Social Media and Political parties

(This is my lecture on Social Media and its use as a tool by political parties given at an International Conference organised by Makhanlal University)

Respected Vice Chancellor sir, Anil Dave ji, Vikas ji, friends of the media and all those present here, a very warm morning to you all

Today is 15^th Dec, the death anniversary of the Iron Man of India, Shri Vallabh Bhai Patel. I would pay my humble homage to one of the greatest visionaries of modern India. He was an Indian and will remain to be an Indian, in spite of all the efforts to confine him to a region.

1.I would like to congratulate Prof Kuthiala and his entire team for organizing this conference and deliberating on such an important issue. Currently the entire country is going through a political metamorphosis where the rules of the game are changing everyday. New dimensions are coming up and the way politics was perceived even a decade back has changed drastically. When I started off in this field, a lot of things were un-thought of and there was certain style of politics that was practiced across the board- a top to bottom approach where you had a coterie who took the decisions and it was left for the entire party to follow. A direct interaction between the 10th tier worker and a member of the august group was unheard of but now all these perceptions have been turned on their heads. This is ladies and gentlemen what social media has done to politics.

2. Now this is all within a party, what about “Social Media and Politics”? In the bygone era there were tea stalls, paan ki dukan, nukkads, mohallas which had a very special place in politics. Adda was a big thing, if I may borrow this term from Bengal, where anything and everything was discussed. Politics was and still remains “the” topic of discussion and as joked in Bhopal that you can sit at Kamla Park and decide from a corporator candidate to a presidential candidate over a cup of tea. However with the internet and mobile phone revolution- all thanks to the vision of a gentleman called Rajiv Gandhi- now this entire discourse has shifted on Internet and Social Media sites. It all started with Orkut- then Facebook- Twitter- now Whats App, We Chat, Vibgyour, Google Hangout, Youtube Channels- you name it and there is an app to help you communicate. What these social media sites have done is they have widened the platform of discussion. You are now no longer confined to Raju tea stall or choursia paan bhandaar. And this is so far the only media which is self regulated as cyber laws in India are not very stringent. If somebody ever argues with you on Freddom of Speech and how it is being curbed, just leave them on a social media site and enjoy.

Now coming to the main theme of today’s discussion that is Social Media and How Political Parties are using it as a medium of communication. The first thing that political parties did with this media was they shared ideas, events, created a buzz about something. Slowly it was used as a PR machinery for the party as well as for individuals. There are enough examples of individuals who are purely creations of social media and some have even reached the stage of PM in waiting. Political parties are also using this media for spewing venom at their rivals. Now the question is till the time we continue with “meri saree teri saree se safed kaise” banter it is fine as this does not endanger the grain of democracy.

However a few recent incidents have demonstrated that there is a certain section which is using it spread communal disharmony. I am talking about the Muzzafarnagar riots where two mentally sick people belonging to one of the largest National Party shared an old video from Pakistan which went viral on the social networking sites and what happened next is something we all know. Another incidence is about a couple of years back when North Eastern people were targeted in the south over some fabricated story that went viral on these sites. Both these incidences show the ugly side of Social Media and Politics.

On the brighter side we have “AAP” which has its genesis in social media. The entire Ramleela Maidan movement was operated from social media and today we have Arvind Kejriwal as one of the most important political figure in the country especially in Northern India.

Nirbhaya case is also an eye opener for all the political parties as it showcased social dissent over a very brutal, heinous crime and how all the parties had to accept the might of this media. The new Anti Rape law was formulated only after this incidence.

3. How Congress party is using Social Media? At the outset I would like to say that YES we were late in understanding the reach and influence of this media. People like me were exceptions in the party and were branded as uber urban with limited reach. But as soon as the top leadership understood the might of this medium of communication, it has lapped it up and now the grand dads of this grand old party are very much active on social media.

There are two fronts on which we are using social media. Firstly, to communicate with our own party workers and to give them inputs on various issues. For internal communication we use What’s App, SMS and Khidkee. We constantly communicate all over the country and we have been doing the same in Madhya Pradesh as well. Khidkee is a social networking site only for party workers, especially the Youth where they can voice their opinions freely.

Secondly, on a larger scale we are communicating with the masses. We have official Facebook pages, Twitter handles, Google Hangout sessions, Youtube Channels where we are propagating our ideology, our achievements, making people aware of true historical events, pointing out the corruption cases in the opposition state governments, new initiatives of the party and the government. Like yesterday we trended #studentsmanifesto and #INC4Lokpal. This helps a lot to the strategy makers of the party. We also have Mouobile Apps about the party.

