‘India no more democracy as netas don’t raise issues’

PATNA: Noted Patna-based Gandhian Razi Ahmad, who has not cast a single vote for the last four decades, believes that the democratic policies and ideologies of India have gone with the wind.

The octogenarian, who witnessed the era of struggle for freedom and the commitment of the then politicians to help the poor, told this reporter, “Today’s political leaders and parties do not talk about people and their issues. Those, who do, usually make false promises.”

Ahmad, secretary of Gandhi Sangrahalaya in Patna, rued that politics had turned into a business and was mostly influenced by ‘bahubalis’ (muscle-men). “Parties nominate candidates with criminal backgrounds during elections and surprisingly, they win too,” he said.

Recalling the first general election of 1951-52, Razi said, “Back then, common people did not understand politics and the power of voting. They had faith in their leaders, who were not only educated, but also worked at the grassroots level. They kept in touch with common people. However, that level of faith is missing today.”

Asked what he thought about the popular word ‘chowkidar’, the Gandhian replied, “It is good to be a ‘chowkidar’, but a true ‘chowkidar’ is one who follows the ideologies of poet Kabir Das: ‘Na Kahu Se Dosti, Na Kahu Se Bair’.”

Coming down heavily on today’s politicians, Razi said, “The true meaning of the opening phrase of our Preamble — ‘We, the people of India’ — is lost. India is no longer a democratic country as netas politicize issues based on religion, caste, gender and class. They do not care about people.”

He added, “The Election Commission of India is an ineffective body as it has failed to stop politicians from gaining support of the masses on the basis of religion and caste. This is one of the reasons that I stopped exercising my franchise after the 1971 Lok Sabha polls.”

Born in 1933 in Begusarai, Razi has also witnessed incidents of booth capturing during polls. He said, “This practice began after the 1962 Lok Sabha elections.”

The Gandhian laid emphasis on the Right to recall, a proposed law in the country which can allow people to replace public servants holding key posts in the government. “That is the need of the hour. Why wait for elections to replace an incompetent public servant?” he asked.

In 1974, socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) had also spoken extensively on the subject. “The right to recall elected representatives was one of the key demands of the JP movement and a major agenda at the time. JP event went to jail for protesting against the then chief minister Daroga Rai Prasad,” said Razi, adding the impact of the movement was seen across the country, but today, people were frightened of the consequences.