Politics

My views about happenings in politics, Indian and Global

There are 21 posts filed in Politics (this is page 2 of 5).

Why was the government caught unaware by the huge public support for India Against Corruption?

There is no hiding the fact that corruption is prevalent everywhere in India, with babus, bureaucrats and politicians sitting at the top of the list of ‘most corrupt people‘. Corruption has become the elephant in the room, which everybody knows you have to face at every walk of life, but nobody wants to discuss it or stand for a solution. We have to pay bribes to get your birth certificate, marriage certificate, death certificate and everything that comes in between.

New Malls, New Brands for a New Middle Class

New Malls, New Brands for a New Middle Class

I guess corruption seeped into our social fabric during the pre-1991 era when Nehruvian methods were followed and every big industry was a public sector company. State Bank of India, Bhel, LIC, BSNL, Indian Oil, NTPC and ONGC became the companies where everybody wanted a job, for it provided job security and ‘under the table‘ earning options too. People working in these companies formed the Indian middle class during the pre-liberalization era.

But after the economic reforms of 1991, competition opened up and many foreign companies set up shop in India. It also led to the emergence of the service economy with the booming of the BPO and IT sectors. A lot of youngsters started earning handsome salaries and a chance to travel abroad was no more a luxury. In the last 20 years, this population has become the new middle class. Compared to the previous middle class, these set of people are more young and ambitious, they speak fluent English, buy foreign brands and earn good salaries without any ‘under the table’ options. They work hard in a competitive but (mostly) honest environment to earn their living.

In a way, what happened after the 90s was that the middle class of people working in PSUs were replaced by the middle class of people working in the new service based economy. While the people in governance – the politicians and the babus remained the same. Very clearly, there was (and is) a disconnect between the governed and the government. With Parliament sessions shown live on TV, there are enough reasons for this new middle class to get frustrated with the politicians.

The protesters were mostly from the educated middle class

The protesters were mostly from the educated middle class

So when Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan and others started this movement against corruption, they just caught the right nerves of this middle class. They gave the middle class a ray of hope out of the otherwise hopeless situation they felt they were in. And with their youth and the ‘josh‘ (enthusiasm) it brings with it, they joined the movement in thousands and poured on the streets. Suddenly the sleeping, lazy, not caring about the country middle class awakened and to utter surprise of many, protested for a corruption free India.

Due to this disconnect between the government and the people, the government was caught totally unaware that where did this huge support to Anna Hazare came from. This middle class might be only 20-30% (and growing) of our population but even that means tens of crores of people, which is a big enough number for any government to take notice. And going forward, this middle class is only going to increase in number and become very critical to the political fortunes of those in power.

These are my views about why and how the government was caught unaware and committed harakiri by arresting Hazare and later releasing him in panic. And I think this educated and aware middle class will have a huge say in deciding the way our government create policies in the years and decades to come. Our politicians can no longer ignore the educated middle class as they have done for the last 50 years. Because, leave the protests and fasts alone, we are still a democracy, and as many Congress leaders have said in arrogance, “The public can throw them out in the next elections“.

5 Reasons why Anna Resonates with the Masses

In my previous article, I had a doubt about how the public will react to Anna’s second fast unto death. I was more skeptical about the response to his Jail Bharo call. But I am glad all my skepticism has been proved wrong. The public has responded, and how. Tens of thousands of people have come out on the streets in support of Anna Hazare. People have courted arrests in hundreds and in Delhi, police has to convert a stadium into a jail to keep those arrested. There were around 100,000 people marching to India Gate in Delhi and around Azad Maidan in Mumbai. Now can the government arrest them all?

I am really glad that the public has risen to the call given by Anna Hazare. But what is special about Anna Hazare that he has galvanized the whole nation when most of us didn’t know him at all a few months ago. How is one man able to dictate terms to the government? How has he cut across the social and economic divides of the populace which is so deeply entrenched in our society?

History of Work Done

He is an ex-army man who fought in the 1965 Indo-Pak war and later build his village into a model village, self sustained and free of all social ills. People from all over the world have come to see the amazing work he has done. He has not married and devoted his entire life to his village, and later in his fight against corruption. After that he has fought corruption in Maharashtra and he was one of the active crusader behind forcing the Maharashtra government to bring in the Maharashtra RTI act, one of the first in the country. He has given his life for the service of the nation since the last 35-40 years..

Clean Image

He has devoted his life to social activism, mostly in Maharashtra. He developed his village Ralegan Sidhi into a model village which people from all over the world come to see. It is considered a model of self sustainable living and of environmental conservation. The World Bank Group has concluded that the village was transformed from a degraded village in extreme poverty to one of the richest in the country.

