India: Whither Are We?

Take these two paragraphs:

1. All of us have heard about the SEZs and many among us know a little (or more than a ‘little’) about the SEZs. We also have heard about the places such as Nandigram and Singur (both are rural parts of West Bengal), where there have been much confusion, violence, and protests over formation of SEZs. While the Government of West Bengal had to give up their plan of handing land in Nandigram over to an enterprise for setting up of a Chemical Hub, acquisition of land in Singur and the plan of the Tata Motors to roll out the much talked about Rs. 1 Lakh Nano Cars is under heavy clouds. In both these places, there is a cry that land (read fertile, agricultural multi-crop land) is/was being forcibly acquired by the Government based on the Land Acquisition Act. This Land Acquisition Act dates back to the year 1894. It means the law is more than one hundred years old. More importantly, this law, like many other laws in practice in India today, was a brainchild of the then colonial British Powers, who devised these laws to acquire land and immobile property in various parts of their colony – India. Although there have been several modifications per se of the act till date (the latest of such modifications were perhaps made in September, 1985), the basic framework of the act remains unaltered. Many believe, quite justifiably, the law is draconian. This law is a legacy of the colonial interests of the then British imperialist power in India. It is not at all difficult to gauze the inappropriateness of such a law, devised and executed by the colonial rulers, being implemented in an independent country where there is an unmistakable presence of democratic ethos. Yet, little has been done so far by the policy makers of our country, save a modification now or an amendment within that law then.

2. Of late, there has been an alarmingly high rate of occurrence of terrorist activities in India. Perhaps it has now become more of a global phenomenon. There is hardly a geographical landmass on our planet that doesn’t have to deal with this hydra-headed monster of terrorism. However, as fits this particular write-up, I would like to draw attention to the terrorist activities being carried out in India of late. Within the span of a few months, we have been witness to a series of serial bomb blasts in various cities of the country, the recent most among them being in the heart of our national capital. The unfortunate list of the victim cities of late (within the span of just two years) includes such important cities as Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore (Bengaluru), Ahmedabad, and Jaipur. While there is a rather deafening clamour for more stringent laws to deal with terrorism across the country, it is time we also looked the other way round. The law on which our police establishment is based dates back to the year 1861 – The Indian Police Act 1861. Yes, just as what we discussed in [1] above (The Land acquisition Act), this law is even more ancient, almost 150 years old. Needless to say, this law was more of a tool in the hands of the British colonisers to subjugate the native Indians. We boast of an open society in India today. We are also the largest democracy in the entire globe. Does, then, such an ancient (colonial) law to govern as important a wing of governance as the Police Service sound appropriate? The answer, of course, will be a big NO.

These are two apparently mutually exclusive issues that we have just now talked about. However, considering they both are guidelines towards important steps and actions initiated by the Government in today’s society, I feel they can be bracketed together. In fact, there are several other such laws in our system that dates back to that ancient colonial period, which are yet to be addressed in the proper light. But, I will not take much space here in elaborating on these at length, nor will I take any more of your precious time. Just, what I always keep saying, fellow citizens! think, please do think over these issues. We live in a democracy. If we feel that this democratic model is not working well enough, the only alternative we have in hand is to practice this democracy more vigorously than ever before. Let us all be a bit more contemplative about our India. We all boast of our country. And we just cannot let that day come when we will have nothing left as India. It is time we ACTED. But before that, we, the mass, the people, have to think. Let’s begin. Let’s start our march.