Political enfranchisement and honest balloting are the cornerstones of our national framework
We are in the middle of the samundra manthan for the 16th lok Sabha. It is, beyond doubt, a significant milestone in the growth of the Indian polity. In the heat of the events, some trends are missed and a comprehensive view is lost. The nosiness of the present social discourse has many saving graces.
One is the reiteration in action of democracy as a binding force for the nation. The essence of Indian democracy lies in the Vedantic dictum of ekam sat, viprah bahudha vadanti — the truth is one but knowledgeable state it in different ways. The statement has a context, which is both profound and deep.
I am taking the statement out of its context and applying it for the power of its expression to the domain of governance and the India polity. It means that unless we recognise that India is one (ekam) we cannot celebrate its variegated federalism (bahudha). This variegation is the heart of federalism. Democracy and ballot, alone makes it possible.
There can no multiplicity of interpretation or diversity of political orientation unless we recognise the fundamental unity of the country. Federalism is the key. Political parties may have different agendas and some may be woven around different personality cults. They may have different frames of references but they all are part of the Indian Union.
The different types of governance at the national level and State level co-exist because of the vibrancy and funneling characteristics of the democratic process. Political enfranchisement and honest balloting are the cornerstones of this important framework.
Mercifully, both seem to be largely intact. This is a matter of joy and, if I may add, hope and celebration. This needs to be visibly and noticeably done.
There are other redeeming features. For many the coming in of 24 hour news channels is a source of much irritation. That news channels, sometimes, do better than the entertainment channels in getting viewership is a testimony to the people’s desire to understand how public resources are likely to be distributed or are being shared.
There is genuine pressure on the television news channels not to be repetitive. This requires both ingenuity in raising resources and investment. Is it any wonder then that the number of advertisements or promotional campaigns in the electronic media are going up exponentiallyIJ
On April 13, one of the major channels had a slot for an interview with an important person and decided to simply extend its slot. This was because the person being interviewed is an audience puller, and the channel rightly sensed that there was a huge commercial opportunity to benefit from.
Not having kept a stopwatch to work out the ratio between the advertising time and the interview time, I cannot hazard a guess. However, what did strike me was that the period between one slot of the interview and the next gradually grew bigger and bigger to the extent that it seemed like an advertisement session was punctuated by excerpts of the interviews with the dignitary. It grew so wearisome that I almost dosed off.
The point however is a different. The news channels need resources and by all accounts, the news channels are doing well. I don’t have access to hour-by-hour viewership records of the different news channels but what I do notice is that a large number of constituencies across the country are beginning to be covered.
I know much more today about the names of the constituencies in Maharashtra and Karnataka than I did three weeks ago. This is important for developing an all-India framework of reference. It reinforces a mental architecture.
The quality of report in both in the print media and the electronic media has improved. Increasingly a comparative frame is being used and some speakers do seem to come out poorly compared to others.
Not to forget, however, is the other part of what I called samundra manthan. With the nectar has emerged some poison. One of them is the growing propensity for personal abuse and vitriolism. Perhaps the Election Commission should practise some activism in adding greater clarity in this direction, through a tighter code of conduct.