War with China then, war with China now

Raju Korti

Chou en Lai and Nehru: Comrades in arms!

The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing. Long since it fought a disastrous war with China in 1962, the Indian government seems to have learnt precious little. The Chinese are not known to give empty threats. Three weeks into the Sikkim stand off with China, the Communist country has warned of a even more severe backlash. China believes India is using its military might as a leverage in Sikkim and thus a case of blatant provocation.
The Indian Army's track record has been impeccable but the 1962 war, which caught it off guard, remains a black spot on its reputation. To be fair to the Army, the war was lost much before it moved to defend the country, thanks to the spineless political leadership of the time.
Political leaders including the Leftists and then home minister Krishna Menon in their considered wisdom thought that the Chinese were merely indulging in sabre rattling. However, once the conflict started, even old friend USSR left India to fend for herself.
Such was the ineptitude and carelessness of the government of the day that it even ignored a carefully prepared report of the Army about China's impending aggression. The stone-faced Krishna Menon, close chum of Jawaharlal Nehru, seemed to live in their ivory towers. Had the warnings been heeded to, India would have been spared of the blushes and tragedy of a massive defeat and large number of casualties.Clearly, the Indian government, without a think-tank, had underestimated the Chinese resolve. The attack happened when the country's leadership was sitting and discussing policies that were utterly unrealistic, not realizing that a treacherous, expansionist neighbour cannot and should never be trusted. As it turned out, the attack in Ladakh and Arunachal (then NEFA), took the incompetent leadership by complete surprise. To cap it all, a post war report laid the blame squarely the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of General Staff for the debacle.
Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai was a standard diplomatic line that got undue and unfounded importance in the late 50s and early 60s from the likes of Nehru. Though the reasons for this sudden build up of such high levels of trust on China was befuddling, it was actually utter foolishness. As events unfolded, this over-affectionate posturing towards China spelled doom.
From what emerged of the post-war reports, it was India who provoked the Chinese Army despite being well aware that it lacked the capacity to take the latter head on. The trigger was also a provocative statement that Nehru made and irked Mao Zedong.
It is widely believed that the Indian Army ran out of food, artillery and ammo supplies during the war. The back up was weak and a long status quo only resulted in compounding the situation on the border. In short, logistical failure was also among the reason why the Indians took a beating.
The most embarrassing part of the story was the weak and inefficient political leadership. Nehru leaned too much on a tactless Menon who just wasn't able to anticipate the seriousness of the situation. India lost far too many soldiers because of poor leadership.
If the leadership was inane and ludicrous, the Army was thoroughly unprepared. Though particularly impressive in its own backyard, absence of strategy and advanced weapons was a recipe for disaster. From the war emerged an Army whose morale had chafed.
That was 55 years ago. Today if India's military might has gone up manifold, so has China's. That brings the stand off situation to Square One. Moral of the story: The error of the past is the wisdom and success of the future.

