A nation cannot progress on the basis of conflict contained only through MAD. For a nation to be a nation, it needs not deterrence, nor even deterrence. It needs trust and harmony, it needs sanity.
"Better the devil you know than the angel you don't." No thanks, The evil that men do lives after them,do not want to lose my soul to the devil. I would rather have it saved by an angel.This was just to stop Anwar from capturing Putrajaya together with a prime minstership which was cruelly taken away. Anwar had made a gentlemanly point in not talking about him at most of his ceramahs and yet the old man is relentless. Umno-BN is really desperate. The more desperate they get, the more mistakes they make.Getting Mahathir to speak up for Umno-BN is a huge mistake. They can make an even bigger one if they keep this up - feature Mahathir side-by-side with Najib.This fear will carry him to his grave if he cannot get rid of such emotion. The local belief is when a person dies with such venom he would die with his eyes open is good that you admit BN has been evil. Secondly, some of us may be voting for Anwar, but all of us are voting BN out. look at Selangor and Penang, we can see how Pakatan can govern better, much, much better than the thieves among us. Even bad angels are better than good devils. we are mature now. We will supervise whether the Anwar government is doing its job properly. Lastly, we are sure that Malaysia will be doing fine if BN is out.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad, must take the Malaysian people for a bunch of forgetful idiots the way he is talking down to them. How can Pakatan, or any other for that matter, do more damage than has been done by the BN administration already?which of your deputies did you like since you became PM - Musa Hitam; Ghafar Baba; Abdullah Ahmad Badawi?You are beginning to even dislike Najib The curse on Malaysia is known as Mahathir. It has brought the country down to this level: heavily in debt, corrupt to the core, failed institutions, divided by race and religion, and governed by rogues and the criminally incompetent.A bad angel is still better than a devil because it is still an angel. A devil will always be a devil and there is no good devil in this world - that is why nobody worship devils, except you and your cronies.Like all those incredibly lop-sided toll concessions where companies make huge profits but still allowed to increase the toll rates every few years or be compensated with taxpayers' money? Nothing surprises me about Mahathir, he is a bigot and a racist. Corruption is written on his forehead. Since the time when Hussein Onn selected Mahathir over Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to lead the nation, Malaysia has been on a downward spiral.Abdul Rahman saw the danger of this "bad and evil man". Hussein must be turning in his grave. He made a grievous error. Malaysia would have reached great heights with Razaleigh. take my chance with Anwar anytime over you. How dare you to judge him?a politician who does not fulfil his promise than politicians who steal all the wealth of the rakyat for themselves and their family and cronies. you can only fool the ignorant kampong folk, but the world knows you (if they can remember you) to be an idiot.Mahathir has this inherent ability to state the opposite with a straight face. The party making promises (Janji Ditepati) is Umno-BN.
Mahathir was the pioneer of wasteful public spending and Najib takes the gold medal for this. Country will go bankrupt under Pakatan? It is already there, thanks to you folks in Umno for the last 55 years.This man deceived Malaysians for far too long and now finds his end is near. Wielding absolute power for so many years has not brought him respect.Malaysians loathe him, he now finds his adversary almost at the throne he once held. He is a proven devil for Malaysia while Anwar may be the saviour. Eat your hearts out, Mahathir.Just tabulate all the public funds given to cronies with useless projects and on the pretext of privatisation and see what could have been saved.You and your sons are just worried that all of you will be hauled to court to account for all the missing billions. I can't wait for that day. Just hope you will live long enough to answer those charges.If the cronies and rent-seekers cough out what they have swallowed and our human and financial capitals were not pushed out of the country due to non-conducive environment created by cronyism and the rent-seeking economy, Malaysia would likely be the most prosperous country in the region.By the way, do you not think that ‘Bersih, Cekap and Amanah' is by far the biggest unfulfilled political promise?If I were you, I'll be on the phone now to Robert Mugabe to see if you can live the rest of your life in exile in Zimbabwe.Mahathir used corruption to stay in power. His own children were bailed out using public funds with billions of ringgit that were meant for the poor bumiputeras, as well as billions more went to support his failed investments. Mahathir, the biggest change Anwar brought to your government which no finance minister had consistently done before him was to give this country a balanced budget and a surplus.Now you are accusing him of being a spendthrift with public money. If you are senile, please google and confirm this fact to refresh your memory.It's pathetic and unbecoming of former
The fragmented polity with powerful UMNO players likely to change and
Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wish this old man would suffer some kind of disease that will prevent him from speaking. Every time he opens up his mouth sh*t comes out. Doesn’t he realise that he’s making a fool of himself and embarrassing his family members? Others at his age are getting closer to their creator and repenting but this old man is creating more ill feeling and poisoning more minds. I think he’s trying to outdo Lucifer and the Great Satan., the man who led Barisan Nasional (BN) to its poorest electoral showing issued a warning that there was no telling whether it would translate to support for BN “I went through all that before,”In the 2008 general election, BN also lost five states to the federal opposition —Penang, Selangor, Perak, Kelantan and Kedah — and only won the popular vote by a margin of 290,000.The next election, which must be called by April next year, will see 13.3 million voters casting their ballots in what is seen as the closest election for the nation.
