Mr. Manmohan Singh occupies a most grudged post in the world. He is the Prime Minister of India. India is a democracy. Although it is a democracy, its present Prime minister is not a popularly elected person. He is a member of the upper house (Rajyasabha) of the bicameral Indian Parliament. Unlike in US India’s Upper house is not an elected body. Technically it is an elected body in the sense that the members of the state legislatures elect Rajyasabha members.
Manmohan Singh was a spokesman of the IMF. In 1980s he managed to get into the Cabinet as the Finance Minister. I remember his budget speech wherein he said in an axiomatic way the policies he would pursue as finance minister. The powers that be that wanted his imposition as finance minister succeeded in making him the Prime Minister of India. This required a series of assassinations in the most celebrated of Indian political families. Then they tried the BJP way, but lost hope because the people of India did not want segregation politicism in the country. Genocide in Gujarat and other homicides worsened things for them.
In the chaos that resulted from the six year BJP-led NDA rule, it was natural that the congress would earn a little more seat in the Loksabha. Thus was formed the UPA govt supported by the left and other democratic parties. The presence of the left as a supporter of the UPA govt must have naturally irked the powers that master minded to raise Manmohan Singh in the parlors of govt. This has its own inherent reasons. Those who empowered Manmohan Singh wanted to make our great nation a satellite of imperialism. But he could not run things according to their motives and his assignment. The impediment before him was the left. He managed to brew majority with the support of Mulayam conclave by means of corruption, purchase and chase. As we all know that was how the 123 agreement was signed. Step No. 1 went on well with him for the first time. Left had given his govt a credibility by enforcing upon it decisions to reduce oil prices as and when it went down in the international market, to introduce rural employment programme etc. After acquiring this credibility he wanted to extract all credit for himself while at the same time going on to implement his assignment according to the wishes of the imperialists. He left the left and began a series of scandalizing and even massacring left activists in its strongholds such as W. Bengal, in coalition with Trinamool Congress and Maoists.
The election to the house of the people (Loksabha) went on well for the congress while the left had to face unforeseen setback due to the maliciously cruel combine of bourgeois parties and media supported financially by the US imperialism. I do not forget the fact that the left could not evolve a correct line in facing the election. In fact it is not a correct line that was needed, but an effective line. The possibility of getting elected in alliance with the forces the people had discarded earlier was the most unwise dream of any dreamer. High-sounding words of Chandra Chudans and Bardans with no numerically strong following would not have brought votes. The doom left experienced was sure to come.
And now Manmohan Singh was free to pursue his policies dictated to him by his masters. Like an HMV recorder, our Prime Minister began to run his tracks with an arduous zeal. This has now come to the ASEAN deal. India has signed a deal with the Association of the south East Asian Nations for free trade. Very simple, Indian market is lying wide open like a prostitute before the powers that want India to be destabilized. They would plead innocence, as the member nations of ASEAN are neither colonialists nor imperialists. Truth is that they are also prey to the global scheme of destabilizing new independent countries. They are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Brunei is somewhat sound in finances, but other countries are making concerted efforts to get their economies stabilized by hook or by crook. They are not like India or China or Japan who have signed agreement with the ASEAN. Political chaos, long drawn out wars of liberation and revolutionary struggles cost them much in men and money.
What is wrong with India signing a free trade deal with the ASEAN, then? Philippines are rich in coconut production; Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia are rich in rubber cultivation. Their products would flood Indian markets. They produce these items at a very lower cost than India can do. Land is plenty there, density of population is lesser. In industrial production also India does not have an enviable position. China and Japan far excel India in this field. So, what will happen if their products flood Indian markets? What will happen if fish from these countries and countries that signed deal with them come to the Indian markets? Rubber? Coconut? Black pepper? Tea? Coffee? Sardines and mackerels? India as a whole would be pauperized. Kerala would certainly have the greatest shock, but other parts of the country are not immune from the calamity.
Can’t India do the same thing? Real question indeed, guys because those who ask this very well know that it is not possible fro India. Indian trade was stabilized to an extent by the measures of Independent India after two centuries of economic drain of her wealth by the colonial masters. The chief measure was to introduce tariff to imports. In 1991, introduction of globalization diluted these measures and thus Indian products lost their prices while the articles of consumption for Indians cost much higher. So, generally an average Indian cannot make both ends meet. There are names in the deal such as sensitive, negative and protective lists. Names would not give us consolation so long as it is stipulated that India would have now or some other time waive the tariff totally.
When the news leaked out that India was really signing the deal Com. V. S. Achuthanadan and Kerala delegation met the Prime minister of India to apprise of him of the fear of Keralites. The Prime Minister assured to the chief minister of Kerala that the deal would be signed only after consultations with the chief ministers and political parties. The Prime Minister that he is the people of Kerala and their chief minister naturally believed that he would be truthful to his word. I fear we forgot his precedents and believed him. He never cared for keeping his own words for the sake of the people, but violated them freely for the benefit of his imperialist masters. He has never been truthful, he has lying to the [people of India about the nuclear deal with the US, he has been lying to the people of India about the effects of globalization and now he is lying again about the effects of free trade with the ASEAN countries.
I am sorry, Prime Minister, I must call you a liar. David Yallop in his celebrated work on the assassination of Pope John Paul I said: “I am not insinuating that the Pope was assassinated, but I am convinced beyond doubt that he was assassinated”. Likewise, I am not insinuating anything about our Prime Minister, but I am fully convinced that he is a liar and he is an impostor on behalf of imperialism. Your deeds as finance minister and Prime minister were always the reflections of the sinister motives you have against India and her people.
Campaign of a China war
News is widely spread about a possible infiltration by China on the Eastern borders. Some have even said that this has happened. National security advisor has said that reports are exaggerated, without denying the positivity of the reports. Something is fishy about the reports. Is it a canard employed for some sinister purpose? India has recently gone fully right in politics, national and international. All facades of mixed economy, let alone socialism, are wiped off. Socialism rests in peace in the preamble of the constitution. ‘123 agreement’ was signed with the help of corruption, buying of legislators and support of Mulayam conclave. All right measures which the Congress could not implement are at work in haste. The last in the list is the ASEAN deal. The left is sure to try to enlighten the people of the betrayal by the UPA.
Then, is it a ploy to arrest the left move for agitations against the central measures?
On The Ezine
The ezine is entering its fourth year. This is the thirteenth issue. I know we were late in bringing out many issues. The simple reason is that a day has only twenty four hours. I could not add the interviews with Sarojini Sahu and Joneve McCormick in this issue. I am myself interviewing both the celebrated writers. I can publish them in the coming issues. Farideh Hassan Zadeh has contributed a very beautiful, rather deeply meaningful poem, this time also. Christina Pacosz has given us a brilliant story. Asma Barlas and Suhayl Sadi have allowed me to publish their exemplary works in this issue. I mention only very few, but all contributors have sent me brilliant works. The specialty of this issue is the special section of poems by Ali F Bilir of Turkey. He has written a lot and earned many a laurel by way of awards. His poems have a warmth of human touch and love.
To conclude I may quote from Ali F Bilir:
Your house is still empty.
My heart is wounded
C.P.Aboobacker
Chief Editor
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