Prime Ministerial Debates in India: Renaissance or a Faux Pas?

I have to make a confession. In my eight years of adult life I have never voted for which I feel terribly ashamed. I would have discovered the world’s thinnest argument if I said that lack of interest in politics was my reason for not voting. Truthfully, I did lack interest in politics! I have never followed any political campaign as much as I followed the US Presidential race in 2008-2009. Following this race was like reading a book from your favorite author; you just can’t seem to stop reading. The most captivating facet of this election – the Presidential debates! As I watched Obama and McCain fervidly project their manifesto on the screen of American minds, it was almost as if I could feel the ripples of the wave of anxiety and anticipation that swept across America - these Presidential squabbles empowering the American people with the unmistakable ability to choose their leader!

How effective would such debates be in India? Are such debates among leaders on national television over-rated in terms of their effectiveness? Did Obama’s superior rhetoric ability in fact make this debate seem so potent? Was it the anxiety of the fact that a black man was about to make history that perhaps shadowed the real efficiency of the debate? Or was it the impatience to end the two-term long failed Bush tenure that puffed up its importance? Surely, all of these could have contributed in some way and yet it is fair to say that such debates are a powerful weapon in the arsenal of the electorate. This realization brought me to a question: doesn’t the electorate of the world’s largest democracy deserve to have this weapon? I am almost painfully curious to know what would have transpired if Dr. Manmohan Singh had accepted L. K Advani’s challenge to engage in a debate on national television!

Agreed that United States and India are two very different types of democracies. One is Presidential, the other, a Westminster type and tradition has it that official pre-election debates are typically not a feature of a parliamentary system of government. Would it then be a major political faux pas to initiate this tradition in the best interest of the nation?...for a more transparent government?...for greater political accountability? India today is infrastructurally in much better waters than she was a couple of decades ago. Television and Internet penetration has increased like never before. Saas-Bahus* sure do a good job in keeping middle class families tuned to their television sets. General awareness and activism among the masses is at a heightened state. Media, be it print, television or radio has followed Darwin’s natural law of evolution and emerged ever diligent, innovative and professional. There cannot be a better muhurtam** to unleash the idea of Prime Ministerial Debates in the Indian political arena.

Fortunately, India has a designated central agency bestowed with the task of conducting fair and efficient elections in the country – the Election Commission of India. There! We solved the first question of who should codify, regulate, moderate and organize these debates. Next comes the hurdle of venue. Premier institutes like IIMs and IITs are on one end of the gamut of platforms for such debates and remote villages in rural India are at the other. Hindi and English can be effectively used depending on the actual venue and the preference of the participating candidates. Erudite journalists and activists can serve as fair moderators in this war of words. National news agencies can do justice to this event by televising it nationally and internationally. Imagine the kind of political awakening the Indian masses would have. Politicians who bicker and scream on national television upholding their party’s agenda will face the entire nation at once. We as Indians can only hope that this will instill a sense of responsibility and accountability in them to live up to their promises. We don’t need a political party to rule us; we need a leader. And optimistically, such debates will show us a glimpse of what options we have. Venues like rural India will bring our small towns and villages into the limelight. Local businesses and small-scale industries in these regions will directly or indirectly benefit, thus creating greater employment opportunities in the region and taking our villages towards sustainable development. I can only imagine the kind of frenzy the Indian media would be thrown into. It will be like a political renaissance to the nation!

The picture above seems to good to be true. Cynics and skeptics will have their reservations. They will have their questions. The electorate does not directly elect the Prime Minister of India. What sense does it make then to have these Prime Ministerial candidates confront one another on national television? Can superior rhetoric or linguistic skills cause a person to cast a ballot contrary to his/her ideological preferences? There will be some who will view this just as scornfully as they viewed the idea of having Indian Idol and Kaun Banega Crorepati*** that were borrowed from the United States. Some will raise serious questions on the assumption that these debates will promote greater political accountability and bring about a political revolution. And there will be those who will call it simply a waste of resources and time. Agreed these concerns are worth investigating but we must not let them make us lose sight of the advantages of having these debates.

There are more pros to the whole exercise than cons. The masses will have a closer encounter with politics and with a bit of luck this will heal the love-hate relationship between the two. The two most widely and passionately discussed topics in India are - politics and cricket. More often that not, politics unlike cricket tends to have a reputation as being more worthy of discussion than of actual practice. The political renaissance can perhaps change this attitude towards politics.

JAI HIND!

Nikhil Anil Gogate
0310 Hrs EST/ 10th April 2009
Beckley, WV


* Saas-Bahus: refers to popular prime time soaps based on relationships between mother-in-law (saas) and daughter-in-law(bahu)

** Muhurtam: auspicious time according to the Hindu calendar.

***Kaun Banega Crorepati: Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

Talibanization Of India - Is it happening?

