THE TIMING OF VOTING: Deepak Budki (IPoS-Retd)

THE TIMING OF VOTING

Everybody is complaining about the timing of voting in the 2024 elections in India. On the one hand, the Election Commission of India wants maximum voter turnout while on the other hand, the temperature has been soaring beyond 45 degrees Celsius (feels like 55 degrees). 

A question arises whether this election could have been held a month or two earlier. A peep into the past shows that Narendra Modi took over the charge as PM of India on 26 May 2014 for the first time while the elections were held from 07 April to 12 May 2014, and on 30 May 2019 as 16th PM of India for the second time while the elections were held from 01 April to 19 May 2019 and the results declared on 23 May 2019. This necessitates that the next duly elected government must be ready to take over charge before 30 May 2024.

India is a vast country with approximately 140 crore population having about 70% population eligible for voting and comprises different topographic regions. The climate varies widely in these regions. The areas in the foothills of the Himalayas such as Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Darjeeling etc remain cool during the summers and become hotspots for tourists to visit and ward off the heat of the plains. The temperature on average remains between 25-30 degrees. Even Bengaluru in Karnataka remains cooler than adjoining areas. On the contrary, the mercury in the Indo-Gangetic plains and the Deccan plateau touches more than 40 degrees. The temperature in these areas starts rising in March end. Hence it would be better that elections in the latter areas should be held first and that in the former areas could be held later and preferably the process should be completed by April at the most. 

Now coming to the schedule of the elections held in 2024. The election was held in 7 phases spread over 3 months as follows: 19 April, 26 April, 07 May, 13 May, 20 May, 25 May and 01 June and the result is expected to be announced on 14 June 2024. Simultaneously the assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim have been held. The people whosoever voted braved the scorching sun overhead besides those who had to man the voting booths and the security personnel who were required to perform duties in the open and directly under the sun. While mass media have shown some enthusiastic people, old and young, coming out of their homes to cast their vote, the fact remains that the voting percentage remained around 60 per cent and 40 per cent of people did not come out to vote. Was it due to the general apathy towards the existing parliamentary system or due to the forbidding temperatures which did not permit them to come out of their cosy homes, no one can say with certainty. This is even though the Central Election Commission left no stone unturned to woo the voters to come out and vote besides providing extra facilities for old and handicapped personnel. Even the mass media and some private sector companies helped in this regard by regularly advertising on the TV and in newspapers enticing voters not to miss their right to vote.

In the background of what has been said I feel that the Election Commission and the Government were not sincere enough to mitigate the troubles of the people. There were two options for the aforesaid agencies. One was that the Government could have resigned a month earlier and continued holding charge till the next government was elected. One month would not have made the heavens fall. The other option was that the Election Commission could have spread the election schedule between March and April (say 04 Mar, 11 Mar, 18 Mar, 01 April, 12 April, 18 April, and 26 Apr with results on 30 April 2024). This would allow the next government to take over on 30 May 2024 as required or earlier if they so wished. The elections in the plains and Southern peninsula could have been held on earlier dates while those of the cooler areas as discussed earlier could have been conducted in later phases. As a result, the dependence on the climate would have been reduced if not eliminated. 

Anyway, I hope the Election Commission takes cognisance of the above suggestions for the future and keeps in mind the lives of the voters and the supplementary staff assisting in the polls.

 

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Encounters with Ayurveda: Deepak Budki

 

Encounters with Ayurveda

My first encounter with Ayurveda was about five decades ago. I was suffering from piles and my uncle in Jammu suggested I consult an Ayurvedic practitioner at Kalyan Pharmacy, Parade, Jammu. I did so and the practitioner, an old man, gave me some medicines. While leaving the pharmacy I remembered I had a fungal infection in the groin area which had bothered me for a long time. There was an itchy rash, redness all over, often blood used to ooze out and a lot of discomfort. I had consulted many allopathic doctors but there was no cure. So I asked him if he had any medicine for the infection in my groin. The old man gave me a handful of seeds almost resembling mustard seeds and asked me to mix them with mustard oil and apply it on the affected parts. I used the medicine at home but after applying felt as if some acid had been poured on the area. I almost ran helter-skelter in the room not knowing what to do especially because the area was sensitive. Immediately I cleaned it with a dry hand towel and found the pain subsiding. The next day I tried it again and this time the pain was much less than experienced the day before. That encouraged me to apply it for 2-3 days more and the rashes vanished thereafter. Suffice it to say that ever since I have not had such a fungal infection again. 

