Hindustan Times
Lost the race, but still a winner
I feel very sorry for BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani. Not because his Party did badly in the elections but because minions within the BJP and people outside it, have started rubbishing him.
All through last year I have watched some of my colleagues bend over backwards to pay obeisance to him. Not because they liked him but because he was then potentially Prime Minister in waiting. I also watched his critics seeking appointments because they figured it was better to reopen channels with someone who may occupy South Block. Given Advani’s intelligence, none of this could have escaped his notice. Attention apart, he was perhaps amused to see the extent to which people can stoop. More than his body language, it was theirs that had, though unwillingly, begun to see him assume power.
Watching some of my colleagues, mostly BJP bashers, cringing for Advani’s attention at that point of time, I was reminded of what he himself had once said about the Indian media: “When asked to bend, they crawled”. What he did not was about politicians leaving the sinking ship.
With the BJP’s fortunes dipping, many rushed in to write Advani’s political obituary. Within the BJP’s his brand of politics came under attack; outside it his Prime Ministerial ambitions were mocked at. Very easy to do once the chips are down.
To my mind even today Advani remains a tall leader. BJP’s drubbing in the recent elections cannot take away his vast experience or dent his stature among politicians. I can accept Manmohan Singh’s sharp rhetoric in response to Advani’s charge of Singh being a weak Prime Minister. But it saddened me when politicians half his age unleashed a personal tirade against him.
Success, as I have always maintained, is not about doing well in your work area. It is about remaining relevant even when the spotlight is not on you. Therefore, Advani’s success or relevance is not subservient to a head count. Or whether he will ever be the country’s Prime Minister.
I may not agree with the BJP’s communal politics. Or with Narendra Modi’s hate speeches. I may feel more comfortable with Atal Behari Vajpayee’s liberal views versus Advani’s unrelenting stance on many issues. But that does not give me the right to discredit Advani. Similarly, those who were quick to blame him for BJP’s performance in the elections could not have remained oblivious to the fact that the vote was a positive one for the Congress rather than one which rejected the BJP.
I don’t hold a brief for Advani. If anything he sees me as one who has more friends in the Congress than in the BJP. Perhaps he is right. As a correspondent who has written about him since he was first sworn in Minister way back in 1977, I have taken liberties often doing apolitical stuff. He may not have liked all of it but he never let that come in the way. If he did not rate the piece very highly he would simply say: “Para tha jo tumne likha..” (Read what you wrote) and quickly move on to another topic. That was enough for me to sense that Advani had not taken well to what was written. But he never carried these things far. I think his attitude was: You do your job and I will continue doing what I have to. We can agree or agree to disagree.
To my mind Advani’s strength does not come from his political position. Or the office he may hold. His strength is his family: his wife Kamla, his daughter Pratibha and son Jayant. I think in that order.
Even as minister in the Janata government, he and his wife would go and see plays or catch a movie like any of us. No fanfare or the trappings of his ministerial position. Later, as the country’s Deputy Prime Minister he would think nothing of having a quiet meal at the India International Centre in New Delhi: his concept of an outing with his family. That is intact though Pratibha tells me that now they frequent restaurants.
Therefore a political upheaval cannot uproot Mr Advani. Nor diminish what he stands for. Advani the politician will have his highs and lows but Advani the human being will carry on….
(69 votes, average: 4.45 out of 5)
Loading ...Posted by Kumkum Chadha on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Filed under India · Tagged Advani, LK Advani, Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister
Advani ji, the leader par excellence. I think that describes him best
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Iquebal Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 2:00 am
Yes how can we forget the way he split the country on religious lines! His contribution as the person responsible for loss of so many human lives in riots and fmilies becomming homeless is par excellence. Apart from that the support he gave to Modi to go ahead with genocide is also a huge achivement. And how can we forget the setting free of terrorists and the attacks on Parliament & Red Fort during hin tenure as home minister. Last but not the least the excellent speach that he gave to praise Jinnah.
I think ISI and Pakistan government should honour him for doing son much for them. He achieved in 20 years what the government of Pakistan & ISI couldn’t in 60 years!
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kumkum chadha Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 3:36 pm
I don’t know if I would take it that far but as I said I differ on his views on several issues.
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Anwar Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 4:42 pm
A killer will remain a killer whatever his religion may be. Every criminal has some admirable quality but it does not decrease the gravity of his crime. It is very naive to say that a person who is directly responsible for all the communal mayhem in the last couples of decades is a very good person because he enjoys cinema/outing with his family or he praise my article.
Is this a journalistic objectivity you people take moral high ground on?
kanwar Reply:
May 23rd, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Why do we guys forget the mahem caused by relatives of the people on the hijacked plane in front of PM’s residence and the same media splashed those pics on the font pages of these newspapers to put more pressure on the govt. to release the terrorists…
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kumkum chadha Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 3:31 pm
I think it is more about the human being behind the politician….
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Dreamer Reply:
June 3rd, 2009 at 4:52 am
That’s the difference. In India, we treat a person who took the nation through a tsunami of hate and caused communal riots, for his political aims, as a leader.
Huh! Let’s go for a humanism index and find it in every killer and those who led massacres. India’s modern histroy was tarnished by the man. He defended terrorists like Pragya Thakur and went to the extent of supporting the other form of terrorism as an answer to Islamic terrorism.
If one starts narrating his ‘glorious deeds’, the book will be far more voluminous than his autobiography.
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Read a similar article by khushwant singh d diffrnce being dt he wrote fr manmohan.I seriously wanted to see advani rule.I wanted to know hw he wud hve run d country.
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Nice post election article on Advani, and very apt. He probably is not the favourite BJP leader people had in mind like Vajpayee, but there is no doubting his passion, patriotism and love for our country and the genuine gush of ideas to make our country a force to reckon in the world.
Wish him good luck. Though I prefer he pave way for someone more dynamic and liberal. BJP’s chance in centre are by leaning to centre and not sway too right. Advani should have known better with his corrective (mis) endeavours with the Jinnah speech.
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Persona of Advaniji is always there come what may. He is a very tall leader indeed. Avery good article abour him.
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Dear Kumkum CHADHA,
I disliked BJP as a party, but didn’t had any opinion on Advani ji. However, i started disliking him right from when returned back from that unfortunate visit to Pakistan. He started looking weak within his own party. I disliked him for that because, it became apparent who was calling shots at that time and could easily come to the conclusion that BJP as a party is always under the influence of RSS.
I disliked him more when he started making statements against indo-civll nuclear deal. He for once fell like a rock to the floor in my mind when he said that he was not aware of Kandahar decision.
BJP shouldn’t have sided with seperate telangana agitation by TRS as people have already rejected that stand more than once. In that, BJP was only looking to garner more votes by siding with TRS party and we all know what happened at the end. I am from Telangana and never wanted it be a seperate state.
Advaniji may be great statesman, but at the end he showed to much of a desire to become PM and tried hard to bring mid term polls last year on civil nuclear deal. This is very bad politics coming from a great statesman.
Now, you make the conclusion whether he is a great statesman or just one more politician out of the mill.
Thanks
sri
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Yogesh Datta Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 3:14 am
But at the same time you respect Manmohan Singh after he said “Muslims have the first claim on India’s resources” and Congress said “Ram did not exist”. Do you object when Karunanidhi abuses Hinduism on daily basis and Tamils call it “Tamil pride” ?
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Anwar Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 7:03 pm
what is wrong in saying that the most backward and poorest Indian (read muslim) should be given priority for inclusive growth
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sachin johri Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Anwar , nothing wrong in saying that the muslims have the first claim …. but PM never said that poor hindu or sikh and Xtian should also have the similar rights. his statements was politically motivated as always done by by congress. remeber congress was responsible for partition of this country ans after 60 years poor muslims still lives in ghetto.
reservations can bring them up to govt jobs but once you out of your country you need to perform other wise no body will respect you becoz of your religion or caste.
Ram Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 8:57 pm
majority of the poor are Hindus. On the other hand a large percentage of muslims in India are rich and famous and well to do. Thus it is not appropriate for the PM of India, (he is not just the PM of muslims or hindus, but the whole India) to declare that Muslims has the first right on nations resources. Indias resources should be open for everybody, rich or poor, male or female. It is a shame that we have such a biased PM.
