Friday, May 9, 2014

If imagination were horses the partriots will be riding them leading us into a resplendent rainbow horizon



The continuous launch of fusillades from all quarters against each other has ensured that the political discourse has diviated from the primacy of legitimate pro welfare , development and progressive politiking - We had a Anna who woke us up and a Arvind who showed us a way yet were stalled by the larger powers with vested interests.


Politics and the public political debate & dialouge is meant to be & expected to address , solve the challenges and the many mundane realities that militate the bourgeoise of 21st century India.


Power hungry shenanigans congregate every five years to usurp the people representation power to further ones personal political ambition or survival either ways profiting from the process immesurably sans accountability. To some of them it is harvest season and to some others it is seeding to reap a rich yet selfish yeild later.

That a decade of what could have been is a spilt milk opporunity of the past - The critisisim of which and the failures is called for and more needs to be brought to good light that gets unnoticed into public domain. But the very bringing out of these fact does not legitimise the claim of the party or the person of what he is capable of or is intended to deliver to serve the nation- which by the way must be the mainstay & bedrock for the reason for his or her seeking to lead the highest public office in the country.

Six decades since Independence barring the first two every elections have been approached by the opposition party as opposing the regime and abruptly truncating the campaign at the opposing only end without putting out a viable long term vision and execution blue print of the intended governance as a primary criterion of seeking a fresh 5 year term at the hallowed hall of the Parliament's treasury and law making benches.

The present opposition party has made opposing all and sundry as its a main stay and has been at the apex of this unabated destructive practice since a decade so much that any one even mildly protesting the same is disdained as anti nationals or pro dynansty. Their partisan vituperative blockade may have succeeded in stalling what ever little good that the reforminst , economist Prime Minister may have intended to execute.

I believe that the fundamental reason for asking a fresh mandate , must emanate from a foundation of fertile ground inspired by imagination for the nation at large that pans across all sections of society & streaches into the realm of a decade , quarter century , half a century and a century of plausibile vibrant , robust and resilent nation building in a global context .This whilst providing for the poorest of the poor of the nation by the caring and empathetic state which it represents in the truest sense.

That said , there must also be a healthy reach out to the minutest corner of societies to welcome their ideas , aspirations of welfare state. The rhetoric must kindle a spring of unbridled public participation which not just asks the state of an allowance to governance but also steps up to proactively self govern addressing issues that expand and influence both the the society and state in good measure.

Self governance on aspects of public discipline , prudent use and management of natural and public resources , empathetic social living , alert citizens strengthening internal security as it is the only plausible near realm of foolproof way to combat terror , sharing of wealth thru well thought out personal giving to a larger cause of inclusion and serving of the under previledged from all sections of the society.

The greatest areas to exhibit initiative for the common public good is to begin at the ballot box. The voting percentage above 95 % will galvanise the kind of accountablity that the masses can enforce on the elected class. A candle like vigil or a impromptu rally of protests may cause a splutter here and there , yet to leave a lasting impact every person attaining the legal age at the republic must participate in the sacred process of choosing not just the popular but the most competent public servant to the highest office with a defined agenda to govern as well as be held accountable for thru their term at the office.

Respectful coexistence of all Indian's refusing to be polarised by the vest political leaders interests , patriotic ferver that eqvivocally unites us to combat common evils such as corruption , terrorisim , commalisim , anarchisim , feulalisim to state a burning few aside other social ills - And these are some of the basic expectations or lets call it fundamental responsibilities of being a citizen of a democratic society. Not the might but the right , not always the mighty right but the empatetic , kind and understanding milieu that prevails leads to a well intended self governed state. The Statesman must especially reserve their best public service intentions to the uneducated & underpriviledged people who may not have the articulation ability or the voice to forcefully demand the rights provided to them in the constitution.

Only then , therefore the function of the government as the PM aspirant rants often ..that of "Minimum Government and Maximum Governance" can be be brought to frutition and be the harbringer of universal welfare state.

