Thursday, December 08, 2005

POLLS THAT CAUSED SPLIT.

What could have been utilized as a golden opportunity to curb the powers of Robert Mugabe, the dictatorial ruler of Zimbabwe for a quarter of a century now, actually ended up further bolstering his political clout.
It is the Senate Elections that were held in this trouble-torn southern African nation on 26 November, 2005. The senate was created in August this year by the passage of a controversial constitutional amendment that gives the senate little real power and mandates that the body will go out of existence in 2010. Critics say that President Mugabe created the Senate as a source of jobs for ZANU-PF cronies.
This election, which witnessed Mugabe’s party, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) winning an overwhelming majority of seats, had registered an average voters’ turn-out of mere 15-20%, the lowest in any national polls since the country’s independence in 1980. This was because many Zimbabweans regarded the new senate as, at best, an irrelevance, and more likely as a wasteful extravagance that the country can ill afford.
But what made the election a cynosure for the international community is the fact it has caused a split in the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the only opposition party that could have offered a serious challenge to Robert Mugabe. The cause of the split is the differences between Morgan Tsangirai (the president of MDC) and Welshman Ncube (the party’s secretary) over the question whether the MDC should take part in the election. The former had called for a boycott of the polls on the grounds that President Mugabe would not allow a free and fair election, and therefore, participation in it would only legitimize a bogus process.
But the faction behind Ncube was firm on its stand that the MDC should run the polls, for a boycott would only strengthen the ruling ZANU-PF’s control over yet another administrative institution.
But there are other causes of the split and tribalism is one of them.While Tsangirai is a Shona,-along with three-fourth of his compatriots), Ncube is a Ndele, a tribe constitutes a majority in Matabiland where thousand of Ndeble people were killed in the 1980’s by the security forces.Naturally, the Ndeble were eager to participate in these elections.
Another factor, which can be cited as a cause of division in the MDC is the gradually increasing dislike for Tsangirai’s autocratic leadership.This discontent further deepened last month when Tsangirai overruled the decision of MDC’s National Council to run in the elections and went to the extend of expelling twenty six MDC members who had decided to stand as candidates against his orders. Tsangirai and his supporters have described the low turn out at the elections as an evidence people’s faith in his decision.
However, what he attempts to ignore yet remains conspicuous is the truth that the election campaign has left the MDC bitterly and perhaps, irrevocably divided. And, as it moves closer towards performing a political hara-kiri, the common Zimbabweans have lost almost all hopes of emancipation from the undemocratic, violence-ridden rule of Robert Mugabe. It is most palpable that the elections will do little or nothing to address Zimbabwe’s enormous and labyrinthine problems.
More than seventy percent of Zimbabweans cannot find employment in the ever-contracting economy. Inflation exceeds three-hundred percent. More than four million people are at risk of hunger. Government mismanagement has led to severe shortages of fuel and foreign exchange. The new senate may provide jobs for politicians, but it will not put food on tables or bring wages into alignment with inflation.

The future of Zimbabwe politics seems to have become all the more bleak.

The Killing Fields.

