write essay on face off with political parties.?..in ..own words.pls..
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The changing face of Indian politics

V. Krishna AnanthJuly 16, 2010UPDATED: July 23, 2010 16:30 IST
"The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe out every tear from every eye. This may be beyond us but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over".
(from Jawaharlal Nehru's address to the Constituent Assembly, August 14/15, 1947)
In the couple of decades after Nehru made his famous 'tryst with destiny' speech and the makers of our constitution took the pledge dedicating themselves to the service of India and her people, there was a marked change in the quality of life that the people led. The improvements were not merely in the realm of economic indicators but also in the political sense. The welfare state seemed to work. Better levels of nutrition and healthcare did lead to a fall in the mortality rates and this was among the reasons behind the increase in the population over the years. Those were times when the men who presided over the political establishment inspired those in the bureaucracy into building a democratic edifice. The legacy of the freedom struggle inspired the nation building process then.
Things began to go wrong, within the political establishment, in the 60s. Participation in political activity turned into a means to living for the lowly worker and to riches in case of the leaders. The money meant for poverty alleviation and other such schemes were siphoned out. The welfare state model was distorted. But then, the 60s were also a period when there were instances of mobilisation against this distortion. And thus it was ensured that the system kept working. The fragmentation in the political realm and the emergence of the regional political formations also witnessed a widening of the scope of the welfare model. The extent of income poverty levels was sought to be brought down by way of increase in food subsidies. This helped in achieving a substantive reduction in poverty levels. There were also instances of the judiciary turning pro-active to expand the welfare state agenda. These went on until the 80s.
The couple of decades since then, however, are marked by a pronounced retreat of the welfare state. And this has made individual efforts and initiatives most necessary for the ordinary people. For, the political establishment has turned insensitive to the task of making the welfare state work. As a result the civil administration too is no longer concerned with ensuring that ideas that worked in the past are made to work even now. This makes the individual initiatives remain what they are. Even where they work wonders, we find many instances where such pro-active members of the bureaucracy are hounded out for having done what they did!
Even such schemes as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) or such radical legislations as the Right to Information Act (RTI) are sought to be frustrated by sections that had defeated similar attempts in the past.
The NREGS has certainly helped save the rural poor from forced migration to the towns and far away cities in search of livelihood. But then, the absence of a concerted campaign to unravel the nexus between the small time politician and the works contractors in our villages, the scheme is turning the same way as such of the older schemes as the food for work. The trouble is that any such campaign will necessarily have to involve the organisation of the political parties.
It is this gloomy context that lends to the localised attempts by an individual in the bureaucracy or of an elected leader of a local body a certain gloss. No doubt those behind such stories are worthy to be celebrated. But then, the stories will remain isolated instances in a larger context that can be defined as the retreat to un-freedom. In order to redeem the pledge, very substantially, it is imperative to identify the initiatives that have worked and take them to the core of the political discourse. And this can be done only where the organisation of the parties are involved in the campaign. It is easy to find the foot soldiers for this. If only our leaders get ready to make these ideas work?
Magazine
Cover Story
The changing face of Indian politics

V. Krishna AnanthJuly 16, 2010UPDATED: July 23, 2010 16:30 IST
"The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe out every tear from every eye. This may be beyond us but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over".
(from Jawaharlal Nehru's address to the Constituent Assembly, August 14/15, 1947)
In the couple of decades after Nehru made his famous 'tryst with destiny' speech and the makers of our constitution took the pledge dedicating themselves to the service of India and her people, there was a marked change in the quality of life that the people led. The improvements were not merely in the realm of economic indicators but also in the political sense. The welfare state seemed to work. Better levels of nutrition and healthcare did lead to a fall in the mortality rates and this was among the reasons behind the increase in the population over the years. Those were times when the men who presided over the political establishment inspired those in the bureaucracy into building a democratic edifice. The legacy of the freedom struggle inspired the nation building process then.
Things began to go wrong, within the political establishment, in the 60s. Participation in political activity turned into a means to living for the lowly worker and to riches in case of the leaders. The money meant for poverty alleviation and other such schemes were siphoned out. The welfare state model was distorted. But then, the 60s were also a period when there were instances of mobilisation against this distortion. And thus it was ensured that the system kept working. The fragmentation in the political realm and the emergence of the regional political formations also witnessed a widening of the scope of the welfare model. The extent of income poverty levels was sought to be brought down by way of increase in food subsidies. This helped in achieving a substantive reduction in poverty levels. There were also instances of the judiciary turning pro-active to expand the welfare state agenda. These went on until the 80s.
The couple of decades since then, however, are marked by a pronounced retreat of the welfare state. And this has made individual efforts and initiatives most necessary for the ordinary people. For, the political establishment has turned insensitive to the task of making the welfare state work. As a result the civil administration too is no longer concerned with ensuring that ideas that worked in the past are made to work even now. This makes the individual initiatives remain what they are. Even where they work wonders, we find many instances where such pro-active members of the bureaucracy are hounded out for having done what they did!
Even such schemes as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) or such radical legislations as the Right to Information Act (RTI) are sought to be frustrated by sections that had defeated similar attempts in the past.
The NREGS has certainly helped save the rural poor from forced migration to the towns and far away cities in search of livelihood. But then, the absence of a concerted campaign to unravel the nexus between the small time politician and the works contractors in our villages, the scheme is turning the same way as such of the older schemes as the food for work. The trouble is that any such campaign will necessarily have to involve the organisation of the political parties.
It is this gloomy context that lends to the localised attempts by an individual in the bureaucracy or of an elected leader of a local body a certain gloss. No doubt those behind such stories are worthy to be celebrated. But then, the stories will remain isolated instances in a larger context that can be defined as the retreat to un-freedom. In order to redeem the pledge, very substantially, it is imperative to identify the initiatives that have worked and take them to the core of the political discourse. And this can be done only where the organisation of the parties are involved in the campaign. It is easy to find the foot soldiers for this. If only our leaders get ready to make these ideas work?
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