Bicycle Treated As A Party Symbol, Not A Vehicle Of Democracy
By Vidyadhar Date
10 March, 2012
Countercurrent.org
`Rahul knocked down by bicycle’ made an interesting big headline on the front page of DNA daily on March 7 after the Samajwadi party with its symbol of the bicycle routed the Congress in the legislative assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
In a way the victory of the bicycle is symbolic in that it shows that the slow and steady wins the race. In real life too a bicyclist often races ahead of the motor car on our crowded roads. Yet, it is treated with scant respect by planners and the traffic police.
The bicycle played a substantial role in helping Nitish Kumar, Bihar chief minister, retain power two years ago. The scheme of giving bicycles to school girls has had a dramatic effect in empowering girls and in increasing their attendance in school. Girls in school uniform on shining new bicycles are the new matrix of Bihar, it is said. Cycling set deprived Indian girls on a life long journey, went the headline of an article in the Guadian (17 Nov.2011) on the initiative in Bihar.
Akhilesh Yadav, the young Samajwadi party leader, made a good use of the bicycle by taking out bicycle yatras during his election campaign. Rahul Gandhi mde much of eating and sleeping at a dalit’s house but he has never seen it fit to ride a bicycle. The Gandhi family is particularly elitist when it comes to transport modes and loves speed. Sanjay Gandhi was obsessed with producing the Maruti car but failed and succumbed to his craving for speed and adventure when he died as his plane crashed in Delhi in 1980. Rajiv Gandhi as an Indian Airlines pilot loved flying. Rahul and brother in law have both revealed a craving for zooming on motor bikes. He is reputed to have indulged in bike racing in a secret location on the outskirts of Delhi some years ago. For all their proclaimed identification with Western liberal values, the Gandhis have never taken to the bicycle in the way European leaders are always seen riding bicycles. Even George Bush was a bicycle enthusiast though mainly on his ranch.
By and large most political parties in India are obsessed with the motor car and its glamour and have done little to promote bicycle riding and most governments are pursuing policies that work against cycling and walking.
The outgoing chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mayavati, even while talking of championing the poor, ushered in the highly elitist Formula 1 motor car sports in her state. She will be remembered as much for the building of the grand formula 1 race track built with private initiative during her term and the stadium as her own statues. The race track endeared her to the rich but obviously did not impress the poor.
Like the SP, the Telugu Desam has the bicycle as is symbol. But in reality its former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu pursued the most elitist policies and was obsessed with building a motor racing track in Hyderabd and inviting automobile manufacturers to his state at any cost. some officials in his government exposed themselves when they were found bribing a bogus company in their pursuit of inviting a European auto giant. Congress governments still find formula 1 racing glamorous and in Maharashtra a desperate attempt is being made to build a race track though there is already near Delhi. This really shows the priorities of the rulers. There is large scale malnutrition even in Mumbai, the financial capital. Obviously, politicians do not like to learn lessons from follies made by others. New York’s traffic police commissioner Jannette Sadik Khan appealed to Indians during her recent visit to Chennai not to repeat the folly of promoting the motor car, a folly being regretted by many in the Western world.
The Communist party of India (Marxist) , far from promoting the cause of pedestrians and cycling, remained obsessed with the Nano car production and paid a heavy price for the blunder of acquiring at low price farmers’ fertile land for the Tatas in the teeth of a massive agitation.
It is only after the major defeat in the assembly elections, that the CPM has learnt some lessons. The leaders have started walking on roads, taking out padayatras, learning from Mamata Banerjee for whom walkathons were the backbone of campaigning. Recently, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, the former CPM chief minister, took to the streets and this form of agitation proved quite successful in mobilizing opinion against Mamata. Formerly, CPM leaders travelled mainly in jeeps. Now , they are more down to earth.
Politicians lack the guts to take on the car lobby or give more space to cycling and walking on roads. In Mumbai, a cycle track has been provided in the new business district of the Bandra Kurla complex with little thought and so one does not find a single cycle on it. Did they expect people to go to the diamond bourse, the fancy American school and the Ambani school and the American consulate on bicycles ? One has to first create a culture for cycling, they should have first provided for cycle parking at railway stations, facilitated parking in areas where they are really needed, in working class areas. There are as many bicycles in Mumbai as cars but they are not so visible and cyclists do not have a pressure group. So while there are all sorts of facilities for cars and these are pampered, little thought is given to cyclists.
Cycling is still seen by the authorities as an elite activity, practiced by the rich for exercise. So there is no provision for cycle repairs, parking for ordinary people. Nothing shows cycling as an elite activity than the way Pankaj Munjal,a leading bicycle manufacturer, goes about cycling in Delhi. He takes his bicycle in his BMW to Rashtrapati Bhavan and then cycles on the broad road there up and down with his friends for some 20 km. This is fine, enjoyable and it makes much better sense than going to a gym. But facilities are needed on a priority for ordinary people.
(Vidyadhar Date is the author of the book Traffic in the era of climate change - walking, cycling, public transport needs priority. [email protected])
Note: Bicycle is the electoral symobl of Samajwadi Pary which won a stunning victory in recent election held in Uttar Pardesh, the most populace and politically significant state of India
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