Being civil

The mood on the street appears to be clear - of the civil, by the civil, for the civil. Somewhere in the last 3 months, the moniker of 'people' gave way to that of 'civil society'. My two cents on it- Were you not civil when you elected those representatives of yours, the ones whom you paint in the darkest of light now, that you are hell bent on making a mockery of India's democracy?

I am not against public participation in affairs related to policy-making, in fact I was among those 700-odd who marched from H13 to the main gate in a show of solidarity with India against corruption and Anna saheb's crusade to get the society's voice heard. Yet, the past few weeks of consternation on both sides and the ensuing shallowness being put on display in the public sphere makes this exercise appear useless. The thing is, I don't trust our legislators to pass a strong Lokpal bill, and demonstrate we may, it doesn't work till you have representatives in the house acting as a bulwark. The way the UPA has reacted to the Public accounts committee report on the 2G scam, which for all its sensational remarks, offered a nutshell view of what is already being discussed in the open, leaves a gaping hole in the Congress' line of defense that it fully supports all democratic and constitutional provisions to ensure accountability of legislators. Yes, we can march again and the media will promptly come back in its effort to grab eyeballs, but does it answer the larger question? You cannot hold the parliament accountable if you don't have a headcount in there. Therefore, elect wisely, and hold them accountable. West Bengal is facing an acid-test of sorts, but if the Trinamool-Congress does sweep in to power as projected, expect them to paint the town red with slogans of victory and representation of 'people's choice'.

Sadly, it is not just the polity which is adding to my worries. The civil society hasn't held back in making a fool of itself, perhaps even trying to supersede the 'luminaries' likes Sibal and Chidambaram, who use their mastery of words more than their mastery of thought. So after the government, in a rare display of responsibility and vision, decided to introduce a bill in the Monsoon session of the parliament decreeing setting up of an independent Nuclear regulatory authority of India, Indian express today reported a letter written by alleged civil society activists, addressed to the PMO, demanding participation of civil society members in framing of this body. It went a step ahead and asked the government to ensure members of the 'civil society' accompany the AERB officials on current security checks being carried out at India's civilian nuclear plants. Since I and you have every right to demand an equal representation in all such efforts to ensure civil society's participation, I demand to be included in such visits (hey, I have always been curious of how a nuclear plant works). Also, in the same vein of public representation and accountability, I demand members of the civil should be called in for invigilation and correction in competitive exams all over the country. If time permits, call them to our semester exams as well. Also, some civil society members should come and see how Reliance extracts gas from KG-D6, because they appear to be knowledgeable enough in all matters which require specific expertise.

This whole thing has clearly gone too far. A movement to demand efforts to curb corruption on the part of the ruling establishment is a different thing, but proclaiming the higher ground in all matters of policy making is ridiculous. You might as well go ahead and appoint yourself the PM of India. Peculiarly, the one event where civil society representation has been a vintage tradition is marriage, and perhaps the old mentality of 'marrying under the society's eyes confers legitimacy to the whole affair' has carried over to the way we observe our parliament. Then perhaps it is time to start looking for the right pandit, or a good therapist!

On the culture of chief guests: