WHOM DO I VOTE FOR?

“The key to good decision making is not knowledge. It is understanding. We are swimming in the former. We are desperately lacking in the latter.” ― Malcolm Gladwell

In the course of the last one month, we the voters were inundated with numerous sloganeering, shouting, brow beating and sophisticated marketing pieces of various political parties for the most obvious reason; the deep desire of influencing our decision to vote! As it happens when one is served with too many dishes on a platter, it becomes a hotch potch. Too many flavors may, at times, set one thinking! Whilst one may have good knowledge of individual flavors, lack of understanding of the combined effect of different flavors may lead us into making a bad decision with respect to the cuisine as a whole! 

Today was the day when we went out to vote!  Mumbai voted! Badly though! The sad irony of the day was this! I had the knowledge, well in advance of the scheduling of general election this year! I had the knowledge of incumbent political party, its virtues and vices to the last detail! I had the knowledge of the aspiring opposition who dreams of forming the next government! I was aware of the minutest detail of the protagonist and the supporting actions in the drama of politics!  The only knowledge I lacked and the only awareness that I did not have was whom do I vote for? Until the last minute when I cast my vote I was debating the pros and cons of various candidates standing from Mumbai North.  The fundamental issues that were bothering me were (a) What if my vote gets wasted if I vote for Candidate “A”? (b) Why am I so bothered about my vote getting wasted?( c) Should I worry about the profile of the candidate at the local level or should I be worried about the who will form the government at the center? (d) What difference will it make if I cast my vote either ways? (e) What if everybody is facing the same dilemma and ends up casting vote on the basis of media trends and reports rather than voting for someone who really deserves? (f) Why is the mass voting pattern bothering me so much?

These numerous thoughts were running parallel in my mind while I was standing in the line.  These thoughts were bothering me while my identity proof was being verified by the polls officer.  I was still undecided until my turn to cast the vote arrived.  Whilst I was in front of the voting machine I did not really have the time to continue with the never ending analysis.  I cast my vote immediately. The decision was made in a split second.  The blink decision was made on the basis of the understanding that at the end of the day the decision is simple!  It is not so complicated after all.  All that I want is that a good and honest and capable candidate to govern my constituency. Is that not what we all want?  Why do we complicate it? We allow the constant media barrage influence our decision making to the extent that we make decision on the basis of complete lack of understanding of certain simple fundamental values. 

There are chances that the candidate whom I voted for may not win. There is a possibility that the party whom I voted for may not form government at the center.  So what? At least I have the satisfaction that I voted for a candidate on the basis of merits. I strongly believe that if we, at an individual level let merit drive our decision making process; then collectively as a nation, we will not give ourselves the chance to complain as regards the lack of merit of the incumbent government! 

Media...Does it abdicate responsibility?

Whist I am an avid reader of various news paper, specially the TIMES OF India, I am of the view  the media, at times, abdicates from its responsibility of true and meaningful publication.  I personally know of cases wherein the facts have been completely misconstrued.  Further, this has the effect of totally tarnishing the image of the person about whom the report has been published.  This is especially in the case of investigative journalism!  Journalist should be minded about the fact that for them, it is just one piece of an article but for the person under consideration, it is libel of a life time, which may have the impact of completely destroying his or her life!  

I reproduce below, an article that was published in THE HINDU 

(http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/media-and-issues-of-responsibility/article2559712.ece)  

The article is a part of the speech of a retired judge.  I am reproducing it because I am on the same page with the opinion expressed by the Judge. This is the way it goes:

"I may only mention certain defects in the functioning of the India media today.

Twisting facts

One of the defects is that the media often twist facts. I would like to give an example.

One day, a leading English newspaper published on its front page a photograph of Justice Gyan Sudha Misra of the Supreme Court with the caption: “Supreme Court Judge says that her daughters are liabilities.” This was a distorted and fallacious item of news, published on the front page.

Supreme Court Judges have to disclose their assets and liabilities. Against the liabilities column, Justice Misra had written: “two daughters to be married.” Strictly speaking, it was not necessary to mention this because liabilities mean legal liabilities, for example, housing loan, car loan, and so on. Justice Misra's intention was obviously to say that she would have to spend on her daughters' future marriage. She has three daughters (no son), only one of whom has been married. Justice Misra never said, nor intended to say, that her daughters were liabilities. The news was false and defamatory, with the obvious intention of creating a sensation.

Paid news

A second defect concerns the issue of paid news that has become prominent of late. In the 2009 elections, it was a scandal. How this vicious practice could be stopped needs to be discussed. Incidentally, in compliance with an order of the Chief Information Commissioner dated September 19, 2011, we have placed the 71-page report of the Committee consisting of Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Sreenivas Reddy on our website, www.presscouncil.nic.in with the disclaimer that the Press Council had rejected this report at its meeting held on April 26, 2010.

Non-issues as real issues

A third defect is that the media often portray non-issues as real issues, while the real issues are sidelined. The real issues in India are economic, that is, the terrible economic conditions in which 80 per cent of our people are living, the poverty, unemployment, lack of housing and medical care and so on. Instead of addressing these real issues, the media often try to divert the attention of people to non-issues. Such as that the wife of a film actor has become pregnant, whether she will give birth to a single child or to twins, and so on. Are these the real issues facing the nation?

