We all wish at times that life should be a fairy tale. And why not, Nature originally designed it that way. It’s the basic tenet of living, that each day life must consistently move forward and ultimately attain the highest level of freedom and bliss, the hallmark of our very existence. But instead, each day our newspapers and news media tell us otherwise. We are all collectively aware that we have the wherewithal and the wisdom to make our wishes become reality, that it’s not an impossible dream. We need to turn the tables upside down, to perform as one and achieve a total cleanup of the current Life Management Systems.
The main destructive factor of life in society is not death, or disease. It’s corruption, the most disastrous crime perpetrated on the human condition and the environment. Yes, it is money stolen from the poorest of the poor. What’s even worse is that these acts of greed committed right before us, create deep chasms of pain and misery for millions of people. Corruption ensures that entire populations are subject to unending hardships and degradation. What’s more demeaning is that the suffering endured is not brought on by an external enemy, but our very own citizens! By people we admired, respected and loved, people with whom we entrusted our lives and our wellbeing, not just for us, but that of our children, our future, who have turned around and blindly betrayed us. Corruption destroys the environment, an act of murder that Mother Nature will not condone or forgive.
It is an underlying trait of Indian society to find itself in a permanent “election mode”. It has been embedded in our psyche that being elected by proper Constitutional means to a position of authority, gives our elected representatives an unwritten mandate to rule the roost, to trample upon not just the populace, but the Rules and Legal Tenets that are meant for the betterment and benefit of the constituents that elected them. The principle here is that we elect “Leaders” to lead by following the will of the people and not “Rulers”. Instead of Democracy, we become subjects under a domain of Autocracy.
The first step for these “rulers” is to take control of the Treasury Till. In reality, the battle to Control the Cash is the very first reason why we are always in election mode. A “Battle” is how aspiring candidates refer to running for election. They see it as “fighting” the Opposition, with ballots yes, but more like bullets. It simply is BIG business; easy bucks, easy life with all the trappings of pseudo royalty, surrounded by a sleazy bunch of surreptitious sycophants, all of which offers the power of elected office to feed that super-inflated ego. In truth it’s just a fake fairytale, a sorry life in Happily Never After.
For us, it’s time to call up the invisible Armchair (“Amche”) Activists Association, you and me, and of course the true brave and real Activists: journalists, lawyers, the good angels in political parties and individual independents, all those of noble and exemplary character, to step forward and select the real Leaders who will build an unshakeable edifice of Good Governance and propel the State towards its true destiny.
First, eject the corrupt band of incumbents, then detect and reject the un-worthies who vigorously strive to grab a slice of the pie, whose only ambition is to steal money and fame. Then with careful scrutiny and inspired diligence, select those with the will and vision to serve humanity and Mother Nature. The most valuable rule of human society is to live life for other people. We need to be involved in the Selection Process with every ounce of our being. It’s a Sacred Duty that we owe to our fellow citizens, its Insurance for the ones we love and the generations to come.
The most engaging trait of human character is that we are aware that we have the ability to solve any problem thrown at us. We have no reason to fail in this magnificent endeavor.
What life would be like in the absence of corrupted governance:
Conservation and revitalisation of the soil, promotion and protection of farming and tree agriculture techniques, upgrading and expanding healthcare facilities, robust infrastructure for roads, electricity, air quality and water management, enhanced communication and transportation systems, implementing technological advances in manufacturing and pharmaceutical production, the enhancement of reforms in the judicial, legal and law enforcement departments, providing practical and progressive platforms in the educational system, comprehensive and intelligent management of the environment, purposeful and promising protocols in the management of the economy and banking sectors, a fully transparent and efficient citizen-friendly internet and web-based communication platform with all departments of the government and other regulatory entities. The list of what has to be and needs to be done is all out there for an open and honest administration and the attendant political pundits to deliver. What then would be the purpose and need of an “Opposition”? A clean and efficient Administration can be re-elected each term, with replacements for those who retire or resign.
The moment to stem the rot is now. What are we waiting for? Sixty years of Self Rule have produced almost nothing, mediocre at the most. Without a Corrupt Government, we can make it all happen in sixty months. Yes. We have reached a point when the price we are paying for inefficient, inept, corrupt, dishonest, manipulative, anti-people and general mis-governance is impossible to handle. It is time to activate the process to find the right solution: Eject, Reject, Select and Elect. Not just to resolve the current fiasco, but to create the foundation for a bright, prosperous and stable future for our people and our precious planet.
We just have to do it right, It’s our election ticket to the promised land of “happily ever after”.
(The author is now a permanent resident of Goa after many years of living in Mumbai, New York and London)
