The Hindu Business Line : Make India a hard state

LAWYERS and teachers were the most respected sections of the society at one time. India's lawyers were the torch-bearers of freedom and their part in the fight against British imperialism is worth writing in letters of gold. Teachers have been hailed as only next to God in ancient Indian writings, and achievers in any walk of life were profuse in attributing their success to the invaluable grounding they had received from their teachers.

Recently, at a gathering of old students of a renowned educational institution — Sri Ramakrishna Mission Ashram High School — many alumni nostalgically recalled how teachers of the 1940s and 1950s, who worked for an unmentionable pittance of Rs30-40 per month, voluntarily took special free classes for students outside school hours just out of their love for them, sometimes in subjects such as literature, Indian scriptures, and so on, which were additional to what was prescribed for examinations.

What is happening today? Lawyers and teachers are taking to the streets setting a most obnoxious example to the younger generation. They are storming courts, schools and colleges, indulging in disorderly conduct, damaging public property, obstructing traffic and generally behaving like lawless mobs. Despite Constitutional and legal remedies being available, lawyers have made a public nuisance of themselves over Civil Procedure Code amendments, increase in court fees and the like. The latest outrage is a section of lawyers burning the effigy of the Karnataka Chief Minister for non-release of Cauvery water.

Teachers have not lagged behind in creating riotous situations over some demand or another, throwing to the wind their noble mission in life, namely, to mould the character and social commitment of future generations.

No wonder, students everywhere are taking a leaf out of their masters' books and even "excelling" them in vandalism and criminal depredations. Every institution — the bar, academia, bureaucracy, police — has been politicised, resulting in the erosion of its credibility and effectiveness.

In short, India has become one big cauldron of utter indiscipline bordering on anarchy. There is little evidence of respect for law and authority, leave alone propriety or decency. There is no fear of punishment in the absence of enforcement of laws and rules.

In all the States in the cow-cum-camel belt, buses and trains (including engines) can be seen plying with crowds covering them like swarms of bees, with no one daring to bring them to book. State Governments cock a snook at Court judgments. The higher judiciary itself is losing the esteem it once enjoyed for its impeccable standards.

India needs an iron lady like Margaret Thatcher to turn it into a hard state. She proved that contrary to the prevalent misconception, people welcomed strong governance and were willing to endorse the firm decisions of leaders endowed with vision, will and courage. If only Ms Jayalalithaa would shed some of her angularities and overcome her weaknesses, she has what it takes — charisma, acumen and grit — to provide leadership of the kind that the nation sorely needs in these dark days.

B. S. Raghavan

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