India is going to vote from tomorrow onward. If for no other reason than the fact that it is the biggest democracy in the world, this should be of interest. 814 million voters are registered for this time around out of 1, 236 million inhabitants ( 33% minors approx. ). By age also, if one considers the Janapadas as simili-Republics akin to what was found in Ancient Greece, India’s democracy is well over 2, 500 years old and one of if not the oldest around. It already had the use of councils back then to balance the King’s power the nature of which is still loosely represented in the Rajya Sabah, the Upper House of the Parliament of India especially by the presence of the 12 “wise men” presidential appointees.
Of course, if historically very old, the present form of India emerged from the British Imperial period so that it is also a very young nation, having achieved independence in 1947 and drafted its constitution in 1950.
http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/coi-indexenglish.htm
[ For a more history oriented explanation, please check this past Post : http://definitivelapseofreason.com/2012/11/25/india-past-present-problems-the-3-ps-or-a-short-history/ ]
The above makes these upcoming elections worth following because India mixes many factors inherited over the centuries with more modern practices but on top of it is far from being a monolithic block. To wit, it counts 35 states and territories with one more, Telangana, to be added on June 2 of this year. Out of these, Sikkim is the smallest full-fledged state with a 610 thousand population while Uttar Pradesh counts about 200 million people? Delhi is the 16 million strong Union Territory capital similar to Washington’s DC status in the US that poses no major problems but Jammu and Kashmir with 12,5 million inhabitants is permanently in the news as a contentious region between Pakistan ( it self born of the post independence partition as was Bengladesh? ), China and India. By area, Lakshadweep UT is 32 square km whereas Rajasthan State is 342 000 Sq.Km? And if you have in mind the usual image of India where people and cows occupy every available square inch of land, that is true of Dehli’s 9,340 persons per SqKm but certainly not of Arunachal Pradesh State with 17 people per SqKm that neighbors Bhutan, Tibet slash China and Myanmar.
But geography and demographics don’t tell the whole story either or at least, one would have to dig deeper yet. India is home to most of the religions we know on Earth for instance. Most people are Hindus of course but there are Christians too, more than Sikhs even though you likely heard about the latter much more in all sorts of news reports. The biggest religious minority are Muslims and we will soon consider their place in the elections. Let us first complete our overlook by reminding the reader of two other factors : the caste system that separates Indians by categories such as intellectuals, leaders, farmers and doers more or less with a fringe of low-lives considering unworthy of having a place in the castes, the untouchables; and the essential dichotomy between the sheer weight of the Indian economy ( 10th in the World ) and its richness per habitant ( below 130th ).
That last problem will open our analysis as it is the factual cause of the mentions in our title. While the Indian currency is the rupee, Crore is a term common to South Asia that equals ten million. If you understand that you need 82 rupees to buy a single Euro by today’s exchange rate, it is easy to picture that a contract worth a million Euro, not rare in corporate deals, would then be counted as a bit over 8 crore rupees ( Rs 8 crore ). That explains why I found it necessary to make the pun ( core of the matter ) since with a minimum salary of 115 Rs ( 1.4€ +- ) per day, the average Indian can easily be taken aback by Crore based economics. For the same reason, in all lands where almost all contracts signed by the government and corporations outweigh a lifelong salary a thousand fold or more, corruption is unavoidable. In Canada, Belgium or England, the difference between the median income and that of the richest 1% is on the scale of 8 to 12 times with an average often around 10. Norway has a median income 100 times that of Liberia and you can bet that corruption is rare in the former and omnipresent in the latter. Well in India, the median income, the money made by someone richer than 50% of the population or poorer than 50% as you wish, is estimated at 616 $ … for a whole year. But Mukesh Ambani, owner of Reliance Industries and India’s richest person, is worth 18.6 B $ What that means is that when the small change on a contract is equal to a couple hundred years of the salary of the people that handle it, each civil servant from clerk to official will try to get some. In fact, this is so important in developing economies that it is often seen as part of the salary and thus extremely hard to fight.
Even at lower levels, police officers will thus consider bribes as part of their income with only those with no power whatsoever not collecting backsheesh.
http://m.paycheck.in/main/salary/minimumwages
Now add to this the nature of the caste system that means that Kshatriyas are the ones that occupy posts in law enforcement, armed forces and administration. Being born in that cast makes your livelihood so much better only for belonging to those most likely to profit from corruption whereas of course, being a Dalit means never to.
