ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಮಹಾಮಾರಿಯ ಮಾರಣಾಂತಿಕ ಎರಡನೇ ಅಲೆ – ಕಾರಣಕರ್ತರು ಮತ್ತು ಜವಾಬುದಾರರು

ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಮೊದಲಾಗಿ ಭಾರತದ ಎಲ್ಲ ಪ್ರಾಂತ್ಯಗಳೂ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಮಹಾಮಾರಿಯ ಎರಡನೇ ಅಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೊಚ್ಚಿ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿರುವ ಈ ಕಾಲಘಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ ವಿಮರ್ಶೆ ಮಾಡಲು ಯತ್ನಿಸಿವುದು ಎಷ್ಟು ಸರಿಯೋ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೂ, ಜನರ ಬವಣೆ ಮತ್ತು ಭಾವನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಗಮನಿಸಿಯೂ ಗಮನಿಸದಂತೆ ಇರುವುದು ಕಷ್ಟಸಾಧ್ಯ.
ಅನೇಕರು ಭಾರತದ ಲಸಿಕೆ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮವನ್ನು ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅದು ಸರಿಯಲ್ಲ. ಲಸಿಕೆ ಪಡೆಯುವುದು ಎಷ್ಟು ಮುಖ್ಯ ಎಂದು ಜನರಿಗೆ ಮನವರಿಕೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಡುವಲ್ಲಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರಗಳು ವಿಫಲವಾಗಿವೆ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುವುದೂ ಅಷ್ಟು ಸರಿಯಲ್ಲ. ಲಸಿಕೆಗಳು ಭಾರತೀಯರಿಗೆ ಹೊಸದಲ್ಲ. ಅದರ ಮಹತ್ವ ಜನಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರಿಗೂ ತಿಳಿದಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ, ಈ ಹೊಸ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಲಸಿಕೆಗಳ “ತರಾತುರಿ”ಯು ಅನೇಕರನ್ನು ಅಧೀರರನ್ನಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದು ನಿಜ. ಆ ಕಸಿವಿಸಿಯನ್ನು ಕಡಿಮೆ ಮಾಡುವಲ್ಲಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿಯುತವಾಗಿ ಯೋಚಿಸಬಹುದಿತ್ತು. ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ತಯಾರಿಸಿದ ಲಸಿಕೆಗಳು ಎಂಬ ಗರ್ವ ಆರೋಗ್ಯಕರವಾದ ಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ನಮ್ಮ ಲಸಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ನಾವೇ ತಯಾರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡೆವು, ಅದೇ ಲಸಿಕೆಯ ಜೀವನ ಸಾರ್ಥಕ್ಯ ಎನ್ನುವಂಥ ಆಲೋಚನೆಗಳಿಂದ ಲಸಿಕೆ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಕ್ಕೆ ಯಾವ ಉಪಯೋಗವೂ ಆಗಲಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂದಷ್ಟೇ ಹೇಳಿ ಆ ವಿಚಾರವನ್ನು ಅಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಬಿಡುತ್ತೇನೆ.

ಭಾರತವು ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಲಸಿಕೆಗಳನ್ನು ರಪ್ತು ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರಲ್ಲೂ ಯಾವ ತಪ್ಪೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಭಾರತ ಅಂತಃಕರಣವುಳ್ಳ ದೇಶ ಎಂಬ ಸಂದೇಶ ಕೊಡುವ, ನಮಗಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಕಷ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಅಸಹಾಯಕವಾದ ನೆರೆಯ ದೇಶಗಳಿಗೆ ಹೆಗಲೆಣೆ ಆಗುವ ಸದುದ್ದೇಶ ಲಸಿಕೆಯ ರಪ್ತು ಮಾಡುವಂತೆ ಪ್ರೇರೇಪಿಸಿದ್ದರೆ ಅದನ್ನು ಒಪ್ಪಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಮೆರಿಕಾದಂತೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ವಿಚಾರದಲ್ಲೂ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನ ಮಾಡುವ ಅಗತ್ಯವೂ ಭಾರತಕ್ಕೆ ಇಲ್ಲ, ಮತ್ತು ನಮ್ಮ ಶಕ್ತಿಯೂ ಅಷ್ಟು ಅಗ್ಗವಾಗಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೆ, ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಮತ್ತು ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರ್ಕಾರವು ಎಡವಿರುವುದು ಲಸಿಕೆ ರಫ್ತು ಅಥವಾ ಲಸಿಕೆ ಕೊಡುವ ವಿಚಾರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅಲ್ಲ. ನಮ್ಮ ಇಂದಿನ ಶೋಚನೀಯ (ತಾತ್ಕಾಲಿಕ) ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಗೆ ಮೂರು ಕಾರಣಗಳಿವೆ. ಮೊದಲನೇದು, ಭಾರತ ದೇಶವು ಮಹಾಮಾರಿಯ ಎರಡನೇ ಅಲೆಯನ್ನು ನಿರೀಕ್ಷಿಸಿಯೇ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂಬ ವಾದವನ್ನು ಒಪ್ಪುವುದು ಕಷ್ಟ. ಆದರೆ ಆ ಅಲೆಯ ಅಬ್ಬರ ಇಷ್ಟು ತೀವ್ರವಾಗಿ ಇರಲಿದೆ ಎಂಬ ನಿರೀಕ್ಷೆ ಯಾರಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ೨೦೨೦ ರ ಮೊದಲ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಅಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸೋಂಕಿತರ ಮತ್ತು ಸಾವಿಗೀಡಾದವರ ಅಂಕಿ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯನ್ನು ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ದಾಖಲು ಮಾಡದೇ ಇದ್ದುದರ ಕಾರಣದಿಂದ ಮಹಾಮಾರಿಯು ಹರಡುವ ಸಂಭಾವ್ಯ ಲೆಕ್ಕಾಚಾರಗಳು ಸರಿಯಾದ ತಳಹದಿಯ ಮೇಲೆ ನಿಂತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಎರಡನೆಯದು, “ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಮಹಾಮಾರಿಯನ್ನು ಭಾರತವು ಜಯಿಸಿದ್ದು ಆಗಿದೆ, ಜಗತ್ತಿಗೆ ಮಾದರಿಯಾಗಿದೆ” ಎಂದು ಪೊಳ್ಳು ಜಂಭದಿಂದ ಬೀಗುವ ಮನಸ್ಥಿತಿಯನ್ನು ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ಉತ್ತೇಜಿಸಿದ ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ (ಅ) ಕ್ರಮಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಭಾಷಣಗಳು.

