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In December 2009 when NitinGadkari became presidentof the BJP, the party was in

disarray. After its defeat in theLok Sabha elections, a fierceblame game was on, dissidencehad touched an all-time high

and a clear roadmap for thefuture seemed like a distantdream. At that stage, a stateunit president with no experi-ence at the national leveltaking over the leadership ofIndias second largest politicalparty was bound to be greetedwith cynicism.

Gadkaris success in the lastone year lies in transformingthat cynicism into plausibleoptimism. From being thrashedin the 2009 Lok Sabha elections,the BJP today is in revival modeand is raring to have a go at the2014 elections. Of course, oneneeds to be fair and give duecredit for this to the indifferentCongress-led government at theCentre as well.

There are three conspicuouschanges that make the BJP a

different party today than whatit was a year ago.

One, the party has finally

succeeded in changing peoplesperceptions about its core brandpositioning. So now when onementions BJP to a layman, thereis a greater likelihood that the

first reaction will have to do withgood governance in BJP-ruledstates rather than Hindutva.There are several factors thathave made this change possible,the most notable being thegenerational shift in leadershipand the party presidents pro-

gressiveimage. In Gadkari, youhave an unconventional leaderwhose speeches dwell on irri-gation needs, biofuel, reuseof water et al. Gadkari, thanksto his experience of havingexecuted the Mumbai-PuneExpressway project, is amongthe strongest proponents of

public-private partnerships formeeting the countrys infras-tructure needs and can talk forhours about how its variantscan be employed in the socialsector. The party has started itsown biotechnology, economicand good governance cells tocome up with suggestionswhich are at times instantlyutilised by its state govern-

ments. All these mark a con-structive, qualitative changein the running of an Indianpolitical party.

Two, Gadkari is a betterstrategist and organiser thanat least two of his immediatepredecessors. The best evidenceof this comes in the deft micro-management that went into thepartys campaign in the Biharelections. Aided by a string of

national leaders who wereassigned different campaignzones and an in-house psepholo-gist who kept updating thepartys prospects in everyconstituency, the party was ableto field the largest number of

winnable candidates. The partyssuccess in the Seemanchal beltwhich has a decisive Muslimpopulation was particularlycrucial. It shows the BJP wassuccessful in selling good gov-

ernance even to those sectionsthat had so far kept away from it.

Three, Gadkari has managedto quell dissidence. So while onedoes hear an occasional out-burst from Ram Jethmalani orArun Shourie, these are isolatedcases. If one compares it withthe Congresss position vis-a-visJagan Reddy, the party doesnthave much to worry about asof now. The flip side, of course,

is the partys inability to

arrest corruption in Karnataka.

Every week, a new scandalemerges and the partys inabilityto fix the problem makes itscredibility suffer.

The big question today is:Can the changed BJP unseat theCongress and form the govern-ment in 2014? Three states UP, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil

Nadu, which together have 161Lok Sabha constituencies holdthe answer.

In UP, both the SamajwadiParty and Bahujan Samaj Partyare on the downslide. TheCongress and the BJP thus havea huge opportunity. Knowingthe importance of UP in decid-ing the fate of Lok Sabha elec-tions, the BJP will be puttingits Bihar model to the test inthe assembly elections due in2012. The key will be to secureas many seats as possible sothat the party approaches the

general elections with goodground support.

In Andhra Pradesh, the fateof the Congress is uncertain.Also, the emergence of multiplestrong players will mean that atleast one of them will follow thedictum, An enemys enemy is afriend, and would want to tie up

with the BJP to get even with theCongress. This again puts theBJP at an advantage.

In Tamil Nadu, the Con-gresss decision to stick it outwith the DMK despite overtfeelers from Jayalalithaa meansthat she will have to scout forother alliance partners at thenational level. Given her pastdalliances with the BJP, shesmore likely to revive the alli-ance than to pursue an illusoryThird Front.

Of course, these dynamicswill only work in a situationwhere the BJP holds on to mostof the Lok Sabha seats it has

under its belt now and its per-formance in Maharashtra, whichwas abysmal in the last elections,shows an improvement.

