Spoiler Alert: This is not an article to fuel a political fire. I am not here to “Government Bash” or to support the opposition {they are after all, two sides of the same coin}. This is also not a pro-Anna {RESPECT} dissertation of how our country should reform. Dr. Hazare and his baby-project are idly waiting in the pipeline for Amar singh, kalmadi and several other gossip stories to clear up before the media has nothing else but to telecast what has now become “TRP-less coverage” for the time being. If there is something I want to speak out against, it’s the news channels. A sincere request, if you really want to give us expert advice, let it be on how we can work towards making a better tomorrow. Madhuri dixit’s return to India is NOT Breaking News. More on that later.
Getting back to context, I wish to speak my mind out to you today. Everytime we read/watch the news about a certain aberration in our government, any scandal or malpractice, it hurts to know that “My own hard-earned money” is being misused. Our country is facing a series of national security level problems. Ironically speaking, even though we get patriotically stirred when something happens right in our own backyard, we are still impassive if not as heartless as the miscreants responsible. “Kashmir mein toh har din jawaan apni jaan kurbaan kar rahe hain, I salute the brave who are selflessly throwing their lives.” And that’s the end of the topic there. The world goes on. But when the Mumbai blasts happened, we had candlelight marches for over a month and a two year long trial of one of the biggest celebrities of our country, a certain Mr. Ajmal Kasab. So tell me, are you really patriotic??? I do not question candle marches, I am not questioning whether they make a difference or not, but do you think your duty as a citizen of India ends after a candle march???
Now I get back to the central point which is Corruption. It is no surprise to any person residing in India or abroad regarding the corruption problem in our country. It is acute and something which has worsened by the day. The amount of black money which has been kept under wraps can reform villages, make us financially the 12th richest country, solve road problems and I can illustrate 20 more facts with regards to this. My question is: Do you really want to get rid of corruption??? Is it important to get rid of corruption only at the administrative level?? I know by now you may be of the opinion that the government has to be inhuman and heartless for being responsible for such high levels of corruption. But this is the “Mr. Hyde” which we ourselves have created today. Today, bribe s looked as a mode of convenience rather than a illegal infraction. What is the harm in bribing a cop just to skip the legal hassle and doing rounds at the police station, what is wrong if you get a government document pushed a little quicker than standard protocol? We are after all the “common man”, the same oppressed common man who is tired of the corruption, tired of bad roads, tired of the crowds in buses & trains, tired of waiting for his/her pension, tired of trying to make ends meet in the legal and correct way. So we bending the law just to make sure we can make ends meet should not be looked upon as grass-root level corruption, it should be looked upon as an a righteous act. Shouldn’t it?
And then we vote and get our candidates a seat because we believe he is clean or rather, cleaner than the rest. Well, even if you have given Rs.1 as a bribe in your life, your candidate is already worth Rs.1000. The point is that if we are not clean ourselves, don’t expect the person who administers the law for you to be clean. Today, our system is corrupt because of us. The government is just a reflection of us. We are a democracy and the government we create is a reflection of our minds. But when something goes against “our plan”, all we do is talk. This has to stop. Till you don’t eliminate corruption at your personal level, you cannot expect any government elected by you to be non-corrupt. And till you cannot get this beast out of your life, don’t vote. Yes, this is the strongest statement I am making. DON’T VOTE. If you cannot reform your own mind, you do not have the right to pick a government to take care of our country.
Yes, I am also talking right now. But this is the last time I am going to do so. I have to make an earnest effort to get this devil out of my life. Yes, my country has bad roads today. Yes, my country’s government is busy fighting its own internal conflicts than looking at its people’s welfare. But there has to be change and there will be. This is not a lecture I am giving you. It is something I have been telling myself for quite some time now. And you should too. We are the “Gen-next” as they call it. If we can make sure we ourselves are non-corrupt, then our candidates by default will be non-corrupt. Then only can you expect to have a non-corrupt government. You are the solution to all problems of our country, not literacy, not population awareness, not employment and not the economic divide. It is time to bring it in to effect.