ಮೂರನೆಯ ಮತ್ತು ಪ್ರಾಣವಾಯು ಕಸಿಯುವ ಕಾರಣ ಮತ್ತೊಂದಿದೆ. ಅದು ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಮತ್ತು ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರ್ಕಾರಗಳ ನಡುವಿನ ನಂಬುಗೆಯ ಕೊರತೆ. ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ರೀತಿಯ ಯೋಜನೆಗಳೂ ಎರಡು ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಜಾರಿಯಾಗುತ್ತವೆ. ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಪಾಲು ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಪಾಲು ಎಂದು ಶೇಕಡಾವಾರು ಹೇಳುವ ಕಾಮಗಾರಿಗಳು ಒಂದು ಕಡೆ. ಅದನ್ನು ಸದ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಬಿಡೋಣ. ಜನರಿಗೆ ಮಂಕು ಬೂದಿ ಎರಚುವ ಚುನಾವಣಾ ತಂತ್ರಗಳಿಂದ ಜನರ ಹಣ ಪೋಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ ಮತ್ತು ಆಗಬೇಕಾದ ಕೆಲಸಗಳು ಆಗದೇ ಹೋಗುತ್ತವೆ. ಎಲ್ಲಾ ರೀತಿಯ ಸಮಾಜ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ ಯೋಜನೆಗಳೂ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಮತ್ತು ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರ್ಕಾರಗಳ ಪ್ರತ್ಯೇಕ ಪಕ್ಷವಾರು ಲೇಬಲ್ ಹಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡು ಬರುತ್ತವೆ. ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳನ್ನು ಅನುಷ್ಠಾನ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವವರು ಯಾರು ಎಂದು ಕೇಳಿದರೆ “ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರ್ಕಾರವೇ ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕೂ ಮೂಲಾಧಾರ” ಎಂದು ಗೋಣಾಡಿಸುವ ಭಟ್ಟಂಗಿಗಳು ಉತ್ತರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಆದರೆ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಮಹಾಮಾರಿಯನ್ನು ನಿಭಾಯಿಸುವಾಗ ಯಾರು ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರರು ಎಂದು ಕೇಳಿದರೆ “ಜನ ಸತ್ತರೆ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಕಳಪೆ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆ ಕಾರಣ” ಎಂದು ತಕ್ಷಣ ಉತ್ತರಿಸುವವರು ಅವರೇ. ಮಹಾಮಾರಿಯು ಎರಡು ಅಲೆಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ವಿರಮಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾರತೀಯರು ತೋರಿದ ಅಜಾಕರೂಕ ವರ್ತನೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಒಂದನ್ನೇ ದೂರುವಷ್ಟು ದಡ್ಡ ನಾನಲ್ಲ (ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ದಡ್ಡ ಆಗಿರಬಹುದು). ಆದರೆ, ಎರಡನೇ ಅಲೆಯು ಆರಂಭವಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿದು ಎರಡು ವಾರಗಳು ಕಳೆದರೂ ಅದನ್ನು ಗಂಭೀರವಾಗಿ ಪರಿಗಣಿಸದೆ ಚುನಾವಣಾ ಪ್ರಚಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ತೊಡಗಿಕೊಂಡು, ಜಾತಿ ಲೆಕ್ಕಾಚಾರ ಹಾಕುತ್ತಾ ಊರೂರು ಅಲೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಆಡಳಿತಾರೂಢ ಮತ್ತು ವಿಪಕ್ಪ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಹಾರ ಹಾಕಿ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ಕೊಡುವಷ್ಟು ಮುಟ್ಠಾಳನೂ ನಾನಲ್ಲ. ನೀರು ಮೂಗಿನ ಮಟ್ಟವನ್ನು ಮೀರಿ ಹರಿಯಿತು ಎಂದು ಗೊತ್ತಾದಾಗ ಈಗ “ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರ್ಕಾರಗಳೇ, ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಯನ್ನು ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ನಿಭಾಯಿಸಿ” ಎಂದು ಉಪದೇಶ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಕ್ರಮವನ್ನು ಕಟುವಾಗಿ ನಿಂದಿಸಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಮಿಕ್ಕಂತೆ, ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ಶಿಥಿಲವಾಗಿರುವ ನಮ್ಮ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಸೇವಾ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯನ್ನು ಬುಡಮೇಲು ಮಾಡಿ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಕೈ ಮೀರಿರುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಬಹುತೇಕ ಕಾರಣಗಳು ಮೂರು (1) ನಾವೇ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿರುವ ನಗರ ಜೀವನ ಕೇಂದ್ರಿತ ಅನಿವಾರ್ಯತೆಗಳು, (2) ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ತಕ್ಕುದಾದ ಆಡಳಿತವನ್ನು ಅನುಷ್ಠಾನಗೊಳಿಸಲು ಅಡ್ಡಿ ಮಾಡುವ ಮನೆಮುರುಕರ ಮಾಫಿಯಾ ಬಹುಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಆಡಳಿತ ಮಂಡಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಕರಗಿಹೋಗಿರುವುದು, (3) ಹಕ್ಕುಗಳನ್ನು ವೈಭವೀಕರಿಸಿ ಕರ್ತವ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಕಡೆಗಣಿಸುವ ಬೇಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿಯುತ ಜೀವನ ಶೈಲಿ, ಎಂಬುದು ಅನೇಕರಿಗೆ ಅಪ್ರಿಯವಾದರೂ ಸತ್ಯ. ಪರಿಹಾರ ಸೂಚಿಸಲು ನಾನು ವಿಷಯ ತಜ್ಞನಲ್ಲ. ವಿಷಯ ತಜ್ಞನಾಗುವುದರಿಂದ ಪರಿಹಾರ ಸೂಚಿಸಲು ಅಥವಾ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿಯನ್ನು ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ ಎಂಬ ಖಾತರಿ ಎಂದೂ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ, ಇಂದೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. “ಒಗ್ಗಟ್ಟಾಗಿ ಹೋರಾಡೋಣ. ದೇಶಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಒಂದಾಗೋಣ” ಎನ್ನುವ ಬರಿಗೊಡಗಳಿಗೆ ಸಮಾಧಾನ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಿವೆ ನೀರಿಲ್ಲದ ನಲ್ಲಿಗಳು.

The Literary elite from Karnataka have always stood for Kannada-first, Karnataka-first while not hating anybody: Archival evidence from presidential speeches delivered at Kannada literary conferences (1915-2020)

In my last post, I had summarised (for the benefit of non-Karnataka citizens) the news story surrounding two controversial interviews given by Prof Doddarange Gowda, the president-elect of the upcoming 86^th Kannada Sahitya Sammelana. Doddarange Gowda is yet to deliver his presidential speech and we don’t know what he has in store. However, in his interviews he had said that Karnataka should be welcoming and accepting of Hindi and dismissive of English. His sympathy for a Delhi-driven agenda favouring Hindi was criticised by ordinary Karnataka citizens and he retreated from his stance and issued a public apology of sorts. In this post, I wish to capture the flavour of speeches delivered by past presidents of the Kannada literary conference. The names of these literary giants may be unfamiliar to non-Karnataka peoples. Don’t worry and just take my word for the moment, when I say that a good number among these writers, poets, scholars, and thinkers were and are as good as any in the whole world. Their choice of the writing medium (Kannada) has meant that they are not as widely known (numerically) as other English/Global-translated authors. Karnataka’s self-effacing attitude has also ensured that our authors do not get the drum-beating typically associated with other South Asian authors. The great literary works from Karnataka have been difficult to translate (like it would be for most works that employ rooted idiom while espousing universal views). For some however, decent translations are available now for the interested.

The annual Kannada literary conference has been a major fixture in Karnataka’s cultural calendar for over a century and attracts lot of media traction and fanfare in Karnataka.  While the 3-day conference has a literary focus, it also allows ordinary citizens of Karnataka, who participate in their thousands, to visit a new town in their own province, understand Karnataka in whatever manner, receive adequate hospitality from the government-sponsored catering and lodging, and think (lackadaisically or intensely) about issues bothering Karnataka’s present and future without the muck and taint of party-based politics. I will be citing from selected speech archives dating back to 1915. The archival excerpts (translated from Kannada to English) give you a fair idea of what constitutes Karnataka’s core ethos. In a third article of this series (click here), I have provided a figurative colour-coded introduction to the literary generations of 20^th century Karnataka. I have restricted myself to the 20th century since this is the best documented modern period, although the written tradition of classical Kannada goes back at least 1200 years. You may find it at least interesting, if not useful, to know how times may have changed since 1915 (subjects changed and writing styles have changed) but a prominent Karnataka-based writer’s view on what it means to be an Indian has remained steadfastly pro-Karnataka first, pro-South India second while effortlessly being pro-India and not hating anyone.

In pre-independent India (1850s onwards), the literary elite in Karnataka were concerned with two main issues. Obviously, they were either directly or indirectly taking part in the freedom struggle against the British. Equally, they were seriously and more intentesely pursuing the cause of unifying Kannada speaking regions, which were then scattered under British and Nizam rules. The Kannada literary conferences (until independence) were supported mainly by the King of Mysore and voluntary donations from the general public. It continues to be funded by the Government of Karnataka and voluntary member donations. The emphasis of the founding members of the academy was also to orient the academy’s publications to reach the literate commoner and to nurture a generation of scholarly Karnatakans. Above all, the literary elite of the early 20th century not only wanted freedom from the British rule, but they also recognised the dangers of a foreign lingua franca (English). They had resisted Anglicisation of our minds while honestly admiring and learning from some of the enlightenment values espoused by the Western renaissance. After independence, it has been one of the greatest banes of our time that in Karnataka we had been fighting a sort of new coloniser in the form of North Indian friendly Hindi-centric union governments decade after decade. State governments have become increasingly more docile and submissive, although occasionally we see someone rising their voice but without conviction. When Doddarange Gowda (the current president-elect of the conference) expressed his apprehensions against English dominance in our daily lives, nobody disagreed with him. But it was clear that he was unaware of his literary traditions when he toed a dangerous line with his sympathy for Hindi. If only he had seen the speeches by his illustrious predecessors, he would have known why he was rebuked by the public, who by the way, still love his lyrics for Kannada cinema. After these excerpts, you will know why Karnataka resists and detests the tormenting of her mind by unionist apologists.

1915 – “The Mysore monarchy has always transacted all its official business in Kannada.   Kannada is everywhere in the Mysore kingdom. But for English, there is no other language that appears to have any capacity to undermine Kannada here”. – said H. V. Nanjundiah – A Judge and the founding vice-chancellor of University of Mysore – who presided over the first three consecutive literary conferences of Kannada, held in Bengaluru (2) and Mysuru (1).

[Note for 2021: Bengaluru was, is and will be one of the many capitals of Kannada and Karnataka. Karnataka has many capitals. If anybody has the misconception that Bengaluru is a mish-mashed cosmopolitan bubble, which is a view propagated by some colonial remnants around the British cantonment area or by some new-age wholesalers or by those who cannot see beyond the window-dressing on IT-BT jamboree, get rid].

1918 – “the British dividing [what should be the whole] Karnataka into discrete Mumbai, Kodagu and Madras provinces has been detrimental to Kannada.  Kannada is not the medium of instruction for primary education in schools directly under the British governance. For inexplicable reasons, we [ourselves] have come to think of scholars of and in the Vernaculars as inferior to those in and by English. Can there be anything more tragic?” – R. Narasimhachar – Epigraphist – President of the 3^rd Kannada conference, Dharawada

[Note for 2021: 102 years later, the situation is no different in Karnataka. Schools run by the central government diktats in Karnataka do not teach Kannada at least as a language, let alone medium of instruction for primary education. We have continued to lament in vain.]

