Saddening Politics!

All of us have heard and seen many elections! To lure the voters, we have also seen politicians making a lot many promises, which are indeed the most significant part of an election and the backbone of the campaign on the whole. The promises for new roads, proper water supply or rationing, employment opportunities are a few. But what if the political agenda is ‘circumcision’ and the politician even manages to steal the show for the same reason.

Coming to my point directly, I am shocked the way a political issue today turns into a social issue and any social issue is used by the politicians for their voter bank. In our country, we did see the burning Nandigram where a political issue was fuelled into a social issue. And outside our country, let’s take the latest example of Kenya. Kenya is already a destabilized economy. Elections were held in the nation on Dec.27 where two opposition party leaders- Kibaki (whose party saw the electoral victory) and Odinga are at loggerheads. It might shock you but the campaign directed against Odinga was on the basis of circumcision. Odinga who belongs to the Luos tribe (one of the rare tribes of Africa who doesn’t follow circumcision practice) was announced as incapable of ruling.

The political fight between these two leaders has turned into a social agenda. Not only this, the Kikuyu tribe (to which Kibaki belongs) has been chasing down Luos and forcing circumcision upon them. They have been asking men of other tribes to show their private parts and sparing only those who have already been circumcised. This has also given way to other crimes that the men of Kikuyu tribe are committing under the so called ‘circumcision checks’. They have been evicting, raping and looting other tribes, all under the shade of a political master. I may not blame Kibaki directly but indirectly, he indeed is responsible.

This issue brings to light how such an issue brings to turmoil the existence of a tribe, sect or entire mankind. This piece of news left me in total dismay and disbelief. This may relate to just a tribe but one who can see this in a universal light will only find him/herself in melancholy.

(You can check out the source here)