How do we change the focus of politics from caste/religion to grassroot issues?

That the Indian political landscape is marred by caste/religion based politics isn’t news to us. The ongoing hullabaloo over the reservation in higher central educational institutions but constitutes another evidence of this fact. The demolition and defilement of the Babri Masjid by the political charlatans claiming to be protectors of "Hindutva" and the ensuing retaliatory serial bomb blasts of 1993, the tirade in the 1970s against the South Indians and of late against "Uttar Bhartiyas", the impunity with which fanatic mobs reviled minorities with blatant support from fundamentalist parties during the 2002 Gujarat riots are all sordid reminders of religion, caste and regionalism being the focal point of politics in India. What an irony, considering that we pride in ourselves being an exemplary secular nation.

The servitude under the British rule exposed us to the concept of "Divide and rule". Religion, caste, language - these were the axes that the colonisers used to hack the singular entity that was India into pockets which identified themselves solely with what was their "God" and which harboured grave intolerance towards anything else. Those wounds haven’t really healed ever since. The after shocks of those divisive policies can be felt to this day as political parties attempt to ride them all the way to the vote bank. Religion has been an all-encompassing entity in the Indian society. It pervades everything, even politics, even though it should have been purely a personal concern. Political parties recognize this and use this knowledge to great effect. Even well educated people are mere putty in their hands. A prime example is a certain fanatic working for a Hindu fundamentalist political party who happens to be a certified oncologist. When such a highly educated man cannot keep his religious biases at bay, its then little wonder that the common man easily sways when our ministers seek his support on the basis of religion/caste based propaganda. The foremost problem apparently is the lack of true commitment towards national and social causes by our netas which leads to the adoption of unscrupulous means for furthering their vested interests. When the common man starts looking at politics as an apt avenue for making a quick buck, it leaves a bad taste in one's mouth. It shows how steeped in aspirations of personal gain is the want of a career as a public servant. And to that end, religion and caste become mere tools.

Hence the first step in getting rid of the anathema that's vote bank politics should be the elimination of vested interests in the political community and on a parallel track, the community's recognition of the true purpose of life as a public servant. A lot easier said than done. But a start can be made by inducting into the political fold on a war footing the idea-factory that’s the youth of the country. So what stops this section of the society from embracing politics? As I know it, youngsters are bristling with ideas to make a positive difference to their country and their environment. They are tired of the stereotypical babu who needs monetary prodding from under the table to wake up from his slumber. They know that "India Shining" is actually a farce and that as it stands, their country needs a lot more polishing before that moniker can befit it. So, what stops them? Firstly, the monetary benefits that can be had in alternative careers have a much stronger lure than what's legally afforded to politicians. Statistics have a shocking quality to them. So check this: The President of India draws an annual compensation of around Rs. 6,00,000 whereas his deputy takes home Rs. 3,60,000. That’s a pittance compared to what an average Indian techie rakes in annually. Compared to this dismal situation at home, the Prime Minister of Britain makes approximately Rs. 1.5 crore annually whereas Osama's dearest friend at White House laughs his way to the bank with Rs. 2.6 crore jingling in his trousers. So frankly for our teenagers, politics ceases to remain a lucrative career option to earn ethically. And frankly, I believe the age of Bhagat Singh and Rajguru has long passed us by. God bless those who would pick up the shovel for cleaning the dirt alone. But obviously finding such souls would only be a trifle easier than finding Tyrannosaurus Rex roaming around again. Hence, incentivisation becomes the key. Reward for performance becomes important. The salary of the political class needs to witness a marked improvement. I can already hear the sighs and see the eyes rolling. But I feel that once that’s done, more of the youth would accept politics as a rewarding career option. Obviously a psychological shift from our fetish with "professional courses" to more "mundane" areas like social and political sciences would only help provide a huge fillip. But that’s too broad an area for qualifying for a detailed treatment over here. Additional steps too need to be taken. Recent news is that the state of Haryana will implement performance tracking of its ministers and reward or punish them accordingly. Involvement in scams, scandals and the like will entail removal of the neta from his chair. Why not implement this at the federal and state levels throughout? Additionally, when ministers lobby during the election season, each minister can be asked to furnish his development plans in a list. Then, his progress can be tracked periodically and if at the end of his tenure, the list doesn’t have too many tick marks, the minister can be barred from contesting ever again. As an icing on the cake, anyone taking up and completing the disgraced babu's projects should be handsomely rewarded. The prerogative of overseeing this must be at the hands of a formally established government entity. And obviously, this entity in turn has to be incorruptible. The entity must also oversee the lobbying tactics of the political parties to detect religious or caste bias, the presence of which should result in the concerned party's invalidation. Incentives should be given to politicians who try to bridge religious gaps by proposing all-inclusive development programs. Both the state and federal governments must solicit from the general public, issues that they want addressed. A web portal may be put up on which grievances/development ideas may be posted. The posts may be required to be categorized and once posted the site may automatically forward the issue to the concerned department. The issue should then be tracked to resolution. In essence, the management of the political machinery should be like that of a well-run private enterprise. Performance, both individual and collective, only should matter.