Emergency and a 20-year-old Me

Raju Korti
I was barely legal when (then) Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a state of nation-wide emergency on 25th June, 1975. The lady who invoked more or less the same levels of hatred and appreciation as Modi does today, wasn't able to reconcile to the thought of her and her party being thrown out of power even after being unseated by a historic judgement of the Allahabad High Court. The emerging hero of this political fallout was the national clown (and therefore Socialist) Raj Narain who had filed a case against Indira for electoral malpractices. As it turned out, the decision led to an unprecedented situation in a country that always made for loud speeches about its pledge to democratic credentials.
In hindsight, I can safely vouch that at 20, my knowledge of political affairs was sound enough to understand the implications of what a national emergency meant. What I wasn't able to put a finger on was the repercussions it would lead to. I didn't have to read the National Herald -- the mouthpiece (euphemism for fiefdom) of the Gandhi clan to know where it was leading the country to. The tensions of the Emergency were palpable as the one-man government of the day attempted a desperate gamble to retain power through a debauchery, the scars of which, refuse to go away. It was all so evident and blatant that I didn't have to be a student of Political Science or Mass Media to know that Emergency is a rule by decree used primarily by dictators, despots, absolute monarchs and the Military Junta. Indira added a mew dimension which in my definition was an action by a democratic government that made no bones about unduly bypassing parliamentarian or popular scrutiny. The twisted justification came through a presidential proclamation on the perceived threats to the nation from internal or external sources. (There was this interesting story of how the then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed signed the presidential proclamation in the midst of his bath, scared as he was of Indira and since she wanted the proclamation be signed "at once") . That wasn't altogether surprising since presidents in India have been traditional rubber stamps of the successive governments until Congress' own Sardar Giani Zail Singh waved the red flag at Rajiv Gandhi. In Indira's case, the threat never came from external sources which meant its hostile neighbours Pakistan and China. The threat was mainly from within, and directly to her throne. Such was the "gravity of the internal disturbances" that the Emergency lasted until March 1977. What happened in these two years was absolute anarchy which Indira herself couldn't apparently control. I say "apparently" because Indira's pet political strategy while dealing with all problems was to allow the problem to fester and then solve it to hog credit. Of course, that policy backfired in Punjab, Sri Lanka and North-East where the "trouble-makers" turned out to be feistier than Indira thought.
My personal understanding of the Emergency was it was a monster that Indira unleashed but wasn't able to control. As a student of engineering then, I could see and feel that India lived more in a Police Raj than a Political Raj in those two years of disorganised non-governance. There were horror stories about people, including school-going children being randomly shunted behind bars on the slightest pretext of saying anything even remotely against the government. There was complete mistrust and as I spoke to people in hushed tones, I could feel alarm, fright and panic in the air. No one wanted to open mouth and get victimised. In all this muddle, the irrepressible Sanjay Gandhi, the heir apparent, took upon himself to bring down single-handed the growing population of the country with forced vasectomies. There were true and/or exaggerated stories about how anyone was picked up randomly -- including children -- from the street and forced to be sterilised. I was among this frightened clan who dared not stir out of the house unless it was dead necessary and if I did, I returned looking at almost everyone suspiciously lest I land on the operation table to be robbed of my "masculinity".
The Congress had a wide spectrum from which to blame -- their pet peeve Sanghis from within and Jewish, Mossad, Zionist, Israeli and CIA from outside! This wild conspiracy theory was rejected by the country when the country went to polls in 1977 that brought the top-heavy opposition Janata Party to power. As it happened, the Janata Party government frittered away the electoral advantage by internal bickering and silly fights that would have amused even the teenagers. The government fell like nine pins in just over two years, forcing people to bring back Indira to power with a two-third majority. Clearly, Politics is a game of expediency, selective amnesia and compulsions borne out of helplessness.
As one who attended almost all the speeches of Indira, Sanjay and those of Morarji, Charan Singh, Jagjivan Ram, Madhu Dandavate, Madhu Limaye, Nanaji Deshmukh, Vajpayee, Advani, Ram Vilas Paswan and others during that politically surcharged period, I could see where the country was headed. Indira's famed "Utpadan Badhao" speech was met with justified suspicion. The Opposition did not exactly give a glorious account of itself in the months to come and the country fell back in the lap of the very same people who threw it into wilderness. But such was the upbeat mood in the Opposition ranks after their electoral triumph that it was the first time I saw a silent RSS march.
Today, when I try to put these frames into a perspective, I wonder what has really changed.
All political parties -- their so called ideologies be damned -- play only blame games and it is ridiculous because even a novice knows that each has a feet of clay.
Governments have changed. Governance remains the pathetic same. In a democracy, people don't have to be powerful. They need to be sensible. But that's asking for moon when personal agendas take precedence over national welfare.

