This new year, make a resolution to go deep..

..and below the surface to understand the real causes of what you see around you.

As an example, see this recent news-report about pending RTI applications

Staff shortage results in a pile of 19,000 pending RTI appeals in Maharashtra

Does this surprise you? Probably not.

Which is why I keep making the point that the real solution must be to focus on “Open Government” rather than another law or more babus…That is how things should be..We don’t need a law (RTI) and then additional bureaucracy (staff to deal with RTI applications). Far better to insist on openness, transparency and easy access to information.. Does this remind you of something?

Tavleen Singh made the same point in her Op-Ed piece today (emphasis added):

Had our political leaders been less duplicitous, they would have admitted that it was lack of transparency in governance that was the root of corrupt practices but they did not.

The only way of reducing corruption in India is by making governance simple and transparent.

Sadly Team Anna does not understand this (or more likely, *pretends* not to understand; although Arvind Kejriwal has at least once alluded to this)..and so we see fasts, rallies and protest marches for Lokpal but Tavleen Singh gets booed for speaking the blunt truth.

So this year, please make a resolution to go deep and below the surface to understand the real causes of what ails India and help others understand them too…We have to do this as our schools and mainstream media have failed to inculcate in us the habit of thinking & deep thought…and until we do this, all we will get are quick-fixes and band-aids – which are pretty much useless in dealing with the cancer of corruption..

P.S. Here is a brief snippet (~2mins) from my talk at IIM Indore in which I made this point.

Related Posts: A great model of good governance and Prof Sh Lalu Yadav, Railway Berths and RTI

Also read: Do we really need a Lokpal?

Image courtesy: Zenoss

B Shantanu

Political Activist, Blogger, Advisor to start-ups, Seed investor. One time VC and ex-Diplomat. Failed mushroom farmer; ex Radio Jockey. Currently involved in Reclaiming India - One Step at a Time.

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1 Response

  1. K P Ganesh says:

    The only resolve I’m making is to ensure that India returns to it’s civilization roots and we manage to regain Bharata Varsha. People will understand the gravity of the situation if they relate it to the assault by the 2 Abrahamic religions – Christianity (cunningly using enticement route etc.) and Islam (by violence) on Hinduism in their ongoing quest to take over Bharata Varsha. Start resolving to protect your nation first, the rest of the corruption can be rooted out after this major ego cleansing is done. Vandemataram.