O J's Corner : Reflections

Think twice before
investing in shares

Government departments and agencies should think twice before investing public money in the highly volatile share market.

The recent “great fall” in the share market, which enabled interested players to gobble up roughly Rs two lakh crore from ordinary investors, should be an eye-opener to all concerned about pumping  money from the Postal Department, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation, Insurance agencies etc into this black hole.

Once the money is gone, no one is going to replenish it to the loser, who will again be tempted to tinker with the seed money and cause further loss. It is true, in the money melee, some would fetch a fortune. But no one has the right to meddle with the hard-earned money of ordinary workers, government employees, house-wives and retired hands.

The lucre of quick money would play foul with the future of ordinary mortals.

In this context, let us take a look at the stance of the left political persuasions.

The left parties are insisting on payment of 9.5 per cent interest to the EPF subscribers.

On a temporary basis this looks all right, but the maximum interest rate that the EPF fetches for its investment is only 8 per cent.

The gap is becoming wider with the interest rates going down further in new investments.

It is in such circumstances that those who argue for investing in share market to fetch quick money enter the fray and spoil the situation.

Mind you, the foreign sharks are avidly watching every move to fleece the share market. They can afford to pump in hell of a hefty amount of money into our domestic market, exaggerate the winnability by ballooning the prospects on and on until the bubble breaks. But just before the devastation, they get away with the booty.

When banks are paying negligible amount of interest to their depositors, no one should expect incomparably higher rates from EPF, Postal insurance and the like. If you insist on getting the unthinkable, they will go in such betting and make you the ultimate loser.

In fact, on February 2,  2005, the Central Government increased the EPF interest rate for employees from 8.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent at the insistence of the left parties.

Again, the EPFO board would meet early in June to decide about the interest rate for 2006-2007 as well as prospects for investing in the equity market.

EPFO has investments of Rs 1,66,106.48 crore, of which five per cent is being considered for investment in the equity market. Let us hope this will not go into the drains.

O J's Corner : Reflections

AIDS Children

The plight of twin-children Amal and Amritha of Cheruvathoor is something that should not fall on any human being, let alone children.

They have not committed any sin for them to be sinned against by the society. An ordinary mortal can blame Fate for the hapless situation in which they have been left off. Anyway let us not offend God Almighty for human frailty. One person’s thoughtless pleasures might have landed generations in this predicament.

Their parents are no more. Their mother breathed her last in 2002. Close on the heels of this bereavement, their father committed suicide. The other day their grandmother passed away. Think about the amount of mental torture they have undergone by now.

They have literally nowhere to go. The State Health Minister has already instructed the officials to extend governmental safeguards to the children. That is nothing compared to unmeasurable parental care.

Perhaps voluntary agencies might adopt them. All this is welcome relief. The crucial question is: what are parents bequeathing to their children? No one can be blamed in this situation.

In this connection, let me draw your attention to an Associated Press report from the United Nations which speaks about the scourge.

As many as five hundred and seventy thousand children have died of AIDS on Planet Earth. There has been one death every minute.

More than two million children, below the age of 15 years, are living with HIV. Most of them are in Sub-Saharan Africa,where there is no access to treatment. Consequently, they would delve themselves into full-blown AIDS, ensuring certain death.

The report painted a grim picture of the impact of the disease on children. Seven hundred thousand kids were infected with the virus in 2005 alone, bringing the total to 2.3 million.

The saddest part of the story is that these deaths are not inevitable. An HIV-positive child would respond well to anti-retroviral treatment.

There is an  urgency in appealing to the governments, donors and the pharmaceutical industry to imbibe the message and deliver proper treatment.

The promise at the UN level was that there would be treatment for all by 2010.

In the last 25 years when AIDS spread around the globe, it has been largely reckoned as a disease of the adults.

The prevalence in children cannot go unnoticed. They are losing parents, teachers, a sense of security and hope for the future, according to the report. They have become the “missing face” of AIDS.

Mother-to-child transmission can be efficaciously prevented. Pregnant women with HIV should be administered drugs which prevents transmission to the young ones.
More and low-cost anti-retroviral drugs should be designed and popularised.

All in all, there must be a massive scaling up of HIV prevention, treatment and care.

I should say, not a soul should be lost on account of HIV-AIDS. Mankind should not be immune to calls for contribution to take on the immunity-killer. It should not be allowed to sign one’s death warrant.

O J's Corner: Reflections

Clear up quota mess

Let there be no grandstanding by anyone on the OBC reservation issue. Instead, let all interested parties put their heads together to wriggle out of the mess made by themselves.

Only thing is the intention should be free from taking advantage of any sections of the society.  The crucial point is confidence building, for which the President as well as the Prime Minister had taken the initiative. Let it move further.

To me, it looks like the Supreme Court would be able to do justice to various sections of the society, provided all parties approach it with their side of the issue.

One cannot say that it would be time consuming, for the present proposal of the government is to give 27 per cent reservation  to Other Backward Classes in prestigious institutions like AIIMS, IITs, IIMs and Central universities from 2007 admissions.

At the same time, merit candidates would not be deprived of their opportunities. Increase in number of seats in proportion to the merit seats being cornered by the OBCs is thought of. Would this have permanence?