More than a lakh people march from India Gate to Ramlila Grounds on 21 Aug

More than a lakh people march from India Gate to Ramlila Grounds on 21 Aug

No Personal Assets or Motives

Anna Hazare lives in a small room attached to a temple in his village since 1975. He has no assets and has a bank balance of Rs 67,000. Whatever land he has is being used for development purposes for his village. His only source of income is the pension which he gets from the Army. He has devoted his life for the betterment of his village, and after that fighting against corruption. He has never done anything for his personal motives.

Gandhian Principles

What is most heartening is to see Anna Hazare following Gandhian principles and using the same methods of fasting and Satyagraha for his cause. In a generation which has come to doubt Gandhi and the relevance of his principles in modern times, this was ample proof of the relevance of his methods irrespective of time and generations. He has called to our souls in the same peaceful manner that Gandhiji did.

Given Hope to Millions of Frustrated Indians

More than anything else, the one reason why Anna has resonated with the masses is because he has given hope to millions of frustrated Indians. Everybody knows there is corruption in every nook and corner of the country. But the BIGGEST problem is that nobody can do anything about it. Everybody is helpless in the regard that there is nobody to complaint, and even if they complaint, they end up being harassed by the same people. Anna has given people hope and shown them a way which might lead to a corruption free India. That is why he caught the government totally unaware!!

It won’t be wrong to say that Anna Hazare has come as the Messenger of Hope in the current state of our country. He has managed to turn all the cynicism and pessimism into an enthusiastic and optimistic revolution by the people of India.

The Fight Against Corruption and for Jan Lokpal Bill – Part II

In April, the government agreed to a joint drafting committee for a Lokpal Bill as they were ‘bound by duty‘ of the people to do so. They promised to discuss the points raised by Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and others and present a Lokpal Bill in the monsoon session of the parliament. August is here, four months have passed since Anna Hazare galvanized the whole nation with his fast, but has the last four months been anything but a hogwash by our politicians?

The talks never got anywhere because both sides blamed each other before and after every round of talks. The demand for televising the talks was never accepted by the government. Even after numerous round of talks, there was no consensus on the various contentious points of the Jan Lokpal Bill. This was very visible in the press conferences by both parties after every round of fresh talks. It was clear there was no trust between the two sides of the drafting committee, from the very beginning. Without mutual trust and respect, expecting a positive outcome from the committee was like expecting Tom and Jerry to become friends because they were on TV.

Finally, the government is ready to present a Lokpal Bill in the parliament. A bill which cannot tackle or investigate any of the serious corruption cases we have seen in recent times. It will not have jurisdiction to investigate the Commonwealth Games scam, Bellary mining scam or the Adarsh society scam as it can’t prosecute state government officials. It can’t investigate the 2G scam as PM and his office has been kept out of it. It can’t take your complaint for corruption against your traffic police officer, or the magistrate, or the collector in your district. Under it, you can not complain against any babu who refuses to process your file or pay you your pension without taking a cut from it.

Are you? Will you?

Are you? Will you?

The United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) clearly mentions the terms based on which a country’s anti-corruption body should work. It asks for an independent body, which the Lokpal will not be because the CBI’s anti-vigilance wing will continue to function as usual, and under the government. Moreover, the Lokpal will be appointed by government officials themselves, creating a huge conflict of interest. If the government only wants to create a Lokpal for top level bureaucracy, how has the action over the last few months serve the public and the day to day corruption which everybody has to face.

Has the government here played both sides very cleverly to its own advantage? Did the setting up of a committee only a hogwash to dispel the growing public anger in support of Anna Hazare’s movement? Was it only to give an impression that ‘we care’ whereas the ground situation has hardly changed in the last few months? Is the government not trying to suppress Anna Hazare’s threat for a fast again by imposing section 144 in Delhi and refusing permission to his fast from Aug 16? Will they arrest him and force feed him? Will they not even allow an agitation to start this time?

But more importantly, the question is what will the public do? The government can put section 144 in Delhi, but not in every street of the country. They can arrest Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi, but can they arrest millions of people if they come out on the streets on Aug 16. Will the public again dispel this movement as ‘it will never work’ and go back to living their pity lives. As the next few weeks before Aug 16 pass, everybody needs to ask themselves just one question, “Do we want to support Anna Hazare while discussing with friends over coffee and watching him on TV, or do we have the balls to go out on the streets to really stand for what Anna Hazare is fighting for?”

And who is Anna Hazare fighting for, not for himself, but for us. Have we even lost the dignity to support the person who is fighting selflessly for us, or are our souls so dead already that we can dismiss Anna Hazare by terming his entire movement a ‘publicity exercise’??

I will end with a quote by Henry Louis Mencken – ” It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place.”

