Politics:
The institutionalized and constitutionalized system of plunder, injustice and
exploitation
It
is about politics. Before we discuss the political ramifications for this
politicized word, let us go back in time to take a look at the roots of the
tree of authority that holds the thriving tree of politics in modern times. Well
it started with absolute monarchies.
It
has been the supreme irony of our so called ‘civilized fate’ that try as hard
as we can manage, we cannot stop pyramid type, hierarchical and classified
pattern of the social set up. In a pyramid social formation, the higher the
class, the lower the weight on its shoulders, and higher the weight on the
lower ones constituting the base. In the beginning we had the pointed peak of
the social pyramid represented by the unrestrained, unchecked, all powerful
potentate, the King, with all his weight on all below, and no weight on his
shoulder at all except the light hallo of divinity falling on his crowned head.
The crown just acted as a paperweight holding the paper sheaf wherein endless
lines of unlimited authority decided the fate of those below. Sometimes the
winds did ruffle the edges around the margin, but the middle was always safe,
its centre of gravity exactly on that of the sheaf of divine rights. Under the
big stone of cosmic proportions, the papery revolt just could not move even a
single tremor across the sheaf of divine rights.
Later,
as civilization unfolded more, absolute monarchies were either blown off the
top, or some checks and balances were put in the path of all powerful authority
in the form of some constitutionalities like elected representatives trying to
bolster the principles intended for the emancipation of the lowest layers in
the pyramid. (Times have more or less weathered the massive crown heads of
monarchies and we are left with a few residual, beaten crags struggling in low
relief with beaten joints and chips flying away attacked by the rasping desert
winds.)
Will
we be ever able to wipe out the successive upper plateau of exploitation (as
the denuded pyramid comes lower, having lost its upper layers, the slag sliding
down the sides and slopes to reach a one common uniform layer of everybody’s
authority and thus none’s authority)? Under such a scenario, all authority
denuded and spread equally among the masses in a uniform plain, will self responsibility
allow things to function in all empowered citizenry? Will we function as
expected and idealized?
Passing
through successive layers of exploitation in the pyramid, we reach our very own
broadly cut plateau at the top involving numerous players—legislature,
executive, judiciary, bureaucracy, capitalists, criminals, religioners—our present
political system at the top now. Times have eroded the pyramid and left this
broader plateau at the top after cutting down the pinpointed head of absolute
monarchy. Here all the evils of the former pointed absolutism have been handed
over to a broader section of players. The dirt of absolutism has been raked up
to be spread among the progenies of absolutism. The ‘will to power’ has sired
numerous little crown-heads who try to convince the lower layers that this
facelift is meant to ensure the equal rights of the masses. So here we land up with
the grandchildren of absolutism, i.e., politics and its big, broad, legally
secured crown of authority (which by the way is very safe given it broad lower
rim of constitutionality). Presently, politicians rule at the flat top of this
denuding pyramid. Murkily spread over this vast pedestal of authority—their authority
constitutionalized—suitably served and aided by the so call ‘influential class’,
it now wears the ruling crown, a multi-headed monster, the great scion of
absolute monarchy, changed with changing times, in its new avatar. What has but
not changed is the will to exploit and self-serve to survive. Why not? After
all, it carries the same blood in its authoritative veins like its grandfather,
the absolute, all powerful king.
Earlier
during the days of absolutism, it worked with impunity and through blatant dispensation
of whatever it required to keep its clutch hold on the lesser mortals, now it
does through the subtle art of politics, through ‘siyasat’. The long and windy
corridors of political hypnotizers echo with lispy conspiratorial whispers; of
suppression, secrecy, connivance, plot hatching and what not. Under the
monarchy, the despotic game was limited to the royal lineage and their chieftains,
now the crown is up for grabs by anyone interested. The only eligibility is the
‘will to power’. In its multitudinous aspect, the fight for little-little crowns
up for grabs on the plateau: for legislature, for executive, judiciary, etc. The
rules of battle in this vast battle ground are solidly fixed up in the
constitution book. Rule are but rules, mere words noted down in hypothetical conjectures
in books. These cannot come to life and fight for their sanctity and protection
if faced with blatant violations. Since brains are developing even faster for
any law, for every rule there in the book, we delve deeper into our creative
self to contrive bypasses and short-cuts to either escape their feeble dragnet
or even poke our noses at them after judiciously cutting the netting. Our
present set of power holders, the politicians, practically, suitably and
efficiently manages the game. They munch the meat of authority and throw bones
to their cronies, bureaucrats, businessmen and criminals. The unchecked orgy
earlier perpetrated by a single monarch, is now enjoyed by a faceless
broad-rimmed class, the politicians.