On the morning of 18th October, 2005 the nation was shocked when it discovered the intensity of the brutality, which characterizes militant attacks in the North-East: twenty-two people belonging to the Karbi community were hacked to death the previous night by Dimasa rebels in Central Assam’s Karbi Anglong district. The gruesome massacre took place after two buses were waylaid by militants and then, set on fire near a Karbi village called Charchim. The militants, next, raided the village, burning homes and killing fifteen more Karbis there. In the wake of this appalling incident, the administration had clamped an indefinite curfew in the area and had also issued shoot-at-sight orders. Karbi Anglong, indeed, is in a vortex of violence and blood-shed.
In 1970, the United Mikir and North Cachar Hills was split into the Mikir Hills district and the North Cachar Hills district and in 1976, the former was renamed Karbi Anglong. Though the district has a Karbi majority, over forty-thousand Dimasas live there and they had a peaceful coexistence until the late nineteen-nineties. This period witnessed the birth of the United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) which claims to be the protectors of Karbi interests and the Dimasa Halam Daoga (DHD), which wants a separate state for the Dimasas called Dimaraji comprising of North Cachar and portions of Karbi Anglong and Nagaon districts. This demand of the DHD combined with the fact that the area along the Dhansiri river in Karbi Anglong has a Dimasa majority made the UPDS antagonistic towards it and clashes between the two soon became inevitable. In May 2002, the UPDS had entered into ceasefire agreement with the government and the DHD followed suit in January, 2003. Under the ceasefire rules, the 450 listed DHD militants and 115 UPDS cadres were to confine their movement in and around their designated camps. But the rule was not to be adhered to.
What triggered off the recent spate of violence were the murders on September 26 of three Dimasa auto-drivers whose bodies were found near the predominantly Karbi town of Maza. In the three-week-long orgy of bloodshed and devastation that followed, 88 people officially confirmed killed, of which 76 were Karbis and nearly 45,000 people from 200 villages lost their hearths and are presently living in relief camps numbering around 55. The fact that it is the Karbis who are he worst affected by the violence has made many Karbi leaders contend that it was pre-planned by the DHD. The latter, however, has refuted the allegations and has, instead, foisted the charge on the Black Widow, a breakaway DHD faction. The blame-game does not end ever. The Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government in the state feels that both DHD and UPDS are responsible for the protracted violence as both have flouted the ground rules of the ceasefire. The Governor of Assam, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Ajai Sinha has even sent to Delhi the recommendation of disarming both the rebel groups. The authorities have also decided to investigate the allegations that the local CPI ML (Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist) leader Jayanta Rongpi and the former Defense Minister of India, George Fernandes –he visited the area twice before the outbreak-had instigated the clashes. But the Opposition parties like the CPI (ML) and AGP (Assam Gana Parishad) have blamed the State government, which according to them, could have stymied the violence through timely deployment of security forces n the area. The BJP and RSS, on the other hand, have accused the NSCN (Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim) of provoking the Dimasas and Karbis by proselytizing people in Karbi Anglong, an accusation to which the NSCN has reacted sharply. All these only render egregious the deplorable state of Indian politics in which every unsavoury occurrence sparks off volleys of accusations and counter-accusations.
The need of the hour, however, is an immediate and thorough revision of the ground rules through democratic consultations and also implementations of other measures like allowing not more than one designated camp for each outfit and that too, only in the area densely populated by members of their community. Monitoring of the militant outfits is also necessary. But these short-term measures are not sufficient; for permanent resolution of conflict between the Dimasas and Karbis, the first and foremost step that needs to be taken by the governments at Guwahati and New Delhi is to initiate peace talks with the DHD and the UPDS. But the DHD has declined to participate in talks unless the DHD camp in the Dhansiri region of Karbi Anglong is shifted; a demand which the DHD has refused to concede. There are, indeed, several hurdles in the path of resolution of the Karbi-Dimasa ethnic strife; the necessity is that the State and the Central governments should look in to the problem and its various aspects, in earnest.

Amit Chaudhuri: The Portrait of an Author who is also a Conjurer

“ In Bengal, both tamarind and babies are soaked in mustard oil, and then left upon a mat on the terrace to absorb the morning sun…….With their frantic, miniature limbs and their brown, shining bodies, they look like little koi fish caught from the Hooghly River, struggling into life.”- ‘A Strange and Sublime Address’ is liberally interspersed with such comparisons that are unusual, unexpected, startling. They are one of the myriad of factors, which make the novel what it is: a delight that is stimulating and relaxing at the same time; a tale which fills one with a sense of wonder at its author’s power of evoking brilliant imageries.
The author is Amit Chaudhuri, one of the most widely acclaimed among the Indian authors who write in English. Born in Kolkata in 1962 and brought up in Mumbai, Chaudhuri has an academic resume as impressive as his literary achievements. He graduated from University College in London, then was research student at Balliol College in Oxford and later, was a Creative Arts Fellow at the Oxford University. Yet he says- and this heightens his appeal amongst his readers- he knew no English until he entered school. In his essay on ‘Bombay’, he writes, “My Bengali parents had taught me no English, settled outside Bengal, they had longed to make me intimate with the Bengali language”. In this essay published in the Granta magazine, he reminisces with nostalgia about the Bombay of his childhood which he feels has many a trait of the American cities. “Bombay’s mixture of the childlike and the grown-up, of naivety and ruthlessness, a mixture that, as I know, is also peculiarly American.” he says. His another famous essay ‘The Tailor of Gujarat’, also published in the Granta, followed the fortunes of Ansari, a Gujarat riot victim whose picture with folded arms and tearful eyes, was widely circulated and published in the national media and had consequently, rendered him an unlikely celebrity. In the piece, Chaudhuri in a subtle yet effective way, lambastes the media, which unscrupulously and often makes a ‘breaking news’ out of human tragedies, strips a common man of his protective cover of obscurity and then, when the hullabaloo surrounding the news dies down, turns a blind eye towards him.
But Amit Chaudhuri is best known for his novels. His first novella ‘A Strange and Sublime Address’, which won the 1991 Betty Trask Award as well as the Commonwealth Writers Prize for the Best First Book, captures through the eyes of a ten year-old boy, Sandeep, the ineffable but endearing beauty of the apparently mundane, middle-class life in Calcutta. The observations, ideas and of course, the comparisons of the precocious protagonist are all so remarkable and revealing that one cannot help but resolve to treasure his copy of the novella for life. His second novel, Afternoon Raag (1993), revolves around the life at Oxford of an Indian student whose imagination is dominated by his love of Indian classical music and the memories of home and parents. His other novels are Freedom Song (1998) and A New World (2000). None of these works have action-driven plots but various facets of family-life, dreams, memories, yearnings et al are all explored and expressed with such astonishing vividness by Chaudhuri that they are most fascinating to read. Chaudhuri’s editing skills and poetic talent found expression with the publication of the Picador Book of Modern Indian Literature (2001) and ‘St. Cyril Road and Other Poems’ (2005).
Chaudhuri has been variously described as a ‘miniaturist’,-perhaps his elliptical, understated style of writing, renders his works in to some kind of miniatures- ‘a master of prose’, ‘sensual writer’ and ‘a great writer of the world’. But for the readers enamoured by his works, he is simply a conjurer whose magic-wand are his words, subtle, simple, evocative and beautiful, which leave an indelible mark on his mind.

