Ways to make india a better place

We still have the freedom to do so, if not the faith This is an inevitability in any imperfect democracy: freedom as the stagnant space between memory and struggle. The commemorative moment, as of August 15, may be a necessary travel in a yesterday exaggerated by ideals and ideology, the national miming of calligraphic history. Realism of the instant is seldom allowed to intrude into this trumpeted journey of perfumed nostalgia. Freedom relived refuses to accept the starkness of freedom denied.

In the solemnity of memorial rite, the struggle is nobody's distraction. The narrative of unfreedom is the parallel text that challenges the pretences and privileges of democracy, the most popular political idea by which nations measure their freedom. And India is one of its favoured sites, an easy reference point whenever it is fashionable to panegyrise the functional anarchy of democracy, its elasticity and energy, its passions and perversions, its size and substance. To a great extent, it certainly is an inspirational saga with a dash of the fairy tale: the passive resistance of the fakir against the coloniser to be followed by the renaissance zeal of the moderniser in nation building.

Unlike in some lost societies of the Third World, India's political freedom from the Empire wasn't the first stage of national despotism; rather, it was the foreword to one of the most eventful evolutionary stories in democracy.

Politically at least, it was-and still is-freedom unabridged, in spite of that brief spell of totalitarian temptation of the elected. Still, in the 57th year of its political freedom, India is yet to discover the Model Man of democracy, or the New Man that Nehruvian socialism aspired to create. And most glaringly, Asia's only fully developed civil society is one of its most unequal societies as well, with its divisions starker and its fault lines wider.

The paradoxical nation has come a long way from the Oriental stereotype of photogenic poverty and atavistic mannerisms. The snake charmer has already morphed into the suburban techie, and the new temples of national salvation are called, with so much unintentional irony, call centres.

India unfolds as a digital delight at the click of a mouse; India hangs out with such abandon at the multiplexes. The mutually enriching twins of market and middle class have given the old Dengist slogan an Indian spin: it is glorious to be rich, with or without Sitaram Yechury. That is freedom, indeed, and provocation too, best illustrated in the political hubris of the previous government and its suicidal slogan of India Shining.

India of darkness-literally as well as metaphorically-too is an occasional slogan, a perfunctory one though. That India, where the struggle of being alive is a rejoinder to the political pieties of the ruling class, is too tired to engage in the national project of an Indian century. This India remains almost fatalistic in its outlook, as if it is destined to be the residual shame of progress.

There may not be an equal society anywhere, not even in official socialism's last outposts, or even in the People's Republic of social capitalism. But this happens to be the last remaining responsibility of governance, especially at a time when free markets are bound to liberate the state from the management of wealth. Old fashioned social work is what the brash new world expects from the state. All the talk is about connectivity; what about social disconnect?

Globalisation demands local idealism-and activism. Sit, stare, think. Only 64 per cent was used. Even if a rape is proved, the sentence ranges from one to 10 years. Most convicts get away with only three to four years of imprisonment. The National Commission for Women says it will bring down the instances of rape.

Public support for the execution of Dhananjoy Chatterjee, convicted of raping and murdering a yearold, shows there are many votaries. One person dies on the road every 12 minutes. And most deaths occur within the first 60 minutes. Your next meal could have all this and more. Extend standards for food quality beyond branded items which are only 1 per cent of the food in the market. Create an integrated food safety mechanism.

Too little space. Everywhere one turns, public land in cities-roads, public spaces and parks-has been encroached upon by hawkers and slumdwellers. It converted encroached land into one of Mumbai's finest gardens. Both have outlived their utility. That job should be left to an independent trust of scholars. It need not interfere in institutions of higher education either.

THE PROBLEM The Indian government's refusal to make records public, especially those relating to events like the India-China war, makes it difficult for administrators as well as historians to get a correct picture of recent history and contemporary events. It should do so. Instead of having a junior officer weed out sensitive documents, the government should ask historians and senior officials to review records. History, and not reticence, should be served.

We have separate rules for noise of firecrackers, loud speakers and vehicles. There is even an apex court order that no community can use microphones for prayer. What is needed is public pressure. Last year, environmental activist Sumaira Abdulali got a court order enforcing silent zones in Mumbai. Indeed if it were not for our lungs, there would be no place to confine pollution to. Exempt environment friendly cars from excise duty.

Continue search for alternative fuel systems. Subsidise development of electric vehicles. Galbraith called it private affluence and public squalor. Naipaul noted, open defecation is a way of life in India, but only because million homes have no sanitation facilities.

It needs to be expanded. In Goa, under a Act, one can be fined Rs 5, for spitting. In Tamil Nadu, those who smoke or spit in public have to cough up Rs Wear it. The Citizenship Act, , has been amended but a national I-card is still a pilot project in 13 states.

Credit cards, driving licences as well as voter IDs should be converted into multi utility cards and made mandatory. Domestic abuse. Rampant sex selection, leading to an alarming fall in the number of girls in the age group. Laws to protect women exist, but on paper. THE WAY OUT Redefine laws to make their misinterpretation in court impossible, mobilise anti-abuse squads on the streets, create special courts to deal with gender crimes.