PM Mahathir Mohamad to launch personal attacks on his former protege as if he still has ownership of the government and can't let go of it, even long after retirement. It shows the selfish, self-serving nature of the person.
If he has any legitimate concern about the country, he should talk about policy matters rather than resolving to personal attacks.Comparing and equating Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim with US President Barack Obama may not necessarily be a bad reflection as Obama not only has an unsurpassed standing in the West but also finds great favour in the Muslim countries.
But to insinuate otherwise shows the meanness of the person. If it wasn't the striving US foreign policy, we would not have seen the Arab uprising across the Middle East and witnessed the demise of many dictatorships there. One regime is still trading guns against his own people to stay in power.Perhaps, Mahathir may have something to say against the US foreign policy, but unable to do anything for the Muslims there. Dr M, the biggest mistake that you have made is you live too long to see your failure in life. most Malaysians cannot wait to see the current administration voted out, not so much because Anwar and the Pakatan are the better choice but that the BN is the worst of the alternatives as far as the past record goes, as well as confronting the challenges Malaysia has ahead. Dr M lives to see this change, eat his words and made to pay for his deeds.if we continue to live with the same devil, we may never have a chance to live with a lesser one, or even an angel for that matter.Anyone else cannot be any worse, at least not more than one term before we, the voters, exercise our right to pick and choose again. Malaysian voters, get the message? You have been urged by Mahathir to trust the devils and not the angels.don't you know by now that we already have more than enough of the devil we know.
Had you not tolerated corruption, cronyism and abuse of power, then perhaps it may have been different but you just allow them to fester. So now we are fed up of hearing from you, we want reform and equality for all. Mahathir is not so subtly endorsing ‘Janji Ditetapi' (Promises Kept) propaganda by his rantings against Anwar and Pakatan for "promising big changes but failing to keep them" How can Anwar be accused of not fulfilling his promises when he has not even taken over the rein of the country? How does Mahathir expect Anwar to fulfill his promises when even Umno and Najib has failed to deliver their promises?Mahathir should look at how Penang and Selangor has performed in the past four years, especially the surplus budget which is unheard off when the states were under Umno control..We promise to confine your legacies of racism, cronyism, corruption, religious indoctrination and discrimination to the dustbin of history.Take a risk on voting Pakatan in. I stand to risk five years of uncertainty. Vote back BN (God forbid), and continue getting ripped off for 60 years in total. Do the maths, doc.
for a fundamental change of how politics in Malaysia works.
Mahathir portrayed himself as a patriot who “gave his life in the service of the nation,”
Throughout his rule, mahathir has put close members of his cronies in charge of key state institutions and security forces, Leaving that network intact could allow mahathir to continue to shape events in Malaysia, even without the title of prime minister.
“I don’t think we have seen the last of mahathir as prime minister,”
During Mahathir’s era, the corruption was done in a systematic way, you let the goose lay its golden egg before you take it and not the current way of slaughtering the goose hoping to get all the golden eggs. When there’re not enough eggs to be distributed, chaos erupts as everyone would get anxious, panic and greedy thus triggering the process of massive corruption. This is bad for next UMNO leaders (such as Mahathir’s own son or dynasty) as there would be nothing more left. Suddenly it appears bringing Najib down is much more easier than Abdullah Badawi.
However, there’s a risk that Mahathir’s plan may backfire if the opposition manage to capture Putrajaya in the next general election.The objective was to unseat Najib Razak as he carries too much baggage so much so that he may bring UMNO down to a level which is beyond repair. When that happens all the corrupt UMNO warlords would need to take the first flight out of the country so you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to decide whether it’s worthwhile to keep Najib Razak. Gosh, the plot thickens and become super interesting.One cannot help but fell off the chair laughing after read that Najib said he cancels a family vacation because he wants to spend more time with Malaysians. This was perhaps the best joke ever by premier Najib since he took over from Abdullah Badawi. This joke actually worth a thousand “Like” on his facebook page. Forget about Bersih 2.0 because this guy may quit under pressure – not from opposition parties or Bersih 2.0 but from his internal UMNO party. Boy, if it was true that the US$24 million controversial diamond ring indeed belongs to his wife Rosmah Mansor, that ring is cursed.
