Rhythm disorder in democracy

Like satisfaction from sleep depends on the quality and quantity of sleep as in matters of the circadian rhythm in our bodies, timely delivery of adequate quality and quantity of benefits and dues to people's satisfaction has an impact on the health of our democracy. But, with the political dispensations we have, power and pelf are priorities; the prompt and effective deliveries of justice, prevention and detection of crime, welfare schemes, etc., are not focused on. Like the circadian rhythm, our governance needs automated controls for effective delivery.

Nature has provided us with biological clocks in nearly every tissue and organ in our bodies that produce and regulate the timings of the roughly 24-hour cycles of circadian rhythms that not only take care of our appetite but also our sleep. The day light can turn on or turn off the genes that are responsible for making the clock's components. And, a master clock in the hypothalamus of the brain keeps all the other biological clocks in sync. It is a group of about 20,000 nerve cells that form a structure called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN. The SCN controls the production of melatonin, a hormone that makes one sleepy and maintains the circadian rhythm, which works best when there is an adequate quantity of quality sleep and satisfaction. Without such sleep, our body makes fewer cytokines that effectively create an immune response. Thus, a proper circadian rhythm helps keep our immune system in fighting shape, restores many functions such as temperature regulation, steady hormone levels and good appetite, etc. that play a role in how much energy one has for his daily functions, and also protects one from other health issues including heart diseases, diabetes, obesity, depression, etc. Malfunctioning of biological clocks and the resultant circadian rhythmic disorder lead to disruptions in functions of the body and makes it prone to these diseases.

There are also temporary disruptions, like in jet-lag, which the body takes care of within a week's time. Travel in different time zones disrupts one's circadian rhythm with attendant disorientation. There is confusion because the circadian rhythm that produces a particular sleeping pattern finds itself out of place in the new timings of daylight and darkness.

As timely good-quality sleep is very important to keep up our health, prompt and efficient delivery systems are essential for the health of democracy. But, whether it is political dynasties that are ruling or otherwise, the delivery systems are being ignored. While in political dynasties the power is concentrated in certain families, in the other regimes it is with certain individual personalities leading to autocratic rule. In both forms, there are compromises in the rule of law and the Constitution. Ultimately, it is the people who suffer, and the democracy which is the victim.

Once Deve Gowda countered, 'What is wrong if a politician's son becomes a politician when a lawyer's son can become a lawyer, doctor's son a doctor, a businessman's son a businessman, etc?' Now his sons and grandsons have all joined politics. So is the case with KCR of Telangana where all his family is in politics. Similar are the cases of Chandrababu Naidu, Jagan Reddy, Sachin Pilot, Sindhia, Gandhi, Mulayam, Lalu Yadav, and others. But the issue is that they always have an edge over the others in terms of political legacy, ill-gotten wealth, etc., like how a royal family in the past promoted their dynasty as a privileged rule.

The problem with such politicians is that most of them compromise to reach power, to retain power, and to enrich themselves, all at the cost of the exchequer and people. Yet, people, naively and helplessly, continue to vote them to power. Come the election time, even astrologers go gaga debating about the horoscopes of such people and their chances of coming to power as if they are born to rule. Effective delivery systems of governance do not matter for them.

Yes. There are yet people like Naveen Patnaik, Mayawati, Mamata, Jayalalithaa, who are among the unweds and do not contribute to dynastic rule. However, people like Mayawati, Jayalalithaa, are known for their corrupt practices and authoritarianism.

Full marks go to BJP in this respect, since their leaders are never seen promoting their progeny and thus perpetuate any dynastic rule. Yet, the concentration of power in single individuals has led to authoritarianism, like in the case of Modi. Principles of democracy are given a go-bye, and several agencies have been empowered to snoop on the computers of citizens across the country with the ostensible reason of national security, terrorism, drugs, and arms-running. Of course, there could be exceptions like Manohar Parrikar of Goa.

Manohar Parrikar was popular because he practised what he preached – a life of simplicity. Although his name may figure in the Rafale scam that has favoured Anil Ambani, it must have been done under political compulsions from within his party; PMO bypassed the notes of objection from Parrikar's Defence ministry. But, his personal integrity was not tainted. Although not a democrat in the real sense, his easy access to people made him dear to them. Fall of such a leader leads to a situation like a temporary circadian rhythm disruption and jet-lag, which will be overcome in some time. But, circadian rhythm disorder, like what is happening at the Centre, is a serious concern.

Modi, being a man of expensive tastes and lifestyle, is neither a chaiwala nor a chowkidar, neither a jhaduwala as in photo-ops nor a fakir as is being projected and advertised by himself and his party. The entire country was made to believe that it would be a genuine party that would change the fate of the country – a corruption-free nation, cooperative federalism, employment to millions of people, Rs 15 lakhs in every account, and many more. Five years of the rule only proved them as illusions. Instead, there was only selective amnesia to protect their own people and supporters; and aggressive action against their opponents, either to win them over to their side or to intimidate them into submission. Institutions were used extensively and their integrity destroyed, in an autocratic manner.

Yet, barring the Rafale deal that has apparently favoured Anil Ambani, one cannot accuse BJP of direct corruption by any of their leaders for their own benefit. Yes, it is well known that elections need an enormous amount of money. For this, they depend upon big business houses. In return, they are favoured. Ambanis, Adanis, etc., are all their favourites. For the common man, apart from cosmetic schemes and sloganeering, nothing much has been done.

They have failed on every front. Withdrawing high-value currency notes to ferret out black money, without a formal concurrence of the RBI, is an example of the arrogance of an autocrat. RBI failed to stand by its mandate over currency privacy under pressure, as revealed in the minutes made public under RTI. All the black money found its way into the banks and enormous slush money was generated again, as is being seen during elections. There are devastating consequences on the informal sector, agriculture, small businesses, jobs and livelihood, and damage to the economy.

In spite of all their false promises and failures, efforts are again being made to mesmerise voters, by skirting the real issues. Similar tools of technology and publicity that brought them to power in 2014 are employed in full force, albeit with more punch. But, people should be wary of the dangers – misleading selective messages to selective target groups.

Technology has made micro-targeting a real possibility, by repeatedly sending different people different messages based on their preferences along religious, caste lines, etc. Advertisements can be tested and targeted at specific groups of individuals based on their likes, interests and demographic details. People's opinions are shaped to replace voluntary reasoning. Cheap Chinese mobiles and low data rates with the entry of Reliance Jio, and WhatsApp are handier than Facebook and Twitter that were used in 2014 elections.

BJP is way ahead of others. They have the capacity to send messages to crores of people instantly through the lakhs of WhatsApp groups they have access to across the country. A specific message could be sent to one group of people and a completely different message to a different group of people. By making use of people's pre-existing biases, individuals could be turned into supporters through messaging that would make them believe that the party had exactly the same goals as they did. The platform would allow BJP to appear vehemently anti-cow slaughter to voters in UP while making it appear ambivalent towards it to voters in the northeast, or aggressively pro-Hindutva to some voters and solely development-oriented to others. Now, the new narrative is 'Mai bhi chowkidar'. One wonders whether the entry of Jio is a pre-planned strategy to use mobiles and WhatsApp. But, unfortunately, in their power games, circadian rhythm and effective delivery systems are never there on their minds.

Just as the master clock is a pivot for the biological clocks to work in sync and maintain the circadian rhythm, similarly, the monitoring systems in place need to ensure an automated mechanism for prompt and effective delivery, providing satisfaction to people and resulting in a healthy democracy.

(Dr N Dilip Kumar is a retired IPS officer and a former member of Public Grievances Commission, Delhi. The views expressed are strictly personal)