The Need To Change Indian Politics, Governance And Constitution

Is Indian constitution so helpless that we cannot bring about any change without carrying out procession or disrupting assembly sessions with violence and dis-respecting our fellow politicians? Can change be only brought through Satyagraha or non-cooperation movement?  If it was a country like Egypt ruled by Monarchy it would have made sense to take your anger on streets.  Guys, this is the largest democracy in the world.  Why after so many years we feel that we are still ruled by an alien government, who is helpless in cleaning up its own mess?

After almost 64 years of India's Independence, there are many loopholes in the system which need to be addressed and fixed for a modern society.  In a modern society people are more civilized and are willing to play a role in governance.  They are willing to be socially responsible citizens.  But people of modern India need clean and honest politics, better governance and commanding leaders in order to participate in our social upheaval.  There is no such rule in our constitution that would combat corruption and punish law offenders.  Thanks to recent protests by Anna Hazare our government has at least acknowledged the need for has started making progress towards anti-corruption law known as Lokpal Bill.(Updated: Thanks to Rishabh)

But a Lokpal bill in itself is not sufficient to combat corruption.  We need better, responsible and transparent governance for our society.  Why there is no transparency in every undertaking of our government? Policies which affect masses and which can bring change in our daily lives should be done in open and by public participation.  Local lawmakers should consult local people over what they feel is appropriate for everyone.  Corporators in our municipal corporations should conduct town hall meetings and address issues at large in public.  For all this to happen a cultural shift has to happen among our leaders.

I am awe struck by how White House shares information on their website.  Amazing stuff.  Oh! and by the way there is also an iPhone app for it.  We are not too far away from such a future.  Gujarat state government is most advanced in sharing information to public from the rest of the state governments in India.  Our politicians should embrace openness and be more willing to engage with the Aam Junta (common people).  The wikileaks saga still haunts our politicians and many are still defending their turfs over exposed information in the public.  Would that happen if governments were more open?

Regarding politics, I would like to share following tweet by Shri Jaya Prakash Narayan of Loksatta party on twitter.  He says, "The only antidote to corrupt politics is more politics and better politics.  Hating politics will end democracy and make things worse."  When we are going through a major change in our country then we need better politics to withstand such change.  More public debates, respect among our leaders, debating on facts and numbers, and accountability are some of the aspects of better politics.

There is a famous saying and I love it immensely, here it is, "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and of people some of time, but you can't fool all of the people all of time".   I don't know who said it but it is very relevant in politics.  Modern India who is well educated needs data.  You cannot fool people over false claims and vague promises.  As an engineer if I don't see real numbers behind a process then there is an information gap in my mind, which makes it difficult to understand reality.  As is the case with modern governance, people need public data available on a public platform which can be broken down into its minutest details for them to bridge their knowledge gap.   If you protect data from people then it would make them handicapped and they would feel less responsible because they couldn't take any action.  It is now the time that we embrace openness, transparency and honesty in our politics and governance.  

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