Although the media did not have too many good words to spare for the BJP government, there has been a general outburst of commiseration at its fall. Everyone seems to be in mourning. The markets are down, the tycoons are wailing, even the winners in the political game are chastened. This is the time to trot out all the cliches about the cup being half full, about every cloud having a silver lining, etc etc.
The best news is the exit of George Fernandes. The uncontroverted facts are that there are ex-officers of the Indian navy who have settled down in Moscow and turned dealers for Russian arms. The Indian government has declared them non grata. Vice Admiral Harinder Singh had contacts with them. Admiral Bhagwat denied him promotion. Fernandes backed Harinder Singh, and when Bhagwat resisted, Fernandes got a cabinet order to make him promote Harinder Singh. Behind these facts are speculations that the Akali Dal wanted Harinder Singh promoted, and that he is part of a gang involving dealers and politicians who make money on Russian arms. When confronted with these allegations, Fernandes sacked Bhagwat, and made crazy allegations against him. Perhaps the truth will come out on enquiry if a non-BJP government comes to power. But even if it were true, this would be a story of venality, not unusual for politicians and bureaucrats. Fernandes, however, did much greater damage than this, if Bhagwat's interview to The