Generally, I have
little patience and appetite for political news; rather I abhor cacophonic
political debates where participants howl at each other, all at the same time,
leaving viewers annoyed and perplexed. Except very few ‘honest netas’, a
breed that literally vanished in the last generation, none is worth discussing.
Yet, I would like to discuss Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, who commendably, never lusted
after Chief Minister’s Post. Made the public butt
of jokes and tagged a loser, he has faced much humiliation in his efforts to
bring transparency at all levels and especially in pointing holes in the top
most one.However, if we notice carefully, this Kejriwal-bashing trend instead reflects the shallowness and myopia of our own thinking along with our resistance towards change and infusion of fresh ideas. Be it any big political party, two things- corruption and harping on centuries old democratic concepts, are common. Kejriwal has been a bit novel with democracy. I agree he is not a great administrator but he has blown important whistles and has also made the common people realize their power. Accusing his incompetency and cheering on his resignation can wait. First, we need to come out of our stifling mental cocoons and realize his ability to comprehend matters in a novel manner unlike stalwarts of BJP and Congress.
Unfortunately, this
is not limited to Kejriwal, rather it has become our usual attitude towards all
those who try to divert our attention to new paths. It seems we enjoy leading a
moribund life; spending days waiting for a sudden miracle to happen and
meanwhile cursing the sleepy and rotten government, just like our forefathers. This
attitude needs fast repair before it swallows our progress like a sinkhole.
Kejriwal’s
resignation proves that corruption and ‘approach’ sit on a higher pedestal
exerting a force greater than the entire government. Also, the political
parties always at loggerheads unite with a tacit understanding in protecting their
‘sources’ of profit and needless to say, all Kejriwals stand out like a sore
thumb. This can be quite disheartening for the young leaders emerging solely on
merit amongst ourselves, the non-blue blooded stock. In the long run, such a
short-sightedness will not let us leap towards growth and development.
This also
reminds me of a famous preacher named Rajneesh aka Osho. I do not follow his
teachings but if looked closely, they too were very different from the same teachings
of Geeta or Ramayana or Purans that most religious
preachers serve us in different plates. I am not out to judge him but I admire
the fact that his thinking was fresh and original.
Ideas must be
embraced, discussed and debated upon, analyzed and contemplated without any
preconceived notions and not chided or poked fun at. After all, this myopia and
tunnel vision will lead to nowhere but darkness.
Images:
- http://media1.santabanta.com/full1/Politicians%20and%20Statesmen/Arvind%20Kejriwal/arvind-kejriwal-1a.jpg
- http://meditatie-is-zijn.nl/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/osho4200.jpg
Very well written. I appreciate your speaking your mind when (it looks like) the entire India is finding fault with Mr. Kejriwal. My only “negative” opinion about him is that he should not have become Chief Minister with the help of Congress. Congress is not his friend or well wisher. Now congress has upper hand. Mr. Kejriwal recommended dissolving the Assembly and called for new elections. But the Lt.Governor and his boss in Congress decided to put the Assembly under suspended animation. It means the ruling party in the Center can decide when to hold elections for the Delhi Assembly. They can wait forever till they see an opportune moment.
ReplyDeleteJust fyi. President’s rule, with the approval of Parliament, is for 6 months only for all States except Delhi. In the case of Delhi, the cap is one year and can be extended again with the approval of Parliament. Therefore, the party in power for the Central Government can indirectly rule Delhi for a long time.
ReplyDeleteHi SG
DeleteVery true..this way, Congress can rule Delhi very easily. We should not be too much critical of Kejriwal. Indians should choose one thing, rotting in the corrupt rule of BJP or Congress or change, which is always a bit unsettling and disruptive.
I agree that Kejriwal had good intentions but his ways didnt speak thus. If one finds a fault with a system, one has to change the system, one cant spread anarchy and complete disregard to discipline. He could have brought some good if he had behaved in a disciplined manner and stayed chief minister. BY resigning he abdicated this responsibility.
ReplyDeleteHe showed that it takes time to turn agitators into legislators..he got everything so fast that he couldnt handle it.
Being honest is not the only qualification required to head this huge country..one has to be mature, knowledgable......
Hi Renu
DeleteYa, I agree that being honest would not suffice but we should atleast give Mr. Kejriwal a chance to go ahead and bring a change. We are hell bent on judging him too much too soon as if he is a magician who can make corruption vanish using a magic wand. And this is our basic attitude towards all those who emerge from commons and try to move the system that is rotting for decades.
kejriwal is a great politician but a poor administrator and he clearly lacks vision.he clearly palyed politics by simply playing a martyr.it was a script which was pre-written and pre-planned..blanket statements like 'i stand for honesty' when asked about economic policiesd won't result in development madam.And while the majority of gas production and distribution of india is done by O.N.G.C,Mr kejri was blaming Mukesh Ambani who supplies only 10% of the nation's natural gas requirements...can't you see the political gimmicks and desperate dramatics in kejri's deeds dear writer?
ReplyDeleteif he was sincere he should have used his power to bring good to the state of delhi instead of stooping down to blatant populism and anarchic politics!
ReplyDeleteso do you expect miracles from corrupt Congress and toothless leaders like Rahul Gandhi, who does nothing except posing for photographs for banners..atleast Kejriwal has done something new, making people realize the power of their votes...he strives to bring transparency at all levels and since almost everyone is neck deep in that corruption, they are hell bent on humiliating him and sabotaging his reputation...talking of development, what development did we get from other parties in decades?? we always lament about sick conditions and heavy taxes and at the same time, shun someone who tries to bring a change at the very basic level.
DeleteKejriwal clearly under estimated the people he was against! Like they say, 'Do not fight with a pig. It will pull you down to its level and get you dirty'. Enough said.