Anwar Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 7:07 am
Dear Ram
You should go through the Sachchar committee Report and you will come to know how base less and foolish to say that the Majority of Muslims are well to do. In fact Muslims in India are at the least among any other ethnic entity socially,economically and educationally. Facing a lot of apartheid from obnoxious people like you who are yet in small number but have a great nuisance value.
You should be ashamed of having Manmohan Singh as The PM but most of Indian who have elected them for the second term feel proud to have such a cpable and forward looking leadership.
kanwar Reply:
May 23rd, 2009 at 12:26 pm
oooh really… the same congress who has ruled us for ages should be responsible for the plight of not just muslims but for others whom they have appeased..
Such a pity for all these sychophants !!
Jag Kang Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 3:39 am
Well put Sri - I endorse your view.
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Anu Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 6:56 am
I totally agree with Sri. Nice article but all the points brought up by Sri are valid and casts doubts about Mr Advani. He just wanted to be PM by hook or crook. His track record is extremely bad (Babri, Opposition to nuclear deal, Agreeing too free terrorists etc.)
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Mo Ha Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 8:38 am
I am following LKA for a long time. He is a very ambitious high octane politician. He may be a nice human being.
But, his politics cannot and will NOT/should NOT make him the Prime Minister, which needs some level of an all inclusive character. He is very divisive, very curring and calculating.
I wish him well in his retirement.
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kumkum chadha Reply:
May 25th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
The blog is not about Mr Advani the politician or the human being. It is about how his stature,however controversial is not subservient to a head count. This is and will be true of many politicians and that is the point of this blog. Not about BJP’s or Mr Advani’s politics…
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Shabana Naqwi Reply:
June 3rd, 2009 at 4:58 am
For years I have been reading your articles. I never thought that you would eulogise him. Is it because journalists, who are often among corridors of power, get overawed by personalities.
I know you are one of the finest journalists in this country. This upsets me more. Though you are entitled to your views but I think you feel:
Murders are lyrics, genocide is poetry and LK Advani is the greatest bard who could never get his real value understood by the masses. I don’t know what to write. I am sad.
I totally agree with the contents of the article.
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Ms Chaddha you are wrong. Advani is a criminal and will never never get the PM s chair at least in India. He is not a politician but a blackspot on the society
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Sunil Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 2:07 am
Look like you are a big time congress fan.
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Manohar Lal Sharma Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 7:53 am
My dear friend, you are mistaken. Mr. Advani is true nationalist, not a suedo secularist. He is at present the tallest leader in stature amongst all the political leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Dr. Manmohan Singh,Mulayam Singh, Lalu Parsad, Ramvilas Paswan, Sharad Pawar, Mayawati etc. Where were these leaders when Indira Gandhi enforced Emergency Rule on the country?At that time leaders like Jai Parkash Narayan Ji, Atal Ji and Advani Ji raised voice against Indira Gandhi’s misrule. India needs selfless leaders like Advani Ji not sycophants.
ML Sharma
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Dr. R. Asudhani Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 10:12 am
What Crime Has Mr Advani committed? Kindly don’t blame him. What harm our society has got?
He is a secular figure who does not hate Muslims or Christians but talk about equal rights for all. He does not play politics of religion but gives directions to all Hindus to get together and save Hinduism.
He only asked for Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. That is a pride for all Hindus. Certainly I feel a day will come when our Muslim brothers will appreciate his ideology and help Hindus for Temple constructions.
He always hates the word Minorities because he feels that this is wrong words for any nationals of India.He calls everybody son of India. How can a son be Minor?
He is never charged with any Corruption than how is he a blackspot.
Once in a meeting I asked him that Why we Sindhis have no Sindh state in India. His remark was prophetic. That there should not be any state on the basis of language. Indians are the virtues.Lets these virtues spread through out the world. Then why a state?
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Prasanta Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 10:26 am
Tujhe kuchh malum bhi nahi hai. Lagta hai apani maa ki gond me hi hai abhi tak. Bahar ki duniya dekh aur ab bade ho ja.
Most of criminals are wining now can they prove them favourite of peoples. Never….. just like this congress wins by chance, even congress was not aware about his shocking performance.
So the looser and winners charactor can not be dicided by their winings are loosings. waht they are they are…. (Even on the serveys Advani Ji was on most popular for the PM than others)
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in defeat defiance
in victory magnaminity
in peace good will
winston churchill
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Well said. I think Advani still is one of the tallest and most genuine mass leaders in India. It is indeed shameful when our PM publicly said “What is Advani’s contribution to this country?”. It was unbecoming of Dr. Manmohan Singh, who people think of as a gentle man.
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Atul Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 2:27 am
Advani should take sanyas and disappear from the public view. Him and his team of opportunist politicians have done huge damage to India, prior to their rule and since then. A civilized society has no place for hate politics of him, Modi and like. Rath yatra and the sad aftermath was a cruel joke on india and he should be repenting on that.
Go Away Mr. Advani…
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Ram Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 9:02 pm
In fact MMS and his Mistress Sonia and her mafia are the biggest cruel joke on this oldest civilization and the largest democracy. MMS never had the guts to contest an election. He is a PM without being elected by the people. In fact he is the one and only who never won an election to lok sabha. isn’t this a cruel joke?
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Anwar Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 7:18 am
congress party made Manmohan Singh its PM candidate and fought the election in his name and performance of his government.
It is irony that self proclaimed Custodian of oldest civilization is using such uncivilized language for the Widowed daughter in law of India, who had embraced Indian cultural whole heartedly.
Get a life Ram
Mo Ha Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:19 am
Ram:
You are one dirty SOB to use such filthy language on people like Dr. Singh and Ms. Gandhi. Dr. Singh is a MP from the Upper House, and in the Election 2009 Congress projected him as their Prime Minister. They won. What’s your problem?
Get some help…. you desperately need some psychiatric help.
He’s always been a loser; did not have any positive thing to gain votes; always relied on splitting the society on religious lines to try and fulfill his ambition of becoming the PM; lost his homeland and migrated to India; didn’t have the confidence of his PM when he was the Home Minister, that he had to claim he was kept in the dark about the IA hijack episode; ……………….
The list goes on and on.
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Well dont start feeling pity for Mr.Advani just because BJP lost the election and people are pointing fingers at him.He had his great and not so great moments.i think the article doesnt prove anything about his life in Indian politics or his character as a human being. This article is just written for sympathy purpose.
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How can you say these things about someone who personifies hatred and whose party’s foundation was built on hatred?
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Don’t know why he gave impression that he was too desperate to become PM. Also, don’t know why he was given ‘in-waiting’ tag by media, well knowing the fact the its democracy.
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Hi Kumkum
I read your eulogy of the saffron old man with interest but in your all efforts to glorification of Mr. Advani I observed some contradiction which you might like to clarify
1. You claim that you do not agree with BJP’s communal politics and perhaps rightly so, but it is strange that you are hyperventilating in the defense of the politician who is responsible for its communal divisive agenda, which so clearly rejected by the great people of India.
2. It should not be considered a distant history yet, that this person (whom you tried to portray as nice gentleman) led the Ramjanambhoomi RathYatra which led to the loss of trust among neighbors, ultimately destruction of Babri Masjid and permanent scars on the psyche of our largest community. As a young Muslim kid in those days, it still gives me bone chilling the lack of trust and tearing apart the secular fabric of our society.
3. He is the home minister of the country under whose nose the Gujrat Holocaust happened and it was widely reported in Media that it is Advani who made sure that Modi remained in power despite reservations from Bajapai and other allies.
4. You are free adore Advani, Modi, Togadia, Dara Singh and babu bajrangi as much as you like but the facts remain that they are equally responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent Indian civilians (may be lesser mortals in your eyes because they were belong to “other faith”) in the last 2-3 decades and subsequently rise of alienation in their own motherland.
But you should not try to wear mask of secular and liberal intellectual in doing so.
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Ram Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 10:41 pm
1. At any given point in time, BJP is more tolerant and accomodative towards other religions. Other parties such as the Congress only do lip service aiming to get muslim votes. remember that BJP was not there when India was divided on communal line. Who was responsible for that? CONGRESS! Indian people (mostly Hindus) want equality irrespective of cast/religion. Congress want to papmer the so-called minorities to get votes.
2. Do you think destruction of Ram mandir by babbar was right? If a mosque is built on a temple, it is only natural justice that the mosque be demolished to build a temple. It is peoples wish and that will come true, even if it may take some more time. But, Advani has no direct involvement in the destruction, only hat he as the BJP leader tried to encash the growing sentiments of the people of India.
