Prof. A.N.Sadhu
Parliamentary elections are gong to be held in next few months time. Even though the preparations of political parties have started sometime back but the intensity of these preparations gained momentum from the first day of the new year 2019, when the Prime Minister chose to give an elaborate interview to a TV channel. The general reaction to this interview was good except by those who are in the opposition and therefore obliged to find weak points in the narrative of the party in power, more so when the PM himself is the speaker. One may agree or not, the PM was flawless in responding to the questions with substantive answers. In his responses one could easily find the blend of his leadership acumen and also the humble background from which he has emerged on the national scene. There is no denying the fact that he has the feel of ground realities and soon after assuming power, he made a beginning from the essential activities needed to transform the very perception of the problems faced by the people at grass root level. That politicians coming from elite and affluent sections of the society can have a real feel of hardships faced by the people at the lowest rung of economy, polity and society is not likely. They may talk of these problems from bookish knowledge but they really cannot have the genuine, perception of how essential it is to address to those problems with courage and conviction. The country attained independence at a stage when industrial revolution had brought about a revolutionary change in the living conditions of the people in advanced countries of the world and our post independence leaders were not unaffected by these life styles except a few leaders who toed the line of Mahatma Gandhi and firmly believed that a country like ours can’t develop unless its villages are developed.
Mr. Narendra Modi may not be a Mahatma Gandhi of 21st century but he definitely is a leader with a difference. His initiatives on cleanliness drive, smokeless clulah, wide scale rural banking, life insurance cover to the poor and similar other initiatives can’t be ignored as unimportant in so far as the growth stimuli required to be given to faster and steadier growth in the country is concerned. The Nehruvian approach to acquire faster growth and ensure the distribution of its gains to the needy sections of the society by an effective trickle-down mechanism, did unfortunately not work because of institutional infirmities as also inadequate and faulty implementation of the economic plans. Narendra Modi’s approach of direct intervention in these spheres is definitely a more pragmatic approach as against philosophical explanations and building of treaties of imminent class wars in the unequal societies paving way for abundance equality and peace. It has been noted that the present organization of society has been beneficial to one section of society and robbed the rest, of the benefits of economic growth.
It is now an accepted fact that our politicians have let us down all through and have robbed the society of the gains of growth. They are responsible for creating the islands of affluence amidst an ocean of misery. The nexus of politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen have denied the fruits of democracy and self rule to the masses by making tall promises and failing to deliver on ground after winning the elections. Corruption is not unknown to developing countries but that corruption alone will become the pursuit of elected representatives is a sad story of Indian democracy. High sounding lectures and crocodile tears have been witnessed in abundance and the conscious Indian voter has started realizing the need of exploding the myths of vested politicians and throwing up a new brand of leadership which will blend high growth with distributive justice in a manner as would encourage public participation in developmental activities and strengthen the paradigms of political and economic stability.
The public is faced with a formidable challenge of electing their representatives who are capable of meeting their future aspirations. The world is changing fast and the pace of transforming the society needs to be accelerated as also directed in the right direction so that the growth and equality are achieved simultaneously. Ours is a country with a unique social and historical background. The evolution of Indian society is based on its rich culture of tolerance, coexistence and non violence. Ours is the only country which treats the whole world as one family and starts its every day prayer with “Sarve Bhavantu Sukhina.” We have to live up to the high standards of our cultural heritage and defeat the elements who have been inimical to our rich values of co-existence and tolerance. The electorate should defeat the divisive politics and exercise its choice on objective assessment of the fair conduct of our elected representative. The country is on a threshold of emerging among the leading countries of the world in terms of its economic and political power and a huge responsibility falls on the citizens to ensure economic and political stability in the country. In a country of vast diversity extremism of ideas and approaches does not work. The slogan ” Subka Saath, Sabka Vikas ” should not only be visibly perceived by the masses but it should be felt as well.
Coalition Governments have a poor record of success and stability, particularly, in the third world countries where rampant corruption has derailed many a strategy of fast development. The ideological differences, ego problems and lack of trust among fellow partners have always stalled the forward movements and threatened the sustainability of such a political arrangement.
This does not mean that single party rule is free from all odds. The problems do arise in that arrangement as well and our country now fully understand the cob-webs woven by such parties insulating the settled arrangements against any incursions in their power houses. The country is at a crucial stage of its political evolution and it is the country men who can through their exercise of franchise stop the entry for corrupt politicians into the power corridors and let the honest and committed politicians administer the country and shape its future. The country has still to go a long way to solve its problems of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Neither the over activism nor the indifference can work; it is a thoughtful bold leadership that alone can stand in good stead to solve these problems. Demographic pressures, political rivalries and vote bank politics obscures the richness of our excellent cultural heritage and throws up an arrangement which results into corrupt and lop sided development that widens the gaps of income and wealth with a portent of revolutionary disgust and strife. The 2019 elections should generate hope and understanding among our voters of being capable to ensure that the country wins as against the unscrupulous politicians who have played havoc with the country. The last over four years now, have brought our country in the world focus, if not for any outstanding achievements but at least for the realization that the country has a potential to play a significant as also a dominant role in the world economy and polity. Therefore, it is not unusual that the enemies, both internal and external, will engineer plots to create distortions in the forthcoming elections. The monster of terrorism is threatening the whole world and India is emerging as a big champion of world peace committed to strengthen the anti terrorism mechanism to rid the world of this growing menace. Forces inimical to human values will have to be kept in check and defeated at the hustings. Let the country win.
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