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TRUE democracy does not give anybody unbridled freedom to say whatever one wishes to say (“The system & people on test," by Mr Hari Jaisingh, September 3). The rivalry among political parties for capturing power is the very essence of democracy if the competition is based on policy issues rather than on mud-slinging or character assassination. The highly undignified and derogatory remarks passed by certain leaders against their opponents at the election meetings recently are not only a blatant violation of the poll code of conduct but are also against electoral ethics. It is not in the interest of our country and the state to tolerate the existence of such a fatal phenomenon.

Never before in the history of independent India had the political system looked so fragile and unreliable as it does today. For a people so beleaguered, there is a remote possibility that the results of the forthcoming elections will be any different.

It is no exaggeration to say that the fountainhead of criminals today is mainly the election field. Originally the criminals were acting in the periphery as "missionaries" rendering assistance to the contestants. Later on, understanding their own physical strength and capacity, they themselves jumped into the election fray successfully. Thus, a number of criminals or, at least history-sheeters, have been the people's representatives. It has now become very difficult to control and even contain the evil. Its tentacles have spread far and wide and embrace almost all political parties.

The trend is fraught with grave dangers. If people no longer have confidence in their representatives, voting itself becomes almost meaningless. And if large sections of the people lose interest in voting, democracy is in jeopardy. Ideally, the people who stand for elections should do so out of dedication for public service. That was certainly true of the tens of thousands of people who joined the Independence movement and many among them sacrificed their careers. Almost all politicians today look upon politics as a career. They may have proclaimed their adherence to a particular party, but in many cases the choice of the party is dictated not by principles but by the consideration of expediency.

Role of Money Power: It has been very rightly observed that "there is a basic dilemma inherent in our system of governance. If the rulers choose not to honour their promises there is very little that people can do to make the system respond to their needs and aspirations",

With the exception of very few clean persons (not exceeding 5 per cent), politics has become a profitable business for unscrupulous people, who have the support of criminals or other such elements. All such people start making money with the help of their political contacts. For those elected, making money with illegal means is no problem. That is why money is playing a major role in the elections in India.

The Election Commission, despite its best efforts, has not been able to check it due to various reasons and also because the administrative machinery working for the commission is the same which works under the political bosses, who indulge in corrupt practices for their mutual benefit.

Under the present system the position is not going to change even if some persons known for their clean image get elected. The majority of the elected persons are successful because of the power of money and the help from criminals. They will not let "Mr. Clean" do much to end the deep-rooted corrupt practices.

RIGHT CANDIDATES: With the annual or biennial elections, people are getting frustrated with parties, politicians and the system. Still they are searching for someone who could lead the nation to the shores of safety, Can't he depend on Mr. Vajpayee for this, notwithstanding certain handicaps he is suffering from?

It is time we brought forward the right type of candidates and rid the polity of the corrupt and criminals who are spreading their tentacles in legislatures. The latest Vidhan Sabha elections witnessed a slanging match among the crime-tainted parties. The Samajwadi Party, a votary of social justice, fielded 15 criminals. The Congress had four of them, the Shiv Sena four and Mr. Ajit Singh's BKKP three. I share Mr. Jaisingh's agony: "We have to make a beginning somewhere to free the 21st country India from the clutches of criminals and shady characters". No Laloo Yadavs, Mulayam Singh's and Jayalalithas, please.

Ghalib and Saigal

In his write-up “He poured his soul into songs” (August 29), Pran Nevile has observed that “Saigal immortalised Ghalib by singing his verses with heart and soul, and in his unique style.”

It is not correct. Mirza Ghalib was an inspired poet. He claimed: “Aatey hain ghaib sey ye mazaameen khayaal mein/Ghalib sareer-e-khaamah navaa-e-sarosh hai” (O’ Ghalib! These lofty and graceful ideas come to my mind from the invisible world. The scratching sound of my pen is the voice of prophecy).

Instead of writing poetry in the traditional style, he gave a new direction to the Urdu ghazal and declared with just pride: “Hain aur bhi duniya mein sukhanvar bahot achchhey/Kaihtey hain ke Ghalib ka hai andaaz-e-bayaan aur.”

The people read and hear his verses which touch almost every aspect of human life, with zeal and gusto even after 130 years of his death and give vent to their feelings through his couplets having aptness to the occasion. Had he not rightly said: “shohrat-e-she’rm ba geeti ba’d-e-man khaahad shudan” (My verses will have widespread fame in the world after my death.)

In fact, Ghalib’s divinely inspired poetry, not Saigal’s rendition of a few verses of this peerless poet, has immortalised him.

BHAGWAN SINGH
Qadian

during the past several years small investors, particularly retired people, have been duped by private finance, forest and plantation companies which have fled with hundreds of crores of rupees after promising them hefty returns on their investments. Some of the investors who put in their entire savings with these rouge companies have been reduced to paupers.

The law of the land is so lax and lame that the investors can neither recover the money from them (the companies) nor can punitive action be taken against them through any effective proceedings because there is no safeguard mechanism for investors.

Despite the fact that these unscrupulous finance companies have robbed a number of investors, these people are also themselves to blame to a large extent for falling a victim to the allurements offered by the cheats. Who can give 36 per cent interest per year or even double the money in a few months or in some cases quadruplicate the money in five-six years? People should not have forgotten that the finance companies are not goldmines to do so.

The first consideration of investors should be the security of the investment made.

Therefore, people should preferably invest in government securities like the PPF, ULIP and NSC, or with companies of high standing and reputation, so that they may not have to repent throughout their life.

	M A I L B A G	Friday, September 10, 1999
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