The conventional wisdom says that this is an issue-less election. There is no central personality of whom voters have to express approval or dislike; no central matter of concern that makes this a one-issue referendum like so many elections in the past; no central party around which everything else revolves — the Congress has been displaced from its customary pole position, and no one else has been able to take its place. Indeed, given that all-seeing video cameras of the Election Commission, and the detailed pictures they are putting together on campaign expenditure, there isn’t even much electioning: no slogans on the walls, no loudspeakers blaring forth at all hours of the day and night, no cavalcades of cars heralding the arrival of a candidate at the local bazaar. Forget it being an issue-less election, is this an election at all?
Perhaps the ‘fun’ of an election lies in its featuring someone whom you can love or hate. But Narasimha Rao has managed to reduce even a general election, involving nearly 600 million voters, to the boring non-event that is the trademark of his election rallies, and indeed of everything else that he does. After all, the Nehru-Gandhi clan has disappeared from the political map, and the majority of voters will not even be able to name P.V. Narasimha Rao as India’s Prime Minister. There could be as many as a dozen prime ministerial candidates ranging from Jyoti Basu to Ramakrishna Hegde, and from Chandra Shekar to (believe it or not) K.R. Narayanan. The sole personality who stands out, therefore, is none of the players, but the umpire: T.N. Seshan.
As for the parties, they are like the blind men of Hindustan, trying in vain to gauge the contours of the animal they have to confront. But it doesn’t look as if it will be the mandir-masjid, nor will it be Hindutva or economic nationalism. The Congress will like it to be stability, but what does that mean for the majority? Economic reform is a non-issue for most people with inflation down to barely 4 per cent, prices are not top of the mind either. In a strange twist, after the hawala scandal, corruption has been pushed off the map too. But ponder for a moment, isn’t this state of affairs astonishing, given the context? Consider that so many ministers have had to resign over the hawala issue; that a governor who was a cabinet minister has also had to quit, in the wake of judicial displeasure; that the prime minister himself is under investigation for his involvement in not one scandal but two; that the main prime ministerial candidate from the opposition has had to bow out because he too has been charged in the hawala case; and that the head of the ‘third force’ has his own little (or not so little) fodder scandal to face. Why then is corruption not an issue — not as a matter of competitive politics, but as an issue on which the contenders for power feel that they have to offer the prospect of genuine change? If all this does not make the parties (almost all of whom have broken the law, in not submitting their audited accounts every year to the income tax authorities) realise that the country both needs — and is ready for-change in the Supreme Court; the assertiveness of the Election Commission, giving new life to a model code of conduct that has been ignored for a quarter century; the independence that has been thrust upon the Central Bureau of Investigation; and the fresh zeal on the part of tax collectors out to nab corporate no-gooders. Think also that at no other point since the Emergency of 1975-77 have so many people in power been hounded by the system for their misdeeds.
Is this just a case of a few individuals outside the political system doing the job, or is the country heading for a new era? The seventies saw the collapse of the national consensus that marked the Nehruvian era, and ideology took over in the Indira Gandhi years. That too was buried by Rajiv Gandhi and his technocratic friends. And now, we have these issue-less elections. One possibility is that the country is heading for a period of constitutionalism as the other arms of the state reclaim some of the powers they lost, or yielded, to the political establishment. Economic reform free one part of Indian society from the clutches of the political class. Now, this could spread to other parts of the system. Against such a dramatic backdrop, it should be obvious that people (voters) are looking for accountability, for ways in which to make a corrupted system work again. And the astonishing thing is that no party has sought to ride this particular wave; instead all are on the defensive, desperately evading the real issues. No wonder this is an ‘issue-less’ election.
Why does the author probably say that the sole personality who stands out in the elections is T.N. Seshan?
Show Hint
- Because all the other candidates are very boring.
- Because all the other candidates do not have his charisma.
- Because the shadow of his strictures are looming large over the elections.
- None of the above
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Thus, (c) is correct.
A suitable title to the passage would be
Show Hint
- Elections: A Overview.
- The Country's Issue-less Elections.
- T.N. Seshan — the Real Hero.
- Love or Hate Them, But Vote For Them.
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Which of the following are not under scrutiny for alleged corruption, according to the passage?
Show Hint
- The opposition prime ministerial candidate
- P.V. Narasimha Rao
- The leader of the ‘third force’
- Ramakrishna Hegde
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
Thus, (d) is correct.
Why does the author say that almost all parties have broken the law?
Show Hint
- Because they all indulge in corrupt electoral process.
- Because they all have more income than recorded sources.
- Because they are all indicted on various charges.
- Because they have failed to submit audited accounts to tax authorities.
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
Thus, (d) is correct.
According to the passage, which of the following has not been responsible for the winds of change blowing throughout the country?
Show Hint
- Greater awareness on the part of the general public.
- Enforcement of a model code of conduct by the Election Commission.
- Greater independence to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
- Fresh zeal on the part of tax collectors.
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Thus, (a) is correct.
According to the passage, which of the following is not mentioned as even having the potential to be an issue in the current elections?
Show Hint
- The mandir-masjid issue
- The empowerment of women
- Economic nationalism
- Hindutva
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Thus, (b) is correct.
Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
As of 2009, there are 890 World Heritage Sites that are located in 148 countries (map). 689 of these sites are cultural and include places like the Sydney Opera House in Australia and the Historic Center of Vienna in Austria. 176 are natural and feature such locations as the U.S.’s Yellowstone and Grand Canyon National Parks. 25 of the World Heritage Sites are considered mixed i.e. natural and cultural Peru’s Machu Picchu is one of these. Italy has the highest number of World Heritage Sites with 44. India has 36 (28 cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed) World Heritage Sites. The World Heritage Committee has divided the world’s countries into five geographic zones which include (1) Africa, (2) Arab States, (3) Asia Pacific (including Australia and Oceania), (4) Europe and North America and (5) Latin America and the Caribbean.
WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN DANGER
Like many natural, historic and cultural sites around the world, many World Heritage Sites are in danger of being destroyed or lost due to war, poaching, natural disasters like earthquakes, uncontrolled urbanization, heavy tourist traffic and environmental factors like air pollution and acid rain.- Maharashtra Class X Board - 2025
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- I give the biggest credit of this honour to my movement’s Kaalu Kumar, Dhoom Das and Adarsh Kishore from India and Iqbal Masih from Pakistan who made the supreme sacrifice for protect ing the freedom and dignity of children. I humbly accept this award on behalf of all such martyrs, my fellow activists across the world and my countrymen. My journey from the great land of Lord Buddha, Guru Nanak and Mahatma Gandhi; India to Norway is a connect between the two centres of global peace and brotherhood, ancient and modern. Friends, the Nobel Committee has generously invited me to present a “lecture.” Respectfully, I am unable to do that. Because, I am representing here — the sound of silence. The cry of innocence. And, the face of invisibility. I represent millions of those children who are left behind and that’s why I have kept an empty chair here as a reminder. I have come here only to share the voices and dreams of our children– because they are all our children– (gesture to everyone in the audience). I have looked into their frightened and exhausted eyes. I have held their injured bodies and felt their broken spirits.
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