Four things to know about Anna Hazare’s fight against corruption

Over the last month, amid all the controversies and media debates around the Jan Lokpal Bill, I feel we have somehow lost the essence of the movement. There have all kind of remarks in the media, from comparing Jantar Mantar to Tahrir Square, whether Jan Lokpal Bill will give a lot of powers to Lokpal, or the smear campaign against the civil society members of the Lokpal Bill drafting committee. Somehow, nobody is focussing on corruption and the urgency to tackle it but everybody seems to be interested in small trivial issues raised by some egoistic individuals. Below I am listing four very important points about this movement from my observations and point of view –

1. Jantar Mantar is not India’s Tahrir Square
Anna Hazare’s fast and the kind of support it gathered from the general populace have made many people, including the media, compare it to the protests in the middle east countries. There were calls of equating Jantar Mantar with Tahrir Square. While I agree that people are frustrated with the current state of affairs in matters of corruption in this country, it will be unwise to compare both. An Egypt type of agitation is needed when there is no liberty for the people. We have, within our rights as a democracy, the right to peaceful protest under the mandate of the constitution itself.

Anna Hazare has asked all of us - "Do you have a conscience?"

Anna Hazare has asked all of us - "Do you have a conscience?"

2. We have shown the world the way in peaceful protests, and they are still revelant
Our father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi has shown the whole world the way to peaceful protests in a non-violent way and how powerful it can be. Our politics provides us a wonderful platform to raise our voices and bring out change without dropping a single drop of blood. Leaders like Martin Luther King Jr, Aung Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela has shown the world that Gandhian methods are still relevant.

3. Anna Hazare and Government are on the same side
Anna Hazare has also used Gandhian methods, but his fight is not to overthrow a government, but to partner with them in creation of a stronger law. It is very important to see corruption as the villain here and not the government or the ruling party. Civil Society and the Government have to see themselves on the same side of the table to be able to find an effective solution to the problem of corruption. No doubt some members of government are corrupt, and hence the role of civil society to pressurize them to do their job as they are expected to do so.

4. Hazare has just asked one question
Anna Hazare has created a lot of problems for the government by bringing a lot of questions to the national forum. But the most important question he has asked is for YOU, fellow Indians. He has asked “Do you have a conscience?” The success of his agitation does not depend on how many corrupt politicians come by his side and renounce corruption, he is waiting to see how many people has he inspired to come support him in this cause and other causes which are important to the nation. He is asking you whether you feel for your country, whether you care for a better future for your kids? If the answer is yes, then get up, and join him in this fight and save the nation from the clutches of corruption and other problems we are facing today.

How democracy has failed us?

Missile technology has underwent great progress over the last half a century. We have supersonic missiles, missiles which can be launched from sea, air or land, intercontinental ballistic missiles and missiles which can launch nuclear warheads too. But if the delivery system of a missile fails, even the best missile is just a crap of steel, doesn’t serve its purpose, and can be dangerous to the party it was supposed to benefit.

Similarly, we might have the best government driven by the best constitution which was drafted by BR Ambedkar and other such eminent people, but if the delivery system fails, all that becomes a bunch of people sitting in large buildings creating a lot of waste, which defeats the original purpose of having a government and constitution. Most would agree that democracy has failed us, but it is important to know how much?

Most of our government departments are plagued by inefficiency and unaccountability. There is no transparency in the process and babus misuse their privileges giving rise to corruption. Election process is easily rigged by political parties who often give money or freebies for votes. Poor people, instead of seeing elections as their opportunity to elect the right people to ensure long-term growth for themselves, see elections as one chance to turn the bribe taker to bribe giver and rig their votes for short term monetary gains. If elections are not fair, the whole foundation of democracy shakes.

The Epicentre of Democracy - Indian Parliament

The Epicentre of Democracy - Indian Parliament

Due to the large amount of money doled out in elections, politicians and bureaucrats (hand-chosen by politicians) engage in corruption once in power to recover the money, giving rise to scams. Indirectly, it also leads to loss of confidence from industry and tax payers. It harms the public eventually, but people are too ignorant or too cynical to realize that. This led to a flawed democratic system which is existing in India today and continuing as such. Any change in the system has to be done by politicians themselves and as corruption has seeped into the highest levels, it is understandable why they don’t change the laws and rules.

Again applying the metaphor of a missile to a government, when a government fails to do its function, it becomes a very dangerous weapon in the hands of those in power. What is supposed to be for the people, by the people and of the people turns into something harmful to people itself. This defeats the very purpose of having a democratic government.

If you are thinking what am I trying to imply, think what would you do if you know a missile has lost control and can fall anywhere with disastrous consequences. You will look for ways to protect yourself, try to shot down the missile, or simply go mad and crazy. So why not the same in the case of failed governance? Why don’t we try to protect ourselves? Why don’t we get angry? Why don’t we go crazy?

I can write more, but I am leaving it here as an open question. Leave your replies, and I will make sure to respond to them as best as I can.