Why These Two Should Get The Bharat Ratna

We have a  bad habit of bestowing honours posthumously .Which is always the worse of the two options .And we also have the bad habbit of   NOT  bestowing honours to people who are not in the good books of the government .So if you are not a crony of the Congress or the BJP ,the chances are that you will not get either a Padamshri or  Bharat Ratna when they are in power  .And that is why the Bharat Ratna has eluded some of Indias greatest sons/daughters if one political party thought you were close to another  .I am going to write of two such human beings who I think have contributed to the concept of India in more ways than some others  who got it .

The first is Atal Bihari Vajpayee .He is a outstanding candidate for the honour and the quicker he is bestowed  the Bharat Ratna the better .He is in frail health and from reports that leak out from his residence ,he cant speak ,or recognize .In his prime there were few who could match him for his skills at public speaking or escape his quick wit .And he has been around for a long  long time .Infact ,he narrates how as a backbencher he took on the formidable Nehru in one of the debates in Parlaiment  in the fifties .He attacked him in his indominatable style .And then goes on to laud the great man by saying that when he met him in a reception in a hotel the same day ,Nehru said “You spoke very well today .Acchaaa bolte ho “!!That I think was  understatement .I had the privilege of listen to him at at least 2 election rallies –one in Karol Bagh and the other at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi .There was pin drop silence –and the crowd was in laks !!Such is and was the power of the man.And he used it to good effect to integrate India .Besides ,he was a fantastic team man and managed a coalition of such diverse thinking political strands.And he had a vision –he realized that we had to be friendly with Pakistan to move ahead .He was a poet and had a sense of humuor –the only Indian PM to have so .Vinod Mehta recalls that he looked quite gloomy once when he called on him ,which  was uncharacteristic of the man .When asked why he was  serious ,Vajpayee said “ Kyonki aapkey baad Jayalalitha aaney wali haih” .And then burst out laughing. This most loved Indian must be given the Bharat Ratna .Immediately.

The second would be the great Dilip Kumar .Amitabh Bacchan (himself a front runner for the coveted Bharat Ratna ),talks of how the the history of the film industry can be divided into two parts –before Dilip Saab and after Dilip Saab! In a India coming to grips with the notion of a new divided country post 1947 ,here was a man who united India through the medium of the films .I have talked to people of my generation from diverse geographical area of our country ,some of them not even understanding Hindi /Urdu  and they b were all proud Indians because Dilip Kumar became the symbol of it. His movies unified intellectually and mentally just like the other Bharat Ratnas –Lata Mangeshkar and Sacchin Tendulkar. Dubbed a tragedy king or a comedian  this is what he said “Given my temperament, when I have either been dubbed a tragedian or a comedian, I have always felt that they are talking about someone else. Because I think I’m a bit of everything, mujh mein sab ka thoda thoda sa hai."  Yes he was and is the complete man  .He has been a secular Indian  and has not put a foot wrong .Known to be magnanimous ,down to earth and knowledgeable –its time he was rewarded our countrys highest honour .It would also give the BJP the much needed image addition that it cares for the minorities .

Jinnah -The Game Changer .Part 2.

 Dina was born to them .She was their only child .Years later like her mother , she  was to run  into problems with her dad (Jinnah ),when she wanted to marry Neville Wadia ,a Parsi (like her mother).Jinnah told her that there were millions of Muslims she could marry ,and that it was absurd for her to choose to marry a  Parsi .When she retorted that he had done the same when he married Ruth ,his cold emotionless answer was “She became a Muslim”. Period .No negotiation .No relenting .From either side .He disowned his daughter when she married Neville .!!Incidentally she is the grandmother of Ness Wadia who owns Punjab Kings X1 who is Nusli Wadia and Maureen Wadias son .

Back to Jinnah and Ruth . Despite Jinnah's unfaltering dedication and love for Ruttie, the marriage was not a bed of roses. Perhaps his professional responsibilities and political commitments did not afford him enough time to spend with his wife .Slowly but surely  the dream marriage started to  turn  sour .He became abnormally obsessed with politics and by 1922 Ruth found herself, lonely enough to pack her  bags and take  her daughter to London. But she still  loved the man for whom she had forsaken the world .She wrote  to her friend Kanji, thanking him for the bouquet of roses he had sent as a bon voyage gift  and by ending thus “

“And just one thing more, go and see Jinnah and tell me how he is, he has a habit of overworking himself and now that I am not there to tease and bother him he will be worse than ever.”.