By the time, the apex court would be able to sort out the issue which has already crippled the functioning of the centres of excellence in medical, engineering, management and other disciplines.

In reality, many States have managed to come out with practical solutions generally agreeable with regional realities.

In Kerala, the Narendran Commission report is attempted to be implemented by the UDF, when it was in power. Now the LDF, which is ruling the State, can build upon the previous proposals. Meanwhile, those who disagree have always the option to move the Supreme Court.

The prevailing national level agitation has not caught up with the Kerala scenario. Maybe, it has already been taken care of one way or other.

It is an emotional issue at the national level, considering the attempts at self-immolation by youths in many North Indian States. The fact that emotions have overtaken engagement calls for infusing equipoise. The other day, a 23-year-old youth who attempted self-immolation in Delhi revealed that he was not a student, but a worker.

There could be mischievous politicking as well. Traders, doctors, engineers, and others have taken sides. Two members of the National Knowledge Commission have put in their papers.

Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh, who found it fit to uncork the reservation “genie” during the Assembly elections, harks back on the 93rd Constitution Amendment. The Prime Minister cannot back-track on the issue.
In UP, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav is “speaking daggers” against Arjun Singh. Lalu Prasad Yadav and Prakash Karat pooh-pooh the idea of Mulayam.

However, if Prakash Karat wants creamy layers left out of reservation benefits, Lalu Yadav would have none of the sort.

The potential for excitability is immense and the country cannot afford a fresh bout of communal flare-up.

The basic instinct should be for the country to provide facilities for students to pursue the education they want. The State would be failing in its calling, if the students do not have opportunities. There should be thousand-fold increase in the number of institutions of excellence.

O J's Corner : Reflections

Hello, Election Commission!
Are you listening?

Palakkad municipal council is the worst example for panchayati raj. This arrogance of political parties, exposed by their refusal to take charge as the municipal chairman after election victory, is cruel and undemocratic. People, for sure, will not condone it.

The issue should be addressed by the Election Commission of India, before it flies out of control. A penal clause should be introduced in the relevant laws, if it is not already there, to make it obligatory for the victor to discharge the duties of the chairperson, unless a no-confidence motion is carried against the incumbent.

Justice V R Krishna Iyer and other intellectuals should not remain mute witnesses to the travesty of democracy being played out in a municipal council where the Congress, Communists and the BJP are somewhat on an equal footing. If the BJP is untouchable, why not a Congress-Communist coalition be thought of?  Afterall, democracy is nothing but a give-and-take system.

The prevalent state of affairs is tantamount to trivialising the democratic process and ignoring the people’s mandate.

During the last eight months elections were held four times for choosing a chairman for the 50-member municipal council where the UDF has now 18 members, LDF 15 members and the BJP 17 members.

The chairmanship is reserved for a member of the Scheduled Caste. The BJP does not have an SC member in the council.

The municipal elections were held in September 2005 and because of the fractured verdict the UDF and the LDF did not field their candidates in the chairman’s election held in October.

Meanwhile, the UDF did not participate in the elections to the vice-chairman’s post. The LDF invalidated its votes and, therefore, the BJP candidate romped home to victory.

Within a few days, elections to the chairman’s post was held in which the UDF and the LDF kept themselves away.

The issue was taken to the High Court at whose direction the elections were held  for the third time on November 19, when A.K.Chandrankutty of the LDF was declared elected. After the elections, he refused to don the mantle saying he did not want a post with the support of the UDF.
This drew the criticism of the High Court, which wanted elections to be held again, following which Wednesday’s exercise occurred.

Chandrankutty who was elected, refused to budge saying he did not want the support of the BJP.

Now, as per the directions of the High Court, the post can be either  reserved for women or treat it as not reserved at all.

Perhaps, the episode would find a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the winner not wanting to assume office.

Spoils of office, definitely, is not disgusting to any of them. Standing on ceremonies, the UDF, LDF and the BJP have divested the Scheduled Castes of a post that was reserved for them.

This incident should incite the Election Commission of India to seek ways to make similar exercises constitutionally unpardonable and criminally culpable.

OJ's Corner : Reflections

Face the dynasty politically

At the moment, the opponents of the Nehru family dynasty appear to be bankrupt politically, for they draw their sustenance in hitting it below the belt.

For one thing, India is not a dictatorship as several of the Afro-Asian entities which became independent during the same decade as we achieved freedom from British imperialism.

Neither is it a one-party monolith looming large over the masses like in the erstwhile Soviet Union and its allies. Incidentally, we have seen a lot of intellectuals singing paeans for them, who after the break-up of the system bemoan they were not aware of the inner crack. At least they have seen through the game.

Strong with a multi-party, regional-gravitational political landscape, and yet having a nationally-thriving and all-inclusive administrative set-up, this country cannot be taken for granted by rabble-rousers.

Nor is it a military-centric edifice as in some of the Afro-Asian banana republics. In such entities, their regimes can continue on the plank of referendum alias people’s mandate.

India is a vibrant democracy where its illiterates are also vocal about their rights compared to many of the other nations.

Therefore, let those who continue to wallow in their smear campaign against the so-called Nehru dynasty face up to the facts and deal with them politically.

