There is a fragrance of change in the air — change of weather, change in the Central cabinet, even a possible change in the political mood in Uttar Pradesh! Weather patterns have become unpredictable as the human race relentlessly tampers with the fragile balance of nature. Governments have bent and re- written laws to suit their immediate and short term electoral needs. In the bargain, they have initiated the destruction of our forests, pollution of our rivers and the artificial re-use of our deserts. Such ‘changes’ have affected not only the weather but have triggered disease as well like the many unnamed ‘viruses’ that plague us. There is much more that has been affected, the repercussions of which shall visit us in the future and it will be too late then to take corrective action. Such concerns are referred to by the vested interest factions as ‘elitist’ and, therefore, put aside. The disaster is yet to overwhelm us all.

The change in the cabinet was minor but sent out all kinds of signals. One, that Pranab Mukherjee is not next to the prime minister in hierarchy. He will now have to carry through, as a senior minister, the mandate decided by Manmohan Singh and his team of advisors. By handing the defence ministry to A.K. Antony, we have one more squeaky clean mantri in the government at the Centre. This symbolizes the beginning of the salute to those with integrity. It is the start of ‘change’. With time, new demands and aspirations force a reassessment and corrective. A new generation does not stomp in and take charge one fine morning, discarding the wrongs and failures of the past, but it does so slowly, applying a fresh attitude towards policy and functioning. The bits and pieces are re-stitched to make a fresh patchwork. Change begins to happen.

Sweeping change

In Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress was routed after having ruled the roost for decades, there is a marked revival. There are no apparent reasons for this resurgence, but a hava is developing. To intellectualize this phenomenon makes no sense because the very definition of hava is that it comes and sweeps all without discrimination. Its impact affects everyone, much like the tsunami, and the majority gets swept away, so to speak. If this hava is for real and develops into a storm, the Congress may well form the next government in UP, a region that has shunned the party for years.

It is believed that Mayavati will form an electoral alliance with the Congress. It is also believed that she will concede all the urban tickets to the Congress. Does that not speak volumes? The Samajwadi Party is behaving as the Congress did on the eve of the debacle at the UP hustings years ago. In politics, change is, ironically, the anchor! In a democracy, it is the only time the people, however poor, uneducated and underprivileged, can assert themselves through their vote. Indians know well what needs to be done, and that politicians and their bureaucrats have failed the country at all levels of social order for different reasons. In such situations of neglect, communities and castes tend to come together to form ‘blocks’ and often vote together. However, when despair and frustration reach inhuman proportions, a hava begins to develop, only to cleanse the prevailing mess and heralding the possibility of change. It happened in 1977, and it may well be happening in UP this time.

If the Congress were to buy into this possible truth, it has to gear itself for a victory, behave with positive aggression so that it may just pull it off. There are people at the helm of the Congress who are confident about the potential change. The political slogans need to be simple and inclusive, with no wild promises. It may work only because it will expel the predictable political rhetoric and the baggage of the past. Change will happen!