3.Gujarat riots were not one sided and 25-30% of the dead were hindus, excluding those who were burned alive by the muslim mob in godhra. The lies that are spread to inject communal passion (by the congress, communist and the muslims alike with ethe help of media) are being exposed now by the SIT. Give us a break.
4. In fact congress in directly responsible for killing millions of Hindus in pakistan and bangladesh. It is recorded in history. None of the persons you mention did anything to cause killing of people. This is just another lie.
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Anwar Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 6:28 am
Hi Ram
Indian voters have clearly given the verdict on who is doing lip service and who is doing actual work to take India as a prosperous strong nation in the 21st century .BJP was not there but The Divisive Sanghi Ideology was there and equally responsible for the partition of India.
There is no historical proof of any temple destruction by Babar. It was a myth created by Britishers to divide Indians on the religious lines and strengthen their force on this country.
I have not mentioned about the religion of victims of massacre. Protecting the lives citizens was the responsibility of then Government of Modi and Bajpai in which Advani was responsible and all of them failed in doing so. You should go to YOutube and watch your self the admission of Babu bajrangi and the role of Modi and his minions in Killings of innocents in Tehelka sting operation. Should not the be booked for their crimes or do you think they should be allowed to go scot free because they are hindus and victims were muslims?
Please talk sensibly it is not a Trishul dikhsha samellon. It is forum for intellectual and civilized people.
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vinay Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:09 am
Mr Anwar,
As you pointed out this is intellectual forum and yet it did not stop you from making such wild accusations on Modi and Advani.Why do you think the past 5 year of congress in the center not been able to bring Modi to the court?
vert Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Mr. Ram,
You seem to be too caught up with history my friend. The partition was a horrific tragedy and both communities had their sshare of losses and villains. You seem to hold the current Congress leadership responsible for crimes commited 50 years ago. Sonia Gandhi or Manmohan Singh were not there then. But Advani WAS SOLEY RESPONSIBLE for the rath yatra and the ensuing carnage.
And the sheer luducrity of bringing friggin Babbar into this discussion is astounding. Yes it was wrong of him to destroy the temple. But legitimising the efforts a modern government or party to replicate somethin commited by a medieval barbarian is stupidity.
No tragedy is one sided. the perpetrators of Godhra deserve to be hanged. BUt again, these were some small town goondas, and MOdi was the Chief minister of the state. Obviously, there is some diff. NOt in the lives lost. But surely in the reaction that we as the public should have.
Pointing fingers is not going to get us anywhere. any conflict that has ensued for so many years will have rights and wromgs committed by both sides. This whole hindu-muslim thing will subside only when a generation wakes up and realises that. We both need to accept and our mistakes resolve to never let these things happen again. Its high time.
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I’ve never been a BJP fan, and usually vote for congress despite my entire family voting for BJP. To my mind, both Congress and BJP are really both evil. Reason Congress becomes lesser of the 2 evils for me is:
1) Manmohan Singh - An Oxford-educated, minority, and an ex-finance minister popularly credited with the reforms of the 90s that helped India open up to trade and development.
2) BJP - Forever linked with RSS
3) Advani - I’m sure he’s done a lot for India and in general for ppl, but when ppl think Advani, they think Babri Masjid demolition. Similarly, if BJP nominates Modi for PMship, when ppl willl think Modi…ppl think Godhra Riots.
BJP needs to get out of the 80s mindset of getting ppl to vote on religious or caste lines. India needs to, wants to get away from that petty nonsense…and concentrate on economic development and trade.
Get someone YOUNG! Heck, get a young, Muslim MP to stand for PMship and that alone will enable BJP to have a better chance of winning. Stick with the same formula of fronting octogenarian hindu PM’s with past links with RSS, and another loss will not be surprising.
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vinay Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:13 am
Abhishek,
What a great idea. Get a young Muslim MP to stand election from BJP. Yet in previous sentences you mention that BJP should get out of petty religious and cast based politics. You represent the kind of India which has been voting congress. We call the psecs. What the heck lets bring in not just a muslim but a Taliban and a Kashmiri seperatists with it.
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In the fight between Barack Obama and John McCain, their politics may have been different, but no one can deny McCain the place in history as that of a politician and a patriot. Here in India, similar sentiments are true of Mr LK Advani. I am not into BJP at all, and dislike their hardline based on religion. I remember the first time I heard of Advani was when I was a little girl. He is a fine patriotic leader, who has committed his life to the betterment of the country in his own way and following ideologies close to his heart and opinions. That does not make him insignificant in any way. It is like in a family - everyone is different but together they are a whole! Lets show some respect to him, for being the one in the karm kshetra, than us who are just judging him. Our culture demands us to respect the elderly and the experienced.
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this is for all people who call themselves true INDIANS
INDIA was liberated in 1947, about 62 years ago
in these 62 years can anybody tell me what significant we hav achieved
the answer is NOTHING
of these 62 years 50 years we hav being ruled by a ‘family’
where they have lead us to ? aren’t this period enough for a country like us to become a progressive nation
62 years is a good enough time to become a super power
and leave tht thing behind we are still a developing nation and we will remain so in future also because INDIANS are fond of our caste,creed etc.
many parties call themselves SECULAR and BJP as communal
IN MY OPINION WHAT HARM LABELLING PEOPLE AS HINDUS , MUSLIMS HAS NOT DONE, IT HAS BEEN DONE BY DIVIDING INDIANS AS STs, SCs, n OBCs HAS DONE AND DOING POLITICS IN LIEU OF RESERVATION
what are we generating - professionals or ……………………..?
some ‘young man’ stands up and says i m standing for youth, vote for me
i want to ask Mr.Rahul Gandhi one question where was he when indian army was fighting kargil war
INDIANS HAVE ALWAZ BEEN FOLLOWERS N THE DAY WHEN INDIAN WILL REALIZE THE LEADER CAPABILITY IN HIMSELF , THAT DAY INDIA WILL ACHIEVE ITS TRUE INDEPENDENCE
Advaniji has been a great leader and a strong man and his strong belief in his religion has been used as a tool against him
but a leader like him is what INDIA needs
(suggestion-make rahul gandhi public relations minster in advanji govt.)
i also dont say tht BJP is best but i say what development they did in their tenure was more than what congress govt has done in 50 years, so i find BJP better than congress n if people of Republic of India dont vote with their mind than only GOD SAVE US ALL.
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.
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one question for Mr.Rahul Gandhi
you make a lot of hue n cry by visiting a poor man’s house n alwaz said tht the central (congress) govt. has started this scheme, that scheme etc.
but rahul who r u fooling?
with more than 50 years of ur party rule in india , this is what we to show to the world
the responsibilty of govt does not end with just formulating the policies…….right rahul
and i feel pity for india and indians if we cud ever rise above person n vote for our country…….
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BJP failed to convince people to go and vote. It is a fact that BJP supporters failed to vote. I don’t think that at present BJP has any leader with the stature of Advani. But in urban areas media has gone out of its way to rubbish Advani and BJP. Little bit of neutrality would have gone a long way. Now we will see what Congress will do in five years what it could not do in fifty five years. A very good article. We must thank Advani that whatever he did was what he believed with conviction.
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I think Advani should commit suicide. He wanted to drag the country behind by building Mandir, cheap politics and stupid ideas. He is aging should go to some sort of seclusion.
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vinay Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:14 am
Did I hear any mandir in this election. Where you asleep the whole time? When did you wake up? Have you seen BJP manifesto?
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As an American of Indian origin, I must say this is one of the more balanced article on an Indian politician and definitely on Mr. Advani. His contributions to the vibrant democracy of India are tremendous. And, of course, he has had his share of controversy, but afterall, look at the years he has spent in opposition. He has fought for power and why shouldn’t he. He has been ambitious for the Prime Minister’s office and why shouldn’t he. He has played a fair number of political maneuveres and games and what do you expect in Indian politics not Norwegian style campaigning do you. Mr. Advani is a very influential political figure and the article summarizes him as a wonderful person and family man as well. Kudos for a one of the more graceful articles coming from Indian media.
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Advaniji is an astute politician of immense integrity. People identified him with the right wing(not extremist) views and expected the same all the time.
