Mee Punha Yein

Year 1980, Bharatiya Janata Party’s first president, Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee thundered the prophetic and magnetic words, “Andhera Chhatega, Sooraj Niklega, Kamal Khilega”

Year 1984, post Indira Gandhi assassination, Rajiv romped home with over 400 seats in the Lok Sabha; BJP opens account with 2 - Dr. AK Patel from Mehsana, Gujarat and Chandupatla Ranga Reddy from Hanamkonda, AP; both get mocked by the ruling dispensation on the floor of the house, “Hum do Humare do”.

The early 1990s, the immortal Raam Mandir movement reaches an emotional crescendo and BJP crosses 100 LS seats for the first time; the late 1990s saw Atal-ji being sworn in multiple times as the PM eventually managing to lead a coalition government into the new millennium.

The mid-2000s saw the fall of the Vajpayee government in spite of improved economic parameters, tremendous scientific & infrastructural progress (who can forget Pokhran and National Highway expansions?) as the Congress Ecosystem managed to best the gentle giant; Narendra Modi is watching and learning – noting down the mistakes that should not be repeated.

Year 2014, the culmination of the wishes of a great and ancient nation coupled with the pain of the dark decade – Narendra Modi becomes the 2^nd BJP leader to take charge as the Prime Minister of India with a thumping single-party majority; by year 2017, the party is ruling 71% of the land mass and 69% of the population.

Year 2019, Narendra Modi does an encore crossing the most coveted and cherished triple-century Bhaarat celebrated immediately followed by the fulfillment of two long standing manifesto promises – abrogation of article 370 and the commencement of a King’s return to his Kingdom of Ayodhya!

Cut to today with the following image circulated in social and mainstream media with hysteric glee and unsavoury captions:

Muck is in the Middle

We are a day away from state assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra; the latter being my home state and housing a significant chunk within my social circle, has seen a noticeable banter around it - what with an unconventional choice for the CM completing a full term in spite of obstacles within and outside his party, traditional derailment techniques applied by the liberal ecosystem and national context to a state election. Numerous reactions are coming through and they have triggered a fairly old recurring thought in my head that I keep pondering upon every once in a while - the relationship between the Traditional Indian Middle class (TIMC) and politics. This blog is an attempt to express my frank, brutal and naked understanding of a fairly common phenomena in our politics : why does the general politician (irrespective of any affiliation, ideology, caste, background etc) not take this TIMC that seriously as much as he/she does the other socio-economic groups? (Bonus: what can it do to change it!)

Mind over Madrasa

Which war is the ideal war? – The war that is won without stepping on to the battlefield.

It is very easy to misinterpret the above statement; for modern day “peacekeepers”, the statement is akin to not going to war at all – ever! For fanatic extremists, the statement is an excuse given by the weak. For students of Chanakya, Shivaji and Krishna, it is the principle of minimal casualties. For these students, the statement is all about understanding that the mind is the all-encompassing superlative battlefield made up of tiny zones of conflict – physical and/or emotional - this is modern warfare! The Abrahamics understood this very well and hence you can seen a transition in Christian conquests – from overt Goa inquisition style torture or brutal British subjugation to the silent dagger mechanisms perfected by the Vatican Church, based on the combination of smart economics and emotional appeal executed brilliantly by scores of missionaries particularly along the eastern belt of India. Islam too evolved to understand that wars needn’t be won on the might of the sword alone and hence came the advanced weapon of demographics as explained by Muammar Al Gaddafi - something they have successfully employed in Europe and will deliver them the continent in a few decades. However, does the Hindu understand his own legacy?

Aa Gaya Modi

We wake up to a saffron day and quite a lot of us would have had the most peaceful of sleeps last night having known that Modi-led BJP has secured a majority on its own and the wider NDA will get the opportunity to lead this great nation for the second time in a row. In Jan 2019, I had presented my thoughts with mathematical arguments on why BJP alone should score 290-300 seats in Lok Sabha elections after being prodded by a friend. I received disbelief, doubt, hope and trust among many emotions and responses. However, what helped me state so confidently as the elections came and went was outright mockery by the left liberal ecosystem and the robust 67%+ electoral turnout (a general election record beating 66.4% of last time). Today, albeit by a small margin, I am glad that I am proven wrong and the Modi Juggernaut exceeded my calculations by securing 303 seats and a ~37% vote share (my guess in Jan 2019 was a minimum of 35.6%). This event has notable takeaways for us Bhaaratiyas and some cautionary indications as well.