The only function of the government is to harass us. Whenever a government functionary needs money he will find out some way to extract it from us .The ignorance of law is no excuse – they have a ready tool to prick you. Either give him a bribe or face trouble. Yes, the bureaucrats need the government It is a matter of survival for them! A poor man buys salt or a rich man earns money by hard, honest work-money is squeezed like sugarcane juice. All the while, the big, BLACK FISH escapes. I hate all governments. If capitals of the nations all over the world are deleted by a clean painless bomb, I shall break 101 coconuts before Ganeshji. Thereafter, we all can live in peace like Eskimos and the tribal people in nineteenth century.
You may say the government protects us. I am living in Delhi. Who protects us from Blue line buses, thieves, robbers, kidnappers, kidney grabbers, or monkeys? Away, at Naukutchiathal I felt secure and happy.
As we cannot wish away the government, the next choice is to make it of some use. When I was a boy, the governments in Kerala were so shaky that a Parsee gentleman (I forgot his name) was posted as governor with full powers. My uncle was very happy. If he is to be believed, people of my state were happy and wished that the governor’s rule be continued indefinitely. As young man, I experienced emergency rule in1975.Why should I TELL A LIE? Common man was satisfied. By 10 am government offices were full. They were afraid to take bribe which is their birth-right. Trains ran with clock-like precision. Traders were afraid to charge more. For the first time dearness allowance of government servants (why this obnoxious term? Master and servant-smacks of feudal era) decreased. The common man was happy. The political class was angry because of loss of power and income. Sanjay Gandhi became a hyperactive focal point galvanizing the system and could do things (let us be objective) in a short spell. Had he continued, he would have solved the population problem. A teacher once confessed: I had to forcibly undergo vasectomy. Now I am so happy!
I wrote this much just to highlight the difference between active and somnolent states of governance. Russia after the revolution and present day China are glaring examples of active systems.
VOTER APATHY
In all my life I never voted. All over the world less than 50% people take part in elections. For the poor people, democracy has no meaning. Every year the cost of elections is going up. Whether the money is spent by the government or the political parties, the burden falls on you and I. And what a colossal waste! Add up all the money spent on elections, media publicity, transport, rallies, travel of ministers, food and allowance for party workers etc, etc. From the day of Independence, I think we could have made thousands of schools and hospitals with this money. The beneficiaries of the system are the political class and the black money holders. They manage to send their men to the legislatures so that they can go on with their nefarious activities like smuggling, terrorism, narcotic trade, trafficking in women and children, tourism and building construction, illegal liquor trade, arms trade-oh! My God! My head is about to burst!
SUGGESTIONS
The four pillars of democracy are: legislature, executive, judiciary and the press. We shall examine each, one by one:
A permanent parliament
To avoid frequent election, we can have a permanent parliament. The first requirement is to have competent, dedicated members whose function will be to ponder over the necessity for fresh legislation, changes in existing laws and deletion of obsolete ones. At present this is being done by the cabinet. However, there has to be frequent informal contacts between MPs and ministers. As at present, various committees will work on different subjects, continuously ,except on Sundays, and maintain contact with the public, go through newspapers, visit places whenever necessary ,summon any government functionary or a member of the public etc. However, they should not nurse their constituencies. Influencing the voter in any form will disqualify them.
Qualifications of Members:
The election commission shall receive nominations from the public continuously. Educational qualifications, character & antecedents, health, etc. shall be scrutinized and details posted on a website so that any citizen (or netizen!) can see .If any nomination is rejected, people can represent against it. However, no recourse to judiciary. From the approved panel, any number of persons can contest on party ticket or otherwise. The party can canvass for him but the member is debarred from influencing the voter in any form. The idea is that the nation needs the MP and not the individual. The salary of the MP should not exceed that of the clerk. Only those who are willing to serve the Nation should come forward.
The tenure of the member shall be indefinite. He shall work as long as he is fit physically and mentally. However, he may be disqualified any moment if matters come to light adversely affecting his character and integrity, or, a specified number of people want his recall. Thus, we can ensure that unpopular member does not continue against the will of the voters. The division of constituencies may continue as at present. However, any citizen can contest from any constituency. This will ensure that unfit persons will not get elected from backward areas.
