I am SAD as well as GLAD

How can I be sad and glad at the same time. If you are wondering at this statement then please be assured that I am in my full senses and I actually mean it. I am SAD because today our democratic process is in serious danger of being eroded, I am GLAD because the Government of the day has finally seen the light of the day and agreed to release Anna Hazare and allow him to protest peacefully.

Our entire democratic process is in conducting free and fair elections, whether it is actually true or not I will ponder later, and electing representatives to represent us at various levels. We prided ourselves and the world supported us, the largest democracy, in our ability to elect representatives to Village Panchayats, Municipal Corporations, State Assemblies and above all the Lok Sabha in Parliament. These institutions were supreme and their diktats were followed by a majority of us without a whimper. Sometimes there were murmurs of dissent over unpopular legislations but by far all of us abide by the laws set by the State.

However the Anna Hazare Movement for fight against corruption has sadly bruised these very institutions of governance which we all believed in. The reasons are many, but primarily the fact that the politicians in their lust for riches are drunk in their belief of unrestrained power. When you see a Kapil Sibal or a Manish Tiwari smirking on the TV screens it strikes a raw nerve in every Indian. These buffoons have eroded whatever little credibility that the Congress party has retained over the years.

When they hurl abuses at the Civil Society, they are abusing all of us. They dare Anna Hazare and his team to win elections and then protest! Let me dare these so called elected representatives to fight the elections as independents and then see for themselves. I can bet that these people will lose even their security deposits. The election process and the mindsets of people is such that we Indians have come to believe in political parties and it is very difficult to win an election as an Independent candidate howsoever good he or she may be, unless backed by a party.

Let me come to the question of Free and Fair elections. Are our elections really free and fair. Can an ordinary citizen dream of fighting an election. We have all heard of how Rahul Gandhi is trying to attract educated people to come forward and fight elections, but in reality the truth is different.

I met an educated business man, who was offered a ticket to fight elections for MP (Member of Parliament) after being interviewed by Rahul Gandhi (as he claimed). After being screened and selected he was told that he would have to spend Rs.10 crores (more than US $ 2 million) on fighting the election, and with no guarantees of being elected.

I do not blame Rahul Gandhi for this because this is the true state of Indian Politics. What I blame Rahul Gandhi for is that his PR machinery is spreading false hopes amongst teeming educated Indian Masses, who think they can fight elections only on the basis of their education.

Also imagine somebody who has spent Rs.10 crores being elected. Has he spent Rs.10 crores to uplift the constituents of his constituency??? Or is he being charitable? I think everyone will agree with me that the answer is a firm NO. Then what will be his priorities? I am sure the uppermost thing on his mind will be to recover his money anyhow. And when anyhow comes in, it brings all things bad in the society, be it dishonesty or corruption. Otherwise how do you expect him to recover his money on a paltry salary of Rs.50,000 per month besides perks. The interest alone on his electoral expenses would be 16 times more than the salary.

This promotion of money culture by our political parties is the root cause of corruption by the political class. The votes in India are garnered by sheer money power. Money is spent on buying media advertising and now disgustedly media editorial space which was fiercely independent earlier. Poor voters are given wads of money. In the Southern part of the country this has become an art. In fact this technique should be patented :)). Our honorable Home Minister who waxes so eloquently and pleads innocence every time police atrocities are committed on innocent protesters, is himself accused of winning his election by fraudulent methods including cash for votes.

So can we really say that elections in India are fair??? I guess not. For a country which by all means is still growing up and whose 70% population lives in rural areas, 26% is still below poverty line the lure of easy money is hard to resist. Elections provide the poor with free liquor, free food, cash which can amount to a years wages, clothes and other freebies. If the poor voter is tempted then we can't really blame him, can we?

Then there are other forms of winning an election - muscle power where the voters are intimidated to vote for a particular candidate or face dire consequences. It is easy now to use muscle power as today the election results are available booth wise ( every booth comprises of around 1000 voters) making it easier for the politicians to identify the precise localities voting for or against him. We have faced this in Delhi also where the Congress party MLAs whenever they win do not want to do any development work in our locality. They point out the election statistics says that we vote against them so what is the use of any work in our area. When we have criminals and people with no education or distinction in civil life being elected, we should only expect the erosion of our democratic institutions.

This is what makes me SAD today. When I see all that our forefathers fought for being eroded, I feel SAD. When I see the Government being shamed I feel SAD, when I see the government being bought to its knees by ordinary citizens I feel SAD. We have all grown up to believe in them and today we see them as destroyers of the political fabric, this makes me feel SAD.I fear anarchy on the streets, I fear when the ordinary citizens will be forced to take law in their hands.

I am GLAD that the Civil Society representing the ordinary people have won an important victory in being allowed to go ahead with their peaceful protests. I am GLAD when I see the youth of India concerned about corruption. I am GLAD when I see the Glee being wiped off the faces of the politicians who have bought about this situation. I am GLAD that I am perhaps witnessing another defining moment in India's march towards prosperity for all its citizens. I am GLAD that India still has democracy. I am GLAD that we still recognise every Indians right to speech of freedom. I am GLAD to be born in India and not in Syria.

Above all I still think I can be proud to be an Indian. I say I think, because I will not be proud till the Sheila Dixit's of this world are not behind bars, till they do not hang their heads in shame for committing impropriety in office, till the politicians are made accountable, till all Indians can strive to live beyond the dream of earning bread and butter for themselves.