*Reuters column* *India flailing: Betrayal of the Mahatma?* [image: Photo] *Sat, Jan 29 2011*
*(C. Uday Bhaskar is a New Delhi-based strategic analyst. The views expressed in the column are his own.)* *By C Uday Bhaskar* The ‘Beating Retreat Ceremony’ held every January 29 , a day before India observes Martyr’s Day the next day to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi, who was felled on January 30, 1948 to bigotry and hatred has a sad and tragic relevance this year. The Retreat ceremony is distinctive in its poignant symbolism and has evolved over the years into a much-awaited annual event with the massed bands of the Indian military, and camels on the ramparts leading up to Raisina Hill in Lutyens Delhi embellishing the evening. For many the lump-in-the-throat moment is the hymn so dear to Gandhiji – ‘Abide With Me’ – played just before the Retreat is sounded and the massed bands march back up the hill, to the strains of ‘saare jahan se acche’….(India is) best in the world. On January 30th, the Indian Prime Minister the beleaguered Dr. Manmohan Singh will lead the nation in laying a wreath at Rajghat to recall the ultimate sacrifice made by ‘the naked fakir’ – and it would be fair to ask in 2011 – if this has been in vain. Many Indians across the length and breadth of the nation are either angry or anguished yet seemingly impotent at the steady deterioration of values and principle associated with Gandhiji. Thus while the rituals will be innumerable and lip-service paid by a host of political leaders and officials, the ceremonies will be devoid of any meaningful content. Truth, tolerance, compassion, equality, the commitment to non-violence, an equitable form of governance that would ‘wipe every tear’ and freedom from any form of oppression are some of the major attributes associated with the Mahatma. The disconnect with the ugly and venal reality is striking. Notwithstanding the impressive GDP and related economic growth rates, India alas is not shining - it is flailing. For the average citizen – the ‘aam aadmi’ – there is little faith in the idea of India as enshrined in the Constitution on January 26, 1950. Adherence to the law and swift and equitable judicial redress has become a mirage in India and the legislature has abdicated its primary responsibility of representing the people’s interest. Self perpetuating pockets of family, group and sectarian interest are being nurtured and rampant corruption and criminality is the current visage of India. The recent killing of a senior revenue official in Nasik by dousing him alive with kerosene - since he dared to enforce the law against the local mafia - has caused ripples of revulsion and fear. Political and executive complicity in looting the nation has become brazen – and the state is in paralysis – even as India is extolled at Davos. Institutions across the board have become suspect or unambiguously tainted and the corruption malignancy has acquired an across the board character. In decades past it was averred that in India it was only one spectrum of politicians, most officials including the bureaucracy and the police and the lower judiciary who were the bad apples and that other institutions were credible and upright. Over the last year, scandal after shameful scandal has been exposed, wherein the till-now revered pillars have also been shown to have clay feet. The higher judiciary going right up to a former Chief Justice of India is now under scrutiny; the military is under a cloud for various acts of omission – the latest inquiry relating a housing society in Mumbai has the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra under the lens ‘ and the media has also joined the ranks of the tainted. Institutional rectitude and credibility is at an all-time low in India and the disconnect from what Mahatma Gandhi stood for is tragically stark. Having completed 60 years plus, the Indian Republic has entered its second phase – and the need for objective review, determined action and prudent institutional re-wiring is imperative to realize some part of the Gandhian vision. -- With best wishes S Chander
