How Low Can We Stoop Too?

Winter is coming....This is not to cite the famous line from "Game of Thrones" but to highlight the desperation which has hit the terrorists across the POK and their Pakistani perpetrators hard. There has been 22 ceasefire violations since the 29th September surgical strikes, clear signs of Pakistan trying to infiltrate as many terrorists within India to cause mayhem, before winter peaks and infiltration through treacherous mountains almost becomes impossible. Beyond these, there also have been desperate attempts to retaliate to surgical strikes, predominantly in Baramulla (where we lost one of our Braveheart, 24 years old Nitin Kumar) and again Handwara on 6^th October, 2016 where 3 terrorists were neutralized.

However, the irony is that while our soldiers are braving it out at the borders in response to Pakistan's desperate retaliation, we have a bunch of pseudo liberals and apologists here in India, for whom their politics and vicious social agenda supersedes the primary expectation from we civilians today i.e. to stand behind our forces in complete unity in these testing times.

Let's consider these contentious issues affecting the nation today post the surgical strikes one at a time:

1) "Purposely" Falling for Pakistan's Lie - As cited in my last post, it was always obvious that Pakistan won’t own up to these surgical strikes because it invariably would mean that they were harboring terrorists further emboldening India's stance to declare Pakistan a terrorist state. They would also then be expected to retaliate back to India militarily to satisfy their domestic audience, which they very well know they are not capable of in a conventional warfare. At best they can carry on proxy war with us, which they have expectedly intensified in last week.

Lastly, and more importantly, it's in the DNA of Pakistan that they do not own up to their losses.

Even today they claim that they own part of Siachen glacier, which in fact they had lost control of almost 20 years back. During Kargil War they denied till last breadth that their Northern Light Infantry division had any role to play in it, so much so that they even declined to accept the bodies of their own soldiers and finally it was India which provided cremation for their soldiers with dignity. Less said about the 65 War and 71 War the better. In fact, the disgrace of 93000 soldiers surrendering in 1971 war is unprecedented of any military conflict post the Second World War. Facts which Pakistan fails to acknowledge even today.

Thus to fall for false propaganda of rogue state with such a distinguished track record of lies, and then to use it as a pretext to cast aspersions on our own military operations goes beyond being just “Naïve” to “Purposely” adhering to Pakistan’s lies in order to satisfy short term political objectives for some and establish the liberal and elitist credentials for others.  What these pseudo liberals and apologists fail to understand though is that while their real “target” is to counter the political courage and pragmatism of political leadership of Modi Government, but essentially, what they end up doing is letting the country and Army down when as a nation we need to speak in one Voice against a common menace, terrorism.

2) The Politics: Demand for Proofs of the Surgical Strikes - Having followed politics closely for last 20 years now, I feel this is the lowest level where our politicians can transgress to.

Our politicians (Arvind Kejriwal, Sanjay Nirupam, Manishankar Ayyar, Ajay Alok, P Chidambram, Rahul Gandhi, Congress Spokespersons and Left Parties and the entire gang of apologists and pseudo liberals)  asking for proof of surgical strikes, even going to extent of calling them “fake” or “jumla”, just because Pakistan doesn't accept our claims is not just absolutely absurd but even sinister. In fact post surgical strikes; it was Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Ranbir Singh himself, who briefed the nation on the military operation conducted. His words were sacrosanct and beyond any suspicion for a common Indian, but not for those opportunists who keep clamoring for more proof that surgical attack took place.

Fact of the matter is all politicians cited above, very well knew that a military operation did actually happen. Their real objective is actually to ask Government for stuff, which due to larger strategic and military interest, Government would be unwilling to share publicly, and rightly so, but thus allowing opposition to create suspicion and put Government in a dock. It’s actually the political insecurity which breeds in a façade of asking for such proofs, which more than anyone else the ISI and Pakistan Army would be most interested in knowing about.  That’s because even after a week of surgical strikes, they are in shock and stand embarrassed as to how India conducted a strike of this precision when they were “supposedly” at their peak of preparedness towards any eventuality from Indian side post Uri attacks.

