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Inducting youth and the festival of youth!
 The
much awaited reshuffle in the Council of Ministers has finally
taken place. There is room to argue that Prime Minister Dr.
Manmohan Singh has not brought enough young blood in the team.
Many are disappointed that Rahul Gandhi has opted to stay out
of the government though looking at the state the Congress
party is in it was the logical step for him to take. His total
devotion to party work is absolutely essential if Congress is
to hope to revive itself in the important states of Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar. Having said that, one must congratulate the
Prime Minister and the UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi over the
choice they have made in inducting new faces. While
Joytiarditya Scindia and Jitin Prasad are welcome additions
not only because they are the young face of Congress but
because both of them are highly rated. Meanwhile there is some
resentment over the non-inclusion of Sachin Pilot who many
believe was a very strong candidate. Nevertheless, the message
is very clear that the new India need not perceive Congress as
a party that has only its past to gloat over. With these young
faces in the Government and Rahul Gandhi working with the
grassroot workers there is hope of the party’s rejuvenation.
Meanwhile, the festival of youth to be celebrated in Beijing
seems to be running into rough weather. For much too long
China has been riding rough shod over the opinion of the civil
world because the greatest democracies have chosen to turn a
Nelson’s eye to the track record of that totalitarian state.
The day when USA resorted to tokenism over the tragic events
that happened in 1989 in Tiananmen Square, China became
emboldened enough to brush aside any reference to the human
rights of the people of China. Bagging the right to host
Olympic Games was its crowning glory but in a sudden twist it
finds itself in a corner over the issue. The protests the
world over have exposed the brutal face of China and the
hypocrisy and hollowness of the west’s respect for universal
human rights. One only hopes that better sense will prevail
and the people of Tibet get their due share of autonomy and
rights.
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