We saw a movie the other day called Jolly LLB. The title seemed to suggest that it would be a humorous film, perhaps because of the name or word 'Jolly'. In reality it turned out to be a serious piece of work about justice, corruption and coming of age. The seemingly ludicrous judge, typified by the way he looks, eats and behaves turns out to be the real hero. As he phrases it - he waits in his courtroom for real proof to be presented but invariably an 'understanding' takes place and what finally reaches him is a watered down, confused apology for evidence. When he does receive real proof he rises to the occasion and delivers the right verdict in-spite of various kinds of pressure that is being applied on him.
In the ultimate analysis life is about real people and their choices. It is not about some mythical 'system' that has been set up, presumably by unthinking and cruel aliens, that oppresses us and allows us to justify our failures and misdemeanors. Most Indians complain too much about the 'system'. Indians living abroad are particularly scathing. Perhaps they have encountered a less intrusive and heavy handed bureaucracy in their new homes. Perhaps like the 'naya mussalman' they feel obliged to uphold their new homelands. In any case, all of us, Indians and NRIs 'protest too much' like the lady in Hamlet.
In my earlier post 'Corrupter or Corruptee' I have tried to establish that the Corruptee is more culpable than the Corrupter. The issue hinges on morality and choices. The Corrupter is certainly bad but the one who succumbs to temptation is far worse. Very often it involves misuse of one's official position or worse. The case for not complaining about 'the system' is similar. I am not a legal or constitutional expert but whatever views I have heard about India's legal system and constitution are uniformly positive. It is to our credit that we have survived as a parliamentary democracy for so many years. Admittedly, the administration and implementation of our laws and the Police system leave a lot to be desired but the 'system' as it stands is not too bad. Those of us who have had long careers here know the pitfalls of dealing with the Indian State. From petty bureaucracy like getting a driving licence made, to land registration, school admissions, factory permissions - everyone has a horror story to relate. However, when you probe this, you realise that all of these people drive cars and have legitimate licenses, they have bought property and their children went to the best schools! How did this miracle happen? If you were to listen to them you would feel that nothing works in India!
The fact is that the Indian 'system' however archaic and moribund does work and it's getting better. In the recent past I have done several things without paying a penny to anyone and in a reasonable time frame:
The fact is that the Indian 'system' however archaic and moribund does work and it's getting better. In the recent past I have done several things without paying a penny to anyone and in a reasonable time frame:
- Renewed a driving licence
- Set up a company
- Paid property tax on line
- Filed tax returns on line
- Sold property
- Registered a lease deed
- Obtained an 'Aadhar Patra'
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NO negative experiences? Methinks the Lady doth protest too much in reverse.
ReplyDeleteFor every time you don't pay a bribe there is an equally frustrating story of where the system fails you. No system anywhere is perfect but maybe living abroad makes you realise what you should be getting and sometimes 'chalta hai' is just not good enough. You only criticise what is yours.
I agree that no system is perfect. I guess the Indian system is not as black as it's painted.
ReplyDeleteThe internet doth clean the Indian soul
ReplyDeletemost of your examples reflect (to an extent) the transparency that comes thru that channel
May the good prevail
Perhaps a retort to your quote is that the squeaky wheel gets the grease
To what extent are the improvements a result of the protests?
Perhaps they are needed by the ecosystem? :-)
Protests are certainly required provided they are constructive. In many cases there is a tendency to just b$%^h about the system. I wonder if India is any worse or better than most of the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteAn aside - 'the crying baby gets the internet'
Amen
Bribe for driving licence and other govt. services is petty corruption. Further if you consider the official plus unofficial fee(aka speed money you may pay for such a service it is still significantly lower than the official fee which you will pay for the same service in most "developed societies".
ReplyDeleteI believe that corruption is not the real issue. The real issue is incompetence. Let me expand a little. If I pay an "official" govt. fee for a service it does not automatically mean that the deal is clean and not corrupt. Example, you pay road tax for roads but suppose this road tax collection instead of being used for roads is spent on Z class security of netas. Collecting fee for one purpose and utilizing it for another is no different from taking "bribe".
On the other hand just think of "bribe" as "management fee". If you pay and goods are delivered efficiently what's wrong? What I would really say our system is probably not half as corrupt as it is inefficient or plain incompetent.
On a more alarming note I believe we are faced with far more serious challenges which stem from incompetence or poor management vision:
1. Unplanned (read cancerous) urban growth . Look at the filth around.
2. Serious erosion on the law and order front. You can literally get away with murder. What with MLA's bashing police.
3. Great trust deficiency in the government by the public at large resulting in general chaos.
The raison d'etre for society is the "whole is more than the sum of the parts" and it here that we are completely breaking down.
While our survival skills are making us individually intelligent but collectively we become more and more idiots every day.
BTW: Narendra Modi has some interesting takes on the subject. Look youtube.
I totally agree that we are incompetent. We are also callous - we don't really care what happens as a result of our shoddy work. I guess I was making a limited point that there are areas where we have improved - and as Upmanu pointed out many of these were where the internet had helped to remove the layers of bureaucracy.
ReplyDelete