 

To be precise, it’s the fear psyche of BJP and particularly Modi reaping political dividends out of this military operation is what is actually driving opposition parties insane to a point where they fail to fathom the distinction between politics and national interest. To Modi's credit, which further adds to his statesmanship, he has not issued one statement post surgical strikes to score unwanted brownie points. Fact is, while years we lived in political despondency and strategic restraint, the credit is due for political leadership this time which finally gave go ahead for a cross border strike of this magnitude and objective. While Indira Gandhi is hailed as architect of 1971 victory and no one questions that, it’s but natural that post these surgical strikes Modi too has carved his own place in history despite what cynics and his perennial bashers may have to say. It’s no chest thumping but simply put, giving credit where due.

To understand how this politics have been played out in last couple of weeks is pretty interesting. Post Uri attacks, when it appeared that Modi too like earlier dispensations would opt for diplomatic options than military, these forces were out in full force to mock him and his 56 inch chest. Then the surgical strikes happened and the narrative changed. Barring a few, almost every political party appreciated the Army but avoided praising the Central government and the firm leadership of Modi. This came despite them being fully aware that Army always had capability and wherewithal to conduct such an operation, but what India lacked was political will which Modi exhibited here with full might and eventual success.

With Modi's popularity expected to soar among masses, desperate attempts started to pull him down and thus started the “shameful  game” of playing hand in glove with Pakistan to ask Government for proofs pertaining to surgical strikes. This though backfired almost immediately as people irrespective of their political affiliation would not tolerate politicians to degrade our Army's integrity and so the narrative had to be changed again. Now this opportunist brigade came up with disclaimer that though they respect Army but oppose Government politicizing and publicizing these operations...!!!! Same Government which right from day one had let Army do the talking, whose PM hasn't spoken a word yet on the attacks, and whose ministers have spoken in most restraint voices despite being otherwise termed as “Hyper Nationalist” by their opponents.

Couple of questions for this pseudo liberal brigade:

Firstly, did they also ask for proof from Pope as well for Mother Teresa’s miracles when he canonized her as Saint recently or that their desire for proof arises only when their own politics seems to be in jeopardy?

This is important to know because for an average Indian who is beyond any tags today, who is neither liberal nor extremist, neither rightist or leftist, neither capitalist nor socialist, for them our Armed Forces, their sacrifice, their valor and their "words" are sacrosanct. We value our soldier who defends us day in and day out when we civilians are living a normal life and sleep peacefully at night with assurance that soldiers at the borders are at task. To ask these soldiers to prove their words because Pakistan doesn't accept strikes took place is synonymous to a monkey court trial where you start doubting integrity of a judge because the convict believes the judge is partial.

Secondly, can this pseudo liberal brigade tell us that apart from Pakistan which "One" single nation has actually claimed in last 1 week that they doubt India's surgical strikes?? NONE. It's just the figment of imagination of these politicians, who conveniently prefer relying on some unsubstantiated reports in BBC and CCN fed upon by Pakistan’s propagandist Army, to not just belittle the diplomatic and strategic success of the present dispensation but also, and more importantly, the valor and sacrifice of our soldiers in the battlefield.

Some even brought UN as an alibi to express doubts on surgical strike so let me set the record straight: UN never doubted the occurrence of strikes. All they said was they are not in knowhow, which is but obvious since their mission is based out of Muzaffarabad (capital of POK) and not in areas adjoining LOC where the strikes actually took place. They however did ask for peace in the region which anyways they have been doing for last 60 years and onus for same lies more on Pakistan by stopping the cross border terrorism. But to use the distorted interpretation of UN statement to cast aspersions on strikes is stretching things a bit too far for narrow political gains or more importantly here to prevent potential political collateral damage, sadly at nation's interest.

