PM of Great Britain Rishi Sunak – A wonder of democracy

PM of Great Britain Rishi Sunak – A wonder of democracy

Rishi Sunak, having roots in undivided India, has become PM of Great Britain in a dramatic but democratic way. It is a matter of pride for the Indian sub-continent; more so for India because of historical and also contemporary reasons. Rishi Sunak has scripted history.
Rishi’s grandfather Ram Dass belonged to Gujranwala (now in Pakistan) and migrated to Kenya (East Africa) in mid 1930s for greener pastures and his wife Suhag Rani to Delhi along with her mother-in-law before joining her husband in Kenya. In the wake of growing animosity against Indians in East Africa in mid 1960s, grandparents of Rishi shifted to the UK. Rishi Sunak, 42, is the son of Yashveer, born in Kenya, and Usha, born in Tanzania, a doctor and pharmacist duo. Rishi was born Southampton in 1980. The Indian bonds of Rishi were further strengthened when he married Akshata, daughter of legendary professional and businessman, N.R. Narayana

Rishi Sunak with wife Akshata Murthy

Murthi of Infosys, a giant IT company. The Tribune, quoting an analyst, reported on October 26, “In a departure from other British politicians, Sunak has a different take on ties with India, a nation with whom his connection is both “distant” and “close”. “Distant because his grandfather had moved to Africa from the Indian subcontinent several decades ago. And close as his wife has proudly held on to her Indian citizenship,”

 Rishi is a highly educated and professional in financial and economic matters from the elite Universities of the UK and also fully credited with necessary work experience in renowned financial companies as an investment banker. Besides a dedicated political and public functionary under the wings of the Conservative Party, Rishi and his wife Akshata are among the richest in the UK. Rishi Sunak started his political career a Conservative MP from Richmond in Yorkshire and from the ranks rose to become Chancellor of Exchequer in the government of PM Boris Johnson. An ambitious man, Rishi was suddenly catapulted to the centre stage, first as an opp

Rishi Sunak in audience with King Charles 111

onent candidate against PM Liz Truss just a few weeks ago and now as the first British-Asian unanimously elected PM of the UK, the youngest PM of the UK in 210 years. It is an historical event, indeed. Rishi Sunak has made history, a moment of pride for India. It could become possible only because of liberal democracy and political and constitutional morality of the UK and its political players. The Indian leader, Shashi Tharoor has rightly said, ‘If this does happen I think all of us will have to acknowledge that the Brits have done something very rare in the world to place a member of a visible minority in the most powerful office” He added in a tweet, “As we Indians celebrate the ascent of @RishiSunak, let us honestly ask; can it happen here.”  Anyway, there is no point in taking this further but the fact remains; we are to learn from the ‘mother of democracy’  that is Great Britain as a secular, multi-cultural, multi-lingual and a religiously diverse country that is Bharat.

Not that it is for the first time that a person of Indian origin has reached the top in a foreign land.  Rishi Sunak has hit the sweet spot as the UK’s Prime Minister at a crucial time and joined the big league. Currently, at least nine persons of Indian origin are either heads of state or heads of government in the world. Politicians of Indian-origin taking power are not unusual in a wide swath of developing countries such as Suriname, Singapore, Guyana, Trinidad

Author with First Minister of Scotland

& Tobago, Malaysia, Fiji and Seychelles. But with the addition of Sunak, politicians of Indian-origin are now heading governments simultaneously in developed countries too such as Portugal, Singapore and now the UK.  Large countries like US, Canada and others have several Indians, who have ascended to top leadership positions in the government, inter alia include; Kamala Devi Harris being current Vice President of the United States or the former first Indian origin Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar. According to the Ministry of External Affairs report, there are more than 3 crore NRIs and OCIs residing outside India with around 200+ Indian origin people already serving in their most significant capacity in 15 countries

Indian diaspora is one of the richest minorities in many developed countries, lobbying for favourable terms regarding India’s interests out of their love for their country of origin. For example, US have around 4.2 million people of Indian origin and they are the most educated and richest minority. According to the World Bank, the estimated U.S. 87 billion dollar in official remittances was received in India in 2021, which is the world’s largest such flow and amounted to nearly 15% of all such global transfers. People of Indian origin started migrating overseas in large numbers in the 19th century. This migration was driven by the economic compulsions of the colonial powers. Initially, Indians spread to African, Southeast Asia, Fiji and the Caribbean in response to the enormous demand for cheap labour arising immediately after the abolition of slavery in 1833-1834 by the British and then migrated in the midst of the 20th century in search of better life and livelihood to countries like US, UK and others. Wherever they went for earning their bread and butter while doing their job and duty; people of Indian origin abroad have made a mark not only in politics of their respective countries but also excelled and adorned the high positions in economy, diplomacy, bureaucracy, journalism, cultural and civic life and have added value to the society in the pursuit of the lofty dictum of “Vasudhaiva Katumbkam”. It is a matter of great satisfaction and pride.

