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Saturday 2 January 2021

TOO MUCH DEMOCRACY, MR. KANT, OR TOO LITTLE ?

    So now we finally know why the Modi govt. has messed up the Farm Bills issue big time: it has advisors like Mr. Kant who no doubt firmly believe that a few more jackboots on peasant throats would have made them gladly swallow the legislation without any demur. And, for all we know, he's the one who is also advising our resident sage: " We kant back down now!"

    Amitav Kant is one of the most powerful and influential policy makers in the present dispensation and his words cannot be wished away like those of Mr. Giriraj Singh. He has come a long way from his Kerala Tourism days, but posterity will always wonder what happened to him between the brilliant  "God's own country" and the alarming " India has too much democracy." He may just be his master's voice sending up a trial balloon or he may be making a down payment to insure a second extension of service. In either case he appears to have crossed that gradually fading line between a civil servant and a politician.  The IAS is justly proud of the fact that it is a jack of all trades, but when one of its tribe elevates this to master of all he is treading on thin ice. But this is unfortunately what happens when you get invited to too many Conclaves where fawning comperes treat you like the Delphic oracle, and one soon starts believing that one is Nostradamus, Solomon and Adam Smith combined.

    For, if only Mr. Kant had taken off his saffron-tinted blinkers, he would have realised that the reverse of what he said is the stark truth: it is not too much, but too little democracy which is the problem with reform and governance today. Democracy is not just periodical elections or a brute majority in Parliament, as he seems to think, but the existence of robust constitutional values. Its ingredients include a willingness to consult and engage, federalism, tolerance of dissent, freedom of the press, a tireless quest for equity, social harmony, respect for autonomy of institutions, transparency, a pledge to abide by  the rule of law. If only Mr. Kant would take the trouble of stepping out of his bio bubble in NITI AYOG he would notice that most of them do not exist in his master's New India.

   The present regime consults nobody, not even Parliament or reportedly its own Ministers, even as it forcibly imposes one calamitous policy after another on the hapless nation: demonetisation, GST, the lockdown, electoral funding, reading down of Article 370, reduction of status of J+K, CAA, NRC, the amendments to the UAPA, the three Farm Laws. Internationally recognised domain experts are ignored with contempt and banished abroad, we are left with the Surjit Bhallas and Gurcharan Dases. It allows no debate in Parliament: not even one in five draft bills are referred to Parliamentary committees, where earlier 70% of them went through this process of scrutiny. The inevitable results of such steam-rolling are widespread agitations like the anti-CAA and the ongoing farmers' protests.

   Federalism has ceased to exist: states ( especially opposition controlled states) are not consulted on legislation or policy matters; they are brow beaten into surrender by fiscal arm twisting or outright denial of legitimate funds ( such as the GST compensation) or re-engineering the TORs of the Finance Commission, or denial of Ways and Means limits ;  central investigating agencies are let loose on  "uncooperative " states to a point where at least five states have now barred them from operating without permission;  state police are intimidated by excessive deployment of CAP personnel during "raids" even though law and order is a state subject ; state governments are preempted and prevented from investigating cases that may embarrass the central govt. by bringing in the CBI, ED or NIA, as in the Sushant suicide case or the Bhima Koregaon case. In opposition ruled states there is now no difference between a Governor and a party apparatchik. Huge resources are deployed in undermining elected state governments and federalism has now become naked adversarialism: the last vestige of trust has been exterminated.

  The space for free speech has been drastically curtailed: dissent has been rechristened as anti-nationalism and sedition, and dozens of academics, social workers, students, activists and journalists have been incarcerated for being critical of the government. The only free " press" now is on social media and digital platforms, and the government has now initiated steps to bring them under control too by bringing them under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Hate speech laws are being applied selectively, sending a clear signal that remarks against a particular community will attract no punishment. Our own govt. will do nothing to curb the hate speech on TV which only amplifies its own narrative, even as one of its pet channels has been fined 20000 pounds by the UK watchdog last week, even after it tendered 280 specious apologies! Our own regulator is happy being a lapdog.

   Just about every constitutional institution, nurtured over decades, has bitten the dust, the judiciary and CAG not excluded. What the government wants, the government gets, with reemployed bureaucrats  falling over themselves to carry out the imperial commands. Parliament, it appears, has become as obsolete as its building and as redundant as the coccyx on the human anatomy: it's a part of our evolution but has outlived its purpose. Universities have been bludgeoned into silence. Such is the decay of these institutions that just last week the Central Information Commission ruled that the citizens have no right to know who is donating how much money to a political party! I can only wonder: was this judgment given with a straight face ? Was the honourable CIC able to sleep that night? Going by this amazing logic, the next step could be a ruling that the voter does not have a right to know how many votes were cast for a political party in an election. The leitmotif is clear- the less the citizen knows, the stronger Mr. Kant's version of "democracy".

