The US briefings on the Iraq war are truly comic. Rumsfeld and the rest exude an arrogance that is pathetic in the prevailing context and their assumption that the planet is peopled with gullible fools is hugely insulting. For them to think that the entire world is akin to middle America is a trifle uninformed. They may be a military power with the most efficient weapons of mass destruction that they have been delivering across this globe for decades but they seem incapable of winning the intellectual and negotiation war.
Whenever they find themselves in a pickle across a table, they threaten others with physical assault. These present day colonisers have taken the baton from the last lot of colonisers and continue to remain partners. From the spice route to the oil route. Their future playground could well be South Asia after they have ?tackled? whatever comes along the way!
As the summer begins to waft into Delhi, the Congress and the BJP prepare themselves for the forthcoming elections, both state and national. One can only hope that they will be civilised in their campaigning. Over the past years the personal attacks have been revolting, reducing the level of Indian politics to the gutter. In the 50s, the stature of Indian leaders of both the ruling party and the opposition was recognised worldwide and they were respected. Today they have fist-fights in Parliament and assemblies, making a mockery of themselves and of us as a people. Issues are debated less and less.
It was refreshing, therefore, to find that both the Congress convention and the NDA meet were talking ?issues? this last week. Will the Congress keep up the momentum? Will it revamp the organisation and bring into power those in their 40s and 50s? Will it address the youth of this country both, rural and urban? Will the comparatively young Congress President back the many layers of leadership thereby facilitating them to discharge their responsibilities without being thwarted by the old and frustrated leaders who continue to stall change? It would be rejuvenating to see fresh and energetic faces who have waited in the wings forever and have not been able to take over from the old lot.
The Congress has this one great opportunity to discard the old, wrinkled skin. It has nothing to lose, only to gain. Choices have to be made and the game has to be played out. Balancing acts between the young and old have no place today if the party wants to attract new voters. People are sick of stale faces, the same jargon, the same playing one against the other, the same everything. In contrast, the BJP seems to be supporting its younger leaders. If the Congress is not proactive in this sphere, the new generation, young voter will support the BJP. The writing on the wall is crystal clear and it is surprising that the Congress high command does not see it. Why the blinkers? What is the fear?
There is no point raving and ranting about the present political dispensation at the Centre without putting forward a strong and determined alternative that shows the way towards a new agenda for a new generation. A generation that is not ridden in caste and class intrigues. This constituency wants a catalyst, a contemporary idiom around which it could rally. For the Congress to regenerate and survive, it will have to learn from the terrible mistake they made in Gujarat where they were ?second best?. A repeat of that kind of politics will put them on the back foot. They must give up the lazy, easy options and refrain from being clones of what they see as the new ?wave? of opinion.