While even Pervez Musharraf, albeit grudgingly, and other prominent Pakistani journalists have expressed concerns off late as to how today Pakistan is becoming isolated globally, it’s sheer ironical and sad that Arvind Kejriwal, CM of Delhi, India’s Capital, appreciates and tweets article that claim that rather than Pakistan, its India which is getting isolated globally (a fact which even a Pakistani with any semblance of sanity will find difficult to believe)and is further worshipped as hero in Pakistani newspapers for last two days for asking Modi for proofs on surgical strikes. No wonder, top trending tweet in Pakistan today was “IStandwithKejriwal”.  So much so for expecting our politicians to stand behind our Indian Army.

3) Such Strikes were carried out in the past as well but this Government publicized it – Another “white” lie propagated by previous Congress government which has gained momentum in last one week. While these prior governments never had the political courage to back the Army for surgical strikes (that’s why the entire nation was waiting for one), today once these strikes have actually taken place everyone wants to join the bandwagon and claim "we also did so, what's so Great about it".

Firstly, no one denies that Cross LOC actions have taken in the past, but to compare it with the magnitude and strategic objective of this operation is simply being naive to an extent that it starts appearing hilarious and disgusting. Also for learned members of Congress party and their supporters on social media, let’s set the record straight.

Congress claims that they carried out 3 surgical strikes during 2011-2014, but to cite, Lt. Gen. Vinod Bhatia (DGMO, 2012-2014), by far the best person to give the true account of things from the ground, there is absolutely no comparison between those strikes claimed by Congress and the present surgical strikes. He explicitly goes on to say that "earlier strikes were not even strikes, they were cross-border operations done at the local level without much planning, without much thought”.

On the other hand this current operation " are a defining moment, where all elements of national power, that is the diplomatic, informational, military, economic, political, cultural – have synergized, and for the first time, India has given a befitting response to terrorist operations in the counter-terror domain". Similar thoughts have been echoed by almost every former and present Army personnel and strategic experts. Beyond this justification, for those who still believes that Congress spokespersons and old loyalists like Mani Shankar Aiyar (who even objects to US Navy Seals killing respected Osama Bin Laden while he was unarmed..!!, what more to expect), knows more about surgical strikes than former DGMO's and Army Chief's, this article definitely doesn’t intends to please them at all.

To conclude:

As Indian, it saddens us today, to see the disgust being served day in and day out on our television and media from mouths of politicians with Rahul Gandhi, VP of the grand old party of India, himself bringing the discourse to lowest possible level with his “Khoon Ki Dalali” jibe uttered in an election rally.

While earlier we would have given ourselves the benefit of doubt that this would be filthiest of rhetoric we would be hearing in quite some time, let’s not be surprised though that tomorrow some other loud mouthed politician will set the new benchmark for further low in the political discourse. But as a common Indian just had one question today….How much more low do we actually intend to fall as a nation??  Isn’t it enough already???? Every morning when we get up first thing we see if our forces at borders have not been attacked again and pray for their safety and by evening all you find is petty politicians shouting their lungs out for narrow political vote bank politics on various news channels completely oblivious to the sacrifice made by our soldiers.

Let’s put things straight. The PM is PM not for just BJP, but the entire nation. It’s so distinctly visible that some people have still not come to terms with this. Same set of people who believe that ruling this country and driving all the political, social and economic discourse of this country is their birth right. They need to understand that in PM Modi our armed forces have democratically found a true leader who is not just pragmatic but also courageous to take tough calls in times of adversity.  Its pity that even in these testing times when the valor and sacrifice of our soldiers can’t unite these opportunistic forces and makes them stand as “ONE”, what sadly unites them is their pathological hatred for one individual, Narendra Modi, whereby they allow their domestic differences to supersede the larger national interests.

This is the saddest phase of Indian politics and what’s worse is that the collateral damage of the same is felt most by our armed forces. Our Armed Forces, whose morale, should have been sky high after the exemplary surgical strikes that they carried out (among the best in counter operations history over the world), would actually be at their lowest when they see on television the lousy civilians for whom they are shedding their blood in the battlefield.

But then they are soldiers, who despite all the negativity around them would still think first about his country, then his company and lastly himself. But maybe for we civilians in present times this may be a bit too much to understand and appreciate.

