My co-blogger, Vinay Hardikar, has been in fine form recently, turing out two excellent pieces for the Marathi weekly Sadhana. In the first article, he provides an incisive commentary on 'Hindu', a novel by Bhalchandra Nemade. This is the best review of 'Hindu' that I've read so far. (I'll link to the piece once Sadhana makes it available online).
Second, in the Diwali 2010 edition of Sadhana, he recounts his experiences with four famed Marathi socialist activists: Baba Amte, G P Pradhan, Vasant bapat and Yadunath Thatte. Read the piece here - the last article in the issue.
Is Indian politics is leading to Presidential Democracy? Reply to 3sbharat.
ReplyDeleteCharter shown by Mr Vinay Hardikar for an active Civic Forum to define and initiate preventive measures would be extra constitutional authority. Measure for all these demands and 8 areas of action suggested by him are enlisted in Indian Constitution. Only will power to implement it in its true sense & spirit is lacking in all political parties. Only electoral reforms are the need of the hour. Tickets are distributed to by all political parties by taking lakhs & lakhs of money. The person who does not have true leadership qualities and having ample money power, get elected in every election. Voters have no option but to vote for one or the other who are more or less involved in criminal activities/business. All these have a dream to carry his Chair to his cremation ground. How one can expect and believe that he (lakhpaties who pays to Political party Fund) will serve this poor country where a farm labourer find it difficult to get his square meal a day? A true leader does not and never get a chance to enter into the Parliament. There is no other better way than political reforms under the frame of Indian Constitution.
We can find a true leadership qualities in some economical and backward communities and not in the political leaders well settled and who are 50% criminals siting in the parliament. Criteria for electorate must be economical back ground and not the social status. Very first base of democracy is for the poor, by the poor and of the poor. It is vice versa in Indian Politics. In Indian politics it is moving around money and money only. State has to be represented by the poors and not by the setteled society. Have nots have to get its due share, once they are come upto to a certain level their seat has to be given to other have not, and not all the time.
Your Civil society is only a pressure group for specific reform and its necessity get lost once the purpose is served, It’s life is temporary, but electoral reforms would be permanent, better for a long way. This can be possible only under the constitutional frame work. Civic forum is not the final authority. Anna Hajare’s civil society is the best recent example. It will die its natural death once the Lokpal bill is passed. Civic forum is mass hysteria only to divert the minds of public but it does not get to the root cause. We are sending more than 50% criminals in the parliament, Who will prevent them? Only drastic reforms in Peoples Representative Act will serve the purpose. All other reforms would be temporary white wash. The 3sbharat is a good idea, but it is not treating the root cause of the Indian society whose foundation is based on inequality and cast based civil society. It is based on the only law “survival the fittest”. In 64 years of power politics, the poverty has not been wiped out, but poor people are being wiped out. Rich are becoming more rich and poor are getting poorer day by day. Is it a democratic country? How this 3sbharat would tackle the inequality in all walks of life. Social equality must be more important and vibrant than political and economic independence.