Articles by Bela Bhatia

The main achievement of the Naxalite movement in central Bihar is that it has empowered the labouring and oppressed classes. The equations of power have changed drastically. Yet, the quality of material life in the villages has not improved because the Naxalite leaders are not interested in 'development'. There is now a tiredness among the people, which has resulted in a stalemate. The Naxalite movement will thrive only if it lets people's concerns guide the vision of the parties. Another problem is factionalism; if the movement unites and focuses on people's concerns it could make a real difference in Bihar.

have emerged losers on the point of forming a government and are shaky even in power. The problem is further aggravated by the tact that while absence of comoination threatens existence of any government at the centre, the act of combination threatens existence of many parties in the states. So this is not a hung parliament but a hanged parliament with a very limited latitude for manoeuvring. What is in front is no reflection of plurality in our society or any new stimulating model of federalism but a show of fractured polity threatening the country, unleashing the forced of disintegration. This is no projection of unity in diversity but that of animosity with chaos. Division of parties and rise of regional forces THE 'Garib Rally' organised by the Janata Dal on March 18 in Gandhi Maidan, Patna, has been hailed by some as a grand success while others have called it a muted affair. Rallies such as these come and go leaving us an occasion for some reflection on politics today. In this essay I offer some observations based on dialogues with the people who had come to attend the rally, especially the poor in whose name the rally had been organised.