EDITORIAL
Freedom at gunpoint
It has not been unusual
for the terrorists to make tall claims about their
following in the Valley of Kashmir. So have their
political outfits and fronts including Hurriyat making
wide claims to popularity and acceptance. And these
claims have not only got an acceptance of sorts from the
Government especially the Central Government but they
have lobbed by the press, especially the English press,
to stress that the Government should give the outfits,
even the terrorists themselves, credibility as well due
hearing. The intellectual connected with this press have
been pressing the nation as if this manufactured
popularity of the militants had been the only truth about
Kashmir. In fact, the problem with Kashmir has been an
undue emphasis placed on the dissidents, which terms
easily includes the terrorists too. And, here the press
and media actually seemed to be more sympathetic to this
extremist viewpoint than the nationalist one. That was
how the Hurriyat remonstrance that the nationalist
elements in the State did not deserve to be heard came to
be treated as a mandated truth and was accepted by all.
That is all those peoples,
who take their information either from the misguided
press or the foreign interests, which have been twisting
the realities rather freely to suit THEIR NATIONALIST
interests. It has been one of the most frustrating
experiences of the commentators form the state who do
know better, that their perceptions were not respected at
all. Now that the facts are getting reported and seconded
by the international press there is hope that the reality
would get accepted for what it is worth. That reality is
a grim one. It tells of how the young boys are being
actually kindapped from their homes and schools and taken
to the border. There after a vicious circle sees to it
that the kidnapped and coerced boys get on upon the
terrorist lorry. It enforces a fear of the security
forces. And instructs the kidnapped on the basis of the
earlier propaganda to shun the security agencies and not
to talk to them, or, they are warned 'they'd kill you'.
The boys remain in hiding, crossover and are confirmed in
their belief that their kidnappers were right all the
time.
Now this experience sets
the new batch of recruits on their way of terror - to be
terrorized into becoming terrorists and then terrorizing
others to become terrorists in their turn. But this by no
means is the only way the terrorists are bolstering their
support. They are forcing the people to make outlandish
claims against the security agencies and police and on
the basis of that making other to raising similar
demands. One forced claim makes another false claim
possible or at least easy to make. Thus if there is
instance of one outrage by the security agencies the
coercion to get another claim made works easily. None
knows whether the first claim was correct. If its untruth
is established it would make the other claims difficult
to be manufactured. It is here that a single lapse by the
security agencies becomes the 'proof' that the terrorists
are looking for. But then do the people not know the
reality of most of the events and happenings they are
asked to condemn? They are always aware of what the
reality of an episode is. They know how many boys have
been kidnapped. How may honors outraged, now many trusts
broken? Yet they choose to keep silent. And thereby
encourage more kidnappings, more outrages, more make
believe dramas to ask for azadi at gunpoint.
Kabuli wale
It does look strange that
the people who had been coached in high austerities by
the Taliban for the last six years should break out into
a riot to get the tickets for the first film that was
being shown in a Kabul cinema hall after a gap of all
these years. But that is what the Kabuli wale did. They
formed a sea of rows outside the cinema hall and when the
tickets could not be got for all, they rioted for entry.
All that one is left to wonder is how this hardy people
got so subdued by the Taliban that not a voice of dissent
was raised all these years. Or, is there some lurking
guilt that shuts the dissents for unholy entertainments
and amusements up automatically. Another statistic that
is not yet available but could tell much about the real
preference of the Kabuli Wales would be how many of these
man gathered at the Kabul stadium to witness the latest
righteous flogging ordered by the then ruling Taliban.
One can surmise that probably women did not go there, as
they were roundly forbidden from public appearances.
Again were the men, who do not seem to be very particular
about it now, prudently silent or approved it as a high
culture?