At a Lakme India Fashion Week event, there were 512 accredited journalists covering the event in which models were displaying cotton garments, while the men and women who grew that cotton were killing themselves at a distance of an hour's flight from Nagpur, in the Vidharbha region. Nobody told that story, except one or two journalists, locally.

Is this a responsible way for the Indian media to function? Should the media turn a Nelson's eye to the harsh economic realities facing over 75 per cent of our people, and concentrate on some ‘Potemkin villages' where all is glamour and show biz? Are not the Indian media behaving much like Queen Marie Antoinette, who said that if the people had no bread, they should eat cake?

No doubt, sometimes the media mention farmers' suicides, the rise in the price of essential commodities, and so on, but such coverage is at most 5 per cent to 10 per cent of the total. The bulk of the coverage goes to showing the life of film stars, pop music, fashion parades, cricket and astrology.

Tendency to brand

Here is a fourth defect. Bomb blasts have taken place near the Delhi High Court, in Mumbai, Bangalore and so on. Within a few hours of such a bomb blast, many TV channels started showing news items that said that the Indian Mujahideen or the Jaish-e-Mohammed or the Harkatul-Jihad-e-Islam had sent e-mails or text messages claiming responsibility. The names of such alleged organisations will always be Muslim ones. Now, an e-mail can be sent by any mischievous person, but by showing this on TV channels and the next day in the newspapers, the tendency is to brand all Muslims as terrorists and bomb-throwers.

The truth is that 99 per cent of the people of all communities, whether Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Sikh, and of whatever caste or region, are good. But the manner in which such news is shown on TV screens and published in newspapers tends to create the impression that all Muslims are terrorists, and evil — which is totally false. The person who sends such e-mails or text messages obviously wants to create hatred between Hindus and Muslims, which is the old British divide-and-rule policy continuing even today. Should the media, wittingly or unwittingly, become part of this policy of divide-and-rule?

No doubt there are defects not only in the media but in other institutions also, for example, the judiciary, the bureaucracy, and so on.

There are two ways to remove these defects in the media. One is the democratic way, that is, through discussions, consultations and persuasion — which is the method I prefer. The other way is by using harsh measures against the media, for example, by imposing heavy fines on defaulters, stopping government advertisements to them, suspending their licences, and so on.

In a democracy we should first try the first method to rectify the defects through the democratic method. For this purpose, I have decided to have regular get-togethers with the media, including the electronic media, so that we can all introspect and ourselves find out ways and means to rectify the defects in the media, rather than this being done by some government authority or external agency.

I propose to have such get-togethers once every two or three months, at which we will discuss issues relating to the media and try to think of how we can improve the performance of the media so that it may win the respect and confidence of the people.

If the media prove incorrigible, harsh measures may be required. But in my opinion, that should be done only as a last resort and in extreme situations. Ordinarily, we should first try to resolve issues through discussion, consultation and self-regulation. That is the approach which should be first tried in a democracy. I, therefore, request the Union government to defer the implementation of its recent decision regarding news channel licences, so that we can ourselves discuss the issue thoroughly, and ourselves take corrective measures.

Till now the function of the Press Council was only adjudication. I intend to make the Press Council an instrument of mediation in addition, which is in my opinion the democratic approach. For this purpose, I need help, cooperation and advice from the media.

India is passing through a transitional period in its history, from a feudal agricultural society to a modern industrial society. This is a very painful and agonising period. The media must help society in going through this transitional period as quickly as possible, and by reducing the pain involved. This they can do by attacking feudal ideas, for example, casteism and communalism, and promoting modern scientific ideas."

The Innocent Project

I know how it feels, may be I do not exactly know; but I have certainly tried empathizing and putting my self into the shoes of those people who have been written off by the society at large! Are not we, as a race, well versed with the art of writing people off? Are we not the masters in the art of reaching hasty conclusions? Don't we pass judgments every moment we breath out? Have we ever wondered what are the implications of this "not so harmless" sociological trait?  Have we ever bothered sitting back and analyzing what price one has to pay because of our habit of being reckless self appointed judge?  This sociological trait is a part of the criminal justice system as well!  The investigating agencies and judges constituting the criminal justice system are a part of the same sociological system! And this trait of writing a person off assumes monstrous proportion when an innocent person is wrongly accused of the crime he or she has never committed!  Unfortunately, in our country, there are not any projects/ NGO's to help those people who have been wrongly framed.  This, despite the fact that the criminal justice system of our country suffers from numerous inbuilt fallacies!  As a citizen of this country and as a lawyer I am certainly interested to start a project to help those who are falsely accused!  This is also because I have seen from close quarters the lives of those who have been falsely accused!  Friends write them off! Family write them of!!  It is important that we start a project which helps us find the truth and which eventually makes our criminal justice system a place where one truly gets justice!

Would appreciate any help and support in this regard!

Rational behind the title

Life can be very simple and beautiful.....depends on the way one precieves it.....inversly proportional to the degree of prejudices in one's mind!!!!!

To begin with....one may try rationalizing or figuring out the logic behind the title that I have choosen for my blog...the logic is very simple...i think right from the time of genesis...mankind has left no stone unturned to ensure that an amazing degree of confusion and chaos is created by preceiving facts in the most contorted manner possible and thereby making any and every entity...whether it be living or non living.....victim of its prejudices....a million different manner of preceiving a situation...a million different conclusion....and billion prejudicial repercussions!!!!