An era of holier-than-thou politics sans responsibility

By: Ravi Sinha

Feb 2, 2014

Political advocacy always carries a moral high ground irrespective of whether it stands with a legitimate cause or it has hidden motives. Developing nations often fell prey to holier-than-thou breed of activists since the search for a political messiah is intrinsic due to the wide gap between wants and needs. The mismatch between expectations and delivery is partly a result of corruption & feudal functioning and partly due to the widening gap between the expectations and load on the resources.

India, of late, has been a victim of this political advocacy turned into political hooliganism that eventually threw open in the field many political aspirants whose only claim to fame has been their opposition and resistance to whatever the political establishment had to offer. The merit of India’s political class, or the lack of it, can be a different subject matter of discussion. However, what is significant for the country as of now is the fact that the so-called political alternatives are only giving a confused signal to the established political set-up and the masses, much to the amusement of the media which has suddenly found a new fodder for its TRP in a dog eats dog market.

As a result of this media-backed trial by a group of accusing and abusing political aspirants, India today stands at the corridor of political uncertainty and Delhi Assembly election results are a case study. It is much easier to defame a democratically elected government nowadays where a TRP hungry media and social media outlets are always there to vent out the outbursts. The logic often has no place in this world where contract killers of reputation are on the prowl. However, providing a better and viable political alternative is a different ball game altogether.

Those who demanded a high pedestal of morality from the established political institutions are today finding it difficult to provide something better and hence India seems to have entered an era of holier-than-thou politics that sans responsibility. After promising an honest & efficient government, the new breed of politicians seems to have got scared of responsibility, forget accountability. It is true that the mandate is not with the new player in the ring, yet by virtue of emerging second largest party with almost same vote share with the largest party despite of being a debutant demands that they must prove their worth to the emotionally charged up voters, having given a chance. 

It is said that every revolution has seeds of self destruction in its very DNA. Will the newly emerged political outfit that has systematically master minded the social and political unrest to reap political dividends end its own natural death? It is highly likely since the body language and the posturing of new-found political space seem to have gone to the level of arrogance. It is true that the Congress has been routed not only in Delhi but in all the four states, indicating an outburst against the party. But they have been graceful enough to admit it, congratulate the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) despite of slug fest during the polls and offered the unconditional support.

It is a rare phenomenon in Indian politics, but the response of the AAP has been that they don’t need approval of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi for doing well. It is a new feudal way of politicking where grace is retaliated with arrogance. Furthermore, AAP seems to be in a moral & ideological dilemma over government formation. Their stated stand of neither soliciting nor extending support to either the BJP or the Congress already stands null & void when the wrote back letter to both the parties with their counter condition of support.

The political novices failed to understand that out of the 18 demands put forward by them as a condition of support, most of it does not even need Assembly nod and cabinet can take it own decision. Congress played the smart card by accepting the rest of the demands. Taken aback by this sudden Congress’ gesture/strategy they went into a huddle and afterwards came up with the fancy idea of referendum over SMS. Political immaturity apart, the political novices got exposed in the eyes of their own voters and many of them are today asking whether the AAP is in a position to implement the lofty promises that they made.

It is not about the government formation alone that is a cause of worry. The larger cause of worry is the direction in which the Indian democracy seems to be heading to. Holier-than-thou sans accountability may lead to populism all the time and referendum may be used as an alibi to any policy justification tomorrow. Do we want a civilised democracy to turn into mobocracy? These are the questions to be addressed and government formation by one or the other party is not something that can change the way Indian politics operates. The quest for a political messiah has hurt the country time and again. Yet, it seems the Indian voters have not learnt their lessons.         

Defying judicial prudence & law of natural justice

Dec 22. 2013

By: Ravi Sinha

Populism has swept the collective consciousness of the Indian masses in general and educated middle class in particular. Whatever is fancy and suits the wish list of middle class in the urban pockets is nowadays being advocated aloud without the cost-benefit analysis of the issue. This populism, or better to call it populist rhetoric, is writ large today in the power corridors, judiciary and media alike. When Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi bluntly suggested to tear apart the ordinance of the Union Cabinet against debarring convicted law makers, he was seen to be taking a moral high ground. However, he was just responding to the populist rhetoric that was threatening to get the voices louder on the issue. 

Rahul Gandhi though had a reason to side with the populist rhetoric, as the main opposition party that did not contest the Ordinance or the Bill, rather just suggested a few changes here and there, wanted to stump the government on the issue with backstabbing. After all, they had failed to see the larger threat to democracy if every convicted or charge-sheeted law maker is debarred from the House and prevented to contest electoral process.

