Although one is proud to be an Indian, there are several ills
plaguing our country –– caste system, corruption, poor leadership,
lack of primary education and dishonest politicians. Even today
there is no compulsory and free education for those below 14 who are
barred from working, despite this clause being included in the
Constitution, though not in the Directive Principles. In fact one
wonders why the PM has not addressed this as PMs Mahathir or Lee
Kuan Yew did in
Malaysia and
Singapore and both countries now have high rates of literacy. Their
example of making sure that every child goes to school needs to be
studied and emulated. The plea that Education is a State subject is
a lame excuse.
If the Government wants to do something it is capable and
Harvard's Murlidharan and others from World Bank have offered a
scheme to the PMO –– to give poor parents Coupons for school
education and let them choose to enroll their children in Government
or Private schools, which will flourish even in villages. The
Private schools can cash these Coupons and this may revolutionise
primary education in
India. Many
Government schools which run only for awarding teacher’s a large pay
packet will be forced to close. Gurcharan Das referred to this in
his column in Times of India.
Another example is the sealing of shops and commercial
establishments in residential areas. The guilty gave affidavits to
the Supreme Court that they would shift out of their establishments
but never complied and so the Court resolutely ordered sealing. The
Government and
Delhi politicians
pleaded non compliance and gave an excuse it would cause a law and
order problem in Delhi if it was implemented, as the big fish
corrupt the politicians and provide money to them. We praise the non
political Chief Justice in this case who stood firm and hinted to
the PM and Minister’s that if in this country the Supreme Court's
writ is flouted in this manner by the high and mighty in New Delhi,
then how will lower courts function in States.
In the states the politicians are a power unto themselves and
function by openly flouting law. Nobody especially politicians would
ever obey the law. The message went home. This logical statement
made the Government implement sealing and the Urban Development
Minister said over TV in public the Supreme Court's order will be
obeyed and there is no law and order problem. The Indian
administration can do wonders if it is ordered or if it wants to and
even in Engineering Mr Sreedharan, an erudite Railway engineer, has
shown how a world class Metro can be built ahead of schedule for
Delhi.
But one thing we say with conviction is that every Indian can
be very proud of the mid level officers and men of the Armed Forces.
They are loyal, professional and brave as we saw in Kargil and full
of sacrifice, possibly the best in their class in the World. Our
website is concerned with
India having a
robust defence and as India rises in its economic quest its military
power, maritime ambitions and maritime power will be key ingredients
in India's climb up the ladder, to support its economic rise.
The Shakti nuclear blasts of in 1999 may have been a bit
immoral as we claimed we had no nuclear ambitions but it was a
powerful message to he world, of
India’s
arrival in Real Politik. PM Narasimha Rao kept USA engaged with
Jaswant Singh meeting Strobe Talbott every so often, all over the
world, and then when our scientists were ready and CTBT looked
imminent PM Vajpayee decidedly ordered the tests. India’s morale
rose and we are now accepted as a nuclear power.
But we must be careful never to lower the morale of the Armed
Forces. A case in point is the War Room Leak fiasco, which has cast
shadows over the fine Indian Navy. A few rotten eggs ( possibly 6 or
7) passed out some information and probably for pecuniary and fleshy
benefits and they need to be punished quickly. A Chief of Naval
Staff has had an FIR filed against him because he recommended a few
Barak systems during Op Parakaram. This is what we know, but it is
causing confusion and waves in the ranks of sailors, who know
nothing of how
Delhi works and low
morale is setting in, in the finest Navy in the world.
It is the Government's duty to put the CBI firmly on track.
It has never been able to convict any big name in India despite
known cases of wrong doing in HDW, Bofors, Jain Vanaspati and Oil
deals to name a few, but far more has been spent in travel and
investigations than the amounts involed, and at least 10 to 15 years
per case wasted. This is a criminal waste of public money uselessly
spent and we say with great emphasis for the sake of the wellbeing
of every Indian, a fast track investigation and trial of the War
Room leak needs to be gone through even if it is not totally
thorough.
If heads need to roll or CBI is found wanting in gathering
evidence, the matter must not drag on endlessly. If matters drag the
other 58,000 honest officers and men in the Navy will suffer the
tension and the Navy's excellent growth plan will see side effects.
The nation cannot play with
India's defence
forces in this manner. A Fast Track Investigation with full
transparency in the War Room Leak case and its closure in the coming
months is the call of the day. All efforts to find Lt Cdr Sankaran
must be made and it can be done if Government is serious and the
Arms dealers in the case identified and the findings must be
progressed swiftly or even the evidence which we call ‘ Napkins and
Lipstick’ in the Navy, will slowly disappear through the power of
money.
As an example a
problem like this occurred in Australia and a Royal Commission was
swiftly appointed and some officers punished. It is still being
debated whether the punishment was severe enough but every one said
the manner in which the guilty were brought to book swiftly was
exemplary.
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