Murder on Helm Street

jang:
Yes, chandni chowk is not a muslim-majority area but it does have a high percentage of muslims in it. There are not too many consituencies in India with muslim majorities outside Kashmir; the two that come to mind are Rampur in UP and, I believe, Kishen Ganj in Bihar which is represented by the BJP minister, Shahnawaz Hussain.
BTW Bhagirath Palace is not a residential area but the name of a commercial building; and although Shish Ganj gurudwara is in Chandni Chowk, there are very few sikhs living in this area. In fact, this is the one area of Delhi which still consists largely of the old inhabitants of Delhi and where the old culture of Shahjehanabad is still intact.

its amazing that bjp being hindu party in a hindu khatre mein hein war-cry politics does not get 80% vote.. (we are not asking for 98%)

also, i dont think that chandni chowk is a muslim dominated/majority constituency. there are large hindu bania areas like bhagirath palace (place). so if chandni chowk folks get screwed, at least the screw wont be communal, it will be for both (and shish-ganjis sikhs) communities

Ref FarzanaVersey #630

[So, why would the BJP choose a loser? Simple. Kapil Sibal comes across as too polished.]

Actually, Kapil Sibal is just too glib. The man thundered that if the Congress gets elected, they would enact a law banning all persons who collaborated with the British from holding high offices in the country. He implied that this would mean that any RSS member would be unable to hold office but very conveniently forgot to tell the assembled people that it is precisely the coalition partners of Congress such as the Communist Party, the All-India Muslim League and the DMK who would fall victim to this law.

And of course I didn`t see a single member of the media or the analytical columnists point this out in the Indian press/TV. So much for intelligence in the media! Let us not talk about the common populace.

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Farzanaji:
``There is only a communal angle, and now with Hindutva and Islam doing the tango you get two for the price of one. Having faith is risky at this time!``
LOL!
But I do think that there is some tussle going on in the BJP between those who want a dilution of Hindutva, if not a greater Congressisation, to expand their voter base versus those who want to stick to their proven ``winning formula``. The good economic situation, whether because of their policies or not, seems to have pointed to an alternative `sadak` to power and some of their leaders - Advani may be part of this group - may be willing to present a softer face of hindutva to seek greater acceptability. If chowky Hindians are representative of the growing HUM (Hindu Urban Mobile) class then it is clear to me that cultural nationalism sells, but hard hindutva doesn`t. OTOH, while the RSS has lately learnt not to interfere in the BJP`s operational and tactical matters, it cannot let it veer too much from its idologically-driven goals. The problem the RSS has it is that once its trusted swaymsevaks sent into politics taste power, they seem to ignore the `shikshas` imparted at `shaakhas` and start to behave like any other politician, witness Shankar Vaghela and Kalyan Singh.

#623 by dost-mittarji (#623):

[Wonder how the BJP`s core support group will react to this news? OTOH, elections in India are probably more influenced by local conditions and the Chandni Chowk riding does contain a large following of the Bukhari clan.]

In several areas where assembly and LS elections are held, it is interesting to see that one party is ahead in the state polls and the other in the LS polls! The Bukhari clan has nothing to offer, and I have said so time and again, that they lack political currency, and Ahmed Bukhari had lost his deposit.

So, why would the BJP choose a loser? Simple. Kapil Sibal comes across as too polished. They are one-up already on that score. What the BJP would be doing is to `anoint` the Imam in ways that the Muslims just have not done. He will come across as his own person, the saviour of the community AND be seen as having a direct connection with the god of the moment -- the ruling party. The BJP will continue to pull the strings politically and the Imam personally. Both will feed each other and Chandni chwok as a constituency will be forgotten soon enough.

[It will be interesting to see how many of those followers become himayatees of the BJP? And if he gets elected, what kind of dialogue will take place in the BJP caucus meetings (do they have such meetings in India?) between the Bukhari and its swami MP who claims he wont mind muslim votes as long as they can be washed in Gangajal?]

The swami and the imam come from the same stock. For all you knwo, he will tell hsi followers that it is all about a clean polity and purity...aur zam-zam bhi chalega! These guys are out to save their own skins, and in the case of the Bukharis it has more to do with personal levity...they want to run their illegal businesses, that`s it, and seen to be ruling Jama Masjid.