Who writes poetry?

Some one in Ulanbator,
wakes up in cold dawn
and almost weeps
at the sight of virgin,freshly-fallen snow…..
Some one in Kingston,
spends all noon on the balcony
reading on his palms and neck
the sapphire messages brought by the wind…..
Some one in Chennai,
gulps coffee every alternate hour
with a coffee addict
who has smirks galore and nonchalance unbound for her..
Such are the people whom
u are likely to find
on days
gloomy and joyous…..
writing poetry!

Sunday, November 13, 2005

The End.......

Beneath the vast,endless azure
A vast,endless ocean........
Torquoise magically,gazed at wistfully.
But none noticed the wave that had
as if on a kindergarten playground,
moved towards the shore....
to dash against and lose itself to the rock.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Rains in Chennai........

Brown, brown puddles....
Golden dazzles,
Giant danseuses swaying around,

Blue,big parasol...
Umpteen craters and holes,
Gleeful was I until I found................
That you prefer the steaming coffee to the pitter-patter, splaaaaaaash sound!
To grieve or to rejoice?

Friday, October 21, 2005

On Prince Khusro...My Hapless Mughal.

For those who wonder why history retains remnants of memory of someone like Prince Khusro,who never won any battles or excavated any jheel and, therefore, never had the fortune or misfortune to have any question framed on him in school and college history exams, i have an answer.
His memory remains, atleast in old,historical tomes, so that anoraks-especially maudlin anoraks-can have someone to brood upon.He was a prince, a Mughal and Akbar Badshah's dearest grandson so much so that the great emperor of Hindustan had actually contemplated to have him as his heir instead ofhis son and khusro's father,Jahangir.And if that was not all,what made his astoundingly good fortune all the more astounding and enviable was his popularity amongst the masses. When his father was rousing apprehensions by his excessive fondness for wine and luxury, and his brother Khurram was incurring wrath by his no less excessive arrogance; he, Khusro, was winning many a heart in the Mughal realms by his secular mindset and high ideals. To put it succintly,if Akbar ever had a flesh and blood reflection, it was Khusro!
But he-and it is does not surprises me at all-was destined to become the protagonist of a heart searing tragedy. He, encouraged by a faction of nobility who prefered him to his perpetually inebriated father, revolted against Jahangir;when defeated,gallantly accepted his fate only to be blinded and later on, killed by his father,at the instigation of his brother Khurram.Later,Khurram was to become the subject of many a panegyric and the idol of many a lover,as the builder of an ineffably beautiful marble mausoleum on the bank of Yamuna in Agra.Later,he was to become the great Mughal empereror and the immortal lover, Shahjahan....But, before he became all that, he didn't mind being a fratricide by heaping false accusations on his brother.But this post is not about Shahjahan;its about Khusro.It doesn't matter by whom or how he was killed.His death had pushed him into oblivion and need not be dilated upon. What strikes me as a rather cruel irony,is his life.To be bestowed with all the means,yet not allowed to reach the end is sad.And, he was a sad figure because his nobility, magnanimity,gallantry were all mocked at by his life and completely forgotten, after his death, by history......But he remains my hero, my hapless Mughal.

