Skip to main content

Macro and micro levels in politics of swaraj... as AAP seeks to break an ugly nexus

By Indraneel Mukherjee* 

Over a hundred years ago Tagore had lamented in one of his many songs, speaking of his motherland Bharat Mata in utter disenchantment, he said - "Kaino cheye aacho go Maa? Ayeraa chaahenaa tomaaray chaahe naa re, aapono Ma-ayere naahin jaanein, ayeraa tomaaye kichu debe naa, debe naa – mitthaa kawhaye shudhu kawtoh ki bhaanein - kaino cheye aachogo Maa !?!" This is part of Rabindra Sangeet I quoted in original, in English it means – “Oh Mother why do you stare in the oblivion? Your children, do not want you ! They don't even recognise their very own Mother ! They will not give you anything but keep on making tall promises year after year, over ’n over again, in so many different masquerading ways! Why do you still wait and keep on expecting, they will do something good for you?"
Yes, sons there were a many! There was a Netaji, there was a Mahatma, Jawahar, lndira, Rajiv; there was Vajpayee, and a guileless Abdul Kalaam. Much earlier a Rajendra Prasad or a Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan! Till we reached the Era of Modi, Shah, Nadda, Yogi ! But what Tagore said was crystal clear – ‘why O mother you keep expecting these son's will ever do anything for you? No they only know how to cheat you’! And today even after 75 years that lndia gained independence we still struggle for a clean glass of water, education, health, good roads, electricity, transport - we are still badly struggling for a corruption free governance ! Instead we are still fighting lakhs of crores in written off NPAs, and after the dynasts', we have to digest the love of friends in Government helping select wealthy friends and filling up their coffers to make them the richest in the world!
In this background of Tagore's first hand experience on lamentable human behaviours we arrive at the 75th year of Indian Independence and there seems to be a great twist in the turn of events. “Hazaaron saal Nargis apnay benoori pe rotee hai, badi mushqil se hotaa hai chaman mein ek deedaver paidaa”! A Kejriwal has arrived and its AAP, AAP and AAP everywhere! After smashing down the hydra headed monstrous snakes of the corruption mafia, India is slowly getting secured. The new people on board this time besides Kejriwal are, Sanjay Singh, Gopal Rai, Manish Sisodia, a Satyendra Jain, a Bhagwant Maan, Raaghav Chaddaa and besides many a gem a great humanitarian Somnath Bharti!
I have yet to figure out why people at large especially the established, are always quite silent on Arvind Kejriwal and especially at media level, they are very careful not to name him in any discussion, leave alone any support! Is it cause of his hardcore honest and incorruptible image and their awkward state of incumbency? They are trying their sinister best to implicate the greatly effective minister Satyendra Jain, but everyone can sense the futility of their findings. It is extremely important that we side with this revolutionary party who are trying their utmost to break the ugly nexus of Indian corruption prevalent in high offices through n through! It is hugely lamentable to see how some of us react negatively, insensitively and irresponsibly towards this new AAP regime!
Well these are macro levels if we could call it so, of mundane politics – I have sat down to write about the micro levels of this new Party, and politics as envisaged by our South Delhi MLA Somnath Bharti and how greatly he has harnessed modern communication / technology in his daily, untiring workaholic style of functioning! His constituency of over 300 colonies is grouped into 35 Mohalla Sabhas each consisting of 5 - 6k voters. Each Mohalla Sabha has 3 to 4 Mohalla WhatsApp groups and in total there are 83 Mohalla WhatsApp groups which are called MLA's official Mohalla WhatsApp groups i.e. 83 MLA' virtual offices through which MLA and his office are available to people 24/7 for every need. A given format needs to be filled with the name, contact, date, problem faced, which department related etc. 
What people say about Somnath Bharti
It means if you have a water problem, electricity problem, water harvesting problem, desilting of drains and sewerage related problems, crater on roads or watering of road plants / horticulture problem – whatever the problem – the Whats app office of our MLA Bharti ji is abuzz with constant activity! Be it a happy ocassion, a birthday or a sad one no occasion is complete without his presence. During covid times / the most testing times, hospital beds, medicines, oxygen, general rations, cooked food twice a day to long lines of poor people – our Vidhayak was always there. Loss of lives, old people / covid patients dying in hospitals with no one to perform last rites, our MLA has done that too; he was seen attending to each one of them, when family members abandoned the final journey – truly devastating times! The Mohalla Sabha group meetings are carried over currently to e – meetings (which earlier used to be conducted physically) with all grievances and its solutions, sought together with civic service providers once every month on Zoom. Reviews – just four of them are collected with the pic of my area MLA, which speaks for itself.
Coming back to Tagore from whence we started. This time we got to give serious chance to the current set of sons / leaders in the horizon. They are born out of a struggle, and must be trusted with power completely; and as current India passes through some harrowing experiences hitherto unseen with astronomical loots – shrewdly legalized crimes by making it legal that no legal action can be taken on their actions and duly passed in Parliament!
Barring a few we are still quite a few political illiterates. And quite candidly Brecht commented and I quote – “The worst illiterate is the political illiterate. He hears nothing, sees nothing takes no part in political life. He doesn't seem to know the cost of life and living, the price of beans, of flour, of rent, of medicines all depend on political decisions. He even prides himself on his political ignorance, sticks out his chest and says he hates politics. He doesn't know, the imbecile, that from his political non-participation comes the prostitute, the abandoned child, the robber ‘n, worst of all, corrupt officials, the lackeys of exploitative multinational corporations!” So from whatever little I understand I strongly recommend the AAP – its time we gave them a chance and with all Power ! Otherwise we all know what a Winston Churchill had to say about India’s independence! This is what he said and I quote – “If Independence is granted to India, power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues, freebooters; all Indian leaders will be of low calibre and men of straw. They will have sweet tongues and silly hearts. They will fight amongst themselves for power and India will be lost in political squabbles. A day would come when even air and water would be taxed in India.” Word verbatim is coming true except a Kejriwal is proving him wrong completely … but the current Central dispensation?
---
*Celebrated singer-musician based in Delhi