1934 – “We recognise the importance of English education in awakening Hindustan from her slumber. In many ways, Kannada has begun to reimagine her horizons, and has started appreciating the importance of independence and patriotism [because the enlightened among her listened to British history] partly due to the British interference [in our lives].  We are here standing together because some of us were also provoked by English literature”. – Panje Mangesh Rao – Kannada and Konkani Poet, President of the 20^th Conference, Rayachuru.

1941 – “there is this line of thought which says that identifying ourselves as Kannadigas is more creditable than saying Mysuriga, Dharawadiga, Mangaluriga or Hyderabadiga….and same goes on to say that it is more creditable to call ourselves as Indian and not as Kannadigas, Marathis, Teluguites, Tamilians and so on…and it goes on further and says it is more virtuous to identify ourselves as citizens of the world, the so called ‘supreme view of vishwa kutumba’, and not as Indian, English, American or African…and I say there is nothing more foolish than thinking and working for the betterment of the whole world when one cannot even work for the betterment of oneself while neglecting one’s own kith and kin. Charity begins at home. It is only natural and just that Kannadigas, Teluguites and Tamilians should galvanize their patriotism for their provinces and through that India’s best interests will be served”.  – A. R. Krishnashastri – Professor, Editor, and Lexicographer, President of the 26^th Conference, Hyderabad

1946 – “Why are we asking for the building of a Kannada province? We don’t wish this for just ourselves.  We see everyone as equals.  We want Marathi speakers, Telugu speakers, Tamil speakers, and Malayala speakers to have their own provinces so that we become a strong Southern Quartet. Telugu, Tamilu and Malayalam…who are they?  They are brothers and sisters of Kannada. We Karnatakans are the cradle for all kinds of Dravidian traditions and we are hosts to many Dravidian languages. The embodiment of Karnatakaness makes Karnataka very special and different from unilingual identities typically espoused by Telugu, Tamilu and Kerala provinces.  To make a strong undivided India, we need to overcome provincial enmities.  We Karnatakans should be the exemplars for South Indians and let us South Indians set the right example for North India”– T.P. Kailasam – Playwright, President of the 29^th Conference, Madras

1951 – “I urge the organizers of the Kannada literary conference to hold parallel sessions on Science and Technology all over Karnataka.  Let the people know.  We are in the era of Science and we cannot live secluded lives and we have to collaborate. For every 10 people earning their livelihoods as good writers, we also need 10 people who can earn their livelihood by following the path of excellence in science. We need to straddle both paths. – M Govinda Pai – Poet and Indologist, President of the 34^th conference, Mumbai.

1953 – “In conferences like this [dedicated to Kannada thinking and thinking in Kannada], it would be apt if we can also invite poets and scholars from Marathi, Telugu, Tamilu, and Malaylam and let them present their views on the happenings in their provinces.  It would be so nice if we can patiently listen to their views on such occasions – V Seetharamiah – Professor, Poet and Editor, President of the 36^th Conference, Kumata

1957 – “the unified Karnataka was not born yesterday.  It always existed within poets, in scholars, in leaders, in students, in teachers, in vernacular journals, in academies such as this one and in the people, who have been the custodians of this geography.  What was for centuries and millennia, an unmistakable reality [the idea of a unified Karnataka] in the psychological landscape, now is a physically recognisable entity” – Kuvempu – Professor and Poet, President of the 37^th Conference, Dharavada

1960 – “Unification of Kannada provinces has given us new responsibilities.  We need to ensure that Kannadigas get to read high-quality literature, we have to nurture new literary forms and content, we need to honour the best and the most meritorious scholars for their efforts, we need to fill the gaps in our knowledge about Karnataka’s history and fund the research needed to write the socio-political history of this region, and we have to preserve the literary classics…the wish-list of people who lived and breathed Karnataka, and who always dreamt of unifying Karnataka is a long one [We need to get on with it]” – D L Narasimhachar – Professor and Lexicographer, President of the 41^st Conference, Bidar

1963 – “…the creation of linguistic states in India has had his fair share of problems and as the literary academy, we ought to examine all facets of this issue without passion while not in our agitative mode. The excesses of language politics can harm the fabric of unity of India and can pollute the feet of Goddess Saraswathi. We should shun such attitudes. We should perceive any attempt, from anybody speaking any language, espousing extreme action as an inauspicious omen for our province” – R M Mugali, Professor and Critic, President of the 44^th Conference, Tumakuru

[Note for 2021: This little excerpt from Prof Mugali’s speech serves an example (among many others) to show you how Karnataka has restrained herself on many occasions. We are passionate but we are not parochial.]

1974 – “We struggled all our lives and coped with all sorts of pains to unify Karnataka as a linguistic province.  Today Mother Karnataka is wondering if anybody who does not feel and understand the pain of the pained, do they know anything?  I too wonder sometimes whether we did the right thing by fighting for linguistic states.  Are we overzealous in our love for our language? We find ourselves in this tricky situation because we have lacked the sense of a single nation. We need to steer the chariot of linguistic provinces on a path of conciliation and not confrontation.  I have presented the same view in Marathi literary gatherings and they were willing to listen to me in Kannada. I told them that I awaited a day when they could echo similar sentiments at any of our conferences.  Language can become a deadly weapon if it gets into the hands of people playing political games. The same language can build bridges and bring hearts and minds of people together, if it is left to the imagination of writers and poets” – Jayadevi Taayi Ligade, Poetess, President of the 48^th Conference – Mandya.

[Note for 2021: Jayadevi was at the forefront of struggles to unify predominantly Kannada speaking Sollapura and other regions (now in Maharashtra) with Karnataka after India’s independence. She was crestfallen when it ultimately did not happen but remained a good-will ambassador all her life.]

1981 – “If this Kannada land cannot let Kannada peoples to lead a peaceful life, then I wonder which other land can bear with them, let them plough and bear them fruits?  We must understand that we get the rulers we deserve.  We ought to uplift ourselves…We should never forget that we are free citizens and the freedom makes us a people of substance and the choices we make should reflect the same. Many small regions that ought to have become part of Karnataka have been painfully forced to remain outside.  I really do not understand what compelled the Central government to let Kasaragodu remain in Kerala [when everything on the ground favoured a merger with Karnataka]. Kannada peoples in Kasaragodu should not feel like they are living in an open jail.  Does this augur well for a free India? …As we make greater scientific advances, the human superstitious interpretation of his condition will turn inwards and become ‘antaratmopaasana’. I am pleased that our scholars are trying to distil all the latest development in sciences and making it available in Kannada for the common. This is essential for making Kannada a medium of instruction even at higher stages of learning.  Like other independent nations, Karnataka should inculcate a habit of thinking about science in Kannada, without which Karnataka cannot hope to sit at the high table of advanced countries. The literary academy should invite science scholars as its members and facilitate fortification of Kannada and Karnataka’s future” – Pu Ti Na – Poet, President of the 53^rd Conference, Chikka Magaluru.

[Note for 2021: You can compare the thoughts of M Govinda Pai (the first Rashtra kavi of Karnataka) expressed in 1951 to those of Pu Ti Narasimhachar in 1981 given above. Both were supreme intellectuals, still highly regarded in Karnataka]

1987 – “The literary creativity of Kannada writers in these 70 years has been exceptional but after independence and after unification of Karnataka, especially in the last 30 years, we [the people and authors] must be ashamed of the fact we have not been able to serve the interest of Karnataka, which has in some ways declined from a position of strength in 1915. Kannada kula is not a poet’s imagination. It is our cultural truth. – Siddiah Puranika – Poet, President of the 58^th Conference, Kalaburgi.  

1992 – “The Gokak agitation had reawakened many despondent citizens to get their acts back together and address the persistent danger to our home land and language.  Since then, many activist organisations have come into force and have added new dimension to a relentless fight. However, I am of the strong belief that Kannada’s challenges can be addressed only if there is an honest political will.  We must take the literary festivals from big towns to the backyards of Karnataka and expand our outreach to our neighbours. We need linguistic bonhomie in the region and we can grow together” – G. S. Shivarudrappa – Poet, Critic, and Professor, President of the 61^st Conference, Davanagere

1997 – “After independence and post-unification of Karnataka, I have been consistently of the belief that a Kannadiga is a confident being and is capable of overcoming any weaknesses. An ancient inscription describes a Kannadiga as “a benevolent being for the humble, pleasant for the cultivated, and the one capable of unleashing extreme forces in a war against trouble makers”, and rightly the people of Karnataka have a natural flair for such qualities. Kannadigas living in Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and other places in India have established a strain-free relationship with their new habitat and people of other languages, while preserving their Kannada identity.  We aspire for bhaashaa saamarasya. = linguistic co-existence and equality” –  Kayyara Kinngyinnarai – Poet, Teacher and Freedom Fighter, President of the 66^th Conference, Mangaluru

[Note for 2021: The 1990s saw the rise of water disputes and heightened political and social tensions among Southern provinces, Barring a few incidents of violence, Karnataka has by and large remained peaceful in her responses to provocations or other tactics. The literary elite have always maintained that Kannada and Karnataka wants linguistic and cultural bonhomie in the region].

