AAP and Doom -- A Rejoinder to TVR Shenoy

That he is a respected senior journalist and an astute political observer and commentator was what over the past years drew his readers to the many articles of TVR Shenoy. Without exception, his pieces were peppered with sound arguments qualified by keen observation and a unique understanding of the complex 'mathematics' behind the issues.

So it was with much expectations that I, surely alongwith many like-minded all over the country, dipped into his recent pronunciations on Mr Kejriwal and the AAP. ( http://www.rediff.com/news/column/ls-election-column-tvr-shenoy-keriwal-is-walking-the-path-to-destruction/20140319.htm ) The quote from the Bhagavad Gita at the beginning prepared the reader for a balanced judgement upon the erring (according to TVRS) AAP boss. But unfortunately, despite a typical assemblage of supporting facts, the rather shoddily and hurriedly constructed argument soon came to a facetious conclusion -- that Mr Kejriwal should better have second thoughts before "..ranting and raving against the very media that propelled him to fame" and success in December, 2013. And the author is sure that the end of it all is going to be a replay of the grand Kurukshetra spectacle.

(pic courtesy --web)

Kurukshetra was the scene of the mother of all 'Black-against-White' battles of history and lore. And most of us would know that the Bhagavad Gita is the wisdom of life's philosophy as preached by Lord Krishna with which he persuaded Arjuna to shed his queasiness and gird up for the battle. So far so good. But was that not about the quintessential defeat of evil, and the triumph of good? Ah, yes, now we get it. In spite of being projected as "Mr Good" by the condescending media, and pushed onto a gilded seat in December last, Mr Kejriwal, the thankless villain, is now showing his true colours as the personification of evil.

Now, let us see, who are the "forces of White", the good souls who have arrayed themselves against this 21st century Darth Vader? The pristine white of Khadi on the one side is matched by the saffron of the massed patriots, and even joined by the crimson of the socialists, the green of the minorities -- all strung like beads on a strong nylon/mylar Corporate thread, courtesy of a few top business houses of the country. What more do you need to assure victory? Once that classic victory is at hand, the media are ready to trumpet it to the far corners of the world! So, blow the conch, and let the battle begin...

This is verily laughable.

I have no qualifications to preach in a Lordly manner to TVRS about the media being the stout Fourth pillar of a civilized society and all the related stuff. But the fact being such like, it is prudent to examine what the media was doing in the past decade or more when the Nation was going through a slow and steady slide down a slope in all spheres, and God forbid, it appeared to do that according to a well-scripted scenario. It would not be far from the truth that, apart from occasional barks of some of the 'watch dogs', the "cushy" quietude of the media scene was seldom disturbed through these long years of nepotism and undisguised graft.

The media, as is taught in better media institutions, has many roles to play. The first and foremost is to report to the "aam aadmi" (the "aurats" too are included, automatically!) what all is happening in the country and how it will affect his life and fortunes. Another of the tasks is to 'educate' him about issues about which he may have little knowledge or time to brush up on. The "watch dog / whistle-blower" role too is an important one, given the nature of politicians to choose greed and graft as their bedfellows. The operative question here is how well did the Indian media --and its respected stalwarts-- play these roles in the troubled decade in which the "aam aadmi" could do with a hefty dose of "being wised up" and hand-held. Apart from the national headlines of this scam or that, which kept surfacing with alarming regularity (and which soon died a natural death in the amnesic public mind), what concerted analysis and moral onslaught did the keepers of the media's conscience mount on this erosion of honesty and integrity? Pretty little. The visual media, even sunk to the nadir of media responsibility when it wore kidgloves to interview a mumbling head of the nation in the post-scam days.

Now the veteran journalist TVRS speaks of the media that had "propelled (Mr Kejriwal) to fame". Had he himself portrayed Mr Kejriwal as perhaps a righteous answer to the rot in the polity? Had the media undertaken any such campaign to project his anger and frustration at the colossal graft that had engulfed the society? All I could say is, I don't know of any such media blitz. It doen't need a PhD in media studies to know who owns and runs most of the media that matters. Indians are second to none when it comes to perfecting the fine art of "media gate-keeping", all the while shouting themselves hoarse about their openness and impartiality. When a frustrated and angry Kejriwal "ranted and raved" against the corporatized media, the journalistic pundits in the North all exhibited a knee-jerk reaction. It was left to the more honest and media-savvy practitioners of the art from the South to issue a sound and studied response to Mr Kejriwal's protestations.( http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/why-overreact-to-kejriwals-criticism-ask-journalists/article5789153.ece ) All I wish to do now is to plead with Mr TVRS to spend some time in honest self-examination.

