Burn after reading
This is a blog about things that would be of interest to all who love reading unconditionally. A warning: you won’t find here any pretence at ‘objectivity’ or ‘balanced’ opinion. Three things not even God can be objective about: books, ideas, and beauty. You’ll find all three here, and occasionally, God too, on the days He exists.
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But I wish somebody would distribute free copies of this novel to all those hyper-energetic Jaago Re types who have taken it upon themselves to protect the modesty of Indian democracy.
Since yesterday at least some 100 people have asked me if I've voted. And they are the same people who never ask if I've eaten, or slept well, or locked the door before leaving home. But they've been coming at me from every avenue of modern communication -sms, phone, email, Google chat, radio, TV and even face-to-face to ask me: have you voted?
My response that I didn't vote is met with a mixture of faux shock and dismay. "Why didn't you vote?" they demand. This question is never a sincere one, because they don't really care about my reasons for not voting. So I give them a simpler answer, "I am not registered." They shake their heads in disapproval as they bask in self-righteous indignation.
Overnight, it has become sexy to vote. Apparently, the classes have suddenly discovered the virtues of adult franchise, a chore that had traditionally been delegated to the masses. While the chatterati on TV and FM radio regularly harangue the aam aadmi on the importance of voting, the glitterati too has joined the bandwagon. All the stars, from Aamir Khan to Preity Zinta to Shah Rukh have become the glamorous brand ambassadors of the ballot.
But then the average voter saw through the sham, and preferred to go on holiday or stay in the shade of her home rather than go out and vote. The high voltage campaign to glamourise voting, to make it 'cool,' did not work. Only 43 per cent of Mumbai's electorate turned up to vote, bemoaned TV anchors. But even this much is some kind of a miracle, if you ask me.
It all started with the Jaago Re campaign funded by Tata Tea. 'If you're not voting, you are sleeping,' says the over-smart young man in the ad. But this new interest in voting among the establishment elite made me wonder: is this the latest chapter in the unfolding crisis of Indian democracy?
At the heart of political science is a simple principle: the first question to be answered by any form of authority is the question of legitimacy. The reason we need elections is that the guys who are going to take over the reins of power need a moral fig leaf to provide legitimacy to their routine plundering.
Most people, especially those who haven't been to college, are not fools. As it stands, faith in electoral democracy is very low in most parts of the world. Obama, unlike what many think, is not the answer, but only the remainder of an unsolved equation of American oligarchy. In India, if not even one-third of the population turns up to vote, it would become increasingly difficult to call ourselves a democracy. You cannot claim to speak in the name of a majority if the majority has chosen not to endorse you, or anyone else for that matter. The moral authority to collect taxes, already stretched thin, will break down totally if the electoral process is exposed for the farce that it has become. Hence the necessity of a campaign to tell people to exercise their fundamental right to vote.
But what kind of a democracy is it where people have to be exhorted and coaxed and almost morally bullied into exercising their right? What kind of a right is it anyway which you don't feel excited about exercising? What we should be doing is to ask why this lackluster approach to voting, why this lack of faith in the voting process, rather than broadcast shriller and shriller lies about how voting will change things when it clearly won't.
Okay, without more ado, I'll present just two reasons for my not voting:
One, I don't believe in a choosing exercise where the choice is not real. Suppose you are very thirsty, you would, of course, want to exercise your right to some thirst-quenching drink. But if you are told that you have to choose your drink between petrol, kerosene and dog piss, would you exercise your right? Is there a real choice there? Looking at the choice of parties we have, and the politicians, I see nothing there that won't do me harm, let alone command a modicum of faith or hope or even respect. So, what do I vote for?
Two, I believe democracy in India, if it exists, is largely a delusion. It has been proved by too many political scientists that democracy only works when there is equality. That is why the slogan of the French Revolution did not leave out equality - liberty, equality, fraternity. In India, the ruling classes and their lap dog intelligentsia have more or less said bye-bye to the goal of equality. Without economic equality, political equality will remain a myth. Does a construction labourer's vote carry the same weight as a real estate tycoon's? In theory, that is, numerically, yes. But in practice, realistically, we all know it is not. In a nation where economic and social inequality is not only rampant but has come to be accepted as an inevitable byproduct of 'progress', the parading of adult franchise is a vulgar joke.
These are only two reasons, I can think of at least ten more. But the next question that gets thrown at you is: so, what's your solution? Why don't you stand for election yourself in that case, or something along those lines.
Sadly, these days the easiest way to dismiss criticism is by asking the critic for the solution. The solution cannot emerge from one person, least of all a critic. But without the criticism, you can't even begin to think of improving things.
The mainstream political debate has moved so far away from any meaningful vision of the kind of society we want to be, that the entire exercise has become bereft of any meaning. What do you vote for? Moderate corruption? A slower, more reasonable rate of rise in poverty?
Well, so there we stand.
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