Kohli Vs Kumble, queering the pitch

Raju Korti
While Team India gears up to take on sworn rivals Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy at Edgbaston tomorrow, there is also a grating sense of apprehension over the alleged rift between captain Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble. Apparently, the two have been sharing cold vibes after Kumble wanted a player to be included during the IPL and Kohli least interested. If reports are to be believed, there is a growing concern in the Kohli camp that Kumble is overbearing in his demeanour and approach.
The rift came as a surprise to the cricketing fraternity when the combination had yielded rich dividends with India winning five consecutive series victories. But the clash of egos was waiting to happen. By very nature Kohli and Kumble are as different as chalk and cheese. Kohli, much in the style of Sourav Ganguly, is impetuous while Kumble has been a picture of courtliness and grit all through his illustrious career.
After the exit of New Zealand's John Wright and to some extent South Africa's Gary Kirsten, the relations between the captains and the coaches of their time have been at best lukewarm. There is a fair allowance of debate on who should have a final say in the team selection at the last minute. Both the captain and the coach look at the issue from their vantage points -- the captain draws from his instincts and claims to know what he wants while the coach feels he is objectively a better judge sitting in the dugout.
The brief of a coach has assumed a wider significance in today's context. He is no longer just the conventional cricketing coach but also as some sort of mentor and advisor. Whether that makes for a unjustified case of coach exceeding his brief is another debate but it leads to a situation where they either complement or clash with each other. With the kind of stakes involved, invariably the latter happens given the king size egos the players and cricketing administrators nurse. History provides testimony.
Remember the running battle and acrimony between Ganguly and Australian Greg Chappel. Chappel's authoritarian style of functioning didn't go down with Ganguly, himself not the one to take anything lying down. What it did was it also cleaved the team in the dressing room. Chappel exited unceremoniously, leaving behind an unending debate whether India should have a foreign coach or someone from within the country's cricketing fraternity.

Not seeing face to face: Kohli and Kumble

As it has turned out, the captain and the team have the last laugh on the issue as the Cricketing Board cannot afford to antagonise players, whatever the stature of the coach. There is some merit in the argument that analytics and strategizing should be left to the skipper and his think tank since finally what happens and is executed on ground is his responsibility.
Kumble's own track record is outstanding and he is known to be a man of convictions. To be fair to him, his views cannot be given a short shrift but I feel the coach should just prescribe rather than insist. Their symbiotic relationship can be an advantage or disadvantage depending on how they handle each other.
My childhood friend and cricketer N S Krishnan puts it in the perspective. Says he: "Trying to impose a football-like coach driven culture may not be the best idea and the rules of engagement between the coach and skipper have to be evolved and negotiated for each pair. There cannot be rigid rules that govern the engagement between the two. If there is a breakdown it is unfortunate. There has to be a proper role definition after a lot of thought, reasoning and debate. No easy solutions ahead unfortunately."
Kumble's extension of contract was a foregone conclusion but it won't come as a surprise if he is sacrificed at the altar of the skipper. If he has been officious, he cannot escape part of the blame.
Kumble's former team-mates Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman form the BCCI's  Cricket Advisory Committee and they have an unenviable task of taking a decision on a man whom they fully respect. Virender Sehwag's name is emerging as a front-runner if its curtains for Kumble.
Irrespective of whoever takes charge, the imbroglio doesn't look to fade away. Ego gets you inches, it doesn't get you impact. 

