Chanakya, one of the greatest teachers of Bharat in his famous book Artha Shastra mentions the overall well-being of the Nation. He emphasises that the welfare of the people is linked with the well-being of the nation and the well-being of the nation is linked with its people.
Though both are interdependent, one pre-condition is a must: “Well-being of the Nation is a must for the Well-being of the Countrymen.”
Can one think of being happy and Prosperous in Gaza, amidst the Israel-Hamas Conflict? Can a Wealthy household enjoy riches in the War-torn Ukraine? Can a business seamlessly flourish in Taliban-led Afghanistan?
Hence the Vote and Voting Rights matter!
The Power of One Vote
Universal Suffrage – When one casts one’s vote to elect the government, one expects well-being, security and fairness from the government in return.
How can one quantify this well-being, fairness and Safety? What can be the possible matrix?
Is it the Global Growth and GDP ranking of the Country?
(Bharat was ranked 10th largest in Nominal GDP terms and was considered amongst the fragile five in 2014. In 2024, it is the 5th largest economy in the World, poised to become 3rd largest in the next couple of years).
Number of Terrorist attacks and communal riots in the Country?
(In the last 10 years, communal riots and terrorist attacks have more than halved and the number of casualties has been reduced by more than three-fourths.)
Alleviation of people of the Country from Abject Poverty?
(Between 2015 and 2021, poverty was reduced in Bharat from 24.85 per cent to 14.96 per cent & ~ 25 Crore people were pulled out from absolute Poverty in the last 9 years)
Before one discusses, what is good economics, and good politics, one needs to delve deeper into these concepts and what are the most common means to achieve those ends;
What is Politics?
The Word Politics finds its roots in the Greek word “Politeia” used by ancient Philosophers like Plato and Aristotle. “Politeia” originated from the word Polis and has varied meanings in the olden texts ranging from the “rights of citizens of a nation to forming the government.”
However, in the modern context, politics means to form the government and have control over the country and its citizens. Thus Politics can simply be defined as the art and science of forming, administering and directing states or politically defined units.
Most wokes try to fit the word, but lamentably neither politics nor political unit is correct in the context of Bharat, as Bharat is not a boundary or a unit, it’s a civilization, a culture, a way of life and is not reflected by boundaries but by her people. Since time immemorial Sanatan has always focused on LokaNeeti, which means creating a policy, a system, a structure that is beneficial for the people and not on politics.
For common understanding Politics or Good Politics is being replaced by the Phrase “Wellness Politics” – A system that enhances the overall well-being of the individual including financial, emotional, and spiritual from a safety, security and fairness perspective.
What is Economics?
Economics finds its origin in the Greek Word – Oikonomi, which means household management. Economics focuses on sustainable Solutions and long-term plans and policies to improve the economy and state of its people.
Moving further-
What are the 3 Predominant methodologies that are employed, used and engaged to get political power?
1. Divide & Rule – Find the differences, divergences, and distinctions and if one can’t find one, implant those in the thoughts through propaganda, narratives, and false stories and then divide people, basis caste, creed, colour, religion, state, language, lineage, or any other method that can be exploited to bring contrariety in people’s mind and then use that difference to instill fear in minority using insurgency, terrorism, biasedness, propaganda, appeasement of selected minority communities and continue to hold political power.
This is an effective way of Effortless, Long-lasting, perpetual rule by delivering nothing tangible, or just negligible and enjoying the riches of the state for one’s own needs.
2. Politics of Freebies – Start spreading the notion of Freebies, giveaways, and handouts. Lazy, inefficient and sloppy will fall for it. The smart, intelligent and adept will start comparing themselves with the ones who have got it and in their zeal to get more, will get into the trap of freebies. Freebie Promises eventually turn into a debt trap for the government and handouts weaken the community, Social system and country making both country and citizens an absolute guiltless prey to global capitalists who know humans only as consumers and countries only as markets.
3. Developmental Politics or Politics of Good Economics – A system, where government spends every penny wisely exactly in the same manner as the Lady of the house (Grahini – the term Grahini means – the one to whom the entire household is rini or indebted) ensuring that each penny goes into the creation of social, physical and wellness infrastructure that can enhance business, improve mobility of goods and services to the last mile, reduce the cost of logistics and ensure essential and pubic services both reach the last man standing.
