Aging men like M. Karunanidhi appear like caricatures on our small screens, fasting for a few hours for the Sri Lankan Tamils — a token gesture to establish their support for an organization that believes in ‘killing’ as a means to ‘liberate’ the ethnic group. Men like him are unable to structure a serious reaction to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Then, as the natural and the political heat gets to be unbearable, a hospital check-in becomes the ‘tool’, in a manner of speaking, to garner sympathy for years of failure on this issue. Too often played out, the rhetoric is boring, unimaginative and predictable. J. Jayalalithaa will win!
In Bihar, the recently formed trimurti will falter and Nitish Kumar will triumph. In Uttar Pradesh, the same trimurti will lose ground and the others in the game will gain some additional seats. In Madhya Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party will retain its hold, as it will in Gujarat. And the other news coming in is that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) — a party most vociferously damning of discourse, varied opinions, free thought and action — will dilute its hold on its ‘masses’. Mr and Mrs Karat have been adamant about their positions, leaving no place for subtle, civil adjustments. Sad, but true.
Had the Communist Party of India not split in the early years of India’s independence, with its one arm becoming so intellectually ‘militant’, this nation would have had a mature Left Front today as the second nationally respected party. Perceived in India to be an ally of China, the CPI(M) has lost a large chunk of its credibility despite having men with good minds in its collective. Women in exalted positions, alas, are few and far between (usually only the wives). Imagine an India in 2009 that could have been, with two strong ‘secular’ ideological opponents — the Left and the Congress — representing the many factions, castes and communities, which opted out of revolutionary ideologies and the left bandwagon.
Healthy democracy
Additionally then, there could have been a different set of competitors for the state elections, the regional satraps, who could compete with each other politically and economically, leaving the Centre to handle national issues like foreign policy, defence, currency and suchlike. A functioning, energetic federalism is what we need for a healthy civil society.
But instead, the area that comprises the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation — countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka in particular — has had a crisis of leadership in some form. Amongst them, India has been the most stable so far because of a supple, versatile democratic system that has managed to withstand the horrendous pressures and assaults that the system has had to deal with when confronted with corrupt practices and undemocratic demands. The democratic tenets spelt out in the Constitution need immediate restoration for India to be respected as a partner in the republic of nations.
Our neighbours have suffered differently. Nepal, as a feudal monarchy and the last Hindu State, was a fertile ground for the germination of a militant, aggressive Maoist party. The party was voted to power in a coalition last year without a definite and conclusive mandate. It is unsteady today and has lost its partner and is on shaky ground. The army is standing by. Pakistan is in a tragic turmoil, with the army and intelligence agencies playing politics, and destroying the nation.
Will India enter a period of political stability by activating its inherent federal structures and move forward by renewing the pledge to create an inclusive, democratic, political and social space? Will that help alter the environment in the region and enable the Saarc nations to come together as a formidable market force? If only one could fast forward!
