Comments on: Jago (revisited)

By: Shivani

Shivani — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 17:11:53 +0000

I absolutely agree with the comments that one needs to have the facts in place before declaration of great planned actions. In fact, to have the right answers why things didn’t work as planned in the existing system and checks the party will keep to make sure that they do work…

It’s not just behavior of one party – its something that is very natural (like greed…) to individuals and becomes collective behavior in the end.

By: Rahul Kumar

Rahul Kumar — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 09:03:55 +0000

â€œCan you convince me that you understand what precisely is wrong with the system and why?â€.
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(1) Corrupt leaders . No transparency in governance .

(2) No internal democracy in parties . Most of the parties are one man/ family show .

(3) Illiterate voters . Corrupt politicians exploiting this scenario by raising emotional issues .

(4) Outdated socialism practiced by Congress up to 1991 .
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I looked all over the Jago website for some indication of what these guys had been upto before they decided to take the plunge politically, and found absolutely nothing. One would think that the key to going political in a country like ours would have to lie in starting from the bottom – identifying target communities and focus areas, working with those communities over a period of time, participating actively in issues of public interest, mobilizing area-wide, state-wide groups of party workers on the ground, so on and so forth – systematically working your way through the rungs to finally put yourself up on a pedestal from where you can ask.
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It is very clearly mentioned that they are not from political background . I do not think it is necessary that a party should be launched at a Mohalla level. Do you know , how Kanshiram started BSP ? What work he did ? If people like JAGO policies , they will support it . That’s all. Failed LP does not mean that every one else will fail too . I feel those were very young people / in-experienced people . Where as most of the JAGO members are 35 plus , thus more matured .

By: Ramsri

Ramsri — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:40:31 +0000

Don’t know about the rest of you – but looking at the Jago website and reading what little has been written about them certainly gives me an eerie sense of deja vu. Not sure how many of you had a chance to view from close quarters the recent political gimmick that was Lok Paritran – if you did, you probably know where I’m coming from. The elaborate circus they had arranged on the sidelines of the Tamil Nadu assembly elections in 2006 met with surprisingly positive response from among the educated urban middle-class (the IIT tag pulling its weight here). These guys arrived on the scene with a bang, making a lot of noise about how they wanted to bring about “systemic changes” and “cleanse” the existing political system of the “rot that had set in”. Of course, they were never very articulate about what exactly they thought was “wrong” with the system and how one could go about “cleansing” it – precisely the point Atanu makes in his original write-up – “Can you convince me that you understand what precisely is wrong with the system and why?”. Attending a few of their meetings in Chennai were enough to convince one that these were questions they seemed either unwilling to answer or completely incapable of answering. Strangely, it didn’t seem to matter, because they managed to generate a huge buzz in the run-up to the assembly polls. Plus, the young-IITians-chucking-plush-foreign-jobs-to-take-the-plunge image certainly had its takers. Anyway, they did some elaborate campaigning, generated a lot of positive buzz around them, contested one assembly election in TN, and disappeared with a whimper. In Chennai, where they had the most support (the LP candidate actually polled close to 10,000 votes in the constituency where I voted), we haven’t heard from them since.

Now, it would be extremely premature to suggest that Jago is headed down the same road as LP. But it is important to note that LP’s political posturing not only made them lose their own credibility, but has also, at some level, queered the pitch for everyone else. Any party that now emerges with the young-Indians-uniting-to-give-the-country-hope message is skating on very thin ice. Perhaps Mr. Joseph and co. should recognize that, and position themselves accordingly.

That said, I have a fundamental problem with this kind of a “top-down” approach where a party announces its arrival in a grand manner – website, mission statement etc. firmly in place – but has very little to show in terms of track record. I looked all over the Jago website for some indication of what these guys had been upto before they decided to take the plunge politically, and found absolutely nothing. One would think that the key to going political in a country like ours would have to lie in starting from the bottom – identifying target communities and focus areas, working with those communities over a period of time, participating actively in issues of public interest, mobilizing area-wide, state-wide groups of party workers on the ground, so on and so forth – systematically working your way through the rungs to finally put yourself up on a pedestal from where you can ask people to come out and vote for you on the strength of your track record. Parties like LP (and now Jago) seem to have turned this formula on its head. I really don’t see how anyone (unless you’re a filmstar which gives you automatic license to contest elections and win) can do that and expect to get away with it.

By: Atanu Dey

Atanu Dey — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:08:38 +0000

My opposition is to “mandatory” — education or whatever. Because mandatory implies that someone else decides in your stead. As long as you are paying my bills, I am alright with your mandating what I should do. If you are going to tell me what I should do with my money, I suggest a long hike.

With that as the principle, let’s see how far mandating education goes.

By: Rahul Kumar

Rahul Kumar — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:56:38 +0000

Why â€œfree/subsidized modern day educationâ€ (whatever that means) instead of, say, â€œall poor Indians will get free/subsidized food and healthcareâ€? What are the trade-offs involved in forcing â€œthe poorâ€ to be educated up to the 10th standard as opposed to making the opportunity available for everyone to become as educated as they wish? To me that seems to be a better option. It is both economically efficient and morally defensible because it gives people a choice to do what they feel is in their interests.
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Many poor produce more children to earn by employing them . Similarly they do with cows & buffalows . I know few lambadas in Andhra , produce children just to sell . Why you are opposed to mandatory education ?

By: Rahul Kumar

Rahul Kumar — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 07:18:27 +0000

I think JAGO website mentions “Aruna Roy ” , not ” Arundhati Roy “

By: Abhishek

Abhishek — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:21:36 +0000

They seem to be misguided souls…Very typical of the “galli mohalla” types “do gooders” who are found aplenty. India is a free land and a democracy. They too have a right to co-exist; it would be interesting to see as to how their efforts bear fruits minus any concrete game plan.