Let us give a quick panorama of the political formations and we will be able to consolidate both sets of knowledge. The ruling party of Indian politics is the Indian National Congress led by Sonia Gandhi ( step-daughter of famed Indira ( the daughter of independence hero Nehru ) and widow of Rajiv and mother of Rahul. Her presence at the head of Congress is symptomatic of the last of great flaws of Indian politics namely nepotism. That a family could endure from 1947 to 2014 with 3 Prime Ministers ( Nehru 47-64 / Indira 66-77 & 80-84 / Rajiv 84-89 ) makes the Kennedy and Bush clans in America pale by comparison. Even as relates to this election, it is said that “mom” decided that Rahul would not be Prime Minister :
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Rahul-will-not-be-Congresss-PM-candidate-after-Sonias-no/articleshow/28899744.cms
http://www.ibtimes.com/dynastys-end-why-does-sonia-gandhi-not-want-her-son-rahul-run-prime-minister-india-1543450
But as we write the gentle Rahul is still the front man for his party that alone or through various center-left coalitions has led the Nation for 49 years. The Janata party won in 1977. then 1989, 1996 and is still around but the star of this run is the BJP ( won in 1998 & 99 ) leader Narendra Modi. Modi is a pure charismatic choice, the jovial father figure by excellence.
http://blogs.aljazeera.com/blog/asia/modi-supporters-love-has-no-logic
This is belied by his record as Gujarat State Chief Minister though as racial violence in 2002 under his tenure caused between 1 and 2 thousand victims. Yet, Muslims that were targeted back then have been so disappointed by the Congress-led Union Progressive Alliance that some want to vote him in? Similarly, Modi has done a lot for his state both in economic and ecologic development which is to be lauded but at the same time, as we outlined at the beginning, the poorest of the poor sank further under his lead. That his BJP-led center-right National Democratic Alliance would be favorite for this election despite this exemplifies the Indian political dilemma. Record aside, people will often vote according to their caste or religion, no matter what.
The only new choice for the lowest classes is a formation called Aam Aadmi or common man Party. The AAP leader, Arvind Kejriwal, has made a meteoritic rise on the national scene since last year when the formation appeared in Dehli. His anti-corruption stance is clearly aimed at the lower classes and that is a huge reservoir of votes, India’s rural population alone numbering 833 million souls. There is one thing playing in his favor. Since the INCongress and BJP have made the race a personality based fight more than usual, AAP-Common Man has all its chance for the aura of Kejriwal is strong enough to play that game. That was evidenced in the last weeks by personal attacks, Narendra Modi accusing Arvind of being a Pakistani agent ( pretty much the worst possible call in India ) and playing the hand of the Congress. As well he might resort to such tactics though since the undaunted and apparently unafraid Kejriwal responded by showing up in Varanasi ( the ancient Benares ) to challenge Modi for his seat. Indeed, Congress must approve!!!
http://blogs.aljazeera.com/blog/asia/indias-varanasi-witness-epic-battle
The last imponderable may hold the key to success. India honored itself by allowing a white vote option : you can choose none of the above on the ballot! This is a useful measure of the citizen’s opinion but plays in favor of those in the lead, whomever they may be. In the West, this option would likely appeal to the jaded youth first and foremost. Well, it so happens that the younger voters ( 18-25 ) will represent a full fifth of the electorate this time around! We have seen how tradition allows the same tired parties to go on leading this old country in the ruts of corruption and inequality. The question then becomes how modern and democratic that new generation really is. Will they follow the tradition of voting for family, religion or caste? Or will they gang up behind that new deal guy with his old school Mahatma cap?
There are lots of possible surprises in the long running 2014 16th Lok Sabha elections in Bharat.
Do keep your eyes and ears open but don’t be in too much of hurry however. Due to the sheer size of the Land, these elections are run by successive blocks as found in here :
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/here-is-how-india-is-scheduled-to-vote-in-the-lok-sabha-elections-2014/
Which will it be, INC nepotism, BJP corruption or AAP unproven way? Is India ready to change and will it show? The answer matters! It is the world’s biggest democracy trying to rise out of the mud and slums into the future after all. I trust that is big enough a political stake for you?
Enlightened choice, Bharat!
Tay.
Additional reading :
Impressive full dossier below :
http://indianexpress.com/elections/
http://blogs.aljazeera.com/blog/asia/india-elections-diary-gurgaon
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-25740826
And Wikipedia page on the anti-corruption bill :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Lokpal
Definitive Lapse of Reason 