Paradigm Shift in India's Pakistan Policy

Post the attacks on Army Camp in Uri on 18^th September 2016, the mood of the nation was not just grim but also exhausted. Everyone had same question: “Will we ever strike back?” or more importantly does our current Government, unlike the ones from the past, has guts to go beyond rhetoric and avenge the death of our martyrs. We needed 10 days for an answer, but when it came, it made the nation proud. It conveyed the message that finally we are ready to fight our own battles, and desire of peace doesn’t necessarily means putting forth another cheek in front when slapped on one.

In the aftermath of 29th September Surgical Strikes in POK, nothing could be truer than the below 2 statements:

“Respect is not asked but earned"

“You can never be a global superpower unless you are a regional superpower"

So let’s try to decipher and understand the immediate ramifications of this Surgical Strike which Indian military conducted across Pak Occupied Kashmir (POK), dismantling 7 Terror Launch Pads and killing scores of terrorists and their handlers in a first ever pre-emptive surgical strike ever carried out by Indian armed forces of this magnitude across the Line of Control (LOC) and more importantly with strategic objective to convey a loud and strong message  to perpetrators of terrorists sitting in Rawalpindi HQ.

1)  After years of "strategic restraint", or more bluntly put our “Ineptitude at political level" finally India has come up with a leader in PM Modi who exhibited, as expected by many, the political courage to bring a paradigm shift in our engagements with Pakistan. While diplomacy has its own space in foreign policy and remains the most potent tool, our inability to exercise military options in most provocative of scenarios ( Parliament Attack, 26/11 , 2013 Soldier beheading incidents, Pathankot, the list goes on) continuously contributed to India being perceived as a Soft State. While adversaries like Hafeez Saeed mocked us that all we can come up with are rhetoric, other hawkish voices within Pakistan and elsewhere commented that only instance we could eliminate out the terrorists were limited to movies like "Baby" and "Phantom".

As a bigger, responsible nation, restraint and responsibility is a legitimate expectation from us, but the ability to protect our people and provide them a safer environment to live, is a much greater expectation from the political leadership of a sovereign state. While a leader must strive for peace (as Modi did in last 2 years when he invited Sharif for his swearing in ceremony, or visited Lahore to meet him in person), he must also exhibit the tenacity and guts to respond to provocations which time and again affected the morale of the nation and armed forces and reached to saturation post Uri attacks. It's heartening to see that finally a leader has risen to the occasion and expectations and in Narendra Modi the nation has finally got its new “Iron Man”, who is best positioned to take the nation ahead in these testing times.

2) The surgical strikes has also ensured that we have come out of years psychological barrier that we imposed upon us, where shallow rhetoric and diplomatic dossiers were our only response to any terrorist attack, in “anticipated fear” of military escalations with Pakistan.

Those who care for the foreign policy optics though, the presence of MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup along with DGMO Lt. Col. Ranbir Singh, as he was providing the surgical operations details, would have been interesting. It was a clear message to Pakistan and global community that henceforth military operations would be an additional option as part of our foreign policy repertoire while engaging with Pakistan. It must also be said that in current context our "official response" to surgical strikes conducted has been most admirable.

Striking terrorist launch pads and not Pakistan military per se, we have left onus of any escalations on Pakistan. While Pakistan have officially denied that India conducted any surgical strikes, as expected, in reality they are caught between a devil and deep sea. Acceptance of Surgical strikes would mean that Pakistan would need to escalate the tension and retaliate in a conventional military manner where they very well know that they are no match to India. Denial of strikes though would not just make the Pakistani political establishment further unpopular within its domestic constituency but more importantly take away the halo that exists around Pakistan’s military chief Raheel Sharif who is due to retire in this November. Precisely for this reason, to save their skins, doctored stories of Indian soldiers death have been planted and run non-stop by the Pakistani media houses post the surgical strikes. In coming days though, their reaction would be determined more by Sharif, Raheel and not Nawaz, and India would do well to keep it guards up along the entire western front towards any eventuality.