Rahul Gandhiji, the Vice President of our party wants us to work on a volunteer pattern where we are asking our party members to act as volunteers and connect with people. He wants to bring in the positives and achievements of our party in public domain. Congress is the oldest party of the country and we have to let the younger generation know what our contribution has been in nation building. Our party is trying to build rapport with the marginalized sections of the society. We have been asked to open conversations with tribals, women, minorities, dalits.

4. The political parties have found a new way to interact but are the people fine about getting bombarded with political discourse. If I talk as an individual belonging to a political party I feel that it has helped me to get a better understanding of issues and people. Common man finds himself connected to the whole decision making process. Be it Egypt, be it a referendum on Right to Food, be it coming up with a new Anti Rape Act, people have had their say. It is only through Twitter and Facebook that people directly interact with say a Shashi Tharoor, a Digvijaya Singh, a Jay Panda, a L K Advani, a Kapil Sibbal, a Arvind Kejriwal to name a few. Let me recount an incident about how one of the youngsters was tweeted back by Shashi Tharoor ji while his stay in Bhopal a few months back that he would not be coming to the party office. The youngster was not believed though but that is the power of social media.

There are certain negatives too. A lot of people do not want to discuss politics- period. They feel that a lot of closet journalists, megalomaniacs have come to the fray who dilute important issues. They do not take seriously what is being discussed on these platforms. This section only uses social media as a platform for interacting with friends.

5. I suppose that when the University decided on this topic for today’s discussion, they must have somewhere thought about how social media is helping or harming Democracy. Nao after 6 decades of being a Democracy, seeing the highs and the lows, we know that we are a strong country and there is not much that can be done to harm it. Communication, transparency are important facets of Democracy. And I personally, very firmly believe that social media has strengthened our Democracy. I will share how this transparency has come about. A lot of media friends are sitting here and there was news of accident which was blocked by the media but played extensively on the social media. I am talking about an Aston Martin car belonging to one of the biggest business house which was over speeding and rammed into an Audi and Elantra. The security guards following the car came and took away the driver. However the next day the entire matter was hushed up and none of the traditional media took up this case. Another incidence is of how one of the Minister of the previous government of Madhya Pradesh was not allowed to enter some villages for canvassing and he ultimately lost the elections. This was also not focused by other media was taken up in the social media.

There are umpteen examples of how Democracy has been strengthened by this new media. I would once again like to talk of the current phenomenon AAP. When they started some 3 years back, they were anti establishment, anti democracy- who can forget the graphic of their leader cutting the electric connection of a home. But it is this very Democracy which has allowed them to form a party and fight elections and hopefully form the government. I now sincerely hope that they would now respect Democracy.

6. In conclusion to my speech I would like to say that do not expect miracles overnight. Do not put the weight on this new media of revolutionizing the society. It is there only in about 100 cities covering just 1 percent population, but surely it is creating a buzz. We have to give it time to mature, to bloom, to make mistakes, to flourish. Let me end with a few lines of one of my favorite poets Dushyant Kumar

कहां तो तय था चरागाँ हर घर के लिए

कहां चराग मयस्सर नहीं शहर के लिए

यहाँ दरख्तों के साये में धुप लगती हैं

चलो यहाँ से चले और उम्र भर के लिए

खुदा न सही, आदमी का ख्वाब सही

कोई हसीं नज़ारा तो हैं नज़र के लिए

वो मुतमईन हैं की पत्थर पिघल नहीं सकता

में बकरार हूँ आवाज़ के असर के लिए

Saheb, Teju and Women

The past month has gone by in a blink. Lots have been happening all around, politically, economically and socially. The Aarushi murder case judgement is out which has created a big stir but two cases are making headlines continuously- the "Saheb" case where the Gujarat Chief Minister and his close aide keeping tab of a lady for "security reasons" and second is the Tehelka-Teju case where Tarun Tejpal sexually assaulted his junior colleague- all in the name of "fun".

Both these cases reek of male chauvinism and moral corruption. In the first case, the perpetrators of this heinous act are known for their notoriety. When this entire episode was brought to light by ever vigilant media, first there was refusal, then it was pointed out that it was a malicious act of the opposition and finally very arrogantly it was announced that it was all for the betterment of the concerned lady. Two things stand out in this episode- one the concerned lady has not spoken out yet. We are all waiting with abated breath to hear her side of the story. In the 21st century, all women emancipation groups are shouting from rooftops that women are free- physically, financially, emotionally, therefore as a fellow women I think that the girl can take her own decisions and speak her mind. So far her father has stepped forward and said that the snooping was done at his behest and there is nothing wrong in it. The second point is that will this Chief Minister do the same for all the women of the state. And isn't he shying away from the main issue that is to make the society more free, secure where no woman will require snooping.