As I watched the streaming video of the Republic Day Parade on a cold, snowy West Virginia night, there was a feeling of enormous pride and a surge of adrenaline in me. It happens every time I see this parade. A parade that marched India into its 60th year as a Republic! Exactly six decades ago, We the People Of India gave ourselves the longest written constitution of any sovereign nation in the world. 117,369 words, which secure all of us the fundamental human rights! Most important of them all - “Liberty of Thought, Expression, Belief, Faith and Worship”. The Ram Sene however, was determined not to let me stay too long with this feeling.

The nature and audacity of these recent moral policing molestations are a direct assault on the constitution itself. I could not agree more with Minister Renuka Chowdhary when she in a recent comment termed these attacks as “Talibanization of India”. It is so ironic that just a few days ago I read an article about Taliban imposing a ban on radio/music in public transport buses in some tribal areas of Pakistan – calling it ‘vulgar and obscene’. I read…I chuckled...and went on to do my sodoku…dismissing instantly even the slightest odds of anything like that happening in India-ever! Soon enough, I was reading about the Ram Sene incident. Ashamed and confused, I asked myself…could this really be happening? These moral policemen are out right threatening young unmarried couples not to step out of their houses on Valentines day…in a free country? Of course they claim that they will not take law into their hands while protesting against V-day and marrying off people by force; so completely oblivious that they in fact are challenging the supreme law of the nation – the constitution! So blinded are these men by their cynicism that they do not wish to take cognizance of the fact that they are violating people’s fundamental right of freedom under the pretext of moral policing.

As young responsible citizens it becomes quintessential for us to understand the premises for such violent overtures by these fundamentalists. One needs to delve a little deeper; perhaps even empathize with them if you will, to get to the bottom line of the problem. I believe that the reason for such aggressive cynicism mushrooms from a deep-rooted fear in the minds of these men. A fear of erosion of our values and culture! Have they forgotten that our rich culture has in fact endured innumerable invasions, aggressions and migrations? Our culture has emerged ever stronger and more diverse – adapting and absorbing anything that came its way! Yet, not losing its fundamental nature. At this point, I cannot help but think about this extraordinary TV commercial by Bajaj Auto (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h8hrlbdEz4). It beautifully portrays an incredible blend of Indian culture and values with icons of modernization and western influence. This commercial uncannily captures every emotion, I wished to pen down as examples for my assertion above. I watched it again, now! In all honesty, a tear trickled down my cheek. So strongly imbibed are these values in all of us, that a modern day auto manufacturer chose to use these values to sell his product!

It is appreciable to some extent that political outfits like the BJP, Shiv Sena etc. strive to preserve our cultural heritage. (Undoubtedly, this is an important vote bank tactic). But, all this needs to be done in moderation. Definitely, not at the cost of shunning western culture. They need to reorganize their thinking machines. They should engage themselves in moral reminding rather than moral policing. There is a very thin line between the two. These men clearly need to see this line. I believe there is nothing wrong in taking pride in ones culture and “reminding” us all about our philosophy. Remember, it is their Liberty of Belief, which permits them to presume that perhaps Indian culture – is the way to be! But their liberty of belief cannot and should not come in the way of my liberty of expression in wearing western clothes or partying at a pub.

Let me bring you back to Taliban. They claim to act in the name of Islam. Is that really Islam? Of course not! Taliban’s actions are a purposeful misinterpretation of Islam. For example, one of the Ayah in the Qur’an [4:34] says that it is ok to beat your wife. Honestly, I was astonished to learn this. I've had a heart-to-heart discussion on this very issue with a close colleague of mine who is a Muslim. He explained to me that the holy book is very clear on this issue. It clearly says that a husband can beat his wife for a wrong doing with a light tap that leaves no mark. He explained, that this was probably more relevant to the olden times…times when men were married to very young girls. (We are talking about an age difference of nearly that between a father and a daughter). Now, if the little girl makes mischief and is reprimanded by this elder gentleman...it seems very reasonable. Just as reasonable as a parent scolding his child for doing something wrong! Now take this very learning from the Qu’ran and exaggerate it a thousand times…and BAM! There you go!...you just arrived at the Taliban version of Islam!

We need to think! Can our scriptures fall prey to such misinterpretations? Can these political outfits take advantage of the vulnerability of our traditions? Can we help them change their thinking process? The recent and the past acts of violence by these extremists are a harbinger to a serious problem. We need to be vigilant…We need to think!

Jai Hind

Nikhil Gogate
1:39 AM
10th Feb 2009
Beckley, WV