The government can be more engaging with the opposition and solve problems collectively in this time of pandemic and constantly push off China along borders. What can be done?
Politics has always been one of the most confusing dynamics among people, and it will probably continue to remain that way, thanks to the constant conflict between varied ideologies that it essentially is. But what becomes a problem is when the difference in ideology stands in the way of the unity of the people, or clashes with the combined ultimate objective of wanting the best for the country. And unfortunately, that is exactly what is happening in the current political scenario of the country.
The thing is, this kind of conflict isn’t new. Right-wingers have always stood firmly against left-wingers, extremists have looked down upon revisionists, and capitalists have been unable to reconcile themselves with socialists, on multiple fronts. Policies of the ruling government are formulated based on whatever policies and principles the ruling party chooses to uphold, and most of the time, that doesn’t sit very well with the opposition. Consequently, chaos ensues. Leaders smash chairs in the parliament while their blind followers are at each other’s throats on the streets. Overall, things get very messy.
Now, if you are familiar with my previous blogs, you will probably be aware that I politically identify as apolitical, because I find engaging in such messy affairs to be extremely pointless since none of these ideological disputes yield to any material gains or economic fruition. But the thing is the opposition is essentially constituted of the party winning the second-largest majority in the Parliament. In a democratic country like India, the opposition plays a very important role by basically making sure that all the popularity and power does not get to the heads of the ruling party.
The point I’m trying to make is that the democratic system has been designed in a way that a lot of different political ideologies can get along pretty well and ultimately work towards the collective objective of achieving the smooth functioning and progress of the country and all its elements. But at the moment, as the media houses are bearing clear evidence, this perfect coordination of opposing but complementary principles isn’t happening. Everything, right from the defence situation, to the economic scenario of the country, is facing what can arguably be considered as a crisis.
Let us take, for example, the China issue. It is no secret or news that India and China have very stressed relations with each other ever since partition happened, thanks to disputes over territory and the justness of the border. This year itself, the country’s Union Minister made a public statement during the ongoing session of the Lok Sabha, about the territory that China forcefully occupies within the borders of India. And guess what? While it is very easy to abuse Pakistan for the unrest in Kashmir, it would be more prudent to pin the blame on both China and Pakistan for all the violence and gunfire at the borders.
According to the statement, China is currently in occupation of an extra 38 thousand square kilometres of land in the Union Territory of Ladakh. I say “extra” because this is notwithstanding the 90 thousand square kilometres of land that China has previously occupied, and what is more important, refused to vacate despite continuous efforts from India. We also have to take into consideration that Pakistan has already ceded another huge area of Pak Occupied Kashmir to China already, back in the 1960s, thanks to the Boundary Agreement of ‘63.
In such a situation, where the soldiers stationed at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh are facing life risk every single minute and where India is losing control over its territorial sovereignty, I think that it is very important to stop internal conflicts and factionalism and focus, full-fledged, on the crisis at hand. Now, the government keeps trying to boycott Chinese goods and services, to cut off import revenue to China. The government very recently has gone as far as to ban apps funded or developed by China. But in this case, the opposition erupted in disagreement, with a very valid point, that these apps have been a source of revenue and livelihood for several people across India because they do have offices and branches in India.
Another crisis that everyone might relate with right now is the covid 19 pandemic and the havoc it wreaked. The phased lockdowns have put the country in tremendous economic distress, with small scale workers at a complete loss of their livelihood, and even large scale firms struggling to set their records straight. Businesses have been delivered a massive hit, mostly because of restricted economic activity, and let’s just say that the government has not been handling it too well. The general outcry of the opposition against the current government’s remedial suggestions seems to be that it is little to no concern for the underprivileged while the business giants are favoured and exempted at every turn.
And that is the thing~ the government tries to suggest solutions and the opposition points out what needs to be fixed in such gameplans. But instead of working together on a more efficient way to resolve these issues, they get on loggerheads and let their differences get the better of their ultimate objective of smooth national functioning.
It is of paramount importance that the opposition as well the ruling party set aside their ideological differences for the time being to focus more on the troubles plaguing the nation at the moment. As citizens, we have to turn the general opinion from petty political disputes to the larger picture, and individually work towards improving the economic situation by directing our energy towards our startups and businesses. That is all we can do, aside from crossing our fingers and hoping for the best!