Upon her return to India, Ruttie tried to see more of her husband but he was too busy  in  politics  , and sadly   had little time to devote to her.He had started to get obsessed with power .

By 1927, Ruttie and Jinnah had virtually separated, and  his  move   to Delhi was just the final blow to a relationship that was already on oxygen .It was gasping for breath .

Ruttie's health deteriorated rapidly in the years after  1927.It is said that she died of cancer because of  the passive smoking of her husband .The tragedy  was that  she was still so young –not even 28 years old . But she kept her interest in her pets and her close friends .She shifted into the Taj Hotel –frail and weak .Amongst the last things she requested of her friend Kanji was that he look after her cats .She died on 20^th FEB 1929 .She was only 28 years old !!! It was as if love had been brutally murdered .

Jinnah is believed to be a very private person and he hardly showed emotions but he is known to have cried twice in public. One of the occasions was the funeral of his beloved wife Ruttie in 1929 and the other one in August 1947, when he visited her grave one last time before leaving for Pakistan.Did he forget her ?The answer appears to be NO .According to his chauffeur

You know servants in household come to know everything that is going around them. Sometimes more than twelve years after Begum Jinnah's (Mrs. Jinnah) death, the boss would order at dead of night a huge ancient wooden chest to be opened, in which were stored clothes of his dead wife and his married daughter. He would intently look into those clothes, as they were taken out of the  box and were spread on the carpets. He would gaze at them for long with eloquent silence. Then his eyes turn moist.”

Jinnah left India in August 1947, never to return again. He had  pursued   two things which every man seeks and if lucky gets both  .One –Love . He lost out on it because he lost Ruth .But he won  what he gave up to as tradeoff –Power .With his  zeal ,passion , and doggedness he was able to divide India into 2 parts .He became the QUAID  E AZAM of the newly created state of Pakistan .How did  it all happen ?

Thats a part of my next blog on Jinnah .Part 3.

Jinnah -The Game Changer .Part 1.

You cant understand the politics of the subcontinent  without knowing about Mohd Ali Jinnah .I am quite surprised as to how little one knows about the people who shaped the history of India in the 20^th Century .Of course I don’t expect people to understand the complexities of the events ,but one should know the facts .Facts are sacred .One cant  and should not ignore them to get a larger picture.

Thank God ,a fair amount of youngsters know a bit about Gandhiji .I wonder however whether they knew he was born in Porbander and for what reasons he led the Dandi March .Or why the Sabarmati Ashmram is such a important place to visit for anyone who goes to Ahmedabad .It is sad that when I asked a class whether they had heard about Maddame Tassuad –quite a few hands went up .And when I asked about whether they had heard of Sabarmati –fewer went up .And when I asked about Naukhalli –none went up .Not only was it sad –it was quite frightening that we are producing children who are apparently brilliant ,but lack the basic knowledge of people and places that shaped our present .How can one understand the mess of Kashmir by not knowing much about Hari Singh ,or Sheikh Abdullah ?Or why Article 370 was introduced ?And we will continue to  indulge in passionate discussions on Facebook  about why it should be abolished or why not .!!

The main point about writing this blog is to familiarize the reader  about Jinnah .Here  are some  facts .Jinnahs grandfather was Hindu .His name was  Poonja Gokuldas Meghji, He was a Hindu from Paneli village in Gondal state in Kathiawar who embraced Islam.Hence , Jinnah had a Hindu ancestary .His father was Jinnahbhai  Poonja   who was a prosperous Gujarati merchant. He moved to Karachi from Kathiawar, because of his business  .He and his wife had 7 children.One of them was Mohd Ali Jinnah .

Jinnah was to become  a top class lawyer .One of his colleagues wrote “He was what God made him, a great pleader. He had a sixth sense: he could see around corners. That is where his talents lay ... he was a very clear thinker ...He drove his points home—points chosen with exquisite selection—slow delivery, word by word” . 

He was married off in 1892 when he was 16 while  still in school in Karachi. He travelled to Kutch to marry a bride called Emibai. Emibai fell victim to an outbreak of cholera and died in 1893.He refused to remarry even though his father insisted .As On so many  other occasions he displayed that one trait –stubborness .

