A Journey to the City of Joy on Dec 6

A Journey to the City of Joy on Dec 6
Syed Ali Mujtaba

I write to you from Kolkata, the city of joy. I arrived here at 11 am Dec6, 2008. It was a scary site at the Chennai airport from where I flew to the city of joy. I did received security alert warning on my SMS and had to under go several layers security checkup every since entering the airport premises till the boarding of the aircraft. My shaving stick was confiscated and so was my pack of shaving blades.



The airport was virtually looking like a fortress. I was cursing myself what did not I remember its Dec 6, the day Babari Masjid was demolished in 1992. How can I forget that? Why did I decide to travel on this date?



Well I decided to travel one because it was Saturday second I thought since it’s more than 15 years now to that event; the security of the threat perception may have waned.



I remember on every anniversary bombs were planted in trains. It was blamed on the terrorist outfit called Al Umma that was born in Tamil Nadu following the demolition of the mosque. After a large number of arrests and more than 100 conviction made in this case, it seems Al Umma has been disbanded.



So I thought December 6 could be just any other day to travel. I never anticipated the Mumbai terror attack and the strict security arrangement that followed it. Anyway every thing went off well. I consoled my self, its better to be safe than sorry.



It was a smooth flight from Chennai to Kolkata. There was a clear sky and I enjoyed watching from the window seat my aircraft wading through the white clouds. I remember as a child whenever I use to see those clouds I always wanted to touch them or go beyond them; I felt the realization of his dream.



It took about 2 hrs to reach the destination but it took 1 hr and 45 minutes to reach my cousins house where I transited for my onward journey. The scene in Calcutta was usual electrifying. The hustle and bustle of one billion of Indian people can be fathomed having a general view of the road.



The world war vintage yellow taxis with their worn on tiers were cantering on the roads. Some mini trucks and vans laden with people could be seen in the serpentine queue of vehicles lined up at the traffic signals.

All through the way from airport to the city I saw huge cut outs of Argentina football star Diego Maradona who was to land in the Mecca of Indian football for a public reception. The way his image was on displayed all over, it was imminent the footballers reception will be a grand occasion.



This general spirit of the city remains unchanged. Here humanity remains engaged in negotiating the burden of life finding joy in it. This spirit is best on display every time I travel to the city of joy.

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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a working journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com

1 Comment -

Nice to know you're back for Id and didn't get locked up on suspicion to be handed over to Mumbai cops for shopping from handcarts. These chaps sell things from CDs, DVDs, mobile phones and such goodies and have a thriving business in Kolkata like in other cities. Persons wishing to avoid the 'cooling of heels' to comply with silly procedures and waste time patronize them.

Good luck again,
Sampathkumar Ariyangar

Chennai Open Tennis Tournament Growing Bigger

Chennai Open Tennis Tournament Growing Bigger
Syed Ali Mujtaba

Chennai Dec 31, 2008: Chennai is all decked up for Chennai Open, India's first and only ATP International Series Tennis tournament from 5 to 11 January 2009 at the SDAT Nungambakkam Stadium. The tournament now in its 14th year has put India firmly on the global tennis map.

Chennai Open with every passing year is growing bigger and spreading wider. This year it will be telecast through the strong TV broadcast network of 18 top international TV channels reaching more than one billion households across 140 countries worldwide.

The matches of Chennai Open 2009 will be telecast on Zee Sports TV channel in the Indian sub continent. IMG, who owns and organizes Chennai Open, has awarded the telecast rights to this premier broadcaster at a whopping cost of US$ 450,000.

Chennai Open has become the most sought after sporting destination for tennis players across the globe. This year two players who have been in Top 10 and 7 players who are in the Top 50 during the year 2008 will be seen in action.

Also, as many as 15 players who are in top 100 players list will feature in this tournament. World No 5, Nikolay Davydenko (Russia), World No 13 (No 9 in June 2008), Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland), World No 23, Marin Cilic (Croatia), World No 26, Ivo Karlovic (Croatia), World No 33, Rainer Schuettler (Germany) and Former World No 1 and World No 42, Carlos Moya (Spain) are few notable names to be watched.

