My Dream for India
The largest democracy in the
world,.. That is how the country and the leaders boast of themselves! But do we
understand the true meaning of democracy? The term is derived from the Greek
word ‘demokratia’ meaning ‘rule of the people’. But in our
country the people play a role only during the election campaigns and while
casting their votes, thereafter they are forgotten, until the next elections. The so-called leaders of the nation
seem to know what their people need and when these needs have to be met. They
treat the country like a natural mine which is so rich in resources, the only
change is in the political party that mines it. I wonder what will be the
plight when the mine is completely depleted! India is a rich country, which is
evident from the umpteem scams that are being exposed each day.
The Prime Minister was so right
when he said there is no magic wand to end corruption in the country, but are
we asking him to put an end to it overnight? As citizens of the largest democracy
what kind of feelings are we supposed to express at this particular moment- anger
or pity for such helpless leaders? It’s the 65th year of
independence and people are denied their basic rights, the right to protest peacefully
and the freedom of speech. I have a dream for my country, but I know I will
need a magic wand to see my dream come true.
I just imagined, if I had that Magic Wand, what would I do? I would
first dissolve all the political parties in the country. All those who are
found guilty will be behind bars, with immediate effect; mind you I have the
magic wand. The first task will be to identify the ruling and opposition
parties and ministers for the cabinet. Candidates would be selected based on
their contribution to various fields such as social development, technology, human
resources, agriculture and industrial development etc and persons who have not
been convicted for any offence. The people would elect their leaders from among
these candidates, and they would be under continuous monitoring as they would
be handling public money. This way we can save the huge sums of money that we
now spend on the numerous enquiry commissions that our government appoints
years after the guilty officials have devoured all the money.
The next activity will be to
assign the task of sustainable development to each of the ministers. There will
be a team of advisors under each minister to guide and assist in the
development in each portfolio. A proper five year plan with action plans is
what each minister and his team will concentrate on. I call it sustainable
development because what we see now in the name of development is not true
development. When a road is laid, if the budget is for 10 crores, only 1 crore goes
into the making of the road. It goes without saying that the quality of the
road goes for a toss. No wonder we feel like having had a roller coaster ride
after travelling through most of the roads in India.
The disparity between the rich
and the poor has been widening ever since independence and there seems to be no
solution to the epidemic called poverty. If even part of the Rs 175000 crore
that the exchequer had lost due to the 2G spectrum scam was spent on the poor,
maybe this imbalance could have been balanced a bit. My dream country will have
food for all. Just to remind you that I still have the magic wand and it won’t
take me the time of a movie song like Rajnikanth’s movie. Education and
employment would be provided on the basis of merit and not based on caste and
finance. Law and order would be above everything else, mobile courts will take
up cases and give immediate judgments. No cases will remain with the court for
more than a month; there will be a monthly audit to close the cases at the end
of the month. Bribery and corruption would be treated as non-bailable offences.
Does it sound too much for any
magic wand to do? I don’t really know,.. I’ll have to check with some magicians
or Magic Consultants if there are any. If this is the plight of our country;
that we are so helpless and need the help of Jee Boom Baa, God save our country???
‘Where the mind is without fear
and the head is held high, where knowledge is free,…
Where the world has not been
broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls..
Into that heaven of freedom my
father let my country awake,..’
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