Just by trusting the polling officer to blemish one of your finger nail every 5 years is too much delegation of power to the person who ideally aspires to serve the people is a flawed system of democracy. As much as we seek accontablility from a megerly paid public servant voted to power who looks for minting his elected status for good measure , it is the self governance aspect that I suspect is the main stay of partipative and accretive democracy that lends depth & resilience to a strong nation.

Able people followed by strong and deep ideologies based on proven universsl philosophies , well researched and unbiased yet empatetic understanding of the challenges of the society particularly of the under previliedged must be the genesis of a political plank upon which campaings to have the right to despense the tax collected from people be based on. That Government coffers are filled by public weath is a fact that is seldom in doubt. But the 5 years time line they earn from the ballot is several times more richer in resource to squander if they fail to being an imagination to realisation of adudacious scale in the standards of living of the general public.

Whilst the era of colition is here to stay and grow in influence for the good it represents, it is largely due the influence of local satraps which are in my view best suited to create a grass root level functional fabric of polity closely linked to the masses owing to the proximity to their constituency they seek to serve in a ever evolving federated governance framework being pursued by a few reformist political powers.

The alliances of the startaps with a larger national party , if it isnt enmeshed in the fabric of common minimum program then the very vibrancy they represent shall become a virulent virus to breed post poll corruption unrepresentative of the peoples mandate which sent them to the parliament or assemby office. The systems must be evolved to realise the opportunistic political partys which have joined the powers which they fought against in the elections must find ways to eliminate them or create rules which deter such undemocratic moves which are counter productive and against the decree of the masses.

India must seek to be a land that needs least government , few but very potent laws that are universally applied to all sections of the society irrespective of caste , class or creed , that which restores order justly and timely manner to its citizens. In the century ahead we need leadership as a country not just to influence and impact congenial living for us but also set a global benchmark and create condusive environment as a model state to embrace and set standards for global good and universal citizenship.


We are reasonably adeqate at the moment yet with dwindling natural resources but the biggest resources of our rich nation are yet to be tapped to its fullest potential. The resolve to be the leader at creating renewable resources be it solar , tidal or hydel , the vast coast line , the billion plus ambitious human resource with a huge demographic dividend that needs urgent agumentation on education , health and social consiousness. The large land banks that needs imaginative thinking to make them cultivable to produce more then self sufficient staples along with investments at providing for warehousing and storage is an opportunity that is worthwhile for any regime that comes into play.

Instead of engaging in the future that we can so richly co create with so many low hanging fruits to get quick wins , our leaders are engaged in below the belt crass tirades , low in intellect and regressive political theatrics and glib moutheded are coining acrimonoius acronyms which may make them elicit raptratous claps at their rally but deeply rupture their own finger pointing credibility. They lampoon an elected goverment and its head with often unreasoned partisan aggro to further their own cause. This is a failure as much as the failing of the elected government, the otherside of the soiled coin.

I wish the few brave hearts braving the sweltering summer heat prevail over the might and kindle a tipping point change for there is so much to gain in doing so and so very much that is already being fettered down the drains of history that will reflect rather unkindly to the generation that will inherit this great nation .The humungous and irrecoverble loss defenningly unquantifiable in numbers lest we allow our collective angst to meander towards a non commital society.

State of the Constitution that needs steadfast application with a considered way forward




Those were the days when men in public life were exponents at reverance and religious application of the tenets of consitution.

They understood law and the societal changes that brought to bear the ramifications of a dated law. Extraordinary long term thinkers who ably lent their intellect with empathy in the process of rendering just ammendments to the constitution and the initiative of law making to expand the ambit of a just society.

Todays self centered , cash rich politicians have scant respect for the consitution and they seldom revisit the living document that needs an application of fresh and congregation of many collective minds at the parliament sessions.Their efforts may lend an influential thrust for fair constitutional framework that desperately craves for speed and fresh avenues for clairvoyant interpretation befitting the demands of a modern just society.

