build a ...