In the contemporary history, before our independence, many foreigners from diverse walk of life came to India and made it their home and ‘karambhoomi’ and also made a indelible contribution to our freedom struggle and social life – to name a few; Annie Besant, C.F. Andrews, Madeleine Slade (Mira Behn), S. Stroke, Sister Nivedita, Mira Alphonse (The Mother), Alfred Webb, George Yule, Henry Cotts, William Wedderburn, Mother Teresa among others. We extended them whole hearted welcome and rightly so. But, of late, let us be truthful; there have been some unhealthy abrasions too which gave way to short sightedness and narrow-minded thinking. We feel, and rightly so, proud of Rishis and Kamalas But we could not accommodate Sonia Gandhi. It is a matter of regret and will remain so in the years to come. I would tend to agree with P. Chidambram who commented and said, “First Kamala Harris and now Rishi Sunak, the people of the USA and the UK have embraced the non-majority citizens of their countries and elected them to high offices in governments. I think there is a lesson to learn by India and the parties that practice majoritarinism.”

As regards, India-UK relations, it will be an on-going matter. Rishi Sunak, for that matter any other leader of Indian origin in the UK or other countries, will stand, watch and safe-guard interests of the UK and we need to be ready to deal with him to promote our own interests. This is the functional reality for interaction among the comity of nations. The emotional and spiritual bonds, Rishi Sunak being a professed devout Hindu, would remain and should be nurtured to mutual advantage. PM Narendra Modi has congratulated

Rishi Sunak and wished to work with him to further strengthen India-UK historic relations. He tweeted, “Warmest congratulations @RishiSunak! As you become UK PM, I look forward to working closely together on global issues, and implementing Roadmap 2030. Special Diwali wishes to the 'living bridge' of UK Indians, as we transform our historic ties into a modern partnership," 

India remained under the colonial rule of Great Britain for 200 years and now a son of Indian ancestry will rule over Great Britain. The

things have come full circle. Rishi Sunak’s elevation to the coveted position of PM of the UK is no less than ‘a wonder of democracy’. We are proud of Rishi Sunak and wish him all the best in the days to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bits and Pieces – As I please

 

The Bits and Pieces – As I please   

Political and Constitutional Morality –

What is political and constitutional morality? The two elaborations got from the inter-net say - Political ethics (also known as political morality or public ethics) is the practice of making moral judgements about political action and political agents. It covers two area - the

ethics of process (or the ethics of office), which deals with public officials and their methods. And similarly, the constitutional morality - Constitutional Morality means adherence to or being faithful to bottom line principles of constitutional values. What is constitutional morality according to Babasaheb Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian constitution?  In this view, constitutional morality refers to the conventions and protocols that govern decision-making where the constitution vests discretionary power or is silent. Political and constitutional morality is the very edifice of a democratic polity and also a just political and social order. Taking a cue from the current news about the PM of Great Britain, the fountain head of democracy, Liz Truss’s apology on some of her recent economic decisions and policies, I thought of  writing my off the cuff thoughts on the subject; particularly with regard to India. In a UK’s policy U-turn, PM Liz Truss, listening to the criticism of her Ministerial colleagues, said that she was sorry for going ‘too far and too fast’ with her radical economic plan to snap Britain out of years stagnant economic growth. She added, “I do want to accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made.” We in India has a democracy of 75 years standing, the largest in the world with one of the best constitutions. But, unfortunately, both our polity and society lack moral and constitutional morality. Babasaheb Ambedkar rightly said, “Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realise that our people

