In Lecture

MR. ANAND PARANJAPE, MP SHIV SENA.

spoke on "THE ROLE OF YOUTH IN INDIAN POLITICS".

At the outset he said that his prime motive of coming to the institution was not to give a talk but rather to get to know the participants better. He expressed his gratitude to the Dean, Mr. Rahul, for having given him the opportunity to interact with the participants. He also spoke glowingly about the fact that Mr. Rahul had been following up for more than four months to have him visit the School of Government.

Speaking of youth he started with the thought that the highest power given in a democracy is the power to vote and it has to be used effectively; he said that people need to come out and participate in the process and specially so the youth. He pointed out that while the first parliament had an average age of 67 years of age, in the present Parliament it has considerably lowered (57). He said that now the youth are being favored in political parties across the board; they are promoting youngsters, involving them in decision making and giving them tickets in large numbers in corporation elections and elections to local bodies. This trend is more prominent in the last 10 to 15 years he said.  He said that except for the communist party, all of whose parliamentarians are way above 70 years of age, the others are investing in youngsters. He gave the example of Mr. Nitin Gadkari of the BJP who has been made president at the age of 52 years. He said the trend started when Mr. Rajiv Gandhi reduced the voting age from 21 years to 18 years. He pointed out that our nation may not have great capacity in the field of defense but still China is frightened of India since we have human resources and youth power. 

But he rued the fact that the youth were not using their strength in democracy. He said that the youth lacked the will to enter politics; even for voting, if the election date happened to be in a weekend, they would pack their bags and move for an outing instead, he said. He was hoping this would change.

Speaking of the people in polity he said that the nation gets the leaders it deserves. There is a way of entering politics by being off springs of political families he said, but he pointed that dynastic politics made no sense in the present world—‘Perform or perish’ is today’s mantra. One could get voted into power on the basis of the party ideology once, but the next time he would be judged both on the basis of his party ideology and on the basis of how he performed during his reign as the representative of a constituency. He pointed out that the other problem was that the other method by which fresh leadership was inducted into politics, namely through college elections was no more a reality in Maharashtra since such elections have been banned in Maharashtra. Then he also pointed out that there is a stigma attached to joining politics and the result of it being that people do not encourage their youngsters to join it.  

Speaking of his own example he said that he that he was a technocrat and not a politician by heart but was propelled into the position by fate.  His father was a MP four times from Thane, but at that time, he, even though being an MP’s son, hated politics. He said that he only participated in the political process when the party was revved up for an election campaign. But then he was pitch forked into the contest in a bye-election in the same seat, Thane, which fell vacant owing to his father’s demise. He has been elected twice to the Lok Sabha ever since on the Shiv Sena ticket—into the 14th Lok Sabha through that bye-election and then the 15th which is part of the current Parliament.

Having been elected to the house he now saw the political process differently. He understood the true extent of the responsibility only after he was inside. He said that people treat politicians as a favorite punching bag. The truth is that it is a thankless job, where you need to be dedicated, where you need to make the biggest sacrifices and where, when people come to your help and assistance, you cannot say no. He said that, having understood his responsibilities, he was now doing his best to fulfill them.   

He also narrated an interesting situation he was in after his election to the house on the first occasion: he was one of seven MPs who were elected in the bye-elections in 2008 and he joined the house on 21st July 2008. At that time the then Congress government was facing a test on the floor of the house in connection with the Nuclear Deal issue. The vote took place the very next day. Had the government fallen, he would have been MP for one day, he said. It is another matter that less than a year later he was re-elected to the house in the general elections.

Of the proceedings in the Lok Sabha he said that despite the bad reputation, good debates did take place. He said that owing to the media coverage of the happenings in the house, there were many in the house who played to the galleries completely focused on the audience in their constituencies; but such vociferous behavior stopped the moment the TV telecast was switched off. This, he said, happened only during the question hour. Similarly he said that the press had something to report only when negative occurrences happed in the parliament and not when there was a quiet but dignified debate that happened; therefore the result is that a skewed image of the house gets relayed outside.