However all that seemed to melt when he came into contact with Ruth . One of his numerous  clients  was Sir  Dinshaw  Petit  a millionaire  mill owner .Jinnah fell in love with Dinshaws daughter Ruth Petit or Ruttie as she was called .The love affair started when Dinshaw invited Jinnah to his summer home in Darjeeling to get away from the oppressive heat of Bombay ..Ruttie was amongst  the prettist women in Bombay  .She was reffered to as “Flower of Bombay”. When Jinnah asked Dinshaw for Ruths hand in marriage ,he refused  since she was a Parsi .Ruttie braved isolation for the sake of the man she loved and left her family to marry Jinnah in Bombay ...Only a handful of people were present .Ruth converted to Islam and  was named Maryam .They celebrated their honeymoon at Maidens Hotel in Delhi .It is a hotel  near the Delhi University -a hotel  I have frequently   more than any other hotel  in Delhi  .Everytime I went to the Hotel ,I was reminded of Jinnah  and Ruttie .

They were a head spinning couple .Jinnah was always impeccably dressed . He came to own over 200 suits, which he wore with heavily starched shirts with detachable collars, and as a barrister took pride in never wearing the same silk tie twice. Even when he was dying, he insisted on being formally dressed, "I will not travel in my pyjamas"  ,he had protested .He had one addiction –smoking .He worked with a tin of Craven "A" cigarettes at his desk, of which he  smoked 50 or more a day for the nearly  35 years, of his life .He also smoked a  box of Cuban cigars.But he had style . Ruttie matched him   with  long hair  decked in fresh flowers.She apparently had a flawless complexion and  wore vibrant silk and headbands lavish with diamonds, rubies and emeralds.They were the richest in the Bombay circuit .She called him “J” .They were madly in love !!

To be Continued 

Musings On My Birthday !!

It is my birthday today .Its time to thank God that I have lived as long as I have because I have seen so many young human beings pass away for no apparent reason at all .I also thank my parents for bringing me into the world –I wonder who I would be if I was not born to them .I wish they had not left the world so fast –a very important motivating factor  to excel is  that your parents feel proud of you  .I wonder what I could have achieved if they were alive .I thank Sangeeta for coming into my life and making me more responsible and more magnanimous –I started to live for someone else rather than only for myself .I thank my son for making me aware that even if I die –he will carry a bit of me and pass it on to his children .I will live eternally because of him to whom I have passed my genes .I thank all my friends .I am quite sure that most of the things they say about me are true –why would they compliment me otherwise ?They have never asked me for any favours and in anycase they are now the givers and not takers .They make me feel like a celebrity .I feel most frustrated on my birthday because so many wish me and I cant wish them back individually .Infact some of them started wishing me 3 days in advance .One of them wrote “Happy birthday Mr Kain .Wishing you in advance because  I know you may not notice my best wishes on the 4^th –you will get so many greetings”!!She got it wrong –I read each and every message and I remember each and every one of you !.

Over the years I have mellowed down .Its a better way of saying that I have aged .There are undeniable signs of aging –the capacity to chase down squash balls and the capacity to drink and get up feeling fine have evaporated .One has started to absorb more intensely what the world has to offer in its numerous differences –people ,geography ,food ,dress and emotions .One tends to love and get attracted by the beauty of the mind -rather than the beauty of the body .One has started accepting a lot more than one did earlier without fuss However some  things havent changed –I love people who show warmth and are genuine and am indifferent to social and career climbers who value money more than birds ,animals and human beings .It has always been like that all my life .I respond the same way to triumphs and tragedies .I have my own insecurities.I have not been able to conquer some of them  .I know that  it is  God that drives me and not bosses and computers.I have deep faith in God .

I have played my innings and its been a enjoyable one .And from the applause that I get from all of you –I think its been a good one to watch as well .Keep clapping till I get back into the pavilion !!The applause is  the cherry on the cake !! Here are some lines which I have always identified with .Maybe some of you may like them as well .

“When a new day begins, dare to smile gratefully.

When there is darkness, dare to be the first to shine a light.

When there is injustice, dare to be the first to condemn it.

When something seems difficult, dare to do it anyway.

When life seems to beat you down, dare to fight back.

When there seems to be no hope, dare to find some.

When you’re feeling tired, dare to keep going.

When times are tough, dare to be tougher.

