Republic Day 2012 while it would be a day of celebration needs also to be a day of introspection by the citizens as to the state of the Indian Republic. It is a time to reflect whether the Indian Republic is making strident progress economically, India is externally and internally secure, India’s political structures have matured and in a healthy state, and has the Government of the day in New Delhi provided effective governance and political direction to ensure the ideals enshrined in the Constitution which “We the People Gave Ourselves” ON January 26, 1950. Regrettably, the picture on the preceding counts presents a bleak picture and perceptively the impression that is getting stronger is that the Government of the day has failed on all counts.

India’s economic growth rates have slowed down and FDI inflow has considerably declined. Indian industrialists prompted by political misgovernance and uncertainties are directing their investments from India’s domestic economy to foreign pastures. The Captains of Indian industry have called upon the Government to improve political governance and arrest decline in India’s economic growth rates. Foodstuff and daily necessities inflation had reached a new high in the last year. 

In terms of external security, the Indian Republic is today in an insecure security environment as the Prime Minister himself had observed last year. Substantial measures to dilute the national security threats from China and Pakistan were not visible in 2011.India’s war-preparedness lacks credibility due to gaping voids in our strike capabilities as orders are held-up due to not the Army’s lack of foresight but due to the civilian bureaucracy and political indecisiveness. Both seemed to be more embroiled in an unseemly row over the Army Chief’s age issue than on India’s war preparedness.

Internal security threats have shown no level of decrease in insurgency areas and the will and vision to grapple them by the Government seems to be absent. The price is being paid in terms of loss of innocent civilian lives and more significantly by security forces, namely the police.

Perceptively, in terms of effective political governance and political vision the overall impression that one gets is dismal and one of political drift. Corruption and cascade of political scams at high political levels induced a public distaste and contempt for the political class. The Government indulged in an unnecessary, mindless and provocative confrontation with Anna Hazare who was spearheading the anti-corruption crusades.

Political maturity seems to have forsaken the ruling class and the remainder political class judging by the levels of political debates in Parliament, Legislatures and on TV panel debates. 

Against this dismal background of the Indian Republic brought about by the failure of its political-civil bureaucrats combine all is not lost. The indomitable will to ride-out spells of political misgovernance and unrestrained political and bureaucratic corruption still abounds in the citizens of the Indian Republic.

The above indomitable spirit can be reinforced by the citizens of the Indian Republic using their power to vote-out non-performing political entities and India’s middle class politically empowering themselves by religiously voting on election days to upset the distorted electoral arithmetic imposed by the ruling party.

Jai Hind