For long, I had been etching to write about AAP and why it still matters despite all its misgivings in the recent past. This question on Quora - Why do AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) volunteers follow Arvind Kejriwal despite his taking so many U-turns? - just gave the right trigger that was necessary to pour those long held thoughts down.
Given the excessive emotions it raises, I had become a little reluctant these days talking about politics and especially about AAP. Those who think for themselves need not be convinced, and those who don't can't be anyway. So it's pointless talking or arguing about it sometimes. But since it was Quora, where I tend to love the answers from its thinking community, I felt I can expect a higher emotional quotient, and objective and decent opinions/arguments pro/against.
Not only did I answer that question there, but decided to share those same thoughts here as well. WARNING: It's quite lengthy.
I can't say about others, but talking about myself, I can tell why I support AAP.
At this point in time, irrespective of the follies, mistakes, U-turns (perceived and otherwise) of its leaders, AAP is the only party with a clear agenda to not allow any tainted/criminal elements in its politics. Even though those elements can bring them votes and money. This is the only party which (from what I know) raises all its funds through public participation, and hence doesn't need to fall for the quid-pro-quo that's inevitable when you get funded by lobbying industrialists.
Why cleaning politics is necessary? Consider this - You overtake someone driving on the road, suddenly the guy gets worked up, beats you up, and you can't do anything because he has 'connections'. Powerful at that. This is a real incident that happened in Mumbai a month or so before Loksabha elections. Instead of guessing which party that guy might have belonged to, take a guess which party he most likely would *NOT* have belonged to - Congress, BJP or AAP? Your guess is as good as mine.
In a country where democracy is just another means to get voted to rule and loot people; in a country where political high-handedness and 'connection' power-mongering is rampant; in a country where wealth is concentrated with a select few, who, in turn can call the shots using the wealth and get richer; in a country where regional, religious, sectarian, caste-based propaganda can be successfully used to turn groups in vote-banks; in a country where the root the root of all evil *is* - being ruled by the evil itself, isn't it about time we clean our politics before anything else?
The middle class is taught from childhood to stay away from politics; reason, and we have taken this for granted, - politics is for the crooks not for 'us'. We have had generations arguing 'if everyone say so, good people will never get in, and politics will always remain for crooks'. Everybody argues, nobody, including me, acts. Everybody wants someone else to wash the dirty laundry. "शिवाजी जन्माला यावा, पण शेजारच्या घरात; आपल्या नको." (Translation: Shivaji should be born again, but at the neighbors' house, not ours).
In 2011-12, during the height of scams, movements, and Congress' high-handed attempts to crush those movements, the despair in the air was pretty palpable. "इस देश का कुछ नही हो सकता" (Translation: This country is never gonna change). The politicians who ruled the country will never take a step to clean the same system they thrive off.
But then one man had the ambition and willingness to fight this one-sided battle to clean the system. He did take the plunge, built a party out of people with credible backgrounds and from the same middle class that used to run away from politics. The party won considerable seats on the basis of clean-politics agenda, in Delhi elections, and all of a sudden, those, like me, who were pessimistic about any change in Indian politics, started dreaming about a cleaner and fairer political system.
But then Loksabha elections were closing in and both BJP and Congress, feeling nervous and threatened by AAP, used all their might to unleash systematic smear campaign, propaganda and FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) against AAP. That Kejariwal is another Congress, that Kejariwal 'took' Congress' support, that Congress is trying to divide BJP's votes through AAP, that AAP's game-plan is to bring Congress to power, that AAP is not fielding any candidates against Sonia Gandhi, and so on. So fierce was this blitzkrieg that even educated people who are supposed to discern true from false, fell for it wholeheartedly. Unfortunately Kejariwal and AAP being new to politics, and despite realizing that the 'system' will try every trick in the book to get rid of any attempt to cleanse it, fell prey to their own inexperience and mistakes that were immediately and effectively blown out of proportions, damaging their own cause and reputation further. Meanwhile all attempts to demean him/AAP were in full swing. Choking him from all sides, trapping him, and then calling him भगोडा, ridiculing him beyond decency, slapping him - they tried it all, and to a major extent succeeded in generating huge uncertainty and doubt about AAP.
Though BJP got a majority in the elections, watching this FUD campaign from sidelines, I lost complete faith in them, and despite being a very pro-Modi, not more than an year ago, today I stand completely disillusioned by BJP. Those who are familiar with the history of Linux, will not find it difficult to draw parallels to the FUD campaign that Microsoft ran against Linux in late 90s. They did gain considerably in the short term, but Linux didn't go anywhere, and in fact thrived in the later years to this date - because the fundamentals and philosophy of opensource that it was based on, had the potential to survive the test of time, since it resonated with, and empowered people at large.
AAP and its leaders made mistakes, did face foot-in-mouth many times, but nothing as serious as the amount of flak they receive/d. AAP didn't allow filth in, didn't let money power decide, and didn't play vote-bank politics - those are good enough reasons to look forward to better days for these fine folks who were trying to bring about a change, for which India probably was just not ready and patient enough.
Good luck to Modi, at least he seems to have some quick-fix approach for the country back-broken over many years by Congress, and so far he seems to be making all the right noises. But for a long term, my support will always be for a party that tries to address the root of all evils in India - filth in politics. And with likes of Yedurappa embracing Modi openly, I don't have any willingness to park my hopes on BJP.
