We Need Be In a Police State

We Need Be In a Police State

                                 

                                   Nidhu Bhusan Das

            Since we are civilized, we must be guided by the norms of civilization. We need a police state. Our leaders may dismiss this suggestion as uncanny and take me to be a lunatic. They would chide me saying,” You are anti-independence and ignorant of the fundamental rights guaranteed in our constitution which is sacrosanct. You don’t deserve the rights and the status of a citizen.” I dare not contradict our versatile leaders who are our guardians and the protectors of our meaningful democracy.

            But this is what I am constrained to believe. I won’t share this belief. This is just my loud thought, a soliloquy which, I am certain, none will share if I tell. I see daily how we the civilized people in India depend on the police to remain disciplined. We cannot use the streets in the absence of the rule of the traffic police. Before the deployment of the police at traffic points and after they leave the posts we don’t care about the automatic traffic signals because we know the signals cannot catch us if we ignore them. The one- way lanes become the free-for-all space for driving along. Thus we create chaotic situation and invite accidents.

           We spite anywhere even when we are eloquent about environmental pollution. We are granted freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1) (a) of our constitution as a Fundamental right and merrily abuse the right. How? We fail to discharge our duties at offices ,spend time gossiping during working hours and/or coming late and leaving early don’t miss any opportunity to lecture on discipline, honesty and public service from the pulpit. We are vociferous against corruption in public life but fail to understand we, as individuals, are not free from corruption.

            We cannot do without the guardians of law and revel when we can destroy public property, disrupt public life in the name of public good. Our political bosses like guardian angels inspire us to do so striking works and destroying public property, as if we work for colonial masters and under colonial rule and the property we destroy does not belong to the nation. We occupy the roads halting traffic movement holding political rallies or wedding procession to exhibit our power and pomp. This is our dominant characteristic and tendency because we tend to believe we are civilized and know we are independent. We chant slogans and in the process lose the energy and will to work. This is the highlight and beauty of democratic values we hold dear and cite constitutional provisions to justify our actions in contravention and distortion of the same.

 I tend to believe people without pomp and power like me harbour the idea that we need be governed in a police state for a period as we need to be lessoned in democracy and civilization. But I am afraid I should not share this publicly to be counted and quarantined as a lunatic.