Bharatiya Rajneeti
Amidst the curse of corruption, deception, frauds and malpractices, is there still hope for an ‘India Shining’?

Divyadarshini Patel
New Delhi, June 28: "Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book." -- Ronald Reagan 

Bollywood has managed many good political flicks in the past decade. Sarkar raj, Nayak, Gangajal and the most recent addition to the list, Rajneeti have tried depicting the political imbalance that India is facing today. There are numerous political leaders in the country who have likely made a fortune from their political career. There are several examples of generations of a family dedicating their lives to a single party, reaping maximum monetary benefits in the process. 

I am not about to review Rajneeti here. But as the term holds the essence of Indian politics, I will be using it to pen down my views on the Indian political milieu. 

When it comes to rajneeti, it would be gauche not to start with Mahabharata, the political Bible of India. Mahabharata carries the following message, “yadihaasti tadanyatra yannehaasti na tat kvachit,” meaning  whatever you find here (in the book) you shall be able to find elsewhere but if you do not find something here, be assured that it does not exist. It talks about governing and strategising through rectitude. But it seems that somehow, the government (of the people, for the people and by the people!!) forgets to implement ethics talked about in Mahabharata, in all the tasks it does. 

In the current state of affairs, the price hikes that the community is facing; the injustice personified in the Bhopal gas tragedy judgment; the Hindu-Muslim riots instigated by the so-called leaders for their own profits; wastage of public wealth in building statues (I hate the Uttar Pradesh/Central government for not even trying to stop such baloney); there is a perpetual record of things that could be listed here. If there had been any display of ethical behavior from the influential strata, the situation would have been different and more pleasant to look at. 

Corruption cannot be defined. It is up to an individual to gauge what is right and what is wrong. What one may think to be corruption could be common practice for the other; thus, it would not be wrong to say that corruption can be restricted but it cannot be eliminated completely. This sounds exasperating!

The only question I would want to put up here is that - is there no solution to this political predicament? 

I am certainly looking for some reasonable answers which I have been unsuccessful in attaining till date. It troubles me from within when we call ourselves democrats and feel proud on being a free nation because I am still unable to understand why I keep feeling confused while trying to enjoy the democracy, where a few people sit and make self-centered decisions while shouldering the responsibility of millions residing in this country!