[Marxism] Elections in India: Asserting people’s issues above the clamour of `crorepatis', communalists and corporate media | Links

[glparramatta <glparramatta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

By *Kavita Krishnan* (CPI (ML) Liberation

April 24, 2009 -- The media’s poll pundits have already declared that
there are “no issues” in India’s 2009 parliamentary polls. At the same
time, the corporate media houses have launched campaigns seeking to
``awaken’’ middle- and upper-class voters. They have been awash in
self-congratulation at their success in mobilising this class of voters
– the only class, they imply, which is capable of making Indian politics
clean and meaningful, because it is not a ``vote bank’’. ``Slumdogs’’,
they rue, are even willing to sell their kids, so their votes are
suspect – while sheer wealth places corporates and /crorepatis/ above
corruption. [India’s Lok Sabha (national lower house of parliament)
polls, are being held in five phases between April 16 and May 13, 2009.]
The Congress party made the /Slumdog Crorepati/’s ``Jai Ho’’ tune its
election theme song; but the fact is that it is crorepatis who
constitute a considerable section of its candidates in this election.
(/Crorepati/ is Hindi for ``millionaire’’; the film /Slumdog
Millionaire/ was released in Hindi as /Slumdog Crorepati/. The word
comes from the Hindi word/ crore/, which is Rs 10,00,000. ``/Jai Ho/’’,
/Slumdog Millionaire’/s theme song, means ``Victory’’ or ``Be
Victorious’’.) ... As it is, even in times of economic crisis, it is
crorepatis who can sing ``Jai Ho’’ since they continue to feature in
lists of the world’s richest people.

http://links.org.au/node/1012

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