India needs new politics
Sudheendra Kulkarni
Sunday July 25th 2010
India is adrift. Worrisomely adrift. This is not because of any widespread social unrest or destabilising economic problems. Discontent in society there certainly is. Grievances due to the country’s unbalanced economic growth there certainly are and they are mounting. But the lack of direction is primarily due to the stagnant state of Indian politics. There is no soaring sense of purpose, fresh vitality and inspirational energy visible in any segment of the political spectrum, including in the two main national parties — Congress and BJP. Making matters worse for the country is their growing mutual antagonism, which is set to create a storm in the monsoon session of Parliament.
Discussing the state of regional parties is unnecessary in this context because, significant though they are in their respective states, they do not critically determine the health of national politics. Discussing the state of the two communist parties is also not pertinent here. Their national footprint and influence have both shrunk enormously, mainly due to the fossilisation of their ideology. Their future looks bleaker than the present. The socialist movement, once a persuasive voice and a powerful factor in Indian politics, has all but vanished. Can there be a sadder commentary on its disappearance than the near-total absence of a suitable commemoration, in 2010, of the birth centenary of its greatest leader, Dr Rammanohar Lohia? How effortlessly we have forgotten one of the most original political thinkers in independent India.
Discussing the state of regional parties is unnecessary in this context because, significant though they are in their respective states, they do not critically determine the health of national politics. Discussing the state of the two communist parties is also not pertinent here. Their national footprint and influence have both shrunk enormously, mainly due to the fossilisation of their ideology. Their future looks bleaker than the present. The socialist movement, once a persuasive voice and a powerful factor in Indian politics, has all but vanished. Can there be a sadder commentary on its disappearance than the near-total absence of a suitable commemoration, in 2010, of the birth centenary of its greatest leader, Dr Rammanohar Lohia? How effortlessly we have forgotten one of the most original political thinkers in independent India.