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.
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