Cynicism
Anyone who has been living in this country for long enough to appreciate how its government and political bodies function will sympathize with me when I say that I’ve become a complete cynic, a hater, pessimist.
I deem any effort to change the pathetic status quo as nothing but failure in written in stone. Investing time and labour in such an effort would be like “accepting a post-dated cheque on a crumbling bank”; these words by the father of our nation who envisioned a united and prosperous India, a father who is all but forgotten today.
The democracy which our nation’s greatest and brightest men set up for us has been reduced to nothing but a sham and a complete farce. Adult franchise, the power to choose your leader has been reduced to a silly game of choosing between the lesser of the evils. Politicians and political parties make and break alliances and change sides quickly in desperate efforts to grab power while ideology takes a backseat.
Parliamentary debate today is anything but a debate, every parliamentary session is another chance for a publicity hungry political party to stage a walkout. Looks like our politicians prefer to walk the walk rather than talk the talk and debate! Or maybe if they’re too tired to walk they’ll just come and throw wads of cash in the air to show their integrity!
And there’s corruption, in every nook and cranny of the administrative setup, from the clerk to the cabinet minister, everyone has a price and some lucrative deals to offer. It’s been going on for so long that it’s accepted as part and parcel of life and very few shudder or even think twice before greasing someone’s palm.
I deem any effort to change the pathetic status quo as nothing but failure in written in stone. Investing time and labour in such an effort would be like “accepting a post-dated cheque on a crumbling bank”; these words by the father of our nation who envisioned a united and prosperous India, a father who is all but forgotten today.
The democracy which our nation’s greatest and brightest men set up for us has been reduced to nothing but a sham and a complete farce. Adult franchise, the power to choose your leader has been reduced to a silly game of choosing between the lesser of the evils. Politicians and political parties make and break alliances and change sides quickly in desperate efforts to grab power while ideology takes a backseat.
Parliamentary debate today is anything but a debate, every parliamentary session is another chance for a publicity hungry political party to stage a walkout. Looks like our politicians prefer to walk the walk rather than talk the talk and debate! Or maybe if they’re too tired to walk they’ll just come and throw wads of cash in the air to show their integrity!
And there’s corruption, in every nook and cranny of the administrative setup, from the clerk to the cabinet minister, everyone has a price and some lucrative deals to offer. It’s been going on for so long that it’s accepted as part and parcel of life and very few shudder or even think twice before greasing someone’s palm.
And then you want me to be an optimist….
An optimist I may not be but I’m not one to sit idly and do nothing. I dream! I dream of a better India and also sometimes dream of ways of make that happen. How do we get ourselves out of this mess? Smart educated people don’t want to get into politics, it’s too dirty and full of crass, they’d rather work 9 to 5 and live an easy life, your choice, fair; unfortunately like a self-fulfilling prophecy, the people who do join politics aren’t a far cry from the being the dirt of this country. How do we beat this vicious cycle?
REVOLUTION!
Wait the smart educated people won’t do this, it’s easier to just care about your job and your family as if nothing else exists and be oblivious to it all. It’s easier to be a cynic. And all the not so smart people are already in politics. Oh we’re stuck in this mess forever, are we?
VENDETTA
A concept completely borrowed from the movie V for Vendetta.
How about an anonymous group of assassins serving as a watchdog over our beloved politicians.
No judicial proceedings, no bickering, no bail, no hopping in and out of jail. . One scam, one mistake and that’s it, game over, the end, justice served fast and cold. Step out of the line once and that’s the last time you’ll do it. But what if someone falsely accuses someone, Oh! That’s a crime too and shall receive its punishment. And there’s only one punishment we offer, a one way ticket to meet your maker. Every move a politician makes is under the scanner, any wrong move can be your last. Imagine a world where politicians run around scared for their lives, with a sword hanging above their heads all the time.
How about an anonymous group of assassins serving as a watchdog over our beloved politicians.