When love hurts you, dare to love again.

When someone is hurting, dare to help them heal.

When another is lost, dare to help them find the way.

When a friend falls, dare to be the first to extend a hand.

When you cross paths with another, dare to make them smile.

When you feel great, dare to help someone else feel great too.

When the day has ended, dare to feel as you’ve done your best.

Dare to be the best you can –

At all times, Dare to be!” 
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Manmohan Singh -To Sir With Love !!

I should have written a thank you note for  Manmohan Singh the day he announced that he was not in the race of trying to be the PM for the 3^rd time .But I chose to hold it till today because tomorrow the curtain will officially come down on his government .Even in the “rarest of rare” cases if the Congress wins –he will not be the PM .The knives are already out and some of his best friends are ready to plunge the knife into a ageing body and blame him for everything that happened in the last few years .Yes –he must take the responsibility of not being tough on crooks who looted the country of its spectrum and coal .He must also be blamed for being soft on a extremely slimy Railway Minister who took bribes through his nephews and relatives to sell high posts.He must take the blame for the fall in the rate of the rupee and for Indias growth rate .He should have quit when a young bearded handsome scion ,walked into a Press Conference with a sycophant in tow ,rolled up his sleeves and tore a piece of paper saying it was “non sense”.He should have immediately quit –even though  he was in the USA .But those are the flip side of the coin .

Thank you Sir for maintaining decorum and never being unparliamenatry .Thanking you Sir for making me always feel proud that I also belonged to the same tribe as you –a teacher .Thank you for speaking sense every time you spoke and reminding me that it is not how much you speak but what you speak that matters .Each word of yours was loaded and well thought out .Thank you for personally being honest to a fault and to your nails .Thank you for making every Indian have a choice of cars beyond the Ambassador ,Fiat and the Standard Herald .Thank you Sir for giving us fabulous telephony ,excellent highways ,Pepsi ,Coke ,Pizza Hut ,Costa Coffee  –everything we used to only see and get when we travelled abroad . Thank you for opening up  Airlines that were so competitive that I haven’t travelled in trains and buses for years now .Thank you bringing television into a remote village in Himachal where kids sit around and watch IPL matches and hear politicians bark and snipe at you .Thank you for the RTI and the UID .And thank you for allowing me to leave home everyday with a empty purse because I have a ATM Card which I can swipe at thousands of ATMs .Its a  amazing and mind boggling  achievement which only a very ungrateful or a  ill informed human being can ignore .I thank God that you were my Prime Minister because  you made life happier and easier for me .I don’t know what historians will write about you .I suspect that they will remember tha bad things that happened in your times .I quote from Julius Caesar ,Shakespeares great play

 “The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones,” 

.But that is what historians may write .Personally I would like to quote this from the same novel His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him that Nature might stand up and say to all the world, “This was a man.”

Thank you Sir for getting India out of the clutches of a backward looking economy and putting it on the world map as a strong global and envied nation .And thank you for making it so conveinient for me  to buy my Levis ,Raybans and Brut without begging others to get it from abroad .

  

Dont Worry Ma -I Am Fine !!

Who ran to help me when I fell,
And would some pretty story tell,
Or kiss the place to make it well?
My mother.
~Ann Taylor

She had a unusual name –Guro .It may have been a corrupted form of “Guru” which in Sanskrit means –teacher .Or it may have been influenced by someone who was a Filipino in whose language “Guro” means –a martial arts teacher .I suspect that she got her name from the former (Sanskrit)rather  than from the latter –because my mother was one of the gentlest and God fearing woman I have ever met .I cant ever imagine her to do anything with martial art –even in her name .

I have many memories of her , even though she passed away when I was not even 15 years old .She was born into a rather prosperous joint business family in Mandalay .She lost her dad when she was very young and made her way back to India to Hajipur in Talwara ,Punjab with my Naani .From what I recall ,she was full of stories of the bad times just preceding Indias independence when young and pretty women had to be safeguarded from murderous and wild men who had lost their sense of decency and reason .But she survived all that and was married to my Dad who was for all practical  purposes was a “British Hindu” and empowered with a degree from the prestigious King Edward Medical College ,Lahore .She was rather tall for a Indian woman ,not overweight and extremely pretty looking .

