Do we know what needs to be done to set our country on the right track?

I have been reading about what various politicians and candidates say they want to do when elected. I am a little surprised that nobody has given too much thought to first identifying what is wrong with our country let alone suggest ways to correct the same. If we do not know what the root cause of the problems are, I am afraid we will never be able to figure out what to do.

The above became all the more clear when I attended a meeting called by a new political party. I was surprised to note that the party was not clear on what it wants to do. They were juts using nice sounding words to explain what they want to do without having a game plan as to how to achieve the same. I was a little disappointed as I expected more from a political party which had been in existence for the last three years.

Similarly, today I read in the newspapers that Captain Gopinath of the Air Deccan fame who is contesting elections from Bangalore has stated that his main plank will be “social and communal harmony and a participative governance.” Now I am certain that this is not a solution to any of the root cause of our problems. These words are similar to the words used at the meeting that I attended.

I would like to make clear that I am not discussing Captain Gopinath’s agenda in particular because I have some readers of my blog who are his ardent fans. Rather, I am trying to use his and the political party whose meeting I attended as examples to support my point that there is a need to identify the root cause of all our problems. For instance, what happened in Mangalore cannot be resolved by giving speeches. One group cannot force its views on others by force. The problem can only be resolved by strict enforcement of the law and bringing the culprits to justice. The problem arises when the laws are not enforced and the problem gets out of hand. “Social and communal harmony” is too vague. How does one achieve it? All the political parties say the same thing so how are we different? What are we going to do to bring about “social and communal harmony?”

What we need is answers and not just nice sounding words if we are going to solve the problems faced by the country. Now you will ask what are my solutions? Fair question. I have already stated as well as discussed on this blog as well as on my website www.vote2change.org that the root cause of all our problems is as follows:

(a) Law and order – Includes the law enforcement as well as the judicial system. Just as an example, I suggest that there should be a upper limit by which a legal case should be resolved. Also, our local law enforcement machinery to be strengthen by training, more facilities etc. Every law should be strictly enforced.

(b) Accountability of Government Department and officials to do the job that they are getting paid to do. For example, Just like the RTI Act, fix an upper limit in which a particular action needs to be taken by the government department while providing service to its customer, the citizen of this country, that is, you and me.

(c) All decisions by the government and its officialsto be taken in the best interest of the country and its citizens. The “Ctizen is King.”

I believe that if we focus on implementing the above, we will solve 80% of our problems. As the 80/20 rule suggests, focus on the “vital few and not the trivial many” to get a bang for your buck. I can prove to you that all problems were started because of law and order not being maintained or the government not doing its job. If you would like a demonstration, just send me what the problem is and I will respond to you. Of course, please take this in the right spirit and don’t ask me to resolve a problem which is not reasonable. So, gove me a try. This will also assist me in testing my idea.

Avinash Narula