Politics and the English language

With Goa headed for assembly elections, electoral compulsions appear to have forced the RSS to relieve its state unit chief Subhash Welingkar of his responsibilities. Welingkar has been leading a campaign demanding that the BJP government stop funding English medium schools and restrict its patronage only to schools where the medium of instruction is Konkani and Marathi. However, the fear of alienating Christians, who form a sizeable 32 per cent of the population, may have prompted the BJP government to reject Welingkar’s demand. The RSS prides itself on cadre discipline and maintaining its distance from electoral politics. But after Welingkar’s decision to float a political outfit, the Sangh had no option but to crack down. After Manohar Parrikar moved to Delhi, his successor Laxmikant Parsikar has been unable to dispel perceptions of being a weak leader who owes his position to Parrikar. One of Parrikar’s pet boasts was that the BJP has the backing of a section of the Christian community. On a shaky wicket now, it makes common sense for the BJP to shun the divisive and ill-conceived rhetoric emanating from the likes of Welingkar, who, ironically, speaks excellent English.

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The ritual strike

The general strike called by 10 central trade unions has now become something of an annual ritual. Striking workers in the organised sector come out in protest for one day every year against the weakening of labour laws, privatisation and FDI, and demand better working conditions, but then head back to workplaces the next day without any resolution of their demands. The strike has stalled Left-ruled Kerala, Tripura and public sector banks but there is a mixed impact in some industrial pockets. The Centre made the usual noises requesting the unions to call off the strike and offered a new minimum wage of Rs350 per day for semi-skilled workers, which was promptly rejected by the unions. The unions appear to be content that they have put their unity to test and could flex their muscles. The fact is that both the unions and the government can do little better than offer lip service to labour welfare in the present situation. The government does not want to alienate the capitalist class which creates jobs and the unions realise their standing among workers is low and cannot sustain a strike beyond a day.

Socialist paradise no more

As opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro throng the streets of Caracas demanding a referendum to recall him, the dangerous political polarisation marks a new low point for a country which has battled a crippling economic crisis and runaway inflation. Maduro’s term does not get over until 2019 but the Constitution allows a plebiscite for recall after a president serves half a term. The Opposition’s demand for a referendum has been turned down by Maduro and by the country’s election board leaving the protesters at a loss on how to proceed. The huge rallies are clearly a pressure tactic to force the regime’s hand. With oil prices showing no signs of rising, Maduro finds himself cornered. Under Chavez, Venezuela aggressively distributed the proceeds from oil exports in building houses for the poor, pensions, disbursing cheap loans and foreign aid to other Latin American countries. But the failure to diversify the economy is now hurting the country. The socialist regime finds itself accused of frittering away the country’s wealth. By arresting opposition leaders, Maduro is also turning his back on democracy. Venezuela’s cup of sorrow is full and overflowing.