Feroz Shah's Hisar-on the pinnacle of hypocrisy of variegated nature

            General  Election to the lower house of the parliament has just been concluded on 10.04.2014. Last one month has witnessed the biggest upheaval laced with vigorous campaign and malice propaganda by all political parties of  national and state political parties. Other small outfits and individuals didn't rest behind. Over the time the electioneering has changed significantly. Posters/visuals or other means gave way to people to people contact. Given this situation, expenditure should be less but it has increased manifold. And it shows money in election has changed its form in influencing the voters' behavior and pattern. It becomes evident that election that is the only tool to make the democracy vibrant and alive permits only the big players to play this game of inequality. It in itself is the biggest hypocrisy where constitute surmises that all are equal and could be a part of law makers but in actual practice commoners are not allowed to use their adult suffrage according to their volition. "Reigs" model for developing societies seems operating in real preposition and setting which postulates 'what is advocated is altogether reversed in practice'. 

          Election is the single most process which involves whole of India. People are made to think as if they are the real maker of their own destiny. And during this phase every individual is far better than any trained psephologist. Every nook and corner, tea stall, chaupal, any function, railway station, bus stand or any place where there is a possibility of congression of few people we find the best of talent at display in calculations of poll results. The main theme of "free,fair and fearless" use of ballot and deciding the fate of nation seems real and at the same time hollow. It is so because elections are fought on the lines of caste,creed,religion,region,money power or any such permutations and contradictions presumably elections are fought on the basis of policies, programmes and responsible behavior. It is presumed that every voter is free to cast his/her vote according to sweet will. 

        India is the biggest democracy world over. 28 states and 6 UTs are distributed with 543 parliamentary constituencies. India has witnessed  regime led by the oldest Political Party for the last 10 years in trot. Let the voter decide or judge the fate. Here behavior of the voter is discussed socio-politico-economical transgression and how this phenomenon influences the voting behaviour of common man. Haryana is a small state and most of its part falls in NCR. Being close to national capital, it's importance manifests manifold. Every small and big incident is reported prominently. People of Haryana  are used to take advantage of this vicinity and sometimes ugly face is at fore like that they will block the water supply, milk and other essentials to national capital. It's short of a tendency of "blackmail". 10 parliamentary seats are contributed by this small state. Hisar is one of the most important district of Haryana and represents the crux of Haryanvi culture and it's inherent contradictions. This is the area that has witnessed stark and virulent contradictions on caste lines particularly two major blocks namely Jat and Non-Jat. These contradictions have been very significant for the last five or so years. These contradictions have at the fore in deciding the voters behaviour and  voting pattern. 41 candidates are in fray from this parliamentary constituency included all major political parties. It suggests how vibrant and inclusive our democracy has grown over the time but if we scrutinise the seriousness of candidates, we will find how stoutly the election process is managed or thwarted when we find seven candidates named Kuldeep to sabotage the chances of one single candidate of major regional party. Out of 41, almost 35 candidates are dummy who are put by other major players to waste or cut the vote share of others. These are popularly known as "vote cutters". Here it is significant to note  that "by election" held in 2011, one candidate got the election symbol "Road Roller" with certain resemblance to "Tractor" and interestingly this unknown candidate was fourth in the tally. This amply shows that how democratic our approach is! 

           In this election, if one thinks that political parties has sought the voters support on the principles enshrined in constitution and different statutes governing election process is making himself fool. And it's very clear now if we look at the fall out of voting pattern. It is the other thing that theoretically elections should be fought on issues affecting common man positively or negatively. Programmes and policies should be central but world knows how India reacts in its elections. In Haryana, elections are fought on crude sentiments of caste or blocks of certain castes popularly known as "Jats and Non-Jats". Division of voters on caste line has been engineered deliberately to ease the process of vote catching. This design suits some and also put some other political parties at visible disadvantage. This has resulted in rise of "new breed of caste lords" who preaches the hatred amongst people on the name of caste to execute their well thought game plan to garner benefit of different hues such as socio-politico-economical significance. Issues like development, welfare measures, better administrative delivery system, dearness, employment for youths, education, security, social issues like women safety, decriminalization of social set up, gender equity etc lagged behind hopelessly. It is apparent that such huge and magnanimous social divide will further fragment the society post election. 

