“तिनका कबहुँ ना निन्दिये, जो पाँवन तर होय, कबहुँ उड़ी आँखिन पड़े, तो पीर घनेरी होय.” Even today, Kabir’s couplets have not left their sheen. Just to make it easy for our non-Hindi readers the English translation of the above couplet is: “Don't despise the small particle of dust that you tread under your feet, If it flies off and falls in your eye, then the pain becomes unbearable.” Today, the pinch of hate speeches, racist remarks, sexist comments, religious biases and non-delivery of promised reforms can easily be felt in the political environment. Are we really losing our cool at the drop of a hat? Has it become the trend to publicize and create a villain out of every remark made on the public platform? Have we become too judgmental and less tolerant? Or the big question is- do we need an overhauling of our political system? Let’s start from the root: Eligibility Criteria to be a political leader in India Searching and researching through the civics of India, the facts gathered to be a member of parliament in India are the following: • To be a citizen of India with a voter registration • Age of 25 years to be a member of Legislative Assembly and minimum age of 30 years to be a member of Legislative Council • A deposit of rupees 10,000/-. With no reference to the basic educational qualification here, don’t you think the time has come to revise and reframe the criteria. While there are few exceptions where the IAS officer and others of the same cadres are recruited, the question is on the quality of around 5000 elected candidates (MLA’s and MP’s) from the population of 1.2 billion. We do look for excellence right from birth of our children and try our level best to equip them with the best set of academic scores, skills, attitudes, values and what not, just for a job to have financial security in life. Even MNC’s hire the best of talents to have the optimum benefits from their employees. But, when it comes to running a country, why all these are compromised? Don’t you think, just knowing your constituency is not good enough? To be a health minister or an aviation minister, one needs to be qualified enough to understand the nitty-gritty’s of the sector or the portfolio, they have been bestowed upon? Decide yourself. Training and Capacity Building of the political sector Elected representatives of the most diverse and the largest democracy must rise as an organised sector. Initiating from the orientation programmes about the portfolios and job responsibilities held by the MP’s and MLA’s, the next step could be documenting the issues and concerns of their constituencies to function better. Capacity building is all about building abilities, relationships and values that enable us to perform better and function effectively. Introducing a well laid-out training programme from time to time will not only help our leaders to discuss their plans, but it will also promote sustainable development. The idea here is to utilize their strengths and resources to realize the dream of “developed India”. After all, as a human, each one of us would love to achieve excellence (Politicians included). Sense and sensitivities Keeping in mind, the digital revolution and over-exposure of media available even to the grain of sand, each of the political leader must hone the skills of speaking sensibly and responsibly during the public address or otherwise. Just being an excellent orator is not worthy enough. It would not be an exaggeration if we as the citizen of India demand to have a written “Code of Conduct” for every member of the parliament. You represent us not only in India but also on the global arena. As a rising economy, we must learn to use our “common sense” before blurting out anything and most significantly start looking up at India as the land of many religions with equal rights. In this 21st Century, it has become utmost important for them to break the narrow shackles of colour, caste, creed and of course gender. Raise the bar now. Be Accountable Last but not the least, every organisation has a rule of appraisal (self and by the employer both). This rule must be applied to the political sector also. Clearly stated objectives during the time of elections, is the first step. Secondly, a quarterly report on the targets achieved in their constituency must be published. Transparency in finance and work done, both should be maintained and shared with the voters. Finally, a system to make them more accountable towards their work and responsibilities must be developed. The right to challenge the five years tenure if the promises are not kept must be introduced for every position. “You have given us 68 years of corruption and scams, show some courage now and make India- Swachh Bharat from mind, body and soul.” Do not let the miniscule particle of dust become a pain…