Even today, the Indian media remains by and large "filtered", and whatever unfiltered news that gets around is mostly via the social media -- which again is victim to the draconian powers of the rulers. This is particularly so when the news makers happen to be "persona non grata" so far as the ruling class, the opposition, the other "stake holders" and the media barons are concerned. How could this fact be "white-washed" and hidden anymore?

Coming to more "serious things", TVRS says "...whether it is foreign policy or defence strategy, sharing river waters or nuclear energy, the AAP refuses to have a coherent policy on anything..." So unfortunate. Yes, these are all big things, more serious issues, and perhaps life-and-death matters for the country as a whole. C'mon, what are the pronouncements of the major parties on these issues? What do they say about such issues in their election manifestos? (Not that manifestos are sacrosanct documents to be followed in letter and spirit post-elections!) Not much, except make vague noises about vague things.

TVRS continues to analyse the many shortcomings of AAP: "... (it) has no policy framework, no declared ideology to give it a structure.... no record of governance.." I know the author is old enough to answer the same set of questions factually if he were to ask those about Nehru and his cohorts when they took over the reins of government from a seasoned Mountbatten. Still India did not sink into the oceans, and thanks to the Five-year Plans and such like, even progressed to a degree of self-sufficiency in many areas. But thankfully in those days "development" meant other things, and not a squeezing of the common man and siphoning of the Treasury into ever deeper pockets.

Let us go back for once to the pre-election days of UPA-1. Did they release a 'road map' of what all they were going to do as regards the above key areas once they came to power? Did they once let the people know that once they came to power they would let FDI flow in unhindered and would sign various nuclear agreements and such like, with no indemnity clauses offering protection to the Indian citizenry?? Did the UPA-2 (or their "standard" adversaries) even mention that it was their plan to slowly and steadily erase the 'losses' of the petroleum companies by giving them autonomy to decide prices? Did they telll us they will permit companies to bring in genetically modified seeds and foods? Did they tell us they would give corporates heavy subsidies so that they would look after the "aam aadmi" with love and affection? Did they tell us about the Andhra bifurcation??? A thousand questions beg for answers. Election manifestos are good for providing laughs -- in the post-election scenario for the victors once they go over their clever skulduggery.

Sir, who are we trying to kid? People now have a "united front" against them-- a united front of the ruling class, the opposition and the corporates. They were helpless. But when a slim opportunity presented itself, the worm turned and that is what you saw at the Ram Leela Maidan. In the chaos of the moment, something emerged, and Mr Kejriwal, as I see it, realized that in order to change the system, one has to be part of it. There is no argument that in a short few weeks, it is not possible to organize a well-oiled party machinery as the "standard parties" had done over the past many decades. There is likelihood of many imperfections coming to the fore in the functioning of the AAP and its cadre. As everybody knows, an absolutely 'democratic' crowd simply deteriorates into a mob, with expected results. God forbid...

But in the dark polity of present day India, Mr Kejriwal offers a glimmer of hope for the voiceless multitude, whose voices have been suppressed and manipulated. For once, after 1947, the crass confidence of the major parties have been shaken somewhat and there is trepidation in the air. What if ...??? Mr Kejriwal is a symbol that represents that million-rupee question for the average, honest, good at heart, law-abiding, tax-paying "aam aadmi" of this great nation Don't blame him if we wants to try a new button or two in the EVMs this time round. Remember though, Destiny has very funny ways of getting even with very clever people...

On second thought, it appears that we must once again head back to the Bhagavad Gita:

"Karmanye Vadhikaraste, Ma phaleshou kada chana,
Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani "

["You have the right to perform your actions, but you are not entitled to the fruits of the actions.
Do not let the fruit be the purpose of your actions, and therefore you won’t be attached to not doing your duty."]

In his infinite wisdom, the Lord is sure to have intended these timeless words as a reminder to the "aam aadmi" too, particularly before the cruel month of April!

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AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CEC

Before the Hon. Chief Election Commissioner:

Sir,

We, the people of India (aren't we thrilled when we pronounce that phrase our Founding Fathers have put down in the Constitution!) beg to present the following before you.

