How doth the moon shine this night....?

The moon stands resplendent
In her raiment of silver and gold,
The sweet mistrals blow
Her lustrous brown tresses,
And soft strings of light
Bounce off her curls.

Her face shines beautifully
Like Pallas Athena in Her Parthenon,
Her eyes sparkle
Like emeralds set in ivory,
Her delicate brow calls
For one to be lost in its expanse.

She smiles, ah, that glorious smile,
And her cheeks turn so red,
To shame the most brazen of roses,
The most precious of rubies.
Her laughter, have you heard one
More innocent, more melodious,
That even the nightingale stops
To recollect her tune.

I stand in her light,
Bathed in her glory,
I pray this night never end,
That she never forsake me,
That no cloud ever comes
Between me and her,
That the sands of Time
Flow ever so slow this night,
So that I may gaze in her eyes,
And be lost for all Time, For all eternity……

Right to abstain.....?

By this time tomorrow, India will have a new President. It might seem on the basis of sheer numbers that Ms. Patil will be the next occupant of Raisina Hill, but then politics and politicians revel in being as unpredictable as possible. The incumbent UPA government will gloat over how it managed to ensure that its ‘nominee’ becomes the Head of State. I used the quotation marks because no candidate in the Presidential elections is ever a representative of a particular political outfit or coalition; rather, each candidate is an Independent, whose nomination simply receives support from a cross-section of the electors.

Speaking of electors, the so-called Third Front, or as they would prefer themselves called now, the UNPA, have asked their MPs and MLAs to abstain from voting from either of the two candidates in the fray. Their reason for abstention stems from their reluctance to be seen to support either the ruling UPA’s ‘nominee’ or the opposing NDA’s ‘nominee’, for purely ‘ideological’ reasons. So rather than just allow its electors to vote as per their mind, the heads of the various outfits in the Front ordered their electors to stay away.

And in that is a distressing event. Can a political outfit be permitted to order public representatives from performing their duties? Can anyone presume so much authority as to command someone beholden to the will of the people that he/she may not exercise his mental faculties to perform responsibilities expected of him/her?

The Presidential elections may not be as important to the common people as they may be made out to be. And undoubtedly our Founding Fathers never intended to make them so either, for had so been their intention, they would have incorporated the proviso in the Constitution then itself. A popularly elected President and a popularly elected Legislative are somehow too explosive a mixture without proper safeguards.

But that’s beside the point. That some electors would not be voting in these elections doesn’t bother me as much as the fact that representatives can get away with not voting on matters of state, on important legislations affecting the people, people whose ‘will’ they claim to represent. The various state and the central legislatures are replete with examples wherein member attendance is sometimes as low as 30 percent. In recent times, important policies such as the Annual Budgets have been passed without much, or rather any, debate. Are we losing our touch at democracy?

I had written earlier this month about some electoral reforms that we should look at seriously. There is need for reforms here as well.

• Representatives incapable of maintaining an attendance record of more than 60 percent should be denied their pay, as is accorded to them.
• Walkouts being so common an occurrence nowadays, every time a representative takes part in a walkout, the pay for the said day should be denied, irrespective of when the walkout occurred in the course of the day.
• Whips issued to the effect of asking representatives to abstain from voting should be deemed as extra-constitutional and void; a representative cannot be permitted to be forced or coerced into abjuring his/her right to exercise his/her responsibilities towards his constituents in particular and the nation in general.
• The said right is not inviolable. If the said representative should be found to have violated parliamentary norms and regulations regarding conduct, both within and without the legislature, he/she may be debarred from voting.
• The period of debarment would also be applicable for the denial of pay.

As always, I would appreciate your comments on these suggestions of mine.

Answering the questions....

What is life? A question or an answer to a question? To those who believe in reincarnation, perhaps the latter, for one would come back to experience life only if one has found something wanting in one’s previous life/lives. And in truth, what indeed is life all about?