have yet to learn it. Democracy in India is only a top-dressing in the Indian soil which is essentially undemocratic.” If my knowledge and memory do not fail me, generally our political leadership, irrespective of all political parties, has not learnt to say sorry and admit mistakes; except the sole incident of a railway accident and the then Railway Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri resigning and taking moral responsibility. Nobody is perfect and it cannot be. There is no denying the fact that we have come long way since independence and has registered a good progress in development but we did many mistakes also in the process. But I have not heard of anyone having the courage and honesty in owning the mistakes to list a few – partition of India, assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, Kashmir issue, 1962 China War, 1975 Emergency, Babri Masjid demolition, Assassination of Indira Gandhi, 1984 Sikh massacre, Shah Bano Case, Godhra massacre and riots and more recent; demonetisation, Agricultural Bills and Farmers agitation, Release of culprits of Bilkas Bano case among others. I think the time has come to have some sort of introspection by our political bosses and also top bureaucracy and learn something from other democratic countries; especially of the developed world. Let us inculcate a sense of political and constitutional morality to prove ourselves and our well written and documented constitution – the sooner the better. I am reminded of Allma Iqbal:

मस्जिद तो बना दी सब भर में; इमां की हरारत बालोँ ने,

मन अपना पुराना पापी है; बरसों से नमाज़ी बन न सका।

इक़बाल बड़ा उपदेशक है; मन बातों  से मोह लेता है,

गुफ़्तार का तो यह गाज़ी बना; किरदार का गाज़ी बन न सका।

Postscript: - PM Liz Truss has resigned in the wake of controversial economic policies. It has been reported in the media that speaking at the 10 Downing Street office, Truss accepted that she could not deliver the promises she made when she was running for Conservative leader and added, “I recognise though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.”  Liz Truss has shown the courage and duly demonstrated ‘political and constitutional morality’ the ingredient which is almost absent from the polity of India, unfortunately, to my mind.

 

Bilkis Bano Rape and Murder case –

We all know the Bilkis Bano rape and murder case of 2002, a sordid saga of unprecedented cruelty and inhumanity, known as ‘Godhra communal riots. The case is again in the news because of insensitive and non-civil reasons and more so in a democratic, secular and

multi-cultural society. It is clear case of ‘political and constitutional’ deficit which I mentioned in the preceding note on political and constitutional morality. With great struggle and fight, 11 culprits were brought to book by the court with life imprisonment. On complaints and petitions the case was shifted from one court to another under the directions of the Supreme Court. One can understand the sensitivity involved. Finally, where have we ended? All the 11 culprits were freed by the Gujarat Government, after undergoing 14 years of jail, and their sentence remitted for so-called ‘good conduct’ on the Independence Day when PM Narendra Modi spoke from the ramparts of Red Fort swearing to end gender discrimination and bring about communal harmony. On release the culprits of Bilkis Bano case were received and felicitated

not only by the relatives but also by the vested segments of the society. The central government in Delhi tried to play it down by quoting various legal and procedural provisions. Both the central and Gujarat governments are still trying to defend the indefensible. Obviously and rightly, the decision of release of 11 culprits was challenged in the Supreme Court and the cat has come out of the bag. One can see as to where are we heading?  Shedding all norms of morality and social responsibility, the Gujarat government had defended in the Supreme Court its decision to release the convicts in accordance with the 1992 remission policy since they had completed more than 14 years in prison and their conduct was found to be good. Responding to the submissions of the government, the learned Judge said “I have not come across a counter affidavit where a series of judgements are quoted. Factual statement should have been made. A very bulky counter. Where is the factual statement, where is the application of mind?" Today, October 20, it has appeared in the media that the culprits who were granted the benefit of so called ‘good conduct’ were found ‘outraging the modesty’ of women even during their ‘parole’ from jail and no action was taken against them. The next hearing of the case has been fixed towards the end of November. Let us see how we demonstrate our commitment to justice as enshrined in the constitution of India. Again Babasaheb Ambedkar comes handy for directions and intent. In his speech in the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949, Babasaheb cautioned that the working of a Constitution did not depend on the document itself. Ultimately, its effect depended on those tasked with implementing it and said, “However good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot. However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it, happen to be a good lot”

New President of Congress Party – Mallikarjun Kharge

The Congress Party of India, 137 year old party, has elected Mallikarjun Khrge as its President in an election with an electoral college of about 10 thousand for the purpose. Malikarjun Kharge, the

