India’s double trouble is arrogance of power and power of ignorance
The Budget session of the Parliament left most Indians sad. Not because the provisions disappointed the vocal middle class that comprise a minuscule minority of the country’s population, but because of the sorry spectacle in both Houses of what is numerically the largest democracy in the world—claimed by some as the oldest as well. How the members—cutting across party lines—old and new, conducted themselves exchanging unpleasantries and abuses drowning vacuous speeches in the din was distressing.
Everyone appeared playing to the gallery and constituencies outside the hallowed precincts. Most distressing was the partisan conduct of the honourable presiding officers. Neither the Vice President nor the second-time Speaker of the Lok Sabha covered themselves in glory. They crudely rebuked the members—particularly from Opposition ranks—using jarring language like ‘baith ja baith ja’, with grimaces and frozen frowns to add emphasis, admonishing them that they were lowering the dignity of the House. They remained oblivious to the fact that the presiding officers also dented the dignity of the House in a grievous manner that no paint and polish job can repair.
Two or three exchanges stand out in this painful context. The Honourable Speaker lecturing Randeep Surjewala about parliamentary conventions, propriety, and practices, as if he was a first-time MP, forgot that Surjewala had completed two terms in the Lok Sabha before the Speaker had won his first term to the Parliament. The direct telecast viewed by millions didn’t reveal any unbefitting conduct on part of the MP being lectured. Time and again Om Birla reminds us that he can’t be wrong.
Once he has given the ruling none can question it. The TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee caught him on the wrong foot repeatedly when he was interrupted in a short speech. He made the Chair squirm uncomfortably naming the PM for reading from the teleprompter or raking up events from half a century past while his referring to economic blunders of the present regime having a direct bearing on the economy and budget were ruled as irrelevant digressions. Worst perhaps was the way exchanges between Anurag Thakur and Rahul Gandhi were handled. Swift admonition to the ex-minister trying desperately to regain the favours of the PM would have shown the independence of the Chair. Alas this wasn’t to be.
Jagdeep Dhankhar is a seasoned politician, who before ascending to the position of Vice President, has served as governor. His self-confidence is well-founded in experience, but what is unacceptable is his going out of his way to come out with rulings that smack of fatwas by a Qazi in a theocratic state. He not only gave a clean chit to the RSS, but showered fulsome praise on the organisation. His word is supreme in the House, but one wonders how large is the remit of his writ? Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has refused to protect its own turf in a separation of powers constitutional order.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, the railway minister, lost his cool and started shouting when a fellow MP called him the ‘Reel Minister’. The arrogance that comes with power leaves no room for a sense of humour. The poor man is stalked by bad luck as train accidents have piled up with announcements of bullet trains and tech marvels like accident-proof ‘kavach’. Other heads can be made to roll and human error or conspiracies cited as causes beyond the minister’s control. But the buck stops with him. In this case, the ex-IAS seems to have made himself indispensable to the present government. He has been entrusted with additional charges that require exceptional expertise. One doesn’t have to be a political heavyweight controlling money and muscle to strut the stage with prickly skin.
An old Hindustani saying ‘Pyade se farzi bhayo terho terho jai!’ (The pawn on the chess board when promoted to Bishop starts walking diagonally—shunning the straight path) seems to shed light on how some most eminent dignitaries have been behaving in recent days.
No less dangerous than the arrogance of power is the ‘power of ignorance’. The Sanskrit aphorism tells us Vidya sa vimuchyate! Knowledge liberates us. The converse is equally true. Ignorance enslaves us. How can the mind be free from fear and the head held high where the education system is systematically dismantled ostensibly ‘to cleanse texts from colonial canards’. The tests and exams have fallen prey to organised criminals and coaching mafias. Like in the case of electoral bonds (struck down by the SC), the highest court would have us believe that as of now there is no need for a judicial intervention. So the dumbing down of the young continues.
We live in an age where ignorance is bliss and the ignorant wield power recklessly.
Pushpesh Pant
Former professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
pushpeshpant@gmail.c