Poly-Ticks and Dummy-cracy!

Much has been said, written and shown about the unfathomable plunge that the Indian democracy took on the July 22nd. The alleged horse-trading in the parliament(read : paar-kiya-ment) has garnered headlines like it was the first time such nefarious money-transfers have taken place. The self-righteous Mr. Argal, or the saffron high command for that matter, wouldn’t have a gala time justifying what his party did with the five independent MLAs in Karnatka a few weeks back.

Criminalisation of Indian politics had its moments of glory when the trust vote kneeled down before Their Highness The Bahubalis serving sentences for life. The Opposition left no stones unturned, no pun intended. Neither did the ruling party illustrate any high degree of character. Ultra-strange bedfellows were the order of the day. Lalu’s witticism gave way to slanging matches. Rahul Baba’s Kalawati-sation was followed by high denomination currency display. Emotions, comedy, sleaze, tragedy, action, thrill…everything ran amok.

Who’s to blame for this demeaning exhibition of dummy-cracy? The answer is not that difficult.

Polticians are no superhumans. They are ones among us, albeit rotten ones. Its may be the classic chicken and egg situation when one ponders over whether power corrupts or corrupt come in power. For the ordinary middle class, there are other things to get in a sweat. Tapering monetary supplies and flaring family expenses make one work like a Trojan. No wonder election dates do not mean a tad more than Sundays to a decent percentage of city-zens.

This apparent ignorance of the Indian youth has been aptly struck upon by Paresh Rawal’s character in the Anil Kapoor-starrer Nayak. Our ambitions touch the sky but they limit the domain to personal accomplishments and family obligations. “Ghar ki safai mein haath kaun gandey karey,” comments Madhavan in the 2006 rebellion Rang De Basanti.



Things are starting to change, though on a microscopic scale. The nation was taken aback when 5 IITians relinquished lucrative job offers to take a dive into Indian Politics, forming Lok Paritran Party. Ironically, the leaders of this political party, including the founders, face charges of intra-party corruption. Shiv Khera, noted Indian author, has shaped a political party of intellectuals. Campaigns like Lead India have hurled in a few hopes as well. Mani Ratnam’s Yuva may find a real life twin saga in the time to come. The hitch is that we have a torrent of Lallans and a dearth of Michaels. But affirmative steps are always welcome. However inconsequential they may seem to be, they should be seen as portends of an all-encompassing change; as it is said… Hope springs eternal.

P.S.: Cambridge Dictionary defines a “tick” as an arachnid that sucks from other animals to live. Poly-ticks thus means many blood sucking parasites!!