Tuesday, 23 April 2019

Letter to the Voter



Dear Voter,
The first two phases of our Dance of democracy are over. Five more on the anvil. The third is on today. I should have written this letter prior to the beginning of elections, but it is never too late. I do  not subscribe to the media phrase “ too late and too little”.  In today’s world I prefer the old age saying “many a little makes a mickle”. The reason for my hitherto silence  was I did not anticipate the level to which political discourse will descend as it has done today. Thank God, those who had sought votes in those two phases  are through with their steps and gyrations  on the political stage.  Many others are waiting for their turn to go on the stage. None of our political masters have till now set the stage on fire. On the contrary, the attempt by all the parties in the present  election fray has been to douse the fire lit by acrid political campaigners.
This election has so far witnessed the worst form of wordy duels v erbal gymnasticsminus informed debates and. It has shown the Election Commission (EC) not as a toothless tiger, but a tiger that is scared of using its teeth.  At best its feeble efforts to enforce Model Code of Conduct(MCC) appears  as a lick and  a promise  - a superficial effort made without any punch. I write this to tell the voter not to look at EC to guide him/her as to who has and who has not violated MCC but to come to one’s own conclusion before unleashing his/her  power to press the button.  What is important is elections as they happen today are centred round personalities and not on issues that require urgent attention by the newly elected leaders.. The Voter has to ask himself whether personalities matter or issues or how to match personalities with issues!
Indian democracy runs true to the universal concept of a cyclical order. As per the  Hindu mythology, the world runs through four Yugas- Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga,Dwapara Yuga and Kali Yuga which correspond to the western concept of four Ages-the Age of Divinity, the Age of Aristocracy, the Age of Democracy and the Age of Chaos. It is said that at the end of the fourth Yuga or the fourth Age, the cycle returns to the first order or the beginning.  I am reminded of T.S.Eliot’s description of  the cyclical order of the world:
 “What we call the beginning is often the end.
 And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.”
India prior to its Independence experienced the Satya Yuga or the Age of Divinity under Mahatma Gandhi who inspired millions of Indians to follow the path of truth and dharma. The first halcyon years after Independence, despite the tragedy of partition, saw the ascent of aristocracy among our political leaders who worked in unity despite their diversity of views and thoughts. Nehru-Patel-Rajaji for example, were all distinct individuals with distinct convictions but they worked in unison to leave for the future generation a united pluralistic  India, strong and stable, tolerant and accommodating diverse faiths and religions. All the political leaders of that era with their firm adherence to the principles of democracy demonstrated the ideal of philosopher king where they regarded themselves as the first among equals. After those euphoric years with the transfer of greater power to the people, the Age of Democracy set in. While the principle of shared governance and shared power is at the root of democracy, it slowly became the rule of the masses where everyone felt he was the King, and had the right to get what he wanted. The right of the individual, the right of different groups formed on the basis of caste and class, the right of everyone to have a slice of the national pie polarized society and obfuscated the truth about democracy where the rights had to be subservient to duties of the citizens. He who promised to bestow rights  without insisting on duties became the leader to be voted in. Today what we see in India and in many parts of the world that claim to have democratically elected leaders is a return to a new form of  plutocracy where the governance is given to a ruling class that derives its power from being wealthy. In modern idiom plutocracy  advances  crony capitalism. In some cases plutocracy is on a reverse gear to oligarchy- government by a small group of powerful people, best described as bureaucratic monarchy, that is in evidence in India today. This is democracy disguised as the rule of a narrow clique where the power structure rests with a small number of people who have been give the license to rule by the voters. The simple strategy of  the new aspirants to leadership is to divide the society, promise crumbs( as there are not adequate number of loaves to be distributed to different sections in the society) and seek votes even if the promise remains a promise from the political pulpit.
India is in a state of ferment where the divisiveness is present in terms of wealth, ideology, education,  
caste, class and religion. But we can overcome the current state of binary conflicts between the haves and the have nots, between the rich and the poor, between the well heeled and those down at heel, between the educated, the semi literates and illiterates, between the right and the left ideologues, between majority and minority community- and abort the divisiveness and bring back united India by realizing the power given to us as citizens of the country. We have the power to press the button and that too judiciously without being hypnotized by those who make the loudest noise, whose promise of a moon seems superficially attractive, whose theatrical performances appeal to the lowest common denominator.  The last but the most significant pointer is to deny our votes  to those who galvanize people merely on hate. It is easy for humans to develop hate than love because the latter is founded upon selfless reciprocity of give and take while the former is an affirmation of selfish  anger over what one receives and not what one gives. Human beings are genetically wired to hate and this is exploited by those who seek power to rule them. The will to power, so strongly advocated by the 19th C German philosopher Frederick Nietzsche for man to transform into Superman and create new values in place of the old values that  have lost the power to guide him is today (ab)used as the will to choose one’s actions to gain absolute control or power over others. The will to power is laden with narcissism, vanity, self glorification and we have to exercise abundant caution not to press this will to power to rule us.

