Sometimes it feels like we inhabit a land that is in a perennial state of election. With the assembly elections around the corner, our print, digital and social media are ablaze with election fever. Elections in the world’s largest democracy are invariably an emotional issue: passions fly; voters turn volatile; arguments turn heated; leaders make wildly inflammatory statements; and desperation rules. In such a climate, consciousness — a prerequisite for both spirituality and politics — is compromised. Also, unsurprisingly, political leaders are unable to perform with any degree of efficiency. It would be ideal to have assembly and parliamentary elections just twice in five years. The alternative is the gladiator sport of today, where rule books are habitually thrown to the wind and everyone is in survival mode, trying to outshout and obliterate the other. When every state election is fought under the glare and hysteria of media attention, the ensuing drama is not democracy, it is populism. I actually empathise with politicians of all stripes, because to be in perennial election mode is to be in a state of constant existential siege. Scarcely is one election over when another has begun. Even if you win, there is no time to deliver on your promises towards the larger well-being of the state, the nation and the world. Unless this country’s voters collectively show their refusal to be seduced by short-term benefits, nothing will change. We will simply be given sops, cash and trinkets at election time, and little else afterwards. It is time to insist on longterm priorities, rather than populist dividends. For instance, it is time for us to insist that education, ecology and health be viewed as key election issues. If population is our demographic dividend, a significant percentage of the GDP must be invested in education. This is the only way to leverage our core strength and create a skilled and accomplished young workforce. Similarly, ecology is no longer an elite preoccupation. The desertification of Indian soil is happening at an alarming pace. This means an impending food crisis, plummeting levels of nourishment, as well as sociological and economic disruptions produced by mass urban migration. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
