Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site sbcs.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!sbcs!debray From: debray@sbcs.UUCP (Saumya Debray) Newsgroups: net.nlang.india Subject: Political maturity of the masses Message-ID: <173@sbcs.UUCP> Date: Sat, 9-Mar-85 09:47:08 EST Article-I.D.: sbcs.173 Posted: Sat Mar 9 09:47:08 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 12-Mar-85 20:05:26 EST References: <2458@hplabsc.UUCP> Organization: Computer Science Dept, SUNY@Stony Brook Lines: 43 > > Here is a letter from an American-born professor who was in India > at the time of the last elections. You all might find it of interest. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > India and the U S > > Sir, - As a political scientist - with the University of Washington - > on my first visit to India, I have been amazed to witness at first > hand, the virility and maturity of Indian democracy in the general > elections. ... Give me a break! Does this guy have any idea of what factors influence joe villager's vote? Weighty non-issues such as the candidate's religion, caste, community, mother tongue, and whether or not he pees facing the wind are all important factors; thugs passing for "student leaders" are at their persuasive best (count how many candidates died in pre-election violence these recent assembly elections); and booth-capturing is common enough to merit but passing mention in newspapers (yes, the last parliamentary elections were remarkably free of this, but that, to me, speaks of good organization, not necessarily of political maturity). As an Indian, I'm proud of the fact that India is the world's largest democracy, and a functioning democracy at that, despite all its poverty. But it irks me that Indira Gandhi's defeat in the 1977 elections is seen by some pundits as some sort of victory of Democracy and The Forces of Light over Tyranny and The Forces of Darkness: she lost because nasbandhi wasn't a hit with the people ... but you don't have to look at profound ideologies for that, people can become surprisingly recalcitrant when threatened with forcible sterilization! Mrs. G. actually did pretty well in the South, where Sanjay Gandhi's N-point programmes hadn't been quite so harshly implemented. I'm especially flabbergasted at talk of "political maturity" when political nonentities like Amitabh Bachhan win landslide victories over veterans like H N Bahuguna and Chandra Sekhar. Whither maturity when the only factors that matter are a celluloid reality and caste and party stickers? -- Saumya Debray SUNY at Stony Brook uucp: {allegra, hocsd, philabs, ogcvax} !sbcs!debray CSNet: debray@sbcs