Saturday, October 15, 2005

AN ANALYSIS OF THE CAUSES OF IGNORANCE OF MAINLAND INDIA ABOUT THE NORTH-EAST.

When any person hailing from the north-eastern region of India visits some other part of the country, he is often shocked to discover the utter ignorance of the rest of India about his native land. This sense of shock, however, does not last for long. The realization that his fellow Indians have some flawed, preconceived notions about the region, which they are not ready change replaces the shock with indignation and rage. He often finds himself wondering as to what is the cause of this gross ignorance and indifference of mainland India towards the seven rainbow states of the North-East .

Historical Cause- The ‘Seven Sisters’ have had an isolated existence for centuries. Except for a few sporadic invasions by ambitious imperialists and rapacious plunderers, there are very few instances of the north-east coming into contact with the mainland. Often, the events which shook and brought about significant changes in the rest of India , had little or no impact on the north-east. As a result, this region does not share a common history with the mainland. Lack of common historical bonds must have greatly contributed towards deplorable absence of interest of Indians towards their brethrens from the north-east.
Cultural Cause- Culturally and linguistically, the inhabitants of the ‘Seven Rainbow States’ are closer to the people of the South East Asian Region than to the rest of India . Each of the seven states has its own, distinct customs, traditions, culture and language but these have few commonalities with the cultures of rest of India. The fact that all the languages of the north-east, except Assamese, originated not from Sanskrit but the Austro-Asiatic branch of languages, also alienates the people of this region from the rest of India. Moreover, the north-easterners have mongoloid features which renders them somewhat different from others. They are, infact , frequently referred to by the pejorative term ‘Chinkis’ .
Geographical Cause- The north-east is connected with the rest of India only by a narrow corridor in north Bengal called ‘chicken neck’. This area is hilly and relatively forested and it is only recently that good rail and road transportation facilities were developed here. So, for centuries this part of the country remained remote and inaccessible for the rest of India. Lack of communication and contact with the inhabitants of this region due to its geographical inaccessibility, is thus a vital cause of the ignorance of mainland India.

Political cause-Almost every second person hailing the north-east feels that the central government metes out a ‘step motherly’ treatment towards his region . They feel that the Centre is interested only in exploiting the minerals and other natural resources of the region instead of being interested in its socio-economic development. They blame non-allocation of sufficient fund for the region’s development by the central government as the cause of its poor state of affairs. They point out the fact that the entire Manipur State budget is less than the budget of one single department under Andhra Pradesh government as an evidence of Delhi’s negligence of the north-east. They also feel that the central government-irrespective of the political party in power-is not sincere in its efforts to curb the insurgency problem in the region. In other words, the people of the north-east have umpteen reasons, some valid and some baseless, to be dissatisfied with the Centre.
Today, on one hand, the mainland is accusing the north-east of not considering itself to be a part of India while on the other hand, the latter is complaining that the mainland is reluctant to accept it as a part of the mainstream Indian life. The ‘people to people contact’ strategy which has been so successful in easing tension and discord between India and Pakistan, should be applied to the north-east region as well. Increased cultural, social and academic interactions between the people of this region and the rest of India would contribute in allaying their mutual distrust and discontent . Of course, the central government should take more active measures to deal with the problems such as economic backwardness and insurgency which have been ailing the country for a long period. To put it succinctly, all the causes discussed above needs to be addressed if the north-east is to truly become a part of India.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

ACJ is beyond imagination......

Some times, rather i should say more often than one wishes, life thrusts upon a soul cruel surprises.......surprises that even the most wildly imaginative cannot anticipate. now, i am not being a braggart but i do have a modestly fertile imagination- it has helped me visit Machupichu in the Andes, witness Dara Shuko's tragic murder....etal.-but it never occured to me that i would ever find myself, haggard and exhausted, at 10o'clock in the night dozing on a chennai-bus while ma and baba, without either of whom i used to be reluctant to even cross the neighbourhood street, are two and a half days train-journey away. it never ocurred to me that i , who would never be let by ma even if i begged her to escape a glass of milk in the evening ,would go to bed too tired to eat anything. it never occured to me that i, who never missed my afternoon siesta , would have half a day at college.it never ocurred to me that my life at ACJ would be what it is! and it never occured to me that my imagination would run so utterly dry at ACJ