Rulers and their army of slaves
Tamil Nadu is getting notoriously famous for sycophancy with its cult worship of political leaders heading to new levels of shamelessness. If we look back in time and see the present day, fan frenzy over film stars has always been there ever since cinema was introduced in the state. Since then, the theater has been serving as a corridor to political power in Tamil Nadu. From appreciating cinematic performances to admiring and adoring the stars for what they display on screen as their qualities, deeds, and ideologies, fan frenzy has been fostering a cult system. Today that cult system is in its heightened state in the form of political sycophancy. While adulation for film stars without anticipating any tangible benefit in return could be called a delusive obsession, political sycophancy can scale from delusive obsession to intended submission for the benefits it can earn. It's something like, "I bend before you for the currency you throw at me."
What a shameless way of earning a livelihood? It is nothing but willful slavery. But since it rewards lavishly, by cash, kind and political power, crass politicians are not ashamed about it. What we ought to tell them is, "live however you want, but don't make a mockery out of democracy." There are millions of people in the state, who make their living through hard labor and pay the state coffer, their share of tax in various forms, which political boot-lickers easily swindle through political sycophancy. This form of political slavery has been happening in India for ages now; from monarchy to colonial rule to the present day democracy, and without exception across all party lines. Throughout the history, we can see how such willful slavery has been empowering the rulers, and how the empowered leaders have been holding their subjects for ransom. Nothing seems to be of help in eradicating this tendency. And it may never change until people who display such tendencies develop an aspiration to engage in productive work without pledging their self-dignity or until we start branding such behavior as a crime punishable by law.
Nevertheless, for conditions that may forbid willful slavery of this kind, we need a democracy that identifies no one as a leader and no one as a servant. We need a democracy that will have only able workers carrying out administration like any other profession, not a vulnerable democracy that creates self-declared monarchy with the strength of an army of slaves. Perhaps we should have an electoral system that makes it mandatory for politicians to pledge their accrued wealth and future revenue from their family businesses to the state treasury if they wish to enroll into politics. Elected legislators should be provided accommodation in state housing board colonies with all safety granted and asked to travel with modest comforts. Let them live and labor like ordinary men and women in the society. If the prospects for wealth and luxury in political life is trimmed out, a large majority of them will quit politics. Only people who seek to work for the benefit of people would remain in politics, certainly not those who harbor the desire for fame, wealth, and power.
Today's democracy is symbolic of political power. If it has to transform into people power, according to the true meaning of democracy, the concentration of political power in the hands of a handful few should be broken down, by reforming the electoral process and reconstituting the rights and privileges of legislators.
Article by Ajay Kumar Jagadeesh