His decision to travel to Pakistan was ill-judged,more so his comments about Jinnah being secular. This statement lacked credibility ad he paid the price for it(sadly very dearly). His harsh comments about Dr. Manmohansingh were not well received either, general public view him as a decent man with great intellect. He is quite rightly credited with the policies which got us out of a deep hole in late eighties(finance minister).His decision to go for the nuclear treaty was a very courageous one(very patriotic too).
Varun’s speech and mixed signals(confused) from BJP were their downfall. Modi is genuinely regarded as an honest man with very progressive ideas(Godhra notwithstanding). There simply is no harm in projecting him as a future leader(after the supreme court initiated investigations). I expect him to be acquitted. The future of BJP is Modi, Jaitley(a great intellectual and organiser), Sushma and Arun Shourie.
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Very Good article, Definetly Advaniji deserved a chance he has given lots to this country his pros are more than his cons in short BJP has lots of suppoters but no voters, Dr. Manmohanji is a very good person who has received PM post as Bakshish from Soniyaji and Rahul born with a golden spoon has thousands of advisers telling him how to smile, act, talk, walk gesture etc. etc but rest of Indians whoever wants to enter politics like Advaniji has to start from scratch. BJP still has a Chance if it ponders how to tackle the biased media and try to induct young people in the party basically the new young voters have nothing to do with Ram sethu, swiss bank money etc they love their discos and good lifestyle and whosoever seem to present themselves of the modern mentality will be voted. People like Msanaulla can shout on top of their voices that Advanji is Criminal but it wont even dent his stature as a saying goes Elephant walks and dog barks it does not make any difference to the elephant.
After all, was the raising of the issue of Kashmiri Hindus wrong?
Or demanding revocation of POTA and stringent measures against terrorists?
Or the agitation for the Amarnath land and preservation of the unique world heritage and a symbol of faith like Ram Sethu?
The nationalists opposed the divisive politics of Raj Thakcrey, who was propped up by the Congress to counter Shiv Sena. Was opposing Raj wrong?
The nationalists did Pokaran 2 and were committed to preserve rights for Pokaran 3 if needed. Was that against national interest?
On the eve of polls some said forget 1984 but remember Gujarat. What mentality did it show?
The nationalists wanted Article 370 to go and Kashmir fully integrated with the rest of India. Was that against national integration?
Any way GOD BLESS INDIA AND A THOUSAND SALUTES TO SHRI ADVANIJI GOD BLESS HIM.
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Agree with the article in many ways. However, would like to post few comments:
Though i have a lot of admiration for this great man, it was he who appeared ‘weak’ in the party, whenever he took a step towards being ‘centre’.
On a different note:
If Hindus don’t have a say in India where else would they.. in Pakistan /Middle East etc?..do any of these countries provide reservations or treat Hindus as minorities with reservations etc.?
Too me those who advocate reservations and people who benefit are the ones who break the secular fabric of this country..Divide and Benefit…Which is one of the reasons that forces parties as BJP to go right and protect the majority community.
This election clearly showed those who addressed themselves as ’secular’ as to how many seats they have won..CPI / CPI (M)/RJD / LJP / NCP / TC / DMK /IUML/JMM/JD (S) /SPetc..
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Agree with the article in many ways. However, would like to post few comments:
Though i have a lot of admiration for this great man, it was he who appeared ‘weak’ in the party, whenever he took a step towards being ‘centre’.
On a different note:
If Hindus don’t have a say in India where else would they.. in Pakistan /Middle East etc?..do any of these countries provide reservations or treat Hindus as minorities with reservations etc.?
Too me those who advocate reservations and people who benefit are the ones who break the secular fabric of this country..Divide and Benefit…Which is one of the reasons that forces parties as BJP to go right and protect the majority community.
This election clearly showed those who addressed themselves as ’secular’ as to how many seats they have won..CPI / CPI (M)/RJD / LJP / NCP / TC / DMK /IUML/JMM/JD (S) /SPetc..
Finally, Advaniji has nothing to lose he tried and did his best and none of us who post this blog can come anywhere close to his stature..If India is strong it is also because of a strong opposition leader!
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He didn’t deserve the PM post cos he is a criminal responsible for the deaths of 1000s of innocent people in India…please dont comment things that are just superficial…there are many other things that would surface if you bother to have a talk to the poor of the country…Long live India..Manmohan and Sonia reign!!
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The ideology of BJP and LK Advani is out of synch with the nation’s requirement.The mandir masjid issue has lost its shine and no one likes hate speeches.The current requirement is development and provide fruitful employment to India’s youth whose numerical numbers will sway the poll results for many more elections to come .Advani Ji has missed all his buses and should find a sutable opprotunity to hand over the baton to some younger and more positive leader in BJP.
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vinay Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:16 am
Again. When did you woke up. BJP has been talking about development not today but way back from 2004 election. You just need excuses to h
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vinay Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:17 am
Again. When did you woke up. BJP has been talking about development not today but way back from 2004 election. You just need excuses to hurl abuses at a descent leader you sacrified his life for the nation as an opposition leader most of his career. Wouldn’t you for a second think he could join congress and be a minister easily?
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This article appears to me as a political obituary.
Now let us not forget the history, it was Him who brought BJP where they are. Many may question the means, but at the end it becomes irrevalant. All India political parties including congress as used clandestine methods to stay in power, some are obvious and some are not.
However, at the end of the day BJP today can not find a suitable replacement for Advani. Advani should finish the work he started. He should use his last few years or days to fix the leadership issue in BJP and set a process so that it has progressive future to lead India. Let’s stop lamenting one or two election losses.
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Good perspective about Mr. Advani
But the point to note here is why BJP under his leadership lost..
BJP leaders agenda were mandir, afzal guru and terrorism, all to target minorities.
Desperate to garner Hindu votes by bashing minorities, and they fail to understand that majority of Hindus are nice human beings, decent citizens of India.
I congrats to the fellow citizens of India, at the time of franchise they did vote for good candidates.
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vinay Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:21 am
But the worry is not about Hindus its about Muslims. Muslims seem to control the election outcome in 250 constituencies due to their sheer size. However, Muslims are the ones who display the mob mentality in elections favoring Islamic issues rather than giving any merit to developmental issues..
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I wholeheartedly disagree…. Advani is no less than a criminal who caused the destruction of BM, killing of thousands that followed, supported Modi another criminal who just followed in Advani’s footsteps and was complicit in the death of scores of our innocent countrymen… He is an opportunist and only hungry for power…. Never took responsibility for his actions… Never showed any remorse and did not do anything when in power to better the life of our countrymen, except to cause divisions between different communities…. Where is RAM Mandir that he so furiously campaigned for? Using only emotive issues to garner votes and come to power… India is a great country.. and a great country does not deserve a man like Advani…. . Advani was shown the boot which he richly deserves!
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Advani Jee is the most honest politician in today’s time.He resigned form the leader of opposition and MP when his name came out in fake hawala case.Being in politics for more than 4 decades no corruption charges on him.Other politicians are jealous of him and people like Msanaulla should shut up.I understand from where he is coming from.
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Totally agree with the article.Advani is the most honest politician in todays time.He resigned from leader of oppostion and MP seat on moral ground when his name cropped up in a fake hawala case.No Indian politicain can match this.He has been in politics for more than 5 decades and no corruption charges against him.People like Msanaulla should shut up.I can understand from where he is coming from
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What Advaniji wrote on his return from Karachi is nothing more than what was already on record in history. Mohammed Ali Jinnah wanted a secular Pakistan with majority of Muslims, but he was not able to see his dream come true because of his early demise, and fall of successive Pakistani Governments, with three Prime Ministers, if I correctly remember, within the first five years of independence. Then came the military take over and the rest is history. There is no point to argue with those who have emotional bonds to the Congress party or the Indian nation, without even knowing how the independence from the British was won. I may not like an octogenarian as the President or Prime Minister, but I still feel that in democracy everything goes. If Dr. Manmohan Singh did not like to fight an election because the party had assured him the seat of premiership, so be it, but that does not make him a winner. There are many who piggyback to the roads of success in private and public sector, and that is the reality.
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Now that BJP has lost, media has got a free hand on making interpretations on why BJP lost. Whatever fits in their preconceived notions gets printed. I wish they would at least do post poll survey to figure out why BJP didn’t win, was it really because Advani didn’t emerge as strong as Bajpai or something else. But given that all the pre poll surveys were flawed, it is difficult to expect much accuracy from media.
