INDIAN DEMOCRACY ON THE EDGE

There is hardly a day when India doesn't see a new scam getting unearthed and the irony of the nation is that it is always the rulers, powerful bureaucrats, relatives, cronies and touts of those close to power corridors who are the beneficiaries in all these shameful acts and the loot going on in our so called great nation, a nation claimed to be on the verge of becoming a global economic superpower in the next decade by these impudent  leaders who are devoid of any concern for the nation and its common man. The common man is continually seeking an answer to the following basic questions.

• Why is it that my condition is getting worse with each passing day?
• What am I getting in lieu of all the direct and indirect taxes paid by me?
• Why is it that all those who get connected with politics in the name of service to the people and nation are getting richer day by day and are enjoying perks and facilities which are grossly disproportionate to the level of prosperity or poverty of the nation?
• And above all  why am I being denied even the basic necessities of existence even after sixty five years of the so called planned economy of India?

The answer is plain and simple. Till such time India has rulers whose aims and priorities are limited only to making merry at the expense of tax payer/common man, to suck the national exchequer and the vast reserves of national resources for their sole benefit, to fool the voter with their high sounding vote catching slogans and rhetoric and working with the single point agenda of getting power and remaining in power by all kind of dirty practices, nothing can change in this country. The selfish polity and bureaucracy of India has very eagerly imbibed the main postulates of British philosophy of governance of foreign lands, namely,

• Divide and rule: British divided the Indian princely rulers to overcome them one by one to establish their own rule and later on reverted to dividing the Indian masses on the basis of religion for to consolidate their rule. The present Indian rulers/polity has successfully retained  that division on the basis of religion by giving it the form of minorities and have further strengthened this policy by dividing the society into dalits, backward classes etc. to fulfill their ambitions and aspirations of ruling this country keeping their self interests at the forefront. So much so that even for the fight against corruption menace which is eating into the very basic fibre of development of the nation and its total citizenry, the polity managed to call it a stir by the urban middle class and the Muslim and Dalit leaders chose to stay away from the cause as if the rampant corruption in the country was beneficial to them.
• Empowerment: The British used this idea of empowering a chosen few from an alien land to strengthen their rule by giving them government jobs and creating a clout of faithful people who will help them maintain their grip on the local population. In the name of empowerment neither the British desired  to uplift the masses nor the present Indian governments has any such motive. In fact it is a clever ploy of fooling downtrodden masses of all the have nots of the country belonging to various castes, creeds and religious groups by doling out a couple of thousand jobs a year and in the bargain ensuring more than 300 million votes.

Incidentally, British never employed such dubious means for governing their own homeland simply because the British character has taught them to be true, faithful, sincere and honest to the cause of the nation and its citizenry.
If India has to become an economic superpower, if Indian masses have to reap the benefits of growth and industrialization in the next decade or so, it must shed its present polity. We all know that those in power will leave no stone legal or illegal upturned in their quest of power. Indian masses are getting restless with the apathy of the system in fulfilling their dream and are looking towards some kind of a revolution. And revolutions normally don't happen democratically. India has been witness to emergency of 1975 when the then elected government came under threat of mass movements. But that was a movement against a particular government and the change could be brought about democratically. This time the war is against the system and  polity on the whole. When all politicians are threatened for their very existence, they are not going to care for ethics of democracy and in spite of all diversity of political views they are tremendously united under such circumstances. The nation has witnessed their collective apathy and inaction when solution to corruption mitigation, Lok Pal Bill and even fast tracking of judicial cases is talked about. Anna Hazare is 100% right when he talks in terms of waging the next war of independence, a war to free India from the clutches of corrupt vested interests. This change must come as it is a matter of life and death for sisters and brothers of India, whether from villages or cities, from  any religion, caste or creed,rich or poor. We should not be taken in by any of the tricks of politicians, for end of corrupt people  and corruption will be the end of our poverty and miseries. Our poverty is a direct result of  corruption  by  those in authority and power.