Let us vote. Let us vote with our mind, intelligence and rationality. Let us vote back philosopher kings to rule us. You may ask “are there any” Well,  if none, press NOTA and wait for time to throw up the right leader at the chosen moment. The wait is not going to be a long wait as the nation is fortunate to have many thinkers and wise men who place duty before right.  The man of the moment like Mahatma Gandhi will appear at the right time.  We need to develop patience backed by faith (Shraddha and Saburi)-that the present moment , however dark it is, is a passing moment. The cyclical order that is in evidence in the clockwise  rotation of the seasons, in the alternation of day and night, of sunshine and moonshine, light and darkness will run its course .The Age of Chaos will have to yield to a new Age of Divinity which will be different from the previous saga. In this new Age, history will begin its course anew from the high point it had  earlier reached in the previous Age and  bring back the most powerful maxims of humanity that have till now sustained human civilization. All we need is patience and undying faith in the universal order.

Vote , vote with reason, vote for the party which promises to reinforce the idea of India that has been given as our heritage by our Constitutional fathers.  If no party stands for that Idea of India that had been gifted to us seven decades ago, vote NOTA and wait with patience and hope that the Age of Chaos will end and we will revert to a new Age of Divinity as a true manifestation of the Eternal Recurrence.

Wednesday, 10 April 2019

Tryst with Elections; A Celebration or a Requiem


                                                Tryst with Elections; A Celebration or a Requiem
The Countdown has begun .   20hours to go, ,19,18, 17…..before the clock strikes 8 on the 11th of April for voting to begin. This will be my 13th election. !3 is not a unlucky number for me as I am thirteenth born and all through my life number 13 has signified an upward change  in my personal and professional status. I don’t intend to be biographical and nostalgic except  to say that it has deepened my skepticism against superstitious beliefs that regards 13 as unlucky.
What does the 13th election hold for me? For that matter, what does it hold for those for whom it will be voting for the first, second or the third … time? For the first time this year, I experience the eerie feeling that my forefinger cuticle will have the indigo ink stain for the last time. This eerie feeling is not age related cognitive degeneration that afflicts all those at the threshold of becoming octogenarians.  I share this eeriness with many others who have the good fortune to get another 15 plus or minus  opportunities to get their index fingers inked.  My only fear is this may be the last election we will see in a democratic India  if the forecast of the poll pundits run true to their arithmetic.
Psephologists  studying the current election trends are unanimous in predicting a second term to Narendra Modi and his team (which is a two-in-one team). The rest of the cabinet is there and will be there as per the wishes of the two men squad and will continue to function as celestial satellites orbiting around the solar order of Namitshaw.  Like all other celestial bodies, these satellites do not have light or heat of their own and they are lit by the stellar duo. They are only glorified caged parrots who parrot the language of their masters.
For many like me, watching the five years gone by has been a nightmarish experience. Unlike many critics of the Modi government who lament the absence of law and order when it comes to lynching and Hindutva push,  my real fear is the brazen flouting of law by the Master duo giving unfettered license and freedom for their bhakts to follow. Whether it is flouting of  the Sabarimala order or of the moral code of conduct, the hysterical pitch of the election speeches  from the two masters is a sign of no holds barred attempt to do what they intend to do. The MCC-moral code of conduct is applicable only to the opposition where even a weatherman has the power to  deny permission to an opposition rally by  a brother-sister duo- whose flashes of  cherubic smile seems to betray they are still political  novitiates . Their harking back to the age of innocence, love and compassion sounds queer to the modern generation fed on display of macho bravado of our Bollywood stars.  