Just imagine there is this omnipotent Lokpal appointed by geniuses from different walks of life - senior judges, Nobel laureates, philanthropists, etc. He is a man of great integrity. He probes the corruption happening at high levels in an honest and transparent manner. People involving in corrupt practices realize that they cannot escape the clutches of law as before and the crime rates start coming down. In a year or so people start getting their work done in government offices without having the need to pay bribes. Money allocated for welfare projects reach the intended recipients fully. Poor children get proper education and health benefits. Young people land up in good jobs. Everything seems perfect... Though theoretically.
We do have examples of independent bodies being successful in their work in India - the best being our Election Commission during TN Sheshan's period, Justice Hedge as the Lokayuktha of Karnataka, the CAG office now with Vinod Rai as the CAG and a few others. But these success stories depend largely on the individual dedication and sense of responsibility of these people. Similarly Lokpal will succeed when the Lokpal is a man beyond petty partisanship, bias and greed.
Any institution is doomed to fail when a wrong person is leading it and what is the guarantee the Lokpal selected by people will always be right? If the Lokpal Bill is passed either the government's version or the Jan Lokpal version, we will have one more agency added to the list of other bodies that we have today. Politicians always will find a way of bypassing laws. So what does India really need?
REVOLUTION.
Not social, not economical and not political, but individual.
Yes. India needs a very big revolution within the souls of every Indian. This is not like the one that is happening in the Middle East nations. This revolution requires no person on the street shouting slogans. It requires every individual to be with himself and change the very basic way of his living. India is very different from all the other countries of the world. We have a huge population, with vast cultural and linguistic differences. Great men like Gandhi and Periyar were against gaining independence without reforming the mind of the Indian society. With this ever growing population and diminishing resources, we should learn the art of sharing and living.
But exactly the opposite is happening here. People want to have everything for themselves. They say that Americans lead a rich life, Japanese lead a disciplined life. But those who say these themselves are not ready to bring the decency and discipline in their own life. Each and every activity of ours should be such that it benefits the society as a whole. Since we are a huge lot of people, we need to develop patience and crave for collective development. But rather than doing that we are completely impatient and everyone of us wants to develop in life at the cost of others.
To get our work done earlier, we don't hesitate to pay a bribe. To get our child into the best institution we don't regret paying huge capitation fees. When we don't feel ashamed of corrupting a system, what right do we have in demanding the system to be fair with us.
Any system has to bow down before a right doing citizen. It is normally said that if the ruler is good the ruled are good too. Why not put it differently? If the ruled lead a clean life, what moral courage will the ruler get to commit a crime. Any reform should begin at the grassroots level before reaching the top brass.
Starting from the very simple things like going to work everyday. Most of the upper middle class have cars and they crowd the road like anything during rush hours delaying everyone's journey by 20 minutes minimum everyday. People can use their cars on weekends and use public transport during working days. Also people living in close neighborhood and going to the same office can use the same car. This will reduce pollution, avoid accidents, bring down instances of traffic violations, and also bribing traffic inspectors if caught. If a simple act activity like this can reduce so many discomforts for the citizens, what can many such positive changes do for our society? Just think... Likewise a word of care, a deed of love to fellow beings can work wonders to our mind, health, career and life.
Mahatma Gandhi did not contribute much to attaining independence for India. But he did contribute a lot towards making Indians better persons. Many of his philosophies have been forgotten with time and now people have even started to blame him as being over sold. He said "Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well."
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