Of Naxal attack and ex-gratia

Raju Korti

Foot soldiers die and the government salutes

As someone who is pathologically averse to violence of any kind and for any reason, I have had the mortification of covering the Naxalite movement when it was at its peak in the eighties. The media which is conventionally urban-centric, keeps floating occasional and half-baked stories about this movement without getting its proper import. So it was quite a cultural shock for me when I trekked the bumpy terrain of the Naxal-infested pockets straddling Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh border to paint a terribly dismal picture of the failure of the successive governments to stop this cult of violence in the name of ideology even as the main constituency of this extreme Left-leaning elements continued to languish in utter neglect.
Inaccessible topography, men having nothing to do except burn their lungs with beedis made out of tendu leaves, women moving around naked with not even a fig leaf for cover, deprived of even the most basic amenities and exploited for decades at the hands of unscrupulous landlords and self-seeking politicians was just the script that would have excited any journalist. It excited me alright but it also exposed me to the excruciating pain of having to watch this show of squalor and poverty.
In their dispossession, the tribals had found saviours in Naxals who periodically brainwashed them into believing that the root cause of their meaningless existence was the State which had to be overthrown if their lot was to improve. The gullible tribals reciprocated by offering the Naxals a hiding place since the movement was outlawed. The only semblance of human face of the movement showed up in the Human Rights and Civil Liberties activists always ready to fight the criminal cases against them. On its part, the government either turned blind eye or had little clue how to tackle this ticklish issue and kept drifting.That was sometime in 1984. I was informed by a source that the Naxals were planning a hush hush convention at Kamlapur -- an apology of a village -- nestling a little across the Maharashtra border. Drafted to do a story for The Hindu by my News Editor, it was with great trepidation that I decided to venture in the area. I had an unarmed Police Patil (a lower-rung cop) for company who looked more scared than I did at the prospect of visiting areas from where chances of returning alive were at best faint.
It was more by fluke than judgement that we managed to zero in on the place without being struck by a bullet. But my breath which I had been holding out of fear, came out like the hiss of a punctured tyre when we learnt that the Naxals who had come for the meet fled when they found the police had caught their scent. Not a single Naxal could be arrested. It was a convention that got aborted before it could take off. I still tried to attempt a meet with Dr Kondapalli Seetharamiah, a brilliant economist and the head of the Naxal outfit People's War Group (PWG). I heard stories that he was so influential and powerful in his oratory that he could convert anyone into a Naxal within a few minutes of meeting him. My luck ran out here too as the man was sick and didn't address any of his weekly indoctrination. However, I did manage to get pretty close. I gleaned out elements in the Naxals who were a little media-savvy. They looked at me suspiciously thinking I was a police informer and frisked me several times over while one man poked his gun at my chest. I must have died several times in those few minutes. Finally, convinced that I was a media person after seeing my identity card, they promised to take me to Seetharamiah. As it happened the man was hospitalised with no one in the government even aware of it. And by the time someone in the government did, Kondapalli escaped by jumping from the first floor of the hospital. It was billed as a sensational escape and the funniest part was not even the hospital authorities had any clue that the man they were treating was a dreaded Naxal leader who swore by the Maoist philosophy of power firing from the bullets of the gun. A couple of years later, I did manage to catch a sneak preview of the man when the PWG was in the news again for killing eight policemen in Bhamragarh of Chandrapur district. Since the police were hot on his trail, he refused to meet strangers including media personnel which otherwise he wasn't averse to meet. He shifted places in the areas which were beyond the vision of the police and did a better job at it than what Bin Laden could do in Afghanistan. I saw him in military undies with a gun in his right hipster speaking to a bunch (called dalam) of rookie Naxalites who looked at him as if he was a demigod. From whatever I heard I realised that if only there were more men like him in the mainstream, they would have worked wonders with the country's governance.
Thereafter I did several stories on Naxalism and its socio-economic impact in the tribal land but in the course of this journey, it was amply clear: The governments over the decades have neither been able to rein in the Naxals nor wean away the tribals from their clutches. Although to an extent it was rightly interpreted as a socio-economic issue, the government couldn't do much beyond some cosmetic steps. The tribals, provided with food and some rag tag help, remained suspicious of the government's intentions. The mask fell with the advent of nineties when this so called ideological movement started degenerating into plain brigandry and thuggery. The Naxals show of sympathy towards the poor tribals is now a total sham. They want poor to remain poor and landless so they can run their shop and keep targeting the establishment with the violence they have institutionalised since the movement's inception. The truth is the day the tribals come into the mainstream, they will become redundant and will be left with no agenda to pursue their policy of firing bullets at those in power. Having seen the movement from close quarters and interacting with some of them of their front organisations -- one of them a reputed media guy himself -- I know where exactly the shoe bites. And despite being a media man myself, I came to know that my fellow journalist from Sunday Observer Kobad Ghandy, a tall handsome and articulate man, was a Naxalite after he was arrested. His pretty wife (late) Anuradha, a regular contributor to newspapers, was also one and I had no clue that she could harbour such ruthless ideology; sweet and docile as she was in her demeanour and disposition.
The brutal killing of 24 CRPF men by the Naxals in Chhattisgarh district proves that the the veneer behind which the movement is being run, has slipped while the government has always found itself on a slippery ground.
The government could have done with a sense of purpose and a resolve to settle the issue. It didn't. The Naxals could have used better methods than to just lift the gun. They didn't. The End.

Bangladesh and India's hospitality

Hasina with Modi (File grab from narendramodi.in)

