One of my favorite books, A Case of Exploding Mangoes, details the regime and death of Pakistan's military dictator Zia-ul-Haq. The plot, where many foes are independently at play to kill the dictator, and all converge at the same time, is a bit too dramatic and yet exquisite. But more than anything else, I think that the name is the best description of Indian populace, after the mango man has been made fashionable by Twitter.
India is the country of angry young men and disillusioned old ones. The youth is angry at everything and the old are too absorbed in recounting the 'good old days' to see any positive omens. How one changes into the other is an interesting, albeit depressing story. The major catalyst in this change is the unwavering hatred of politicians, bordering on fanaticism - something I encounter every time I board a train. People start a conversation by cursing politicians, not by talking about the weather.
But now we have a crusader on the political firmament who has his own brand of off-beat politics - Mr. Arvind Kejriwal. He is talking about things unheard of since Independence - fasting for demands, civil disobedience and other Gandhian instruments. Even the vision of his party, AAP, is Swaraj - a term ironically associated with pre-Independence Congress in history books.
Before giving any opinions, let me address the people I dread the most - the unthinking followers, unwilling to debate with logic and hijacking arguments with misplaced emotion. Many of my friends idolize Kejriwal. Whatever the question concerning Mr. Kejriwal may be, they will croon about his credentials, his integrity and compare him with other present day leaders. The point is - I agree to all of these. All these things were already public knowledge when he was a RTI pioneer and began appearing in Power lists. But now, he has a political party. So, Mr. Kejriwal as a person is not the big question here. The question is the feasibility and sustainability of his political ideology. I am talking about the mission, which is infinitely bigger than any man, including Mr. Kejriwal. To make the difference more stark, let me tell you of Buddha. Buddha was a staunch detractor of idol worship. Yet, the world has more idols of Buddha than of any other person today. The man has lived but his mission against idolatry has failed. The chances of something similar happening in Indian politics today borders on certainty So, if you are still thinking that Arvind Kejriwal is an honest and upright man, we are on different planes. Please go back to Facebook.
The crucial prerequisite for success of such a morally ambitious political uprising is the enlightenment of the masses. Will the Indian public, conditioned to think on communal and populist lines, wake up from its slumber and channel its vague resentment into something politically meaningful? For a long time, I believed that it was much too soon to ask our public such lofty questions. But if I agree to this, then as a corollary, these supposedly ignorant people shouldn't have the right to vote. That is something I cannot agree to. Whether the public crowns Kejriwal or crucifies him, it will get what it deserves. This is the beauty of democracy!
Now, I come to the main course. I have fiddled with the idea of joining AAP - messing with the messed up politicians. After all, Kejriwal is the only one who doesn't blandly say that the whole system is corrupt. He names the big fish - the Vadras and the Ambanis and presents evidence to support the accusations. He fits the bill for the much awaited political messiah/maverick. But a single argument stops me - I don't know what does the AAP wants? If they say that they want a clean system, they are no better off than the people saying everyone is corrupt. The forte of Mr. Kejriwal is to get to the details, rather than deliver vague rhetoric to resonate with the common man's equally vague resentment. If he strays off this path, he is no different from my fellow train passengers. I went to the site of AAP looking for some sort of road map or action plan. The only thing listed under their agenda tab is a brief description of Lokpal. The Lokpal was a perfect launch pad. But it doesn't have enough political oxygen to last more than a few years. What else? What next?
In my view, if the Indian political system is purged of its filthy elements, it will be something rivaling the Indian independence or even bigger - for it will be a moral revolution rather than a political one. To bring about a change affecting a billion plus lives, the movement needs a firm ideological foundation. This is where I find the AAP most lacking. To root corruption, you first need to comprehend the social dynamics of corruption - is it top-down or bottom-up? Why would somebody keep on piling up money when he has enough for his fabled seven generations? Why is India more corrupt than the Scandinavian countries? Without these answers, I don't believe any anti-corruption drive stands any chance. I haven't come across anything from Mr. Kejriwal or anybody else from the AAP shedding some light on these fundamental questions.