Oh between the lines, you mentioned about “Modi’s hate speeches”. Just curious, can you quote contents of his hate speeches during his campaign in this election?
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well i totally agree with the article i know one thing that BJP is down but not out hopefully they do well in next genral election but advani is a man of power & would have been better pm than mms
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I think its insulting the word “Ji” by addressing him as “Ji”. He demolished Babri Masjid, he lied about not knowing about the release of terrorists, he praised Jinnah as a secular person. Jinnah separated Pakistan from India and he calls jinnah a secular. ” Ganga gaye ganga das, Jamuna gaye Jamuna Dass” suits him well. I do not like Sanghis but I respect AB Vajpayee for lots of things. ABV knew Advani’s reality thyats why he did not endorse him and did not appear on behalf of BJP. There is no true record that ABV endorsed Lal Ji Tandon. He could never stand up and distance himself from Varun, the idiot son of an Idiot father and mother. Advani will not be remembered in history as a tall leader, never. He should take retirement gracefully ( whatever garce is left) or he would be humiliated again for his repeated folly. Mark my word, one day Varun will talk against Adavani.
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BJP lost but Advani has won according to his admirers.He is the tallest leader today.Sonia is there becoz of dynasty factor.MMS is bookish and no leader.The country is a loser becoz Advani could not make it.I am not a BJP man.
My best wishes for his good health and be there in 2014.
Durga
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Dr. Manmohan Singh said that what was Advani’s contribution to this country. Dr. Manmohan Singh forgot that Mr. Advani raised BJP from a pebble to a solid big rock to challange Congress Party’s supermacy in indian politics. Dr. Manmohan Singh did not even win a municiple election. In this parliamentary elections , the third and fourth front are looking for their survival but the BJP will remain a big challange to the Congress. Mr. Advani is the tallest leader in stature amongst all the present leaders in indian politics. I am pretty sure that under the leadership of Advani ji, BJP will come in power in 2014. The socalled suedo secularists will lick the dust.
ML Sharma
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advani lost but the country is the loser.Singelandedly he build a party out of the ashes,
He is the tallest politically leader today.Sonia is there only becoz of Gandhi name.MMS is bookish and no leader.Rest are only pigmies. before him.
My best wishes gor his good health.
Durga
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Advani lost but the country is the loser.Singelandedly he build a party out of the ashes,
He is the tallest politically leader today.Sonia is there only becoz of Gandhi name.MMS is bookish and no leader.Rest are only pigmies. before him.
My best wishes gor his good health.
Dinesh
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Advani, Jinnah’s admirer, is neither a statesman nor a well behaved politician. During the Lok Sabha Election campagin he was more embroiled in pesonality assassination of Dr. Manmohan Singh than in promoting the success of his party. That, not only resulted in his downfall, but his party’s as well.
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I think Advani, admirer of Jinnah, is neither a statesman or a polished politician. During the Lok Sabha Election campaign, he was more engaged in personality assassination of Dr. Manmohan Singh than in promoting the success of his BJP party. That backfired in his downfall as well as of his party.
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That is a nice tribute to Advaniji, who I have no doubt is a wonderful human being.
But knowing him from a distance only as a politician, I am disappointed in him. Until 5 years back, I thought of him as a capable leader, and while I disagreed strongly with his communal politics, I did not doubt his patriotism. But his behavior in the last five years as the leader of the opposition has been hyper-partisan. The job of the opposition is to oppose things that they disagree with, not oppose things they would have done themselves just for the sake of opposing. It was as if the interest of the country was secondary to party interests or to the lust for power. These are not the traits of a statesman.
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Indians are very unfotunate that they could not choose Advani ji as their PM. I like to thank you for writing such an unbais and well balanced article. People should be ashamed of them selves for blaming Advaniji for Kandhar incident. The decision was taken by the whole cabinet.
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I totally agree with this article. You must see Advani’s responses to media and his intelligence at work. During election, he challenged Manmohan and Sonia for debate but they did not come forward Why ? Why is Left always against the BJP ? The truth is Advani has in depth knowledge and understanding of this country’s fiber. When BJP was in power, they really set in motion many good things in this country to eradicate ignorance and bring all people into the national mainstream.
The media and many other people in this country who call themselves secular are in fact the ones who always want poor, sick and downtrodden people in this country. You must notice very carefully that Congress is always talking about poor people, condition of peasants etc etc. The condition of the poor and the farmers is no doubt not very good, but if you look carefully in a way the Congress has always wanted these people to remain poor and stupid.
Any intelligent man in this country today knows the standing of Advani. People like Advani are true leaders who are not constantly going to brag about the poor and their condition, but they are going to point out towards strength and how to put the country towards the path of progress. Manmohan, though a sincere hardworking man, has not displayed any leadership as such. Any leader in congress is going to particularly talk about the rights of minorities and poor because thatz where their votes come from.
The day the poor and uneducated people start thinking in a nationalistic way, people like Manmohan Singh, the Gandhis will fade away. What will then emerge is true leaders like Advani who deserve far more than this country is giving them.
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To say the Dr Manmohan Singh is not a gentle man, is to say that the millions who voted UPA to rule India for the next 4 years, are all fools. The masses of India are not fools! Advani is not fit to lead a nation that has chosen wisely to shun him. His contribution to India is DIVISION AND MORE DIVISION! United Indians have rejected him.
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vinay Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:27 am
Mr Cecil. Wake up dude. Manmohan Singh did not contest election. He may be a nice guy and nice Prime Minister. But we need a leader as Prime minister that can provide inspiration and chart new direction to the country. Just running day to day matters is not sufficient. We need someone to strengthen democratic institutions so that people like Dr Abdul Kalam are not replaced by Mrs Pratibha Patil. We need strong institutions so that decisions are done locally as opposed to congress culture of running to high command. We need party with internal debates and discussion not the salvish followers like in congress. These things build the country and automatically instill self confidence to eventually eradicate corruption, poverty and others.
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our PM publicly said “What is Advani’s contribution to this country?”. BJP ruled for 6 years, means everything was done by Vajpayee and nothing contributed by Advani ji
In the last 5 years “what Manmohan has contributed”. Is it not done by Sonia ji and no contribution from manmohan( All Ministers in alst govt will agree this).
Why Rahul is hesitating to become any minister ? Can he take chalenge and become home minister and prove he is better than Advani Ji
I challenge he can’t be better than Advani ji
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ADVANIJI IS A REAL HERO ….
NO ONE EXCEPT ADVANIJI DESERVES TO RULE THIS COUNTRY …
I M ONLY 26 YRS AND FEEL EXPERIENCED POLICY MAKERS ARE REQUIRED IN THIS COUNTRY
THANKS
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Well its a fact that Mr Advani was one of the key players of the Ram Janma Bhoomi- Movement, and therefore in my opinion has blood on his hands. For attaining success in his chosen profession that is to get the BJP to power he did not mind spreading communal tension, knowing of course full well that the consequences of his actions would be the death of innocents both Hindus and Muslims in riots, and for such a non issue as the destruction of a mosque and building a temple instead.
I do not understand how one can call such a person a tall leader? Going out with his wife to watch movies does not make him a great human being I feel. The problem with journalists like you is that spending so much time in close contact with politicians you start judging them with how they have treated you as a guest at home or how they have not been harsh on your articles, etc. You start losing an independent and unbiased view on the person. This is clearly reflected in your post where you chose to forget the violent actions that were taken under his leadership for which he stands directly responsible.
Apart from the Ram Janma Bhoomi Movement, he also stands accused for not once criticizing Narendra Modi for what happened in Gujarat and consistently taking his side. Yet again he has shown his desire for power more than justice and truth. It’s amazing that you still chose to see him as a tall leader. Your definition of tall leader would even include Adolf Hitler I presume.
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I M ONLY 26 YRS YOUNG EDUCATED PERSON AND I KNOW CONGRESS POLICY OF LOOTING PEOPLE ,ONLY 2 DAYS AFTER RESULTS AND PETROL PRICES ARE TO BE RAISED BY 2RS.
BJP IS ONLY ALTERNATIVE HOPE FOR INDIA ,ONLY IF PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT AND VOTE IN FULL FAVOUR OF BJP TO FORM GOVT OF ITS OWN AND NOT WITH SUPPORT.