Tehelka-Tarun Tejpal case is even worse because since its inception Tehelka has always taken a moral high ground, there has been righteousness in their attitude. They have skinned alive many politicians on many occasions and rightly so but when it came on Tejpal himself, the discourse changed from bad to worse. The role played by Shoma Chaudhary is disgusting. She is one female who belongs to that voracious breed of females who are considered to be the crusaders of feminism. Her reaction in this entire episode magnifies the double standards that we so often witness in the society. Though she has resigned from her post, but it is too little, too late. As far as Tarun Tejpal is concerned, he should be banned from journalism for life and the tactics that he is adopting are deplorable & punishment meted out to him should be such that it acts as a deterrent for others. 

Women is perceived as "Shakti" & she has never been so week that she cannot resurrect here dignity. We do not want a "Saheb" to protect us, we do not want the Tejpal's of the society & we surely do not want Shoma Chaudhary's to be our crusaders.

YOUTH- the catchword

Youth is the catch word currently. Whether it is the FMCG companies, policy makers, demographers, politicians, everybody is in a hurry to capture the imagination of today's youth. Statistically currently we have the largest young population and by 2020 we will have the largest youth population. It means we will have very young labour market and compared to our neighbor China we will have more skills.

There is a downside too to this beautiful picture and that is we will have to generate employment at a much higher rate, would require more educational & training  institutions. There will be more crimes, more unrest, more pressure on the policy makers to deliver.

In such a scenario, going to the polls and promising moon to the youth reveals two things- firstly political parties think that youth is so gullible that they will not understand that most of the promises are hollow and secondly the political class think that this huge educated, skilled manpower is easy to manage and therefore the gravity in policy making is not visible.

Youth is always associated with energy, idealism, hot hotheadedness, raw emotion and all this energy needs to be channelized in the right direction. The present state of the society is such that youth believes that everything is manageble. This lack of trust in the system by the youth is ominous for any country.

The policy maker's and the people's representatives have to take up this issue in a very concrete way in near future if they want to take the country ahead. Employment and that too gainful employment has to be generated in tune with the rising young population. The entire education policy needs a revamp. Currently we have a public education system that is endowed with infrastructure, funds and teachers but lacks quality and private education which gets a raw deal.

On the economic front , 22 years of LPG has taught us that public sector needs to be revamped and re-trusted. Market mechanism cannot give us the desired results. Banking sector needs more government presence. Manufacturing sector needs to be nurtured. If we keep the service sector growing then we will create a lot of bubbles. More linkages needs to be created between agriculture and industry .

Youth is a big asset for any country and they need to be handled with kid gloves, otherwise this asset may turn up to be our biggest liability.

The Changed Narrative

2013 and 14 will see 11 state elections and one Lok Sabha elections. So it is very natural that political debate will get heated. In such a situation more and more debates are on individuals and issues which are not very important for the democracy. Which leader has got a better oratory skills is less important than the vision that the leader has. Also the political parties have to be more tolerant about the views that people have.

Currently a lot of debate is happening over whether pre poll surveys should be held or not. My personal view is that ban is never a solution. What the political parties should actually demand is that the surveys should be more authentic and reliable. Most of these surveys have very small sample size which makes the results unreliable.  They should be more scientific.

Another issue that is important is  basic services like road, electricity, water which still remain election issues even after 6 decades of independence. Today the issues should be better health services, more industries, more exports, quality education, better facilities for sportsmen, better environment for setting industries, but we are still stuck with sadak, bijli, pani. In my state of Madhya Pradesh in 2003, the BJP came to power with the promise that people will get better services on all these three counts.But sadly that is not the case as there are no roads to say in many cities, electricity transmission is poor and water availability is there but the quality is poor. If for the sake of argument we believe that the intentions of the present government was good and it wanted to work for the betterment of the people then what went wrong? Why cities like Itarsi, Vidisha, Sehore, Harda, Ujjain, Betul, Sagar (to name a few) have non existing roads, there is just gravel all around. Why are we paying more for electricity compared to other states? Why are we having so many unannounced power cuts? Why water borne diseases so common in our state?

