'THE IMMORAL INDIA'-What
is the way ahead?
The symptoms
were there for all to see. In one generation, i.e. from about 1970 till the
turn of the century we witnessed historic if not paradigm changes in the Indian
society. In the early Years of independence, conservative living with bare
minimum creature comforts had disciplined most Indians to live within their
means. Even the rich and well to do opted for Spartan life styles. From
telephones to motor vehicles were considered to be luxuries of life which few
could afford.
Then came
the change. Destruction of institutions, which had been carefully created and
nurtured. Political arrogance born out of a combination of dynastic politics
and a suppressed people. Invasion of Television into the drawing rooms, liberalization of the economy, cable TV/Bollywood and the inevitable thrust towards
consumerism. All this led to increasing trust deficit between the people and
the Government. Social media began to empower a section of our society. The power of ICT and its impact on moral and
religious values were yet to be comprehended.
Poor infrastructure,
induction of criminals with money and muscle power into legislative and migration of rural population to urban
centre coincided with another event. Empowering the socially isolated segments
of society and the emergence of the nouveau riche.
Poor quality
of political leadership led to crony capitalism, as that was an option for
entrepreneurs and successful politicians to prosper. There were no level
playing fields.
The fast
lanes of urban life destroyed traditional joint family patterns leading to
nuclear families. There was no one at home to illumine and stimulate
impressionable minds on Indian epics and their lessons. Demographically, all
this could not have happened at a worse time when India was leaderless and the
density of population in cities continued its upward journey(likely to continue
at least till 2030.)Given that, poorly governed city administration refuses to
restructure and professionalize tools of governance, it only meant that we will
witness the slow death of our Metropolitan cities.
How then can India regain her civilizational and cultural
integrity? From a nation which claimed to be the epitome of moral values, we have degenerated to an in
disciplined, mindless ,valueless, insensitive and an aggressive people. Rapes
and dead bodies do not move us unless it is so gruesome that it temporarily stuns
us. Single issues can at best stimulate minds for a while. Palliative measures
have to give way to prophylactic ones. The latter has to start with good
politics, good economics, which in turn would hopefully result in adequate
resources to address education, health, infrastructure, industry and all other
essential segments that could and would restore the dignity of India. How would
that come about?
A ray of hope. The middle class has begun to participate in
demanding good governance. The middle class is growing rapidly and they inhabit
urban centres. From the very inception, PPI has sought to mobilize this segment
of our population in order to make some impact on the decision making mechanism
that resides in the Parliament.
Getting good people into parliament and ensuring that their
primary focus is on amending/creating laws and legislation that contribute to good
governance, is the cornerstone of our strategy.
Anna and 'Nirbhaya', the 23 year old brave heart, might have
just ignited the fire to awaken the middle class. It bodes well for 2013. Happy
new year.
JAI HIND