           Hisar has been the battleground for caste conflicts and movements for the last four or five years prominent amongst them are infamous Mirchpur incident, Dabra rape episode of a Dalit girl, compelling circumstances to flee the Dalit villagers from Bhagana and again kidnapping and rape of four teenager girls of same village during the electioneering and Jat Reservation Movement for the last three-four years in a trot. All these major happenings affected the rural societies significantly. Caste divide is at it's zenith in Hisar. Jat Reservation Movement alienated the real backward classes from the bigger whole. Every village is experiencing this spark of ugly caste division particularly in this region.  A slight ignition could spoil and vitiate the village atmosphere on any flimsy ground. Here it is necessary to note that  caste lords of both blocks are engaged not to broker peace and deliberately sabotage every sincere effort made by rational elements. It is evident from the recent happenings that Dalits were deliberately dissuaded to return to their native place even liberally compensated by government. Still Mirchpur and Bhagana victims are resisting or more accurately made to resist. The other important happening in the area was "Jat reservation Movement" that not only stir this region but also whole of Haryana. The leadership of the movement and it's support base materialized it in reality. There is no use of commenting on its relevance or otherwise but one thing is abundantly clear that this was a crest fall upon the original backward classes on finding new companion on the same path. Government is more wicked and shrewd in its approach and it provided a toy of this new found "mantra" to placate the masses of forward castes without any such demand. Furthering the cause this year on 4th January government succeeded in notify this caste in Central list of OBCs and in the process it has failed those other four castes that has been included in SBC. The dumb Haryana shocked on this new development and sealed the fate of unison of Haryanvi society. It is pertinent to mention here that another long serving Chief Minister of Haryana played the same card to placate a section of SCs of Haryana way back in 1996. That game plan perhaps benefited him but segmented the Dalits of Haryana permanently and fruits of his sapling are now abounded the taste and vision of that particular section of oppressed class. If both these incidents are looked in composite, one thing is very clear that social fabric has torn beyond repair. 

           India has witnessed a new movement on the name of corruption and Lok Pal under the aegis of Anna. Whole of India stirred beyond expectations and a new hope of positive change engulfed the well fed middle class. The gamut of leadership of this new movement drawn from extreme left orientation in Arvind Kejriwal and Baba Ramdev on another extreme of right. Most others rest in the middle. This chaos resulted into the killing of faith in the well directed change. A new political outfit emerges from it with loaded hopes and favorable change. This is in one sense a positive development. But the actions of this new outfit are as hilarious as it's rise. Hisar is the home district of the main crusader of this movement. Rational people of Haryana in general and Hisar in particular have great hope but all this proved a bubble in stormy water when he picked a retired bureaucrat to contest this election from here who is known for his proximity to present Cheif Minister and who was used as a tool to unsettle the historic decision of cancelling the land mutations of Robert Vadra a scion of first family of India. So is he known as "blue eyed boy" of Chief Minister. The other major vocalist The Baba who is harping on bringing back "black money" staked in foreign nations to India ended it when he vigorously campaigned in favour of the young lad of another prominent dynasty of Haryana. The tendencies and contradictions at fore in Hisar are not isolated but an offshoot of happening in Haryana. This well developed state in terms of per capita income and use of modern facilities is hell bent upon to widen the gap between the communities in general and man to man in particular and experiencing the new range of backwardness in its forward castes. Political parties are seeking votes on caste lines spilling venom in the garb of 36 Biradari. This is the Hisar of Feroz Shah Tughlaq whose father wished to ameliorate the conditions of his nations on "leather coin". We are born hypocrite but this time hypocrisy is it's pinnacle. Who knows rationality finds way through these hypocritical tendencies!!!!