The Indian contingent comprises of Somdev Devvarman and Prakash Amritraj who will feature in the singles draw. Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes with their respective partners are in the doubles draw. Indian young tennis star, Yuki Bhambri and a Davis Cup regular for India, Harsh Mankad will be other players looking to hog limelight.

Chennai Open 2009 seems to creating new record of sorts. This tournament has been awarded with prestigious awards like ATP Award for excellence-1997 and 1999, ATP Award for best promoted tournament (International group) in 1998 and ATP's Player Services Award of Excellence - 2006 and ATP's Best Marketing Award -2008.

The tournament has also become a great platform for major brands to reach out to different demographic pockets. As many as 24 brands, have partnered with Chennai Open 2009, providing the financial muscle and some exciting off-court action.

“Chennai Open 2009 promises to showcase world class tennis for its fans across the world with its impressive roster of Indian and international stars," says Tournament Director, Fernando Soler.

“The tremendous response and support that we receive from our partners indicates that the tournament is growing,” he adds.

Ravi Krishnan, Advisor, IMG expresses similar views. "Chennai Open has set the pace of organizing tournaments in India of International standards. An impressive player field, high voltage tennis action and professional execution of the tournament year after year, truly demonstrates the strength of Chennai Open and its position as the premiere tennis event,” he says.

There is little doubt Chennai Open is a week-long sports festivity in this southern Indian metropolis. It has acquired the status of a much sought-after tennis event for both players and fans alike. It presents an opportunity for them to move beyond their television sets and catch the action live.

There are more off court action and the whole stadium remains abuzz with not only sports enthusiasts but many other celebrities who turn out there for annual glimpses.

No wonder every Chennaite is looking forward with great enthusiasm for this tennis carnival to begin next week.
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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a working journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com

What a beautiful sight that would be!

What a beautiful sight that would be!
Syed Ali Mujtaba

The entire peace loving people of the world found expression at the shoe throwing incident on the US President George W Bush in Iraq. I followed this incident through the radio at my father’s farm in the province called Bihar, the so called cradle of the Indian civilization. As I walked past the paddy fields of my father's farm, this news made me smile for a while and I upped my ears to listen it with great enthusiasm to follow its graphic details.

Stream of thoughts jogged the memory lane and the famous punch lime of the out going US president made shortly after 9/11that he will smoke out Osama Bin Laden from the face of earth rang my ears.

This was because I met few `rat eaters' who were busy fanning a hole in the paddy field near which I stood listed the radio BBC English service. These folks knew me and greeted me with a courtesy salute. I acknowledged their gesture raising my hand and nodding my head and I stopped by them to observe their activities in some details.

These guys had found a hole in the paddy field and were preying on the rats holed up there. They had dug up another hole close to the first one where they had put fire and were fanning it up making the smoke to come out from the next hole.

I watched the entire operation with patience and saw suffocated rats coming out from the other hole. These guys immediately pounced on their prey and held it in hand to bang it on floor hard enough to kill.

One guy who was a holding a stick tied tail of the rats on one end of the stick and kept it on his shoulder. All together they had five catch that was hanging as items of display. It demonstrated these folks were going to have a nice meal that day.

I am not writing this to tell how some people in India feed. Its also not to highlight the plight of this particular caste within the schedule caste who still live in stone age and relish rat meat.

The story is to connect with the pledge that has gone into smokes after eight years of world terror in the name of war on terror. The entire peace loving people of the world is rejoicing at the exit of one of the most hated man on earth. There could not be a more befitting finale then the shoe throwing incident at the greatest spoiler of peace.

I am wondering if a world crime tribunal sends him to the gallows, will this brave heart face the noose barefaced with the Bible in hand and with TV cameras catching his every expression beaming it live into many homes – I am sure some may definitely quip, what a beautiful sight that would be!