The Prime Minister shall be elected by MPs by secret vote. This will ensure non-interference by outsiders. The PM may choose a small cabinet .
BUDGET
The budgeting shall be a transparent process. All proposals shall be posted on the web.
At present we are following the archaic process started a few centuries ago in Britain, when salaries and defense were the main components of expenditure. Development projects were unknown at that time. Now things have changed. Here I am concerned with projects. In starting, implementation and completion there are so many imponderables that we can never be sure of the likely amount to be spent in each period which is crucial for accurate budgeting. The best way is to continuously monitor the physical progress along with the money spent and go on changing the allocation of funds so that amounts will not lapse on 31st March each year. The parliamentary committee, and not the FM, should take control of this. It may happen that a very important work has to be shelved for the time being and another one commenced on urgency basis. The executive may not be able to do much, as procedures are cumbersome. Ministry-wise allocation of funds is meaningless. For salary and office expenses the present system may continue. We have to shed our shells made of precedents.
May I recount an anecdote? Every office has to send a progress report in the first week. My colleague used to take a lot of time in doing it, drawing lines to make elaborate forms numbering a dozen or so. I used to pity him. During routine transfer I was posted in that seat. I hate such work and I am literally handicapped because of a nasty tremor of my right hand. Can’t help! When I went through the file I found that most of the reports were NIL. After all, what progress do you expect in audit department? Our worthy Auditor General should have devised a suitable form for us. He is too lazy; so, he simply adopts whatever form is prescribed by home ministry. I made a simple report, mentioning in the covering letter itself wherever information is NIL. My supervisor was taken aback. He refused to initial it. Our branch officer in Bombay was to make a routine visit. I took the file personally and explained the position in Malayalam. He readily signed it .In due course, orders were issued by the Chief Auditor that all branch officers should follow my method in sending progress reports!
THE EXECUTIVE.
The important thing to remember here is that all government employees heartily hate the government! Our favourite pastime is abusing our bosses most of whom, in any case are absolute dullards. Every worker feels harassed. He likes to shirk his duties and take leave on and off. He is always worried and indebted. He gets 52 Sundays,3 national holidays, 30 days leave. If you visit an office most likely you will find 50% seats empty even though attendance may be full.
Letters take any number of days to reach from Delhi to the branch office. In all intermediary points these have to be seen by a chain of officers (nobody may be reading- that is another matter), then copies have to be taken and dispatched to the next point.
Everything is confidential, nepotism rampant at every stage like posting, transfer, promotion, extension etc., and extraction of money is not uncommon. The system works on the principle that a superior is always more intelligent than his subordinate. Of course a minority of employees with reasonable efficiency, so the system does not collapse altogether.
Surely it is a tough problem. The system left behind by British imperialism on 15-8-47 was already a few centuries old and we have done precious little to make it at least workable .In the old feudal set up, government was concerned only with protection of feudal property. In Britain poor people were put behind bars for poaching. The whole land belonged to a few lords. Poor people were convicted if they picked a few twigs or fished in a stream. Earlier, they were thrown into African jungle to be eaten by cannibals. Things improved a little after the bloodless revolution.
Today, we have to design a brand new bureaucracy to work in totally different environment to meet the challenges of the twenty first century. Now, we depend more on computers and e-mail. Files can be dispensed with. Number of layers in bureaucracy must be reduced drastically. Instead of endless movement of files, things should be discussed then and there. Ministers should not leave headquarters without the permission of the President. A panel of experienced and learned men (old is gold) will help in decision making. As total transparency is the aim and all discussions will be posted on the web, deciding things will be that much easy. One will not be afraid of criticism. No middle-men. Contracts will be finalized by e-mail. This is not utopia. If you want to compete with China you may have to shake off all lethargy and run for life. Bold and unfettered!
What shall we do with the police? Governments may become unpopular simply by police atrocities. They have to be trained to be humane, courteous and efficient. The manual should be rewritten. Training should be designed to inculcate culture and good behavior. Don’t laugh! If there is a will, the word impossible will become redundant (what did Napoleon say?).
Government offices must remain open from 8am to 6pm every day 365 days. Leap year 29th February may be a total bundh. Air, train, bus-nothing should move.(People will get weekly off by rotation).
In the next issue: judicial revolution (not just reforms)
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