ReplyDeleteHi Soumya
DeleteThis shows that the corruption is more powerful than the govt and almost every minister is neck deep in the filth, hence this opposition against someone who just wants transparency at all levels.
Hi Ankita,
ReplyDeleteIn this matter 100 ppl hav 100 opinions.. Some people think he is at mistake some think he resigned because people around was not letting him do anything..
He surely is at mistake.. though unlike other politicians he is not part of sins.. and was not doing anything for his own enjoyment and fun but for the country and it's people.. For the 1st time politician I think he is allowed to do some mistakes..
I am still to form any opinion and I think it's too soon to say something.. He was just 48 days CM.. Even our so called pm hadn't done anything in 15 years so I don't know why people are expecting him to wave a wand and do some magic.. I do believe pressure was immense on him and expectations are super high..
Hi Pink
Deleteys, he gladly kicked the CM post and is still fighting to bring a change on the grass-root level. and I agree, he is not a magician who will make all the issues disappear withing a day or a month, judging him too soon shows our own immaturity only. We Indians crib about how BJP and Congress have eaten the country like a pest and at the same time, we show our lack of patience for new change and development also.
I wish I would know more about Indian politics but I do think that people should be open for new ideas. Hope you are having a great week, Ankita!
ReplyDeleteHi Katrin
DeleteIt is rather good that you do not know much about Indian politics..it sucks :(
Ya, they should be open and not resist change because change is disruptive but is much needed.
I have read the short story collection of Rajneesh and liked it...short, simple, meaningful stories.
ReplyDeleteEverybody respected Kejriwal for the way he opposed Congress and BJP and said that corruption will be wiped out. But he took the help of Congress to become a CM and instead of implementing his promises, he acted like the opposition and did dharnas. He just wasted his golden opportunity to show his calibre. He was talking about Lok Sabha elections mostly. He should have shown some positive action first in Delhi. He could have planned for the next Lok Sabha election after gaining experience now.
Well...now, Delhi has to face President's rule. Sometimes President's rule proves beneficial like it did in Chennai, many years back. Alexander was the governor and ruled well and everybody was happy! Let us see now!
Hi Sandhya
DeleteI did not know Osho was a story writer too!
Ya, but BJP and Congress both are very corrupt and Indians feel sick in their rule. When Kejriwal tried to do something different, he was shunned and publicly humiliated..this attitude of judging too soon is , I think, wrong and needs a change.
By President'd rule, Congress will easily rule Delhi again...their path is clear very easily only because of our wrong attitude.
I really admired Mr. Kejriwal and it's true that other political parties were trying to pull him down as no one was expecting (And perhaps was unable to digest) such different politics! But I've realized that he goes overboard while making statements. Resigning from his responsibilities is very very irresponsible of him (You have to fight to achieve something. And he knows that. It's not that you've thought and said something and it should be done the next moment. You have to be patient). It reflects his instability and I think it has damaged his credibility to some extent!
ReplyDeleteHi Tarang,
DeleteI agree, he has done certain blunders but are other parties innocent? are they not involved in various scams and such things..we must give Kejriwal some time to do what he intends to do b'coz I think, unlike other big parties, his intentions favor India.
Other political parties? And innocent? He He...
DeleteAAP needs some time to prove...of course! That's why I say he shouldn't have resigned. Discouragements from many sides are inevitable. Nobody has asked him to resign. And Mr. Kejriwal should think before making any statement (Sometimes false statements. It can ruin the credibility of his words). You might have noticed, he seldom sticks to his statements. He said, he won't give Loksabha ticket to any winning candidates in Delhi but see Rakhi Birlan gets it. He said he won't contest the LS elections but I'm sure he would....
ya that's what I am saying, other parties are anything but innocent. You are in a way right, he speaks without proof and accuses people esp heavyweights without any concrete report but still I feel he should be given some more time. And not just Kejriwal, any new spark, a new change must not be judged too harshly and too soon.
DeleteWell said!:)
DeleteI feel it was really sad, that he was not able to do what he planned for.
ReplyDeleteHi Z@KK
Deleteyes, we must give him some more time to prove himself.
49 days fall short of the proverbial honeymoon period of 100 days given to new governments.Even within this period he raised the hackles of many by his unconventional ways and possibly won the admiration of many..We can judge him only when he had governed for longer duration..I think Delhi elections would be held along with general elections.Let us wait for the mandate of the Delhi people.
ReplyDeleteHello KP Sir
Deleteexactly, we should give him some time for such big changes are slow to arrive, we cannot expect an overnight miracle.
All I can say is that if there were some Kejriwals, we could really make a clean sweep of the filthy and corrupt that are ruling us at present. I say "at present" because the change is slowly happening and I am happy that its happening in a peaceful way (as compared to whats happening in other countries at present)
ReplyDeleteHi Haddock
DeleteYes, and we must curb our over tendency to over criticize so that more leaders emerge out of the common stock.
Appreciate your ability to explain this topic so well!! Great job Ankita, felt like I was reading an article written by a leading journalist!!
ReplyDeleteI've read the comments here and your response, definitely agree that Mr.Kejriwal needs more time to prove and he made us realise that change is possible!!
Cheers!! :)
Hi Sai
DeleteThanks a ton! it is such a beautiful compliment!!! I am smiling ear to ear :D
yes, he needs some more time and space to carry out his strategies .
You are right. New ideas need to be given their place.
ReplyDeleteHi Onkar
Deletethanks a lot!
politics has never been about choosing between right and wrong .. it has always been a case of choosing between different shades of grey i guess especially in india.. and right now there is no shades only black !
ReplyDeleteHi Ankur
Deleteyes, very rightly said, it is all about choosing between two devils. I agree