3) The positive energy and vibe this military operation has generated for nation as a whole and our armed forces in particular is unprecedented (barring say the 1971 victory and Kargil war, which though were more conventional in nature). This aspect has also been much emphasized by several former military personnel and strategic analysts since the operations got over. While no one ever doubted the capability of our armed forces to respond to Pakistan's misadventures from across the Line of Control (LOC), till now they were almost always held back from “hot pursuit” due to lack of political courage.

Unlike Pakistan, where military dispensation, are Semi God, always ready to undermine the legitimacy of civilian leadership, in India we have had the most disciplined Army to say the least. However, for quite some time now, a significant delusion were creeping into our armed forces due to lack of political will at the top to take tough calls in scenarios of highest provocations from Pakistan supported terrorist groups.

A strong, decisive civilian government is what our Armed Forces needed, and once they had that, our forces showed their professionalism through an exemplary surgical strike with no causalities on our side. While reports from Pakistan kept harping each day post Uri attacks as to how F16's were doing military drills over Islamabad and how Pakistan armed forces were battle ready to respond to any Indian retaliation, the fact is like always they expected no "real" Indian military response imminent beyond rhetoric based on our track record.

However, when we struck this time, against their expectations, they were embarrassingly caught napping and encountered one of the most lethal surgical assault on adversary in recent history, a fact they will take years to acknowledge (They still haven't acknowledged that they lost 65 and 71 War, or their Army were involved in Kargil or even if Osama Bin Laden was sheltered by Pakistan Army in Abbottabad!!!!).

4) Another aftermath of this strike is that it has also exposed the Nuclear bluff which Pakistan (and some pseudo liberal apologists here in India) harps upon day in and day out in response to any military retaliation we contemplated in the past, to which we eventually used to cave in. While a nuclear catastrophe should be avoided under all cost, and India with its “No First Use” policy is committed towards it, Pakistan would do much better to stop behaving irresponsibly like North Korea and should stop treating their strategic assets as the only viable negotiating tool Vis a Vis India.

These attacks have shown that a considerable maneuvering space remains for Indian military without things escalating into a conventional war. All we were targeting here were terrorist launch pads across LOC in POK (which, essentially, as per our 1994 resolution in Parliament is part of India) harboring terrorists whom Pakistan calls “Non State” actors.

With Pakistan now crying across all world forums including UN that they are the biggest sufferer due to terrorism, they should essentially thank India for helping them eliminate the menace of terrorism, which is the biggest threat to mankind, unless they are complicit with those terrorists, a fact which is virtually known to the entire world. No wonder Pakistan has got the unique distinction of hosting the “Ivy League of Terrorism” today..!!

5) All round diplomatic effort of the government should also not be underestimated here. While in past, post our Nuclear Tests we were subjected to several sanctions or faced immense pressure from USA to de-escalate our troops build up under operation Parakram post the Parliament attack, the scenario this time is “markedly” different so much so that not one single nation till now has objected to India's pre-emptive strike or issued any statements favoring Pakistan. If anything, global powerhouse, USA, has taken India’s side after the strikes and has asked Pakistan to take effective action to combat and delegitimize UN designated terrorist individuals and entities. Even China, Pakistan's new BFF, has avoided making any statements which can be construed anti India. Russia too has whole heartedly come out in India's support.

What is further encouraging though is the support of Arab countries like UAE and Saudi Arabia, who have been traditional Pakistan supporters. While this could be attributed to enhanced realization across the world with regards to menace of terrorism, it’s also pretty much courtesy the way India has tried to unite the world against terrorism and asked them to stop differentiating between “Good Terrorism” and “Bad Terrorism”. It's also a reminder to cynics in India, who never shy away from taking potshots at PM's foreign visits. It's high time they realized and acknowledged that its the the efforts emancipating out of those foreign visits, which is paying rich dividends today.

The speech by Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj in the UN General Assembly on 26^th September too was crucial in further aligning the world opinion in our favor on the issue of terrorism. This was in stark contrast to Nawaz Sharif's strategic self goal of endorsing of Burhan Wani; belonging to UN designated terrorist organization Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, from the UN dais. All this efforts, contributed immensely to keep global opinion on India’s side when the reports regarding the surgical strikes started pouring in.

