The Hindu Business Line : Poor politicians!

YOU bet the broadside against politicians launched by the Chief Election Commissioner, Mr J. M. Lyngdoh, most certainly did not take them by surprise. Day in and day out, in season and out of season, in print and electronic media, and in public and in private, it is the politicians' lot to put up with a barrage of abuses collectively making them out to be the very scum of society. Any speaker who paints them from public platforms as odious ogres, greedy grabbers, scandalous schemers, predatory plunderers and satanic rogues can be sure of prolonged and thunderous applause, if not a standing ovation.

Unfortunately for the politicians, it is not that they are victims of vitriol just today, or just in India. Nearly 250 years ago, in Britain, Samuel Johnson, with all his authority and influence, called politics the refuge of a scoundrel. It was the politicians of the same country that came in for severe condemnation at the hands of Lord Macaulay who never shrank from showering on them a string of strictures: Vile, venal, false, foul, dishonest, unjust, impure, hateful, evil, vicious, infamous! Compared to the diatribes against politicians doing the rounds in columns and talk shows in other democracies, Mr Lyngdoh's brickbats look no different from fragrant bouquets.

Politician-bashing no doubt serves as a pleasurable pastime and as a safety valve to people's frustrations. But it also does an injustice to politicians. They come from the same cultural stock as the rest of the population, and do no more than reflect the prevalent mores and ethos. As a general proposition, one can say that the proportion of the good, the bad and the ugly in every section of the society is bound to be roughly the same. If the proportion among politicians tilts more towards the bad and the ugly, the reason may be that no other class of citizens is under such excruciating tensions and stresses, or subjected to such pulls and pressures, as the politicians are. Few of them have privacy or time for their family or other personal obligations; few have regular hours for meals, sleep or work; almost all of them are constantly besieged and badgered at all hours of the day and night by constituents whom they have to keep in good humour. They have to undergo the ordeal of elections at specified intervals, if they have to survive. The more prominent of them have to live in tight security with little peace of mind.

Have a heart, all ye detractors, and be thankful for such service as you get out of them, instead of pouncing on them at every opportunity.