When people in places of strife connect to the idea of India

Today, it has all changed. The goals and objectives of politics have become only a struggle to attain power by hook or crook. Thus, much of our mainstream politics is now being run on regional, religious, caste and communal lines. There are people who get into politics to enhance their businesses or join the electoral process to foil the law enforcing agencies from taking action against their criminal activities.

I think India can only be empowered when politics returns to its real goal and development and social justice become the driving force for politicians across the country. Unfortunately, this is no longer the main goal for most political parties. The reason is very clear: politics based on emotional rhetoric, whether it revolves around flaring communal passions, regional biases or caste divides, is very easy and needs little work.

Serious issues of development and social justice that touch day-to-day lives of the common people is a long and cumbersome struggle. Here, the performance of leaders is constantly reviewed while emotive politics has no accountability. Politics on the basis of regionalism, caste and communalism actually sharpens and exploits the ever existing faultlines in our pluralistic society and politicians are never held accountable for any of their actions. It is politics based on fear of the other rather than focused on the tenets of progress. It is an easy short-cut to power. But negative politics always comes in the way of our development and hampers the process of our empowerment.

India as the biggest and the most vibrant democracy of the world can never be empowered when its leaders sacrifice the very idea of India to their own little regional, communal or caste vote banks.

We must set aside our little differences of caste, creed, colour and religion for the larger good of this country. Because if we do not wake up to the dangers of allowing our politics, especially electoral politics, to revolve around communalism, regionalism and caste, we might end up destroying the very idea of our democracy as well as the concept of India as a single unit where the differences of its people in its pluralistic society are a blessing like various types of colourful flowers that make a garden rather than a source of discontent.

We cannot hope India will shine if people with criminal backgrounds continue to use fear and muscle power to secure a place in august houses like Parliament and State Assembly and become our policy makers.

In fact, recent years have seen a sudden increase in criminalisation of politics and I think all political parties of the country need to set aside differences and think of a joint strategy to seal this trend which is posing a serious and real danger to the very fabric of our democracy.

There are also people who aspire for public office for a vested interest.

Their aim to run for office is exclusively to enhance their businesses and mint money.

For them, politics is an extension of their business and they use the powers entrusted to them not to empower the common people they represent but to safeguard their own business interests.

This too has posed a very real threat to our system and created major roadblocks in the overall development and progress of the country.

And as these elements do not have problems investing huge amounts to attain political offices, it changes the very contours of the electoral battlefield, making it difficult for genuine people with social service as their aim to join politics to even fight them. In several regions like Kashmir which have lagged behind in the development process, political aspiration of the people are being exploited for completely different reasons.

These genuine problems which could have been sorted out amicably and peacefully have become hostage to politics of religion.

Instead of addressing real problems, religious sentiments are being flared to keep alive the fires of conflict.

Violence as a means to political communication now has put a serious hurdle in the country’s road to progress.

I think that the top leadership of the country will need to walk a step further to assure people that genuine problems, whether political or developmental, will be heard and addressed without the clatter of guns.

We need to empower the common public in places of strife like Kashmir and the North East so that there’s a sense of belonging to the idea of India.

They must be made to feel part of a common journey, where people from every region, community, caste, religion march together to fulfill the dream of the forefathers of this country.

We need to return to the ethos and spirit of politics that Gandhi, Nehru, Shastri and many others of that generation practised.

As we modernise and push ahead on economic and technological advancement, we need to return to the old but golden era of our politics when corruption, money making, criminalisation and self-interest were unheard of in the lives of our political leaders. It is not just important to empower India but to keep alive the very idea of India.