There are many influences
out here as well that may not think too badly of similar
restraints on particular activities. There are others who
do not take kindly to cinemas and serials either. In
Kashmir they lauded the growing to be terrorist JKLF for
throwing out whole cartons of playing-cards from the
shops in Srinagar. All of them were not Muslims either,
though the non-Muslims had other apprehensions even as
they found the card-throwings eminently 'civilizing' So
did many people welcome the shutting down of cinemas in
Srinagar when it happened? Here is a clash of other
civilizations. The values that we in this east cherish do
sometimes come in direct clash with the practices that
the western democracy brings in its wake. Now, of course,
the cinema and acting carries nothing loathsome in it; it
has all been accepted. But at a cost to many of the
cultural tenets. Here doth open a door to many 'freedoms'
that do not go with what this ethos reveres. How far
shall the orient easily and safely go with the west? That
may be a question worth pondering. Without any implied
justification of the terrorists, of course. They have
deranged some of our choices too, with their terror by
using them as strategies to gain a foothold on the
psyche. And that has been the cruelest cut.
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Sai
Baba - The Embodiment of Love
By
Jagdeep Singh
According
to the Gita, the God Himself comes in
human form for the protection of Dharma.
Here dharma means moral and spiritual
values. We look upon Bhagwan Rama and
Krishna as the incarnations of the
Almighty. In the same manner, the
devotees of Shri Satya Sai Baba,
including the great scholars,
philosophers, yogis and scientists of the
world also look upon Baba as the
incarnation of the omnipotent Lord of the
universe.
Bhagwan
Baba was born seventy-six years ago, in
Puttaparti, Andhra Pradesh, on 3rd
November, 1926. It is said that he was
appropriately, but unknowingly placed on
the coils of a cobra lying underneath the
cot and named Satya Narayan. Satya used
to perform miracles right from childhood.
This always used to draw peoples to his
houses. His father, Shri Venkapa Raju,
decided to put an end to his sleight of
hand business and one day asked him
"Are you a God or madcap? Tell
me!" Satya promptly answered,
"I am Sai Baba. I belong to the
Apastamla Sutra of the spiritual lineage
of Bharadwaja".
Philosophy,
Miracles and Power
Sai Baba
believes in the Vedic and Upnishadic
philosophy. The Upnishads are the sources
of the Vedanta philosophy. Shri Satya Sai
Baba says, "There is no difference
between Atman and Brahman. Both are
identical. Atman remain covered with
ignorance. If any aspirant (Sadhik)
succeeds in removing the cover of
ignorance through his yoga and Tapah, he
can have the glimpse of the imperishable
soul. In order to get a grain of rice, we
have to remove the husk. In the same way
to have the glimpse of Atman we have to
remove the cover of ignorance."
According
to Baba, life + desire = Man And Life -
Desire = God.
Sai Baba
performs miracles only for his devotees
out of love. He says that his miracles
flow from the boundless Power of God. His
miracles create faith in his devotees.
They follow the footstep of Baba and
ultimately succeed in getting His Divine
Grace which liberates them from Greed,
Hate, Vanity and Fear once for all.
Baba says,
my critics say that I have some invisible
spirits to command. I order them and they
obey me. As a matter of fact, I have no
invisible spirits to command since my own
divine will materializes the things. I am
everything, everywhere omnipresent and
omniscient so whatever I desire
materializes instantly," Sometimes
Baba makes incredible statements and
says, "My power is immeasurable. I
am beyond the reach of the most intensive
scientific inquiry. There is nothing I do
not see. Nowhere I do not know the way.
No problem that I cannot solve. My
sufficiency is unconditional".
Baba has
enthralled the hearts of lacs of his
listeners when he composes extempore and
simultaneously sings in a most melodious
voice which enchants and bewitches and
not merely touches but bathes the heart
and soul with Divine Love, which can only
be experienced than described. It is only
in those rare moments of ecstasy that one
can be in communion with the Divine and
can understand to a certain extent the
meanings of such of His verses as:
At whose
command does the solar orb punctually
rise and set, day after day?
At whose
command do the billions stars so silently
hide heads and heels at dawn?
