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Varsha Bhosle

Alien Resurrection

After reading Cho Ramaswamy's "Why this Sonia phobia?" in the ToI, I've been pondering on the nature of Indians. Methinks, most of us agree when he says that "Sonia Gandhi has come forward not to share the spoils but to bear the cross... She is not offering herself as a candidate for prime ministership... The Constitution of the country has conferred Indianhood on Sonia Gandhi and till the Constitution is amended in this regard, Sonia has as much right as any other politician to fool the people of this country. And what is the never-heard-of shame in it?"

Indeed, there is none. Why should there be? Consider just a few vignettes from our history and I'll get to the point:

* In 326 BC, Alexander led an expedition into India and defeated the native King Porus on the banks of the Beas. In two years, Alexander gained supremacy over a large part of India and left Seleucus to rule it. But, who had welcomed Alexander and fought against King Porus at India's very gateway? King Ambhi of Taxila: One of "us."

* In 1192, a year after being drubbed by Prithvi Raj Chauhan, Shahabuddin Ghuri (more accurate than 'Mohammed Ghori') returned with another force from Afghanistan and routed and killed the king of Delhi. Which event resulted in the establishment of Muslim rule in India. But, who had urged and abetted Ghuri? King Jaichandra of Kanauj: Chauhan's father-in-law, and, one of "us."

* In 1294, Alauddin Khilji laid siege at Fort Devgiri (Daulatabad) precisely when King Ramdevrao's army was away. The citadel remained impregnable till Ramdevrao surrendered -- after discovering that, instead of grain, his storehouse contained only sacks of salt. Who could've been responsible for the deception in the granary? Elementary: One of "us."

* In 1757, the conflict between Clive and Nawab Sirajuddaula ended at the Battle of Plassey. The East India Company triumphed, and British rule was launched in India. The battle lasted but a few hours, as the outcome had been decided long before the encounter: On Clive's bidding, Sirajuddaula's granduncle, Mir Jafar, had bribed the Nawab's soldiers to turn their arms against their own side... All, some of "us."

* In 1761, Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India for the fifth time and routed the Marathas at Panipat and the Sikhs at Lahore, thereby making the country more vulnerable to Britain's domination. Abdali entered just when the Marathas were down south: One of "us," Najib Khan Rohila of Saharanpur, hated Mir Shahabuddin and summoned Abdali when Delhi was unarmed.

* In 1857, the native sepoys of the East India Company rallied under the banner of Bahadur Shah Zafar and rebelled against the outlanders. The uprising was crushed by the British, who then transferred India's administration to the Crown. Though the sepoys vastly outnumbered British soldiers, the revolt couldn't have succeeded. For, Sikhs, Gurkhas, the Nizam of Hyderabad, Scindia of Gwalior, Gaikwar of Baroda and many other rulers had aligned with the British... All, some of "us."

* In 1919, soldiers commanded by Brigadier-General Dyer blocked the sole entrance to Jallianwala Bagh and fired indiscriminately on the hundreds of peaceful demonstrators trapped in the square. All those who died were Indians. And, all those who fired the rounds were some of "us."

* Between 1942 and 1944, the CPI betrayed Congress workers to the British, for which it was rewarded with a removal of the ban on the party and its organs, the release of comrades from jails, and, funds... Yes, some of "us."

So, right, what is the never-heard-of shame in Sonia ko lao, desh ko bachao? It is our glorious tradition! The tradition of rolling out the red carpet to aliens so that one of us is cast out. Actually, we place under their feet a lot more than carpets: Tamil Nadu PCC president K V Thangkabalu declared that Sonia would certainly be PM and that he was placing his "head and pride at her feet."

The Cat won't lead the pigeons? Mr Ramaswamy can't be so naive! Karunakaran urged Kesri to step down in favour of Sonia. Arjun Singh says, "We now have a charismatic leader." Salman Khursheed avows, "Sonia Gandhi is the inspiration of the Congress." Jitendra Prasada states, "She is the only leader who can steer the party to a thumping majority during the election." And at the NSUI convention in Delhi, youths (the future of this country) drowned Kesri's address with "Soniaji ko adhyaksh banao" -- till Kesri proclaimed: "Jai Nehru, Jai Indira, Jai Rajeev, Jai Sonia Gandhi!"

After stating that Sonia should neither fight elections nor aspire for the prime ministership, Laloo Yadav now claims that he had been misquoted by, of all things, "RSS-minded elements." In fact, only the BJP, TDP and Samata Party have objections to her being promoted as a PM nominee. Her candidature is only a matter of time...

