Opinion YSR’s charisma

Few state-level leaders can aspire to enjoy the admiration and adoration expressed by editors of Urdu newspapers for the “charismatic” Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy after his tragic death in a helicopter crash. According to Rashtriya Sahara (September 5),“the passing away of such a leader due to a tragic accident is a great loss not only for the Congress or for Andhra Pradesh but for the entire country,because he had all those qualities that could have made him a great national leader in future.” Talking of YSR’s success in the 2004 Assembly elections,Hyderabad-based daily,Siasat,in its editorial (September 4) says that “this success can be attributed to his individual efforts,or to the imaginative and popular schemes for people’s welfare launched by him.” The paper adds: “The padayatra undertaken by Dr. Reddy in 2003 to create an anti-government wave among the people can be described as a milestone in his political life. And,in a way,this padayatra brought about an end to the days of the Telugu Desam. Delhi-based Jadeed Khabar,in an editorial on the same day writes: “It is not an ordinary instance that 60 persons sacrifice their lives on the accidental death of a politician. At a time when esteem for politicians is very low in the eyes of the people and the graph of their popularity is falling,these deaths prove that there is an acute dearth of truthful,honest and credible leaders in the country.”

In a significant remark,Kolkata and Delhi-based daily Akhbar-e-Mashriq (September 5) says: “Rasasekhara Reddy too,like the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi,possessed overpowering strong arms. But he did not promote his interest on a communal basis or by dividing the society in any manner. Even though Andhra Pradesh is a communally sensitive state,he did not give a chance to communal elements to play their games.” Delhi-based Hamara Samaj,in its emotional editorial on September 5 writes: “Minorities of the state,particularly Muslims,will always remain grateful to the late Rajasekhara Reddy. Whereas in the entire country time was being wasted on discussion for and against according reservation to Muslims,Reddy Sahib wrote anew the political history of the state… and courageously accorded five per cent (read four per cent) reservation to Muslims in services and other areas¿ through legislation by the State Assembly.” An editorial in Hyderabad’s Rahnuma-e-Deccan (September 4) expresses dismay and annoyance at the state government’s “ineptness” as,in its opinion; “the Centre was notified about the missing chopper,four hours after it lost contact.” The paper wonders if finding out earlier could have changed things.

Forthcoming assembly elections

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The forthcoming elections for the assemblies of Maharashtra,Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh are seen by Jamaat-e-Islami’s Daawat (September 7),as “a trial not only for the Congress because the party has its governments there; it will also be a test of the UPA government (at the Centre) and the BJP too would come to realise how it has played the role of an opposition and to what extent its strategy against the government has been successful.” Regarding Maharashtra,Delhi-based Hindustan Express (September 2) writes: “The picture of the new assembly would depend on the proportion of division of votes between the two Senas and whether the ruling alliance can prevent division of secular votes.” About the situation in Haryana,the paper writes: “It would be foolhardy to treat kisan leader Om Prakash Chautala and his party as weak. But in the Lok Sabha elections,in alliance with the BJP,it could not put up any show despite its best efforts. In fact it invited doom for itself by aligning with communalists. And no perceptible change has been seen in the situation so far.” Delhi-based Hamara Samaj,in its editorial on September 2 has warned that “if there is no watch on the activities of Shiv Sena,Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena and BJP,the possibility of communal tension and riots cannot be ruled out,” because of “the designs of terrorists to sabotage the election and of communalist elements to give it a communal colour.”

Jinnah again

In Rashtriya Sahara,a debate has again been rekindled by the Member of the Law Commission,Tahir Mehmood,who in his column on September 7,has blamed Jinnah not just for Partition,but also for the “vivisection of the Shariat”,which he sarcastically terms,a “gift” from Jinnah.