Noise at the podium dominates the days discourse followed by rants at the idiot box by the evening - Thrill a Minute seeded prime time TRP race poses as the representative voice of the nation wants to know notion. The ones with a heaviest purse and the folks who shout the loudest seems to flok togather to pass legislatures benefitting the egalitarian corporate class leaving the poor and underpriviledged in the lurch.

The people too seem to be inspired by the quallity of leadership on offer. Below the belt attacks are the order of the day.Verbal duels have graduated to body blows to showcase intolerance & dissent , be it shoes that get hurled or distaseful personal or inks attacks, these ugly malignant heads pop up every now and then that tarnishes the spirit of free speech and free society.

A majority of the elected repsentatives instead of representing the people who sent them to the treasury benches , represent themselves and their kin with aplomb profiting multifolds compared to the moolah they splurge to get the coveted public offices. An exhibit for one of the highest ROI of any kind. Barring a few who deligently despense the local area development funds the rest do not even know the constituted areas of employment of the MPLADs and MLALADs. Little doubt then that a 3rd of the parliamentarians and legislative assembly members dont spend even 25 % of their funds.

Expecting the elite to debate at the parliament or assembly is a exalted desire when the privileged dont deem it obligatory to attend the law making benches. Yes - There exists a constitution that we all are proud of yet fail miserably in its fundamental adoption and application. Law and Order rules apply only to the down trodden and middle class.

One of the significant parody that played out in the last winter session at the Parliament - A Travesty of the Constitution and democracy - an argument that a convicted person must have the right to represent people was such a tragic yet ludicorous farce.

Given the influence and power prominent politicians and elected legislators wield, it is rare that FIRs are registered against them. As the police force is largely under the thumb of the legislators, such cases are usually buried without any investigation. Only a small number of FIRs registered against influential persons even result in the completion of investigation and framing of charges by the court, this too is because of the vendetta politics pursued by their bitter rivals. It takes endless years for the courts to try a criminal case. After all this, only six percent of criminal cases end in conviction, unless the accused confesses to the crime. Often it is a case of justice delayed equating to justice denied idiom.

Major political parties wanted even such a rare conviction to be disregarded, and were fighting against the disqualification of convicted legislators. That we had to advance arguments against such an obviously absurd stand was an indication of the precipitous decline in standards of political behavior in the country.

Unless we make constituional reforms and ammendments for example - to make it mandatory to bring in the unblemished , educated , qualified & competent intellectuals and visionaries to the highest offices , we cannot fight such absurdities which get a favorable populist fillip because more than a few rich and famous muscle men prevail with the might of the currency over a reticent educated right thinking aam aadmi class. Untill then Movie stars with mass appeal , caste and communal agendas would divide and plunder the vote banks.

The above may seems an idealistic expectation , yet since we allowed minor deviations and created exceptions , that the wedge of malaise has deepned to corrupt the very core fabric of public conscientiousness. Six decade plus is too small a timeline for one of the youngest nation of a billion that enjoys an envious demographic dividend to give up on the sacred promise of self rule that our forefathers earned with such dignity and difficulty.

The poisounous downward spiral of corrupt governing the masses propogating corrupt ideals and eventually the voters falling prey to corrupt doles during elections to resend corrupt people to the highest offices resoundingly resonates with the old adage of the people getting the governments they deserve.

Lest we let the above rut to decay further there will either be an uprising that will gain uncontrollable ground swell resulting in anarchy like it almost did during the anna ,kejriwal India against corruption movement which lead to an eventual formation of a new political force

or

we may weaken the nation so much that we become vulnerable internal splinters or fall prey to aggresive global capitalistic or military ogiliarch nations.

Constitution constitutes the bedrock for a democratic system to florish and florish it must at rendering good and just governance to responsibly redeploy the tax payer money. Nation building ushers when all and sundry irrespective of caste or class universally heed to complying buy the guided social framework facilitated by the constitution.