Thought for the day
”He never chooses an opinion; he just wears whatever happens to be
in style."
-
Leo Tolstoy (Russian, 1828-1910)
Word for the day
Ethos (n)
The fundamental character or spirit of a culture; the
underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of a group
or society;.
(Source:
Dictionary.com)
Teaser for the day
Major seat contributors for BJP in
Haryana"
Robert Vadra - 10 Seats
O. P. Chautala - 10 Seats
AAP - 10 Seats
Dera Sacha Sauda - 10 Seats
Navin Jindal - 3 Seats
Others (including Modi and Amit Shah) - 4 Seats
Good times are dawning
The results of just concluded Maharashtra and Haryana assembly
elections have confirmed that the transformation
of Indian socio-political order that begun with summer general elections is
progressing well.
I have had the annoyance of watching, reading and listening to a
variety of analysis over election results in past 48hours. I am sure, many
readers of this letter also share my agony.
Considering that the number of TV channels, social media
platforms, papers and websites presenting 24hr live analysis and debate over
election result has grown manifold in past few years, the number of analysts
and commentators has also grown proportionately. This should have logically added
to the depth of the discussion and breadth of the views. Unfortunately I do not
find this to be the case.
I see most of the celebrated analysts and commentators beating
the same old bush, i.e., caste equation and religious preferences etc. This
suggests that elite of the Indian society is perhaps totally disconnected with
the transforming realities. This also explains the series of defeats which
elitist Congress Party has suffered in past 3years particularly.
In my view, the key highlights of the two assembly election
results are as follows:
(a) The "AAP
effect" has played a major role in BJP's victory, both the states. The
youth and women are no longer opinion takers. They are taking their own
independent decisions; in some cases just to assert themselves against family
domination. Consequently, caste and religious identities are fast diminishing
in their political influence.
(b) After Yadav clan
in UP, Chautalas, Bishnois, Pawars, Munde etc. have been reasonably successful
in recent elections at individual level. This confirms my view
that dynasties are an integral part of Indian culture, traditions, history and
even religion. It would be unreasonable to expect it not to be part of
politics.
(c) The voters are
now giving decisive mandate in almost all the elections. I view Maharashtra
mandate decisive in favor of NDA. I believe BJP could have got 144+ if they had
broken alliance with Shiv Sena in New Delhi, Mumbai (BMC) and other local
bodies in Maharashtra.
(d) The Indian
politics is acquiring a distinct regional character, as envisaged in our
constitution. The regional aspirations and expectations are dominating the
political discourse and agenda. Though, Narendra Modi led BJP is trying to give
it a national hue, the core of the Union remains in preservation and promotion
of the discrete regional identities. BJP's victories in states are predicated
on strong regional leaders with distinct local identities. This was the core
strength of pre-Indira Congress Party also. It was only the complete
centralization of power under Indira Gandhi, that led to emergence of stronger
regional parties.
De-centralization of power in politics and within homes,
federalization of governing structure, and clear mandate for governance,
accountability and transparency - I guess achhe din sach mein anne wale hain
(Good times are truly dawning).
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