Fifty nine years of independence, and the failure of governance is palpable. The capital continues to reel under power failures of unimaginable proportions but the pools that house the government and its representatives, both politicians and bureaucrats, have their multiple air conditioners working overtime. On a day when offices and commercial establishments are forced to remain closed under the law, Delhi has an electricity shortfall! It has become a frightening joke, one that could lead to a legal assault on the government, and maybe that is the pledge that we, as citizens, have to renew. It is time we demanded our basic rights and electricity is one of them. Till the supply is restored, the prime minister and his cabinet, along with the chief minister and her ministers, need to sit in the dark. Mahatma Gandhi would have made them do so. He would have done to our present rulers what he did to the British colonialists.

The maze of wires overhead — wires with which power is stolen from neighbours under the vigil of inspectors — is something that needs to be dismantled with immediate effect. From top to bottom, everyone knows that power theft is a reality but no leader has made sure it stops. This in itself is a social crime and needs to be deemed as such. Put an end to municipal corruption and the cleansing of India has a chance. Why did the prime minister not address these human issues in his Independence Day speech? If the systems are as congenitally faulty as they are, can you imagine the horror when ‘nuclear energy’ enters this corrupt land? Can you comprehend the result of the possible leakages? Sir, put the system in order first. That is the only priority.

Revolting truth

Honesty of government and therefore governance, the immediate end of bribe raj, the right to information forcing bureaucrats and politicians to ensure that each and every noting on every file stands the test of scrutiny, are some of the first steps that will begin the process of change. The prime minister and his council of helpers must first clean their operations, then be accountable and make all their officers accountable to them. The dirt of corruption emanates from there, at all levels of governance, and compels citizens, who want to work and function with honesty and integrity, to join the jig of corruption. If they resist, they are harassed by officers who represent the state. Therefore, citizens have found ways and means of working in this illegal system that is endorsed by the leadership. And we have the gall to demean our national flag by hoisting it and mouthing platitudes that do not even address the correction of corruption in governance. Small wonder that the curse of the gods is on us.

All the celebratory charades that the government enacts on such occasions are beginning to pale. People can see through the make-believe world of our leaders, their false utterances. That is why at election time India brings one lot in, only to throw them out the next time round. There is no respect left for the political and administrative class. They are seen as exploiters, worse than the Mughals and the British, using the laws of their one-time oppressors to dominate and destroy their own people. This land is revolted by this truth and is revolting against it. When that movement develops pace, it will overwhelm the country and set it back, economically, giving it the final stamp of a banana republic.

Does the leadership not see what the people of India have to go through? Are they blind? Is it plain greed? Or are they breaking every norm of decency because they are ridden with guilt and running scared of change that will expose them and their illegalities?

There is a light on the horizon — the energy and the determination of Indians, and that will, one day, triumph over this all-pervading evil.