Another step that should be taken for the political focus to shift from caste and religion is a total revamp of the reservation system. The current reservation system fails to take cognizance of merit. Though the Indian society reeled under caste based atrocities a long time back, there’s no reason why caste should find a base in the modern society that we aspire for. Political parties recommending sops to societal minorities are actually widening the divide between the sections of our society. Even though caste discrimination is virtually non-existent today, such sops remind the beneficiaries of the years of oppression that their ancestors endured and stoke feelings of mistrust and hatred in them. The masses, especially the beneficiaries, must realize that the intentions behind such moves aren’t, for the most part, noble. The concept of "minorities" has to vanish. The media can be of great help in the dissemination of knowledge that caste based reservations are biased and unfair. Only meritocracy should rule. Reservations should definitely exist - for uplifting the economically backward. Talent and merit should be nurtured and those who possess these but not the deep enough pockets should be allowed to make their mark - with the help of reservations. And this reservation system should be free of religious, gender and caste biases. The media again, should play lynchpin in generating awareness about the great benefits to be enjoyed through the implementation of a reservation system based on economic status. And owing to the bridled outlook that the common man may be excused of having, consistent emphasis should be placed on the big picture gains - the gains that can be accrued to our country.

These are solutions that can take decades or even more to get properly implemented and become firmly entrenched in the works. But definitely that would be a rosy day that we can all wait for. It also is a fact that this shift would face a lot of resistance. But persist we must. And before that, start we must. Think, plan and most importantly execute. What a day it would be when our perception of a politician changes permanently from that of a "babu" to that of an agent of positive change!!

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Should we allow the Government to play Big Brother?

A news doing the rounds is that the Government (The Intelligence Bureau to be specific) wants to snoop messages exchanged using the Blackberry service. The company that operates the service, RIM has been asked to hand over the key to the encryption algorithm called AES or Advanced Encryption Service. It uses a 256 bit key and the Government, it seems, has the ability of decrypting only 40 bit encryption mechanisms. So in case RIM objects to concede, citing customer confidentiality as the reason, the IB will ask for a ban on the service - a move that would affect approximately 4 lakh Blackberry subscribers all over the nation.
The most important question that the issue raises is that of the rights of an individual under the Indian Constitution to liberty, to conduct legitimate business without fear of an interloper watching all his moves. So, does this seem as if the Indian Government is turning upon the very principles enshrined by it? The answer, if some official backers of the plan are to be believed, is a simple "No". According to them, the move is being taken to counter the increased risks that the Indian citizen faces each day owing to terrorism. Terrorist organizations nowadays are increasingly ditching their archaic ways and turning hi-tech. The very fact that emails and other communication sent using the Blackberry service are so difficult to intercept and decode provides a very safe and convenient avenue for anti-social elements to facilitate the transfer of their dastardly plans to their "comrades". So, it seems like IB's move is justified on this front.
But what about the average businessman who might be using the service to deliver sensitive business information to his partners or clients on a day to day basis? He is spending hard earned money on acquiring a secure and efficient communications medium and hence would definitely not appreciate anybody peeping into his private matters. It seems unfair that this guy comes in the IB's crosshairs.
Hence both contenders seem vindicated as far as their viewpoints are concerned. So what could be the solution? For starters, I have to say that it definitely isn't helping matters when the IB talks about a blanket ban on services. Instead they should be sitting down and thinking of alernatives that might get their work done without antagonising the average Blackberry user. The Blackberry user on the other hand , when assured of confidentiality, should be willing to accept the "alternatives" that the IB might, or rather should propose.
That brings us to the question of workarounds. An idea that came to me, though a bit crude, could get the ball rolling at least. The Government could, in concert with RIM, arrange to have a software built that would, at the server itself, check the messages for certain key elements or words that would raise a red flag. No part of the message itself will be known to any individual since the code would run continuously and wont write logs or in any way store part or whole of the information that its browsing through. For people familiar with UNIX, this could be something like firing a "grep -q " and then checking the value of "$?". Only if the software detects the presence of certain suspicious language elements should the whole message be inspected manually. No part of the cost incurred to build the software or to maintain it should be pushed onto the users. That should be borne solely by the Government.
Many small measures could also be taken which would include strict verification of the permanent residence of the subscriber, failing which the service would not be offered. Also, monthly statements should be sent by snail mail to the subscribers residence. To make things convenient, the mailer could contain a unique code using which the subsciber might be able to pay his dues online. But strict conformance to the payment deadlines should be enforced. Also any change of residence should be immediately be notified to the company. The basic idea is to, at all times, keep tabs on the whereabouts of the subscriber.
All these are but some ideas that I could think of in my free time. The officials in all probability, when faced with a task of thinking along those lines with conviction, might be able to do a much better job. In essence the way forward should lie in implementing ideas that would benefit both sides instead of doing things in a slip shod manner.
So the answer to the question that started this post is "No". Having an eye on all our movements at all times is without doubt a disturbing thought. But, with regard to the dangerous times that we live in today, considering the fact that there's no telling where the next blow might come from, we should do our bit by helping authorities secure our daily lives. And that might entail minor compromises at our end, though considering the dividends earned, they are nothing really.