The distance between the screen and the multiple aisle seating in an auditorium lends enchantment to onscreen heroism  and so long as the action is on the distant screen, it fills theaudience  with a sense of euphoric nationalism that evaporates as soon as they walk out of the theatre. It is the same with the huge crowd at election rallies, mesmerized by the hysterical oratory of chest thumping leaders.  It is this exaggerated elation for the moment that gives a thumbs up to the political class who has pitch forked  centre stage the idea of hypernationalism that negates all the values associated with humanism and globalism. The fluent political and social commentator Santosh Desai says what we see today is not democracy, but emocracy where the appeal is to the emotions and feelings that are less positive and more negative in tenor. Hugging is passé on the screen;  hugplomacy is applauded when the macho man hugs the leader of a hostile nation. In this new age, old world values of genuine friendship are dismissed as archaic and Christ’s aphorism “love thy neighbour as thyself” is suited and limited to pulpits and seminaries. Such ideas are dismissed as antediluvian and often termed anti national as we are psyched up to celebrate retaliatory measures and actions against the  enemy-bullet for bullet, missile for missile, drone for drone, prisoner for prisoner. I remember one of the presentsenior ministers shrilly screaming when she wa sin the opposition that for one  Indian beheaded, we will have 100 Pakistanis beheaded, never pausing to wonder what it will be for the families left behind!
Hence my genuine fear that democracy may die, unsung, unwept and unhonoured when the law makers become law breakers.  If the abusive language resorted to by our political actors from all political parties has become the norm of political discourse, democratic civil discourse is dead. If there is no scope of civil discourse, then why have elections at all? They can serve only as a spillway for black money . The money that is being spent during this election is estimated at 50,000 crores that could have been utilized for building toilets, building schools, providing  relief for farmers, modernizing  technology in all sectors including defence, aviation, health, education etc. This is the tragedy of elections as conducted today that has been characterized by divisiveness, hatred, violence,  incivility, and falsehoods.
I will not be surprised if our two men army turns demolition squad and saves the nation from  the clutches of democracy that is founded upon old world value of “One Planet, the Earth/one Family, Mankind” that cuts  through hyper-nationalism and embraces humanity!  They can do sosaying they want to save the whopping  election expenditure.
Will the 13 th be my last elections/?Am I to concede that after five years, when I expect still to be mentally sound if not physically strong, I will be denied my right to vote and sit doing nothing ?
No, I want to protect and preserve our democracy, the benign gift of the founding fathers of our Constitution. I want this legacy for my children and for the coming generations. This means bringing some amendments before a  fatal amendment ofdoing away with our Constitution and democracy is brought into force. My writing this is an appeal to fellow Indians to understand and value the right given to us to govern democratically. The six amendments to be introduced shall be;
1.      The Minimum qualification to stand for the elections should be a graduate degree. If a graduate degree is minimum qualification to be an office clerk or assistant, why should it not apply to  MPs`and MLAs
2.      Only those who  are absolutely blemisheless  with no criminal record can seek election
3.      They must have participated in either NSS or NCC or NSO (social service, army or sports) to be eligible
4.      Only state funding of elections to be permitted.
5.      Elected members must be recalled if they indulge in corrupt practices and criminal deeds.
6.      Last but not the least, accountability of each one of the elected members should be done by a  Committee of Supreme Court retired judges and eminent members of society. This should be an annual exercise as is being done to government and private employees by  writing their annual Confidential reports. The Committee’s findings should be made public through newspapers and other media.

Will any of our political party have the courage to press for the above amendments. If they do so  democracy Lip(Live in Peace); if not let us regretfully say,”democracy RIP”. And speaking for myself, can I hope to have my forefinger inked for the 14th time.?