Minimum Government Maximum Governance

Ever since Shri Narendra Modi expanded his Council Of Ministers, some experts have started  criticising him for not practising what he had been preaching all along.

During the election campaign Shri Modi had repeatedly talked of ‘Minimum Government Maximum Governance’. And when he had formed his government in May 2014 it was said that he was actually trying to give the country minimum government. But now, it is being said, this is slogan will only evoke sarcasm.

Council of Ministers, UK

I just looked into composition of ministry in UK. There are twenty two cabinet ministers including the Prime Minister. In addition there are eleven junior ministers who also attend the cabinet meetings. UK has a population of only 65 million people and an area of 243000 sq km and a council of thirty three ministers to govern the country. 

Minimum Government in India

India has a population of 1250 million people and an area of 1270000 sq km. How many ministers would form an ideal council of ministers to provide maximum governance to a population which is twenty times that of UK? It can be a debatable issue.  But a council of sixty five ministers would not necessarily imply a shift from minimum government to maximum government; the caveat being that every minister is required to do some meaningful work and not to just fill a billet.

The problem at the level of ministers is not primarily of numbers but of competence and commitment. A small council comprising of corrupt and or incompetent ministers can do more damaged than a large council of competent and honest ministers.

Bureaucracy

And in this discussion we seem to ignore issues  at the level of bureaucracy and the bigger issue of plethora of laws, rules, regulations, orders, bye-laws, instructions, directions, guidelines etc, written or otherwise, that are in force and are implemented by the huge bureaucracy as per their own understanding and will.  It is the bureaucracy and the laws etc that generally make the life of an average Indian almost impossible.

Bureaucracy thrives on empire building; there are inter-departmental and inter-service rivalries. Innovation and improvisations are not favourably looked upon.  Very few people are willing to take decisions and stick their necks out. Even those who are not corrupt are more concerned with their career and growth and less with professional integrity

Rules etc

And of rules etc less said the better; I will just quote two examples to make my point.

While examinig a representation of a scheduled caste officer we found that Department of Personnel & Training (DOPT) had issued two orders on the same subject and that one order contradicted the other. Both could not be implemented concurrently. We took up the issue with DOPT to find out as to which order was valid. DOPT advised that both orders were to be applied harmoniously. How two contradictory orders could be harmonised in implementation, that they did not explain.  We were in a quandary; matter was resolved when it became sub judice.

In 2008 my son wanted a passport on Tatkal basis. We went to the passport office, waited in one queue and then second queue. After two hours of waiting our turn came and we were disposed of in less than thirty seconds. The official threw the application back at us saying that people born in…….. were not eligible to get a passport on Tatkal basis. Why was not that mentioned in your website, we tried to argue but to no avail. I literally bulldozed my way into RPO’s office and convinced him to issue passport on Tatkal basis.

I was holding a responsible position in government and could find access to RPO. But what of millions of people, most of whom have no understanding of systems and procedures, but who have to deal with different authorities, day in and day out; anyone can show any rule and make the life of common man miserable.

Minimum Government 

It is here that we need to have minimum government and not in council of ministers. We need far less laws and rules and instructions and guidelines. And every rule etc must be carefully worded, ensuring that scope for interpretation and litigation is minimized, if not totally eliminated. And we definitely need a smaller but competent bureaucracy.

Why is youth connecting with Narendra Modi

I recently heard an expert in one of the TV debates saying, that as per some study Indian youth under the age of 35 are conservative. As per that expert youth are connecting with Narendra Modi because they are conservative.

Before I discuss further let me confess that I did not see the complete debate, for I am generally averse to all TV debates; I find them more entertaining and less enlightening.

Is Indian youth connecting with Modi? Obvious answer is yes. Without the whole hearted support of youth, BJP could have never won such a huge mandate as the party has won in the last general election. But why are youth connecting with Modi and not with Rahul Gandhi or even with Arvind Kejriwal?

Is Indian youth conservative? As per the Oxford dictionary, conservative means ‘opposed to change and holding traditional values’. Indian youth is surely conservative for most of them still respect parents and, even after marriage, don’t mind living with them; they still rely on parents to get them married; many go to places of worship; many, if not most, are unable to break the caste barrier. One can go on and on.

Broadly speaking, by these standards, youth of every part of the country can be categorised as conservative; even those who followed Kejriwal in series of dharnas organised by him and eventually voted for him and his party; and also those who still have some faith in Congress party and had voted for that party, the part received about 20% votes in the last election.

Youth is attracted to Modi not because they are conservative but because he dared to present a vision to Indians and the vision appealed them. The bane of Indian political system has been the rise of political families. Nehru- Gandhis, Abdullahs, MSY and his family, Karunanidhi and his clan, Lalu Prasad, Badals, so and so forth; it is sad tale of families  ruling Indians like feudal lords of the yore.

There has not been even one person from any of these political families who had some vision that he could present before the young Indians.  Every family is surviving on caste, religion, language, and region politics. These families have lived and thrived in pomp and glory while every average young Indian has to struggle to achieve anything worthwhile.

Lakhs of student compete year after year for few seats in IITs, Medical Colleges and IIMs. In last fifty years they could not even create one IIT in each State, and many if these states are bigger than European countries. And when they pass out of second, third and fourth grade educational institutions, they have to struggle to get even a clerk’s job.

The bright ones who get an opportunity to go abroad are shocked to see the standard life enjoyed by the common people of those countries. It hurts them for they know that Indians could also have enjoyed reasonable standard of life but for the corrupt and venal political elite ruling the country.