It is not for nothing that the rivals are after Maneka Gandhi’s son to do their bidding, in the hope that Sonia Gandhi would launch Rahul Gandhi soon to the national political spectrum.

By all means let them campaign for the welfare of the people and leave the Nehru dynasty alone from personal attacks. Can anyone diminutively interpret the contributions made by Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi to nation building?

True, there were other great leaders who worked for the welfare of the people in equal measure and the nation is grateful to them.

Now also, please carry on with positive politics, leaving aside nagging questions and improprieties.

The NDA, which is at present in a shambles, should resuscitate itself to take on the Congress, the Left and others, regionally as well as nationally.

The BJP is not in a comfortable position with Vajpayee’s old age, Advani’s unacceptability, Rajnath Singh’s low profile, Narendra Modi’s vitriolics, and Uma Bharti’s departure.

The second-rung leadership has been hanging on the coat-tails of senior leaders who themselves are out of reckoning now. Gen-Next in the BJP is next to nothing as of now.

Don’t panic and throw stones at Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. Congress needs a rallying point which the Nehru progenies are providing.

We had leaders like Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, V P Singh, Chandra Shekhar, P V Narasimha Rao, I K Gujral, Deve Gowda and A B Vajpayee who discharged the functions of the Prime Minister. Now Dr Manmohan Singh is at it in all sincerity.

Dynasty is not that impregnable in Indian environs, but let the cracking up be not premature.

OJ's Corner : Reflections

Don’t fumble with
God’s name

As for us mortals, “what is in a name? That which they call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet”, to quote Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

This is pretty profound statement for humankind. And quite accurate in love and romance. Not that all would agree with the Bard. There is something sweet in the statement.

The content and the depth of wisdom may weigh the same for one who visualises the opposite in profundity. Freewheeling is sauce for man, and not so for the Divine.

Former MLA Umesh Challiyil would have become all the more wiser after he found that no one can tinker with the name of God.

Maybe, out of  pure-heartedness about religiosity or over-enthusiasm to project his Deity, Challiyil took his oath as MLA in the name of Sree Narayana Guru.

One can swear in the name of God or can have a solemn affirmation, the Constitution dictates.

It seems the Constitution has no sense of romance and so it does not allow dragging in names of God.

Since the oath is “in the name of God”, it encompasses everything. One cannot fumble with the names such as “I am That I am”, “Ohm”, “Immanuel”, Ram, Mohamed and the like.

Challiyil got away with a fine of Rs 500 for each day he sat and voted in the Assembly till he took the oath properly.

The penalty imposed by the court was by way of debt due to State.

The other day, when the Ministers took oath of office and oath of secrecy, it has been pointed out by a section of the intellectuals that the oath of secrecy should be re-worded to suit the provisions of the Right to Information Act. Otherwise, the Minister would not be duty-bound to divulge the details of decisions taken by the government other than that which is necessary to discharge his/her functions as such Minister.

It may need a Constitutional amendment to incorporate such changes. Until then, there cannot be an oath to suit one’s fancy.

The God, whatever be the name according to one’s faith, is such an overarching entity that puny human beings need not worry about safeguarding this Being. We are not doing any service to It by “protecting” this all-embracing Power, which is beyond comprehension.

We have our own duties to perform in the sectors assigned to us. By diligently discharging this duty and serving man, we are serving the God of all faiths. Let us not trap God within our frail framework.

OJ's Corner : Past Inedible

REFLECTIONS

No doubt it would be a terrible experience when the ugly past comes haunting to ruin the pleasant present. Neither the grotesque past nor the salubrious present can be hidden for all times to come. These get exposed themselves. That is the way of the world. The oddest secret would, one day, be proclaimed from the roof-top.

This is not an attempt to compare the unwholesome situation confronting honorable election commissioner Navin Chawla, who is embroiled in a controversy for a past act.

The way he acquired funds for his private trust, Lepra India Trust, run by his wife, Rupika Chawla, has invited rash criticism and a call to remove him from the august office of the election commissioner.

Funds came to the trust by way of donations by MPs, mostly the Congress tribe, from the MPLAD Scheme (Member of Parliament Local Area Development
Scheme) Fund. Ambika Soni, Karan Singh and A R Kidwai are the MPs in question.

As the call for his removal picked up a crescendo, Chawla tried to trivialise it quoting that a BJP MP also contributed his mite to the trust’s kitty.

It is some comfort that the episode did not happen when Chawla was holding the office of election commissioner, which he would demit on June 30 this year. The funding activity happened much before his assuming the present office.

The BJP, naturally, is only too keen to pursue the issue as a litigation before the Supreme Court. Whatever be the verdict, the issue has already caused embarrassment to the Congress side.

The Central government had sought the opinion of the Attorney-General, Milon Bannerjee, whose advice was that the incident was something that did not pertain to the period when Chawla was in office.

Lately, the apex court has asked for the opinion of the Chief Election Commissioner, B B Tandon.

By the time the court comes to decide on various opinions, in all probability, Chawla would have called it a day.

Remember, the case in Kerala High Court seeking a ban on publication of exit poll results before the completion of balloting, had become infructuous as the elections were over and the results published.
The issue should be approached in a non-partisan way by the appointing authorities as it involves an office vested with great powers during election times. All parameters of the incumbent should have been vetted scrupulously and honestly before naming a person to a high office. Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion. By the way, this is not an attempt to cast aspersions on Chawla in any way. But this should be an eye-opener to the powers-that-be to be careful.