Is it the sweet feeling of togetherness and bonding with one’s loved ones, the warmth of love and affection, feeling secure in the arms of the one you care for the most and in turn holding him/her in your arms, or is it something else? Is life about grief, about the salty tears that splash down when it hurts, the sudden choked voice when one wants to cry out and no voice comes out? Is it about deception, about not being what the world sees you to do, about wearing different masks for different people, and never knowing who one really is? Or is it about just living life, one moment at a time, one breath, one heartbeat at a time?

For me, and I truly believe in this, life is a medley of all this and much more. To be happy without ever having experienced grief is to never truly realize the value of that joy, of that bliss. On the other hand, to have always been in the downs, to never have felt the warmth of affection, would make one so very pessimistic and so very dead. Can one truly appreciate the value of trust and belief when one has never been betrayed? So to enjoy a positive, one must suffer a negative, if just for a brief moment.

Sometimes, life must be lived alone, without anyone beside you. You could be surrounded by countless people, and yet be alone in your solitude. You don’t need books, or music, or someone special to lose yourself.
Just think of yourself as a raindrop, released from the dark, grey clouds. This drop is destined to reach the ground and then be consumed by the parched earth, and yet it never thinks, or rather it cannot think of ever stopping its descent, of ever turning back towards whence it came. It is surrounded by its brethren, so many like itself, and yet it falls alone. It can only see itself in them, a pale reflection of its soul in their eyes. There is a spot on the earth given to it to fall upon, a soul to enliven, and a heart to bring joy to.
Be like that raindrop; do what you must, bring joy to all whom you can, and leave the rest to the Fates. They will not betray your trust in them.

Voting for change or changing the vote....?

The recent statement made by Parliamentarians during the reservation debates and now the Presidential elections about them representing the ‘will of the people’ had sparked off a blog previously, and guess this would be just a continuation of the same.

The current political scenario and especially the incumbent administration is a consequence of a post-poll alliance. I feel that this in itself is a mockery of the ‘will of the people’. Individual parties and pre-poll alliances, at best, can be deemed worthy of the will of the people, as the people willfully vote in a said party or a certain alliance. But post-poll alliances are a backhanded way of getting power, come what may. That a certain party or alliance does not have the mandate to rule on its own should be sufficient enough to comprehend that it does not in truth represent the will of the majority of the people.

As it is, the ‘first-by-the-poll’ system of Indian elections allows for someone securing as low as 20 percent to be elected as the people’s ‘representative’. I find this a laughable prospect, and sometimes even disturbing. I mean, let’s say out of a total population of 100, 10 don’t come out to vote. So 90 people vote. Let’s say there are 10 candidates. Even if 18 people decide to vote for a single candidate A, and the rest vote for the remaining 9, such that neither candidate has more votes than A, A would be declared a winner. 18 people out of 100 voted for a candidate, and he becomes a representative of the will of the entire 100? And what about the choice of the remaining 82 people? Scary!

So, electoral reform is perhaps needed, whether urgently or maybe slowly is a matter of implementation, but it is sure that some reform is needed. I have some suggestions, and some possible fallout, as follows:

• Prohibit parties from forming any post-poll coalitions. Only those formations which were formed before the polls took place should be permitted to stake a claim for the government.
• This may lead to a minority government, but essentially if the largest formation has to come in power, then this will ensure that.
• Also, the proviso of a confidence vote can ensure that parties other than the claimant can certify whether the claimant has their confidence.
• This will also reduce the risks of horse-trading and defections, as no longer can legislators split their parties after the election on the basis of who wins the polls.
• The minority government continues till such time that it enjoys the support of the Parliament, both de jure and de facto.
• Discard the ‘first by the poll’ system, and adopt the runoff system, as in France. If no candidate secures a simple majority in a specific election, then the two candidates with the most votes proceed to a second round, from which all others are excluded.
• This may prolong the election process, and may increase costs.
• But, eventually, this might ensure that at least 51 people out of 100 have voted for a certain candidate.

These suggestions are neither infallible nor perfect; I am willing to accept that. There could be some measure which could be better placed to deal with my concerns. Therefore, I would appreciate your comments on my suggestions.

Reading:

• Two Round System
• Plurality Voting System