The Independence Day Speech

The Independence Day speech this year by the iconic PM of India befittingly broke the confines of bulletproof glass as also the shackles of a neatly typed out speech.  And hence it comes as a surprise that the PM chose to remain silent on the biggest malaise afflicting the citizens at large, sapping their vitality and putting them in dire straitjackets!  He had no comments to offer or promises to make on the twin evils of widespread corruption and criminalization of politics.  Same goes for the mind boggling figures of black money stashed overseas.  Was it not the pent up frustration of the public with the mounting corruption that led to a decisive rejection of Congress and a majority for BJP?  The very atypical conciliatory notes in complimenting all the previous governments in bringing the country to where it stands today (!) also come as no little surprise.  Didn't Modi thunder his way to a total majority by crying himself hoarse about what the Congress governments have done to the country over six decades?  And he is so overawed by the competence and knowledge of the all-pervasive bureaucracy that he doesn't have even a word of advice to them to work as humble public servants under the Pradhan Sevak?  The only criticism he had for the earlier government and the top bureaucracy was a lack of coordination that manifested itself as multiple governments within a single government.  I cannot figure out what to make of such mushy statements coming from someone hailed as the Iron Man!  Will such pacifist attitude ever enable us to weed out corruption in places high and low, and steep deterioration in the sphere of politics?

Again, it is quite okay to chide the citizenry for their unhygienic habits, lack of toilets and discrimination against girl children. But are these also not manifestations of poor governance and total lack of accountability on the part of the government machinery?  Have governments provided dustbins at public places for disposal of garbage?  Do we have enough public toilets in public places even in the cities?  Don't we have to charter our course carefully when going on an outing with the family so that we return to our home or a place with a clean toilet in time?  How many parents and doctors have been penalized for aborting female fetuses or for giving dowry or deaths related to dowry?  I am sorry to say so but such exhortations remind me of knee-jerk reactions from local corporators when approached with a complaint about poor sanitation.  They would lecture you on hygiene and cleanliness and add that if everyone could keep the drain and the sidewalk in front of his own house clean, there would be no need to complain!

A friend who shares the worry has something positive to comment in the matter.  He says, “….. he is a pragmatic person. He knows that corruption is so interwoven into the fabric of our society that if starts to pull out those skeins, the entire fabric may come undone. He has to do it gingerly. This is the best explanation I can offer. Time will tell. How things change at the ground level will ultimately decide if he has been working on corruption too.”

However such gingerly approach and caution was conspicuously absent when dealing with the appointment of a retired bureaucrat, or in dismissing a particular governor for misdeeds, or in changing the Collegium system for appointments in the judiciary after a particular claimant was vetoed out.  How come that strong, swift and decisive actions are warranted only when someone has crossed the path of someone powerful but not on life-and-death issues facing the country?  Are we witnessing a resurrection of Indira Gandhi?

Like most of us, I have great hopes from the PM.  And I do hope that my apprehensions and I are proved decisively wrong.  And yet I cannot help wondering whether we made a mistake in rejecting the AAP phenomenon.  We turned it into a sinking ship that is gradually being abandoned by all but a handful.