Look Inside The Book
Genesis
The present work aims to halt the consistent regression of the nation and to heal the heart-rending pathetic conditions of its perennially suffering debilitated masses. The former Chief Justice of India’s statement in this respect has enormous relevance (clippings 1 and 2):
that the basic function of the Judiciary is to protect the rights of the people and all its actions must be directed to further this responsibility
The Honourable former Chief Justice of India further clarified that before criticising the court, which serves as the whip hand of the people towards any wrong done by the State, other organs of governance must also make sure that their conduct is exemplary in order to establish a “fiduciary relationship” (Section 6.4.1 (II) (p. 182) and Section 7.1 (3) (p. 244)) so as to deserve the trust of the people.
That in a democracy people are paramount and it is the inherent duty of the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary to perform meaningful roles in making the lives of the common man dignified and happy. (Also see clipping 3.)
Clippings 62 tell the tale of consistent non-performance and
little accountability of our governments and the consequent
deteriorating plight of the nation. The woes of regression have
pressed cruelly upon the debilitated people of our country. It is
appalling on all fronts, so the concern of the learned Judiciary
is indeed reassuring. A glimpse of the present Indian economic
scenario is briefly narrated below:
An Abundance of Poverty
Despite the government’s trickery in demonstrating its efforts
in alleviating poverty, in reality poverty is rising. The NSSO2
has estimated it at about 66 percent*
(64.47 percent rural and
66.7 percent urban) of our populace who live below the poverty
2 National Sample Survey Organisation, Government of India.
line (clipping 73A). Poverty has jumped from 37.2 percent
(Tendulkar Committee Report, clipping 12). In this situation,
liberty and dignity for our people is clearly a hallucination. It
is already 70 years of our independence and the situation is
undoubtedly out of hands. Any hope for this situation to ever
improve under the present kind of governances is living on false
hopes and chasing a mirage
* The author’s original findings presented through Shaping India of our Dreams and Crusade India more than a decade ago had estimated the poverty level at 86 percent (including those living on or a little above the poverty line). Experts and the general audience had reservations in accepting this figure then. The author has been, proven right as by 2012 this figure had been officially vindicated.
Dilapidating, Crumbling, and Dismaying Infrastructure
– The railways are ramshackled and lose about ` 16,000 crore
annually, said Mr. Dinesh Trivedi, Railways Minister, in
January 2012. The losses jumped to ` 35,918 crore by
2015-16 (source: Indian Express, Railway Budget) besides
heavy debts. Everything railways is aging and decaying;
there are never enough safety measures. Railway journeys
have become frightening and unsafe. Also see Section 8.7
(p. 380). Passenger carriage toilets stink and strew human
excreta on railway tracks, corroding undercarriages,
railway tracks, fittings and fixtures, and so on.
- The condition of the road transport system is no better.
For example Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) alone lost
over ` 5,000 cr during 2010-15 (CAG June, 2016)
- Most airlines are ailing too. Air India’s losses stood at
` 13,500 crore and debts at ` 18,000 crore by early 2012.
By 2015 losses were greatly controlled due to low prices
of oil but debts rose to about ` 40,000 crore. Kingfisher
Airlines losses stood at ` 6000 crore and debts at ` 7000