‘It began when the skies were constipated- Austere 21:1’. This is the opening line in the Austerity chapter of Indian Politics Mytho. By the looks of it, the chapter is writing itself as a comic relief to the usually gritty, grimy ethos of government. Surprising for a chapter that begins with draught-like conditions in a large part of the country the humour is still slapstick- Shashi Tharoor’s immediate expulsion was demanded because of a wisecrack on Twitter. PM’s progressive call for austerity to his ministers is ironically reminiscent of leaders from a bygone seemingly righteous era. The immediate defamation, however, parallels a more recent centrally run failure of a national campaign called ‘India Shining’. ‘…and Congress thanked it wasn’t election time-Austere 21:3’ would be the last line of the chapter.
Calamities can put any state machinery in disarray. What remains after a catastrophe usually is a declarative list of government measures that failed, a national day of mourning and insufficient compensation. The ministers’ lavish weddings, their business class travel and helicopter transits are dutifully reported to common man in the mean time. A complete solidarity with the voting masses can never be achieved unless the split between these two images is bridged. ‘Austerity’ could be seen as a step in this direction. I personally like the idea of moral values trickling down the ranks of political hierarchy starting at the top with PM’s commitment to forced simplicity. The government, at least, is taking cognizance of its failure in delivering worthy results against draught and making minimal moral amends. Yet austerity is too idealistic an aim in real world politics. It should’ve been initiated better than just a publicized call to ministers against business class air travel.
Someone wise once said ‘A message doesn’t have to be preceded with a message that a message is being sent’. The wise man was not from Congress. When a change like ministers travelling economy occurs, everyone notices. The informative page one report on the same would be a good place to push your Agendum Austerity in reply to the questions asked.
Instead PM went televised and invited Opposition and Left’s mandatory criticism over his simplified description of simple living. Reprimanding top ministers, especially Shashi Tharoor, would be the first act conveying commitment to the cause if it didn’t look like a mere distraction from the mounting flak. Sharad Pawar, on being pulled over, had to admit in parliament that he doesn’t fit in small economy class seats. I find this to be the highlight of the whole situation. A minister’s discomfort could well be a reason to look into aircraft seat design. As we know, being fat is hardly a rich man’s disease. Comfortable economy class seats will not only be a tangible contribution to the masses (not on the lines of life size Mayawati statues) it could well be the only difference made to the country by this drive.
It makes no difference what class a minister travels in. It’s not like he’s making himself more available or less corrupt by buying a cheaper ticket. The difference in economy and business class fare is not even being forwarded to the draught victims. Austerity as a drive thus makes lesser sense with every sentence typed.
When the high point of a government’s ministerial morality drive is a 140 character comment made by Shashi Tharoor on Twitter from Liberia we can surely end this article with a recent quote from him on Twitter.
“I now know that we shud not assume tht ppl wil appreciate humour’
What we have now is a moral government that has no sense of humour. Just a paradox to BigFishmag.
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Posts: 3
Reply #3 on : Tue October 20, 2009, 17:09:50