On one fine day, Ritesh told his Appa he wants to pursue a career in politics and aims to become a politician. We can all imagine the reaction of his Appa because in this country no one wants to become a politician and the answer is very straight because of the preconceived notions that have been framed by our lawmakers.
A very simple question comes into the mind what does a politician do? If we ask this question in any Indian household the answer would be very jarring to the ears. On the other hand, if we ask the same question in any developed country, we would get a somewhat rational, well framed answer. The stark difference between these two replies says a lot about the character of this profession.
Firstly, before arriving at any conclusion we will have to know the basic obligatory duties of a politician which must be the same all over the world despite ideological differences.
Protecting law and order
Representing The Interests of the public
Improve Life of their Constituencies
Act With Integrity and Honesty
Becoming a successful politician is a challenging but rewarding endeavor. It requires hard work, dedication and a commitment towards serving the public. If you are passionate about making a difference in the world and you have the skills and qualities that are necessary to succeed in politics, then I encourage you to pursue this career path.
Now getting back to Indian electoral politics, the federal structure between state and centre provides at least 2 representatives in each constituency. Well, in terms of population the average population being represented by each MP(Member of Parliament) is 15,50,000 approximately, based on the 2001 Census. Hence, representing 15 lakh people on average is not an easy task.
Not only this, being a politician in India is not just about serving its people. In India becoming a politician is not just asking for some combination of skills or profession or educational qualifications but it also asks for the power of the purse which has proven to be very detrimental to society and governance.
In Indian Politics, the political parties are compelled to manipulate their voters in order to get themselves throned and many gullible voters who are poor and uneducated are stuck in the loop which also distracts them from their own reality.
Information Manipulation Theory (IMT) is one of the most important influential theories which talks about manipulation and its consequences. IMT suggests that manipulation occurs when individuals deceive others by covertly violating the principles that govern conversational exchanges. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as by withholding information, omitting relevant details, or providing false or misleading information. This is what every politician around every corner of the world uses to gain power. It is often seen that politicians only care about the power and not the actual people. There is a huge difference between power and government which far from visible to the people of India and the world.
The need of the hour concerning India or any underdeveloped country is to elect its representative rationally. In the context of India, according to a 2019 study by PRS Legislative Research, 10% of Indian lawmakers in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament, have only a matriculate degree or less. This means that they have completed the 10th grade of school. The remaining 90% of lawmakers have at least a graduate degree. Earlier in 1999, 22% of the elected representatives(Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) were uneducated which itself shows the trend of how Indian politics has positively developed in this time and political parties are forced to put educated candidates in front of the voters.
But still, in some States Like Uttar Pradesh, There are 403 members in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, and according to a 2017 report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 69% of them are not graduates. This means that out of the 403 MLAs, 278 have not completed their graduation. The report also found that 13% of MLAs have completed secondary school (10th standard), while 15% have completed intermediate (12th standard).
This data reflects the ground reality in which politics tries to prioritize money and muscle power just to attain the rule rather than focusing on governance. Not only Uttar Pradesh but almost every Indian state has some similar statistics in their respective legislative assembly. This example sets a Dark side of Decentralization, where at the provincial level corruption is at its peak due to which criminals have immunity from law and order and they become the lawmaker.
State politics are notoriously corrupt, and this widespread problem can have serious repercussions for people and society at large. It can take many different forms, such as cronyism, nepotism, embezzlement, and bribery. These unethical actions have the potential to worsen social inequality, impede economic growth, and erode public confidence in the government.
Now which reforms could lead us to a way forward? The arena of politics is somewhat apprehended by dynasty politicians, criminals and businessmen. There is no direct entry in this field besides attaining popularity through rhetorical speeches. “Money” is now an X factor for entering in politics or being a part of it. The New generation politics should be different it should somewhat encourage voters to dwell on the core issues of their constituency rather than being deceived by some ideological propaganda. The voters should not be caged with the mentality of just being a “voter” rather they should act vigilantly and should act as a guardian of their own constituency. The vigilant voters would send the message to political parties and their PRs that the need for an hour is not an agenda but the issues.
Other than this the Political parties should also introspect about their own end that how much transparent they are with their own party line. They should enhance youngsters to get into politics which would not just mean for constituency politics but also for the propagation of their own party’s core philosophy.
Written by – Abhishek Sinha
Edited by – Shamonnita Banerjee