A case for lesser laws and more self discipline – No more fasts please.

India is a  democracy with a constitution and a bicameral legislature.  The judiciary and civil rights activists can do only so much in respect of governance. Here I am not righting the cause. My views are not a direct confrontation between corruption and Lokpal bill. That corruption is a major scourge to Nation building is an established fact. It has to be eradicated is a given. My point is how far we should go with judicial activism and civil movements for any cause before they uncannily and dangerously become the tools for governance.  Judiciary and Civil society should be deterrents to misconduct by law makers and should not attempt to become law makers themselves. If they become the focal point of Governance anarchy is bound to follow. There is a line which neither can afford to cross. The elected legislators have to legislate and somebody else can’t do that job in their stead. Moreover, the constitution does not allow that. Anna has done enough. A point has been made. Another fast or a mass movement now will be counter productive and possibly play into the hands of those divisive forces which will tend to destabilize the political system. If that be the intention or the unintended result we do not have ready alternative for governance (like say the Army) and anarchy may result.  We have to reform the electoral system to ensure the elected representative really represents the majority of the eligible electorate.

Gandhi, the Mahatma, is from another era. Though his principles and ideals are relevant today, I am afraid his methods are obsolete. I know many will term this view as blasphemous. But I always maintain we need to see all aspects before sitting in judgment. There are few voices today raised against a Lokpal bill and the methods adopted by a section of the civil society to make a point. In an entrenched parliamentary democracy of our dear Nation, we will be naïve to turn a deaf ear to these voices. Instead of creating a plethora of monoliths functioning in silos to oversee governance, we will be better off if we concentrate on Governance itself.

We are all part of a society with police forces to enforce coded laws. Statistics showane ever increasing crime scene in our country in spite of strict laws and purportedly professionally competent enforcing agencies. I am not even talking of conviction rates which are more pathetic than these statistics.

It is but natural to question the effectiveness of another law and another enforcing agency to curb special crimes committed by another stratum of the society.  I have a feeling, what we should do is improve the quality of the elected representatives. The only way we can do that is by improving the quality of the society at large. We are not shaping the society except to profess anti establishment sentiments. Inadvertently the citizen feels he has no responsibility towards the society or the Nation and everything has to be delivered by the establishment. Here again let me clear any misconception by reiterating that I am not handing out a clean chit to the establishment. I am only asking for a look in the mirror.

Let me illustrate this point with an unseemly insignificant act as an example. I am on a city road driving my car at 40 KMPH. At that speed the thinking distance is about 30 feet, breaking distance is about 45 feet and stopping distance is about 75 feet. Suddenly you catch the eye of a pedestrian crossing the road at about 50 feet from you. As soon as he realizes he has caught your eye he slows down his pace as if taking a few quicker steps will hurt his ego / he will be considered a second rate citizen / infringe on liberty and freedom as he has the same right on the road as you have et al. He does not realise that by taking two quick steps he will avoid a possible accident that will inconvenience a lot of people besides himself. It is intriguing to think that such a simple fact is beyond his comprehension.

Friends, this is the state of our Nation and this incident is not trivial. It exhibits a dangerous, irresponsible and ill informed mindset. Yet more misconceptions can be drawn from this example. But having made a point let me say that we should aim to correct the mind set of crossing roads by making him alive to the environment.  The day we can achieve this will be the day of deliverance. I am afraid introduction of new laws and new law enforcement agencies will not help the society in its progression. New laws will only spawn more law breakers, better advocates, more efficient chartered accountants, cunning bankers and an even overstrtched judiciary. Scams and high scale corruption is not possible without the connivance of all these professionals and more who are part of our society. We are failing miserably in shaping our society.

Let us give way to reason and not passion.