Ramba Samba Governance? - Soter

Published in the Herald, 13th February 2013 (Ash Wednesday) Ramba Samba Governance? Several vital truths on democracy, governance and education that governments would like to keep concealed from the public, was only reinforced at the recently concluded DD Kosambi Festival of Ideas, 2013. The lecture on `Indian Tradition of Public Debate’ by Prof Lord Bhiku Parekh, could not have come at a better moment than at a time when it is becoming fashionable for a mysterious mob to assemble at India Gate, Ramlila Maidan or Jantar Mantar claiming to be the ‘voices for change,’ and assume the right to speak on behalf of an entire nation. And the path one needs to take to make a real change towards a healthy democracy, came from the war-ravaged nation of Afghanistan through its Peace Ambassador Dr Sakina Yacoubi. Her participatory education curriculum which primarily imparts knowledge on democracy, governance, honesty, core values, traditions (necessary for the foundation of a healthy democracy) ~ had enough lessons meant to be learnt by India’s disoriented and confused ‘voices for change’. For them library knowledge devoid of experiences of the ground realities and wisdom, compels them to try and copy-paste the ‘Arab Spring’ in Delhi. The time-tested path of satyagraha which combines both spirituality and mental discipline as shown by the father of our nation, seems not at all fascinating to a restless generation habituated to ‘quick fixes’ and ‘instant solutions’. One of the lessons learnt from the Festival of Ideas was that processes need to take their own natural and logical course and if unreasonably accelerated, can only be expected to boomerang. This is the difference between an ‘Arab Spring’ and India’s own ‘satyagraha’. In sharp contrast to the ideas on democracy shared at the festival, is Goa’s parivartan spectacle of spin, swing, twist, appeasement, deception and exclusion politics that has kept Goans on the edge of their seats. The cheers that rent the air some 300 days ago, have now given way to tears. The ‘Parivartan Spring’ of March 2012, is already dissolving into a summer of dejection and desperation. That mere knowledgeable political leadership need not necessarily result in wise and honest governance, is a lesson that political history and religious scriptures teach us. But a corrupt society has always been known to discard the truth and stone the prophets to death. Nothing seems to have changed for Goans except the sadistic appetite of a gullible section of the masses, that takes pleasure in advocating death penalties, war and abuses. The other segment of Goan society has been left reeling under the intoxication of doles and schemes. Though self proclaimed to be parties with a difference, they do nothing differently. The realisation that present-day politicians are no different in succumbing to the lure of monied lobbies, irrespective of the party labels they flash, has slowly begun to sink into the mind of Goans. But how long will this realisation last against the onslaught of the hired advertising and event management machinery of political parties that suppress facts and reason and arouses irrational passions on the eve of every election? If one is to sum up Goa’s political situation in the last 300 days, it is about a growing intolerance to freedom of expression coupled with disregard for transparency and accountability that gets advertised as clean and able governance for Goa. It is about a governance of confusion. The chest thumping about ‘zero tolerance to corruption’ seems to have been stretched into a ‘zero tolerance to participatory democracy’. What seems to be a paranoia that has set in after repeated check-mating of the government on several fronts by civil society activists, has resulted in amendments diluting the much touted ‘Lok Ayukta’ which was to be a balm against the pain of corruption. This has left the parivartan foot-soldiers in a state of utter embarrassment. Right now given the opportunity, probably this government would even attempt to amend the Right to Information Act to deter public from accessing information and exposing corruption and nepotism. But Goans have no one to blame except themselves for inviting this abuse of democratic institutions. The deteriorating law and order scenario in the state may be a cause for citizens to worry about, but the clean and able government believes that the situation is still not that bad. In fact, the government seems to be proudly flashing statistics to prove that the crime figures are not as bad as those during the Congress regime. The media reports about a 55% increase in crimes against children, are being cleverly ignored. The rapist in the Vasco incident is still at large. Burglaries, dacoities and rapes continue to haunt the state. But the government seems more busy building a case in favour of the mining lobby by proving the CEC and Justice Shah Commission wrong. While the cheerleaders of this government want the public to believe that the government’s twists and turns are deliberate and are actually meant to make matters more difficult for the mining industry, only time will establish the actual truth. Till then, given the pathetic levels of governance in the country, it would only be beneficial for citizens to adopt the role of a ‘doubting Thomas’ when it comes to this government’s sincerity about putting an end to the environmental upheaval of the Goan countryside and saving Goa. The Goa Government seems to be groping in the dark and is desperate to fill the state coffers at any cost so that the much-needed development work could be tendered to keep the party bosses and supporting MLAs content. The debt from government borrowings is rising. Goa is up for sale to the highest bidder and with the coastal areas damaged beyond repair, tourism is now being moved to the hinterland, without heeding any lessons from past experiences and without determining the carrying capacity and environmental impact on new regions. The fundamental rights of citizens are being sacrificed to facilitate merrymaking for tourists. Even house taxes in villages have been abolished to subsidize the second and third homes of rich migrants and politicians. Goa is currently a free zone for anyone who can afford to throw money. Daily life has been reduced to 365 days of only carnivals and festivals. Instead of acknowledging its shortcomings, the government is shamelessly blaming the previous government for the problems. But was this not the reason why the people voted in a new government? And if so, what is it doing other than blaming others for its failures? To sum it all up, the crime economy continues to thrive in Goa except that it gets packaged in more palatable terms namely, development for generation of jobs. Drug trade and gambling is reported to be flourishing in the capital city. There may be some truth to the fears expressed by a young lad at the D D Kosambi Festival of Ideas, about the possibility of 10,000 alcohol bars in Goa producing more drunks in the next five years than intellectuals. To that we could add gambling and the growing flesh trade. The aggression and hostility of a criminal economy is evident in every corner, from the street to the home. How long can Goans afford to solely divert their attention to issues like `special status’, medium of instruction and Dabolim airport and refuse to look at the over-all political, social and economic reality that stares them in the face? http://www.oheraldo.in/newscategory/Opinions/14