The chart clearly distinguishes, how the usage of the same funds by different governments can strengthen the country and its people or weaken it.
It’s a general belief that was set by Western Philosophers like Hobbes and Machiavelli, that Good Politics is fundamentally against Good Economics as Good Politics means grabbing power anyhow, exploiting the system and running it for the next 5 years ensuring the power sustains and then look for new tools, new machine and new mechanism to win votes yet again.
Exploit & earn money for four and half years from the masses and spend a part of it in six months to appease and due to the short-term memory of people in general, everything is forgotten.
Thus the fundamental disconnect as per Western Outlook that looks at these two elements differently between Good Economics and Good Politics, is Time Horizon and the Focal point. Whilst Economics focuses on long-term sustenance with the longer-term view in mind, Politics focuses on the shorter term. Economics focuses on people, households and the smallest unit or the smallest organization in the hierarchy, politics focuses on coming into power anyhow by promising the moon and thinking short term.
But When the Sanatani-spirited government took the reins of Bharat in 2014, it went back to its roots.
In the Words of Goswami Tulsidas Ji
“बरसत हरषत लोग सब करषत लखै न कोइ,
तुलसी प्रजा सुभाग ते भूप भानु सो होइ।”
Meaning:
Sant Tulsidas ji says, that the king or the administration or the government should collect taxes from the people like Sun.
The way the Sun unknowingly draws water from the earth and no one realizes it, but everyone is happy to see the same water collected in the form of clouds and rained down.
Though examples are galore, but a few marquee ones, that were hugely unpopular and would have meant political suicide were undertaken to strengthen the economy and the results of it now can be felt by the Community a Jan Dhan – When the government took tough measures like Opening Jan Dhan accounts, bringing every Bhartiya into the formal financial sector. It was bad politics, as it entailed getting formal documents, and pain for the individuals to go and deposit their own money and then stand in the queue to withdraw their own money. Thus pain for the common people, with a reduction in unaccounted cash transactions meant masses as well as intermediaries were unhappy with this action.
But Subsequently, the Trinity of JAM – Jan Dhan, Aadhar and Mobile, created a system, where no leakage from the middlemen pocketing most of the proceeds could happen in the government schemes or theft or robbing of cash. Thus end beneficiaries get the entire proceeds of the government aid directly in one’s bank account.
Bharat was ranked 10th largest in Nominal GDP terms and was considered amongst the fragile five in 2014. In 2024, it is the 5th largest economy in the World
Further, these accounts started building the transaction, banking and credit history of those who were away from the formal financial system, thereby giving them access to cheaper affordable loans for business, education and personal emergencies. GST was another such reform that was very bad from a political perspective, as initially envisaged, it killed SMEs and made the life of a common small businessman tough or literally hell. The interesting part is that after GST implementation, the number of MSMEs has doubled. In 2014, ~ 3.62 Crore MSMEs existed in Bharat with ~ one-fifth of them sick or in an unhealthy financial state.
In 2023, the total number of MSMEs in the country jumped to 6.36 Crores despite having a major setback during COVID-19.
Covid Crisis – Another example of Good economics vs evil political thinking is the Covid Crisis. When covid crisis emerged every politician across the world gave freebies with free monetary benefits and cash handouts to firms and individuals.
Whilst Bharat focused on upfront infrastructure creation, healthcare, immunisation programmes and free food for health ensuring that the common man remains safe and also benefits from this rapid growth of Bharat. Where the West is reeling under the heat of poverty and a crumbling healthcare system, Bharat has registered a decline of ten per cent in multidimensional poverty, the standard and parameters of which have been set up by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Most politicians during COVID would have allowed foreign vaccines to be sold to Bharat and her large population, but good economics and good intentions ensured that Bharat got her indigenous vaccine and also handed out as a gift to the rest of the not-so-well-off nations across the globe.
Furthermore, Sequential, Model of Gujarat (a land infested by riots, now one of the fastest growing states), Model of UP – before 2017 and now, Model of Ayodhyaji – Before 2019 and now, Model Of J&K before 2019 and now reflect that Good economics, driven by good intentions always make up for Good politics.