In
all its forms, democracy is considered to be a religion drawing its inspiration
and authority from the scriptures of constitution. A holy book, but, is just a
holy book. If not in full letter, but in spirit at least we easily violate the
pious injunctions. Apart from these pious injunctions, what happens in reality
is an open secret. Except for a few big, mighty words, constitutions are
amended to suit the latest political masters’ present day growth prospects. See
beyond the superficiality of the decked up bride of democracy coquettishly bragging
the independence and autonomy of its various arms, you will see that the
politico-bureaucratic-judicial-executive machinery is explicitly or implicitly,
directly or indirectly, ultimately mastered and pulled along by the modern
monarchs, the politicians. Take for example the bureaucracy, once considered
the steel frame of the British Raj, it has now become feeble meshed cage with
rusty, breaking wires and gaping holes. All of us know the fate of a bureaucrat
if instead of becoming a hyena chucking up the leftover of plunder by some
politician, he becomes just a ‘grass eating vegetarian cow’ honestly following
the principles and rules of his service book. He is spotted like a black sheep
in the easygoing white flock. Harassment and punishment postings ensure that an
official of the same cadre and experience can be made a meat-eating hero or a
famished zero by the lion, the politician. It’s a clear choice. Either become a
steely, profiting arm of a politician or be ready to be thrown in dustbin
corners of the bureaucratic corridors. All of us know how state level bureaucracy
is selected! Corruption is constitutionally embedded. State Public Service
Commissions are just handpicked bodies of the state monarch, the Chief
Minister. Literally everybody knows how almost 100% manipulations go hand in
glove with state’s ruling politicians. Manipulations are simplest of things at
all the stages of examination. If someone just pushes ahead in prelims and
mains, the all powerful boards have powers to undo all the hard work and marks
gap between the highest and lowest qualifiers during the farcical personality
test. So the prospective provincial civil servants easily start their inning as
political loyalists. To muster up high-end pay, perks and profits, they operate
like loyal palace groom discharging functions assigned by the political patron.
Without
making much of noise against the plunder of public money, severe breach of
laws, gross insufficiency of public morals and rules, the judiciary too toes
the line. Directly or indirectly the political masters influence the functioning
of justice dispensation. The dark corridors leading to the appointments and
elevation to higher chairs in High Courts and Supreme Court definitely allows
the politicians to hold ears of ambitious judges. Judiciary is allowed a free
play by politicians in cases where only masses are involved. In such cases the
judges can afford to have some discretion, be honest if they want and take
money from one of the parties through the lawyers (like they generally do) to
tilt the hammer of justice this or that way. But in cases where ruling
government’s interests are at stake directly, no judge can afford to feel the
pinch at his bottom if he decides to go as per integrity and honesty. Once in a
blue moon, some odd case is deliberately picked up where the court gives
verdict against the government and it is put on the front pages. It is just to
keep people believing in the assumption that judiciary is fair. Poor masses do
not know, under one such case highlighted, thousands of other cases where
judiciary toes political line go unnoticed. One hammer of dissent against government
is at the cost of hundreds of political facilitations by condescending judges
to appease political masters. Led by the instinct of self preservation most of
the judges do not prefer to rub shoulders against the system. In this
clattering noise of self gratification, the voice of justice gets buried in the
stampede towards profits and promotions.
Politicians
as the masters of the public and private economy are offered oblations by the
business class. We have the biggest industrial houses of the country pouring
unaccounted and illegitimate money in political pockets. Since it is a fight to
further one’s own interests as far as possible, using any means possible
depending on one’s own skills and shrewdness—it is just as per Darwain’s
principle of natural and social selection—we come across the cut throat
competition in the social jungle having its social lions and social deer. So we
have the people who would never think twice before striking others’ head to
boost their own chances. Of all the scoundrels, politics draws the fittest
scoundrels who form a nexus among various scions of exploitative elements.
Those who are left out of this fold become the poor, dispossessed, suffering
underclass.
In
the social jungle, the principles of raw nature like superior kills the
inferior’, ‘might is right’, ‘stronger meat chucks the easy meat’ are prevalent
in humane, implicit form. Whole façade of civilization has been created to
screen the blind passions and intentions to kill and decimate each other.
Instead of killing and exterminating each other, the human version is through cheating,
forgery and outwitting. A lion is at the peak of natural pyramid and food
chain, eating away the last interests and easy meat that successively struggle
at the lower hierarchies to emerge victor at the next stage to be gobbled up by
the more potent, powerful and skilled at the next stage. In social jungle’s
pyramid, the apex of our food chain of interests is occupied by the social lion,
the politician. It its guts every lower interest at the lower hierarchies is
finally destined to be deposited and digested expertly.
Politicians,
thus, are the new age monarchs who are able to outsmart fellow human beings
both at the individual and mass levels. Where will we end up with passage of
time? Will the progenies of exploitation change in future? Or the politicians
will even allow their own progenies to change them? Politicians seem invincible,
not to be defeated by any change!!
