The irrelevance of political parties

One of the drawbacks of modern democracies all over the world has been the disconnect between the will of the people and the legislature and the executive. The political parties which were primarily intended to reflect the aspirations of the people and to further social change have failed miserably in fulfilling their intended purpose. The political parties have become puppets in the hands of the big corporations and the wealthy.Statistics indicate that there has been a massive transfer of wealth into the hands of the rich from the poor and the downtrodden and this process is continuing unabated.
One heartening phenomenon witnessed world wide has been the awakening of the masses to these growing inequalities. The anti-wall street movement,the Arab Spring,the anti-corruption movement in India,the overthrow of dictators,the decline of the US and the growing power of G-20 are clearcut indications of the world-wide disenchantment with the status quo.
The social media and the internet have been in the vanguard to promote transparency,cultural fusion,tolerance and understanding between diverse faiths and cultures and a more open and knowledge based societies! In traditional and feudal societies like India,the internet and mobile telephony is completely changing the social,cultural and economic lives at the grass-roots. There are 800 million mobiles in India and people are getting connected to each other in a big way.

It is obvious that unless the political parties re-invent themselves, they will soon become irrelevant! This could be the beginning of a new era where people's participation in decision making becomes a reality. Democracy could truly become rule of the people,by the people and for the people!