Political
Diary
New Delhi, 18 August
2020
74 ‘Independent’
Years
NATIONAL HALL OF FAME
OR SHAME
By Poonam I Kaushish
"The
naïve notion that we can preserve freedom by exuding goodwill is not only
silly, but dangerous,” wrote former US President Richard Nixon in his book
"The Real War." His wise words of caution are water off a duck’s back
as our netagan celebrated 74th Independence
Day Saturday. Replete with the syrupy speeches of Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vishwaas…for Vikas and ‘Atma Nirbhar
Bharat’ which resonated to the aam
aadmi’s raucous silence!
Yet when one draws up
an annual balance-sheet can the Prime Minister brush under the carpet the fact
that the situation sadly continues to remain stagnant ---status quo ante? Where
is the promised freedom: from poverty, social and economic discrimination and
religious distortions?
Six ‘independent’
years under Modi, has he walked his talk and delivered? Brought about
inclusiveness, made minorities comfortable, won their confidence? Created
employment, economic well-being, ushered development even Aache Din? Or, should one believe his detractors who see him as a
filibuster of a “fundamentalist Party”?
Certainly, the
pandemic hit India hard and all credit to Modi for taking timely action, ramping
up our shabby medical
infrastructure hospitals, equipment, testing centres, kits and medical personnel
and feting the corona warriors.
Undoubtedly,
the BJP is puffed with a sense of nationalism bordering on narcissism on fulfillment
of its decades-old “core” ideological Hindutva demands of building a Ram temple
at Ayodhya and nullification of Article 370, which gave the erstwhile State of
Jammu and Kashmir special status. However, a year down the Valley is in the
grip of risky silence of sullen Kashmiris as terrorist thrive.
In 74 years we have
learnt that power is the most luscious mistress
to be loved, raped and conquered at all costs. Along with the kursi and paisa that comes with it. Clearly, coming up trumps is the new
normal of political morality. See how the BJP overthrew two Congress
State Governments, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh
by engineering defections.
One
may cynically justify dal badlus by
asserting when was Indian politics about political integrity? Since the 70’s
the Aya Ram’s and Gaya Ram’s are all rolled into one. Exposing that money and power is the glue that makes incongruent leaders
bandy together.
It has little to do with niti,
but all about raj-niti at its crassest worst with
clinical precision devoid of any pretensions, strategic introduction of money
for allurement, tough-minded use of State machinery for intimidation etc are
all commended as resourcefulness. Worse, even the faint wisp of demeanor has
been discarded with the devil taking the hindmost!
More
incredible is the whopping monies spent on this dazzling razzmatazz. Recently,
witnessed in Rajasthan. Amounts of Rs
10-25 crores were freely bandied as the going rate per MLA. To safeguard its
turfs, the two Congress rival factions and the BJP flew their MLAs to fancy
resorts in ‘favourable’ destinations away from luring eyes. Queries about who
foots the astronomical costs of charter flights and hotel, is answered with
deafening silence. No investigations by the CVC or Income Tax, no accusations
on black money by rival. Sic.
Take Maharashtra. Who could have imagined that Hindutva BJP
and Shiv Sena which fought Assembly polls together would split and the Sena
would align with ‘arch enemy’ Congress and NCP to form the Government to the strains of Hum Sath Sath Hain!. How does someone who was communal yesterday become
secular today?
More
worrisome, our political landscape is bereft of a strong Opposition which is in
shambles, fragmented, leaderless and directionless. A truncated ‘dying’ Congress
seems to be in the throes of inertia engrossed in its First Family Gandhis’
soap opera while the regional satraps are busy guarding their turf from
predator BJP. Bringing things to such a pass Modi is all-encompassing numero uno who is steering India to
majoritism rule.
Consequently,
a moribund Opposition in its quest for a coherent narrative to take on the BJP,
is completely disengaged with issues of national import and long term national
well-being. Neither do they have the time for what is a real threat to our
nation State and external security.
Isn’t
it tragic that independence is being celebrated amidst a cacophony of terror,
rage and violence wherein the three Cs (crime, corruption and casualness) and
three Ms (money, muscle and mafia) rule the roost. In this chor-chor-mauser-bhai political milieu dotted with
politico-criminals in their “bullet-proof jackets” our netas have merrily converted offices of public services into
private profit and justify their wrongs as in public interest. Failing to
realize the disconnect between the jan
sevak and the janata.
Yesterday’s
princes have been replaced by today’s Ministers, and MPs, who see themselves as
winners.There are no rules of the game anymore, they make their own rules, rule
by law and are doctors of all trades.
Experts in doctoring facts and fixing deals. And we call ourselves a democracy.
Feudal, is more like it.
Depressingly,
nowhere does ideology or principles even rhetorically figure in our polity’s
vocabulary. In the past, leaders used to camouflage their intentions in
ideological garbage. Today, even that fig leaf or verbosity has been discarded.
There is only one lakshya: “gaddi rakho, paisa pakro”. Is this what
we fought for?
We seem to have made peace with our pandemic of inequalities as
there is silent acceptance of prejudices doled out routinely. Cases of clashes
between a new Hindu majority vs
Muslim minority, caste divides of upper caste assaults on Dalits replete with
further sub-divisions, North against South Indians over language. Alas, despite
the Constitution emphasizing equality, fissures continue to fester. Covid-19
demonstrated how citizens from the Northeast were mocked and taunted as
“Corona” for their looks.
Economically, Covid
has sounded a death-knell. Companies go belly up, unemployment has spiked to
26%, 18 crore people have lost jobs, 36% have used their entire life savings, starvation deaths and farmers suicide abound,
violence is the rhetoric of the times as hungry bellies fill their stomachs on
enticing neon advertisement of McDonalds which taunt Asli Bharat.
India faces its toughest
external challenge posed by the Chinese in Eastern Ladakh, Galwan Valley,
Pangong Tso, Desang up to the Y-junction. Modi needs to navigate these turbulent waters with measured and
calibrated response as the incursions underscore Beijing’s seriousness about
demarcating the Indo-Chinese border but wants to keep the situation ambiguous
to enable its salami slicing tactics to incrementally grab territory.
As a first step, New Delhi has ‘attacked’
economically by banning Chinese apps and investments to prevent its predatory
policies: ‘Say-no-to-Chinese-goods’. In the long-term India-China relations will
be determined by India’s strategic goals and objectives vis-à-vis the evolving regional and global security environment.
Where do we go from here? No longer can we merely shrug our
shoulders and dismiss it as political kalyug. Our polity needs to dump its ongoing political nautanki, re-think their priorities and
desist from destructive mindlessness. Our democracy needs urgent course
correction and corrective action.
The
time is ripe to break the walls of silence and take immediate action lest the
country slide into self-created chaos transcending into a lynch-mob society. Our
leaders need to apply corrective balm to a vandalized aam janata, connect with its hurt people and assert its authority
interspersed with emotional discourse.
Our leaders should
grasp that nations live or die by the way they respond to the challenges they
face. Only that nation survives which rises to meet that moment and has the
wisdom to recognize the malaise and resolve it before it is too late. Will our polity
heed the call of true ndependence? ----- INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)
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