Opinion Arab Street,India Street

Please pay heed to this question,rulers and politicians in India. Something is brewing on the Indian Street,too. And you might be in for a rude shock if you continued with your arrogant and apathetic ways.

It is of course true that there is a huge difference between the situation in India and the Arab world,as far as democracy is concerned. We don’t have any example of a Zine El Abidine Ben Ali,who ruled Tunisia tyrannically for 24 years before a popular uprising forced him to flee his country,or a Hosni Mubarak,whose 30-year-old autocratic regime in Egypt is now on the verge of imminent collapse. Unlike in country after Arab country,we have not had any sham elections with the ruling party always winning 99.99 per cent of the votes. Parties are voted to,and out of,power in regular and unrigged elections in India. Again,unlike in the Arab world,the press in India is free,the judiciary is independent,Opposition parties conduct their activities in an unfettered manner,and our prisons aren’t filled with dissidents. Yes,we have a lot to feel proud of our democracy.

Yet,we also have a lot to feel concerned about. Our system is rotting from within and the people’s dissatisfaction with the way India is being governed,from national to local levels,is growing relentlessly. And some of the causes of popular discontent are nearly the same in India and in countries like Tunisia and Egypt. Skyrocketing food prices. Unaffordable costs of living for the poor and middle classes. Unfulfilled aspirations of the youth. Ever widening rich-poor gap. And,above all,unbridled corruption. After all,the Tunisian revolution was ignited by the self-immolation of a 26-year-old university graduate who was unemployed and couldn’t support his family. India’s GDP may be growing at an impressive 8-9 per cent,but many in the ruling establishment are making the grievous mistake of ignoring the harsh truth that our economy is not generating enough jobs for our youth,educated or otherwise. Too many families are struggling to make ends meet. Too many dreams are being shattered.

One might argue that this isn’t a new reality for India. Two things,however,are certainly new,and both are currently feeding popular discontent in an unprecedented manner. Firstly,never before had the economic system in India allowed a small minority of the population to grow so fabulously rich so fast,as has been the case in the past 10-15 years. Secondly—and this is a far more potent cause of anger—never before did the political system look so corrupt,self-serving,unfair and insensitive to people’s pain as it does today. Worse still,Indians see no hope on the horizon. The Prime Minister is powerless. He does not speak to the nation,never really has in the past 80 months he’s been in office. His anointed successor in the Congress party speaks,but has failed to connect to the nation’s head or the heart. So far at least,the Opposition has no inspiring leader and no credible agenda for systemic reforms: how it would create jobs,bring down food prices,build millions of affordable houses,and remove corruption,including the stink of illicit money-making from within its own ranks. As a result,people have no faith that things would really change much even if New Delhi had a new government in 2014 or in a mid-term poll earlier.

Uncertainty and the absence of hope make for a hazardous mix,which is causing what surely looks like the beginning of unrest on the Indian Street. Politicians,pay heed. Reform the system,or you’ll regret.