Statesmanship in Politics - Can WE change first?

When the run up to the Lok Sabha elections of 2014 were in progress and the  belligerence and hardline attitudes of various politicians both within parties and against opponents unfolded I had a serious doubt that these elections would prove to be violent. So far keeping my fingers crossed since no untoward incidents have happened. But verbal violence has been increasing by the day and no one party or leader can claim to be above it.

The speeches are full of barbs,  jabs, punches, sarcasm but never have I seen a single incident of wit where the point is made with a joke which is both conveying the message and also is not offensive. At best the sarcasm has elicited laughter.

While elections are generally a  free for all and so greater latitude given, fact is that every single party has been going overboard and none are spared.  While this discourse from the main stream parties like Congress, BJP, SP etc are to be expected and so taken with a large bucket of salt, it was rather disconcerting to see even the Aam Aadmi Party gleefully doing the same. So much for the difference they professed to bring into the political discourse.

The one consistent act of violence that has been seen is the constant ink throwing, egg slinging and slapping of  Arvind Kejriwal more than once. It has become fashionable for Arvind, his party members and his cult supporters to actually believe that these are instigated by BJP as they like to believe and think that Congress or others are actually innocent of such acts. Whatever be the truth my own opinion is slightly different  from seeing the incidents on TV.  Like they say a lover spurned or let down is more dangerous than a enemy. I seriously believe that the expectations of many people from AAP was HUGE, almost to the point of being impractical. The investment in AAP has been overwhelmingly  emotional and very little of logic or reasoning.  It was the gate way to a forbidden land  to which even the filthy rich and famous could only fantasise about but never ever come close to entering. The common man on the street could actually  be a part of the system and feel for the first time that someone of their own was in the forbidden land. 

But the utterances of Arvind Kejriwal, his drama, theatrics, unprecedented dharna as the CM of Delhi for a non issue, mud slinging at all and sundry, his resigning from the post of CM created HUGE disappointment with many who felt that he had betrayed them. These aam aadmis are neither capable of real violence nor have the courage and definitely do not have the ability to hit back where it hurts. So like churlish kids they throw ink, eggs and the rare guy gives a slap. Knowing political parties they would never do such juvenile acts, only the spurned lovers of AAP, but still the aam aadmis without power who would do it. If Kejriwal doesn’t understand this sentiment, it is rather sad since that only means that he has closed the gates of the forbidden land after gaining entry.

If a Modi talked about a 50 cr girl friend months ago his detractors returned the compliment by targeting his wife. If a Modi mocked the eternal crown prince as Shehzaade, they attacked his snoopgate & Gujarat model of development.  Started by  Kejriwal in simply throwing allegations against Ambani, Adani without proof by lots of innuendo the practise was taken forward against Tatas and other corporate by Congress VP Rahul Gandhi. Inspite of an unwritten rule to not attack each other Priyanka chose to attach Varun her brother.

Meanwhile the supporters haven’t been quiet either. The aggressiveness in stifling debate, criticism or even a discussion is unparalleled in Indian political history. Why talk of censorship by state or threatened curbs on free speech, the people themselves were far ahead of the game. You had a bizarre situation where a professed Congress supporter openly sent messages to kidnap, rape, murder girls/women, some in front of their own parents, kill them. He did not spare the sister inlaw of a senior Congress leader also. Yet this man got a pat on the back by a senior minister, Congress leader and much loved Social Media hero.

BJP supporters did not stay silent but accused people of being anti national, pro Pakistan and what have you.  The only lucky thing for the BJP supporters was that Modi got more attention and their own shenanigans were thus muted.

Supporters of AAP openly told us that we are corrupt, agents of Ambani and openly said that if the AAP were to gain power they would finish off  Reliance and Adani group businesses and shut them down and throw  their promoters and supporters in jail.  The rich, famous & well connected who played the system over the last 20 years, grew fat, made millions in dollars, have jet set holidays in exotic places have started preaching to us of probity, honesty and what have you. I recently met a guy who was a aam aadmi engineer like any of us 30 years ago but started working in the real estate business. He now has more houses than he can remember,  spends a few lakhs to go to a IPL match, rubs shoulders with the high & mighty and started giving me a lecture on how corruption has affected the country and it is time we voted for clean candidates. It took all my will power from punching him on the face.

The language has only gotten worse and till now the nadir has been that rape is a small incident to be excused and laws would be amended for this, that it was muslims who fight against Pakistan in Kargil and that hindus did not fight and finally that women having sex must be punished and the woman who gets raped must also get the ultimate punishment for the crime.

In short be it political parties, leaders or even the vast majority of us citizens we have shown zero grace, zero tolerance, 100% hypocrisy in what we do and say and we actually believe that we are actually being honest, ethical and credible. While the politicians knowing that whatever they say and do is till election day after which it would be business as usual, we citizens are likely to continue this kind of behaviour.  No wonder we get the leaders and politicians we deserve. Why blame them, let us look at ourselves first in the mirror and be the change we want to be.

However one thing is for sure. The statesmanship, grace that prevailed over Indian politics ended with Rajiv Gandhi and Atal Vajpayee. In the near future we are unlikely to see the ruling/opposition to come together for bigger causes in the interest of the nation. There will be politics even in those issues.

Any decision taken by any party on the Kandahar Indian Airline hijack involving 200 odd passengers would have been trashed in hind sight and the party involved would be blamed. BJP even today carries that cross whereas those who let off a whole bunch of terrorists to rescue the kidnapped daughter  of the home minister in J&K, other terrorists released when IAS officers were kidnapped etc are all forgotten.

In the Presidency of Jimmy Carter a Democrat the Iranian hostage crisis was created, the Iran Contra affair happened and Carter lost an election inspite of his best efforts to rescue the hostages which included in a whole SEAL team getting shot down in the attempt. Each effort was a disaster and he had more egg on his face than one can think.  The elections was won by Reagan a Republican. Soon after the rescue efforts bore fruit and the hostages were released after almost 2 years.  Reagan in a unprecedented gesture sent Air Force One to ferry the retired Carter to go receive the hostages and get the whole media attention for the success. Even in a fantasy such a scenario would be unimaginable in Indian politics. 

But unless we citizens first  change and become truly tolerant, truly ethical, truly honest, truly graceful, truly statesmanlike  we cannot expect that politicians will change. We will continue to get the politicians we deserve.