Are We Sending Right People to Parliament?

  With recent decision by the government to recommend India's shining star cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and veteran Bollywood actress Rekha for nomination as member of Rajya Sabha, age old question is unearthed: Are we sending right people to parliament?

  Going by Article 80:

  The members to be nominated by the President under sub-clause (a) of clause (1) shall consist of persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as the following, namely:- Literature, science, art and social service.

                                   - Article 80, Clause(3), Constitution of India.

No mention of sport superficially raises questions on Sachin's qualification for the same. Well, arguments are floating around that sports too is an art and Sachin is the most artistic and talented sportsman, bringing joy to millions of fans in India and worldwide (doing Social service? No wonder one sees such argument by the ruling party..:)). It may seem satisfactory to some for his qualification! but the most plausible argument given by the government is:

“By nominating them to Rajya Sabha, the state not only recognizes their merit and confers honor on them, but also enables them to enrich the debates by their expertise and knowledge that they have in different areas.” 

                                                     - Recognized News Daily.

  Above statement raises many concerns again for India's political future. Membership in Rajya Sabha is primarily a huge responsibility and demands dedicated commitment. Honour comes secondary to the responsibilities vested. Undoubtedly Sachin qualifies for any such honor but does he qualify for the responsibilities. Will players or Bollywood stars be able to manage the load of responsibilities associated with it? Moreover Constitution provides numerous elite awards to honor distinguished people. Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan etc. Sachin is well experienced sportsman and inspired many in his career but he is still a newbie for political processes.

  

  A Membership in Rajya sabha entrusts powers, privileges and immunities available to an elected member of Parliament but does he have the acumen to channelize the powers for the people's welfare or will it just lie slumber as another feather in his cap. A person who entered the world of cricket in just 16 years of age and since then hardly had time to come out of the flashing ecosystem of sports will find real hard time in politics. Chances are high to use such precious membership as a trophy which will be displayed and held once and will serve as embellishment further. 

  

  Moreover Sachin is still active in cricket! Will he be able to devote sufficient time to parliamentary proceedings? If he does, will he not suffer in his game? I believe this anachronistic decision of his nomination is premature. He should at least be given time to end his career gracefully without any diversions. In the aftermath of his retirement he can roll up his sleeves for  political innings of his life with same dedication and attitude. 

  As a matter of fact we are still young Third World Nation where we need to send more constructive thinkers in the parliament. Such opportunities should be given to people having rich experiences in such fields which can really be utilized in policy making process of our parliament. This opportunity to enable a person to serve the nation constructively has been wasted numerous times before. Many Bollywood stars appeared once or twice in the upper house and never showed up again in 6 years of their tenure. Surprisingly on numerous occasions upper house of parliament has been used by the government as backdoor to the parliament. Defeated candidates of the ruling party were then given a seat in Rajya Sabha and were thus kept  active in the government. 

 Beyond the question of honoring a sportsman or Bollywood stars what concerns us are: 

- Is the government looking for new faces to hide their own besmeared faces behind, piggyback these distinguished people for their scams?

-  Is the government flashing the mob with such news to divert attention from the core issues?

-  Why not award Bharat Ratna to Sachin when a strong consensus is built around it and leave the membership to people whose voices we really need to be heard on the floor of parliament. Certainly people like Prof. Amratya Sen, Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev, Retired Army Generals, Distinguished journalists who has got amazing experiences in the most relevant  matters, can contribute a lot more.

-  Last but not the least, Do governments these days have malicious plans of  luring famous people only to serve the party as vote cows, to project party's image by using their fame and respect.  

   Sachin rules our hearts with his cricketing prowess and will continue in many years to come. A gentleman, dedicated and intelligent player and above all a great inspiration to younger generation, Tendulkar may be used to the roaring sound of spectators in packed stadium, but even that might not be enough to prepare him for the noise of Parliament, where he could be heading if Congress has its way.  


  Sachin has served the nation a lot and lifted the dignity of the game itself and the country. Congress has welcomed Sachin to join the party. Whether choice of heading to parliament is a judicious one or not, time will tell, but he needs to be cautious of  any hidden agenda of the experts who may eat up his hard earned success and dignity, cautious of end up being vote cow for Congress. Fingers crossed!!

