Finally, a woman President

By Manish Anand

At last, the Indian polity, exhausted after exploring all options for the post of President, chose a woman. In the last 60 years of India's independence it never occurred to any of the burly politicians that India needed a woman politicians, because this is the nation which believes in inclusive society and social justice to all. And, top posts have invariably been taken to symbolically serve that purpose over the years. Indian polity must be thanked for this.

Last month I had raised the issue why a woman should be elected the President of India. I had pessimistic view that such a thing would happen when so many senile veteran male politicians need to be given a retirement solution by the bosses of the political parties.

However, a picture of Pratibha Patil, who is into 70s, in one of the newspaper appalled me, because she was helped by two of her security personnel in helping her to walk. Instantly, I heard myself saying not again, not another Shankar Dayal Sharma. At least the president should be physically independent.

Ostensibly, the qualification that won Mrs Patil the post of President was she being the staunch loyalist of the Gandhi family. It just adds insult to the woes of the New India, which wants itself to unchain from the slavery of sycophancy and spineless toeing lines of the high command.

Hopefully, Mrs Patil would realise that once she is the President she has to do justice to her position in the most upright and objective manner that more honour comes to the post as achieved by two of her predecessors, Dr K R Narayanan and Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

But, we must congratulate ourselves for another reason. The United States is yet to have a woman President! Hopefully, Hillary Clinton, if she is nominated by the Democrats ahead of Obama, corrects that anomaly.

Caste war

By Manish Anand

With 11 districts put under National Security Act in Rajsthan, a full-blown bloody caste war has become a reality in India, caused by the 50-year of misplaced reservation policy of the Indian government.

One caste group is on killing and loot spree, the fallout of any riots, with another dominant caste group in retaliatory mode, the government has been put to the severest test of its populist policy to tap mass votes by doling out the reservation carrot to various caste groups.

On the warpath are Meena and Gurjar caste groups in Rajsthan with the latter not enjoying the fruits of easy entry into the government jobs. Though Gurjars are in the OBC category, they find the job pie fully dominated by the Jat. So, they want an ST tag.

Meena have been the most affluent caste group in Rajsthahn (14 % population) and have dominated the ST category in the state and at all India level along with the Christian groups of the North-east.

Top government officials have been knowing for a long time that Meena could be straightaway put in the General category for their social and economic status. But the government can not dare to revise the beneficiary list ostensibly for the price that they would have to pay.

Few years ago, a Meena candidate in an IAS interview was thrown out of the interview board in two minutes by a short-tempered chairperson of the interview board, who just wondered why the Meenas should claim the reservation in jobs. The candidate had replied that as the benefit was there so he was claiming, the answer that fetched him 25 marks out of 300 and an unceremonious kick-out from the board.

Take a look into the IAS, IPS, IRS and other Central services, you would find end number of Meenas along with the Christian groups of North-east; all are the offshoots of a flawed reservation policy pursued without revision by the governments.

Aren't there other ST groups who too should be enjoying the pie of the sweet fruits!

Experts have been calling for a relook into the reservation policy for many failures without the governments noticing them. The case of Rajsthan is an eyeopener but the Central and the state governments hardly seem to have spine to go for the right diagnosis.

Ask any interviewee of IAS from the reserved categories, hardly any logical satisfactory explanation would come from them, who will fail to hide an embarrassed and guilty faces.

It's imperative that gradually caste groups have have left the stigma of being socially backward be removed from the reservation beneficiaries' list, which could be used to accommodate the caste groups who still remain at the lowest ebb due to theirs not making the politically dominant voice.

The message must go to the beneficiaries that that the reservation policy of the government has an expiry date.

And for the moment, the government must carry out the revision of the ST castes with immediate removal of the Meena and the Christian caste groups of the North-east who are socially (there is no historical rationale for their social backwardness) and economically well-off.

Wanted: A President for India

By Manish Anand


Indian polity is abuzz with the talk of the next President of India. With the bar for the high post raised by many a notches by the two immediate Presidents, Dr A P J Kalam and Dr K R Narayanana, India requires another President who could further bring prestige and honour to the post.