2006 – “Bidar, Kalaburgi, Rayachuru and Koppala were part of the Nizam division before Indian independence from the British. We, the Kannada citizens of these districts, had fought tooth and nail to preserve Kannada under an oppressive Nizam rule.  We had teachers and visionaries like Bhalki Chennabasava Pattadevaru who had displayed Urdu boards on the outside of schools to appease the oppressor while teaching Kannada inside the schools. Food banks were created by citizen leaders who collected “one handful of grain donated per household” for the benefit of poor students like me in this region of Karnataka.  If not for the brave souls like Bhalki Appa, Prabhu Raava Kambalivaala, who dared the Nizam rulers and continued to run Kannada schools, I would not be standing here in front you as a Kannada writer” – Shantarasa Hemberalu – Playwright and Freedom Fighter, President of the 72^nd Conference, Bidar

2020 – “We follow the path lit by the words of our poet laureate D R Bendre who had said that Hindi speakers are people like us and people amongst us. However, I cannot and will not accept Hindi as first among equals in India. If we need a link language in India, it cannot be Hindi.  A link language should not be associated with any province or region of India. The current neutral option continues to be English. Whoever migrates to Karnataka, no matter what they speak in their homes, must transact in Kannada in their daily lives. We have to create an official environment where they ought to transact in Kannada. The medium of instruction in primary schools ought to be Kannada” – H S Venkatesha Murthy – Poet and Children’s Author, President of the 85^th Conference, Kalaburgi

Note for 2021:  The situation today is not as bad as the Nizam rule or the British rule because the central Indian government does not prevent Karnataka from running good Kannada schools. But, we have too many privately-run schools that follow an English and Hindi-centric curriculum in Karnataka, which is similar to what the British did in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Sadly, we have continued to ignore the importance of compulsory Kannada for primary schoolers in Karnataka. Some of the districts in Karnataka are now recognised under law as those needing special assistance. The angst against Hindi imposition is mentioned explicitly in 2020 by the highly accomplished and widely-read poet H S Venkatesha Murthy because the developments since 2010 have been rather worrying. He was probably also reacting to the No Hindi in Namma Metro agitation in Bengaluru. The number of North Indian immigrants in Karnataka has sky-rocketed in a short span of time and their worldview and cultural outlook is vastly different compared to Karnataka and her old Southern neighbours. As the speeches show, Karnataka has been very comfortable with accommodating and engaging with her nearest neighbours, who have been equally magnanimous on many occasions (I am not talking about political gimmickry). It is not the same with Hindi or any North Indian linguistic groups, because their attachment to Karnataka is mostly driven by material needs. Make no mistake. The great poet Kuvempu had warned about Hindi replacing English as the new coloniser many decades ago. Does the Karnataka government have the will and commitment to run high-quality Kannada primary schools? Can a state government find its voice and ensure implementation of Kannada in all spheres of public life in Karnataka? Do they have the guts to question and fight the desiccated directives on education policy by the Supreme Court of India?      

References:

The archival material (in Kannada) used in this blog article is freely available on the website of Kannada Sahitya Parishattu.

The dead are cremated for good reason

Some great apes and elephants can mourn their dead.  We humans have perfected the art of remembering and respecting our dead. The Hindu cremation site is named the Rudrabhoomi (Rudra= the destroyer, Bhoomi=the earth; literally the place ruled by the destroyer). It is a place of destruction or fast deconstruction of a dead human body. It reminds us that the living we are a small ordered part of humongous chaos to which we return when we die. Burial too provides a protected and honorable means for slow deconstruction of a human dead body. My intention here is not to question the customs of many other great civilisations. I am just trying to analyse the change I see around me in India. I am reminding ourselves why we burn the dead.

In India, we are free to choose how we respect the dead. Those who want to bury their dead in India are free to do so and those who want to cremate are free to do so and we are proud of plurality and diversity. However, our ‘politicians’ and some brainless followers of those politicians build expansive memorials (using public money) for some of our famous dead. The memorials are occasionally useful institutions e.g. libraries, museums, universities etc. I will support those who want to construct a new world class institution to honour the dead. Sadly, they rename an old crumbling institution with the name of the newly dead or the same old dead. It is a different question whether those institutions remain true to the values upheld by their famous namesakes. Political parties (all of them) think that by naming every bridge, road, railway station, city or an airport after a select few dead leaders, they will get votes. I pity them. Memorials and monuments are usually built to be useless or become useless or worse still, a burden on our society.

Hero stones have a rich history in India, particularly in Karnataka.  See this 4 part video series on ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ವೀರಗಲ್ಲುಗಳು by Prof R Seshashastry, a well known epigraphist. He explains the meaning and cultural significance of hero stones in Karnataka (courtesy: munnota).  Typically, a hero stone was erected in honour of a veera (a hero) who died for a just cause (need not necessarily be in a battle field).  We respected our heroes individually and those stones have historical value today.  The Amar Jawan Jyoti war memorial in modern India is a poignant place. I have not seen it personally myself.  Just a photo of that memorial, depicting a soldier’s helmet on a solitary rifle without the soldier, is so powerful that it moves me every time I see it.  In Australia, there is a tradition of parading a saddled horse without a rider on their national day (same as India’s Republic day), symbolising the soldier who did not return from the battle field. The fact that the dead soldier is present by his absence in both these cases is a wonderful tribute to his sacrifice. Any Indian will naturally feel for those brave souls who fought for our security, fought nature’s fury and rescued the stranded in calamities, and became martyrs in that process. There are several personal tragedies underneath a collective triumph of such kind. War memorials are generally collective memorials. A war memorial may stand for dignity. In contrast, a mass grave is a symbol for despair. People who died in heaps during a disease outbreak, people who died as victims of a genocide, those who died in an earth quake or any other natural disaster…they were not heroes in any conventional sense. Both are collective memorials and both emerge from tragic circumstances. They may act as a place of reflective thought to some. I respect such collective symbols, especially those that remind us of the horrors of the past, and of our own collective successes and failures. The Indian tendency to glorify and worship individual sacrifices may have taken new forms in modern India. Hero stones of medieval India were simple stone inscriptions that only talked about the person who died.  The people who erect modern monuments not only want extravagant structures, but also want to tom-tom their own name for erecting those monuments.  The so called dead ‘hero’ is a vehicle to help the living ‘thirsty for publicity’. Who needs such monuments?

I know that some of the most astonishing architectural feats in human history are tombs and memorials. Burial sites have provided fantastic insights into ancient civilisations. For instance, we know what we know about the Etruscan civilization (1000 to 100 BCE) in Southern Europe only because they had a careful and extensive burial tradition. Artifacts recovered from those graves are the only source of information about those people. Such sites are rare in India because our customs were and are different. Be them as they may, I can’t get over the question why we defeat the purpose of burning a dead body by building a new ‘sanitised’ building or a memorial even for a select successful few in India? It is disconcerting to see memorial politics of the dead. Be it the old dead or the new dead.

A modern ecowarrior may do some calculations to point out that burning a dead body can trigger deforestation or enhance the release of noxious gases, both undesirable. From that angle, burying a dead body is the eco-friendliest way. Microbial decomposition of the body is the way nature would have done it if left to its own devices. Burying is a protected improvised version of the same. I respect that. However, as the saying goes, the voting preferences of people in the UK (just an example) changes as they get older. They vote for the liberal democrats when at University, vote labour when unemployed or in early stages of a career, vote conservative when reach middle or old age, and then they vote green when they are dead (and buried). If people who died had not used diesel and petrol cars all their life, had not used plastic bags all their life, had not taken hour long showers with potable water twice a day all their life, had not …may be one may rationalise the vote for green when dead. In other words, we don’t have to do emission tests of funeral pyres if we become more responsible when we are alive. Having said that, a grave site is a personal site of mourning and not a site of public fanfare. We must respect personal relationship a person may have with the dead.

Those who choose to burn their dead do so for good reason. Our people must understand this.  In my view, the dead (individual(s)) do not need physical monuments and other kinds of structures raked up in their names even if they did extraordinary deeds when alive. If they were the noblest of people, they will continue to live in the living society’s mind space. They don’t need a sterile monument. If someone dies, he or she will be remembered by his or her friends and relatives in personal ways and not by building public shrines for dead people.

PS: Sati (also known as sahagamana) was an inhuman practice of ancient India, where a widow had to jump into her husband’s funeral pyre and burn alive. Reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy gallantly opposed the society (19th century CE) and India changed for the better. Today, there is no Sati in India and Indian women have autonomy and freedom (still a long way to go). There are many examples of hero stones for women who had become Sati in India.  They are called Maasti stones (mahasati= the great wife). People pay homage to such stones even today.  One of my ancestors had performed Sati around 400 years ago in a small village in Karnataka. My grandmother and many of my aunts used to visit the place and pay tributes to her.  I was always torn whenever I thought of that place.  One part in me always respected my grandmother’s feelings for her ancestor.  Another part of me, much later in my life (after having visited the place) thought of the desperate circumstances of that woman who jumped into the pyre.  It was not a public shrine though.  Did we need a reminding symbol for such personal tragedy? Different answers for different people, I guess.  The woman who performed Sati was in a different era. My grandmother belonged to another era and I am here and now.

