Unraveling the AAP

The AAP has come under a lot of fire recently for their high handed, uncouth and racists statements and, in general, not behaving like a 'normal' political party should. Kejriwal has slept on the pavement in freezing rain and has shouted himself hoarse while condemning the Delhi police for not doing their duty. Various members of the party are making contradictory statements and there is no attempt to forge a common agenda. This blog will not attempt to justify their actions but rather to understand the ethos and motivation that goes behind all this.

I would like to make 3 points:

1. The AAP today resembles the Congress in pre-independence days. The Congress had a single point programme and that was Swarajya. Apart from that, it had a lot of conflicting ideologies. Nehru and Jinnah, Tilak and Gokhale did not see eye to eye on almost everything and the differences between Sardar Patel and Nehru were all too clear in the immediate aftermath of independence. Similarly, the AAP has started out with a single point agenda, Stated narrowly it is the elimination of corruption in the body politic and stated broadly it is an attempt to reform democratic institutions in India. This idea appeals to a very broad sweep of people. It has definite appeal to the educated middle class (the sort of people who will read this blog) and equally it will appeal to the rehri wallah who has to pay a hafta to the beat constable. Corruption in India is a universal subject. From the so called 'transactional' corruption faced by the rehri wallah to the institutionalized corruption of the 2G scam. It is therefore natural that a movement or party whose main plank is anti-corruption will appeal to all types of people. And therein lies the problem! A Meera Sanyal from an MNC bank may feel just as strongly about corruption as Somnath Bharti who is a street smart lawyer. However on most other matters they are unlikely to agree. This is what is creating the dissonance between statements of various members of the AAP. Eventually, as the party matures it will have to resolve these contradictions. As of now the media and the PR machinery of the established parties is having a field day with attacks on the AAP about these issues. I feel that this is an essential maturing phase for the AAP and they will learn how to handle internal contradictions. It is not a major priority as of now.
   
2. The second point is about methods. Strictly constitutional and conventional methods are rarely successful in solving intractable problems. The established political parties have virtually institutionalized corruption and the attendant issue of shiftless public servants who are unwilling to do their duty. As per the AAP, 70% of the complaints that they have received on the anti-corruption helpline are about the Police. All of us have experienced this even it is a small matter of paying off a traffic policeman for a speeding offence. The fact is that the Delhi police IS corrupt and nobody can deny that. The AAPs approach is based on two premises. One, approach the problem from the bottom upwards and try to address the Aam Aadmi's problems first and two, use direct public action rather than strictly conventional means to solve the issues. According to the Press, Somnath Bharti has become a hero of sorts in Khirki Extension. Whether you like it or not drugs and prostitution were serious problems there and they were being practiced by African residents. It is also true that several complaints by the local residents had not achieved anything. The conclusion, therefore, that the police were being paid off is difficult to escape. Bharti's methods, however crude and unpalatable they are to the educated middle class is the only thing that has worked after years of inaction. Kejriwal is not the first Chief Minister of Delhi to demand that the Police should report to him. Shiela Dixit had the same demand for the last 15 years. She also had the advantage of having the Congress in power at the Centre. However, her gentle, constitutional protests fell on deaf ears. It may need the junoon of a 'mad' chief minister to actually make it happen.
   
3. My last point is about who exactly are the Aam Aadmi? They are hardly the sort of people who will read this blog. They are not the educated, genteel folk who inhabit the corridors of power whether it be in public life or in the private sector. The Aam Aadmi are rough, crude, basic people with all the prejudices and problems that such people have. They have patriarchal attitudes towards women and think that Africans are 'habshis' who eat children. This, whether you like it or not, is the Aam Aadmi. Unfortunately, they don't understand gentle discourse. Rather they are attracted to the crude humour of a Kumar Vishwas. The AAP reflects this reality. Kejriwal and some of his team such as Yogendra Yadav and Bhushan are able to provide a bridge of some sort between what the AAP is really like and what the educated middle class wants them to be. The BJP has handled this by putting a lid on the more radical elements of the Sangh Pariwar - some of their utterances would be a serious embarrassment to the urbane Mr. Jaitley and even Mr. LK Advani. Mr. Modi himself is almost too radical for most of them. It would be a real pity if the AAP retreated from the freshness of their approach. They run the risk of losing their connect with the real Aam Aadmi if they tried to mould themselves in the same way as the established political parties. At best they need to curb vigilantism and expressions of rank prejudice. Other than that if they lose the support of opportunists like Chetan Bhagat and their ilk, it's actually better for them.

The AAP is in the news today. The English media has already started turning against them if Arnab Goswami's News Hour is any indication. However, the real Aam Aadmi has a lot riding on the success of the AAP. They represent the first hope of real change that we have seen in years. The educated middle class may be repelled by some of their tactics but we need to see beyond the obvious. As I said in my previous blog the philosophy that the AAP needs to adopt is of Nishkam Karam. They have to do their duty without thinking of the outcome and the reward. 

Nishkam Karam and the AAP

Nishkam Karam is an action performed according to one's sense of duty without the expectation of results. The opposite of Nishkam Karam is Sakam Karam which pertains to actions undertaken with an end objective in mind and is based on selfish motivation.

