Do our politicians truly represent us?

Nowadays the more I read newspapers and watch TV the more I feel that our politicians in India hardly represent the people they claim to represent. They are completely out of touch with the aspirations of the people especially the youth. And of course the Leftists are in a time warp with their head stuck in the mud. Even several decades after the world's bastion of Communism - the late Soviet Union - unceremoniously dumped the dogma of Lenin , Stalin, Khurschev and the other venerable members of the Soviet gerontocracy and China which has very clearly and very successfully demarcated economy and politics, our Communists are still espousing antiquated principles of Socialism and Communism. When will they ever realise that the lot of the working class can only improve by rapid economic growth - be it industrial or agricutural? Doesn't it make sense to create far more demand than supply in the labor market? Won't that put the worker in the driving seat as far as bargaining goes? Witness the IT and BPO industries which thankfully came about post-cold war and are not hobbled by the limitations of Trades Union. No one can argue that workers in those industries have the upper hand over management. In fact the traditional definition of management and labor is stood on its head in many IT and BPO organizations thanks to ESOPs and ESPPs. Would our IT industry be the star performer it is today if it were unionized and the INTUC, CITU, HMS and so on were allowed free run there? No way!!

The most amazing thing is that the commies get elected repeatedly in West Bengal and that too with thumping majorities! Hopefully the reforms brought about by Buddha da will give people in WB a sneak preview of what can be if there is a political party which is more business friendly and in tune with the times. Of course one can argue that there is really no choice amongst our political parties and the Leftists in WB are better thanks to their relatively 'clean' images. How I wish our respected Leftists - Messrs. Yechuri, Karat et al - imbibe the China model and keep their politics and business separate. Just because you are business friendly and promote a culture of meritocracy and competetiveness does not mean you are anti-people. Politicians at the national level need to rise above narrow regional and dogmatic considerations and have the vision and guts to lead from the front. They have been elected to take charge and make a difference not prolong the status quo and take us backward.

Even with all the limitations of our imperfect democracy and our lilliput politicians our country has grabbed the attention of almost everyone on the planet! Imagine what we could have achieved if we had politicians who had the vision, the values and the intellectual prowess to make a difference for the greater cause of nation building! It is now time for a renaissance.

Is it futile to even hope for such a transformation?