YPOST

Aam Aadmi Party: A Turning Point for Indian Democracy??

India is proud to be the largest functioning democracy- the oldest being USA. Democracy is supposed to produce impact for the masses. Simply speaking; democracy means power for  the masses and not for of the classes.

Democracy is also a very costly phenomenon unlike autocracy. Unfortunately, over the years, democracy is crudely controlled by the classes-by dynasty culture- nepotism, where muscle power and money power rules -while a billion plus strong population remains helpless and hapless.

Yes! India has changed and changed for the better when we compare ourselves with other nations of the sub-continent and other underdeveloped nations of Africa and South America. The common man’s voice is lost. After 67 years of independence, we at times feel defeated. Democracy or the political system in place couldn’t change the life of the common people at large. Even the basic necessities of life; like sanitation, clean drinking water, education to all, public health service, and even the judiciary fails to deliver what democracy is supposed to achieve. Mass scale corruption, scam at the highest order & at the highest level , caste and communal divide became the only bi-product of this largest functioning democratic system.

            

Need of the hour is: Social Reform or Reformers than Politics or Politicians.

Arvind kejriwal is a social crusader, left government of India service  (Indian revenue Service) in 2005. He relentlessly fought to eradicate corruption in public life, for the Right to Information (RTI) to achieve transparency in the system and the Jan Lokpal to pin down the political class which somehow enjoys immunity from justice. His journey culminated into a political force called Aam Admi Party (AAP) – just to fight within the system rather than from outside the system. People could identify him as a new brand of politicians with phenomenal expectation. He is lauded for starting a political party to bring about social change than armchair politics or politics dominated by criminals or touts. He increasingly occupied the imagination of the people as a possible game changer, a symbol of hope for the aam admi who believes that he will deliver  nation free from corruption and self serving politicians. His landmark approach is of practicing a different kind of politics with transparency and honesty as the core elements which is in sharp contrast to the nepharous mechanisms of most political parties. The path is not that simple and easy and has many critical pitfalls. AAP believes in aggressive decentralization and redefining the electrical tariffs and water. Needless to say pulse rate (be it electricity or telephone) is among the lowest in India. This raises dangerous vision of an anarchic mutiny and idealism which does not match economic reality.

For a country infected with corruption and scams, AAP is proving to be a huge attraction to the people and also shaming the other political parties and systems.

This is only the beginning and the emergence of an alternative political system and defining an eye opener for India after independence. It has to pass the acid test where democracy delivers without corruption, without nepotism, without bias for a nation of 1.3 billion people. This is big challenge. When a sea change is required, it is only the start of a difficult journey which is badly damaged by vested political interests and people. Important point is: People at large could see a different brand of politics and conglomeration of some very successful people who left their career, and sacrificed their name and fame, economic stability to a life of crusader. This change India has never seen after independence and hence galvanized rapid support and sky-high expectations. A young nation with 65% of the population below the age group of 35, the AAP type politics is a real eye opener and caught the imagination of the nation. Time will prove its success.

Anjana Chakravorty

M.Sc Media, P.G 1