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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com

Mumbai Attack- Blame Game Moving in Circles

Mumbai Attack- Blame Game Moving in Circles
Syed Ali Mujtaba

The November 26, 2008 attack on Mumbai that killed nearly 190 people is the most recent episode in long string of high-profile terrorist attacks in India.

India has plethora of disgruntled elements, all planning million mutinies now and the story of grappling with the scourge terrorism is quite long. To cut it short, even then there is no long term vision yet prepared how to tackle this menace in a time bound sustained manner.

As it happens after every terrorists attack, the moment the dusts settles down, the blame game begins and this time the blame for Mumbai attack is centering on three broad themes. The first is of course Pakistan, the epic center of terrorism in South Asia. The second is Indian politicians, incurring the wrath of the common people. The third is the intelligence agencies, that has repeatedly failed to protect the lives of the people.

India’s blame game of Pakistan is as old as the age of that country itself. Pakistan is a convenient scapegoat for every security related problem of India. It seems there is no vision in the blame game and it follows the snake and ladder story. In the wake of security challenges, blame game begins by stoking temperature and peace prospects are put on the backburner. Then the thread of coexistence is picked up all over again. No one knows how long this story will keep playing itself, how many generations would remain victim of this.

There is some thinking within the country emerging demanding to put an end to this blame game in a in a civilized manner. However there are not many takers to it as it requires a great deal of political courage to set the record straight, and no one like to risk their political ambition. This leads to the continuation of the blame game to take on Pakistan but no one knows how to move forward and there logjam over this issue.

At another level the blame game is being directed towards the politicians and its being said they often shy away from taking tough decisions for fear of angering their constituents. This again seems to another story that’s moving in circles.

But what is the tough decision that’s being talked about. It actually pertains to bring back Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). This empowers the security agencies to keep terror suspects in custody without bringing them to trial. This counter terrorism measures have often been used to target a particular community and several human rights organizations have appealed that many innocents have become victims of this draconian law.

Interestingly the debate over the tough measures suddenly vanished into the blue, when the ugly face of Hindu terrorism came to limelight with the arrests made in the Malegoan blast case. The Hindutva leaders went hammer and tongs against any tough measures in wake of the arrest of a Shadvi (female religious leader) and few other persons that included an India Army personal. They warned that such measures should not be used to target Hindu community that according to them cannot be terrorists.

However, the saffron toads have once again started croaking for tough measures in the wake of the Mumbai terror attack. It may be recalled that in 2002 when the BJP led NDA government was in power, it passed the Prevention of Terrorism Act. What actually happened was in the name counter terrorism measures this act was use to target a particular community and met with stiff opposition. It was repealed in 2004 when the Congress led NDA government came to power. Now after the recent Mumbai attack, the call for POTA has again started making rounds.

The question is can such tough laws put an end to the scourge of terrorism. Was terrorism on wane when this law was in place and did it gained momentum after being repealed? There again seem to be no long term vision involved in this and what seems to dominate this debate is some muddle headed thinking.

The Mumbai attack is blamed on the failure of the country's intelligence community but no one has given a thought, what needs to be done about the organizational structure that’s unable to cope up with the new security pressures.

As of now a number of intelligence, military, and police organizations within the Indian government contribute to counter terrorism efforts. These include state-run police forces, special security forces, and paramilitary forces that patrol the borders and assist the police when necessary. The army usually participates in counter terrorism operations as a last resort.

India's Ministry of Home Affairs heads the homeland security and oversees national police, paramilitaries, and domestic intelligence gathering agencies. The Intelligence Bureau (IB), a division of the Home Affairs Ministry, collects intelligence inside India. The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) is the external intelligence agency. A Joint Intelligence Committee analyzes intelligence data from RAW and IB as well as from a handful of military intelligence agencies. The IB oversees an inter-agency counter terrorism center. The Ministry of External Affairs oversees its own counter terrorism body.