Just one-and-a-half yearsafter the last Lok Sabha elec-tions, from seeming virtuallyinvincible, the Congress today

is a party in disarray. And frombeing in dire straits just ayear back, the BJP now isgearing up to give the Congressa run for its money in the 2014elections. To make that areality though, the party canill-afford to ignore its unendingproblems in Karnataka andtheir repercussions on thepartys credibility.

The writer is an author, script-writer and columnist.

Race For The CrownIn revival mode, can the BJP successfully challenge the Congress on the national stage?

Tuhin A Sinha

Making the Grand Old Party look over its shoulder

Now when onementions BJP to a

layman, there is agreater likelihood thatthe first reaction willhave to do with goodgovernance inBJP-ruled statesrather than Hindutva

The two neighbouringcountries should

work together as aworld factory andworld office

Sometimes, businessnot proceeding also

yields results

I IE D I T P A G E

M A I L B O X

MY TIMES MY VOICE

I I

V

ery recently, our parliamentarians rewarded themselves with a three-fold pay raise. Parliaments just-concluded winter session makes the

nation wonder just what their pay is for. Legislative business collapsedover 23 straight days. Lok Sabha, its estimated, functioned for just 5.5 percent of the time available in the sessions duration; Rajya Sabha fared worse.Demanding a JPC probe into the 2G scam, the opposition now warns that theimpasse could hit Februarys all-important Budget session. Is protractednon-cooperation between the treasury benches and opposition any way tocombat corruption? Scams have dented Indias image. The political classsopportunism and bellicosity make for an even big ger public relations disaster.

When it came to power, it was felt that UPA-II, with a reforms-friendly primeminister and rid of the Lefts shackles, was stable enough to focus on boosting theeconomy. Today, theres loose talk of mid-term polls, with elements within theruling coalition itself fanning uncertainty. HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh

recently said the prevailing environment ofnegativity risks undermining our growthstory. Hes right. Indias growth data may beenviable and its economic fundamentalsstrong enough to lure investments. But beyond

a point, global investors watch out for morethan just pretty statistics and hoped-for gains.Its an open question if recent capital outflowssuggest disenchantment kicking in. In globalrisk perceptions about India, graft and red tapealready figure. Add paralysed governance tothe list, and investors could stay away.

Prevented all too often from expandinglocally, India Inc too is increasingly going overseas,

as Parekh points out. Significantly, key Bills remain stymied whose passingwould spur industrialisation, infrastructure-building and job creation. Landacquisition and mining sector reform languishes even as land-re lated agitationsrage and delays in minings revamp deepen the sectors opacity, giving a furtherfillip to corruption despite netas engaging in political theatre around it. Also

blocked is tax reform and, with it, the creation of a much-needed commonmarket. The BJPs recent boycott of negotiations on GST is yet another case ofeconomic good falling prey to political brinkmanship.

Yet India has a chance to resolutely push systemic changes promoting greatertransparency and accountability. Political institutions, corporate governanceand watchdog entities have all come under a cloud. We dont need witch-huntsbut collective action to aid investigations and punish powers abuse. The primeminister has promised to probe governments use or misuse of phone-tapping.

Legalising lobbying is another area for debate. Above all, government and opposi-

tion must seek compromise, ending the parliamentary gridlock that has huge socio-

economic costs. If whats broken is to be mended, well need all hands on deck.

End The DeadlockThe economic costs of political

brinkmanship

Can a parliamentary democracy work without a functioning Parlia-ment? Obviously not. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said asmuch when he remarked that the parliamentary deadlock over the 2G

spectrum scam could well r aise a question mark on the continuing viability ofthe system of governance followed by India since Independence.

The productivity of the current session of the Lok Sabha has reportedlydropped to just 6 per cent, the lowest since 1985. The cost of both Houses of Par-liament works out to over Rs 530 crore a year. Between 2005 and 2009 there have

been on an average 68 parliamentary sittings, which means that the cost per sit-ting works out to approximately 7.8 crore. But thats just the tip of iceberg. WhenParliament meets without conducting any business as has happened over the2G tug-of-war the loss to the country is much greater, perhaps inestimably so,as legislation comes to a grinding halt and nothing moves in public life. Its asthough the brakes were slammed on a car bringing it to a sudden standstill.

