This is a compilation of a discussion about Indian politics and elections that happened through a mail chain among a small group of us. I have tried my bit to structure it in a fashion that the points are not redundant but bear with me if I have failed at that.
The elections are just around the corner. The time has come again to choose a representative and his/her clan who would lead our nation for the next 5 yrs. We youngsters usually refrain from discussing politics but remember its politics and the politicians who are responsible for our future and our nations future. The other day I asked a girl who she'd vote for and she said "My father asked me to vote for ____ so I will vote for them." How thoughtful!!! So instead of just warming benches, or surfing celebrity sites, or for that matter discussing who is getting married first or last, lets take some time to discuss the importance of voting and the attributes of a leader that we need to consider before voting.
Importance of voting
The importance of voting is not restricted to the fact that we are choosing our nation's future leaders. It can wipe out the caste politics that the parties use in their political equations persay.
Failing to vote amplifies "the vicious cycle of caste equations taking centrestage in poll strategy & campaigns & in turn politicians working for a selected section of society." This cycle needs to be broken and weakened. If educated urban voters dont vote, its not just a shame but setting a wrong example to the rural population.
"What hurts the nation is not the violence of bad guys but THE SILENCE OF GOOD GUYS"....
One had his relative coming in from his native village who said that there was distribution of sarees and other stuff to lure the voters. Is there anything more that can be done on the issue? We can use Streetplays to spread some sort of awareness to the general public on ELECTION. In the previous election outcome, you can see that rural votes have always played a major role in electing the candidates. The voting turn-out in the Phase-I was 60% on an avg. The major contributor to this percentage is the rural voter. What does the majority of the educated urban population do on the election days? Sit at home with a mug of hot brewing coffee and warm the couch.
Attributes of a leaderViewpoint 1:Factors that should be considered before voting for any candidate:
1. Age and Educational qualification
2. Ideology/Reforms in primary education, healthcare, infrastructure, red tapism at a local level.
3. Ideology/Reforms in financial policies, foreign policies, defence, reservations, caste system, corruption at a national level.
4. If the Intent is right.
5. His belief in the concept of "Belief". A belief that the system can work.
6. The Party.
Viewpoint 2:I don’t find any of those characters in politicians. That’s heights of expectations. We want an able person to represent our country(referring to the PM), but it depends on the party’s decision to select him. Our intentions may be different but it may end up in something else. So we have to make the best decision in the options that are available. What factors should we look into in the limited options available? If I go for experience then, it may be good but his work is not satisfactory. Educated, he may concentrate only on few areas.
Do we vote for a party or a candidate?Viewpoint 1 :
This is probably a never ending debate. There are pros and cons. But its necessary to judiciously weigh the impact of both in reference to the national context, thereby arriving at a well thought out decision. In a multiparty politicaly messy environment like India, its of utmost importance to give a clear mandate that'll empower a single party to take the country forward on a socio-economic graph. Coalition politics is ruining the very fabric of Indian governmental setup with the CMP(common minimum program) framed just turning out to be a compromise between the bickering coalition partners who'll withdraw support at their whims and fancies. Until we come to a position where we are able to get a majority to amend the constitution to move to a two party system(chances are very bleak with the exisiting caste system), its necessary to bring a single party to govern at the centre. We should vote for the party which has a logical and achievable manifesto. The nations future which in a broad sense depends on the decisions the ruling party makes.
At the local level, we look at how good a candidate will serve the constituency. The contribution of a MP at the local level is minimal. His primary concern is legislation at the central level. At the local level, MLAs and corporators(BBMP) have an upper hand. " A Candidate " should take priority over "The Party" in assembly elections and "vice versa" in the Lok sabha elections.
Viewpoint 2 :
It is important to know that party and the candidate are like hand in the glove. A candidate is identified by the party and is expected to follow and work on the guidelines of the Party's election manifesto. So I suggest we vote for the party which has a logical and achievable manifesto. The nations future which in a broad sense depends on the decisions of the ruling party. India has witnessed a lot of instances in which the then ruling party has taken not so effective decisions. Lets say 'we vote for a candidate who is a good but the party to which he belongs is not good'. In such a scenario I would say we are being selfish by just looking at the welfare of only our constituency and not the benefits of the nation as a whole.
Viewpoint 3 :
We need to vote for the person who'll do good for the constituency rather than voting for a party. We need to encourage the good people. In the long run, this would reflect in the way in which the party give tickets to the candidates. In doing so, we would be creating a system where in the parties would be looking at candidates who can do good within their constituency. Isnt it also a citizen's responsibilty to force/encourage/direct parties to give tickets to "able" candidates? How can we achieve that? If we neglect a candidate's profile and only vote for the party, it might lead to the party fielding its candidates on money/muscle/caste power. But, we should also take into account the party manifesto, and the ability of the candidate to work within and despite the system.
