DIVISIVE POLITICS

SANJOG MAHESHWARI

                                                                                                                                                           THE ANATOMY & THE HISTORY OF THE DIVISIVE POLITICS

                                                                                                                  -SANJOG MAHESHWARI

 

              We started out on our journey as republic with divisive politics.  In fact, the malady is inextricably ingrained in the very system of our governance.  It was for  his successively leading the Congress Party to the winning post in all the general elections fought under his leadership on the strength of solid Muslim votes assiduously cultivated, fostered and nourished by him, that India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru earned the tag: “The First Muslim Prime Minister of India.”

             

              He  inherited the British policy of ‘Divide & Rule’ disguised it in “Quota & Reservation in jobs etc. for the selected sections of the society” on the basis of their ‘social’ as against ‘economic’ status, which has since reinvented itself, many times over, and in multiple forms, penetrating deep in the civic society and the polity, and has since come to be universally recognised, with loads of trepidation and frustration, as “Divisive Politics.”  Thus it is the same "Divide & Rule" policy of the Britishers in its new avatar.

 

              While the minority (read Muslim) vote-bank still continues to remain the mainstay of the Congress Party’s political culture, the divisive politics, over the years, has displayed the uncanny tendency to blossom forth into multiple strains as it hybridized into V.P.Singh’s “Muslim-S.C &S.T.-OBC” variety, several years ago,  but is still being fondly cultivated. fostered, and nurtured by  the likes of Mulayam Singh, Mayawati, Amar Singh- the list is long. Public memory is proverbially short, but not so short as to forget how this strain of divisive- identity politics once catapulted the one of the wiliest cats of the jungle of U.P. politics to the top post, and brought the other one dangerously close to grab it.

 

              However, in the sixties when it tried to spread its vicious tentacles in Maharashtra, the awakened and enlightened Marathi people could not resist but to counter it by breeding and developing its yet another strain. Their great leader- Bal Thackeray- founded Shiv Sena.  (It further branched out as Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena under the leadership of his nephew Raj Thackeray).

        Shiv Sena went ahead to cultivate and  breed “ Regional-cultural-linguistic” variety of the divisive politics: “Maharashtra for Marathi  Manush.”  Nothing new about it except that in the case of Maharashtra the evil is perpetuated under the leadership of a non-Congress party political outfit , and the results and reactions are harsher and more cruel than those caused by the slow-poison, called ' Sons-of-the-Soil theory' invented right at the dawn of Independence, and  is surreptitiously being followed everywhere else in the country by every other ruling-class- irrespective of  its colour, shade and ideology.

    While Article 370 lends it legitimacy in Jammu &Kashmir, Article 371  make special provisions with respect to several other states. Not to be left behind, some other remaining states also follow the suit , enact similar laws in the guise of protecting the interests of the subjects of that particular state, and in the process the citizens' fundamental rights enshrined in the Article 19 of the Constitution of the country are compromised.  People belonging to other states of the union, are barred to purchase and own immovable assets in other states of their choice- even well-within the territory of the Union of India.

   

    As the poison kills poison, this culture is now drawing public attention towards the perils inherent in the divisive politics but also pointing the finger at those who have been reaping bumper harvest of political gains by gleefully perpetuating it for the furtherance of their own entrenched vested interests for several decades now. It looks extremely ridiculous on the part of the villains of the piece to now criticize Thackerays  for something- as vicious as identity politics of vote bank-  that they and their own leadership had earlier invented and used to the hilt to repeatedly gain political mileage over its rivals in the politics in all its spheres.  During the earlier seventies, the writer of these lines spent about 5 years in Nagpur where he, even then as a very  young school-going boy, could palpably perceive the all pervading influence of the Shiv Sena leaders over the people.

 

               Even now, the divisive politics of quota/Reservation in government jobs, seats in the educational institutions and other such matters selectively for certain targeted groups,draped and decked with the covering of social justice, is going full steam- doing what it invariably does i.e.Dividing the nation,. Such act of preference to selective groups or communities, by any name, certainly disadvantages other communities, and as a consequence, keeps the nation divided. Unfortunately, the politicians across the board, cutting across the party-lines, keep sitting pretty while the governments run by them perpetuate this worst form of racism albeit in disguise of social justice, caring two hoots for the results: Fragmentation of society, and the division of the nation on the lines of caste, community, region and religion. Divisive politics by any other name cannot get any less vile.  You cannot fool all the people all the time.

 

              Where this politics of exclusiveness, quota/reservation, identity and vote-bank, religious-cultural-linguistic chauvinism, the stuff by which the Divisive Politics is made, would lead us to?-  Balkanisation of the nation; where else?

