India is known to have possibly the world's oldest civilization,the Indus Valley civilization. It was a culture so refined,and advanced that it drawn praise from olden times. What made it so successful was the water tight system that was in place that ensured an orderly and smooth functioning of the administration for a very long time. What was thus a model state for every other part of the world slowly started dis-integrating and once foreigners started attacking and vandalizing our nation, the collapse was faster and more evident.
The British sucked out the confidence of the masses,made Indians their slaves and started dividing the people on the basis of religion. By the time they left the shores of India,they had firmly entrenched the thought of slavery and left behind a huge trail of passive energy which sabotaged India's chances of continuous and sustained growth. What was needed after independence was a strong and decisive administration which could harness the potential of a free India. The need was of strong laws and regulations which could build a strong foundation of a vibrant system. Though it was taken care of soon after independence,perhaps the lack of good administration helped many take advantage of the loop holes of the system and exploit it for decades together.
I was one who believed that the problems India has are not something unsolvable. When newspapers reported that India was one of the most corrupt countries in the world,I was not prepared to believe. When the foreign media would deride us,I would squirm. My reaction was quite on expected lines,because I was not completely exposed to the dark underbelly of corruption that exists everywhere and the rotten system in place. I was unaware of the difficulty to be faced to get a small medical certificate from a government hospital. I was not completely aware of the strings to be pulled to get a government document,the torture that people are made to undergo to get a passport when criminals,anti social and anti-national elements can get these documents so easily. The police are supposed to be the protectors,but what are most of them protecting? Their own self-interest! You would know what I am referring to if you would have got your police verification done for some purpose. Even a small sign from a gazetted officer is costly now-a-days. In essence,the system in our country is running on the singular entity 'PAISA'. The motto in any government office is "Throw some money and get any work done". Higher the bribe,faster the service. Confidence and trust are almost NIL.
Honest people are made to suffer endlessly for every small service. As it is,their patience is tested to the hilt and there is no guarantee that their work will be done. Compare this with a political leader,a person with influence or a person with the right connections:-Everything will finish smoothly without any hiccups. This makes one wonder about how and for whom the system is working for. If there is indeed a system,it should work equally for everyone and it is a fundamental right of every citizen to enjoy the benefits of the system,but a completely different scenario has panned out now. There is a sense of fear and despondency attached to any government related work and the one who is worst affected with this is the 'Aam Aadmi', a much maligned and mis-interpreted word now.
What I am focusing on here is just the starting point of the huge pyramid. As we go upwards,the amounts of money involved keeps increasing proportionately,and exponentially too sometimes. Scams running into thousands of crores have really alarmed the nation and here too,it is the tax payers' hard earned money which is involved. When it is so difficult to digest the happenings on at the base of the pyramid,what is going on at the higher levels is just unimaginable.Accept it or not,corruption is there at all levels of the system and can be considered an omni-present devil. But do we really care about all these? The answer is a resounding NO. Corruption,bribery etc have become a way of life and we no longer feel any sense of guilt supporting it. In fact it is news if someone gets a work done the straight way! Another question to ponder over is whether we have any other choice? Here too,the answer seems to be in the negative. When time is at a premium,who would want to roam around endlessly in these offices to get the work done,when some money can get it done quite smoothly. It is something which we cannot support,but cannot desist as well! What then is the solution?
Though the nationwide campaigns against corruption created quite a good impact for some time,it could not sustain for long enough. Bringing bills like Lokpal will not solve the problem,which has set in firmly in the psyche of the system. There are loopholes there too,which the corrupt will find out easily and things will be back to square one.At best,it can reduce sporadic corruption scenarios,but that's about it. Any law needs a better system to be effective and unless widespread and wholesale reforms take place,there can be no hope of any tangible change. But questions crop up again. If reforms are the way forward,who is the one who is going to bell the cat? When law makers themselves are the law breakers in most cases,do they have the guts to bring in any reform? Can they look beyond their vote banks and self interests to do anything about this? Or even in case someone tries to bring a change,will the overwhelming majority allow that to happen? Your guess is as good as mine.
Sixty seven years ago, Winston Churchill wrote this about Indian politics : "Power will go the hands of rascals,rogues,freebooters. Indian leaders will be of low calibre,with sweet tongues and silly hearts.They will fight amongst themselves for power and India will be lost in political squabbles." How true! When the Indian democracy has got reduced to "OFF the people,BUY the people and FAR from the people" ,is it not time to restore some kind of hope in the society? With the kind of manpower that India has,there is massive potential for progress,if a good system and a good process is put in place. Some part of the blame rests on us too and it is important to bring in a new and reformed attitude letting go of the "Chalta hai" frame of mind.This is not the kind of system that we should leave for future generations. Isn't it?
I found the poem of Santha Shishunala Sharif,the 19th century Kannada poet's lines very apt for this article. He writes "Soruthihudu maneya maaligi,daaru gatti maalparilla, Kaala katthaleyolage naanu,melakeri hogalaare" which translates to "The roof is leaking. There is no one to strengthen the timber.In this darkness that surrounds me,I cannot climb up there!" Yes, the roof of India is leaking and it wont be long before the whole house would be submerged if care is not taken now! Plugging the leaks is going to be an extremely onerous task that looks improbable,rather than impossible. But we Indians are optimists,aren't we?!
It is only a social life based on equality, liberty and fraternity that is called democracy. In India there is a total lack in equality.Though we have got an equivalent status in political life, but in the social and economic fields, discrimination still prevails. We must immediately destroy this discrimination. For this Political power is the master key to unlock all the doors of social and economical discrimination and to eradicate the darkness surrounding. " A time will come , i hope, that we will be in a position to punish all the wrongdoers. But that can be done only by using our right to vote in a right manner.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the work you have done here, and I hearty thank you for the social responsibility you have. The corruption can be eradicated when each of us promise ourselves to not to be corrupt. I agree that it almost impossible to get our work done straightly, but we have bear it, this effort is similar to that of a mother asking her kid to wash his hands before having food, this might look like of no use to the kid but this actually teaches a practice for lifetime. I know my words may look the routine one but this is how it should start.
ReplyDeleteI strongly believe in our generation, if every influential person of our generation will promise to not to be corrupt there we could have hope that India would not appear in these infamous list.
Never forget to be proud to be Indian.
-Lakshan
Thanks you Lakshan for your thoughts about the blog. Regarding your point that we should promise to not be corrupt,that essentially is the problem right now. Once your principle might win,twice it might win,but for how long? This is not something that would get eradicated with only a handful of people. What it requires is a massive mindset change,attitude change of a majority of people. What we need is a complete systemic overhaul. So,real change can only happen from the top,not from the bottom.
ReplyDeleteThanks once again for the comment.
Lack of equality. Yes,that is one reason for the prevailing problems of our country. But our cunning politicians want precisely that. They have created vote banks and their survival depends on these vote banks and so the easiest way for them is to divide the society based on caste,religion et al. They do not want equality,which might erode their base.
ReplyDeleteRegarding right to vote,yes voting is an effective tool. But the situation now is to choose the best among the worst. There is a real dearth of good candidates who can be trusted and who are really concerned about development. Political power is an important tool,but when it is in the hands of the wrong people,nothing much can be expected.
Thanks Nithin for your views about this issue and for posting here.