How Political Awareness Impacts Urban Development  

Those who know better ask tougher questions and demand clearer answers. While an ignorant audience is easy to deal with, an informed person would force the listener to do his home work before he readies himself to face the audience. It is in this context that we would examine the merits of political awareness in India and the role it plays in shaping the country's urban growth.

As a great starting point, we can't accuse India of being politically passive. If you happen to listen to people chitchatting at the tea stalls in any neighbourhood of India, you will be educated about the extent of knowledge the common man possesses about the current political system. In fact, it would be no exaggeration to say that the debaters here assume these shops are the centres where the fate of political parties is decided over cups of tea. Unfortunately, most of this political chitchat, like every other casual chat, is short-lived. After having debated feverishly -- with all their understanding and biases -- as people go about their business, their insights are left behind at the grand debate venue of tea stalls. More unfortunate is the fact that the “intellectual” discussions that happen on news channels are hardly better.  

Now, what if such discussions happened among the informed and aware citizens of the country in a more sustainable manner? Planners would be forced to do better than they are doing in every field at present, the urban policy included.

One cannot overlook the fact that the information technology and communication revolution have had their impact on public opinion. The government today faces more public scrutiny than before. According to Housing and Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, the "political class of the country is now more sensitised than ever before to the challenges in the urban sector", and there is a need to fix them at the earliest in the interest of rapid economic growth, besides enabling a decent quality of life. Statements like these are the result of better political awareness among the common man.

The speed at which the work on infrastructure projects like the Smart City Mission, the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation and the Swachh Bharat Mission is progressing under the current government is an example of how the political pressure coming from the new-age “informed” common man is far more effective than the one being exercised by the Opposition parties.