India Needs an Overhaul

Delhi got heated up in this cold December. A heinous crime followed by massive protests on rather scenic roads of Lutyens’ Delhi led to heated debates in all the media channels across the country. The following blame game between the police and politicians finally stole the show toning down largely the attention required by the victim, the well justified outcry of protests and the need to give a look to the justice system and pattern in the country, especially in matters dealing with crime against women. If crimes, and especially those against women, have to be stopped, then a single measure or change in law is not going to help in the longer run. It may satisfy the outraged voices, but will do little to help the cause. The need is to revamp the social mind set in the country, something, which should have been done right at the time of getting the independence, instead of getting into a crude socio-political system banking on social, religious, regional and economic divide of a multi-dimensional country. Resultant is that today seventy per cent of the population is either hungry or have no or very less means to live even a simple respectable life and most of other thirty per cent is frustrated due to many socio-economic causes. Only the politicians, few super rich and a sizeable number of corrupt officials have their way in this country.

The errors in our system are far too many, and have been overlooked or not handled correctly right from the time of independence. India at the time of its independence in 1947 chose multi-party parliamentary democracy, blindly copying the British system. For a large multi-ethnic country, full of diversity a two party presidential form of democracy like USA is always a better choice. Our politicians of that time couldn’t foresee it, and now our multi-ethnicity and regional diversity is at the best seen in parliament itself. It only helps the bulk of inefficient politicians who stay in power using the various regional or ethnical cards. The more the segments they represent remain oppressed, the better it stays for them. Time and again they would play with sentiments of rather educational backward segment of theirs, citing various type of fears for other political groups, and grab enough number of seats to maintain a fractured mandate in parliament, so that they can rule in their area of interest. This has to change at the earliest, else nothing will happen, and law and order situation will only worsen.

Economic divide in the country has to be reduced, which on the contrary is increasing at a fast rate. The new middle class may be emerging, but hungry mouths are increasing at faster rate. A lot has to be done to make life sustainable for people living below poverty line as well as in lower middle class. Poverty does lead to lack of both school and moral education, as poor families focus on getting meal for their children and miss on providing them good education and the government remains a meek spectator. The economic divide also pushes young boys and men into mean lowly paid jobs and also joblessness. The item numbers of Bollywood play their role in further infecting already less educated minds into mischievous desires, which can be hotly debated upon, but it has its role in corrupting minds, especially of the hooligans on streets.

Most of the country due to political apathy and economic divide stays uncultured and uneducated, i.e. how to conduct one’s self decently in public and with women. On one hand various panchayats (self-styled rural courts) and religious forums issue dictatorial doctrines and orders, which mostly are anti-development, anti-cultured society and anti-women, and mostly these can take one to few hundred years back in history, on the other hand there are hooligans all over the country, who humiliate and abuse the women folk unabated. May be their fathers did the same, and if things don’t improve, their sons would also do the same. A mob of boys on street and lanes will make a hell to any girl they come close to. And this is a common scene. And they can go to any stupidity to any one, taking a sadistic pleasure out of their ludicrous yet condemnable acts.

Although, crime against women has been committed by men from all segments and classes of society, especially those shielded by political power or money, the highest rate would still pertain to men who belong to this underprivileged segment of society. Their surroundings, their way of living, their mind set have all been left to stay under developed and uncultured so that, it can been used during elections to garner votes, making false promises of bright future and siting fear towards other classes and religions. Surprisingly, they get fooled by the leaders belonging to their own segment or pretending to represent them. Elections after elections nothing happens and the politicians they repeatedly vote for do actually nothing to improve their social and economic state. While India shines, a sizeable number of its population remains underprivileged, uneducated by modern standard, and thus we can say uncultured. They would continue to spit on roads, piss on walls, break the queues, and least showing any social decency or commitment, and forget any respect to women.

Resultant is that just protesting on streets day and night and raising voices against crimes against women on media will not help. While this was already happening last month, the news all over was filled with continuous crimes of similar nature. Politicians instead of coming forward with something rational to handle this audacity kept on rather giving outrageous statements against women or their life style. While protests and raising voice in media is well justified and must go on, there is lot more to be done, if the country wants really something to happen.

There are three aspects of Indian socio-political spectrum, which have to be addressed at the earliest. Firstly, the political system in India needs a relook. Bad politics and politicians further give a lose rope to corrupt officials and improper use and functioning of the policing system. Politics have to be sanitised first and where required politicians are to be taken to task, as it was done during these days. And if we have to go for a two party presidential system, or at worst single party communism, we should take a call. But how, it would remain a big question. Protests like the ones in Delhi and Media can play a big role. But it should happen earliest else things would only worsen. People have to rise above the regional, religious and cast lines to take a sincere call on this issue, else the whole issue would be futile and there would be no point in making protests full of rage, voices in media full of demand for justice and Facebook circulations showing sympathies for some victim. A referendum on this issue must be fought for by media and protest groups. Change India right now.

Simultaneously, as second step, one should look seriously into the growing economic divide in the country. Where seventy per cent of people fall in poor category and roughly thirty seven per cent below poverty line, it is outrageous that a parallel five star culture exist in this country and wealth to stinking levels is accumulated by rich people, corrupt officials and some politicians and their well-wishers. The incomes of these people must be curtailed, regulated and tax evasions by them should be stopped. It was deplorable that during recent recession, when jobs at lower levels were being reduced, salary hikes deliberately put on hold, many promoters did show a symbolic marginal cut in their income, but on the other side built many stories high luxury houses and bought fleets of limousines, private jets and luxury yachts. Forget the brain drain, the salary cap and heavier tax for upper middle class and super rich have to come in order to divert funds for deprived people and communities. Till that happen, one cannot expect social security to come.

The third step is to educate and make people sensible towards society and women and install values in them. This step would not yield result if first two are not taken. It is futile to quote examples of Singapore, of harsh rules, because there no one is under poverty line and education level is 100%. We have to go for these targets. Sensitising people then across the country, across the classes and ethnicities would then be possible. If we can eradicate polio and chicken pox from country through effort of government and various groups, a door to door campaign can be tried out by all sections, segments and institutions of society. All schools, offices and organisations in India should get involved and should be tasked for this. The values have to reach individual as well as the families together. One cannot be educated or made sincere towards one aspect of social life; it has to be done for overall social sensibility and values with a special stress on attitude towards women. If political and various social systems are sincere, it can be done.

The time has come. The movement has started. It should not be lost just by focussing on handling of one particular law or case; it should be spread to change the Indian political and social system, the current mind set and thus attitude towards women. That would be the appropriate condolence to the life lost and the departed soul, which led this momentum to start.

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