Still Powerless?
Photo credit: Carol Mitchell
The smell of elections is in the air. Both our newspapers and TV are inundated with extravagant promises from our politicians, and accusations and counter-accusations are flying over which party is the most corrupt, who is the most unconcerned about terrorism, who the most callous about poverty, and interestingly, who is allowed to play the current catchy movie tune.
My area’s polling station is walking distance from my house, so casting my vote means just a short stroll in the morning. The queue is not very long, and I don’t find it a hassle. Many people I know however feel differently about voting, especially in the younger age-group. They tell me that they don’t bother to vote - ‘It doesn’t make a difference’, ‘I don’t support any among the field of candidates,’ are the usual answers I get.
I had written earlier on this blog about Jaago re, and whether shifts in voting make a difference in the governance we get. Many of our problems are deeply rooted, especially in terms of corruption and interest groups, and it will take much more than small voting shifts to change that. But what can change to some extent with the literacy of the average voter is the transparency people demand from governance, and better answers on policy (more educated voters for example, demand to know where the money for government handouts and loan waivers is coming from).
And only more informed voters can force political parties to shift to a higher standards in the quality and qualifications of their candidates. We are not in a pleasant place with regard to this. However much we boast about how educated our present Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is, its telling that he has never won a popular election.
How much of such reform is possible right now, if for instance, more of the middle class participate? The conventional wisdom has long been that this group lacks the numbers to make an impact. But these last few years tell us otherwise. The numbers in our middle class have ballooned in the last half-decade, even though we still feel like our effect on politics is that of a tiny minority. The Delimitation Commission’s recent reforms have also given the urban vote more power: for instance in Karnataka, Bangalore’s share of seats has now gone up from 11 to 28 - that is one tenth of the strength of the Assembly, which means that Bangalore (and Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, Hyderabad) now matters a great deal as a swing vote. With urbanisation only speeding up, and voters in urban areas skewing educated and informed, this is not good news for the unvarnished populists among our politicians.
Is a tipping point emerging? And is a 300 million strong middle class enough to trigger a change in our standards?
Tags: India elections, Jaago re, urban voters, voting
March 7th, 2009 at 5:55 am
Your final question shows how hopeful you are.
We need a long way to go no doubt. How many of us actually go and question the councillors who are elected to local bodies? How many of us acutally ask uncomfortable questions to a candidate who comes to canvass. But in rural India this is not the case. I dont believe educated people are not interested but we miss a platform to do all these.
Also please check the campaign for No criminals in politics here
March 7th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
“We are the youngest nation with the oldest politicians.” Sounds familiar ?
I don’t mean that leadership should be prerogative of the younger blood only. Our PM is a nice example. But, the trouble is, with age also comes that “extra baggage”. Didn’t your book somewhere mention that even today policies are carried out or trashed based on what one’s grandfather did/suffered under the hands of other ?
That is why I don’t want to vote.
March 8th, 2009 at 11:45 am
According to newspapers, more than eighty percent of the people wanted to reelect Abdul Kalam as President, but did we reelect him? It is very clear that the elections do not reflect the will of the people now.
Instead of finding out what has been wrong with us, it will be more useful to figure out what we have to do immediately. We have no dearth of talents in any area including the governance of the country and it looks to me that what we have to do is to isolate these talents and persuade them to stand for the coming elections. It is also my impression that there are enough number of wealthy citizens who are willing to financially support these candidates. With the mood prevailing in the country and the interest shown by the newpapers in the coming elections, it looks enteirely practical to keep criminals out of the elections.
One remark about the system of governance of a country. We should not consider it as God given and holy, and not to be tampered with. What we have today, as far as I can make out, is mostly the product of barons of Europe with vested interests, devised several hundred years ago. It is time, we did some rethinking on this matter, but we have to take care of the coming elections first.
March 8th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Yes, i think we are nearing the tipping point, we can create the difference if we wish to. But the connecting tool is missing, people are ready they dont need a leader to start acting, but they should know their fellow mates, if that is taken care we can make a difference.
Jago re is a decent move but not good enough to gather people. Hope we come up with one
March 9th, 2009 at 2:26 am
Will turning out in huge numbers increase the quality of the candidates being fielded? How do we engage the people we vote? How much pressure do we apply to get them to delivering the goods after they have been voted?
