Hope and Change

TogadiaSpeak Hope and Change By Dr Pravin Togadia GENERALLY hope triggers change and then change brings about hope. Hope for the better today and the best tomorrow. Be it any class of the society – Hope and Change cycle keeps on rotating. Recent results of elections in 5 states prove it. Somewhere the longest rule has been changed; somewhere the old guard is back – both mark change. Issue is what is the hope that people live on? Is it decided by their day-to-day needs or the long term future or any other things matter? Those who are in the field of social sciences and also in politics will vouch that there are no hard and fast rules about what really people look for when they change the current rule – especially in a democracy. Without going into the history of who ruled when Bharat got freedom from the British and then who and then who; let us see the main hope and change cycles that are evident now. In West Bengal, the Left ruled longer than any other state government. Their promise was welfare of farmers and labourers. Quite a convincing platform for votes in a country like Bharat where poverty rules the roost and these two classes are the most downtrodden. People in Bengal waited long for the promise to get fulfilled. Bharat always gives a long rope. But when the basis of the promise shatters, Bharat overthrows even the mighty. The moment the Left changed their behaviour to farmers, labourers and started pleasing those whom they always despised–industries and foreigners (of course, other than Chinese!), their base shattered and the same time there was this lady–an epitome of simplicity–who came as a saviour of the farmers in Singur. Singur was a trigger and hope was the basis for this change. In Kerala as well, the Left lost their base and they had to blame ‘communal polarisation’ for their debacle, without realising that they themselves survive on many types of polarisation –haves and haves not; upper class and not–so-upper-class etc. They in Bengal and in Kerala made Muslims so overpowering displacing the rightful Hindus that the same Muslims this time overthrew them! Kerala change does not reflect majority hope; it reflects no optional situation for majority and a strategic victory for Muslims for their long term plan to finally rule Bharat. Those who tie up with Muslim League claiming that Muslim League is not a communal party, must see how recently the party has helped the Popular Front – a parallel Islamic Army in Kerala! This change has a basis of a lost hope of majority and a vicious ambition of Muslims there. Assam saw many Jehadi attacks and infiltration. There too majority chose the current party only on the hope that the encroachers will be taught a lesson as per the promise by the sitting CM who apparently has kept majority protected despite central pressure on him to appease the infiltrators for votes. But even Assam may soon lose its faith in what they chose unless he strongly handles the strong opposition that has only one agenda – to wipe out majority Hindus in Assam and to wipe out janjatis. Assam has voted for the sitting CM there in the hope that he would uproot Pakistan’s flags from many districts of Assam, get poor janjati people in the mainstream and give employment to the locals rather than appeasing the infiltrators. If he does not live to this hope, then people will hope for the change! Tamil Nadu has its own set of hope and change. Simple but very emotional people there have been polarised on the basis of castes by many politicians. Some may say that due to corruption, the current government lost. Without going into the details of corruption by each party there, let us believe that there could be just an other dimension to this change – Hope that those who lost earlier have now realised the aspirations of the people and now they would give their best. This hope has no limits. Some may see it as anti-incumbency; some may ask–what really was another option? If corruption could be the base for change then Bharat will not elect most politicians at least for next 20 years! Some try to paint all these changes as ‘development group’ Vs ‘Vote Bank Group’. It is an open secret that no party or no politician anywhere in the world thinks of anything else other than his/her vote bank. Issue is that when there is a basic drift from the core voter group–for bigger ambitions–then the core voter group goes in for a change and for a new hope! Majority always cherishes the dream of a better today and the best tomorrow. Development is the key to it; but the moment the majority sees that this development is being done at the cost of majority farmers; Hindus and other poor then the same majority uses the only weapon it has in a democracy–Vote. Tamil Nadu saw great state highways, good industrial growth and better crop. But Tamil Nadu also saw a fierce attempt to hurt majority Hindus by breaking Ram Sethu in the name of development; they also saw a family benefiting more than the poor in the villages. Development did not catch votes; change came about. People in Bharat know who truly do total development including that of the majority farmers, labourers, janjati people etc and who ‘fake’ development at the cost of farmers, majority and the likes! It has become a fashion and a conspiracy these days to polarise the society in 2 groups – Development group and those who suggest that development can be done using alternatives–are termed anti-development! Fancy presentations of sparkling IT parks, malls, roads-destroying fertile land, cow grazing land, ecology-saving natural coasts and ancient monuments of the rich civilisation may sparkle limited people’s eyes for some time; but then the farmers, Hindus and all others with them will vote for change the way they did in Bengal, Tamil Nadu, etc. It is really the time for all to introspect as to what really was the hope shown to the people and what was given into their hands! People of Bharat also now have to fast think of the real safety and security of their kids, their businesses, their beliefs and of course paramount to all is their nation–Bharat. Small changes make way for big hope; but now there is no time for going so slow giving long ropes to the same people, who time and again failed to deliver, failed to set up clean systems and failed to protect Bharat’s majority. It is time for the perfect Hope and therefore for the big and complete change!

Contact: drtogadia@gmail.com