The Supreme Court in India seems to have taken on the role of the executive. The ?bench? is performing the functions of the ?cabinet?. It is clear from the unravelling of the misdeeds of the past that the tenuous limits of inappropriateness have been stretched to the point where the fabric of dignified life and living has snapped and torn at the seams, revealing all. We have finally reached the end of the tunnel and hopefully, somewhere through the prevailing chaos, we may be witnessing the start of a cleansing process. Unfortunately, fresh thinking in government is so incoherent that the worry is that a lacuna will form, allowing for more confusion without alternative frameworks in place. Reactions of the ?authority? have been, and continue to be, knee-jerk ones with no attempt being made to think out of the box and determine a viable and contemporary plan for renewal across the board.

It is because of this chronic laziness of the political class and the administrators, that the failure of the executive has made place for the judiciary to intervene in areas that come under the head of ?governance?, a function that has been abdicated by all those elected to do the job. All this at the cost of the taxpayer, to the detriment of future generations in this betrayed land. There is danger in this switching of roles. The judiciary, already being seen as politically partisan in some instances, will gradually become more and more politicized as it enters the realm of governance. Politicians will indulge in the rhetoric that has become their wont and the bureaucracy will manipulate both these ?institutions?. That will be the last lap of the degradation of this polity and the most violent.

Each to his own

We have begun to smell the brewing ?revolt? in many parts of India as militancy, not terrorism, raises its arms in leading the protest of exploited people in this failed state, Bharat. Regional governments, as well as the coalition at the Centre, are fighting internally, jockeying for political power, being intellectually and physically corrupt instead of addressing the fast-growing dissidence of the less privileged in their hinterland. This phenomenon is bound to accelerate as the complete lack of political decision-making dilutes governance in all sectors. Anarchy has colonized the Indian subcontinent. Increasingly one hears comments like, ?Send the army in for a year to set it all straight.? Scary.

We have lost the head start that we had 58 years ago. As we hurtle into the 60th anniversary of our political independence, we are amongst the most backward countries of this planet. Backward in initiative, in governance, in institution-building, in establishing humane laws to govern the lives of our people, backward in quality products, backward in the arena of competition ? forward in a great deal of talk sans action. Our mai baap in politics and in the administration lead in methods of harassment, exploitation and in unethical practices. Respect for leadership is rapidly dwindling. Each to his own has become the chant for survival.

Why are we allowing our democratic structures to be tampered with by those very people and institutions that deceived us, double-crossed us, lied to us and fooled us as we gave them the benefit of doubt? As they chip away at the foundations of our vital civilization, destroying every strength with state power, silencing critics with all kinds of insidious assaults using government machinery, we must begin to articulate the many facets of this merciless attack on our diverse polity by those who were given the mandate to nurture the dignity and integrity of India. We must compel the alternatives and raise our voices for the return of sane politics and clean administration. We must not allow them to defile the Constitution or the faiths of this land by their breach of oath.