The great Indian uprising

Politics is historically considered as a dirty arena in the Indian society. A part we love to comment on and criticize but choose not be a part off. Tides have changed in the past few years and the youth wants to get its hands dirty and clean the system from within. I find this change not only invigorating but also a bit scary.

Scary because we (the youth) are always impatient and need quick changes. We choose sides and label others by demeaning terms (aaptards, bhakts, prestitutes, or intellectuals). We are enthusiastic to bring a change but are not so keen to listen to our fellow Indians. This has also been a shortcoming of most political parties in India but what they lack in sound judgement they make up by being shrewd and ``diplomatic''.  Unfortunately, that is how politics works you need to find your way by making alliances immaterial of whether the alliance consists of contrasting views (PDP & BJP alliance in JnK).

In recent months the governing BJP has made its policies clear and the constant friction with the intellectuals (mostly comprising of the youth) are clear signs of a civil uprising. The problem, in my view, started with the umpteen promises made by the BJP during the elections. Most indians were certain that they couldn't be fulfilled but we are a hopeful group of fools. We believe in giving people a chance, as done in the case of the British, Mughals, and Pakistan, and a great orator was `definitely' a better choice than a papu. Unfortunately for the BJP they promised more than they could chew on and the intellectuals hate being taken for a ride.

Over time it became clear and obvious that the ruling party had no clear plan and relied heavily on foreign direct investment (FDI). FDI has been a backbone of several developing countries that are homogeneous and have well-regulated economic and political infrastructure to support FDI. Sadly this is not the case with India. India needs reforms in major sectors like roads, railways, tax-system, etc. that are quintessential to economic growth and hence to better regulate the FDI. This lack of vision that growth comes from within is one of the major causes of friction between the ruling BJP and the so-called intellectuals. 

The uprisings (Award-wapasi, FTII fiasco, Kanhiya sedition, etc.) due to the constant disappointments have become frequent and the lack of interest from the government to address the concerns of its people is, to say the least, disturbing. The concerns raised by the intellectuals are genuine and should not be taken lightly, but instead the BJP leaders resort to hate-mongering (even shown during their election campaign, but forgotten due to the overall glossy picture portrayed) and name-calling. Patronising intellectuals is probably the worst mistake the BJP could make because history is evident that condescending intellectuals has always led to grave consequences for the ruling parties.

That being said, I have hope (Yes, I'm one of the hopeful fools) that Indians (irrespective of caste, creed or political beliefs) will rise like a phenix. I have hope that the government will adopt a democratic and secular point of view rather than an authoritarian policy it currently seems to implement. I have hope that we as Indians will stop labelling our fellow Indians and learn to listen and understand before we speak.