Like Caesar's thrice refusing the crown, the Reluctant One who didn't want to join the party nor campaign for it, has ended up doing both. Now she says that she took the plunge "in response to the universal request and desire of all the party workers across the country." Perhaps, they also petitioned her to seize the power to select candidates...

Recent surveys have predicted that Sonia is even the electorate's choice as the most preferred Congress leader. The India Today-MARG opinion poll shows that in Rajasthan, Andhra and TN, over 30% want Sonia as PM. Again in Andhra and TN -- and in the "100% literacy state" of Kerala -- Sonia is the *first* choice for prime minister...

When Sonia agreed to campaign, the swadeshi shield around her began a propaganda blitz intimating that any attacks on her Italian origins wouldn't be bought by the masses. Chief Bend-Over- Grease-Up V N Gadgil declared, "Sonia Gandhi is as much an Indian as you and I." Her lately and hastily acquired registration puts her on par with this chauvinist? HOW DARE HE! Even after being eligible for naturalised citizenship in 1974, the Bharat-premi held on to her Italian nationality till 1984!

When Chandrababu Naidu criticised the Congress ("It is an irony that a party which boasts of leading the freedom struggle should prostrate itself before a foreigner") and promised an amendment to bar aliens from key public posts, Congress MP Dronam Raju Satyanarayana asked him to "mind his own business" (which is what Naidu was doing). As is the wont of Congressmen, Satyanarayana then compared Sonia to Annie Besant and Mother Teresa...

Fact: the Indian Constitution makes no distinction between, nor places any restrictions on, the different categories of citizens. Under Article 58(1), anyone who is "a Citizen of India" is eligible to be the President. Nor do Articles 75(1) (pertaining to the Prime Minister), 102(1) and 191(1) (disqualifications for MPs and MLAs) contain any clauses to exclude any category of citizens. Constitutionally, there's no bar on Sonia -- a "Citizen by registration" -- from seeking the PM's post.

Most European and East Asian constitutions explicitly bar naturalised citizens from key public offices. Article II, Section 1 of the US Constitution states, "No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President." An annotation in Cases and Codes: Article II, Clause 5, qualifies: "Whatever the term 'natural born' means, it no doubt does not include a person who is 'naturalized'."

So tell me, how come the fathers of the Indian Constitution never felt the need to incorporate such safeguards? DUMB question. How could it even occur to a people used to being ruled by foreigners...?

You know, I can't blame Sonia -- like Rabri Devi, she's simply doing her best to save the family skin. I take issue with those who seek to promote an European ruler. For it's they who have the warped genes bequeathed by the likes of Ambhi, Jaichandra, Mir Jafar, Baji Ghorpade (Adil Shah's flunky), Jaisingh and Man Singh (Akbar's serfs), and the nameless scum who betrayed Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi; who poisoned Rana Sanga so he may not engage Babur; who helped crush Indians striving for self-rule: Swa-rajya. A government of natives.

During the fracas of the Queen's visit to Jallianwala Bagh, a (liberal) English friend rebuked me: "Why are you whining? If the scenario was reversed -- i e, if an Indian officer had ordered the Welsh regiment to fire on unarmed Brits -- our lads would've bloody well turned their guns on him!" I had NO argument. Simply, there *are* certain national traits, and we lack a crucial one.

Why should the janata at large *need* to be motivated by extraordinary leaders like Gandhiji, Netaji or Savarkar? Why don't people become enraged all by themselves? Even today, why is the tax collected by Akbar considered routine, but Shivaji's chauth, not? Why is 'nationalist' a dirty word, but 'Maoist,' not? Why is an Italian preferrable, but an Indian, not?

Because, we are just a country -- as defined by its physical boundaries. To be a Nation like the Jews, the Japanese or the English -- bound not by geography, but by a common history, culture and *aspirations* -- we just don't have what it takes: Dignity and self-respect.

Nehruvians indoctrinate us to condemn nationalism and focus on socialistic issues like daal-roti and public toilets. But without a chauvinistic spirit -- without that passion for MY-India -- no one will ever do anything about those toilets, don't you see? It can't be the other way round. Let's at least begin by understanding that, good or bad, the leader of the country *has* to be patently Indian. Goddamn it, even a Phoolan Devi should be preferrable to an European at the helm.

Varsha Bhosle