Investigating agencies claim to have strong evidence to nail Koda and his associates. This investigation might throw up more political names in the days to come.

The Karnataka Shame-The most shameful poltical story of the week was the Karnataka political crisis. The strong Reddy brothers from Bellary held the whole state at ransom for two weeks. Chief Minister Yeddyurappa was stationed in the national capital to save his job. Meanwhile 57 shameless BJP MLAs who were supporting the Reddy brothers were enjoying 5 star luxaries in Hyderabad. All this drama was happening at a time when the state of Karnataka was trying to get back to normalcy after the floods exterminated northern part of the state last month. The floods claimed more than 200 lives and affected 18 lakh people. Instead of working together along with the bureaucacy to rehabilitate the citizens, the Bellary brother were busy in political bargaining with the BJP central leadership in New Delhi. The series of events saw CM Yeddyurappa breaking down in tears in front of the television camera for not been able to work for the flood victims blaming the Reddy brothers. Surprisingly the very next day he was feeding cake to Janardhan Reddy in front of the media after truce was called by the two warring sides. The Reddy brothers played a principal role in this whole reprehensible act but Yeddyurappa’s leadership would have become immortal had he resigned during this period and got back to Karnataka to concentrate on the rehabilitation work. Probably the government would have fallen given that the 57 shamless BJP MLA’s supporting the Reddys would have withdrawn support from the Yeddyurappa led government but his stature would & credentials would have bolstered several folds. But alas!! These things are only a mirage in Indian politics.

To sing or not to sing?-Lastly, the most dangerous contorversy of all was the Vande Matram song issue. The issue which emanated again thanks to Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind’s ‘Fatwa’ against ‘the singing of Vande Mataram’. This issue is not new and has been doing rounds in political & religious circles for centuries. According to some Muslim clerics, certain stances in the song ‘Vande Matram’ are against the basic belief of ‘Islam’. In order to avoid this controversy, the Congress had set up a committee after independence which dropped the objectional stances from the song. The issue should have been settled there, but this latest Fatwa was definitely un-called for. Despite knowing right wing Hindu groups’ fascination with the Vande Matram issue the Ulema initiated the controversy. Not only did it create an unwanted controversy which many Muslims don’t agree to but also gave a chance to some elements to raise communal temperature again.

The question of singing or not singing Vande Mataram violates the very basic right of an Indian citizen. The right wing Hindu groups want Muslims to sing Vande Matram to test their loyalty which is absurd. Similarly the Ulema issuing a ‘Fatwa’ not to sing is ridiculuos, especially given that the corrections to objectional parts were made long back. It’s an individual’s right to sing or not to sing. No one can impose its stand on any individual.

All the above issues are a chilling reminder of the vulnerable nature of our Indian polity & society. And it also underlines the fact that no matter how much as a nation India achieves on the global level, the real battle is to conquer these domestic viruses which continue to be our biggest weakness.