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.
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.
7 comments:
Nice write-up, Gote. Let me start by saying that I love debates. It does serve the purpose of bringing awareness to the people and possibly provide motivation to cast their votes. But, you have to realize one major difference between the way US and Desi elections work. A debate makes sense here (in this US) because you elect "a President" whereas, "a party" is elected in India. The parties then convene and "select" a PM amongst themselves. So, the opinions of the leader are not of major consequence. An unfortunate part of the whole deal in Des is that the PM (though known to have the highest executive power) is often bogged down by what he/she can say or do based on the "coalition" that they have to put together to form a stable government. This is an unnecessary chaos (esepcially during election time) that will transpire from a debate-like scenario. Besides, the "real masses" are in rural India, most of whom, may not have the luxury of a television. Another problem in the typical Desi mentality is that the loudest in the room is perceived to win any argument. In this case, we know who will be the winner of an Advani-Singh debate, irrespective of the credibility of information provided. I loved what Dr.Singh once said -- "Do not misinterpret silence as a sign of weakness".
Shailesh Bhai...thanks so much! Agreed that elections work in a very different way in the two countries. However, if the parties clearly specify who would be their Prime Ministerial candidate then that would support the idea of having these debates. (Again the coalition pressure that the PM is under cannot be ruled out). But the idea is to get candidates to debate so that the masses at least know which party they want to vote for...in the hope that if that party gets the majority...the leader they like will get elected as the PM.
Yes, television is still not available to a lot of people in rural India. But, I prefer to see the half glass full. The television penetration might not be as much as it is in the United States, but it is surely a lot than what it was a few years ago. This issue alone must not keep us from having the debates.
The fact that the loudest is the winner is not necessarily a problem of the Desi community. I think that will be true anywhere. I personally consider good public speaking skills as an important trait of a leader. The converse might not necessarily be true. A person with good public speaking skill, might not be a good leader.
Gotya, Thought you'd enjoy this advt. -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIyrQl5aJVQ
Opulently I to but I dream the list inform should secure more info then it has.
Nice brief and this fill someone in on helped me alot in my college assignement. Say thank you you seeking your information.
top [url=http://www.001casino.com/]free casino bonus[/url] check the latest [url=http://www.realcazinoz.com/]free casino bonus[/url] free no consign reward at the best [url=http://www.baywatchcasino.com/]online casinos
[/url].
Post a Comment