Having sniffed the fact that the BJP Parliamentary Board had planned a march to the President against the Ordinance, the Congress Vice President was left with no choice but to triple cross the double-cross efforts of the BJP. However, in this political one upmanship an ordinance that could have saved the democracy from many future challenges was stalled. It is not about one Laloo Yadav going to jail or one Rasheed Masood losing his membership of Parliament that is the core issue, the core issue here is how many emerging mass leaders could be framed and political careers spoiled in the time to come.

Where is this holier-than-thou politics goading to the Indian democracy? Has the greater god for greater number of people being sacrificed for populism is a question that is threatening the future fair play in the battle of democracy. It seems now a few educated middlemen will write the destiny of the masses, even though the larger number will have a right to vote; of course vote only to those who are allowed by the few men sitting over their fate with whatever coloured vision they may be having against the uneducated but popular leaders of the country.   

It seems judicial prudence and law of natural justice is being compromised, if not outrightly butchered in India, thanks to the new wave of populist rhetoric. India is not a tiny country like Singapore where a referendum democracy can work, nor could few vocal voices in the urban pockets be termed as the popular voices or voices of the masses. Unfortunately, today even a few TV news channels have the audacity to call them the ‘Nation’.

The nation, however, does not rest in the studio of a TV news channel, nor in the drawing rooms of those who watch these channels. The way India, the real India deep rooted in the semi rural and rural pockets works, if charge sheet or even being convicted is allowed to rob the democratic rights of the Indians tomorrow any rising mass leader can be framed and convicted. Have not we seen many convicts being declared innocent after decades of trial in various courts? What if they are emerging leaders and hence being framed by the political heavy weights against whom they dared to stand?

The way Indian judiciary functions, if one is not resourceful it takes no less than 20-25 years to get a clean chit from the lower courts to the Supreme Court if one is framed with all the might. Who will compensate if a bright political career is spoiled by getting him convicted? Can the judiciary or those who are carried by populist rhetoric return someone his glorious years fighting in the courts and denied democratic rights to contest elections, even if they have masses with them?

What if the ‘Real’ public support of a mass leader comes out on the streets against his vindictive legal framing? Are we inviting social unrest and civil war in the process? These are the challenges of a large democracy like India that are unique only to this part of the world. So, imagining Singapore or the USA and making a populist statement on cleansing the Indian system in general and politics in particular is simply bullshitting in my opinion.

It is not just about this one Ordinance or the Bill that is the issue today. It seems in every walk of life whether it is judiciary or the media one is either guided by the populist rhetoric or just plain subconscious desire of 15 minute of fame that drives our collective consciousness. And that is something which threatens to derail the democratic process of the country, curtail the civil rights and deny judicial prudence and law of natural justice.

Take for example, ‘None of the Above’ option while electing a candidate in the elections. It may not have much impact in the rural pockets, but in the urban constituencies where the voices leading to populist rhetoric are louder, it may create a unique situation where the constituencies will either be represented by a real tiny mandate or it will go to polls again and again only to get the candidates discarded. The question is who will bear the cost of the repetitive elections? Or does the wisdom of a few drawing room experts think we Indians are fools to go to polling booths, stand in queue for hours only to exercise the right to refuse all?

These are all fancy thoughts that sound unique, ideal and revolutionary at face value. But scratch the surface, dig deeper into the issues that this country confronts on a day-to-day basis and one finds in the name of creating a clean society we are sowing the seeds of political and social unrest. Right to reject or right to recall is a thought that just does not fit into a large, heterogeneous society like India. The architect of the Indian democracy and constitution were not fools who did not address it the way it is being addressed now.  

The alternate voices in politics and other walks of life have always raised their heads in every society. The unique problem with India today is that these alternative voices that raise many questions without themselves having any rational answer are increasingly taking the centre stage. And that is something which threatens to drive the nation not on the merit of issues & agenda but populist rhetoric. If not nipped in the bud, such media orchestrated populist rhetoric also threatens to rob the sanity out of the society.       

Development or developmental engineering replacing social engineering

Oct 9. 2013 Ravi Sinha

Social engineering is passé as it has fallen flat on the face of those who engineered it successfully for long, be it Laloo Yadav in Bihar or Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh. It is ‘Out’ and what has come ‘In’ promises to transform the Indian politics in general and governance in particular. Sadly, this new opium of masses is even more dangerous as this emerging genre of vote bank politics takes even higher a moral ground in the name of ‘Votes for Development’. However, beyond this idealistic façade lies another sort of engineering—‘Developmental Engineering’ which as of now has earned enough curiosity among the media and intellectuals. Its proponents nevertheless fall way short of not just ideals but also ideas for any tangible transformation, be it Narendra Modi or Arvind Kejriwal.      

