Indian democracy must become decentralised, not just Delhi-based power politics!
15th Lok Sabha is a warning too!
The new state might come only after the elections. So, the more weighty issues might be decided by another government!

The way the whole question of the creation of the Telengana state is created is very deplorable, to say the least. Now, the Lok Sabha, which is empowered to legislate to  bifurcate any state, did a very strategically successful job, if we simply like to  support the Congress party which is in a hurry  to win the votes at least in the Telengana region. If we are pro-BJP, we can of course cite many other reasons.

Now, the immediate concerns only will grip the minds of many and if that is the concern here, then, there are here too certain criticisms in place. One, Sonia Gandhi seemed to have over-estimated here reach. She has certainly lost one more step in her present mission of winning the 2014 elections and putting her son in the PM’s chair. By all accounts, with all the recent latest surveys, the tally for the BJP is quite high, put at 200 seats while the Congress is likely not to get more than 100.These grave warnings must have given the Congress some strategy retreat and change of direction but the party is betting on big money and big and over-bulldozing of the public opinion and the voter masses.

Is the Indian voters the same this time too? Is the mood of the nation in any way objective?

Not, it seems this time the mood is very negative for the Congress. The party under Sonia Gandhi seems to imagine and determined to mobilise big funds and try to browbeat the Opposition parties by its sheer brazenness of capturing power at any cost.

This mentality spells a great danger for the India’s future. It is time we all have to deeply introspect and see the larger picture. Whatever be the merits and demerits of all the stakeholders, in this one crucial case of bifurcation of AP, it is clear that the Centre seems to be imagining it can push the states aside and go and do things as it wants.

No democratic consultations or consensus building whatever. Mr.Kiran Reddy the outgoing Chief Minister has said enough, no consultation whatever, no respect for the views and sentiments of the people at the grassroots, no respect for the   State Assembly voting and nothing but the bulldozing through the Central will, that means just the will of one individual, very badly placed against all norms of a constitutional and elected authority!

In fact, it is solely to her inadequacies, of course lack of any inherent talent and also the sort of coterie that had surrounded her lately, more so even after the inner ring of the Dhawans and Fotedars, we see now that even the more qualified and competent individuals, with some claim to expertise, men like Sam Pitroda and Nandan Nilekani have chosen to shepherd the new leader, Rahul Gandhi, through his tours and interactions.

By all assessments, his rally in Bangalore, for instance with the students was a disappointment. Other rallies to failed to draw crowds. It is simple political wisdom and may be Pitroda and Nilekani are green horns when it comes to grassroots politics that money can buy votes and influence only to some extent.

Politics that is electoral politics is not just money alone. This had been proved time and again. The latest one instance of the last Assembly elections in TN is a case. The DMK lost so badly, it lost its position even as the Opposition party!

The same logic applies, in my opinion, in the forthcoming 2014 general elections. This should be so if, we the political players or the political class or call by any other name, is to claim that we really know the Indian people. We are now in fact seeing a much more mature political scenario, the voters are much more awake, they have seen the bigwigs charged and jailed in corruption, after a long time (Yediyurappa and Lalu Prasad) and also they had seen the unprecedented civil society movements in New Delhi and latest, the Aam Aadmi party won and lost the government in New Delhi again.

There is a disenchanting mood and there are also more regional parties and there are any number of new combinations and alliances. Also, in AP, the current issue here, which was a bastion of the Congress party there is a totally new situation.
Now as for the future of AP, let us make some points clear.

In the din and heat of pushing through the Bill for bifurcation through the Lok Sabha, the whole exercise could be justified on strategy but a great setback to high Constitutional and Parliamentary democratic processes and principles.
This is the most worrying aspect of this outcome.

Under the Indian Constitution, India is a federal entity, right? There are the states whose rights and sentiments the Centre has to take into account. What is totally missing here is the failure of the three top leaders, the President, the Prime Minister and the Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

The President might have the Constitutional mandate to do what he did. But can we say that this settles the matter?

It doesn’t. The Presidential move might even undermine the basic structure of the Constittuion, right? You can over rule the states’ rights but can you over-rule and over-ride the wishes, the will of the people?

When the Assembly rejects the Bill unitedly, your own party rejects and rebels against you, can you still go ahead and do what you did?

You might have won only technically, you have failed on moral and even on political ground. You will pay a high price in the forthcoming elections? What is your claim for leadership when you just lose the election, in the end, after all?

Now, having pushed through the bill, you of course have to look at the future positively.

There are certain realities. India is urbanising rapidly. 25 crore people might move out of villages towards the cities.

So, you have the time and the opportunity to plan ahead and you can plan right now to build some ultra new cities, by taking advantage of the latest urban planning etc.
You can build an ultra new capital for the Seem Andhra Pradesh.

Of course, there are suggestions for a new states reorganisation commission. You have to have small and viable (administratively) smaller states. UP is a good example of a badly administrated state.

Also, some other emotive issues like languages, cultures etc. The idea of a linguistic state, especially, in a state like TN which is the hotbed of linguistic chauvinism, will lose its appeal.

Nationalism and subnationalism, ethnic and linguistic chauvinism had pulled back and halted the modernisation process in the post Independent India. So, some more smaller states, it is cited how Germany has more smaller states, also how Germany and Austria had had the same language and yet remained two different states.

With the large outward migration process in on, we, Indians also must learn to live with new realities, smaller states, a bit lowered nationalist and subnationlist fervour might be a good thing too.

Anyway, the Congress party too might learn to live in Opposition for some time, the dynastic pulls that drive our current political classes also might learn to give way to a more open and genuine  democratic processes in running the parties and also  the cleaning up of the processes in running our Constitution  without the present distortions.

Time and tide don’t wait for anybody. So, let us learn to move on and keep in tune with the times!