Isn’t politics everywhere like this? Well, yes and no. Politicians everywhere are human beings who react to incentives, and they’re evidently in it for the power. If they only wanted to do good to humankind, they’d be social workers or businessmen – successful businessmen are successful because they serve the needs of people – or writers. (The last is a pathetic justification for my own vocation.) Not politicians.
Still, if you contrast Indian politics with American politics, it is easier to find politicians there who stand up for certain principles even when those are unpopular. Consider the just completed US elections, for example: John McCain consistently spoke out against torture, even though the Republican base prefers a more macho position. (Mitt Romney pandered them by suggesting that the size of Guantanamo be doubled.) Rudy Giuliani is pro-choice, a position that doomed him among the Christians who dominated the Republican primaries. Hillary Clinton repeatedly refused to apologize for her 2002 vote for the Iraq War Resolution, or admit that it was a mistake, despite the Democratic base being so strongly against that war.
In America, the character of the leader you voted for will matter, as do the policies he supports. People vote for whichever politician comes closest to their worldview, and that worldview is a mix of complicated factors, from economics to politics to identity. In India, identity dominates.
Most Indian politics is identity politics. Mayawati’s rise or Lalu’s long reign in Bihar stand testament to the power of saying: “You guys have been a abused for too many years now. Put me in power, and I will distribute the spoils to you.” It’s also entitlement politics, a politics of give-and-take, of promises made, sometimes material – remember Karunanidhi and his nine million colour TVs? – sometimes pertaining to jobs and power. But higher principles are entirely absent from such politics. And yet, our politicians couch their rhetoric in the language of principles, fooling only the wilfully self-delusional.
I have one question at the end of this series: I think it is obvious, and we all accept, that our politicians are deeply dishonest when it comes to politics. Why, then, do we expect any different from them when they are in government?