Intellectuals argue whether any other term has been so over-used and abused in the collective consciousness at the political level than ‘Development’ which, of course, means different things to different people. For some it is the GDP growth that is indicator of development, others find holistic development including liveability index and other social indicator as a benchmark. Populism has also been a development indicator in this part of the world for quite some time, but social engineering is increasingly waning and the void that it creates promises to put development card on the forefront.

With the general elections 2014 a few months away and five states also going for polls, the subject of development has yet again gained prominence. While it is convenient to assume that the young and aspiration driven India is no more ready to be carried by rhetoric alone, a close scrutiny of India’s socio-political consciousness reflects development as an agenda is yet to make inroads into politics and translate into votes. India’s ballot box traction point runs much deeper than macro level media rhetorics. In the name of development, what is actually happening is that a sort of developmental engineering is replacing the tried and tested social engineering that is waning its charm, thanks to its over-use and abuse by the so-called messiah of social justice.

There are two kinds of lies that are applied by respective governments to over-project its development card—plain lies and statistical engineering. The opposition party uses the same methodology to carry home the point lack of development. In plain lies all propaganda machinery is put to use to create an aura of ‘feel good’ or ‘fear psychosis’ which does not have a factual bearing on the ground. Secondly, it is the statistical engineering which is applied and by selective use of statistics it is made to believe that the state’s growth on development index is reflective of its progress. If Narendra Modi symbolises developmental engineering, Arvind Kejriwal is orchestrating plain lies.   

However, GDP growth or economic prosperity on a macro level does not often give the correct picture. Unless the state’s growth has been inclusive and growth is at par or parallel on various social indicators also, such growth is neither sustainable nor tangible enough to be called ‘Greater Good for Greater Number of People’.  

Take for instance the over-hyped and over-projected development model of Gujarat. Indeed the economic growth of Gujarat has been better than the national average. However, equally true is the fact that other states like Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu have done better than Gujarat in recent times. Gujarat is neither the best performer in the top ten best performing states, nor is its growth evaluation on various key indicators any impressive.

Poverty, a key indicator of development is not reducing significantly in Gujarat and its less than impressive performance shows it is at number 18^th position. As per Planning Commission figure all India BPL (Below Poverty Line) percentage has gone down from 37.20 to 29.8 between 2004-05 and 2009-10 whereas Gujarat’s percentage has gone down by only 8.6 points during the same period. Add to it, the Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s lofty economic remark that nutrition has gone down because women are health conscious in the state and eat less. That, of course, is indicative of state’s seriousness with this key development metrics.

Even from a purely economic development standpoint, Gujarat is number nine among the top ten states with percentage of population having concrete roof over head. Even states like Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab are ahead of Gujarat; with tiny places like Puducherry and Lakshadweep having better track record than Gujarat.  

In terms of sex ratio, another indicator of a developed state, Gujarat stands at a patriarchal low rank of 20^th position, with only 918 females per 1000 males. Though Gujarat often boasts of better literacy rate than the national average, its standing is at 15^th position in the country. In terms of infant mortality rate, again Gujarat’s statistical projection may boast of better than national average but it stands at 18^th position. Maternal mortality rate also shows states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are doing better than Gujarat.

This raises a fundamental question about the developmental engineering and its relevance beyond the vote bank politics. The moot point is development for whom and at what cost? Definitely, a development plank meant for industrialists can not be an effective development model. When the Congress President Sonia Gandhi emphasised that “passion for progress must be supplemented with compassion for poor” during deliberation on Food Security Bill, it was that grand vision of development model on which Gujarat stands nowhere.

Gujarat is just a case study here, but the fact of the matter is that many of the states that boast of development as their USP may not come out with relatively modest score when judged with all the key indicators of development. Reasons why many of the governments are shown the door even after creating so much of development projection, most classic example being the ‘India Shining’ of Atal Behari Vajpayee Government at centre.

In India the elections have by and large not been contested on development plank; it is just that the term development that is symptomatic of the developmental engineering instead of social engineering which has lived its shelf life. And it is not just the politicians alone who are to be blamed for this. What are we up to as Indians, as vote banks? Do we really scrutiny to differentiate the wheat from the chaff? If so, how come someone like Arvind Kejriwal take a moral high ground with absolutely no solution to offer for most of the developmental, both social and economic, problems afflicting the Indians.

So, it is basically one rhetoric being replaced by another without any tangible focus on development that still stands as the bane of Indian democracy. The mirage of a better governance continues; some have channelized it in the name of social justice while others are orchestrating in the name of development. Some others with no track record have taken an altogether different route of developmental engineering in the name of creating an utopian society. India just stands as the laboratory for all engineering and the Indian voters are at the best guinea pigs for them.