General Elections 2014

02 MAY 2014

IT IS THE PRAJA WHICH IS THE RAJA

Election 2014

   The coming parliamentary elections are different from past elections for many reasons, the most important of which is that the Indian citizen has now become fully aware of his authority and power. He is now a proactive citizen, and he is asserting his rights based on the following truths:

1. It is the people who are supreme in any democracy, not the Parliament, not the Judiciary, not the Executive.

2. Getting elected and becoming a ruling party does not give a political party the right to convert a democracy into a 5-year dictatorship. The elected representative is supposed to feel, reflect and respond to the pulse of the people, throughout his 5-year term and not just at election time. His job is to serve the people, rather than to bleed them and benefit himself, his family, his sycophants, his political bosses and his party.

3. It is the elected members – and not the voters – who are corroding the foundations of democracy. This is why voters are veering towards individual candidates who will serve them, irrespective of the party to which they belong.

4. No party, howsoever great and historic it may be, is greater than the people of India; the party must be subservient to the people. No individual is India, and India is certainly not just one individual, however great and well-connected he may be. Every individual is just another individual. The same is true for every party as well

5. The people have of late proved that they are wiser than most politicians who believe that the people can be taken for granted and fooled once they are elected and in power. The people are no longer deceived by the usual clichés of caste, communalism, divisive politics, election-eve promises and sops, etc. The people of India have become smart by experience: they can accept a bribe in any form given by any political party for giving a vote to that party, but they will finally give their vote only to the candidate of their choice.

6. When an issue spontaneously sparks a massive, emotional yet completely non-violent response across the country, regardless of caste, creed, religion, language, party affiliation and region, all political parties must wake up to confront that issue, as for example, the rotten reality of widespread corruption in public life, rather than finding technical, procedural, logical reasons for delaying the solution of the issue. Brought to public consciousness by Anna Hazare, a simple man with no axe to grind, the issue quickly turned from a latent ember into a blazing fire, but the politicians in their ivory towers ignored it at their own cost and the fire has now engulfed their cozy world. The people are now demanding that their so-called leaders learn to listen to the moods and needs of the people.

7. India, the sleeping democracy, has stirred itself to life and started walking. When a sleeping giant wakes up to its rights, it is the people who stand to benefit.

Who is the person who triggered such a massive change in the thinking of the people of India? If you ask me, that person is certainly Anna Hazare. His greatest achievement is that he questioned the brazen arrogance of the elected representatives and their inaction even on the most critical issues faced by the masses. He reminded Indians that the credentials of the individual candidates and their commitment to the people are far more important than the political party that they selfishly swear by in order to win elections.

Democracy is of the people, by the people, for the people. Anna has not re-defined this timeless concept. He has merely reminded the politicians, and reassured the people, that IT IS THE PRAJA WHICH IS THE RAJA.

For this singular achievement, Anna deserves the gratitude of every Indian and probably the Nation’s highest award.


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1 Comment(s) 3107 views

fake Says,   3/17/2016 2:37:01 AM