The strength of the nation lies in it being the repository of a galaxy of blemishless intellectuals in various fields. Brain drain has not adversely affected the treasury of titans tending to our offices. Let the best and honest brains beckon us from high offices.

OJ's Corner : Mandal Mafia

REFLECTIONS

It is time the political playground is cleared of foul players kickstarting another Mandal mess. Often, those who indulge in intrigues and suspicions to stage a palace coup get dumped in the deep recesses of political oblivion. However, there is no time left for the country to wait for a natural end to the calumny that is going on in the name of reservation in institutes of higher learning.

Arjun Singh is one of the senior-most politicians in the Congress hierarchy, but he has been left high and dry on crucial occasions when he felt that Prime Ministership was within his grasp.

He has had that feeling etched in his mind ever since Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. His ambitions had to take a backseat on and off. When Dr Manmohan Singh was chosen the Prime Minister, irrespective of Arjun Singh’s seniority, he felt ignored.

It was ignominious that his junior Pranabkumar Mukherjee got Defence and much younger Shivraj Patil secured Home. Arjun Singh was bestowed with the omnibus Human Resources Development.

Moreover, lately Arjun Singh was cut up when he was about to be dumped, without getting a sure Rajya Sabha seat after his tenure was over. All the same he cringed and managed to get the seat and retain the Ministership.

It was like the empire striking back. One fine morning, Arjun Singh was overawed with love for the OBCs and moved fast to provide reservation for them in institutions of higher learning like AIIMS, IITs and IIMs. By any stretch of imagination, no politician, not even the ilk of the BJP, could come out in the open opposing reservation for the OBCs as it was a natural extension to the provisions contained in the Constitution 93rd amendment.

Arjun Singh did not give anyone breathing time to ponder over it, for his act was played when the country was facing Assembly elections in four States and one Union Territory.

It is open knowledge that Arjun Singh did not want Manmohan Singh to go that smoothly as the UPA Government was entering the third year of its functioning.

During the Assembly elections, there were broad hints made by sundry parties and individuals about forming a third front. V P Singh, who had used the Mandal card to ward off the Ayodhya movement, was recently amenable to setting up a new political formation.
Arjun Singh may be entertaining hopes that his foray into newer pastures might give him a break.

Now no one can remove him from the Cabinet, for those who do it would be dubbed anti-OBCs. The country is teeming with OBCs as a thick vote-bank.

Lalu Prasad Yadav, Nitishkumar, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati, Deve Gowda and possibly the DMK would not tolerate any action against the Mandal-mongers.

Arjun Singh is only itching for a counter-move by the PM or the Congress Party, who are all playing safe.

The PM has set up a group of Ministers to come up with cogent ideas to solve the problem. Giving 27 per cent reservation to the OBCs coupled with seat enhancement to provide for the merit quota appears to be a temporary solution.

But the genie has been uncorked. There should be political tantras and mantras to woo it back into the bottle. In the process, the power players should also be suppressed. Otherwise, no one would be able to stem the rot, that would spoil the country’s spirit.

O J's Corner ----- ENEMY WITHIN

The functioning of a new government should not be vetted harshly for the first 100 days.That is the convention in a democratic polity. Therefore, what follows has nothing to do with the "sins of commission or omission" of the V S Achuthanandan Ministry in Kerala, for it has not even got seated properly.
However, there is no harm in referring to the machinations surrounding the allocation of portfolios, largely relating to the CPM.

The honeymoon has not even begun, but it has to be poignantly observed that the Ministry has not reflected the confidence reposed in the LDF by millions of people.

By definition, it is the prerogative of the Chief Minister by West Minster system, to choose his colleagues in the Cabinet and decide who should do what. But in practice, in a party set-up, there would be consultations and resultant consensus to decide the Cabinet framework. This is all the more necessary in coalition governance.

All the same, the Chief Minister is given much leeway to select his colleagues so that his Ministry can effectively discharge the functions without hiccups from mischief-mongers.

It is true Achuthanandan was not the whiz kid for Chief Ministership at the instance of the CPM party secretariat dominated by his rival group. He could don the mantle only at the instance of the politburo, which had to take cognizance of the massive mandate fetched by VS.

The developments leading to VS Shining have been imbued with theatrics. He has not been the wonder boy even for the politburo as he had disregarded the advice of the PB at the Malampuzha Party Congress. By a clever move, all the PB members were debarred from contesting the Assembly elections. This was aimed at precluding VS, whose graph began climbing up at the people's court. Actually, this resulted in being the trump card for VS' victory.

Initially, many of the arm-chair PB members thought that the script for VS' eclipse has already been written and that the rival group would manage to pull off without him. For in the CPM, when one remains felled, there is no rejuvenation. K R Gowri Amma and M V Raghavan are clear examples. They could continue in politics only because of the UDF, which benefited from their experience.

Achuthanandan has not much say at the party state secretariat and state committee levels, but he is liked by the cadre.