The big question is whether these monumental apparatus armed with sub organizational structure are good enough to handle the security demands of the country or do they require an overlook.

Opinions are again divided on this issue. Some feel India’s intelligence agencies are performing well and there is no need for restructuring. Contrary to it there is pressing demand that the entire intelligence gathering format should be rehauled and be made accountable and result oriented. This debate again seems to be showing no sign of playing itself out. There are no signals of any immediate sweeping changes to be taking place in counter terrorism measures in India.

So where do we go from here. It seems India has a higher tolerance for collateral damage than working out any long term vision plan to get rid of it. This is because many of the conflicts are self created and vested interests are working overtime to keep them afloat. The net result is India keeps on getting deep wounds periodically and no one seem to know how to get past it.

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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a working journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com

India must learn lessons from the Mumbai Attack

India must learn lessons from the Mumbai Attack

Syed Ali Mujtaba

Thank God, the crime against humanity that was on display for sixty hours on our television sets from Mumbai since 26 to 28 November 20008 has at last got over. The entire nation pays heartfelt condolences to those bereaved families that have lost their near and dear ones in this diabolic act of terror. The Mumbai attack was unprecedented of its kind and it could have happened to any city of the world and the response too may have been the same. So there is no point to belittle the sacrifices made by the security forces to bring peace to this panic stricken city. The entire nation salutes those brave soldiers who have brought back the normalcy to the commercial hub of India.

The way the attack on Mumbai was executed suggests that the entire operations must have been meticulous planed for months together. The terrorists were highly novitiate youth; they were “Fidayeen” who had come with a mission to die. So Mumbai attack was not the handiwork of any ordinary terror group and the needle of suspicion falls on few groups that are in the business of terror.

Given the terror profile of such magnitude the fingers obviously points towards Al Qida, the premier terror outfit in the world today. India has been on the hit list of Al Qida, for long. They have chosen Mumbai because they knew India cannot muster global response and they can easily get away by inflicting the maximum damage. The mission was to demonstrate the capability of Al Qida as a terrorist outfit in the world.

The second suspicion falls on Lasker- e –Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohmmad, the two terror outfits based in Pakistan. They are engaged in anti India activity and their focus is to liberate Kashmir through armed militancy. They have been involved into terror activities before like breaching into Ayodhya security cordon, entering into Akshardham temple, and laying an attack on Indian Parliament. This group is highly motivated with well trained youth ready to commit any act of terror at any moment of time. These are the groups which are the spoilers of India- Pakistan peace party. Every time when the two countries try to come close to each other, these groups takes upon the task to play the spoilsports. They have vested interest in keeping the India and Pakistan at the loggerhead because their entire terror network thrives on anti- India bogey. They run a risk of getting dismantled if the India- Pakistan peace process gets back on the rails. This group has precedents of unleashing terror attack in India before and in all probability they could be behind the deadly attack on Mumbai.

There some people who are pointing fingers at saffron terror that has of late come to limelight in India. They argue that the Mumbai carnage was hatched to divert the attention from the Malegoan blast case that was on final stages and could have unmasked a different face of Indian terrorism. They further argue that the terror act was planned to silence those investigating the Malegoan blast case and they have succeeded in eliminating many top ATS official probing the case.

Notwithstanding the sentiments behind such argument, the fact remains that this does not stand to the test of logic. It’s well known that the saffron terror operates at mob level; they can unleash mayhem only in groups, as they did in Gujarat, they have no precedent to take guns and run amok. Secondly the Mumbai attack was an assault on India and given the blinkered patriotism such saffron outfits display, it’s hard to link them with terror operation of such magnitude. So at the end of the days it would be off the mark to blame the saffron outfits for Mumbai carnage.

If the Muslim groups are blaming on the saffron terror, the Hindu groups are pointing fingers towards Indian Mujahadin, the Muslim terror group that has paned up of late in India. Again this argument looks weak because given the kind of weapons the terrorist used and the kind of professionalism they showed, it did not suggests they could be local youth who picks up a brawl on the streets. So no matter how much of anger may be seething in the veins of the Muslim youths of this country, it’s unlikely they could plan such a high level terror operation.

