Political apathy

Political apathy refers to a person’s indifference to politics and a decline in political participation. political apathy is actually a much broader concept

It is a part of ‘political alienation’. To understand political apathy, it is necessary to understand political alienation. Although alienation is an ancient concept, it has assumed an important place in the social sciences as a result of the study of capitalist societies. In the French language, ‘Allene’;.Sapadmaddha and in the Spanish language ‘Alindo’;.Sapadmeddha are such words which are used to express the mental states of a person in which he starts to consider himself as a foreigner and feels alienated from himself and other persons. Begins to experience separation towards. In the present day, the word is used for anxious moods or unbalanced

 

It is done for the moods and tendencies which make the person indifferent to the society, to the environment and to himself.

Political alienation involves aversion to politics or power and a decline and indifference to political participation. In this, the person does not consider himself responsible and related to the national goals. Contemporary scholars consider political isolation to be a characteristic of modern industrial societies. According to sociologists, the distance of power in urban-industrial bureaucratic societies has never been as much as it is today. We find political apathy even in ancient situations. For example, the complete subordination of the people to their leaders in ancient Greek and Roman practice is an example of this tendency.

In short, political apathy is a person’s aversion to politics, powerlessness and loss of faith in political leadership. It does not only include estrangement and indifference towards politics, but this feeling creates hatred towards the individuals and institutions related to the decision-making process.

 

main reason

Political thinkers have given the following main reasons for political apathy –

 Irrational emotion (passion),

Lack of political knowledge,

Lack of political influence, divided consciousness,

Lack of political communication,

 Urbanization and industrialization, political instability

Absolute monarchy

totalitarianism

Centralization of power,

 

emotional exhaustion,

Possible threat of deprivation of personal liberty,

 Abstract politics; And

Lack of friendly relations between leaders and members

Some of these reasons for political apathy are applicable in the Indian context as well. Lack of political knowledge, divided consciousness, lack of political communication, urbanization and industrialization, political instability, centralization of power, threat of lack of individual freedom and Lack of friendly relations between the leaders and the public is important.

In the first two decades of the 21st century, the main reason for the political apathy in Indian politics is the growing mistrust of the public towards the politicians. Due to the moral decline of the leaders, the friendly relations between the leadership and the public are ending. There is a growing public belief that all politicians are morally weak, regardless of the political party they represent. Their ultimate aim is misuse of power and authority and together they are looting public money.

 

The public is becoming convinced that nothing will happen by participating in the voting and by the change of government. Political leadership is being accused of corruption, nepotism. Information about the movable and immovable assets of politicians being much more than their known sources is coming to the fore. Many politicians have gone to jail on corruption charges.

The recruitment process for the political elite in India is extremely difficult and complex. Because of this, the common man could not reach the political elite. Money, power, criminal character, nepotism, bureaucrats have become the mainstay of political recruitment of late. That’s why the public has a sense of disappointment towards politics.

The emerging middle class in India has also proved helpful for political apathy. According to Pawan Verma, the Indian middle class is selfish and interest-oriented. He believes in getting his work done irrespective of the political situation. Middle class thinking is of political apathy. He likes watching cricket match more than participating in voting.

 

Political apathy in India has produced some important results. The most important result of political apathy is emerging in the form of judicial activism in recent times. Since the public is losing faith in the legislature and the executive, the interference of the judiciary is increasing even in normal works. The public is looking towards the judiciary with full of hope.

Due to growing mistrust on politicians, many small and big mass movements are erupting. This mass movement is not only involved in development works.

They are creating hurdles but also affecting the process of legislation making.

There are many land-acquisition disputes and mass movements in India. Singru, Kudankalam, Noida controversy and Anna movement are some prominent examples.

 

In this era of information revolution, the media has taken advantage of the moral decline of the leaders. Round the clock channels, sting operations blackmail politicians. The public tends to believe what the media says without proof because it has lost faith in the current leadership, thus promoting political instability.

Political parties have become an essential part of modern democratic social systems. Political parties are the main agencies for gaining power and authority. It is through political parties that the struggles for attaining power and authority are institutionalised. People express their aspirations through political parties. From the social organization of political parties, we come to know that which sections of the society are involved in the formation of a political party.

groups are participating. The process of political recruitment analyzes selection among elites

Is. Public participation shows the public’s participation in governance. Public indifference to politics and decline in political participation are worrying for the political system and result in judicial activism, mistrust of the public, and mass movements. All these consequences hinder the economic development of the country and promote political instability.