Regrettably, the answer is no. Indian politics is feudal, driven by divisive agendas of caste, ethnicity and religion. It is also nepotistic, fuelled by ties of kinship. The political class has no ideology, except knee-jerk responses evoked by flawed and leftover notions of socialism, secularism and nonalignment. The system that has grown out of the cloud of an opaque democracy is chaotic and plutocratic. It exploits the twin sores of poverty and disparity. Politicians tend to be kleptomaniacs, who seek rents for providing governance by exception. Their supporters are primarily favour seekers, and in this ethical morass, conformity and sycophancy are valued over innovation and competence.The amorphous world of Indian politics is currently in focus because state elections are at hand. Driving around my assembly district, I see newly established offices of the Congress, the BJP and the BSP. Just one look into them and it becomes evident that they serve as hangouts for unemployed, uneducated youth, who sit around hoping for a handout of a few rupees to get them through the day. In sharp contrast, American campaign offices are a productive buzz of volunteers and party staffers, churning out voter lists, poll data and demographic profiles. Thus, Barack Obama came out of nowhere, a young mixed-race individual from a broken home, the son of an immigrant Kenyan father and a peripatetic white mother from Kansas. He has lived in Hawaii, Indonesia and midwest USA; attended the finest universities on the east coast and graduated with high honours in political science and law. He taught at the University of Chicago Law School and then spurned an academic career to become a community organiser in the citys impoverished and mostly black South Side. Over the years, he rose through the ranks of city and state politics to be elected a US senator in 2004. In 2007, he announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States and launched a superb campaign focused on a message of change. He used information technology to build a network of support groups across the country and to raise funds in small denominations, accumulating the largest ever campaign treasury in the history of American presidential elections. He exudes coolness, compassion and an intellectual brilliance that won him not just votes but the deep admiration of youth, Latinos, women and black voters. Indeed Obama has fired the imagination of the whole world. As such, when he is sworn in on January 20, he will become Americas first global president. The stark contrast between the grass-roots operations and the political aspirations of the worlds two largest democracies speaks volumes of the difference in governance. In the US, governance tends to be positive and enlightened. Roads are well maintained; there is round-the-clock power and water (that you can drink straight from the tap). There are excellent government schools and well-stocked community libraries. Local governments operate and maintain parks and recreation services. They also provide a variety of social services for the aged and the handicapped, as also…