We are indeed thankful to you for providing us with that long-hoped for button in the EVMs -- the NOTA button. For once, we have a means to express our disapproval of, our displeasure with, and our dismissal of some of those who would not leave us alone until we let them represent us in the Houses of the People. And that too for five lone years, given the history of close co-operation between the Treasury side and the Opposition, something that is only rarely seen when it comes to debating and passing some legislation that might even remotely benefit those poor souls who had sent these worthies to their posts initially and who continue to cough up the taxes that maintain them in style. (No, we are not forgetting the "other incomes" they have, but that is something that we don't discuss openly in Arsha Bharat.)

As any "aam aadmi" could learn if they care to visit the Election Commission's website, it is the Constitution of India that has vested in the EC the powers of "... superintendence, direction and control of the entire process for conduct of elections to Parliament and Legislature of every State and to the offices of President and Vice-President of India". If you dig further, you will be tickled to see "...elections to the Lok Sabha are carried out using a first-past-the-post electoral system ... the winner being the candidate who gets the maximum votes ". Oh my, it is as simple as a race, with the first to touch the tape declared the winner. How simple and time-tested and time-honoured!

Ours is a democracy, perhaps the largest in the world, touch wood. When we were in school and we had a 'mock Assembly", and when we voted, we remember it was just one vote that swung the balance one way or the other. That is democracy's way of saying that if we have hundred people, what 51 says is right, though we may not want to immediately condemn the unlucky 49 to summary hell. Today's polity, as the Hon. CEC too is aware of, is littered with parties large and small, angling for a piece of the post-election pie. Little do they attempt to forge alliances before they face the people and the elections. (Who doesn't know the best ploy is to sit on the fence and join the winning side at the last moment?)

Another vexation for the humble citizen voter has been the proliferation of people who styled themselves as "people's reps", but whose past was mired in criminality and anti-social activities. This sometimes meant all the buttons of the EVM were assigned to candidates who were basically a bunch of bad apples, oranges or mangoes. In the good old days, the "aam aadmi" could gleefully put his stamp upon all the names, and the vote will be declared invalid and not counted. But today's voter, thanks to your largesse, could now register his displeasure and disapproval of those self-styled servants of the public.

The NOTA (none of the above) button, we feel, has as much importance as the others that represent each candidate. Had it been representing somebody "other than the above list of you know who", surely when the polled votes was "first past the post", s/he would be declared the winner. But the democratic wisdom of the EC has unfortunately chosen to ignore in toto "the will of the people" that is represented by the NOTA button.

This, sir, is most unfortunate and undemocratic, if not completely unsportive.

No amount of tautological acrobatics is going to prove that "none of the above" means "one of the unwanted above". No, and NO! How could anybody come to such an interpretation? In simple terms, the voter is saying that he does not see anybody whom he could trust as far as representing him is concerned. It is not a question of the "lesser devil" winning.

This is not the time nor occasion to bring up questions of real, proportional, democratic representation and all that. Let us just say that if the EC is willing to ponder for a moment what was the spirit of democratic elections envisaged by our Founding Fathers, then surely the EC would readily declare a re-election with a list of new candidates -- if/when the NOTA button's tally crossed the post first.

It is usually the politicians who are fond of giving peple little sops when the public gripes. You raise a hue and cry for a Lok Pal, and they readily give you one -- sans tooth and nail! You raise a clamour for a NOTA button, and there it is on the EVM in the very next election. But to what avail? Sir, we understand, your exalted post is no political seat, and your duty has been sanctioned by the Constitution itself. It is our humble prayer that you should at the earliest link the NOTA button to a more meaningful and truly democratic implementation of the will of the people, in letter and spirit.

While on the subject of the spirit of democracy in elections, may we invite your attention to, and learned action as regards the interpretation, of a couple more factors. The first is that of the present practice of a person contesting from more than one constituency. This, simple reflection would tell us, is not in the spirit of the representation of the will of the people of a locality, and further, it is wasteful of the resources of the EC too. This has to be done away with, sooner than later.

The second, and perhaps a more important point upon which your immediate attention should be focussed, is the somewhat vexing problem of unelected people occupying responsible positions of power. Surely we understand that amending the Representation of the People Act requires more than your indulgence. Still, the Nation's larger interests will be served if we specify that no post in this country, from that of the Panchayat President to that of the Prime Minister, shall be occupied by a person who has not faced the litmus test of being elected by the people in a democratic contest.

