Defeat of democracy at the hands of money!

Am not quite sure if that should be the title, but at the outset it appears to be that. I had always wondered about the vote bank in India coming from villages. Most of them illiterate, not quite informed about what is happening in the land... et cetera. And when elections come around, policians in their crisp white starched dresses rush to these hinterlands to woo the people. These village people must be getting to see those "elected" leaders only once in a while whenever there are elections. I used to wonder - do they not feel cheated? Because these politicians promise the moon to these poor unsuspecting people and give nothing more than dust, while they themselves are basking in all the money that they are making. I recently read a blog post on rediffiland by Shobha Warrier who has researched this very fact. And results are startling to say the least.

1. The villagers know that they are being taken for a ride. And they are angry. WHICH IS A GOOD THING.

2. The villagers sell their votes to the highest bidder, because they feel that this is the only way they can get back at those politicians. WHICH IS A BAD THING.

That the villagers know that they are being taken for a ride was a revelation to me. They are "aware". They could capitalise on it to do something good for themselves and preventing politicians with questionable integrity to come into power.

But we should also look at the conditions in which they are living and money being the only motivator. No electricity, inefficient education system, insufficient healthcare facilities, no means of permanent livelihood... the list goes on endless. This plague is endemic to the poor folk. And why would they not demand the most needy thing in exchange for their votes? Money is the only thing that can get them what they want. As such, nobody cares for them once these politicians get elected.

Nevertheless, selling votes for money and therefore aiding the corrupt politicians to stay in power, though unwillingly, is not helping anything at all. How long will a few thousands of Rupees last? These politicians make crores within days. More than the money they make, it is the poor governance that they engage in that dents the system. And not to mention, vested interests funding some of these gullible idiots so that they foment all sorts of unwanted violence, including communal ones.

Defeat of democracy at the hands of what? Money! What else??

Please read the original blogpost at Shobha Warrier's blog.