Syed Mustafa Ahmad
Robert Lynd in his essay “Forgetting” dealt with the issue of forgetting of the politicians. He said that the world had still not produced ideal politicians or statesmen, who could lead a nation, country, state, etc. It is the case of forgetting. But the point that is of more importance is that how politicians switch loyalties. Their only concern is money and fame. For this, they can trespass any barricade. They deliberately forget the laws and regulations for the satisfaction of their greed. Here, I would like to introduce them in a concise manner. The first thing about them is that they can kill anyone to gain what they want. Guilt is not found in their dictionaries. They can hire goons or do it themselves. If they find some morally uplifted persons in their way, they eliminate them with some conspiracies. In the valley of Kashmir, we have thousands of examples where a morally correct person was murdered in a heinous way. No trace of him or her is found till now. Who killed them? Why? But the backdrop is clear in declaring that for the political gains, they were made scapegoats. Indeed, they are still being made the scapegoats. The second thing about them is that they are thieves. They can loot any one. They have no regret in doing this. Recently, in Kashmir, we came across an incident where hundreds of the apple trees were chopped down by some miscreants. No sane person can do this. Nevertheless, he or she can do it when dictated by a criminal politician. On another occasion, some miscreants desecrated the shrines of some saints. They took money and some profitable things. It was all done on the name of politics. The miscreants were never caught. They still roam free. It is their attribute. The third attribute of them is that they are ignorant. Among them, some are highly qualified. But they are not in a position to arrive at the correct decision, consciously or unconsciously. They are unaware about history, politics, morality, etc. They know the above things but in a limited manner. They always try to manipulate the realities in their favour. They have no concern what will happen with the heritage, lives, environment, etc., of the country.They live in their safe zones and think they are educated. For example, it is said that in India, 4G was in use in the ancient period. It is astonishing. These things are said by the so-called leaders of the country or state. This is ignorance. They never bother to peep into the history and get acquainted with the facts.
Like in case of the Covid-19, no politician except some are in a position to deal with it. They only like blame game. No one acts responsibly. So, this is my opinion about the politicians of the present times. We need real politicians. We have miles to go to achieve development. In this endeavor, the intellectually uplifted politicians can be an asset.
The fourth attribute of them is that they are liars. They consciously speak lies in order to hijack the emotions of the public. They do it more in order to defame the morally good politicians. It is irony that the public never bother to dive into the river of reality and Know the truth. They are the gullible people. They are swayed by the charming promises and nothing else. Sheikh Abdullah promised “plebiscite”. For 22 years, we wandered here and there for nothing because we believed in him. But at the end of the day, we were told it was the political wandering of no gain. This was a blatant lie told to us. And we cheap people fell prey to his promises. The fifth attribute of them is that they communalize the society. They divide the society on the baseless pretexts. Recently, in Delhi, there was a communal flare up when some national leaders deliberately communalized the society by declaring that in India, there are some groups that are hell bent upon in destroying the country. The result was that more than fifty persons lost their lives and the property of some 25,000 crores was lost. Fear was deliberately implanted in the minds of people. This is their virtue. The last attribute of them is that they have no intellectual wealth. They can’t foresee the approaching dangers. They even are not in a position to deal with the present problems. Like in case of the Covid-19, no politician except some are in a position to deal with it. They only like blame game. No one acts responsibly. So, this is my opinion about the politicians of the present times. We need real politicians. We have miles to go to achieve development. In this endeavor, the intellectually uplifted politicians can be an asset.
( The author is a freelancer. Views are his own, [email protected])
