Why does Politics matter?

We often hear people say, "I am not interested in politics". When we say that, what do we mean by politics?  Most of us see and understand politics as one of the field among many like business, journalism, medicine, sports, etc. We tend to see politics as something confined to those who fight elections and want to be in government. However, that is not the case. It is important for us to understand what does politics actually means. 

We humans live together in a large society. We are inter-dependent on each other and deal regularly with each other for our lives to function well. All of us also have our own self-interests. So it is obvious that in such a society our interests will clash. Then how to take decisions? How to decide who is right and what is right for the society? How shall the society move forward?  To solve this, we created a body to take decisions for the society, prevent chaos and ensure smooth functioning of the society. This body is what we know as "government". And the matters dealt by the government are known as political matters. Thus, 'politics' means how do individuals, groups or communities strive to fulfill their own self interest in relation to other's interests in the society. And because government's primary role is to govern, manage and administer various interests to arrive at decisions for the society, things related to government are called "political". 

Now lets think again. When you say "I am not interested in politics",what do you mean? Are you not interested in taking care of your own interests? Are you not interested in what decisions are taken for you on your behalf? Are you not interested in whether the decisions that are being taken and the way things are being managed fulfill your own interests or not? It is for you to think and answer. And when we see how wrong things are going and how interests of people are sacrificed by different governments, it is because we never "took interest" to influence them or even find out what is going on!

Just to understand, take example of a major political happening of 10% reservation to Economically Weaker Sections which will highly affect everyone's life. Now some of us may support it while some may disagree with it. Whatever may be the case, everyone is entitled to their own views and opinions. But the question here is that have we ever conveyed to our representatives whether we want it or don't want it? Have we asked him/her what stand should he/she take in parliament when it was passed? We all have our opinions on issues and want things to go proper but don't do anything to influence the decision process so that it actually happens.     

We may then wonder what is the way out? Should we leave everything and enter active politics? The answer is NO. Everybody cannot do that and don't need to do that. That is why we elect and appoint people who do that on behalf of us. What all we have to do is to monitor them and see if things are going as per what we as a society wanted them to do. Ask questions to them. Send your opinions to them what we think about issues. And today, the advent of digital age and social media has even made it more transparent and easier for all. Discuss and participate in the political narrative of the country to take your issues in forefront and send a strong message to the decision makers be it any government or party.          

Finally, we may wonder if we have time to do all this things? Well we are not talking about doing any co-curricular activity that we think if we have time to do it or not. Politics shapes each and every aspect of our lives. And if we not, the discrepant elements in the society over-powers that political discourse and makes our lives terrible. We think why is the standard of people in politics so low? It is because the absence of enlightened and intelligent people has left the political space so empty that anyone with lowest credentials can occupy the position. And furthermore, citizens don't even want to actively monitor them. Therefore, taking interest in politics in not necessary for the sake of nation; it is for the least to maintain and raise the standard of our own lives!    

(Jatan Bhanvadiya)