Of Anna, end of corruption and democracy

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The great middle-class Indian iconolatry is an amalgam of feudalism, Bollywood and corporate glitz that piggybacks Boswellian media attention. As a corollary, the persona becomes larger than the issue. The issue or the institution recedes to secondary significance, if occasionally it is not completely lost. The star is bigger than the film, the CEO is bigger than the company, the minister is bigger than the ministry and the activist is bigger than the cause. There are not many people who would have the gumption to openly support corruption. Such practices are usually covert unless one has enjoyed power and privilege for too long to seek sanctuary in their own stupidity and become immune to discriminating nuances of shadowy human conduct. Neither would too many oppose corruption against the high and mighty for fear of retribution. Yesterday's newspaper carried the story of a very courageous....

Women to determine poll results in Bihar

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Women are in the process of scripting history. Never before have so many come out of their domestic confines to exercise their right to franchise and in many cases have voted independently of patriarchal family decisions. It is therefore very likely that women will determine the government formation in the Bihar Elections 2010. With a little persuasion and some confidence building measures, a few women spoke and shared their aspirations at local stalls, at the edge of the fields, in sitting rooms club lawns and in university corridors. They include farm workers, domestic helps, utility providers, home makers, professionals and students. All of them were unanimous about common human concerns: security, freedom from violence and harassment at home and in public spaces, employment, public utilities in villages and towns, social security and healthcare, education and importantly, dignity. Rekha, who studies in high school and helps her mother....

Why would someone like Parveen want to join politics?

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It is a fairly cynical view that politics is the last refuge for you know who. It is because of this blinkered vision that, after the generation of those that fought for India's freedom, many able, worthy and educated Indians jettisoned politics. If your neighbour found out that your daughter or son was in politics, there was a likelihood of one's standing in polite society taking a dip except of course for the khadi-uniformed hangers-on and those mean stereotypes from Bollywood films. And when the good women and men vacated the space, it could not exist in a state of vacuum. So those mean stereotypes from Bollywood films moved in. Who's to take responsibility for the contamination of Indian polity: the ones who vacated the space or the ones who occupied it? You cannot clean the system without entering it and sweating it out. And this is....

The burden of being Nitish Kumar

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Material change is always preceded by discursive change. In a state with feudal moorings and plagued with abject poverty, variable healthcare and education, poor infrastructure, disastrous law and order, rampant unemployment and exploitation, it required a special effort by a special person to be a messiah of justice and hope. Such a person was sworn in the 31st Chief Minister of Bihar on 24th November 2005, ending a decade and a half of RJD rule. An electrical engineering graduate from the erstwhile Bihar College of Engineering, Patna University, he was to claim the distinction of being adjudged the Best CM twice and receive the Indian of the Year award instituted by media channels. His name has become synonymous with development; he is called Vikas Purush. Nitish Kumar has caught the imagination of his people as few before him. Five years on, he faces the electorate in a decisive....

Sons and Fathers in Bihar politics. Amen!

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Dynastic politics in most western liberal democracies have become significantly rare. But in India and in Bihar, charismatic leaders have consciously encouraged private limited political parties. During feudal times, heraldry enabled consolidation and continuance of power and privilege. The growth of the bourgeoisie family businesses added a variety to this tradition. The two strands have perhaps found a perfect amalgam in Indian politics. It is easy to smirk at this practice but a little thought might reveal good reasons for the continuation of familial politics. The obvious reason is that the stakes are phenomenal with the kind of loose cash that floats around the corridors of power. Power itself is highly addictive. Ever since Narasimha Rao who ascended the throne when he had one foot in the grave and the other on a banana skin and subsequently proved the symbiosis between longevity and power, quite a few octogenarians around the....

Positives in an uneven state

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For many people, there seems to be a growing disenchantment with the political class. Much of this is on account of the popular endorsement of Ambrose Bierce that 'politics is the conduct of public affairs for private advantage'. Excerpts from recent e-mails doing the rounds speak much of this truth in jest. In these, questions are asked of the candidate's reasons other than faking public good for joining politics, time spent in jail, unaccounted income, involvement in scams and convictions in major crimes. Political parties are not ecclesiastical orders; hence candidates are selected on conditions of winning ability or clout rather than principles or ethics. These conditions are based on caste or community identity, access to multiple resources and perceived or manufactured locational popularity. The inversion of values is often so pronounced that a slight propensity toward ethics is considered a disadvantage because such a person would be....