Anyone notice the deadly silence from Mahathir after the Bersih 2.0 rally that instantly flush Najib’s popularity into the toilet bowl? I’ve wrote earlier that Najib administration’s extreme stupidity in tackling the simple issue of Bersih 2.0 made the whole episode smells rat. Najib can’t be that foolish (or was he?) and even if he was indeed stupid, his wife would have save the day, unless of course the plan to unseat him has been brought forward by his own circles.Mahathir doesn’t like Najib for two main reasons - his wife and his close connection with Singapore Government.
It seems Najib may have to quit soon, probably before his term expires in 2013. And if Najib plans to stay until next year to enjoy more free overseas holidays using taxpayers money under his capacity as the prime minister, his dream is now short-lived based on his emergency return to take control of Putrajaya. How on earth could everything turns upside-down before his “shopping” trip to United Kingdom and Italy ends? It appears he has no other option but to call an early election,
“This blatant inconsistency about our precious rights and freedoms makes independent judges and the Rule of Law all the more important.”
You’ve probably noticed, we enjoy keeping our homes clean and organized as much as possible, especially when we have more time on our hands over the weekends. And it just so happens that today is a ‘big’ cleaning day for many Asian ethnicities. Why? It’s Lunar New Year’s eve and on this day tradition, or rather ritual (and perhaps superstition), dictates that households should thoroughly clean their homes to expel any negative energy or bad luck and to make way for good fortune to come in the new year
Najib go hang your self
Najib go hang your self It is odd that the government should have chosen law and order as its final alibi after some exhausting self-laceration in its search for a credible explanation Why do we say “law and order” rather than “order and law”? Simple. Law comes before order. Law defines the nature of order. … Read more
We’re not the superstitious type but if a deep cleaning of our homes will somehow bring good fortune into our lives, we say why not? So we did some digging and we’ve gathered a list of lunar new year cleaning traditions, including to-dos and tips, that supposedly should welcome prosperity into your home. Or keep these pointers in mind for the next time you go on a major cleaning spree.
ONE IS OUT ON MORE TO GO
use your political authority to give justice, lack of morals the real crises in the mother fucker and scumbag in The Attorney-General’s Chamber First is regarding mother fucker and scumbag AG himself. We must not forget that he was the main player in Sodomy 1 — the charge that Anwar was also … Read more
Start from top to bottom. Sounds like a no-brainer, but dust and particles fall with gravity, so make sure you dust the blinds before you mop the floor — lest you want to mop twice. And clean from room to room, vacuuming or mopping up each room directly after cleaning that specific area. You should allocate separate cleaning cloths for each room, as to minimize cross-contamination.
And the dispossessed cried for mercy.
Yet, no one heard.
“ reformasi” They yelled.
Yet, no one heard.
“ reformasi” They yelled.
And the tyrants cried “ISA THEM KUGAN THEM!”
“Starve and beseige them!”
“Use all necessary force to bring them to submission!”
“Starve and beseige them!”
“Use all necessary force to bring them to submission!”
And to the world the tyrants raged: “Security!”
And the sycophants cried in defense of the tyrants.
And the sycophants cried in defense of the tyrants.
Then Conscience spoke and asked.
“Who will secure the starved, beseiged and dispossessed?”
Silence.
“Accountability!”
“Who will secure the starved, beseiged and dispossessed?”
Silence.
“Accountability!”
Corrupt political leadership does not attractive men of outstanding integrity; neither can it be expected to enact effective laws to maintain high integrity in government.
Operation Lalang Revisited The more serious event involving the direct abuse of human rights occurred in 1987. Just the year before there was yet another patent abuse of human rights in form of the Memali incident (See box). The 27 October political crackdown on opposition leaders and social activists known by its police code name, … Read more
Trash old and unused items. This means especially magazines, calendars and dated material. This is not only a good de-cluttering rule to live by, but many Asian ethnicities believe that bad luck can live in your old belongings. And along the same line, it’s believed that you should get new pajamas and slippers at this time. After all, it’s a celebration about starting anew.