Even at the regional level, the boycott of SAARC summit in Islamabad by 4 other nations beyond India (2 of them being Islamist states, Afghanistan and Bangladesh) is unprecedented and shows the diplomatic goodwill we have generated among our neighbors. No surprise that today, Pakistan finds itself almost isolated globally, a scenario of its own making and catalyzed by our all-round diplomatic offensive against terrorism and the key perpetrators of the same, Pakistan.

Lastly, does it solve all our problems on terrorism front? Definitely Not. It's more of a message to terrorist organizations and their perpetrators in Pakistan, that the era of strategic restraint on Indian side is over. While we will continue to take all diplomatic efforts to ensure a relationship of peace and calm with our neighbor, we would also not hesitate to take coercive diplomatic and economic decisions and most importantly military action in case of any further misadventures within our country from across the LOC. If Pakistan is hell bent to make India bleed with thousand wounds then henceforth we are equally ready to respond to each of these wounds with military strikes of greater precision and intensity.

At the same time, as a dysfunctional rogue state, Pakistan, would also definitely want to instigate some immediate unrest in our country post the embarrassing snub they have received through our military operations. While we are pretty confident that the soldiers at borders would be doing their best to protect us, we in hinterland too have to be doubly cautious with regards to any suspicious movements or activities and keep a close vigil. Intelligence apparatus too have to be at their toes to ensure that they apprehend any opportunities of sleeper cells activation within our country.

On domestic front, we would also soon see apologist lobby stand up (they are in hiding for now, as they don’t want to bear the wrath of a jubilant nation) and give sermons as to how we have changed into a war mongering nation and how talks would be the only solutions to peace, restraint should be our weapon, moral high ground should be our virtue and so on (almost the same narrative which Pakistani expects out of us): Just one suggestion for this group. No sane person wants war in lieu of peace, but then no sane person can keep tolerating its soldiers and civilians die time and again courtesy our callous attitude to counter the menace of terrorism and nefarious designs of our “rogue neighbor” head on. Also, eliminating terrorists through pre-emptive strikes is not synonymous to getting into a war, unless these apologists don’t see a distinction between Pakistan Army and terrorists.

While these group’s hyperbolic peace sermons may be good for talk shows and newspaper editorials, and helps further establish their elitist credentials, but for a common man, or a family member of martyred soldiers in Uri or for that matter any soldier, past or present, 29th September 2016 is a day of pride and satisfaction. It's a day India conveyed to the world that we will always strive for peace, but if anyone attempts to offend our territorial sovereignty and tries to inflict terror on our soil henceforth, we would not shy from responding back with full military might at the time and place of our choosing.

The Beginning to the end has just begun....!!

Salute to the Indian Army..!! Jai Hind..!!

Assam Elections - Media's Hypocrisy or Hidden Agenda

Let me admit at outset, I woke up late to Assam elections and didn't really realize that it was as close a fight as the political pundits/anchors on various TV channels are suggesting. But what really surprised me was the zeal with which many of these honchos of mainstream media are predicting a BJP victory in the last couple of days. (https://twitter.com/sardesairajdeep/status/718621175882977281?lang=en);
(http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/who-will-win-assam-check-out-the-bjps-chances-here-1344007?pfrom=home-lateststories)

Actually, the segment of media predicting a BJP win is what caught me by surprise. It's a common understanding that the English main stream media is not very popular among the supporters of BJP or so called extreme nationalists these days. That the English MSM is perceived to be biased and one-sided is a common notion. On their part, the constant rants and niggling done by these "known" news anchors on Twitter and calling every dissenting voice as "Bhakts" haven't helped their cause either. This in no way means I endorse those anonymous Twitterati who hurl abuses. They need to be condemned. Period. However, by selective journalism and letting their personal biases overcome their professional obligation of non-partisan news coverage, media haven't painted themselves with glory either and need to be equally blamed as to where the discourse has landed today on various social media channels, especially Twitter.