I apologize if I said something that offends you because these thoughts are a result of my own introspection. I am flawed, but I am ready to change. If I can change, we can change.
10 comments:
well written...but India has been diseased with corruption...a lot of damage has already been done...however...the eradication has to start from sumwhr...amey...this was your first step towards it...second step..join indian politics...:P
Yes Pooja, I agree. As you mentioned the other day, if Shanghai can do it, so can we. Don't you think so? Someday, I hope I can make a difference not just by my words but by my actions too.
I kind of disagree to the 'donot vote' statement. Many of us secretly wanted to do something what Anna Hazare is doing today. There are people who are not 'leaders' but can be followers and support a cause. Do you think the millions who joined Anna in his rally and supported him throughout have never given 'chai-pani' to anyone?As you rightly said,I might give in to 'bribing' to avoid legal hassles but that doesnt imply my support to such malpractices. At times and places its an unsaid protocol that has to be followed. And ironically these 'Corrupt officials' have stronger leaders who have 'common interests' and who make 'changing the system' beyond common man's reach. Tomorrow, if I have an opportunity to choose leader like Anna I would be more than happy to see my country being lead by such a strong man with similar ideologies. That is the point where I can exercise my right to vote and get him elected than not-to-vote. Its like not to deliberately recover from an ailment because I didnot take care of myself in the past and there is a possibility that I 'might' not be able to take good care of myself in future. How does it help? Things are going to get worse anyway..!
Aditi, the point I am making is that it is easy to play the blame game. There should be a guilty conscience somewhere before pointing fingers who does the same wrong deed, only at a way bigger magnitude than you. Today, Lokpal is not contesting the elections as a separate party. They want to be part of the already existing system. "Aaj log khaate hain, kyunki hum unhe khilaate hain". That is the undercurrent of my article.
Amey,you just reminded me of Vilas rao Deshmukh's Mumbai Shanghai dream(which certainly went down the drains).Yeah, but that has nothing to do with what I mentioned the other day.
@ pooja : well, the ex-chief minister certainly has said more words than actually living up to them. I will leave it at that. Lets not get into political mud-slinging. We have "wiser" things to do.
About the point on removing corruption from your personal lives. Here's a scenario, there were communal riots in Sangli (MH) a couple of years ago. They were all political (as usual). Here's what happened, there were a lot of fights, people throwing stones, a couple were killed - at the end of this all the police department reached a level of corruption unimaginable by most.
If your passport application was under review and if you were called for the police scrutiny they were demanding money to clear the documents. That's natural, if you say no, all they do is delay it by a month or so. After those riots, they simply said = "Tumcha naav taku ka yadit?" (Should we put your name in the list of people caught rioting?).
What can a normal person do at this point? If your name goes on their list, there will be an inquiry and you will have a criminal record - bye bye the dreams to fly.
This is just a single example. There are many. It's not always possible for a common man to overcome these hurdles. Nice article by the way :)
Aditya, firstly thanks for illustrating one really livid and disheartening example of why I said the "always oppressed" common man. Such instances are really disturbing. A retired senior citizen would rather pay 10% of his pension in bribe than get no pension till he dies. Such things do happen. Yes, a change is necessary. In this case, cops do these things because they are also under pressure. This is a big gadfly loop where everyone is in-a-way forced to do this. Not all problems may be solved by changing ourselves. "prayatna tithe parmeshwar" is all I can say. Its easier on the conscience to say "Is desh ka kuch nahi hoga" if you actually tried to do something in action rather than words.
"Do Not Vote" is not the solution.. We must remember that " If we are not part of the solution then we are the part of the problem"..
Baba, if you are going to vote then stop complaining about your bad judgement in choosing a corrupt government. We are part of the problem today, and the solution to the problem is also us.
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