The ideal kind of politics that will build a better world will be real hard work. Hard workers are conscientious people and unfortunately it is mostly the unconscientious who are drawn to politics. So these politicians put up a veil to keep the real hard work that are not doing or are incapable of doing, carefully hidden from the public. They fully subscribe to the wise saying "out of sight out of mind." Sometimes this makes me wonder how did the saying "politics is the art of the possible" come about unless it means veiling up the real issues to the fullest possible extent. While the real issues are objective ones and have the potential to unite the electorate behind them, the veils are emotive and mostly serve the purpose of dividing the electorate and keeping them divided. This division makes the life of the corrupt politician easy.
At times the public does get a glimpse of the real issues as it did during Anna's agitations. Everybody united to demand a corruption free government. Anna highlighted that politics and corruption have become synonymous. The political establishment presented the non-incumbent party as non or less corrupt and the electorate put the power in their hand. Now whenever the public wakes up from its slumber to ask whatever happened to promises on corruption and black money, it is dragged into a debate on Rashtravaad versus secularism. This is the veil that is dropped down each time and will eventually drag the real issue into oblivion while deeply dividing the electorate.
The current charged up debate on reservations in education and jobs is a similar attempt to keep some underlying real issues veiled up. The real issues in this case are several. The foremost is persistent failure of governments to provide universal schooling for all. Billions of rupees are drained off in the name of salaries paid to government teachers and maintenance of schools. And yet we all know that the result is close to naught (You may like to read this earlier post.) ITIs and Polytechnics that had the noble objectives of skilling persons who have received basic education are simply limping along with hardly any qualified and certificated electricians, plumbers or carpenters available in the market. Even the private sector is opening up Engineering Colleges and Medical Colleges and not the equivalents of ITIs or Polytechnics. Ease of doing business remains a distant objective and so there are not many jobs for the burgeoning population which cannot be absorbed in their hereditary profession of agriculture or other low skill professions. Because of these abject failures of the political establishment, the only hope for the vast armies of unskilled and jobless persons remains a meaningless and learning-less degree followed by a government job. (As an aside, the politicians have started calling these unemployable and unemployed people our demographic dividend!!)
And thus the hotly debated issue of reservations in colleges and government jobs is merely a veil to disguise the successive governments' utter failure in the area of basic education, skilling people and making it easy to do business. We probably need another mass movement to enlighten the public to the fact that reservation is NOT the issue and that it is merely a veil for the real issues which are going unnoticed. Though, I have a premonition that this movement too may be trumped by the politicians.
At times the public does get a glimpse of the real issues as it did during Anna's agitations. Everybody united to demand a corruption free government. Anna highlighted that politics and corruption have become synonymous. The political establishment presented the non-incumbent party as non or less corrupt and the electorate put the power in their hand. Now whenever the public wakes up from its slumber to ask whatever happened to promises on corruption and black money, it is dragged into a debate on Rashtravaad versus secularism. This is the veil that is dropped down each time and will eventually drag the real issue into oblivion while deeply dividing the electorate.
The current charged up debate on reservations in education and jobs is a similar attempt to keep some underlying real issues veiled up. The real issues in this case are several. The foremost is persistent failure of governments to provide universal schooling for all. Billions of rupees are drained off in the name of salaries paid to government teachers and maintenance of schools. And yet we all know that the result is close to naught (You may like to read this earlier post.) ITIs and Polytechnics that had the noble objectives of skilling persons who have received basic education are simply limping along with hardly any qualified and certificated electricians, plumbers or carpenters available in the market. Even the private sector is opening up Engineering Colleges and Medical Colleges and not the equivalents of ITIs or Polytechnics. Ease of doing business remains a distant objective and so there are not many jobs for the burgeoning population which cannot be absorbed in their hereditary profession of agriculture or other low skill professions. Because of these abject failures of the political establishment, the only hope for the vast armies of unskilled and jobless persons remains a meaningless and learning-less degree followed by a government job. (As an aside, the politicians have started calling these unemployable and unemployed people our demographic dividend!!)
And thus the hotly debated issue of reservations in colleges and government jobs is merely a veil to disguise the successive governments' utter failure in the area of basic education, skilling people and making it easy to do business. We probably need another mass movement to enlighten the public to the fact that reservation is NOT the issue and that it is merely a veil for the real issues which are going unnoticed. Though, I have a premonition that this movement too may be trumped by the politicians.
Narendra Modi owes his landslide victory to the fact that he drew public's attention to the unifying real issues. Will he stick to these issues or will the veilsters ultimely prevail?
Are we doomed to admit that "छद्ममेव जयते (Veilster alone triumphs?)"
Are we doomed to admit that "छद्ममेव जयते (Veilster alone triumphs?)"
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