'Right' returns to the barracks
The Left consolidation and fall of the Empire in Latin America

(column by Kalyan Upadhyay)

In less than a month, the left forces in Latin America have had two reasons to celebrate. First, the victory of Rafael Corea in the Ecuadorian Presidential elections, followed by Hugo Chavéz getting re-elected with a thumping margin. The twin events have further consolidated the primacy of Left in Latin American politics. Ever since his virtual re-birth after the failed CIA sponsored coup in September 2002, Chavéz has been in the vanguard of a 'red revolution' sweeping the continent. He has been the most vocal critique of what is commonly known in the communist parlance as 'American Imperialism'.

It is true that Fidel Castro is still the only surviving Communist President in the region, but Chavéz's advocacy of Socialism has earned him friends not only in Latin America but also in far-flung regions like Iran and Middle East. On the eve of his victory in Presidential elections, Chavéz proudly described it as a victory of 'humanity' and 'love'. "It is the beginning of a new era," he declared from the balcony of his presidential palace, as large crowd of supporters cheered him.

It is indeed a sad story that America – the champion of democracy and human rights – is blamed for thwarting the same principles in a region which lies in its close proximity. For years, both the US government and American multinationals had occupied ample political and economic space in the region. But bad policies and unbridled quest for extracting profits from the native Latin Americans has led to a situation where the very forces which the US had intend to defeat are making a comeback with a vengeance.

America must realise that empires cannot be maintained in perpetuity. All empires, including the Soviet, finally reach a point where the natives just refuse to obey orders and rise up in revolt. Whether the empire survives or not is not the question. More important is, if the new and resurgent Left in Latin America can offer a model that shows, that works and that delivers goods to the poor.

(End of Kalyan Upadhyay column)

Bloodless 'Coup'dore Bainimarama
Fiji should restore democracy and upgrade the tourism industry

Fiji is back to normal. The army has reinstalled itself and the elected government has been shunted out. So what we are talking about is the 4th coup in the idyllic island nation since 1987? The current coup, led by the Fijian military chief, Commodore Frank Bainimarama was hardly secret or spontaneous. It culminated after a series of protracted negotiations with the ousted Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, with advice that was constantly flowing in from New Zealand and Australia.

But all that is history now. Bainimarama has taken over the reigns of the government; appointed himself as the President and Jona Baravilala Senilagakali as the new Prime Minister. A state of emergency has been declared in Suva and Qarase has been asked to maintain silence. The new Prime Minister has also urged Australia and New Zealand "to keep out of Fijian affairs." Bainimarama, a victim of the 2000 coup, is back with a bang. What inspired the Commodore to rise up in revolt against the very Prime Minister he had helped acquire power? Majority of the media sees the whole affair as a clash of egos; revenge politics or an act driven by personal ambition. However, none can deny the impact of ethnic divide between the Indians and the natives as one of the causes for the coup.

As expected, the Western nations imposed a new set of sanctions on the island nation. How the self-appointed President copes with the international pressure will test his credentials. Some nations seem destined to suffer from a lack of genuine democracy. Looks like Fiji belongs to this club...

Can Sidhu duck this bouncer?
The former cricketer is his usual confident self, even after being convicted of culpable homicide

Energetic, articulate, meticulous, diligent, versatile and flamboyant is how Navjot Singh Sidhu’s pen picture would describe this cricketer-turned-comedian commentator. Such has been Sidhu’s grit and determination, that he has proved his mettle in all walks of professional life. It’s through sheer hard work that Sidhu has been able to prove himself as consummate opening batsmen; a maverick media personality and a budding politician. He began his career as a test cricketer. After finishing his innings in the sports arena, he picked up the nuances of cricket commentary. He used the popularity, acquired through his candid style, to become a television host of entertainment shows, which in turn catapulted him to become a BJP member of Parliament from Amritsar.

Words flow from his mouth as smoothly as once runs used to flow from his bat. Yet, a youthful mistake has put him in a thick soup. A recent judgment of Punjab and Haryana High Court has sentenced him to 3 years in prison and a fine of Rs.1 lakh for being guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The incident dates back to 1988, when Sidhu had beaten up Gurnam Singh, who later died in the hospital.

Sidhu surely regrets the Patiala incident and his impish behaviour. In one of his earlier interviews he had remarked, “If only on that fateful day I had been able to check my emotions, which flew like the fare in Indian Taxi, there would be no tinkers.” Asked why he beat up the guy, he said, “I am a Sikh, a born fighter, someone who will fight with a rattlesnake and give him the first two bites. Believe me, that guy was asking for it. Bent on committing suicide?”

