A murder of a journalist happened yesterday in Bangalore at 8.30 in the evening. Many murderers happening in many places. Young people get lynched by mob. A sense of insecurity is looming large on a large section of people: poor, marginalized and also hundreds of million people who love their country do dearly: love the freedom and fundamental rights guaranteed by a constitution that emerged out of the long-fought struggles for freedom. If Gandhiji was alive he would have wept for the Indian National Congress that fought for freedom for decades. Why ? Because, the grant old party seems to be too old and tired to fight for freedom once again. Is it the case of one party. No. Every party is reduced to only one reason raison d'etre : some how get more votes to win election to enjoy governmental power. In their eternal pursuits for largest number votes at any cost, they simply don't have time or inclinations to be too much bothered about a murder here and there; or a lynching once in few months; or few poor children in some hospitals; few rapes of dalits here and there. Because they are 'isolated incidents' for them. They are simply good enough for a 'shock' or a tweet!
Gauri Lankesh's only mistake seems to be that she had the courage of conviction to speak truth to the power.. She stood up for the values of democracy, justice and fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution. We may not know who killed her- but we know who all celebrated her deaths.Those who taunted her even her deaths are the usual suspects : proponents of politics of hater and enemies of freedom. She was not the first one who was killed. Dr. Naredra Dabolkar in 2013 in Pune; Govinda Pansare in 2015 in Kolhapur; Dr. MM Kalburgi was shot dead at his home in Dharward. And now Gauri Lankesh. They have one thing in common. They all had courage of conviction. For them deep commitment to the values of the Constitution of India was not something disposable as per the convenience. They all opposed the Hindwata majoritarian politics that seek to silence dissent. They were all public intellectuals- writers, civic leaders and human rights defenders. They never gave up the fight against the politics of hate, exclusion and violence. They lived for non-violent advocacy and died in violent attack. Their killers are at large. They are yet to be brought to justice. They still roam around freely to choose the next target to be silenced. Their purpose is simple : warn all those who speak truth to power; warn all those who speak for freedom, democracy and human rights,
Many may ask what is so big deal about four people being killed by the merchants of death? Because, they are not mere four people. They represent the spirit of free and independent India. They are represent the legacies of freedom struggles that made India a democratic country. They represent civic energy of democratic aspirations of hundreds of millions ordinary people. They represent what most of the political leaders lack. Courage of conviction to stand up and speak out and work tirelessly to make in to freed country. Because they represented the voices of the silent majority of this country: 'We the People' with which our Constitution begins and Constituted a country with guarantee fundamental rights to all people. When such voices of freedom, sanity, non-violence, and free India gets killed it is the very spirit of our country that is being crushed. It is the very soul of free India that is being trampled up on. It is the spirit of more than a billion of diverse people that give life to the very idea of a
democratic India.
democratic India.
When a flame of free India get killed , what does our established political parties do ? The leaders tweet for a day; they get shocked; and some may give a a page of news release; more enthusiastic leaders may even post a post in social media. Some will call a pres -conference. Some may even go a put a wreath on the dead bodies of killed activists. Then what happens ? Nothing. A big zero. Once the news is in the air, government will announce a big investigation. What is the result. Next to nothing. And then they wait till the next murder to do the customary statement of shock!! It is this cynicism of the political elites of all parties that fail the people of their country. The cynicism that militate against doing anything beyond fetching votes somehow. It is the increasing gap between their rhetoric and reality. It is the lack of will to mobilize people across the country for just causes.
What is the problem? Political parties are expected have courage of conviction and political will to act when a large number of people are deeply concerned about the very sustainability of democratic India and the future of democracy itself, most of the political parties wait for the next election. When people expect political parties to give voice to their concerns, anxieties and deep frustrations, leaders simply tweet from their comforts and safe zones . When the very soil under the feet of democratic India is shifting, political leaders go for a good vacation. The issue is this: Whether political parties are simply election-marketing- network that seek vote from the people every five years or they are the collective expressions of peoples hope and hopelessness; agonies and anxieties and the yearning for security and services. When people expect the political parties to lead them from front when the very core of Indian democracy is in trouble, they spend time in electoral arithmetic and winning equations and play 'safe'. The issue is when the a vast number of ordinary people expect political leaders and parties to represent the ideals of the idea of India, they often become a network of interests of the powerful and identity equations that fetch them votes.
What is being lost is the organic link between the collective will of the people and the political will of the political parties to mobilize and organize the anger and anxieties of people to in to huge positive political energy for change. The problem is that when political leaders give an impression of giving up even before the real fight for the soul of India begins. The challenge is the unity of the opposition parties for democracy faces the hurdles of individual ego of the leaders and narrow electoral calculations in their confines. The challenge is that oppositions parties themselves are too fragmented and irrelevant to stand up together to fight for democracy. Because many of them are deeply undemocratic within. When political leaders out-source their slogans, strategies ,ideologies and everything else for votes, people feel simply being used by the few of the political elites for their own ambition. People feel simply being cheated. When a large number of people do feel insecure, frustrated and losing jobs and not gaining any new employment, they feel cheated by the political parties that seek their votes on empty promises without standing with them at the moments of deep crisis of faith in the democracy itself.
The quality of leadership of a country and collective is how they feel the pulse of the people on the ground beyond the electoral arithmetic. The sign of true leadership is when political leaders and parties can sense the dangers lurking beneath the ground and opportunities beyond the horizon. The sign of people-centred political party is to be with the people when they feel threatened and insecure by the enemies of freedom. People want political parties to inspire them- political leaders to articulate what people want to hear and more than anything sheer courage of conviction to be be act on the ground: mobilize people, reach out to the young; go beyond the comforts zone and go beyond the narrow electoral calculations. The sign of the great leadership is to capture the imagination of people. How can they capture the imaginations at a time they are too busy chasing corporate money and interests and eternally in search of the next slogans to be sold in the next elections? Corruption is not only amassing wealth through kick-backs. Biggest corruption is selling your soul and ideological posturing empty of conviction or content. Biggest corruption is when leaders get stuck in their comfort zones of governmental power and paraphernalia with deep sense cynical pursuit for power for its own sake.
Before the elections, Political parties seek people for their votes. After the elections people seek them; they are too busy till the next election. The problem is in between elections and after the elections when people seek out political parties they are too busy in their intrigues and little ivory towers,till the next election.
We are in the midst of a crisis: a moral, political and economic one. There is an elite capture of the state. Media and market merged with the blessings of political masters. Crony capitalism is calling the shots. Killers are roaming free in different avatars -. as mob to lynch or motor cycle killer-squads with guns and bullets. Foot soldiers of fascism feel free to kill anyone who ask uncomfortable questions. Democracy is in peril in the largest democracy in the world. Political leaders neither have the pessimism of the intellect nor the optimism of the will- as their only hope to salvation is a 'winning votes' somehow.
Hence if political parties and their leaders can't think beyond the next election, we need to move forward with or with out political parties. Let the likes of Gandhi and JP emerge from the collective spirit of people to revitalize the idea of India and save India from the enemies of freedom. It is time to ACT and not time to tweet!! It is time to seek Change rather than being comfortable in the respective confines. It is time to stand up and speak out- and 'We the People' will have to do this. Because ' We shall over come... and we are not alone'
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