March 10th, 2009 at 8:14 am
Mr.Nilekani,
Your post does give a positive picture but the reality at the moment might be different. I logged in ‘jaago re’ site to register to vote. The aim of the initiative is 1 billion voter registrations, but if you see the number so far, it’s a little over 4 lakh. This shows the need for a greater stimulus to get the middle class to vote. ‘jaago re’ is truly commendable intiative but what we need in addition is action from a few representatives from the middle class to lead the change that all of us want to see. Contesting in the elections is one of them. If we can have 10% of smart minds to do it, we should be able to see 90% of the changes!
There are several examples from India’s history that support this idea. Revolutionaries such as Bhagat Singh made great sacrifices to achieve ‘Purna Swaraj’.
March 10th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
It cannot be denied that the money used by political parties to bring even their corrupt candidates into parliament and state assemblies comes from ‘donations’ — usually non-attributable and in cash — from the (presumably) educated and well heeled business class including industrial houses. will the industrialists put their money where their mouth is and set specific conditions that force better candidates — instead of just specific industry friendly orders — in return for their money?
March 12th, 2009 at 12:47 am
Why don’t we allow PIO/NRO’s to vote? almost all other dual citizens in all other countries are allowed to vote, i am sure the millions of indians abroad would make a huge change in the landscape of political parties if they are allowed to vote, especially OCI/PIO candidates, we would ask more questions and difficult ones to the candidates, and also we would invest more in India rather than sending money to cacaji to buy a TV if we felt we had a stake in the system. Also maybe create a seperate number of seats for overseas candidates. Yes, we live outside of india, but we carry indian blood and we represent india in front of the world, but i think 99% are dedicated to their homeland and many would return if this critical mass was reached…
March 13th, 2009 at 3:41 am
MSathia, Sona, Bala: It’s true, I lean towards hope. Some of my historian/political scientist friends tell me I am too optimistic about these shifts. But I believe these registration drives and anti-criminal efforts can build up into powerful reform efforts in the next few years, with some help from the media, and funding from our middle-class and businesses.
ನಾಗೇಶ್: Thanks, I enjoy the book being quoted back to me! And I think we will only see younger faces among our politicians if younger voters vote.
idontspam: Well, middle class voters care where their taxes go, and when they buy land and assets in cities, also start worrying about infrastructure, water conservation and garbage issues because they are personally invested in the outcomes. So I think ‘engagement’ with issue and governance is becoming more intense.
Reshmi: I agree. This is something I have written about - the balance between government, industry, the various lobbies and the public. The power of such lobbies will only be tempered with improvements in government transparency and disclosures from ministers. IT could play a big part in bringing this about, but little has been done yet.
Brian: I concur. It’s a much needed reform.
Nandan
March 14th, 2009 at 10:02 am
The rich will only get richer, the poor poorer - the middle class will ensure this happens
March 14th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Nandan,
India’s population, I believe, is somewhere around the 1.3 billion mark. Of this, the 1 billion that are not the middle class vote regularly. They just don’t know about it. The ones that do know sell their vote to the highest bidder. The Jaago Re website is a marketing tool for Tata Tea more than anything else. 1 billion registrations? Anyone who thinks it’s not a joke is high on something.
The middle class is too busy sustaining themselves day-to-day to be able to rally together and organize anything. The politicians are so sure they’re counting on it.
Educated people get too philosophical too quickly to do anything practical. There are fundamental personal changes that need to be made by each Indian, an honest introspection on everyone’s part, before things get better. And this will take time, one election will make no difference.
March 15th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Guru:
Jaago re is of course at heart, an advertisement for the brand - I am not disputing that. I am more interested in the spirit behind this, Lead India and other efforts for reform and participation. Whether led by brands or NGOs, done sincerely or semi-sincerely, they are clearly tapping into a sentiment that the middle class has more power to change governance systems than it once did.
March 21st, 2009 at 11:57 am
@9,
Only because I liked your book !
ok Sir, I will vote.
March 25th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Nandan Sir , with all the money Infosys has its enough to declare a national party right away on lines of Obama election campaign and winover the election .
I know its economic slump time and many Infoscions are on bench and being sent for NGO work ,they can work as very effective part time workers of the this new party .
They can be taught speaking skills which I am sure they already have better than our pliticians .
This should be a national party comprising of people from all lands and aimed at working in different states rather than focussing on their own.
March 25th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Venkat is right Nandan sir this can be the biggest gift you can give to this country , the formation of a brand new national party which will break all age old Chaha-Mama-Papa kind of political scene from India once and for all .