By the time these lines are printed, most of the rough and tumble in the electoral fray in the states that are going to polls will be over.
True, a few more rounds of voting will remain, but the excitement will be waning, not mounting. Till the day of reckoning in March when for a day once more the ‘game’ or reality show of democracy will resume.
What distresses us is the fact that while the campaigning is on, all else is put on the back burner or pushed off the stage. The budget, the trans-border infiltrations, the chaos caused by elected representatives of people in states far are from another round of battle of ballots. Take for instance, Mamata didi in West Bengal, or Siddaramaiah in Karnataka. They have ensured that those living in states ruled by them remain on tenterhooks. Shameless shows of entitlement to privileges by legislators or their kin or clients have time and again brought ordinary citizen to the streets.
The crumbling infrastructure in once-blissful city called Bangalore, or the resurgence of deadly communal virus and increasing lawlessness on the streets of Kolkata, that was synonymous not long ago with the city where women were worshipped and safer than anywhere else, are considered newsworthy only when a potential box office hit like Raees or Kaabil isn’t being released, or no newly-discovered star is blazing a comet-like trail on the cricketing firmament. Meanwhile, those comfortably ensconced in their ivory towers continue to pontificate about the ‘ungovernability’ of an unhealthily oversized state like Uttar Pradesh that has also been derisively termed ‘Ulta Pradesh’ and a member of the ‘Bimaru’ family. The more we discuss caste and community (read religion) in the electoral context the more we enflame passions and expose festering wounds to fatal infection. A candidate or a party may win in a constituency, but the state and the nation can only lose. This is what we are experiencing in Jammu and Kashmir, and this is what is most likely to add to our travails in Punjab.
What is equally disturbing is that a ‘constitutional crisis’ or the ‘overreach’ of an ailing judiciary is only noticed when the legislature or bureaucracy finds them in conflict with the law. No one dares to comment when a sitting judge of a high court accuses his brother judges of caste-based prejudice and when he alleges that the Supreme Court that has hauled him up for contempt, suffers from the same mindset. Not only this, he suggests that the matter had better be referred to the Parliament. The apex court may not be infallible, but to challenge its Supremacy in matters legal and interpreting the Constitution can only subvert the rule of law. The time has come to review the laws relating to contempt of court, and the appointment and removal of judges. Alas, the public memory is short and we forget how partisan politics and regional ‘loyalties’ had made a mockery of a motion of impeachment of a controversial judge when it was presented to the Parliament.
Unfortunately, acquittal of some high profile celebrities in criminal cases, or exceptional leniency shown to convicts due to their age or ill-health have seriously undermined the citizens’ faith in justice.
Salman Khan has had a particularly charmed life—cranes drop heavy objects on footpath dwellers to crush them to death in sleep or cripple them, witnesses turn hostile, disappear or die in the long drawn trials making it impossible to decide how, and the depressed blackbuck committed suicide to enable authorities in Jodhpur to ‘frame’ the superstar for their unfathomable reasons. The tragic plight of those fighting for justice for the victims of Uphaar Fire is even more heartrending.
One has witnessed similar frustrating scenes in the Katara and Jessica Lal murder cases. What is criticised as the illiberal, blood-thirsty lynch mob or media trial in Kangaroo court-fashion is what has more than once ensured that a gross miscarriage of justice is averted. This list is far from exhaustive. Family of Nirbhaya, too, has expressed deep disappointment at the perpetrators of this heinous crime receiving more sympathy than the aggrieved relatives. Emboldened by an ‘enlightened’ jurisprudence, organised criminals have mastered the art and science of deploying well-trained juveniles to do their bidding. Provisions of bail and parole, too, favour only the rich, famous and/or the powerful. Politicians of certain eminence—in all parties—qualify on all three counts.
It is hard to concede that the agitating students in a premier university in the capital can claim as a matter of right more space in the columns of national newspapers than reports of life and death in rural backwaters. A small radical ultra vocal minority is today holding the silent majority to ransom from the campus to the Houses of Parliament. Time to speak up before it’s too late.
Pushpesh Pant
Former professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
pushpeshpant@gmail.com