Joining Politics

Joining politics was Faustian. This was the impression that most of us grew up with. Our parents gave us to believe, we must work hard to get good employment, stay away both from police and politicians.

But the Babalog (the scions of political families) not withstanding, there are some good young smart people in local level politics today and this tribe we hope will grow. There are MBAs from good universities abroad and in India who are doing exceptional work at village level, as Sarpanches etc. The media needs to highlight their good work and encourage more such people to come forth and contribute. If democracy is to succeed as a method of governance, more and more good people must come forth to selflessly serve the electorate.

Also, we need more people like Subramanium Swamy in the younger generation also. And the moment I say this, I would invite the wrath of many pseudo intellectuals, who feel impelled to react both with outrage and indignation on his essay that touches such aspects like illegal immigration, purportedly anti-muslim. The voice of these intellectuals will hereon resonate as Havard too has removed Swamy from visiting faculty. But it may be noteworthy, that in 1987 Swamy fasted unto death demanding enquiry into killings of Muslims by police in Meerut. A fact that has received little media coverage.

Deny it if you can, but truly, if India was saved of the PM Ship of Sonia Gandhi, it was due to singular achievement of Swamy. He was also the one to expose the lie about Rahul Gandhi being an alumnus of Havard. It does not matter if Mr TOM DICK HARRY lies about being from Havard. But clearly, if Rahul the PM in waiting or any parliamentarian for that matter lies about his credentials, it should get a treatment worse than perjury. It is quite possible if Swamy's claims about the KJB connections of the Maino family could be overstated. But the fact is, and we all know, politicians of all hues, survive on the tested principle of I scratch your back and you scratch mine. Both their jibes and vendettas are reasonably well calculated and neither the ruling side nor the opposition truly want to expose each other. In hindi it is quite well said -एक ही थाली के चटटे बट्‍टे !

Nobody is right all the time. Nobody is perfect and everyone may not agree to all that Swamy says, but that is not needed also. He can dare those who are in extreme power right in the face. And those who can do that is clearly a dwindling breed and that breed we need to nurture, propagate and bring forward.