It is with prayers for consideration of our pleas and fervent hopes of an impartial and just intervention in these matters, that we present the above before your honourable self.

Most sincerely yours, Sir,

-- Aam Aadmis of this great Nation

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THE NEED TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD

Idioms, in any language, are wonderful ways to convey deeper and subtler shades of meaning. They offer us the distillate of the wisdom of ages packed into an innocent short phrase. It is no different when you think of the phrase "a level playing field". From 'play' it goes deeper into more serious territory.

Well, let us just say that levelling the playing field is not about driving in a bulldozer and levelling the whole place ruler flat. It is more about the need to offer fairness to all the participants. And fairness is a powerful operative word in a democracy, and that too in the "world's largest democracy". Over the past half century and more, we have succeeded in hypnotizing ourselves into believing in that proud phrase by the Goebbelsian trick of repeating that ad nauseum. (Everybody knows it contains as much truth as the tourism operator's infamous motto 'God's own country'. And the one thing that phrase has achieved is to invite the ire of the Almighty for dragging Him into all the skulduggery that is going on in this land of ours--which hasn't helped matters either.)

In the run-up to the elections, the playing field cannot be anything other than the political one, where, like the Olympics or Asian Games, great entertainment for the masses is staged once in five years. (Rome had its gladiators and the circus, we recall from our civics lessons, to keep the masses 'entertained' and free from thoughts that would eventually lead to unpleasant questions--unpleasant to the rulers, that is!) Every nation prides itself on the wisdom of its Founding Fathers who shaped the Nation and finalized its Constitution, the operator's manual for running the complex machinery of governance. India, I guess, has perhaps a Constitution that qualifies to get into the Guinnes Book. (The Brits were wiser, and left most of the things unwritten, so that things could be interpreted a lot more flexibly.)

However, upon second thoughts, it appears that our great fathers of the Constitution had committed a truly undemocratic gaffe in not insisting on the playing field being level first before the crucial "election games" were played out. For once, ignoring the fence-sitters and the fence-jumpers, let us concentrate on the two main opponents. On the one side is the guys who have all the money, the Treasury benchers, and on the other, the chaps who must rake up a ruckus always, the Opposition. Seriously, is there any fairness when they go to the polls as far as the Constitution sanctions the rules of play?

Elections are declared by the EC, but that does not automatically ask the ruling side to step down and go home and face the elections as "aam aadmis". Ditto is the case with the Opposition members -- though, admittedly, their clout is less than the ruling honchos. The tamasha of the government goes on as the manoeuvrings begin, and it is quite plain that the machinery of government and the tax payers' money is freely used by those who continue to be in power to favour themselves in the election 'match'. Where is the fairness in this?

India over the last six decades has had a procession of democratically minded greats walking into the hallowed halls of the Parliament and it is a shame that none had thought of bringing in the truly democratic move to dissolve the government fully before declaring elections. We have the President and his team of Governors to oversee the governance of this huge country in the interim, have we not? Who is afraid that tsunami waves will inundate this land once all the players are banished for a month or two while the poll machinery kicks into life? The truth must be that the ruling class (and the hopefuls!) found the present "loaded dice" situation quite "convenient", and so let it be.

Today the voting "aam aadmis" are increasingly becoming aware of the need to have a NOTA button on the voting machines, and more importantly, of the need to link that to bring in the notion of democracy with its 51% to be called the majority and recognized as such. Then there is that mirage to be chased -- the right to recall our "beloved representatives" once they, post-election, like Frankenstein's monster, assume a whole new identity marked by a grand manner of omnipotence and utter unaccountability. For five long years they ride roughshod over the poor voters who had lifted them onto the 'gaddi'. (Well, we have none other than ourselves to blame for that, though, as only the most complete nincompoop will fall for the same old promises and sweet talk.)

But, on second thought, it appears to me that the task of urgently doing something to level the playing field takes precedence over all the above reforms. We don't exactly have a clutch of angels in power, and surely abuse of power and misuse of positions of power will always be part of electioneering. Not only that, so long as the culture of "kow-towing" to the powerful are embedded in the minds of the 'babus' and the police force, and to an extent in the mindset and attitudes of at least some of the election officials too, the practice of a ministry continuing in power while the election process is on, will not ensure a healthy and democratic reflection of the "will of the people".

It is time we ordered in the bulldozers to begin the task -- pronto!

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