Indians below the age of 35 may or may not be conservative but they are definitely more informed than the youth of 60s and 70s. They know what is happening in every part of the world. They know what could have been achieved in last sixty years.  And, therefore, they have less patience with leaders who are bereft of ideas. Lineage means nothing to them. They want to get on with the job.

Modi, like many other heros of Indian youth (we all who they are), has risen by dint of his sheer hard work and ingenuity. His success gives hope to those who are not born with silver spoons in their mouths.

No, it is not conservatism that attracts youth to Modi. It is his own success in an unjust system, perpetuated by political families, and the dream that he is presenting to the youth that connects Modi to Indians below the age of 35.

Envy

“I don’t envy anyone for, in my opinion, no one is worth envying; every man desperately longs for something or other.”

“Well, then you must be the only person on earth who is above envy?”

“But I did not say that I am above envy for I too am envious of…..of many things.”

“Like what?”

“For one, I am envious of birds; they are not bound by anything; how I wish I had been born as a bird.”

A post for Five Sentence Fiction hosted by Lillie McFerrin

Word prompt-envy. 

Survival

Age-old-machines realized that time was running out for them. They had to either reinvent themselves or be prepared for a slow, agonizing death.

There was a heated and long discussion; after all they were not communists. 
Eventually some machines agreed; some did not.

Those who saw the challenge staring at them got on with the job. Those who did not opted for status quo.

Machines that reinvented themselves kept on reinventing themselves; they survived the onslaught of robotics and nanotechnology. Those who failed to see the writing on the wall died a slow death.

****

A post for Friday Fictioneers hosted by RochelleWisoff on a picture prompt.

Shame

“This is the third girl you have given birth to. It should have been a boy; at least this time.”

He had almost barked at her. A finger probed the baby; and it probed harshly. She was a new born child but still a tiny wave of shame rose in her tiny heart. The mother cringed and looked other way.

As months passed by the wave rose higher and higher; she was often left gasping for breath.

It was her thirteenth birthday. She was fragile as gossamer. But there was no respite for her. He had since plummeted to the zone of beasts and mere probing left him angry. He regretted not killing her at birth.

It was her thirteenth birthday and she lay devastated. She looked at her mother. She saw her eyes; eyes that were bereft of tears. She heard her muted cries; cries that lacked courage.

The wave of shame engulfed her. She wished she could drown for ever.

******

A post for Three Word Wednesday

Word prompts- devastate, gossamer, plummet

Victory

image credit: Dick Blick Art

When everything that could be destroyed had been destroyed they all gloated in immense satisfaction.

Every wild animal and every bird had been exterminated; all plants had been poisoned and all trees had been cut and burnt; every river was dead and all glaciers had melted; oceans were nothing but pools of filth and air was reeking with smoke and fumes.

They rejoiced at their great victory over the unbounded power of nature.

But one day suddenly an alarm went off somewhere. It shattered their confidence.

“What? Where? How? It is not possible? Yes? It can’t be true? No? It has happened? Yes? No?”

Troops were given an explicit order, “Use whatever you want to use, chemical, biological, nuclear, known or unknown, but this plant, this flower must be destroyed. How can it dare to challenge our ingenuity and our strength?”

And soldiers destroyed the plant that had found a way to sprout in the land of dead.

*****

A post for Magpie Tales on a picture prompt.

Stone Soldier

Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons, taken by Daniel71953 and used under the Creative Commons Agreement

Everyone in Vairavia believed that the statue of Zaraan would protect them from the enemies till eternity. They only had to ensure that the statue was well looked after and well-dressed all the time. Nothing more was expected of them to protect their beautiful town and its beautiful people.

Zaraan was a giant of a man and a ferocious warrior who had, a thousand years ago, laid down his life defending Vairavia.

Vairavia was surrounded by steep mountains and could be reached through a narrow pass. Zaraan was standing guard at the pass when the enemy struck. There were more than hundred soldiers in the attacking party. Zaraan fought like a tiger and killed or wounded almost every enemy soldier.  

The enemy attack was repulsed. But Zaraan was fatally injured. Before he breathed his last he told Vairavians to install his statue at the place where he had fought the enemy.

“Let them not know that I have died. Let them think that I have survived my wounds. I have put fear in them and now they feel fear even my statue. They will never dare to attack Vairavia.”

Vairavians spent many evenings rejoicing at their victory. Rejoicing over, they installed a statue of Zaraan at the place he had died. Every few days they cleaned the statue and change its dress. Anyone who saw the statue from a distance thought that it was Zaraan was guarding Vairavia.

The enemy continued to believe that Zaraan had survived the attack and was still standing guard, ever alert and ready to repel the enemy. For years no one dared to attack Vairavia.  

Vairavians began to believe that the statue would protect them from enemy till eternity. They became complacent; no one thought of becoming a soldier; no one sharpened the swords; no one trained the war horses.

They began to believe that they were invincible. They began to enjoy fruits of life without any restraint. Vairavia became nation of fun loving and comfort loving people.

But Vairavians were living in a fool’s paradise. The enemy had all along been burning with rage. For years they had been thirsting to avenge their martyrs. For years they had been planning and preparing for a battle.

And then the enemy struck. Some enemy soldiers were still scared of Zaraan. But they were desperate to challenge him. They attacked Zaraan with all the might and ingenuity they could muster. They were prepared for the worst but this time Zaraan could not fight back. In moments he was shattered into hundred pieces.

Vairavia was overrun. Vairavians paid for their complacency and for their blind reliance on a stone soldier. It dawned on them that they had acted like fools all these years. But it was too late.

********

A post for Light and Shade Challenge on a picture (given above) prompt and a quotation (given below) prompt:

Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do.

                                                                                                                        Voltaire