For Whom The Elections?
By S.N .Rahman
10 April, 2014
Countercurrents.org
There are presuppositions, presumptions and also one-upmanship besides showing the thumb to the Election Commission of India. There are also threats of weird kinds from Maoists to Garo Hills based insurgent outfits. Some of these outfits here in the north east are being quite docile while others have shown vehemence. Come what may, the Election Commission has undertaken one of the most awesome drill in the country…..ie to conduct the elections to the 16 Lok Sabha with as many as 815 million voters who will cast their votes in nine phases from April 7 to May 12 spread across 9.3.lakh polling stations. This is proof enough to show to the rest of the world that in India democracy is still thriving. Yes it is. But for whom? It is thriving for the rich, by the rich but not for the poor, the down trodden, the marginalized population of our country. The rest of our multi-religious, multi-lingual populations are mere spectators. The poor segments of our society will remain wherever they have remained- within the fringes of our vast country. Barely surviving on two square meals a day. Leave aside starvation deaths elsewhere in the country.
These poor people are called upon to exercise their votes, they are coaxed to a great extent by the “would be’s” to vote. That their votes are precious, that there would be economic and other developments. Little realizing that the poor are looking skyward and praying to the Lord for their minimum survival. This is indeed a harsh reality.
The secular Congress has sat on the citadel of power for a continuous period of ten years on the trot. Then there is the right leaning Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main Opposition drawing its strength from the Hindi speaking belt of the north and west and some non-Hindi speaking states that have slight emotional attachments. Join the band-wagon and be merry, and that is their motto.
The mood amongst the voters as reported by the media and also the panel discussions that have been taken over by the great many TV channels show a mood swing and many are utterly confused. There are clear signs of dismay and despondency. Some are of the opinion that great developments that have taken place across the country these last ten years. Yet, at the same time these are not to be confused or judged to be the parameters of development. What the common people want are better road connectivity, potable drinking water and uninterrupted electricity. All these three are in pitiable conditions. Barring a few states, the progress has been at snail’s pace.
One even went to the extent of saying that the parameters of development in Meghalaya are the high rise buildings, the XUVs and SUVs, good clothes and smart phones. He further said, can these be availed by everyone? What about the poor farmers, the fruit and vegetable sellers and daily wage earners? Are these farmers or daily wage earners gainfully employed? Have the government made any attempts to uplift their economic condition? Continuing, he said, India, a welfare state, wedded to the idea of democratic socialism aims at providing a minimum desirable standard of living to every citizen without any sort of discrimination. In order to meet these avowed objectives, the whole developmental process is directed not only towards the advancement of resources, but also towards their equal distribution, so that every citizen of the country can get the fruits of development and his due share of the national wealth. India has the youth power that can make and unmake a government. They are the emerging leaders and yet their potentialities have not been tested since majority of them are more bent upon choosing a career rather than plunge into politics whose future is uncertain unless the aspirant has other ulterior motives to loot and be merry.
The above process involves protection of weaker and vulnerable sections of the society by the state in order to bring them closer to the normal living standard of their fellow citizens by overcoming their helplessness caused by their social and economic backwardness. Keeping this goal in view, various legislative and welfare measures for the upliftment of these sections have been envisaged in the Indian Constitution in the form of various concessions and special benefit and protection to them to raise their position in the social ladder as well as their economic advancement.
Tribal community originates from one of the oldest ethnological section of population, lives in isolated areas as a distinct group- both culturally and ethnically and is usually backward – socially, educationally and economically. Because of their distinct way of living, pattern of behavior, customs and traditions, the programmes for their advancement ought to be in consonance with the social realities of their life. With this reason, various governmental programmes/schemes – both from the centre and the state, are being chalked out and implemented for the upliftment of their lot, so that they may join the mainstream of national life.
At present, in all the north eastern states of India, these programs are being undertaken by different departments which lack effective and meaningful coordination among them. Consequently, they are working in isolation, without having any visible impact on the tribal population on one hand and are unable to formulate schemes suited to a particular type of tribe, on the other. One wonders as to what concessions are being made available to the tribal and other socially backward population for their education, training, employment, economic assistance, health, housing and medical facilities, etc. It is expected that whichever or whosoever forms the government at the Centre, these benefits must percolate down to the common men and I believe it is his/her birthright to expect improvements in their quest for survival in a dignified manner.
S.N .Rahman (nazim) Freelance Journalist, Shillong
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