There is always a gap between theory and practice and, sometimes, it is an ironic gap. I studied political science in my college days, and am acutely conscious of the gap between what I had studied and what I see in reality in our polity.

I learnt from the textbooks that the state came into being to maintain law and order in a chaotic society. It was called the police state, in which the primary duty of the government was to maintain law and order and provide security of life and property to the citizens. Gradually, in the course of time, the police state developed into the welfare state and the government began to care for the comforts and convenience of the citizens. It gave them roadways, hospitals, railways, bridges, educational facilities etc., while continuing to guard the state against external aggression and internal conflict.

In this context, I felt happy when our government (UPA-II) showed concern for the poor people of the country and proposed the Food Security Bill. That set my mind thinking about the nature of our society, state, and our ethos, and the inbuilt safeguards embedded in them.

Is food security not ingrained in the psyche of the major religious groups in our country, which do not allow people to starve? The Hindu community, which accounts for more than 80 per cent of our population, believes that anna dana (gift of food) is the greatest of all gifts, and the millions of temples across the length and breadth of our country take care of the hunger of our people, and give them free food or prasad (offerings made to the deities).

The gurudwaras of the Sikhs follow the same practice. Islam makes it mandatory for every Muslim to set aside a portion of her income for charity and the mosques and Wakf boards take care of poor Muslims.

The church takes care of its members in the same way. In addition to the mainstream religions, there are umpteen smaller groups with international ramifications such as Iskcon, the Sai Temples, several mutts and ashrams owing allegiance to thousands of godmen, gurus, babas, and swamis, living or dead, and the membership of these diverse institutions runs into the millions. All of them are involved in feeding the hungry millions of the country in their own way.

A scriptural aphorism says: paropakaaraartham idam sareeram (this body/life is to help others). If we take “help” to mean financial help alone, it will be necessary that some people should remain below poverty line so that others may help them.

If an egalitarian society comes into existence, there will be no takers for the charity offered, and it will make the intending givers perplexed and depressed. There is an ironic humour in the gap between the scriptural aphorism that the summum bonum (highest good) of one’s life is to help others and the possibility of the emergence of a prosperous society in future, in which none is available to receive help from others.

I think the aphorism needs a liberal interpretation. It should be extended to include areas other than economic privation, for example, health problems, physical and psychological, pain of different kinds including those related to love and loss of it and loss of wealth, for any material possession is subject to loss.

There are other angles to the Food Security Bill proposed by the government. What is the quantum of the security offered? Will it be on the lines of ration cards meant for the poor, which were badly abused? Even if the bill becomes a law, it may be like the other laws in terms of implementation. The tragedy of our polity is not the absence of certain laws but faulty implementation of the existing laws. If the existing laws were honestly implemented and the emphasis were on administration rather than on political expediency, India would soon join the leading powers of the world.

We are now helpless witnesses to scam after scam and the tainted leaders are going scot-free. Upright officers, who try to do their duty honestly, are punished while corrupt officers are rewarded. Docile officers, who sign on the dotted line at the behest of their political bosses, become scapegoats most of the time. These bosses are so powerful that they can cause telltale records to disappear.

What we need in our country today is probity in public life and a clean, healthy atmosphere in which honest officers can work without fear or favour. If this security is ensured for them, all other securities will follow, and no special food security bill will be needed, even with elections round the corner.