The curious case of Vishwanathan Anand’s Indian passport

By John Cheeran
Who is an Indian?
If Vishwanathan Anand, who has been living in Spain for many years in order to pursue his passion, chess in this case, ceases to be an Indian merely because of the number of days he has spent in India in recent times, it is an incredibly ludicrous moment thanks to a babu in New Delhi.
Anand, of course, holds a valid Indian passport. Despite that it now has emerged that the human resource department in New Delhi raised doubts about Anand’s citizenship status when Hyderabad University decided to honour him with a doctorate.
Unlike most of us resident Indians, Anand has brought India glory. He has been the most unassuming of champions that India has produced and loves his Tamil, idli and sambhar in that order.
Anand is the finest brand ambassador India could ever attain. It’s true that he had to shift his base to Spain. He finds it more convenient to compete and keep abreast of the game from there. May be tax regime there is a bit more considerate. But he is not living in Pakistan. He has married a Chennai girl. His parents live in Chennai. His friends are in India. His heart is in India. Whenever he has won a world title – right from when he won the world junior chess title in 1987—the country has made him its own.
Let’s not forget that the desperation with which we try to appropriate individual who excel on global stage, especially science. Remember Venkataraman Ramakrishnan? When he won the Nobel prize for chemistry in 2009, we were quick to find reference points to India so that we could bask in reflected glory. And he had utter contempt for all of us when he blurted out that congratulatory emails from India only go to waste his time and energy.
Unlike many such worthies, Anand has been modest to a fault and never forgot the fact that in outlook and approach he remains an Indian, though he does not require the state’s patronage to ply his trade.
If Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, LK Advani and I are Indians, Anand, too, is an Indian, though king on the chessboard does not have any nationality.

Trust Vote Cup: UPA chasing a winning target of 271

By John Cheeran
The chase for the Trust Vote Cup India-US Nuclear Championship has begun a few minutes ago at the Parliament House in New Delhi.
After winning the toss, UPA Captain Manmohan Singh has decided to chase the target of 271, set by Left-UNPA-NDA captain Prakash Karat.
The match will finish only late tomorrow (July 22, Tuesday).
Left-UNPA-NDA bandwagon captain Comrade Karat sounded confident of preventing the UPA achieving the coveted mark of 271 in the two-day Test, which would give the green signal for the Congress and Manmohan Singh to go ahead with India-US nuclear deal.
But UPA Captain Manmohan Singh ruled out any absence of MPs in his coalition and was upbeat that they will win by a handsome margin tomorrow.
Mr Vayalar Ravi, an emerging spin doctor in the Congress ranks, even went to the extent of predicting the runs UPA will hammer against the Combined Opposition Team. “280 will be a winning score on a wicket like this,” Ravi ascertained.
With brilliant all rounders such as Amar Singh and Mulayam Singh Yadav, one cannot rule out the UPA’s chances though they are battling on a sticky wicket made more sticky by the latest move by the Western Uttar Pradesh Jat leader Ajit Singh to the Left-UNPA-NDA camp.
“We are in terrific form,” beamed L K Advani, the leading middle order batsman for the Left-UNPA-NDA bandwagon. “Our pinch hitters like Ajit knows the UPA game inside out. And our new teammate Karat’s ideological googlies are difficult to score off. Madam Sonia knows how difficult to bat against the Left. And our dark horse, Mayawati, can outclass Sonia in the crunch overs, “ Mr Advani added.
Both teams, however, are worried out about weather conditions in New Delhi. Though political temperature has risen, visibility is low owing to hazy seat-sharing arrangements and counter offers. Abstaining by MPs in certain parties is quite likely and will have an impact on the outcome of the Trust Vote Cup.

Manmohan and UPA favourites to win trust vote

By John Cheeran
Who will win the trust vote on July 22?
My take is that the UPA and Manmohan Singh will survive.
The parliamentary flotsam in New Delhi stands to gain zilch if the government is defeated on trust vote. If defeated, Manmohan Singh will continue as a caretaker Prime Minister, though nuclear deal will collapse.
But if the flotsam characters such as Rashtriya Lok Dal, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and Janata Dal MPs vote in favour of the UPA, they can nibble at some sort of power for the next nine months, or till when Sonia Gandhi decides to go for the polls.
Given the political climate, Congress will find it tough to return to power at Centre. Even the NDA will have strenuous times to muster the majority. That’s why splinter formations are in vogue.
That’s why the Price for an MP has gone up to Rs 30 crore.
Democracy is a costly enterprise.
We have to pay for it.

