The 14th Lok Sabha has been elected in. Many reviews have been written on this topic giving various points of view. After reading Shreya’s review on this topic, I have been trying to read a lot of literature which dwells on the issue. My review is the culmination of all such points of view that I have come across during my research.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------
SONIA GANDHI:
Future PM of India. European origin, Caucasian race, blue eyes, white skin, dimpled, auburn hair, above average looks. Daughter in law of India’s most powerful family which gave India 3 Prime Ministers.
The question which comes to mind is if Sonia had been a thick lipped black skinned lady of African descent,would the idea of her being our PM still been palatable? Or would our racist affiliations made us recoil at the very thought?
There are many chain mails going around spreading all sorts of stories about Sonia’s past. These include things like how she kept renewing her foreigner’s 5-year permit three times after marriage (1968-1973, 1973-1978 and 1978-1983). It was only 3 days before her third permit was to expire, did she finally go in for citizenship and that too only because her husband’s political fortunes could be affected. There are also issues such as how she fled to Italy during the Pakistan war in 1971 and took refuge in the Italian embassy after Indira Gandhi’s defeat in 1977 post Emergency.
There are also questions raised about how the most important scandal affecting the Gandhis, i.e. Bofors, has Italian connections. And are they going to be more in the future?
However, MERELY because these points get circulated in a “Chain Mail”, Sonia fans are quick to dismiss these as baseless.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
People’s Mandate:
You want me to respect the people’s mandate? Sure, this is the same “people” which had given a mandate to VP Singh (9 months govt), Chandrashekhar (6 months govt), Deve Gowda (11 months govt) and IK Gujral (4 months govt). Do you find these mandates respectable too?
“People’s mandate” is just a expedient phrase used by those who find it convenient to further their political ambitions. Come to think of it, the largest supporter of this Congress led government is the Left. This is the same Left which fought the Congress tooth and nail in the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala and West Bengal. Mind you, Lok Sabha elections, not the assembly elections. This means, by voting for the Left and rejecting Congress in W Bengal and Kerala, they have effectively rejected the Congress led government at the Centre. But what does the Left do? As soon as they have done with the voters, they quickly go over to the Congress President and announce their support to her. If this is not a mockery of the mandate of the people of West Bengal and Kerala, then what is?
Secular alliance
In 1989, Congress was on one side and all other political parties ganged up against it to form the ill-fated United Front. This was at a time when “anti Congressism” was a strong binding factor. (Mind you, not ideologically, but as a convenient slogan). The situation is now no different, except that instead of the Congress it is now the BJP. The slogan now is “Secularism”. Since the BJP has been labeled as communal, it becomes very convenient for all other parties to get together. The fact that apart from Gujarat, there have been no communal riots in the country (as against the plenty of instances during Congress rule) has no takers. A single riot of Gujarat has become a handy tool to beat the BJP - the logic being that the State government had a hand in instigating the riots. But, the fact is that every riot in this country has been instigated at the behest of the Government, so what’s special about this one. (Please note, I'm not condoning any riots, it is only the singling out of the Gujarat one that I'm finding strange!)
Constitutional provisions :
Sonia fans state that there is nothing in the Constitution to prevent her from becoming PM. They also give examples of how LK Advani was born in Pakistan and Vijayraje Scindia was born in Nepal.
A few replies are in order here:
Firstly, there are many things in the Constitution which we do not consider. For e.g. reservations were meant to be in place only for 10 years. Its been over 50 years and we still continue with them. Uniform Civil Code is very much part of the Constitution, but would the Congress hear of it? So, why only in this case is there so much regard for provisions of the Constitution?
Second, LK Advani was born in India. It was only when due to Nehru’s political ambitions when India was partitioned that some parts were carved out as Pakistan. Many Hindus from the other side were driven out of their homes and had to come as refugees in India. Isn’t such a comparison an insult to all these people?
Third, Vijayaraje Scindia was born in Nepal, that’s true. But when was she ever a candidate for Prime Ministership.
Security issues:
The Defence Minster in the outgoing Government, George Fernandes, once spoke in an interview of a secret file which contains all classified details of nuclear weapons, their locations, where the missile were, who are our spy links in different countries. The file is not accessible completely to even the Defence Minister or Army chief. It is only the Prime minister which has the privilege. The outgoing PM has to hand over the file to the new PM. Doesn't the prospect of a foreign born person who continues to have strong links with her country of birth, having access and control over such files, ring alarm bells?
Conclusion:
Being Indian does not just mean wearing pretty Indian sarees, or even speaking Hindi fluently. It means feeling Indian. Many NRIs even after spending a quarter of a century in places like US or UK still harbour patriotic feelings towards India. When the relations between India and US were at their low after the Pokharan tests, many NRIs had openly come out in support of the country of their birth. Even the US acknowledges this fact and hence has a specific provision to disallow persons of foreign origin from occupying the highest office. Madeline Albright, Henry Kissinger or Arnold Schwarzenneger can never aspire to become President. Only after the third generation born in US, this embargo is lifted.
Everyone knows this government is not going to last beyond 2 years. The DNA of the combination itself is all wrong. But that is not the issue. India will be the first country in the world where a foreign born person has come to power not by invasion but by a free and “fair” democratic process. We Indians in the rush to portray ourselves as liberal and democratic may be committing a serious mistake this time. What implications this will have for India, only time will tell. Till then, let us lull ourselves in ignorant bliss.
(In case you are an ardent Sonia fan, you need not take these specific points seriously. You are free to dismiss all these as ranting by an insane Sonia baiter. The loss is entirely yours!)
