Stolen Money
The economy dims, the rupee falls, but pre-election bribes rise to sky-high levels. Cash transfers to women have gone from 1 state to 15 in 5 years, reaching 13 crore women and totalling ?2.46 lakh crore. This money is not taken from a readily available portion of the annual budget. It is "stolen" from money meant for health facilities, nutrition programmes, school infrastructure, and other development projects.

Pre-election bribery may be politically profitable, but it leaves the state in a severe deficit for years. Many states are already running deficits, with Assam leading the rest. Freebies distribution is like an Arms Race across parties and states. All parties are equally guilty. But the nation suffers. People suffer. Welfare programmes will suffer for years. The neediest are the ones hit the hardest.

Citizens Are Made Beggars
Doling out money before elections, unfortunately, is going to be part of the national culture. Himanta Biswa Sarma has been distributing money to women and tribal groups in Assam; most recently to bhaktas. It is outright 'plundering' of public funds for election success. This money already belongs to the very citizens who are 'made into beggars.' It robs them of their dignity.

Abhishek Banerjee warned women in Bengal against selling themselves for ?500. While Bengal's image is thus being tarnished, his party is doing the same thing everywhere. Three Bengali workers have been assaulted in Maharashtra after they spoke in Bengali. They were considered Bangladeshis.

Mamata herself, while she accuses the Election Commissioner, Vanish Kumar, of kowtowing to the BJP, kowtows to the BJP's Hindutva ideology, laying the foundation for Durga Angan, much like Modi at Ayodhya!

Election Becomes a Shabby Show Seeking Legitimacy
MK Stalin announces a pension scheme for state government staff. Curiously, even in Iran, in the face of protests, the Muslim clerical regime has promised citizens monthly payments. Elections everywhere have become a shabby 'show,' seeking legitimacy, be they in Russia, China, Turkey, or Myanmar, and today in India! Everything is predetermined.

Arbitrary deletion of names from the voters' list is shocking. Fresh additions are even more puzzling! Akhil Gogoi says they are going to delete names in a big way in Assam. Genuine citizens will find their names missing. In Tamil Nadu, 97 lakh have been removed from the draft rolls; in Gujarat, 73.7 lakh; in Bengal, 58 lakh. The Supreme Court stands firm with the ECI on the Bengal deletions. In UP, 18.7% voters' names have been removed. 

How in the world can we find fault with Bangladeshi elections? Or those of the Myanmar military junta? Or China's cutely planned elections guided by the Communist Party? Rahul Gandhi calls SIR "poll panel tyranny." If CAA and NRC stood for the BJP-RSS exclusion of those who differ from them, SIR is a ploy to ensure selective disenfranchisement. Rahul insists, 'vote chori' is in the BJP's DNA. Tragically, we are moving from vote chori to voters' chori, from voters' chori to jeevan chori; from 'vikas' (Modi's first term) to 'vishwas' (second term) to 'vinash' (under Hindu Rashtra).

Politics of Show
"All the world's a stage", said Shakespeare. Today, the politics of show is taking over. Such a 'show' of respect for Minorities became evident with Modiji's dignified presence at the Delhi Christmas, combined with shameful attacks on Christians at Christmas celebrations in a dozen or more places. Those arrested obtained speedy bail and were given a hero's welcome in places like Raipur. Harassing minorities gives a social uplift to unemployed, uneducated youth of the depressed classes who have joined the Bajrang Dal. It was evident at the Babri Masjid destruction, and continues with cow defence and bashing of fellow Dalits. They acquire a 'Hanuman image' for their subjection to higher deities and subservience to higher castes.

No wonder Hanuman devotion is growing. Social media is full of suggestions promoting devotion to Hanuman and the benefits of reciting the Hanuman Chalisa. Arunachal people had not even heard about a deity called Hanuman. Then comes a Bandardeva temple at Arunachal Gate, and, as more outsiders arrive, a township called Bandardeva gradually develops. The message is clear: this is the species to which you belong: tribal people, Dalits, South Indians.

