By Sanket Sheth:
Indira Gandhi swept off the elections of 1970’s with her slogan: “Garibi Hatao” Since the days of independence, every political maestro has acted like a parasite, who deceitfully behaves to be the mascot of aam aadmi but has only exploited him. They have made careers and fortunes by capitalizing on the woes of common people but have never substantially reverted back. Arvind Kejriwal, a rightful activist, has come with his own excogitation of common man. He wants to wield them with power and decision making capabilities.
But before we understand the vision of Arvind Kejriwal, we will try to understand what a common man is in common man’s view. Common man is that person who when reads about the patronization of Delhi and NCR region with rapes and loot, worries about his daughter or sister for a second and then laughs away the seriousness by terming it as rape capital. He is that middle aged man who worries about the rising education costs of his children and wonders how he will fulfil his duty. She is that woman who has a fix budget for buying vegetables against the acclivitous prices, buys enough to fill in the stomachs of the family but her. The common man can be seen in an eligible bachelor who envies the kind of in-laws Robert Vadra has got and how he has capitalized on it. He is that young professional who will now undergo the vicious circle of taking home loan whose EMI’s will only wane away with his black coloured hair. He is a man who wonders as to how Mr. Robert Vadra managed to get interest free loans worth crore when procuring a loan for a simpleton abode to dwell will cost him his half salary for the rest of his life. Common man is the protagonist of the agony story hit by inflation and corruption in shining India. This is the perception and conception of common man by common man. This is where we have to work to change it.
By projecting common man as a victim of inflation, corruption, bullied by honchos and mocking it at, we are actually damaging the outlook of our future generation. But in my view common man is the most powerful class. While the top brass of the society consists of few individuals having money power, they do not have mass power. The lowest class of society has mass power but lacks in the knowledge of using it for their betterment. While the middle class forms a huge base of population, it is also imparted with the knowledge of how to live a better life. The only missing element in the food is the willingness to use it. When the salt of willingness will be added to food, it will get tasty and delicious. Instead of bearing with iniquity we should raise our voice for demanding a better treatment and should also make our fellow mates aware that creates a better living of standard for us. Gandhiji had laid a plan to bring in equality. He wanted decentralization of power and authority, growth of villages so that the common man has a say in every decision taken. He demanded a self rule.
Arvind Kejriwal envisions a similar kind of plan for the common man. If a dam is being built near the vicinity of village, it is for the people of the village to decide whether they want it or not. They should be consulted in laying out the final plan which is beneficial to the occupants of village and not give rise to oligarchy. The common man should decide the price of commodities, eatables and housing to make things reachable and in the purview of the aam aadmi which is today saddled with debt. All the recommendations in his nine point ‘Vision Document’: which talks of power to people, judiciary, police, bureaucracy and electoral reforms are to be noted. It also said that not more than one member of the family will get a ticket to contest elections. People will decide the profit margins of products and future trading in the essentials will be banned to contain inflation. We must strive to create a society where common man is not the victim but the participant of progress and prosperity that India is garnering due to its potential.
P. S.: When Sonia Gandhi handed away the 21 Crore UID Card with a statement, “UID provides a right to Identity”, my mind could only say, “Give us a card which would help us our right to exercise our power”