The present government has to take responsibility and answer these questions. Though we have one of the weakest politician as our Chief Minister who is an escapist to the core but with his oratory skills he has become the face of BJP. All the political parties have to rethink their strategy. The narrative has changed. Asking people to vote for development sounds good but the delivery mechanism has to function. Sadly the states like MP, Chhatisgarh still lack far behind in the growth story in spite of all the tall claims of the incumbent government.

The common man has to rethink and go all out and show their might on 25th November in Madhya Pradesh.

It is raining scams in Madhya Pradesh

Geri Halliwell famously sang "It's raining men", the people of Madhya Pradesh are singing "It's Raining Scams". In the past couple of months every day the paper reports a new scam especially in the field of education. The incumbent government has made tall claims regarding education and working for the youth of the state. The facts being unraveled  by the investigating agencies are pointing out towards a nexus between the administration and minister and people belonging to the higher echelons  of the society. The claims of the government have fallen flat. Youth is disgruntled and cynical about the entire good governance argument.

Medicine has always been considered to be a very noble profession, however the VYAPAM scam shows that people are right to question the sanctity of this profession. Students without caliber are giving huge amounts of money to get admitted to prestigious medical colleges. The same has happened in BDS also where students of Barkatullah University Bhopal have been caught mass cheating and others writing papers for the students. The exam superintendent has failed to give satisfactory answers. In open schooling also a similar incidence has been brought to light. Another scam in education itself is that teacher training is going on without any books though lakhs of books were issued for the training. The higher authorities are again feigning ignorance. 

In these entire scams, apart from financial misappropriation, the biggest question that it raises is moral bankruptcy of the society as a whole. Mr. Trivedi, Dr. Sagar and the entire team which is involved in the medical exam scam of VYAPAM belong to the well respected, well paid section of the society. Their involvement shows pure, naked greed and the confidence that the entire system will back them. It also shows the morality of the parents who gave such huge amounts to get their kids into medicine science by illegal ways. What lesson do they want to give to the next generation? Why cant parents accept the fact that their child is not meant for these professional courses? In this entire narrative,we are missing out the story of the meritorious students who got left out because of these cheats. We are also not discussing the compromise that we are making with such a noble profession.

These scams put the focus on the standard of education in the state of Madhya Pradesh. I have been constantly advocating that research needs to be promoted and syllabus has to be integrated with the demand of the industry. If we continue to teach students about New Economic Policy of 1991 without talking about the 2007 depression, then we cannot expect our students to be world class. There are up-teem examples to show that Universities are teaching redundant syllabus. 

The time has come when politicians, academicians, administrators, industrialists, all have to come together and take responsibility of education. We cannot just have rules to regulate fees, admissions, physical infrastructure and other less important things. The public vs private education debate needs to get realistic. There cannot be a inbuilt bias favoring public institutions in spite of their pathetic standard of education. On the other hand their infrastructure needs to be better used and teachers need to be under scanner.

What we today require in the state of Madhya Pradesh is an over hauling of the entire education system. Hope our policy makers are listening.

Walk the Talk

Has the time come when politicians belonging to any party cannot give any off the cuff remarks? The past few days have seen an onslaught of political rallies and sabhas, as elections are scheduled at 5 states, which are also being seen as a semi final before the Lok Sabha polls of 2014. As the number of rallies are getting more, leaders are exposed more to the media glare and also to the common man. With the advent of technology everything is on your face and with internet becoming accessible to such a huge population, nothing remains hidden or confined to an area.
At such a stage when we hear somebody talking about 6 months work and 6 months rest model or of Pandit ji not attending Sardar Vallabh Patel's funeral, chances are that the speaker will have egg on his face. And that is what is exactly happening. But the real issue here is not that somebody who is aspirant to the post of Prime Minister tells blatant lies, but that the narrative that gets changed. Instead of discussing real issues, the entire debate gets centered on discussing moronic statements.

India is changing and changing fast, therefore it is imperative that politicians also change. Whenever they come to speak they need to have well researched speeches. Also they have to speak more on local issues and ways of finding a way out of the quagmire. Common man cannot be taken for granted. They understand issues and with the help of internet can find the truth in minutes. Aspirations have changed, so have the dreams.

Let us talk about young, energetic, equal India where even the child of an auto driver can think of becoming a billionaire in a decade. Let us respect wisdom and intelligence. Let us respect our glorious history and not tarnish it with earning momentary gratification.
Let us walk the talk!

