ELECTIONS- MOCKERY OF A DEMOCRACY

Did we ask for this kind of Nation ? A voting bazar, trading of seats called seat adjustments. All the tainted and corrupt trading in the open market for seats ? It is a mockery of democracy.

The problem is in our vision in trying to see things as what they should be rather than what they currently are. Unless we acknowledge that the current democratic system is not achieving the desired results, we will not think about how to change it. We are still waiting for a future date when the system will give the desired results, and not conceding that the system has been ineffective for the past 60 years. The case is not so much for a dictatorial form of government, as it is for any form of government or leadership that will achieve the desired economic and social progress in the country on a continuous basis. A few pertinent questions are: -

What is the use of giving a mass of people acepower in the form of voting when freedom in the more basic sense does not exist, where daily life is a fight?

What is the sense in having a system that changes its philosophy and track every 5 years and does not ensure uninterrupted progress, with no room for mid course corrections? We all know, we have 2 Indias. One extremely rich. Ambanis etc. and the other, a majority living below poverty line, striving for one meal a day ?

Where is the clarity in tackling real issues by any of our ace elected representatives? Where are the deliverables?

In India, the democratic system has given birth to a band of people who have no national interest in mind and the opportunists have cashed in. It is clear that democracy in the real sense has not existed, unless you consider only the system of voting once in every 5 years as democracy.

When Emperor Asoka ruled India 2500 years ago, every person lived a contented life during his rule. Did that system of dictatorship (called dynastic rule) not work better than our idea of democracy? It is obvious that only the front end is working, but the back end is incomplete.

The past 60 years are proof of the little progress we have made on various fronts. It is mainly because the average Indian still considers himself distant from the entire nation building process, except at election time. Is this the democratic process we are adamantly supporting? Democracy as a system will not work in nation of people with no national interest, unless we admit responsibility for our fate. It also seems that Indian politicians are afraid to progress and become efficient, because as time progresses one may find that they are redundant.

It seems like freedom wars of some sort will continue to happen in India ad infinitum, ad nauseum, whether it was freedom from the Mughals, the British and now, our politicians like Laloo Prasad Yadavs, Mayawatis etc. who are someday aspiring to be PM. There is a saying that goes, If doing a particular thing, does not give the desired result, then stop doing it. The same goes for a system that just does not work. Reinvention is the name of the game.

It is an example of the cargo cult metaphor which is the institution called democracy. Voting every so often to elect representatives that sit in a great big hall to decide matters of national importance is the front end. The deep backend requires an informed public at a minimum. Even under the best of circumstances, aggregating individual preferences is a risky venture as students of public choice theory will appreciate. (See Ken Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem.)

In the case of India, we have a cargo cult democracy. It looks like one with electronic voting machines and election speeches and manifestos, with pollsters and pundits, with election commissioners and voting stations. Only the deep backend is missing. There is no understanding of issues of substance among the people who vote. Put up a name which is recognizable, and they would vote for or against that name. Promise enough freebies (free electricity, for instance) and they will vote for you, never mind that it may bankrupt the state and that eventually it will impoverish the same voting public.

For democracy to work, you need accountability — both among those who vote and those who are elected. In an area where the government is seen as a source for endless handouts by the people, and the leaders look upon their stint in the driving seat as an excellent opportunity to steal from the public, democracy is not likely to work. All the talk about the smart voter is so much hogwash that the mind boggles.

Do we want this kind of democracy ? When I see images of political leaders on TV everyday, I feel disgusted. They have no ideology, values. Ethos or national character which an Indian asks for. Maulayam Singh Yadavs, Amar Singhs, Sharad Pawars, Lallus, Mayawatis, Jayalalitas and many more like them are traders in the garb of political parties. Congress and BJP, two main parties trying to make seat adjustments with regional parties, just to grab power, nothing else ? Each one of them want their pound of flesh. We the citizens like dummies watch, listen and read about these wheeler-dealers everyday and do nothing about it ? A full platform of vote trading happens in front of us and we like impotents cant do a thing about it !

I shun this kind of democracy and I want change. It is a mockery of democracy and trading going on, like we see in the stock market or while you are buying your daily vegetables or fruits. Trying to bargain with a vegetable vendor.

I want to change this forever…. This is not my India, I wanted.