Updated: For people that want to understand the manifestos of the key parties, this single page PDF from The Hindu is a good source. Some people on Twitter seem to think we didn’t read the manifestos.

The biggest circus of 2009 – the Indian Parliamentary Election – has ended. The decisive mandate has left many stunned & speechless. I measure my feelings by the Richter scale – so I’m – devastated. We are inundated by claims from Talking Heads that Indians have voted for Stability, Secularity or Pro-Nuclear Deal. All that bunkum has left me slightly nauseous.

To my utter consternation, Sukumar Rajagopal is pleased as punch. Since our reactions are on the opposite ends of the spectrum, in the true spirit of democracy, we had a discussion to understand each other’s perspective. For Parliament literally means, “Speak Your Mind”.

Priya: I’m extremely depressed by the election results. But inexplicably, you’re as happy as a sun-bathing cat.

Sukumar: This is a positive vote for Stability. It allows the Congress to pursue their policies without being hobbled by the Left. What bothers you so much?

Priya: Well, I expected a change. So many things are hopelessly wrong today. And now, tomorrow won’t be any different. Doesn’t corruption bother people any more? Billions of $$ were gobbled up by the DMK goons in Spectrum Allocation. Congress let Quattrochi escape – and here’s the cropper – our Prime Minister almost apologized for putting him through “all the trouble”.

Sukumar: I agree, corruption is an endemic problem in the Indian system. I wonder if anyone can clean it up. As for Quattrochi, what did the BJP do when they were in power for 5 years? They could have easily put all the Bofors scamsters behind bars. What prevented them from doing it?

Priya: So, nothing will clean up India – short of a miracle? I don’t know, I think there are clean leaders in India, that can make a difference. Such as Modi or Nitish Kumar. How about Homeland Security? Terrorists attack us with impunity. Take the ghastly attacks in Mumbai, the nerve center of India. I think Congress – while not exactly soft – isn’t hard enough on terror.

Sukumar:Terrorism is an international scourge. There’s no easy solution. What did BJP do during Kandahar, Babri Masjid or the Godra riots? That doesn’t inspire confidence, at least not mine. Will wonders never cease? You – of all people – are rooting for Modi? Talk about a volte face!

Priya: About Kandahar – BJP freed some terrorists to save 184 passengers. What would you have them do, let a bunch of innocent people die? I don’t have to be a trident wielding, saffron clad Hindutva activist, to appreciate Modi’s administrative prowess. He has indeed reduced corruption in Gujarat. As an honest person that longs for a cleaner government, its hard not to appreciate Narendra Modi for that. But yes, I’m unable to shake the bad taste in my mouth that the Godra riots have created.

Why do you support Congress? What have they done?

Sukumar: If Modi is loved in Gujarat, how did Congress win more seats in this election than in 2004? Even the margins of victory for BJP have come down in Gujarat!

You have to remember, Congress came to power on the Aam Aadmi plank. Their NREGA is  a damn good program, that guarantees employment for the rural poor. But what is more heartening to me is – they continued Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan – BJP’s well-thought out education program.

Priya: Now that you mention it, Praful Patel has performed stupendously by privatizing airports. Laloo Yadav turned the creaking, groaning, inefficient Indian Railways around.

Sukumar: Patel did that in the face of severe opposition! Turning around Railways was thought to be an impossible task. Almost, a Labor of Hercules!

Priya: Still, they had strange bed-fellows. They made CBI their hand-maiden, so that murderers like Shibu Soren could go scot-free. And how about the two-faced Communists. According to them, supporting the United States is unpatriotic. But, they’ll readily sell us to China! “Isms” of all shades disgust me. Not to mention the despicable DMK. Congress never even let out a squeak when Karunanidhi insulted the sentiments of the Hindu majority, by stating that Ram & Sita were siblings. Just so a DMK minister could execute the Sethu Samudram project & line DMK pockets. But, no one was taken to task.