बापू की शिक्षा नीति आज भी प्रसांगिक हैं

    आज पूरा विश्व  महात्मा गांधी जी का जन्मदिन मना रहा है। पूरा विश्व उनके अहिंसा नीति का पूजारी है। वे केवल देश  को आजादी दिलाने में ही सक्षम नही रहे अपितु उन्होने अपने कर्मो, अपने आचरण से लोगो को यह भी बताया की सार्वजनिक जीवन में एक नेता को किस प्रकार रहना चाहिये। उन्होंने अपने अनशन, मौन व्रत, अनुषासन से उस वक्त के युवाओं को एक नई राह दिखाई।  अपने संपूर्ण जीवन में बापू ने  शिक्षा किस प्रकार दी जानी चाहिये, शिक्षक का आचरण कैसा होना चाहिये, मौलिक शिक्षा  की आवष्यकता आदि पर काफी काम किया जो आज भी प्रासंगिक है।
    महात्मा जब दक्षिण अफ्रिका में थे तो उन्होने अपने बच्चो को स्कूल नही भेजा, उन्होने घर पर ही स्वंय ने पढ़ाया।  अंग्रेजी के लिये अलग से शिक्षक रखा। जब उन्होने टालस्टाअ आश्रम बनाया तो वहां भी सभी बच्चो को स्वंय ने पढ़ाया। बच्चे अनुशासित हो इसके लिये उन्होंने स्वंय को अधिक अनुशासित किया। गांधीजी का मानना था कि छात्र का आचरण, प्रतिबिम्ब होता है शिक्षक के आचरण का। शिक्षक के प्रति आदर और सममान तभी छात्र के मन में आता है ज बवहशिक्षक वही करे जो वह कहें। बापू ने मूल्य शिक्षा पर भी बहुत ध्यान दिया। खेल-कूद से जैसे शरीर बनता है, विचारों और मस्तिषक के वरजिष से आचरण बनता है।
    हम यदि इन सभी बातो को आज की परिस्थिति में देखे तो हम पाते है कि वर्तमान शिक्षा के पतन का बहुत बढ़ा कारण यही है कि माता -पिता शिक्षा पर ध्यान नही देते, मातृभाषा का उपयोग बहुत कम हो गया है,शिक्षक के लिये शिक्षा देना उसके रोजी-रोटी का एक जरिया मात्र है। मूल्य शिक्षा पर ध्यान नही दिया जा रहा है। पर्सनेलिटी डेवलेपमेंट का व्यक्तित्व विकास की कक्षायें गली-गली में हो रही है जहां भाषा, कपड़े पहनना, साक्षात्कार आदि की टेªनिंग दी जा रही है परन्तु छात्रो के दिमाग की वरजिष नही कराई जा रही है। बच्चा पहली कक्षा से 12 वीं कक्षा तक माॅरल साइंस पढ़ता जरूर है परन्तु आत्मसात नही करता है उन मूल्यो को, यही कारण है कि आज समाज में भ्रष्टाचार, दुराचार, वैमन्स्यता इतनी बढ़ गयी है। मानवीय मूल्यो का पतन हुआ है।
    यदि हम जिम्मेदारी की बात करे तो माता-पिता,शिक्षक, समाज सभी जिम्मेदासर है। सभी ने अपनी जिम्मेदारियों से मुंह फेरा है। आज माता-पिता के पास समय नही है इसलिये पैसे से वह समय की पूर्ति करना चाहते है, शिक्षक के उपर दबाव इतना है  िकवह इसे केवल अपना दायित्व मानता है, समाज इतने भागो में बट गया है कि वह हर बात को जाति, धर्म के चश्मे से देखता है।
    आज यदि बापू जीवित होते तो उन्हें बहुत कष्ट होता। हमारे विकास को देखकर वह खुश भी होते परन्तु कही ना कही वह युवा पीढी मूल्यो के हनन को देखकर आहत होते। आज का हमारा युवा पहले की तुलना में अधिक पढ़ा-लिखा, तर्क संगत, तकनीक से लैस है पर मूल्यो मैं वह पिछड रहा है।
    क्यो ना आज के दिन हम -आप यह प्रण ले के घर के बच्चो की शिक्षा का केवल फीस ही नही देगे, अपितु उसकी जिम्मेदारी भी  लेगे। मैं एक शिक्षक और समाज सेवी के रूप  में यह संकल्प लेती हूं कि छात्रो से उतना ही अपेक्षा करूगीं जितना मैं अपने आप से अपेक्षा करती हूं। साथ ही मूल्यो कि शिक्षा देते हुये उन्हें और आत्मसात करूँगी।