My recent rant in the last blog posted was heard by a higher power. Recent events in New Delhi definitely signal to that possibility. Late last week, a social activist Anna Hazare from Maharashtra went on a hunger strike demanding 're-conception' of a "India Against Corruption" bill locally known as the Jan Lokpal Bill. Currently the government has a bill in place that is responsible for following up on corruption charges against government officials, but clearly this bill is not being exercised with full potentiality.
I don't really want to bore with the minute details of the amendments in policy that the new bill will bring, but in summary this bill gives the average citizen the power to report corrupt doings by a government official and actually demand a consequence or punishment. It was interesting to see the youth of Delhi (all of India, actually) get riled up about a civic issue. Whenever I am in conversation with someone about how frustrating certain chores and dealing with government entities can be, I'm always given a simple response: It's just like this in India, can't do much about it.
Well, I guess the addictive zest for protest among people has swept along with some radiation (haha) from the rest of the globe. Mr. Hazare stirred up the population using non-violent resorts in order to demand something from the government, which is very well deserved in the world's largest democratic nation. Politicians will be politicians, of course. They got agitated and bounced back saying that giving people the power to put an official to trial is giving them too much power that can be misused.
But seriously? It was rather astonishing to see how many politicians were openly arguing that this bill was a bad idea. How so? Unless one is afraid of getting prosecuted due to corruption themselves, why would a 'public servant' be opposed to giving people the power to punish the system abusers. Even young politicians, such as Rahul Gandhi, didn't find it necessary to come show support for this bill on national television. I guess corrupt politicians are too afraid to take a stand. After all, how will their campaigns get funded if they don't support this bogus mindset of "buying into power" or "excuse granted in exchange of rupees" program. Perhaps a youth leader that can take this policy forward and be an example to others needs to take over this Gandhi legacy that's so prevalent in India since partition. It's a little overwhelming with no backing.
This India Against Corruption policy to fully take effect is the first step that India can take as a third world country to join the league of developed countries. Not that corruption doesn't exist in the Americas. Oh, it is so omnipresent there in the higher levels of institutions, including the government. But an average police officer will not seek a bribe when he pulls you over, neither will a court clerk demand money in exchange for speedy service. It is safe to assume that most everyday tasks don't include bribery. That's why civilians obey basic rules of the road, have common courtesy when standing in lines, littering, accidents, etc. There is a regard for consequences. You can't buy your way out of everything.
So this is a good thing. A good start anyway. Let's see where this will take us.
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