The three rivers of UP

And so, in the honourable state of Uttar Pradesh, my enemy's enemy is not necessarily my friend. That is the sharp message that emerges from the interminable alliance-building exercise on the eve of the war for the 14th Lok Sabha.

The price of hubris is paid in every tragedy. And yet it is pitiful to see the Grand Old Party, Congress, knock on any door like an ageing impotent in search of anyone who will say "yes". For a hundred years since its birth in 1885, UP has been the scene of the party's finest triumphs. Never was it more glorious than in 1984. Rajiv Gandhi lost the state in 1989, but destiny did not give him time to recover what he had lost.

His successors have been indifferent or worse. P.V. Narasimha Rao, of course, dared not step into the state after December 6, 1992. But he thought he could win by artifice what he had lost by cynicism. He entered into an alliance which buried the Congress. He made a deal with the Bahujan Samaj Party of Kanshi Ram and Mayawati. The boomerang still knocks down the Congress three general elections later.

The Congress gave legitimacy to a party aspiring to be the sole spokesman of a key Congress vote, the Dalits, a vote delivered to the party by Mahatma Gandhi. Kanshi Ram and Mayawati are not careless leaders. They have refused to return this vote to the Congress.

Sonia Gandhi was not as cynical as Narasimha Rao, but she was either indifferent or perhaps too enveloped by a sense of self-esteem to see clearly. She has been in charge of the Congress for over six years now. The only part of Uttar Pradesh that seems to matter to her is Amethi, or perhaps Rae Bareli as a future resource base for her daughter Priyanka.

I cannot think of a single issue, or cause, that she has fought for that might bring the Congress back in Uttar Pradesh, or, for that matter, Bihar. Congress leaders tend to go into denial when confronted with the obvious, or become accusatory. But this is the simple truth.

There are two possible explanations. First, under Sonia Gandhi, Congress politics has become extremely Delhi-oriented. (Rajiv Gandhi, if anything, erred in the opposite direction; he was constantly on the move, which is why he retained the affection of people even when they did not vote for him.) One can explain this, but not condone it.

Sonia Gandhi's inability to speak fluently in Hindi, her complete imprisonment to a text, and her natural reserve make her a poor communicator. You can appreciate therefore her reluctance to take to the road. It is arguable that if there were no elections there would not have been the current spate of "road shows" either. (For those who might be unfamiliar with the term, "road shows" are what an entrepreneur does when he sets out to raise capital for a project.)

The second possible explanation is that the Congress leadership does not have a clue as to how it might recover Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It has ceded Bihar to Laloo Prasad Yadav, and finds that it is being marginalized even from the margins. The justification is that the defeat of the BJP is more important than the recovery of the Congress.

This suits Laloo Yadav brilliantly, because he eliminates a political danger from one end of the spectrum. Laloo Yadav is conscious that not only might he be defeated by the BJP, but also that the Congress could occupy his space when the sins of power corrode his strength.

Five years ago, the BJP and the NDA surprised Laloo Yadav in the general elections. The Congress did no analysis. It has done absolutely nothing, apart from cadging a bit of power, to spread itself and gain from the ebb of Laloo Yadav. This leaves the BJP-NDA as the only alternative. If therefore there is voter resentment in the coming general election, the only beneficiaries will be the BJP-NDA combination. The paradox should be evident to all but the simple- minded.

This is not an argument against alliances; it is an argument against thoughtlessness. The Congress, once described by Jawaharlal Nehru as the central fact of India, must approach alliances from a different perspective. An alliance must be an exercise in strength, not an alibi for weakness. The Congress may no longer be the central fact of India, but at the very least it must be the central fact of any alliance, in the manner that the CPI(M) leads the Left Front in Bengal or the BJP leads the NDA nationally.

The facts of Uttar Pradesh are even more tortuous than those of Bihar. The Congress looks isolated and pathetic as it waits for favours from Mayawati long after she has publicly stated that she has none to offer. There is nothing personal about Mayawati's decision. It is not in her political interest to revive a party that could retake her voter-base. When Mulayam Singh Yadav offers a sliver of support, he wraps his offer with taunts that are both personal and political. The Yadav leaders of UP and Bihar are perched on a platform of strength; the Congress is a supplicant.

