[Urbanstudy] The rise of the Aam Aadmi Party is part of a global protest against the rapid growth of urbanisation and accompanying inequality

[Vinay Baindur]

The AAP as part of a global phenomenon

SRIRAM BALASUBRAMANIAN



<http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-aap-as-part-of-a-global-phenomenon/article6937734.ece?homepage=true#>
[image: DISSATISFACTION: “The protests in Hong Kong were not just about
universal suffrage; they were about a larger issue of urban inequality and
lack of opportunities.” Picture shows protestors with the Occupy movement
symbol in Hong Kong.]
Reuters
DISSATISFACTION: “The protests in Hong Kong were not just about universal
suffrage; they were about a larger issue of urban inequality and lack of
opportunities.” Picture shows protestors with the Occupy movement symbol in
Hong Kong.

The rise of the Aam Aadmi Party is part of a global protest against the
rapid growth of urbanisation and accompanying inequality

It is an important point now in Indian politics with the stupendous
emergence of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi: the ruling party and Prime
Minister Narendra Modi are now forced to introspect within months of their
unprecedented victory in the Lok Sabha election. While a lot of the credit
for the AAP’s victory has been given to party leader and Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal, there is a subtle, yet decisive, global trend
that has given rise to the party.

Globalisation has engulfed the world over the past 25 years, especially
after the fall of the USSR. It has been projected as the pillar of
capitalism, and there has been a lot of focus on urbanisation — an offshoot
of globalisation — which has caused enormous socio-economic changes. While
the endeavour for high growth has provided opportunities to many people and
lifted several out of poverty, it has also had its own set of challenges.
As Thomas Piketty wrote in his book “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,”
inequality is present in most of the major cities in the world. This has
created a situation where there are large chunks of people in cities who
are unemployed or impoverished; people who have been promised opportunities
but have been neglected since income is concentrated in the hands of a few.
These people are now becoming a vocal majority, asking questions about how
economics is fundamentally functioning in the world. We have seen this in
New York, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong, London and Paris, and New Delhi is no
exception.
*Movements across the world*

An example of political movements riding on this sentiment is the rise of
the Workers’ Party in Brazil. The emergence of Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva
(Lula) was synonymous with a left-of-centre “bottom-up” kind of
participatory politics which broke the conventional stereotype of democracy
in South America. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is a protégé of Mr.
Lula who was President in 2002 and has been an integral part of his party
since its early days. The Workers’ Party emerged while addressing the
negative effects of urbanisation which plagued the city of Sao Paulo.

Besides Brazil, countries in Europe have faced similar movements that have
addressed inequality. The rise of Syriza, the leftist anti-austerity party
in Greece, has been another example of the growing frustration with crony
capitalism that thrives in most countries. According to records, in 2013,
Greece had 62 per cent of its population in its cities. Its leader Alexis
Tsaparis moved beyond the core left ideology and focussed on the impact of
the debt crisis and inequality in Greece, to win a landmark election a
month ago.

Another example is the protests in Hong Kong. The emergence of these
protests was not just about universal suffrage; it was about a larger issue
of urban inequality and lack of opportunities for the country’s citizens.
Almost 1.3 million people (19 per cent) of Hong Kong live below the poverty
line and the income distribution Gino coefficient was at 5.4 in 2011. Even
in the United States, there have been growing concerns in cities such as
New York and Los Angeles over the increasing levels of urban inequality.
One in every three children lives in poverty according to U.S. Census
Bureau, and according to the Census’ American Community Survey, the top 5
per cent of households earned 88 per cent as much as the bottom 20 per
cent. The Occupy Wall Street movement, even though it fizzled out, was an
indicator that inequality triggered by basic issues is at the centre of
social issues concerning major metropolitan cities across the world.
*Urbanisation in India*

Most of these movements have resulted from city-based urban issues. The
after-effects of urbanisation have resulted in small movements which have
transformed into national movements over time. Issues such as inequality
and unemployment have been rampant in Indian urban places also. India has
been urbanising at a rapid pace: according to the 2011 Census, 31.6 per
cent of the population has been urbanised — this is an increase from the
11.1 per cent of almost a century ago. According to a report by the UN
State of the World Population report, over 40.76 per cent of the population
will be urban by 2030. In addition, according to the United Nation’s World
Urbanisation Report 2014, India is projected to add an astounding 404
million urban people which is almost one third of its overall population
today. With rapid urbanisation comes rapid migration to and between cities,
and issues such as inequality, emerging from these conditions, could
transform into a national movement.

It is in this context that the Modi-led government needs to understand the
AAP’s potential to be the BJP’s most potent threat in the medium and long
term. With the Congress being directionless, it is the AAP that can set the
agenda after its win in Delhi. The AAP offers a contrast which bears
striking similarities to the movements in countries such as Brazil; it is
left-of-centre leaning, caters to the needs of the workers, the unemployed
and the common man, speaks the language of daily needs, and is led by a
charismatic, yet shrewd, leader. In contrast is the centre-right politics
of the BJP.

Hence the consolidation of the minority vote is also a matter of concern
for the BJP. The en masse consolidation of this vote in Delhi, which
belonged to the Congress earlier, could become a pan Indian phenomenon if
left unchecked. The issues that concern Delhi are apparent everywhere in
India. Even the success of the Anna Hazare movement was not because of
corruption alone but because of the inequality between the political and
elite class and the rest of India. India has not witnessed the negative
after-effects of globalisation on the streets as much as other countries;
the AAP is in prime position to capitalise on it. It is imperative that Mr.
Modi looks at this undercurrent and addresses the issues of rapid
urbanisation. His excessive focus on foreign policy can woo the elites but
has little impact on the*aam aadmi. *Besides macro vision goals, there has
to be a mechanism to address the *aam aadmi*’s daily needs, and there has
to be greater propagation of the successes of the government rather than
the persona of Mr. Modi himself. Also, Mr. Modi’s “vikas” has to be
inclusive, not address only certain sections of society.

In retrospect, the rise of the AAP is not surprising in India. It is part
of a global phenomenon which is bound to spread across the world unless
governments adopt a more inclusive development agenda.

*(Sriram Balasubramanian is **a freelance journalist**.
E-mail: sriram2424 at yahoo.com <sriram2424 at yahoo.com>)*

Keywords: Aam Aadmi Part
<http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-aap-as-part-of-a-global-phenomenon/article6937734.ece?homepage=true#>
, Arvind Kejriwal
<http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-aap-as-part-of-a-global-phenomenon/article6937734.ece?homepage=true#>
, Delhi Assembly polls
<http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-aap-as-part-of-a-global-phenomenon/article6937734.ece?homepage=true#>
, inclusive development
<http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-aap-as-part-of-a-global-phenomenon/article6937734.ece?homepage=true#>
, Modi government
<http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-aap-as-part-of-a-global-phenomenon/article6937734.ece?homepage=true#>
, political movements
<http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-aap-as-part-of-a-global-phenomenon/article6937734.ece?homepage=true#>
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