Victory!
So the verdict is out! After
the maelstrom of uninterrupted
election activity in the country, and the
media's foofaraw over all trifling matters,
a decisive victory has come into view. All the
protracted drama and chaos has led to a stolidly calm
end! Only, we are exactly where we began... with the
same government, but a realization that this is
exactly what we've always wanted! :) So we've made a
hoopla about this democratic exercise and have
finally voted for continued stability!
I am relieved! I almost didn't know what to make of this election juggernaut push taking shape everywhere! We got dealt some fanciful cards of celebrities and performers, and despite the bewildering rumpus that they were creating, and the blistering war between the radical left and right, all of whom were pushing portentously for power with overwhelming force, we seem to have chosen prudently!
At the end of it all, this election turned out to be a surprisingly peaceful one! The people who made the least noise have emerged victorious, leaving the opponents quite dumbfounded. Clearly, no one anticipated this smooth walkover, not even the Congress!
So, it is now time to make whoopee and glorify the elected government! It won't be too long before we are contemptuous again. The media will start inveighing against every seemingly important and unimportant decision that will be made by the ruling party! I am curious to see how people react to the priority of this season being judicial reform! Something tells me this can only be beneficial, but the impact of it may be less visible and may therefore go uncredited.
Our lagging economy will see some rough times in the next year or so, and with no investment in infrastructure, and no major economic reform, it won't be too long before the people begin to sound pessimistic. The discussions will tend towards the pointlessness of this democratic exercise and we will forget all the intense passion that we just felt over the last few months.
I don't mean to sound defeatist at all. I swing from this way to that and change my opinion on politics every day depending on who I speak to, and how passionate or dispassionate they are about politics. Some days I am overawed by the order in chaos that is the norm in our politics, some days I am deeply humbled by the sheer complexity of this democratic process, with its hundreds of political parties that address a myriad of issues, many of which I am completely clueless about. On other days, I am utterly baffled by the absurdity of it all. We have a sense of humor about our politics on a level I cant quite fathom! How else does one explain the buffoonery that we witness everyday as our leaders threaten to upload nude pictures of their adversaries, pass vile remarks about certain social classes, show incessant affinity with miscreants! We are one comic race, acting out an eccentric play with several exciting, emotional, unexpected series of events.
That being said, this seems like a very important exercise that we ought to engage in as often as possible! It has little to do with picking the right political party to lead us, for there is no telling what might come out of one party being in power over another. There is no such thing as making an informed decision, at least not for the majority of people, me included!
Perhaps in democracy, one isn't really voting for a party, for issues, or for an ideology. We seem to be voting for the idea of democracy and freedom, of being a part of a frenzy, and acting together, mindfully or mindlessly, but passionately nevertheless. And it is apparent that one needs nothing more than this game of mindless mass action to keep up moving forward!
Today I am feeling a bit hopeful and sanguine, and it is because I am reading India After Gandhi, in which Guha speaks of the miraculous birth of India in a short span of two or three years. Around the time of our Independence, over five hundred countries, were merged together, to form what we now know as India. It is the kind of achievement on a level that I can't even begin to comprehend. I can imagine an India with several religious entities, several social castes and classes living together peacefully and clashing every now and then! But I can't imagine an India split into so many parts where each part is more different from the other than France is from Spain or Germany is from England, where most entities wanted to remain independent countries and not come under the common umbrella called India! If we could achieve that kind of unity, what are the issues in politics that we face today in comparison!
What is it about India that attracted so many different kinds of people and cultures! Why are we so welcoming! We should have a special day to celebrate Secularism, as we do Independence! Happy Secularism :-)
I am relieved! I almost didn't know what to make of this election juggernaut push taking shape everywhere! We got dealt some fanciful cards of celebrities and performers, and despite the bewildering rumpus that they were creating, and the blistering war between the radical left and right, all of whom were pushing portentously for power with overwhelming force, we seem to have chosen prudently!
At the end of it all, this election turned out to be a surprisingly peaceful one! The people who made the least noise have emerged victorious, leaving the opponents quite dumbfounded. Clearly, no one anticipated this smooth walkover, not even the Congress!
So, it is now time to make whoopee and glorify the elected government! It won't be too long before we are contemptuous again. The media will start inveighing against every seemingly important and unimportant decision that will be made by the ruling party! I am curious to see how people react to the priority of this season being judicial reform! Something tells me this can only be beneficial, but the impact of it may be less visible and may therefore go uncredited.
Our lagging economy will see some rough times in the next year or so, and with no investment in infrastructure, and no major economic reform, it won't be too long before the people begin to sound pessimistic. The discussions will tend towards the pointlessness of this democratic exercise and we will forget all the intense passion that we just felt over the last few months.
I don't mean to sound defeatist at all. I swing from this way to that and change my opinion on politics every day depending on who I speak to, and how passionate or dispassionate they are about politics. Some days I am overawed by the order in chaos that is the norm in our politics, some days I am deeply humbled by the sheer complexity of this democratic process, with its hundreds of political parties that address a myriad of issues, many of which I am completely clueless about. On other days, I am utterly baffled by the absurdity of it all. We have a sense of humor about our politics on a level I cant quite fathom! How else does one explain the buffoonery that we witness everyday as our leaders threaten to upload nude pictures of their adversaries, pass vile remarks about certain social classes, show incessant affinity with miscreants! We are one comic race, acting out an eccentric play with several exciting, emotional, unexpected series of events.
That being said, this seems like a very important exercise that we ought to engage in as often as possible! It has little to do with picking the right political party to lead us, for there is no telling what might come out of one party being in power over another. There is no such thing as making an informed decision, at least not for the majority of people, me included!
Perhaps in democracy, one isn't really voting for a party, for issues, or for an ideology. We seem to be voting for the idea of democracy and freedom, of being a part of a frenzy, and acting together, mindfully or mindlessly, but passionately nevertheless. And it is apparent that one needs nothing more than this game of mindless mass action to keep up moving forward!
Today I am feeling a bit hopeful and sanguine, and it is because I am reading India After Gandhi, in which Guha speaks of the miraculous birth of India in a short span of two or three years. Around the time of our Independence, over five hundred countries, were merged together, to form what we now know as India. It is the kind of achievement on a level that I can't even begin to comprehend. I can imagine an India with several religious entities, several social castes and classes living together peacefully and clashing every now and then! But I can't imagine an India split into so many parts where each part is more different from the other than France is from Spain or Germany is from England, where most entities wanted to remain independent countries and not come under the common umbrella called India! If we could achieve that kind of unity, what are the issues in politics that we face today in comparison!
What is it about India that attracted so many different kinds of people and cultures! Why are we so welcoming! We should have a special day to celebrate Secularism, as we do Independence! Happy Secularism :-)
