Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “If I Were a Politician” Complete Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

If I Were a Politician

Today, an impression has gained ground in India that politics is the last resort of a scoundrel and, therefore, every politician is a scoundrel in his own right. We often hear people around us saying that ‘Politics is a very dirty game’. Every sort of person (wrong-doer) but a politician can be reformed and so on and so forth. Such is the popular apathy towards the field of Politics that its rating as a profession is very low. In this particular scenario, the most obvious response to the question ‘what if you were a politician’, would be that of remorse and hatred for the profession and the practitioner alike. The question is likely to trigger off a recourse of negative expressions and the chances of the speaker, identifying with the politicians being the remotest. Unlike the popular impression, all the politicians are not of the tarnished band-wagon. The negative opinion is basically prejudiced. There may be unwanted politicians with shades of grey, dominating the scene, but good people with true social service as their motto, are not completely wanting.

Therefore, I have a completely opposite view. I think that it is just the state of mind and thought that makes anything good or bad. As Shakespeare said : “There is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so”. Merely talking of corruption and dirtiness prevailing in politics cannot rid it off the evil. Even Gandhiji had an evasive attitude as far as politics went. Gandhiji kept away from it, owing to its corrupt and dirty practices. But simply keeping a distance cannot convert the profession into a respectable one. Except a few people, nobody has made it as his top choice. If no truthful, courteous, considerate man of principles enters this field, then how can the reputation of this profession be improved ? Therefore, if I were a politician, I would try to make it a better field to be in so that it is considered more respectable.

Like a coin, politics also has two faces. On one side are the persons who are elected (whether their party is in power or not) and on the other side are the persons who are not elected. As in a coin, both these faces are equal and no one is preferred to the other if the basic function and duty of a politician is taken into consideration. But, today, a successful politician is considered as that person who wins the election. It no doubt, shows people’s confidence in him but it also encourages short-term policies and programmes with a view to win the elections. Therefore, it does not matter if a person wins or loses in one or two elections, but if he is seriously devoted to people his services are sure to be appreciated by people ultimately. Therefore, if I were a politician I would always be at the service of the people and work for their betterment without indulging in cheap election gimmicks and false promises.

There are many social and economic problems facing our country. But one of the major problems facing our country is the preservation of unity, sovereignty and integrity of the country, which is ultimately endangering our hard-earned Independence and it is quite natural for a country which is a union of so many different religions and languages. But it is the duty of a politician to act as a thread to bind all the pearls into a single chain. Therefore, if I were a politician, I would try to unite people without hurting their religious feelings and maintaining secularism in the true sense of the word. There are a lot of social and economic problems facing our country which need immediate attention. The major problems amongst these are the problems of poverty, illiteracy, black money, ensuring social justice, plight of women and children, etc. I think that these problems are inter-linked. Though we can analyse each problem individually, there would be difficulty in resolving them in isolation. We cannot concentrate on one problem and ignore the others.

For example, we have not been able to end communalism because people are illiterate and mass literacy drive started by Government has not been working satisfactorily as people are poor. They have to work very hard to earn their bread and have no time to attend the school. Family planning programme has also failed because of illiteracy, poverty, etc. Thus, we see that almost all the social and economic problems result from poverty and unemployment. If I were a politician I would, therefore, give top priority to eradication of poverty and unemployment. If not eradicating, at least trying (or fighting) to reduce this problem which is the root cause of most of the social and economic problems.

But we cannot get rid of poverty if economic and educational standards of our farmers are not improved. For this, I think, mechanised farming is the best solution. It will increase our farm output. Simultaneously, we should introduce cottage industries, village crafts and small-scale and medium industries in villages. This will lead to increased dairy-farming, poultry etc. Ultimately, there will be a shift of population from land to industry which will lead to better economic condition of the rural people.

One of the main reasons for people to be misled by politicians and political parties (during elections or otherwise) is their political illiteracy and the politicians, instead of educating people about laws, rights and various policies, encourage such illiteracy because it serves their purpose of easily befooling and cheating the people. The political illiteracy is dangerous. It kills the basic meaning of democracy. If I were a politician, I would try to educate people about politics and would not let them be exploited by my fellow politicians.

In a nutshell, if I were a politician, I would try to bring Indian politics to the level and respect it used to enjoy during the National Freedom Movement and later during the period of Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri. It will thus cease to be last resort of a scoundrel.