Aap, mein or tu

The Aam Aadmi party or the “you” which is what aap means in Hindi has brought about a complex future in Delhi and even other parts of the country. The BJP as the single largest party in Delhi does not have the majority in the house and the AAP as a close second does not have the numbers as well. The BJP has surprised many by saying that it is willing to be in the opposition. This is very unlikely of a national party be it the BJP or Congress and the history of post election periods in many states of the country are witness to this.

The stand of AAP is perhaps justified. They will either run a government on their own or sit in the opposition. Another election may also lead to AAP coming to power by themselves as they will be taken seriously by the people of Delhi a second time round. So what they are doing actually makes sense from their point of view.

The Congress is at a historic new. After 15 years in power, they are no where. They could offer unconditional support to the AAP and say that come what may they will support from outside. The question is whether the Congress could ever offer such support and whether AAP will accept support from the party they fought against.

An outside Congress support for the coming to power of AAP makes sense because that will lead to a stable government and the negation of another election which would lead to waste of money of the exchequer. This has been a model followed in other countries where different political party’s come together to take the country forward and do away with insecurity and uncertainty.

The BJP may not come forward because they may see a better chance in another election together with the Lok Sabha election, which may give it a clear majority. The waiting game being played could be for the AAP to come to power with Congress support and then for the BJP to reiterate that the AAP is an off shoot of the Congress. The Congress has not much to play with. A meagre 5 seats and the loss of their Chief Minister Sheila Dixit does not leave the Congress with much. The AAP has carved a separate section for themselves. This is a political party which is marketing itself as non-corrupt and willing to fight corruption and take up the local problems of the people. Going along with the BJP or Congress may lead to a campaign against AAP by vested interests saying that they are the same as the BJP and Congress.

The performance of AAP has lead to a peculiar vacuum in Delhi and the ripples are being felt in other parts of the country. Their unique way of campaigning whereby they could reach out to rural and urban voters and how they used various forms of the media to reach out to people has opened up the political sphere. The stability being sought may not come about easily. Maybe we need uncertainty and a peculiar vacuum which will lead the people to think what they really want and what is important for them. Till then the BJP and AAP may continue to say “Pehle Aap” (first you or after you).

"First they laugh at you/Then they challenge you/Then they watch you succeed/Then they wish they were you."

An India-Pakistan cricket match: A perfect detour for a corruption ridden country

India is under a mass hysteria. It is not only young teenagers, youngsters and the youthful work force but also the 40-ish and 50-ish voters as well as the above 60 crowd termed as senior citizens. If ever there was a common factor that brought all of the above together, it must be cricket. The match between India and Pakistan has started. The media has been salivating for days at the prospect and then outcome of such a match. Not to be left behind, the prime minister of India has entered the fray with his invitation to the Pakistan prime minister and the match is being termed as being a great chance for cricket diplomacy between the two countries.

Every now and then the people of a country need a detour, a distraction from all the problems they usually face. This could be in the form of many things but sport does play a good role. Cricket in India would win hands down against other sports and therefore would also provide the best detour for us to relax for a while and take our minds off the hundreds of things which otherwise are taking our time. The Congress led UPA government has been attacked from all directions because of one scam after the other. The 2 g Raja scam, the Adarsh building scam, the Lok Sabha cash for votes scam. Parliament has been held up again and again in the name of scam after scam. The main opposition party, the BJP, has attacked the government time after time only to find itself in other scandals and scams in Karnataka and at the centre as well. Using the wiki leaks against the UPA and then questioning it when its own members were found wanting have been the script of things here. In all ways, a detour, a distraction could be good for everyone, especially for the government and the main opposition party.

The India-Pakistan match is being seen as a great opportunity for the two countries to come together. The media doesn’t know what to concentrate on, the match, the two prime ministers or the traditional rivalry between the two teams. It is funny that both countries have many things in common and are culturally same than many other countries. If ever India could consider coming together with another country, Pakistan could be considered one of the front runners. But a horrendous partition encouraged by the British in all probability, divided the countries beyond repair. This also speaks as to why a cricket match between the two countries becomes so charged up.

Now cricket is being talked of as a wonderful way to bring these two countries together. How on earth can this happen when so much competition and build up goes into these matches? The British must be laughing. After doing nothing against the partition, they have managed to keep the two countries going at each others throats by teaching them a game they invented. It is another thing that the two countries have now made the game their own and even play it better than the British. Let us keep the British aside for now. We are by now aware of what they did and now need to concentrate on what we are doing. Or rather what certain sections of both countries are doing by giving too much importance to a cricket match! By doing so they are also putting too much pressure on the players of both countries.

If India and Pakistan are really serious about diplomacy they can give visas to the people of the other country to visit their relatives, give citizenship to those who have been living in one country or the other for several years, treat minorities in both countries better, release war and political prisoners, exchange information on terror suspects, and realise that people in both countries have a shared history. This could be the real match that both countries have to play. Leave the cricketers alone. They can’t carry such a heavy weight on their shoulders. Both countries have to work on their internal issues rather than hoping that a cricket match is going to change things. A cricket match is after all a cricket match. As spectators it just helps us to forget our problems and tensions for a little while. Any thing more is a political detour from the truth. I don’t think we need that and I hope the Indian and Pakistani spectators are smart enough to know that.