Bull's Eye

Take a simple law like the use of zebra crossings. Few drivers or traffic constables would know what it is. Let the police commissioner conduct a private test to confirm this. If he observed incognito how driving tests are conducted, he would learn why almost everyone would fail the test.India has many problems. They arise from a single flaw. It is the permissive attitude regarding observance of laws. Permissiveness is part of the national culture. It has eroded national character. More and more decent people have started to do indecent things. They have learnt to flow with the permissive mainstream.

There is a price to be paid of course. Society wakes up when disaster strikes. But it is always too late.After an earthquake we remember building laws. After fire kills a cinema audience we remember fire safety laws. After pollution chokes the city we remember unauthorised constructions and industries.

Many lives would have been saved in Gujarat if the authorities had enforced building laws. Lives would have been saved in Delhi's Uphaar cinema if the authorities had enforced fire safety rules. Delhi would not have faced a crisis today if the authorities had prevented illegal construction and not allowed illegal factories to come up.One might go on and on. Society can barely survive. But the political class continues to thrive. Politicians are above the law. They are the fountainhead of corruption. They will not change. Why should they? They know there is no alternative choice for people.

Many young people are voluntarily doing splendid relief work in Gujarat. When the crisis ends, they ought to reflect. The choice before young Indians is stark: perform or perish. Will India's present leaders ever allow the country to perform?

A stitch in time
Is all very well—
But for a paltry dime
Let the rest go to hell?