At whose
command do the wayward winds blow
tirelessly to keep alive the living
throng?
At whose
command do the rivers speed so laughingly
down the gorges to salty depths?
At whose
command do men divine so playfully down
varied roads into hate and pride?
At my
command! Yes, ‘its all my sports,
the game of God, I am He, He is I, if
only you but know!
Aim of
Baba’s Avtar
Bhagwan
Baba says, "I have come armed with
the fullness of the power of the formless
God to save humanity and to achieve the
supreme task of uniting the entire
mankind into one family through the bond
of brotherhood; of affirming and illuming
the atomic reality of each being in order
to reveal the divine which is the basis
on which the entire Cosmos rests. I am
the embodiment of love. Love is my
instrument. Those who have recognized my
love and experienced that love can assert
that they have glimpsed my reality, for
the path of love is the royal road that
leads mankind to me.
Materialization
of value
Sai Baba
materializes sacred Vibhuti for his
devotees out of nothing, he has
materialized more than 80 tons of Vibhuti
so far. He says that the Vibhuti which he
materializes out of nothing belongs to
the realm of infinite. It protects, heals
and removes danger. It is an armour
against the machination of evil spirits.
It is also a constant reminder of the
evanescence of the body, which ultimately
is reduced in cremation to a potful of
Ash.
Telling
about his vow Baba says, "I have a
vow to lead all who stray away from the
straight path back again into goodness
and save them.
I have a
‘reason to be proud’ for I
rescue all who worship and adore me a
right. I have my definition of the
‘devotion’. I expect those
devoted to me have to treat joy and
grief, gain and loss, with equal
fortitude."
The
scientists of India and other different
countries of the world come to Sai Baba
from time to time. They have failed to
understand Baba. Baba says that science
has its limitations. It cannot understand
Baba and spiritualism. The scientists of
Germany and America have said that there
is a man on earth who has control over
the nature and its elements.
Way of
happiness
Sai Baba
says that the people of the world want to
seek happiness in the mundane things. And
inspite of their wealth and property they
are worried and restless. Baba says, If
you want to be happy in this world, you
must minimize your desires. You cannot
kill your desires. Desires are must.
Never cling to your desires. Let desires
come and go. They will never become the
cause of your pain, sorrow and suffering
just in case you do not cling to your
desires.
Advice
to students
Advising
the students of his country, Sai Baba
says, "I want each one of you to
grow into a strong, steady and
straightforward person. Your eyes should
not seek evil sights. Your tongue should
not seek evil speech. Your hands should
not seek evil acts. Your mind should not
seek evil thoughts. Be pure and full of
love. Help those who are in worse
condition and serve those who need your
help."
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Defence:
No grounds for compromise
By Anita
Bhatt
The 1990s
have been a period of profound changes at
the international level, which have a
regional bearing that in turn percolates
down to the national level. But after the
terrorist attack on America all the
nations are under pressure to devise
effective defence policies to meet the
growing challenges, mainly to national
security.
The
concept and concretisation of national
security depends upon the stamina and
strength of the armed forces, economic
resilience and political stability. If
any one of the pillars become weak or
vulnerable, the hawks and vultures around
can pounce upon and pound US with all
their ruthlessness.
China
continues to be perceived by India as the
primary strategic challenge, while
Pakistan remains a troublesome neighbour,
our truce efforts with China have yielded
the desired results. The scars of the
1962 Sino-Indian war have not disappeared
and also as India was on
‘Hindi-Chini-Bhai-Bhai’
mindset, it lost about, 44,000 sq km.
Though we have been able to establish a
rapport with the post Mao Chinese leader
and exchange views on other matters.
Needless to say, the scepticism with
which the Sino-Indian relations were seen
before the 1990s persists even today.