Sukumar: Yes, DMK shouldn’t have done that. You & me, we are non-believers, but we respect the beliefs of others. But, DMK? They are just hypocrites who wouldn’t dare question the beliefs of the minority. I’m certainly glad that they don’t trample on the sentiments of at least some pockets of the society!

Communists were the fly in the ointment for the Nuclear Deal. That’s another achievement of the Congress-led UPA. They resisted all attempts by the Left to sabotage the deal. They stood their ground.

Priya: I still have some grievances around River Water Sharing. Mainly, Cauvery Water. They couldn’t enforce the Supreme Court’s order on Karnataka. They were impotent even when SM Krishna’s Congress government was in power in Karnataka. What’s the use of a National party, if it won’t abandon petty regional interests?

Sukumar: Could BJP make it happen, when it was in power? No one wants to jeopardize their vote banks. I’m happier with a moderately competent government, that is peace-loving & non-threatening to communal harmony. Rather than a potentially competent – yet, rabidly communal government! The latter can cause severe harm to India’s stability as a society.

Priya: Let’s cut the bull, Sukumar. The lower strata of the society voted in droves. When I spoke to some of them, they didn’t even realize that voting for the Parliament (Center) & the Assembly (State) were different. None of them knew about the Nuclear Deal. Most didn’t care about corruption. So how did BJP botch this election? They snatched defeat from the jaws of victory!

Sukumar: I don’t think the Common Men & Women are too disillusioned with Congress. BJP mismanaged their campaign. Advani never proposed good schemes. He didn’t attack the astronomical prices of essential commodities – even though their prices have gone up by 30-40% or even 100-200%, thanks to galloping inflation. That’s a hot button issue for the lower strata. BJP never addressed such basic concerns. Instead, they reopened Ram Janma Bhoomi! Clueless of them.

Priya: I guess you’re right about the Center. But, what about the state? Why didn’t people reject the puke-worthy DMK? I’m shocked that they didn’t face a stronger anti-incumbency wave. Their blatant, shameless promotion of their family members is scary. When Azhagiri’s faction reportedly burnt down the Dinakaran (Newspaper) office, 3 innocent people died. No action has been taken so far – Diddly Squat.

Sukumar: Yes, that is indeed deeply troubling. However, there has been a significant swing of 15% against DMK. Unfortunately 10% of that went to DMDK, Vijayakanth’s party – whose sole reason for existence seems to be to split the ADMK vote! What was Jayalalitha thinking, when she gave so many seats to PMK, MDMK & the Left? Had ADMK contested on those constituencies, it might have changed the outcome of this election, at least in Tamil Nadu.

Priya: I’m grief stricken that the anti-incumbency vote in Tamil Nadu was only 15%. Law & Order has gone to the dogs. DMK distributed money openly to buy votes. Electricity or lack of it in Tamil Nadu, has been nothing short of a disaster! So many small industries went bankrupt thanks to the inept handling by Arcot Veerasamy, the Electricity Minister. How did people forgive DMK?

And while we suffered from Inflation, Terrorism, Rowdyism & Shortage of Electricity, the DMK Supremo fasted for foreigners – Srilankan Tamils. I’ve never felt more insulted before.

Sukumar: IMHO, the most important reason for ADMK’s failure is Jayalalitha’s inability to propose solutions that provide hope. Right now, she merely criticizes DMK on every single thing under the sun. I would accuse BJP of the same foible. Neither parties had a proposal that could galvanize people to rally around them & vote for them.

Priya: When will this change? Are we doomed to put up with Congress & DMK?

Sukumar: BJP & ADMK have their work cut out for them. They have to understand the pulse of the Common People, think of Bold Policies to energize the masses. BJP has the unenviable task of finding a replacement for Advani. Will it be Modi? They better get cracking on cleaning up his “Minority Baiter” image. Not that Advani has a clean image either, what was he – an innocent bystander when Babri Masjid was destroyed?

