Arvind Kejriwal's India vs. Narendra Modi's India

Hello everyone,

In India, there is too much buzz lately about politics. Almost everyone is talking about it and I think there are 2 big events that are responsible for this excitement. First is the appointment of Mr. Narendra Modi as BJP's PM candidate and second one is creation of Aam Aadmi Party (and its fight for the upcoming Delhi Elections). In between all this excitement, i think that we are missing an important point. Thats why i decided to write on this topic this time. I realise that the internet savvy population in India is so small (% of total population wise) that any argument made online is politically insignificant. But sitting here in Holland, that's practically  the only thing i can do (except from donating money to the candidate of my choice, which i am already doing). I just hope that this article simulates some discussions and maybe, change some votes.  

First let us talk about Mr. Narendra Modi's India. And let us make an assumption here. Let's assume that Modi had nothing to do with hindu muslim riots in Gujarat. Nobody knows the truth, so lets give him the benefit of doubt. When you make this assumption, Modi gives an image of a clean and dynamic political leader of the country without any communal inclinations. He seem like somebody who can get things done. After all he convinced BJP and RSS to support him. I think if entire BJP is supporting one person as its PM candidate, it's a feat in itself and it shows diplomatic skills of Modi. With the assumption we made above, he looks to me like a credible PM candidate. I believe that if he becomes PM, the stock markets will rise, the business in India will boom and we will be back on the path of 8 to 10% GDP growth rate. And maybe, someday, India will even become a Ram Rajya (which is what so many of BJP supporters are so obsessed with!!). My problem with Modi's India starts after all this. The inherent nature of democracy will make sure that sooner or later, Modi will be out of power and someone else will take charge. Then what? Back to the slow and sluggish politics of today? My point is that this desire that a leader (Modi in present case) will come and make everything perfect in our country is no different than the desire of Ram Rajya. Its a desire to be ruled by a great king who will bring back india to its past glories. I think we must introspect a bit on this issue. We cry out our love for democracy and at the same time dream of becoming a Ram Rajya. This is my fundamental problem with Modi's India. Instead of participatory democracy, it relies too much on its king to solve all the problems. And may be Modi will be able to solve some of India's problems, but one day he will be out of power. And then and there, we will be back in the same shit as we are in today.

Now lets talk about Arvind Kejriwal's India. The biggest emphasis of this man in on decentralisation of power, or as Gandhi said, on swaraj. He is hitting the present indian political system where it hurts. He and his aam aadmi party talks about systemic change in our political setup. They want to set up strong rules and regulations to check corruption and they want to give more power to the common man. In my opinion, his kind of democracy will set up india in the right path. This way, we will aim to become an ever lasting just and progressive society and not a temporary Ram Rajya. We must observe the more mature western democracies very carefully. As we started late on the path of democracy, we have an advantage here. We can learn from their mistakes, adopt their rights and avoid their wrongs. Political power must become more decentralised, there must be swift anti corruption laws and there should be complete transparency in funding of political parties. Political parties should avoid large funds from corporations so that they don't have to do any favours for them in the future. And Arvind's India very clearly strives to achieve all this. But this kind of India comes with certain responsibilities. If we walk on this path then we will not be able to blame government (or for that matter king) for all our problems. Arvind's India will demand active participation and decision making from every citizen. Hence, if we fuck up, it will be everyones fault. We will have to decide if we are ready to accept this challenge. I believe that i am ready to accept this challenge. Its 21st century India dammit. I, with other community members have the capabilities to decide what's best for our community. And if we go wrong, we have the guts to accept it. Arvind's India is a self confident India and I want to be a part of it.

I hope I have made my point clear. 

Good Luck Arvind, Good Luck AAP!

Regards,

Karan

PS: I have intentionally left 'pappu' out of this whole argument just to show him where he stands in my opinion.