Don’t try to threaten the Chinese to vote for you. Even if there are zero MCA ministers in the cabinet it will not make an iota of difference to the Chinese community. The Chinese have already given up on any real representation by the voiceless, powerless, rubber-stamping puppets from MCA. so you go on fucking …Read more
Have clean linens and towels. This is as good a time as any to change your bedding to make sure you have clean sheets and a fresh new towel.
Repair or replace anything that’s broken. Everything from a squeaky door to burnt lightbulbs should be fixed or replaced. You don’t want anything weighing down any positive energy.
KEBENCIAN, KEDENGKIAN, KESOMBONGAN DAN DENDAM KESUMAT MASIH MEWARNAI SEGELINTIR PEMIKIRAN UMAT ISLAM PASCA PEMBEBASAN DSAI. Bagi setiap insan terdapat parameter yang menjadi panduan untuk dia berfikir dan bertindak. Seorang athies yang tidak mempercayai kewujudan tuhan, akan bertindak dalam kerangka kefahaman dan kepercayaannya itu. Begitu juga bagi kalangan yang mempercayai kewujudan tuhan, akan berfikir dan … Read more
Consider front and back door uses. Sweep from the entrance in toward the center of the room, and make sure to take out the trash using a back door if you have one; it’s believed that good luck enters through the front entrance while bad energy should be ushered out back. Thus, keep the front door area neat and tidy. But remember, it is considered bad luck to sweep on or a few days after the New Year because it’s a belief that you’ll be sweeping away any newly received luck, so do it right before on new year’s eve.
- There is no accepted definition of middle-class families so everyone in this business has to make one up. Pew uses an admittedly arbitrary but reasonable measure: households with between two-thirds and two times the median income, which amounts to about $40-120K in 2011 dollars. Yes, you can definitely find families with higher incomes than that in some part of the country -- e.g., the urban northeast -- who could make the case that they're middle class too, but there's no perfect measure here.
-- As shown in the second chart below, real median net worth -- assets minus debts -- cliff-dove 2007-10, down a massive $60K, a 40 percent loss. Part of that dive is a "correction" from the unsustainable heights of the housing bubble -- for middle-class homeowners, housing, not cap gains or Cayman Island accounts, is at the heart of their wealth portfolio. But the fact that middle-class net worth is back to 1980s levels is important and unsettling.
-- The middle class may have been doing less well over time, but measured as noted above, they were always the largest share of the population and held the largest share of income. They still comprise the largest share of households, but just barely, at 51 percent, and their share of total income, trending down for decades, is now slightly below that of the top tier group.
What's behind all of this?
That's not a simple question and it's a lot of what we're about here at OTE... see here andhere, e.g.
But one thing I thought about re the "lost decade" theme is the picture of job growth by decade you see here (pretty much decadal -- I tried to go business cycle peak-to-peak). Employment growth just sucked in the 2000s, not to put too fine a point on it. As I alluded to above, working middle-class families can't depend on their wealth portfolios to make ends meet and get ahead. For them, it's about the paycheck.
In this sense, a slack job market is the worst enemy of the middle class. All the political hurly-burly about budget deficits, tax changes, the 10-year budget window -- don't get me wrong -- that stuff's hugely important and I'll continue to beat the drum on it. But we can get all of that right and if we don't have a strong, tight, lasting (not bubble-and-bust) job market, I don't expect these middle class trends to improve much.
More to come on ideas to get there... and yes, I know few are listening now. But given the stakes, that's not going to stop me.
The first inquiry into the demolition of the Babri mosque on December 6, 1992 was completed within seven days. On the morning of Sunday, December 13, Sharad Pawar, then defence minister, invited a group of friends and colleagues to the home of an associate MP. He watched a film - live footage of the whole episode, taken by some government agency, possibly intelligence. Those antique reels should still be somewhere in the archives. There was little that any inquiry committee could have added about the sequence of events on December 6 that ended with the fall of the mosque by the evening.
The causes of this historic event were also a matter of public record. L K Advani's rath yatra was not a surreptitious journey. Indeed, extensive media coverage may have been part of the purpose, since he wanted to create mass momentum for his political project. Neither was there any secrecy when Congress laid the foundation stone of the temple to Lord Ram in the middle of the 1989 polls. Babri was a central theme, along with Bofors, of those dramatic elections. The 1989 BJP versions of Varun Gandhi were full-throated, not muted, in their slogans as parties sought votes with a rhetoric that has been subsequently banned: Mandir wahin banayenge! and Mussalman ke do sthaan, Pakistan ya kabristan! No one hid anything: We shall build a temple on that precise spot! Muslims have two options, either Pakistan or the graveyard!