There was an interesting report in the Times of India that linked Mumbai attack to shore up the cause of the liberation of Hyderabad that was integrated into India after police action in 1948. It points towards the e mail purportedly sent by Deccan Mujahideen, a new terror outfit that has sprung up and owes the responsibility of the terror attack on Mumbai. This idea was debunked by the security experts and they say the e mail from Deccan Mujahideen was a divisionary tactics to confuse about the main suspects.

The most intriguing aspect about the Mumbai attack is to ascertain its motive. None of the terrorist demanded any ransom to be paid, no one called to free any of their accomplices locked up in the Indian jails, and no one shouted any slogan for the freedom of Kashmir. All one can say perhaps they desired to celebrate the act of terror and succeeded in gaining global media attention for about sixty hours.

What ever may be the motive behind the Mumbai attack, one thing that comes out very clearly is that the terrorists surely succeeded to bring back Muslim militancy on the centre stage. The Malegoan blast was changing the perception of terrorism in India but the Mumbai terror carnage whitewashed that image. It succeeded to reinforce the stereotype that ‘all Muslims are not terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims.’

The history of India is littered with the security gaps and innumerable invasion of the country has taken place because of the inadequate security arrangement to defend its borders. The Mumbai terror act has once again exposed the chinks in the security arrangement in the country. A few days ago we all were celebrating the heroics of the Indian navy sinking a Thai trawler, in the Gulf of Aden believed to be having pirates. After this there were talks about Indian navy gaining the blue water capabilities. And then came the news that the terrorists took the sea route to disembark on the gateway of India and every one started talking how did the terrorist got into Mumbai, what happened to the fabled Indian Navy and the Coastguard?

If the security at the sea is pathetic then those on the mainland is still worse. A police officer speaking in a TV pogramme was heard saying that in his 37 years of police service he did not have the training to fire even ten times. The entire police force in India is just for ornament, he was saying and lamented that policeman carry vintage variety of rifles and by the time they can load the bullets and make it ready to fire, the terrorist must have fled a long way from them. His summery was the police force was totally inadequate to meet the security challenges of modern India.

So what are the lessons the Mumbai attack teaches? The first and foremost is that the country requires a rehauling of the entire security apparatus. This is both at the mainland and also of the coastline. The second lesson it teaches is the need for community policing. This is required in each and every locality of the country. The final lesson it conveys is; wake up India how long you want to bleed. If every Indian remains vigilant and united no terror outfit can take the liberty to commit such terrible crime of such magnitude as it happened in Mumbai.

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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a working journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahooo.com

Significance of Michael Jackson’s Conversion to Islam

Significance of Michael Jackson’s Conversion to Islam
Syed Ali Mujtaba

Pop star Michael Jackson has converted to Islam at a ceremony in Los Angeles recently. Jackson , whose once amazing career has been eclipsed in recent years, is said to have changed his name to Mikaeel, one of the angels of Allah name and taken the ‘Shahada’ or a declaration to believe in Islam.
The iconic star continued to be in news for legal and financial troubles. His career seems to be on wane since the news for his bizarre behavior led to the accusation of child molestation. He however was acquitted from all charges in this case after a Jury gave the verdict in his favor at the end of a sensational trial that lasted for 14 weeks in Santa Maria, CA in 2005. Some say this was the turning point in Jackson’s life.

According to a report, the legendry rock star showed interest in Islam after discussing the religion with a music producer and a songwriter on his new album. The duo started talking to him about their new beliefs to which they had converted recently and how they thought they had become better human being thereafter. It’s after that Michael began warming the idea on Islam and after being convinced about this faith, he finally went through the motion of its declaration as his belief.