Readers – What do you think? We’ve reached an impasse. Is there any hope for India? Is BJP our ticket for better governance? Or is it the Secular Congress? Tell us! We’d love to hear from you.

The world is abuzz with the gross human rights violations in Zimbabwe. Free & fair elections are well neigh impossible. Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader, is incarcerated whenever Robert Mugabe feels paranoid. The media is in shackles. Many people are homeless because of the mass evictions by the government. The police beat up anyone committing treason – as in, anyone not wearing “Mugabe” T-shirts or scarves. Zimbabwe is a shattered country. Its ruler is determined to cling on to power – if that means unleashing violence on his people, so be it.

Yet, when he was young, Mugabe was a kind, benevolent, decent man who sincerely wanted to liberate the black people in Rhodesia. And this same man became a Mad Dog & a Monster – who plunged the once serene, beautiful, relatively-affluent Zimbabwe into chaos. What happened is simple: Power Corrupts. And Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely. While we can’t blame Mugabe for all the ills of Zimbabwe, he did play a lead role in its descent. And the Zimbabweans are largely responsible – for not questioning him. For not voicing their concerns vociferously, when he was still a human being.

The glass is half full and half empty. It is preposterous – and naive – to assume that people are innately good & all wickedness seeps in later thru mysterious channels. Good behavior – or at least, an absence of bad behavior – should be reinforced thru checks & balances. Assuming that a nation’s Law & Order machinery is well-oiled & can govern itself – is galactic stupidity. In a democracy – by that I mean any form of government founded on Liberty, Equality & Fraternity – the onus of providing feedback to the leaders rests with the people.

Look around us. Sycophants have erected banners deifying various political leaders wherever you turn. “I Lay Myself at Thine Lotus Feet”. “My Lord – You Are India’s Answer to Kennedy!”. “First Buddha! Next, Jesus! Then Gandhi! Now, You!!”. “You Rise Amidst Failures Like a Phoenix! Oh, Indestructible One!”. Posters of leaders garbed as Mother Mary & Lord Shiva are immensely popular. All this is enough to turn anybody’s head. Surrounded by fawning butt-kissers, they over-estimate their power & achievements.  Very soon, they are cut off from the very people they wanted to serve. No leader – even well-meaning ones – will know their limits unless we dig our heels in & say “NO!”.

While India can’t be compared with the abyss that is now Zimbabwe, to a lesser degree, “The Quiet Indian” is responsible for its plight. I believe we can convert ourselves to “Argumentative Indians” by speaking up on less threatening situations. Enter the Free Market.

I recently stopped at “Vivek & Co” – a leading Household Appliances store in Chennai – to buy a blender. I selected a piece – before presenting me with a bill, the sales assistant said – “Inspect the piece now, Madam. No returns for any reason”. What the F*@#? I told her – “Do you realize you are breaking the law? As a consumer, I have every right to return a piece that is defective”. She looked taken aback – and recited her tag-line, “But that’s our company policy, Madam”. I was now mildly curious about her thought process – “You firmly believe that – in the hallowed grounds of your shop, your company policy supersedes this nation’s laws. Lady, I can sue you for that”. She looked hurt & miserable and said – “Shoddy products are the responsibility of the manufacturer”. I threw the blender at her – “Then, I’ll take my business to a store that’s responsible. Respect the laws of this land first”.

Not giving my business to Vivek & Co will not reduce them to penury. But, I can choose to have a pleasant shopping experience. I can assert my rights as a consumer. For which, Indians must know – make it “learn by heart” – their rights first. We have the right to return goods. No shop can charge us above the MRP price listed in the carton. Goods should function as advertised: Quality is an entitlement, not a privilege.

