When there is anarchy

It is time for a change in leadership

Malvika Singh

Malvika Singh

He is absolutely bang on. When Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee says he is old, unwell and unable to control the government and his allies, he is truthfully admitting that he is willing to accept a younger and more agile alternative who will be able to deal with the overwhelming horrors that have overtaken this country.

Instead of seriously assessing the reality, his party and partners are backtracking furiously and reducing the situation into a childish tragic-comic farce. Needless to say, none of them want to change a porous system into a stricter regime. Anarchy at the top level allows for all the shenanigans we see being exposed each day and all the so called movers and shakers who determine the future do not want change or their wings cut. They want the status quo which will permit them to continue running amuck. Operators who are on the make want a weak dispensation. The crisis seems to have come home to roost and from hereon we will witness the regular drama that accompanies the unraveling of a government in power that is losing control.

It is sad and hardly what India needs at this time. The economy is in a mess, there is a political crisis, society is in turmoil waiting to assert itself and demand its rights, and we seem to be headed into at least four or five years of confusion, chaos and disorder. As we watch the world move on, we are regressing virtually across the board. If editors of repute take to writing PR pieces under their byline lauding in exaggerated manner, the launch of a daily flight between Delhi and London, something has changed.

There was a time when magazines and newspapers never considered stories of this kind. Is it because PR agencies have infiltrated the bastions of the fourth estate or because the real issues that are corroding this nation and its fragile fabric, cannot be exposed transparently and honestly? There is so much that needs to be written about, explored, exposed, supported. Battles need to be fought, debate needs to be generated and, in the age of sound byte culture, the newspapers have a far greater responsibility to disseminate information.

PR should remain in the domain of mailers and brochures. However, with the breakdown of governance in a democracy, when all norms are broken, when honesty and integrity has no premium, the press too begins to waver and falter. That is a dire signal and must not be allowed to happen. When a government is desperately insecure it does strange things. One ominous example is the restrictions government has put on ‘conferences’ relating to issues that affect the subcontinent and our immediate neighbours. Delegates will have to be screened and monetary support will have to be cleared by the home ministry. Why? Does government not want any real and true debate? Does it want no dissension in its democracy? And, why is it concerned about the colour of money for ‘conferences’ when it cannot ensure the cleanliness, in every sense of the word, of its financial institutions? What is the scare?

To police every aspect of life as well as intellectual discourse is unwarranted. It exposes the shaky ground upon which this government rests. Instead of ‘monitoring’ conferences it should pledge to rectify criminality in society and break the nexus between the ruling establishment, politics, the law enforcement authorities and the criminal elements in our society. That is their first job and only priority at this point in time. They have failed to protect the citizen from civil brutality meted out by every arm of the administration. They have failed to put an end to extortion by their minions — government employees across the board, be it in the district or in the metropolitan cities. They have plainly failed. And this deterioration after having come to power on a mandate that promised to change the past practices of governance. It is much worse today, the horror is rampant much like cancer.

Opposition parties make a noise but stop short of going for the jugular in a concerted and constructive manner. And, the ruing parties continue to behave like they did in the opposition benches. Truly farcical. Heads do not roll, no one is made accountable, the Prime Minister is comparatively silent and in maun, the coalition partners are desperate to keep the glue intact as they make hay, bureaucrats are like sieves revealing the muck that infests the corridors of government and power. It is anarchy, a frightening anarchy.

Where is that truly clean leader? Where is the messiah? Why are they all on a rampage to make good for themselves? They have great energy but alas, it is completely misdirected. Why? Do they not recognise that the citizens of this country have ceased to respect the leadership, that the leadership is seen to be corrupt and inept, that there are no heroes? It is an open arena for a good person, a person who believes in this country and its people, a person who is not there to exploit and exploit alone.