India’s nuclear deal with the US: Karat is playing Indian Marxists’ Great Game with the Great Satan

By John Cheeran
The rump of the Indian revolution, the Indian Left, is playing its Great Game over the nuclear deal with the United States.
Prakash Karat is an honourable man, a rare specimen in contemporary politics, but he is limited by the CPI (M)’s the anti-United States agenda.
Karat and his fellow communists oppose the nuclear deal in the name of national interest. Congress is rooting for it in the name of national interest. Faced with dwindling global oil reserves, the country should embrace alternative energy sources, says Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. And the UPA allies including M Karunanidhi, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan all buy that line.
But even more pressing national need is to stay in power at the centre. That’s why the UPA allies are urging Ms Sonia Gandhi to exercise caution in case she wants to use the stick against Karat.
The only yogi in the current game seems to be Karat and to certain extent his Left followers. A national election means little worry for CPI (M) and CPI because they have nothing to lose outside of West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura. They might have a diminished presence in the Parliament, but presence, they surely will have.
And one should not ignore the fact that by standing up against the great satan, the United States, Comrade Karat is sending out a clear message to Muslims, who comprise the 18 per cent of Indian population, that here is a new Saladdin to their rescue.
Karat’s stance on the nuclear issue is a dead giveaway that Indian Marxists have abandoned the revolution and now hope to survive riding the regressive sentiments of a besieged segment of the society.
It is great tactics, but awful politics.
Going green was not meant to be like this.

Mohammed Afzal: just listen to the footfalls of the executioner

By John Cheeran
I don’t understand why Mohammed Afzal ‘Guru’ is concerned and confused regarding his future.
Apparently he has given an interview to a wire agency in New Delhi that could be termed a PR coup, by criticizing the UPA government for not cancelling the death sentence on him, delivered by the Supreme Court in 2004.
Afzal finds Tihar Jail a hell and wants to have a decision either way quickly. Afzal Guru tries to put political pressure on UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh through his interview by castigating their ineptitude to make a decision. That is not let him escape from the clutches of gallows.
And interestingly, advised by a spin doctor, he wants L K Advani as Prime Minister, so that the torturer can have a swift decision.
Well, If Mohammad Afzal wanted a quick decision on his life, he should remember that the Supreme Court gave it in 2004 and upheld it in 2005.
There was no dilly-dallying on decision making. Instead of sounding a martyr, Afzal should withdraw the mercy petition filed on his behalf. He should accept the legal terms of India and rest easy.
Every man should seek his own destiny.
Why did Afzal ask for President’s mercy in the first place? Remember Mohammad Afzal has been sentenced for death not for stealing apple from the parliament courtyard. I wish the jholawallahs too remember this.
It is time you withdrew your mercy petition and began the early morning walk to the gallows.
It is quite simple, Afzal. Simpler than your plans to slaughter the Indians.

National Herald: End of An Era

By John Cheeran
National Herald, the newspaper conceived by Jawaharlal Nehru, is preparing to put together its last edition.
And, I’m sure, none in New Delhi will miss the parting of this herald. Not even its employees.
No journalist in Delhi will feel the absence of this one-time legendary newspaper, for it had ceased to have any presence even in the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, from where it used to bring out the inky editions.
For seven years I trudged down the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg never once I bothered to step in that office, even when I wandering without a job.
Now that I’m reading AFP wire copy saying that Herald is ceasing publication, it amazes me that I have never seen a copy of this paper, which played critical role in the Indian Independence struggle.
Well, I have walked past history, without allowing, not even a particle of dust from that history to settle on my shoulders.
In the twenty first century, Soniaji’s Congress does not need National Herald, though it has continued till its last breath as the official newspaper of the party.
Today, Congress and Sonia have better mouthpieces than National Herald. So amidst dwindling revenue and falling circulation, the Congress chief’s decision to perform last rites to the newspaper seems a sensible decision.It is interesting to note the current editor-in-chief T.V. Venkitachalam.
“We do not follow the latest fashion and Bollywood trends. In all these years, the paper has adhered to the values Nehru espoused – objectivity and the tradition of independence. There has never been any interference from the Congress. But we never bothered too much about the business aspect of paper,” he said.