Waiting for scarlet dawn

"Ill fares the land, to hastening ill a pray,
Where wealth accumulates and man decay..."

 

Who is the top litigant of the country? Who commits the most illegal activities in a year? Who kills the maximum number of people and commits maximum dacoities and road hold-ups in a year? Who has the largest amount of black money? Is Parliament which is struggling to get the Women's Reservation Bill passed aware of the fact that most child prostitutes in the world are from India? Let me answer these questions as they send shiver down the spine.

 

It would not be easily palatable to us but the fact remains that the 'Union of India' and the 'States' are the biggest litigants of the country. And, you will also be surprised to know that about 80 per cent of decisions of the Uttar Pradesh government are dismissed by the High Court as illegal and arbitrary. It means that about 80 per cent conduct of the government is not as per law.

 

The other state governments are no better than Uttar Pradesh. The state governments are indulging in the largest number of illegal activities. Last year, in Uttar Pradesh itself, 54 people were killed in police custody. In contrast, no other criminal gang has killed so many people in a year. And, in the last ten years, about 500 people were killed by the men in 'Khaki' called Uttar Pradesh police. The Bihar and the Madhya Pradesh police are not far behind holding the second and third place respectively. It is quite telling about the character of the government as per the government records. Now, the next question is which gang commits the maximum number of dacoities in a year? If you keep an eye on every crossing of roads in the country and states, the cops from the local police station or traffic police can be seen opening their hands before truck or taxi drivers for money. And, at night, the face of the police becomes furious and they intimidate common man at gunpoint. It is as common as its official denial. Obviously, this degeneration of democracy is only leading to anarchy. Again, one will be surprised to know that the largest amount of black money is neither kept by a politician, nor by an actor nor by a smuggler. Ironically, it is the officers of the income-tax, sales tax, customs and excise departments who are responsible for unearthing black money. In spite of that not a single complaint is registered against them in any court of law. Brother, the reality is that the judges of the Supreme Court are eager to know about the properties of everyone but they themselves are not willing to disclose their wealth that has been gathered from known or unknown sources.

 

When the government machinery including the income tax, sales tax, excise, customs, traffic and other category of officers and judges are making themselves rich through ill-gotten wealth, who will listen to your complaint? The condition is so pathetic that if you think of complaining against some corrupt official to his seniors, you will find that the officer is in good books of his superiors. Nirmal Yadav was the judge in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. There were serious allegations of bribery against her. The mighty judiciary came to her rescue and she was appointed the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court as a reward for her misdeeds. The people of the country who are being killed slowly by these corrupt bribe takers suffer the pain of death without creating any fuss. Many theories are being propounded at the Para-scientific and Para-psychic levels. Some say that there is a hole in the ozone layer leading to leakage of oxygen from the earth's atmosphere. But no one says that there is a hole in the economy of the country, which is leading to outflow of black money. Some say that because of global warming the earth's temperature is rising, but no one says that the blood of the people has become cold. Another startling fact, as revealed by the renowned economists of the country is that the nation's 50 per cent of gross domestic product is made up of the money which is doing the rounds in speculation and smuggling. And so, its evaluation in nation-building would be meaningless and self-deceiving. According to an estimate, the volume of the country's economy is Rs 61, 64, 000 crore. Out of this amount, a sum of Rs 25 lakh crore is used in bribery and black marketing.
So, when the government is spending most of its time and resources in illegal work; when the sitting judges are reluctant to reveal their wealth; and the legislature is unable to bring out a valid legislation to check it; when the bureaucracy has become the tormentor and the police a gang of thieves, should we not build a new society, a new polity and a new culture?

We will have to take a chance and be more expressive of our depressed feelings without bothering about the consequences. If we cannot laugh together, can't we cry together? I know very well that it is a situation of crying in wilderness and it will not be heard by others. But if we cry together aloud, many wolves will run away from the forest.  And, it will be a new dawn for us.

 

(Published in By-Line National Weekly News Magazine (Hindi & English))