The weekends are generally periods of relaxation in my household. It is a period when elders and youngsters, family, relatives and friends become one. A period of joy and camaraderie.One such weekend a few months ago also was no different and we all sat around chatting during the day and continued to do so until the wee hours at night.

That weekend the topic for discussion was the socio-political setup of our country and how things over the years were gradually turning from bad to worse. While the elders recounted the better days they had seen and their positive experiences during those days, the youngsters could only remember the worse days and the bitter experiences therein. After prolonged discussions, the entire group seemed to reach a consensus that it was the Indian political system and the Indian politicians who were responsible for this sad state of affairs. Every one present also seemed to be of the view that nothing could be done to change the system in our blessed country.

At this juncture, I posed the question of whether it was morally right on our part to just say nothing could be done and be finished with it? “Wasn’t it our duty to do something about it?” I asked them. “What could be done?” countered my Pop who is about eighty and had served meritoriously in government service for thirty seven years. “These goons turned politicians or politicians turned goons have taught every one how to go about abusing the system and nothing could be done by any individual, collective movement or political party,” he continued,“whoever, Comes to power will also do exactly what their predecessors had done,since the earlier politicians have shown and led the way to corruption and exploitation of the system”.

Quite a forceful statement for a mild person like my dad, I thought. But I had nothing to say against this as I felt he was right. Even if a people’s revolution took place and a communist regime were to take over nothing would change and the leaders of the revolution would follow in the exact footsteps of their predecessors. Silence reigned for a while as all present seriously pondered on the gravity of the situation. Each one young and old alike sat deep in thought, each one trying to think of a solution to this so seeming impasse.

It was my Dad who came up with an idea. “Why don’t we lease the whole bloody job of governance out to someone competent to do the job?” he suggested. My first cousin who is an NRI and had come to India on official reasons but had found time to spend a few hours with us during the weekend was present during the discussion and suddenly seemed electrified. “Touché” he remarked. “Perfect!The ideal solution! Imagine the concept of privatisation and corporate management of governance”. My cousin seemed fascinated by the idea and was all agog about how corporates would fix objectives, targets, roles and responsibilities for every corporate citizen. Each corporate citizen would file Time sheets and prepare weekly reports.

That night when I finally went to bed, I had the worst nightmare of my life when I dream't of life in a corporate governed society. Being sent memos for not waking up on time, being black marked for not filing reports on time, whew! What a nightmare. I woke up in a cold sweat and could not go back to sleep. I tossed and turned in bed as I thought of the possible prospect of privatised governance.

Open tenders would be invited and multinationals, conglomerates, business houses,international agencies and foreign governments alike could vie for the plum of ruling India. The highest bidder who promises the best in terms of improvement in services delivery over a stipulated period of time could be awarded the job.Ultimately it will be the best power point presentation that will help the people of India decide who should govern them. A methodology would have to be worked out for the entire decision making process. Finally the best would be chosen and the contract awarded. This appeared to be somewhat similar to what the erstwhile Rajas and Maharajahs had done.

Critics and politicians alike would argue that a similar exploitation of the country’s resources as was experienced during the British reign would occur. But that could be countered with “If you could rule like how the British ruled India then you deserve to take away some off the loot”. Ask any senior citizen who spent his days during the British rule and he will vouch for it. All those who once shouted from the rooftops that the British were exploiting the country have now turned exploiters and are now looting the country. So why not allow a legal corporate entity to take over and rule the country? If the corporate rules well and takes away a fair share of profits, why not I would say! When the present lot swindles without any improvement in services, why not allow someone else who is more efficient in service delivery to do so. The more I thought of it,the more I began liking it!!!

Could this be the second wave of refined and improved colonization?