It is a tribute to the hunger for change in India that in the space of three weeks (four, by the time this is published), Meera Sanyal has gone from being a low-profile, well-considered senior banker to something of a rock star, judging from the way she is mobbed everywhere she goes. Young people of all stripes, of course, uptown bankers and educationists at the Rotary, a group of handicapped citizens, groups of businessmen and brokers, religious leaders, large numbers of senior citizens, even people living in slums, and, of course, just people on the streets of South Mumbai— everybody wants to meet Meera. Everybody is curious about her, everybody wants to know why she believes she will win and, of course, what she will do after she does.
On the other side, there are a few terminally-middle-aged souls, who refuse to take their heads out of the sands and see that India today is no longer willing to put up with “the lesser of two evils” or vote based on the politics of fear, a la George Bush. Of course, their numbers are small and declining—it is 2009, and India is a young, forward-looking nation, even if its politics-to-date is not.
Anyway, here’s how I see it. Each and every one of the 16 lakh voters in the newly delimited South Mumbai constituency, just like each and every one of nearly 1.2 billion Indians, knows that
(a) the reason we have been unable to rise to our true potential is that the governance of our country has been hijacked by corrupt and venal political parties, who’s only agenda is to ensure their gaddi; sure there are good people in politics, but their effectiveness is constrained or compromised (by having to do party business—read, raise funds for the party);
(b) all major political parties are equally guilty;
(c) it is time for change—26/11 determined that.
Now, as we all know, things change only when it is time. Look at your own life: there are doubtless things that you have wanted for a long time that one day suddenly happen because it’s finally the right time. Barrack Obama won the US presidency not simply because he is a great man—he won because it was time for the US to change.
And without question it is time for India to change. After 26/11, there were a huge number of citizens’ groups formed—in most cases, of young (18 to 35) people—all of which were determined to (in the name of one of them) “be the change.” And, make no mistake, most of these groups are still around, still active, still working—and they're not going to stop.
Also Read
Meera, to my mind, is part of this wave of change. And she is not alone— Mallika Sarabhai (even more courageous, in Meera’s view), Captain Gopinath and several other lesser known names have jumped into the fray as independents from different parts of the country. Not all of them will win, but all of them have already sent a message to the politicians: SHAPE UP OR SHIP OUT.
We see this very clearly in our constituency, where one set of powers-that-be is reduced to bleating about “the lesser of two evils”, “the civilized vote” and so on. The other set of powers-that-be is just too parochial for 2009. The Marathi manoos is no fool—she, too, can see that politics as usual leads nowhere. Protecting dead end government jobs does not even begin to address the aspirations of Mumbaikars. They need—we need—the ability to attract investment to create tens—no, hundreds—of thousands of much better paying, much more satisfying jobs in Mumbai.
Meera, as a banker, has already done that in a small way—she has created 6,000 jobs, 2,500 of which are in Lower Parel. Mind you, this was without a mandate for job creation—imagine what she will be able to do with a definitive mandate to improve the lives of Mumbaikars.
Everybody knows that change is needed, and, indeed, that it is inevitable. And by far the best possibility for real change is Meera. Mumbai chi Meera.
And, after the election—look out!
Meera is not shy and she will make sure that her views—our views—are clearly and vociferously heard in the Lok Sabha. And the good news is that given the completely fractured coalition government that is likely, her independent vote will be considerably more valuable than if there were a majority government in power. Thus, she—and like-minded MPs—will have disproportionate influence over the Parliament, certainly relative to any party-based MP, who would have to toe the party line and bend before the party whip.
Most important of all, however, is the impact Meera’s election will have on the future of India. At every subsequent election, starting with the Assembly elections later this year and continuing from here on out, we will see more and more Meera’s—you and me, perhaps—stepping up to the plate to accelerate India’s progress into the 21st century.
And it all begins with MUMBAI CHI MEERA!
C’mon, sign on to www.meerahsanyal.in, volunteer your time and join the celebration of the new India.