Of the MPG course he said that he would like to be here and do the one year course himself if he had the opportunity. He said that when one of these youngsters became an MP in the future, the dean Mr. Rahul Karad would be proud. He pointed out that it is important to know what is good governance and what is bad governance but then he also pointed out that in the present political context, good governance did not ensure election victory; “In a democracy what matters is not what is in your head, rather, it is how many heads you have on your side that matters”, he said. Further speaking of the ironies in the political set up he pointed out that everything is now being offered free by the government, whether it is rice or electricity; it is important to know that these things do cost money to produce, but still the government pursues the policy and the people do get elected on that basis. But despite these ironies, he pointed out that the elected representatives are indeed accountable to the people. The citizens now do look for roads, wells, schools and other facilities; there is, therefore, a need for a political activist to work and it is on this basis that people are sent back to parliament. But with the youth becoming more demanding there are many difficult questions a peoples’ representative needs to face. He said that it is not a part time job any more—it is a full time job.

He expressed that the old guard should step down from taking on roles in government and should switch over to mentoring and advisory roles in political parties after they are 65 years of age. “There should be a retirement age for politicians in government”, he said, but in the same breath he also pointed out that youngsters should take the advice of the seniors. In practice, though, he said that there is reluctance to any change from the seniors. In this context he made mention of the ‘Parliamentary Forum on Youth’ which the young MPs from across party lines have created in order to discuss issues related to the youth. He also mentioned the climax of the movie ‘Yuva’ in this context in order to indicate a shift towards youth and dynamism that is required.

Speaking of standing up for one’s views he said that there are three different views, one’s own view, the party view and the government’s view, there needs to be a synchronization but one needs to stand up for his views. In other words he said that it is important to be in the system and fight rather than sit outside and crib. He spoke even of his friends, who he said, sat in AC rooms and spend a lot of time on Orkut and Facebook; “but even on a free Sunday would they take time out to come and slog with me?” He asked. He said that politics was a difficult path and he thanked the young participants for coming forward to do the course and for looking forward to make that change happen. 

His address was followed by a question answer session: In answer to a question on the SEZ he said that in principle he did not agree with it completely (though he was an industrialist). He said that development should come, but not at the cost of cultivable land and it should not be taken forcefully from anyone. He decried the trend in which the farmers were foxed into parting with their lands, “jobs are promised and not delivered, meager remuneration or cost is offered, signatures are forged…” He said that ultimately the government and the bureaucracy also play into the hands of exploiters. So he summed it up by saying that though the idea of SEZ is good it should not be at the cost of cultivable land and not at the cost of such atrocities.

In reply to another question on salaries of MPs he went on to say that it looked huge but it was not significant. He dealt with the figures in detail and showed that the amounts were rather meager. While the MPs got Rs26,000/- as salaries and Rs16,000/- for stationery the Chief Secretary working under them received in the range of Rs120,000/- per month.

To a question on the Shiv Sena’s ideas and thought process and its impending re-organization in wake of the retiring of Mr. Bal Thackeray he said that the Shiv Sena was a dynamic organization. He had his personal views too and might not be in total agreement with a certain line taken by the party, but as secretary and having to take care of the youth wing of the party he had his responsibilities and he knew how to balance the same. Speaking of the fortunes of the party he said that it was a cyclic process and being out of power at some time did not mean anything really. He said that as far the party was concerned, the mantle was effectively being transferred to Mr. Uddhav Thackeray and as a team the members of the party are putting the house in order.

As for the MNS threat he said that indeed the new party has created a dent and there is nothing to hide. But he said the Shiv Sena is currently reworking on its strategy. He pointed out that as of now the MNS has nothing to prove, they could just say something and get away with it without have to stand up to any testimony. He said, “let them come to power in some corporation, within a short duration and people will be able to see who is Gold and who is Copper” and will vote for the Shiv Sena. He said that the MNS was were selling dreams to the youngsters but this will only lead the youth being mislead—those who trust the leader of that party are eventually going to lose, not gain; “People will know the truth,” he said.

On the issue of making voting compulsory he said that he was apprehensive of such an approach; he instead suggested that the Election Commission should be given an opportunity and a free hand to find other ways of encouraging people to come out and vote… but then he said that the voting percentage should indeed rise.

MR SANJAY PURI
spoke on "Indian Independence movement since 1857"

It was just the second day of the second term when SOG was fortunate to be honored by the visit of one of the prominent American Indians, Mr. Sanjay Puri. He is the Founder and chairman of two organizations,  the US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC), which gives voice to more than 2 million Indian Americans intent on exercising their political clout; and the Alliance for US India Business(AUSIB), a goals-driven trade body that effectively represents both US and Indian companies. Mr. Puri has been repeatedly recognized for his work in furthering the economic dialogue, bolstering US-India energy security, and galvanizing the Indian American community in support of the historic passage of the US-India civil nuclear cooperation agreement which may redefine the way the US strategically thinks about Asia.

