It's not just democracy that got buried during the years of Congress rule. The traditional moral and ethical values, which lead to a cohesive society, were also eroded under the watch of the secularists’ watch
Practically every day, everyone confronts the consequences of the continued erosion of democratic values. This erosion is a direct consequence of the crises of ideology of progress and erosion of moral and ethical standards. Angry young persons, without employment and engagement, are easy targets of the vested interests and those practicing politics without principles. Tension, turmoil, arson, riots, violence, bigotry and distrust are the daily doses that everyone has to acknowledge and remain prepared to bear the consequences of. The Patidars of Gujarat are again at it; maybe they have learnt more lessons from the reservation fury unleashed in Haryana. Further violence is on the cards. The fact-finding probe in the Haryana Jat agitation reveals another frightening ‘fact’: Policemen of the community were more loyal to agitators than their duty and they deserted their posts for days together. They are back in their seats as if nothing has happened. While the probe panel has recommended serious action against them, not many are convinced that the deserters, who would certainly be called cowards in any system of governance, would be punished.
In the Kerala temple tragedy, the real face of the system of governance and administration bared itself completely. The lack of coordination, in one way or the other, extends to the entire country. The azadiwallas continue to fuel the fires in Jammu & Kashmir on a daily basis, making the State appear helpless. The valley retains its boiling temperatures, this time on the alleged harassment of a young girl by soldiers. The victim has repeatedly stated that it was some Kashmiri youth who misbehaved, but she is told to shut up as the agitators know better. In their belief, violence and hatred must be ignited on a daily basis, as that alone would bring azadi. On a regular basis, one gets reports of rapes, of the murder of those resisting rape and the juveniles getting away with it. A BMW mauls four, one dies in hospital, but there are no arrests.
Supporters of triple talaq claim divine support for retaining it in the 21st century and get ready to fight it out in the Supreme Court. The Delhi Government is extremely happy that its odd-even plan has attracted, it claims, worldwide attention and adulation. IPl bosses are unhappy; certain matches have to be moved out of parched Maharashtra. The IPl is one of the rare spectacles when politicians of different hues think and speak alike. And, believing them, they are doing it all for the betterment of the youth of India! Prestigious public school managements are setting up new models of modern educational management. Five teachers of a school went to the court for the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission Report; four of the five were compulsorily retired and the fifth one was removed. Imagine teachers being fired for demanding full salary and payment through cheques be made mandatory. In no time, the management finds better ways of showing teachers their ‘rightful place’.
Are these conditions not demanding enough to make the political class re-think its role and reset its strategies and approach, to become a part of nation-buildingIJ Is it not imperative on the part of the opposition parties to accept the people’s verdict and let the party in power go ahead with its plans and programmes envisaged to ameliorating the miseries of the downtrodden and the depressedIJ Why has the main Opposition given a go-bye to the basic principles of democracyIJ A learned friend asked a counter-question: When did the Congress ever follow democratic principles since IndependenceIJ
If democratic principles were followed and the recommendations of State Congress committees given their due weightage, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel would have been the first Prime Minister of free India. Where was the democracy in imposing Emergency or in Rajiv Gandhi being sworn in as the Prime Minister after the tragic assassination of Indira GandhiIJ This trampling of the democratic principles and practices has resulted in scandals, corruption and the decimation of the system of governance. The present-day miseries are just an outcome of this one common thread that has been dexterously woven by unscrupulous politicians to meet their vested yet myopic interests at the cost of national needs and public welfare. The out-of-power politicians have finally come to this conclusion: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a job-snatcher! The main opposition party has only a single-point agenda: To ensure dynastic succession and fulfill the dream of anointing Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister of India. Well, for the other opposition parties, he is nowhere in the picture. The current lot of prime ministerial aspirants in the opposition block, right from HD Deve Gowda, to Mulayam Singh Yadav to Sharad Pawar to Nitish Kumar, to J Jayalalithaa to Mayawati to Mamata Banerjee... and one could go on counting, are indeed depressed and morose. They see no future for themselves and blame only one person for having swept them away from amongst those who count on the national scene.
The manner in which Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has given a call for a BJP-mukt Bharat indicates it all Why don’t these ambitious politicians come together to create a sukha-mukt Bharat, bhukhmari- mukt Bharat or an aparadh-mukt Bharat. Are these not the need of the hour, rather than political posturing IJ
If only India had established sufficient number of schools within the first 10 years of the constitutional mandate, focussed on man-making education, and remembered that knowledge without character was a sin, the picture of emerging India would have been entirely different. The traditional moral and ethical values, which lead to a cohesive society, would not have eroded in the watch of the so-called secularists.