- Intellectual Capital missing in our Politics

By Rohit Goyal
If ever elections in India were decided on a war of words over irrelevant issues, then all the political parties in India would be voted to power. While the Founders of the Constitution would have taken heart on political participants exercising their freedom of speech, they would definitely not be impressed by the quality of verbosity coming from our netas. Despite being a nation that goes into every election more educated and informed, our leaders seem to continuously debate issues that make no sense to voters on the ground.
As a citizen, I am more concerned about my security and development than the security of a cricket tournament. As a resident of a small hill state that relies heavily on tourism, I am more concerned about plans for roads and industrialisation than seeing leaders slogging it out on television channels over an irrational speech by a young aspiring leader. But, then, this is India. Our politics is not run by rationalism and pragmatism. It is, rather, run by ‘masala’ hype and ‘Bollywood’ type stories. Instead of focusing on realism, our politics tends to encourage sensationalism. This is a rather sad tale for a country where more than 60% of people have attended schools and have access to print and television media.
I always believed that our politics will become much better and stronger as the nation increases its literacy levels. I was so looking forward to the day when candidates would focus on development plans and debate on National Security or the Economy. I was so looking forward to the day when I would be able to connect with my Member of Parliament or Member of the Legislative Assembly in the way Barack Obama connected with his people in the United States. I was so looking forward to the day when the younger generation of leaders would change the age old myth of “politics is only for people who are old and have nothing else to do in life”.
I was so looking forward to seeing Chidambaram and Jaswant Singh debate it out on what would be the best way to achieve 9% growth of our economy. But, then, such is the reality that these very leaders are more interested in sensational issues to grab front page headlines, than to talk on real issues affecting the common man. The Raj Thackerays and Varun Gandhis are ruining the promise that the nation saw in these young leaders by making irrational speeches in their campaigns. The Harvard scholar Chidambaram is too busy slogging it out with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi over a 30 day cricket tournament than talking about restoring jobs and reviving the economy.
Why can’t we get down and talk serious stuff? After all, politics is a serious business just like any other profession. Maybe the answer lies in the fact that, as a nation, we get easily swayed by our emotions than by our pragmatism. And the newsmakers along with their cohorts, the politicians, are good at sensationalising these emotions to an extent that, at the end of the day, there is nothing like cheap or low behaviour.
The people who criticise the politicians for not doing anything are busy pointing fingers at one party or the other over issues like the IPL. The Media, who are supposed to be the guardians of Democracy, are in turn fueling the fire with their debates and discussions, making an irrelevant issue sound like a major one. Can someone tell them that, at this moment, people losing jobs is a much bigger issue than the country losing the hosting rights of a cricket tournament? Can someone inform our political pundits, that the security of common citizens is more important than providing security for a bunch of Bollywood and cricket stars?
After all, politics is expected to get dirty. But, I never thought that in the 21st century, my country’s politics would get so dirty that there would be no difference between Page 3 or the political pages of a newspaper. I hope that, one day, our political leaders will talk sense, as they did in the founding years of our country. I hope, one day, leaders will be sensationalised for the power of their ideas than by their hate campaigns.