The Patiala incident, however, upset the momentum of his career. From then on, his cricketing fortunes began to fluctuate – he was in and out of the Indian team, till he hung his boots and started looking for a career in the media. Sidhu’s decision to take up commentator’s job was as strange and sudden as his metamorphosis into a wonderful stroke player. In his initial days, he would dread the camera he had to face after scoring a century. He would muster enough courage to barely mumble a few words of thanks. But he sincerely worked on improving his diction, delivery and vocabulary, just as he had strived from being a ‘strokeless wonder’ into a ‘sixer Sidhu’.

As a TV personality, Sidhu’s rustic and earthy style endeared him to the audience, who were somewhat bored with the monotony of suave and sophisticated commentary by Harsha Bhogle and Sunil Gavaskar. He developed his own distinct style by literally converting Punjabi idioms into English or using their closest parallels. His unique style is popularly identified as ‘Sidhuism’.

Life was rocking when he joined the wave of stars – both from sports & showbiz – jumping on to the BJP-led political bandwagon in 2004. While most of the stars swept away in the anti-'India Shining' campaign wave, Sidhu was among the very few elected to the Indian Parliament.

Notwithstanding the sentence, Sidhu has decided to take the battle to the Supreme Court. Though people close to him claim that the court's verdict won’t have much impact on his career – BJP has already announced Sidhu as one of the main campaigner for the forthcoming Punjab elections due to be held next year – the TV show producers may put 'Sidhuism' on hold for some time to come.

The children of a lesser god!
Dalit leadership needs to concentrate on education

(column by Kalyan Upadhyay)

The recent violence in Maharashtra over the gruesome killing of a Dalit family and the desecration of a statue of Ambedkar in Kanpur is making a strong resonance in the ongoing session of Maharashtra Assembly. Considering the gravity of the situation, the Maharashtra government arrested all prominent Dalit leaders on December 5, in order to prevent them from leading a protest rally in Nagpur. "The decision is against the freedom of expression. The state wants to silence leaders who are supporting the Dalit cause," says Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of B. R. Ambedkar. He is perhaps right, because such moves by government may calm the anger for a while, but such measures aggravate matters in the long run.

It is a sad commentary on the Indian state, that after more than six decades of democratic rule, we are nowhere close to reaching our destination of establishing a rule based on caste-less society. The landless Dalits constitute 20% of the Indian population. Political expediency precludes their entry into the social and economic mainstream. While every political party claims to champion the cause of the backward castes, none seem to be actually interested in addressing the core problems. ‘Reservations’ is the only solution which our political class has in its kitty for the emancipation of the backward class from the drudgery of injustice and ignominy heaped on them.

The incidents of both Nagpur & Kanpur are a reminder to the Dalits that as long as they continue to be fooled by the politicians, they will continue to suffer. The Dalit leadership needs to take up the cudgels of educating the deprived.

(End of Kalyan Upadhyay column)

Sleeping with enemy? That's politics!
Ethics demand that MDMK, the supporter of LTTE, be kept at a distance

(column by Kalyan Upadhyay)

The MDMK President Vaiko's love for LTTE is becoming an increasing cause of discomfort for the ruling UPA government at the Centre. Recently, during a chat show in a private TV channel, Vaiko set the cat among the pigeons, by stating that "the former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi had misled the LTTE leadership, while brokering the Indo-Lankan peace accord in 1987."

It is a well-known fact that the MDMK is an ardent supporter of LTTE; the party and its leaders have oft en faced the wrath of the Indian political establishment for its love affair with the banned Tamil rebel organisation. Not long ago, Vaiko was behind bars for openly extending support to one of the deadliest terrorist organizations in the world. Yet, the primacy of election arithmetic in Tamil Nadu politics brings him back to the mainstream every now and then. This year, just before the assembly elections, Vaiko switched sides and decided to go with his arch rival AIADMK. However, this last ditch effort by Jayalalitha to cash in on the Tamil sentiments, failed to balance the anti-incumbency factor in the elections.

Another visible irony that proves why India continues to remain a soft target of terrorist organisations, all over the world, is the fact that Vaiko's MDMK is the supporter of UPA government at the Centre. And if the Congress' memory is too weak, then one needs to remind the party that MDMK is the same party that supports the assassins of its former leader. In fact, no party seems to be exempted from this peculiar tendency of sleeping with the enemy to consolidate alleged vote banks. Mulayam Singh Yadav would have us believe that Islamic terrorism does not exist in India. It is ordinary Indians killed by terrorists who are the real victims.

(End of Kalyan Upadhyay column)