Feku Politics of Splits, Spats and Spars- Soter

Published in Herald Review, 11th September 2016

In a political environment ridden with ignorance, illiteracy and barbarism, anyone who dares to swim against the tide by being realistic and rational runs the risk of being labelled anti-national and charged with sedition. In a functional democracy with elections every five years, the existence of corrupt and communal politicians in government is nothing but a product of the politically ignorant and illiterate voter who is in a constant state of denial and deflecting the blame of his own misdoings onto others. If for a businessman the customer is God then for the politician it is the voter who becomes God, at least during elections. The voter is worshipped by the politician for his naivety and in the recent years an ‘aarthi’ of sorts by aspiring politicians is visible at the voter’s doorstep. Election is a time when the scoundrel politician becomes a humble devotee of the voter, ready to be at the beck and call of the politically ignorant voter who feels more than elated on being placed on a pedestal and worshipped. When the Voter God feels ignored by the politician after elections the chanting of mantras on U-Turns and corruption surface once again. The political noises we witness nowadays are more of a jugalbandi between blackmailers – voter and politician. The reason for Goa’s pathetic state of affairs is not solely the existence of crooked politicians but primarily the ignorant and disoriented voter in the political system.  

Goa’s political scenario is far more complex than what actually meets the eye. On the surface it is about communal harmony and Goykarponn. Deep within the belly is greed and hatred which attracts the likes of casino tycoons, real estate and mining cartel, drug mafia, extortionists in the guise of local livelihood and the likes of Muthallicks and Togadias who devastate and destroy the peace in Goa. This greed and hatred furthers its interest as alternative political fronts promising to be different and people-friendly. Such is the mastery for deceit and craftiness in manipulation of the divisive and fanatic forces that a Subash in Goa appears to be doing a Keshubhai of Gujarat or a Manpreet of Punjab in time for the 2017 elections while the politically naïve Goan is made to swallow and ruminate such premeditated theatrics as a rift within the parivar.  Little does the Goan realise that the fanatic forces could be possibly killing two birds in one stone, that of winning sympathy among minorities by portraying a political party and its politician as a martyr for the stand taken on grants to English medium schools and on the other hand assuring the disgruntled fanatic support base that all is not lost with the U-Turn on the language and casino issue as they have an alternative political option to satisfy their appetite for cultural fanaticism. 

Saving Goa’s rich cultural heritage and social harmony is only possible if the political games adopted by corrupt and fanatical forces are objectively decoded and exposed for their fraud. The liberal Goa appears to be sandwiched from both sides by the divisive forces, with “Bhasha Suraksha” on one hand and the sentimental brand name ‘Aam Admi’ being employed from the other end, to ensure that votes do not consolidate for the Congress and other secular outfits. 

The political dialogues in Goa attempted by political groups are just an eye wash and farce. What quality contribution can one expect in a dialogue on state level governance when the poor ability of the Goan to dialogue is so shamelessly displayed at Gram Sabha meetings? Such dialogues attempted by political outfits could be nothing more than a tool to gauge the ignorance level of the voters and figure out the voter’s Emotional Quotient which can then be exploited in the manifesto. The much touted Election Manifesto, no matter how attractively and deceptively people-centric its design, more than often becomes toilet paper for political parties no sooner the election results are declared.  It was so easy to fool a nation with the show-casing of a non-existent Gujarat model and the same tactic is now being employed with marketing a sexy Delhi model to ‘goykars’. The grass is said to always appear greener on the other side of the river until one makes the effort to cross over and decipher the virtual deception. 

In the first place the Goan voter should stop beating around the bush with excuses about dynastic politics and corruption and decide what is more important for the 2017 elections, whether defeating the corrupt Congress is a necessity or arresting the rise of the corrupt- communal divisive parivar is a priority. After all, we do have before us the classic experiences of the Punjab and Gujarat experiment of divide and rule employed by the divisive parivar to steal what was said to be a possible victory from the Congress and its allies in the last State elections. Attempting to kill corruption and fanaticism in one stroke may well turn out to be a political exercise in vain with a Subash doing a somersault soon after the elections results get declared and dashing off to Manohar to exchange greetings and sweets over the victory of a cunning political strategy. 

http://www.heraldgoa.in/Review/Voice-Of-Opinion/Feku-Politics-of-Splits-Spats-and-Spars/106120.html