Slow march to anarchy?

My cousin Ashoke Chatterjee (Ashokeda to us) was the Director of the National School of Design in Ahmedabad for a good many years. It was from him that I first heard of this premier institute, a long time ago. Since then, over the years, I have had the chance to meet a few ex-students of N.I.D. As only to be expected from its alumni, I find them to be highly talented people, committed towards value-addition to the community and society.

Hence, I wonder what made Utsav Sharma, a product of this august institute, take it upon himself to physically attack the ex-DGP Rathore of the notorious Ruchika molestation case? The point is, Utsav is neither a relative nor a friend of Ruchika or the Girotra family! SPS Rathore may have got away with a six-month jail sentence for his various offences of molestation, intimidation, abetment to suicide, abuse of official police powers to ruin a family, etc. - and that too after two decades- but the people have not been satisfied by the delay in justice and quantum of punishment meted out to this villain. Utsav Sharma happens to be a part of this outraged population, albeit more proactive with his views and beliefs than the others. Obviously, he took it upon himself to strike a blow for justice, where no justice was perceived to have been delivered!

It is not my intention to hold a brief for Utsav. Not at all. But this whole incident does fan the fear in me....are we headed for anarchy? Looking around, one has to merely take stock of the state of governance in the much vaunted democracy called India, to realise that governance exists more by accident than design. Hence my fears of the age of vigilantism and eventual anarchy.

Governments do not or cannot seem to prevent crime and violence. The warnings of our intelligence services about terrorists and terrorist threats, if at all forthcoming, are casually dealt with. Meaningful information on potential threats appear to come from foreign powers. The process of dispensation of justice for the common man is so effete, corruption-ridden and slow that it ceases to hold any meaning in the common man's life.

In this context I recall the immortal words of Edmund Burke, "for evil to flourish, good people have to do nothing and evil shall flourish!" Our courts and the legal system do not act when they should. Our administration does not administer when it should. Our police forces follow their own agenda without a thought for the grievances of the public. Our politicians are too busy trying to garner votes and seize seats of power to douse the flames of rebellion amongst the masses. Look at the outcome of the crimes against people like the Babri Masjid, the '84 anti-Sikh riots,the Gujrat riots, the rise and rise of the so called Maoists who have brought so many administrations to their knees! Yet, we get a lot of words and no action. Look at the justice system. Look at Nithari, the Aarushi case and now the Rathore case. It comes through quite clearly that the rot in our systems places influential people above the law. It also comes through very clearly that in this much tom-tommed democracy politics is more important than law and order. For, it is politics that prevents the administration from nipping the viciousness of the Sena and MNS in the bud in Mumbai.

It is said that nature abhors a vacuum. Similarly, governance also abhors a vacuum. Where the administration abdicades its right to govern and dispense justice, for whatever reason, people will sooner or later assume the roles of the administrators.One does not have to go far. One look at the traffic management in Delhi should be suficient to drive home this point. Motorists themselves are handing out justice more and more with their fists, feet, knives and guns while the police remain helpless to come to the aid of the wronged party. The vacuum in policing has brought about such a situation, which, to say the least, has assumed alarming proportions.

So when SPS Rathore is let off practically scot-free for his heinous crimes it is not surprising that an individual decides to fill the void left by the system. This is truly alarming. When will the administrators wake up? Will it be when the maoists rule the roost in a good part of the country or will it be when the MNS and the Sena drive away sane and good people from Mumbai. Will their be someone or some institution to ensure that criminals are caught and punished? Or will we see thousands of Utsavs all over the country taking the law into their own hands in the interest of perceived justice? In other words, are we slowly, but surely, headed for utter lawlessness and anarchy?

This is my fear. I earnestly hope I am wrong.