ChinmayC Blog

He made absolute fools of all in this wonderfully rule-breaking country of ours including this writer. This writer, inspired so foolishly at the prospect of an ‘honest’ government coming to rule the capital, called upon him not to go overboard . But enough political knowledge was necessary to understand the reality that he wanted to go overboard all the time so that he could blissfully avoid governance, go back to the streets and start anew his blame-game kind of  ‘ darbari ’ politics. Arvind Kejriwal, the 48-day old Chief Minister of Delhi, resigned tonight because it had been his game plan to climax his departure with the Jan Lokpal Bill (Peoples’ Ombudsman Bill against corruption which is stronger than the Lokpal Bill already passed by the Indian Parliament). Alas! Thanks to all his drama and brinkmanship he proved himself to be as good and shrewd a politician like others we are always used to. Like the others he too holds the common man in a fittingly unhealthy contempt with t...

Even as the worst crisis for the ruling UPA-2 coalition government continued to gain momentum every day this week witnessed two huge days for the media fraternity—Wednesday, the 8 th of May 2013, and Friday the 10 th of May 2013. That momentous Wednesday was a picture of ecstasy and agony—a political study in contrasts. And, on Friday yesterday heads rolled as expected and anticipated on a daily basis. The main national opposition BJP has been chasing the Congress led UPA-2 Government relentlessly, tirelessly and also ambitiously on the issue of corruption for the last at least two years. In its obsessed aim of cornering the Government the BJP, basically a political party that ruled India earlier, even did not bother joining hands with the anti-corruption activists—at times with Anna Hazare and with Baba Ramdev at other. But, the BJP was routed in the Assembly Elections of the southern state of Karnataka the counting for which was taken up on Wednesday for running a corrupt and non-p...

The righteous minded hates corruption and wants this evil eradicated from India or possibly form planet Earth. Therefore, when Anna Hazare launched a movement in April, 2011 he immediately enjoyed unprecedented mass support and captured the national stage. Inspired by Anna’s achievement the immensely rich yoga guru Baba Ramdev jumped in the fray too with a movement against a related factor of black money. History was created. As the internal contradictions within Team Anna grew mass support for the movement began to wane. The Mumbai fast in December, 2011 was a terrible flop and the situation further worsened with Anna Hazare falling sick frequently and going on a silence vow. Team Anna was plunged into severe introspection.  Maybe inspired by Baba Ramdev’s star power, this time Anna Hazare decided to join hands and the two cult figures celebrated their union with a one-day token fast in Delhi in June, 2012. Sometime later both of them held a joint press conference and announced t...

The anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare has finally decided to sit together with Baba Ramdev on a one-day fast in Delhi today. There had been a lot speculation and anticipation on this for quite some time. Why Anna had to do this? After taking India by a hurricane wave with his two huge bouts of fasting in April and in August of 2011 Anna Hazare started facing the music from within his Team Anna as his members became too powerful and ambitious. The cascading trouble ranged from corruption charges against the members themselves and election politics to basic differences of views and opinions. To make matters worse Anna fell sick quite frequently and his 'strong' Lokpal Bill (anti-corruption Ombudsman Bill ) failed to make any headway in Parliament. Anna had to do something to carry on the anti-corruption movement. So he launched a fast in Mumbai in December, 2011 purportedly to pressurise the upcoming Parliamentary debate on the Lokpal Bill. The masses did not turn up in large...

Article first published as The Mystery Of The Black Ink! on Technorati. Someone threw black ink on the face of the Indian Yoga Guru Ramdev Baba at a press conference held in the national capital Delhi recently. The famous up-market guru was speaking about his future moves on corruption and black money when the black incident happened. The thrower was immediately caught and given a strong beating by the Baba supporters. Then the police came and arrested the offender thereby rescuing him from further beating of the third degree. Ramdev Baba was magnanimous in dismissing the incident as mere nothing, but later on he alleged the involvement of the ruling Congress party in the incident. No surprise in that. Because, he could hardly forget his unceremonious midnight ousting from the fasting ground in Delhi by the government of India in June, 2011. Ramdev Baba saw the showering of media and mass attention on Anna Hazare during the peak of the movement against corruption. Therefore he too de...

Basically, the politicians of India have failed miserably to deliver on curbing the menace of corruption and black money. Huge and huger scams kept on surfacing making the masses disillusioned. So, social activists, saints, god-men and the like have come to occupy the center stage starting a movement against corruption. Anna Hazare , who was relatively unknown outside Maharashtra, sat on fast in the national capital in April, 2011 and became a national hero eliciting unprecedented mass support. Many political parties and leaders wanted to be a part of this, but Anna was firm keeping the movement non-political. Ramdev Baba , the Yoga-guru who made his billions all over the world running two television channels and stigmatized by the alleged murder of his own guru, saw this and thought why not have some political power and clout. He picked up black money issue which is only the other side of a larger issue of corruption. He started his fast unto death at Ramleela Ground, New Delhi yeste...