Bring up girls to regard equality as non-negotiable. Archaic liquor laws lead to an inverse swing among youth who buy alcohol illegally and hide their partying habits. Make the laws realistic. Stem hypocrisy. Educate people, especially youth, about the evils of alcoholism. Advise moderation in imbibing. A Technology Development Fund was set up in but to no avail. It is better that Indian corporates create vision funds. Eighty-eight paise are lost in transmission.

Corrupt politicians and bureaucrats pocket that amount, almost 20 years after Rajiv Gandhi first propounded the theory of percolation. Let people know about government spending. Aruna Roy's movement for the Right to Information Act in Rajasthan shows every question has an answer. Especially when it comes to expertise required to monitor projects like the Sadak Rozgar Yojana.

ITC has started an e-chaupal in 21, villages. Hindustan Lever is working with the Madhya Pradesh Government to help build the khadi brand by advising artisans on packaging. A study has found that a government file moves across 48 tables. Uniform laws for things ranging from registration of vehicles to purchase of property would help. So would automation. Difficult to say but when senior officers in Mumbai were jailed for aiding stamp-paper forger Telgi, it showed how ingrained the rot is.

Improve facilities in police stations, offer better housing and healthcare. The capacity of jails in India is 2,29, The number of prisoners is 3,13, Need we say more? Improve prisons, build new barracks, give better water connections and allot more staff. The National Highways Authority has spent Rs 54, crore on building 13, km of concrete. New technology will help. In Bangalore, the city corporation used mechanical engineer Ahmed Khan's technology to mix plastic waste with bitumen to lay the roads.

Indian courts still rely on the Hicklin test of to decide on what is obscene material. It has been repealed in the US and removed in England. Review the three 19th century procedure codes. Initiate legal reforms to remove repetitive legislation that exists because of the Concurrent List. It shows in the condition of the stations. There are about 1. Western Railways' project Clean Train Station, the train equivalent of a car wash, is in operation in Ratlam and should be replicated on a wide scale.

Touts more than trolleys, confusion, not information, and sourness, not a smile. The government should call for the construction of 10 private airports of international quality. Even metros like Chennai are starved of water. The River Interlinking Project which aims to bind 37 rivers and transfer water from surplus basins like the Ganga and Brahmaputra is an idea worth the wait and sweat. In Delhi alone, million litres of untreated sewage flows into the Yamuna every day.

Use cutting edge technology to clean up rivers within a specific time. Even 15 years on, Ganga is only 39 per cent clean. Ghostly narratives and spectral family stories. Films by Satyajit Ray. The era of "Koi hai? With the disintegration of each colonial relic, we are losing parts of our past.

State tourism corporations should centralise bookings and maintenance should be left to private owners. A directory of such places with reservation details should be published. With over 2, NGOs in India, it is hard to say. From the one-room Sahmat to the slick Action Aid, they run the gamut. Self regulation is the best regulation. As Nietzsche said, "It is annoying to give to them and annoying not to give to them. Stop giving alms and never make an exception. Create rehabilitation schemes so that migratory populations can find employment as labourers or even as domestic help.

Yet only Hindus are allowed to adopt. Others have to go by the Guardianship and Wards Act, Children adopted by non-Hindus should be given the same rights as biological children.

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Even though witnesses turn hostile out of fear, they are offered no protection under the IPC. Witnesses are also asked to record their statements with the police. A US-type witness-protection programme will ensure the safety of those who dare to stand up for others and prevent intimidation. The number has increased to 5, cases. About 2. Remember, there are just Traffic snarls. Over 8, policemen in Delhi on the VIP beat. Rs crore spent each year to shadow the prime minister and former prime ministers.

VIP security is less an occupational hazard, and more a status symbol. Realistically, intelligence agencies could review the "threat perception" of VIPs. If they want security, make them pay for it. Specialists, as in anti-terrorist force NSG, can be deployed better.

India spends over Rs 70, crore on its army of 1. That is, about one for every 50 citizens. Fine incumbent officers who fail to deliver. Implement the K. Geethakrishnan Committee report on downsizing. Over members of the new Lok Sabha are involved in criminal cases, one-third of them in heinous crimes. Those opposing the bill will be exposed in the process. Mumbai, Gujarat, Bloody datelines from a history of hell.

Verses from a hymn of hate. Make the rioters pay. Let it be a test case in one state before applying it nationwide. Restricted trading hours are an anomaly in liberalised India. More hours mean convenience and a healthier bottom line. Economic activity will get a thumbs up. Crime will come down. Real estate will get a boost. The retail sector will grow exponentially.

Indians are chronic moaners. As the legend goes, it is less work. It takes just 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown. Boman Irani, screen and stand-up comedian who knows a thing or two about amusement, says smiling in India is a bit like applause. Residential localities are cramped with parking lots and claustrophobic market blocks, making them noisy zones that bring tempers to a breaking point. Create think zones in the cities.

A small patch of green, motor-free area. Sit, stare, think. Only 64 per cent was used. Even if a rape is proved, the sentence ranges from one to 10 years. Most convicts get away with only three to four years of imprisonment. The National Commission for Women says it will bring down the instances of rape.