The Fetish for Giant Statues in Modern Indian Politics

A thousand years ago (in 980 CE), an acclaimed sculptor oversaw the making of a big monolithic statue of Mahaaveera, a Jaina Teerthankara. The 57 foot tall statue has continued to serve its purpose for all these centuries and today it is still sanding strong in Shravanabelagola, Karnataka. Around 500 years ago (in 1528 CE), Emperor Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Kingdom commissioned the sculpting of a big monolithic statue of Ugra Narasimha, a Hindu deity in Hampi, Karnataka. The statue of Ugra Narasimha (~21 feet in height) was vandalized many times by tyrants but it is still there standing bright amidst Hampi ruins. A giant Buddha statue in Leshan, China (carved in 8th century CE) is still there. The giant statues of Buddha in Bamiyan (7th century CE) that were carved into the natural hill cliffs in Afghanistan were lost under tragic circumstances.

Today in India, central and many state governments are spending millions on tall statues of historical figures. For instance, the central government wants to build a 182 m tall iron statue of Vallabha Bhai Patel, at an estimated total cost of nearly $550 million (Rs 3000 crores). The Maharashtra state government intends to build a 210 m tall gigantic statue of Shivaji spending $280 million (Rs 1200 crores). Now, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana state governments are competing to build two statues of B R Ambedkar (both >100 feet tall). All of these governments are also in a race to outdo one another in misusing people’s money. There are some NGOs and some private consortia that are funding the building of giant statues of religious or spiritual symbolism. Their intentions are also suspect. India is not the only country that is obsessed with Gigantism in statue building.  An internet search will give you a list of at least 50 other statues of such gigantic proportions from all over the world.  It is easy not to overlook that most of these statues have been commissioned and built over the last 15 years. Many countries are in the process of erecting some new statues of incredible size and proportions.

Our current political leaders have no idea of what statues can and can’t do. Indian politicians (by and large) do not understand the value of public money anyway. They certainly do not understand the value of visionaries like B R Ambedkar. Sculpting of a Gommateshwara in 10^th century CE in hard granite is not the same as casting gigantic pieces of modern metallic or concrete “junk” in 21^st century. We cannot compare the artistic grandeur of Ugra Narasimha to modern construction of concrete statues in many places all over the world. There is nothing great about building any big statue that has no aesthetic or technical appeal (be it of Gods or of mere mortals). Building statues is not a challenge with today’s technology and mechanical support but building statues incurs costs without benefits. By entering the rat race of building the tallest statues in the world, India does not suddenly start respecting and practicing the values espoused by its heroes.

Indian politicians are not paying any attention to ancient monuments that are decaying due to decades of neglect.  All they want is to misuse public money to erect some XYZ statue, so that, they get to unveil a piece of tiny slab inscribed with their names on the day of statue inauguration. They don’t realise that building such statues may take many years and the people who started the project will not be in office and may have died, and costs sky rocket by the time the ill-conceived monster comes to life. The fetish for these useless modern colossi is hard to explain. Justifications including the sultry notion of national integration, or the sundry notion of local pride are a façade. These living politicians have no achievements of their own to commission their own statues and sadly, the dead are revived and hung to dry in the open again. Perhaps it is not feasible in a democracy like India to erect your own statue. Some kings, queens and some dictators used to do that in the past. I hope these politicians realise that their names on the parapet are even less durable than these statues themselves.  Indians do not value such statues anyway. The poor state of hundreds of human sized Ambedkar statues (with not-so-shining suits and boots) and thousands of Mahatma Gandhi statues (with broken glasses and shabby walking stick) in the streets and corners all over India serve a grim reminder. It is a different matter as to what concern we have for the modern day Ambedkars. Mahatma Gandhis are extinct anyway.

The Roman colossus of Nero began as Nero, became some other Sun God at some point, and then the statue’s head was replaced to convert him into some other emperor. The same is also true for many temples and monuments, which evolve and become something else through generations. But, some monuments survive and gigantic statues rarely survive. Those that survive and remain endearing to the public are often aesthetically, spiritually, and sometimes technically awe-inspiring. Those that survive are not the “me too” types. We should not forget that the Colossus of Nero probably did not help Nero glorify his legacy, and his statue did not even survive the fall of the Roman empire.

PS: Some of you might be thinking of Ozymandias by P B Shelley (1792-1822).

 

Three years since the Indian election mandate in 2014: A subjective analysis

This is the third article in an annual series that has examined the Indian central government’s hits and flops since the general election in 2014. (Part 1, Part 2)

From July 2016 to July 2017, the Indian union government took some bold decisions.  The rolling out of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the midnight of June 30^th, was probably the most significant, and may I say, a wise decision. I do not fully understand the GST yet. I can’t think of anyone who understands the Indian GST, except perhaps members of the GST council set up by the central government. At this stage, GST is one of those pills that many believe is good for the nation’s economic body, which may boost its circulatory system without any side effects.

I feel sorry that coveted constitutional posts remain highly politicised in India ever since Independence. However, within such constraints, India has seen some outstanding persons in those posts.  Last month, Mr Ramanatha Kovind was elected the 14^th President of India. From everything we have heard of him, he has all the credentials to be a good president and deserves the highest constitutional position in India. His past and current sympathies with some political pressure group (namely the RSS) should not be an issue since others in past who had strong connections with other political dynasties and loyalties had become Presidents of India. Him being a Dalit (a class of people oppressed in India, for centuries) became a talking point only because the opposition (UPA) reacted and fielded their own Dalit contestant in the race. There is no doubt that Mr Kovind’s election marks an important milestone in the current union government’s tenure. I must also say a few words about the outgoing president Mr Pranav Mukherjee, who is a Congress veteran (so why not Mr Kovind?). Mr Mukherjee took much needed decisions on many mercy petitions (by criminals on death row) languishing for decades with the President’s office. He occasionally warned the government by returning legislative amendments sent to him without parliamentary scrutiny. He also made his customary speeches on tolerance, calling for social harmony. The Indian President is the Commander in chief of Indian armed forces and s/he is the symbolic head of our union. Mr Mukherjee fulfilled these obligations adequately. Apart from that, he was busy visiting temples and he was in news only when he visited temples. In comparison, the Vice President (the Chairperson of the upper house) holds more operative power in our democracy. At least in theory, the upper house must raise above party politics, and be the non-partisan jury of the Indian legislature. The newly elected Vice President (who shall remain unnamed) does not inspire any confidence.

Some of the positive initiatives by the Union government in 2016-17 (in my view) are the following:

1. National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme: Planned expenditure of 10,000 crore over the next 3 years to create 50 lakh jobs by 2020.
2. Introduction of full paid maternity leave for women working in the organized sector, in any company or organization employing 10 or more persons. This was a significant amendment to an old maternity benefit act (1961).
3. Merger of rail budget with union budget: An important step towards improved efficiency and focus.  Takes away useless sop-announcements from the Railway ministry.
4. The Government will be investing thousands of crores in several new IITs, a few new AIIMS all across India. New institutes of potential are welcome. Please do not neglect what is already there. Governance structure in many of the existing central and state universities is opaque to say the least. The newly introduced national university ranking system may serve the purpose of internal disaster assessment and they must not be indicators of performance. There is nothing to write home about. Every state government I see, has its head buried in sand.
5. National highways and the rural road construction projects were among the biggest achievements of NDA-1 (under Mr Atal B Vajapayee). NDA-2 continues to impress when it comes to investing in road infrastructure. 
6. Bilateral agreements on security, aviation, agriculture and in other sectors between India and other countries.

Point 6 has been the boon and the bane of the current government. The Prime Minister was on a foreign visit spree even in his third year in office. His visits to Israel, Germany, USA, Russia (I don’t know in which order) and how many more…were important events for sure.  He is not tiring from his foreign trips but, I am tired of his foreign trips. A warm reception to our PM in any country is always welcome. However, Mr Modi’s arrival in all these countries has also enthused a handful of billionaires and people of Indian origin who are now permanently citizens of other countries for whatever reasons. I am not comfortable when the PM addresses select groups of PIOs or cheered by masses of NRIs who see him as a facilitator of FNRI (not generic FDI) in India. This extravagant flag waiving on foreign soils is not needed if they want to help their former mother land.  Those with a heart (either genuinely good or even guilty) have always done their bit for India no matter who, where, or what.

While Narendra Modi loves his professional tours, the would-be opposition leader (Rahul Gandhi) loves his personal vacations abroad 6 months a year. I have nothing important to say about him (that should say a lot). In effect, both are on self-imposed exile at any given time, except when canvassing for elections. The government has not turned off election heat from the day it took charge in 2014. Goodness knows what it will be like when the next general election comes around in around 16 months. The PM’s radio soliloquies have garnered a few crores of much needed revenue to the ailing All India Radio. My reactions to the PM’s publicity seeking manners is summed up by my diary notes that I quote below.  If the PM loves promoting his mediocre acronyms, I think copy pasting my own (slightly better than mediocre) flourish is acceptable once in a while 😉. Here is what I wrote in my diary on June 17^th, 2017

“The Prime Minister of India inaugurated a metro train service in Kerala, a South Indian state (June 16^th, 2017; yesterday). He travelled approximately 13 km in an empty metro train. He also inaugurated one of the longest river bridges in Arunachala Pradesha, a North East Indian state (May 26^th, 2017; a few weeks ago). He was standing alone on a bridge too far. The PM also inaugurated a tunnel road in Jammu & Kashmira, a North Indian state (April 2^nd, 2017; a few months ago). The photograph of the PM waiving his hand alone in front of a dark empty tunnel is still fresh in my mind. The PM posed for the cameras in a train in South Africa (July 10^th, 2016; was it last year?). He was alone and the train was empty. He was safe and insecure. Can’t he see the emptiness of this all? Train travel is good but it is neither a necessary nor sufficient precondition to understand Mahatma Gandhi”.

