By Manas Shaikh
There is no need to emphasize the importance and effects of politics on our lives. It’s worth pointing out that politics does not mean only votes and the parliament. It includes the efforts of the little people and the big people to do something that affects many lives. From Narmada Bachao Andolan to signature campaigns for saving the historic cafe at the college to rallying for less carbon emission, all these are different shades of politics.
It is now very common to dismiss all (electoral) politicians as selfish people who have absolutely no principles. Interestingly, politicians of different parties try to make the best of the mood, and cannibalize their opponents.
It is a great mistake.
Civility makes it possible to have a meaningful dialogue. Without it, politics becomes a game of throwing dirts. Whoever ends up with less dirt wins.
Although I can’t say this about many politicians, I know that there are some that enter into politics because of their sincere convictions. In spite of that, they are dismissed by the prevailing cynicism- “oh, so it was winning elections he was after. That’s why all the hoopla before.” Such attitude hurts the politician because after all, all of us are humans, and we seek approval from our fellow beings. Some people care more, some care less. More importantly, however, it deprives the society of the leadership of that honest and sincere person. It is a loss for the entire society.
Many of the good people we see around enjoy the love they get from people around them. The fear of losing that love, and being seen as an enemy of the society keep them out of the political arena. There are some who are so deep in their conviction that they risk even that, but they are few. And the prevailing attitude makes it even harder for them.
Perception often precedes and even creates reality. If we continue to believe that politics is a dirty game and only dirty people enter it, then only those who are not afraid of playing dirty will enter politics, and they will play dirty.
Dismissiveness is not healthy. It chokes critical thought because the verdict is out even before the facts are in. It makes corruption expected and acceptable. If corruption is not understood as a problem, never will a finger be raised to solve the problem.
On the other hand, if it is clear that if somebody enters into politics for doing something they believe in, the society will accept, love and assist them.
There is room for caution here. If the society begins to revere the politicians, then the politicians will begin to expect reverence. That again is a loss as it closes the door for self-correction.
We should neither revere politicians nor detest them. They are an important part of the society who play a role for the society. Some of them are wise, some of them are less so. Some of them are just, some of them are not. We need to carefully consider the choices and decide. If there is a lack of choices, it’s time to get down to work and fill the void. That will be very difficult for us if all our life we have been saying that all politicians are theives. We will expect ourselves to become theives once we enter politics. That’s very self-defeating.
Advocacy, signature campaigns and talking to the elected representatives are all useful for helping the government function, and ensuring that it does what the society needs it to do. It is very unfortunate that these are viewed by many, especially Muslims, as futile exercises. They are not. Not only they work, they keep the government informed. If we do this, we won’t need to organize protest rallies every other week. Often the misguided policies of the government are simply because of lack of information/understanding. I am not saying this is panacea for all problems, but it works more often than it doesn’t.