Opinion Hindu backlash

With alliance partners Muslim League and Kerala Congress (M) appealing to the sizeable Muslim and Christian communities,the Congress-led UDF as a whole had strongly canvassed for support among them: “The aggressive mobilisation and wooing of Muslim and Christian voters has resulted in the polarisation of Hindu voters towards the Left. Accordingly,the LDF did remarkably well in Hindu-dominant regions,” it says,and notes that tactical voting and reverse mobilisation of Hindus in a high-literacy state like Kerala was significant. In Assam too,it says a similar trend was witnessed,but in favour of the Congress because of the aggressive mobilisation of Muslims by the AUDF.

In the light of the Hindu voting patterns in Kerala and Assam,it says the moot question is whether the Congress’s explicit attempts at appeasing Muslims through communal statements — the article discusses Digvijaya Singh’s attacks on the RSS and his referring to Osama bin Laden as “Osamaji”,and targeting of Narendra Modi — would produce a Kerala-type reaction among Hindus all over the country.

Opening minds

The Organiser also joins the debate on the quality of research and the faculty of IITs and IIMs,following Jairam Ramesh’s remarks. It says the government,the chief promoter of these institutions,is solely responsible for this state of affairs.

It argues that IITs and IIMs have always been “perfect guinea pigs” as political games take precedence over quality control. It also makes a reference to the extension of reservations to the IITs and IIMs in 2008. “Ramesh has only got to turn around and ask his boss why such policies have been made at the cost of quality of IIT and IIM faculty and research,” it says. It also talks of outdated curricula and the lack of corporate support for research and development. It claims that Ramesh’s “newfound enlightenment on IITs and IIMs probably was a smart ploy to skirt the issue of a joint venture with Reliance Group to set up a marine diversity research facility in Jamnagar… But the fact remains that his government will have to take responsibility for the gradual reduction in the quality of output of premier educational institutions in India,which are owned by the government itself. And if the government is also serious about opening up the educational sector to foreign players it has to find ways to improve the existing players in the sector rather than complain publicly about inconsistent

research and low-quality faculty of these institutions.”

Terrible twos

Panchjanya has a full-page article on the occasion of the UPA government completing two years highlighting its “failures” on issues such as corruption,inflation,Naxalism and foreign policy. The article claims Manmohan Singh has led the most corrupt government in independent India’s history. “There is no doubt that this government would be remembered for scams,price rise,irresponsibility and its general incapability to govern,” it says.

The journal also has two articles that aim to “expose” Swami Agnivesh’s activities in the light of the recent incident in Gujarat where he was manhandled at a public function. The magazine says that Agnivesh’s disparaging remarks on the Amarnath yatra and his meetings with separatist leaders in Kashmir were ample proof that he was working with a “political agenda”.

Compiled by Manoj C.G.