First of all I salute the Supreme Court of India and its Judges, they are really doing what the Executives of the India ought to do. The constitution of India divides the Indian authority into three parts. The Legislative - to lay down or enact the statutes of law, the Executive - to implement the statutes of the Law and the Judiciary - To oversee whether the implementation is done within the rules laid down in the statutes and constitution of India. In another instance of Judicial activism, the Supreme Court of India to pulled the government for usage of red beacon and siren by all and sundry and the impact of it on general public.
Right from the time of Independence of India and formation of the Republic in 1957, the Executive, which includes the Ministries, the Bureaucrats, the Technocrats and the officers of the services like IPS, IFS, IES have failed to deliver the goods as written in the Constitution of India.
The failures listed may be a high profile execution of building dams, laying rail network or four laning of the National highways to a simple protection of the females, the backward community of India or plain vanilla giving a good governance to the citizens of the country. Every single time it has failed, the reasons for which are many like corruption, neopotism, favourism and general lack of interest in the well being of the country.
It is indeed a very angry site when you have to go somewhere and are blocked in the road for half an hour because some idiot minister or a VIP is passing the same road. This happens rarely in Mumbai but it happens daily in Delhi. The entire road is blocked to make the road free for the VIP who passes in some kind of a parade with the red beacon flashing and a wailing siren. It really makes fools out of us every time we see such a site because he is what we made him. Had we not elected the man he wouldn't have been an VIP. But sadly time and again we have to wait in the hot dry roads for him to pass so we can go about our way. The legislative is fully for this because a flashing red beacon and sire gives them a perverse sadistic kind of notion of power and makes them feel like the kings of yore. Watch this video to get a feel about what I am talking about.
Now thankfully the Supreme Court of India has taken the matters into it hands and thankfully will get rid of this menace once and for all. A bench of Justices G.S.Singhvi and Kurian Joseph came down heavily on the Government and its executives saying that, "there is no need for others to use the siren. Ambulances, Fire brigades and the Army using the beacons is understandable. We think you should ask the others to remove it immediately," it told the Additional Solicitor General. It further added that, "The general public hates the vehicles with red beacon and siren mainly because of the brazen manner in which the police stops them to allow the VIP car to have a smooth passage"
The words of the Bench are not just heart warming to ordinary citizens of India but a severe warning to the executives of the country. They are only adding to the class divide that exists in the country. Out of the population of 125 billion or so 40 % of people of India still live in abject poverty and it does the VIPs no good to act like they are the self styled rulers of this country or to think India is a banana republic.
Another point which is to be noted that due to the frequent run in with general public the Authority loses respect from them which in turn can harm the law and order situation of the country. A layman has to have some fear of the law for the country to run smoothly. If this fear goes away then anarchy will reign the country. It is already showing its fangs in form of the naxal moment in the eastern jungles of India.
So, better late then never, let us hope that our friendly neighbourhood minister removes his red beacon and siren, and for once walks among us like a ordinary Indian.
I intend to write about the other actions which have been taken by Supreme Court, which ideally should have long ago been taken up by the ruling class of India. Please write in your comments regarding the same, it encourages me.
Vijay Prabhu
