Today for the first time I felt as if the Indian democratic system has collapsed. The suspension of Durga and the
escalation of the political fight over her, not for the cause of justice but
for earning brownie points made me sad as never before. Never before, even
while witnessing abject poverty, failed governance, rampant corruption and
rapid downslide of moral values I regarded them as the failure of the
democratic system, yet this single incident crashed the world and hope around us.
I was momentarily transported to
those cold wintery days of December 2002 when after having been given the boot
from the post of CMD/ITDC, I was reverted unceremoniously to my parent cadre, the railways
for having delivered a performance that was regarded as sterling even by my
rivals in the hospitality sector. Despite the uproar and the apparent travesty
of justice, the government did not budge and went ahead with the sacking even
though many in the cabinet expressed their annoyance with the treatment meted
out to an officer for turning around a sick public sector organization. Yet the
difference remains that apart from the blatantly unfair repatriation, the
government did not persecute me like the Durga of today.
The suspension of Durga somehow
did not shock me. After all this was what she truly deserved in the India of
today, a nation far removed from the ideals that it held close to its heart
while aspiring for independence from foreign rule. It is indeed true that the tall
personalities who led this nation to freedom would have been unable to
visualize the massive drift from human value systems that we are witness to in
the present times.
Perhaps our democratic model has
been faulty. The social structure that has emerged post independence is bereft
of values of any kind and service, despite the piety it evokes has degenerated
to service of the self cutting across the bureaucratic and political spectrum
throughout the length and breadth of the nation.
Durga Shakti therefore faced the
consequences of her action, an action that would have placed her on a very high
pedestal had it taken place in a society that places good acts above everything
else. Unfortunately the degeneration that picked up pace in the early nineties now
runs so deep that far from being considered laudable, such actions have started
being regarded as worthy of a severe punishment. Yet the inherent strength of
her name and the radiance that her personality exudes makes me confident that
her resolve to take on illegal activities regardless of the strength of the
powers that (mis)rule would indeed get strengthened with time.
The case of Durga, spurred by the
media has caught the imagination of the nation. Yet there would be hundreds of
such cases where honest bureaucrats are routinely crushed by dishonest
politicos, cutting across party lines. Khairnar was one and Khemka is another.
I wonder what would have been the state of affairs had the media not been what
it is today.
Sadder still is the race amongst the politicos
to adopt a holier than thou attitude in castigating the Uttar Pradesh government,
yet following identical norms in territories that they govern. It is also true
that the brazenness of the politicos and bureaucrats alike in committing loot
or unjust acts is gaining ground in the absence of better alternatives with the
electorate. The electoral system is now confined merely to election of the best
amongst the worst and this is not what the founding fathers of Indian democracy
visualized or what we actually deserve.
