Democracy: A Right Prescription?

Watched Sanjay Dutt give his first campaign speech today and was disgusted by it. At one point of time he went on to narrate an incident which took place while reaching there. He said after getting down from the plane and driving till here a man asked him about a scene in Lage Raho Munnabhai (same scene where Munna slaps a guy because he didn't know what is Gandhiji-callly appropriate after being slapped on both sides of face). There was a ripple of laughter alright. Even he chuckled and looked at his secretary or someone standing behind him, seeking confidence. At other point, he went on to say stuff like 'main aapse kandhe se kandha milakar chaloonga, aapke saath rahoonga, aapke beech mein rahoonga' (I will walk, live and be with you). Now that was so fake man! First he mentions sleekly that he got there by a plane (must be a chartered one) and a car (must be chauffeur-driven) and then he promises to do things which no one in their sane mind would believe. What made me more indignant was that this line was received by an applause. People get loony and brainwashed when someone screams sheer idiocy over an reverberating microphone, honestly!

I haven't heard of Dutt doing anything socially responsible before making a foray into politics. I mean, for a celebrity of his stature even minutest of some charity would've been inflated by the media as a life saving act, but it was not to be. And co-stars saying things like "tough man outside but a heart of gold inside" isn't really a testimonial, sir! I have nothing else to say about him, but just that people should not mistake the real life person for the on-screen one. If they are so much in awe of the character that they wish to be taken by him to politcal manumission, they should push the story-writer of the movie on the dais.

I read someone's views on an online thread about democracy. He was of the opinion that for a vast country like India it isn't well suited. I argued back that people get a right to select their leaders and all that. He said where (a) majority of the people live in villages, most of whom are illiterate and gullible that people like Dutt and others can easily offer them money or fake promises to influence their votes, (b) a sizable chunk of people are corrupt and vile and rich who can 'choose to get influenced' by the politicians in exchange of some petty favours, and (c) the rest which leaves a serious minority of the educated and aware class of people - in such a country, how can you trust the leader the same democracy has elected? Hmm... I didn't have anything to retort with.

Gandhiji had something like 'Now that you are free men, you must vote.' But why, bapuji? It's not as if we are having a variety of inspiring people to select from, we have no other option other than to vote for the guy who is least corrupt and who doesn't have one of his leg in the grave/on the pyre. The dearth of highly educated politicians who are fighting for the betterment of the Indians is the reason why some are losing the faith in the Democracy. (By the way, could the term 'highly educated politicians' be more ironic and oxymoronic ?) It really boils my blood to see them using the heavily funded (from the tax-payers money, obviously) election rallies to jabber about the opposition and try to turn the crowd to vote for them on that basis, when the crowd, the politician, and his party are aware that it's all hogwash.

Clearly, democracy works only when there are rational and intelligent voters, competitive elections and relatively low political and campaign kharcha. But the lack of such voters itself remains the Achilles heel of Democracy.

At least in Democracy, its so called essence: of the people, for the people, by the people allows the policies and plans framed by the government to be influenced by the vox populi - the voice of the people, through the free and active media. But then again, considering people like Dutt and A-boo Cell-em and Go-win-duh thinking of contesting elections how often can you trust the policies to be framed by proffesional economists?

Then should we have an autocratic rule instead and avoid the situation of too many cooks spoiling the broth? Just one supremely educated and intellingent guy with in-depth knowledge of economics of a nation and international relations?

The Blithering Idiot trails away...

P.S. Youngistan is the crappiest thing I've ever heard. It smells like a bunch of air-headed Bollywood maniacs desperately trying to show themselves to be energetic and hot-blooded instead of actually participating in the actual reforms.