1975 to 1977 – Emergency declared
by Congress under Indira Gandhi. The atrocities of that period were
predominantly in northern India. Whole slums demolished with bulldozers, thousands
of people sterilised even if they were young, others killed. The Turkman gate
incident where many Muslims were rendered homeless and thrown out is still well
known.
In the south the effect of the
emergency was far less. We did have the infamous Rajan murder case where a
young engineering student was brutally tortured and killed and his body never
found. The prime accused Karunakaran went on to become a Chief Minister and a very senior national leader of the Congress.
As a 14 year old my own classmates were arrested ostensibly for wearing khaki
shorts, identified with the RSS, and transported to a jail 200 kms away and
lodged there. They were let off after a day with dire warnings.
Post 1984 and infact ever
since independence the number of scandals that have rocked India are many. To list
a few just read here....
You speak of communal riots,
the list again is endless.... Just check
the same here
Inspite of however terrible
the death and destruction, politicians and parties have swept back to power,
elected by the very same people who should have been very angry with the
parties. Since Congress has ruled the country for close to 60 years it is a
measure of their ability that whatever they did, people not only excused them,
but every time after apparently punishing them, the SAME people have elected
them back with a larger majority than before. So if Congress and its leaders are seen smug
and satisfied, come what may, that is no surprise. They know that we the people
are fools and like the old dictum, all the people fooled for some of the time,
but more importantly the majority of the voters fooled all the time.
The point here is that Indians
have generally been docile, have short memories that whatever the atrocities
that someone carries out, whatever the scandals, crimes, riots, we not only
forgive them, but forget, and infact, embrace them so tightly that they are
convinced that every atrocity committed was legitimate and just. The politicians,
especially Congress took the people for granted and were obviously happy at the
state of affairs. The opposition was equally frustrated and disappointed and
soon found themselves becoming friends with Congress even if they did not
actually join the party. So the system got even worse since there was no real opposition,
no opposition worth the name with the heart, intent, focus and determination to
plow their own course and create their own path. So it did not matter who ruled, it was still
congress which held the reins of power. It was like the class teacher going to
the toilet and asking a student to monitor the class as defacto “teacher” for a
short while.
The involvement of the people
in politics, in elections was so pathetic that inspite of having an active
interest in politics since 1975, I dont recall too many instances when I have
indulged in debates, discussions and arguments with friends, family, colleagues
or even strangers. Anytime you met
anyone anywhere you spoke of films, cricket, gossiped but rarely politics,
economics or such subjects. At best you shared news and gossip about some
momentous event like a war, a tragedy but NEVER discussed the issues, the rights
and wrongs, the principles etc. As a
youngster between 15 and 30 I never remember anyone talking politics except the
union leader, the “rowdy” political worker and such.
When TV came, the excitement
was more in the entertainment value, the film songs played in between the
announcement of results. At best it was
a One day match swinging from side to side. Post lunch when you knew what the
end result would be, you switched off the TV and went back to whatever you
wanted to do.
I am still unable to put my
finger on what changed, what happened but a concatenation of circumstances and
incidents changed India and its people across religion, caste, region,
language, age, education. It happened rather suddenly. It was like a dam of pressure
was building up and it suddenly broke letting loose mayhem in politics. It started
sometime in 2011/ 2012 when the corruption scandals hit the UPA government; the
youth were enthused by an 84 year old man Anna Hazare. The 2012 Delhi rape
catalysed the nation. It was now a crowd running downhill, none could stop even
to take a breath, none could escape and it did not matter what you believed in
or even what you knew, you were now taking a stand on issues. Everywhere you go, be it a meeting, a party, a
wedding or even a funeral people are talking and talking and talking –
politics. It is another matter like I said in my previous blog, social media
and instant communication also helped change attitudes.
The prelude to the 2014
elections was unlike any election I had ever seen. In 1975 I had attended an
election rally of Morarji Desai given my interest in politics. Thereafter I was
the odd one most times and the next time I attended a political rally was in
2014. Some youngsters dragged me saying that I should not act like an old
fossil. The extent of involvement in politics is so amazing that I found myself
sitting next to a 10 year old on a flight travelling alone and he discussed
Narendra Modi, politics, parliament logjam. Hell, at 10 I was lucky if I knew
how to button my shirts properly.
Life as we know it has changed
so drastically that you cannot speak a word today without it being interpreted politically.
There are 2 filters through which people hear you. One their own political
preference and the other, their judgement of what they think is your political
preference. The truth doesn’t matter. There is no more an opinion, a view, a
comment – everything is weighed with a political barometer. Never mind that
some complicate this broth further with religion, caste conundrums.
You sit in a taxi or auto, the
driver or you talks politics. You sit in a food court, the stranger next to you
talks politics like one did with me last week. You take a walk in the park and
you see groups of people sitting – ranging from young students to retired folks
- while the language, tone and tenor are different they are all talking politics.
Everyday they have something new to discuss and debate but most times it is
politics.
Political life in short at
least in India has changed, maybe a 90 degree turn. The obsession, the passion,
the emotion is truly beyond imagination, beyond comprehension. To me this change is good. In the short term there
will be waves that we won’t like, but then even this is a maturity cycle that a
nation must go through. The involvement of the common man is a good omen for India.
It helps bring pressure on the existing stakeholders be it the politicians
themselves, the media, the administration. With time the knowledge level of the
people will also go up and that is when Indian politics will take another turn –
hopefully towards a better future, because only an aware public can demand a
force change to get a better life.
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