India’s Independence Day

August 15th is a momentous day for Indians, for it marks the day India got its freedom from the usual suspect, the British. 68 years ago, a nation was born at the stroke of midnight but the freedom that was fought for was never achieved for all its citizens.

While India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world, and it is also home to the majority of the world’s extreme poor.

Just as the number of billionnaires are growing in India, the number of people falling into the precipice of poverty is growing as well. How do you explain this contradiction? Why can a nation that can produce billionaires remove this disease of poverty, the answer lies in its political system.

While in name a multiparty democracy, its neither a multiparty system or a functional democracy. The majority of the parties are basically breakaway factions of the three main political formations — Congress, BJP and the Left parties. Every party traces its roots not to a different ideology, but to bruised egos that led the founder to leave the parent party and create a new one.

What this leads to is a cult like subservience which serves nobody except the leader and his coterie. Governance is substituted with the least actions necessary to survive or cut losses.

The Congress is the biggest culprit for this sorry state of affairs. While they may not realize it, but they have a hand in every meal missed due to poverty, every death due to lack of medicine and every homeless indian. They never took ownership for laying the foundations of a nation, within 2 decades they had already lost the plot and were fighting for survival. The Congress’ current state of affairs is a reflection of the state they have left the country in.

Given the sorry state of affairs in the country, where bootleggers and criminals run educational institutions, you would be excused to think that the principal opposition would have received a thumping mandate, given the massive anti-incumbency wave against them. But if you did think so, you would be terribly wrong. The BJP had to spend close to 5000 crore rupees, an ad blitzkreig and a morally compromised media to get just 31% of the vote share, which put them barely over the finish line. To put that into perspective, the universally reviled Indira Gandhi got 34% of the vote during the elections held after Emergency.

In its hurry to a governing party, the BJP never played the role of a principal opposition party.

The BJP has only one thing going for them, Narendra Modi — the best politician in the country at the moment. He is a master of politics and this election victory against all odds against him, is a testament to the man’s determination and political cunnning. His famed Gujarat Model has got people dreaming again and have brought hope to millions. While it might not lead to things like better sanitation as promised in his Red Fort speech or for that matter eradication of poverty, if you have deep pockets, then he will bring that much touted AcheDin. Modi is capable enough to make molehills and his team is capable of projecting them as mountains, so have no worry, at the end of his term, his report card will be teeming with mountains.

So, is it all gloom and doom for the average Indian, who values his freedom, who wants to aspire higher, fulfill his dreams, who wants to be treated with respect by the government, who wants to protest peacefully against injustice, who wants to follow his faith, who doesn’t want to be given that knowing look to get a service for which he has dutifully paid his tax, who wants good schools for his kids, who wants good infrastructure and who wants security for himself and his family… No, despair not, there are a bunch of patriots working their magic across the country. Come be part of this movement for change to implement Self Rule, Security and above all self respect. This is our fight for independence. Jai Hind.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. — Margaret Mead