Jibrael Jos, Assistant Professor, Christ University, Bangalore
In the last 60 years India has come a long way, we can be inspired by the achievement of ISRO , the global footprint of the Indian IT sector, Konkan Railway, Golden Quadrilateral, Delhi Metro, Magic of IPL and many more.
On the other hand many people believe that Indian Politics is in a mess, they have given up, and every tax payer feels his money is going down the drain. The recent “India Against Corruption” campaigns goes to show the angst of the middle class.
If winning an election requires one to be corrupt. If surviving in politics requires slandering and lying. If the MLA had to spend in excess of a crore to win a seat, what would be running on his mind on the first day in office ….. yearning to work, praying to God to grant him the strength to serve the people … oh no!! …. he is thinking how to get the money back. How to return the favours he took to win the seat in the first place. How to secure his future before the next election comes looming on him in five years time.
Same will become the case in every government contract and work done. If there is corruption in the bidding process, then the quality will suffer in the end product, ROI for tax payer’s money is dismally low.
If you can cheat, bribe or muscle your way into IIT/IIM, these institutions will become a farce and slowly lose its credibility, needless to say the output quality will steadily decline, placement goes down and in turn the number of applicants will fall drastically. Thankfully this does not happen.
So who will change, who can change, who wants to change. If change has to happen in the Indian Political System, then it has to happen from within. It is not impossible. Maybe the seasoned politicians can be the catalyst for the change. Maybe the second generation politician or maybe one of the woman politicians or maybe one of you who plans to stand for the election in 2014!!
If we keep saying all politicians are corrupt, that’s what they will become. On the other hand if we expect each one of them to serve the nation with honour, then the people’s positive thoughts will conspire to make it happen. Gandhiji’s strategy was to prod the goodness of men, trusting them, not giving up hope on even one of them. Let’s drop the sarcasm and judging mentality and let us restore our faith in the political system.
In the last 10 years I have seen hope in this country, there are many Chief Ministers who are bent on doing a good job. A CM in Delhi show commitment and zeal and Delhi transforms, a CM in Gujarat takes progressive action and the people rally behind him, a CM in Bihar brings around a change. 3 political parties, 1 common direction … FORWARD.
When an actor gets a film fare award, do the other actors appreciate his work or do they ridicule and talk behind his back, I strongly believe it is the former. So when will the Prime Minister of a political part A, compliment a Chief Minister of party B on a job well done and the whole parliament gives the appreciated CM a standing ovation. That is culture change. When will a minister consult the ex-minister from the opposition party before finalising the finer points on a bill to be passed?
Culture Change is happening; there are IT companies where a wrong medical bill claim can cost an employee his job. There are millions of people all over India, who are proud of their work place. There are people working for lesser pollution and greener India. There are thousand running marathons. There are many a CSR initiatives impacting our society. There are millions hearts praying to God every day.
Each one of us needs to work on our competency and attitude to the world around us. If I am a teacher, I need to strive to be a better one. I need to inspire my students with my words, action and deeds.
Imagine a culture change where the road is full of nice, fun loving and talented commuters. Every car is polished and without dents, every auto rickshaw is running on the meter, Buses ferrying a cheerful crowd, 40% people cycling to work. Friendly and proactive traffic cops.
Imagine a society where people are happy at home, happy at work and in the places in between. People come to love a Monday as much as a Friday. Every third person can play a musical instrument. Every second person loves to read. Every person loves to play a sport on a Sunday with her family and friends.
Imagine a nation where drinking water is free and runs in the tap 24 x 7, electricity, phone, TV in every home, flood is under control and drought is not an issue. Not one child dies due to malnutrition or lack of health care. Farmers do not commit suicide. People can travel in the middle of the night without fear.
You believe this all is not possible? Let us see the other side:
Konkan Railway Line is an engineering marvel. It is 760 kilometres long and was completed in 5 years time. This line has 179 major bridges, 1819 minor ones and 300 road bridges. With 92 tunnels (83.6 km) out which there are 9 which are more than 2 kilometres long (the longest is 6.5 km). If we can build this in India then for India as a nation, impossible is nothing.
When Delhi Metro started running, we realise the power of dreams. In Raja Garden there is section of metro which goes on top of a busy flyover, from this height the view of the 3 malls is mesmerising. Delhi Metro is a few men’s vision, many a man’s sweat and the pride of the nation. ISRO’s Chandrayan mission, I still pinch myself and ask did we actually do that. When IPL started did anybody guess it would challenge other International Premier Leagues , will change the salary of cricketers, the direction of outsourcing and the definite increase in our in house cricketing skills.
If our children can work so hard to get into IIT, IIM or AIIMS what is Olympics. If our artist can practice and rehearse for 10-15 years how difficult is an Oscar. If our youth with their hard work can become an IAS officer, what all can they do for building a nation. If our engineers can get work in Microsoft, Google, Apple, etc then how difficult is a Nobel Prize.
If every child is nurtured, cared and raised with a self belief. Then in the near future a politician will change the democratic system from within. A few school teachers will alter the mindsets in education; A few lawyers will bring about legislation to transform the society.
Magic is there ready to happen. When you wake up every morning …… BELIEVE .. that culture can change and the catalyst is your brother, your sister, your daughter, your son, your friend, your MLA, your CM, your PM, your boss, your colleague and most importantly YOU.