What better metaphor could there be for Uttar Pradesh than a river? The size of UP should be measured not in geography but in demographics. There are three rivers meandering through the demographics of UP, and it is unsurprising if in many a "doaba" there is some mingling of waters. Mayawati commands the river of Dalits propelled by occasional tides of engineered Muslim or other-caste support when her candidate is outside her caste. Mulayam Singh Yadav feeds off a river of Backwards and Muslims, and must strain every nerve to prevent either from breaking out into tributaries of their own.

The BJP flow has been widened ever since it joined some Backward castes to upper-caste Hindu support. The strength of the three fluctuates according to the tide of events. The Congress, once appropriately considered the mainstream, is now reminiscent of Saraswati. It has dried up. But the riverbed has not yet disappeared, although further mismanagement of the party could ensure this as well.

Self-inflicted wounds continue to maim the Congress. Sonia Gandhi has just hurt the Congress badly in Assam.

The Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Hind is a national and nationalist organization that fought alongside the Congress in the freedom movement, and has remained with the Congress. While its network of activists and maulvis operate all over, its principal strength is in Assam. Traditionally, the Congress has kept one seat in the Rajya Sabha for a nominee of the Jamiat.

Indira Gandhi made Maulana Asad Madni, head of the organization, a Rajya Sabha MP, and Rajiv Gandhi continued the commitment. They were practical leaders who understood the value that the Jamiat brought to the party. Digvijay Singh, who is in charge of the Congress in Assam, understands the local ethos and knows the party's history. He recommended that Maulana Madni be given the seat again. Instead, Sonia Gandhi handed the seat to a certain Sylvius Condopan.

The fact that Condopan is a Christian may be incidental, but it is already fuelling speculation that such an unusual decision was taken under 'pressure'. The Muslims, who ensured victory for the Assam Congress in both the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls five years ago are feeling cheated. Such alienation was utterly unnecessary.

The after-effect has been immediate. The Jamiat will put up four candidates in Assam, thereby almost certainly ensuring Congress defeat in those constituencies. It has also urged Muslims to vote for the AGP elsewhere and even hinted that they could support the BJP where the 'candidate' deserves the vote. The number of votes the BJP gets thereby is less important than the fact that the 'untouchability' barrier has been broken.

You cannot become an Indira Gandhi by simply walking like her. You also have to behave like her. Congress alliances are trouble-free in two states: Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. In Tamil Nadu the Congress has solved all problems by surrendering all ambition; this happened long before Sonia Gandhi. Maharashtra is fine because the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party are simply factions of the same party. They know each other's strength and have claimed their share with minimum acrimony.

But in Andhra Pradesh, the Congress has once again allied with a Telangana regional party from a position of weakness. A few seats more cannot compensate for the loss of credibility in a state where the Congress is a natural claimant for power. Weakness may be useful in any compromise that serves the present, but it can never win the future.

There is an immutable law of alliances, a law that holds for any party, whether it be Congress, BJP or the CPI(M). Two lines of Urdu poetry sum it up well: Kaise bazaar ka dustoor tumhe samjhaoon Bik gaya jo woh kharidar nahin ho sakta. It is almost impossible to translate the sentiment into English without an element of bathos, but I will try: How should I explain the law of this marketplace? He who has been sold can never be a buyer.

The writer is editor-in-chief of Asian Age, New Delhi.

Kavish Butt remembered

The Ambala-based Rajinder Malhotra regularly arranged an annual mushaira in his hometown where poets from Pakistan were also invited. It was on March 15, 1997, that a team of Pakistani poets left for Ambala to participate in the mushaira scheduled for the same evening. These included Qateel Shifaee, Murtaza Barlas, Kavish Butt, Akhtar Shumar and Zahid Fakhri.

The next day, they had to participate in another mushaira in Panipat. However, as fate would have it, Kavish Butt suddenly collapsed and passed away. Faced with the problem of transporting his body to Pakistan, his shocked colleagues had to cross several hurdles. It was then that the bureaucratic connections of Murtaza Barlas came to their rescue.

He made all other necessary arrangements. It was to commemorate the death anniversary of Kavish Butt, that Murtaza Barlas invited some friends to his place. Among them were Akhtar Shumar, Zahid Fakhri, Abbas Tabish, Asadullah Ansari and a retired officer of the PAF, Rasheed Qureshi, who is a fan of literature.

Paying tributes to the memory of the departed poet, Abbas Tabish said that despite his limited means, Kavish Butt made it sure to arrange an annual Sham-i-Ghazal in Lalamusa and bear all expenses. Even otherwise, he was an extremely sympathetic person who went all out to provide every help to others and encourage newcomers to poetry. Other speakers also lauded the selfless spirit of Kavish Butt and termed him an ambassador of love and peace. Zahid Fakhri considered the death of Kavish Butt to be the death of an institution. Lalamusa came to be known only because of Roshan Ara Begum, Alam Lohar and Kavish Butt.

