India has always been a staunch preserver of values and ethics in the backgrounds of various political ideologies. However today while reeling under the fatal effects of this pandemic, we seem to have squeezed our vision to a kind of myopic viewpoint. This pandemic, mired in quotidian details, is apparently taking away some pretense of human value that we took pride in across the centuries of our evolution as species. Today our nation’s integrity is fractured by ‘poli-tricks’ which is creating complexity and ambiguity within the system.
Apparently, our Central Government is slowly losing its grandeur by quoting half-cooked truths regardless of the biased/dubbed media helping them amplify those lies. Their self-proclaimed glory is falling off gradually, and rather than walking as the better-offs, they are continuously shrinking as lesser mortals while continuously letting the country slip into a quagmire. Moreover some of the powerful opposition leaders are also creating hoaxes and rather than extending their help, they are busy criticising the policies/ fighting for their vote banks. While the whole nation is struggling to breathe sweet, salubrious air of Bharat, our degrading political structure is busy spreading the stench of mendacity. There is a powerful quote from Tennessee Williams fixating the country’s current scenario in place,
‘There ain’t nothin’ more powerful than the odour of mendacity. You can smell it. It smells like death.’
Herein I am echoing the voices of many fellow citizens calling for the reformation of the prevalent system which is somewhat getting into the practice of outsourcing its democracy. On taking stock of our democratic ideals, we discover that we lost Gandhi’s moral impact while political parties continue to veneer away from the political philosophy and ethics they promised to uphold.
What is even more vexatious is the fact that political division is sought in the name of narrow and divisive identities, whose preferred language is often that of taking recourse to violence rather than the democratic and civilized methods of discussion and dialogue. Criminals are being used to settle political scores and in the process it is leading to criminalization of politics or rather to politicization of crime! One most disconcerting trend has emerged in recent times wherein the Parliament, the lofty temple of our democracy, has turned into the playground for acute argumentative politics.
It’s highly important that politicians feel the spirit of good governance and the citizens too for they need to get out of the enchantment of the current “party with a difference” catchphrase. Alternatively, we find that there happens to be certain parties who are silently upholding the much-needed virtues and working towards national integrity against the existing fascist and totalitarian political movements. According to the presentation submitted on a portal named Slideshare.net, there are two political parties who are supplying to the need of the hour by inducing authenticity and morality in the field of politics. These two parties are Welfare Party of India and Humanist Party of India.
While the Humanist Party urges on non-violence as its primary objective, Welfare Party of India ideates and implements the policy of welfare for the weaker sections of the society. Its idea lies in creating a welfare state which can append certain basic needs for instance, nutritious food, decent clothing, elementary education, healthcare and proper shelter. So basically this analysis is a call to the citizens to help the country fight against those who wish to decide the future of the nation, not by building consensus, but by reducing it to anarchy; thus they must vote not merely on intuition but on the basis of their logical reasoning.
Further, if we talk about the Internet, it’s quite usual that one may have noticed that there's a lot of toxic garbage out there: racist memes, chauvinistic propaganda, viral misinformation. Additionally it’s this Internet which is creating these political ghettos and echo chambers in which for your entire life one can stay with the political community that he/she belongs to. And thus it’s creating a narrow-minded and blinded society. Politicians really need to work against the misuse of social-media but instead they are moulding its demerit for their own personal agenda. There seems to be no transparency in case of politics nowadays. We are being deluded the by pomp and show only to ignore the grave atrocities. We now know Goethe some centuries ago rightly claimed,
‘There is a big shadow where there is much light.’
India is desperately perceptive for a national vision in our Parliament and the highest convocations of democratic debate. The practice of waving pamphlets, flouting rules, uproarious scenes warranting recurrent adjournments of the House and several other maladies which we have encountered is hinting at the relentless erosion of values. Election process insulates the feigned representatives from their constituencies. Once they are politically secured, they become completely unanswerable to the people. If our elected representative is proving to be indecent towards people’s problems, the citizens are left no other option but to wait till the next election. It’s like we are forced into a dystopian nightmare!
The flawed developmental insight of the rulers has restricted the progress of the poor and growing urban middle class. Even the corporate sector is trying to hamper the approach of visionary political parties. They are acting as infiltrates which are creating an abominable encroachment upon the unprivileged community’s personal space. Hence a framework for a just society needs to be taken care of. It’s important that future of all political parties should be decided by eradicating corruption and rooting out the hate culture. These tenets can be further propelled if we as candidates demand for better institutions and like the leaf, we must allow the alimentations circulate throughout our body politic to create a stronger democracy, a better tomorrow.