QUESTIONING AUTHORITY IN THE NAME OF FREEDOM AND LIBERTY

QUESTIONING AUTHORITY IN THE NAME OF FREEDOM & LIBERTY !

Any nation or an organisation which wants to grow and develop at a fast pace ought to have social, political , fiscal and time discipline. China is a shining example of growth and development because of enforced discipline, though it became independent two years later than India, a cautionary not here to say that excess of everything is bad. Excessive control or tight discipline will take you the Soviet Union way. What is needed is a man appropriate balance of discipline and Freedom. Somehow , as things stand today , India needs to be dosciplined .

And discipline , like chivalry, begins at home. In the old joint family system, the word of the parents or the family elder used to be the last word on any subject. No one dared question it, however wrong it could be. At the same time one must note that when the head of the family was confronted with logic and convincing reasoning , he would relent. This was a clear example family democracy .

Thus , the authority of the elderly person was final . There was no appeal against it. Being amenable to elderly Person’s diktats in the family, every person followed societal and community rules and laws. No wonder society remained harmonious by and large till outsiders and external factors disturbed this balance and social equivalence .

This family discipline when applied to military organisations, it made soldiers, in the days begone, obey their leaders without raising any eyebrow. No wonder in his poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, Alfred Tennyson, observes :-

“—Not though the soldier knew,

Someone had blundered.

Theirs not to make reply,

Theirs not to reason why,

Theirs but to do and die.

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.”

However rules have changed today. Hype for freedom and liberty has disturbed the family discipline system. Democracy has individualised society , where every one is chasing and pursuing his own goals —- thus, questioning everything that comes their way. Questioning authority has become a practising principle of the modern generations.

So, anarchy and disharmony are the ruling norms of all political and social systems which lay excessive emphasis on freedom of expression and unshackled liberties. Even your Mobile phone and computer can lead to chaos if its motherboard is disturbed when you temper with the programmed software.

Exactly like the disturbance of the motherboard of a computer system, tempering of the authority through unbridled liberties and freedom, the social and political systems get strained in a democracy. Thus, the fear of authority having gone, police and administration systems in a democracy are almost defunct. Crime and criminals are on the rise. A general refrain is that RULES WERE FOR THE FOOLS. Policemen are daily beaten in the broad day light on the busy crossroads. Even the judges of the highest court openly flout the authority of the Chief Justice. Legal discipline had thus taken a beating. In the name of freedom of expression, the Prime Minister is abused daily. Political discipline is at its lowest ebb.

Murders are committed in the courts under the very eyes of honourable judges and accused walk away freely. Dishonest and corrupts are bailed out by the courts because of committed judiciary. Indian soldiers, who fought in the two world wars, were the best disciplined soldiers. Unfortunately, this has changed now.

Thus social , legal , political, fiscal and even military discipline in India is cracking everywhere . There is all round disharmony . Everyone on his own. No wonder universities rattle with slogans like “ Bharat Tere Tukde Honge kAYI Hazar ( India you will be broken into thousand of pieces) or AFZAL GURU HUM SHARMINDA HAI TERE KATIL ZINDA HAI ( Afzal Guru we are ashamed that people who hanged you are alive). Surprisingly, the same courts who sent Afzal Guru to gallows are letting free on bail these slogan shouting urchins.

India is at cross roads —- 2019 will spell disaster . Time to restore authority. After all Indra Gandhi might not have been wrong when she imposed internal emergency in India in 1975. Common man had nothing to fear—- Bureaucrats came to office dot at time. Trains were never late. Whole country functioned like a well oiled machine. I had seen it as a young man. Only people who suffered were those who questioned authority. India needs another spell of Internal Emergency to enforce discipline in the polity. I am a votary to discipline in all walks of life .

What would you say ? Have your say —-