But the Indian polity is threatening to overlook the bigger picture to accommodate their petty political designs.


As a constitutional head of the largest democracy in the world, the first citizen must command a good constitutional judgement along with the spine to take independent decisions. Also, the post would require him or her to prop the government and citizenry to further raise their levels.


Has there been a woman President of India in the last 60 years of independence? No, there was none. When the nation takes explicit care to have an inclusive growth and takes pride in having Presidents from the dalit and minority class, then why the Indian polity failed to have a woman President so far?


It's an injustice that none from half the population could rise to the top most post in India. Also, it explains in some ways why the Parliament has not been able to pass the Women Reservation Bill so far when the same has been successfully implemented in the Panchayati and municipal bodies.


A symbolic act by picking up a competent woman to occupy the highest position would hasten their effective empowerment. Also, it must be taken into account that Indira Gandhi as the Prime Minister had instilled confidence and hope among women that they too could carve a

niche for themselves in the fast competitive world.

However, it would be a folly if an active politician is chosen for the high post. The reason being that Indian polity is undergoing through a churning process, which would keep throwing challenges to the President to ensure that the spirit of Constitution prevails and justice is done to all. Also, the post in no way be considered a retirement solution for the influential politicians. It would just embarrass the ever competitive Indians who want to be the best in the world.

The Congress and the BJP are in position to get their blue eyed baby to the high post. Also, the smaller parties have become smart to be herded around the bigger parties. So, the two leading parties could constitute a panel of five thinking people and come up with a list of five and the best among them be picked up at an all party meeting. Sonia Gandhi and L K Advani have seen enough politics by now to think big and could get the backing of A B Vajpayee and Somnath Chaterjee for an eventual selection.

Would the Indian polity rise to the occasion and bless the people with a President who can instill pride in people. Let's watch the unfolding of the process.

Great churning

By Manish Anand

It's a monumental churning in UP that Mayawati swept to power with a full majority. A feat achieved after a span of 14 years by any party and positions her Bahujan Samaj Party firmly in the heart of the Indian politics. This also consigns to oblivion the mathematical politics of the BJP, Samajwadi Party and the Congress.

The churning also puts the wayward mandalised politics on the backfoot with assertive dalits and brahmins combining together. And with few of the Brahmin ministers touching the dalit Mayawati's feet, the social engineering gets altogether interesting. A Brahmin advisor (Satish Chandra Mishra) helped an impulsive and directionless dalit mass leader (Mayawati) to capture the nerve of the UP people so firmly. It has to be read into and analysed further as here lies the future directions of the Indian politics.

Mulayam Singh Yadav with vote-bank of backward castes and Muslims gave UP crime, injustice and backwardness. The BJP with its vote-bank of forward caste and Baniya gave UP confusion on issues hardly affecting the daily lives of the people. It remains blindfolded to the fact that with millions of the poor around you the temple is least needed by the people. It's arrogance of having shroud mavericks in its fold, who dished out CD highly intolerable in a pluralist and secular society and who talked up of alliance with Mulayam Singh to whom it had alleged of having an ISI link, now lie in tatters.

The BJP in UP just proved that it's on the way to become insignificant soon with its superficial politics being paid least attention by the people. The Congress should rather pack up as its kid, another Gandhi avatar, proved that the party is guided by highly insensitive and disconnected people.

A sane voice must advice Rahul Gandhi that it's high time that he comes out of the mama's and papa's achievements and build a niche for himself. This UP election would definitely prove a big education for him.

Mayawati is most likely to reverse the path of UP going the Bihar way with strong hold on bureaucracy and law and order. The collective identity of UP, which was more identified by goons like Raja Bhaiya and Amarmani Tripathi, would hopefully go for an image makeover. She is most likely to make the bureaucracy come out of its British imperialism hangover and become a true servant of the people. This she could do if she is not caught in the web woven by the politicians, bureaucrats and judiciary to keep the status quo going.

And, people in UP could tolerate more statues of Kansi Ram and Dr Ambedkar along with elephants if they come up with law and order, development and social harmony.