Political Cauldron

 

India is celebrating the 66^th Independence Day today! Nations are not supposed to be like humans, growing old with age; they are supposed to grow shinier like gold with passing years. The 66-year-old Hindustan but looks groping around for support like a poor patriarch that cannot support its horde of kids and grand-kids. It looks with its feeble eyes and dispirited face into the distances to find a benefactor, a saviour. Will a lotus bloom in the muddied political waters? With elections not even couple of years away, will the saviour arrive on the scene?

The Indian political scene is in disarray. It was bound to happen. Even after 66 annual democratic rituals, frankly speaking the meaning of freedom is as elusive like it was during the British period. Power is power, it corrupts almost by instinct. Its law is impersonal. Under its sway the colonial exploiter is as unsparing as the brown post-independence man. If with a pinch of salt, you can afford to rejoice at the idea that at least our own people are reaping the fruits at the cost of the collective good, it is then suitable reason to feel elated and take part in 15^thAugust festivities. But the real freedom and real democracy lie beyond such blind adherence to the rituals. We have to come out of the ever-forgiving festivities going on for almost seven decades and settle down to some real business.

So where do we stand post jesting Bihari-type political breed? Issues like political corruption were never accepted by the society at large as the ones capable of turning the political tides against the wrong-doers. So it is a folly to expect the political class to go into elf-remedial mode and cleanse the system by itself. It is simple: we the common voters never questioned them so they thought if the ones who carry our destiny on their thumb impression are comfortable with it then where is the need for changing the ways and mean of the political business.

So buddies we reached the UPA era. If coalition compulsions required the government to reach the pinnacle of compromises at all levels, against the background of teeming millions living like animals in their struggle and nonchalant educated middle class lost in the dream of reaching still higher rungs of an apolitical ladder, then what is wrong with that. But then the river of corruption broke all check-dams. It was only when the ever-rising costs of living stabbed deep into the so-called self-uprighteous, educated middle class that corruption became a major issue. It is simple mathematics. Hundreds of millions stashed in foreign accounts have not appeared from thin air. It is born of the pathetic conditions of the farmers who still continue to work harder, put more inputs in fields and are left with lesser and lesser money at the end of the season. Millions of daily wage earners add to the weight in dubious accounts through their ever-piling miseries through more work and less and less savings. Millions of salaried middle class people contribute to it through mindless spending on costlier and costlier consumer items and paying taxes. Simple: We work, suffer, struggle unquestioningly and they gather the rewards through direct and indirect means.

Thankfully the balloon of corruption burst finally. Everything has its limits man. Its blast shook the collective consciousness at many levels. Anna and Ramdev movements are nothing but collective sighs of dissent against the mindless compromises by the UPA government. If nothing more at least corruption is a political issue now. Anna and company might go into politics now. How will they manage to fight elections in an arena where the victory so far has been defined by money, violence and all the rest manipulative deeds, is a big question. At least they represent those Indians who are educated, earn their bread and butter through hard work in tough-tasked corridors. Their chances of success depend upon the rate of participation and growth in this section. If managed properly it can become a good counter-force in Indian politics. As far as Ramdev is concerned, he appears driven more by a stubborn self-lorn charisma that always keeps him on tenterhooks even though he amasses thousands of millions through his corporate Yoga. The target of his fury is too narrow to leave a holistic effect on the overall fates. He can hog nationalistic limelight through fiery statements like much-in-demand politicians, but we all still remember the weeping woman-cloth-clad-baba.

The BJP is still not as strong as it should be against the background of anti-UPA breeze. It appears undecided about what kind of top-tier leadership to stick to, unlike Congress which is at least true to its archaic aristocracy specific to a family. Within Congress the issue of leadership is accepted and spelt out clearly thus leaving little space for infighting, giving it with all the time, energy and resources to fight against the slingshots directed at it. It’s simple: One dissenter or enemy inside the house is far more dangerous than the hundred of outside foes baying for your blood. The BJP can learn a few lessons from the grand old party in this regard.

So what are our political prospects in the near future? It is very hard to tell. Just wait and watch. It’s really dicey!