The nexus
between China and Pakistan is yet another
serious threat to the nation’s
security. The getting together of these
two countries seems to run on the lines
of ‘my enemy’s enemy is my
friend’. According to Maroof Raza, a
defence analyst who is visiting Professor
at Middlesex University and visiting
fellow at King’s college London,
"it is a part of the Chinese
strategy to encircle India’.
The
significant lack of transparency only
adds to the politic-strategic
uncertainties that result in trying to
assess the direction of China’s
policies in future India, would continue
to actively engage China in a cooperative
relationship, but at the same time take
necessary steps for legitimate
self-defence, because we should not
forget that China’s is our Potential
enemy No. 1.
The way
China, already the largest military power
in the region, evolves in the future will
certainly influence peace and stability
in the region. Although India does not
currently perceive a threat of military
conflict with China, there is clearly
cause for concern in the year ahead.
China’s qualitative military
modernisation; the continuous upgrading
of nuclear and missile arsenals, the
growth of China’s power projection
capabilities are worrisome to many
countries in the region and is closely
observed in India. According to the
report on ‘Trends in Defence
Expenditure" published by IDSA in
the Asian Strategic Review 1998-99, the
real defence expenditure of China for
1998 was close to Yuan 334.32 billion
($39.8 billion), as against Yuan 92.86
billion officially stated for the same
period.
The
Kashmir tension has been another major
concern for India. Pakistan’s
ideological thrust drives its policies in
support of armed military and civil war
in the territories of its neighbours to
its west and east. Pakistan had lost the
proxy war in Kashmir by 1992 and since
then faces the problem of successful
disengagement without a destabilising
fallout on the domestic political scene.
Pakistan now follows a formally announced
military doctrine of ‘Offensive
Defence’. Some broad trend
indicators from the IDSA report are:
Pakistan’s defence expenditure was
Rs 128,000 billion in 1998-99 and Rs
142,000 billion in 1999-2000.
Indian
policies have also been deeply rooted in
the concept of self-reliance, which
translates in terms of foreign
relationships in the policy of
Non-alignment. Self-reliance in defence
was sought in the early years through a
deliberate diversification of the source
of supply, licensed manufacture of
weapons and equipment and indigenous
design and development of defence
equipment. The West, more particularly
USA, abhorred the idea of any developing
country, more so India, becoming
self-reliant in any field, let alone
defence. And though Dr. A. P. Abdul
Kalam, with his long stint of devoted
work in rocketry and satellite launch
vehicles along with such veterans as the
late Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, were drafted by
the government to build a missile system
for the county - with such familiar names
as Prithvi, Trishul, Akash, Nag, Agni-I
and now Agni II - missile technology is
considered the dominion of a select few
who grudge the rise to stardom of any
newcomer.
The first
missile launch programme was conducted on
Sept. 16th, 1985 when Trishul took off
from the test range at Sriharikota
(SHAR). Agni. was test-fired thrice in
May 1989, test-fired again in May 1992
and Feb 1994.
The
extended range version of Agni - II was
launched, on April II, 1999. The
significance of Agni -II test lies in its
connection with ‘Pokhran-II’
While Pokhran II gave India the
capability to design all kinds of atomic
weapons and warheads, it did not address
the question of delivering them.
The
reports say together with Agni-II and
Agni-I, Prithvi, Akash and Trishul and
the proposed Agni-III, India will be able
to develop a Minimum Nuclear Deterrent
(MND). It is said that along with land
missiles, India is also on the threshold
of developing submarine. launched
ballistic missile Dhanush, which would be
later deployed on surface ships.
The
characteristic feature that has made
India’s missile programme unique on
top of all has shown that India can
compete with the rest of the world. But
there has been a gross neglect of the
requirements of defence over the last
decade. IDSA reports states that
India’s defence expenditure in
relation to the GDP has reduced
dramatically during the last 13 years,
from 3.59% in 1987.83 to 2.31% for fiscal
years 1999.2000.