What would you do with a car which had perpetually locked brakes andwouldnt move? Obviously youd have to junk it and find a substitute. This iswhat Manmohan Singh meant when he said that he was worried about thefuture of the parliamentary system in India. He is not the only one to beso concerned. The so-called common citizen the voter and the taxpayer towhom the elected members of Parliament are supposedly accountable is ifanything even more exercised by this deplorable state of affairs.

The PMs remark, and growing public disgust with repeated and prolongedparliamentary breakdowns, could well revive the debate about India switch-ing to a presidential form of government, such as the US has. A presidential

form of g overnment for the country has oftenbeen mooted in the past. Its chief attractionlies in the supposed stability and freedom ofaction that it would give to the executivearm of government. However, in order to

maintain the checks and balances necessary in a democracy, even in a presi-dential form of government the executive powers are limited, most notablyby legislative bodies, such as the US Congress and the Senate. The occupant ofthe White House including the present incumbent has often been stymiedby opposition from one or both of the two.

By all means lets discuss the presidential or any other alter native for anon-working Parliament. But to use the automobile analo gy, a system anysystem is like a car which is only as good or as bad as the person operating it.You might have the best engineered, safest car in the world. But if you put acriminally negligent or reckle ss driver behind the wheel your car will sooneror later end up as a wreck to be written of f.

In Indias case, the driver of the car of democracy is the politician. While

among our elected representatives at the central and state levels there are or least

we hope there are sincere, well-intentioned and honest individuals, the near total

collapse of governance in almost all spheres and the proliferation of scams and

corruption show only too clearly that such people are in a pitiful minority.Unless we can improve the calibre of those who operate the system, merely

changing the system itself will not work. The new system will soon become as

much of a liability as the present one. For instance, it has been suggested thatit be made mandatory for Parliament to sit at least 100 times a year. But thatwont prevent each sitting from being disrupted.

The problem is not with the car; its with those driving it. How do we ge tbetter drivers? By enforcing stricter norms for getting a driving licence,which in this case means being eligible to stand for election. To begin with, nomore criminals and history-sheeters. Lets improve our driving skills beforetalking about investing in a new car.

secondopinion@timesgroup.comhttp://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/jugglebandhi/

Total brake down

Jug Suraiya

Changing the stalled car of Parliament wonthelp; we have to change the driver

The Self is pure consciousness. Your

true self is the purest of pure. It is thewitness. Even if you are not aware of

the Self, it will not lose its identity. But whenidentification of the Self happens with the

body and mind then the self is in a state ofdelusion, and this false identification anddelusion makes you suffer.

Self is Sakshi, Pure Witness. However, youneed to be aware of this. To be truly happy, youneed to experience the Self. Then you come tounderstand that you are pure consciousness,the witness. It is only through Brahmngyan,pure knowledge, that you come to know aboutyour own true Self.

Your body is constantly chang-ing; through pure knowledge youcould understand how many differ-ent bodies you have had and yet youare the very same existence; howmany births you took and all thosebodies died but you always re-mained untouched by death. Youmay not be able to recall one single

body out of those thousands ofbodies that you took, but yet youare the same unchangeable purity. Similarly,the mind too is in flux; it is always changingwith plenty of good and bad thoughts lurkingin the mind, all the time. Who knows all this?It is you and you alone who are witnessing

these changes happening in body and mindcontinuously. The intellect too behaves differ-ently: sometimes buddhi or intellect goescrazy and at other times it acts intelligently.

When i say that Self is Sakshi Swaroop orWitness Incarnate, do you comprehend whati am saying? Knowing it with your mind is notenough, the experience has to be there; is thatnot strange: knowing and yet not knowing?Those who do not realise their Self, does their

Self die with the body? No. Even the Self ofignorant people is immortal but they feardeath due to their ignorance. However, the

one who has realised purity of Self simplylaughs when he encounters death.

You are consciousness, pure existenceand this body is mortal. The Self is pure

existence and a witness. In Self-awarenessthere is immense joy and in not knowing theSelf there is a lot of pain and suffering.

The self is chetna, superconsciousness,the one who knows, pure existence, truth,ever-conscious satchitanand. That blisswill come to you only with experience. Whenwould pain, suffering, jealousy and hatredtake leave of your mind? This will happen

only when you understand and real-ise that the mind also is differentfrom you. No doubt it is close to youbut still it is not you.

