So, the party is out of the bag. But are not a name and description essential for the launch of something to be called a real launch? Well, Arvind Kejrival has declared that the name, constitution and office bearers will all be announced on Nov 26 which happens to be the day the Indian Constitution was adopted. So, the trial launch of the yet-to-be-named outfit on Gandhi Jayanthi was a formality, just to invoke the father of the nation. Such symbolisms like the ill-fitting Gandhi caps (I doubt if Gandhi ever wore one consistently) and sanguine speeches all seemed suspiciously familiar.
Still, the nameless new born deserves a chance if only to keep the political kettle of scum and scams at boiling point in public memory. The key feature of Indiaâs polity of the last two years is the quiet appropriation of political antagonism by the activists. The prime reason is the justifiable distrust of the whole political system and those infesting it for too long. Having tasted power and pelf, politicos of all hues simply cannot be expected to take up and talk of core issues affecting peope with complete conviction and concern. The freshers can address this fatigue provided they walk around in their normal attire and hairdos and refrain from rhetoric.
Winning, of course, is a different ball game. The electoral system is heavily loaded in favour of existing political parties. The new arrival, we will call it X Party till Nov 26, will have to reckon with money, muscle and media, all of which can jointly and severally queer the pitch. It is an unequal battle vis-a-vis the first two. But a frugal and non-violent volunteer force, in an otherwise vulgarly expensive and voluble election campaign scenario, is bound to stand out, more so in this tech driven age wherein info about a good candidate can be spread in a jiffy. The media, given their nature, is an unreliable ally, despite Kejiriwalâs well-meaning overtures to them at the launch. He can check that out with Annaâ if they are still on talking terms!
The main plus of X party is the absence of any political baggage. Those behind it have been in public glare only for some time now.They do not also seem to have a personal axe to grind, but one never knows. At best they can be accused of naivette and knee-jerk idealism. That the activists have made bold to take the plunge to purge the system from the inside is itself laudable. They have done this despite the overwhelming skepticism of their own mentor and mates. Nor have the criminal proclivities of their main bete noir, the Cong, become a deterrent.
In my view, the leader-driven party system is the bane of our politics. But then, can a grouping of equals offer any meaningful solution and earn public confidence? Indeed, the vertical split in the anti-corruption movement is itself proof that well-meaning and intelligent people are unlikely to agree on anything. Add egos and friction on non-common denominators plus the mischief of the wily, watchful political hounds and is it not likely that the X Party runs the risk of being rendered an ex-Party soon? We can only hope that the new outfit and its inevitable clones will side-step the minefields of a monolithic High Command-centric institution and personality clashes and field credible, committed candidates sensitive to peopleâs present frustrations. Aravind & Co must also cede constituencies to good candidates who may not want to contest under their banner. That will be a good test of their stated intentions. Of course, the voters will face a bigger test for they would have lesser excuses to crib over bad alternatives.
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Now, let me quit dreaming and get to the earthier realm of religion. My unfaithful indulgence last week has touched some raw nerves and also elicited âwelcome to the clubâ calls from atheists. The point is anything in excess is poison, more so religion because it is contagious and people crave it. Some feel I have fallen between the spiritual and scientific stools. But the Truth is beyond and not between the two. And at the time of going to press, it remains out of reach of the experiences of a spiritualist and the experiments of a scientist alike. By Truth is meant the origin or source of all, be it God or God particle, no bother.
But while scientists display some humility in keeping the spiritual option open, religious heads and their followers are steadfast in their ignorant and arrogant claim that only they, their faith and their messiah are privy to the sacred secret. The smart God apparently gave man only his image, not his intellect. Reason why the so-called proofs of religionists are spoofs on common sense. To which they argue that one should transcend reason and rely only on revelation in order to reach God. Now, is it not odd that God should demand suspension of the very senses that are necessary to track him/her/it? Surely, would not a faith based on reason be on a firmer footing? But thanks to organised religion and its mobocracy, an individual is so genetically blinded and culturally conditioned as to shun even such thoughts as blasphemous or at least, inauspicious.
Tools (such as rituals and symbols) are not the end product. Forget anti-God atheists. Even the believers should be ready for a kind of spiritual iconoclasm that bulldozes the self-imposed religious stonewalls when necessary and enables them to look beyond. And thatâs only the beginning …!
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