                                                                       -  Saurabh
"The world suffers a lot. Not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people."

  

Iran-Israel Conflict : India's Balancing Act

  IN Post Independence era India has emerged as a major stakeholder in the Third-World order of Non Alignment. Non Alignment precipitated due to direct colonial experiences of India and continued to be one of the consistent features of India's foreign policy. No doubt this policy has facilitated India in distancing itself away from the unintended repercussions of being aligned to any specific super power of the then bipolar world, but in the current changed equations of the world order, New Delhi needs to reorient this mammoth pillar of Indian foreign policy. 

  

  Ever since Iran has showcased its nuclear might, it has become a hot spot of the middle east turbulence. With this the world order has taken a different posture and Indian diplomats are busy in getting India into a comfortable place. New Delhi now has to play Israel and the West on one hand and Iran on other.

  Iran holds a strategic importance for India's ambitions in middle east. Being the second best supplier of oil after Saudi Arabia, Iran has emerged as one of the biggest players to address India's energy needs. Also, India needs access to Afghanistan and central Asia. Expectations of a land route from Pakistan to access middle east markets is certainly bleak, consequent upon its inability to tackle internal security concerns and deficit of mutual trust. Holding huge reserves of oil and natural gas, Central Asia offers a lucrative ground for India to have an early firm feet. This becomes more significant due to presence of formidable competitors like China in our neighborhood. India certainly fears loosing this market to China hands down.

  

  Moreover with the recent US pledge to withdraw its exhausted troops from Afghanistan, it becomes extremely challenging for New Delhi to improvise ways to address its security concerns. After the US troops withdrawal a dangerous void will be created in Kabul. Pakistan definitely has an upper hand in taking hold of the situation for its vested interests and pose serious threats to India. Already suffering the blows of heavy recess in economy and the domestic uproar over Interventionist foreign policy, West is no more a strong wall for India to solve its cross border security crisis. No doubt Iran is going to be a key facilitator for India to tackle the void left by US soldiers in middle east and secure its borders.  India can reap the benefits due to well known animosity of Iran having Shias majority and Pakistan, a Sunni majority state.

  On the other hand Israel no doubt holds strategic relationship with India as far as defense cooperation is concerned. In India's tough times Israel has provided it with state of the art and sensitive defense equipment. After the fall of Russia in post cold war era, Israel has been holding top shares in New Delhi's defense deals, competing US. Israel also holds value having the support of the West and Arab states. Any animosity with Israel will definitely harbor frictions between India and the West. Moreover, India must not forget 'A friend in need is a friend indeed'. In Asia given the presence of major Islamic Fundamentalist states and communist China, India's relation with Israel and also with the West becomes extremely crucial. Israel is the most trusted state for India's defense deals.  India certainly cannot afford to loose such mutually beneficial cooperation. 

  Will India continue importing oil against US sanctions and giving passive support to Iran or will get aligned with Israel and the West. India certainly is not in position to take a tough stand without inflicting serious troubles, be it economic or political. Policy of Non Alignment needs a complete overhauling. India should not end the ties with Iran under the West's pressure, given its energy needs, but certainly curtail it and try its best to look for other potential suppliers with the West's help. The fact of being on top in the importer's list of Iran will be the most troublesome irritant in the eyes of West and Israel. India should take the world into confidence  that its ties are purely economic with no hidden agenda.  After all US has relations with Pakistan, a troubling neighbor for us, why can't India hold a purely economic tie with Iran, a troubling state in the eyes of America. Simply on the apprehension that Iran is developing nuclear weapons that too without any firm evidence, holds no legitimate reason for India to back off from its trade ties. 

  Whatever be the options but in coming time India has to take a clear and strong political stance. India's old economic formulas can definitely not work with the changed equations of world order any more. Non Alignment must be transformed into strategic autonomy, only to redeem its pledge of not following any state sponsored resolution and sanctions but to have a firm and independent voice. Over the years India has affirmed it's will of maintaining amiable relationships with all the countries without being biased to a particular world order. In distant future this policy will put India's will under test as the world is getting more and more polarized as the days go by.

                                                                                                          - Saurabh

"The world suffers a lot. Not because of the violence of bad people,but because of the silence of good people."