JEDDAH, 29 January 2007 — Indian politicians lack conviction and clarity in their ideological moorings. They do not strive for a change in the political system because it suits their interest. But if people with conviction come forward, they can transform the polity, said well-known media personality and talk show presenter Karan Thapar.
“Politicians won’t change this system, they like it too much. If somehow we place ideology and conviction at its center, I promise we can get rid of them. But the big question is can we?” Karan said.
Karan, who is often called Tim Sebastian of India, was speaking during a panel discussion on “Challenges for the Indian Democracy Today,” as part of the India Week organized by the Consulate General of India.
In his well known acerbic style, Karan said that in India elections are fought and won on rhetoric, not on any clear agenda, policies and conviction, unlike in Britain where parties come to power with clear-cut convictions. Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair obtained votes on the credibility and popularity of their convictions.
“In India, Indira Gandhi and later Rajiv Gandhi appealed to the electorate promising ‘a government that works’ and ‘a government that works faster.’ The BJP and its allies did so offering ‘good governance.’ Yet those are things one takes for granted. The government is supposed to be clean and efficient,” Karan said.
Indian parties and politicians are merely power hungry and their sole objective is to sit on the hot seat in Delhi. They never bother about the ways and means they adopt for getting there. They keep public guessing about major policies and programs.
“Ours is the politics of survival not conviction. The object is only to be elected to power. At the hustings, ideology has no role to play. To illustrate my points I would like to raise three questions: What do our parties stand for? What economic or foreign policies will they follow if elected? And will our politicians stand up for their convictions against entrenched opposition both inside and outside their parties? In our system, these questions are not asked and the answers are unknown. Worse, they are, I suspect unknowable,” Karan said.
Speaking about the Indo-US nuclear deal, the veteran journalist said that it is not just another treaty with another country. It is the biggest change in India’s foreign policy direction.
“The deal is a paradigm shift, but it is not being sold as such. Perhaps silence will ensure it goes through. The prime minister says in public that the deal will add 8 percent to our energy requirement over the next 20 years. What he does not say is that it will change Delhi’s relationship with Washington 100 percent,” Karan said.
Karan was of the opinion that the absence of ideology from Indian politics and thus the absence of conviction have made our system a politics of convenience. The only remedy to this curse is public awareness and maximum participation in the democratic process.
Earlier, Consul General Ausaf Sayeed introduced the guest to the audience.
