JOIN USAnna Hazare has pitched high in seeking to root out corruption from the face of this country. I do hope that his Lokpal can act as chemotherapy on the cancer of corruption. Mine, on the other hand, is a humble wish list.
Can my neighbourhood and I have the same quality of footpaths that I see in front of the homes of our honourable ministers? When will I stop reading the sad news in the morning papers that another child has fallen and died in a sump that had been left uncovered? How many more cases of electrocution will there be before I stop hearing inane and callous statements from the Bescom saying that the network of wiring is so large in our city that it is difficult to keep it in perfect condition. I bet many of these guys have been to China and Europe at government expense to study the infrastructure facilities in those countries. When will the omnipresent potholes be filled?
My wish list includes that our leaders don’t keep little children waiting for an hour for a ceremony and after having arrived late, don’t head to wallop snacks and extend the delay. Our children will grow up believing that if our leaders behave in a certain way, then that must be right way to behave. I walked past the Indian Institute of Science hoping that underpass must have been completed but it was nowhere near completion despite having skipped the committed date a number of times. My wish list is to please complete the projects on time because it takes me by car an hour to reach my dentist located just 7.5 km from my home.
Next on my wish list is to be allowed to walk around the very few parks in our city without imposing curfews and limit my freedom to wander round them at the time of my choosing. I am not asking something extraordinary because that is the way in parks all over the world. My wish list includes an explanation on how come our leaders are so energetic in bashing each other but when the court summons come, they develop diabetes, blood pressure and heart murmurs so that I can use the same technique when needed.
My most important wish is to let me wind down in a club or a bar and not insist that I must get out by 11 pm. You are rushing me to finish my quota of drinks, which I will do any way, in a shorter time and be a bigger nuisance. My last wish is that if you want us to follow you, do realise that the control psychology doesn’t work. Enrolment works. Make me your friend rather than your adversary. Or at least be my role model.