India
needs to make an agonising reappraisal of
its defence budget. In other words, the
defence budget needs infusion of an
additional Rs 20,000 crore per year for
at least the next five years to make up
for the poor allocation of funds to the
defence services currently, the defence
budget is pegged at about Rs 41,200
crore. A comparison of defence
expenditures of India, China and Pakistan
would show that we are spending much less
on our security.
The Armed
Forces and the NSAB have advised the
government to come up with an overall
plan for long-term financial commitments.
Modernization is not merely a question of
acquisition of hardware. It has to
encompass new tactics, strategy,
structures and processes within the Armed
Forces, as well as the entire framework
of the National Security Management No
government can compromise on its
commitment to a strong defence policy
sharing a turbulent border with Pakistan
and larger stretch of insecure border
with China, India’s foreign policy
has to focus on its security needs. CNF
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Options
of Govt: Who after Taliban?
By Sreedhar
The war in
Afghanistan took a significant turn with
Mazar-e-Sharif and Kabul being recaptured by
Northern Alliance in the second week of November.
From all accounts, it appears that Taliban
offered very little resistance to the Northern
Alliance men advancing into Kabul. The immediate
question that arises is how did this happen? At
one level, the absence of Pakistani soldiers in
strength to assist Taliban in fighting Northern
Alliance seems to have weakened its capabilities
considerably.
Secondly, the
freezing of finances of Taliban and Al-Qaeda
combine by the US and its allies made the flow of
resources that much difficult for these
organisations.
Lastly, the US
quickly realised that three weeks of target
bombing from October 7 has not altered the ground
situation much to its strategic advantage. From
around October 26, when the Northern Alliance
forces started making advances towards Mazar-
e-Sharif, the Taliban militia was forced to come
out of its hideouts in mountains to defend the
city. This enabled the US-led Grand Alliance to
do a carpet bombing of the hideouts. This
tactical ploy by the US seems to have tilted the
scales in favour of Northern Alliance.
The initial
reports coming from Kabul also indicate that
Northern Alliance is quickly consolidating its
postion without any serious reprisals on Taliban
militia and its sympathisers. Simultaneously, it
also seems to be successful in restoring peace
and order in Kabul.
All this indicates
that there is an urgent need to put a Government
in place as quickly as possible with assistance
from the UN. The whole question of an interim
Government in Kabul is being debated in terms of
ethnic composition of Afghanistan. For instance,
one of the popularly argued points is since
Pashtoons are in ethnic majority, they must head
the government and have all the important
portfolios. Here people ignore the fact that the
last legally constituted Government was that of
Burhanuddin Rabbani and he is a Tajik. His Prime
Minister was Guibuddin Hakmatyar, a Pashtoon.
This Government would have stabilised the
situation in Afghanistan, but for Pakistan’s
unwillingness to accept it. In the existing
circumstances, the best thing would be to
re-establish the Rabbani Government as an interim
arrangement and ask it to convene a Loya Jirga at
the earliest.
Another equally
disturbing development is the proposed UN
peace-keeping force that is going to be drawn
exclusively from lslamic countries. Already the
media across the globe has started calling it an
lslamic army. In the past the UN peace-keeping
force was never based on any faith. It was drawn
from different countries, both developed and
developing. These things apart the neighbouring
countries have wielded considerable amount of
influence in select pockets inside Afghanistan.
They are bound to quickly establish regimes in
areas annexable to them.
To meet these
challenges, the Rabbani Government should be
facilitated by the international community to
re-establish authority as quickly as possible.
The present search of who should head the interim
Government other than Rabbani is likely to create
problems. Simultaneously, the international
community must provide the much needed
administrative infrastructure to ensure that the
aid inflow is properly utilised: the development
process must restart.
