For India to be really empowered, the two most important ingredients to my mind are: Better governance, and greater sensitivity in terms of responsibility of citizens. Let me start with a story. When God created the earth, all the countries accused God of being partial to India because he bestowed it with a substantial landmass, which was largely free from extremes of climate, intelligent and hardworking people, and abundant natural resources. God appeased all the nations by saying, ‘Don’t worry, I will see that I give India a larger share of corrupt people!’ The Indian experience reflects the metamorphosis that our politicians go through once they come into power. Before being elected they make promises to resolve our problems, but once they have gained power, one gets the feeling that their concentration shifts towards politicking and personal gain. It has been mentioned by Rajiv Gandhi and by Dr Alexander, ex-Governor of Maharashtra, that 80-85% of Government spending on social causes does not reach its target people because of massive corruption and inefficiency. The fault also lies with society: for not being ourselves accountable, and for not demanding accountability. We tend to justify our passivity by pleading helplessness, and by merely grumbling and fault-finding. The corporate world also has its share of the unscrupulous. A few years ago, The Indian Express ran a series of articles ‘‘Loot and Scoot’’ and named individuals who had let down their shareholders and their banks and yet lived a lavish lifestyle. Corruption has engulfed us, and all citizens, corporates and individuals, are affected by it. Out of fear or lack of will to fight it, many people put on the facade of being honest. We need to generate corporates and individuals who have the courage to openly state that, given the situation in which we live, they cannot be honest. The same feeling of helplessness is also experienced by honest bureaucrats and politicians. Hopefully a dialogue can be initiated between society and these politicians/bureaucrats, to seek avenues through which meaningful change can indeed be achieved. Another suffocating area for citizens and corporates is the plethora of archaic legislation, and the ambiguity surrounding the laws of the land. This empowers the corrupt enforcers of these laws to cause no end of harassment and litigation, and saps creative energy. A basic question that faces us is: Where is the accountability? Accountability of government, of corporates and of individuals. We need to face this squarely—in the words of John Kennedy: ‘‘Ask not what the country can do for you; but what you can do for the country’’. On the economic front, it is true that in the last few years industry has performed well. We have got over the fear of China and some companies are daring to go multi-national. Several reforms that are still in the pipeline need to be passed with alacrity so that corporates can realise their full potential and the huge entrepreneurial resource can be fully tapped. If we are to compete with countries like China, who by the way have already entered the Indian market with their labour, corporate India cannot be left to compete burdened by huge disadvantages. India to be strong, needs to remain united. And to be united, India needs to follow the secular path so that all communities feel safe and secure. A feeling needs to be generated that first we are all human beings, and that we are all proud and happy to be Indians. This can only be achieved when people-power will openly and strongly condemn and reject politicians and religious heads who exploit the situation for their own vested interests. As far as sensitivity is concerned, we have made ourselves numb and indifferent to the suffering all around us. If we see a person lying on the street we do not bother to help and assume he is a drunkard. The plight of thousands suffering under floods or droughts makes us, at the most, write out a cheque but in no way do we want to get involved to mitigate the situation. We want other countries to help us financially or to send volunteers but we do not tap our own resources to the fullest. There is a huge un-tapped resource of housewives and students, who have the time and the ability to reach out. They need to be self-motivated to act. Each one of us has a role to play—remembering the old saying that it is ‘‘Little drops of water that make a mighty ocean’’. We can be proud that India has a lot going in its favour, for being well respected and a powerful nation. In some areas we have made great progress, and the world has started taking notice of us as a major emerging power-house. We can accelerate this process if each one of us examines ourselves to determine the areas in which we can make a difference, and then passionately act to achieve this. Let us do this with a positive attitude—to ourselves first become accountable, and then to strive for improved accountability from Government and Society.
