In civil society we ought to be more civil. Outright denunciations have become the order of the day. To sensationalize an issue is often the apparent goal to gain public attention but it hardly ever is in public interest. Civilized discourse and debate is the crying need of the hour in addressing any pressing socio-political issue. In a democracy where public opinion shapes the flow of national life and dissent is constitutionally allowed as being crucial to the maintenance of plurality, it is worthwhile remembering that culture demands civility of discourse, discussion and debate rather than raucous rogues ranting.
Let us as a nation learn to be more disciplined in our deliberations and speak on the basis of carefully conducted research in a subject rather than hearsay. This does not imply that we thereby lose our right to respond to a given situation but it only is a reminder that we must not be so assured in the veracity of what we say to the exclusion of what others say in the absence of such research conducted by us. A decided finality on the subject of discussion before the facts are deliberated on is the bane of all discussion and must at any cost be avoided. Fact-finding is hard, fact-analysis harder. One must have an open mind to the discovery of truth and must be pliable enough to accept the verdict of empirical evidence however unpalatable it may be to one's previously conditioned mind. This is the scientific temper which must govern national life if we are to progress as a nation in the modern age.
Parliament is the highest legislative body of the nation and the nerve-centre of the current of national life. Here the highest decorum must be maintained and work must proceed briskly in national interest. If Parliament functions well, the nation functions well. But, today, Parliament is a highly dysfunctional body with a large percentage of criminals donning the lawmaker's apparel who periodically halt the course of civilized discourse at the behest of the so-called civilized leaders whose only agenda is to prevent worthwhile deliberations for the furtherance of their own malicious political ends. The lawmakers are the lawbreakers and what may you then expect from the rest of the nation?
Democracy is not just about exercise of franchise. It is the conducting of public welfare by those empowered by the people in a responsible and efficient manner. The entire edifice of a democracy is built on the foundation of the fundamental value of civic welfare. If legislators are to be aware of this burden of public welfare on their shoulders, they will have to be sufficiently educated and there must be a minimum qualification of a post-graduation degree from an enlisted university of the land as enjoined upon by the Education Ministry by an Act of Parliament. Parliamentary representation must be decriminalized with immediate effect from 2019. The assets of legislators must be scrutinized by the Income Tax Department and their findings made public. Concealment of wealth, if discovered, must be punishable under the Indian Penal Code and such legislators must be debarred from political participation for 10 years. Raucous lawmakers must be expelled for the remaining session of Parliament.
Only when the Government decides to go ahead with such stringent measures will these politicians learn to be civilized and the Swachh Bharat Campaign mean anything worthwhile for, as they say, 'Charity begins at home'.
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