The next question
is what to do with Taliban? From the developments
since October 26, it appears to have been routed
but not defeated. According to Taliban spokesmen,
their withdrawal from major cities is more
tactical and they are regrouping themselves and
will launch a counter-offensive as Northern
Alliance moves southwards. There are also
unconfirmed reports that Pakistan’s Inter
Services Intelligence field operatives are
providing critical intelligence to Taliban,
because of their ideological commitment to the
latter. In these circumstances one can visualise
three scenarios:
The first could be
that the Taliban-Al-Qaeda combine has made
federally Administered Tribal Areas adjacent to
Pakistan - Afghanistan border as their base. It
is a well known fact that the writ of lslamabad
does not run in these places and Taliban-Al-Qaeda
leadership can easily take shelter there. In the
name of Pashtoon honour and their faith, supply
lines of essential commodities can keep moving.
And at an opportune time they can use their
manpower to destabilise the rulers in Kabul once
more.
Second,
Taliban-Al-Qaeda combine has retreated basically
to use its weapons of mass destruction at an
appropriate time. That means as and when the
international observers and the US troops land in
Kabul, Taliban will be using these weapons of
mass destruction on them. To what extent it will
be effective in demoralising Northern Alliance
can be a subject matter of speculation only at
this point of time. In fact, many suspect,
Taliban have not laid their hands on weapons of
mass destruction as yet.
Third, could be
Taliban -AI -Qaeda continuing their fight against
Northern Alliance by mobilising cadres from
Pakistan. One can suspect that the Taliban AI
-Qaeda combine would try to revive the issue like
greater Pashtoonistan. In the process they will
try to mobilise support from Pashtoon in the
North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. The
fractured Pakistan polity is susceptible to all
types of pulls and pressures.
In these
circumstances, the war in Afghanistan is going to
be a long drawn out one. At least the present
indications show that it is too early to write
off Taliban -AI-Qaeda combine.
With the onset of
winter and the beginning of the Muslim holy month
of Ramzan from November 17, in the coming weeks
there is likely to be a lull in fighting. That
will give both sides enough time to regroup
themselves. The future of Afghanistan will depend
largely on the results of spring and summer
offensives next year. -CNF
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Jharkhand
prison no roy all visit!
By Vivek Jha
The hills and
forests of Jharkhand used to be the favoured
summer retreat of every Bihar politician, prior
to the division of the state. Those were the days
when the decision-makers sat in Patna and decided
the fate of Ranchi. And they hobnobbed with
corrupt and crooked contractors, suppliers to
facilitate the brazen plundering of food meant
for tribals as well as animal fodder.
The resources of
the mineral and coal rich region with its swift
flowing rivers and deep forest were enormous and
the rulers of undivided Bihar were loathe to part
with them. No one symbolised this resolve –
to oppose the creation of Jharkhand – more
poignantly than RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav.
"Jharkhand
will be created over my dead body," was the
war cry Mr. Yadav echoed during the height of his
popularity in 1997. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
(JMM-Soren) had then aggressively revived the
age-old demand of a separate homeland for the
tribals. Not surprisingly, Laloo is not a popular
figure in Jharkahnd and his party now has only a
symbolic presence in the state.
Ironically, a year
after the creation of Jharkhand, Laloo is headed
for the same hostile terrain, now ruled by his
foes, the BJP. And this time he is not going to
some quiet retreat but to surrender before the
special CBI court as an accused in the
multi-crore fodder scam, which had its epicentre
in Ranchi.
Mr. Yadav had,
tooth and nail, opposed the transfer of the cases
from Bihar to Jharkhand, even resorting to the
wild allegation that there was a conspiracy afoot
to "eliminate" him in a Jharkhand
prison. After protracted legal wrangling,
however, when the Supreme Court on November 5
vacated the stay on warrant of arrest against him
and others and directed him to surrender at
Ranchi on November 26, Mr. Yadav seemed
reconciled to his fate.
"If I do go
to a Ranchi jail, I will use the opportunity to
mobilise the tribals against the communal BJP
government in Jharkhand," said he, by way of
his familiar light-hearted bantering. A man who
never likes other people to see his weaker side,
Laloo has done his very best to give out the
impression that he is not at all bothered about
the consequences of a possible sojourn at a
Jharkhand prison.
