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Spring is here, but the depression and pain brought on by the horrendous contortions that the Indian State is undergoing refuse to abate. In fact, they get worse with every passing day. The complete lack of control and the sense that there is no one in charge, no one to act decisively regardless of the consequences, no one who comprehends, instinctively, the needs and aspirations of the many layers of lives in India, have saddened and angered most Indians. There is no need whatsoever for this kind of zero governance.
The politicians at the helm appear weak and confused, unable to take a definite decision on anything that is in the public domain — national issues that affect us, the people. Nothing positive unites us. The negatives that have invaded our space, our everyday lives, embarrass the citizens. If there are great things happening inside the portals of the government, if laws are being re-written for the immediate future, if a cleansing is in the offing, if a restructuring is being planned, if timely performance and accountability are being enforced, if fresh ideas and initiatives are being brought into play, then we need to know.
This exclusive leadership makes no sense within a democratic framework and compels dissidence and unnecessary antagonism towards the class that rules — the neta and his babu.
Someone said that India has become a mango republic, just on the verge of becoming an elongated banana! That possibility seems so real and so scary. It is time give a serious thought to the restructuring of our federal polity and the further divisioning of states into smaller, more manageable ‘parcels’ to ensure a more equitable distribution of wealth and resources.
Let go
We need a change in the mindset of the political animal, which, at the moment, seems to have no care or concern for the structure that has got completely corroded. We need clarity of thought on the ‘processes’ of governance and we need to reorder them so that they become more inclusive and less ‘secretive’. We need to overhaul and reinvent the electoral system and introduce correctives, which will bring dignity and respect for the elected representatives.
Leaders of all the major and minor political parties need to lock themselves up for a week at least, with a watertight agenda, and save India from getting abused. Political bickering and superficial reform are aiding and abetting the ruin of all the institutional structures that our founding fathers had evolved. The second United Progressive Alliance government is letting go of the idea of India without putting a stronger, more contemporary alternative in place. Why this profound intellectual lethargy to create a winning model for the immediate and distant future? This is the moment to make that shift, particularly since the world is in a flux. India should lead the race for change. Why is the leadership so ‘dead’ and dull in every gesture and utterance?
If the present dispensation finds it impossible to deliver some basic dignity to the people of this nation, it should pass the baton to another set of people. They too may fail but, at least, there will be a change of guard, and hopefully, of a generation. The Congressmen who failed the party, who destroyed its ethos and functioning, who sabotaged the recent attempt at real change for the longer haul, must be exposed and put to pasture.
It is the responsibility of the Congress, as the oldest party, to lead the way, change the game, rewrite the rules and embrace India. This government has been paralysed. Scandals, lack of strong decisions, lame excuses for faulty positions on national and other issues have overwhelmed it. Greatness is in letting go, in passing the baton, regardless of all else.
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