India, April 10 -- It is election time and the season of manifestos. The Indian National Congress which is the world's largest political party; the BJP, an outfit representing the interests of those believing in Sanatan Dharma and even the Kerala Congress (Mani), a single MP party that stands for safeguarding the Roman Catholic Church have all released election manifestos that promise manna from heaven. If the past experiences are any indication, these manifestos do not have the value of the paper on which they are printed. How many among our elite electorate go through the promises made by the parties in their manifestos? Releasing the manifestos has become a kind of ritual.
The Congress which ruled the country from 1947 to 1977 had given...