For the grandeur of his achievements he came through as much of a sober, down to earth and unassuming personality and he spoke off the cuff with excellent diction and much clarity of thought. Taking off from an excellent introduction by the MC Mr. Devendra Pai of the School of Government he sought to rest any doubts about being whole-and-sole in the efforts of his institutions. He pointed out that, though he heads the organizations, he is merely a figure head for a lot of hard work put in by many people.

There on he started his address by mentioning about the great opportunity ahead of the youngsters in India. He pointed out to the demographic profile of India and said that there was much that could be achieved by youngsters. Careful not to sound boastful, he made it a point to highlight that “if an immigrant can achieve so much in a country he adopts, how much more can youngsters like you do in your own land”. In his address he shared extensively from his experience and made attempts to explain and to advise his young listeners on the manner to approach public life. He spoke about the fact that it is important to look at processes bottom up rather than top to bottom for better success. He compared the presidential campaigns of Mr. Obama and Ms. Hillary Clinton to make his point. In the way of need for training for the participants, he sought to highlight the use of technology for getting in touch with the common citizen and institutions at the grassroots levels. He was all praise for the work which President Obama’s team did in respect of use of technology in the campaign. He said that it lead to setting up a social networking that eventually brought the results he desired. Mr. Puri, later on, promised to send across to us a case study on the successful campaign.  

Speaking of his personal experiences he talked about when he started: “Ten years ago I was living the American dream” he said, “and was in all ways the success that anyone would have wanted.” But of those times he said that people of Indian origin just met and talked about problems which they faced and discussed politics in general and did not do anything much about it. When realization dawned that if something ought to be done then it was for each Indian to take the initiative, efforts were made by contacting people during Diwali gatherings and other get-togethers and an organization took birth and in a matter of ten years the organization grew up to be eighty thousand strong.

“As on date, the Indian lobby is presumed to be the second most powerful lobby in the US after the lobby of the Jews,” he said; but also cautioned “that could be an overestimation though”. In any case he pointed out that in the US lobbying is legal—allowed for any issue a citizen may feel hard pressed to address. And having taken up the issue of the Nuclear deal with India, he recounted how he personally went about meeting each of the 435+100 members of the two houses of the American Parliament in order to make them understand the importance of the deal to the American nation.  He indicated the extent of influence of the lobby from the fact that they were able to obtain apologies from eminent people like President Obama Who ultimately wrote personally to Mr. Puri as representative of the Indian community and from Mr. Glenn Beck, who has a 30 million strong viewership, when there was a degrading misrepresentation of the truth, affecting the sentiments and dignity of the Indian American community.

He ended his fluent diction with promise to support, in any way possible, the SOG’s efforts towards exploring opportunities for internship, cooperation, exchanges and such other with potential partners in the US. He also made it a point to stress that the participants were a fortunate lot since they were training for a role in government which, to his mind, was the ‘highest cause’ in society.

A brief question answer session took place in the end, where the questions were mostly in the area of Indo US relations and the approaches of the Presidents of the US. In replying to a question on Indo American ties, he said that unlike the US-China partnership which was lose-US-win-China in balance, the Indo-US partnership was a win-win relationship. He also spoke of constraints in the taking forward of the Indo-US ties at the political level, but then he also assured that at a cultural level, in education, in issues like immigration and the like, the ties have grown beyond a point of no return. In the political context he spoke of the gesture of the US President inviting Dr Manmohan Singh as the first state guest in his presidency;  “it was nice” he said, but then he also pointed out that one needs to evaluate the same not on the outer appearance of it but rather on the content—“It is important to see if the PM come back with something substantial” He said.

In an answer to a question he said that though Mr. George Bush could not do much for India, he was truly a good friend of the Indians.
As the School of Government looks forward with a vision of entering the areas of policy research and into being a medium for track 2 or track 3 diplomacy, it looks on with anticipation, hoping to take the outcome of this interaction to a higher level. Indeed the opportunities are many and hopefully all this will benefit the new breed of leaders who are honing their knowledge and skills in the SOG in their quest for national leadership.

3rd December 2009

MN. Gopala Swami

spoke on "Elections and Electoral Reforms in India.".

