Meteorologists use complex terms such as Isolated, widespread, heavy to very heavy rain fall to tell us a simple truth – “ I really don’t know exactly where, when and how much?
Likewise, the economists use terms such as immediate term, near term, midterm, long term and very long term, instead of simply telling the economically weaker fellow countrymen - what sort of belts to buy and how much they should be tightened.
It is a double disaster, when they become an adviser. Media to Ministers have questions. To confuse others and to keep their hides intact, they let loose jargon learned from countries which failed to prevent meltdowns and Snowdowns. Instead of reassuring the public, they lose their plots and end up painting gloom in place of boom.
The political class is quite different from these technical experts. This social stream represents the generations left behind by those personalities, about whom we might have studied in history lessons. Ahaa.. Now you are recollecting the phrase ‘history repeats’ is it not? Indian politics is studded with aunts, uncles, great grandsons, and grandsons to the next gen grand children.
The second stream owes its existence to the needs of the first stream - *.links! It is better to leave it to individual’s imaginations to fill the gaps before the *.link.
Our netas are a cut above the rest of us. Privileges and preferences follow them like the Dog Star hanging below the Orion constellation. Rule books get bent like the light rays in the vicinity of a massive star. In the worst case, the files disappear in to black holes of paperdom without a trace. This is the astronomical connections our stellar netas have in the sky of democracy!
It is better to have a contemplative person amongst us. The society will reap rich benefits from such a person, that is, if once in a while he speaks out his wisdom. The scenario will be bad, having a contemplating person who never speaks out or refuses to sing the song!
We are left with the doubt whether this person has attained enlightenment in silence or was he ruing his curtailed freedom of speech. No damage done to us except to his reputation.
There will be the one, who will emerge and still confused, from the ‘generations left behind’, who for most part of his life has been an understudy. The worst situation is, when this person wakes up once in a while, with an angry outburst only to go back in to a shell to continue his interrupted contemplation. These punch lines spoken without prompting amounts to wild shooting, hurting friends and foes alike.
To save the drama from this messed up script, a few loyalist actors come on to the stage and deliver the scripted, salvaging dialogues. The smokescreen drifts slowly away and dissolves in to thin air – so much for pollution control. Here the scrambled actors outwit the meteorologists and economists in political jargon.
Whatever the stream, candidates enter politics ‘for the people’ of a constituency. When their muddled and murky policies land the mass in trouble, the ill effects are left to be suffered ‘by the people’ – an illogical success formula keeping parties alive to take another version of the same avatar within next 5 years.
Hang gliding on ‘coalition’ or ‘coagulation’ dharma, the kichidi netas manage to form N P A (a Notional Progression Alliance) and stay the course to mind their own businesses. Elected netas show eagerness to visit and study the functioning of parliamentary systems in western countries, taking the longest air route possible.
Here at home they don’t allow their own parliament to function does not cross their mind. Taking cue the state level netas, who are rarely seen in their constituencies after elections, also fly out to get the first hand novel experience.
These visits invariably coincide when the state is in the grip of a famine or when the exchequer of the country is near empty. Singly or together these situations do not deter them in planning jamborees.
These following measures might help:
A constituency visa can be introduced - netas fly by air anyway, and a minimum number of visa stamping can be prescribed per year of the elected term.
This collated constituency visits can be made as an eligibility criteria for foreign study tours.
Another important factor to be specified can be the visits of the neta do not get counted if he or she has business interests in the same constituency.
Any way with all these restrictions, somebody will find a way out and happily join the team to go abroad. For the master minds that organise defection jamborees, this will be a child’s play.
Suddenly, that voice from the wilderness will come echoing the mantra ‘when common man is in plight, how you can take a flight?’ This rhetoric will become an election slogan and the voice in wilderness might well become the voice to speak to the nation on a later date (or) go back to contemplate once again.
Not withstanding the hype created by media managers of the party, no significant change occurs in the minds of the voters. The old guards in the kichidi alliance secretly think aloud that ‘the voice from the wilderness’ spewing anger, passion and compassion has only helped the ‘engaged’ crowd for the public meetings to search for alternate entertainments.
Opinion polls predict a rout and alliance partners start to orate eloquently (of course in public meetings or media briefings) questioning the basis and bias of such polls, taking a dig at the pollsters. When the pollster is proved right, the eloquent orators become speechless and go in hiding. The hapless party spokesperson reads out a statement “we gracefully accept the electoral verdict”. Another poignant point will be made in full media glare “we will humbly sit in the opposition”
Then the splinter groups in the N P A, start hinting at the need for this coalition of ‘immunal’ forces to keep at bay the other forces. This declaration is backed by an offer of unconditional support. They are good at keeping others out and manage to get what they want at the same time. Not because of the pressure from the constituencies but out of fear for the skeletons in their cupboards, that might take a stroll in the park.
The lead party has its own share of skeletons in the cup boards. This coalition/coagulation dharma lasts for five stormy years – amazing bonding glue! This is how long the cushions in the treasury benches remain comfortable. Amidst all these dins, some one is heard saying ‘a seat on the pin cushion is better than the one in the opposition benches’. This quote with in quotes is attributed to a gentleman who suffers with insomnia – if he cannot flex his muscles regularly.
Once these back channel diplomacy has been accomplished, the lead partner puts out cautious statements, reluctance and public posturing all the while planning ministerial berths – worst comes to worst, this can be called as a formation of a shadow boxing cabinet. As long as skeletons are to be protected and the splinter groups are afflicted with claustrophobia, the nation will not endure the anathema of a ‘hung’ verdict but a burdened exchequer.
Each year an economic survey, interim predictions, blaming the foreign ‘El Niño or la Nina effects and concern for BPL is staged to keep the electoral communication going. To add spice to the proceedings, few cabinet colleagues engage in war of words through TV channels. The respective high commands swing into action to quell the fight to contain the damage from reaching the constituencies.
In the meanwhile, socializing dramas like this are staged and a VVIP decides to dine with a poor man’s family. The area gets sanitized. The VVIP part takes in a frugal dinner served by the family departs amidst sound bytes and lightning, allowing the dust to settle. Filled with the deemed honour, the poor man’s family enjoys a good night’s sleep, dreaming utopia. The next day, they wake up to find only the clouds of poverty still hanging thick in their lives.
Though not wordily (worldly) wise, they have heard about this famous quotation - “democracy is for, by and of the people”. In the mental turmoil, they deem the presentation of economic survey, the railway budget and the regular budget should be simplified to avoid burdening the exchequer with crores of rupees in expenditure, to convene the members. Instead, update the figures by 10 to 15% each year and get on with the job. The state governments too can change over to this hassle free budget presentation.
The resolve with which they have been enduring poverty, the eligible voters in the house wished to pass on the curse of poverty –henceforth, all the VVIP and VIP to feed on only the frugal dinner his poor family is able to afford. The people in the hut, now thoroughly disliked any form VIP visit or VIP treatment. They located voter ids and with rumbling stomachs awaited, also, for alleviation – from their hunger for democracy.
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