Lead Edit/MH-Sakal/11jul’05

http://www.sakalherald.com/Letter.asp?PageNo=22

What India can learn from Britain
India must abandon the colonial system to evolve into a modern democracy
By Viresh Malik
What a week. Blasts in Ayodhya followed by blasts in London. Both democracies, where people do have alternate channels of redressal. The media coverage in both countries has, as always, been of the “Breaking News” variety, with television across channels worldwide showing more or less the same clips again and again for the first few days. After that, while the women and men settle down to the real business of tracking and catching the perpetuators, the girls and boys in the media settle down into analysis, hot air and guesswork. This column intends to spare you the above, but moves into some of the slightly curved observations, seen through a slightly different prism.
The prism used, to borrow the words of an interactor, is one that sees right through the old Imperial British system we are stuck with in free and democratic India, and not the modern democratic system practiced by colonial modern Britain at home nowadays. They are totally different. As a world traveller and observor, I had the opportunity to see how they - the British - had two norms - one for the colonies and one for home. In India, after 1947 and to-date, we have followed and are still following their colonial system. We have disagreed to reform on the lines of modern democracies that modern Britain itself follows now. Where the citizen is sovereign and the administration, police, judiciary, politician and media, amongst others, practice real constitutional democracy with liberty, as well as systematic transparency and accountability.
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There was an amazing photograph of our Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, walking solemnly in front of a long conga-line of uniformed policemen. Visiting Ayodhya for an on-the-spot examination. Of what, it is not clear. But did those policemen have nothing else to do? On the other hand, in London, apart from a solemn speech or few by the British Prime Minister and some statements in their Parliament, we never got to see any politicians getting in the way of the work being carried out by the police and rescue services.
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From the Indian point of view, London has always been the favoured destination for those who travel abroad at public expense. Whether it is ex-Prime Minister types going there for simple medical treatment like dialysis because they cannot trust their own Mandalised doctors in the Government hospitals back home, or assorted State Government type power-brokers or Ministers headed there to grab some rest during the hot summer months, London always finds itself playing host to visiting Indian babudom. Actually, the Indian High Commission does. Which meant, simply, that the Indian High Commission in London was run off its feet handling “protocol” for visiting dignitaries. Some thought that maybe the London bombing will reduce this workload.
The truth was otherwise, as indicated by friends. Our High Commission was swamped by pull-party tugging in every direction, it seems. But regardless, there doesn’t seem to be a single travel advisory or any offer for help to other visiting Indians by our High Commission in England, barring a single telephone number. The Brits, on the other hand, are very quick off their feet to issue travel advisories about situations of any sort in their own country, as well as in India, and move pro-actively to back up their citizens in case of any problem abroad. And meanwhile, they keep playing cricket, as well as win, too.
If you would recall, the first Government announcement from the Brits was all about panic-free, but difficult all the same, movements of people out of London. Not a single shot or quote of elected representatives trying to get visibility. Not a single “visit” to the affected sites by a dignitary except, much later, token visits by royalty to hospitals. Most of all, not a single shot of dead bodies or carnage. Privacy and respect for victims and their families, paramount. Compare this with India, where scarce rescue resources and assets are pulled aside to enable “VVIPs” to visit and peer like ghouls, where the media reaches out and photographs dying people. Remember the photograph of the railway employee stuck in the window, dying in front of us?
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Sometimes I wonder. Did the British leave, in 1947, because they wanted freedom from what they could probably perceive, that India was on its way to becoming a colonial remnant? Or did they leave only because John Company was not turning a profit anymore, choosing to leave the keys to the till with loyal and faithful retainers, should better days head East of Suez again?

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Veeresh Malik