Political system(s)
April 29, 2009I was recently having an argument with a good friend of mine about certain prevalent anti-Islamic attitudes present in the country and the world in general. Over this heated argument a whole range of issues came up, each one of which would require more than one post to do them justice. Issues like illiteracy, oil, state sponsored religion and indeed religion itself obviously affect the core topic of the discussion, but those are not what this is post is going to be about. These issues are discussed, albeit not nearly enough, but discussed nonetheless through various means on various forums by the youth of the country. The discussion also threw up words like left, right, democracy, capitalism, communism etc. For an informed discussion to proceed, it was required that both of us have at least some semblance of clarity about these terms. Sadly, we were both found lacking, and for the worse, we skipped these topics. The parliamentary elections are going on in the country, and I hardly see anyone around me willing to discussing politics. And I am supposed to be surrounded by some of the most brilliant people in the country at that. A tirade on the irresponsible youth of the country would be expected here. Unfortunately, its the level of, or rather, the lack of any level of political discussion in the country in general which keeps them venturing into any such arguments. Trust me, there only one side we are going to take if you ask us to discuss the topic of corruption or the communal violence. I hope.
As per the preamble, India is a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. Those are five words that I am sure are some of the least discussed issues in Indian politics. I expect someone to come back with the fact that these are not open for discussion, as they define our political stance as a country, and we should function within their boundaries. The argument that we should question and debate all such things aside, we should at least know what we are supposed to stand for. I for one, would not be surprised if most of were not able to distinguish some of these political systems from their alternatives. It would be interesting, if nothing else, for us to know how far from these political ideologies have we actually wandered. Since the political parties are only willing to discuss the anti-incumbency issues, maybe after educating ourselves, we can demand from our political parities to clarify their views on a myriad of issues, starting with which political stance do they actually subscribe to.
Given that the two biggest political parties are either extreme right wing and prone to minority-genocide or prioritize Quatrochi above transparency in defence deals, it isn’t much of a surprise, that smart people (yes, us) just don’t give a damn.
Every intelligent and well though out vote cast by you (or me) is outweighed by a hundred other buffoons voting on caste/religious lines.
Why give a shit?
Basu, I don’t think the debate here is about “Why aren’t we voting?!” , its about why aren’t we talking about it at all.
Your one vote can’t make a difference, and I agree with you on this. However we will be no better than the politicians we demonize unless we can can show a clear alternate path rather than merely sounding a clarion call for “change” ,”awareness”, “progress”, “buzzword” ,etc. And such cures to the ills of the political system require educated and extensive debate and discussions between people who can think and that is what is lacking.
I appreciate your views and thoughts. According to me we are partially a democratic country. Most of our countrymen do not know the proper meaning of Democracy. They also are unaware about how to use democratic right. The Misuse of Politics in India should be stopped. Muslim issue is a factor all the time but really there is not any real effort to solve this issue. And nowadays very few people talk about sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic of India. Politicians are no longer believed in Ideology. They always search for Sensational News and Topics. It is really hard these days to find out people who are interested in Politics. Proper Education and Knowledge may resolve this issue little bit. The most important thing is that we should developed our moral values, Principles and be responsible towards our Democratic rights. More over basically one should be a good human being first.
Please come to my Political blog and share your views on more political and election issues with me.
It is not fashionable any more to talk about Secularism, bla bla these days. It is quite a pity that a large majority of us really don’t give a damn about it all (not even friendly discussions among friends!) in the name of ‘smartness’.
@Basu: None of us can survive independently. We are all part of a social fabric (for want of a better word) and when things are wrong, it becomes our duty to correct it. That concept, as a value, is missing in almost all of us. It is not the duty of a democracy to make the society moral (the definition of which can be debated but save it for another day). It is the duty of the society-and its individuals-to make the democratic system moral! We can not create the Ideal Biggest political party in a day. But, we definitely can spark a change (in a thousand different ways!) whose beginnings are always small!
The inertia of apathy and corruption will take more than a generation to pass. My point – the ideals of sovereignty, socialism, secularism, democracy and republican-ness (?) mean NOTHING in a country where people do not have adequate information to make an informed choice while electing a government.
As to why we are not talking about these issues in college – we do not have sufficient concentrations of people interested in prolonging a discussion on such issues. And this arises for the fact that we have a hostel system of residency where our peers are in some sense, enforced upon us, as against the fraternity system wherein people with similar interests, intellect and ideas can choose to live together as a group. I’m sure you’ll agree that if I were to venture into my wing and initiate a dialogue on the virtues of direct democracy over representative democracy, I’d be greeted with the choicest collection of oriental expletives.
