The announcement of Obama as the 44th President of the US of A, has fueled considerable debate in India about a minority Prime Minister. Coming on the heels of the successful stint of a minority President, Indians are aptly justified in dreaming so. But are we really prepared for a minority PM? Will the majority accept the same?
It is a known fact that Obama although a part of minority didn’t win US elections because of his race, origin or anything else that can be described even remotely discriminative. He also didn’t win because the minorities voted for him; he won because in addition to minorities, even the majority voted for him. For Obama, his race was never an issue. He fought the US elections on the development agenda highlighting the current economic crisis, the failed bush administration policies, and the two wars. Obama’s race definitely played a role in getting the blacks to vote for him but the whites voted for him because he symbolized hope, hope that the current crisis can be taken care of and US of A will again reign supreme in the world. Obama is also at ease discussing issues of racial discrimination out in the open as was demonstrated by him by comparing himself to a mutt in his very first press conference after being declared the president elect.
Coming back to India, have we really got over caste politics to have a minority PM? The very idea of having a minority PM shows how deep rooted discrimination is in our society. If it had not for the discrimination in India, we would have spoken of having the best candidate as PM rather than thinking of his race or caste or origin. In India, people still indulge in negative voting i.e. voting to keep a candidate / party out rather than voting for a candidate in (Muslims routinely vote to keep BJP out of power irrespective of the credentials of the candidates); people vote for their community candidates although they may be convicts; candidates frequently buy votes from public and honest candidates are forced to opt out of the election process. India may be the largest democracy in the world, but that doesn’t make India truly a democratic nation. Democracy means not only the selection of representatives by the electorate but it also implies that the voting should be fair and not based on any kind of discrimination. So is India truly democratic?
In India, politicians still plan their campaigns around the race or caste to which they belong rather than the development work they have done for the public. People are still discriminated against based on the part of the country to which they belong. In such a scenario, having a debate on minority PM is only fueling further discrimination. Also, media should be more responsible and promote developmental politics rather than discriminatory politics.
Speaking about the minority leaders in India, Mayawati leads the pack with her Dalit development agenda. Mulayam Singh Yadav calls himself the messiah of the minorities. BJP champions itself on its Hindutva philosophy. Congress calls itself secular and devoid of any discrimination but lets North-Indians suffer at the hands of MNS. Bihar politicians were quick to resign from Lok Sabha when Biharis were discriminated against in Mumbai, but were missing when atrocities were being committed against Christians in Orissa. These are a few examples of how discrimination is really deep-rooted in India. Till the time we get over such public show and acts of discrimination, even the idea of having a minority PM will add to further discrimination and encourage more negative voting. Our leaders need to make development the agenda for their election campaigns rather than indulge in any sort of discriminatory or hate politics. Media should also restrain from fueling such discriminatory thoughts in the minds of the India Public. Media should use its reach and influence to help their readers vote for the right candidate and not the caste candidate.
It is a known fact that Obama although a part of minority didn’t win US elections because of his race, origin or anything else that can be described even remotely discriminative. He also didn’t win because the minorities voted for him; he won because in addition to minorities, even the majority voted for him. For Obama, his race was never an issue. He fought the US elections on the development agenda highlighting the current economic crisis, the failed bush administration policies, and the two wars. Obama’s race definitely played a role in getting the blacks to vote for him but the whites voted for him because he symbolized hope, hope that the current crisis can be taken care of and US of A will again reign supreme in the world. Obama is also at ease discussing issues of racial discrimination out in the open as was demonstrated by him by comparing himself to a mutt in his very first press conference after being declared the president elect.
Coming back to India, have we really got over caste politics to have a minority PM? The very idea of having a minority PM shows how deep rooted discrimination is in our society. If it had not for the discrimination in India, we would have spoken of having the best candidate as PM rather than thinking of his race or caste or origin. In India, people still indulge in negative voting i.e. voting to keep a candidate / party out rather than voting for a candidate in (Muslims routinely vote to keep BJP out of power irrespective of the credentials of the candidates); people vote for their community candidates although they may be convicts; candidates frequently buy votes from public and honest candidates are forced to opt out of the election process. India may be the largest democracy in the world, but that doesn’t make India truly a democratic nation. Democracy means not only the selection of representatives by the electorate but it also implies that the voting should be fair and not based on any kind of discrimination. So is India truly democratic?
In India, politicians still plan their campaigns around the race or caste to which they belong rather than the development work they have done for the public. People are still discriminated against based on the part of the country to which they belong. In such a scenario, having a debate on minority PM is only fueling further discrimination. Also, media should be more responsible and promote developmental politics rather than discriminatory politics.
Speaking about the minority leaders in India, Mayawati leads the pack with her Dalit development agenda. Mulayam Singh Yadav calls himself the messiah of the minorities. BJP champions itself on its Hindutva philosophy. Congress calls itself secular and devoid of any discrimination but lets North-Indians suffer at the hands of MNS. Bihar politicians were quick to resign from Lok Sabha when Biharis were discriminated against in Mumbai, but were missing when atrocities were being committed against Christians in Orissa. These are a few examples of how discrimination is really deep-rooted in India. Till the time we get over such public show and acts of discrimination, even the idea of having a minority PM will add to further discrimination and encourage more negative voting. Our leaders need to make development the agenda for their election campaigns rather than indulge in any sort of discriminatory or hate politics. Media should also restrain from fueling such discriminatory thoughts in the minds of the India Public. Media should use its reach and influence to help their readers vote for the right candidate and not the caste candidate.
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hey thats a point we must take into consideration....india is certainly not yet ready....we cant imagine mayawait and mamta banerjee in central govt. controllin important portfolios and aking policies for india...but we r to be blamed.. how many stdnts vote even at age of 22.... we need to take stand. its now or never...we can atleast do our bit by educating people around us about the communal politics...
ReplyDeleteThere is something about the entire argument. The US did not elect Obama because they were bipartisan, but because Obama was smart and never brought up the issue of race. He sought himself to be a president of the whole of US and not just blacks. Our country needs a leader of that particular mindset and it is a lot more difficult here. Regionalism, caste, religion, race...the issues are numerous.
ReplyDeleteAnd just as a cheeky point, Manmohan Singh is a Sikh. Sikhs=minority :P