Disclaimer: This post contains crude language, so kindly do not proceed if you are offended by those.
Incredibly, for me, I voted in the General Elections. It's the first time in my life I have voted at any level (internet surveys do not count). How I got the Voter ID card is another question altogether but that I even got one in the first place is literally mind-blowing. Unfortunately, for several lakh eager voters in Mumbai, their names were not found on the voting lists (what the fuck happened, EC?)
Another first for me is that in my adult life in India, this is the only time I have had the opportunity to soak in the election hysteria (2004 and 2009, yours truly was in the US). I have had keen interest in the US Presidential Elections in 2008 and while that was hotly contested and they had several shit-slinging matches between the Republicans and the Democrats, it was nothing compared to what I am witnessing here in India.
For starters, it might get confusing to a casual observer whether NaMo is the incumbent or the one gunning for the Top Post of the country. There is an undeniable Modi-wave whether his opponents or some in his own party believe it or not. Then there are the actual holders of the government - who by matter of sheer incompetence and over-confidence brought India Inc. or Bharat or plain Ol' India (depending on who you ask) to its knees - and by due course of democracy are asking 800+ Million eligible voters for a chance at the next 5 years (there is always a chance, you know, for them to get back considering coalition governments have been in vogue for several years now). Lastly, there is a Third Group - no, not you, the so-called Third Front (a mish-mash of several regional parties and their CMs/De-facto CMs hoping the tide turns their way) - but a group called AAP - trying to win a few seats and a lot of hearts by putting their hearts in the right place by demanding the ouster of a corrupt government, prevent another corrupt government taking the current one's place and give power back to the people (where it originally belongs).
With this I come to the reason I wanted to pen this down.
The Politics of..
- Hate
- Communalism
- Secularism
- Divide and Conquer
- The Hindu Vote
- The Muslim Vote
- HOPE
and several other factors.
With the elections already underway, there is so much shit being thrown around, God, you are going to need a huge amount of cleaning and air sanitizers. Ironically, while people want good governance, they are unfortunately being fed so much hatred that it looks like this General Elections, it is not a fight between UPA and NDA and AAP and Third Front but between India and Pakistan. Well, yes, there is an Italian involved but for the most part it is among the Indians only.
Then there is social media where nothing is off limits and everything is allowed in the name of politics and more importantly, one-up-man-ship. Political leaders constantly put their foot in their mouths and before they can remove that foot, they say something and try to stuff the other foot in as well. It is funny to encounter these sometimes but in the bigger sense of the word, it is the very same public that they are trying to please that is the Biggest Loser here.
Promises are made by everyone and Lord knows not all will be fulfilled or even remembered by the time the next elections roll around in 5 years.
Political leaders forget (or deliberately ignore) the one most important thing that it is India that they are going to represent and it includes people of all races and religions. You have off the cuff remarks about Muslims winning the Kargil war for India, boys will be boys comments about a matter as sensitive as rape, warnings by candidates that if they do not win, there will be no water in their villages, using a martyred war hero as an election prop etc. Are people really stupid to buy in to this or are we plain ignorant ourselves?
The Election Commission is supposed to be the Watchdog on activities that violate the Model Code of Conduct but apart from asking for reports of misdemeanors (voting twice anyone?) and asking state authorities to file an FIR - what have they done to curb this nonsense? Selfie, really Sir? What is the bloody matter with these guys? Show some spine and penalize them. Where is T N Seshan when you really need him?
Eight paragraphs in, did I even mention the Elections have gone Personal? From raising needless points about the marital status of NaMo to the recent news about Diggy's relationship with a journalist 20 odd years his junior and the salvos fired by the opposition on this perfectly legal albeit "embarrassing" union, the ethical nature of politics (if there was any to begin with) has literally gone to the dogs (apologies to my canine community). Didn't even have to elaborate about a certain son-in-law's ill-gotten wealth but until there is a case registered against him, what are we really going to do?
There was all this campaigning on social media urging folks to caste their vote. What is the purpose of all this? In my opinion, no one gets affected by who comes to power. Did you really feel a pinch when the 2G scam or the Commonwealth scam or the Coalgate issue was brought to light? Other than an emotional connect, at the end of the day, it is the personal moolah that one and all care for. Neither the Rich nor the Poor nor the Middle class get affected by who is in power and who is in the opposition. How many of us have really paid attention to the circus that it is the Lok Sabha? Only the sensational news or the NewsHour debates (if I can even call that) are what the (majority) folks are interested in.
I know there will be several detractors to what I have written but the sheer hatred for human beings of the same nationality (minus Italy) just isn't worth it. I, for one, cannot wait for May 16 and this whole hullabaloo to end. Maybe it's the father in me who wants to see a better India for my kids but it is also the Indian in me who gives a damn about how this plays out.
I write this to vent out a little but just don't get me started on Rakhi Sawant and her Rashtriya Aam Party now. I might just shove a Green Chili (her party's symbol) up some one's ass to prove a point.
Sincerely,
An Indian National not a Hindu National
Happy Birthday, Amma!!