   This is further strengthened by a complete lack of transparency in the manner in which the govt. functions, whether it is about the Electoral Bonds, the Rafael pricing or off- set details, the PM CARES Fund, the Chinese intrusion into Ladakh, the EVM-VVPAT reconciliation, or even Mr. Modi's degree from Delhi University. Crucial reports and results of surveys are simply buried if they do not suit the govt's narratives or claims. No international organisation of any repute believes our statistics any more and have developed their own markers.The public's right to know is haughtily dismissed with silence by the executive, with convenient adjournments by the Supreme Court and a quivering pen by institutions like the Election Commission, the CAG and Central Information Commission.

   Which is why Mr. Kant's obiter dicta is so astounding. Especially when the consequences of this lack of democracy are becoming more and more visible every day, in cold facts and figures which can no longer be brushed under a yoga mat , redacted by a Niti Ayog or sanitised by Arnab Goswami.

   It's not just that our economy has shown a negative growth of 23% or that the unemployment rate has never been higher in independent India or that the GST has been a failure or that demonetisation has knocked the bottom out of our small scale sector which accounts for 80% of non-agriculture employment. Other indicators of democracy or social well being have taken an even bigger hit in the last six years:

* In the Freedom Index we are now at 111 out of 162 countries, a fall of 17 places since 2014. Incidentally, this is a comprehensive assessment of the state of Personal, Economic and Human freedoms in a country, aggregated by the globally respected CATO Institute.

* The Human Development Report of UNDP places us at 131st position among 189 countries, again a fall of 2 places in one year.

* In the Global Hunger Index the country is ranked at 94 out of 107 ( even though the govt. claims we have 90 million tonnes of foodgrains in stock!)

* The Internet Freedom Index ranks us at a miserable 52, which is not surprising considering that Kashmir has had the longest continuous internet shutdown in the world since last August. This is the third straight year of decline.

* In Environmental Protection our country is at an abysmal 168 out of 173 nations, and we can only go further down under the stewardship of Mr. Javadekar.

* In the Economic Freedom Index we have plummeted- there can be no other word to describe this- from 79 to 105.

* The World Press Freedom Index places us at an alarming 142nd rank out of 180 countries, and things are only getting worse, what with as many as 50 scribes being arrested simply for being critical of the various state govts during the pandemic.

* The most disturbing report about the state of our country, however, comes from the central govt. itself- the NFHS ( National Family Health Survey)'s fifth report, which covers 2019-20. It has found that malnutrition, stunting, wastage and underweightage among children ( between the age of 1 and 5 years) has GONE UP in 15 states and union territories. It is the first time this decline has been seen since 1998 and it negates all the progress made since then. The explanation is simple: it has been caused by a consistent decline in incomes, rendering households unable to buy protein foods- meat, eggs, vegetables, pulses, milk. These findings confirm the other economic and health indicators. This is not something for which the BJP govt. at the centre can blame the UPA or Nehru or the pandemic( the normal scapegoats),  as all these children were born after 2014. And these figures can only get worse next year, once the impact of the pandemic has been factored in.

   Mr. Kant's Niti Ayog, as the govt's primary stink-sorry, think- tank has to bear responsibility for the mess we are in. None of the big ticket programmes launched by this govt. has shown any success so far- Digital India, Skill India, Make in India, Smart Cities, Insolvency Code, RERA, to mention just a few. Instead, social and economic inequality has only worsened at a compounded rate, thanks to the consistent pro corporate policies which have become the unabashed norm. Just 1% of the country's rich control 45.40% of its wealth, the top 10% control 74.30%. According to the Billionaire's Insight Report 2020 ( brought out by UBS and PWC every year) the net worth of India's billionaires increased by 35% to US$ 423 billion- at a time when 120 million people have been pushed below the poverty line and tens of millions have lost their jobs. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Social Mobility Report, it is estimated that it will take seven generations for a member of a poor Indian family to achieve the average national income! That's a very long time to wait for Mr. Modi to deliver on his many promises.

   And the CEO of Niti Ayog would have us believe that all these stupendous failures are because we have too much democracy ?