veteran, 80 years, who described himself as a “common man from humble beginnings, a common worker who had been elected chief”, said, ‘No one is small or big and we have to all work like Karyakartas (workers) to strengthen the organisation…” and added, “We have to together fight the threat to democracy and the constitution.”  With the declining stock and standing of the party in recent years, Mallikarjun Kharge, who would take office of President of the Congress Party on October 26 as the first non Gandhi after 24 years, is considered to enjoy the ‘perceived proximity to the Gandhi’s ‘ representing the ‘status quo’.  His opponent, Shashi Tharoor, a former UN Diplomat, said to be a ‘candidate of change’ did a good job by giving a symbolic fight in the election. What will happen and how Mallikarjun Kharge performs to arrest the decline and restore the Congress Part’s eminent position in the polity of India?  Only the time would tell. Kharge would be expected to come out of the shadow of the dominant Gandhi’s and deliver. It will be good not only for the party but also for the democratic polity of India. He has, it seems, the requisite experience and talent as a politician and a public functionary with – 9 times MLA, 3 times MP with responsible positions both in his home state Karnataka and the centre in New Delhi as a Minister and Leader of the opposition both in Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha and also the State Assembly of Karnataka, not a small fete to his credit. It is just a co-incident that Mallikarjun Kharge has come to centre stage at a difficult and crucial time to

show his mettle as a dalit leader too to save the credibility of the Congress party like his predecessors; Damodaram Sanjivayya of Andhra Pradesh in 1962 in the wake of ‘loss of face’ in conflict with China, he stood with PM Jawahar Lal Nehru to support him in is dwindling mural.  And Jagjivan Ram of Bihar in 1971-72, he stood with PM Indira Gandhi

and made history by defeating Pakistan and creating Bangladesh. Will Kharge be the third dalit in a row to stand with Nehru-Gandhi Congress legacy and salvage the Congress Party, the oldest political outfit of India, once again in the years to come? Only time would tell. I take this opportunity wish Mallikarjun Kharge all the very best in his new responsibilities as President of the grand-old party. I, as a common citizen, am of the firm view that his success would further strengthen the democratic edifice of India.

Without Comment:-

Quote -Postscript: Kharge may not enthuse ‘new Indi’ but his stoy is no less compelling than that of PM Modi. Son of a mill worker, from a dalit family, he is a self made politician who first rose as a labour union leader in Gulbarga. As he told me in an interview, “I am not a naamdar (elite) but a kaamdar (hard worker)” – Unquote

(Rajdeep Sardesai in an article ‘Congress must address an elephant in the room’ appeared in the Hindustan Times of October 21)

RSS Chief on Varna and Caste – A Cursory Analysis

 

RSS Chief on Varna and Caste – A Cursory Analysis

RSS Sarsanghchalak, Mohan Bhagwat, an icon of India’s socio-political and socio-cultural setup; particularly from the Hindu point of view and the main stream of the society is currently in news – his address at the RSS citadel in Nagpur on the Vijay Dashmi on

October 5 and his very candid and thought-provoking statement on the ‘Varna and Caste’ system in the Indian society. Mohan Bhagwat touched many aspects of the Indian polity and the society like ‘population control’ and addressing the ‘imbalance’ in the demographic change inviting sharp reaction from the Muslim minority and others. But I would focus on the second news about ‘Varna and Caste’ in this cursory analysis, not as an expert but as layman and a common citizen of Bharat.  

While launching a book on October 7 at Nagpur, Mohan Bhagwat made an important and ground breaking statement on Chaturvarna and Caste which would tend to entirely change the hitherto perceived ideological plank of RSS with regard to the Hindu social order. It would, it is hoped, also set the things in their right perspective to strengthen and pursue the lofty ideal of RSS - ‘Samrasta’ – Social Harmony. He said that the concepts of ‘varna’ and caste “should be forgotten” because they are a thing of the past.  The RSS chief further said, “Social equality was a part of the Indian tradition, but it was forgotten and this led to damaging consequences. The previous generations made mistakes everywhere, and India was no exception,” he said. “There should not be any problem accepting those mistakes. And if you think that by accepting that our ancestors made mistakes they will become inferior, that won’t happen because everybody’s ancestors made mistakes”, Mohan Bhagwat added. He further said, “Everything that causes discrimination should go out lock, stock and barrel.”It is a bold statement of a ‘man of vision’, Mohan Bhagwat, Chief of the largest socio-cultural organization of the world. I also vividly recall his statement, with regard to the book ‘Bunch of Thoughts’ of one of his predecessors, M.S. Golwalkar made at Vigyan Bhawan a couple of years ago that some of the thoughts expressed in the book had outlived their relevance in the
changed socio-political scenario in India and we must see the things in their current perspective. Mohan Bhagwat deserves all appreciation and support in his endeavors to ‘integrate’ and ‘transform the Indian social order as diverse and different from the thinking of the past. He has shown ‘courage and vision’ of a statesman to change the traditional thinking of RSS, and rightly so, to meet the challenges of the future. I would not shy away from the truth to make my point in favour of Mohan Bhagwat.  I quote a few lines obtained from the Google Guru, “On February 6, 1950, the Organiser carried an article by a retired High Court Judge Shankar Subha Aiyar titled “Manu Rules Our Hearts.” He wrote that “Even though Dr. Ambedkar is reported to have recently stated in Bombay that the days of Manu have ended, it is nevertheless a fact that the daily lives of Hindus are even in the present day affected by the principles and injunctions contained in the Manusmriti and other Smritis. Even an unorthodox Hindu feels himself bound at least in some matters by the rules contained in the Smritis and he feels powerless to give up altogether his adherence to them.” Mohan Bhagwat’s

