prasad1
Active member
India is changing and changing very fast. We keep hearing this all the time, especially during elections. And this is absolutely true. The young, educated Indians now think of themselves as almost global citizens connected as they are to various interest groups and people all over the world on the Internet through social media. Corporate India has certainly changed pushing out the old licence permit raj and becoming leaner, meaner and more competitive. A meritocracy has crept into most institutions, even government organisations. In fact, getting the government professionalised has become an article of faith for the prime minister, who is perhaps the most powerful one we have had in over the last two decades.
But in many ways it is the lexicon of politics which has not changed, even among the younger crop. First let us have a look at how easily the word legacy is bandied about. The sons and daughters and other relatives of politicians stake their claim to high office to uphold the ‘legacy’ of someone or the other. A very serious word like legacy is dragged down to mean an inheritance of votes. Very few politicians have left any real legacy behind. A legacy would mean that the person created a paradigm shift in our national polity. But in actual fact, the best that most politicians have done, barring perhaps the first lot after Independence, is to bring in legislative changes which have bettered the lives of people. They are meant to do that and this is hardly a legacy.
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All we ask is that politicians, like the rest of us working stiffs, speak in a normal language and conduct their work as any of us would, to yield maximum result to the end user. No one is asking anyone to be selfless or lay down their lives. Just hunker down and get on with policy making and implementation. Do what you can to make life easier in as many ways as possible for those who took the trouble to vote for you. The goals can never change, whatever legacy you are trying to propagate. It has to be the pursuit of justice, equality, quality of life and all the freedoms in our Constitution. We need the practical politician today, the nuts and bolts man, the ‘looking ahead’ person. The person who takes each day as it comes, works on a clean slate and is not enervated by the baggage of distant legacies.
Our netas must rule to work - Hindustan Times
But in many ways it is the lexicon of politics which has not changed, even among the younger crop. First let us have a look at how easily the word legacy is bandied about. The sons and daughters and other relatives of politicians stake their claim to high office to uphold the ‘legacy’ of someone or the other. A very serious word like legacy is dragged down to mean an inheritance of votes. Very few politicians have left any real legacy behind. A legacy would mean that the person created a paradigm shift in our national polity. But in actual fact, the best that most politicians have done, barring perhaps the first lot after Independence, is to bring in legislative changes which have bettered the lives of people. They are meant to do that and this is hardly a legacy.
...........................
All we ask is that politicians, like the rest of us working stiffs, speak in a normal language and conduct their work as any of us would, to yield maximum result to the end user. No one is asking anyone to be selfless or lay down their lives. Just hunker down and get on with policy making and implementation. Do what you can to make life easier in as many ways as possible for those who took the trouble to vote for you. The goals can never change, whatever legacy you are trying to propagate. It has to be the pursuit of justice, equality, quality of life and all the freedoms in our Constitution. We need the practical politician today, the nuts and bolts man, the ‘looking ahead’ person. The person who takes each day as it comes, works on a clean slate and is not enervated by the baggage of distant legacies.
Our netas must rule to work - Hindustan Times
