Polarization Fallout - Vicious Delhi State Assembly Election?

News Bharati    05-Feb-2020 16:30:49 PM   
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POLARIZATION and POLARIZATION 24x365 everywhere. It is the story of Indian politics. Political leaders and parties in pursuit of power by hook or crook are responsible and accountable for the ongoing vicious politics on grand display.
 
 
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It is in the full knowledge that POLARIZATION is contra societal unity and harmony. Today, Shaheen Bagh, JAMIA, Jantar Mantar and nation-wide protests epitomize polarization attempts to paralyze Indian government. And, local traders and the economy have come to a grinding halt.
 
Protesters turned stone-throwing mobs against police personnel is not democracy. High time pseudo liberal-cum-intellectuals coin an appropriate term?
When mobs riot and rampage 24x365, surely it deserves to be termed as “Mobocracy”. Similarly, when ‘Goondas-musclemen” take over polling booths, it deserves to be coined as “Goondocracy”.
 
After all, freedoms in the name of democracy, sans responsibilities as law abiding citizens, cannot be hailed as democracy. 
 
So, all of them pose threats in being to national security interests if allowed to continue in perpetuity aided and abetted by adversaries.
 
Be that as it may, vicious Delhi State assembly elections are irrefutable proof of polarization attempts by political parties and leaders by hook or crook without exception.
 
De facto, India is a pluralist society – most heterogeneous of all the nations in the World what with space age to Stone Age humans – divided vertically and horizontally by race, caste, religion and class.
 
Add to it, India’s political geography which has been the harbinger of polarization on regional, sub regional, tribal and supra tribal basis.
 
Due to diversity, it is quite easy to sway gullible people emotionally and sentimentally by jingoistic electoral rhetoric by political leaders and parties to include neo-political start-ups, to cumulatively build up, consolidate and advance polarization on minority and identities basis.
 
Over the past 40 to 50 years, the buildup of POLARIZATION cumulatively has taken place to its present crescendo. So, it is nothing new in Indian politics. In reality, caste, communal and class politics has engulfed the nation due to multi-party system of over 1600 political parties. And, political parties and leaders have mastered the art and science of perpetuating polarization. 
 
Due to dynastocracy or kleptocracy in the name of democracy, polarization maintains a vice-like grip or stranglehold over the society and the nation. Since there is no light sighted at the end of the tunnel of real democracy what with political leaders and parties hell bent upon pursuing such a self destructive path, the prospects of receding threat to national security is nowhere in sight.
 
Ipso facto, a pluralist society with mindboggling diversity is the breeding ground for identity POLARIZATION based on tribal, caste, communal and class loyalties. If regionalism, sub regionalism and supra tribalism pose challenge to nationalism, it is an irrefutable reality. No need to undertake research studies to produce irrefutable evidence or proof of identity crises. Their fallout adversely affects all aspects of nation’s well being and so also people’s well being and welfare.
 
Populism and appeasement politics have always been the means to achieve political ends besides money and muscle power. And, personal selfish ends justify the means with utter disregard to national security interests. 
 
The ongoing mega shift in consolidation of POLARIZATION is due to information campaign waged by pseudo secularists and Hindutva nationalists. Both identity and religion maintain a vice like grip on the psyche of the people. Racism also constitutes a key part – Aryan vs. Dravidian vs. Mongoloid.
 
It must be accepted that demographics always govern politics. When rapid transformations alter demographic equilibrium, it gives rise to crises. No need for experts to highlight the consequences of eruption of identity crises due to rapid alterations in demographic equilibrium. Any amount of justification in support of alterations in demographic equilibrium can change mindsets of threatened segments of population.
 
With nearly 1.4 crores added on annual basis (Born in 1999) not only to the employment pool but also for feeding, I dare challenge all the Nobel Prize winning economic emeritus to suggest a viable model to resolve the Himalayan challenges faced by India.
 
So, Nature’s Law or Newton’s Law is relevant – for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The action of minority appeasement politics naturally produces majority reaction.
 
For the political parties and leaders, rapid demographic shifts provide an opportunity to mobilize their vote banks. One may classify it as psychology of electoral arithmetic or math’s.
 
In reality, policy or even issues are increasingly becoming irrelevant in today’s pre-poll campaigning. For, people have lost trust and confidence in political parties delivering pre-poll promises. 
 
Undeniable it is that review of pre-poll campaigning clearly highlights that political parties concentrate more on fake, fraud and paid campaigning highlighting the negative facets of political rivals. For negative campaigning exposing rival’s shortcomings paves the path for galvanizing polarization of vote banks. After all, positive views of achievements of their own party performance by themselves cannot guarantee winning elections.
 
Furthermore, fear mongering through speculative rumor mills churning diabolical sensational stories – information campaigns – is real by all political parties and leaders without exception is real. Ongoing pre poll campaigning in Delhi State Assembly elections provide ample proof.
 
In particular, blatantly fake and fraud news by paid partisan media, mostly financed by foreign media Moghuls, both English and Local languages, are spreading vicious venom to divide the society into narrow parochial and sectarian lines.
 
Political leaders and parties have mastered the art and science of swaying emotions and sentiments of voters by appeasement and identity politics with utter disregard to societal harmony and unity so vital for peace, progress, growth and development. The horrors of cumulative incitement by negative information campaign hold dangerous portends.
 
Viewed in the above emerging vicious political environment, none can rule out the possibility of ‘civil war’ engulfing the nation, particularly aided abetted by Pakistan to achieve its strategic end of “Disintegration of India” to promote, consolidate and advance its national interests.

Brig. G B Reddy (Retd)

G B Reddy, former Brigadier has seen frontline battles in India-China War in 1962, India-Pakistan War in 1965, and India-Pakistan War in 1971 (Liberation of Bangladesh). He has served in various insurgency areas to include Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, and West Bengal at the height of Naxal problem; Punjab, J & K and IPKF in Sri Lanka.

Author of seven books and numerous articles covering national security strategy, international, national and local political and social developments, he participated in international and national seminars whilst serving as Consultant/Senior Visiting Fellow at the National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad. He also served in Corporate Assignments of Vice-President, Kitply Industries and C.E.O, Hilton Tobacco Ltd.

He is a Graduate of National Defense College, New Delhi, Command and Staff College in Canada, Long and Senior Defense Management Programs at College of Defense Management in Hyderabad. He has served on the faculties of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, College of Combat, and Infantry School, Mhow.

He was awarded Ati Vishist Seva Medal for Distinguished Service of an Exceptional Order in Nagaland 1986. Menitoned-in-Despatches for gallantry in 1971 war. Chief of Army Staff Commendation Medal in 1977 for exceptional contribution for faculty development.

Seven books published: 1) Rising Dragon – China’s Holistic Security Strategic Perspective; 2) Nation in Crisis – Dimensions of National Security and Terrorism; 3) In Search of National Values - Withering Democracy, Secularism and Socialism; 4) India’s Nuclear Dilemmas; 5) Fight Against Corruption and Leadership Decay; 6) Democracy in Peril; and, 7) Cost Effective Rural Housing Technologies.