A paradigm shift taking place in Indian Politics reflects that a time has come for the politician to deliver what has been promised to the voter, or else he will be shown the door. I would say that this is the privy purses moment for Indian Politics. In a global world, dynasties are bound to be dwarfed and the voice of people is far greater in enormity, than the shine of gilt. The only thing left is for the system and its voices to now keep quiet and listen carefully to the drums of thunder that are rolling, far in the distance from amidst the clouded skies.

Arvind Kejriwal along with his Aam Aadmi Party has proven in Delhi that there is a constituency, smart and savvy, informed and empowered, which will henceforth participate, and I believe that finally, drawing room discussions of the past which had shifted to newsrooms in the last decade or so are now going to be the discourse in parliaments across India. Thank heavens!

So it is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) all the way, redefining India’s politics of hope and ringing in a new period of time by shaking up an overfed, obese system which has been in denial for over four decades now.

A section of society in India has been crying for notice, shrieking for attention for a while now, but the over ambitious dynastic exigencies of some national and some regional political parties remained hard of hearing out of convenience because their number was scarce. Their focus was on the poor, who are big in number, and on how to exploit them, and on the rich, although miniscule in percentages but those who had the power to fuel the process, and on how to make them and keep them wealthier, whereas a growing middle class, educated and aspiring was left going to seed, creative and capable, enthusiastic and inspired with information and self realization which was left to rot or else drain the brain of this country, because of an assumption that it didn’t count.

Patronizing young and old Baba’s and Baby’s brushed off the resurgence of this wonderful new Indian with carelessness, and went on with the belief that their vote banks lie in what the Papa’s and Mummy’s coming with archaic notions of India, told them was true. 

Now, suitably shaken and jolted out of their slumber, the Baba’s and Baby’s are disappointed and shocked. They are going to take stock and introspect. That is only possible if they don’t allow themselves to fall back to the comfort of their surroundings of misleading sycophants. They are in a state of disbelief that a party comprising of young hopefuls and driven, having put aside their careers and ironically having made way for a more jobless polity, has risen in just an year to put the 125 year old legacy of the Congress and 125 year old legacy of those who blame it on the Congress, to shame. This, when it is only in Delhi as the rest is yet to follow.

Yes, let us get it right. The AAP has been successful in waking up, hopefully, a more than content political strain deep in sleep under the warm duvet’s of an illusion that it is only two parties, the Indian National Congress and the BJP, sometimes in cohorts and sometimes not, and has made them smell the coffee, made them realize that they better include an ignored India in their agenda, or else shut shop for good.

New Delhi is only the litmus test, and I believe that the effect is going to spread across the length and breadth of the rest of the country if the two parties, Congress and BJP, especially Congress, do not understand that it is the people of India they serve, it is people of India they are answerable to.

Good Governance, Credible Leadership and Accountability!

That is the mantra and had better be the future of Indian Politics along with inclusion of ideas and new models, and no, it is not only the seasoned politician who knows what is good for this country; it is the common man, living in his hell, who knows better. Present politics had better be open to the emergence of a people in expectation who are not ready to compromise for less, because one fact has once and for all been settled with the announcements of the results of the present elections in the capital city of India and that is, that now Indians don’t need money to buy muscle; that on the contrary, they have empowered muscle available in abundance to pick up for free from every abandoned street corner of the country. And yes, this is no new age gangster, this is the graduate, post graduate and PhD, lifting himself and herself from the dregs and darkness that their ancestors have been compelled to search for their survival in, their ancestors who have saved every hard earned penny through absolute insult and adversity, and yet made sure that their children are encouraged by them to be idealistic about the idea of India and to help create a better world.

The credit for all the good that has happened in India over the last 40 years goes entirely to the people of India, neither its Government, nor its bureaucracy. Yes, full marks to all those who have had the courage to migrate to unknown places over the last 40 years of political hell in India, lived in dismal conditions without water and electricity, in slums, under plastic sheets, taken turns in shifts to sleep, worked overtime and been underpaid; all those who have saved the money they earned with their sweat and toil, and then invested it in the education of their children who have struggled against all odds to eventually find a voice now.

The numbers of such people of India is huge, and is going to get bigger and bigger from here. This is one electric community of India which cannot be taken lightly, which is charging the very revolution in the political process of present India, which is propelled with an energy of knowledge and freedom of speech which no product of public or private school, no product of legacy or privilege can dare to compare with.

The tribe is only growing, and it is going to be unstoppable in no time, beware!

Yes, every constituency needs a leader and every state must find its leader now. The son/s anointed at the centres and their sycophants had better face the fact that they will have to muster up the courage to confront their own opponents at the centre and give way for each of their leaders within their parties to face theirs. It is no longer a game where the Baba’s can come visiting the state or the city, the district or the village and bless their toiling prodigies taking away the fame when walking away with all the laurels of success, and when not successful, conveniently discarding the debris of failure in the poor grass roots workers ownership.

We are in very enlightened times and we are now at the cusp of a phase when each person in his or her right can take on the system and defy it if it so requires.

As we at ACEE-The Third Eye kick off this week with our support to FLASHPOINT, a festival of films on Human Rights, and with a press conference on the 10^th, which is World Human Rights Day, along with the celebration of the life of Nelson Mandela who left this world last week, but has set the agenda for equality, we would like to thank all our partners and all our supporters for standing by our endeavours to create a environment where larger numbers of people stand for what is right and stand against those who believe that power is their destiny, their birthright.

We are happy to help our political system, the two oldest and largest political parties towards realization that inclusive growth can only begin from the inclusion of idealists among their own party cadres.

While going to print I chanced upon this update put up by none other than Mr. Arun Jaitley – “Is the AAP merely a freak phenomenon? Or is it going to be a lasting experiment? The last word on this cannot be said at this moment. This party is unconventional. It has attempted to exploit the general mood of cynicism. It has made unrealistic promises and does not want to sit in a position of responsibility where it has to walk its talk. The very suggestion of being in government to implement its policy and promises appears to be scary for this party. In a democracy, the voters vote in order to elect the government. When there are no clear majorities, the government formation is an art of the possible. The Congress Party can give the AAP outside support in order to form a government. In Power, such a party would be like a fish out of water. It is possible to make exaggerated promises, and capture the imagination of a few by making unimplementable promises. The strategy of the party is to avoid power rather than be in a position to implement the unimplementable.”

The above is the very thing that AAP must not fall for. The very thing that is meant to make them feel that they are wrong in the stance that they have taken of not taking the support of the Congress and forming the Government in New Delhi. The trap is being laid out for them and if AAP bites the bait, it will cease to grow.

My advice: Let this be a hung parliament, or let the BJP form the Government. With five months to go for the general elections, the worst thing for AAP would be to allow the INC and BJP to join hands together and make them fail. Sit in opposition, or let it hang, that is the change this country is looking for.