It has been a while since India snatched her Independence from the jaws of British rule. Since the stroke of midnight on 15th August 1947 we have been whining about things that were never done and things that need to be done. It has been a while since the time when the world saw the oldest and the most deeply rooted civilisation raise its head in glory, ecstasy and pride. Sixty- seven years later when we are still on the road to development and whine about things that need to be done, we end up cursing our good old politicians.
When economists are thinking about ways to revive the economy, you ask a common man – the response is sad and grim. And quiet reasonably so. A normal middle class person works hard, pays taxes, saves whatever he can and is hit by inflation. He is upset because he demands more and gets too little. He is upset because he doesn’t get roads. He is upset because he doesn’t have proper schools, electricity and health care. He works tirelessly and still is not able to save much. He sees crores being gulped down by bureaucrats. And at the end of the day he ends up blaming the politicians. This sadly is the case with most of us.
But shouldn’t we be going deeper into the issues of governance and analyse the problems instead of the age old mud-slinging and blame game that has been going on ever since Independence. Politicians aren’t our enemies. They haven’t taken a vow to destroy the nation nor have they taken a vow to resurrect the country. They are human beings too and their sole aim is to assume power and stay in it. And they do whatever they can to achieve it. Here is a bit of food for thought- Haven’t we failed in giving a conducive environment for them to work. Time and again we have been sending messages to politicians. And the message is loud and clear- DEVELOPMENT is not the all important issue. The politicians know what keeps them in power. And sadly it is caste, religion and reservations most of the time. How do we expect them to compromise on their political mileage? They play their cards well. And that is when the national interest is compromised.
Let us change ourselves first. Let us bring changes in what we demand from our representatives. Let us put country before caste. Let us redeem the pledge that our forefathers had taken decades ago. Trust me- there are no short- cuts.
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