Our alternatives
The Third Front certainly can’t complain about a lack of press. The other parties have commented on it - there’s Sonia Gandhi poking fun, Sheila Dikshit calling it non-serious. And yet some editorials have acknowledged that it poses some threat to the chances of the BJP and the Congress.
I’m not going to take guesses on how many seats such a third option would end up with, IF it becomes a reality. Making political predictions is a dangerous game in India, one likely to end with egg on the face (I remember all too well how most of the media predicted victory for the NDA in 2004).
But its disappointing that this so-called new alternative is not really one. Its filled with old faces, consisting of various existing regional political parties and breakaway allies of the UPA. And can we depend on the old guard - in the Congress, BJP, the TF - for better policy? We are running out of time. Too many reforms are pending, and too many issues of inequality, education, and access are losing ground.
Tags: India elections, Third Front
March 31st, 2009 at 11:36 am
[...] Our alternatives [...]
March 31st, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Democracy is meant for only educated, well do and well informed masses. Not for uneducated, poor and weak populace. As long as we cherish our democracy and have pseudo pride our situation will never improve. The only way forward is to throw away democracy and bring in some form of institutionalized dictatorship like China.
March 31st, 2009 at 5:17 pm
I completely agree that there are too many reforms pending and too many issues losing ground. The Loksatta movement has started gathering momentum in Andhra Pradesh. With such movements and NGOs like Janaagraha providing a channel for the educated to have an increased influence and bring a paradigm shift in Indian politics. Now is the time for the media to play their best role ever in instilling confidence in the minds of the public on movements like these. Now is the time for the educated - people like me, like the ones reading this blog to accept that the onus of forming a good government is never away from the franchising public and that criticism is just the beginning of reform. There lies a long road between identifying a problem and realizing a working solution. Engineers, if not anyone else should be able to appreciate this fact and fortunately, we are now blessed with an impressive number of eligible engineers in our country. It is hard for a democracy to be for the people unless it is by the people.
March 31st, 2009 at 6:25 pm
The fronts are reality. We need new leadership which changes the meaning of these fronts through words, concepts, policies and actions.
The stalemate will not break unless our youth really takes over the power through constructive rebellion, young leaders just waiting in succession seems to be too slow as an option.
March 31st, 2009 at 9:59 pm
I simply dont see any future for India if the third front comes to power.Third front is simply a collection of parties which will definetly lead India in the reverse direction.
April 1st, 2009 at 2:00 am
Its a very very long way to go when it comes to solving the issues of inequality, education, and access… As long as the opportunists (Third Front) exist in the politics. These small parties neither have a common goal nor a policy nor any vision about the country. Their only vision is to grab the power (Hook or crook) even if it is for a few days.
I dont forsee any development activities in the country if the so-called Third-Front comes into power.
April 2nd, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Nandan, my only request is for you to take up the challenge like Capt. Gopinath, Meera Sanyal, et al.
April 4th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
The efficient governance does not comes wiht just 272 bloc of MP’s from a single party. The pending and progressive reforms need a hard and bold decisions. There is no doubt the progressive reforms is going to affect certain section of society in a good and bad way as well. But thats were the leadership comes in to play. The good leader can extract a short term sacrifices from the people with a assurance of long term prosperity. More importantly HE or SHE needs to deliver it. We lack such a leader from our politics. Atleast we don’t hear from them if they exists. I have no doubt that we will see such a leader and take INDIA forward. I only wish that it will happen soon. But this 15th General Election don’t have any sign of such a leader yet.
April 6th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
One thing i was wondering for long time.. whenever we ask the educated (particularly the elites) about india, they immediately describe their vision of changing india..
My first question is why should we change india, for what, and from what and how?
Are we going to do a social engineering? Or are we feeling ourselves the most enlightened, and all others in our country are ignorant, and we bore the task of saving india?
My take on this subject is that any nation, just evolves over time and generation, and all things cannot happen suddenly..
I am insisting on the word “Evolving”, because, progress, development should be continuous and NOT discrete..
Sir.. your book is full of brillian ideas, that ensures a developed, and a progressive india that is in control of itself.. but i am afraid, your ideas are locked in idealisms..
We cannot build castle in the skies.. we need to build on whatever we have.. and for that, we need to realise what we have and how we can go from here..
For example, i liked the way Gurucharandas had explored india in his “India Unbound”.. i wish, we can evolve a perfect match of his projection of india’s present and past, with your projection of india’s future.. we just need a connecting line..
April 26th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Dear Sir, When we consider the enormous environmental damage and human cost (500,000 people needing resettlement) caused by the Public Sector Coal industry and contrast it with the utterly ineffectual response by politicians, NGOs and the Judiciary, we have to consider the proposition that the Indian method of Governance is simply not fit for purpose.
Though lawyers inherited power from the British the one thing they refused to change was the one thing they actually knew about- viz the Justice system which relies on forced confessions and professional witnesses.
Technocrats from the Bureaucracy also get access to power. They will try anything except to reform themselves.
In the past when a bandit made himself king- at least he got rid of other bandits. We have goonda raj in plenty but nobody gets rid of goondas.
Look at the Media- the same old tired faces on NDTV mouthing inanities with the vaunted Chandan Mitra babbling no better than Shoba De.
The basic problem with India is that people seek power because they are pleased with themselves not because they want to reform the country.
Problem? What Problem? Crisis? What Crisis?
Third Front nutters, NGO nutters, Naxal or Talib nutters- which ever brand of nutter you look at the same basic problem arises- the nutters are very pleased with themselves. They have all the answers. They want to take their turn at ruining the country.
What is the way forward?
May 29th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Thanks for posting, I truly liked reading your most recent post. I think you should post more often, you clearly have natural ability for blogging!