   Do a retake, Mr. Kant, and remove your blinkers. If the country is regressing in every field- economic, social, developmental- it is because of the rapid erosion of democracy in the last few years, not because of too much democracy. Ambedkar famously described democracy in India as a thin top dressing of the Indian soil- much of it has been removed since 2014. We need to restore it- and not deny it with incompetent dilletantism and worse.

   Contrary to what he may think, genuine democracy begins AFTER the votes are counted and the winner declared, and we have had too little of that of late. Which explains the many protests breaking out ( and suppressed) all over the country, the farmers' revolt being only the latest but perhaps of greater consequence. Mr. Kant and his govt. may consider these are a sign of too much democracy, but they would be wrong- the protests are indicative of too little, not too much, democracy.

   I would have advised Mr. Kant to go back to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, for a refresher course on India's history and Constitution, but I won't. They have probably already changed the syllabus there, from " people's democracy" to "corporate democracy".

39 comments:

  1. Do not blame others.... would YOU have done anything differently... because the 300+ Page Constitution of India allows ANYONE TO GET AWAY WITH... EVERYTHING... AS LAWYERS CAN USE.. IGNORE.. TWIST... TURN IT ANYWAYS THEY WANT....

    DON'T YOU GET IT.... THIS 300+ PAGE DOCUMENT IS A MONSTER THAT CAN BE MANIPULTED IN ANY AND ALL DIRECTIONS.... SO EITHER THE PEOPLE CHANGE IT.... OR SHUT UP AND PUT UP...
    As all prefer to be "couch potatoes"... just ENJOY THE RIDE... like a spectator in a Cricket Match... where you can watch all you want from your seat ... but cannot participate... Amen

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  2. This is called passing buck,mr shukla has given you correct advise mr kant do not try to run away from the truth

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    1. avay shukal is typical lapdog of the previous regime who has no IQ nor any sens eof propreity ..it shocking that he was actually an IAS ... his feelings are rooted in castiest n self described elite scum of which he has been a product himself . retired in scum plesase rot in hell n leave is indians alone .. this is new INDIA n not his babudom slavery where he will be respected .IAS like him are the reason red tapism n bureaucracy lead the nation to remain third world .. this idiot IAS retiree should know that INDIA has progressed rapidly and has been a resilient nation and nto the soft nation like during Dr M M Singh or congress rule .. no doubt the frustrated scums are questioning the change in status quo and disruptive acts by current govt to get the society n nation a new stimuli which will make the self professed n self declared elite irrelevant ! love the frustration of these selfish pseudoliberals ..!!

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  3. The REITERATION is getting more brilliant. And we need a lot of evolving reiteration, given our phenomenally recurrent relapses of collective memory and rapidly disappearing democracy (access to reliable data?). I would like to profusely thank Mr Shukla for doing such a thankless job so well and so doggedly, again and again. This is the re-writing of contemporary history our country needs. If our Constitution has half a chance now to survive the absolute 'wisdom' of the current dispensation, it will be thanks to people like Mr Shukla. And also because of the characteristic flavour of Shukla humour, these articles will remain and be re-read, hopefully by a growing ideologically free and rational tribe! Our hope that will make a difference. Soon?

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    1. ideologically free ? lol You are the slaves of the misogynist society who care for none but your own nonsensical hallucination for example to oppse any law like anti conversion you give stupid arguments & ready to offer your daughters on platter cos you are coward n dimwit and fear the bigots ... hence you remain in frustration where ever you go n hence not respected

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  4. Democracy is not “Moksh” or ultimate salvation. I am no apologist for Communism but let us recall, in 1947 we were at par with China, if not ahead of China on many counts. Today, Chinese economy is five times compared to India. If we have lagged behind, partly it is because of “too much democracy”
    Most elementary reforms may take years because the governments in democracies keep Hamlet as their model- to do or not to do. Reforms of 1991 could have been ushered long before Narsimha Rao & Dr Manmohan Singh, if we could have a little less of Democracy.
    In some ways Singapore could be cited as a model, not having too much of Democracy. The remarkable progress of Singapore on so many fronts is an eye opener.
    On the other hand we see the spectacle of Trump trying to trample upon the election mandate through the so-called democratic devices.
    Hence larger national interest should be the key consideration without being unduly fettered by “ too much democracy “
    P N Bhandari

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    1. There are plenty of examples of authoritarian regimes running their economies to the ground. Pakistan itself is a good example. So please don't pick on select examples to suggest that less democracy helps the economy. Economic success depends on multiple factors, including economic and social policies.

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  5. A very forthright and a bold statement. I have very keenly observed functioning of Planning Commission during my stint there under the stewardship of Sh K C Pant and Sh N C Saxena. It was a think tank in true sense and views of all stake holders taken on board.
    Alas those were the days. Nemesis of a great institution.