No judicial proceedings, no bickering, no bail, no hopping in and out of jail. . One scam, one mistake and that’s it, game over, the end, justice served fast and cold. Step out of the line once and that’s the last time you’ll do it. But what if someone falsely accuses someone, Oh! That’s a crime too and shall receive its punishment. And there’s only one punishment we offer, a one way ticket to meet your maker. Every move a politician makes is under the scanner, any wrong move can be your last. Imagine a world where politicians run around scared for their lives, with a sword hanging above their heads all the time.
Alas! Such a scenario may be a dream come true for anyone who come to hate India’s politicians but there are several factors that would keep it just that, a dream.
1. Who will guard the guards? If we can’t control or question who they kill, they might as well be called terrorists and not watchdogs 2.The government can’t function effectively if its people are always scared of losing their life. 3. Violence and bloodshed can never be a permanent solution to bring about peace!
1. Who will guard the guards? If we can’t control or question who they kill, they might as well be called terrorists and not watchdogs 2.The government can’t function effectively if its people are always scared of losing their life. 3. Violence and bloodshed can never be a permanent solution to bring about peace!
So now what!
The solution and The beauty of democracy
Reality they say is stranger than fiction! In a true mixture of Gandhian philosophy and revolutionary courage, we present: The fast unto death. Instead of an anonymous group of assassins going around killing, we have here a very visible bunch of revolutionaries ready to lay down their lives for a good cause, all they’re saying is “Get to work dear ministers or I will starve myself!” . Isn’t this approach wrong, aren’t there better means to voice an opinion and initiate change. Well if there were any that worked, we would’ve tried them. And the best part, democracy, it turns out isn’t such a bad deal after all! where else would people have the chance to openly challenge the government’s inaction as long they remain peaceful. If our politicians don’t work, Anna Hazare along with his supporters has shown us how to get them to work and sit up and pay attention. All this for empowering the people through the Lokpal Bill. Not everyone with a grievance can start a fast unto death and this is exactly what the LokPal Bill addresses by allowing people to file complaints against corrupt activities and promising them a guaranteed redressal within a year.
BUT
But the cynic in me cries out again. Remember RTI? There’s no doubt that it has been helpful in unearthing many illicit activities and wrong practices going on in government institutions but sheer lack of infrastructure threatens to render this powerful tool ineffective as thousands of cases pile up and average time for disposal increases. What stops LokPal from going this way? Only time can tell
1 comments:
Very thoroughly covered article. Here’s a couple of things that you might have missed or you might want to consider:
1) You are being the superlative of cynicism when you say that every thing's out of order. Someone who is not better informed might conclude from your 1st paragraph that total anarchy exists in the country. Many of our leaders do work but not as well as they should and probably not without venality.
2) It is true that there is a loss of ideals which is because everyone is very practical in this country and a practical approach is the only one appreciated here. Don't get me wrong, being practical is good and I think that is what is firing the strong economic growth of the country.
But at the same time, We need more Quixote's and Bhagat Singh's. We need to stop looking at idealistic views with disparaging eyes. We need those people who either do not have the capacity to think of or have the fortitude to bear the consequences of strongly adhering to ones ideals. But again even if there is such a person, the common advice given seduces him away from his ideals to a more 'practical approach'.
Its obviously more practical to bribe the guard and take a sneezing relative visiting your father upstairs in the hospital at the risk of the life of some other patient who's vulnerable to infection, than to displease him since he has come all the way to see your father.
Hence for any solution that you propose (lokpal or assasin watchdogs), I feel, it'll be successful only if the idealistic philosophy gains popularity. That will not happen probably till things are worse than they are now.
3) At the same time coming back to present issues, the People need to give headstrong support to Lokpal for its success. Slight floating of some weak points against the lokpal have aroused doubts in the minds of every Indian. What one needs to understand that every such revolutionary move (or even every move) will have some remotely possible downsides which should not deter us as the people to persevere and keep fighting for a better system.
If Bhagat Singh would have thought whether any good would come out of his endeavours and adopted a 'practical approach' he sure would have lived a happier life but then the lives of 1 billion people would not be as it is today.
Post a Comment