The dare-devil way he crafted the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption portfolio for himself emphasizes his conviction to rule by his conscience and not at the dictates of the party state secretariat in toto. Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan may differ. He wants the Chief Minister to toe the line of the party.

Apparently, there was an understanding at the PB level that the Home Portfolio woud be given over to the rival group. There was no clarity about Vigilance and Anti-corruption.

Without hesitation, the Chief Minister delegated this function to himself. The next politburo meeting, to be held at Kolkata on May 27 and 28, would be apprised of the "delinquency" of VS, but by then it would be fait accompli, and the Chief Minister would carry the day.

The current exercises at power politics are all right for the players, but the people at large would not be amused. They want clear results.

OJ's Corner PROFIT OFFICE

It appears the Office of Profit conundrum has been cleared, with various political parties relishing a piece of the cake.

At one stroke, 56 offices were exempted from the purview of Office of Profit with retrospective effect from April 4,1959, when the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act 1959 came into force.

Both Houses of Parliament, the other day, passed the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill 2006 byh which 56 more offices were exempted from the definition of Office of Profit so that legislators can hold such dual positions.

The exemption pertains as well to the National Advisory Council of which Sonia Gandhi was its chairperson.

One does not need to be a hair-splitting analyst to conclude that the issue has been over-politicised and that at the end of it all, it has been a storm over a tea-cup.

The rival candidate of Jaya Bacchan had challenged her Rajya Sabha membership on the Office of Profit score. The Election Commission took due notice of it and referred it to the President, who on a legal plank disqualified her.

Many major political parties were involved int his quagmire. The leaders concerned were such as Sonia Gandhi, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, BJP's V K Malhotra and other heavy-weights.

When the issue hogged the limelight, there was an attempt at issuing n ordinance exempting such offices from the purview of Office of Profit so that the leaders could continue.
The hue and cry was why it was not brought in as a bill when Parliament was in session. Actually there was no breathing time left for the Treasury Benches to get the bill passed by both Houses of Parliament.

Since the onus was honest, to save al the legislators cutting across party lines, it could have been settled by consensus and the ordinance could have been carried.

Then all hell broke loose and political polemics took over. All ammunition was let loose on Sonia Gandhi, who courageously resigned all the posts in question in addtion to her membership in the Lok Sabha.

In fact, her action made political pygmies out of her rivals. None of her opponents were prepared to seek re-election. Their bravado in criticising her each and every action was tantamount to political chicanery.

BJP's L K Advani has been making the loudest noise, attempting to steal some lime light somehow, in the wake of the RSS and decisive sections of the BJP jettisoning him after his Jinnah sermon. The sad plight of a Prime Ministerial stuff!

The legislative process has been derived from the British system. But there those holding Office of Profit cannot hold the post of a legislator simultaneously. Dual position is completely ruled out.

Here People's Representatives have double advantage, which gets accumulated with the passage of time.

Without the present piece of legislative amendment, about 40 legislators, including MPs, MLAs, and MLCs, would have lost their seats. By-elections to all these constituencies would have been a wasteful expenditure.

The situation smacks of a scuffles at the eating table even as all are gobbling down the choicest dishes.

OJ's Corner - CHRIST CARE

Definitely the Church has come of age. Consider the evolution of its perceptions of people profaning Jesus Christ in recent times. It has become tolerant.

Director Ron Howard's film of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code had caused intellectual titillations in the Western world where non-conformist ideas are received with aplomb.

A people who are affluent want to justify deviant ways. With intellectual inputs and signs and codes embedded, the work of art becomes dear to them. They want to have a God who is one with their own thoughts and actions and they flourish in this practice. Godliness is attributed to everything they do, be it evil or plain immoral peregrinations.

I, for one, was delighted to listen to the Church's reaction about screening of Da Vinci Code. The Church leaders said the film's story is unacceptable to the Christian community of India. If the Government wants to go ahead, let there be cuts and disclaimers. The disclaimer should be sustained and lingering saying that this movie is fiction and has no bearing with the historical truth or corresponding truth.

The film should be given an "A" certificate so that the mature audience can differentiate between fact and fiction.

No one can justify a murder being committed by making a sign of the cross before and after the act, which definitely hurts religious sentiments.

The film contains disturbing images, violence, some nudity, thematic material, brief drug references and sexual content.

A murder in Louvre and clues in Da Vinci's paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery protected by a secret society for two thousand years. The mystery was that Christ had married Mary Magdalene and had children and the sect has survived all through the millenia.

The Last Supper contains astonishing coded secrets, according to the author and the director of the film.

The Government cannot suppress freedom of expression, for if it is gagged, the attempt would be counter-productive. Those who want to profane Divinity would have their polemics pontificated.

Nikos Kazantzakis wrote "The Last Temptations of Christ" in 1951, whose subsequent film version had created a flutter. The Church was not this much tolerant then. It was opposed tooth and nail and banned in several countries.

The film had depicted a Christ tortured by metaphysical and existential concerns seeking answers to human questions. He was torn between his sense of duty and cause on one side and his own human needs to enjoy life, to love and to be loved, to have family, on the other side. He is a tragic figure who at the end sacrifices his own human hopes for a wider cause.

All these years, timeless Christ, in pristine purity, remained unaffected for the faithful.

Sallies of imagination and fiction would not sully the image of the Godhead. Let freedom of expression be not fettered.