But coming back to the main story. So why this sudden change of heart for those who still haven't come to terms that a BJP government is at the helm and a PM from outside the power corridors of Lutyen's Delhi is shaping the future of this country. But a story this morning in Economic Times (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/congress-comeback-likely-in-muslim-strongholds-in-assam/articleshow/51749519.cms) helped shed some of my doubts. My perspective is this:

It's a real irony in this country that if someone discusses Lord Ram, or even speaks to establish a Ram-Rajya, an epitome of ideal state (not religiously but administratively and morally) then it is perceived as polarization or consolidation of Hindu votes. On the other hand, when Muslims, as in this Economics Times report, clearly mentions that they will chose between AIUDF (main Muslim Party) and Congress based on the final assumption as to who can defeat BJP then it becomes "Strategic Voting" and "true exercise of one's democratic rights."

Assam has 34% Muslim population and most of these seats where there is significant Muslim population are going to polls on 11th April (23 of the 61 seats going to polls in next phase are Muslim dominated). AIUDF and Congress are both vying for Muslim votes here. As NDTV report shows, that if Muslim votes goto AIUDF, the chances of a BJP win becomes 60%. However, if Muslim voters end up voting for Congress then the game opens up and both BJP and Congress will have equal chance of winning. So the message is subtle but loud and clear to the Muslim voters: BJP is en route to power in Assam and if you want BJP to lose, then come out and vote strategically for the Congress en masse on 11th April.

Three things which bothers me here:

1) Even before the results are out, which may go either way, media reports such as one in Economic Times claiming Congress making a grand comeback in demographically Muslim belts as per political pundits, seems dubious. It is intended more towards swaying confused voters (mostly Muslim voters who see AIUDF as an alternative) towards Congress than convey anything substantial. Also, a party which is in power doesn't need to make comebacks, even if base criteria is taken as Lok Sabha elections, where Congress lost some seats to BJP. But that was mostly due to Modi's charisma and people's desire to see him as the PM of the country. The dynamics of state elections and national election are very different, no better proof of same than the Delhi and Bihar Assembly results, where BJP fared poorly after sweeping the National polls. So a very concocted effort of media is visible here to keep the hopes of Congress alive or more precisely " BJP's arrival at bay".

2) While the polling is on, exit and opinion polls are barred by election commission, and rightly so, to ensure that people are not swayed away based on whom those polls are suggesting are going to win. So while NDTV doesn't come up with any seat projections, as that would make them violate election code of conduct, they very subtly put across demographic numbers, and conveniently suggest what kind of swings would enable or disable BJP from coming to power. In an election where affinity and strategic intents on religious lines, citing various media reports, are blatantly visible, its a worthwhile question to ask the election commission as to whether such telecasts/programs shouldn't be banned as well, for if they are allowed then I don't see any wrong with exit and opinion polls too occurring while elections are on.

3) Lastly, and most importantly, it really saddens me to see the way religious affinity is being played out by media so blatantly to impact an election result. As an Indian, I wish that people vote for development, and not on religious identities. In a country where even after almost 70 years of independence, basic amenity like water and electricity is a privilege, media would do a better job if they can help people "form" opinion as to who can deliver development than "sway" opinions leading to strategic voting on religious lines. Being called as the Fourth pillar of the democracy, significant accountability and neutrality is expected out of media, but unfortunately in today's context they have become the most dysfunctional pillar of democracy.

The intention of this post is not to endorse BJP for Assam elections. That's for the people of Assam to decide. I have full faith in our electoral process and respect the mandate of the people. Keeping the shrillness of election campaign at bay, when a CM or PM is chosen, irrespective of the party, he is not the CM or PM of any specific religion or community but of entire state or nation respectively. The intent of the post is only to highlight the shallowness of media whose secular credentials are governed by "Appeasement to One Religion" than "Respect to All Religions". By doing so, media easily, or I must say purposely, plays into the hands of those 10% fringe elements ( whether Hindu or Muslim, Left or Right, Capitalist or Socialist.........) who want to distort the development agenda and keep this country in a constant state of chaos and mistrust. While it gives some their political and economic mileage, it gives media what they really die for: TRP. But its high time that the nation stops playing hostage and let it's development agenda being hijacked by these TRP hungry media outlets.