Someone that evening went to the extent of saying that Lalamusa should be called Lala Kavish as giving his name to a hall in the local press club was not enough. He said that even Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi was all praise for the poetry of Kavish Butt, especially for its simplicity of construction and directness. Going through his verses one felt he was talking to his readers.

The sitting that evening was rounded off with a fateha for Kavish Butt as also for the Kabirwala-based senior poet, Bedil Haidari, who passed away recently. Fond memories of Rajinder Malhotra were also recounted as he is also no longer in this world.

* * * * *

To celebrate the 35th birthday of the monthly Shadaab produced by Dr Kanwal Feroz and the formal launch of his third collection of poetry, Sham-i-Farat-i-Dil, a function was held at a local hotel.

Arranged jointly by the United Religion Initiative (URI) and the Pakistan Association of Inter-religious Dialogue, it was presided over by Abdul Aziz Khalid. The special guests on the occasion were Munno Bhai and Bishop Samuel Robert Azariyah while Azhar Javed conducted the proceedings and kept the audience amused with his remarks.

Introducing the two sponsors of the function, Kazy Javed, resident director of the Pakistan Academy of Letters, said that both the organizations were constantly striving to bring people of different religions closer and help them to sit together, talk among themselves, and thereby understand each other. They stood for promoting tolerance and broadmindedness among people of different faiths.

Rasheed Misbah spoke highly of not only the poetic capabilities of Kanwal Feroz but also his personal qualities. He said he firmly believed in spreading love and cheer among the people. In her talk, Nasreen Anjum Bhatti was all praise for the helpful nature of Kanwal Feroz so much so that he was friendly even with his enemies. Salma Jabeen, who has been with the Voice of Germany for years, was also present at the function that evening. Giving her views she said that keeping a magazine alive was indeed a difficult task and Kanwal Feroz deserves kudos for his persistence of 35 long years.

The chief guests, Bishop Azariyah and Munno Bhai also spoke on the occasion. The bishop pointed out that all religions not only preached love for humanity but also laid stress upon it. Hence, it could be said without fear of contradiction that Kanwal Feroz was truly following the dictates of his religion. Munno Bhai said that since people from different countries were present at the function, it could well be regarded as an international event. Referring to Kanwal Feroz, he said, that he was every inch a true human being which is the basic requirement of every religion.

As happens at the end of such functions, Kanwal Feroz was asked to say something and also present his verses. However, Kanwal confined himself to thanking all those who had graced the occasion but refrained from reciting his poetry. That time, he said, would be better used by Father James Chanan and the dignitary presiding, Abdul Aziz Khalid.

Speaking first, Father James said that his organization which started functioning in 1995 was now operating in 80 countries of the world. Its mission was to bring the people of different religions closer and promote mutual understanding. He appreciated the gesture when he was invited to speak at a function in the Badshahi Mosque.

In his presidential remarks, Abdul Aziz Khalid said that Kanwal Feroz had a vast circle of friends belonging to different vocations and faiths. It was because of his human qualities that he was welcome in all sections of society. He appreciated his latest collection of poetry and said that the verses not only spread a message of love but there was also an element of elegance in them. He wished him luck in his future endeavours.

Forgetting elderly folk?

I have just talked to a colleague of mine who resides in a part of Ranchore Lines, and he says that he lives in that locality in sheer fear. In fact there was anxiety and even terror expressed on his face as he gave me details of how fire could erupt there anytime in the residential blocks he was living in.

I had actually asked him about his perceptions on what he thought of the fire fighting system in the city, bearing in mind that he lived in one of the congested parts of Old Karachi.

Why I asked him this was because during the week there was a detailed disturbing news report of an "elderly couple burnt alive in an apartment" near Cantt Station, and the reports of the questionable performance of the fire brigade brought back questions that we all ask and then forget about. We all assume that the fire will take place in someone else's place, and that we will only read of it in the press! Some brief account, perhaps, and then life will carry on!

Like a burglary or dacoity or car snatching will hit the other person, and one need not be bothered about it. That is escapist approach. Or that landing up in an emergency in a public hospital's casualty department is something that will happen to one's neighbour. Not to oneself?

