Indian democracy: an enduring struggle

Indian democracy is about to speak again. In that spirit, it is wonderful that even in a time of instant gratification, we will vote over several weeks and wait even longer to find out how permutations and combinations of political pettifoggery will lead to a government and a leader that we may have not foreseen when the campaigning and sloganeering even began. Not many countries have been able to initiate and endure democratic traditions, but India’s ability to elevate qualified technocrats like Manmohan Singh as well as farmers like Deve Gowda to the same height deserves a tribute of its own.

Amidst all the accusations and assertions, the average citizen does not know what to do to who to pick. A choice between getting punched on the nose or getting kicked in the groin never sounds appetizing. I remember when during my teenage years the choice we had for our local MP was between Madhukar Sarpotdar running on the Sena/BJP ticket and Sunil Dutt on the Congress ticket. I never had an appetite for the read-meat hard right conservatism that Sarpotdar represented. Sunil Dutt seemed past his prime on most days. Today, the choices have hardly gotten better. In fact, even the expectation that the youth brigade will change the tone, tenor and content of Indian politics has come undone. Milind Deora, whose sole achievement is being the son of Murli Deora, has been a particularly ineffective MP and seemed lost on TV even while addressing the 26/11 attacks. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi thinks it helps India to show the foreign secretary of the UK that the average Indian is still poor. Maybe Rajiv Gandhi’s son seems to have forgotten that his party, and by extension his family, has controlled Indian politics for the better part of the post-independence era. Finally, Varun Gandhi seems to complete the undemocratic and thuggish traditions of Sanjay Gandhi and amplify those with syrup of communism and a topping of mendacity.

Just while it may seem that all is lost, hope emerges. Flawed as it may be, Indian democracy gives us a chance to hold people accountable. That is something not to be ignored or taken for granted. Our “friends” in Pakistan who seem to always know what’s good for democracy in Kashmir have their Prime Ministers typically murdered or overthrown by coup. We Indians have something to be proud of, even in its often dysfunctional state.

If I could prescribe a solution in less than a thousand words to fix the problems with our politics, than this column would be redundant. But I can say that the best start to addressing our problems in our country, regardless of where we may live, is people power. When Barack Obama ran for president, nobody thought he could overcome the fundraising ability and name-recognition of politicians like Hillary Clinton, who has been a household name in American politics since Obama was trying to decide between dope and hope.

Obama’s success was based on creating small grassroots organizations aiming towards changing the landscape in local communities. His ability as a master orator and a community organizer in Chicago helped him, using the Internet, to merge all these disparate movements to create a wave that abetted by anger at President Bush lead to the election of a man whose middle name is Hussein, five years after America went to war against another Hussein.

Replicating this in India will not be straightforward. A salad of various languages, ideologies and traditions makes it difficult to speak in one voice. But what is needed is young leaders who can start such movements, or even their own political parties. It is not like there is a dearth of causes to address. An example: One of the reasons the police found it hard to fight back on 26/11 is that they do not carry guns. Imagine the impact if young leaders – not jingoistic cowards – start a debate on exactly how we must prepare for an emergency and how we expect police to protect us if they are not armed. A leader who dares to give the first speech while standing beside the widow or the orphan of a dead police officer will capture the imaginations of our people.

This leader will probably lose the first election he or she runs in. He or she will probably lose the next one as well. But remember, Barack Obama lost his first national election by almost 33% in 2000. Eight years later, he won the White House.

Finally, those of us who do not have the time or the drive to engage actively can fulfill at least a most basic responsibility as Indians. VOTE. This is more patriotic than cheering for the IPL. This is the right that our jawans take bullets for. This is the voice of democracy.

Democracy is not a religion. But if it were, Election Day would be its holiest day. Election Day is the day when all the politicians, the pundits, the experts have to be silent, if unfortunately only for one day. The loudspeakers will all turn off and the posters will hang lonely on the side. The only people who will speak will be the people. Those of us who work hard, play by the rules, raise our kids, often find ourselves abandoned by those in power, but still wake up each day to add to the pool of labor and the sweat it engenders will finally get a chance to speak. Let us not remain silent. We may not be able to hit a six, but let us at least start running for a single.