I completely agree with you that any such discussion will be shot down mercilessly. But, as the saying goes, the beginning of all things is always small. If one truly wants to have such discussions with friends, one needs to plan it with a vision and give it ones best shot. I must accept here that I too am guilty of not making an attempt myself (though such ‘wishful thinking’ has always been part of my consciousness).
Coming to the point of people not having the capability to vote, I agree with you to an extent. The factors on which ballots are cast in Indian Democracy (and I suspect in many such democracies across the world!) are not always something that the ‘educated’ would agree with. But, Democracy never claimed that it was perfect. It was people (Woodrow Wilson and co. especially after the First World War) who believed that Democracy is the solution to the then reality of War. And I agree with them at the level of theory. But, it is ultimately people who make it run. A democracy is only as good as it’s people are. And, if people give up, then it is only natural that the democracy will suck!
I personally appreciate the initiatives likes Jaago re (and a few others like them) because they are attempting to find new ways to counter what I call the ‘brute forces’ of the society (hooligans in the disguise of politicians, and all their methods!). They give me hope for a better future where people constantly strive for a better day (a debatable term and we should debate on it).
But, ultimately, it all boils down to belief. And a will to understand the world from the view point of various other realities, many of which are not part of our consciousness (precisely the reason for trying to understand them!).
And then, change them for what we believe-as educated, rational, thinking, principled beings- to the better!
With everything and everyone going online(yes even Advani(ji?) blogs) its more the lack of inclination to look for information than the lack of information itself that is the cause for the vapid ignorance of the “educated” electorate. As for the rest of them, they don’t care about making an informed decision, its about making a decision, casting your vote for good or bad. And I must say it is also our educational system that is to blame, where social studies in school was nothing more than mugging up all the “key” words and dates; those five words from our preamble are probably in the memory of every kid who has ever been to school, but the emphasis was on remembering those words for nothing more than the letters that formed them, not for the principles they embody.
As for the absence of a “fraternity” like setup, I still say you can find like minded people to talk these things with if you wanted. I’m sure you can get sloshed with your wing mates who’d sure as hell take you up on an invite to do that anytime, but you don’t do that with them either, do you? You go looking for people you can tolerate and relate to, sober or otherwise.
The reason most of the educated urban middle and upper middle class, who surely form a sizeable electorate in atleast a few cosntituencies in the country’s cities couldn’t care less about the election they consider a waste of their time and sweat is because their livelihood is in no way under threat whichever party comes to power.
However we do affect an attitude, as though our principles are being molested in the grossest of ways by the people who run our political system, making pronouncements from our arm chairs not even wobbling one butt-cheek in the process! Nothing is going to change unless a good number of “thinking” folk want it to. A majority of seats in the parliament may be occupied by people we would consider “goons”( and we would be right in thinking so), however even if a few who are able and willing and are like us sticks his neck out, the best chance he’s going to stand is in a constituency with people who can think…and care. You’d need real incentive to change, to rid yourself of a lifetime of accumulated indifference. Or maybe “peer-pressure” can do the trick?
“The reason most of the educated urban middle and upper middle class, who surely form a sizable electorate in at least a few constituencies in the country’s cities couldn’t care less about the election they consider a waste of their time and sweat is because their livelihood is in no way under threat whichever party comes to power”
Yeah, I completely agree with that.
‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’-Edmund Burke
Sums it up rather aptly don’t you guys think?
This is from BJP’s manifesto..
“India’s prosperity, its talents and the state of its high moral society can be best understood by what Thomas Babington Macaulay stated in his speech of February 2, 1835, in the British parliament. ‘I have travelled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief, such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such high calibre, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation.’”
I’m sure most of us have encountered that quote at some point of time, most likely through a forwarded email which started with something like ..” Be proud to be Indian, forward it to atleast 30 friends” .
Here’s the thing, that quote is a fabrication! Innumerable “neo-literate” Indian urban youth have prodded this untruth on, in blind “pride”(?) or unthinking impulse. To think it would find its way into the manifesto of a leading Indian party! It brings out two important points 1) The kind of audience the BJP appeals to, with its jingoistic Hindu nationalistic sentiments are not just illiterate folk, but also supposedly “educated” urban youth who seem to puff their chests out listening to those false pronouncements. 2) Our educational system that values intake of copious amounts of information, and which considers questioning the facts as a complete waste of time!
ps: @ Amod: The above instance also serves as a splendid example of how lack of professional control of the content that is spread as “news” could prove detrimental.. your newest post.