THE END OF HEGEMONY
The results of the elections will bring out a historic change in the left governed states. This time in West Bengal, the history will not repeat itself. The history of a prolonged political hegemony established by the CPIM led Left Front that replaced in 1977 another prolonged reign of the Congress is all set to change. More than three decades of Monolithic rule will be uprooted by humble women in white sari called Mamata. Its time to celebrate and say goodbye to Dhoti clad stalins. There are many factors which are bringing about this change. To start with the one accepted by Buddha Dev himself: Nadigram & Singur, wrong conceptualization of industrialization, poor governance, high-handedness of the CPIM and other left party leaders and workers, pathetic state of minorities as per the Sachar Committee report, are the range of factors that combine to create a ferocious anti-CPIM mood among the public. Although, the left has always followed the economic class line of analysis, as a crude reality the economic poor of Bengal are mainly consisted of the socially disadvantaged – Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis. What the left has continued to do was using the socio-economic vulnerabilities of the masses and taking their subjugation to the party as granted. The erosion of the left’s base among the poor was indicated enough in the 2006 election itself – the Muslim support base started to revolt. Instead of identifying the particular disadvantages of the Muslims, the party – and its public face Mr. Buddha Dev Bhataccahya – continued to alienate the Muslims. At one point of time there was little or no difference in the line of expression of Mr. L.K. Advani and Mr. Bhattacharya. While the policy of land acquisition, which was fought vehemently by the Muslims in Bhangar (near Kolkata) even before 2006, directly went against the livelihood interest of the Muslims, Mr. Bhattacharya’s almost equating this social group with religious terrorism, fanaticism, intellectual backwardness and so on, infuriated them en masse. On the other hand, the growing aspiration among part of the dalit masses, who are relatively empowered than their lowlier brethren but perceived to be deprived of the privileges and power, found ways of expression against the suppressive rule of the party and government. Instead of attempting to read the situation the CPIM tried to control damage through the conventional means – party’s custodianship at the societal level and over-dependence on bureaucracy at governmental level.
So how will the left behave in opposition? Will it play a constructive role or stall every new bill in the assembly and go berserk on the streets, in conformity with its trademark public behaviour? The entire Left front needs to bring more democracy in its cadre and stop behaving like a Hindu Undivided Family where the role of the other partners is strictly defined and prescribed by the big brother. To rebuild its image, it needs to come out of its 34years of comfort zone to contribute and help the state into turning Right.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
THE PIED PIPER
The Pied Piper
The hysteria of winning the World Cup in cricket has shifted gears and turned into anger against the overflowing cup of corruption. Led by the veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare in his fast unto death for a tougher JanLok pal bill, the Jantar Mantar of New Delhi has become the new Tahrir square. Hazare has stirred the deep frustration and the buried desire of the common man to stand against unbearable and shameful corrupt system of our country. We are forced to pay for every service to which we are entitled free of cost as a law abiding and taxpaying citizen. The spontaneous and incredible support to Anna across the country and on the virtual world is the result of the fast running scammometer of this government. His fast-unto-death, demanding the passage of the JanLok pal Bill and inclusion of the civil society in its drafting has resulted after the complete loss of credibility in the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.
The toothless draft of the Lokpal Bill prepared by the law ministry has many loopholes. According to the government’s draft, the Lokpal or the ombudsman can receive complaints only from Parliament. The activists are rightly demanding the Lokpal be allowed to receive complaints from the public directly. In a country, where public officers are not known to be exactly responsive to genuine complaints, keeping them outside the ambit of law is counterproductive. The government also wants to keep bureaucrats, the root cause of corruption, outside the purview of the Bill. Both these provisions show the intent of the government clearly: pass the law but make it toothless. India undoubtedly needs an Ombudsman of the kind Anna is demanding. We have seen the efficient and excellent working of the CBI in 2G scam has resulted form its powers from the court. If freedom from the governmental control can make CBI strong, imagine what results a strong ombudsman can give in handling corruption.
While there can be no second opinion in endorsing Mr. Hazare's crusade, forcing the government to take a stand on the Jan Lokpal Bill without a full-scale debate and discussion on it is fraught with danger. Constant friction between the government and civil society will not yield any significant result. A solution should be worked out by enacting a comprehensive bill that borrows the best from the government and civil society. There are apprehensions in the government that by involving the civil society in the drafting of this bill will abdicate its absolute authority, and yielding to such pressure will strike at the roots of the Constitution. According to the some members of the government, Anna is derailing and hijacking the democratic process. He is being accused of undermining the importance of the constitutional representatives and law making authorities while trying to do good for the nation. These allegations show that the government is clearly on the defensive. Now that the majority of the demands of Anna Hazare, are being met by the government, it is being celebrated as the first winning shot against corruption. What remains to be seen is how will the merging of the roles of investigator, judge and prosecutor within one office eradicate corruption from Government offices. Before celebrating this win as a triumph of democracy let us hope that the joint committee members will rub their heads and brains together and come up with a Lokpal bill which will accommodate the demands of the ‘Jan’ and conforms to democratic norms as well.
The hysteria of winning the World Cup in cricket has shifted gears and turned into anger against the overflowing cup of corruption. Led by the veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare in his fast unto death for a tougher JanLok pal bill, the Jantar Mantar of New Delhi has become the new Tahrir square. Hazare has stirred the deep frustration and the buried desire of the common man to stand against unbearable and shameful corrupt system of our country. We are forced to pay for every service to which we are entitled free of cost as a law abiding and taxpaying citizen. The spontaneous and incredible support to Anna across the country and on the virtual world is the result of the fast running scammometer of this government. His fast-unto-death, demanding the passage of the JanLok pal Bill and inclusion of the civil society in its drafting has resulted after the complete loss of credibility in the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.
The toothless draft of the Lokpal Bill prepared by the law ministry has many loopholes. According to the government’s draft, the Lokpal or the ombudsman can receive complaints only from Parliament. The activists are rightly demanding the Lokpal be allowed to receive complaints from the public directly. In a country, where public officers are not known to be exactly responsive to genuine complaints, keeping them outside the ambit of law is counterproductive. The government also wants to keep bureaucrats, the root cause of corruption, outside the purview of the Bill. Both these provisions show the intent of the government clearly: pass the law but make it toothless. India undoubtedly needs an Ombudsman of the kind Anna is demanding. We have seen the efficient and excellent working of the CBI in 2G scam has resulted form its powers from the court. If freedom from the governmental control can make CBI strong, imagine what results a strong ombudsman can give in handling corruption.
While there can be no second opinion in endorsing Mr. Hazare's crusade, forcing the government to take a stand on the Jan Lokpal Bill without a full-scale debate and discussion on it is fraught with danger. Constant friction between the government and civil society will not yield any significant result. A solution should be worked out by enacting a comprehensive bill that borrows the best from the government and civil society. There are apprehensions in the government that by involving the civil society in the drafting of this bill will abdicate its absolute authority, and yielding to such pressure will strike at the roots of the Constitution. According to the some members of the government, Anna is derailing and hijacking the democratic process. He is being accused of undermining the importance of the constitutional representatives and law making authorities while trying to do good for the nation. These allegations show that the government is clearly on the defensive. Now that the majority of the demands of Anna Hazare, are being met by the government, it is being celebrated as the first winning shot against corruption. What remains to be seen is how will the merging of the roles of investigator, judge and prosecutor within one office eradicate corruption from Government offices. Before celebrating this win as a triumph of democracy let us hope that the joint committee members will rub their heads and brains together and come up with a Lokpal bill which will accommodate the demands of the ‘Jan’ and conforms to democratic norms as well.
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