Good Governance Prevails

In reference to the chosen theme by me for this challenge, Governance is the first thing that strikes my mind for “G” - expected to be a clean and transparent one for the people, by the people and of the people.  And this being the most talked about topic in last couple months in the frenzy of political campaign, justifies the relevance and significance.

From time immemorial when society got formed, it needed a way of managing itself and governance came into being.  Not all governance fashioned by the people at the helm of affairs, was good and prosperous all the time and hence history has classified different eras as Golden age or Black age.  This was true in ancient civilization, during Roman civilization and even in the modern age. 

Good governance makes the difference for a country towards prosperity and development while a poor one pushes it towards civil war, lawlessness, impoverished health and financial calamities as observed in many countries of the world across continents and geographies.

While India is quite well placed in terms of basic governance compared to many countries, we deserve better. We are yet to see semblance of governance that is accountable and responsible. Yes, we are a democratic country and we can take our decisions to replace one bad governor by another, supposedly good one, but the sufferings, we – the common people, go through in between is too much to deal. There are enough laws and regulations in place but the enforcement machinery is hardly there.  While I am aware of the challenges faced by our country with the burden of a huge population and lack of infrastructure, some people with vested interests know the helplessness and loopholes of governance pretty well and don’t think twice before exploiting them. The leadership, hand in hand with common folks, need to plug those gaps and bring the miscreants to justice saving the governance from further decay. At the individual level, we should govern ourselves with dignity with genuineness.  Being Genuine goes longer in life.

A better government  of India needs to focus on literacy, clean water with other infrastructures, creating opportunities for its masses through industry and agriculture, gender equality and welfare of its fellow citizens as it was in the lines of Abraham Lincoln –“We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Engaging in Governance - Youth and All

Education is the first thing that comes to mind with letter “E” for the theme that I have chosen – “Towards a better world”. While the importance of Education is beyond any question and doubt, some of my fellow bloggers & esteemed educators are already enlightening about it – one of them notably is here by Mrs. Beloo Mehra. I will make an attempt to express my views about another equally important issue gaining importance in the current socio-economic structure and that is getting engaged and involved in governance of the country.

I personally believe that the current upswing in public involvement, from being conscious of our immediate environment to voicing our concerns with a firm resolve, have done immense good for our democracy. If we continue the momentum in the same way and be a conscious citizen, people in power will dare not do any harm to our society and country. These issue based upheavals observed in recent past- be it women safety, corruption, poverty alleviation or other matters of importance to the country have changed the dynamics of governance altogether giving rise to more of a participative governance.

We have endured enough and now with our back on the wall, we can only rebound. Youth – a potent force in this movement will need to be equally engaged in this journey. With support from media- both print and electronic ones, getting involved is not of a much hassle nowadays. In this context and with regards to my previous efforts to urge my fellow men to get engaged, I would like to bring to your attention few of my earlier posts here and here  (as a guest post).  It is my strong conviction that keeps on reminding me that there is no point siting on the fence and crib about the system. We can do our bit – however small it could be, to participate physically or electronically in these activities.

As I started the post with Education, can’t resist myself from touching upon the subject a bit in next few lines. To me, on one side we have a responsibility to make basic education reach and enter every household to prevent masses from getting cheated anymore and on the other side, we need to ignite the minds that ask and analyze rather than mug up information. When the mind manifests – quoting Swami Vivekananda- “Education is the manifestation of Divinity already in the Man”- our children will be better prepared to handle any situation in life independently.