As regards my piles, one of my subordinates knew a famous Ayurvedic practitioner, Mr Ved Vishnu Datt in Jammu and took me to him. While he asked me about the problem he also enquired about my habits. I frankly told him that I smoke a lot, drink occasionally, am a non-vegetarian and am addicted to tea. My daily consumption of cigarettes is around 2-3 packets and that of tea is around 20-30 cups. He told me to stop smoking and drinking tea forthwith. I replied that I could stop smoking but could not give up tea, that was next to impossible. He asked his helper to put all the medicines back on the shelf and quietly told my subordinate who was accompanying me that I had no intention of getting cured therefore it was no use taking the medicine. His coaxing worked wonders. I gave up smoking and drinking for a long time and was cured of my piles which had reached a stage where a Surgeon would have advised me to get them operated upon. 

That reinforced my faith in the Ayurvedic way of medicine.

There were many more occasions when I had to consult Ayurved practitioners. As CPMG, J&K, I had gone to Ladakh for a visit during the Kargil war and my blood pressure went up suddenly, Since that day the problem of high blood pressure has continued. Gradually some heart functioning and vascular functioning also got impaired. Since then I have been under regular treatment of Cardiologists. Later during my posting at Vadodara, I came across an old Ayurvedic practitioner, aged around 82, who prescribed some costly medicines and assured me that things would be alright in about 3-4 months. And he was right. Afterwards, I was posted in Goa where I consulted a Cardiologist who said there are no anomalies noticed in the Heart or arteries as such but I must continue with medicine for high blood pressure without fail. So it firstly confirmed the assurance of the Ayurvedic practitioner at Vadodara and reassured me of the recovery made. That was not all. The same practitioner cured my son of the acute partial headache he had been experiencing for a long time for which a CAT scan had also been done and Cluster Migraine was confirmed. That was a miracle. He gave three packets of powdered medicines and advised us to give them to the son before sunrise besides ensuring that he did not sleep till sunset. I was astonished as to what had headache medicine to do with sunrise and sunset? But then beggars can't be choosers, so we administered the medicine to him for three days as per instructions. Can you believe that the ailment evaporated forever? No more headaches. A few more ailing relatives were also referred to him and got cured.  Unfortunately, I lost contact with the practitioner after some time due to postings to different corners of India and my cardiac problem resurfaced due to anxiety and problems which I faced subsequently. Could not find another Ayurvedic practitioner of similar repute. So now totally dependent upon the Cardio-vascular surgeons in this regard. Yet I do at times take Arjunarisht and Prabhakar Bati of Baidyanath in addition to normal allopathic medicines and at times consult the doctors of Baidyanath online. 

Recently due to the age factor, I have been inflicted with Prostate enlargement for which I have been consulting the Urologist for more than three years. Suddenly I found several Ayurvedic medicines for prostatitis on Facebook. I have a strong faith in Baidyanath and therefore preferred to take their medicine Prostaid for almost three months. The problem has been cured to a large extent and polyurination and profuse urine passing have been largely controlled. It has given me a lot of relief. 

