More than the govt lobby

Vepa Rao
The Statesman, 28 November

An objective assessment of governing agencies, other political institutions and individuals is difficult in a vast, complex democracy like ours. Opinion polls and other “studies” have been found to be either inadequate or motivated. Ours is a society where facts are marshalled to support or contradict opinions ~ instead of allowing facts to precede conclusions. The ordinary, apolitical voter stands amidst the simmering confusion bred by brazen, conflicting political campaigns and exercises his “right” in the darkness of bias. He has no access to truth. No wonder, Satyameva jayate had to be "stated" as a part of our national credo, instead of its being part of life.

Himachal Pradesh’s voter, too, is in the grip of such no-holds-barred propaganda from all parties involved in the power war. Allegations, counter-allegations, unsubstantiated charges and claims fly around. Nobody knows the truth. Even the Press with its limited agenda and resources, has to go more by what the politicians “say” than what they “do”. But in recent times, voters across the state seem to be developing a subjective, individualistic approach compounded by its sheer size into an “objective” assessment of sorts. With education and modernity creeping in, the herd-mentality of voting en masse at the behest of group leaders is diminishing. Caste and regional affinities and family ties continue to matter, even dominate rural voting patterns ~but they can no longer be taken for granted. Instead, “visible” development (like roads, health and educational facilities, employment generating projects) that affects their lives “directly” counts more than the state’s "overall development" which cannot be verified or vouched for to be in the people’s best interests.
The average voter does not have the acumen and resources for large-sized evaluations. He is sceptical when you talk of ideologies, GNP, nuclear policies, such concepts as socialism and secularism, except when translated into visible activities affecting his life “directly”. These voters have extended this element of “directness”. It appears, the voter is influenced by how his own “personal” life (and that of family members and friends) has been affected by a party in governance. Has an unemployed member been given a job? Were you given a “good” posting in service? Were you transferred to a place far from home? Did your representation for the wife’s transfer closer to home succeed, though the MLA or the minister had promised to help? Did the authorities concerned or the leaders of a party help you when you had a problem? How was their behaviour with you? Who graced your home at your daughter's wedding or bereavement in your family?

Such factors may look trivial ~ but put together, they acquire a momentum. Besides, life is hard in the hills where “little matters” do affect daily existence. Ask the hill-folk who have to carry patients on their shoulders for miles on the rugged mountain tracks to reach a road-head and then travel long distances towards a hospital. Ram Sethu and Rahul Gandhi are not the issues here; road connectivity and health care are.

The candidates as “individuals” in constituencies are coming under scrutiny (of “individual” voters) rather than their party promises and manifestos. Politicians accept in private that their speeches about values, traditions and culture are received with increasing boredom and may even boomerang. The electronic media, too, has been bringing about silent transformation in attitudes in Himachal Pradesh. Comparisons with life-styles and facilities in the more affluent sections in big cities have a quiet but incisive effect on the people. The status of “contentment”, once considered a virtue and a philosophy here, is slowly making way for ambition, consumerism and a desire for modern facilities, gadgets, technologies and showy lifestyles.

Why should a person be content with a two-wheeler, when many neighbours own cars? Why should a wife sit down to wash clothes on the floor when washing machines can do the job? Why should a young man be content with a Rs-5,000 salary within the state, when his friends are earning more and have bigger prospects? Economic prosperity tops a family’s agenda. The rapid growth of industries in Baddi-Barotiwala region, hydel-power projects and other plants across the state are giving a fillip to people’s ambitions. Till recently, moving out of the state in search of employment was considered avoidable, and government service was the favoured option. Politicians here are yet to change the strategy that once leaned heavily on pleasing the all-powerful lobbies of government employees. While a bulk of the voting in the state may follow traditional patterns for the time being, the volume of these voters in transition has been increasing rapidly.

The Assembly election on 19 December should also be utilised for understanding the social transition in Himachal Pradesh.

(The author is The Statesman’s Shimla-based correspondent.)