But let me get to what this resident said. He gave me scary details of how hundreds of citizens live in apartments underneath which are numerous shops and godowns keeping all kinds of paint and other related chemicals in containers of all sizes. It is an operational and storage activity that is going on and there is almost no public opinion on the matter. No media ever focussed on this issue, and when this resident expressed his views to the traders in this business, they told him not to worry and sleep in peace. He tried arguing, in vain. Futility.

So quite naturally one reflects on how unsafe residential environment exist in many parts of the city, and no one bothers. The other side of the picture is that the city's fire fighting system inspires confidence in the people of this growing metropolis. Over the years, the city has grown and so have apartments. In fact, that trend continues as families turn smaller and independent living takes on a fashionable image.

How poorly most apartments are maintained is another story, that reflects on residents and mirrors the collective apathy when it is actually a matter of living neatly, cleanly and even decently. It is not a matter of economics alone, which makes it pertinent to mention the shabby state of apartments even in places like Clifton, Defence, PECHS and adjoining societies.

Now let me focus on this "elderly couple burnt alive in apartment" story that should serve as yet another eye opener how unreliable is our fire fighting system. The fire took place on a Saturday-Sunday night, when panicky residents informed the Fire Brigade, said a news report in an English daily (22nd March).

At least four fire tenders were dispatched and it took them an hour to control the raging fire. Two rooms were gutted, and two were severely damaged. But wait: the worst was that the two people living there died. They could not be rescued, and it was reported that "the fire fighters did not possess the required equipment, like masks, lights, and other necessities." Does it surprise?

It said that the fire fighters could not enter the apartment, which was suffocating with smoke, and the two inmates naturally died. Neighbours complained that the KESC were informed and their van was in the locality, attending to a VIP complaint in the vicinity. Ironic routine.

Of course, the fire brigade system in the city has done its job under the most trying conditions, on resource constraint and multifaceted inadequacy. Of course, it has done a good job on many occasions. But, its image is so suspect, and one cannot be sure that relying on the fire brigade team will be wholly rewarding. Then what is the option, ask citizens who dread what could happen in case of a widespread emergency in a city that is continuously expanding. Can our fire fighting handle a crisis? residents ask all the time.

In this particular case of the couple, who died here in the apartments near Cantt Railway station, they apparently came to Karachi on a visit from the United States. One of their sons was residing abroad, and apparently the couple were living on their own when the tragedy took place?

A friend who is always saddened to find families "abandoned" here and the children living abroad, and where parents undergo the last stage of their life's journey alone. Sometimes forgotten and always lonely.

We talked about this aspect of Pakistani society where children have ended up living abroad, and their parents rough it out here. The going can be tough emotionally, financially, and generally speaking it prolongs one's torment.

He explained that this tendency of children to settle abroad while their elders, especially parents live here is actually on a scale far bigger than what is often perceived. Divided families and splintered families. Sociologists would find this a rich but devastatingly sad phenomena to explore where a kind of "abandoning" of the elderly is gaining a practice, that some consider as acceptable. As if justifiable.

One would like to mention here the senior citizens associations that exist all over the country, and that they keep expressing their views, which perhaps are overlooked by a society that does not focus on the handicaps of the old, and the sick.

I am tempted to refer to the Oxford Book of Aging from which a couple of expressions and a quote from Bertrand Russel would enlighten us on a theme we seem to have not even noticed in our lives. In one place, Rudolf Arnheim refers to the "accomplishments of the aging mind", and in another place observes that "reverence for the old exists probably in every mature culture".

Does this society ever think on these lines? Are we a "mature culture"? The other is this quote from Russel who says: "There are both advantages and disadvantages in being very old. The disadvantages are obvious and uninteresting, and I shall say little about them. The advantages seem to me to be more interesting. A long retrospect gives weight and substance to experience.

I have been able to follow many lives, both of friends and public characters, from an early stage to their conclusion. Some, who were promising in youth, have achieved little of value; others have continued to develop from strength to strength through long lives of their important achievement. Russel said this in his essay "pros and cons of reaching ninety".

Returning to the "elderly couple burnt alive" story, one sees two distinctly disturbing contexts. That our fighting system is inadequate; this is an understatement. That public opinion is not alive to this very essential aspect of our urban cosmopolitan high-rise living, which is a dreadful thought. Even shameful.

The other is the easy dismissive way in which senior citizens are being treated, which is disappointing to say the least, and clearly insinuating the materialism of our changing lives. Materialism or immorality?