Although a young candidate would bring a great deal of ideas, do you think they will bring about a change in the system without enough experience? Is it possible for a young candidate to make an impact at the parliament level?Viewpoint 1 :
In my belief only a young person can make an impact. Dynamism, pragmatism and forethought are the most important qualities expected of a political leader. These qualities are natural of an educated youth. Education brings with it a sense of responsibility and aspirational transformation. Elderly/experienced leaders should be available at an advisory level to these youngsters. But the responsibilty of conceptualising and implementing ideas should be left to the young leaders.
Viewpoint 2 :
I go by the credit of the politician and not by his age. Experience is important because politics is a filthy world. To survive in it and also work for the nation is a difficult task in a multiparty system like ours. But looking at it from an international perspective, there are politicians in every nation (some of them much shrewder than our own politicians). To navigate the nation away from the political traps laid by other nations we will need a leader who has quite some experience. The leader must be able to recognise the trap in the first place and then navigate the nation away from it without hurting the sentiments of others. This is a difficult task and some experience and shrewdness is required. Said that, I also agree that a leader can never be effective without dynamism, forethought, a strong will and the willingness to serve. I take a neutral stand when it comes to this. Ideal leader would be the guy with loads of dynamism and a very experienced personal adviser.
Solutions to problems apparent
1. Bi-party system. It may take a lot of time for a consensus but the foundations must be laid now. One disadvantage in the bi-party system is that your options are limited. You only have two candidates to choose from and if both are corrupt you have to bare with it. Further keeping in mind national interests, bi-party systems reduce ideologies to just two views. Reaching to the grass root level becomes a little difficult unless we have strong leaders.
2. Educating India. Education should not be restricted to just reading and writing. It should be comprehensive. It should highlight the importance and impact of our day to day actions on the nation. Stating an example, it should show case studies where money given away as bribe weakens our economy (by converting the white money to black money). Such in-depth education will help the nation.
3. Technology. Some technology which will make voting mandatory for everyone. If a person does not vote he is automatically tracked and penalised suitably. This is where IT comes in. The erstwhile Vajpayee govt had proposed a Multi purpose national Identity card for Indian citizens. (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multipurpose_National_Identity_Card_(India)). If this system is in place, the financial, educational, property, employment, health, electoral roll etc database of every citizen will be integrated on a single platform. In such an environment the idea can be implemented. If a rural voter does not vote his ration/fair price shop rights could be taken away for a stipulated time period. If an urban voter does not vote his Income tax rate should be doubled(all just hypothetical ideas). This will make people understand the importance of voting. Sadly this'll make the country a pseudo democracy, but it better be a socially active pseudo democracy rather than a socially passive democracy. I know this is far fetched and some may even find it like some movie but just imagine if something like this would really come into existence.
4. Making it compulsory to vote may be feasible but it is against democratic ideologies. People are free to make their decisions. Voting should be a responsibility and not a rule. National/social responsibilities should come from within and be nurtured, NOT forced. By implementing policies that make voting compulsory, we would be no different from communist countries(like in china, where a couple is in a great deal of trouble if they have more that 2 kids). It would be more appropriate to take the education related to voting/elections to the grass root level. In today's scenario we have only politicians who spread awareness about voting to the grass root(and as one can expect they instill a view biased towards voting for their party). The small bit that we can do as of today is to explain the consequences of not voting to the people we know. Even talk to people of your locality about the importance of voting(not about whom to vote, leave that decision to them).
5. A simpler alternative is to scrap the results of an election if less than 70pc of population has voted.
A solution that ceases to be oneArticle 49-O. We have a big and rather misunderstood giggle about 49-O. But is "Not Voting For Anyone" a good option? Will it really bring about a change. Further, many young people jump to the conclusion that all candidates contesting are bad and corrupt? Do we get to hear anything good about the candidates from the people around us. Very rarely. A major reason for this is the media which prioritises on stories that incline towards the BAD relative to the GOOD. As far as the indian media is considered sensationalism is the order of the day!
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Most of us look at the issue of politics with a mocking attitude. Politics is always ridiculed at. The interest in discussing these issues should not arise only during elections. It should sustain throughout. Need of the hour is for everyone of us to be socially and politically active. Do not shun politics or political leaders. "You can change the system only if you are a part of the system". Jai Hind!
Credits - Karthik, Chandrashekar, Sandeep, Shashidhar, Keshav and Rohit
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