I mentioned implementation of the GST as the most significant of all the decisions made by the central government in 2016-17. GST was rolled out after many years of deliberation. The PM also took another bold decision when he unleashed a demon in demonetisation on the fateful night of Nov 8^th 2016. Demonetisation was meant to be a shark attack on black money hoarders, but it turned out to be a piranha attack on the skinny feet of innocent, vulnerable, ordinary people. I have written on demonetisation in detail in a post three months ago. In short, unleashing the demon was bold, and the government was clever enough to make a political capital out of that decision. History will judge the decision as one that was probably unwise and certainly irresponsible.

If we take ‘the demon’ away from the legislative year 2016-17, there is nothing left to talk about. A series of state assembly elections happened and NDA won most of them. The farmers’ agitation in Delhi caught some eyes. There was widespread concern against antisocial elements (still) beating and lynching in the name of saving cows. The unrest in Jammu and Kashmira is nothing new. The unrest at the borders with China and Pakistan are not new.  We, the people of South India, are far removed from everything happening there. However, the unrest against Hindi imposition in Karnataka is worth a mention. The agitation against Hindi imposition in Namma Metro in Bengaluru city caused a huge uproar locally in Karnataka.  The national (Delhi centric) media did not do justice to the broadcasting of the sentiments expressed by Kannada peoples.

The Indian identity is a complex mixture of many identities. Political parties with a near-pan Indian presence (BJP and INC) have always tried to undermine local aspirations for cultural and fiscal autonomy. They have tried to homogenize our public spaces. I hated the past when there was a single dominant political party in India.  I hate to see a future where there is only one dominant political party in India. Some pro-government media houses are running a gunny bag race with the central government to an unknown finish line. There are many political leaders who are corrupt to their bones, and no torch is required to find them in day light. If only the central law-enforcing agencies (under UPA and NDA) acted where needed, with or without HMV records playing in the background.  The rate at which regional (state-level) political parties are capitulating without a trace, and succumbing to central tactics of (a) lure (money), (b) seduction (power), and (c) threat (from ED and CBI) has continued to damage Indian democracy.

India faces an almost insurmountable challenge of severe drought and water crisis in the 21^st century. State governments are sparring over river water that isn’t going to be there. Land grab scams are killing lakes in cities and forests in rural India. Nobody cares when in political office, and those not in political office (ordinary people) do not want to care because they are busy getting their next meal. I fear that a large majority of our politicians will sacrifice sustainable habitability of our lands for their own exploits and their party’s short-term selfish agendas. Such politicians are inspired by us, the ignorant citizens. Of course, business cronies, negligent bureaucrats, and a subservient police force do not help. I wish to believe that I am neither pessimistic nor anti-politics. In fact, I know that I am not (Can’t hee rava?).

The Indian Tricolor (photo courtesy: pinterest)

Two years since the Indian election mandate in 2014: A subjective analysis

Are we just flying kites or reflecting the real ambitions of India? (Photo by Ankush Kochhar)

Last year around this time, I had posted a subjective report card for the Indian central government after it had completed one year in office (see here).  In that report, I had complemented the government’s emphasis on strengthening relationships with regional powers (SAARC nations).  I had also given the prime minister (Narendra Modi) the benefit of the doubt when it came to representing India adequately while he was abroad, although he was still on campaign mode after one year in government.  I also thought Mr Modi had done well in curbing corruption at the top level within government.  Another year has passed and where do I see India and its government heading now?

I will start with foreign and home affairs.  In my view, foreign affairs and internal security are two wings of any central government that are going to be the legacy makers after the government’s term is over.  Narendra Modi’s strength is his global visibility.  He has made good use of it so far and I thought India’s strategic partnerships with Iran (beginning work on a new Iranian port dedicated to Indian trade) and Afghanistan (the building of a friendship dam by Indian investment) have reached new heights under Mr Modi.  I am very happy about such developments.  Mr Modi also did well in going to the USA to complete some formalities regarding the Nuclear deal.  However, the equation with Nepal has suffered and the government has to do something to restore normalcy soon.

The central government has not let a major security lapse to affect India’s internal security (barring a couple of cases involving military bases).  The home ministry (as best done) appears to have gone on with its job quietly but steadily.  There is of course an urgent need for police reforms in India and not doing it until now has hurt India badly.  I do not know when our government will wake up to see what ordinary people go through when they visit their local police station.  The chronic and toxic nexus between political parties, politicians and police officers needs to be acknowledged before it can be tackled.  I am disappointed that Union government, particularly Mr Modi has not taken up police reforms as a priority.  Sorry, I get it now.  Police is a state subject (the famous line by our Chief ministers).  I will come back to federalism and where it is needed later.

Economy is the third most important sector controlled by the central government.  It is general knowledge that when foreign and home affairs are addressed sufficiently, economy takes care of itself.  The current government came to power on its promises on economic reforms.  As the Indian RBI governor (unfortunately his outgoing and honest views made him the outgoing governor) has often said (to paraphrase him) “reforms should improve ease of doing legitimate business and such reforms require stable policies with long term vision”.  The government, despite all the hype, has been blowing hot and cold when it comes to economic reforms.  It has done too little for those who voted for the government, and it has done too little also for those who did not vote for them.  The Make in India initiative, the Prime Minister’s mudra scheme (funding for start-ups) and various other schemes have received a lot of air time on Indian media.  I am afraid I have not seen or met a single person (I don’t meet many, I admit) who has benefited from these schemes.  The advertisements always interview beneficiaries but they don’t show the millions who are lurching in the dark.  The mudra scheme may be a start-up from the government (ironically intended to fund start-ups) and only time will tell if this was not just another flash in the pan.  Before I forget (ironically the very people lurching in the dark), let me commend the rural electrification scheme as well.  I am not sure how much of the current achievement is a culmination of work started during NDA-I and UPA-I.  Never mind the details.  I celebrate, with some sadness, that it has taken independent India almost seven decades to electrify some of her villages.

The fourth important ministry is the ministry of environment.  I had in my last year’s report cited the promise of our prime minister that he will ensure that the river Ganga will see better days. I noticed that just before the government completed its second year, one of the ministers again made a statement to similar effects.  The prime minister himself went to his constituency in Varanasi to inaugurate eco-friendly transport.  I am sure he knows that the river does not start and end in Varanasi. Do you remember what the art of living extravaganza on the banks of river Yamuna did to the river?  I am yet to see any concrete action that convinces me that the prime minister and the government are serious about cleaning our rivers and stopping water pollution.  The river Ganga is symptomatic of a large problem.  Forests and natural resources are national assets (I would say world assets) and no state should cite economic reasons for compromising environmental norms.

You may wonder why I did not place rural employment, health care, and education as the priority for the government.  I keep a close watch on those too and social sector reform, as a subject is close to my heart.  I fully support for example the Prime Minister’s phasal bima (crop insurance) scheme.  It is a great initiative and needs all the publicity it can get.  I do not understand the full details of how the scheme is going to work.  But, the thought that a government is willing to cover the losses incurred by our farmers (for a nominal premium) is wonderful. However, our system is flawed.  Social reforms need to be decentralised.  The central government should not be running schools, colleges and hospitals.  These should be run by state governments, perhaps even district and village panchayats.  I am not for once saying that we need to privatise social sectors in India.  In fact, I am saying just the opposite.  The government should invest more in the social sector, more in primary schools and such investments should come from state governments and not from New Delhi (the evil centre, in my view).

The prime minister seems to be very keen on absurd acronyms.  Let me offer him one.  DDD (sorry for diluting the subject but I am not talking about the size of a bra cup).  D for decentralize, D for decentralize and D for decentralize.  All you need to do is to visit a remote place in South India.  The situation in a local state-run school or a primary health centre is appalling.  The central government is promoting the building of toilets (I hear adds on radio every day).  Great initiative in principle.  However, the central government should not be involved in building toilets.  New Delhi does not speak my native language (Kannada in my case, it can be any other regional language).  The central officers do not understand regional problems.  Co-operative federalism is highlighted all the time by the Union government.  I want to see some tangible action.  Empower the states.  Give them more funds to empower district and gram panchayats to deliver health care and education.  That will transform India.  Not a few bureaucrats sitting in New Delhi.  The very fact that I am writing a report card for the central government and not for the government running my home state (Karnataka) clearly tells me that there is a serious imbalance of power.   The state politics all across India, unfortunately, has not covered itself in glory. The corruption allegations are stinking (the way Bangalore’s solid waste is stinking to high-hell; click here for an article on political scene in Karnataka that I wrote six years ago).

A former minister in the old NDA (Vajapayee) government may add another D (disinvestment) to my list of Ds.  The situation of Air India exemplifies how PSUs are in ICU.  The public sector industries and banks are doing a service to this nation.  Indian railway is the life line of our country and it must continue to be a state run unit.  No private sector in this world can do what railways does for India and if someone thinks that private railways is the answer, they are living in a fool’s paradise. I will write a separate article on the railways some other time.  In an ideal world PSUs should be better than their private counterparts given the privileges and support PSU’s receive from tax payers’ money.  I also hope for such a day but I might also be living in a fool’s paradise.

