To Be or Not To Be : Dilemma of Politics - Devil's Advocate

DEVIL’S ADVOCATE

TO BE OR NOT TO BE : DILEMMA OF POLITICS

            I was recently watching the news channels a few days ago, when all of them were flashing news about a farmer who allegedly committed suicide in presence of a large gathering in Delhi. The primary concern of all news reporters was the purported ‘politicization’ of the death, as there was a race among all political bigwigs to give statements (most of which were ranging from ludicrous to absolutely stupid) & visit the hospital where the person’s body was was taken. While the death of a farmer is certainly lamentable & could have been averted, the role of media has been definitely overtly negative & shameful. They seemed intent on showing everybody in the police as irresponsible (one reporter was asking questions in a manner to elicit a certain response from people around) & dubbed the complete political class as callous, headline-grabbing, indifferent, etc.

Herein lie the dilemma of politics… To be or not to be!!! Should they give a statement or should they not? Should they visit the deceased or should they not? Mocked if they do it, damned if they don’t… Or should I say – criticized, blasted, cursed – all of it, either way… Their situation is aptly described by the Hindi saying – इधर कुंआ उधर खाई, मै क्या करूं मेरे सांईं.

Politics, a Tough Job

            Being a politician (at any level) is indeed a tough ‘job’. It is arguably one of the the toughest profession in the world. But being a politician in India… My God!!! Isn’t that awful??? Every action, every word, every deed is constantly under public scrutiny 24x7, or should I say – media’s “public scrutiny” (something like when Arnab Goswami says – “India wants to know…”). The very existence is ‘spoken’ about, commented upon & judged by the (supposedly) ‘silent’ majority who elect them – over a cup of tea, over a glass of whiskey, or simply, just like that. But ironically, a politician is as much looked down upon, reviled & made a mockery of (in various forms); as he / she is looked up to, respected & feared. Well, these are the pitfalls & perks of being in such public limelight… Oh, did I forget to mention the constant intrusion of personal life??? And I have still not understood why some politician’s leave or sabbatical should grab the media headlines for so long. Isn’t he too entitled to have a personal life???

The legendary argumentative skills of Indians are put to best use & they are at their eloquent best, when discussing politics in general & politicians in particular. It doesn’t matter whether one is ‘left leaning’, ‘right leaning’, somewhere in between or just ‘nowhere’ in the intellectual continuum; it doesn’t matter whether one has participated in the dance of democracy by exercising his/her right to vote or not; it doesn’t matter whether one has constantly displayed his/her superior social & cultural skills by their conspicuous absence – all of us are entitled, by our ‘birth right’, to discuss the niceties (& not so ‘niceties’) of all our politicians.

Hypocrisy

            Once in college, I told one of my close friends that I wanted to join politics, & my god, he was shocked & appalled!!! With all his best intentions & in all earnest, he told me not to think of such a thing, that politics was synonymous with dishonesty, dishonor & all that was wrong… The idea itself was abhorrent to his sensibilities. We are all like him. The “I want a Bhagat Singh amongst us to lead the change, but not in my house” attitude is prevalent in all of us – the so called ‘common’ people. Aren’t we all ‘politicians’ in our own right – while dealing with our teachers, friends, colleagues & bosses?

            Politics, everywhere, is like this only. Who doesn’t crave to be rich, powerful & influential; who doesn’t want to be master of destiny of others; who doesn’t want to enjoy those privileges? But dare a person say that he/she wants to join politics… Dare a person say that he/she wants to be famous, have money & power... It’s a taboo!!! Our societal hypocrisy is nowhere more starkly evident, when we attach a “holier than thou” & a strictly puritanical approach to the ‘profession’ of politics. I suddenly realized that this is exactly congruent with our attitude towards sex. We all think about it all the time, do it and enjoy it, but only privately!!! Talk about it, discuss it publicly & logically – we cringe, evoke the bogey of culture, values & make a huge noise about it. Is it a surprise that we are the second most populous nation in the world & are soon going to overcome China? Is it a surprise that Sunny Leone is the most searched person over Google, in India?  

As You Sow, So Shall You Reap       

It is oft heard that politics in India is deeply partisan on the lines of religion, caste, creed, community, ethnicity, language, etc; is dirty, immoral, illegal, a profession of thieves, and what not… Our politicians are, after all, ‘our’ representatives; the reflection of our society at large. They are as good, bad or ugly as we, the citizens of India, are. They divide because we are divisive, they don’t care because we are indifferent, they are greedy & selfish because we are after our self-serving interests, they have regressive mindsets because we have a khap-like mentality, they have autocratic tendencies because we ourselves never hesitate to wield our money, muscle or influence over those who don’t have these.

Can we also credit our politicians in the same breath for binding us together as a nation irrespective of our innumerable differences, for our economic & social development irrespective of our humongous population & large size, for giving us international recognition within six decades of our independence, for making the democracy work when all doomsday predictions thought otherwise, for huge strides in science, technology, education & healthcare in spite of insurmountable challenges? We have come a long way & a longer way we have to tread, bigger challenges lie ahead. We have done it earlier, are doing it now & will keep doing it. But nothing could have been achieved without our leaders, our politicians.

Politics is the main instrument of stability, as well as change, in every society & every nation. As they say for the physical phenomenon of friction – it is a necessary evil. You may love it or hate it, you just can’t ignore it & you can’t do without it. The politicians are as good or as bad as we, the citizens, are. We all are ‘reactants’ in the ‘reaction’ of our nation’s destiny, politicians are just the ‘catalysts’. They are what we are. We all have the capability to bring about the change… WE ARE THE CHANGE.