What spanned out during the last 60 odd hours on the streets of my beloved Mumbai was atrocious and numbing. I wasn’t as much shocked as I was saddened and enraged. How dare they? What audacity and blatant disrespect for a country do they have that they storm in brandishing Ak-47s and shooting indiscriminately? What is even more harsh is that it took an attack on Mumbai’s elite for the angry voices of dissent to rise as if to say the earlier attacks were not as horrendous or the lives lost not as important. This wasn’t the first time that India had been attacked. She has been ravaged and bruised many a time in her illustrious past oft without time for healing before the next plunder but what shook me most deeply and weighs me down heavily is the direction my country is headed.
Change is the need of the moment in a financially wrought America but it would be equally apt in India’s context. Our politicians are not the sole problem, they are one of a mountain-load. Where does one begin? Across the board clinical, systemic change is the order of the day. For starters, we need to do away with an inefficient multi- party system with its vague and vagrant ideologies. A bi-party system will work well in an Indian setup where off late a coalition government seems to have become the norm. Secondly, we need to start voting for individuals as in the west. A rigorous test of competency of candidates for offices of high power and responsibility is, in my opinion, a basic requirement- a simple application of “By the People.” It’s quite bizarre that we have accepted the current system in place where the citizen has limited say in who leads the nation. A pre-requisite for this however is the availability of competent, intellectual, passionate and patriotic leaders. We have unfortunately been unable to produce one in the rank of Nehru and Gandhi post – independence which doesn’t augur well. Where have all the inspirational men and women gone, the ones who will show us the path to greatness, the ones who will stop the imminent head-on collision with disaster? Obviously the current situation is not conducive to the development of leaders and without one we are a nation of headless chickens. The root cause is disrepute caused by the current brand of corrupt politicians to the noble profession of Public Service. The best minds don’t want to venture out into the dark world of bureaucracy and red-tapesim. Even though we have a few gems ( at least on paper), the political system is too stifling for these earnest individuals in power to wield it responsibly and efficiently.
Now that Mumbai -seige is over the blame-game has begun, civilians blaming politicians, the politicians pointing fingers at the intelligence bureau who in turn blame it on too many false alarms and an unfortunate porous marine line. Its time we all stopped complaining and accept the blame as individuals. We have been too casual in our approach and attitude towards our country’s growth. Yes the politicians have failed us but we too are a lawless lot of civilians. One look at the lack of self-discipline amongst drivers on our roads is ample evidence to this fact. We spit under “Yahan thookna mana hai” signs, park in no parking zones and are probably the only nation that accepts public urination. Most of the youth in small towns land up in the entertainment indusry and those in the city run after cushy financial jobs (Im one of them). How do you expect our armed forces to sustain itself if they are no qualified takers? The fault lies with government too. Money makes the world go round and whichever job pays the highest the youth will follow. Fine , so increase the pay-scales of the men- in- uniform. There are plenty of unemployed youth in the lower income bracket who wander around aimlessly eve-teasing or doing menial jobs. Train them, pay them well and put them on the marine coastline or better still make army training and posting compulsory for every child that graduates from school. I will sign up( even though I may be physically unfit) but given a chance Im ready to serve my country.
India needs an across -the -board change in mindset. I may sound naive in saying this but our country desperately needs a revival of a pre-independence fervour and passion. Only that will lead us towards being a nation that our freedom fighters died freeing.
Vande Mataram.