Given the excessive emotions it raises, I had become a little reluctant these days talking about politics and especially about AAP. Those who think for themselves need not be convinced, and those who don't can't be anyway. So it's pointless talking or arguing about it sometimes. But since it was Quora, where I tend to love the answers from its thinking community, I felt I can expect a higher emotional quotient, and objective and decent opinions/arguments pro/against.
Not only did I answer that question there, but decided to share those same thoughts here as well. WARNING: It's quite lengthy.
I can't say about others, but talking about myself, I can tell why I support AAP.
At this point in time, irrespective of the follies, mistakes, U-turns (perceived and otherwise) of its leaders, AAP is the only party with a clear agenda to not allow any tainted/criminal elements in its politics. Even though those elements can bring them votes and money. This is the only party which (from what I know) raises all its funds through public participation, and hence doesn't need to fall for the quid-pro-quo that's inevitable when you get funded by lobbying industrialists.
Why cleaning politics is necessary? Consider this - You overtake someone driving on the road, suddenly the guy gets worked up, beats you up, and you can't do anything because he has 'connections'. Powerful at that. This is a real incident that happened in Mumbai a month or so before Loksabha elections. Instead of guessing which party that guy might have belonged to, take a guess which party he most likely would *NOT* have belonged to - Congress, BJP or AAP? Your guess is as good as mine.
In a country where democracy is just another means to get voted to rule and loot people; in a country where political high-handedness and 'connection' power-mongering is rampant; in a country where wealth is concentrated with a select few, who, in turn can call the shots using the wealth and get richer; in a country where regional, religious, sectarian, caste-based propaganda can be successfully used to turn groups in vote-banks; in a country where the root the root of all evil *is* - being ruled by the evil itself, isn't it about time we clean our politics before anything else?
The middle class is taught from childhood to stay away from politics; reason, and we have taken this for granted, - politics is for the crooks not for 'us'. We have had generations arguing 'if everyone say so, good people will never get in, and politics will always remain for crooks'. Everybody argues, nobody, including me, acts. Everybody wants someone else to wash the dirty laundry. "शिवाजी जन्माला यावा, पण शेजारच्या घरात; आपल्या नको." (Translation: Shivaji should be born again, but at the neighbors' house, not ours).
In 2011-12, during the height of scams, movements, and Congress' high-handed attempts to crush those movements, the despair in the air was pretty palpable. "इस देश का कुछ नही हो सकता" (Translation: This country is never gonna change). The politicians who ruled the country will never take a step to clean the same system they thrive off.
But then one man had the ambition and willingness to fight this one-sided battle to clean the system. He did take the plunge, built a party out of people with credible backgrounds and from the same middle class that used to run away from politics. The party won considerable seats on the basis of clean-politics agenda, in Delhi elections, and all of a sudden, those, like me, who were pessimistic about any change in Indian politics, started dreaming about a cleaner and fairer political system.
But then Loksabha elections were closing in and both BJP and Congress, feeling nervous and threatened by AAP, used all their might to unleash systematic smear campaign, propaganda and FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) against AAP. That Kejariwal is another Congress, that Kejariwal 'took' Congress' support, that Congress is trying to divide BJP's votes through AAP, that AAP's game-plan is to bring Congress to power, that AAP is not fielding any candidates against Sonia Gandhi, and so on. So fierce was this blitzkrieg that even educated people who are supposed to discern true from false, fell for it wholeheartedly. Unfortunately Kejariwal and AAP being new to politics, and despite realizing that the 'system' will try every trick in the book to get rid of any attempt to cleanse it, fell prey to their own inexperience and mistakes that were immediately and effectively blown out of proportions, damaging their own cause and reputation further. Meanwhile all attempts to demean him/AAP were in full swing. Choking him from all sides, trapping him, and then calling him भगोडा, ridiculing him beyond decency, slapping him - they tried it all, and to a major extent succeeded in generating huge uncertainty and doubt about AAP.
Though BJP got a majority in the elections, watching this FUD campaign from sidelines, I lost complete faith in them, and despite being a very pro-Modi, not more than an year ago, today I stand completely disillusioned by BJP. Those who are familiar with the history of Linux, will not find it difficult to draw parallels to the FUD campaign that Microsoft ran against Linux in late 90s. They did gain considerably in the short term, but Linux didn't go anywhere, and in fact thrived in the later years to this date - because the fundamentals and philosophy of opensource that it was based on, had the potential to survive the test of time, since it resonated with, and empowered people at large.
AAP and its leaders made mistakes, did face foot-in-mouth many times, but nothing as serious as the amount of flak they receive/d. AAP didn't allow filth in, didn't let money power decide, and didn't play vote-bank politics - those are good enough reasons to look forward to better days for these fine folks who were trying to bring about a change, for which India probably was just not ready and patient enough.
Good luck to Modi, at least he seems to have some quick-fix approach for the country back-broken over many years by Congress, and so far he seems to be making all the right noises. But for a long term, my support will always be for a party that tries to address the root of all evils in India - filth in politics. And with likes of Yedurappa embracing Modi openly, I don't have any willingness to park my hopes on BJP.
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