Politics all over

These days it looks like a festive season. The banners, the flags, and the small and big rallies raising respective party slogans; this election to the J&K Assembly is worth watching in symbolic as well as substantial ways. But in all this buzz and boom some significant things shouldn’t be left unattended.

This pertains to all; the political parties, those who vote for them, and the institutional system that ensures a smooth and just conduct of elections. In the earlier decades, like in 1980s, when the big political rallies of opposing parties would anywhere clash, ugly scenes would pollute the entire atmosphere. As we have come a long way in our societal growth, the political parties should now realise that a contest at a political level should not be made into an animosity at the societal level. As a people we live in mixed spaces, we interact in million different ways, and our mutual transactions are much more than once-in-a-five-year political contest.

It means that the political leadership in each party should educate its cadre and the voters that political disagreements can be managed in a decent manner, without hurting the societal fabric. It is also the responsibility of the political leadership not to raise slogans that demean the opponent, or sound abusive in any way. In this age of chaotic social media, and a slide into artificial world, political parties have an added responsibility. In fact it is being realised now at a global level that the crises of depleting human relations, and an over reliance of technology pose a huge challenge to humanity.

The onus is on the political leadership – from global to local – to understand this challenge and lay the foundation of policies and behaviours that can go a long way in restoring the human fabric of our societies. Elections is a time of enhanced human interaction, and the political parties can, if they transcend petty considerations, make use of this time and contribute to the making of human societies. Apart from winning elections, this is the supreme duty of all political parties. We will soon realise its importance, if we have not already, as AI and ML is poised to even determine the election outcomes. It is a dangerous scenario, and sooner we realise it better the chances of our survival as human societies.