Institutional renewal not enough; personal renewal is essential

There is a silent revolution taking place in the country that might get ignored in what some call the cacophony at Jantar Mantar but which has indeed served a purpose. The revolution is about the realisation that people must speak up, that it matters. The habitual inertia and cynicism is giving way. We should remember that when Jayaprakash Narayan gave the call for Total Revolution in 1974-75, there was a much wider awakening; thousands went to jail during Emergency though a vast majority chose to succumb — ‘crawl when they were asked to bend’ as was said then.
What have we learnt from the Janata government after that and several other governments since?When minister after minister allocated resources under their charge to those places and/or people they liked, ignoring the public interest or objective criteria, why did no popular protest take place? People accepted discretionary power of this kind. Recently, when the head of a national party wanted such discretionary powers to be given up, the government of that party disagreed.

When the head of organisations like CAG and other constitutional bodies speak on public platforms that people should be more vigilant and without their  support, these bodies may not be able to discharge their responsibility, we may be asking for a cultural revolution.

But let me revert to the lessons of the Total Revolution, which tell us that institutional renewal, in the true sense, has not been taken up in right earnest. If reports of the police commission, administrative reforms commission, education commissions, etc, gather dust mere and piecemeal changes are effected, if at all, it is not because the recommendations are bad but because nobody wants to rock the boat of expediency and shortcuts.

Why did JP not insist on an agenda of institutional renewal? Why did he lose interest, just as Gandhi did, after independence? Not many remember that Gandhi did not want the rulers of this country to live in New Delhi’s bungalows, and wanted Rashtrapati Bhavan to be converted into a hospital. Why do leaders like JP and Gandhi fail in remodelling our institutions? Why do colonial structures continue to rule our minds and daily life still? Maybe they did not fail us; maybe we failed them.

We did not take recourse to frugality, accessibility, accountability, and affordability in what we did. We designed corridors and not counters. We started expecting that since someone in a position of power was known to us, we should get our way, regardless of merit. We do not wait in queue even while visiting a temple, not to even mentioning while waiting for a bus. Who lost? The weaker person lost; the person who could not elbow out the stronger commuter or the richer devotee.

Where do we begin? In every role, we start speaking out when the situation so demands and willingly suffer the consequence. But will it happen? Will opportunism go away just because some people wish it to be? No. We need to go through a cathartic process and let all those who believe in a corruption-free India start with confessing to their children (or younger colleagues) first: When did they cut a corner, when did they teach without doing justice to the class or the students, when did they bend policies or interpret them to suit a particular interest, when did they recruit head of institutions or other key role players on grounds other than merit, when did they deny a genuine request of some well-meaning change agents, and when did they succumb to parochial, regional, religious,  or sectarian temptations…

The list is long; the time is short. I hope someone will begin this process and earn the right to bequeath a cleaner India to their children and younger colleagues, and also enjoy a deeper sleep and a lighter journey ahead…

One man or one institution, regardless of how righteous or how much power it possess — even the Lokpal — cannot rid the country of corruption. We need to repair every puncture in the tube because there are so many. To say all institutions are corrupt does not help. Are we doing away with democracy and multiple institutions, no matter how faulty? While the Lokpal is needed, it alone will not stem the rot.

Sorry, Anna, for not removing the greater purpose of institutional renewal from the agenda. I know you also want it. But not all those who accompany you may…