OJ's Corner- REFLECTIONS

MONEYED MARXIST

Forbes Magazine has come out with the list of latest richies. Fidel Castro, 79, President of Cuba, is one among the moneyed class.

Of course, Forbes has given a separate list for sundry dictators and tyrants in which Fidel Castro figures. His fortune is a mere $900 million, reportedly stashed in Swiss banks.

Forbes.com says: "Controversial dictator Fidel Castro has economic control over a web of State-owned companies, a convention center near Havana, Climex, a retail conglomerate, Medicuba, which sells vaccines and pharmaceuticals produced in Cuba."

He has skimmed profits from all these ventures.But Castro defiantly says his personal net worth is zero.

His initial reaction amounted to a challenge for suing Forbes magazine. One does not know where the suit can be filed. Of course, Cuba lies in the backyard of the US. But then, who can drag the magazine honchos from the US?

There is the general list of billinaires in which William Gates ( that is Microsoft's Bill Gates) remains atop. He has been on top of the world's richest for the last 12 years.

Poor Castro, among the tyrants, dictators and sundry kings, is only a millionaire in dollar terms!

Now he has asked the United States to prove that he is a millionaire. He would, then, quit on the dot.

The source of income for Gates and others is recorded as self-made. What about Castro? It may also have been self-made. He can just ask the companies. They would do his bidding. Otherwise?

This does not mean that international Communists have been amassing money. Ho Chi Minh, Che Guera and the like who lived frugal lives cannot have made a farthing.

Many leaders who operated world affairs in the Cold War era have been richies. We remember Ferdinand Marcos of Philippines, Idi Amin of Uganda and others.

Remember Amin had driven out hundreds of Indians who made it big in Uganda and they had to flee for their lives. It is a sleight of hand of the fate that Amin had to abandon Uganda with his huge baggage of wives and children to Saudi Arabia where he breathed his last unwept, unknown. Amen.

That is not the case with Marxists and Socialists spiriting away money in dark alleys and preaching equality for all in public. People take particular notice of them because they stand for the world's poor and the marginalised.

Capitalist crooks have always been there. They have no qualms about riches. Only thing is they have to be careful about unwholesome gains, as some vigilantes would drag them to court.

It has been found that, in practice, the end result of socialist and capitalist policies is the provision of enormous personal fortunes to dictators and dictatorial regimes, and their associates at the expense of citizens in developing and developed world.

Let all the banks reveal the fortunes left with them in hiding, the world's economy would burst with a bang. With that the woes of have-nots can be removed at one stroke.

OJ's Corner -REFLECTIONS

Budhia bubble

Hello Budhia Singh! You are only four years old. You are running long distances and faster too. Agreed, you are not like ordinary kids who bounce around the courtyard and neighbourhood clutching the hands of your mother or siblings. Others of your age would be prancing around the lower kindergarten, fiddling with rockers, see-saws, revolving on the merry-go-round and falling down the big slide.

"Altius, citius, fortius" (Olympic motto higher, faster,stronger) is not your motto now. It is being usurped by your foster father, Mr Biranchi Das.

You are participating in marathons and made to create records, at the bidding of Mr Das, in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India. He has incarnated himself as your coach!

Last time, you were running 75 kilometres at a stretch. By the 65th kilometre, you almost swooned. With much prodding and helping you continued the race. With fortitude you were going on and on to create the record.

Dear child, you have extra-ordinary prowess that has tempered your body and soul to suffer hardships. You are hurting your body and soul, which is nothing but mortification.

For God's sake, please run around as much as you want, to your heart's content. But not to please your godfather, who wants to fleece you. Tender being, you do not know, others are taking advantage of you.

God has created us with limitations, within which we should function. Your feat is not an intellectual exercise, but it is unthought of body action, torture. Your physique cannot stand it.

Let all sane persons come to your aid, salvage you from financial hardhships. You definitely deserve a break and a better living. But this is not the way to get a few pennies precociously.

You should definitely train yourself to achieve greatness in this race itself, but please don't jump overboard to gain heights. You will ruin yourself.

Your godfather now says he would take you out of Orissa as the government is thinking of taking criminal action against him. The government is trying to put a ban on your ostensibly forced participation in the marathon at the instance of your foster father. He has nothing to lose, but has everything to gain, money and fame by abusing your body at this tender age.

Doctors are against your marathon running. The child welfare committee is deadly against your further feats of recklessness.

Mr Das is, apparently, exaggerating about offers from the US, UK and the like. If you get opportunities to train yourself slowly and steadily and gradually bloom at the ripe age, that is well and good, but not this unwholesome attempt now.

You are a champion yourself in running. You don't have to go for marathon now to prove anything.

You do not know, this is nothing but cruelty being inflicted upon you. But your godfather knows it very well that you are being taken advantage of.

I tell you, one day those who exploit you will face the music. Under the existing provisions of law, teh abettor can be prosecuted for cruelty.

You are innocent of this macabre exercise. Wordsworth said of Caroline, his daughter born out of marriage:

" Dear child, dear girl! that walkest with me here,
If thou appear untouched by solemn thought,
Thy nature is not therefore less divine:
Thou liest in Abraham's bosom all the year;
And woshipp'st at the Temple's inner shrine,
God being with thee when we know it not".

