Prof. A.N.Sadhu
Elections to the Parliament have been announced. The MCC has become operative and shall remain till the process of elections is completed. The country is passing through a crucial phase of its post independence history. The world has come to realize the intrinsic strength of our country on all fronts and there is no ambiguity in global admission of the fact that India is poised for a path breaking role in the global arena in near future . Indian leadership is now working with greater confidence and while consolidating the gains of the earlier period, it is not only drawing ambitions plans for the future but also correcting the existing distortions in a bold manner. For a vast country inhabiting 135 crores of people, divergence of views shall always remain on all fronts political, economic and social. The spread of education and awareness on mass scale shall sharpen the intellect of the masses and that will also lead to intensification of these divergences as is evidenced by history. In fact these divergences should be treated as an index of free thinking and their expression as a genuine freedom of speech.
The country, more or less witnessed one model of governance till 2014, even though some shift took place in the country’s economic thinking since early nineties. But 2014 marked a significant departure from this model of governance, may be, not more in substance but in perception and, of course, in implementation. The new regime started with the slogan of “Minimum Government and Maximum governance”. For first time country is experiencing a perceptible dent on corruption and black money in the country. The rate of inflation has also remained under manageable limits. There have been quite a few initiatives launched to ameliorate the conditions of the weaker sections of the society. However, it is not fair to say that earlier regimes have not done any thing in this regard. The country made significant progress since the launching of first five year plan and the country’s plans have been, world wide, acknowledged as the best documents prepared on economic planning. There have been problems in terms of inefficient implementation and monitoring of these plans, there have also been procedural bottlenecks and red tapism and, of course, rampant corruption in the system. Notwithstanding all these infirmities, there has been substantial progress as well.
The world is changing fast. New global order is open and inclusive. No country of the world can afford to live in isolation. In this new world order, India has come to enjoy a prestigious place both on economic and political fronts. The current world economic and political scenario demands of us a very responsible response to the parliamentary elections of 2019. Obviously such elections in our country are being watched on global scale; Not only do our neighboring countries take interest in this, the world is equally keenly watching these elections. A country with a wide diversity on social, political and regional fronts, responds to the elections with their assessment of national priorities and expecting homogeneity in their views is expecting too much in this regard. The common man may still place his emphasis on ‘ Roti Kapda and Makaan ” but electorate of greater awareness, also approach to this national event from an ideological point of view, as well.
India is a country of five thousand years of its history and culture. The very philosophy of Indian culture is based on Vasudev Kutambkum” implying that fundamentals of secular credentials are deep rooted into our psyche and social behavior. It is unfortunate that at the time of elections, parties level malicious allegations against each other instead of projecting their constructive programmes for the welfare of the people and for strengthening their country for sustainable growth. It is equally unfortunate that people with vested interest twist things and carry out a mischievous campaign against their rivals. It is sad that there is not only financial and political corruption, there is intellectual corruption as well.
Those who oppose a particular party saying that the very constitution of the country is in danger and may be rewritten to suit their philosophy and thinking which if done, will destroy the secular structure of the country, are doing great disservice to this country which is known for its social values of inclusive character. The person is not important but the country is. If the country is there, you and me are there and when it come to voting, it is the countrys that should weigh in one’s mind. It will warrant the exercise of franchise of an objective criterion and not one subjective consideration. Indian electorate has matured it is aware of national interest and is equally conscious of the fact that the country is on a threshold of emerging as an economic and political giant on the world map.
Political rivalries at the global level is a normal phenomenon but there is a greater realiasation now than ever before, that peace is imperative for the survival of mankind. This realization, eventually, leads reason to prevail in decision making. The world being faced with a number of natural and man-made crises, the global leadership is hard pressed to coordinate with each other and make collective efforts towards ensuring peace in the world. This realization should dawn on our neighbouring countries as well and they should desist from anything aimed at destabilising our democratic set up.
The country men have to rise to the occasion to defeat external and internal enemies both. Elections in a democracy are very important not only to afford a fundamental right to every citizen of the country but also to sensitize them of their responsibility of putting the right persons in the leadership role. When a country is at a turning point of the history, we need the statesmen and not the run-of the mill politicians who lack the competence as also the vision of shaping a fast developing country as an economic and political giant on the global scale. India has a significant role to play in the turbulent world and the voters have a big responsibility of choosing their leaders, capable of playing that role and bringing glory to the country.
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