Few months back, I unwrapped a cake of “Lux” soap – and found a few hairs sticking on the surface. This was an unbearable breach of basic hygiene. l wrote a stinker to “Hindustan Unilever Limited” (HUL): “Is HUL in the habit of selling used soaps? Kindly send your team to inspect these hairs. Assuage my curiosity. Are they armpit or pubic hairs?”. I got a response within a few days – They were terribly sorry & would I consider meeting their PR Manager? After swapping more emails & phone calls to ascertain what happened, a PR Manager turned up – laden with “Lux” soaps as gifts. He was profusely apologetic & thanked me for bringing this problem to their attention – and giving them an opportunity to analyze & correct their assembly line. I remain a loyal customer of HUL to this day.

Mistakes are inevitable. It is a company’s reaction to them that separates the also-rans from the truly great. Not all companies will react to complaints favorably. But, I’m glad to say that most companies & businesses respond positively. A vast majority of them resolve the complaint to the customer’s satisfaction. The trick is knowing how to voice the protest & where. If all else fails, one can at least spread their sob-story about the company. Even if you influence & convert 1% of your audience to savvy consumers, you’ve done your bit for Capitalism.

My uncle clicked his tongue deprecatingly. “What will you do about the misdeeds of politicians? Whenever a VIP with Zee category security whizzes by, all traffic is stopped for 15 minutes. You can’t stop corruption in the government offices, can you?”. People always imagine the worst possible circumstance to make their inaction credible. Our inability to handle problems larger than ourselves – doesn’t absolve us from solving smaller ones. What is the probability of us running afoul of a kinky MP or an acquisitive thug? How often do we deal with corrupt bureaucrats?

Now, picture this. People break the queue before you in super markets – All the time. New apartment complexes spring up in our neighborhoods & the builders flout the laws on Noise Pollution – All the time. The school in your zone parks its buses & vans on both sides of the road, blocking traffic – All the time. The hospital you go to prescribes needless tests to jack up the bill – All the time. Can’t we at least try to solve these? If we think every single problem is beyond our control, we are less than human, a blight on humanity.

In a high PDI culture like India, people are afraid of voicing their opinion. I believe that such small but fair protests will inculcate the habit of asserting onself. Small successes as a consumer in the Free Market will embolden them. In due course of time, people will become more confident – confident people are seldom subservient. Sooner or later, their rulers will get the message.

My neighbor wistfully tells me that every city needs 10 activists. 10?? Every single one of us should uphold our rights! Many Indians speak longingly of the need for a “Benevolent Dictator”. That’s an oxymoron. “We need to impose Martial Law” they say. Or, “Japan should take over & beat us to shape”. Ain’t gonna happen! Is there any frigging use of hoping that others will solve our mess? So, let’s stop moaning & start asserting ourselves. Yes, many things are broken. And no, you can’t change the world. Let’s acknowledge our limits and choose our battles wisely – battles that can be won. Believe me, it will make a cumulative difference.

The world is chock full of tiresome, litigious people. I fervently hope they won’t accuse me of pilfering this title from de Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America”. For the past few weeks, some over-sized issues are stewing in my under-sized brain. There’s no room for plagiarism, as it were. I’m not competent enough to steal, that’s my defense.

de Tocqueville was a French Historian who had a nagging question – How did democracy succeed in America? Many countries struggle to implement democracy in Circa 2008. Which begs the question – What is different about America that democracy succeeded? So, in the 1830s, de Tocqueville toured America to find germane answers. And out of it came the book “Democracy in America” – an insightful, seminal work on Sociology. Its brilliant – and a bit too long. You can’t expect a guy named Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville to be the beacon of brevity.

But, my post is not about America. Ever since I started reading this book – for which I paid a princely sum of $5 in a flea market – I’ve been thinking about India. Has democracy succeeded in India?

Back to the French bloke. What are the pre-conditions for democracy to work? A balanced mix of equality & liberty. You can’t create an egalitarian society by passing a law. As Aristotle said, Balance of Power = Balance of Property. America was a virgin territory & any one could stake their claim on vast tracts of land. Poverty was booted out to a great extent. This also rendered the Class differences between the Aristocrats & the Peasants meaningless. When everyone could make money, who gives a rat’s ass about pedigree? Thus, America became anti-elitist, as money served as a great equalizer.

