The Hindu Business Line : Is he a secular bull or bear?

DUST seemed to have settled on what the role of the Opposition should be after one was witness to the routine walkouts during the last session of Parliament. But the Advani matter has stirred up everything, waking up sleepy politicians and getting them to consult old history books. To add to the party's confusion, there are unanswered questions.

What's the kahani?

Addy went to Pakistan recently and described Mohammad Ali Jinnah as `secular' and said that the demolition of the Babri Masjid was the `saddest day' of his life. The Parishad called him a `turncoat' and that made Addy really mad. So, he put in the papers.

Secular or binocular?

True, it is so difficult to be secular that you may need a pair of binoculars to spot the ones who're so. The one word that Addy said has now been put under the microscope, to see if secular credentials attributed to X or Y are free from inflection infection.

Is he a secular bull or bear?

Wait, you're mixing up terms. By secular, Addy meant `not religious,' but a secular bull or bear market is a long-term move in a market, when the market trades in the same direction for a decade or two. An example of a secular bull market was the 1982-2000 boom in stocks "when the Dow rallied from under 800 to nearly 12,000," notes www.stockhouse.ca. "Nearly 10 years of a corrective bear market to be followed by a secular bull market... BSE Sensex target at 7,500 by March 2006," opines www.indiainfoline.com. Poor Addy is neither a bull nor a bear but a dartboard, looks like.

Perhaps, the comment was jocular?

Nobody told Addy that he could have shrugged off all criticism by simply saying, "Hey, I was just kidding!" Since he kept a straight and serious face, everybody is going for the jugular, and onlookers are happy watching the fun.

Can we think of any new post for Addy?

I too feel so, because in politics there are no retirements. Netas simply go in and out of revolving doors. So, how about a new post, `Retired Secular Secretary'? Or, if that sounds too tired, `Trait-or-Treasurer'?

There is no `secular' in Jinnah's speech!

Jinnah's presidential address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947, is posted on www.pakistani.org. Though the word you're looking for is absent, I could find these lines: "You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed; that has nothing to do with the business of the State."

Should we fight in the name of the past?

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now." But you find people crossing swords on what's past. "No man is rich enough to buy back his past," advises Oscar Wilde, apparently in vain. "If you will work in co-operation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchet, you are bound to succeed," is again a line from Jinnah's 1947 speech. Else, we'd only be like Juliet who lamented, "Come weep with me; past hope, past cure, past help!"

Do you suggest I stand by Addy?

Just stand by, for more action!

SayCheek@TheHindu.co.in

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Is he a secular bull or bear?

Welcome guest

Monsoon special