The report says, the 50-year old legend wore the traditional Islamic attire as he pledged his allegiance to the Koran at a friend's home in Los Angeles. The religious ceremony took place at the Hollywood Hills home of Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro, who composed music for Jackson’s iconic "Thriller" album. The function was attended by legendry Yousef Islam, a.k.a, Cat Stevens, another pop icon of the sixties.

When I heard about the news I was wondering whether there could be any connect between pop star Michael Jackson and the celebrated Urdu poet Mohammad Iqbal.

Iqbal penned the India’s unofficial national anthem “Sare Jahan Se Accha”... whereas Michael Jackson gave to the world - 'Just beat it'!

When we analyze the news of conversion Michael Jackson to Islam and its impact on his new faith, especially in the context of the controversies that has been erupting time and again since The Satanic Verses and running through the Danish Cartoons that maligned and denigrated the Islamic faith then the poet Iqbal gets connected with Michael Jackson episode.

Iqbal says: “Kuch Baat hai ke hasthi mithe nahi hamari, saadyon raha hai dushmane daure jamma hamara”…… ‘There is something in my religion that it fails to die; people have remained its enemy from centuries.’

These lines actually were art of "Sare Jahan's" poem, but the poet modified it later to convey the message of preeminence of Islam in the world.

The significance of Michael Jackson’s conversion to Islam could be ascertained from the fact that in recent past a series of writers have mushroomed that thrive on spreading the canard against Islam. There whole effort is to belittle a religion that’s faith of majority of people in fifty two countries of the world.

The trend of anti- Islam writers continue to grow since Sir Salman Rushdee wrote The Satanic Verses. The master story teller assumed iconic status by denigrating the religion whose name he continues parade even after making a killing out of mocking at it in his figment of imagination.

Back home, another author Taslima Nasreen became a celebrated figure after writing abuses against Islam. Her basic argument is Muslims should stop reading Koran and stop believing in Islam as its inhuman outdated religion. However, she too continues to parade her Muslim identity and never tried to set an example of her progressive beliefs and ideas.

There is another subtext to Michael Jackson episode especially for those who are busy spreading the canard that “All Muslims are not terrorists but all terrorist are Muslims.” This has become a fancy catch phrase since the 9/11 and to justify the war on terror and target a particular community.

The Michael Jackson episode has also ramification on the conversion debate raging in India. The Hindu extremists are accusing the Christians of using fair and foul means for doing conversion activities. The change of faith by Michael Jackson suggests that conversion is a voluntary decision of an individual person and no amount of incentives can change anyone’s heart.
Well whatever may be reason for the conversion of faith of Michael Jackson, the fact remains that the world adores him as a singer, dancer and a performer par excellence. As Mikaeel, he would continue to receive the same warmth of love and affection when he comes on stage to regale the world once again.

The entire world looks forward for this musical genius new album after he has changed his faith. The expectations are; Michael Jackson would reach to greater musical heights as Mikaeel, the angel of Allah.

After all did not Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr, became phenomena after becoming Mohmmad Ali. Did not Dilip become a rage in India after becoming Allah Rakha Rehman.

The significance of Michael Jackson’s conversion would definitely change the perception about Islam and provide an answer to all those who are busy in running a campaign against it. Its here poet Iqbal’s prophecy comes true.

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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a working journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com

India: Sale of party tickets is democratic order

India: Sale of party tickets is democratic order

Syed Ali Mujtaba

The allegation by the senior Congress leaders Margaret Alva and Yogendra Makwana regarding the sale of party tickets have brought the functional dynamics of the Indian democracy into open, purportedly touted as the largest in the world.

Each ticket was supposedly sold at a premium of 80 lakh to 1 crore rupees. A cheap bargain described a witty scribe when he heard the rates and said in actual practice the price tag are much higher.

The selling of the tickets is an established practice among the southern Indian parties particularly those in Tamil Nadu. Most of these parties are personal fiefdom or proprietorship of a particular person or a family and they run the operations of the party as a private business.

