Why we must support the Delhi government and Kejriwal.
Back in 2011, when the India Against Corruption movement gave hope to the Indian citizen, there was still a future to be foreseen, a beacon of light and ‘opposition’, which has been lately made into an exclusively political and vulgar tendency and product, but that which is always significant to be kept alive inside of us, inside of our homes, relationships and the society. Opposition, in epistemological sense means that which is the other side, that which is resistant and sometimes that which is yet to be unfolded and incorporated by capitalism. As it becomes, increasingly difficult to locate and stand with ‘opposition’ as polarization and authoritarian tendencies of the left and the right wings have absorbed any middle group of critical reflection and strategic distance from ideology, let alone politics, it is the perfect time to identify the small opposition that AAP symbolized since 2012 and the importance for us to support AAP and by default stand against the unruly and Machiavellian left and right parties which are still playing identity politics of the same old kind, in the name of social justice. It is time for us to recognise how the bodypolitik of middle- and lower-class Delhi, the largest voter base of AAP has been injured by the arrest of Mr. Manish Sisodia and now Mr. Arvind Kejriwal (the former education minister of Delhi Government and current Chief Minister of Delhi Government), who finds any collective support lacking from the intellectual, left-liberals and student groups of the country, otherwise hurt and offended by every second move of the ruling regime. Is it necessary to be partisan to stand for the CM of your city?
In Aam Aadmi Party, I found a middle ground, in terms of their governance (everyday administrative regime) and rule (overall political conduct). The air of Delhi has been largely ruthless, with some relief of progressive legislations passed ever since I became an adult and shifted to Delhi in 2012 as a student of DU. With the emergence of hyper-muscular and monetary ‘enigma’ in national politics, one saw how the new leaders in the form of Kejriwal, Sisodia primarily but also Marlena, Bharadwaj and Rai were modest, imperfect but sincere and truthful (albeit, within the boundaries of disciplinary real-politik). With the cult of personality and self-obsession of our PM, Sisodia and Kejriwal were amongst many, and their PR game didn’t strictly abide by the Debordian ‘society of spectacle’ as they emerged administrators more than conventional politicians.
As a student and later as a research scholar of the Delhi state government university, Ambedkar University, I can vehemently verify that the diversity and rigor present in the faculty composition is admirable unlike other sought after central universities who albeit provides an almost free hostel service that AUD lacks. Moreover, the respect of the research scholars was recognised when AUD, one of the few Indian ‘government’ universities, doubled its stipend for NON-JRF scholars in 2019–20, as ratified by the then education minister Manish Sisodia, of course after students pressure, but nonetheless!) as opposed to the central universities that still pay a meagre rs. 8,000 to PhD scholars. In fact, the fee waivers to all SC and ST students of all programs, the needs-based student welfare fund per semester to economically weaker sections and the value and preference given to Indian PhDs in faculty recruitment (mostly) than the foreign ones (as increasingly preferred in most universities) are stances which tell much about the conduct of the Delhi government and their sincerity to their promise of Gandhian socialism and swaraj. This is testimonial not just to their superior resource management, their acknowledgment of the fact how research students struggle in securing JRFs (especially the unreserved ones) but also a general sympathetic attitude which seems to be becoming more and more a conceptual and archaic attribute in today’s politics.
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Apart from its work in the tertiary and higher education, the Delhi government is also one of the few governments that pay a ‘decent’ wage to the non-skilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers and ASHA workers, recently increased in October 2023. It has not only addressed the women voters time and again, acknowledging their presence, contribution and expectations but has also provided some relief to the women workers by freeing DTC bus tickets, and giving them age relaxation in the DSSSB exams. The DSSSB exam, gives age relaxation to widowed, separated and divorced women, standing on the values of affirmative action and concrete administrative and legislative attempts to give space and resources to women.
The recent announcement of Kejriwal, to pay (rather meagre) 1,000 Rs to women above 18 years of age is a welcome attempt to recognize women’s input in the economy and society through accounted and unaccounted deeds.
In times such as these, the last we need is mediatized perfection and propaganda but rather modest, sincere and truthful leaders who may be facing persecution for the wrongs they may have done, or maybe not, but these are the times for us to recognize why Delhi government might be facing crisis for their opposition to both the left and right leanings (necessitated by the authoritarian tendencies of capitalism) and for their own pragmatism.
The speculative capitalism is testing our threshold every day, boxing and packing us into data subjects and sadly, we have made it v easy for the machine as we seldom disrupt our boundaries and nodes. Its easier for a university student to join a protest against CAA-NRC but not for the harassment of their CM, why? Cos that’s not cool and conventional enough, and does not fit your ideal topic of resistance, aint it. Well, that’s exactly what the system wants as it distracts your attention from the biggest revelation — electoral bonds of political parties to now Kejriwal’s arrest. While the Lacanian ‘real’, personified by the ED as the big Other eludes our attention, the media is too desperate to keep us in a patriarchal haze shaping our symbolic order- from reading about one man to another- one politician takes the face of another corporate tycoon, to another bureaucrat to another sports man and so on… While the imaginary, is too fragile to be hopeful to anything, albiet hijacked by the regrettable propaganda movies being released one after, to vehemently kill any creative and conscious sensibility of the Gen Z and others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEruIOYiUsY Here is the speech by Mr. Kejru who was almost certain and confidence that BJP cant shake their govt. and cannot put him behind jail, even with the forces of ED and CBI. He even though says that more than he cant be locked up for <6–7 months!! Lets see what’s in store 4 him.
