"We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful
woman as an anomaly."
—Margaret Atwood (Canadian, 1939)
Word
for the day
Laicism (n)
The secular, control of political and social institutions in a society
(distinguished from clericalism).
Malice
towards none
Could I be a nationalist and
still not support BJP?
First random
thought this morning
The life these days is much easier. I am saved from the trouble of
taking a host of supposedly personal decision for myself.
The government, judiciary and society (khap) are deciding for me
what should (or should not) I eat, drink, wear, sing, listen, watch, study,
read, show, do, own, keep, give, drive, etc.
I am eagerly waiting for rules/guidelines that will decide my
sleeping & waking time!
In search of solutions - 2
(Book IV, The Republic, Plato)
A few months back, a group of self
claimed righteous people started a new political movement. These people had
been part of the India against corruption movement of Anna Hazare and its
offshoot Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The leaders of the movement mentioned that to
them dynastic politics, women safety, corruption in public offices, electoral
malpractices, inequality and social injustice are the key problems that India
faces today.
I liked their ideas & intent
and expressed my desire to join them, provided they tell me how they propose to
solve these problems. For last two months I am waiting to hear from them.
I am not signaling anyone out
here. I am just highlighting that in an environment where everyone is just
talking about problems, we need people to start discussing solutions.
The other point I want to
highlight is that most of the problems people are highlighting may just be the
symptom of the problem and not the problem in itself. Beware that in finding
solutions, we would need to focus on the underlying problems and not merely the
manifest symptoms.
For example, in an electoral
democracy son of a politicians contesting and winning election should not be a
problem. After all it is the people who have elected the son to a public
office, just like anyone else. Especially when no one is complaining about poll
rigging etc.
The true problem here is the
unequal opportunity. And this problem is not limited to politics but to every
sphere of the life - education, law, medicine, art, business, religion, etc.
All those complaining about the
dynasty in politics fail to provide a solution because they are scared of
addressing the underlying problem, which pervades deep into our personal and
social lives.
To my mind therefore it is
critical to define the underlying problem before any attempt is made to find
the possible solutions.
I now begin by stating my
understanding of the political problem.
The political problem in India is
to develop a political organization that fully assimilates the aspirations of
the people, addresses specific local problems, promotes mutual trust &
harmony, bars incompetence and knavery from public office, and insures that the
best is selected and prepared to rule for the common good.
...to continue on Tuesday
No comments:
Post a Comment