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Good article. I fully agree with the writer’s view that success always does not mean having the head count. But one thing is pinching me that a man of Advani’s stature could not sense the backlash which Varun Gandhi speech may have and still decided to field him as candidate though the party had clear 3-4 days at its disposal to gauge the mood of the people before ticket distribution. After all the quality of good leader is also “to sense the future”. Perhaps he went wrong on firebrand politics of certain elements of his party which this diverse nation can not consume given its historical background. I have all the respect for mr. advani and wish him success.
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Advani’s legacy is that of Ayodhya, Babri masjid demolition and the riots after the demolition. In his ambition to make BJP a national party, he played with the fire of communal tensions and the nation paid its price. When his party came to power, all that rhetoric of being the second Iron man was gone!! He turned out to be just another minister when we faced Kandahar.
I personally know that he is very well read person but unfortunately, there is a difference in being educated and being wise. To me, Advani is no different than an opportunistic criminal who cares about nothing other than his self. I think Advani and the whole lot should be tried for the Babri masjid riots just like the congress leaders should be tried for 1984 riots.
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Its a fate… of Laxman bratha… Laxman is very important to Ramayan, many of the battles were won solely by Laxman,, but he could not replace Ram.
Only Ram can be king,, this is the fate of younger brother. Once a younger brother… forever younger brother. He almost enjoyed being younger brother to Atalji.. never been ambitious to override Aalji, till in his eighties.
We all admire Atalji.. a great statesman.. bu without hard and sometimes dirty and unpopular deeds were left for Younger brother. Often they are essential for an organisational growth.
But coronation…. its is never for the Laxman..
As for as personal integrety…. non is equal to him.
Bjp still needs him.. Without Ram and Laxman , they will be orphans. Till Luv-Kush come into picture.
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This article gives voice to what many of us have felt post elections.No one can compare with Mr Advani in terms of stature, commitment , honesty of purpose and deed and above all patriotism.It takes guts and courage to fight an election as a PM candidate..in Mr Advani’s case , I see it as an act of patriotism.He has enough achievements to qualify him a place in history..his children do not forsee a future in politics, nepotism or corruption do not touch him , so what could be his motivation except public service….
It is a shame that people not only half his age , but of half his stature and with not even an iota of his virtues can attack his person..I understand that you migth disagree with his policies/views (I myself am a strong critic of some of them), but the kind of villification some political leaders and upstarts have indulged in is indeed a despicable…
I hope Mr Advani that you read this…there are so many of us who will stand up to be counted with you in your hour of electoral defeat ..because we believe that you add grace and hope to the polity.I wish you nothing but the very best..may the country be worthy of your virtues for a long time to come
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I totally agree with the article. Hey listen guys you win some & you loose some there is no need to get so personel. I always find our media not so matured & always one sided .I want to tell them there is more to India than Gandhi family. Any ways lets see where we go with this govt. I am sure Mr advani is gonna bounce back as always.
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An interesting perspective. He is right up there as a leader, but the party he has created is divisive. The vote is for the Congress and Manmohan Singh.
If the BJP has any sense, it will use Mr. Advani judiciously. The current lot is a bunch of paper tigers- Shushma, MMJ, Arun Jaitly, Rajnath, Naidu.. As for Mr. Modi, he is obnoxious.
Hope Mr. Advani can now take his party to a more centrist position..
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WEll SAID, Mr. Advani might have lost the race for Prime minister, but is still not out of race at all. Still the party he heads is the second largest parliament and the main opposition party. Moreover the one who has something can only loose, who dont have anything how can he loose. Same happenned in the present elections with BJP. This was basically positive voting in favour of Congress, but not against BJP/NDA. In the previous term congress has done really appreceable job that the same party has not performed in previous 40-45 years of their rule over the country.Common men while understanding potential of Congres could also understand/feel lack of free hand because of pressure of alliances of small parties like RJD, LJSP SP etc., which actually hindered smooth functioning of the Govt. So people has given another chance to the Congress under leadership of Dr. Singh to perform with free hand. Thus it is an positive voting in th favour of Congress and not Negative voting to BJP, but negative voting to opportunist and power/seat hungry politicians like Lalloo, Ram vilas paswan, Mulayam singh YAdav, MAyawati, Leftists, Communists etc etc. AT last I would like to say that in todays’ rush of politicians there are very few ‘leaders’ like advani ji.It is very easy to blame criticise someone for defeat, and it has become a fashion rather.
Certainly Advani ji should continue his journey and should not forget these were not the last election
Thanks to all reades for their prescious time.
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Personally I think Advani brought chaos and uncertainty in India to glorify himself and fake Hindutava.He not only communalise perception of ordinary Indians but also made them more violent.Latest proof of his divisive idea was he wanted to remove “ASHOK-CHAKRA” from our national flag because it is Buddhis symbol.
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vinay Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:29 am
Are you out of your mind?
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Ms Chaddha,
He has good organisational skills,he is a good leader indeed but how can you forget the other side of Advani( Riots,bloodshed,mandir masjid,venom,division of the country on basis of religion and hidden fan of Jinnah?).He spoiled the name of India.And thosands of innocent lives were lost because of him.
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Well written article.
No one can deny the wisdom what Advani ji has and everyone of us are wrong some where as he is and was. It shows the natural phenomena of us as Human. Definitely as a leader one is not allowed to do mistakes ……
History belong to winners, whether they were good or not does not matter, losers never get a chance in History whether they were good not does not count. And media follows the pattern of history writers. If Advani ji would have won Media would have flocked around him but he did not so everyone is behind Prince Rahul.
Love
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Bravo Advani, You stood tall on a fierce storm.
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Yes, the article is 100% correct about Advaniji. He is ofcourse he is a great leader. Different people may different perceptions like the one I have seen above. But people lime L.K.is really an asset of India and even Dr. Manmohan Sigh canot not be compared with him. He is is a good man but people especially The Congress picutered him the worst fearing a balcklash for them if Advani elected to the post of Prime Minister.
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A good article. Unfortunately, Advani who led the Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya has not shown the leadership qaulity to attempt and stop the destruction of Babri masjid. He merely became spectator. Imagine what Gandhiji, Panditji or Patel would have done in the same situation. After the demlition he was safely escorted out and in the aftermath many other innocent got killed. Still he has not shown any regrets.
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Shri. L.K.Advani - An appropriate article at the right time. BJP missed people like Pramod Mahajan.
Advaniji has tried to project a more balanced personality in the last few years. However, fringe elements need to be reigned in by the party. This is a challenge.
Further, the BJP bandwidth, i.e. Ministers for Finance, Technology, Trade & Commerce, needs a restructuring to counter the impressive Congress bandwidth. The likes of Yashwant Sinha & Jaswant Singh, maybe veterans but cannot produce results.
LKAji will continue to shape the country as the leader of the opposition. Good luck to him.
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I don’t know what MS Kumkum trying to tell us. She herself says “I may not agree with the BJP’s communal politics. Or with Narendra Modi’s hate speeches. I may feel more comfortable with Atal Behari Vajpayee’s liberal views versus Advani’s unrelenting stance on many issues”
Indian public is not judging Mr. Advani as “Common Indian” they are judging him as a” Political Leader. There are million and million of good people in India, but on the issue at discussion, they aren’t relevant.
What was shocking for me was Mr. Advani’s statement at the NDTV award function that Rath Yatra was his biggest achievement of life. This is despite the fact that that same yata sowed the seed of divide in our Indian society on the line of religion.
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Mr. Advani ruined the secular fabric of India. He managed to gain power based on religion, but fortunately couldn’t hold on to it.
Do I dislike the fact that his adversaries are jumping on him when he is down? Yes I do. That is human nature. But, boy am I glad that he and his party lost the election. This portends the political future of Mr. Modi as well.
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If today India is divided vertically into religlous lines the credit should go to Advani. Until his (in)famous rath yatra people in villages were recognizing each other as one community. After the demolition of babri masjid and the riots that followed that community feeling is no longer there. Either you are a muslim or a hindu. That formula worked for BJP - the party increased its strength from mere 2 to 3 digits. The same formula was applied in Gujrat and Modi was successful in polarising Hindu votes. Today he is happily declaring to be a successful CM. Just one look on the ground, he will find thousands of corpses lying under his feet. Advani has to answer several questions to his own conscience. Besides voters of this great country, there is a God, all of us believe in. His justice will always prevail. In spite of all his powers, Modi’s rhetorics, BJPs ugly tactics, he could not become PM and will never be one.
