CORRUPTION: DEMOCRACY Vs. ANNAGIRI

Hi Everybody,

How have you been? And what's been the latest at your end? Well, lot's been happening in India particularly which has caught the shock and awe of the world and has even been heralded as the so called 'second freedom struggle'!!! The other day, I was visiting a friend and we happened to get talking on the wave of anti-corruption that had swept our country, the repercussions,the possible resolution on the issue or the possible backlash it could have if the situation was not salvaged in time.

At the end of our chat, we were amused on how we needed such stringent laws in our country to help us curb corruption. We strongly felt it was more of a moral issue and just like charity began at home likewise our values instilled in us had to be as important as it was for us to eat and to sleep. Besides home we also felt that school was the next place where the foundation of our values had to be strengthened and imparted alongside education. And while all this show of strength was good to see but how many among them could swear that they had not been corrupt or were not corruptible. Now, it so happened a gentleman who was visiting my friend for some work was waiting outside her open-room cabin had been hearing our conversation made his presence known and reacted very sharply on our views; he simply couldn't accept another view. My friend had to direct him for the work he had come for to ease off the situation.

  

Well, if the latter wouldn't have happened I would have just focused on what was the need of the hour as citizens of the country. But another point I would also like to address in this month's blog is the need to be civil and tolerant to accommodate newer or even diverse views to enrich our understanding and get a better perspective on people, issues and things.

The case of the gentleman's unruly behaviour might have been just one random case but the aggression demonstrated by the crowds at the Ram Leela grounds or in the panel debates held on different national television channels and the manner in which youngsters in particular out rightly refused to understand the legal framework and procedures of drafting laws in our country and how meekly even believed that it was a cakewalk to implement it within days was astonishing to say the least! And this came as a rude shock since Anna Hazare's team comprise of some eminent judges, lawyers and ex-police officials in its core group!!

In a democracy as ours, you simply cannot categorically declare that if you are not with us, you are against us (doesn't this statement ring a bell?? Bush also said something to that effect..remember?) Even if you categorically disagree on an issue you simply cannot deny others the right to express it or even debar anyone to hold a counter view on it!

Since this movement is oft compared to the days of our freedom struggle and Anna Hazare to Mahatma Gandhi;the point we’re missing here is that Gandhiji being a barrister himself abided by the law, he was tolerant and used fasting as the ‘last’ resort. It is because of his inherent understanding of freedom and his approach to achieve it that we not only won total freedom but we also parted with the Englishmen as friends.

But this movement has been intimidating, irrational and has virtually polarised the polity to say the least and our very act date back to the British days. It is beleaguering that even today we hold our government to ransom (in this case imposing the final word without being amenable to suggestions), set unrealistic deadlines (when it comes to drafting a law), burn the bill in public, constantly changing the goal-posts while negotiating on the bill and disallowing the procedures of democracy to function in the parliament…this is definitely not a healthy precedent. Could you still compare this movement to our ‘second freedom struggle’?

During our freedom struggle,Gandhiji, the father of our nation united people on the 'idea' of independence on what it entailed towards nation-building, the duties and responsibilities that came along with it and thus spake a unified voice of freedom. It took us over a hundred years to attain freedom because we were not prepared and attuned to the idea of freedom.

In the Bible, it took forty years for the children of Israel to discover the Promised Land because they disbelieved God. Likewise, do we as individuals have a stance on corruption? When we talk of eradicating corruption, we have some responsibilities too. Can we cross our heart and say that we have stood the time when our principles came to test? We like to pay bribes, take undue favours and outrun one another through unfair means. We blame our leader when they are corrupt but it is we who elect them…so who’s corrupter? All in all we are just not yet ready for a corruption-free society!

Few paragraphs earlier you might have been wondering that if all went by my analogy of things then laws to deal with crime would not have existed! But the point here is that we do need laws to deal with crime because crime is driven by a motive which could be revenge, anger, circumstances or an unstable mind; but what could be the greatest motive for corruption to succeed if it were not driven by greed and dishonesty? So, as I look at it, I believe that corruption is more of a ethical issue and a moral crisis.

Now here’s another systemic change which will could help checking corruption is the government’s initiative on introducing the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) that deals with the problem from the root rather than let it flourish! The UIDAI is just like a citizen’s social security number which they have in America. The salient features of UIDAI are –
· It would help address the rigged state elections;
· Widespread embezzlement that affect subsidies and poverty alleviation programs
· Address illegal immigration into India and terrorist threats (To read more on this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unique_Identification_Authority_of_India#Salient_features_of_AADHAAR)

So, that’s what I’d call is innovation….see one initiative deals with so many problems rather than enacting one law that alters the face of the constitution!

And finally of course, the most important tool of all the people of India are fortunate to have is our right to vote. But I am afraid people have not taken this responsibility seriously as they choose to treat it like yet another holiday but are quick to blame the fallacies of the government of whom they had abstained from electing in the first place.

Talk about enacting laws; I do hope they consider that voting is made compulsory with due mechanisms in place after all once in five years we have an opportunity rebuild our nation once again by using our power of reasoning, clarity and understanding while exercising our franchise intelligently and reinstating the right government in place…so the power of change lies within you!

Here’s your food for thought as I leave you on this note in this month's blog post. Take care and ciao until next month.
Love,
Sonyaa