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Political Elite: An Empirical Reconnaissance THE political elite is the "technical indispensability" of the modern world. Every system, society or organisation develops some sort of hegemonic structure which directs, controls, manages and supervises its working. The modern times can aptly be christened as the age of political elite. The existing political system is undoubtedly a blossoming garden in which some "chosen" flowers, with their superior charm, grace, wisdom and tact, are enjoying the honeyed sweetness of life and these "chosen elements" we irrefutably designate as "political elite".
The author defines the political elite as a typical group of political power-seekers in a democratic set-up, who have mastered the art of working out the political results to their advantage. He gives details of how the power-grabbing at all costs and by all means has by now established itself as a definite system which is not conducive to good governance. The book also urges the people to "rise to the occasion to teach the elites a lesson, if they go against the interests of the common man and the nation, as masses are the real sovereign in a democracy. The background of some of the political elite has been assiduously brought out in the book and the author successfully links the political behaviour with the family antecedents of the protagonists. This behaviour also reflects the current social notes and ethical trends. After all, each one of us in sum totality of attitude and behaviour is the by-product of society around us. The author has tried to bring home various nuances of politics by a number of self-drawn sketches/ illustrations/graphs. He has tried to classify the elites on the basis of their proclivities as "fox elite" (innovators) and "lion elite" (consolidators). For him, the ideal political elite combine the qualities of "fox and lion", i.e., the use of force and cunningness with ideological postures. Samir Kumar has justifiably pointed out the positive side of the picture, too. No manoeuvering of falsehood can succeed without a few sterling qualities of oratory or organisational stamina. Whatever the lapses of our political leadership, they do have the quality of rising to the occasion and exhibit their mettle hardened through their own tough experience. It would be of interest to the discerning reader how a typical politician conducted himself during the dark period of Emergency during 1975-1976. The book has done a retake of the unprecedented post-Emergency "Janta wave", too. Samir Kumar has done a
commendable job by bringing out the salient features of the
post-Independence era of political behaviour in India. The book
deserves all praise and will be liked by the keen observers of
political milieu prevailing in our country now. The style of the
author is quite subtle, as he has tried to explore the subtleties of
politics and political elite in an in-depth manner based upon
scientific analysis.
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Samir
Kumar’s name is the latest addition to the long list of bureaucrat
writers who while administering also try their hands at writing books.
Political Elite is his first book and is the result of intense
research and close personal observations of the behaviour of the
post-Independence political breed. Although Samir’s study takes up
the prototypes of "political elite" in and around Jalandhar,
his scrutiny and critical evaluation of this specific political group
has national, rather international, application.