That dirty P-word

We have an opposition which, despite having been in power for 45 years, still does not know how to oppose. There is little to distinguish the Congress from the BJP on the economic front.

There are stirrings in the so-called third force, and a regrouping is taking place around Mulayam Singh Yadav and V.P. Singh is throwing his weight behind the effort. The non-Congress,non-BJP parties continue to have a distinct identity and the support of caste groups and regions. They reflect the devolution of power to certain communities, but there is little to distinguish these outfits from the others.

Take the ostentatious display at the weddings of the children of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Laloo Yadav, for instance. The two Yadav chieftains, who are the new political Maharajas, could have electrified the atmosphere had they plumped for extremely simple affairs to set a new trend. Misa Bhar-ati8217;s marriage, wh-ere the baraatis we-re beaten and gu- ests like Harkishen Singh Surjeet and S.R. Bommai we-re thrown to the ground in the me-lee, were reminiscent of the lack of organisation which has characterised the Laloo-Rabari raj in Bihar.

The crisis which afflicts us today is one of political leadership. The advent of Mahatma Gandhi had created a rash of national leaders. Every district boa-sted of at least four or five. Today the entire nation cannot produce one. In 1997 H.D. Deve Gowdabecame prime minister because the established leadership of parties chose him. Today even established leaderships are withering away.

Today8217;s heroes are the likes of Sa-chin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan, Infosys8217; Narayan Murthy or Yukta Mook-hey. They are the beautiful people. They have made good in cricket, films, info-tech or the beauty contests. But they cannot be expect-ed to have ideas about the reconstruction of society. That is the job of politicians.

Leaderships are created arou-nd the outpourings of a nation8217;s spirit. Struggle against servitude enthused a whole generati-on in the first half of the century.In 1965, the diminutive Shastri became an ov-ernight hero after the war with Pakistan. Indira Gandhi was likened to Durga following the formation of Bangladesh.

Ending poverty, which remains the biggest and a monumental challenge of the next century, has failed to inspire successive generations as it should have done. Four hundred million Indians still live below the poverty line and the largestgroup of illiterates in the world at the turn of the century will be Indian women.

Today the national dream is encapsulated in the get-rich-quick syndrome. The quot;wequot; agenda of the Fifties was not limited to 8220;I and my family8221;. There is no place for the weak, the helpless and the vulnerable in the new scheme of things.

Such is the credibility of politicians that when they talk about things like the removal of poverty, it is dismissed as sanctimonious humbug. In the pro-cess,the idea itself has got discredited, as the espousal of these goals is seen as a nothing but another method of fooling people.

It was only two years ago that the Lok Sabha had at a special six-day session to commemorate 50 years of independence vowed to do so many things in an Agenda For India. The MPs219 of them spoke for 64 hours have not even stuck to the simplest of their promises like not rushing into the well of the House,or not using unparliamentary language.

The Sanjay Nirupam-Shabana Az-mi episode is worrying not justfor the shocking language used in the House. It reflects a sharpening conflict in society with both sides representing sizeable votes.

In the last 20 years, politician may have become a dirty word, but we cannot do without him. The discrediting of politicians has generated a cynicism about the entire political class, and, as a result; about the political process itself. People are tending to be apolitical and this is dangerous for democracy. When an explosion comes, it does not give a warning.