Skip to main content

Macro and micro levels in politics of swaraj... as AAP seeks to break an ugly nexus

By Indraneel Mukherjee* 

Over a hundred years ago Tagore had lamented in one of his many songs, speaking of his motherland Bharat Mata in utter disenchantment, he said - "Kaino cheye aacho go Maa? Ayeraa chaahenaa tomaaray chaahe naa re, aapono Ma-ayere naahin jaanein, ayeraa tomaaye kichu debe naa, debe naa – mitthaa kawhaye shudhu kawtoh ki bhaanein - kaino cheye aachogo Maa !?!" This is part of Rabindra Sangeet I quoted in original, in English it means – “Oh Mother why do you stare in the oblivion? Your children, do not want you ! They don't even recognise their very own Mother ! They will not give you anything but keep on making tall promises year after year, over ’n over again, in so many different masquerading ways! Why do you still wait and keep on expecting, they will do something good for you?"
Yes, sons there were a many! There was a Netaji, there was a Mahatma, Jawahar, lndira, Rajiv; there was Vajpayee, and a guileless Abdul Kalaam. Much earlier a Rajendra Prasad or a Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan! Till we reached the Era of Modi, Shah, Nadda, Yogi ! But what Tagore said was crystal clear – ‘why O mother you keep expecting these son's will ever do anything for you? No they only know how to cheat you’! And today even after 75 years that lndia gained independence we still struggle for a clean glass of water, education, health, good roads, electricity, transport - we are still badly struggling for a corruption free governance ! Instead we are still fighting lakhs of crores in written off NPAs, and after the dynasts', we have to digest the love of friends in Government helping select wealthy friends and filling up their coffers to make them the richest in the world!
In this background of Tagore's first hand experience on lamentable human behaviours we arrive at the 75th year of Indian Independence and there seems to be a great twist in the turn of events. “Hazaaron saal Nargis apnay benoori pe rotee hai, badi mushqil se hotaa hai chaman mein ek deedaver paidaa”! A Kejriwal has arrived and its AAP, AAP and AAP everywhere! After smashing down the hydra headed monstrous snakes of the corruption mafia, India is slowly getting secured. The new people on board this time besides Kejriwal are, Sanjay Singh, Gopal Rai, Manish Sisodia, a Satyendra Jain, a Bhagwant Maan, Raaghav Chaddaa and besides many a gem a great humanitarian Somnath Bharti!
I have yet to figure out why people at large especially the established, are always quite silent on Arvind Kejriwal and especially at media level, they are very careful not to name him in any discussion, leave alone any support! Is it cause of his hardcore honest and incorruptible image and their awkward state of incumbency? They are trying their sinister best to implicate the greatly effective minister Satyendra Jain, but everyone can sense the futility of their findings. It is extremely important that we side with this revolutionary party who are trying their utmost to break the ugly nexus of Indian corruption prevalent in high offices through n through! It is hugely lamentable to see how some of us react negatively, insensitively and irresponsibly towards this new AAP regime!
Well these are macro levels if we could call it so, of mundane politics – I have sat down to write about the micro levels of this new Party, and politics as envisaged by our South Delhi MLA Somnath Bharti and how greatly he has harnessed modern communication / technology in his daily, untiring workaholic style of functioning! His constituency of over 300 colonies is grouped into 35 Mohalla Sabhas each consisting of 5 - 6k voters. Each Mohalla Sabha has 3 to 4 Mohalla WhatsApp groups and in total there are 83 Mohalla WhatsApp groups which are called MLA's official Mohalla WhatsApp groups i.e. 83 MLA' virtual offices through which MLA and his office are available to people 24/7 for every need. A given format needs to be filled with the name, contact, date, problem faced, which department related etc. 
What people say about Somnath Bharti
It means if you have a water problem, electricity problem, water harvesting problem, desilting of drains and sewerage related problems, crater on roads or watering of road plants / horticulture problem – whatever the problem – the Whats app office of our MLA Bharti ji is abuzz with constant activity! Be it a happy ocassion, a birthday or a sad one no occasion is complete without his presence. During covid times / the most testing times, hospital beds, medicines, oxygen, general rations, cooked food twice a day to long lines of poor people – our Vidhayak was always there. Loss of lives, old people / covid patients dying in hospitals with no one to perform last rites, our MLA has done that too; he was seen attending to each one of them, when family members abandoned the final journey – truly devastating times! The Mohalla Sabha group meetings are carried over currently to e – meetings (which earlier used to be conducted physically) with all grievances and its solutions, sought together with civic service providers once every month on Zoom. Reviews – just four of them are collected with the pic of my area MLA, which speaks for itself.
Coming back to Tagore from whence we started. This time we got to give serious chance to the current set of sons / leaders in the horizon. They are born out of a struggle, and must be trusted with power completely; and as current India passes through some harrowing experiences hitherto unseen with astronomical loots – shrewdly legalized crimes by making it legal that no legal action can be taken on their actions and duly passed in Parliament!
Barring a few we are still quite a few political illiterates. And quite candidly Brecht commented and I quote – “The worst illiterate is the political illiterate. He hears nothing, sees nothing takes no part in political life. He doesn't seem to know the cost of life and living, the price of beans, of flour, of rent, of medicines all depend on political decisions. He even prides himself on his political ignorance, sticks out his chest and says he hates politics. He doesn't know, the imbecile, that from his political non-participation comes the prostitute, the abandoned child, the robber ‘n, worst of all, corrupt officials, the lackeys of exploitative multinational corporations!” So from whatever little I understand I strongly recommend the AAP – its time we gave them a chance and with all Power ! Otherwise we all know what a Winston Churchill had to say about India’s independence! This is what he said and I quote – “If Independence is granted to India, power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues, freebooters; all Indian leaders will be of low calibre and men of straw. They will have sweet tongues and silly hearts. They will fight amongst themselves for power and India will be lost in political squabbles. A day would come when even air and water would be taxed in India.” Word verbatim is coming true except a Kejriwal is proving him wrong completely … but the current Central dispensation?
---
*Celebrated singer-musician based in Delhi