This is true of you, innocent child. God bless you.

OJ's Corner - Reflections

The irony of politics

Chief Minister-designate V S Achuthanandan was persona non grata for CPM stalwarts,including a majority of the politburo members and State level leaders, after he had disregarded their advice not to field candidates for the State committee election of the party at its Palakkad conclave last year.

A lot of people and party cadres owing allegiance to the rival group led by Pinarayi Vijayan and others had written him off. Enough ammunition was fired against him covertly and overtly.

The disenchantment was evident when the politburo decided not to field Achuthanandan and Pinarayi Vijayan as candidates in the Assembly elections.

The leaders thought that the sort of party that is CPM would not tolerate individualism and Achuthanandan was a thing of the past.
An yes-man of Pinarayi group was being groomed as Chief Minister.

In effect, the party itself did him a great service by pestering him on an unprecedented scale during the candidate selection. The party rank and file and intellectuals supported him. That is those who did not see eye to eye with this earthy human being rallied support for him.

There was great clamour for giving him a seat. The politburo which usually does not kowtow to individualism had to relent. That was a rare occasion.

Now that the LDF has swept the polls, no one could speak against Achuthanandan.

This is what is called noble revenge.

The octogenarian who has been pursuing issues after issues in Kerala all these years had to give over to E K Nayanar twice earlier. This was the last chance for him, and there was a deliberate attempt to eliminate him. The people saw through this game.

Every human being has his fate cut out for him. All these few decades he was slogging like anything without proper rewards.

Now nobody can deny him the cup that is raised to toast him.
Even cruelty has a little bit of sympathy for the victim.

OJ's Corner-VS all the way.

The 83-year-old non-English-educated V S Achuthanandan has proved his mettle. Today he was returned to the Kerala Assembly with 20,000-plus majority. Now no one can keep him away from Chief Ministership. Not even the high-profile politburo, which will meet in Delhi on May 13. There cannot be much haggling about VS' Chief Ministership. Therefore, his bete noires within the party would try to heckle him by cornering plum posts in the Cabinet. VS could then be hamstrung with heavy weights from the rival group.

Today's election results have been a glorious treat for him. The LDF has cornered 98 seats, while the UDF got only 42 seats.

Last time, the situation was almost the reverse. In Kerala, governance is something like a hide-and-seek alternative- term play for the UDF and the LDF.

The mystery is about the fall of great leaders in the UDF-K.R.Gowri Amma, M V Raghavan, R.Balakrishna Pillai, P.K.Kunhalikutty, E.T.Mohamed Basheer, T M Jacob, P P Thankachen and the like.
"What a great fall it is my countrymen?", one would ask about the candidates of DIC(K) which had tie-up with the UDF. Vetern Karunakaran's tricks recoiled on him and his party.

His son K.Muraleedharan and all other 17 candidates, except one, were trounced flat. The lone winner was not one who had walked off the people's mandate earlier.

Those who worked for reconciliation between DIC(K) and the UDF also tasted humiliating defeats like Kunhalikutty, Mohamed Basheer and T M Jacob.

UDF has some relief in the victory of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in Puthuppally, K M Mani in Pala and the like.

P J Joseph tasted victory in Thodupuzha. IAS-turned Alphons Kannamthanam also emerged victorious in the three-cornered fight in Kanjirappally. The victory of Thomas Isaac and M A Baby of the CPM speaks volumes for their winnability in spite of great criticism on many fronts.

Now it is over to Achuthanandan and his team to practise what they preached all these five years last.

O J's corner --REFLECTIONS

Tonight would not end for political leaders in Kerala. It would be nightmares for them whose political future would be dependent on the Assembly election results coming out within hours. Results would start trickling in at 8 am on May 11( IST).

An election debacle for Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in Puthuppally, veteran Kerala Congress(M) leader K M Mani in Pala, Kerala Congress(J) leader in Thodupuzha would be unthinkable for them.

For several terms together, Oommen Chandy and K M Mani have been getting returned to the Assembly consecutively.

With the winds of change sweeping over the State, giving an edge to the LDF, the UDF is poised to lose governance. Still they cannot think of Chandy , Mani and the like getting defeated.

On the other side of the fence, suppose the Chief Minister-sure V S Achuthanandan gets trounced at Malampuzha, other senior leaders of CPM like Paloli Mohamedkutty would be the front runners for Chief Ministership.

The possibility is remote for Achuthanandan to taste defeat this time. But then, one may have to contend with the unpredictability of politics.

For P J Joseph, who was shown the door at Thodupuzha last time, another defeat would mean disintegration of the Kerala Congress (Joseph) group. He can't bear another humiliation.

What if the rivals of Thomas Isaac in Mararikulam, M A Baby in Kundara and Alphons Kannamthanam in Kanjirapply romp home to victory.

It would be Ministership falling off from them.

Likewise, so many stalwarts are fence-sitters this time.A majority of them have been seeking solace in places of worships . Pilgrim centres of sacred persuasions have been inundated with visits and supplications of political bigwigs.

Only hours are left, they cannot sleep, but only seek solace in the precincts of holy places.

