A SOFT INDIA - UNLIMITED TOLERANCE TO PRACTICALLY EVERYTHING IS OUR MAJOR FAILING

India is a truly soft state. From the peoples’ by enlarge tepid response towards monstrous corruption to the soft pedaling on trans-national terrorism, and from the govt’s inaction (inability or unwillingness to act) during events of major communal riots to the general apathy to fight the menace of inflation - Indians exhibit an astounding ability to tolerate anything and everything, which perpetuates systematic inertia, energizes functional lethargy and and re-inforces our national sloth, leading us to a continuum of ‘no-change’ and eternalisation of ‘status-quo’ of pluralistic anarchy, diplomatic spinelessness and a natural tenderness and inability to fight what is wrong, undesired and objectionable.

Tolerance is the hall mark of Indian nationhood. We have immense patience and tolerance. Politicians and bureaucrats may siphon-off ‘lakhs of crores’ of peoples’ money into their pockets but most Indians would still be understanding and conciliatory with this blatant act of ‘nation’s sell out’. Cross-border terrorism is reaching a ‘boiling point’ but the notorious  act of the dreaded terrorist Afzal Guru, who dared to attack the sanctum-sanctorum of the world’s largest democracy – the Indian parliament - remains unpunished as his criminal case hangs in an air of uncertainty owing to the difficult dynamics of electoral arithmetic. 

Immediately after the assaisination of Mrs Indira Gandhi on 31^st October, 1984 the rule of law completely passed into total oblivion as fanatical mobs massacred hundreds of innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other cities of northern India. 27 years have elapsed since then but the riot victims never got justice as the case got lost in various legal formalities, political pressures and peoples’ apathy owing largely to communal polarization.

On 6^th December, 1992 as tons of Hindu karsevaks destroyed Babri-mosque, the beleaguered Narasimha Rao government simply waited and watched. They kept on ‘swearing by secularism’ but did nothing to protect the disputed structure, which was a symbolic jolt to Indian secularism. The army was sent only when complete destruction had been carried out, and the karsevak groups had dispersed. Lack of toughness of action emboldened the communalists.  

The Indian mind is ever-satisfied, accepting, believing in status-quo and unconcerned about the issues which matter to the greater world. The gist of a common Indian voter’s (or citizen’s) psyche is simply stated in this age-old saying in the local language (dialect) – “Ke nrip hoee , hume kya haani ?” (Whosoever is (becomes) the king, how does that matter to us?). An average Indian is averse to change, forget revolution. This could be a functional product of Hinduism. Since Hinduism believes in peace, non-violence, order, adherence to authority and dutifulness, so, it can be said that Indians have developed this unusual tolerance, a submission to destiny, a variant of fatalism.

But it is a perverted, misunderstood phenomenon. Patience, tolerance have their utmost importance under the sun, but they can’t be used everywhere and anywhere.”Self-defence is the foremost duty”, wise men have repeatedly said. “Tolerating injustice is in some ways being party to it”, says Mahatma Gandhi.

India needs toughness. India needs a strong leader. Indian needs a stringent system. There is no problem, which does not have a solution. But we need strong action. In India, we didn’t have any revolution against govt’s excesses, except emergency, which itself was a big failure. We need more and more involvement of people, from all walks of life, into the national functioning. We need strong laws against terrorists and communalists, we should have system which discourages identity politics, we should have zero tolerance towards troublemakers.

We need a country which has a strong spine. Democracy should not become an excuse to inefficiency and lethargy, an affirmation to non-agreement, non-action and non-performance. We need a democracy which is not populist but which genuinely helps the people and delivers their interests.

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