Be a witness. Remain detached.You just be a watcher, a seer; bealoof from all this paraphernaliaof the world and the body. Then

only can you really enjoy other-wise you will suffer as no scenariois ever going to remain un-changed. Change is bound to hap-

pen as it is the very nature of t he mind and thiswhole world. An enlightened being would say:if it is birth that is fine even if it is death that isalso fine as nothing can happen to the Self.

The realised ones would say: What can

death take away from me nothing!/ Whatcan life give to me nothing!/ All the dramasof this world are happening in front of me./Let it happen whatever has to happen, There-fore why worry.

To subscribe to THE SPEAKING TREESunday weekly paper priced at Rs 2, SMSSTREE to 58888 or e-mail to crm.delhi@timesgroup.com or call 011-39898090 or contactyour newspaper vendor.

Self Is Pure ConsciousnessTalk: Anandmurti Gurumaa

First, it was UK Prime Minister David Cameron, then US President BarackObama with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German ChancellorAngela Merkel following suit. The clarity and forcefulness with which high-

profile world leaders have denounced terrorism as a tool of state policy to be usedagainst India or any other nation and explicitly in the cont ext of Pakistan beingthe originator is heartening. It is a consensus that has taken a decade to evolveas the attacks after 9/11 from Theo Van Gogh to the London blasts, the attemptedTimes Square bombing and any number of such incidents have brought homethe immediacy of the extremist threat in the West. And the common languagethese world leaders are speaking now is essential in tackling that threat.

Islamabad, however, is responding in the old language of victimhood anddenial. In the wake of Sarkozy and Merkels comments, the foreign affairsministry in Islamabad summoned the French and German envoys to expressits displeasure. The argument that Pakistan has lost numerous civilians andmilitary personnel to terrorist attacks itself, and therefore cannot be hel d toblame, is neither here nor there. Pakistan has indeed suffered greatly andcontinues to do so. But what it shows is that the extremist eleme nts cultivatedby the military and intelligence leadership have slipped their leash. All themore reason to stop backing any and all such elements even those cur rentlyperceived as assets for the Pakistani state instead of adopting the kind ofselective approach that WikiLeaks has exposed. It is not simply a matter ofother nations taking a stand against such double standards. It is aboutIslamabads will to protect its own people, let alone others.

Shifting ConsensusStraight talk on terror

Remember, upon the conduct of eachdepends the fate of all.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT, king of Macedonia

Just as rivers flow from

east and west to merge

with the one sea, forget-

ting that they were ever

separate rivers, so allbeings lose their separate-

ness when they eventually

merge into pure Being.

Chandogya Upanishad

As rivers flow into

the sea, losing theirindividuality, so the

enlightened, no longerbound by name andform, merges with

the infinite, theradiant Cosmic Being.

BrihadaranyakaUpanishad

The river that flows inyou also flows in me.

Kabir

The individual mustbecome fit to realise the

Cosmic One, to know that

he is not different from the

Cosmic One. Let us accept

all the different paths asdifferent rivers running

toward the same ocean.

Swami Satchidananda

Eventually, al l thingsmerge into one, and ariver runs through it.

Norman Maclean

One With Infinity

THE TIMES OF INDIA, AHMEDABADWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 201016 THE TIMES OF IDEAS

Nila Madhab Panda has di-rected and produced over 60documentaries, shorts, televisiondrama and films for nationalbroadcasters across the globe.His directorial debut, I amKalam, is a journey of the trialsand tribulations of a small boy

yearning for education. The filmhad its international premiereat Cannes recently. Panda spoketo Meenakshi Sinha:

I What made you make I amKalam?

Ive done a lot of documen-taries, the first being stolenchildhood as cinematographerwith Barbara Broccoli (the

James Bond producer) and ex-perienced 30-32 countries wherestories and issues have centredon child labour and womensempowerment. Thats when idecided to tell my own storythrough entertainment ratherthan continue to showcase the

plight of children. Secondly,India has the largest populationof children and youth in theworld. But we dont have cinemafor children. Thirdly, we havethe independent cinema. But de-spite being the largest cinema-producing country in the world,

we dont have a presence inthe international market. Lookat Iranian cinema. A smallRs 20-lakh film goes out all overthe world. I grew up watching

Satyajit Ray films,which reached outto countries likePoland, Germany,

France etc at a time when tech-nology and scale was limited.