However, here I want to add a few words of caution: 

• Firstly, there is no system of standardisation of medical practitioners in Ayurveda or Unani medicines. The system has been operating on a hereditary basis for ages. We must consult a practitioner who has developed goodwill over time and is reputed for his professional acumen. Now even Ayurveda and Tibia Colleges have come up but I found that the standard of such doctors carrying their degrees is not of desirable quality.
• Secondly, Ayurvedic practitioners make medicines locally that they give to patients without revealing their content and constituents except when they additionally prescribe some branded medicines of companies available in the market. Therefore the patient does not know about the medicine given to him which the doctor keeps strictly secret and passes on to his heirs. 
• Thirdly, many manufacturers have started publicising herbal medicines because they found a great demand for them. The advertisements are often exaggerated and misleading. Here I may refer to the case of Patanjali. I had a lot of respect for Baba Ramdev till such time he remained confined to popularising Yoga within and without India. His diversification into manufacturing Ayurvedic medicines may have been inspired by the demand favouring herbal treatment but I never imagined an illiterate unqualified person claiming himself to be a business magnate who was keen on showing his acumen for amassing wealth. His goodwill as a Yogi helped him. Besides the Governments, both the State and Central extended all types of concessions to him. As per Peter's principle, every person rises to a level of incompetence and he was no exception. Imagine Ramdev and his disciple, Acharya Balkrishna with no qualifications whatsoever diversifying from herbal medicines to Consumer goods of daily use like Noodles, flours, biscuits, oils, Masalas, Nutrients, cosmetics etc and trying to outsmart MNCs. Since the market in FMCG is huge, it accommodated his company, Patanjali too and the Company progressed day in and day out mainly banking on the goodwill created by him in the Yogic field. In so doing Baba Ramdev came out with tall and incredible claims about his products esp during the time of the COVID-19 epidemic when he introduced products claiming to cure infection due to Coronavirus and that too without any research. Ultimately he got caught. I wish our Judiciary (not to speak of the Executive (which is in hand and gloves with such fake peddlers) would take more punitive action against not only Baba Ramdev but other multinationals as well which claim their products work wonders. I wish to add here that such attempts by fake peddlers will damage the faith people have in age-old Ayurveda. which is a time-tested system of healthcare.
• Fourthly, as the demand for herbal medicines has outgrown supply and the resources are limited i.e. the vegetation having medicinal qualities is restricted, therefore some companies are adulterating their products to cater to the demand. I would recommend that products of only reputed companies should be relied upon.
• Fifthly, Ayurveda medicines try to cure the organs and their functioning over some time and not instantly as is done by Allopathic medicines. It aims at total cure, therefore, it is advisable to continue your allopathic medicines in case you are having serious ailments and take ayurvedic medicines as supplementary till some marked improvement is achieved. 
• Lastly, it is better to consult good Ayurvedic practitioners after enquiring about their reputation. In the case of Companies, some reputed ones only should be relied upon and their doctors can be contacted online if need be. 

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THE CHARISMA OF MODI - Deepak Budki, IPoS (R)

The Charisma of Modi 

Narendra Modi carries a halo around him. His achievements need to be evaluated against the background of India's progress during the seven decades before he acceded to power at the centre as Prime Minister of India. Earlier, it was the Indian National Congress (Congress) which ruled at the centre most of the time except for brief interregnums of coalition governments. Unfortunately, he carried with him the stigma of communal propensity during his reign as Chief Minister of Gujarat which had been thrust on him and publicized widely not only by the Congress Party but also by other parties banking on the Muslim vote bank.

At the outset, I would like to throw light on the developments of the Bhartiya Janta Party before Modi took over its command. The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) was born after the constituents of the Janta Government fell apart like a house of cards with the return of Indira Gandhi who had earlier lost power due to the imposition of Emergency. Its precursor, the Jana Sangh was an avowed Hindu party which since its inception stood for the rights of Hindus as opposed to other parties which stood for non-Hindu religions or pseudo-secularism. Since all the big leaders of opposition parties had been jailed during the emergency they decided to put up a common front against the Congress once the emergency was lifted. It must be noted that while all parties joined the Janta Party including the only Hindu party i.e. Jana Sangh, none of the Muslim parties joined the bandwagon and did not amalgamate with the Janta Party, thus keeping their identity intact. Consequently, the amalgamation of Jana Sangh was a betrayal of Hindus who had pinned all their hopes on it since its inception, especially in the background of what happened during partition and how the party along with RSS had helped them for resettlement and resurgence. It was obvious that right and left-wing parties could never pull together as their objectives were diametrically opposite. So, the Janata experiment failed and all parties reverted to their original names and banners. Jana Sangh, instead rechristened itself as Bhartiya Janta Party. 

