Post 26/11 MTV’s news bite program, MTV Wassup had carried pictures of Shivraj Patil and Mamta Banerjee. The take was to identify who the politicians were and whether "youngistaan" could identify those individuals. None had.The youth or people they interviewed would have known shivraj patil, given 26/11. Post Nano debacle Mamta surely would have been known to the yuppie ever criticising junta.
This is our youth, it's us, that blame politicians for everything that goes wrong but isn't aware of the names of the politicians. This is that section of the youth that would shoot smart slogans against politicians without knowing their namesOne can be excused of not knowing who Kamal Nath is or for that matter AK Anthony. But obviously these individuals are not sure whose responsible for internal security. Given that serial blasts in various cities and the "cribbing" that we all get involved in surely at some point they informed you on who shivraj Patil is. Given the fact that we complain of not enough jobs, investment and growth surely Mamta Banerjee would have been known. I guess the problem lies in sterotyping. Mamta Banerjee was passed of as Rabri devi!! Cheers to the youth.
Would it make any difference if these names were known to the youth? A resounding No. But there's a larger issue at stake. Awareness!
It's human tendency to always find fault with someone else for our failures. We loathe everything about politics not cause of necessarily of an informed view but a cynical "herd mentality".
There's a another equally passionate section that opines of us being responsible cause we don't vote and therefore don't make any difference. To me that's illogical. You could make a difference through your vote only if it's excercised through an informed view. And not just cause you have to “vote” and the jingoism surrounding "it's our responsibility to make a difference….we must vote".
The basic point I'm making here is that awareness of politics would be improve one's view point of it but obviously is required for better assessment of politics.Another classical sterotyping - Rural voters are swayed by politicians based on caste and creed. So it's an informed choice that they make. Also there are poor, illiterate and uneducated and therefore get swayed by politicians.
This to me is hypocrisy of the urban junkie at it's best.It's the same disdain we show towards the "bihari" with his strong rural accents who possibly end up cracking IIT's and IAS's v/s a call center exec with his imported dialect who probably can't spell "que".Other problem of politicians being corrupt. To me it's the system inefficiencies that are to blame of which we are a part of.
Surely Arun Jaitley, Kapil Sibal, PC, Ravi Shankar, Mani Shankar, Suresh Prabhu, ain't your usual Corrupt Brigade. Yup the problem lies in branding each one as another Amar Singh or a Pappu Yadav.
Why are politicians expected to uphold values which we've long lost?
The glasshouse corporate world is filled with individuals who would ate the slightest instance chose self-interest over a societal benefit. Who would expect tax benefits and exmptions for themselves but a loan waiver ends up in a hue and cry.
In a nutshell, don’t' think that awareness of politics would change ones' perception of it but surely awareness and following politics would go a long way in assessing it's failures.
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