The beauty of a democracy is the power of the finger and ability of the mind to cast a vote in favour of what is deemed good. Protest movements in several Arab states have come about as a result of the absence of democratic practices and governance. The protests which have been helped by online mobilization have spread from one country to the other bringing fear to the minds of autocratic leaders from relative unknowns carrying their laptops through the country. The protests hit India in April in a different way with the Anna Hazare led movement against corruption in the country. Now Baba Ramdev is using the same mechanism in the name of bringing back illegally stashed away (black) money back to India. The difference in the protest movements is that India prides itself as a country which has a working democratic set up and a way for its citizens to show their displeasure with the political party in power. Are these two incidents stray happenings and do they mean nothing in the larger picture, has the media given undue importance to two individuals and the groups that support them, or has the citizen of India lost her/his most significant power of casting the all important vote in this jamboree of anti-corruption stake outs?
The various news channels are discussing whether a spiritual guru should indulge in politics, whether political parties are all corrupt and therefore not trust worthy, and whether Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev are representatives of the people of India? But this can be left to the channels and the panellists. What worries me rather is that the ordinary citizen of India has been robbed of her/his importance in the scheme of things in this country. The ordinary citizens of this country have been given the all important power to vote every five years and determine the course that the country and the various states have to take. Every election shows that the voter is knowledgeable, determined and will vote out anyone who takes them and this country for granted.
But what do we see now? Our voted representatives are hurrying to the airport to see spiritual gurus and political parties are pledging their support to anyone who comes forward with an anti-corruption formula. What on earth is their job then? With fatter pay cheques (courtesy themselves), wide ranging facilities, interns researching facts and a parliament building to debate the best course of action, all they can do is run from airport to airport. One should not be swayed by my argument here. I am not saying that the government should not listen to its people. But what is obvious is that the government is now listening to a few people who may not represent the diversity of this country, and the democratic process which is supposed to be running like a well oiled machine is now in limbo.
Why do I then need my state assembly representative and my member of parliament to talk for me if Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev are the ones who are calling the shots? Why did I have to go through the enormous exercise of voting and having my finger inked when those I voted for won’t represent me (us)? If we don’t trust our elected representatives, why are we wasting crores of rupees on this farce of an election? I do not wish to go deep into the intentions of Hazare and Ramdev but they are playing with the simple faith of the people of India just like other religious leaders. My vote is definitely losing its sting and I wonder what I can do about it.
Showing posts with label common people. Show all posts
Showing posts with label common people. Show all posts
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Who has plundered our common wealth?
With barely a month to go for the Common Wealth games in Delhi, the can of worms is being celebrated in the Indian media. What so far was kept under guard in a locker room of patriotism and national pride is out in full public view. Even though several concerned citizens in India cried foul of the high handedness, corruption and waste of public funds, it was brushed under the carpet. So is this a failure of India which has again breached the 20,000 point mark in the sensex index or is this is a concerted effort of a few to plunder what is basically the common wealth of all the citizens of this country?
The former sports minister of India Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar ruffled quite a few feathers in the Congress party and the Indian government when he said that he wished that the games failed. He must be giggling in private and public listening to the stories of collapsing bridges and unliveable apartments in the games village. These voices of cynicism have been many over the past few months. They have been silenced and branded as anti-national and un-patriotic.
Despite having close to seven years to prepare for hosting the games, the committee with Suresh Kalmadi as its chairperson has ended up confounding not only the people of India but also the several countries which are supposed to participate in the Common Wealth games. The cost of the games coming to 7.5 billion dollars is way beyond the 1 billion dollars of the 2006 games. The cost does include roads, a new airport, new stadiums and a big infrastructure drive which is supposed to be use worthy several years after the games. But can we justify this huge expense in a country like India which constitutes 50% of the hungry in the world and where one out of two children is under nourished?
The post colonial researchers will even question the need for a common wealth games. If India claims to be a nation which is marching forward and even forgetting its colonial past, what is the point in hosting such an event? One explanation would be that some of the oppressed have out grown their outfit and have now grown into the outfit of the oppressor. But who are we oppressing? The only answer would be that we are oppressing our own people. The common wealth organizers are thus plundering our common wealth which is meant for our common people.
What then does development mean? Is it to ensure food and basic amenities for our people or is it to dine with the wealthy? The common wealth games fiasco is not just the work of a few renegade men. It reflects the skewed aspiration of a people who want to be associated with money and power. We have a great bunny in the form of Kalmadi to kick and blame. But isn’t he just one pawn in the intricate game of fooling the poor in India?
All religious communities compete to build massive structures which house only the rich and keep out the poor. Our common wealth is plundered by our leaders who use it to grow into the custom made outfits of oppression. We definitely need a change in the development paradigm. Progress should mean that we try our best to root out oppression rather than becoming oppressors ourselves. Till then our common wealth will be plundered and ravished.
The former sports minister of India Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar ruffled quite a few feathers in the Congress party and the Indian government when he said that he wished that the games failed. He must be giggling in private and public listening to the stories of collapsing bridges and unliveable apartments in the games village. These voices of cynicism have been many over the past few months. They have been silenced and branded as anti-national and un-patriotic.
Despite having close to seven years to prepare for hosting the games, the committee with Suresh Kalmadi as its chairperson has ended up confounding not only the people of India but also the several countries which are supposed to participate in the Common Wealth games. The cost of the games coming to 7.5 billion dollars is way beyond the 1 billion dollars of the 2006 games. The cost does include roads, a new airport, new stadiums and a big infrastructure drive which is supposed to be use worthy several years after the games. But can we justify this huge expense in a country like India which constitutes 50% of the hungry in the world and where one out of two children is under nourished?
The post colonial researchers will even question the need for a common wealth games. If India claims to be a nation which is marching forward and even forgetting its colonial past, what is the point in hosting such an event? One explanation would be that some of the oppressed have out grown their outfit and have now grown into the outfit of the oppressor. But who are we oppressing? The only answer would be that we are oppressing our own people. The common wealth organizers are thus plundering our common wealth which is meant for our common people.
What then does development mean? Is it to ensure food and basic amenities for our people or is it to dine with the wealthy? The common wealth games fiasco is not just the work of a few renegade men. It reflects the skewed aspiration of a people who want to be associated with money and power. We have a great bunny in the form of Kalmadi to kick and blame. But isn’t he just one pawn in the intricate game of fooling the poor in India?
All religious communities compete to build massive structures which house only the rich and keep out the poor. Our common wealth is plundered by our leaders who use it to grow into the custom made outfits of oppression. We definitely need a change in the development paradigm. Progress should mean that we try our best to root out oppression rather than becoming oppressors ourselves. Till then our common wealth will be plundered and ravished.
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