All major revolutions in the world have something in common - they produce an enormous burst of radical literature. This is what clearly defines its ideology, entices non-believers and wannabes like me to debate. If the idea stands the scrutiny, it gets a cadre of dedicated supporters. And most importantly, it keeps the movement from wandering and meandering. I remember Naipaul describing an Iranian taxi driver in his book Among the Believers as the kind of guy who without any political inclination, made the Islamic Revolution possible by his sheer resentment.The people thought Khomeni will bring in a virtuous government, without explicitly knowing which virtues. We all know where it has led Iran today. Iran during the Islamic Revolution was a small scale model of India today, without the middle class. So, it is a clear warning and a strong precedent that zeal without a thoroughly scrutinized ideology can be devastating. Similarly, Hitler had his Aryan rhetoric and the Russian leaders from Stalin to Brezhnev had their socialist ones. I am not at all comparing the AAP initiative to these extreme cases, but these examples drive home the point that uprooting the existing scheme of things without having a clearly defined alternative creates a vacuum which is equally likely to be filled by something worse than the initial system.
Another implication of not having emphasis on ideology is the absence of devolution of power. AAP today is synonymous with Arvind Kejriwal. There is no branching off that I am aware of - second- tier leaders who function autonomously. Kiran Bedi, the other big name, hasn't made her political ambitions clear and the rest like Kumar Vishwas look more publicity hungry than genuinely concerned leaders. This makes AAP looks like a personal project rather than a mass phenomenon, and stunts its foray into territories outside the NCR. The political work of AAP is equated to the `khulasa of the month' by Mr. Kejriwal. This model of functioning can't be sustained for long, and AAP runs the risk of being the next Tehelka. - something which everyone has heard of, but no one takes seriously now.
There are some other issues - like the demand for the `right to reject' in public elections and the `right to recall'. Again, no ideological rationale. There are some very serious possible consequences - if liquor and a 500 note are the most effective and easy way to make a voter sway his vote on an election day, a weekly supply of these are equally capable of making him abstain from exercising his right to reject or recall. This provision will make the politicians resort to extreme forms of populism. While I know that AAP supports the right to reject, I do not know its stand on the more dangerous right - to recall. It will make a government, already likely to be tailored coalition, hostage to caste lobbies. If a particular community is unhappy, it can recall half a dozen MLAs or MPs from its dominant region and topple the government. Imagine if the recent Gujjar or Jat agitations for reservation had done such a thing! To function properly, and carry out measures that are necessary but not popular (eg- stricter dowry laws, more taxes in times of fiscal need), a government needs some measure of security. Right to recall will be a ticking time bomb under the Legislature. I am not saying that these arguments are final or damning, but they are valid objections and must be debated. I would really love to hear AAP debate with prominent citizens, not necessarily Congress or BJP guys, over the pros and cons of these issues.
I can go on and on, but the gist is clear - AAP needs more devolution/decentralization, debate and dialogue. It cannot proclaim itself to be the representative of responsible citizens without throwing itself open to the citizens at a policy level.
I concede that there may be many factual inaccuracies in my writing - AAP may have great grass-root leaders or a terrific and inclusive policy making wing. But despite reading enough newspapers and surfing the web, I fail to know of them. And this is the biggest threat to the survival and growth of the AAP initiative - people like me ,who support you in their hearts, but are not convinced enough to join the cause. Of late, AAP has been receiving less and less media coverage, especially after its allegations on Mr. Mukesh Ambani. In this case, it becomes all the more imperative to resort to net to keep the fire burning. Some food for thought and clear-cut action plan will be of much more use to a guy like me than photos of Kejriwal fasting or calls to Jantar Mantar. If it happens, then the next time I board a train, I will rip off the guy who blatantly curses politicians and nothing would make my journey better. As of now, Mr. Kejriwal, you have my respect, even my vote, but not my confidence.
