Hypocrisy, ignorance or "the intellect beyond comprehension"

An open letter to the surgeons of the Verdict2014

Hypocrisy, ignorance or "the intellect beyond comprehension"

16th May 2014 and India ushers into a new era with a historic mandate of clear majority for a single non-Congress party. Narendra Modi-led NDA alliance scaled new heights with 336 seats, something beyond prediction of anyone except the one exit poll by Chanakya. 

Never in the history of election in India, I have seen the kind of post-mortem of the verdict that is floating these days. I have seen the analysis of the reasons of winning and also why a particular party lost but for the first time I see that there is a directed effort in proving that the winner has actually not got the mandate. The verdict is seeming too hard to swallow for some of the elite class of intellectuals and they are trying to bring in all sorts of intriguing parameters to prove that the mandate is not for the winning party/coalition. The flood of posts in this direction forced me to write this blog.

What is a democracy? Is it a meticulously laid down system to provide people the freedom of choice to elect their representative? Then why so much dissection of the people's mandate? It is a sheer hypocrisy that the intellectuals who vouch for the 'freedom of expression' do not have respect for the 'freedom of choice' of the Indian voters. Look at the kind of explanations they are trying to bring in to prove that the winning team has actually not won.

The funniest argument starts with the point that majority is not won by only 31% of votes. First of all, in a multi-party system this logic fails to hold. But, lets take this logic for a moment and analyse the results from this angle. BJP-led NDA got 39%, Congress 23.4% & others got 37.6% of vote-share. So considering this, the BJP-led NDA is the least opposed coalition. The least opposed is the most accepted. 

A rather stronger one is that the PR machinery worked very well. The PR machinery was used because BJP did want to win and did not lay any stone un-turned to ensure the victory. Now, to blame them for this is like complaining that why Yuvraj hit 6 sixes in an over. Where did the money come from is a valid question and we have a right to ask that question. Keep a hawk eye and see if we can get the answer. But tell me which PR machinery had worked in 1977? Remember, that it was a defeat of one of the strongest leaders India ever had. Indian voter is prudent. The message is simple that when it is beyond limit, the people of India resolve to 'sabak sikhana'. Considering that the election was won with the PR power is an insult to the prudence of the Indian voter who votes based on the immediate circumstances. The apt example is Punjab where voting was against the incumbent Akali government rather than against Modi. Why PR did not work in Punjab? Orissa chose BJD for the record 4th time because of the able leadership of Patnaik ji. Jayalalitha and Mamta got due share of the work they did in their states.

Are we blind that we don't see the kind of insult being hurled at the poorest common man of the country in the last few years? They don't have food in their plates and newspapers daily report a new bigger scam unfolded. The incumbent government seemed living in complete oblivion with their plight. This is where NaMo connected well when he said that we have to fight poverty and poverty has no religion. When a man fallen in a well is shown a rope, he does not analyze or judge the strength of the rope. He just sees a hope in the rope that he will come out of the well with the help of this rope. Modi ji succeeded in showing this rope to the poorest of the poors. NaMo struck the right chord.

The latest I read from the so-called liberals is that secularism took a back-seat in voters' mind. This secularism is a bogey which has most tickets sold and has largest passenger at the time of election. That too, this has degenerated into pseudo-secularism. Whether I want to go to temple, masjid on Friday, Church on Sunday or Gurudwara on anyday is my personal choice and prerogative. Please leave it to my personal space. I want everyone to be treated as an Indian rather than discriminated in the name of religion. I want a right to fight if I do NOT get because I belong to a particular community rather than getting a dole for being a minority. It would be better in the interest of nation if we fight to separate religion from politics.

You should have been objective about informing the voters. You did not put any effort in enlightening the voters about the criminal/corruption charges of the local candidates. What I have noticed is that if you tell a kid to not do something, he will go and do that again and again. Public played as that small kid. The more you told them not to vote for NaMo, it all the more resolved to give him strong mandate. You failed to realize that NaMo was the man of the moment who had raised hope in millions of hearts.

Some are worried about what will happen to the 'freedom of speech' in future. Surprisingly, they never came forward when this freedom was curbed by the incumbent Central and State Govt of Congress who did not allow Salman Rushdie to attend the JLF in 2012. No voice was raised when the voice of Taslima Nasreen was silenced in West Bengal. In fact, they did not think it appropriate to oppose the moves by Raj Thackeray led MNS against North Indians in Mumbai. 2002 keeps echoing in the mind of elites and media but these watchmen of human-rights and intellectuals go in hiding and fail to be equivocal about recent Muzaffarnagar and Assam. Those who keep quiet on the happenings in front of them are worried about the things that have not occurred. This is undermining the power of the critics around you and also the Indian Constitution. No one is above the Constitution and you should resolve to preserve its sovereignty at any cost. An unsolicited advice - "Overcome your fear and resolve to fight any wrong, anywhere but there is no point in spreading negativity. Be positive, spread positivity and attract positivity". 

What you fail to appreciate is that the Indian voter rose above the politics of caste, creed or religion. The most satisfying results are from UP. Not because it has given the highest number of MPs but because the parties who thrived only in the name of caste/religion-based politics have been routed out. To highlight, BJP did win in the constituencies where a particular so-perceived anti-BJP community is in majority. This was the vote for real inclusiveness. 

Does freedom of speech means writing what is approved by everyone? Then, how can 'freedom of choice' mean electing someone of your preference? I would have expected a rather saner and objective assessment of the win and also a roadmap of what should be the priorities of the next government.

Votes can be bought but not the sense of belonging that NaMo supporters have in this win and the way they feel one with this victory. The overwhelming joy and love showered on him is priceless. 

It is the time when we rise above our perception of Modi ji and work together to take the nation forward with the slogan of "sabka saath, sabka vikaas".

Wishing India a great future and may better sense prevail in the minds of intellectuals.