INCOMPATIBLE THEY are, the faith of the nation and politics. Faith takes birth from resolution, respect, and reliability. Indian politics is an antithesis of these three. This state of affairs is not something that got shaped the other day. We have been a part of this dirty system for the last six decades, and we all have had our shares to make what it is today. We all have a tendency of staying aloof and cut ourselves into Daniels of judgement. We have kept our personal shells off any meddles, and continue to be the same. As long as the problem is somebody else’s we are contented. In such a case, it is difficult to think of a situation where the problem is regarding the whole nation. It is natural for every one of us to be critical about the political system and also to make judgements.

However, not many of us are able to judge ourselves and see that there is nothing called dirty politics. It is dirty or decent as long as there is you and me. We have failed to identify ourselves with the problem, but we come to our inevitable conclusion that politics, particularly Indian, is dirty. Again, we forget that an honest population can never suffer from a dirty political system. What I would like to emphasize is that we get what we deserve. And we have got what we have come to deserve over the years. How has it come about?

It is very simple to explain. Politics is a matter of power and fear. Both the ruling and the ruled are afraid of power. The ruling are afraid of losing power, and ruled are afraid of not having someone to vest it upon. People have developed a tendency to protect themselves from such fears by assigning the responsibility to someone else and holding the latter responsible for everything. When you get your work done by others, you cannot expect others to work the way you like. Rather you put up with the way it is done. And you do not show the guts to demand for better professionalism, because you fear of allegiance to your own calling. I feel that this is the primary reason for our nation’s loss of faith in its politics.

For us, elections are excursions through which we enjoy exercising our franchise periodically. Just like the way we pay an equal monthly instalment (EMI), we cut down on our responsibilities, election after election. Despite this, we expect our service providers, our elected representatives, to be patrons of political justice, looking after our causes and concerns: whether it is the non-stop supply nuclear electricity or ensuring the supply of essentials at affordable prices or or keeping the democratic fabric intact.

Therefore, eventually, where are we with regard to dirty politics and faith of the nation? Politics and faith of the nation are nowhere near each other. The stake of the nation is huge and so is the stake of politics. Since both the parties are afraid of power, politics will not induce faith and the nation will never trust politics.

However, there are solutions for this stalemate. We can make the nation trust its politics by taking a few steps:

                  Education department should be severed and kept under the purview of the president, the governor and the vice-chancellor.

                  We should adopt proportional and gender-based representation in all legislative and elected bodies.

                  There should be a call-back facility and no go-back facility once called back.

                  Media should be made accountable and it should be brought under judicial observance.

                  Politicians should retire and the retired ones should be phased out of electioneering.

                  Defection should be made a permanent disqualification.

                  Bureaucracy, including police, needs to be governed by Ombudsman.

                  There should be pay parity in accordance to the changing times.

These measures towards achieving a utopia are almost impossible to attain. This is because we have come to such a difficult phase where we have assumed the present picture to be real and permanent. We do not know of a different order. This has been a rut, decade after decade.

Even if we fail to perform as per the above mentioned list, we can help politics stay free from its dirty clout by taking some individual resolutions. Each one of us must ask ourselves a few questions. When it comes to an issue of some personal significance, how many of us are ready to think inclusively? Or how many of us believe that it is a social cause and I am also a part of it, so I should not go off the track to get my work done? Or I should not expect the rest of my fellow men suffer for my personal gain or happiness. How many of us think inclusively? Very few! We all think in isolation. Most of us have adopted the attitude of ’This is my cause and I have to get it done somehow’, and ’I should forgo the established norms and see that it is done, no matter at whose expense I get it done.’ Don’t we do it on a daily basis? Yes, you do, I do and everyone else does. We take the cudgel and cry foul when we see something dirty in the political system. Is it not true? We are concerned only if it is a matter that involves ourselves.

Hence, we are immune to the system, at the same time we are in the system. This will not work because there are only two ways to serve a system: one way is to be an integral part of it and the other is to be completely away from it. Can we be both? It is the ‘I’ and ‘me’ and ‘our’ factors that make us dirty and our politics and politicians dirtier. The faith of the nation will falter in such a milieu. Still all is not lost yet. There is nothing which is impossible to overcome.

I feel, if we gather the will then within some twenty years’ time we can expect our political system to be free from this ignominy and distrust. It is important to understand that it is the responsibility of parents, guardians, elders, teachers, think tanks, spiritual heads, etc., to create an environment for the present generation, where everyone thinks inclusively.

Inclusive thinking should be inculcated in children by their elders. Their curriculum should be framed in such a way that it lets inclusive attitude, incorporates lessons and exercises designed to reinforce the principles of leading an all encompassing life; a life, accommodating everything new and good in their purview. This will be possible only if the new generation parents sacrifice a little and shed a few of their inherited attitude of ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘our’.

They need to understand that a holistic society needs all types of people, i.e., form politicians to policemen. Only engineers, doctors, and IT gurus do not make a nation. A school is the right place to identify the inherent skills and talents, strengths and weaknesses of a child. We can identify as to who could be a politician of inclusive thinking, who could be a scientist, a doctor, an engineer, etc. This is possible if every parent has the will to do so. This is possible. Our parents go to all extent meet the demands of their dream children! Therefore, this is the best thing they could do for their children, and to change the face of the nation. Let them pick up inclusive thinking habits from their homes.

Parents should take a resolution: ‘I will not allow my children to be influenced by those evil forces that have made our society this hopeless.’ They have to have a new world order in which they are to be their decision makers, and they are to decide their destiny. Hence, we have to provide them the right milieu. Let us all do it. Let all good things begin from our homes inclusively.

I think it is worth waiting. It is imperative that the nation today must have faith in its political system and its men. So is the case with politics.

It has to shed its age-old filth and scales of disgrace from its face and come clean. Thinking of the long road ahead, I feel that it is worth sparing a few decades so that we can have a new national political order footed not on any dirty politicking but on the pillars of indomitable faith.

As the first step, we have to teach our children before they get to school. We can garner their gentleness and spotless spirits for the welfare of the nation first, relations next, and people at the last. That is the only way out that will make our nation’s politics win the confidence of the nation.