Re: RE:Why I hesitate to join politics?

[Npsingh123@aol.com]

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Are we then saying that those who do not win or contest parlimentry or state
elections are incapable of influencing the course of things. You yourself
have argued that in the current scenario a person without money power cannot
hope to run for office or get elected. So what are we to do. Sit with our
hand on hand. I think that our current sad state results amongst other
things from leaving everything to our five hundered and forty MPs who out of
sheer necessity (as per you) have to fill their own pockets before they do
anything else. Is there no voice for the people other than a right to vote
once or twice in five years, that too if their name has not been taken off
the voter's list. I refuse to buy that.

If the American Medical Assoc. increases awareness and debate about
healthcare, that to me is a political activity since eventually that will
influence public opinion and then public policy. A journalist who exposes a
corruption scandal is also doing a political act and so is also a person who
brings forth a PIL to force the government to check vehicular pollution.
What we are doing on IPI is political activity and will influence policy if
we can do it on a bigger scale with more visibility amongst the Indian
public, whether or not any of us ever get elected to a legislative body.
What was acheived by JP in 1977 while he was out of office was more
politically relevant than anything the subsequent Janta government did in
office. I would therefore not discount political activity that takes place
outside of our legislatures.

I would therefore not think that just because we cannot get one of us
elected that we are totally without political power. That is why I seek to
broaden the meaning of term "joining politics", not for the sake of argument
but for the sake of exploting the freedoms we still have.

Regards



In a message dated Mon, 31 Jul 2000 12:22:03 PM Eastern Daylight Time, "Dr.
Sanjeev Sabhlok" <sanjeev@sabhlokcity.com> writes:

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Please help make the Manifesto better, or accept it, and propagate it!
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IPI was formed to define (a) best policies [People's Manifesto] and (b) best
political platform (Constitution of an Ideal Political Party].

The hope was that some good folks would contest electoral politics on this
platform to save us, and India, from the on-going disaster.

Joining politics = joining electoral politics. SS

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