A Government By The People... All of India Running for Parliament

Abe Lincoln's description of a democracy is something most people accept and adhere to. In the largest democracy in the world though some people seem to want to go back to the Greek definition and go back to being the government themselves by taking things into their own hands. They intend to achieve this by seating themselves in Parliament house by running for MP instead of standing back and merely voting. While a very noble gesture that is to be lauded, in the current scenario it is nothing more than a farce. Not that India has had very many great leaders since the days of Morarji Desai, it's just that we get a bit queasy when every random chappie decides to run for office.

Attempting to do so in the upcoming general elections are a number of well meaning, incompetent celebrities from fields other than politics who think they can replicate their past successes (or in some cases failure) in serving the public as elected officials.

Of course heading this list would be escaped convict Sanjay Dutt. A man of lofty values and an impeccable record in civil life, he is the epitome of the well meaning, clueless, delusional cadre of celebrities we have in our country. With such unbeatable logic like "If Navjot Sidhu can run, so can I", who is to argue with the man? The Supreme Court however, probably our last bastion of civilized life, nipped his candidacy in the bud. His wife Manyata, that veteran politician (the "Grand Old Dame" of the SP, she's called), will replace him in Lucknow. The gracious Dutt has instead been named as the General Secretary of the Party.

Far more understated has been the candidacy of that elder statesman of Indian cricket, Mohammed Azharuddin. A revered captain of unquestionable integrity with an unblemished sporting career that bodes well for his political career, he will be fielded from Moradabad. The residents of this UP town may not know what's in store for them, but nobody doubts Azhar's intentions, just like during his playing days.

Another well intentioned run for Parliament is Mallika Sarabhai's. This wily old minx decided to take on the master in his den, squaring off against L.K. Advani in Gandhinagar as an independent candidate. While nobody questions the credentials of her family , one of India's premier names, it would be one thing if she were a Caroline Kennedy. It is a whole other matter to run simply on the goodwill one has in public. If she were to oust Advani as an MP, it would be the biggest political upset in decades. Few are betting on that happening though.

Some others with political aspirations include former cricketer Madan Lal (Hamirpur, Congress), an executive from ABN-Amro in South Bombay and Tamil actor Vijaykant, and with Navjot Sidhu and Jaya Prada already Members of Parliament, it won't be very long before Parliament sessions begin to look like the IIFA awards. Thankfully, Govinda has put a spanner in the works by deciding to not run a second time.

The framers of our constitution were not far-sighted enough, providing, gratuitously, a provision that 12 members of the Rajya Sabha be "nominated by the President of India from amongst persons who have special knowledge or practical experience in the fields such as literature, science, art or social service." Little did they realize that in modern India, such expertise in those fields automatically qualified you for representing the people at the central level. Truly, a government by the people.