Democracy is a volatile game played in the open. What was there left to inquire into?
Mutually-Assured Destruction, MAD for short, is a doctrine of deterrence that was much in vogue during the Cold War. If either hostile power has sufficient destructive power to annihilate the other, in the event of being attacked, then neither has an incentive to strike first.
This is the chilling logic underlying MAD. A section of Muslims in India has reached the conclusion, it would appear, that this is the only way to secure their safety. It is a dangerous trend that could lead to widespread communal polarisation, and has potential for untold violence.
Nearly 80 people have been killed and nearly five lakh displaced in Assam, most of them Muslims. In response, there have been a few attacks on people from the north-east in Pune and Bangalore and a rowdy protest in Mumbai. A concerted campaign - essentially rumours spread via text messages - of impending attacks on north-easterners sent thousands of them fleeing back home.
The government says that some incendiary pictures, morphed from those taken in other countries in wholly different contexts, were spread among Muslims in India and that these pictures were the handiwork of some people in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan denies any role in such incitement but says it will investigate the matter if India submits any proof of Pak involvement.
The Pak angle is a red herring. That there are multiple players in Pakistan who are waiting to foment trouble in India is a given. More germane is the question, why are gruesome pictures of violence and killings so unquestioningly accepted at least by sections of Indian Muslims as proof of atrocities against Muslims in Assam?
A follow-up is, what are the implications of Muslims responding to attacks in one part of the country with counter-attacks staged elsewhere in the country against people wholly unrelated to the original attack?
The campaign to demolish the mosque at Ayodhya - spread over many years, many states, launched by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and taken over and led by the BJP -marked the beginning of a new chapter in alienation of Muslims. It communalised popular consciousness as few campaigns have.
People performed, in far corners of the land, sacral rites for bricks for a new temple to be built at the site of the mosque marked for demolition, taking vicarious part in an act of communal enmity on a scale and in a manner reminiscent of Gandhi's mass mobilisation for the national movement via a simple act of spinning yarn on a spinning wheel right at home.
This is the chilling logic underlying MAD. A section of Muslims in India has reached the conclusion, it would appear, that this is the only way to secure their safety. It is a dangerous trend that could lead to widespread communal polarisation, and has potential for untold violence.
Nearly 80 people have been killed and nearly five lakh displaced in Assam, most of them Muslims. In response, there have been a few attacks on people from the north-east in Pune and Bangalore and a rowdy protest in Mumbai. A concerted campaign - essentially rumours spread via text messages - of impending attacks on north-easterners sent thousands of them fleeing back home.
The government says that some incendiary pictures, morphed from those taken in other countries in wholly different contexts, were spread among Muslims in India and that these pictures were the handiwork of some people in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan denies any role in such incitement but says it will investigate the matter if India submits any proof of Pak involvement.
The Pak angle is a red herring. That there are multiple players in Pakistan who are waiting to foment trouble in India is a given. More germane is the question, why are gruesome pictures of violence and killings so unquestioningly accepted at least by sections of Indian Muslims as proof of atrocities against Muslims in Assam?
A follow-up is, what are the implications of Muslims responding to attacks in one part of the country with counter-attacks staged elsewhere in the country against people wholly unrelated to the original attack?
The campaign to demolish the mosque at Ayodhya - spread over many years, many states, launched by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and taken over and led by the BJP -marked the beginning of a new chapter in alienation of Muslims. It communalised popular consciousness as few campaigns have.
People performed, in far corners of the land, sacral rites for bricks for a new temple to be built at the site of the mosque marked for demolition, taking vicarious part in an act of communal enmity on a scale and in a manner reminiscent of Gandhi's mass mobilisation for the national movement via a simple act of spinning yarn on a spinning wheel right at home.
All that an official inquiry could do was place a stamp of judicial impartiality on known facts. It did not seem strange, then, that Justice M S Liberhan, appointed on December 16, 1992, was asked to deliver his report in three months. If he had extended it to six months or even a year, it would have been reasonable. Why did he take 17 years?
The key actors were known and available. No sleuths needed here. Why did Liberhan take more than nine years to obtain V P Singh's deposition, and nine-and-a-half for P V Narasimha Rao's? Surely they were not evading his orders? Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti were ministers in a BJP-led government when they gave evidence. Former RSS chief K S Sudarshan appeared only on February 6, 2001. Rao could have said all he had to long before April 9, 2001, four years after he lost his job as prime minister.