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    1. lol what a joke ... what was your stupid planning commission doing during Dr m singhs n his recession days ? setting up toilets in its own premises wrth rs 35 lacs from designer bhangis for few of their own chosen people ? r ur really a retd brigadier sir or Brij in name ?

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  6. A very forthright and a bold statement. I have very keenly observed functioning of Planning Commission during my stint there under the stewardship of Sh K C Pant and Sh N C Saxena. It was a think tank in true sense and views of all stake holders taken on board.
    Alas those were the days. Nemesis of a great institution.

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  7. I also had the privilege to meet the author as Principal Secretary , Environment and Forest's of HP Govt when I was country head of UNDP biodiversity conservation project.
    A very committed bureucrat with sharp and quick grasp. Knowledgeable and positive mindset. Great sense of humour. A thorough gentleman , professionally very sound and quick and sharp grasp of the issues at hand.

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  8. Difficult to disagree with much of what you have said. Single most effective step to strengthen democracy in India will be replacing winner-take-all electoral system by proportional representation System . Also we need to rewrite seventh schedule by giving more powers to the states and drastically pruning list one Unfortunately even opposition parties are not United and effectively raising this issue . Hence in my opinion, till BJP gets totally discredited in next 20 years or so, we have to suffer at the hands of our politicians !

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    1. Till BJP is in power the corrupt cannot quench their thirst, that's why they are uncomfortable with present regime.

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    2. Anil Ambani 86k crores, Nirav Modi and many others having been quenching themselves under the current dispensation Sir so let us not make absurd statements

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    3. there is hardly anything to agree in this frustrated retd IAS rants ....yes i did think of the proportional representation but its useless n just another rant ... we have seen pseudoliberal cowards in 1947 n so called educated elites sit back n let partition riots happen ..states have been given too much power ...n result is we have seen the anarchy n chaos in bengal n stupidity of kerala...n Delhi n now the drama of farmers rights in punjab ....states have good control n you can rant nonsense as rules in SP BSP

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  9. Replies
    1. his master is CHOICE of the nation... not you

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  10. India faces huge challenges ahead. But nothing that will derail us.

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  11. Avay Shukla's trenchant piece is a refreshing contrast to the turgid and tired letters of protest on various issues addressed periodically to Prime Minister Modi bearing signatures in common of hordes of his retired colleagues. I am sure Shukla's bold individual blogs like these have a far greater impact on the powers that be than the pro forma safety-in-numbers letters which, I am sure, do not even reach Modi, and are are consigned promptly to the circular file by his minions.

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  12. Ajay Shukla's write up is true reflection of millions and millions suffering due to poverty, unempkoyment, disease and malnutrition despite daily dose of rhetoric about achievements of the govt , dished out incessantly by their controlled media outlets.
    Thank you, Mr Shukla for providing voice to the voiceless. Hooe, someone listens to it in " too much democratic" country.

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  13. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  14. You have shown mirror to अन्ध्भक्त। Infact there is no democracy.

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  15. I read somewhere, Winston Churchill had this to say about us. It appears to be utterly true.
    “Power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues, freebooters; all Indian leaders will be of low calibre & men of straw. They will fight amongst themselves for power and India will be lost in political squabbles. ... A day would come when even air and water would be taxed in India.”
    Thank you Mr Shukla for flagging the rot that has set in.

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    1. he was talkign of porkistanis n Nehru ... n many in pak proved him right . india is a thriving democracy n current regime is doing good for its own people .... what do u expect the majority of the nation to suffer in silence ?

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  16. Fat lot of good Democracy has done to this country in the last 73 plus years! Mr Avay Shukla May want to weigh his tirade against the progress that this system has allowed us to make as a nation. There are surely some truths in the piece vis-a-vis performance shortfalls, but at the same time, it so overwhelmingly ignores the achievements and the courage being shown by this Govt to find long term solutions. Democracy is a system - neither perfect nor otherwise - this Gove has the mandate, let’s give them a chance! And let’s not keep running down our own country!

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    1. Getting the mandate to rule via the democratic process of the ballot box does not mean that the Modi government has the mandate to deprive the people of their Fundamental Rights of liberty and freedom of speech and to systematically subvert democratic institutions in the name of vikas. And that is exactly what is happening now.

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  17. I am simply loving the frustration of anti modi spineless cowards who masquarade as pseudo liberals n self proclaimed educated elites but who are in deed low iq thugs ..and they will become suicidal when modi is reelected in 2024... loving it for now ... we are not perfect democracy but Kant is absolutely right ...

