Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Viswaas !!

India has been witnessing most interesting times with hitherto unknown persons donning mantles of power and old warhorses being retired to rest in stables of history. The actors though changed,the stage, script as well as the scenarios remain repetitive – to the studied minds of a people’s democracy. The ruling dispensation has won by a thumping majority yet the Parliamentary party remains as much in line and orderly conduct as the line style of management adopted by traditional armies around the world. The internal discipline definitely marks the prowess of the big boss to control his flock of live manpower. But then, it is again supposed to be a duo sharing power albeit as co-shareholders of the creditable victory. Their predecessor-duo was often labelled as comprising of a puppet and her master’s voice controlling the puppet as would a ventriloquist. Well, the good fortune of one political combination always arises as nemesis for the non-performers of the past eras. Errors of decision can assume various shapes. The most commonest one being the belief that ‘a government on auto-pilot’ can be described or justified as being reflective of ‘self-governance’ of the people.
Much water has flown below the bridge of ‘good governance’ since May, 2014. Be it the agricultural front,the defence front,the space research front or the water & electricity- supply, the plain truth has sprung out in the public domain. Since nothing seems to be a ‘State secret’ in the ‘minimum government- maximum governance’ regimes.
Drought hit areas reel under social stress and spate of farmers’ suicides continues. For whatever reason, spurious seeds, fertilisers and pesticides continue to have their run. Cloud-seeding exercise is embarked upon at an inopportune time of monsoon season. Agriculture continues to be a most-neglected area of both budgetary allocation as well as re-engineering of the economic structure of India. Defence spending is on an all time high and fully disproportionate to the needs of rural and urban regions. The class of -‘farmers’ are fast disappearing as were the ‘artisans’ and ‘craftsmen’ during the fag end of British India era. There is no father figure of farmers-community or an experienced or practising agriculturist appointed as a minister for agriculture. Ones who hold the mantle of that office rarely find time to visit a State more than twice in a five-years term. Likewise, a non-scientist being made minister for science & technology is as laughable as a simple soul being made in charge of the crucial portfolio of Finance. So much so that a budgetary document is found not to depict any matching figure. High street finance ? What’s that now? Oh, err…hmm..!
Be that as it may, the time has dawned on a do-good Prime Minister to spread the good word through radio broadcasts and television newscasts that it is as important to ensure civic sense as it is to see streets swept clean.

Civic sense in India is as much visible by its chaos as by its absence. On the other end of the spectrum is a well-disciplined force of army personnel trained in etiquette and cleanliness of orderly behaviour. What stops the Government from utilising these fine men and women from the armed forces to man traffic junctions in all cities and towns of the nation? After all, they are being paid salaries and a minuscule get called to the borders. Enhancing their self-esteem by allowing these jawans and officers to team up with farmers in the fields and help grow useful agricultural produce would only extend the qualitative life span of both the ‘kisan’ and the ‘jawan’. A rotational duty of a fortnight each could end their monotonous lifestyle as also add pep and vigour to soil and the tillers of the soil of India.

There is no manual which says that soldiers can be utilised in ‘civil society’ only in aftermath of a natural calamity or catastrophe. All said and done,today’s cantonments are ensconced between high rise structures and busy highway traffic.

Ennui which has engulfed the mindset of Indians has churned out either sycophants or have-nots. A most ominous sign indeed.
No political party is addressing real issues confronting the country such as linking of river waters by embracing new technologies available to provide abundant supplies of electricity,water and biofuel. Nor are they working to woo the next crop of voters who would be determining their fate by this very process of EVMs or ballot-paper driven polls. None has dared to think out of the box and decry all that hype and hypertension giving hooplas,day in and day out.

Moral fabric of our robust culture is fast losing sheen and dark forces appear to be shining bright – if only as black oily bubbles floating across the gallivanting generation of patriots.

Are we truly a ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Viswaas’ State ?

Mere sloganeering would not fill the empty bellies nor the myriad potholes on the roadways of the country. Trust deficit pervades trust. It is high time to begin to silence the vociferous tukde-tukde wolves along with the sponsors of such fissiparous trends and not be punishing the helpless law-abiding lambs . ‘Viswaas’ has to be a two-way process. Not just appeasing loud-mouthed angry-birds or pooh-poohing cries of the docile-majority.Indian society can derive great benefit by letting the socially-useful productive work of a farmers-soldiers teamwork to reshape the way trust is built across the length and breadth of the country.

Jai Hind!