REVAMP THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNANCE O4-12-08

SANJOG MAHESHWARI.

BIG CHANGE CALLED FOR TO COMBAT TERRORISM

-SANJOG MAHESHWARI
The life of a common citizen of India is of little value in the eyes of so-called VIPs and Netas. otherwise the brutal massacre of innocent people in cold blood in the recent carnage wrought by the terrorist violence in the business capital of India - the maximum city- Mumbai, would not have been brushed off as a trifling event by Mr. R.R.Patil Maharashtra’s now ex- Dy. Chief Minister & Home Minister. Commenting on the dastardly diabolical terror attacks and violence hat claimed about 200 innocent lives and maimed several times over, the callously uncaring worthy reported to have observed nonchalantly -“Aishi chhoti moti Baaten Barey Shahar mein hoti hi rahatien hain” . Other examples: Deeply-grieved father of martyr Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, the NSG commando killed in action, when gets upset by pompous affectations of the C.M of Kerala, the worthy disgraces himself without remorse by retorting that “even a dog would not have visited the Unnikrisnan house had it not been that of a martyr.” However, wiser counsel prevailed and he has since apologized- after two days. While Mumbai bleeds, Ex-C.M. of Maharashtra Vilas Rao Deshmukh undertakes a location-scouting spree at Taj for his actor son’s
film taking an entourage of about twenty including Bollywood personalities with him.While Batla House encounter claims precious life of a gallant officer of the Delhi force, Shiv Raj Patil ex-Home Minister Central Government busies himself figuring out the dress to be worn for a meeting and
another worthy lands up on the martyr’s house showing the colour of his money to the family and doubting the martyrdom at the same time.
While these and many more such examples of audacious and atrocious actions and remarks are deplorably bad in taste, they underscore the fact that the Indian Political class as a whole considers itself way above the common citizenry. We have been putting up with this polluted mindset ever since independence so much so that it has now got deeply ingrained in the psyche of each and every politician. The Indian society is thus sharply divided in two classes: (i) The
privileged political class that rules and, (ii) The common citizenry that is ruled upon.
A politician belonging to the former class, inter-alia, wants and invariably arrogates to itself: (1) Power and political clout, more the merrier, in the government sans any responsibility and
accountability. If that comes with a political post so much the better, if not, the attendant pay, perks privileges, facilities, spacious Bunglow and such other freebies etc., of course, at the State’s cost, not only for self and the family but also for generations to come, will do. (2) Ditto for the Security cover-higher the category, the better it would be. (3) Rest of the things, such as minting tons of money for generations to come, by fair or foul means, the worthy, belonging to this class, is sure enough to arrange on his own.A common man from the other section, which comprises of those who routinely spend the entire day doing hard work eking out a living and arranging a square meal for the family, has no time and energy for indulging in the luxury of sparing a thought for any other thing aside from job and family. He, however, sometimes wants but rarely, if ever, gets an opportunity of thinking out-of –the-box and putting his thoughts across to the people. At the same time he wants always to be on the right side of the Establishment. Inviting the wrath of the authorities that be by being on their wrong side, howsoever the great cause or provocation may be, is not his cup of the tea. Out of an assembly of about one lakh such people recently in Mumbai, only one had the guts to air his views on a T.V.Channel
when he said something to the effect that “We want an Indian Musharraf to rule our country.” While only a handful might be sharing his views, it was he who only could avail of an opportunity to ventilate them. Others restricted themselves to giving vent to their rightful indignation, fury, anger and despair, pent up sentiments of grief and misery caused by the recent carnage. They ended up lamenting the inadequacy and loopholes in our security mechanism that let the Merchants of Death gun down hundreds and maim many times more. Of course, that also was very natural, but at the same time far from adequate- certainly not enough.
Media, both print and electronic, too, for the time being, are standing up for the cause and have been making the right noises ever since then. It, however, is a safe bet that all this will last only
till it does not transgresses into the comfort zone of the ruling political class and does not become too hot for its comforts. Then, the whole thing will lose the news-value and suddenly, all this will lapse into a deafening silence.
Our system of democratic governance invests the former- the ruling class VIPs and the inisters- with “absolute Power” to do and say any or everything without the least accountability. It also
insulates them from all manner of public or media anger and outrage. Judicial action against their callously irresponsible actions and behaviour, rarely initiated, simply goes nowhere. As a result of political expediency, the few who may be shown the door, just to assuage the public feelings, will continue to be invested with all those powers, privileges, perks and benefits security cover,
everything in tact as before, at the State’s cost. Obviously, to them it is immaterial whether all that comes with any other political post, position or office in the Government or without that.
What is important is: they will stand absolved of all their acts of omission and commission and negligence which had caused those deaths- destruction and the disaster. They enjoy total liberty to do and say whatever may suit them best and serve their immediate purpose. The life will limp back to normalcy and all will be forgotten and forgiven within a few days. This has happened umpteen times in the past; it will continue to happen many more times in the future as well. No useful purpose is going to be served unless we revamp the entire system of our democratic governance. And that includes de-linking the Executive from the Legislature; raising an Independent federal semi-military Police Force and Investigating Agency and biding good-bye to the Westminster type of Parliamentary Democracy, which has let us down through all these year, by switching over to the American model of Presidential form. SANJOG MAHESHWARI