democratic

The points of discussion in this article are “role”, “unorganized mass” and “democratic polity”. Let’s discuss each of the words and their meanings.

“Role” here means function. But this is a very narrow definition. When we say function we should also involve the dysfunctional aspects also. The next key word is “Unorganized mass”. What is the meaning of it? The simplest take would be those people who are not part of any organization. Here by organization we mean an association, which may be a political party, a pressure group, a non government organization, an interest group, a non-profit group or whatever it may be.

So unorganized people are those who basically lead a voluntarism life, they may be common people, the voters or any other person whose associational interactions are close to null. The other key word is democratic polity. Democracy is that form of government in which there is an institutional mechanism for changing the governing elite and a social mechanism to bring about change. Then question arises who makes those changes happen? – We the people. (Here people include both the organized and the unorganized).

With this much of definition let’s try to find a common link between the three. We (the unorganized mass) have some functions in the political set up in India. So simple to find a common link! But the difficulty is to decide what roles we play. Let’s enumerate from common sense what can we do in our polity.

1. Voting: – Voting is an important concept in a democratic polity and most of us surely exercise our votes. So through the system franchise we can choose our leaders and that way we put an impact on the polity of this country.

2. Political socialization: – We can teach our children at home about the political developments in the country. So the knowledge our children should not be limited to the civics books.

3. Generalized out look :- We should have a general out look about how this country is running, what are its foreign policies, what are the democratic ideals, what is the economic structure etc.

The above are the commonsense perceptions of what people like us who have no time for associations can do for the country. But is it enough? I understand the fact that we are mere individuals when we say we are unorganized, but I think there are many creative ways through which we can contribute to our country. Let me enumerate some of them:-

1. Creative writing: – we can create awareness through our creative writings. History books are flooded with examples of great writers like Karl Marx, Trotsky, Gramsci, and Weber who have changed the polity of entire nation and even the entire world. Today the mass media is so vibrant but the pity is that the reporters are so less educated and interested about the day to day happenings that most of the news today has become a spicy potpourri. (One needs to see India TV to know what I mean). So the onus comes on us to take up this activity. Socialization through writing is the best and durable method of socialization and more so if it comes to political socialization. I don’t ask everybody to become a Shasi Tharoor or Guruchan Dash, but if we think about our political interests, then if not anybody else we will be politically aware about the happenings. This is not limited to writings only, any creative act like poems, paintings or even reading about the political happenings itself brings about a high level of political awareness in the country.

2. Participation: – Some may question this concept because political participation is an organized activity. But I am not talking about political participation directly. We can create awareness among the mass. We need not form organizations to do that. Great people like Anna Hazare or Baba Amte are fighting their lone battles. Are not they doing something spectacular for the country? Of course they are blessed souls and not every mortal like us can become like them but at least we can do our bit.

3. Showing interests: – Are we showing interest in the way the country is run? Do we know there are provisions like PIL, RTI through which we can ask for information which we always complain about government being secretive? We always complain the government being corrupt, but are we using all the things at our disposal? No , because we are not aware of them. If educated people like us behave this way what to talk about the rural uneducated people. There is a trick down effect every where in society. The lower level follows the upper level of society. If we are so uneducated what others will learn from us. If educated people like us don’t exercise voting, how can we expect a village beetle shop man will go voting conscientiously without any allurement? We need to change ourselves.

The democratic polity of India needs the unorganized mass more than the pressure groups, the interest groups or political parties. It is high time that we do self introspection and decide what we can do for our country.

Barack Obama Speech at 2004 DNC Convention