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When law fails to save us

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Rajiv Kumar
Rajiv KumarNov 21, 2014 | 16:42

When law fails to save us

It is shocking to see the morning’s newspapers announcing the abduction and then murder in Delhi of a young boy even while his parents were arranging the ransom of Rs 1 crore. Again in Delhi, a 25-year-old was killed by her parents for marrying outside her caste. Not far away in Hisar the fraud godman with 34 warrants outstanding against him over seven years, held out for a weak against the Indian state.

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Safety

In relatively far away Howrah, a man was lynched to death in the presence of his pregnant wife with onlookers around. As Prime Minister Modi returns to this grim reality of daily India, he must wonder if there can be growth, development or welfare gains when people are unsure of their basic fundamental rights to life and property in our country. It would not matter if these were stray incidents. Today, the Indian citizen does not feel safe amidst the law of the jungle that effectively prevails around us. The most glaring example is the growth of the private security industry, which provides "so-called guards" for private houses and residential colonies.

These companies also meet a rising demand for elaborate private security arrangements for individual businessmen, even if they have been promised government security cover. Companies providing private security are mushrooming as they neither require capital nor regulatory clearances. Ironically, a former Central Government home secretary entered the lucrative private security business with his son. If I remember correctly, the firm started even as he was still in office!

But it is not only the rich who are insecure in India. Daily life is full of examples of the law of the jungle. The bigger vehicle pushes the smaller one off the road; the goons armed with lathis or country pistols can stop vehicles in broad daylight and rob them; the police with better arms can harass the goons or connive with them as they choose; and the MPs, at the top of the food chain will not submit to normal security checks as that is beneath their newly found self-esteem. Not to forget that several amongst them have criminal charges and cases pending in court. The bottom line is that the "bigger you are" the more unlawful you can be. So the signal to all of us is to break the law when and where we can to prove one’s own "bigness" to oneself or anyone else who cares to notice.

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The result is that many businessmen leave the country and others send their children to study and "settle down" abroad. Foreigners will not consider locating outside the five metros for security reasons. Investors are wary of increasing the size of their business for fear that they will attract "mafia attention". Mumbaikars who have become immune to the existence of mafia dons, talk of hedging their bets by organising safe getaways in Dubai or London.

Extremism

In smaller towns like Patna, Hyderabad and Varanasi, political leaders and businessmen, import muscle power from nearby villages, not merely for protection, but to enforce contracts, fair or unfair. The story is of course qualitatively worse in areas where there is extremist activity by ethnic, religious or political groups. Even a short visit to Srinagar or Raipur will reveal the ubiquitous presence of private arms and security personnel.

The Indian state has for some time and in large measure abdicated its role as the provider of basic pre-conditions for economic activity. These pre-conditions include provision of law and order; security of ones own life and property and the provision of physical infrastructure. This is simply an unacceptable condition for growth of private enterprise in a well regulated market-based capitalist system.

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Prevailing conditions allow the growth of robber baron capitalism, which vitiates the social fabric and is the most despicable form of industrialisation. It allows a handful to exploit all the rest and pocket the gains from the entire society without as much as a thought to civic sensibilities and social norms. India cannot go forward if it allows itself to replicate the conditions in the US at the turn of the 20th century. That would tear this society apart with unimaginable consequences.

Security

Therefore, before anything else, Prime Minister Modi must assure Indians of establishing basic law and order. He must assure people that nobody but nobody is above the law and will not be allowed to take the law in their own hands. He can fight the upcoming Delhi polls on this one issue and of weeding out corruption and win it hands down. He must insist that at least in the national capital region, where the Central Government remains responsible for the law and order, irrespective of the party elected to run Delhi, he will enforce zero tolerance for unlawful behaviour. His home minister must learn from Mayor Rudi Giuliani of New York who rooted out street violence. New York has been rejuvenated and so can the NCR.

It is only a matter of implementing the existing provisions of the CRPC evenhandedly and with ruthless honesty and impeccable integrity. The home minister has to enforce accountability at the appropriate level and with exemplary swiftness and transparency and let the heads roll. This alone will ensure that there is some fear of the state on the streets and due encouragement to those who lead a lawful life. Good governance should be experienced by the people in their daily lives to be meaningful.

The prime minister has declared that he would like India to be in the first 50 ranks in the World Bank’s Doing Business Survey. At present, India languishes at 142 out of 180 countries surveyed. Surely, establishing law and order must be the starting point for this laudable effort. Many commissions have recommended a comprehensive list of measures required. These certainly do not bear repetition. Clearly, priorities have to change. The upcoming Delhi election campaign provides a very timely opportunity.

Last updated: November 21, 2014 | 16:42
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