Lethargy Will Need More Work to Shake Off

editorial:
It takes more than candlelight vigils and placards to register the involvement required to address vexed issues. These are tools resorted to for minority expressions; for the margins to catch the mainstream’s attention. Regime changes effected by people’s collaborations across the world have been for democracy, a system already institutionalised in India, so system overhauls here have to be effected by the tools of democracy. Of course, protests and rallies are tools placed in the people’s hands by democracy, but these pale in comparison to the power of a vote. Candles and vigils might work in teasing the collective conscience, but cannot replace the verdict of adult franchise. If the power of deciding who makes policy, a power which citizens of our country enjoy every five years, cannot force a course correction on matters of collective concern [corruption being the flavour of distaste at present], then nothing will.
Elections have consistently been moving towards becoming freer and fairer processes and this is not due to the Election Commission alone and has come about also because the people have rejected the violence which accompanied elections in our country. The point being made here is that people have to express their concerns in the ballot to get the system working. Flashmobs, internet chat-rooms... twitter and facebook, if you will, offer safe platforms to build consensus under regimes where such preparatory works are not possible. This space is already available to citizens of our country and all what is required instead is for the ‘activists’ to span the communication gap which has distanced policy-making and governance from the aspirations of the people. Information Technology tools are still elitist acquisitions in our country and thus run the risk of expressing opinions and allowing collaborations which are not representative of the priorities which concern the masses. This does not make the expressions irrelevant or the medium inconsequential, but it does force a reconsideration that these should be used as collaborative mediums and not the platform itself.
The country, and definitely Sikkim as well, have reached a stage where none of their problems - be it restoration of political rights or corruption - can be tackled piecemeal any more. A collaborative effort is required. Sikkim needs an administrative outlook which does more than just snuff out the odd bush fire. It is time to steel a political will to address the problems of society - now seeped in reckless consumerism and unbridled corruption. One has to realise that such a state of affairs can never evolve into anything noble. People, their officers and representatives need to close ranks and say “enough.” Corruption has ceased to surprise. A society inured to corruption can be said to have lost its collective conscience. Such a society is also highly unstable. It is a worrying sign when the definition of getting “caught” is constantly adjusted. While at one time, an investigation into alleged corruption would have been enough to attract stigma, nowadays even a chargesheet is not considered serious enough. Why, even conviction on corruption charges are conveniently overlooked. Take a look around and you will see many a “tainted” leader, bureaucrat, and even social workers still moving around with confidence and attitude. They feed on the indifference of a society too numbed to express itself. While it is true that only those who have fallen out of favour get “raided”/ prosecuted, it still does not take away from the fact that they could be corrupt. It is not enough to say that some corrupt bureaucrats/ politicians are unjustly harrassed while others in the same boat walk free. What one must remember is that even their time will come. No corrupt mind can remain in favour for always.
A turnaround can come faster if the people shed their lethargy. People tend to ignore the malaise because to do something about it demands too much involvement. No one wants to go through the laborious weeding process, and so one settles for status quo. We wait and see; see and crib; crib and do little else. The idea is to reach critical mass to unanimously enforce probity in public offices. If en vogue expressions like rallies and candles and online chatrooms can facilitate such involvement, they should be embraced, but if these only simulate involvement while actually acting as pressure release valves to stretch status quo for longer, then a rethink is recommended. A soul-searching is required first, one which recognises that all that is ugly grows from the same social milieu which we all inhabit and contribute to...