Authors of Destiny

The anxiety of Mr Cho Ramaswamy, the veteran political commentator, towards India becoming a model Democracy was understandable. However, he seemed to have jumped the gun when he suggested that Democracy was ailing the nation and the solution to fixing the woes of India was in a temporary 'Emergency' being declared - something akin to the ''shock treatment''.

The solution is too simple to be plausible or practical. Cho. has a point there, though. Democracy lets anyone walk out, anywhere, any time. Union workers, lawyers, doctors, Honourable Members of the Parliament . . . they all can choose to shut down their systems and go on strike, at their whims and fancies. Whether their claims are right or wrong is secondary - the fact is, that the implications of their actions are being felt by the weak and the hapless, those who are totally unrelated to any aspect associated with the strike.

But the solution doesn't lie in bringing in an Autocratic system that bans the freedom to protest outright, even if it is a temporary measure. Who would choose such a system? Who decides on its rights and tenure? How can such a system be trusted upon? And even if we answer these questions, would we then not have to rename our Nation from India to some “..istan”?
Temptations to come up with a 'Quick fix' for chronic ailments ought to be resisted. The patience and perseverance needed to "fight the system while staying in the system" have to be developed. We can not hope to change the course of a Nation's destiny on its head, in a matter of months.

What India faces now is not an aggression or suppression as it did in History - it suffers from Cancer; and its population is gleefully oblivious of the fact. Shock treatments may work in cases of external exigencies - not when the enemy is within. The results of short-cuts are bound to be short-lived!