latest statement and take on Varna and Caste has completely negated the traditional RSS stance to deal with the issue. It is a welcome and much needed change which would prove beneficial to the society in the years to come.

I wrote in my blog on April 28, 2020 about the mind and thought of Mohan Bhagat some years ago sensing the things to come after my two long meetings with him in Jalandhar and Nagpur. I quote here

from my blog which may be accessed for ready reference and perusal at (https://diplomatictitbits.blogspot.com/2020/04/corona-lockdown-food-for-thought.html)

 Quote “Second, the address of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat provided me an immediate instigation to write this and share with you. He spoke with understanding, concern and vision, as always. Amid the background of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, as reported in the Tribune of April 27, the RSS Sarsanghchalak pitched on ‘swadeshi’(indigenous)  and ‘svavlamban’ (self-reliance) to meet the challenges of the future. I was happy to note that he also touched the communal aspect which was unduly being highlighted by the media and vested interests. He said, “It is not correct to blame the entire community because of something some people may have done because of ‘bhay’ and ‘krodh’ (fear and anger). We do not help with difference in human beings.  We must help with a feeling of togetherness and affinity. We are not doing any favour to anyone; we are working for our own people.

You would observe that in these thoughts of Mohan Bhagwat, there is a clear tinge of the Gandhian thought. In his speech, he also referred to a story of Tathagat Gautam Buddha to make his point to continue to do well in spite of setbacks. He also named Babasaheb Ambedkar and the constitutional norms to deal with the situation. It is slowly becoming clear to which direction the wind will blow in the days to come. RSS Boss Mohan Bhagwat, it is increasingly becoming evident, is a man of vision with accommodative and liberal approach. He stands for, I think, the ‘Middle Path’ of Gautam Buddha and constitutional and social pragmatism of Babasaheb Ambedkar and also earthy wisdom and moral authority of Mahatma Gandhi. Here we may find some “Food for thought” to prepare for the coming scenario in the aftermath of Corona Virus. We are to ‘watch and see’.

Let me conclude with my loud thinking – RSS, the strongest outfit of the majority Hindus, is standing on the crossroads. While preserving and maintaining its core agenda of Hindutva, they ought to pursue the agenda of “Samrasta”- Equality, Justice and Fraternity by owning the legacies of both Mahatma Gandhi and Babasaheb Ambedkar, the two icons of contemporary India, to make India prosper and happy and the ‘world leader’ of the 21st century.” Unqoute

The stock and appraisal of Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat has gone much high in my estimation. I only wish the RSS cadres and the society at large sincerely and truly adopt and execute the thoughtfully laid policy of Mohan Bhagat with regard to Varna and Caste for the larger good of the country and society. Let us not harp on the past instead look ahead to secure the future:-

Zara Dekh Uss Ko Jo Kuch Ho Raha Hai, Hone Wala Hai
Dhara Kya Hai Bhala Ehd-e-Kuhan Ki Dastnon Mein.

(Pay attention to what is happening and what is going to happen
What good there is in repeating the tales of the old glories?)

 

 

 

Electoral Reforms – A Layman’s Take on the Issue

 

Electoral Reforms – A Layman’s Take on the Issue

India that is Bharat is the largest democracy in the world with about 1400 million people and more that 900 million voters on the basis of ‘universal adult franchise’ and on the principle of ‘one vote – one

value’. It goes without saying, obviously, periodic elections is the very edifice of the democracy. Our forefathers, realizing full well the importance and value of ‘free and fair elections’ provided for an independent and autonomous constitutional agency, the Election Commission of India, in the Article 324 of the Constitution of India which stipulates that the power of superintendence, direction and control of elections to parliament, state legislatures, the office of the President and the office of the Vice President of India shall be vested in the EC. It does not any further reiteration that elections are the key to the health of our polity.