Come every election, and an action packed high voltage drama erupts for the distribution of the ticket. All criterions that are mentioned in the rule books of democracy are put on stacks and it’s the commercial entrepreneurship alone that comes into play.

The criterion that’s normally considered for the distribution of the tickets is; caste factor, muscle power, but the most important of all is the capacity of the candidate to buy the ticket.

This is quite a huge source of revenue to the parties and anyone who aspires to be a politician has to be prepared with the financial muscle to buy the ticket on a premium price. This premium keeps going up with every elections keep in mind the inflation rate that’s growing every year.

This practice is in vogue from a long time and there is nothing secret about it. The model code of conduct that comes into force after the announcement of the election hardly pays any attention to such kind of fraudulent practices. The election commission turn a blind eye to this travesty of democracy.

It seems now this virus has even reached to the national parties as well. The allegation made by the senior Congress party leaders like Margaret Alva and Yogendra Makwana has blown the lid out of the working of the Congress party.

Marget Alva had alleged that in the last Karnataka state election, the Congress party had sold the tickets to the highest bidder. She has come out in open because her son was denied the ticket who refused to pay the money being the progeny of one of the most senior leaders of the party.

There was something fishy going on in Karnatka Congress when senior Congress leader Jafer Sharif had announced to sit on hunger strike, when his grandson was denied ticket during the election. The veteran leader had taken up the matter to Delhi and had met the party president to show his resentement. Since then there has been some rumors about the sale of party tickets.

Now when senior Congress leader Margaret Alva and Yogendra Makwana has blown the whistle the rumors are taken for truth. Alva is believed to have sent her resignation as Congress general secretary to Sonia Gandhi in protest of this issue.

The seriousness of this allegations could be ascertained from the fact that similar charges are beginning to resound from other quarters of the Congress camp as well.

Another party functionary, Yogendra Makwana, who headed the AICC's scheduled caste department has come out in support of Margret Alva. Makwana says there must be "something substantial" in Alva's remarks and demanded an inquiry into her charges.

Makwana without mentioning names charged that at least two SC women aspirants for tickets from Rajasthan had made a similar complaint to him. He alleged that an AICC leader demanded Rs 80 lakh for a ticket from a candidate from Bara constituency in Rajasthan. Another candidate from Alwar complained to him to have asked for Rs 40 lakh for a ticket. Makwana says not one of the 30 names he proposed for the Rajasthan assembly polls was accepted.

The Congress party in a damage-control exercise has rejected the allegations of tickets sale and ruled out a probe into it. Party spokesperson, Jayanti Natarajan has said "there is no truth in the allegations so the question of a probe does not arise."

However, there are not many takers to Congress defense, allegations are flying thick and fast that a coterie has over taken over the Congress and some unscrupulous people are making fortune by the sale of party tickets. Its also said that many senior leaders in the Congress are feeling suffocated as they are gradually being sidelined. Their allegation of sale of tickets has blown the lid over the functioning of the Congress party.

Every one knows that Rajya Sabha seats are sold to the industrialist and business houses from a long time. The money bags buy them because they feel becoming Member of Parliament would add on their status. They also can do some wheeling and dealing to expand their business empire.

However, even this interest is loosing sheen. Now many see becoming an MP a waste of time. To come round the problem recently a money-bag had bought Jharkhand RS ticket for its company’s manager. This person was suppose to look after his business interest in Parliament.

The pronouncement by senior Congress leaders like Margaret Alva and Yogendra Makwana have have confirmed that the practice of the selling of the tickets in the state assembly is an accepted practice in Indian democracy. Its logical deduction points that the same practice could be at work for the Lok Sabha seat as well. If this is so then this is the most disgusting part about the functioning of Indian democracy one can imagine.

This dark side of Indian democracy which had been at work for long but no one wanted to talk about it is now unmasked by the utterances of the senior Congress leaders. Hats off them. After sixty years of independence this is a new level to which Indian democracy has stooped to and his brings us to the big question - Is India on sale? Well your guess is as good as mine!

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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a working journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@ yahoo.com