Public support for the execution of Dhananjoy Chatterjee, convicted of raping and murdering a yearold, shows there are many votaries. One person dies on the road every 12 minutes. And most deaths occur within the first 60 minutes.

Your next meal could have all this and more. Extend standards for food quality beyond branded items which are only 1 per cent of the food in the market. Create an integrated food safety mechanism. Too little space.

Everywhere one turns, public land in cities-roads, public spaces and parks-has been encroached upon by hawkers and slumdwellers. It converted encroached land into one of Mumbai's finest gardens. Both have outlived their utility. That job should be left to an independent trust of scholars. It need not interfere in institutions of higher education either. THE PROBLEM The Indian government's refusal to make records public, especially those relating to events like the India-China war, makes it difficult for administrators as well as historians to get a correct picture of recent history and contemporary events.

It should do so. Instead of having a junior officer weed out sensitive documents, the government should ask historians and senior officials to review records. History, and not reticence, should be served. We have separate rules for noise of firecrackers, loud speakers and vehicles.

There is even an apex court order that no community can use microphones for prayer. What is needed is public pressure. Last year, environmental activist Sumaira Abdulali got a court order enforcing silent zones in Mumbai. Indeed if it were not for our lungs, there would be no place to confine pollution to. Exempt environment friendly cars from excise duty. Continue search for alternative fuel systems.

Subsidise development of electric vehicles. Galbraith called it private affluence and public squalor. Naipaul noted, open defecation is a way of life in India, but only because million homes have no sanitation facilities. It needs to be expanded. In Goa, under a Act, one can be fined Rs 5, for spitting. In Tamil Nadu, those who smoke or spit in public have to cough up Rs Wear it. The Citizenship Act, , has been amended but a national I-card is still a pilot project in 13 states.

Credit cards, driving licences as well as voter IDs should be converted into multi utility cards and made mandatory. Domestic abuse. Rampant sex selection, leading to an alarming fall in the number of girls in the age group. Laws to protect women exist, but on paper. THE WAY OUT Redefine laws to make their misinterpretation in court impossible, mobilise anti-abuse squads on the streets, create special courts to deal with gender crimes.

Bring up girls to regard equality as non-negotiable. Archaic liquor laws lead to an inverse swing among youth who buy alcohol illegally and hide their partying habits. Make the laws realistic. Stem hypocrisy. Educate people, especially youth, about the evils of alcoholism. Advise moderation in imbibing. A Technology Development Fund was set up in but to no avail. It is better that Indian corporates create vision funds. Eighty-eight paise are lost in transmission. Corrupt politicians and bureaucrats pocket that amount, almost 20 years after Rajiv Gandhi first propounded the theory of percolation.

Let people know about government spending. Aruna Roy's movement for the Right to Information Act in Rajasthan shows every question has an answer. Especially when it comes to expertise required to monitor projects like the Sadak Rozgar Yojana. ITC has started an e-chaupal in 21, villages.

Hindustan Lever is working with the Madhya Pradesh Government to help build the khadi brand by advising artisans on packaging. A study has found that a government file moves across 48 tables. Uniform laws for things ranging from registration of vehicles to purchase of property would help. In the United States, most states have designed separate delivery systems for disabled people.

For instance, they have separate seats on trains and the tubes. Moreover, they also have separate washrooms and driving lanes. Stick to lane driving manipurupdate India has a high rate of road accidents. One way we can reduce this is by following lane driving. In , Gurgaon traffic police had started a drive to spread awareness on the 19 km stretch between Sirhaul and Kherki Dhaula toll plazas. To ensure people stick to lane driving, 25 policemen were deployed on the same stretch.

Such awareness drives should be encouraged , and we should stick to the lanes ourselves. For instance, in London, the government has a heavy penalty on those vehicles that drive in the bus lane. People think twice before changing lanes. Encourage people to use public toilets, and keep them clean. India does have a fine on urinating in public.

In fact, in June , people were sent to jail in Agra for the same. According to us, we should also have a fine on keeping public toilets clean. Force security personnel to do their job properly haryaanabtak There are several people to check you at airports, malls, markets, monuments, and yet terrible things have happened.

Agreed, there are too many people to be checked. But it's necessary for the sake of everyone's safety. The next time you see them doing a shoddy job, do remind them why they should inspect everyone properly. Penalise people who deface national monuments. Such love birds should be thrown in prison together.

By writing rubbish on national monuments, we are disgracing our heritage. Our monuments are world heritage sites and should be taken care of. This is something that should come from within. In India, there is a law protecting archaeological and ancient sites, but not many people know about it. United States has severe penalty against those people who deface national monuments. Encroachments should be removed topnews. In case of a natural disaster, people residing in these encroachments are at most risk.

Additionally, these encroachments fall onto the road and lead to traffic jams and make it difficult for ambulances and fire brigades to reach the hospital or the site of an accident. A heavy penalty should be levied on those occupying the government land.

Right of way for ambulances and fire brigades should be an unbreakable rule.