We were rather fortunate to have amongst us yet another national luminary from the Election Commission, the former Chief Election Commissioner Mr.  N Gopalaswami, who spoke about elections and electoral reforms in India and about his experiences as the Chief Election Commissioner.
There can be no better source to learn about the Election Commission than from a Former Chief Election Commissioner himself and this belief was entirely justified. He talked at length about the reforms that need to be taken up in the election Commission. He spoke about the security of the voters and how it was being compromised; about how the EVMs were always condemned and none so ever could ever come out with proof of how the same were defective. Besides he gave examples of people played politics with the issue if they have failed in an election. He spoke of parties being created to tap on the loophole of their funds being outside the purview of effective audit. His opening comments about corruption were startling: “all our legislators start their service at the legislatures with a big lie—when they give their expenditure statements at the end of the elections saying that they spend so and so amount only, and within the ceiling that is imposed. And as the days go by the lie becomes bigger and bigger.”
He, at length spoke about the crises that arose in the commission during the end of his tenure and explained why he took the stand… Apparently he was advised against it and he knew for sure that his recommendation would not be accepted, but why on principle he had to go ahead with it. He also spoke highly of Mr. TN Seshan’s tenure and explained how Mr. Seshan was able to do what he did by merely implementing the law as it already existed… “Not a single reform was enacted in the parliament in that period” he said. He also remarked about the tough stands taken by Mr. Peri Shastri and also of Mr. Sakdhar who were both CECs even before Mr. Seshan and stood up to the executive. He finished with a long question answer session where the participants put out probing questions to him. 

7th December 2009

Shri. Praveen Togadia

spoke on " Role of Hindutva in Nation Building ".

MIT School of government, first ever school for the studies of politics had arranged yet another session, after some chief political personalities such as Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackery, Lal Krishan Advani, Jasvant Singh and more, Dr. Pravin Togadia who is International General Secretary, Vishva Hindu parishad had shared his knowledge on the topic of “HINDU RASHTRAVAAD”.  This seminar was arranged in classroom of SOG on 7th December 2009.
Mr. Togadia threw light on three main topics—Hindu Sabhayata, Hindu Sanskuriti and Hindu Bhumi. He stated that the minorities that have stayed in India should follow the rules and regulations of Hinduism. In one of the examples he gave he pointed out that minorities like Islam follow western rules, culture and regulations in countries like USA.  Togadia was against composite culture of India and according to him there has to be only one culture in India and that is Hinduism.
After this session, students of SOG freely interacted with Togadia on their doubts; for instance one participant wanted to know “according to you when will India become a complete Hindu nation?” on then another asked “when will the Ram Mandir be built in Ayodhya?” Still another wanted to know why despite this being a Hindu land there was so much suffering of Hindus in Kashmir. These brought crisp and tactful answers from the eminent personality. He felt that if things fell in place the Hindu nation would be a reality in ten years. According to him it was not the temple which is the body that is important, it is Hindu Nationhood, the soul, that is important.  
The session concluded with a presidential address by Dr Vishvanath Karad, the founder president of MIT. He spoke of the vision of the World Peace Centre and how the essence of all religious text is beautiful and how it is being used by vested interests to create disharmony in society. He also focused on the fact that Indian Spiritual geniuses continue to be neglected in the long list of philosophers beginning from Socrates, Plato and their likes and ending in people like Marx. He ended by commenting positively to his thoughts and thanking him honourably.   

14th of December

Mr. Nidheesh Tyagi

spoke on "Media: The Fourth Pillar of Indian Democracy”.

He spoke out of his experience of years in the media field. He is a unique person in the sense that he has taken up many ventures with an intention of initiating and developing projects and having done fair justice to them moved on since he wanted new challenges.
            He pointed out that Democracies need the valuable content of media. In his words, “Any Democracy will not be able to work unless People talk to themselves as to communities, communities teach to talk to themselves, communities need to question things”. Elaborating further on the character of people who need to be involved in the media he said, “I see Journalism act as courage because we can ask questions in public domain it might be politician, business organization, judiciary administration, unless we can not those thing and out of the open the democracy not be healthy, functioning healthy, constructive democracy”.
            He also pointed out that media has great demands on an individual and there cannot be arbitrariness; in his opinion journalism bestows on one the responsibility of handling things in a “sensitive, smart, effective manner”.
            He said that in a democracy if we stop questioning then nothing happens and therefore there is an immense responsibility on the media. If we keeping asking question we will improve was his refrain.
            In an answer to a question whether the media was the fourth Pillar of democracy or corruption is a fourth pillar of Democracy he said that democracy is an approach for a solution, it was not the solution. It was meant to help people get there—attaining happiness. In contrast corruption is a habit or a characteristic of society which belongs to another dimension.
            To a question about what it takes for someone to write for the papers he said that the whole idea is for what is written to be read. He said that people read only on account of two reasons; the first cause is if something touches their hearts, the other is if it excites the mind...  

