India is an ancient land, with diverse traditions, cultures, languages, and a fertile ground for seers! Several invaders came and conquered this land, and made a home here. The last of these many invaders was the British Empire. Subsequently, brave souls of this ancient land fought a hard and long battle for independence, and gave birth to the sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic, India. This vision of India was not unanimous, but an outcome of those few noble minds who profoundly envisioned the unification of this ancient land’s diverse population.
Introspection is paramount if the tenets of the constitution are to be upheld so that the next generation can continue to build the nation. If any of the fundamental components of constitution is violated, the transgression ought to be corrected in time to allow better sense to prevail and peace to reign. In principle, Congress party had incorporated the fundamental tenets of the constitution, which is why, it was able to garner votes and remain in power for several decades.
It is said, ‘Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” “Corruption” is not one of the tenets of our constitution, but the Congress party has added it, and it has become so deeply embedded in our society that it is difficult to uproot. The Congress party lost last Lok Sabha elections, precisely because the party’s corruption brought about the aberration of the Indian nation. The AAP had truly comprehended the predicaments of this nation, and its members planned a fresh political start that would redeem this nation from corruption, and prepare it to face the challenges the modern world poses. The nation thought otherwise. Perhaps, AAP members were not ready for a task of such great magnitude, or possibly the masses they had hoped would support them had not properly realized the fundamental tenets that define them as Indian citizens.
Indeed, today three out of five pillars of India remain intact to a great extent — namely, sovereign, democratic and republic. The other two pillars, secular and socialist, are a big question mark. The terms “Secular” and “Socialist” are abused and violated to such an extent that the people of India soon will not recognize them. Is India evolving? Or is our foundation being twisted? Hunger for power has led all political parties to violate the tenets of this great nation. The recently concluded Lok Sabha election speaks volumes about the direction this country has taken. The BJP party thrived on the “Modi” model. The driving force behind the BJP party is RSS, and RSS is not for “Secular” India. Its main thrust is to make India a Hindu nation. Modi was first a “prachar” of RSS, and then a politician.
The communal violence and riots inflamed by above factors in this ancient land of seers cannot be denied. Secondly, the “Modi” model for development is crony capitalism. Suddenly, the United States of America showed great interest in India, and welcomed newly elected Prime Minister Modi to the United States. America represents capitalism, and its open embrace of India’s new government symbolizes a departure from socialism to capitalism. The United States is the same country that rejected India under its first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Not surprisingly, then, the budget, the new government has presented reflects this change.
Is the mandate given to BJP government to bring an aberration on the India nation by abandoning the principles of the founding fathers? Or did the voters want the wrong done by the UPA government – corruption – righted? The nation is watching. Yes, capitalism has lots of good components that could be integrated into our economy, making it a viable competitor in the world market, but we cannot throw the baby out with the bath water.
Beside, government should always be mindful of this aspect; separation of state (the understanding of secularism) from the private life of the people (freedom to worship and practice the faith of one’s choice) was important factor, especially in this multi-religious and culturally diverse country. The Congress party embraced corruption, and fate treated it abysmally. To avoid a similar fate, BJP party ought to demonstrate that it is mindful of the founding principles of this country. The people of this nation do not like politics for the power it can bring to individual leaders or political party.
They desire politics for governance, governance that would uphold the tenets of the constitution, allowing all to aspire for better days in the future of this ancient land.
