(image source: www.siliconeer.com)
The joy that
greeted the Supreme Court verdict had no parallel in the recent history of the
country where a political leader had been convicted for corruption. sweets,
crackers etc. - the common man was celebrating. Generally at the conviction of
a political leader, the trend in India is that the opposite camp celebrates it.
However, in this case, cutting across party lines, politicians celebrated.
The surprise
was that the common man celebrated - relieved perhaps, that justice has finally
been done, albeit after 20 years. The common man conveniently forgot, in the
midst of all these celebrations that the partymen gloating over the verdict
were the same people who made the state stand still and enacted a crying fest
before the cameras when the same verdict was passed by a lower court. Oh yeah,
it still holds good against the person they elected to office, though she may
have shed her mortal remains now!
However, what
has happened thereafter leaves a sour taste in the mouth and makes us go back
to the thought that nothing is going to change in our country. A person who has
been convicted by the highest court of the land and asked to surrender 'forthwith' does not surrender throughout
the day, apparently citing the oft repeated excuse of having 'not received a copy of the signed order',
something which is used by all and sundry in this country. A person who, in
full public view has illegally confined elected legislators with henchmen
forming a ring guard. A person who goes on to direct the publicly elected
representatives to not support a leader who seems to have won the vote of the
masses; appoints an apparent stooge as a CM 'candidate' and lays down a diktat
to the other pubic representatives to support her and the stooge. At the end of
it all, a media appearance waving hands as if the imprisonment was for a cause.
When a person has been convicted and the judgement affirmed by the highest
court of the land, isn't there an element of shame involved? Won't there be a 'How will I show my face to the public'
moment?
There are
elected representatives to the Parliament who go to the extent of petitioning
the President to call her back to office. These people were prostrating before
her just a few days back, '(b)egging' her to lead them and she showing her
reluctance on television - I mean, do you really need movies for satire? It is
just playing before you, in full public view! The state administration is
plunged into chaos, officials do not know where they will be posted next, files
hang pending approvals...'policy paralysis' would be an understatement. This,
despite the state being among the top states of the country in almost every field and private enterprise present in every walk of life that the common man can live without any bother - cocking a snook at the happenings. I
shudder to think of some other states which are so dependent on the Government
to run.
Why is it that for
most of our politicians, probity, scrupulousness etc. in public life is a no-go
- they don't exist? It is something us, our countrymen that is, have come to
live with, so much so that we don't have any qualms in even re-electing them to
office. We tend to brush aside the delays in these cases and the fact that
these people who have abused us roam free in front of us and even have the
temerity to seek votes only evoke a shrug from us.
We have countries where officials
who hold public office hang themselves on even being accused
of graft. Why are we so cool to all this? Why is corruption an institution in
India? I sometimes wonder if there an issue with democracy and us Indians -
perhaps we don't know how to use the weapon. What could be so worse that would
appear 'bad' to us, arouse us, awaken our collective angst?
I am ashamed. Hailing
from the state where this drama is being played out and as a fellow countryman, I hang
my head. In shame.
