Column

Do you have that sinking feeling? You know, the one you get during trust votes. No, not the “Oh! Gone? How terrible! Did you manage to get the mutual funds out?” kind of feeling. Or the “Oooh! Look at those murderers being let out of jail! We are saved!” kind of feeling. I am talking of that sinking feeling in slow motion, not too fast, not too strong, but persistent and inescapable. It’s when you look into the heart of parliamentary democracy and see a terrifying void.

For some days now, we have been witnessing the human trafficking going on in
Parliament. Various honourable members have been deeply engaged in selling themselves to other honourable members of Parliament while even more honourable members of Parliament either try to broker the deal or destroy it. Their currency of power includes everything from ministerial berths to renaming airports. (Sure, money too, but that’s so commonplace it’s not worth mentioning.) Speechless, you wonder: is this what we are so proud of, the world’s biggest democracy?

Well, nothing’s perfect. At least we have democracy. We can choose our rulers. Not every country has that. Look at our neighbours: Bangladesh, Burma, China, even Pakistan. Oh yes, I am most grateful for this chance to choose.

And in choice there is an embarrassment of riches — hundreds of parties, thousands of candidates, millions of agendas and ideologies. Not like the silly USA — with just two candidates. Take your pick or die. And they kick up such a fuss over that. Talks, campaigns, debates and arguments for months on end. Sheer waste of time.

Look at us. Our candidates never waste any time in debate. Of course they campaign, but they don’t have to reveal what they believe in, what they oppose, what they think, who their friends are, what their position is on any issue, global or local. We choose the one from our caste, religion or locality or who gave us the most sops.

If we are ideology-driven, it still works. There is the Hindu Right, mostly BJP, or the centrist Congress or the communist Left. Yes, that’s it. Many parties, but basically these three blocs. Of which the communist bloc is the smallest, but makes the most noise. Traditionally you vote for the Right or Left depending on whether you want Hindu supremacy or empowerment of the poor, and for the Congress if you don’t want to think about it.

The problem is if you just want a liberal, decent party that respects democratic rights, you don’t have it. The liberal space has shrunk drastically. We don’t have the left of centre choices like the Socialists anymore. The CPIM has regressed into Stalinist authoritarianism, with renewed scorn for parliamentary governance. They are, at best, the permanent opposition. They wouldn’t join government, not even when Jyoti Basu was offered the PM’s post. They wouldn’t let Somnath Chatterjee become President.
And because they hate America, they went all out to topple this government. They aligned with sectarian, casteist and corrupt parties, and insisted that the Speaker vote against the government as a CPM MP, and not remain a neutral guardian, as demanded by the Constitution. They even told Muslims, falsely, that the nuclear deal was anti-Muslim.

The humanism that the Indian Left developed over the years, that drew young dreamers and liberal voters, is dead. We are back to Left fundamentalists who insult the democratic process, humiliate veterans and throttle dissent.

So you see, we may have thousands of candidates and hundreds of parties, but you don’t always have much choice.

The writer is Editor, The Little Magazine. Email: sen@littlemag.com