DailyPost 2969
INDIA – IN DEFENCE
It is very rare in the history of the country and that too a democratic one, where individuals and organisations, are in the continuous process – of being in defence. Country standing in defence of something worthwhile has been a regular feature, but that is not the case we are talking about. We are talking about people who have legally occupied positions and presumably a job description, they are bound to deliver. Then we have organisations whose tasks form the bulwark of the nation and so does their leadership. Then there are functional sectors who are mandated to play the check and balances game.
The reality of the matter is that these individuals and organisations and they are aplenty, have landed in a full time task of defending themselves, failing which they would cease to exist. More often than not they are defending the indefensible. They are working with the thought process that everything can be defended, only if you had the guts, guile and shamelessness to do that. The icing on the cake of this activity which has now become their existence, is when the outgoing Chief Justice of India, persistently defended himself on a variety of issues, critical ones, literally at the fag end of the career. Given the situation, he might have been left with no choice.
The country believed in them (judiciary) as the gospel truth, how did they land in such a situation, where their chief had to defend himself, his fraternity and the institution. In a different field and in a different nature of operation but extremely critical to our existence, the Election Commission and its chief are mostly in the defending game, while there are endless chinks in their armour which are being talked about, and certainly not in whispers. So many issues have landed in courts which should have seen its end with the ECI. What dictum are they mandated to work in tune with the democratic spirit?
“Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion” is a Latin phrase that means people in important positions should avoid any appearance of wrong. How far have we drifted from this truism? Wrongdoing seems to have become the norm, not getting caught is the art to be perfected. Hushing up and simultaneously blatantly defending is the name of the game. In a totally different field, we have the Chief of SEBI, a renowned professional in her right, battling it out with issues, which hinges not only on her credibility but also the whole of the Indian stock market, anchoring India to the $5 trillion economy. Mainstream media has become Godi media, where they blaring about their professionalism, being data / fact based, transparent and neutral and of their anchors. Nothing seems to remain unimpacted by this malaise. Easy life, hidden agenda, exploiting the position / organisation and then defend and sermonise is the toolkit.
INDIAN DEMOCRACY IS AT CROSSROADS ONE ROAD LEADING TO PERVERTED DEMOCRACY.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.