Finally, I will come to communication, an area where the current government is supposedly very strong.  Narendra Modi has been heard many times on the radio through the usual mann ki baat programme.  Although I did not listen to all of them, I did make it a point to go to their recordings whenever possible to understand a prime minister’s mind.  As always, the message and the theme of some of mann ki baat were laudable (e.g. rain water harvesting, building toilets, prevention of maternal mortality during child birth, recognising ordinary people by name and highlighting their achievements etc).  However, when he asked people to post selfies with daughter, he really put me off.  Such symbolism might enthuse some urbane (=superficial) people and most of them are already posting too many selfies anyway.  Dare I say the prime minister should stop posting selfies too.  Don’t we remember the mindless minister who posted a selfie while touring distressed drought-hit areas?  Don’t we hear news almost every day that some young boy lost his life trying to take a dangerous selfie?  Selfies are a modern day disease and the prime minister of a country should not be promoting bad habits.  To be fair, the government has been promoting ‘bEti bachao bEti paDao” (save the girl child and educate the girl child) as a nationwide scheme, which is a commendable idea.  The prime minister must leave soft promotion of government schemes to some bureaucrat and he should focus on improving governance.   The previous union governments were busy naming schemes after a political family (I despise that attitude), the current government seems to be busy renaming old schemes.

One of the main criticisms I have for the union government (Modi Sarkar sounds feudal and I don’t like that phrase), is for the government’s one-way communication strategy.  The song played by All India Radio every day (before 8 am morning news) to celebrate two years of NDA-II is okay but why every day?  Can the government ask the state radio to play a song of unanswered questions every day?  The news headlines almost invariably begin with the phrase “Prime Minister Narendra Modi….”.  For heaven’s sake, can we have one day where the news begins with some other thing?  I thought the second year of a newly elected government will be its best year in terms of handling tough questions facing Indian economy, Indian forests, Indian farmers and Indian Science.  However, the government has not taken the challenges head on.  They don’t answer questions.  The opposition has failed in all fronts to hold the government to account.  Most chief ministers are busy taking pot shots at central ministers and vice versa.  India seems to be on a perpetual election mode, which is very unhealthy for a democracy.

The prime minister always invites people to ask him questions before a mann ki baat programme and chooses to answer some of them.  I am afraid he has never chosen tough questions.  Former prime minister Manmohan Singh made a serious mistake by not answering questions that were flinging at him.  However, at least he had once in a while taken direct questions from the press.  I am really concerned that the current prime minister is damaging his own credibility by not convening press conferences all by himself at regular intervals.  He must take questions when he is not briefed what the questions are going to be. The parliamentary debate in our country has hit very low standards and often the questions are so boring that the person who raised the question sleeps while someone (if present) gives an answer.  I have heard many MPs from the Rajya sabha (upper house) complain to the media that the best speeches and debates are not covered by the press.  I don’t know. The prime minister should lead a change in this attitude.  He should take questions on unprepared.  He should speak his real mann ki baat and not be fixated on prepared radio speeches.  May we see some change in this respect in 2016-17?  A mixed bag of a year, I conclude.

While I was writing this article, I got the news that the Union government is closing down the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.  It is a disturbing development.  It is okay if the idea leads to something else e.g. a new name for an old ministry, e.g. Ministry of Gram Swaraj.  However, I doubt the intentions of our government in this matter and am hoping against hope that the government understands the gravity of the problem.  (added on July 5th)…I also learnt that the World Bank is investing >600 million dollars into India’s renewable energy programme.  President of the World Bank has acknowledged that the decision was approved because Mr Modi has given a personal commitment to making India a solar super power.  I congratulate our Prime Minister for taking the lead and a firm stand.  I also thought India played a constructive role during the climate discussions in Paris last year.

 

ಶಿವರಾಮ ಕಾರಂತರ ‘ಬೆಟ್ಟದ ಜೀವ’

ಶಿವರಾಮ ಕಾರಂತರ ‘ಬೆಟ್ಟದ ಜೀವ’ (1935?) ಕಾದಂಬರಿಯನ್ನು ನಾನು ಮೊದಲು ಓದಿದ್ದು ಸುಮಾರು ಹನ್ನೆರಡು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ.  ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಮರೆತಂತಾಗಿತ್ತು.  ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಈ ವಾರ ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಓದಿದೆ.  ಕಥೆಯ ಹಿಂದು-ಮುಂದುಗಳನ್ನು ನಾನು ವಿವರಿಸುವ ಗೋಜಿಗೆ ಹೋಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ.  ಅದು ಓದಿ ತಿಳಿದರೇನೆ ಸರಿ.

‘ಬೆಟ್ಟದ ಜೀವ’ದ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಪಾತ್ರ ಕಟ್ಟದ ಗೋಪಾಲಯ್ಯ ಅವರದು.   ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ ಘಟ್ಟಗಳ ಭಾಗವಾದ ಕುಮಾರ ಪರ್ವತ, ಶೇಷ ಪರ್ವತ, ಸಿದ್ಧ ಪರ್ವತ, ಹೀಗೆ ಕಳಂಜಿಮಲೆಗಳ ಚಿತ್ರವನ್ನು ಬಿಡಿಸುವಾಗಲೆಲ್ಲಾ ಕಾರಂತರು ಗೋಪಾಲಯ್ಯನವರ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿತ್ವವನ್ನೇ ವಿವರಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವುದು ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟ.  ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗೆ ಇದನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ

“ಹಿಂದಿನ ದಿನ ಅದೇ ಬೆಟ್ಟ ನನಗೆ ಮೊಸರು ಗದ್ದೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಂತ ನೀಲ ಕಡೆಗೋಲಿನಂತೆ ಕಾಣಿಸಿತ್ತು.  ಇಂದು ಹಿಮದ ಮೊಸರಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ.  ನನ್ನೆದುರಿನ ಬೆಟ್ಟ ತನ್ನ ದಿಟ್ಟತನದಿಂದ, ಔನ್ನತ್ಯದಿಂದ ನನ್ನಂಥ ಎಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲಾ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳ ಎದೆಯನ್ನು ಭೀತಿಗೊಳಿಸಿ ತಲ್ಲಣಿಸಿರಬೇಕೋ ತಿಳಿಯೆ….ಸೂರ್ಯನ ರಶ್ಮಿಗಳು ಬೆಟ್ಟದ… ಹಸುರನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ಬೆಳಕಿಂದ ತೋಯ್ದುಬಿಟ್ಟಾಗ… ಆ ಕಠಿಣವೂ ನಿರ್ದಾಕ್ಷಿಣ್ಯವೂ ಆಗಿ ನಿಂತ ಬೆಟ್ಟಕ್ಕೆ ಒಂದು ಬದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮೃದುವಾದ ಹೃದಯವಿದ್ದಂತೆ ಕಂಡಿತು (ಪು 94) “

ಇಂಥ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿತ್ವವೇದ್ಯ ನಿರೂಪಣೆಯಿಂದ ಗೋಪಾಲಯ್ಯನವರೇ ಕಣ್ಣು ಮುಂದೆ ಬರುತ್ತಾರೆ.  ಬೆಟ್ಟದೊಂದಿಗೆ ಬದುಕುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಬೆಟ್ಟವೇ ಆಗಿರಬೇಕು. ಕಾದಂಬರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇನ್ನೂ ಅನೇಕ ಎಳೆಗಳಿವೆ.  ಅವು ಮಾನವ ಧರ್ಮದ ಹಲವು ಮುಖಗಳ ಅನ್ವೇಷಣೆಯಾಗಿ ಬೆಳೆಯುತ್ತವೆ.

 “ಬದುಕುವುದು ಹೊನ್ನಿಗಾಗಿ ಅಲ್ಲ (ಪು 46)” ಮತ್ತು “ಮನುಷ್ಯ ಅನುಕಂಪ ಬೇಡುವ ಜೀವಿ (ಪು 59)”

ಎಂಬ ಗೋಪಾಲಯ್ಯನವರ ಎರಡು ಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಹೇಳಿಕೆಗಳು ಅವರ ಜೀವನ ಸಿದ್ಧಾಂತದ ಸಾರಾಂಶ ಎಂದರೆ ತಪ್ಪಲ್ಲ.  ಆ ಎರಡರಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾವುದು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಎಂದರೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಕಷ್ಟವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.  ಈ ಎರಡೂ ತತ್ವಗಳು ಒಟ್ಟಿಗೇ ಇರುವಂಥವು.  ಗೋಪಾಲಯ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಶಂಕರಮ್ಮ ದಂಪತಿಗಳ ಹಾಗೆ. ಒಂದು ತೀರಿಕೊಂಡರೆ ಇನ್ನೊಂದಕ್ಕೆ ದಿಕ್ಕಿಲ್ಲ.  ದಿಕ್ಕಿಲ್ಲದ ಮೇಲೆ ಯಾವುದೂ ದಕ್ಕಲ್ಲ.