Comments

Aftab said…
Beautifully written article! Absolutely loved it and couldn’t agree more with every sentiment, especially the Tagore quote at the beginning!
Anonymous said…
Excellent article. Glad to see a proactive AAP party focussed on real issues. Hope they stay focused & keep true to Their vision. Three cheers for their focus on Education & Medical.

TRENDING

Countrywide protest by gig workers puts spotlight on algorithmic exploitation

By A Representative   A nationwide protest led largely by women gig and platform workers was held across several states on February 3, with the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) claiming the mobilisation as a success and a strong assertion of workers’ rights against what it described as widespread exploitation by digital platform companies. Demonstrations took place in Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and other states, covering major cities including New Delhi, Jaipur, Bengaluru and Mumbai, along with multiple districts across the country.

CFA flags ‘welfare retreat’ in Union Budget 2026–27, alleges corporate bias

By Jag Jivan  The advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has sharply criticised the Union Budget 2026–27 , calling it a “budget sans kartavya” that weakens public welfare while favouring private corporations, even as inequality, climate risks and social distress deepen across the country.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

'Gandhi Talks': Cinema that dares to be quiet, where music, image and silence speak

By Vikas Meshram   In today’s digital age, where reels and short videos dominate attention spans, watching a silent film for over two hours feels almost like an act of resistance. Directed by Kishor Pandurang Belekar, “Gandhi Talks” is a bold cinematic experiment that turns silence into language and wordlessness into a powerful storytelling device. The film is not mere entertainment; it is an experience that pushes the viewer inward, compelling reflection on life, values, and society.

From water scarcity to sustainable livelihoods: The turnaround of Salaiya Maaf

By Bharat Dogra   We were sitting at a central place in Salaiya Maaf village, located in Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh, for a group discussion when an elderly woman said in an emotional voice, “It is so good that you people came. Land on which nothing grew can now produce good crops.”

The Epstein shock, global power games and India’s foreign policy dilemma

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  The “Epstein” tsunami has jolted establishments everywhere. Politicians, bureaucrats, billionaires, celebrities, intellectuals, academics, religious gurus, and preachers—all appear to be under scrutiny, even dismantled. At first glance, it may seem like a story cutting across left, right, centre, Democrats, Republicans, socialists, capitalists—every label one can think of. Much of it, of course, is gossip, as people seek solace in the possible inclusion of names they personally dislike. 

Paper guarantees, real hardship: How budget 2026–27 abandons rural India

By Vikas Meshram   In the history of Indian democracy, the Union government’s annual budget has always carried great significance. However, the 2026–27 budget raises several alarming concerns for rural India. In particular, the vague provisions of the VBG–Ram Ji scheme and major changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) have put the future of rural workers at risk. A deeper reading of the budget reveals that these changes are not merely administrative but are closely tied to political and economic priorities that will have far-reaching consequences for millions of rural households.

Michael Parenti: Scholar known for critiques of capitalism and U.S. foreign policy

By Harsh Thakor*  Michael Parenti, an American political scientist, historian, and author known for his Marxist and anti-imperialist perspectives, died on January 24 at the age of 92. Over several decades, Parenti wrote and lectured extensively on issues of capitalism, imperialism, democracy, media, and U.S. foreign policy. His work consistently challenged dominant political and economic narratives, particularly those associated with Western liberal democracies and global capitalism.

Gujarat No 1 in Govt of India pushed report? Not in labour, infrastructure, economy

By Rajiv Shah A report by a top Delhi-based think tank, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), prepared under the direct leadership of Amitabh Kant, ex-secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India, has claims that Gujarat ranks No 1 in the NCAER State Investment Potential Index (N-SIPI), though there is a dig. N-SIPI has been divided into two separate indices. The first one includes five “pillars” based on which the index has been arrived it. These pillars are: labour, infrastructure, economic conditions, political stability and governance, and perceptions of a good business climate. It is called N-SIPI 21, as it includes a survey of 21 states out of 29.