In the first election, the BJP fought on its own, it could only win two Lok Sabha seats in the entire country. Nevertheless, Vajpayee and Advani made special efforts to go back to the original agenda based on Hindutava and popularise their goals among old followers. Advani, in particular, took a rath-yatra across the length and breadth of the country and made Ram Mandir a pivotal issue. Then came the Babri Masjid demolition and a long legal battle for the Ram Mandir reconstruction at Lord Rama's birthplace. BJP slowly gained ground and was able to outwit other parties like Congress, Communists and the regional parties but had to seek support from some other like-minded parties. In this coalition politics, they had to experience some jolts during the rule of Vajpayee, a soft and accommodating Prime Minister. He could not, however, continue for long and was replaced by the Man Mohan Singh government for ten long years. Possibly the leaders of the BJP had lost steam and could not convince the public that theirs was a better alternative. Here the RSS and BJP consciously took a turn and changed the leadership. They handed over the reins of leadership to Narendra Damodardas Modi who had already proven his capabilities as a tough, unyielding and non-compromising leader during his tenure as CM of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014.

Upon taking charge as PM of India, Modi undertook a reorganisation of the party and infused new blood in the organisation while saying adieu to the old. Some were offered respectable posts while others insisted on remaining active in politics but got eliminated with time. Since 2014 Narendra Modi assisted by his man-friday Amit Shah has worked day and night to establish BJP as a national party. Modi achieved many goals though some important ones could not be achieved because the time for implementing them was not ripe and he feared backlash from a section of the people besides international reaction. The achievements of Narendra Modi are summed up hereunder:

1. Leadership Qualities: Narendra Modi is charismatic and has adopted leading by example as his style of leadership. He continuously talks to the people through Man Ki Baat every Sunday on Akashvani besides talking to students before the examination season starts. He is seen everywhere encouraging soldiers, sportsmen, aerospace scientists, innovative entrepreneurs and hard-toiling farmers. During the recent coronavirus epidemic, he was personally able to monitor and control it in record time with minimum damages in the shape of loss of life. He would continuously cheer the poor public so that they would not feel helpless and forlorn. He mobilised support from the public during the period by regularly communicating with them and asking them to adhere to the required conduct individually and in public. It is well known that he is an enthusiast of Yoga which has now been accepted the world over and the 'Yoga Day' is now celebrated all over the world every year. Consequently, his own health is fit and he works 18 hours a day. He has shown immense energy in campaigning during elections besides successfully organising global events in India. 
2. Hindu Awakening and Unity:  The  BJP prides itself on being a party which looks after the interests of the majority community i.e Hindus though it has a strong belief in Secularism which has been part and parcel of Indian ethos. Before partition, the Colonialists have been engaged in emphasising that Hindus are a socially stratified community and the upper castes have been exploiting the lower castes. This canard was not only exploited to rule the country by divide-and-rule policy but also to effect mass conversions of Hindus to their faith. After the partition, the Congress continued with the policy and kept drawing wedges between different castes. Reservations for lower classes, though a progressive step to mitigate the problems of the lower castes, have over the years become a hurdle in integrating the Hindus and making them forget about the caste differences. RSS and BJP took it upon themselves to ensure that the Hindu fabric does not get further disintegrated and the widening of the gap between castes is stopped henceforth. Their efforts have given them opportunities to establish themselves as self-respecting Hindus with a proper identity. On the contrary, the vested interests are all the time busy questioning the concept of Hindu, or Sanatan to be exact, and claiming that this is not acceptable. Yet BJP aided by RSS is all the time busy making known the concept of Sanatan Dharma to the Hindus in India and thwarting the efforts of dissenters abetted by other religious forces. Those who question the existence of the BJP as a Hindu party are however not able to explain why there exist parties representing other religions exclusively and how Congress has been taking support of a Muslim Party in Kerala that was responsible for the partition of the country and still carries the religious propaganda against Hindus. The BjP government understands that India is the only Hindu country in the world and therefore, must save Hindus all over the world if they are persecuted in any other country. In this connection, CAA and NRC were enacted and relief was given to the Hindus and Sikhs who had taken refuge in the country. This was a major step towards rescuing the Hindus of the world as they had no other country to look out for help. 
3. Reconstruction of Ram Mandir: The greatest achievement of the Modi government is the reconstruction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya Dham and the holding of the Pran Pratishta ceremony on 22 January 2024. This is one of the promises fulfilled at last by the BJP Government after having faced a lot of opposition from Opposition parties and after fighting many legal battles, besides the successful culmination of 500 years of struggle of the Hindu community to reclaim the birthplace of Shree Ram. It has also erased the feeling of betrayal nursed by Hindus earlier due to the amalgamation of Jana Sangh into the Janta Party losing its own identity. BJP has reiterated its commitment to rediscover the greatness of ancient Hindu civilization and culture. The wrongs done by the invaders have been corrected. It has also paved the way for the reclaiming of other sites which originally belonged to Hindus and were razed to the ground by the iconoclast invaders. Suffice it to say that thousands of temples were destroyed by the invaders in the name of iconoclasm which included the birthplaces of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna. A concerted effort is being made to rewrite the history of India which was distorted by left-leaning historians and the colonialists.
4. Expansion of Party: The first and foremost goal of BJP was to establish itself as the largest party in India spread from North to South and East to West. Earlier it was confined to the Hindi belt mostly among upper castes and urban centres. In his first and second tenures, Modi concentrated on northern states where BJP was not popular. His focus was also on northeastern states which remained neglected by previous governments. In the north-east, there were no roads, no air connectivity, no infrastructure and no industries worth the name. The rapid strides in these states not only made the public responsive to the BJP but also halted the ongoing proselytising efforts of missionaries. All the seven sisters as also Sikkim were brought into the national fold. These developments influenced the neighbouring eastern states like West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa where BJP has been making appreciable inroads. Only WB has been resisting because the state was under the rule of Congress, Communists and Trinamool Congress all of whom banked on militant attitude, vote bank politics and appeasement and had indoctrinated the public since independence which had forced Rajiv Gandhi to call Kolkatta a "Dead City". Down south BJP has been able to only penetrate Karnataka where, however, due to internal bickerings within the party and caste politics, the opposition has bounced back. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra and Telangana are still out of bounds for the party though of late it is making all-out efforts to make inroads in these states with the personal efforts of Modi. Today the Party has the highest number of members across the country viz. 20 crores. 