"The party
had responded by showing tremendous unity in
similar circumstances in the past. There will be
no threat to the Rabri Devi government in my
absence," Laloo told reporters soon after
learning of the SC verdict.
To an extent, he
may be right. The expulsion of former RJD working
president, Mr. Ranjan Prasad Yadav, has
drastically narrowed down the options of a
handful dissidents. These include former
ministers Illiyas Hussain and S. P. Tekriwal, who
are still vocal in their criticism of the Rabri
regime.
Ranjan Yadav may
make a fresh bid to incite trouble, by wooing his
followers within the RJD, but the success of such
mechanisms seem remote, going by the three
occasions when Laloo Yadav was made to spend
considerable time in jail.
The problem lies
elsewhere. During his more than seven-month jail
term, Mr. Yadav virtually ruled the state from
behind prison bars, summoning top police and
administrative officials and holding daily
durbars.
It is also
interesting to note that the state government has
spent more than Rs. 2 crores on improving
facilities at Beur Jail – ever since Laloo
first got there in 1998. During the same period,
the other four central jails in Bihar received
nothing of the sort.
However, this time
around, Mr. Yadav faces the prospect of a tough
time in judicial custody in a state ruled by a
hostile government. For a man used to having
people at his beck and call, such a situation may
not be easily palatable. There have been
indications that if Mr. Yadav is denied bail and
housed as a BJP guest in a Jharkhand jail, the
Marandi government may not be as liberal with him
as Laloo himself was in dealing with Mr. L. K.
Advani, who was arrested by the Laloo-led Bihar
government in 1991. Advani was put up at the
picturesque Masanjor Guest House (which served as
a makeshift prison) in Duka (now in Jharkhand).
The guest house overlooked a river and a dam.
Mr. Yadav has not
forgotten to remind the BJP that Advani was
treated as a respected guest and not as a
political adversary. "I treated Advani with
the utmost respect and was never
vindictive," is how Laloo has been quoted in
several interviews over the last few months.
However there are already indications that Laloo
is unlikely to receive the same soft treatment.
Says leader of the
opposition Sushil Kumar Modi, who is also one of
the petitioners demanding a CBI probe into the
fodder scam, "Mr. Advani was a political
prisoner but Mr. Yadav will go behind bars as a
man facing serious charges of corruption. Also,
Mr. Advani was not arrested as the result of a
court warrant. Laloo Yadav should not forget that
he is an accused in a corruption case."
The Marandi
government may even enforce jail manual
provisions; in order to prevent Laloo from using
mobile phones and getting free access to
outsiders beyond visiting hours.
A BJP leader told
INAV that since Mr. Yadav had already expressed
concern about the threat to his life, it was all
the more necessary to keep him in a high security
prison.
Those who have
observed Laloo Yadav’s personality traits
closely will admit that there could not be
anything more unbearable for him than being kept
away from the outside world. The former Chief
Minister abhors loneliness and thrives in the
company of others, be they political lackeys,
party workers, or journalists. If there is
anything which he may miss in a Jharkhand prison,
it is company.
Ms. Rabri Devi
will miss him more. She may find herself clueless
on how to handle the affairs of a very volatile
state all on her own. On more than one occasion
in the recent past, she has gone on record saying
she would like to be back where she belongs
– her home and her hearth. To be fair to Ms.
Devi, she has always been frank about her
limitations. Now that she will have to do without
the "guidance" of her husband, who took
every decision on her behalf, her limitations
will haunt her all the more.
That has led to
speculation that Mr. Yadav may form a crisis
cabinet, consisting of a few trusted ministers
and Rabri’s two brothers-in-law to run the
state in his absence. If, at all, Mr. Yadav does
end up in a Jharkhand prison, it will be the
toughest challenge to have cropped up in the life
of man who has proved his critics wrong every
single time they have tried to write him off.
INAV
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