As with every evolution the action of lobbying has transformed into something which it originally was not – much like the governments who indulge in everything but governance!
The first lobby I became very familiar with was, of course, the famous Central Lobby in my Squadron at the National Defence Academy (NDA). The Central Lobby was the happening place during the first two and a half years of the minimum three years we spend at the NDA. Dividing the years into terms of half year each, those would be the first five terms of stay there. The sixth termers never partook of the fare in the Central Lobby.
True to its calling, the Central Lobby was the area just inside the entrance of the large building of the Squadron housing the cadets. Being one of the two large areas inside the building, here is where over 100 or so inmates congregated for anything from a simple muster through lectures on morality (ML) to some physical activities. The other large space was the Squadron anteroom (also carries a dictionary meaning ‘lobby’). Unlike the Central Lobby the anteroom was a place only for recreation and fun.
In my time while we enjoyed our bit in the ante room, the Central Lobby routines were more pain than pleasure. The one thing in common was all that happened at either of the places was in full public view.
Wikipedia attributes the origin of the term lobbying to certain activities in lobbies of large buildings. To quote "the BBC holds that "lobbying" comes from the gathering of Members of Parliament and peers in the hallways (or lobbies) of Houses of parliament before and after parliamentary debates (before the debate is put to vote perhaps). One story states that the term originated at the Willard hotel in Washington, DC, where it was used by Ulysses Grant to describe the political influencers who frequented the hotel's lobby to access Grant—who was often there to enjoy a cigar and brandy.” Ulysses G. was the 18th President of the US (1869–1877) as well as a military commander during the civil war and post-war reconstruction periods.
By definition a lobbyist(s) is a person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of a special interest group. The evolution of the term implies that lobbying should happen out in the open spaces, whether done by an individual or a group.
Lobbying by itself is a pure form of putting across a point of view to the powers that be in a template and language they understand - by a group or an individual on behalf of a group. But taking ‘lobbying’ to the bedroom (The famous Q. “Are you sleeping”? Ans. “No yaar”), and mixing the act with ‘quid pro quo’ or a plain bribe is, in the least, an insult to lobbying.
I hear the word influencers some times and that, I feel is an apt name for these wheeler dealers. The people who now try to influence and get their bidding, stopping at nothing including coercion and blackmail, are all being clubbed under ‘lobbyists’. This is unfair.
To me lobbyists are those who function from the Central Lobby or the Anteroom in full public view. Every other influencer is a wheeler dealer or vice versa.
In Passing …..
~gate has been given many dimensions in the media. Violation of privacy is an issue and Ratan Tata is tackling that. The other hues given to it on prime time television and related media are lobbying, influencing, corruption, values, probity of media, “reliable sources” of the media, quid pro quo between politicians, media and others. In all the discussions and dissections one dimension is ignored by one and all;
Are the protagonists, PROs and reporters, just blowing some hot air? Barkha Dutt has said it more than once that she just talked but did not do!!!
Applying simple logic we find that each will be taken seriously only to an extent by her/his own boss, not at all by the other’s boss, and decision makers will never know of these conversations! So why do they talk the way we hear them on these “~tapes”? I suspect, only to posture and impress one another– some reality show this – move aside Big Boss and Pamela Anderson.
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