 

              The interesting, though hugely disturbing,  aspect of the phenomenon is that the quick-fix-solutions, instead of containing the malady which is inextricably intertwined with our very system of governance, go only to fuel the growth of divisive politics, in different strains and forms, and prove counterproductive. Further, as under the present arrangement of the things, no political outfit or individual can gain any ascendency over its rivals without resorting to it, it would be futile and downright in the bad taste to blame any individual politician or political party for using it as a weapon for achieving their cherished political ambitions.

 

              The culture of identity and selective politics and the politics of vote bank is integral to our system of governance and we will have to live with the evil so long as this system lasts.  For winning the next election, all that a ruling political party needs to do is to distribute huge largesse from the Exchequer among the selected, targeted groups at the material time, during  the run up of general elections. Thanks to the system, such ad-hoc measures have paid rich political dividends all the time in every  election in the past, and can safely be relied upon for gaining political mileage over the rivals in the politics, in future as well.

 

              The divisive politics has its roots in our system and as such it will require overhauling the system itself, if we are interested in destroying it-lock, stock and barrel. Blaming the individual politicians or the political parties for the evil is tantamount to not seeing the wood for the trees, and will prove counterproductive.

 

                The remedy lies only in replacing this system with the American Presidential model, and sooner we replaced our Westminster type Parliamentary form of governance by the Presidential model, the better it would be for the health of our democracy.  

 

                                                                                                                   -SANJOG MAHESHWARI

 

climate change

                                                       

                                                                                               

                            SHIFT FOCUS FROM ECONOMY TO CONTAINING CLIMATE CHANGE

                                                                                                                    -SANJOG MAHESHWARI

              The time has come now that even a common citizen should be concerned with the consequences of global warming. Torturously scorching long spell of summer with scanty rainfall -far short of the average- that follows cyclone Aila this year are indications enough, if at all they are required, that further disastrous consequences of our apathy towards the problem could be just round the corner.  While global warming will affect everyone, for the obvious reasons, our poor will have to bear the brunt more than the rich. As droughts, cyclone and floods stalk the land, these environmental refugees, forced to leave their huts and hearths in search of a squire meal, will flood towns and cities year after each year culminating in such phenomenon becoming a part of our existence. On a broader canvass, under developed and the developing countries will have to bear greater burden than the developed countries.  The demon won't hear the argument that we emitted lesser carbon dioxide in the world's atmosphere than the developed countries, and that our per capita green house gas emissions   still averages less than theirs.  Come what may, it sure will do what it invariably does: ruin our agriculture, eco-system and environment; endanger our very life and existence on this planet. The poor and the middle class that comprises above 70% of the population will suffer the most as their dependence on natural resources for survival is greater.  In India, this year alone, an estimated 7.5 million people are likely to be adversely affected by global warming.

            We will find it difficult, if not altogether impossible, not to accept the cap on our carbon dioxide emissions.

              At the domestic front we have no explanation   as to why we are keeping the vital interests of more than 70% of our population hostage to the greed and caprice of less than 10% of its rich and powerful?  It is high-time that we initiated proper action in this direction; cancelled all the big deals particularly pertaining to car-production and manufacturing, stopped the inflow of foreign capital into the country and shifted the focus from the economy to ecology, environment, forests, flora & fauna, and agriculture. We must also focus on developing and harnessing the non-conventional –renewable resources of energy in a big way. Another important plan on our agenda should be putting a very affective check on our burgeoning population by enforcing a package of the most severe penalties, punishments and disincentives on the offenders of the " one-family; one-child" norm as in China and scrupulously follow the Chinese way of tackling this" mother of the most,  if not all the problems".    Perhaps then we will have something to show to the world that we also mean business and are in  no way less concerned.  China with a decade long dedicated programme of population control will sure qualify for liberal concessions from the developed countries enabling it to give further impetus to its already accelerated industrial and agricultural growth whereas we, the prisoners of our populist policies, will be roughshod at every future climate-change meet.

              No doubt, these measures will grossly infuriate the rich and powerful in the country and our growth rate may also slow down.  But it would be a very small price to pay for warding off the total disaster and devastation.  Should we sacrifice the larger interests of 70% of the poor of this country which involves   their very survival at the altar of the insatiable greed and caprice of 10% of its rich and powerful?  Is the tag "bad boy of climate change talks" not too hot for our comforts? 

              As citizens it is our bounden duty to force the government to give up its populist policies and take affective steps to ensure that the water we drink is not contaminated, the air we breathe is not polluted and the food we eat is not adulterated.      

              Though the Copenhagen is behind us now, the US Administration under President Obama is most likely to push hard for an international agreement on climate change in future meets.  At home, the US Administration is pushing forward a 10 year ambitious programme for renewable energy resources with an investment of over $150 billion.   They are forcing the automobile industry to introduce very strict fuel efficiency norms to reduce vehicular emissions of the poisonous gases.  Of course, India and China must claim a commitment from the Industrialised countries to contribute certain percentage of their GDP to fund and finance climate action in the developing countries and  bring round the developed countries to share the green technology with them, but they must also make matching efforts to qualify for the favour and finances

              For the teeming millions of India, clean water to drink, fresh air to breathe and a green earth to walk on are far more desirable than the dubious distinction of being home to five out of ten richest persons in the world.

