We need to radically improve!

I am now slowly getting convinced that the sarkari tantra in the country has firmly resolved to maintain status quo and vowed not to improve itself. 

The flood of scams has indeed swept us off our feet and almost everyone has lost the count. 2G when it happened indeed hit the nation hard but the flood witnessed thereafter has brought major scams as close to the common man as minor acts of extortion indulged in by petty government functionaries in each and every single sarkari office in the nation. Scams have indeed lost their sheen unless they are in a few lakh of crores bracket.

The indignity heaped on the nation in the night of the 16^th of December 2012 when Nirbhaya was raped and murdered is again a reminder of the our passion for mere rhetoric and not decisive action. Nirbhaya stands forgotten and the case lingers on the lower courts. The leaders who then made tall statements about fast track justice in this case and deterrent steps have almost vanished. The laws remain the same and so is the slowly grinding machinery of the judicial system.

An organization, state or a nation moves forward by decisive action. A resolve unless translated into action is at best a rhetoric and therein lies the tragedy of this great nation. The bureaucratic tantra is so complex that it is unable to go beyond self sustenance, an act that keeps it fully occupied. The political machinery remains confined to exploiting the harvest to recover many times over the major investment it made in getting elected. The poor citizen is left to fend for itself.

Closer home, the great railways continues to remain the paradise of the mediocre and the corrupt. The system that has evolved with the contribution of nine services of the union places on a high pedestal the non–performer and the bechara. The complexity of the tantra ensures that delivery happens only rarely and corruption does not get eradicated. The complex tantra is indeed a perfect shroud for covert practices.

The bureaucrat has stakes only in non deliverance and self gratification. The recent scams have only taught him to be more careful, yet continue with things as they are.

Hum nahi sudharenge kabhi bhi, seems to be the national slogan.   

The conscience keepers whither away!

The conscience keepers either sleep or connive with the devil and the system goes haywire. This unfortunately has been happening with the nation as well as its lifeline during the last couple of years. What transpired recently in the railways was an unassailable symptom of the conscience keepers at the apex levels conniving with the devil, directly or indirectly for personal gains or out of fear.   

The problem is deadly yet has a simple solution. The conscience keepers who are fairly senior in the pecking order have to be fair and firm regardless of the consequences. Is it indeed asking for the moon?

In a Loktantra, the real power vests in the elected representatives yet the job of the conscience keeper is assigned to the permanent group, that of the bureaucrats. These servants of the republic confer a sense of permanency to the government that otherwise puts on a new cloak every five years. And therefore they have a major role to play, that of the guardians of the rules, procedures, processes and the conscience of the collective, yet the role is generally found wanting.

The various scams of the 2G, 3G, CWG, Adarsh, Coalgate and Railgate varieties to name a few would not have happened had the conscience keepers played their roles with impunity. A bureaucrat merely has to place in writing the facts of the case, the correct rule position, the ethical stand and the course of action that he feels is the best fit in the prevalent circumstances and then it is for the competent authority, at times the elected representative to take a call in tune with the noting or otherwise. It is plainly as simple as that, yet almost a rarity!

Why the conscience keepers are generally a dismal failure despite the protection afforded to them by virtue of a permanent job guaranteed by no less than the president of the republic is rather difficult to fathom?

It is fairly obvious that the sarkari tantra over a period of time has emerged as an organ primarily suited for self aggrandizement of its constituents. A budding youngster of today joins the services not inspired by lofty ideals but for the ample opportunities the service provides for accumulating wealth and flaunting power in the public domain. A servant of the public at large desirous of extortion from the system and flaunting power over people he is paid to serve! The entire concept of selfless service has perhaps been thrown out of the window in this wonderful nation of ours.

It is indeed time that the concept of selfless service is reinforced down the throats of all those who are paid to serve yet serve to be paid!

Rotten to the core!

Anna is at it once again. Kejriwal, his team member is sick after seven days of fast and has cited the example of Gandhi, when asked whether his fast can be forcibly broken by the authorities. With an absolute bureaucratic as well as political indifference towards the cause, I am afraid that he may become the martyr that he has been openly talking about.

Corruption at its worst is at the core of Anna's agitation that has touched the chord in the heart of all right minded indians who are as yet untouched by this rapidly proliferating virus. Perhaps it has also touched those who are corrupt, as genuine goodness is revered even by those who have crossed the line.

Indeed it is true that the biggest malaise facing the nation is rampant corruption that has touched every nook and corner of every sector of this once great nation. The sarkari tantra being the fountainhead of the virus has engulfed the entire nation and its populace in a vice like grip. The corrupt deeds of the politicos and bureaucrats alike have become the mainstay of news columns across newspapers. Yet the populace remains resigned to its fate and partakes of the loot whenever an opportunity arises. The penetration is almost total and that perhaps is the only single instance of perfection achieved in the nation.

Yet the working of the bureaucracy and the political machinery never ceases to amaze me. Despite corruption being at the core of the malaise afflicting the nation, the constituents of the tantra keep on fiddling with routine mundane issues and in the process attempting to convey the impression that they are busy in serious issues that the nation faces. Yes, unless the issue of corruption is brought center stage and tackled head on,  I am afraid even movements like that of Anna are not likely to give results.

It also needs appreciation that the battle is tough, primarily because of the resigned acceptance and also tacit indulgence of a very large proportion of the masses. The poor literacy levels also contribute in the inability of the masses at large to appreciate the damaging affect that corruption has on the fabric of the society. Yet, it is possible provided there is will on the part of the tantra, not to scuttle movements like that of Anna but to look inwards and accept the malaise openly, as a precurser to the tough remedial steps that would need to follow.

Till then we continue to remain happily in the muck!

Amen!

The Mumbai Nightmare

The recent incidence of a major fire at Sachivalaya at Mumbai shocked the nation. That an uncontrolled fire could take place literally at the seat of power that too in broad daylight is a shining example of unacceptable scenarios that we have over time learnt to expect as well as accept. The aftermath of the incident saw the media losing little time in questioning the fire prevention and fire redressal systems that apparently led to the catastrophe. The prompt initiation of the blame game and an enquiry, both failed to inspire confidence.

The simultaneous incident of Mahi, a child aged five falling into an uncovered borewell in Haryana is also a mirror of the state of affairs in the nation. Despite the full might of the state being activated for recovering the child from the sixty five feet deep pit, timely recovery of Mahi appears a bleak preposition. And once again there is a clamor at the root of which is our purported failure to learn a lesson from the similar case of Prince that happened around six years ago.

What catastrophe are we facing next? This question is always on the minds of the common citizen, for India is not the United States of America where one shattering episode is enough and never repeated. The 9/11 incident to be precise, howsoever horrific it may have been, had been enough to stir a nation into action and say “So far and no further”. A resolve so strong and so successfully implemented, that the country has since then not witnessed even a single act of terrorism.

But India is different. We have a brand new disaster almost every month. It may be a major fire, an act of terror, an accident or even children falling into uncovered borewells, incidents that shock and lead to widespread outrage and anguish, yet to no avail. The incident that is more of a symptom than a disease in itself is conveniently forgotten in a few days and remembered only when something similar happens somewhere else. 

When shall we learn to differentiate between a symptom and the disease it causes? Yet, it is sad that platitudes not resolves continue to be mouthed by the men who matter. The blame game remains on, only the subject matter keeps on shifting and what the nation gets are mere assurances of taking necessary action to ensure that such incidents do not recur. All till the next incident surfaces.

And then the whole story gets repeated again ad-infinitum.

The cause of such incidents that happen with amazing regularity has perhaps much more to do with the way things are made to happen in the realm of the governments. Expecting an isolated sector to perform well in isolation shall always remain a futile expectation. The fact however remains that in this country of over a twelve hundred million, we have miserably failed in even providing the basic necessities of sanitation, housing, education and food after almost sixty seven years of existence as a free nation. Does this not raise eyebrows, or have we started accepting this stark reality as fait accompli? I bet we have! Moreover how does one expect a nation that has been only a limited success in certain areas, be expected to do exceedingly well in all sectors. Yes we have entered the select club of atomic powers and space, but to what avail. We still have widespread poverty and beggers can be seen thronging the roads almost everywhere. 

 

The delivery orientation of the various organs of the state needs to be looked at in depth. The decision making and implementation mechanisms need overhaul. The delivery mechanisms in vogue in governments cutting across sectors and states, exceptions apart, have since independence remained archaic and over complex, thereby enabling only a cosmetic treatment of even minor issues plaguing the nation. The fault lies in the system that was designed to rule over a foreign populace, but being continued in a democratic setup in almost its original form with mistrust being at the core of it, and that hampers delivery. The complexity of the tantra leads to low productivity and massive corruption that touches the lives of the ordinary citizen almost always. 

How does a nation that accepts rampant corruption as a way of life, expect its organs to be efficient in delivery orientation and prevent the occurance of incidences that we inspired by the regularity are even forgetting to abhor. Yes, corruption exists even in the developed world but there it has neither emerged as a way of life, nor affects the common citizen in the manner it does here. It is perhaps only in India where a common citizen is unable to get anything done from the sarkari system, be it getting an FIR registered, a ration card, an electricity connection, a contract or the house registered without the customary greasing of palms. Here any act that requires interaction with the Governmental machinery is invariably sticky with exceptions that are a rarity. 

If we as a nation are really concerned that the nightmare like the one in Mumbai or in Haryana are not repeated, a determined effort to bring probity in public life will be needed. Integrity will then have to take a front seat, but that would also need a churning of the entire system of governance, decision making and implementation. Easier said than done, but nation building, peace and prosperity do not come easy or cheap. A hefty price would have to be paid either way. Are we ready?

Untapped Potential

Potential is a dirty word. Unfortunately many of us associate potential with a positive trait that needs to be flaunted. During my stint(s) in the tourism sector, I often came across people, even the doyens of the industry who left no stone unturned in eulogizing the tourism potential of India as if the potential itself is something that if flaunted would fetch both tourists and forex.

In India there is potential everywhere. There is potential in the building of roads, in eradicating poverty, in increasing tourism, in railways etc etc. On the contrary, one would not find much potential in the developed countries, say the United States of America. Lack of deliverance ensures conservation of potential and deliverance its extinction. Obviously, the extinction option is preferable, yet we take pride in tons and tons of conserved potential.

That conserved potential is not the preserve of infrastructure alone also needs appreciation. Most of us human beings who throng the sarkari sector also have vast reserves of untapped potential. The complexities of the tantra ensure that the untapped potential remains well conserved and the sarkar as well as the sarkari mulazims forever remain devoid of the deep sense of satisfaction that comes with the extinction of the vast reserves of untapped potential.

The tantra needs to be unshackled, the earlier the better.

The learned man on the street!

Ask the man on the street, what ails the country, and he would know. Having been wedded to the tourism sector for a long time, almost everyone, I knew or met had a word of advice for me. How tourism can be made to prosper in the beautiful state of Madhya Pradesh, or in "Incredible India", everyone knew the answers. And now on the hot seat of DRM/Delhi, I am again swamped with intelligent people, people who know what is wrong and how to set it right, except that they do not have even the foggiest idea of what putting your backside on the hot seat entails.

The tragedy is that the credibility of the sarkari tantra in our motherland is abysmally low. And therefore the entire populace, who also have contributed to the chaos in no small measure, chose to bash the tantra at the slightest provocation.

What however really hurts is the feigned ignorance, not of the man on the street, but of the men who matter, with exceptions of course. It is really sad that we often confuse symptom with the disease, and the attempts therefore of trying to cure the symptom, not the disease are bound to fail resulting in repeated cycles of inventing the wheel ad infinitum.

There is no doubt that the sarkari tantra, across the country is a classic example of how tantra's should not be. Procedure orientation, knee jerk responses to symptoms, rampant corruption and sycophancy are its hallmarks. But for a change it was a nice feeling to witness the Government support to the chief executive of Air India in recent moments of crisis and when the gentleman who is trying to do his best needed the support. But such occasions are rare. Rather than supporting the chief executives, they are often made a scapegoat for pleasing the man on the street, who is amused no doubt, but rarely pleased.