Raju Korti
It requires an extraordinary piece of luck and fortune to be saddled with a neighbour like People's Republic of Bangladesh. Having presided over its birth and extended its most gracious hospitality to its refugees after its liberation in 1971, India has had a roller-coaster relationship with this fractured and bandaged part of what once was East Pakistan.
With its proven track record of political and economic instability, it makes for an interesting case study at least as far as India is concerned. The Atlas says Bangladesh abuts India on three sides, sharing a 2500 km long border. Nepal, Bhutan and China are also located close to it but do not share a border. India's sworn motto of Atithi Devo Bhava (guest is god) has gone down well with Bangladesh which makes a healthy contribution to India's burgeoning population. Only that these guests are uninvited and unsolicited! Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed, whose father Sheikh Mujibur Rehman died fighting Pakistan's hegemony, is in India and is believed to have signed more than 22 defence and civilian pacts. The amusing part of such pacts is one doesn't get to know much about them because the media finds it too boring and officialese to report them. In any case, such pacts have only cosmetic value and one knows about them only when they are breached. While you wrack your brains on how India and Bangladesh must cooperate in defence matters, the real issue of illegal immigration remains buried. With the border along Bangladesh and Nepal the most porous, hordes sneak into India in search of a better life. The Indian administration has been ill-equipped to deal with such elements, many of whom have valid documents like the ration card and Aadhar card. That makes them as genuine citizens of this country as you and me. Now that this munificence has become institutionalised, India must officially give these to the visiting Bangla Prime Minister. That will be an official admission that India does have an open policy towards is neighbour -- policy of open arms.
I find it hugely amusing that India has a security pact with its mercurial neighbour while an unspecified influx keeps pouring unabated from the latter. The fact that Bangladesh happens to be the eighth most populous country in the world makes it even more alarming. It has already changed the demographic pattern in the north-eastern states. So India is secure with Bangladesh but not with its fleeing citizens and chooses to fight its own natives in the process. There is a running joke that an illegal Bangladeshi immigrant is more likely to be possessing an Indian identity document than an Indian Bengali who may take his/her Indian citizenship for granted. This Indian generosity was in evidence even when its neighbour was grappling with military coups -- a bad habit picked up from its fallen out brother Pakistan.
On the other hand, one got to give it to Bangladesh. It accepts frigates and missiles from China and signs a defence pact with India. That calls for some diplomacy. This is what Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quoted as saying the other day: "India has always stood for the prosperity of Bangladesh and its people. We are long-standing and trusted development partner of Bangladesh. India and Bangladesh are also determined that the fruits of our cooperation must benefit the people."
That is unintended humour for you.

Chidiya Rani did you say?

Raju Korti
As I reclined against my settee and looked aimlessly out of the window, I caught the sight of a sparrow perched on the cable wire across the balcony. As a bird lover from way past and someone used to the presence of these winged angels around me -- thanks to the National Park in the vicinity --  I kept watching it for a few amusing seconds. On an impulse, I rose and went close to the sparrow which was chirping away furiously without break. It did not fly away. Rather it chose to stay put and continued its prattle. I am no ornithologist but it sounded as if it was trying to tell me "come on, take a long look at me. May be you will never see me again after a few years." I made a few pampering noises and it looked at me despairingly. And then it fled.

Two years ago on this day -- the World Sparrow Day -- I had written how this cute little angel would one day figure in only fairy tale stories. Their numbers have dwindled even more, hurtling the species into the "endangered" species. Viewed against this backdrop, it is absurd how the civic body has brought Penguins to this hot, humid city when they should be better off in the icy glaciers.
This is what I wrote exactly two years on this day:

Way back in 1975 I was occasioned to meet one of the most affable and genial personalities that I can ever vouch for. In a long-winding chat over issues relating to environment and ecology, Sunder Lal Bahuguna, the architect of the path-breaking Chipko campaign (Hug the Trees) told me "there is one simple yardstick to know the status of ecology around you. If you don't hear the chirping of a sparrow and the croak of a frog, it means the ecology is headed for an unmitigated disaster."
The tiny little friendly bird once an integral part of a peaceful cohabitation between Man and Nature has become so sparse now that people exclaim with surprise "Oh! that's a sparrow! when they actually see one. This rather taken-for-granted bird, because of its believed familiarity, is hardly seen flitting in and out of the balconies of houses any more. And unless conservation measures are rigorously pursued the common sparrow will soon become fabled. Out of sight and out of mind! The saddest part of this story is not only from cities, these little but powerful symbols of bio-diversity are exiting even from the rural scene. The Nature Forever Society which is spearheading an aggressive campaign for the cause of the sparrow feels, although it may sound far-fetched to some people, that "Sparrow and conservation should be an election agenda." Sensibility and wisdom should second that. While events like Sparrow picnics, Sparrow Contests and Sparrow Walks do promote the cause, what is actually needed is solid action on ground.Mumbai has been particularly uncharitable to the common sparrow. The haphazardly growing metropolis' urban landscape punctuated by unbridled urbanization, greedy concretization, mobile towers, changing lifestyles, excessive use of chemicals and pesticides, lack of food and little empathy towards nature have contributed generously to the decline of this petite bird. Mercifully, the sparrow can still be spotted in the western suburbs beyond Goregaon towards Virar, thanks mostly to some forestation that obtains in the stretch. But the picture on the other side up to South Bombay is dismal to the extent that even children know about it only through books.
The BNHS findings are telling. The sparrow population has shrunk to almost half in the last decade. Since 2005, there has been an almost 60% decline in the big sparrow clusters. Areas with no sparrows have also gone up by 50%. The survey compared sparrow spotting by people before and after 2005.
The Bombay Natural History Society survey found that sparrows are seen in fewer places now than they were before 2005. Where they are still found, the numbers are lower than earlier and fewer nests are seen as well. This suggests that the number of sparrows has indeed declined and the low number of nests might mean that they are continuing to decline.
Mr Shekhar Bopardikar, a friend and an ardent conservationist points out as do other environmentalists: "The most obvious reason is destruction of sparrow habitat. Their nesting places have disappeared with rampant urbanization. But all is not lost. Things can be turned around by creating conditions conducive for the sparrows to thrive and multiply."
The Nature Forever Society has a more clarion call. "We don't want our future generations to see sparrows in photos and books. Sparrows are among our last hope to stay connected with what remains of nature in our cities. With sparrows will end human civilization itself."
Let's save this Nature's splendid icon. In it lies our future hopes and well being. I recall a lovely, 
rib- tickling song that often use to be played on the radio during my childhood:
Bhookh lagi to chidiya rani
Moong ki daal pakaayegi
Kawwa roti laayega
Laake tuze khilaayega..
Chun chun karti aayee chidya
Mor bhi aaya, kawwa bhi aaya chuha bhi aaya Bandar bhi aaya...
May the chidiya rani's tribe grow.

Hope it is not wishful thinking.

Sport with an endless charm

Raju Korti
There are three sure ways to fail at everything in life. Complain and crib about everything, blame all and sundry for your ills and never be grateful. To my credit, I have failed inspite of resorting to any of these. Blaming people for your mistakes is a faster route to the dungeon of uncreativity. The thought of losing that creativity -- or whatever else is left of it -- unnerves me more than anything else. There is an expedient thought that glides me through this unproductive philosophy. There are practically no chances of me owning anything else in life and playing blame games is a luxury an impecunious person like me can ill afford.
Having spouted these words of wisdom, I can also understand the irresistible lure of playing blame games, a sport turned into a fine art by the social media. The best thing about this sport is it never produces any tangible result, yet the charm endures. Sp the best way to avoid becoming a scapegoat is to find one.
Not that there is anything profound about these observations but they still need to be said. So here I go with some routine samples. It is a ready reckoner and guide for any learner who wants to master the craft of whining, moaning and groaning. (Credit to Rajiv Gandhi for giving those words a cult status).

Photoshopped grab.

Election debacle: Blame the electorate. If nothing, the EVMs and rigging.
Game lost: Blame the turf, poor umpiring/match-fixing.
Not chosen to play: Blame the biased selectors.
Deprived of promotion or a raise: Blame crooked bosses.
Not being able to reform: Blame the corrupt system.
Poor rains, crop: Blame the weather.
Contradictory opinions: Blame it on others for being ill-informed/hypocritical.
Failed at the exams: Blame it on bad teachers and institutions.
When life goes round the bend: Blame God.
Failure to catch bus/train: Blame traffic jams.
Soured relationships: Blame it on lack of reciprocity.
Lost litigation: Blame courts, Judiciary.
Cannot dance: Blame the song/stage.
Cannot fulfil commitments: Blame it on lack of time.
Caught in corruption/scam: Blame it on witch-hunt, political vendetta.
Product doesn't sell: Blame whimsical and unpredictable customers.
Lack of civic sense: Blame it on civic bodies.
Failure in general: Blame it on others' success.
Tough situations/circumstances: Blame destiny.

I am told that the Olympics Committee has refused to include blame games in their tournaments. They know Indians will win them hands down and beaten nations will blame it for match-fixing.
Here is a bully off. Blame everybody and everything until you have got nobody left around but to blame yourself.