                                                                                                                      SANJOG MAHESHWARI

THE ANATOMY & THE HISTORY OF DIVISIVE POLITICS

We started out on our journey as republic with divisive politics. In fact, the malady is inextricably ingrained in the very system of our governance. It was for his successively leading the Congress Party to the winning post in all the general elections fought under his leadership on the strength of solid Muslim votes assiduously cultivated, fostered and nourished by him, that India’s first Prime Minister, Jawharlal Nehru earned the tag: “The First Muslim Prime Minister of India.”

He inherited the British policy of ‘Divide & Rule’ disguised it in “Quota & Reservation in jobs etc. for the selected sections of the society” on the basis of their ‘social’ as against ‘economic’ status, which has since reinvented itself, many times over, and in multiple forms, penetrating deep in the civic society and the polity, and has since come to be universally recognised, with loads of trepidation and frustration, as “Divisive Politics.”

While the minority (read Muslim) vote-bank still continues to remain the mainstay of the Congress Party’s political culture, the divisive politics, over the years, has displayed the uncanny tendency to blossom forth into multiple strains as it hybridized into V.P.Singh’s “Muslim-S.C &S.T.-OBC” variety, several years ago, but is still being fondly cultivated. fostered, and nurtured by the likes of Mulayam Singh, Mayawati, Amar Singh- the list is long. Public memory is proverbially short, but not so short as to forget how this strain of divisive- identity politics once catapulted the one of the wiliest cats of the jungle of U.P. politics to the top post, and brought the other one dangerously close to grab it.

However, in the sixties when it tried to spread its vicious tentacles in Maharashtra, the awakened and enlightened Marathi people could not resist but to counter it by breeding and developing its yet another strain. Their great leader- Bal Thackeray- founded Shiv Sena in the fifties. Under the leadership of much-venerated Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray, they went ahead to cultivate and breed “ Regional-cultural-linguistic” variety of it, christened “Maharashtra for Marathi.” As the poison kills poison, this culture is now proving a lethal weapon, not only against the divisive politics as such, but mainly so against those who, till recently, have been reaping bumper harvest of political gains by gleefully perpetuating it for the furtherance of their own entrenched vested interests for several decades now. It looks extremely ridiculous on their part when they criticise the most respected leader of the region for something what their own leadership had earlier invented and used to the hilt to repeatedly gain political mileage over its rivals in the politics in all its spheres. During the earlier seventies, the writer of these lines spent about 6 years in Nagpur where he, even then as a very young school-going boy, could palpably perceive the all pervading influence of the leader over the people.

Pretensions to the contrary apart, divisive politics of quota/Reservation in government jobs, seats in the educational institutions and other such matters selectively for certain targeted groups, even if draped and decked with the covering of social justice, does what it would invariably do-i.e. Dividing the nation,. Such act of preference to selective groups or communities, by any name, certainly disadvantages other communities, and as a consequence, keeps the nation divided. Unfortunately, the politicians across the board, cutting party-lines, keep sitting pretty while the governments run by them perpetuate this worst form of racism albeit in disguise of social justice even if it results in fragmentation of society, and divides the nation. Divisive politics by any other name cannot get any less vile. You cannot fool all the people all the time.

Where this politics of exclusiveness, quota/reservation, identity and vote-bank, religious-cultural-linguistic chauvinism, the stuff by which the Divisive Politics is made, would lead us to- Balkanisation of the nation, where else?

The interesting, though hugely disturbing, aspect of the phenomenon is that the quick-fix-solutions, instead of containing the malady which is inextricably intertwined with our very system of governance, go only to fuel its growth in different strains and forms. As no political outfit or individual can gain any ascendancy over its rivals without resorting to it, it would be highly despicable and downright in the bad taste to blame any individual politician or political party for embracing it in pursuance of their cherished political ambitions.

The culture of identity and selective politics and the politics of vote bank is integral to our system of governance and we will have to live with the evil so long as this system lasts. For winning the next election, all that a ruling political party needs to do is to distribute huge largesse from the Exchequer among the selected, targeted groups at the material time, during the run up of general elections. Thanks to the system, such ad-hoc measures have paid rich political dividends all the time in every election in the past, and can safely be relied upon for gaining political mileage over the rivals in the politics, in future as well.

The divisive politics has its roots in our system and as such it will require overhauling the system itself, if we are interested in destroying it-lock, stock and barrel. Blaming the individual politicians or the political parties for the evil is tantamount to not seeing the wood for the trees, and prove counterproductive.

The remedy lies only in replacing this system with the American Presidential model, and sooner we replaced our Westminster type Parliamentary form of governance by the Presidential model, the better it would be for the health of our democracy.