As we pronounce another milestone of our ‘freedom’, try to ‘celebrate’ the occasion in various ways, the reality on the ground spells a profound failure of good and appropriate governance across the board — from the abysmal performance of local municipalities in providing the very basics, to the corruption of state and Central administrative departments, institutions, authorities vested with powers to maintain law, order and civil harmony. The fabric of this civilization has been damaged by its own elected governments and a civil service that has, over the decades, reduced itself to being a puppet in the hands of its political bosses. The system has corroded and in turn, demeaned India and Bharat. The tragedy is that no political entity seems willing to stand up and change the course of this destruction.

All the same

Wherever you look, there is a strange and unreal dumbing down, which is slapping us in the face. The electronic media are a great example of this. They have become a pop show. English-speaking anchors have created their own personal language, mouthing words that they themselves do not comprehend, the phonetics of which have to be deciphered like a puzzle. They have become caricatures of themselves! Empirical sources seem to have vanished into thin air, making stories flimsy and therefore unable to stand up to legal and other scrutiny. Sensationalism rules and intelligent discourse with quiet, sane, dissenting voices, has become an occasional mirage. The same ‘soft’ questions are asked in every programme in highpitched, shrieking voices laden with false fervour to imply agitated concern. The idiot box has lived up to its reputation as it spews rubbish on its captive audience.

Cut from there to the streets, the infrastructure, the traffic police, the local municipal babu, the corrupt politicians, the vulgar jockeying for power, the degradation of all public services, the bribes that administrators demand before they do what they are mandated to do, and everything else that makes honest living and working impossible. It makes one squirm to hear experienced political leaders damning their new-generation colleagues in private and then bend, bow and scrape in front of those they think will rule in the future. The hypocrisy of such individuals is what has destroyed the public space and political environment. Everyone knows and yet nobody steps aside and retires. They abuse the ‘simpletons’ who enjoy the perks, but they themselves cannot do without all the symbols of power — the red light atop their cars, the chamchas scurrying behind them, the closed gate and the obnoxious guard, travels for free, free accommodations, and a life dedicated to the attempt to show how close they are to the power centre. These people are all the same — senior, junior, middle-aged, old and dying, intelligent or foolish!