I have a friend with whom I chat often on the state of india. He is to put it very mildly completely paranoid about where India is going. So his recent trip, which he says is based on very very confidential yet reliable sources, is as follows:
1. India is heading towards a civil war to be fought between the government and the naxalites who in any case run over 1/3rd of the country
2. The entire Gandhi family is being cornered and there are umpteen congressmen who want to see them demolished and hence when the conspiracy is through, they will he helpless and hence will flee the country in the middle of the night before Diwali 2006.
3. The most corrupt politician in the country is Chidambaram and every decision he takes is only based on his take.
Okay, I accept India is not great, has not reached its potential, hell does not even know its potential. A lot of politicians and bureaucrats (I might as well not stick my neck out unnecessarily) are looking to feather their nest, A bunch of them also believe we are great because we used to be great three thousand years ago, some have no clue what to do and then there are others who believe they may not know what is right but they sure know what someone is doing is wrong....basically a bunch of selfish nincompoops.
But nevertheless, i cannot believe any of the above three assertions are likely to be completely true.
As far as i know the naxalite movement in the country waxes and wanes depending on the government in power. with a country as large as ours, it is not possible for these groups to actually run the country plus from all accounts they become as corrupt as those they fight against leading to complete disenchantment. So basically they are like Pakistan whose power comes in irritating the opposition not eliminating, which they know they cannot. Have not heard of a single road that was built by a maoist group or a dam (even a small one) built by them. They only can destruct what exists. This helps them for a while and then people want roads, water, electricity and accountabilty.
Similarly, the congress may hate the Gandhis and I don't blame them but they don't know how to behave in a democratic party. they are not even used to elections where there are two people standing for the party president's post. So to them the Gandhis are the lesser evil. At least you know whose genes these guys have. Anybody who could actually have grown into a credible alternative has been eliminated (if not be design by death). So these spineless guys would rather push for a Rahul Gandhi than say SAchin Pilot, though they may be of the same age group and experience. BJP that wanted to really deal a rough one to them could not do anything in their term, so what chance do these spineless congress guys have, in removing them. Civil society knows corruption exists, but i doubt they believe that removing the Gandhis from the scene will change life altogether. Hey, we are talking about a country where an out of power politician could get a private company to hire his idiot of a brother to do nothing except collect his cheque. Will sending the Gandhis off help?
I have no idea who is how corrupt and how he makes his money but it seems a little difficult to believe that the most corrupt guy in the cabinet is the one who probably earns more through his profession than a lot of his colleagues put together. A guy who left a party and came back despite no change in the situation as he desired is hardly respect worthy but most corrupt - must have its uses.
If India is descending into a civil war, I can only think of the way it happened in "Asterix and the Goths". Indians just cannot seem to stay together without each person wanting to be the leader. So while they are trying for that, they prefer to hold others back and push for a neutral choice.
If all this can lead the country to where it has reached I have hope yet