 We have come a long way in the process. Elections of the coveted positions like President, Vice President and Parliament, State Legislative Assemblies are regularly held and the guidance and supervision of the Election Commission of India in cooperation and consultation with State Election Commissions and the administrative machinery. Local body elections – Municipal Corporations and

Councils, Zila Parishads and Village Panchayats are held by the State Election Commission in consultation with the concerned state government with a streamlined and well established procedure. With this, India is a functional but a noisy democracy which needs further reform and streamlining. Over the years, many electoral reforms have been made to meet the emerging challenges and needs. But still, it is felt, we are to go a long way as we, it seems, have ‘arrived but still to reach’.

My immediate motivation to write this emanated from the news item – weighing on the freebie debate, Election Commission wants cost and funding plans of all poll promises.  It seems a half hearted attempt to please the political dispensations in the corridors of power. The Hindustan Times of October 6 has rightly commented in an editorial, “Freebies do pose a threat to India’s fiscal health but the ECI proposal may be counterproductive. Whether the Election Commission has ‘over stepped its remit’? How will it help in strengthening the ‘free and fair elections, the basic mandate of the constitutional authority, are a debatable issue? I would not go into these details instead would focus on the much needed electoral reforms; particularly with regard to holding and conducting of elections with reference to the ground realities and our experience since 1952. India stands as a model for many emerging democracies around the world.  Free and fair elections are the hallmark of democracy.  While we are justifiably proud of our democracy, there are a number of areas which need to be strengthened for us to realize the true potential of a well functioning democracy.  Elections are the lifeline of democracy. The danger of ‘fusion of capital and politics’ is real as said by Siddarath Varadharajan in an article in the Economic Times some years ago, “In 1943, even before India was free, Babasaheb Ambedkar spoke of the danger posed by the fusion of capital and politics, “These days, with the Press in hand, it is easy to manufacture great men,” he noted caustically — and presciently. “In establishing their supremacy”, our great men “have taken the aid of big business and money magnates. For the first time in our country, money is taking the field as an organized power.” Not that the authorities are oblivious of the electoral reforms needed and efforts have been made by various dispensations but it seems there is a definite deficit of ‘political will and political morality’ to deal with the is

sue. The Representation of the People Act (RPA) of 1951 provided the first set of rules for the conduct of elections to the Houses of Parliament and State Legislatures. Over the years the RPA has been amended to reflect changing needs. The ruling dispensations, over the years, did appoint various committees to reform and transform our election process to streamline and strengthen our democratic system. But problem remained. If we are serious to make our democratic polity really dynamic and fully representative, we need to address the issue with added impetus. Our forefathers were men of vision. Anjali Chauhan, a political analyst, has recently wrote in an article – Ambedkar’s Vision of Democracy and while narrating the meaning of democracy wrote, “He (Babasaheb Ambedkar) moved a step forward from Walter Bagehot, for whom democracy was a government by discussion and from Abraham Lincoln, for whom democracy was a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Ambedkar defined democracy as “a form and a method of government whereby revolutionary changes in the economic and social life of the people are brought about without bloodshed”.  Here lies the importance of free and fair election as the American President Thomas Jefferson said, “The government you elect is the government you deserve.”

Broadly, the issues inflicting the electoral process in India are – Money power, Muscle power, Criminalization of politics, Misuse of government machinery, Caste bias, Communalism, Lack of moral values, Lack of political polarization on the basis of ideology, inter

alia, and above all ‘constitutional morality’ of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s vision as explained by Anjali Chauhan “For him, the constitution contains only the legal skeleton, but the flesh is what he calls constitutional morality. Noted academic Pratap Bhanu Mehta sums up Babasaheb’s idea of constitutional morality as a state marked by self-restrain, respect for plurality.” Many of these aspects of our electoral process may be addressed straightway, if we consider and make the election drill more easy and affordable; some suggestions as a layman and a common citizen of Bharat may be:-

Monetary cap on expenditure to be incurred by the parties and candidates should be enforced strictly. The upper limit of expenditure for an MP may be Rs.50 lakh by the Party and Rs. 50 lakh by the candidate and for MLA – Rs. 25 lakh by the Party and 25 lakh by the candidate. Only a fixed number of vehicles may be deployed with the approval of election authorities. No expenditure on hospitality – lunches/dinners/tea/coffee/snacks etc may be admitted. No expenditure on mass transport may be admitted. It is expected that the party workers and the supporters of a candidate should offer their services voluntarily without any monetary involvement and compensation. All donations of Rs.10 thousand and more to political parties and candidates should be made public and accounted for by the donors and the recipients.