OJ's Corner

REFLECTIONS

Is the jinx that allows only upper castes to rule the State being broken ?
With the anticipated coronation of V S Achuthanandan as Chief Minister after the election results coming out on May 11, it would appear that there has been a breakthrough. But can the caste conundrum be cut to size and the non-upper caste CM continue to rule us ?

That is a big "if" for the people of Kerala, which Swami Vivekananda called a lunatic asylum of casteism. To emerge out of the vice-grip of this Mighty Being holding the reins disregarding the political permutations and combinations has been next to impossible.

A close look at the post-Independence regimes reveals that only upper caste leaders could successfully pull through. Leaders of backward classes and minorities were swept aside or pulled down whenever they were perched atop.

Congress leader R.Shankar, an Ezhava stalwart, could not complete his term as CM. Of course, there were reasons many which had gone against his government. Even if he had propitiated his opponents, there would have been other factors which proved to be his Achilles' heel.

What had happened to Chief Minister Mohamed Koya ? His Ministry continued for a few days only. If Koya did not make it, no one elsein the IUML can aspire to lead the State.

In spite of the best practices, Utopian idealism and image of A K Antony, his regimes were on slippery slope. His first two tenures could safely be termed as stop-gap arrangements. He took over first when K Karunakaran called it a day following the Rajan case imbroglio. Second time also, he filled the gap of Karunakaran who was forced out on the ISRO espionage issue.

Of course, Antony's third term could be reckoned as his regular Chief Ministership. But all forces had arrayed against him and bayed for his blood.

The debacle of all the Congress candidates in the Lok Sabha elections, driven by the collective opposition, had ensured his ouster.

His successor Oommen Chandy,with all his populism and political camaraderie on the one side and sharp-shooting action against mischief-makers on the other, has of late been moving lame duck.

The Mighty Brain, holed up somewhere and pervading the interiors of the minds of various political persuasions, had already crafted an epitaph for the Oommen Chandy dispensation, iun spite of the fact that OC was the best bet for the UDF.

Was it any different in the left dispensations ? An undivided Communist Party could not allow the inimitableT V Thomas, considered an all-encompassing leader, to pick up the reins of its first government in 1957. Of course, after E M S Namboodiripad spread his wings on the administrative arena, no one could challenge him.

The saga of E K Nayanar, who had fooled everybody with his seemingly foolish but calculative demeanour, was about to be snuffed out to project the fire-brand K R Gowri Amma, hailing from the backward Ezhava caste, as the Chief Minister.

The saddest chapter of political history would be the denial of Chief Ministership to Gowri Amma at the time of reckoning. It could not be said to be a slip between the cup and the lip, for the Mighty Being had already intervened.

Gowri Amma and earlier her husband T V Thomas were mere players in this power game umpired by the overbearing Being, whose area of operation is not any single political party.

V S Achuthanandan, another Ezhava, was considered the cocksure CM last time.He was eliminated at the election itself.

This time he had to go through party rigmarole, pestering him on an unprecedented level. The more he was heckled, the more victorious he emerged. Will the Big Brother allow him breathing space this time after he becomes the CM ? Will the jinx be broken ?

OJ's Corner-----------------REFLECTIONS


To his luck, V S Achuthanandan has turned out to be the centre-piece and cynosure of the present Assembly elections, not exactly by design but by force of circumstances.

Hats off to him, who had to wage a relentless battle against his rivals for getting even a ticket for the elections. And that too when he has been the fire-brand Opposition Leader in Kerala Assembly.

But then that is the way with the CPM, which cares little about personal equations when it happens to be a party matter.

Initially, the opposition was from his own party leaders. The politburo was phenomenal in denying him a ticket. However, on mounting pressure exerted by the party cadre and people at large, the PB had to renege on its rigidity.

Now after a ticket has been offered, some of his nominees had to be accommodated in various constituencies. This is at least some relief, as the elected members will have a bit of a say in the election of the Chief Minister, even if it is that of the CPM, which has other ideas on the choice.

Taking a cue from the quirk of circumstances resulting in VS shining, the Congress and the UDF had to be on the defensive, targeting VS in the campaign.

There have been so many assertions about VS being unsuitable for the post, now that the LDF and the people have, by and large, accepted the fait accompli leading to VS becoming the CM.

It is yet to be seen whether his rivals in the CPM would be able to turn the tables against him at the last minute, by defeating him at Malampuzha, which appears to be unfeasible, or by mobilising forces against him at the party's State committee and State secretariat levels, if not at the PB conclave.

In the whole gamut of the election scenario, VS stood out in the arc light.

This headstart has been described as media creature. Honestly, that has not been the case. Media is keen to pursue isues and developments. Any turn of events is delicious fodder for it. That the media covered everything about VS turned out to be a blitzkrieg.

Denial of seat for him, the people's fightback, VS' stoic silence for some time, and then occasional retorts have all conferred victimhood on him. The people became sympathetic to him. Apolitical people also stood by him.

As of now, this is not the be-all and the end-all. The party would not offer it on a platter, despite party general secretary Prakash Karat claiming that it would take only a day to clinch the issue.

There are hurdles on the way for VS, but this time he stands on a high pedestal. He cannot be ignored.

Good luck, comrade. You have the last chance to lead the State. And let us see how you fare.