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    1. An anonymous ad hominem venomous attack. Typical hallmark of bhakts.

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  18. Looks like the trolls- or at least one of them- have finally discovered this blogsite! Welcome, gentlemen.

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    1. Mr Shukla is apparently from the Corrupt Congress Camp

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  19. Dear Mr Unknown, i tried reading your comments but did not find any worth or value add in them. The most surprising is that you yourself lack the audacity of writing these comments in your own name (which now i can safely assume you donot have one :-) )and yet are commenting on others. Any way that ckearly demonstrates your fear to be yourself in a regime which you seem to admire so much and that is truely laughable.

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  20. Interesting read; there is no real debate that on our democracy is in an inexorable decline; This government had many right ideas - RERA, empowering many of the disadvantaged by jan dhan accounts, removing oil subsidies, increasing digitisation, etc; They have however had many other reasonably good ideas which have been disastrously executed like the GST, the draconian lockdown, or the farm reforms; This appears to be a particular trait of "I know best" in our PM - where no debate or discussion is allowed. The terrible communal and other divisions which the government has actively encouraged will haunt this nation for years to come.
    The problem as I see it today is the lack of a credible opposition which can act as an electoral check on the Modi juggernaut which it appears will roll on for several years. Unfortunately though everyone sees that the INC is declining the party seems helpless to engage any leadership change and till this happens we are doomed to suffer this democracy decline for a while.

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  22. How much Democracy is too much Democracy? Perhaps the "Learned" Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog will deign to shed light on this. The victims of mob lynchings, the flogged dalits, our violated daughters, imprisoned activists, riot victims, our marching migrants, the scores of jobless youth and their hungry families back home are all mute spectators to our "Excessive Democracy". The "Hard Reforms" peddled by the Government are being bought by no one. Democracy is Governance of the people, for the people and by the people. That does not translate to push the people, crush the people and bury the people.
    Dehumanizing, humiliating and tainting the common man's demands and protests are the choice weapons in The Ruling Party's Artillery. But "A Wise Man" once said, in a speech, on a public platform, "Jantaa Ko Aap Moorkh Samajhna Band Kar Dijiye!".
    Our India is still to recover from the "Tough laws" passed by the BJP Government in it's past and present tenure. Our homegrown Pied Piper has belted his bewitching tunes, lead the country down the sewers and robbed us of our future. And still continues to blow his hollow pipe. 
    While his RSS Bosses push their agenda and his Capitalist friends expand their conglomerates.
    Pull down your skirt, Mr. Kant. Your Orange Slip is showing. Do not attempt to interpret our Constitution with your Saffron tongue. This Nation has had enough of Sycophants, Obsequious Idiots and Spineless Molluscs.

    *Dr. Ayesha Subhan*

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  23. - Abusive incomprehension and celebratory ignorance are what colour our present.
    - While a common lament is for a missing opposition of adequate strength, it is no accident that the successes and failures in human history are a record of rabid ignorance regularly overcome by 'civil law'. Meaning dignity and respect will prevail. And time and time again, it is the spiral that spins the truth, not the cycle. There is repetition. But always with a difference. And always in furtherance.
    - We have only just begun to appear in the unwholesome 'pustulations' of adolescence. The inevitability of acne is upon us. Best to allow healing than to than to pick at, dig out, squeeze to ooze. Those scars remain. Else, medicated, the ugliness gradually leaves.
    - Even the ranters ranting against others' rants. For what brings froth and spit to the lips is the inability to deny. And that's what abuse is.
    - Everything cited- economy, health, cleanliness, husbandry, avarice - every pro and con falls in the face of one truth - the lies and vicious hatred that have bound the disenfranchised, the marginalised and our diverse ethnicity into the worst of a living purgatory as never before.
    - But deliverance will happen. It took the US just 3 years to remedy an electoral disaster. Mature democracies are able to depend upon the reliability of change, irrespective of frequency and populism.
    - We are not there yet. But we will be.
    ---


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  24. Barbaad-E-Gulistaan,
    Karney Ko,
    Bass Aik Hi Ulloo,
    Kaafii Thaa.
    Harr Shaakhh Pey,
    Ulloo Baithha Hai,
    Anjaam-E-Gulistaan,
    Kyaa Hogaa??
    -Shauq Bahraichi

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  25. Ajay shukla is a Veteran Not a Babu like Amitab cunt .
    Modi had lost faith of veterans and now farmers as well.
    I do not know how his advisers could be so insane or is it that someone is deliberately trying to doom Modi ?

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