5. Economic Development: The Narendra Modi Government has concentrated on the economic development of the country and has attained fifth place in the world's best economies. Known for its right-wing approach it has abstained from appeasement politics and so-called socialist sloganeering. The focus has been on increasing supply against existing and future demand and consequently alleviating poverty through rapid industrialisation, infrastructural development and making India self-reliant or Atmnirbhar. Emphasis is laid on skill development so that self-employment is generated and white-collar unemployment is reduced to the minimum. Industrial production has increased by leaps and bounds and the entire country has embraced digitalisation and is attracting foreign investments. Even defence production has increased beyond imagination as much as the country that used to import defence equipment and armaments is now exporting it. Missiles have recently been exported and a defence equipment deal has been done with Russia worth $4 billion. The network of roads, metro railways and airports has increased multifold. The number of IITs, hospitals, medical, engineering and other professional colleges have also increased. The Congress had built one AIIMS during their six decades of rule while 4 more were constructed during Vajpayee's time. The number has now increased to 26. The goal of the present government is set to be one medical college per district. 
6. Scientific Development: With the resurgence of ancient culture and religious thought the country has not abandoned scientific thinking and development. Our progress has been substantial in the field of different scientific fields and the country has supplied scientific and technological manpower to developed countries. In the area of space exploration, we have recently been successful in landing on the Moon by Chandrayan. Further exploration of other planets and the Sun is on the anvil.
7. Welfare Schemes: Irrespective of caste creed or region, Modi has announced several welfare schemes for the uplift of the downtrodden especially peasants, women and tribals. To ensure that the money reaches the beneficiary, the transfer of money is done through banks only and middlemen have been eliminated. More than 50 crore Indians have opened bank accounts under Jan Dhan Yojna 2014. Schemes like Swachh Bharat, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Kissan Samman Yojana, Ujala Yojana, Jeevan Jyoti Beema Yojana, Suraksha Bima Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana, Vishwa Karma Yojana for artisans and craftsmen and Ujwala Plan are just a few schemes mentioned. Besides these Skill India Mission, Make in India, Smart City and Start Up India yojanas have worked wonders. In addition, Jan Arogya Yojana, Health and Wellness Centres, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure aim at better health of Indians across the country. A special mention needs to be made here that the present government came to the rescue of the poor persecuted Muslim women who were treated badly after marriages. The Muslim Women(Protection of Rights on Marriage)Act 2019 known as the Triple Talaq Act in common parlance has been enacted in the country to ensure that nobody resorts to such practices and in case of divorce takes proper permission from the court and abides by its directions regarding maintenance and alimony.
8. Integration of the Country: Since independence, we have witnessed the growth of disintegrating forces in several parts of the country, some of them agitating peacefully while most of them taking up arms against the State. Their designs were further facilitated by the Central and State governments lacking willpower or unable to control them due to coalition politics. Such forces raised their ugly heads in Tamil Nadu, Assam, North Eastern States, Punjab and Kashmir. Terrorism in these states has caused much damage to the country. In Punjab and later Kashmir, Pakistan got directly involved in abetting terrorism and infiltrating trained terrorists and arms and ammunition. While the Khalistan movement died after Operation Blue Star, many vested interests including a few anarchist political parties have been trying to revive it. Canada in particular has become a hotbed of Khalistani activity but the Indian government has given the Government of Canada a rebuff on this account. As regards Jammu and Kashmir State, the Modi Government took a drastic step to marginalise the extremists and their political well-wishers by bifurcating the State into two Union Territories i.e J&K and Ladakh besides abrogating Article 370. Abrogation of Article 370 was on the agenda of Jana Sangh and later BJP since independence as they never accepted the concept of One Nation, Two Constitutions and Flags. Thus it has become a great step towards integration of the country.  
9. Internation Relations: The Modi government, while following the national policy of maintaining good relations with all the countries in the world has deviated in approach by not being a passive member of the United Nations. India now calls a spade a spade and does not come under pressure from any country howsoever mighty it might be.  We have very good relations with US and European countries besides Russia and Iran. India imported oil from Russia recently despite sanctions by the USA. Our relations with the Middle Eastern countries have reached a zenith so much so that a Hindu temple was allowed to be constructed in Abu Dhabi recently. However, friendly ties with Pakistan and China could not be established despite efforts by Narendra Modi initially. Pakistani Governments continued to support Terrorism against India while China made efforts to occupy our land in Leh and Arunachal which was thwarted by our brave soldiers. The establishment of good relations with other countries has not only helped in boosting trade with such countries but also favourable balance of trade with them. Our foreign exchange reserves have increased multifold and Rupee has been introduced for bilateral trade with many countries. 

To sum it up, the last ten years of the Modi Government have been a watershed in the political history of India which has stressed on development of India sans appeasement. Achievements are there for everyone to see but you cannot help if anybody wants to put on the blinkers and see it with a jaundiced eye. 

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