Current socio political scenario in Odisha - India trip 2017

Here is my take on the current socio-political scenario of Odisha based upon the feedback I got from multiple sources during my just concluded trip to Odisha (The usual Disclaimers Apply).

The Democracy of Odisha can be pretty much summarized the way Abraham Lincoln described it, but in a slightly different way conducive to the state's milieu - it is OF the bureaucrats, BY the bureaucrats and FOR the bureaucrats. The Legislature is taken for a ride, being conveniently pushed to the back seat with Babudom (bureaucracy) firmly in the driver's seat.

The government is OFF the people, BUY the people (primarily through freebies like 1 Rupee Rice schemes) and FAR the people (don't have to go farther than the Neon lights on the outskirts the capital).

In addition, 100 odd families, Big and Small pretty much control the fate of an entire state of close to 50 million people with their well oiled network of pliant cahoots. The commoners love it - for them their Superior King is destined to rule over the (perceived) inferior subjects.

It was the same strategy adopted by outsiders like Afghans, Mughals and the British who ruled us over centuries. As the rulers did not have an understanding of the local language and culture, they succinctly cultivated a class of DALAALs (middlemen-cum-touts) they needed as "go betweens" to communicate the message from the Ruler to the Ruled and vice versa.  

Nothing much has changed over the years, even in the age of Smartphones and Social media. The ever omnipresent Babus (Bureaucrats) of Odisha have jumped to fill in that void in order to act as the conduit between the ruler and the ruled. It yet reinforces the age old adage - "History repeats itself, those who forget history are condemned to repeat it".