Muscle power should be controlled and dealt with by the local law and order authorities under the guidance and advice of the ECI. The senior IAS/IPS/State Police officers should be held responsible for this aspect of the elections.

Election campaign should be a regulated and controlled affair. Only a limited and fixed number of large public rallies at pre-fixed venues in the constituency for limited hours should be permitted. Only a fixed number of corner meetings at fixed venues for fixed hours should be allowed. No road shows and use of laud-speakers on the road for canvassing should be permitted.  There should be more emphasis on canvassing campaign through the print and electronic media including social media. There should be no paid news/paid advertisements in the media by the candidates, it could be resorted to only by the parties. No fixed bills (Ishtihars), other than hoardings at fixed sites, should be permitted.

The election campaign may be limited to only 15 days from the date of withdrawal of nominations.

ECI may undertake a special drive to generate awareness among the public about the moral values and constitutional morality, two much needed ingredients in the election process in a democracy.

One may observe that the listed suggestions are just simple and basic. These may not require any big change or amendment in the existing laws and legal framework. Most of these cursory steps could be done by executive orders and decisions either by the ECI or the administration. But these small steps would a long way in transforming our electoral; process to further strengthen our

democratic polity – from a noisy and dust-raising one to a functional and productive one. With this, kindly allow me to invoke Babasaheb Ambedkar again. While speaking on the qualifications of MPs/MLAs, he said, “If I may use the words of Buddha, he said that man requires two things – one is ‘Gyan’ and the other is ‘Sheel’. Gyan without Sheel is very dangerous. It must be accompanied by Sheel by which I mean character, moral courage and ability to be independent of any kind of temptations and truthful to ones ideals. I am keen to see that no member enters this august assembly who does not possess Sheel in an adequate degree”. 

We are to go a long way to transform our political democracy into social and economic democracy. Free and fair elections are the first step towards that destination. We need to be on rails.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swachh Bharat Mission – A Socio-Cultural Audit

 

Swachh Bharat Mission – A Socio-Cultural Audit

We are in the ninth year of the Swachh Bharat Mission – clean India mission - launched by PM Narendra Modi on October 2, 2014, 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It was a laudable initiative and it is also a matter of gratification to note that the Mission could

deliver not only by way of facilities but also in generating much needed awareness about cleanliness among the people. But we are still to go a long way as we approach the anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission on October 2. I am certain again we would stage some shows of ‘broom wielding’ photo-ops next week to congratulate ourselves. I wrote in these columns on the subject in 2014 too which may be accessed at: https://diplomatictitbits.blogspot.com/2014/10/swachh-bharat-campaign-gandhi-jayanti.html

My immediate provocation to write again on the subject is a news story in the Tribune about a school in some remote area of Hoshiarpur district of Punjab where the parents found that their children were made to clean the premises, including toilets, of the school by the teachers. The parents were up-in-arms against the school and the teachers. The concerned teachers explained that they themselves joined students in the cleaning operation as a planned activity to instill the sense of ‘do it yourself’ and ‘dignity of labour’ in the young students. The parents were not impressed and the authorities were finding it difficult to defend the school and the teachers because social pressure was over considerable.

The problem is acute and serious. There is no easy answer as the roots of the problem are wide spread in our ethos and culture which gets its sanctity from the religion and scriptures of the society at large. We suffer from the ‘graded inequality’ and ‘self centered’ mindset. We may or may not agree but it is true, if I humbly assert. I was not surprised to read in one of the essays on the subject of Swachh Bharat Mission on the internet that ‘even the government policies with regard to cleanliness and recruitment of safai karamcharis take into account the caste considerations’ because to clean and maintain cleanliness do not pertain to the whole society but only to the condemned to do that work, the dalits of Balmiki or Bhangi extraction in spite of the fact that manual scavenging, the utmost inhuman activity, was legally banned in India in 1993. The safai karamchari jobs are fully, 100 %, reserved, unofficially and socially, for those condemned sections of the society. The Thekedars of the society, the so called ‘General Samaj’ shouts from the house tops against ‘Reservation’, the affirmative action stipulated in the Constitution of India. They are not interested in jobs of cleanliness as they belong to the  privileged ‘General Samaj. The leadership from Mahatma Gandhi to Narendra Modi found ‘spiritual solace’ in the inhuman and degraded work of cleanliness.  If there was anyone who

