- People in the know would feel bewildered why the majority of the Indian political class continues to hanker about caste, quotas, reservations, demeaning narratives, vituperative personal attacks, and below-the-belt name-calling. Ideally speaking, every political leader irrespective of party affiliation should be speaking the same language of the overall country’s development, growth, and forward march. In a democratic form of governance, the opportunity provided to every citizen under the aegis of the Constitutionally mandated rights confer us the freedom to express whatever is deemed fit but without ever crossing the semblance of decency. Mind you, freedom of expression does not mean one can simply character-assassinate someone without evidence.
PC: Asian Mail
- Unfortunately, the Indian political leadership seems to neglect the realities and pragmatism to push ahead with the nation’s growth prospects. Mere lip service of initiating socio-economic measures for the welfare of the people will not cut ice with the comprehending lot when the labyrinthine caste equations assume prominence while doling out sops. Sadly, our political class is struck with playing up one caste against another by taking umbrage under the quotas and reservations. It’s disheartening to note that even after seven decades of independence our political narrative is still premised on caste equations. This is simply a sad state of affairs despite India as a country progressing tremendously over the last few years.
- Trying to divide society on caste lines is a time-tested methodology adopted by various political parties. Yes, caste equations still play a significant role in shaping the electoral fortunes of the political parties in India. However, forgetting to focus on measures to improve the lot of the people by adopting developmental measures rather than harping upon the caste conundrum simply defeats the purpose of pushing for the overall progression of society. Rahul Gandhi of Congress made a fervent pitch during the recently concluded state assembly elections by demanding a caste census throughout the country. It’s another matter altogether that the electorate completely ignored the call sensing the opportunistic agenda of the scion. No wonder, Congress lost out.
PC: Indian Times
- On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was clear that the only caste that matters is nothing but the poor, youth, women, and farmers whose welfare and subsequent progression means the country is progressing in the right direction. This clear-headed thought process augurs well for the country whose global heft has seen an ascendancy despite encountering challenging times. Encouragingly, India is poised to become the top three economies in the world in the next few years. As such, PM Modi’s mantra of caste should be the guiding light for every political party rather than embrace the archaic and unyielding narrative with dwindling returns. I hope the message of growth and development gets adopted sooner rather than later.
