The State of Our Nation: What Shall We Do?

Our daily newspapers are getting more and more 'exciting' and 'murkier' as they tell us about how the mighty have fallen as their deeds done in secret came to be exposed. The reference is to the series of scandals that keep tumbling out of cupboards here, there and everywhere.

It provides glum satisfaction to the honest reader who would say in his heart, 'I am not like them!'

At the same time, the media, while skillfully delineating a crime or corruption provides insights as to how to make quick bucks to the desperate ones who are waiting in the wings.

Just an example: Mail Today ,published from Delhi by the India Today group, carried in its front page on November 20, the story of Mukesh Ambani's 27-storeyed palatial home on land earlier earmarked by Muslims for building shelter for orphans. Land grabbing has become a hobby with the rich and the politicians.

The second week of November witnessed another building scam in Mumbai. It was about the 31-story Adarsh building that had taken shape in Colaba's eco-sensitive zone in violation of all rules and threatening security.. And nobody took notice while this mammoth structure was under construction! Obviously there was collusion between builders, bureaucrats and politicians in power. Ashok Chavan, then chief minister of Mumbai, had to give up his chair in the wake of the exposure. Though reportedly earmarked for rehabilitation of relatives of Kargil martyrs many of the occupants were found to be relations of politicians and army generals who had little to do with the Kargil war.

The November 15 house collapse in East Delhi had claimed 70 lives and investigations point to collusion with local officials in construction of the unauthorized 4-storey structure with substandard material. Here again the structure remained unnoticed until it collapsed!

The Commonwealth Games and related projects, intended to bring glory to the nation, provided an opportunity to contractors, builders, middlemen and politicians to bleed government treasury. The people of Delhi paid a heavy price for the 10-day mela. It is calculated that the total sum involved in the various scams relating to the games might be around Rs 70, 000 crores.

The politicians, bureaucrats and corporate groups collude to manipulate rules and regulations to make illegal gains. Also to join the "power brokering" are journalists. Their role got exposed through tapes published by two magazines, Open and Outlook, recently. Two high-profile journalists, Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi, whose names figure in the tapes, have also been media celebrities. The exposure got international attention.

"India's fiercely competitive and hungry free press has become the rising nation's watchdog, unearthing a long list of banking scandals, real estate scams and, most recently, extensive government corruption during the international Commonwealth Games. But in recent days, Indian journalists have also been accused of wrongdoing, including having inappropriate conversations with a corporate lobbyist and acting more like power brokers in recordings released as part of an investigation into an alleged high-stakes swindle - considered the biggestscandal to hit the new India," commented the Washington Post in an article..

The fourth estate, which is supposed to be a watchdog of democracy is thus in need of another watchdog to keep watch over it! Corruption, it has to be admitted, has infected the legislature and the executive and has not spared the judiciary of the land. There is this puzzle posed by Gunnar Myrdal , author of Asian Drama: 'By whom will you replace the set of corrupt rulers in the third world countries?' By another set of corrupt people?

That dilemma exists. 'All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God!' declares the Bible. (Romans 3: 23) Is this difficult to believe about human nature or about the people who inhabit this land? By no means. If that is the truth why did Swami Vivekananda declare that 'it is a sinner to call a man a sinner?' Everything stinks in this land and nobody to blame?

What is needed in this nation is a deep spirit of repentance over the wrongs committed in the past and about the 'national pride' being cultivated by being blind to the gross injustice and inequality perpetuated through the caste system , by a corrupt political system and duly strengthened by corrupt politics. We have oppressed the downtrodden and the weak for centuries; created conflicts and divided the people by communal politics, turned a blind eye to all injustices and inequalities perpetuating a tradition that is despicable for those very reasons!

All the self- centred politicians like Yeddyurappa ,Togadia, Narendra Mody,Advani and their ilk, and the black marketers and profiteers as well as criminals go about wearing the garb of religion as well to escape the consequences of their misdeeds. The majority religion is the only approved mark of patriotism in this land and it provides certain refuge to these men.

It is equally amusing that religion, as it is practiced in this country by the majority is confined to the outward rituals, ceremonies and festivals and has hardly any resemblance to the high ideals preached by a Swami Vivekananda or Gandhiji.

Unscrupulous lesser mortals wearing the garb of godmen hardly provoke the immoral crowd of politicians, bureaucrats, legislators, media men, business magnates or corporate heads who pay obeisance to them for self examination. Whereas religion could be a transforming power, it is used to hide crimes, unsocial behaviour and anti-national conduct. And it has also become a money spinning business! So many forms of godliness without the power of God!

But it is not all darkness and gloom as the results of the Bihar elections have shown! Nitish Kumar had sent the criminals to prison, restored a sense of justice and fair play and dared to challenge the forces of caste and communal politics. It is quite another issue that BJP happened to be his allies and is trying to shine in his glory as the saviour of the state. Caste power can be broken through character-based politics and not through vote-bank politics.

What then shall we do? Christians, who have played a significant role in the education and promotion of health should not be cowed down by vested interests who shout the housetops and raise the bogey of conversion but should continue to preach powerfully so that people get a sense of sin and feel the need for repentance.Their stand for equality and justice had not been in vain and should continue to lend their voice to the poor, weak and the downtrodden.

As the Christians read the daily newspaper to acquaint about the sordid events, they must read the Word of God daily and match the evil of the times with the power from above.

'Arise, shine for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light…' --

(Isaiah 60: 1-3)

The muscle power of the fanatic fringe will be against them, but then when He builds the church in India, the powers of hell shall not prevail over it!