found dignity in manual scavenging, it was Mahatma Gandhi then, and it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi now. Modi claimed in his autobiography that manual scavenging is a spiritual experience. The discussion on the dignity of manual scavengers would also remain incomplete without looking at what Gandhi said "The ideal Bhangi of my conception would be a Brahmin par excellence, possibly even excel him… It is the Bhangi who enables society to live. A Bhangi does for society what a mother does for her baby... A mother washes her baby of the dirt and insures his health….” This is how we glorify scavenging? Mera Bharat Mahan.

We Indians are the dirtiest people as we depend on a particular section of the society to clean our dirt.  I am sorry for this somewhat candid view. It is not the case in other countries, particularly the developed world. I have personally seen young students in Japan cleaning their own schools and officials cleaning their own offices. I even joined my fellow residents in an up-scale residential area in Tokyo to clean our surroundings on a holiday and thereafter a get-together of contributory or self-served drinks and lunch or dinner. I also recall a well thoughtful activity in Beijing (then Peking) in China which was initiated by Ambassador R.D. Sathe, who later rose to become the Foreign Secretary in late 1980s – Sharamdan on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. He invited or directed all of us in the Embassy with families to come in shorts, jeans etc. with brooms, buckets and baskets to clean our sprawling Embassy premises and later join at a community lunch. I learnt a great deal from this beautiful gesture. Why don’t we do this here in our mohallas and villages? No, it cannot be done unless we change our mindset and refuse to find ‘spiritual experience’ in the odd job. It is a matter of pity that even after 75 years of independence, we could not come out of the so called ‘spiritual experience’ and provide mechanical and appropriate tools to the safai karmcharis to clean the sewerage and do away the manual scavenging. It is not high on the policy matrix because of traditional mindset. I know personally when our people migrate to other places in foreign lands to earn their bread and butter, they don’t mind doing all odd jobs to sustain and prevail. But back home in India, story is different. We need two set of people for odd jobs – one for cooking and general cleaning and other for cleaning toilets and removal and disposal of waste. Is this the way to become ‘Vikshit Bharat’?

 Let us stop glorifying the odd jobs to scavengers by birth. Babasaheb Ambedkar rightly said, “In India, a man is not a scavenger because of his work. He is a scavenger because of his birth irrespective of the question whether he does scavenging or not.” The new slogan or ‘Jumla’- Swachhta Hee Sewa Hai - has no meaning as asserted by Shonottra Kumar and Sumeysh Srivastava are lawyers working at Nyaaya, an initiative of the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy in an article ‘For Manual Scavengers – Swachhta is not Sewa in the Wire and said, “Most importantly, the state needs to acknowledge the role of caste and how it traps people in the practice

of manual scavenging. Building a lot of toilets without proper sewage or mechanized disposal mechanisms will only lead to more stigmatization, and more work for manual scavengers. Currently, the role of caste in cleaning and sanitation in India has been ignored by the state. If everyone has toilets, but only Dalits are supposed to clean them, then it’s just a Savarna Swachh Bharat.”Let us come out of the lip service and do something concrete while remembering Mahatma Gandhi and appreciating PM Narendra Modi.

Masjid To Bana Di Shab Bhar Mein Iman Ki Hararat  Walon Ne
Mann Apna Purana Papi Hai, Barsoun Mein Namazi Ban Na Saka

(Though the mosque was built overnight by the believers
Our heart being old sinner for years devout could not be)

Iqbal Bara Updeshak Hai, Mann Baaton Mein Moh Leta Hai
Guftar Ka Ye Ghazi To Bana, Kirdar Ka Ghazi Ban Na Saka

(Iqbal is a good advisor, fascinates the heart in moments
He did become hero in talk, but one in deeds he could not be.)

Postscript: - It has been reported in the media that at a school function in Patna, an IAS officer, Harjot Kaur Bamhrah responded as a student asked that the government was providing school dress, scholarship, bicycles and many other facilities to students, can’t it provide sanitary pads for Rs 20 to 30 to girl students and said, “Today, the government would provide you with sanitary pads for Rs 20 to Rs 30. Then you ask for jeans, pants and then, beautiful shoes,” she said but did not stop there. She further added, “When it comes to family planning, will the government give condoms (Nirodh) to you? – Swachhta Hee Sewa Hai !