Pic Sondeep Shankar
INDIANS are profoundly dissatisfied with
politics and yet have a touching faith in
democracy. The dissatisfaction is strong enough
for people to be sceptical of India's ability to
hold together as a nation-state, though
fragmentation of the country is not what people
actively desire. The dissatisfaction stems from
people's wariness about their elected
representatives and state institutions such as
the police and the bureaucracy. People are
appalled by their unresponsiveness and penchant
for corruption. Not surprisingly, corruption and
other bread-and-butter issues such as
unemployment, rising prices and dowry rank high
in people's concerns, overshadowing caste and
communal tensions. Sectarian conflicts are
perceived as the handiwork of politicians, and
holy men are given a short and simple message:
stay out of public life.
Should heads of
religious organisations be allowed to contest
elections?
Rest: Don't Know/ Can' t Say
Who is
responsible for communal tension and violence?
| RELIGIOUS
HEADS* |
20 |
| POLITICIANS |
64 |
| FOREIGN HAND |
13 |
*Muslim 22, Hindu 20
Which of the
following, in your opinion is the greatest evil?
| CORRUPTION |
34 |
| UNEMPLOYMENT |
20 |
| RISING PRICES |
18 |
| DOWRY |
11 |
| CASTE CONFLICTS |
5 |
| LAW AND ORDER |
4 |
| CHILD LABOUR |
3 |
| COMMUNALISM |
3 |
| FACTIONAISM/SEPARATISM |
1 |
Percentage of people who rank
them No.1
Rest: Others
The graphs are only representative, not to scale
|
Generally speaking, are
candidates in your constituency worth your vote?
Rest: Don't Know/ Can' t Say
Do you think
that your vote is valuable?
Rest: Don't Know/ Can' t Say
If election
were held tomorrow, on what basis would you vote
for your candidate?
| MERIT
OF CANDIDATE |
40 |
| PARTY |
26 |
| NATIONAL ISSUE |
10 |
| LOCAL ISSUE |
7 |
| REGIONAL ISSUE |
4 |
| RELIGION |
3 |
| CASTE |
3 |
Rest: Others
All figures in percentage
How interested
is your MP in solving the problems of your
constituency?
| VERY |
14 |
| SOMEWHAT |
30 |
| NOT AT ALL |
45 |
Rest: Don't Know/ Can' t Say
|
50 years of
existence as an independent nation has produced
convictions, attitudes and fears which are real, tangible
and, more important, identifiable. An exhaustive India
Today-ORG-Marg Independence poll sought to track and
interpret some of these. 
