I am a senior citizen aged above 75, a physicist by profession, a curious scientist by inclination. I am heart-broken and very angry.
I always had nurtured the idea that India is a mature democracy by now and firmly followed the path of fair play, justice for all, and above all, responsible for the welfare of its citizens.
With time, all these values have eroded without a trace. Politics has become an all-consuming power game of sleazy money, a den of uneducated leaders whose sole aim is to stay in power at all costs — citizens “we can bribe” by handouts, making them even more incompetent than what they are. Education, by far and large, has taken a back seat.
Nothing has changed, if anything it has gone worse — education is merely a device to amplify our childhood memory books, suitable only for clerks. By Class VI, they become slaves of their own memory, any lapse in that they cannot even think, forget about innovation!
Not surprisingly, the best go out of the country and succeed beyond any dream. The political club belongs to members who are primarily not educated, and extremely fond of violence at the slightest pretext. Even the film stars could not resist the glamour, suffering the heat and dust quite happily.
Why am I heart-broken after all these years? In the heat of political slogans, the politician omitted to recognise the most vital component of democracy —humans!
They can die by the millions, “we really don’t care”. They saw that the devastating tsunami of Covid-19 was coming. But one more dip in the holy ocean by the millions, pressed against each other, they clapped from a distance, after all, these dips are at the heart of Mother India.
I am heart-broken because even at the end, the dead do not receive any respect. When the tsunami has come, there is no planning, no bed, no vaccine, not adequate nurses, worse, no oxygen, no doctors. The magnificent theatre of copter, creating a heap of our Indian dust, is quite a spectacle. But people are dying, “oh, never mind, have to win”!
Why is there no planning, they have no time? They prefer to ignore the tsunami — statues are more relevant? Time and again, the great India inertia paralyses us from taking any action — we are frozen with the morphine of inaction.
The Election Commission is just an example. The thinking is “Almighty God will take care”. We don’t take action, we take corrective measures, already too late. They should have planned oxygen problem mitigation, “no chalta hain”. By the time the permission comes through after crossing all the administrative hurdles, another 2 million have died.
All my life in science management, not research of course, the essential thesis of “don’t trouble if trouble doesn’t trouble you” has driven me mad. Now, the same reason is making me heart-broken.
Why am I very angry? I have worked for an organisation called the Cyclotron Centre, mostly as the director for almost 25 years. So, I have a special bondage.
The same Election Commission ordered staff up to some level to be on election duty. With millions of government staff hanging around, our young staff members, by order, have to attend election duty.
I see “hell” on the horizon.
They have just come back, 90 per cent of them have been affected by Covid-19. Do they have enough medicine, beds in the hospital, oxygen?
They have done a fantastic job for the country because they are far more honest than the politicians the election is all about.
What a price to pay? Honesty and a noble purpose give only negative returns?
I am angry. A few of them are really bright — to jeopardise their careers midway is a crime. The Chief Justice of Madras High Court is right, the members of the Election Commission should be prosecuted for murder. I add to that — prosecute all irresponsible and incompetent people and leaders.
Justice must prevail. Exploitation has to stop, democracy is nobody’s monopoly. When do we begin to understand?
Bikash Sinha is a senior scientist at the Indian National Science Academy, former Homi Bhabha Professor and former director at the Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre and the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics