2012

India is a model to the world in the management of free and fair elections. But in terms of what comes out of this massive exercise, India is an argument against adult franchise. Many of those who get elected are so unworthy that the legiti-macy of democracy itself becomes questionable.
As many as 103 candidates in UP (35 per cent of the total) had criminal cases against them. Some 30 candidates were contesting from jail. These included notorious mafia bosses. One candidate was housed (…)

by VIVEK KUMAR SRIVASTAVA
There are many factors which have contributed to the spectular success of the Samajwadi Party in the UP election. In the usual analyses the role of Akhilesh Yadav is being recognised. It is true that he galvanised the party towards success but many unexplored, hidden factors that lay in the background and which he cultivated in a sustained manner helped him to lead the party to the final destination while others failed miserably.
This election helped to (…)

by HAMID HUSSAIN
The recent controversies on setting up a National Counter-terrorism Centre (NCTC) to operate under the Intelligence Bureau and the proposed amendment of the RPF Act, 1957 have thrown open the Centre-State issue once again. The credit for this goes to the charismatic leader, Naveen Patnaik, the three-time Chief Minister of Odisha, who took the lead in raising the issue of the NCTC with the Prime Minister and garnered support of ten more Chief Ministers such as Nitish Kumar, (…)

by R.G. GIDADHUBLI
On March 4, 2012 Russia witnessed an impor-tant event in its contemporary history when the highly debated presidential election was held; and this was monitored by thousands of Russian and foreign observers. The Central Election Commission (CEC) declared that among the five contestants, Vladimir Putin received 63.75 per cent of the votes while Russian Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov received 17.19 per cent, independent candidate Mikhail Prokhorov 7.82 per cent, (…)

The following is an analytical piece written before the holding of the Russian presidential election. It is being used here as its contents are quite relevant even now.
Predicting the outcome of democratic elections is fraught with risks. In the last elections to the Duma, the Russian electorate sprang a surprise by denying the ruling party a “brute” majority, but nonetheless voted it in. The popular mood has changed while at the same time the Russian electorate sought political stability. (…)

Whoever rules Uttar Pradesh gets the pass-port to Delhi. This has long been the rule during the days of Congress hegemony. Actually, Uttar Pradesh can claim to have reared as many as seven Prime Ministers: Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Charan Singh, Rajiv Gandhi, V.P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar. The only exceptions so far have been Morarji Desai and now Narasimha Rao.
What is more significant is that the political set-up in Uttar Pradesh, more than of any other (…)

Varanasi and Kanpur are the danger signals which Mulayam Singh Yadav can hardly afford to underplay. The significant impact that was made on the Indian political scene by his victory in the December elections along with his allies, ousting the BJP in office from the key State of Uttar Pradesh, would be grievously dissipated if his government is shown up as incompetent to govern.
The very character of the support that Mulayam Singh’s government has been able to muster tempts its adversaries (…)

by SUNIL RAY
Resurgence of Indian State
The crusade launched against corruption is one of the significant historical moments that should not be misapprehended by those whose engagement in their movements to create a better world is equally commendable. What is important to understand is that any movement being waged by the people—whether for uplifting the cause of Dalits or against discrimination perpetrated against the minorities or disposse-ssion of peasants and tribals from ownership (…)

A few days back, the Prime Minister accused Tirunevleli’s NGOs of using foreign funds for organising protest movements against the com-missioning of the Kundakulam nuclear plant. If he meant to say that the protest is foreign inspired, he is entirely mistaken. Now common people all over the world know that nuclear plants are based on a technology which spews deaths to hundreds of thousands in the event of a small human or machine error and that there can be no guarantee against such an (…)

by SHOBHA AGGARWAL
In December 2005 the Prime Minister had launched the flagship scheme, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), with the stated objective of urban development. It is the biggest funded urban renewal mission ever undertaken in any country so far. The policy document clearly enunciates the mandatory reforms to be implemented by the States and civic agencies during 2005-12. To receive funds under the JNNURM the States and civic agencies have to sign a (…)