DailyPost 2126
A COUNTRY AT WAR!
The is no enemy. There is no aggressor. And the country has not declared war on anyone. How many organizations, institutions, departments, police, investigative agencies, political parties etc are at peace with themselves and with those they interact with? To top it all, how many of them feel satisfied with their functioning meaning that they have been fulfilling their mandated task and have a vision for the future, in consonance with our democratic vision. How much of center place has the terms / words / usage has caste, creed, race, religion, color, region etc taken, is not left to anyone’s imagination. These words were not to have any currency, constitutionally in this country. They are the currency of the land.
Conversely, what all can ensure on only talent and merit, with no other parameter or criteria. At the very best there are very few competitive exams. They keep the democratic flame alive and are the real melting pot. The ruling mechanism of the country is the motley mix of political parties. What role does talent, merit and expertise have to play in them? How does career growth happen? The war is with merit and expertise. The musical chair game of ideologies as per convenience can be termed as a war of attrition with democracy and its people. Who is responsible for keeping the country at war? Inflamed passions! *How are political cadres selected, is there any system at all? Their acts you can see on your TV screens.
We have seen a political party imploding in Maharashtra recently. How many parties have gone this way? Governments being made on quick sand. Strange bedfellows, quite a few times. The voter is at a loss. How many of the political parties are internally at war? Or is that a permanent state? Or they are too centrally controlled to bring out the best in anyone. When we watch the tenor of the spokespersons on national channels, by their facial expressions, it is clear we have come to the end of democratic debates. The end of democratic debate is a state of war. The central government and the capital city’s government are at loggerheads, indefinitely. Is it cooperative federalism or a permanent state of political war?
The 2018 SC Judges press conference we all remember of and the issues brought forth. Now the serpentine pendency of cases, crores together, gets debated, who is responsible is a million-dollar question. Arrest, bail and jail is another debate. Politics revolves around criminal cases. We have also seen an ongoing battle at the topmost echelons of the CBI, a few years back. The governor vs elected CM issues keep cropping up to the embarrassment of the democratic system. Police, not to police, how much to police and the methodology thereof, is a long way from maturing. Organizational culture is an issue, in government and governance. The fourth estate seems to be at war with itself, the alignments becoming very clear and lethal at times. Terms like Godi media don’t augur well. New age media has also landed in the net.
A NATION AT PEACE WITH ITSELF IS A VIBRANT DEMOCRATIC NATION.
Sanjay Sahay