“ನಾವಿಬ್ಬರಿದ್ದೇವೆ.  ಇಬ್ಬರೂ ಒಂದೇ ಗಳಿಗೆಗೆ ತೀರಿಕೊಂಡರೆ ಚಿಂತೆಯಿಲ್ಲ. … ಆದರೆ ಯಮನ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಬಂದು ಜತೆಗೆಟ್ಟ ಜೋಡಿ ಉಳಿಯುವುದಾದರೆ, ಉಳಿದವರ ಪಾಡೇನು?” (ಪು 31).

ಇಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲಾ ಹೇಳಿ ಕಾಡಿನ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕಾಡಿನಲ್ಲೇ ಇರುವವರ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಎರಡು ಮಾತು ಹೇಳಲೇಬೇಕು.  ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಕಾದಂಬರಿಯು ವ್ಯಕ್ತ ಪಡಿಸುವ “ಯಾರ ಋಣ ಯಾರನ್ನು ಎಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಗಿದಿದೆಯೋ” ಎಂಬ ಭಾವಕ್ಕೆ ನ್ಯಾಯ ಸಿಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ.  ಕಾದಂಬರಿಯ ಪಾತ್ರ ಶಿವರಾಮನಂತೆ (ಕಾರಂತರಂತೆ) ಪಟ್ಟಣವಾಸಿಯಾದ ನನಗೆ “ಕಾಡು, ಬೆಟ್ಟ, ನದಿ” ಎಂದಾಕ್ಷಣ ಕವಿ ಮನಸ್ಸು ಜಾಗೃತವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.  ಅಂತಹ ಜಾಗಕ್ಕೆ ನನ್ನಂಥವರು ಹೋದರೆ ‘ಸ್ವರ್ಗವೇ!’ ಎಂದು ಬೆರಗುಗೊಳ್ಳಬಹುದು (ನಿಮ್ಮ ಊರು ಕೈಲಾಸವಯ್ಯಾ! ಪು 23).  ಆದರೆ, “ಬೆಟ್ಟದ ಜೀವ” ಗೋಪಾಲಯ್ಯನಂಥವರು ಇರುವುದೇ ಮುಕ್ಕಾಲು ವಾಸಿ ಅರಣ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ, ಕಾಲು ವಾಸಿ ಗೊಂಡಾರಣ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ!  ಕುಮಾರ ಪರ್ವತದ ಸೆರಗಿನಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಕೆಳಬೈಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಹರಡಿದ್ದ ಮರಗಳಾಗಲೀ ಬೆಟ್ಟಗಳಾಗಲೀ ಅಲ್ಲೇ ವಾಸಿಸುವವರಿಗೆ ಕೊಡುವ ನಿತ್ಯದ ಸಲುಗೆಯಿಂದ ಯಾವ ಬೆಟ್ಟಕ್ಕೂ, ಮರಕ್ಕೂ ಮನ್ನಣೆ ಇರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ.  ಸ್ವರ್ಗದಲ್ಲಿರುವವರಿಗೆ ಸ್ವರ್ಗ ನೀರಸವಾಗುವುದು ನಿಚ್ಚಳ.

ಗೋಪಾಲಯ್ಯನವರ ಈ ಹೇಳಿಕೆಗಳು ಸಾಕ್ಷಿಗೆ ಸಾಕು.

“ದರಿದ್ರ ಕಾಡಿನ ಹಾದಿಯೇ ಹಾಗೆ.  ಕಾಣಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಯಾವಾಗಲೂ ಹತ್ತಿರವೇ.  ನಡೆದರೆ ಮುಗಿಯುವಂತೆ ಇಲ್ಲ”. (ಪು 41)…ಊರಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಣ ಸುಡುವುದಾದರೂ ಕಷ್ಟವೇ! ಕಾಡಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಯುವುದಂತು ತೀರ ಸುಲಭ, ಹೆಣ ಸುಡುವುದಂತು ಮತ್ತೂ ಸುಲಭ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಬದುಕುವುದೇ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಕಷ್ಟ ನೋಡಿ (ಪು 144) ……… ಮನುಷ್ಯನಿಗೆ ತಾನು ಬದುಕಿ ಉಳಿದ ಮೇಲಲ್ಲವೇ ವೇದಾಂತದ ಪಾಠ? ಬದುಕುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಮೊದಲೇ ವೇದಾಂತವನ್ನು ಹೇಳಿ ಫಲವಿಲ್ಲ (ಪು. 137)”

ಅಷ್ಟು ಸಾಕೆನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಇಷ್ಟು ಹೇಳಿದ ಮೇಲೂ ನೀವು (“ಬೆಟ್ಟದ ಜೀವ” ಇನ್ನೂ ಓದಿಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ) ಈ ಕಾದಂಬರಿಯನ್ನು ಓದಲು ಉತ್ಸುಕರಾಗದಿದ್ದರೆ ಏನೂ ಮಾಡಲಾರೆ. ಮೊದಲಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಂತೆ ನಾನು “ಬೆಟ್ಟದ ಜೀವ” ವನ್ನು ಓದಿ ಹನ್ನೆರಡು ವರ್ಷಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದವು.  ಹನ್ನೆರಡು ವರ್ಷಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನನ್ನ ಬುದ್ಧಿಮತ್ತೆ ಎಷ್ಟು ವಿಕಸಿಸಿದೆಯೋ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ.  ಆದರೆ, ಈ ಹನ್ನೆರಡು ವರ್ಷಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನನಗೆ ಆತ್ಮೀಯರಾಗಿದ್ದ ಅನೇಕ ಹಿರಿಯ ಜೀವಗಳು ಕಣ್ಮರೆಯಾಗಿ, ಆ ಅನುಭವದ ಹಿನ್ನೆಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ “ಬೆಟ್ಟದ ಜೀವ”ದ  ಮರುಓದು ಮೊದಲಿಗಿಂತಲೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಅರ್ಥವತ್ತಾಗಿತ್ತು ಎನಿಸಿತು.

The Janata Experiment’s tomorrow never dies

I do not consider myself left or right leaning in political terms.  I look at Indian politics and World politics on an issue-by-issue basis.  The modern Indian political animal is not a prisoner of ideological dogma. S/he just wants to see India doing well without losing the core values of being Indian.  We understand our values as upheld by our constitution on letter but I concede that we are far away from observing the same values in spirit.  The ill-informed misinformation campaigns of all political outfits are dragging India down. I have always had a fondness for the third front in India that includes the non-Congress, the non-BJP and the non-communist parties. The main stream parties have tried to bolster the third front with different intentions and with limited success. The Janata experiment is an unfulfilled promise and a ray of hope for people like me, who miss the third alternative.  I think India is losing big time due to the lack of a pan-Indian third alternative.

The Janata experiment: Jayaprakash Narayan took the battles to Indira Gandhi after she imposed Emergency in the late 1970s.  His school of thought produced many students of politics who are now big leaders in the Congress, the BJP and the larger relics of the erstwhile Janata Dal throughout India.  After Janata party’s defeat in the 1980s and barring the short-lived United Front governments in the 1990s, the Janata Dal as a parliamentary option has remained a bridge too far. Relics of the erstwhile Janata have enjoyed power in various states across India, although they have had nothing significant to show in the parliamentary elections.  Since the 1990s, although many leaders in the Janata party were once full-fledged Congressmen, some regional leaders defined themselves as equidistant from the Congress and the BJP (Jana sangha). The broken pieces of Janata Dal today are caste-driven family fiefdoms.  Most of its leaders do not have any credibility. The original Janata experiment was in the true sense a people’s movement. I don’t want to equate the Janata experiment with the recent experiments in Delhi. I also don’t want to talk about regional parties that are run as family firms and some of them call themselves the torch bearers of the old Janata experiment. They do not deserve a mention in my article.  I will not waste time on them.

See this for a brief history:  Time lines: The Janata Experiment:  published in The Hindu:  April 2015

Biju Janata Dala (BJD) in Odisha, the old Janata Dala in Karnataka (split in 1990s into Janata Dala united and Janata Dala secular) are two examples that can speak of a political tradition that is distinct from either the Congress or the BJP.   Ramakrishna Hegde, JH Patel and HD Devegowda (before JD split) in Karnataka, Naveen Patnaik in Odisha, Nitish Kumar in Bihar were and are popular leaders and represent good aspects of the Janata ideal despite their personal flaws. I am absolutely hammer and tongs against Hindi bias in the parliamentary discourse. But, for various bad reasons, South Indian leaders do not have a chance to lead India at the national level. A sad reflection of Delhi centric view of India.

Added on Aug 9th, 2017 

Nitish Kumar has ditched his aspirations to be a future Prime Minister of India.  By aligning with Congress and then realigning with BJP in Bihar state assembly, he has shown that there is no hope for him in 2019.  He has limited or no relevance outside Bihar.  The Janata experiment has imploded every time it has shown some signs of revival. A sad development by any measure (objective or otherwise). 

Added on May 30th, 2019

The defeat of JD(S)’s nepotism in Karnataka parliamentary elections was a good outcome, although I was not happy to see Karnataka lacking options to choose able representatives.  INC, BJP, JD(S) and almost all others who were contesting in Karnataka…all useless and meaningless for Karnataka. I won’t get into the details of why they are useless. Basically, they are not representing Karnataka’s interests.  They do not have independent minds. They are either party loyalists (polite) or slaves (reality) of some kind.