After getting his medical degree ,Dad got a job in Burma and my Mom went with him as a newly wed bride .I don’t have photographs of their marriage ,but I do have lots of them in their early married life .She gave birth to six of us –and with not much gap between any  two of us .It must have been tough .And it must have been very demanding to manage so many of us more or less simultaneously .And in the middle of looking after all of us  –she must have looked after Dad as well ,because he was a social climber , flambuoyant and a successful doctor who liked to socialize.He had fondness for whiskey and cigarettes and was surrounded by pretty women .

When I look back –I think Mom was a exceptional human being .I don’t want to sound like a good son ,but I do think that she had a lot of resilience .Primarily because she looked after 6 of us .Secondly because she tried to mix and match with the lifestyle of a successful man .And lastly because she coped so well with her illness .She was struck with hypertension at a young age –and in those days hypertension was a killer .

We came back to India when General Ne Win overthrew U Nu (both were my Dads friends !!)and asked all “foreigners” to leave .We were very young .And my Mom was pretty ill .I remember someone  showing her our new  house in Clement Town and Dad telling her “Guro ,now we will stay here till we die”.!!And when she passed away before him –he made sure that part of her ashes were buried in our house .He obviously loved her a lot and appeared very dependent on  her emotionally (all overbearing men are very dependent on their wives I feel ).Being a doctor ,he looked after her very well .He would check her blood pressure everyday ,read journals to see the latest in medical breakthroughs ,and administer her medicines .Even she was very interested in medical breakthroughs .I remember how excited she was when the first heart transplant was performed in South Africa by Dr Christiaan Barnard .She was a star gazer and had great fantasies about what stars were all about .She was convinced that life existed in the some stars  .She lapped up every bit about Louis Armstrongs landing on the moon .She was surprised that he met no one there.

The one thing that she apparently thought a lot about was death .She took tranquilizers to sleep most of the time .Maybe she was not worried about what happened after death to her as much as to what would happen to us once she left the world .None of us were settled –except my eldest sister who had got married .The rest of us –were still studying .She was particularly worried about me .I never got the grades that my other siblings got .My father often reminded her that I was a school headboy and very talented .But she had a mindset that jobs come with marks !!. “He will be left behind” she would say .I had no clue as to why she was so apprehensive .

Finally ,hypertension got the better of  her .I remember I had just walked  into the house after getting off from the school bus .She would normally wait in the main bedroom through which we would pass to change and have our lunch .She would enquire about how school was .We would ask her “Ma ,what has been made for lunch today”!!If she was averagely okay ,she would get down from the bed and make paranthas for us .She was a specialist in  making them.But on that fateful day -19^th Feb ,1970 –she was lying down .I asked her “Ma ,how are you?”,.She smiled ,tried to say something ,nodded her head and tried to touch me .She convulsed ,her eyes shut and she fell silent .She had suffered a massive stroke .It was the last time I had addressed her as “Ma”,  to which she had responded .Three days later –she passed away after my father tried everything to save her .For three days our pet dog Tiger did not move from under her bed –either to have food or go out for his normal chores .My father bathed her (as is customary for Hindus to do),dressed her in a resplendent saree ,applied  sindoor and bindi .In our customs it is said that lucky women leave the world before their husbands .In that sense Ma was lucky .It was also for the first time that we saw our father with a unshaved bristle .All of a sudden he looked immensely old .It seemed as if a 100 meter runner had tripped and fallen ,and who refused to get up and run again  .He passed away in less than 2 years after  her death .

Life is strange .We do not know have a clue as to  what happens to the dead .As human beings we have conquered many frontiers –but not this one  .Maybe she can see all of us every minute of the day .Maybe she can see her young schoolboy son now all grey .Maybe she can understand that her  ageing son has been very conscious of what ideals she has taught him .Maybe she can read this blog .And if she can ,then here is a message for you Ma –don’t worry ,I have done fine . But because you were not around , I always felt  that instead of going in to every  fight with backup, I was going  into every fight alone.It has been lonely at most times . On Mothers Day –thank you for bringing me into the world and thank you for imbibing values which have given me happiness .Only a  mother like you could have done that .

Elections -What Should NOT Have Happened !!

The IPL has moved back to India after a successful run in the UAE .Inspite of being a die hard cricket fan and inspite of having premium seats and passes for dinner with the players ,I was neither  able nor interested in watching any match .I am too much of a purist to want  to watch cricket without slow motion  replays capturing  spin, swing,catches ,strokes and mannerisms which a cricket match generates .I can never get that when I am in the stands .The closest I can get to 22 yards of the cricket pitch is from the television in my bedroom !!