[It seems to me that the BJP is changing and even it does not know where it wants to be. Dekho oont kis karvat baithata hai?]

It is changing only its clothes...not its personality.

- - -
PS:[I am sure the citizens of chandni chowk will vote not on communal basis but for the better candidate. have faith. ]

There is only a communal angle, and now with Hindutva and Islam doing the tango you get two for the price of one. Having faith is risky at this time!

jang#628
A less unlikely scenario would be MMJoshi`s daughter marrying Bukhari; at least that has been the pattern so far in the BJP parivaar, Shahnawaz Hussain, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and even the venerable Sikander Bakht all entered the parivaar through their Hindu spouses, it has never been the other way round.

Its been 500 some years, but delhi has not lost its politics. Just like Jaisingh of Amber was a prime sardar in shahjahans court, now it will be bukhari in advanis court. next step: bukharis daghter marries mm joshis son to seal the political rishta...

Saeed Naqvi quoted in the Wall Street Journal

``Saeed Naqvi acknowledges that by voting for specific regional issues, Muslims run the risk of being let down over the few remaining truly pan-Muslim concerns in the country such as under-representation in the civil service and fears of a rise in right-wing Hindu fundamentalism. In his opinion, though, the benefits of a secular Muslim vote far outweigh its political consequences. ``

The whole WSJ article posted on :
http://www.sulekha.com/hoppercomments.asp?cid=332596#409783

Dost Mittar


Quote:

`` Wonder how the BJP`s core support group will react to this news? ``

Sir, with all due respects, it is politics. And in politics, there hardly ever is core or hard core group. Those are just the labels. Matter of convenience. Change/play with them as the situation demands. In other words, so long it helps BJP (NDA) to get majority, it does not matter that much.


Quote:

`` It seems to me that the BJP is changing and even it does not know where it wants to be. Dekho oont kis karvat baithata hai? ``

Sahib/Janab, rajneeti hai, aur rajneeti mein oonth sirf oosi taraf karvat leta hai/baithata hai jahan oonth ko apna faiyda zyada nazar aaye. Kum se kum koshish yahi rahtee hai ke fayda ho. Ho ya na ho, wo doosri baat hai.

BJP is a political party and just like any other political party in the world, it would like to have power to rule the country. Nothing more nothing less. Rest is more of narraybaazi/slogans.

Pandering for minority vote!! I thought only congress did that in India. Politics makes strange bedfellows.

#622

I am sure the citizens of chandni chowk will vote not on communal basis but for the better candidate. have faith.

Farzana:
Wonder how the BJP`s core support group will react to this news? OTOH, elections in India are probably more influenced by local conditions and the Chandni Chowk riding does contain a large following of the Bukhari clan.

It will be interesting to see how many of those followers become himayatees of the BJP? And if he gets elected, what kind of dialogue will take place in the BJP caucus meetings (do they have such meetings in India?) between the Bukhari and its swami MP who claims he wont mind muslim votes as long as they can be washed in Gangajal?

It seems to me that the BJP is changing and even it does not know where it wants to be. Dekho oont kis karvat baithata hai?

Some news:

The BJP is planning to field Yahya Bukhari, the brother of the present Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid from Chandni Chowk opposite the Congress candidate Kapil Sibal. (Earlier they had zeroed in on Smriti Irani, a TV actress, but this Imam connection looks far more beguiling.)The Bukhari brother-in-law has already joined the BJP.

This is how good it gets in politics...

HP

As a follow up:

``My read of the Indian history tells me that Gandhi era Indian nationalism was based on some strong and positive upsurge of Indians. Resurrection of Hindu Nationalism on pandering sounds like a negative political phenomenon to me. ``

Absolutely right. Hence I am confusing Indian nationalism but pointing it out as two different things. If you think of Gandhi as the espouser of Indian nationam, think of Nathuram Godse as a Hindu nationalist.

re:#618 by rajsinghi1
Thanks for that post. It was interesting!
On a different topic, Hema Malini initially tried to get into Tamil films but was rejected by a famous director (my namesake) Sridhar because he felt she was too thin! She went to Bollywood and the rest, as they, is history.
Sridhar