Hanuman temples are multiplying in tribal and Dalit areas, celebrations growing more solemn with an evident mandate: be slaves in your temples, at brick kilns, factories, and Ladakh frontlines. Psycho-socio-religious experts point to the danger of cultivating such an attitude of servility in religious tones among the masses of India. They claim that it is deliberately done. Lower classes turn slaves. That is Varnashrama Dharma.

Intellectuals Call for Re-thinking
Intellectuals say that, the way things are going, there is a need to reflect on the BJP's Hindutva strategies and stuff like SIR. The masses must know that they are going to be dictated to, that the underdogs will be used to hunt down underdogs, that areas like Kashmir, Manipur and South India will be asked to bend their heads. Mass exclusions are ahead with tools like CAA, NRC and SIR. More and more people will be turned into second-class citizens. Savarkar wanted that, Jinnah feared that, and the BJP-RSS are imposing that.

Those who object stand in danger. None will be spared. Even the Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen has been summoned to prove his identity. It is a mild warning! The case against Lalu Prasad is revived. It is a gentle threat! Dalit protesters get 15 cases against them! They give up! Citizens are reduced to a state of helplessness. In UP, more than 7.7 lakh voters did not return the filled voter form.

Intellectuals Considered a Threat
Anger mounts in hearts, even when its external expression faces suppression. Young people find it hard to hold back what they want to say. No wonder that JNU students raised strong objectionable slogans against Modi and Shah. The BJP's response has been to label them as 'urban Naxals.' Rajnath Singh is anxious that white-collar jobholders are turning anti-national. PG Mavalankar is even more afraid of intellectuals. He says, 'We feel tense under the scrutinising eyes of" thinking people."' He feels they are excessively judgmental. The fact is that thinkers grow convinced: Truth must be told, Errors should be exposed, Blunders should be scrutinised.

Can thinking people remain serene and silent, blindly trusting in BJP propaganda, with a broken relationship with America, uncertain friendship with China, tensions with Pakistan and Muslim countries, rupee fluctuating between 89-91 for a dollar, with no explanations given, no apologies, no grief? Is it "An act of God," as Nirmala Sitharaman would say, with no responsibility from the Government's side? The rupee was the weakest Asian currency in 2025. Meanwhile, prices rise, corporations make fortunes from exports, pre-election bribes rob the nation and ruin our future.

Mukul Kesavan compares Modiji to Mohammad bin Tughlak for demonetisation and farmers' laws blunders. Others hold him responsible for the rise of anti-Indian feelings in the Western world, the alienation of minorities in the country and of neighbouring nations. Silence turns eloquent when slogans like Swachh Bharat don't work. Can anyone save us from Delhi air pollution?

Imposition of Majoritarian Formulae Fail
China made the biggest mistake by imposing the 'one-child formula.' Of course, per capita income rose, and living standards improved. However, after a while, they noticed that the Chinese population began to decline faster than expected, below their desired level. Today, China stands uncertain of its future. No amount of enticement has persuaded the younger generation to have larger families to ensure a future for their nation. No slogan or assistance made any significant difference.

This exposes the limits of 'imposed solutions' to social problems, whether in Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany or Maoist China. In India, we are victims of imposed high-caste food 'prohibitions' on the lower class masses: 'dictated diet,' ban on beef and on other cheap protein-providing food items. There are no Human Rights activists to raise their voice under the Modi-Shah regime! Choice of food is my own, as is the choice of religion, career, or life partner.

The humbler section in India is bound to become under-nourished, unable to provide themselves with other nutritious alternatives that the upper castes can afford. Very many mothers in UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and other areas of the Hindi belt are more malnourished than those in the poorest countries of Africa. Infant mortality remains high. No lamentations, no tears, no perception about disasters ahead! Generations are rising, unfit for hard work in factories, fields and on the battlefield.

