Sinking to the lowest levels

In these assembly elections, civility in discourse has given way to ugly rhetoric

Sharp retorts and barbs are the hallmark of all elections, whether in India or elsewhere. But, while the discourse may not always be elevated and nuanced, there are certain bounds of decency that should not be crossed. Sadly, in the ongoing elections, the language used on many occasions was not appropriate to the persons using them and reflected badly on their parties. Above all, they suggested that substance was substituted by ugly rhetoric, which often just descended to name calling. And all parties are guilty of this. There were several issues that could have been taken up but many political worthies chose to give them a miss and engaged in verbal fisticuffs instead. From the highest quarter came jibes about rivals often in the form of bizarre acronyms. Rivals were likened to rhinos, eunuchs, negative persons and scamsters. This really suggests a lack of maturity on the part of our politicians. The looks of a campaigner were compared with that of women in the rival camp apart from talk about the need for crematoriums to be provided alongside Muslim graveyards. Of what earthly use was all this to the voter? None.

But such prose is guaranteed to get a bit of applause and a few laughs at rallies. It is no one’s case that politicians not take a swipe at each other but it should not degenerate into such ugliness. Much of this is also driven by the desire to be clever and come up with sound bites that are picked up by TV channels and social media. Reasoned debate and discourse are considered as dull as ditchwater in these days of the instant buzz. Yet, it seems to have escaped many politicians that they can make a very forceful point by using satire, sarcasm and wit much more effectively than through name calling. We talk of cleaning up politics, but this must also include the language of discourse. Here the example of the debates in the British parliament is a case in point. There is bitter rivalry but the manner in which rivals are tripped up is always civil even if painful. In India, come election and anything goes. So we see communal slurs, gender insensitive remarks, ugly casteist ones and, of course, personal insults. None of this does us any credit as a mature democracy. While base discourse may get more attention in the short run, people still talk of the exchanges between leaders in earlier times when a certain decorum and civility marked even the bitterest political battles. Perhaps, we cannot hope for a return to those days; however, we can’t help but wish that things did not always have to sink to the lowest common denominator in what are truly exciting elections.