Let me begin today's part of the blog by pondering about the practicality of the 13 points I mentioned in the preceding blog. In my writings, whenever I use the term public servant, it includes the elected representatives too. How can a elected representative be any different from a public servant? I think that the elected representatives are the first among public servants. Hence, they are very much at the top of the list of public servants. Coming back to the practicality of the 13 points, the question is - albeit the 13 points look good on paper, are they practical? Can we have ideas which can yield quick wins for us? Let me attempt to address these points today & then take up the next few points. As discussed in the preceding blog, in my opinion, to a large extent, when used responsibly & judiciously, RTI has the capability to address the first 2 issues, namely - free information dissemination to the public at the grassroots level & accountability of public servants to their actions & decisions. Continuing from where I left in my preceding blog, I think RTI has to be made a part & parcel of the job of every public servant. One of the oppositions raised by the public servants is that answering RTI applications takes away a lot of their productive time. This opposition / apprehension can be addressed by mandating posting of all public documents on the website of the respective departments of the Government thru' e-governance or making them available to public thru' RTI kiosks. How do we operationalise this? This can be done by considering all public work undertaken by the departments as incomplete unless all the documents pertaining to the work are posted on the website or made available to public thru' RTI kiosks. This will increase the scope of responsibility of the public servants & also builds in accountability into the jobs of public servants. Also, this makes them (public servants) liable to public scrutiny in all areas of their official jurisdiction except the strategic areas of National interest. Albeit we may debate on the misuse of RTI, the fact is, in the 62 years since independence, it is our public servants hand in hand with their political masters who have misused the power & responsibility entrusted with them. We can ensure this doesn't happen again only by making the public servants accountable & this can be achieved by making their official actions & decisions liable to public scrutiny. Does being a public servant absolve a person of his / her responsibilities or being accountable to the responsibilities? I think, a public servant should be more responsible & accountable to his actions because they concern the general public & their interests. If indeed there are cases of RTI misuse, we can address those specific cases on a case-to-case basis. But, using misuse of RTI as an alibi, a Government servant (including politicians) cannot seek protection from public scrutiny. In Parliamentary Democracy, the public is well within its rights to question the actions & decisions taken by the public servants. In my opinion, it is a fundamental right of every citizen to question the public servants.
Just look at the number of sittings of the Lok Sabha that have taken place in 2008 & the number of hours spent productively on discussing & debating issues & passing legislations. It is the lowest in our history, post independence. What a shame. Is this not dereliction of duties of our elected representatives? Are they not answerable to us about why they did not sit in the House & discuss matters & pass legislations, when we have entrusted them with a job responsibility? Does this not call for an RTI application seeking response for the question - why the elected representatives did not spend time productively & what it is that they were doing when they were supposed to be on the floor of the house debating issues & enacting legislations? Therefore, I think that the points I mentioned in the preceding blog are not only pragmatic but also in the spirit of putting in place a dynamic & robust Parliamentary Democracy system. It may not yield quick wins, but, it will for sure win us greater returns in the long term. The ideas mentioned are not intended to fetch us quick wins. To achieve this, what is required is the will of general public & most importantly, will of the educated community to enforce implementation of the points upon our elected representatives.
One of the most important issue debated on the floor of the Parliament in 2008 was the Civil Nuclear Deal with the US. Although the UPA Government won the vote of confidence, it is deplorable that a majority of our elected representatives did not understand head or tail about the basics of the Nuclear Deal. For a change, wisdom seems to have ruled the decision of a few of our MPs belonging to a certain political party. They sought expert opinion of our former President Dr. APJ, upon whose advice they voted in favor of the Nuclear Deal. But for this one exceptional incident, by & large, nobody seems to know about -
What this deal will do for India?
What are the binding & non-binding clauses?
How much does the deal affect our Sovereignty & make us dependent?
Do we have the freedom to conduct further Nuclear tests if necessary?
What will be the bilateral consequences if we test & how do we handle them?
What happens to Nuclear fuel supply if we test?
Will we be given an opportunity to explain our position on the reasons for further testing until which time fuel supply wouldn't be affected?
Can we maintain what is necessary for minimum Nuclear deterrant & work on further research?
Do we have the cooperation of the International community to carry out further research or does it mean handing over our right to further research & testing?
Does the International community recognize our position as a responsible Nuclear State which has not indulged in any sort of Nuclear proliferation, unlike some of our neighbours who openly indulge in Nuclear proliferation with some of the rogue nations in the world?
You can't expect intellectual & informed debate on such issues of National importance on the floor of the House without our elected representatives being educated. The point is, the mind & the intellect of a person requires certain maturity to think & introspect deeply on an issue & debate rationally based on facts. This maturity is the consequence of a well rounded, comprehensive education. This very education is what is responsible for making a man out of an otherwise beast, no different from those dwelling in the jungles. Education cultivates culture, sophistication, mutual respect, tolerance, character, courage, independence, & such other noble qualities which lead to the sculpting of men of strength & character. It is such men of education who have to be bestowed with the responsibility of carrying on the affairs of the Nation. Only then can we expect progress, evolution, & development of not just the economy, but most importantly, development of man as an important & responsible being. Such men of education can not only lead civil societies & Nations into the future, but also lead & elevate an entire humanity to greater heights in life thru' purposeful living, meaningful & mutually beneficial interactions among themselves, different societies, peoples, & the environment at large. To achieve this overall objective of human development, we need education. And, education not in the sense of just academic studies, but, what is needed is education that inculcates the spirit of learning; curiosity; commitment to contribute to the body of knowledge; commitment to teach & share knowledge; commitment to enhance the quality of life both materially & spiritually thru' improved & better utilisation of technology, human resources, green energy, etc.; commitment to selflessly serve "the principle of life" in the larger sense & not just be circumscribed by one's own family or community. In short, what we need is men of universal character who embody these virtues & endeavor toward the collective good of all. If there has been any time in the post independent India when we needed such men of character who can lead us into the next century, IT IS NOW. Let us endeavor to cultivate these virtues in our own lives & our childrens' lives. This way, I think, we can make a positive beginning to make differences in our own house & immediate neighbourhood. This in my opinion is the right way of acting - acting strongly & firmly within our circles of influence. This is just the beginning, a beginning in the right direction & for the right purpose. Let us make a conscious choice of walking this right path together & make a difference to our own lives, our childrens' life, & leave behind us a better world, a better legacy, which can be a model for progress & development for future generations...
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