Indians responsible for the rot in democracy

09th Nov 2009. There were three significant incidents which occurred, all three were connected to the politicians of India. The new depths that this class is discovering on an almost daily basis, speak volumes of their ability to ignore propriety in public life, offer inane and insensitive arguments, subvert, tarnish and diminish what ever they touch other than their personal assets, which multiply @ of Mach 7 or more.
We had just about digested the news that Mr. R.R. Patil re-appointed as the Home Minister in Maharashtra, he had done a wonderful job during terror strike on Nov 26th 2008. After all did he not make light of this attack, as a minor incident in a major metropolis of India, we should learn to live with it. 190 lives lost, no consequence we are a nation of billion plus, few lives lost should not galvanize or impel us to rile the political class or demand upgrading of security systems and equipment. The man was removed from this very post on 1st Dec 2008, what has changed now that the person in question is back at the helm of the same ministry. Did the political bosses make a wrong decision on 1st Dec 2008 or is it now? Guess both premise are wrong, the fact of the matter is new mandate has washed away all previous sins. We the electorate, have pardoned all the acts of omission and commission by re-electing the same persons. Who should bear the burden of this act? Naturally, we the people of Maharashtra. We had the opportunity and the choice we were decisive in our action, unlike the politicians. Let us wait for our fortunes to multiply at a similar rate as do those of the political class.
Manu Sharma out on parole! so what? Convicts are entitled to parole, victims have no such rights. We are a democratic country with well defined laws and laid down procedures to be followed. The catch is, the foot note that is appended to each and every law “Except the framers” We do claim that rule of law is prevalent in India and often hear “Law shall take it own course”. Travesty of this statement is the common man suffers all his life for want of action, the rich and famous escape the long arms of law for the rest of their life for the same want of action. Law shall take it own course, please do explain which is this course, that will ensure justice to the common citizen in this country.The CM of Delhi went to great lengths to explain the how the system works, yet she did not explain how on earth the basis of parole for a murder convict could be to attend to his Business needs. Bizarre that the state! Should be more concerned about the health of the convict’s business? rather than the sentence that he must undergo, for a heinous crime such as murder. Here again the politician cannot be held accountable, the people of Delhi after all re-elected the same government for the 3rd time in succession, so all previous sins were washed away and a fresh start.
What transpired in the late afternoon in the Maharashtra State Assembly, is best described as “Mobocracy” democracy is all about debate and reaching consensus. This was all about physical violence and intimidation. Guess what we the people are again the culprits we had the opportunity, we exercised it after due diligence and gave our verdict in favor of what we witnessed in the state assembly. The politicians are not to be blamed after all one set was engaged in protecting the Marathi Pride and Culture, the other taking oath in Hindi which is permitted under the constitution of India, was demeaning the Marathi Pride and Culture. India seems to be passing thru a period of relative calm and hence the need for excitement, what could be better after the fatwas against the national song “Vande Mataram”. A bit of indulgence in linguistic chauvinism and divide the country along those lines after all the division along religious lines is not offering the high returns that one used to witness previously. The states in India were demarcated linguistically. The trend is dangerous, disintegration of the country is a possibility that cannot be ignored. After all equal and opposite reaction, a law from Physics, would come into play sooner than later. Is suspension of 4 MLA of MNS for 4 years sufficient?
The common thread that has run thru all the three events is the role of the political class. The ultimate responsibility can only be laid at the door step of the people since it is us who elect these individuals repeatedly to govern, that mandate is conveniently transformed into an agreement to Rule us with no accountability on their part. Suffering is our share of the deal.