Vote for Amma instead, if you want to vote for RJ Balaji

When electricity and internet were restored to my house after nearly a week of 'total detachment' from the world, I got the chance to open Facebook. I was surprised and gladdened by so many of my friends whose laudable efforts of volunteering shattered many of my prejudices on them. Even many women were seen active in the flood relief effort and the middle class participation in the Chennai ‘Restoration’ Movement made me revisit many of the myths that shrouded a common man's understanding of them. When one of the lady managers in my office was telling me that she got the approval of her father in-law to travel four kilometers from her house to distribute relief material to the homeless, my hands stretched forward for an involuntary handshake with her.

For how long can the rocks of education, competition, fears of survival, career threats keep the springs of human compassion concealed beneath their smothering heft? All those uneducated brats and uncultured migrant folk of our neighborhood from whom we had warned the ladies of our family to remain guarded against ‘chain-snatching’ or robbery during night time errands to nearby shops, no longer elicited any derision from us. Those many thousands whose encroachments or houses we managed to displace through our 'juggernaut'ish apartment complexes no longer remained on the peripheries of our view-finder. We saw women and children carrying torn mats and overflowing bags, moving out of their water- invaded shanties to some place where no government guided them to. In the absence of electricity and WiFi connectivity, we believed our balconies could relieve us of the bore and our own temporary suffering. But what our balconies showed were nonetheless rare sights that we had seen only in our now defunct televisions- mass human migration. For the internet generation, these unprecedented sights are something to behold and certainly not to be forgotten.

But there was some sights that embarrassed me more. These sights, if you may believe, looked like threatening the hopes that had been built during the last week. The redeeming hopes that every selfish citizen would rise to the occasion on event of an overpowering threat to humanity, began to flicker inside me. Those were nothing but posts in my Facebook Wall that listed 'ministerial' nominations for the next Tamil Nadu elections by some of my Facebook friends. When I saw the names of Sylendra Babu and Arun Krishnamurti, I didn't respond. But when I saw RJ Balaji and Raghava Lawrence and AC Muthiah, I buried my face into my hands.

There is no denying that our present government and the ruling party have been exposed thoroughly in the wake of the calamity. And we thankfully have not still forgotten the misdeeds of the past government. We need an alternative. This is one of the lessons which the floods have taught us. But it is only 'one' of the many lessons.

We must be aware by this time that the floods were not only due to unprecedented rainfall and preparatory weaknesses, but more crucially unplanned urbanisation. What lies at the root of unplanned urbanization are three factors- the advent of multinational (both Indian and foreign) businesses to the city to exploit cheap labour power, the rise of engineering colleges that serve as assembly lines to supply finished human products as raw materials to the former, the rise of big corporate businesses again to exploit the newly created consumer market. Do I sound like a reactionary when I indict these catalysts of development and progress with ‘charges of engineering a man-made disaster’? When progress is misunderstood, reaction becomes noble.

Let me clarify that I am neither a Hindutva right winger who knows nothing more than blind opposition to westernization nor a disillusioned outcast like 'Katradhu Tamil' Prabhakar who would torment a well-dressed call centre employee crossing my street. Let us not forget that these new 'agents' of development did not join Jawaharlal Nehru when he called for private sector participation in national development on the eve of Independence. These agents waited till India took nearly four decades to stand on its own tender feet, and pounced on it as soon as it started to make baby steps. These agents held the government at knife point to stall public sector recruitment, remove all restrictions to start business, choke agriculture so that they can use displaced farmers for their cheap employment from the 1990s. All these were parts of the government’s move so famously called LPG- Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalization.

All governments right from that headed by Narasimha Rao, had instructed state governments to create a business friendly climate in their own states. How friendly is a climate if it wants businesses to study and conduct environment impact assessments on its site, ensure that no part of the neighborhood and the city is affected due to the upcoming industry and proceed only after societal consensus? How friendly is a climate if the lands for the industrial acquisition are owned by traditional agricultural communities who would move only if they are purchased at market rates? How friendly is a climate if cheap lands for business are camouflaged by forests, marshes and natural catchment?

All state governments took cue from the centre, and not without kickbacks from the business, became agents for private business. They acquired agricultural land through force or money, cleared forests and lakes and threw all environmental assessments to the winds to bring about ‘development’. If you may not be aware, there are thousands of cases pending in Indian courts of law for more than a decade that speak of gross environmental neglect by the state - business conglomerate. The Amendment to Land Bill brought by Narendra Modi government was defeated in the Parliament mainly on grounds of massive environmental destruction that it sought to legalise under the name of ‘development’.

Hence, one thing becomes clear. The floods and the massive destruction to life and property due to unrestricted urbanization all seem to be part of a much bigger plan. If some of you might ask am I wholly against urban development solely on account of some unforeseen natural disaster that happens once in a decade, my answer shall be no. If you need clearer answers from me, I want you people to recall one of our university papers that we studied with a unanimous indifference- Environmental Engineering. You may remember the term –‘Sustainable Development’.

"Sustainable Development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

This is a rough textbook definition of the term but there is more to it to be understood, if you find yourself in favour of it. First of all, sustainable development can be achieved only by means of planning. Planning will achieve its purpose only if there is an active role of the state. This in turn will entail the state relinquishing its role of serving as a ‘agent’ for the business community and assuming the role of an arbiter, one that shall try to reconcile the material needs of the society with the supply side of it, simultaneously harmonizing such development initiatives with the well-being of the environment. In simple words, the state must ensure that the society produces strictly only as much as it needs and not more than that. This kind of planning, by nature will impose barriers on unhindered industrial expansion and environmental exploitation. This was what Nehru envisioned as a ‘Planned Economy’ but it failed due to the apathy of its implementers. But here is the catch. No business community shall favour sustainable development since the concept of ‘Planned Economy’ is anathema to their motives of unrestricted profiteering. “If the state decides what and how much is needed by its people, what are we to do? How can we expand? How can we profit?”

’Development’ and ‘Sustainability’ are reconcilable. But Globalization and ‘Environment’ are not. No political party in India has steadfastly opposed globalization ever since the movement started. Some of you might say that this is why we proposed RJ Balaji and other non political luminaries to head the government. Let me tell you that the virtues of honesty and charity alone do not suffice for a political career. Politics needs knowledge. Knowledge does not mean mere expertise in a particular domain such as what Arun Krishnamurti possesses in environmental welfare. A profound knowledge of India’s history and political economy is what I mean by knowledge for a political aspirant. It was India's most qualified Prime Minister assumed to have an unquestionable personal record who headed the most corrupt government India ever had a couple of years ago. It was an ‘honest’ and harmless scientist with no political perspective who designed Gas chambers for instant extermination of millions of Jews in Hitler’s Germany. If a scientist himself needs such an informed political outlook, what about a responsible people’s representative?

To conclude, let me tell you that there are no quickfixes like RJ Balaji for the problems our society faces right now. To make good politicians, we need not only good citizens. As Silambarasan says in VTV, ‘fortune favours the intelligent’. We, as a democratic society, must exercise our one week-old ‘compassion’ glands towards caring for the society not just through making donations and offering relief material. Following politics, understanding history, making informed debate is crucial for good democratic health. If we are not willing to take all this trouble, you can serve best by abstaining from voting. Still if you want to vote, you can vote for ‘Amma’ again rather than voting for RJ Balaji. There would not be much difference in the long run.

-JEEVA P