Cain and Abel revisited?

Nageswara Rao Thamanam
The Old Testament tells how Cain killed his brother Abel and God’s wrath felled him. Is Andhra Pradesh’s Christian CM, YSR, about to do the same to his brethren and invite the wrath of voters, the God of all politicos?

YSR’s heart overfloweth for the rights of the minorities, you bet. He is not just continuing with the benefits of Haj subsidy for the Muslims, he has thought up a new scheme for the Christians, modelled around the Haj facility, and has promised to do the same for Sikhs and Parsis as well. But will this ensure that Andhra people will agree to live under his dispensation happily ever after? No chance, for he has ended up splitting the Christians themselves because of a nuance that is typical of Andhra Christians.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy is going to give all 'white-card' holding Christians Rs 20,000 as a subsidy for visiting the sanctums in the Holy Land. On the face of it, it is a ‘progressive move’, extending communal facilities and increasing benefits to Christians. But clearly, this is a case of trying to woo voters from that denomination. The state government is setting up a separate wing for Christians in the state’s minority welfare department, along with the constitution of Christian Minority Finance Corporation.
The Haj House in Hyderabad that hosts pilgrimage to Mecca will now play host to the Christians after the departure of last batch to the Haj on November 16. The state government has allocated a budget of Rs two crore for the financial year 2008-09 and the seven-day package is being organised by Andhra Pradesh State Minorities Finance Corporation.
Mohd Ali Shabbir, minister for Minorities Welfare, said the funds allocated to the ministry would be dispersed to all minority groups according to their population and Rs 1.27 billion has already been allocated by the government for minorities' welfare in the 2008-09 budget. The Congress government claims that the budget was increased by five times during the last four years. Archbishop Marampudi Joji, Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Bishops' Council (APBC), welcomed the move and said the state government’s decision would help Christian minorities. To be eligible, a Christian pilgrim applicant needs to be a bonafide Christian, certified either through school or college records, Mandal Revenue Officer or Baptism certificate. And, white ration card holders – those whose annual income is below Rs 40,000, and aged persons will be preferred. But here is the twist.
Dalits constitute over 80 percent of Christians in the state, but they never register themselves as Christians. On record they choose to remain as Dalits, to avail of the government benefits eligible for Hindu scheduled caste communities. If they declare themselves as Christians, they would be taken out of the SC list and grouped with Backward Castes. Those who convert on record form a minor chunk of the total Christian community and they will no longer be considered as Scheduled Castes. This ascribed identity to these groups has been debated for decades. "Being in the Hindu fold, the Dalit families are deprived of entry into the Hindu temples, and now the state government prevents us from using the welfare scheme to go to the birth place of Christ," said a Dalit Christian leader. Although YSR wants to win the hearts of the Christian community, his move has raised many questions on the genuineness of his commitment.
With the majority of Christians being excluded from the new scheme, it is unlikely their hearts would melt when he next coming pleading for votes. Contrarily, it will definitely provide ammunition for the demogogic Hindutva brigade in the state. The problem with this policy is that it did not recognise the fact that if Dalit Christians are excluded from the reservations for Christian community, it will only fuel their anger against the segregation. YSR government's exclusion of Dalit Christians’ to Holy Lands would permanently damage the sympathy YSR has among the Christian community: he himself comes from a Christian community, whose majority he is now alienating. The scheme will fuel the old fire of caste within the Christians and would split the community's loyalties. With the general and Assembly elections approaching, this gesture by the ruling Congress government is seen as another ploy to turn every possible group into their prospective supporters. As a matter of fact, Andhra Pradesh is the only state in South India that is under Congress rule and from where Congress has 30 Lok Sabha members. Coming back to power in AP will ensure its strength in the next LS. With its sentimental opposition to separate statehood to Telangana, and being the only major political party to oppose it, the Congress is looking for alternatives to raid the vote bank. But it remains to be seen if YSR will succeed in winning the hearts of minorities. Precisely at a time when attacks on Christians by the Hindutva forces in Orissa and Karnataka are rising, the populist initiative by the AP government will make the Christian community more vulnerable to the Hindutva forces. On the face of it, the CM is doing a great service to his own Christians brethren but in effect it will perhaps repeat the story of Cain killing Abel!

http://www.thesundayindian.com/30112008/storyd.asp?sid=6088&pageno=1

Will Chandrababu Naidu's volte-face save his face?

Nageswara Rao Thamanam

The lust for power has led the TDP to abandon its old plank of opposing the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and lend its full-throated support to the proponents of a separate Telangana. This is quite a volte-face by the party that has been countering bifurcation calls almost ever since the separatists grouped themselves under the Telengana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) flag. Though what the move will do for the TDP in the coming elections is uncertain as of yet, it is bound to help it put a brake on desertions. Yet, there are still several glitches to be attended to. First, a separate Telangana is not the only issue obsessing the electorate. Secondly, the party’s stand does not appear to have had any appreciable impact on the non-Telangana crowd. The TRS electoral gains in the last general elections had nothing concrete to suggest that the votes the TRS got were endorsements for a separate Telangana. Any doubts about this end when you consider closely the disaster that befell TRS when it resigned both its Lok Sabha and Assembly seats and sought re-election. The move cost it several seats, even as it benefited the TDP which at that stage was still opposed to a separate Telangana. And even the Congress, which is blamed for reneging on its promise of granting statehood, gained at TRS' expense. But the real point here is that none of this has affected the electoral prospects of the parties in the non-Telangana region. It is difficult at this stage to say how much Babu’s somersault will benefit him in the polls. For the ruling Congress, all this is proving to be a continuing headache, because nothing can suit it better than a divided opposition. And this prospect may already be lost. The reigning paradox here is that the call for a separate Telangana has in unknown ways served to keep the opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh united. But if YSR triumphs against a united opposition, his stature will grow manifold, and the pro- and anti- Telangana blocks could well melt into nothing. As it is there is strong likelihood of the statehood issue assuming secondary status in the elections; and many say the wiser option would be to identify newer, more ingenious poll planks. Going by the general drift of things this time, there’s clearly a Telangana fatigue in the air.

http://www.thesundayindian.com/26102008/storyd.asp?sid=5863&pageno=1