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So here in India it's interesting times - after years of the BJP (which for Australians who will understand this is like a Howard type Liberal Party but with stronger alliances and sympathies for an extreme version of a ‘One Nation Party’ - which here are Hindu fascist extremists) there is again (and has been for some years now) the Congress Party in office.
BUT they had to form an alliance with the left parties to get there - so the coalition is called the United Progressive Alliance (no doubt the left parties chose the word ‘progressive’ in this title).
The Congress Party is of course the party of Nehru (India’s first Prime Minister after the 1947 independence from the UK) - and grew out of the Indian Nationalist movement spearheaded by Mahatma Ghandi. Congress has since been in power almost continuously and plays up it’s history big time when appealing for the vote of the masses in this, the worlds largest democracy. Congress also trades heavily on the name 'Ghandi'. Nehru’s daughter Indira, a very shrewd and savvy politician, might be accused of some machiavellian intent in finding someone in India to marry with the surname ‘Ghandi’. Having done so, she set up what has become a ‘Ghandi’ Congress Dynasty.
She ruled India a little bit dictatorially at times - and was assassinated in the mid 1980s. She pushed the envelope just a bit too far by sending troops into the holiest Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar to dislodge some armed dissidents - and paid with her life afterwards at the hands of revengeful Sikhs. Her reluctant son Rajiv was then persuaded by the 'directionless' party to enter politics and became Prime Minister. He too was assassinated after intervention in the Sri Lankan civil war with the Tamils.
Now his Italian wife (Sonia Ghandi - but note she still has that magic surname) heads the Congess Party - is a member of Parliament - but has a more acceptable Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) in place (Indian and ….. Sikh as it turns out - and a good decent fellow by all accounts).
Meanwhile she and Congress are plotting for the ascension to the Prime Ministerial 'throne' of the next member of the dynasty - her son Rohul who is also currently a member of Parliament but being carefully ‘groomed’. (You’d wonder what he can be thinking - with both his grandmother and father having been assassinated!!).
I am not sure what I think about Sonia (she is certainly shrewd and has very clever advisors). BUT…this government has been passing some truly AMAZING bills that really can make a HUGE difference to India (as it powers on towards becoming a superpower by 2050 if the planet can hang on for this to eventuate that is!!).
India now has passed
• the RIGHT TO WORK bill (which guarantees EVERY adult Indian - man and woman - the right to 100 paid days of labor a year);
• the RIGHT TO INFORMATION bill which actually could really start to break the corruption that is rampant in Indian government;
• the RIGHT TO EDUCATION bill which was just passed last month. This is really a beauty! - it guarantees every child free access to schooling with basic equipment up to age 15. Whether it works is another thing - it even makes private schools reserve 25%!o(MISSING)f places for poorer students!!! Imagine what the effect will be on rural and remote India! And this is SMART - if India is to be a sustainable world power - then that power rests in the human capital of it's people - and that is enhanced, as we know, most by education.
Also there has been a bill passed to increase women parliamentarians to 30%! (MISSING)There is as well a RIGHT TO HEALTH bill on the table. In my area of work they have passed an aniti-discrimination clause re: homosexuality and there is another HIV rights bill being negotiated by the HIV NGOs and the Indian equivalent of the Attorney General.
So it's all happening - of course HUGE issues to address and no way will these bills wave a magic wand - but it means there is at least a legal redress (if you can afford to use the courts - ho hum, same as in Australia on that front!) - and at least bigger NGOs and other civil right's groups can have a go (as happens - recently a larger Muslim university was ordered by the Supreme Court in Orissa to reverse a sacking of an eminent academic who had been baited and caught in a gay relationship. Unfortunately though the guy had been shamed so much that he committed suicide - but......
The trick, in my mind, with all this, will be how to bring the people along. I am very encouraged by what can only be described as brave these landmark bills - all VERY significant if implemented.
So what I am saying is that while I am not so naive to not understand the political gesturing behind these things - they are none-the-less powerful in intent and potential and ground breaking for an India which if growing wealthy can afford to (and MUST) share that wealth around to create inclusion and avoid violent dissent. The consequence of not doing so of course will be more uprisings like the current Naxalite issue which is a real internal threat. But that’s another story for another blog - but if you must go there now try this site for information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naxalite
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Marguerite
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What a scribe!!!
Great account of what's happening over your way Paul - wish I could review as eloquently the 'maze' (or mess) of political situation in Nepal. Hugs Marguerite