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.
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