Christian missionaries were attacked in different parts of the country. Muslims suffered organised killings in February 2002 in Gujarat and were vilified systematically as Pak agents and potential terrorists by the Sangh Parivar and its leaders. Several Muslims were killed in staged encounters in Gujarat. A tiny section of Muslims has been radicalised and lured into terror, with active encouragement from Pakistan.
The NDA's defeat in 2004 seemed to put the brakes on a spiralling descent into civil war. The UPA government set up a committee under Justice Sachar to report on the socioeconomic conditions of Muslims, and the report revealedan extremely backward community.
Efforts to invest in their educational advance and integration into globalised prosperity have been made more by Muslim organisations than by any government. The Congress is perceived as being manipulative and secular in an opportunistic fashion. Communal riots in Congress-ruled Rajasthan have not helped.
It is in this background that some Muslims seem to have adopted MAD as their doctrine of deterrence. It presumes a communal response on the part of the entire Hindu majority and declares war on Hindus as a community.
This will only serve to spread the communal virus among Hindus who have resisted it so far. For the RSS, there could be no consummation more devoutly to be wished: complete polarisation.
Had the commission already served its first purpose by 2001? It had outlived Rao's term in office and thereby, ensured that its findings could not be used to demand Rao's resignation. Rao survived December 6, 1992 by the cynical expedient of buying out those he feared most, Muslims within the Congress. Some inside government were given promotions; most outside were inducted in a January 1993 reshuffle. Conscience purchased, life went on.
It would be interesting to know if the Liberhan Commission has disclosed the one mystery of December 6: what was Rao doing that entire day? Babri was not destroyed by a sudden, powerful, maverick explosion. It was brought down stone by stone, the process punctuated by the rousing cheers of kar sevaks.
The NDA's defeat in 2004 seemed to put the brakes on a spiralling descent into civil war. The UPA government set up a committee under Justice Sachar to report on the socioeconomic conditions of Muslims, and the report revealedan extremely backward community.
Efforts to invest in their educational advance and integration into globalised prosperity have been made more by Muslim organisations than by any government. The Congress is perceived as being manipulative and secular in an opportunistic fashion. Communal riots in Congress-ruled Rajasthan have not helped.
It is in this background that some Muslims seem to have adopted MAD as their doctrine of deterrence. It presumes a communal response on the part of the entire Hindu majority and declares war on Hindus as a community.
This will only serve to spread the communal virus among Hindus who have resisted it so far. For the RSS, there could be no consummation more devoutly to be wished: complete polarisation.
Had the commission already served its first purpose by 2001? It had outlived Rao's term in office and thereby, ensured that its findings could not be used to demand Rao's resignation. Rao survived December 6, 1992 by the cynical expedient of buying out those he feared most, Muslims within the Congress. Some inside government were given promotions; most outside were inducted in a January 1993 reshuffle. Conscience purchased, life went on.
It would be interesting to know if the Liberhan Commission has disclosed the one mystery of December 6: what was Rao doing that entire day? Babri was not destroyed by a sudden, powerful, maverick explosion. It was brought down stone by stone, the process punctuated by the rousing cheers of kar sevaks.
So, what was Rao doing during those minutes and hours from morning till sunset? Sleeping. That is what his personal assistant said to the many agitated Congressmen and women who phoned to ask why the government was asleep. They were shocked to learn that this was, literally, the official explanation. Their agitation cooled when they realized that the party would have to pay a horrendous price if government was destabilized. Plus, of course, there were concrete benefits in silence.
There may not be a rational explanation for a 17-year inquiry, but there is a political explanation. Every government between 1992 and 2004 had a vested interest in delay. The minority governments of H D Deve Gowda and Inder Gujral could not have survived a day without support from the Rao-Sitaram Kesri Congress. (Mrs Sonia Gandhi was not party president then.) Neither Gowda nor Gujral would have wanted a report that indicted their benefactors.
The BJP-led coalition that ruled for six years had the guilty on its front row. Only Uma Bharti has been candid enough to say that she was delighted when the mosque fell ("I'm ready to own up to the demolition and will have no problem even if I'm hanged"). Justice Liberhan could have punched mortal holes into the BJP front row when it was in office. And so when he sought one extension after another, there was public silence and private relief.
Whether advertently or inadvertently, Justice Liberhan protected politicians on both sides of the great divide. There remains a curiosity question. Why did he not submit his report in 2004? Admittedly Dr Manmohan Singh was finance minister in the Rao government, but he had nothing to do with the politics of Babri. When delay becomes so comfortable, why bother?
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