A grim reminder

The first Indian PM Mr Nehru while delivering that historic speech on the eve of India’s independence said The achievement we celebrate today is a step, an opportunity to greater triumphs and achievements that awaits us. He reminded the nation that the task ahead included; ending of poverty, ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity.

Since then approx 10 other PMs including Dr Manmohan Singh have made tall promises and announced ambitious schemes for the eradication of poverty, illiteracy and disease. But sadly even after 62 years of independence Dr Manmohan and Sonia Gandhi had to reiterate the same objectives and launched yet another scheme with much fanfare to achieve the same objectives set in 1947( as they still remain unaccomplished).

The nation faces crisis on virtually every front. However, unfortunately, these failures of all the Govts have provoked so little political challenge. And the leaders who have been responsible for mis governance and politicizing the entire administrative machinery are still being revered by the poor and the weaker section of our society.

There is no doubt we have made sizeable progress in some fields but the overall progress over the decades when compared to some other States reveals that we have been outclassed by many other developing nations. We have today crossed the billion mark, we have more than 50% illiterates, almost 30% below poverty mark and all sorts of shortages in terms of oil, water, electricity. This can make 21^st century, a century of miseries.

With the progress in science and technology particularly in the field of Communication and IT, the role of state has not diminished but the aspirations of the people and their expectations from the state have only increased. The all round presence of administration is felt directly or indirectly in almost every field of human activity, be it Industry, business, agriculture, art, entertainment, education, culture, health care, housing or sports. The administration can do a great deal to promote, inspire, to motivate or frustrate or hinder the activities of individuals and institutions.

The year to year growth of GNP and GDP can possibly continue to move up rapidly but the country is likely to continue to remain handicapped politically, economically and socially by its overwhelming illiteracy, backwardness, deprivations, inefficient and corrupt administrative machinery. This may in future prove to be detrimental to our security interests, as well.

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The economic reforms launched in 90s have except making the rich grow richer have hardly helped the average man. It has only made man more greedy, dishonest & corrupt. It has thrown up problems, the society is not yet prepared to tackle; the dignity of women is now at stake & the innocence of children has been lost forever. The masses find themselves helpless and disorganised when it comes to tackling problems related to basic amenities ; education, power, water, health care etc. and therefore we often come across frustrated people resorting to violence on small pretexts.

Japan, Germany, France were ravaged by the IInd World War. Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, China & India were in the same boat (as far as development was concerned) when we got freedom. But surprisingly, all these nations have gone way ahead of us.

There is hence, something basically wrong in present day India that takes her astray in almost every sphere of life. The problems are far more complex, chronic and deep rooted in the ethos of the country. No lasting or effective solution is possible unless the existence of these factors is fully recognised and remedial measures are taken accordingly. It is not just corruption in high offices that is a matter of concern even social ills such as casteism, poor status of woman and dowry deaths are also important issues which determine the social character that need to be tackled before we can think of moving ahead and becoming a world power in its true sense. We can with US assistance become the permanent member of Security council, with US assistance we can acquire nuclear technology to run power plants but can US resolve our social & political problems. Can it help in breaking the politician – police – criminal nexus. Can US make our judiciary efficient. Are we expecting US to make us honest and corruption free country. The problems that the nation faces today have become so complicated over the years that to tackle them, there is a need for constitutional, social, economic and administrative reforms.

Edward Luce in Inspite of the Gods : The Strange Rise of Modern India while criticing the State says It’s a State which allows half the food it subsidises to be stolen and subsidies fertilizers to benefit rich farmers, it’s a state which treats people as supplicants on a scale graded according to social status.

The State has just got its hands off from every thing. For education it conveniently asks us to send our children to private schools and colleges as the State has failed to run its educational institutions, for electricity it expects us to buy a generator or an invertor as the State run Electricity Boards can not provide 24 hours power. For health care its now an unwritten code please visit private nursing homes as Govt Hospitals are real mortuaries and can not be trusted. For water every citizen is expected to get a bore well dug in the back yard of the house as the State can not provide water for even half an hour. The table at Page 2 shows as to how the State has left its citizens high and dry and is likely to make our lives miserable in the coming years.

Nani Palkiwala also in his book ‘We the People’ while discussing similar problems plaguing the Nation said The symptoms of our malaise may show themselves in price rise, disputes, shortages but underlying the symptoms is a disease which has destroyed democracies in the past and the causes of that disease are not economic. They are moral, political and constitutional and in order to cure it we must recognise them as such.

Some one has to play a role similar to that of Indian National Congress of our Freedom movement. The Congressmen were driven to rural areas by Bapu to educate, to inspire to awaken the rural folks. In just few years the Congress; a party of elites became the true representatives of Bhartiya masses. Unfortunately, the massive rural support was en-cashed successfully by various leaders for their own political interests and to establish dynastic rule.

It is therefore very essential today, before it is too late that we carry out an introspection, peep into our history, and analyse ourselves in order to find an answer why we have not been able to perform to the best of our potential, what encourages elements inimical to our interests to target us consistently.

Why this moral degradation and socio-political decay.

Were we always like this.