Since independence, there has been a clever strategy implemented by the political class to create this aura of invincibility in the voting masses that is is ONLY the political classes that can deliver growth, sustainable livelihood, food security, water access and all things that are deemed to be a must have for civil society, including education.
But those of us , in the largely, urban, middle class, know that over the last 65 years, the political class owes its great success in keeping the largely semi urban and rural voting masses tethered to their HOPES and DREAMS is by keeping them bereft of REAL changes, not educating them, and playing caste based politics.
Because, large swathes of our voting population continues to be illiterate, un educated and definitely globally unaware, these people, living in India’s semi urban and rural hinterland, are politically weak, have little and no understanding of their rights and rule of law in the land, and remain subservient to HOW THE RULES ARE INTERPRETED and FED TO THEM by the politicians, the bureaucrats and those in the police.
( please note- when I say bureaucrats and police, I DO NOT MEAN a blanket sweeping reference to ALL in this fraternity, but a majority of them- AND , I certainly consider even the “GOOD” guys to be partners in crime to their political masters, if they do not demonstrate, courage of conviction to say NO or to take a stand against their political masters!!)
Thus the rules in India are at 2 levels
- Rules that apply to the political class, the bureaucrats and those in the police forces
- Rules that apply to the common man- other than politicians, bureaucrats and those in the police forces
Case in point- Bitti Mohanty, son of a Director General of Police of the state of Orissa was convicted of rape in 2006, and while on parole, vanished from the face of the earth in 2007- probably living a life of luxury in the US or UK with the resources provided by his politically connected father!! the case is still under investigation……
Case in point- Akbaruddin Owais, politician with connections to the ruling party in India, spouting anti India anti Hindu rhetoric in open forums to a cheering illiterate audience, made up of (illiterate, fundamentalist) muslims- only after the intervention by a national TV channel was some action taken against him!! NO ONE from the public domain came forward to speak of this breach of the law…
These 2 cases simply tell you the real truth of the reality (frailty) of Indian democracy and democratic institutions, which are weak at best, and absolutely hollow and rotten at worst.
One look at the spate of issues that have been highlighted by the national media on how brazenly the political class has usurped the rule of law in the country ( this in the aftermath of the recent rape and murder of a young doctor in the national capital) and as an educated individual, you will clearly comprehend the level of systematic decay that has been fostered by the political class over the last 65 years of their rule ( please note- I say rule and not leadership , because after the exit of the white rule from the UK, this neo brown political class has seamlessly moved into the same seats that were vacated and turned politics into a devious art form in India, all in the name of democracy!!)
Those in the business of human rights, sitting in the US and in the EU need to be reading this space….and comment on how they perceive the state of affairs in this democracy!!
Ashishtandon's Blog_The traveling Salesman 