Political Diary

New Delhi, 29 December 2012

Political Gangs of Wasseypur

WHERE IS MY INDIA GOING?

By Poonam I Kaushish

Andher Nagri, Chaupat Sarkar aur Netagan. Words which stand testimony to the year gone by, worse, 2013 too does not hold much hope. Underscored, by our polity’s reaction to the gang-rape victim’s death which ignited India as never before, the anger and indignation on the streets palpable. Sadly, the aam aadmi’s cries for justice boomerang as our netas ensconced in their fortified houses emerge only to portray fake empathy. Raising a moot point: Do they really care? How long can they go on lurching from crisis to crisis? Is this what democracy is about?

Alas, our politicians who follow the dictum ‘might is right’ and operate like Gangs of Wasseypur have not only lost the plot but are out of sync with the reality. Living life in the slim strip called ‘official’. Their response telling: Impose Section 144 at New Delhi’s India Gate, shut 10 metro stations thereby barricading people from voicing their angst against our rulers crass ineptitude and inured sense of justification of a dysfunctional system, operated by morally bankrupt minds. Reactions choreographed to suit their vote banks. Any wonder, the citizen is very Kolaveri Di!

Notably, something fundamental is wrong which makes out leaders incapable of dealing with simple matters and complex issues. The Prime Minister lacks authority, has no control over his Ministers who do as they please. Nor does he enjoy his Party's confidence, Congress President Sonia who has no views on anything and heir apparent Rahul Gandhi is “work in progress”. Mum is the word on most issues which ignite India.

As a result, the Administration lacks a clear leadership structure, and functions as a confused babble of vested interests, egos and animosities. Alas, neither Sonia nor Manmohan Singh seems willing or capable of stemming the rot wherein national interests get wantonly dumped in quest of power.

Not only this. A weak Centre has resulted in a situation whereby the Union’s control has slipped to the States with the regional satraps today calling the shots. Last week Tamil Nadu Chief Minister AIDMK’s Jayalalitha stormed out of the National Development Council meeting. The reason? She was not allowed to complete her speech within the allotted 10 minutes! Her Gujarat counter-part newly elected Modi used the meeting to lambast the Prime Minister over his effete leadership. Notwithstanding, the grave ramifications this will have on the unitary-federal structure of the State. 

Undeniably, this sad state of affairs is because asli Bharat is in the vicious grip of the Political Terrorist. Shockingly, instead of atoning for their sins of omission and commission, our rulers brazenly continue to plunder and how! Sans any remorse, their in-your-face dacoity is backed by an unmatched and unashamed arrogance of catch-me-if-you-can.

2012 will be remembered as the Year of the Scams. From telecom, mining to Coalgate all showcased, the maximum beneficiaries are netas, their relatives and cronies. Explained away, in a ghisi-piti tu-tu-mein-mein of your-vs-my ghooskhori. Crowned by Sonia’s son-in-law Robert Vadra receiving undue favours and wealth (Rs. 50 lakhs in 2007 to Rs.300 crore in 2012) from India’s biggest reality firm. Yaar, this is the business of democracy, forget the heavy cost to the nation. We are mango people in banana Republic!

Take the Lokpal Bill. Ever since the anti-corruption crusade gained popular support, the polity has responded by turning the Lokpal issue into a fight to manage its public perceptions. If 2011’s Rajya Sabha “midnight  drama” of a RJD MP snatching the Bill from the Leader of the House hands and tearing it up just prior to it being put to vote was bad news a year down the Bill continues to languish in Parliament’s dusty labyrinth.

Underscoring that our netas have no shame, or desire to rein in corruption and be accountable to the people. Confessed a senior MP, “Sab mangtai hai ek sashakt Bill but chup-chap kahte hain bhai galle main phansi kyoin daal rahe ho. Pass maat karna hum sab ka bhalaa hoga.”

On the social and economic front too, things are depressing. Rising prices continue to give a tough time to the common man. Six decades post Independence, after spending trillions on education, health and food two thirds of our people continue to be hungry, illiterate, unskilled and bereft of basic medical care. Disillusionment and discontent is spiraling. Borne out by rising farmers’ suicides, chakka jams and bandhs.

The tragedy is that there does not seem to be a rainbow on India’s horizon. What next? Events have their own momentum. The writing is on the wall. Our polity needs to recognize that they must deserve before they can desire, else become increasingly irrelevant. The people want change. He is not willing to stand as a mute spectator while the country gets vandalized by our jan sevaks and their goondas. They have blown the conch against the fraud repeatedly wrought on them year after year.

The need of the hour is a paradigm shift in how Parties and politicians function. Any attempt to stifle a new Aspirational India’s call for an end to wanton ennui and apathy would be opposed vehemently. Our netas need to remember that leadership is not merely an exposition of ones abilities or honesty. Intrinsic to leadership is the ability to enforce and demand the highest standards. As US President Obama said, “With increased power comes increased responsibility”.

It is time our netas understand that there are moments when cynical calculations of political expediency become repugnant. In a Parliamentary democracy, civilized discourse is the answer. Today, India is today at the moral crossroads.

A long and hard battle lies ahead for bringing a change in the political system and the present political ethos. Political morality and accountability are paramount for good governance and stability. There is no place for damn lies and deceit in a genuine democracy. Truth is not determined by majority vote.

At the end of the day, it matters little who wins the elections as we the people are the ultimate losers. India’s voters must not allow themselves to be taken for granted any more. We need to stop voting for the shameless, self-serving netas who are pushing the country increasingly towards a feudal democracy

Disgust, revulsion and cynicism aside, most thinking people see nothing but trouble, travail and a dark future. Few even wail: “Perhaps, dictatorship is our only hope”. Not a few are nostalgic about the “good old British days.” Yet many others would be happy to publicly whip and even guillotine their polity, where-under even the gutter today is cleaner than the politics of today.

In sum, the country needs to find a fine balance between street power and arrogant and tyrannical political system. Either which way, one thing is clear it would be near impossible for our polity to continue with the status quo.

India is too precious a democracy to be lost in labyrinth of babbling voices With 50 per cent of the population between 18-35 years, the country can ill-afford to mess up. Our polity needs to remember: Power, breeds, arrogance leads to defeat. How long must India suffer and bleed? ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)