Some diseases of Indian politics are incurable. The politics of distributing Rewari is one of them. This disease is there ever since elections are held and not only in India, but in some form or the other in most of the democratic countries of the world. When the debate on this has started in India, some ‘scholar’ people have started telling that after the weakening of ideological politics, the politics of distributing Revdi has increased. Actually it is not so. When the alleged ideological politics was very strong and the parties used to do politics and contest elections on the basis of principles, there was politics of distribution of Revdi. The difference is that then the politics of distribution of Revdi was given a strong theoretical basis and today Revdi is being distributed in the style of bribing the voter directly. But can it be that it is right to distribute Revdi on the basis of principle and it is wrong to distribute Revdi in the form of giving bribe?
The question is, why did the politics of distributing Revdi started and why is it continuing till now? In the answer to this question lies the conclusion that the politics of Revadi will never end in India. After independence, the distribution of Revdi started due to the social and historical conditions of the country. In a country that was enslaved for centuries, a large population was deprived of basic facilities. Therefore, from the provision of reservation in the constitution to distribution of free ration started. Then there was a food famine in India. India was a ‘ship to mouth’ country. When the grain used to come on ships from other countries of the world, it used to fill the stomach of the people. In such a country, if the government did not take affirmative action for the weaker and deprived sections, then the situation of anarchy could have been created. Sadly, instead of fading away with time, affirmative action politics got stronger. India became self-sufficient in the matter of food and became the country with the fifth-sixth largest economy in the world, yet the need for affirmative action remained or was maintained.
All the time-based laws made or affirmative action taken after independence are still going on today. Even after 75 years of independence, the system of reservation not only persists, but its demand has increased further. Even after five decades of the country becoming self-sufficient in the matter of food grains, close to 70 percent of the country’s population is dependent on the free food grains being provided by the government. Despite considering the press as the fourth pillar of democracy, almost the entire media is dependent on the Revdi of the Mai-Baap government. In fact, this is the inevitable culmination of the formation of the Mai-Baap government. Instead of strengthening the foundation of the country and enabling the citizens, they were gradually made dependent on the government’s ravees. Therefore, if today a leader suddenly starts saying that the Revdi culture has to be ended, then he cannot be trusted. It seems that he is making some political gamble as no party or any leader is untouched by this culture. Everyone is strengthening this culture in some way or the other.
So, it cannot be that what one leader is distributing for free should be considered as Prasad or Samman Nidhi and what another is distributing should be called Revdi. The central government is giving 5 kg of food grains and one kg of pulses to 80 crore people and it is proudly promoted. Then if any state government has also announced such a scheme, then how can it be criticized? In the name of Kisan Samman Nidhi, the central government is giving six thousand rupees a year i.e. five hundred rupees a month to more than 10 crore farmers. If a state government starts giving one thousand rupees to the farmers, then how can it be criticized? Under the Ujjwala scheme, the central government distributed LPG cylinders free of cost to more than five crore families.
Now if a state government has announced to distribute free petrol or electricity, then how can it be criticized? The distribution of Revdi is not limited to this only that the governments divide the states to woo the voters. New districts are created, new sub-divisions and new blocks are created without knowing the limits of administrative expenditure. Recently, the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh had announced to make Khairagarh seat a district to win the by-election and after winning, a new district was formed!
Remember the governments of the country have failed to provide basic facilities to the citizens. Till now a large population of the country has not got clean drinking water. Good and affordable education and health facilities have not been provided to all. There is no such thing as social security in this country. One can only imagine what the old age of crores unemployed youth would be like without social security. Think, when the governments of India have not made such a system that every person able to work gets employment, every child gets equal and affordable education, every sick gets treatment, every house gets clean water and electricity, good to walk If there are roads, then what will happen if the ravadis are not distributed in that country?
Actually distributing Revdi is the easiest thing to do. It does not require any vision and does not require much money. A small part of the revenue that governments collect by sucking the blood of their citizens has to be distributed among the people. On the contrary, people need vision to make the country strong and ahead, which, barring a few exceptions, has not been seen in any leader till date. No leader made any serious effort to enable the people so that they do not have to depend on the government’s ravadis. The people were deliberately kept compelled so that they could serve as vote banks. Even today all the parties are working here. Everyone is preparing their own beneficiary and namahalal voters so that the election can be won.
