res-publica
for the past four or five days i have been so hooked to the television its not funny, considering the fact that my end sems are going on it is even less funny. this is NOT a good time for examinations, especially for a 21 yr old who has voted for the first time in the loksabha elections.
i have realised that politics gives me a high. not the actual electoral battle, but the academic analysis that follows. i wasn't so engrossed before the elections, during the campaigns, i did follow the campaigns, but not as assiduously as i followed the exit polls. the post poll analysis, the nitty gritty of cause and effect, the dryness of it all, ...its fantastic. because it is more or less objective, and unbiased, because i like intelligent and politically conscious people speaking, because the speakers are usually devoid of party affiliations...
i have also realised that at heart i am a skeptic. i would much rather be an intellectual who sees both sides of the question than a ranting activist. i truly believed that in our state a change of order was needed, but i have little or no faith in the opposition(if you call it elitism saptarshi, then so be it.). i believed that the government needed to be jolted out of their complacence, and this the best possible way to have achieved it, because these are the loksabha polls and would not actually entail a change of order in the state legislative assembly, but their humiliating defeat would perhaps give them the much needed slap-in-the-face and shake them out of their hubris. if these were the bidhaansabha polls i would have been much more apprehensive of what the future would have in store for us...
i am satisfied with the results, but i am not fooling myself that these results will automatically translate into better government, because it won't. the pigs will inevitably begin to behave like men. and if the party at the centre wins again, next time, we would have to resign ourselves to the authoritarianism of the seventies and the tyranny of a dynasty. if in the bidhansabha polls we see an action replay of the loksabha polls, then we are sure headed for unruly times.
saddest part is, this imperfect and terribly fraught situation is perhaps the BEST we could have hoped for under current circumstances. if i had to choose between a communal, a pseudo-communist and an elitist party, i would choose the elitist party a hundred times over, but that doesn't necessarily mean that i would be perfectly happy with my choice.
i have realised that politics gives me a high. not the actual electoral battle, but the academic analysis that follows. i wasn't so engrossed before the elections, during the campaigns, i did follow the campaigns, but not as assiduously as i followed the exit polls. the post poll analysis, the nitty gritty of cause and effect, the dryness of it all, ...its fantastic. because it is more or less objective, and unbiased, because i like intelligent and politically conscious people speaking, because the speakers are usually devoid of party affiliations...
i have also realised that at heart i am a skeptic. i would much rather be an intellectual who sees both sides of the question than a ranting activist. i truly believed that in our state a change of order was needed, but i have little or no faith in the opposition(if you call it elitism saptarshi, then so be it.). i believed that the government needed to be jolted out of their complacence, and this the best possible way to have achieved it, because these are the loksabha polls and would not actually entail a change of order in the state legislative assembly, but their humiliating defeat would perhaps give them the much needed slap-in-the-face and shake them out of their hubris. if these were the bidhaansabha polls i would have been much more apprehensive of what the future would have in store for us...
i am satisfied with the results, but i am not fooling myself that these results will automatically translate into better government, because it won't. the pigs will inevitably begin to behave like men. and if the party at the centre wins again, next time, we would have to resign ourselves to the authoritarianism of the seventies and the tyranny of a dynasty. if in the bidhansabha polls we see an action replay of the loksabha polls, then we are sure headed for unruly times.
saddest part is, this imperfect and terribly fraught situation is perhaps the BEST we could have hoped for under current circumstances. if i had to choose between a communal, a pseudo-communist and an elitist party, i would choose the elitist party a hundred times over, but that doesn't necessarily mean that i would be perfectly happy with my choice.
posted by mojo at 8:42 AM
9 Comments:
Yes. That was exactly what I was trying to tell people earlier.
Just because you do not like party X does not necessarily make you a supporter of the opposition party Y.
In fact,in my opinion there is not much to choose between the two.
Gah.
I have a feeling that somehow, somewhere, we, the educated, the refined, the composed, find it hard to identify with someone like Mamata Banerjee.
I mean look at any left leader. Barring a few pricks, they are Shakti Chattopadhyay, Shukanto-quoting, smooth white-dhoti wearing, grey haired intelligence exuding, calm composed fine men of honour.
That is where we connect with them. This is only an assumption. But it may not be as far from the truth as you would like to think.
@bimbo: yeah well...
@arunava: maane bad kings are a punishment for our sins?? as luther would say?? :)
it is. i hate smooth talking hypocrites. but i like a hysterical, eccentric even less. i give her all due credit for what she has achieved. but yes, i would prefer an educated, composed, refined and honest leader--maybe like dr. singh or gopal krishna gandhi. i don't think there is ANYTHING wrong with it. i must be able to look up to my leader. sadly enough i can't look up to mamata, most of the time.
It is true. This result is good because hopefully it will be a wake up call. In a democracy where no X is no better than Y or Z, the best alternative is incessant change. Change will keep them on their toes.
Also, I find it difficult to imagine Mamata as CM. But cheers to her for shaking the(and I quote her)"govt of the harmad, by the harmad, for the harmad."
Dekha jak next year ki hoy.
i'm a first time vistor and on your "Naamkoron-er Sharthokota" post: dude, i feel you! i'm so not my name too. loved your post and laughed aloud at the descriptions. nice, very nice!! :)
@s: well thanks...
its a common affliction it seems.
The election coverage was by far one of the most partisan I have ever seen. It was a Centre-party-oriented media coverage which gave both BJP and the Left the cold shoulder.
@aritro da - that shouldn't come as a surprise, considering the head honchos of most of the bigger media houses (from prannoy roy to arun purie) are all products of similar educational institutions. doon school and then stephen's i think. as such, their outlooks are all markedly similar.
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