We need to come back to thatkind of cinema.I But whats the link toPresident Kalam?

When we got to conceptua-lising the film with writerSanjay Chauhan we realisedmost childrens cinema be it

Salaam Bombay or SlumdogMillionaire are dark. Wewanted to make a film with a

childs approach what theylike, what they think and per-ceive their world to be. I d idntwant a fairy tale cinema. I waslooking at realistic childrenscinema, which needs a lot ofelements be it the backdrop(in this case vibrant Rajas-

than), the central character orthe story. Also you need aninspiring character and in to-days age if anyones inspiringas a great human being or a rolemodel, its definitely Dr Kalam.I So is he central to thefilms plot?

The film is based on Dr Ka-lams philosophy set a goal, bepatient and have perseverance.These have inspired not onlychildren but the general publicas well. One day my characterChotu sees Dr Kalam on TV talkabout his struggles to attain an

education how he sold newspa-pers to fund his needs. Thatmakes Chotu realise that whenKalam can study and become thePresident of India, then he toocan find the means to at least edu-cate himself. Thats the centralthought of my film: anyone canachieve whatever they aim at, ifthey put their heart and soul to it.I What ails childrens cinema

in India?

Here is a country with overone billion population whoseonly source of entertainmentis cinema and television. Andif one knows the simple tricks oftelling a good story, especiallychildrens stories, then theres

nothing stopping its success.But no producer comes forwardto fund a purely childrenscinema. They are comfortablein their star-struck formulacinema. Theyre unwilling toexperiment.

We are largely a family-oriented country. If you focuson children then you automati-cally attract four to five mem-bers of a family to your cinema.This does not mean that imagainst love stories, thrillers,action or drama. Look at thesuccess of Hanuman and Ga-nesha. They prove that theresa market for childrens cinema.We just need to tap it.

Theres a market for childrens cinema, we need to tap it

Q&A

We want your views and comments. Please SMS MYVOICE your comments and name to 58888. Or email myti-mesmyvoice@timesgroup.com withTimes City, Ahmeda-bad in the subject line. Or write to us at My Times, My Voicec/o Editor, Times City - Ahmedabad, The Times of India, FadiaChambers, 139, Ashram Road, Ahmedabad 380009.

A T H O U G H T F O R T O D A Y

I IS A C R E D

S P A C E

I I

THE

SPEAKING

TREE

With reference to the editorial Trade AndBeyond (Dec 14), while looking at the p ower

equations in Southeast and East Asia , there isan absolute need for India to develop closerties with China. However, the million-dollarquestion is how to make this possible, espe-cially when China has adopted an uncompro-mising stand on most issues. It has not shownany sensitivity towards Indias securityconcerns. Besides, Chinese policy makersare not known to be squeamish aboutantagonising India by joining hands withPakistan. Clearly, Indias diplomaticadroitness will be put to test in trying tosecure a win-win outcome for both countriesfrom the Chinese premiers visit .

P P Sethumadhavan, VIAE-MAIL

Attack on libertyWith reference to the editorial SpringingLeaks (Dec 1), the manner in which the USadministration and other governments havecovertly and overtly tried to muzzle Wiki-Leaks and its founder Julian Assange shoulddisturb all those who stand for li berty andfreedom of information. US secretary ofstate Hillary Clintons accusations are un-warranted as the website has done nothingillegal. The whistleblower website has just

put up documents for public viewing sothat people can judge the conduct of theirgovernments. The Assange affair indeed hasthe contours of a witch-hunt.

Motupalli S Prasad, VIAE-MAIL

Make India-China ties work

I IT H E Y

S A I D I T

L K ADVANI,BJP leader,

on the opposition stallingParliament over the winter session

ZHANG YAN,Chinas envoy to India,

on India-China relations

The days of jagirdari in musicindustry are over. Authors/

composers will no longer haveto sign away all their rightsand royalties

JAVED AKHTAR,lyricist,

on the move to recognisecomposers and lyricists rights

over their work in films

S E C O N DO P I N I O N

S