Incredibly, for me, I voted in the General Elections. It's the first time in my life I have voted at any level (internet surveys do not count). How I got the Voter ID card is another question altogether but that I even got one in the first place is literally mind-blowing. Unfortunately, for several lakh eager voters in Mumbai, their names were not found on the voting lists (what the fuck happened, EC?)
Another first for me is that in my adult life in India, this is the only time I have had the opportunity to soak in the election hysteria (2004 and 2009, yours truly was in the US). I have had keen interest in the US Presidential Elections in 2008 and while that was hotly contested and they had several shit-slinging matches between the Republicans and the Democrats, it was nothing compared to what I am witnessing here in India.
For starters, it might get confusing to a casual observer whether NaMo is the incumbent or the one gunning for the Top Post of the country. There is an undeniable Modi-wave whether his opponents or some in his own party believe it or not. Then there are the actual holders of the government - who by matter of sheer incompetence and over-confidence brought India Inc. or Bharat or plain Ol' India (depending on who you ask) to its knees - and by due course of democracy are asking 800+ Million eligible voters for a chance at the next 5 years (there is always a chance, you know, for them to get back considering coalition governments have been in vogue for several years now). Lastly, there is a Third Group - no, not you, the so-called Third Front (a mish-mash of several regional parties and their CMs/De-facto CMs hoping the tide turns their way) - but a group called AAP - trying to win a few seats and a lot of hearts by putting their hearts in the right place by demanding the ouster of a corrupt government, prevent another corrupt government taking the current one's place and give power back to the people (where it originally belongs).
With this I come to the reason I wanted to pen this down.
The Politics of..
- Hate
- Communalism
- Secularism
- Divide and Conquer
- The Hindu Vote
- The Muslim Vote
- HOPE
and several other factors.
With the elections already underway, there is so much shit being thrown around, God, you are going to need a huge amount of cleaning and air sanitizers. Ironically, while people want good governance, they are unfortunately being fed so much hatred that it looks like this General Elections, it is not a fight between UPA and NDA and AAP and Third Front but between India and Pakistan. Well, yes, there is an Italian involved but for the most part it is among the Indians only.
Then there is social media where nothing is off limits and everything is allowed in the name of politics and more importantly, one-up-man-ship. Political leaders constantly put their foot in their mouths and before they can remove that foot, they say something and try to stuff the other foot in as well. It is funny to encounter these sometimes but in the bigger sense of the word, it is the very same public that they are trying to please that is the Biggest Loser here.
Promises are made by everyone and Lord knows not all will be fulfilled or even remembered by the time the next elections roll around in 5 years.
Political leaders forget (or deliberately ignore) the one most important thing that it is India that they are going to represent and it includes people of all races and religions. You have off the cuff remarks about Muslims winning the Kargil war for India, boys will be boys comments about a matter as sensitive as rape, warnings by candidates that if they do not win, there will be no water in their villages, using a martyred war hero as an election prop etc. Are people really stupid to buy in to this or are we plain ignorant ourselves?
The Election Commission is supposed to be the Watchdog on activities that violate the Model Code of Conduct but apart from asking for reports of misdemeanors (voting twice anyone?) and asking state authorities to file an FIR - what have they done to curb this nonsense? Selfie, really Sir? What is the bloody matter with these guys? Show some spine and penalize them. Where is T N Seshan when you really need him?
Eight paragraphs in, did I even mention the Elections have gone Personal? From raising needless points about the marital status of NaMo to the recent news about Diggy's relationship with a journalist 20 odd years his junior and the salvos fired by the opposition on this perfectly legal albeit "embarrassing" union, the ethical nature of politics (if there was any to begin with) has literally gone to the dogs (apologies to my canine community). Didn't even have to elaborate about a certain son-in-law's ill-gotten wealth but until there is a case registered against him, what are we really going to do?
There was all this campaigning on social media urging folks to caste their vote. What is the purpose of all this? In my opinion, no one gets affected by who comes to power. Did you really feel a pinch when the 2G scam or the Commonwealth scam or the Coalgate issue was brought to light? Other than an emotional connect, at the end of the day, it is the personal moolah that one and all care for. Neither the Rich nor the Poor nor the Middle class get affected by who is in power and who is in the opposition. How many of us have really paid attention to the circus that it is the Lok Sabha? Only the sensational news or the NewsHour debates (if I can even call that) are what the (majority) folks are interested in.
I know there will be several detractors to what I have written but the sheer hatred for human beings of the same nationality (minus Italy) just isn't worth it. I, for one, cannot wait for May 16 and this whole hullabaloo to end. Maybe it's the father in me who wants to see a better India for my kids but it is also the Indian in me who gives a damn about how this plays out.
I write this to vent out a little but just don't get me started on Rakhi Sawant and her Rashtriya Aam Party now. I might just shove a Green Chili (her party's symbol) up some one's ass to prove a point.
Sincerely,
An Indian National not a Hindu National
Happy Birthday, Amma!!
Comments
Good writing - Vaibhav