15th December 2009

Shri. Anerood Jugnauth

spoke on "Role of youth in promoting the Culture of Peace in the World”

His Excellency Rt  Sir Anrood Jugnauth [ G.C.S.K., K.C.M.G., Q.C.] President, Republic of Mauritius accompanied by first lady of Mauritius Mrs Sarojini Jugnauth visited our institution on 15th December 2009. He blessed our students and explored the relations of India with Mauritius. he mentioned the need of peace in contemporary world. On this occasion a book was released by his auspicious hand named “HEARTBEATS OF INDIA” authored by Prof Lari Azad, an eminent writer and a successful academician. The guests and eminent audience were welcomed by Prof Vishwanath D. Karad, [Founder and Head, World Peace Centre, MAEER’s MIT, Pune]. In his welcome speech he introduced guests about the Indian peace culture and focused on the role of youth in nation building peacefully. In his Presidential speech His Excellency Anrood Jugnauth has briefly introduced about the comprehensive culture of Mauritius based on unity in diversity. He also stressed upon building new bridges of friendship worldwide spreading the culture of Peace when there is an anarchic situation disgracing the world through the act of terror. This function was graced by young thoughts of the students of MITSOG stating the role of youth in promoting the culture of peace by Mr Sagar Agrawal and Ms Vandana Seth. We were privileged to have key note address by Mr Mookhesswur Choonee, High Commissioner of Mauritius in India. Vote of thanks were proposed by Prof Mangesh Karad, Director, MITCON, Pune.

30th January 2010

SHRI RANJITSINH VIJAYSINH MOHITE PATIL

spoke on "A peep into the corporate movement in Maharashtra:

The interaction with Shri. Ranjitsinh Vijaysinh Mohite Patil was brief, but it gave a good opportunity for the audience to familiarize itself with the young MP of the Rajya Sabha, know about his family and get to know about the Cooperative movement in India. He spoke on the topic: “Benefits of Cooperatives in Maharashtra.” He explained how way back in 1904 his grandfather and others pioneered the cooperative movement , how his father took over the initiative in the fifties and sixties and how finally he is playing his role in the public sphere. Speaking of the cooperative movement he explained how it helped empower the farmer, how even if the farmer had a single share in the cooperative he could be elected to office in it. How it went a long way in bringing prosperity to various regions of Maharashtra. He showed the audience a short film in which the history of the Cooperative movement was traced and in which there was as description of the important players who were instrumental in taking forward the cooperative movement. He also mentioned the advances that were made in milk cooperatives and showed the advantages wrought from them. 
Speaking of the advantages of being a known name in politics he said that such an advantage was of limited value. In fact, according to him, it was a burden on a third generation politician like him, for, having been in the public eye, there is every chance that people will eventually turn around and say “such a good legacy his forefathers have left for him and how he is squandering it...” Therefore in his opinion it is easier for someone who is starting anew, as such a person would have no previous baggage and it would be entirely the individual’s own effort that would count.  
About his being present in the upper house, at such a young age, he said that he was thankful to the seniors in his party for having given him that opportunity to serve. 
Speaking of the kind of work that is required he said that it is important to go down to the field and do work. He spoke of hard work that would take much of one’s time. He gave his own examples and said how he was instrumental in getting hundreds of check dams built. He specifically pointed out that it was not enough to just have the check dams ordered and made in absentia, “It is important for the leader to be there in person when the work is being done”. He explained that people will vote for a candidate once on the basis of his lineage and the name of his party. But it is important that one has to be found worthy of the trust that is reposed, or else, people would not send them back again.
It was a brief interaction but enough to throw open a window for the participants. It was a great opportunity to see a MP in flesh and blood interacting with them. Besides learning a lot from the things he said, there are points unsaid which help in an aspirant’s efforts at setting goals; it helps the participants gain confidence in their efforts at change and helps them chart an informed course in their pursuit of higher things in life.