Most thinkers in the West and especially those who work with companies are strong advocates of Sakam Karam. Phrases like 'Management by Objectives' and 'Key Result Areas' and so forth are results of this kind of thinking. Performance bonuses and incentives are also an outcome of Sakam Karam thinking. On the other hand Indian philosophy focuses more on Nishkam Karam and indeed our most profound philosophical work, the Geeta is entirely based on this thinking. I feel that Sakam Karam has had a profoundly negative impact on commercial enterprises. It is outside the scope of this post to dwell on how short term, result oriented management ignores value creation in the long term. How 'quarter on quarter' growth has destroyed the core of otherwise well managed corporations. The purpose here is to look for a parallel in the political arena especially with reference to the fledgling AAP.

One of the strongest criticisms of the AAP is that they are politically inexperienced and unproven. This is of course true and is applicable to any young person at the start of their career. In my view this is a non issue. The fact is that both the established national parties in India (not to mention a slew of regional ones) have made a spectacular hash of governance. Even Modi's Gujarat has chinks in its armour and as for West Bengal and UP the less said the better. Hence, there is every reason to look for something new and not keep harking back to the lack of administrative experience of the AAP.

The second criticism about the AAP stems from the seemingly unconventional methods that they adopt. Yesterday I watched an extremely amusing (to me) debate on NDTV in which both the BJP and the Congress tried to belittle the anti corruption helpline that has been started in Delhi by the AAP. While the major parties went all out to criticize this initiative the fact was that the first day got as many as 25,000 calls about corruption! The political establishment is missing the main point. The fact is that our country is simply steeped in corruption and that the Aam Aadmi is just waiting to find a way of expressing his frustration. The Congress in its years of governance in Delhi did not do anything about it and the BJP is not much better. The AAP is at least providing a way forward. It may be imperfect but there is a willingness and desire to do something. One may argue that the multi thousand crore scams that one has got so used to hearing about are not going to be addressed by this help line. That is obviously true, but at least the 'transactional corruption' that Sanjay Jha referred to in the NDTV programme so glibly will get impacted to some extent.

Finally coming to the real purpose of writing this post. The fact of the matter is that corruption cannot be removed by waving a magic wand. Good governance will not descend from heaven. The corrupt edifice that has been created in Indian politics due to years of apathy and neglect will not go away in a hurry. The main thing is for the AAP to follow through diligently on what they undertake. There is no need to worry about results. Results will take care of themselves if they remain true to their ethical and moral philosophy. Most politicians are obsessed with re-election. The AAP should make the most of the time they have got to institute real, sincere and long lasting changes in the body politic. Re election will follow.

The Aam Aadmi Rises

A lot has been written about the Aam Aadmi Party and there will be a lot more in the coming weeks and months. Comments range from the fatuously feminist Sagarika Ghosh who questions why they call themselves 'Aadmi' to more evolved analysis about their aims and objectives.

In 2011 I had written about the Anna Hazare movement. The crux of the matter was that Kejriwal and his team had their eyes on a cleansing of the body politic. Or in a more gory analogy, thrusting a stake into the corrupt edifice that democracy has become in India. These objectives do not sound like evolution. They are revolutionary in intent and scope and that is the purpose of this post.

It is unfortunate that the major political parties have almost become clones of each other. The BJP may have a somewhat more right wing, Hindu supremacist agenda but its modus operandi is no different from the Congress. It was a telling moment when the political class closed ranks against Anna Hazare's movement. None of them really wanted an effective Lok Pal. It is another matter that the bill has now been passed to chalk up a few brownie points for the Government but I am prepared to wager that the effectiveness will be next to nil. The fact is that corruption and the related ills of inefficiency, wastefulness and lavish display have become part of our national culture. The shenanigans at Saifai conducted by the Yadav clan are a case in point.

AAP should not consider themselves to be a part of the political establishment just because they have won the Delhi elections. There is a charming naivete and idealism about the way they have started work in Delhi. This is as it should be. They are more of a people's movement rather than a political party. If they remain true to their original ethos they will achieve great things. A parallel is best drawn with the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. Originally idealistic, it degenerated into totalitarianism in the Stalin era. Kejriwal runs the risk of becoming a fat cat complete with designer kurta pyjamas, SUV and gun toting guards if he decides to compromise on his principles. There will be strong temptation for him to do so especially in the heady aftermath of the Delhi elections.

For his sake and for the country's I wish that he continues to tread the straight, narrow and difficult path for it is the only path that can rescue our country from the morass that it has sunk into. Tagore's inspirational poem about constant, solitary endeavour 'Ekla Chalo Re' should be a beacon light for the organisation:

If they answer not to thy call walk alone

If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,

O thou unlucky one,

open thy mind and speak out alone.

If they turn away, and desert you when crossing the wilderness,

O thou unlucky one,

trample the thorns under thy tread,

and along the blood-lined track travel alone.

If they do not hold up the light when the night is troubled with storm,

O thou unlucky one,

with the thunder flame of pain ignite thy own heart,

and let it burn alone.