The recent election results in India have proved the old saying "You may be able to fool some of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time" is correct.
In spite of BJP's catchy slogan of "India Shining", for the majority of the teeming millions, India was not shining and all that glitter and glamour that BJP government had tried to project through the electronic and print media, did not fool the masses, to whom even the basic civic amenities have been denied.
The Indian election results and the rejection of BJP government have proved to the world that democracy is well-rooted in Indian politics and that "the citizens do matter and deserve better".
It has also proved that you do not have to be educated to demand your rights, but just have the courage determination to exercise your rights and demand good governance and a better future for yourself.
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the 79-year-old poet, may have been a visionary leader who has no doubt made a great contribution to India's general economic growth and its booming IT, mobile phone, auto industry, etc, with shiny highways, silicon valleys, posh 5 star hotels, glamour's models and the glittering life style of the rich and the famous.
But for the poor masses, his vision and that of his government were limited to the major cities of India, forgetting the needs of voters in the rural areas and villages.
The common voter was more concerned about clean water, electricity, schools, hospitals, roads and other civic amenities in their villages and not national highways, mega dams and projects nor India's record 110 billion dollars-plus of foreign exchange reserves.
The Indian election results are a victory for the democratic process and the credit goes to the uneducated and under privileged citizens of India, that do not allow leaders and politicians to rig, manipulate or fix election results.
They have sent a clear message to their politicians, through the use of the electronic voting machine (evm), that for them, India was not "shining" and nor were they enjoying the much trumpeted Feel Good Factor.
The Congress party, after its humiliating 8 years in the political wilderness and in spite of the fact that it's President is Italian by birth, has once again been voted into power.
It's victory was not based on any catchy slogan or hollow promises, but on the simple fact that the BJP had failed to deliver and establish good governance and improve the quality of life of the citizens that had elected them. The Indian voters have demonstrated that it is not important as to who governs them, but as to how they are governed.
And Vajpayee, after being PM of the largest democracy in the world for over 6 years, conceded defeat gracefully and handed his resignation without any fuss or protest of poll rigging. And Sonia Gandhi went one step further by declining to be appointed as the next Prime Minister of the largest democracy in the world.
American's have described the Indian election results as a "triumph of democracy - the real heroes are the Indian electorate, with a higher voter turn out then even America - a vibrant and mature democracy in action established by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty - a major miracle and a lesson for the world".
Whereas in Pakistan, we cannot even hold by-elections without killing each other, as recent events have shown. Our last much heralded, lackluster, controversial and disputed elections have ended up without a bang or even a whimper. I remember that I had rushed back from America especially to exercise my right to vote.
But to my anger, frustration and disappointment, which were shared by many other concerned citizens, I could not caste my vote, as my name was not on the electoral list. I had visited several polling booths, but could not find my name and therefore could not vote.
We had hoped that the "tailored democracy" that General Musharraf had so carefully designed, would bring in new faces who would improve the quality of life of the citizens by establishing good governance, the rule of law, and a code of conduct in government and reduce corruption.
But now it seems that the same old designs and patterns have been used and the same old faces are back in government and the "Lottas and Chum Chas" have been replaced by "turncoats". Our tailored democracy could end up bursting at the seams again, but one hopes that the threads that it has been sown together with, can withstand the strains of the wheeling and dealing that has started.
Our checkered political history is a sad testimony to this, where "democratically elected" PMs have misused the trust and the authorities vested in them by the citizens and then being dismissed for corruption and mismanagement.
Our leaders and politicians, with their self above attitudes, have left our constitution and our political and democratic process in shambles. They seem to be on a gravy train, with no one being accountable or answerable and now yesterday's villains are today's heroes and vice versa.
Responsibility for continuous bad governance lies also with us, especially the educated and the privileged, who have the most to loose, complain the most and yet are the least concerned. Our last election results show that the party that has really lost these elections with a "heavy mandate" was once again "the silent majority".
Each successive government, civil or military, promises us a corrupt free society, good governance and the rule of law and yet we still seem to be shackled to our past, with no light at the end of the tunnel. For the last 56 years, a handful of politicians have hijacked democracy and have been fooling 160 million Pakistanis with their hollow promises and slogans and getting away with it.
Is this due to a lack of education or the lack of commitment of civil society, especially the silent majority and the privileged minority, who have the most to loose, yet seem to be the least concerned?
The simple answer is that we dare not and will not protest, demand our rights or rock the boat and are happy to maintain the status quo and praise and give lip service to those in power, even if they are corrupt and dishonest.
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