It will be a genuine tragedy if one day the lower caste soldiers turn round and fire at the higher caste officers, as happened in Vietnam. There were cases of African American soldiers shooting White officers. Historians say King Porus lost to Alexander because the higher-ranking officers fled, leaving the lower ranks to look after themselves. High-caste soldiers had no sense of co-belonging with their subordinates.

Thinkers Silenced, Insanity Takes Over
In the post-war era, the rapid economic rise of Germany and Japan caused concern in America. The outperformers were forced to remain non-competitive with the US to ensure an ever-widening market for the latter. Under compulsion, they accommodated. Similarly, the EU was dragged into all the reckless ventures of the NATO boss, often against their will, be it Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria or Libya and shared heavy financial burdens.

Donald Trump has made abundantly clear what the other Presidents were already telling Europeans indirectly: they should be satisfied with a humbler role. His only anxiety today is China, and he is willing to "use" India as long as India is satisfied with a subordinate position. Nehru knew that from the beginning and intelligently kept a respectful distance. The way ahead is going to be 'tough' for India's unperceptive leadership.

Susie Wiles describes Trump as having an "alcoholic personality" and JD Vance as a mere opportunist. Noam Chomsky recalls how, in 1969, Nixon had ordered a tactical nuclear strike against North Korea while in a drunken state. Kissinger advised the staff to wait till morning. The tragedy was averted. Trump has no difficulty in displaying his lust for Venezuelan oil!

American leaders in recent years have shown themselves more emotion-led than idealism-inspired or insight-guided. Everything speaks to their market interest: arms sales profits. It is no secret that corporations rule the US, and they have made more profit from the Ukraine war than anyone else. Otto von Bismarck was quite blunt when he once exploded, "God has a special providence for fools, drunkards and the United States of America." American NSS wants the US to be "Great" at the expense of others, including their allies.

In India, Insanity has Other Manifestations
Arun Shourie contends that Savarkar, while being a majoritarian, was secular; that he repeatedly appealed to people's reason. Savarkar argued that fanatic cow-protection was an error. Making people believe in the sanctity of the cow is to "make donkey of man"; venerating the cow is strangling the intelligence of the nation. He said he would continue writing against the absurdities in Hindu beliefs and practices about the cow. He did. However, his followers have learned nothing from the secular vision of their founding father. At least they must agree that human beings count more than animals.

In Odisha recently, cow vigilantes chasing a van carrying cattle overturned it and killed 12 cows. Many have lost their lives over the cow issue. Of late, dogs have gained attention. We hear of stray dogs lying in hospital beds in Khandwa (MP). While the Supreme Court considered it a "sacrosanct duty" to provide shelters for dogs, they also asked that they be controlled. Maneka Gandhi was the first to criticise the Court orders. See the contrast: two Gond girls from Chhattisgarh were raped in Beed (Maharashtra). No protests!

Dog lovers called the confining of dogs to shelters "inhumane." Dogs have a right to be free, they insist, not to be controlled near hospitals, bus stands and parks. Kerala boasts of 9 lakh street dogs. Tamil Nadu recorded 5.25 lakh dogbites and 28 rabies deaths in 2025. Aizawl council in Mizoram suggested distributing slingshots to deter stray dogs. Activists consider it an offence. It would seem that animals are going to decide issues in this land!

Hoping against Hope
What is religion all about in India? Rajnath Singh swears that in Operation Sindoor, Ram's ideals were strictly followed. What were these high ideals? Be hard on your weak neighbour?

Secular observers say that temple constructions and Kumbha Melas are for furthering business interests, as is the case with indigenous arms production. Atmanirbhar! If selfishness moves to the centre of cherished religious beliefs and national ideals, what remains?

Pooja Seti, moving away from India, urges, "Move abroad. The very systems are breaking here." Andrew Branca re-echoes, "No one hates living in India like Indians."

While politicians are busy buying votes, honest citizens wake up all of a sudden and discover, "Pre-election bribery is really national robbery." If a change is needed in any area described above, it must begin with you and me! However, there is little chance.

And yet, public opinion counts. Collective convictions carry weight! We hope against hope!