Equality is a pipe dream in a country where 50-60% of the people are poor – as in India. But, Indian economy has improved & we are inching upwards on many human development indices. There is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Money has made pre-existing caste & class differences redundant, at least in the cities. So has that brought about a sense of equality at least in the burgeoning middle class?

Equality manifests itself as liberty. Liberty to express oneself. Liberty to pull up the elected representatives. Liberty to assert one’s rights without fear of a backlash. So, are we free? We have a megalithic, crumbling bureaucracy. Corruption is endemic. Discontent is simmering. Yet, we keep mum. Most people are too apathetic to be outraged, even when a Central Minister literally got away with murder. Even when Party Leaders make a mockery of elections by rigging polling booths. Even when rulers anoint their scions as the heir-apparents & Regents.

Then how the bloody hell will democracy work? A nation’s constitution isn’t worth the piece of paper it is written on, if its people don’t play an active role in implementing it. So, what is it about India that stymies democracy? To answer that, I turned to Geert Hofstede’s book, “Cultures and Organizations”. Hofstede is a scientist in IBM & he spent 25 years studying what gives every country a certain cultural ethos. In plain language, he attempted to understand why IBM employees in 53 countries behaved differently. He realized that every culture has 5 indices that govern behavior, especially group behavior. One of them is the Power Distance Index.

The Power Distance Index (PDI) is a measure of inequality in a society. In countries where PDI is high, people with more money or status expect subservient behavior from others. In an organization, this translates to bosses being malignantly autocratic at worst or benignly paternal at best. Subordinates are told what to do. Brown-nosing, flattery and deference to one’s superiors is the norm. The PDI for Scandinavian countries is low. Denmark for e.g., has a PDI of 18. US & Canada have a PDI of 40 & 39 respectively. India has a PDI of 77. In countries with a high PDI, people are discouraged from voicing their opinions to their betters. Confrontation is frowned upon & people grin & bear unspeakable treatment from those that are more powerful.

A child is expected to obey what the elders say. A woman is expected to sublimate her desires and accept those of her in-laws. I accept that women have started fighting back these days, but you get the general idea. We are wired for a high PDI culture. Which is why in India, miscreants can go scot-free. People are terrified of opposing others who just may be more powerful than them. They wait for someone else to take charge of the battering ram. They wait for a critical mass of brave souls to rally around a cause. Then, and only then, is it safe for them to voice their opinions. Till that point, the enlightened few let their wounds fester. The rest don’t even realize that they got a raw deal, that things could be better.

Doesn’t anyone object? Actually, the poorer strata of India have started slamming their opinions down the throats of others. They are vociferous & they intend to be heard. Which would be good, were it not for the solution they seek. They expect the government to solve their problems – more pay, better healthcare, more subsidies, better schools, free housing, loan waivers – in short, they want Socialism. Which is precisely the antiquarian ideology that led us where we are.

de Tocqueville says that democracy will succeed only when an over-whelming majority of citizens have similar needs. Poor people want socialism & everyone else wants capitalism. Governments get confused signals from people, make half-assed attempts at capitalism & end up doling out freebies in a desperate bid for votes. After all, the motley crew of “everyone else” hardly votes, so why should anyone cater to their whimsies?

In such countries, journalists should steamroller errant administrators. They should goad people to action, by spreading awareness. I’m utterly disappointed by the lack-luster performance of mainstream media. Most news channels & magazines are condemned acolytes of Indian Cinema & all things flaky. They content themselves with ersatz reporting on sensational murders, amorous adventures of cricketers and wannabe starlets necking Mafia Dons.

How do we snap out of this? I think the Free Market shares close family ties with Democracy. One can learn to be a responsible citizen by being an assertive consumer. More on that in my next serving – “Democracy in India – Part 2″.