The state of Karnataka had never reached the low in morals that it has reached today politically. The two political parties which failed the coalition after twenty months surprised the ordinary simple people of Karnataka by the reasons they gave for their failure. But most people rightly asked: . Does anyone break a promise? An auto rickshaw driver who said so to me was not a sympathizer of BJP, but he felt sorry for Shri Yediyoorappa, who had even changed his name for luck. The two parties asked for dissolution of the assembly and abused one another through advertisement in papers and yatras and jatras, but very soon surprised the people again declaring they will form the government. The Congress which had declared that Shri DeveGowda and his family are not trustworthy seemed to talk secretly to Sri Devegowda to install a new coalition with a Lingayat from Congress as the CM so that they do not seem to be anti- Lingayat in the eyes of that influential community with powerful mutts backing Sri Yediyoorappa. After this failed, (how could the Congress accept a CM of not their choice, when there were local aspirants for the post?) they tried again to form a coalition minus Devegowda family. This again failed as the mainstay of JDS was Sri Devegowda, a superb 24into7 politician, whom none can challenge in strategy in Karnataka? Or even India?

What has gone wrong in this whole vicious drama? People are losing faith, (or have lost faith?) in electoral politics which is the main source of our parliamentary democracy. As our people have become cynical and do not trust any politician, every one of them has to spend crores to get elected. How will they find this money?

I feel nostalgic of the days when a socialist agitator like Shantaveri Gopala Gowda fought the election asking people for one rupee and one vote. I remember as a young man going around the Tirthahalli constituency, collecting a rupee from everyone who could afford this and use this money for our food and travel to the next stop. Gopala Gowda would start sometimes his speech with the poetry of Kumaravyasa, Kuvempu or Adiga and forget the election and talk to the people of Darwin’s theory of evolution. This was absurd but profound.

These days how will they find money? Perhaps no longer direct bribe as in the days of good people like Devaraja Urs, when people paid for what they got as jobs in police and other governmental departments. And Devaraja Urs used the money for structural pro- people changes. This again is sad and no reason for celebration, but was tolerated by the people. Now this corruption is so indirect that people do not think they are affected. It is mostly from the mining lobby. And the Real Estate. All the political leaders from all the parties seem to have their own mines, and their own commercial educational institutions and benami held real estate waiting to be sold to the corporate houses.

What is the way out? Sheela, the moral fiber of our people and our politicians must improve—this is what one says easily and even unthinkingly. Yet one can not deny that there is a profound truth in this. But this will not happen automatically unless there are systemic changes. I will venture to suggest a few. Basic ones (only a few, there should be more changes.)

1) Voting must be made compulsory- and we should find ways of making this compulsory. A lot of money these days is spent in goading the electorate to go to the booths and this must be a big sum. If they are obligatorily compelled to reach the polling booth, as a duty like paying water and electricity bills, they will anyhow vote for their real choice. Even today they take the money or the liquor from the contending candidates and yet finally vote for whom they want.

2) The obscene money that the mine owners make now must be stopped. There should be no mining of our rich resources for export purposes. These non renewable resources must be preserved for future generations. Only what can be industrially put to use in our own country should be mined. Make steel and sell, Okay, but not the raw material.

3) There should be no private schools where only the children of the rich get primary education. All children should be treated as equal and they should all receive the same kind of schooling. We elders may wallow in obscene luxury, but let us spare our children. As the future belongs to them, the children of the poor and the rich must mix. Only then they learn about real life while schooling and the children of the filthy rich will partake of the innocent joy of the poor. Although their parents are unfortunately cut off from our culture and civilization in their artificial English speaking world, we may at least spare their children form this alienation.. As a friend of mine says, was it not beneficial for both Krishna and Kuchela since they were school fellows, and shared joyful boyhood memories?

4) We must have some means by which we recall our elected representatives in case they do not fulfill their electoral promises. We should evolve some means to make this ‘right of recall’ effective.

5) We should research in nuclear science for scientific knowledge only. Nuclear science need not be used for electrical power even. If we go ahead with the nuclear deal with USA, we may open another Pandora box of internationally handled corruption. The corruption and cruelty behind patrol resources has done enough damage already.