Lokpal Bill stuck in the Parliament
again. Yet another train accident claims many lives. Another RTI activist
killed. The list is endless... Whenever we read such a headline, no doubt all
of us feel enraged. We talk about it for a day or two and then we forget.
Last year, when Anna Hazare had hit
the road asking the Lokpal Bill to be passed by the Parliament, there was a lot
of support for him and thousands of people had rallied behind him. Now after
two sessions of the Parliament, we seem to have forgotten all about the Bill.
Last year, several railway accidents
took place in the country. There was some grief, some public anguish, a lot of
blame-games and of course a bunch of enquiries!
There are numerous cases of infant
deaths in hospitals of West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir, several
whistleblowers and RTI activists have been murdered, but we pay little
attention to these.
Perhaps this behaviour of ours can be
attributed to the Sab Chalta Hai syndrome. We have become so accustomed
to the inefficiencies of the system that it hardly takes us a moment to dismiss
the happenings around us by saying “Sab Chalta Hai”. We have been affected
so much by this syndrome that things like trains getting late, poor services in
hospitals and officers demanding bribes hardly have any impact on us.
Someone once said, “There’s a problem
only if there is a solution”. So, what is the solution for Sab Chalta Hai
syndrome?
If we observe carefully, in cases of
Lokpal Bill, Jessica Lal murder case, etc, whenever we have been led properly,
we have indeed come out against the faults of the system. Perhaps our country
suffers from a severe crunch of leaders who can take a stand against the
inefficiencies of the system. I feel that if a greater weightage is given to
the personality of the candidates appearing for government services like the
IAS, etc, we would be able to get more leaders into the system. No doubt, marks
are important, but what is equally important is the person’s personality and
his approach attitude towards problems and life.
Another antidote to the Sab Chalta
Hai syndrome is framing of better laws and quick disposal of cases. Most of
us are unwilling to act against the ills associated with the system because the
laws are not strong enough to protect the whistleblowers and to keep their
identities secret. Also, the entire process of enquiry, investigation and
judgement is very long and takes a heavy toll on an individual.
Last, but not the least, proper
education and guidance will help us successfully overcome the effects of the Sab
Chalta Hai syndrome. If some leadership lessons and case studies are taught
at the school level itself regarding how individual and community action
successfully acted against some social malady, right from a young age we will
have enough motivation and examples to take the initiative.
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