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A grim question that we all should ask ourselves - Is India so void of youth and experienced that we are unable to come out of the dynasty model? In corporate analogy, have we become a Private Limited Company?
Was there even a single leader as veteran, politically experienced, and of a relatively cleaner record as Shri L. K. Advani? Probably not, not even a single leader truly of his stature. For a citizen it’s not about pro-party or pro-election in any given election, but about a party’s capacity to present a candidate of PM stature, else over these decades parties in power and parties in opposition have been acting only in their “own good”.
Most importantly we will have to some day (soon) realize the importance of the two-party national model (e.g. the Democrats and Republicans) whereby we keep rotating each party every 5 years. Only this will churn out true PM leaders out of the citizens and an accountable “Nation Management”.
The average youth and middle-aged probably are not much aware about the political history of India or what brought POK under existence. Going through reference primers like “Pathology of Corruption” or “POK under the Jackboot” will better demystify people of the party spats with each other as they have nothing to do with people’s suffering and generations of pain, but cheap election time publicity.
I have been a critical observer of Indian Elections (aka actions and reactions of Indian electorate over campaign speeches and ads) even before I reached the age of my voting franchise.
Our problem as citizens is that most often we tend to develop a short term memory and lot of youth electorate building up every year has little knowledge of India’s political time-line (not just “history”), a knowledge that can develop only through voracious reference reading and grass roots level interaction and never through school Social Studies textbooks which are becoming more and more phony.
Lets say, we give a party decades of power and still we end up with a Commodities Exchange whose resultant seriously affects the monthly budget of an average Indian, or the so called development that leaves millions of much better peasants as displaced ‘100-day laborers’ or more and more Indian cities and towns overflowing with beggars or the rampant regional displacement and the urban concentration that is taking place. It is senseless and no development if a farmer’s or a peasant’s second generation ends up as a peon, servant, or a wage struggler in the slums of an urban backdrop.
Middle-class* of India will have to rise for their own good and for a true change.
(In modern political theory, driving a Honda City or having our children a foreign education doesn’t make us the upper class. I leave a detailed understanding to the readers interest.)
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Pathik Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Very Interesting
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“Advani as a human will carry on”…….we all do. But what a human…a human who did not think twice of the damage that will be done to the secular fabric of the country, before starting on his divisive rath yatra, sacrificing hundreds of innocent lives……a human who gave “best Chief Minister” certificate to Modi after the genocide in Gujurat…a human who wanted to remove “ASHOK-CHAKRA” from our national flag because it is Buddhis symbol. Oh yes what a great HUMAN!!
Advani is a politician. Why did chamchagiri surprise him. He would definitely have missed it had it not been there. Others “crawling” to him is no different from him having all kinds of alliances with other parties irrespective of ideology. His body language spoke of his desperation to become PM…was ready to do anything, even ready to thrust mid term polls on the country ….calling a PhD, a Professor, an eminent economist as “nikamma” what a joke!!
And greater joke that he is being called a great statesman.
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Anwar Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 4:23 pm
well said
keep writing Meena
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Bharatiya Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 4:08 am
Well said Meena! It’s Advani who actually turned out to be NIKAMMA!
Majority of India is secular… We are proud of our heritage, history and human potential…. With BJP and Advani having lost elections, they should know that the 80% of India is secular and will not be swayed with their nonsense of communal politics…
Advani keeps talking about Dynasty leadership in Congress and Gandhi family, whereas they have no shame in taking Maneka/Varun (sic) Gandhi in their party.. Is that not a Dynasty Mother-Son combo? How about Shiv Sena and Akali Dal … Why does BJP tie up these communal parties, when they practice Dynastic leadership …. Politics without Principal as they say is BJPs hallmark.!! Happy Advani’s PM aspiration is history …..
India my Motherland —- Very Proud to be an Indian… Mera Bharat Mahaan…. BJP hai Bheimaan!
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Sorry but an inane piece! The writer begins begins by ranting at her colleagues, then turns to advani & even by the end of the piece…there is nothing other than how he was soft on her when it came to criticism & goes out with his family to do this or that….are we therefore to infer, as the writer says, that he is a “tall leader” or even an admirable human being?! …he is anything but that to millions of Indians….yes it is fair to ask him what has he done for the country?? (just as that question should be posed to may of our political leaders ofcourse)…some here have said how he built a whole political party, all by himself! well we thought the party in question has organisational structures such as the RSS& many other leaders. how can it be a lone man show?
I hold the man guilty for stabbing my country’s heart many a times & never ever regretting it.
Many above have quoted those instances. The country is more wounded& less strong cos of him.
……all so that his narrative supersedes all of us&our lives…… as he blindingly drove us violently towards his agenda.
though he had his chances, he even failed supremely in creating a viable right alternative for the country. anyone who has so much hatred, so much ruthlessness, so little humility & feeling & so little imagination…..any surprise then (?) fails india.
he never understood india.
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@ Meena Being extremely qualified doesn’t mean you are as efficient in your work. Advaniji spend 55 years of his life in active politics with all honesty and diligence.
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tasneem Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 12:18 pm
@ Rajat..spending 55 years in active politics did not teach him how to conduct himself with dignity during campaigns. All the more sad. Name calling, emotion rousing speeches during campaigning, yelling and screaming till hoarse while in opposition. Is that experience!! Calling Jinnah, a man who divided the country on religious lines being praised as “secular” by this experienced politician. Perhaps he can relate to Jinnah’s idealogy because both of them believed in dividing the country on the basis of religion.
In corporate world it is said that you can work for 10 years but have 1 years experience if you do not learn and improve yourself and your skills. The same happened with Advani. He garnered massive support on BM issue and got stuck there not realising that issues keep changing. It was a brilliant political move (though extremely dangerous and undesirable one) How many young Hindus would be interested in Temple building versus economic prosperity. Gandhi said “Bhooke pate tu Bhagwan ki bhi puja nahi ho sakti” Advani failed on his first promise, a promise that brought him and his party to limelight……where is Ram Mandir??? Was it a commitment or an election rhetoric.
If this is gained by 55 years of experience, I would take an unexperienced person any time.
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Thanks for the article. The media portrayal and relentless vicious attacks by Muslims and psecs have made Advani the bad guy he has become. There is a trend here and just look at comments from muslims in the blogosphere. Any BJP leader that surfaces to the top is attacked over and over with explicits like communal and murderer by these Muslims and their friends until that leader is hated by everyone. How conveniently Advani and Modi is dragged and associated with the past incidents, while congress leaders who presided over majority of communal rights in India is not. All because BJP says equal rights to all, while congress says muslims get preference over others.
Muslims define how the game should be played no matter which part of the world because the hurd mentality takes over.
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For all those Anwars, Abdullah’s, Abbas’ s who are feeling enraged about Advaniji tearing apart our “secular” society, they should remember that it was their ancestors - the Babars, Aurangazebs, Ghazni’s, who were the biggest threats India faced in its existence. But these descendants built mosques, cities on their names (of these horrific terrorists of all time) and want their “history” preserved. If Gujrat riots, Mumbai riots scare the sleep out of you guys on this board, the roots started with the likes of Ghazni/Babar and the mindset that you are their descendants. If you think the events in 16th century are history and we should let go of that, I advise you to forget what you say happened in 1992, 2002 also. Stop taking pride in Barbarians as your ancestors and things will set right for themselves. Put country above religion. Start reciting Vandemataram. Start supporting India in Cricket when we are playing Pakistan. Stop dreaming of making India into an Islamic republic. Just remember that India is secular because of the 80% Hindus and not because of the remaining 20% who are always trying to “maintain their identity” by playing up differences. Nationalism first - Religion Next. When you get this right, things will be just fine.
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Bobby Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:53 am
Stop testing people’s patriotism by which cricket team they support…its more complicated than that….and stop dreaming of reducing India to a Hindu Rashtra.
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Zafar Reply:
May 22nd, 2009 at 3:07 pm
For your information my ancestors (as of majority of Indian Muslims) were not the people you named but we were the original inhabitant of this piece of land which was invaded by middle Asian Racist, Invaders who just made the life of original inhabitants hell due their bigoted , intolerant and tyrant caste system prophesied by Manu ji Maharaj. Our ancestor found solace in the concept of universal brotherhood and peace of Islam and changing our faith does not mean that our ethnicity had also changed.
Regarding the idea of revenging the alleged atrocities committed to Hindus by Muslim rulers in middle ages, I can only say that propagators of such ideas are the biggest threat to the internal security of the nation where you want to punish 130 million for the crimes defiantly (if ever) not committed by them. But the murderers of Gujrat and several riots are roaming free and shamelessly defending the agenda on this forum.
You are no one to judge the patriotism of Indian Muslims we have sacrificed our lives and gave this country the nuclear bomb and world class missile defence system. No Indian government official have ever been tried for spying for ISI and the people who have been proven guilty sacked even hanged for doing spying for Pakistan in other communities is a large number.
Why do you insist that Muslim should sing vandematram. You should that ideas expressed in this song are contrary to the basic faith of Monotheism of Islam. Muslims love their country but they don’t worship it. It is a difference of cultural practice and you should respect it. Muslims do not touch the feet of their mother. Does it mean that they do not love their mothers?
Cricket is only a game and I love the Austrelian cricket team for their attitude and game, what is your problem?
India is a secular country because of secular people of all religion and Muslims played an admirable role by tactfully voting and ensuring defeat of all type of communal forces within or outside of the community.
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BMLall Reply:
May 23rd, 2009 at 4:15 pm
There is no doubt that muslims are the original inhabitants and descendents of the people who were forcibly converted to Islam by the Arab and other central Asian muslim invaders. This has been confirmed by the contemporary muslim writers how force was used to convert the people to Islam and not by conviction. It is wrong to blame Manu for social inequalities as these prevail all over the world in all the religions. The recent example is Swat in Pakistan where talibans are victimising peace–loving common people. People are not doubting the patriotism of the muslim but still Pakistan was created and lakhs of Kashmiri Hindus also became refugee in their homeland. How many muslim leaders have tried to rehabilitate them back in Kashmir. India helped the creation of Bengladesh which contained 40% Hindu population now reduced hardly to8% and it has become an Islamic state & harboring muslim fundamentalists against India. There is not a single hindu in Bengladesh cricket team whereas India is proud of muslim cricketers who are 25 to 40% - Zaheer Khan, Pathan brothers’, Azharudin etc. You have talked about Kalam for Atom Bomb but remember he was the BJP candidate for the post of President. Let us think objectively and work for the nation and the blame game is not going to help anybody
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Anwar Reply:
May 23rd, 2009 at 10:52 pm
1. Thanks for acknowledging the facts that Indian Muslims are “the original inhabitant of India” and not the Ariyans who came later from the central asian countries.
2. Whether force was used or not to convert them is a controversial point but the fact is that today all of Indians including Muslims are now free to choose their faith and they have chosen to remain being Muslims in spite the series of organized hate crimes directed against them by the Modis, Advanis and their predecessors.
3. If Manu is not responsible for caste system? Then I wan to know who is e responsible for this? Why even in these days the hate crimes against Dalits are so common?
4. Taliban are not representative of Muslims, they are fringe group of war trodden, economically backward region misled by narrow minded definition f religion. No main stream Muslim organization or country have ever supported or endorsed the activities of Taliban.
5. I doubt the figure you have quoted in support of declining population of Hindus in Bangladesh can you support with some reference.
6. I am all for rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits and hope that with the defeat of separatist terrorism, they will be able to go back their mother land soon.
7. I don’t know why Hinduttava wallahs make cricket such a big issue, I do not follow cricket much but can say with conviction that many Hindu players have represented Pakistan and Bangladesh in international matches (Danish Kaneria and Alok Kapali to name a few)
8. APJ Kalam sahib is consensus candidate of all parties (including congress) except Left. His name was first proposed by Mulayam Singh Yadav. Please get your facts right first then try to fool the public. It is a forum of educated and well informed individuals and your rabid hateful rhetoric is not going to win any ovation here. Try it in some Shakhas for it.
9. I agree with there is need to look things objectively and it is seriously lacking in supporters of BJP and the cant see that young Indian voters have clearly shown they cant be fool around for long on this Hindu-Muslim,Mandir-masjid issues.
Dear Kumkum,
You have written a great article on one of the greatest sons of INDIA. May you keep on writing such articles. Mr Advani is one of the most honest, hardworking, clearheaded & patriotic politician in INDIA. May he live for 100 more years.
Regards & God bless you.
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Can’t even begin to feel sorry for the man — he deserves every bit of his failure, At the end of the day did not even have the courage of his own conviction — brought down a mosque and then called Jinnah secular! Taunted Manmoahan Singh for taking orders from 10, Janpath, forgot he has to take his own orders from Nagpur
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BMLall Reply:
May 23rd, 2009 at 3:10 pm
The fear of the Hindus is not about the present but of the future. It is well known fact of history that Islam`s spread in India was not by conviction but by force. This has been mentioned by contemporary Muslim writers from Arab`s invasion 712 down to the present day. Even partition of the country took place because of obstinacy of Mohd. Ali Jinah who threatened in 1946 for direct action, if his demand for Pakistan was not conceded. Even today lakhs of Kashmiri Hindus are homeless in their own country. If muslims of this country put pressure, these Kashmiries can be sent back. & rehabilitated in their homeland. Thr writer is talking about the patriotim of the muslims{which cannot be denied} but why did Pakisian Take place.? Could anybody doubt the patriotism of Jinah ? India helped in the creation of Bengaladesh which was inhabited by 40% Hindus at the time of partition and now reduced to 8%. Bengaladesh is now an Islamic state and hindus are 3rd rate citizens. Bengladesh is now encouraging and giving shelter to Islamic fundamentalist groups against India. There is not a single hindu who is member of the Bengaladesh cricket team where as our team comprises 25 to 40% muslim players and we are proud of their performance - like Pathan brothers, Zaheer Khan, Azharudin(who has recently been elected MP)..You have talked of Atom Bomb but Kalam talked of India as a whole not as a fundamentalist Muslim. The writer should remember that Kalam was the candidate for presidentship selected by the BJP whom you are blaming for Mandir/Masjid..
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Anwar Reply:
May 23rd, 2009 at 10:55 pm
little knowledge is very dangerous thing
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if you have so much Knowledge please present with d reference no of case in which mr advani was held responsible for all d so caled proposed killings……………can you???? no you cant because dere isnt……..u are saying what a section of media n pseudo secularists want you to say……….go on show to all u hv a lil more den LITTLE knowledge……..u r merely adding ur voice to wat hs alreay been said by congress n its sycophants……….
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Well the fact remains that india has voted for a more gentle govt. than the hardline politics of Advani who has always looked in the past than planning anything about the future. His idea of bringin the money in swiss banks was just a sleazy plan to divert voters attention but WE the voters saw through his petty politics. Mr Advani give me ideas if you have any for the future, Dr Manmohan opened economy and now the Nuclear deal which are ideas keeping the future 20-30 yrs down the line. Dr Manmohan is a visionary and Advani does not even stand anywhere near in his forward or rather backward thinking.
And Mr Ram pls prove that Ram exists!
And what is wrond with dynasty politics? So commonly a docs son is a doc and carpenters son a carpenter. If the people are working in favour of the country then this is a very stupid arguement.
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Definition Of Terrorism Patriot Act…
You have got to be kidding!…
going to be very tough to reply individually except to say thanks for the mixed response. As I have said this is not about Mr Advani’s politics which I also differ with. It is also not so much about the person but the trend of htting out at people when the chips are down. Very easy to do that and I feel that Mr Advani who has spent his life in politics–good or bad–cannot and should not be singled out for blame for the defeat: and even if one chopse to do that I think the tone and tenor of the criticism should be less personal.
About the Muslims bashing and all else I respect the feelings and sentiments of those who are and have been on the receiving end but than that is the BJP’s brand of politics rather than Mr Advani’s alone.
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@ Kukkum Chaddha: “…the vote was a positive one for the Congress rather than one which rejected the BJP.”
I disagree. Almost every vote that was in favor of Congress, in the recent elections, was a vote against BJP, or to be precise, against Advani. A sensible India knows well the implications of choosing a person who is an epitome of faithlessness, as a PM of India.
Additionally, the aura of “a politician as a person” cannot be concluded to be a brightened one by giving instances that he goes to restaurant for a dinner with family, or watches movies at the Cinema. A Manmohan Singh, a Priyanka Gandi, a Mayawati or a Modi could as well do the same, and this does, at any chance mean that they are better individuals.
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