Comments

Aftab said…
Beautifully written article! Absolutely loved it and couldn’t agree more with every sentiment, especially the Tagore quote at the beginning!
Anonymous said…
Excellent article. Glad to see a proactive AAP party focussed on real issues. Hope they stay focused & keep true to Their vision. Three cheers for their focus on Education & Medical.

TRENDING

Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan raises concerns over Jharkhand Adivasis' plight in Assam, BJP policies

By Our Representative  The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (Save Democracy Campaign) has issued a pressing call to protect Adivasi rights in Jharkhand, highlighting serious concerns over the treatment of Jharkhandi Adivasis in Assam. During a press conference in Ranchi on November 9, representatives from Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh criticized the current approach of BJP-led governments in these states, arguing it has exacerbated Adivasi struggles for rights, land, and cultural preservation.

Promoting love or instilling hate and fear: Why is RSS seeking a meeting with Rahul Gandhi?

By Ram Puniyani*  India's anti-colonial struggle was marked by a diverse range of social movements, one of the most significant being Hindu-Muslim unity and the emergence of a unified Indian identity among people of all religions. The nationalist, anti-colonial movement championed this unity, best embodied by Mahatma Gandhi, who ultimately gave his life for this cause. Gandhi once wrote, “The union that we want is not a patched-up thing but a union of hearts... Swaraj (self-rule) for India must be an impossible dream without an indissoluble union between the Hindus and Muslims of India. It must not be a mere truce... It must be a partnership between equals, each respecting the religion of the other.”

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor*  Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

Andhra team joins Gandhians to protest against 'bulldozer action' in Varanasi

By Rosamma Thomas*  November 1 marked the 52nd day of the 100-day relay fast at the satyagraha site of Rajghat in Varanasi, seeking the restoration of the 12 acres of land to the Sarva Seva Sangh, the Gandhian organization that was evicted from the banks of the river. Twelve buildings were demolished as the site was abruptly taken over by the government after “bulldozer” action in August 2023, even as the matter was pending in court.  

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad*  The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

A Marxist intellectual who dwelt into complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape

By Harsh Thakor*  Professor Manoranjan Mohanty has been a dedicated advocate for human rights over five decades. His work as a scholar and activist has supported revolutionary democratic movements, navigating complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape. His balanced, non-partisan approach to human rights and social justice has made his books essential resources for advocates of democracy.

Tributes paid to pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, who 'dodged' police for 60 yrs

By Harsh Thakor*  Jagjit Singh Sohal, known as Comrade Sharma, a pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, passed away on October 20 at the age of 96. Committed to the Naxalite cause and a prominent Maoist leader, Sohal, who succeeded Charu Majumdar, played hide and seek with the police for almost six decades. He was cremated in Patiala.