Anyway ,the IPL moving back to India also signals that the elections are nearing the end.Remember that it was shifted to the UAE because of security reasons -all forces were on duty for the gigantic task of making the elections in India safe for the voters and the candidates.

Its always fun to be a part of Indian elections .The passions are great ,the conflicts are out in the open and the debates sharp and sometimes shrill .It also showcases all aspects of the candidates and their supporters .Sometimes it also reflects ignorance of political processes .There has been a lot of hue and cry about the coverage Priyanka is getting .Some have come down heavily on her by asking “what has she done “ or “why is the press giving her so much importance ?”.History, contemporary politics,and society  is replete with  examples as to how people without doing much assume positions of power ,because of the heredity factor  .A doctors son/daughter has a advantage  in his/her quest  of becoming  a doctor and so do a lawyers ,politicians ,actors ,businessmans ,buruecrats ,or engineers kith and kin .It is much the same in politics –what had Akhilesh Yadav ,Sacchin Pilot ,Omar Abdullah ,Randeep Surjewala ,Supriya Sule,or for that matter Naveen Patnaik  and hundreds of others done to get close to the crown?They sometimes have to prove much less than ordinary mortals like me .!!Whether Priyanka does anything or not –she is a prospective PM of India because of her ancestary ,whether we like it or not.And lets not forget that at the moment she is not a active politician .She is like you and me who is out in the field to support a candidate –whether it is her mother ,brother or a political party !!

What  are some of the things I did not like in these elections ?I would have liked the leaders to have avoided being personal .I would have respected  the PM in waiting much more if he would not have accused Nitish Kumar of being   a opportunist and a betrayer of JPs ideals .I would have liked if he had not called Arvind Kejriwal AK 49 and the Defence Minister a  AK 47 who is helping Pakisan .I would have expected him to respect not just a former PMs  office  but also  Devegowda the man when he said he would make arrangements for him to stay at a old age home .I would have liked him to avoid terms like “Shehzada”  or “Damaadji”  Yes ,I know that there have been horrendous and ghetto talks by people like Lalu  who called Modi a “jallaad”,and by the phoney Derek O’brien who called Modi a “butcher”. And  the less said about Mani Shankar Aiyyar –the better.His calling Modi a “chaiwallah”,was not only in bad taste but also reflected the eltism of his schooling  and college.II hope the Alumni disown him to prove that sometimes one gets stuck with a rotten apple .I also feel sad that Mulayyam Singh passed such snide remarks about Mayawati .And I think we should not even begin to argue about the validity of personal attacks as a response to Beni Prasad Verma who reflects  the worst specimen of a Indian politician when he indulged in verbal diarrhea .

 But  Modi is different .He is on  a high .And is already a certain PM .After all you cant compare and say that  he was reacting  and speaking the same language as the other I have named .They are no way in the same league as him .I would have liked it if he had not persisted in the same way because  he has already won the hearts of his core voters.Its time he feasted like a king and not like a vulture .I wish I could have seen the mellowness creeping in before the results are declared .

I also wish that dholaks and loudspeakers were allowed and the Election Commission was not so obsessed with having a election bereft of its drama and dance .The elections when we were in college and later were so much fun as candidates were escorted to the beat of drums and loud music .The scooter rickshaws would go around colonies blaring racy verses set to the tune of popular Hindi songs .There were posters and flags by millions during my younger days .It used to be like a big mela with lot of “naach and gaana”!!Sadly it seems to have all vanished .!!

And finally I wish there was much less politician bashing .The social media being as powerful as it is today needs to introspect .I know its very fashionable to indulge writing crude and make  persistent and personal  attacks on politicians .Remember - if we start to create a “hate politician” culture –the we run the danger of becoming a second Pakistan .If we hate politicians –we will begin to hate democracy .I for one feel Indian democracy is  very vibrant and needs to be zealously guarded .The Indian voter is very sensible .You cant buy his vote by giving him money or liquor .Otherwise  people with money would always win .But it is not so .And I am hoping it will not be so this time too .For me –the election results are not about whether party A or party B wins .Its whether Indian Democracy wins or loses .We will know about it on the 16^th of May .!!