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| WHEN WILL MY MISERIES END.....? | | (An open letter by the AAM AADMI to Chief Minister) | | Early Times Report
jammu, Apr 13: Yes, I am aam aadmi. My name??......well I have many names... some of them are...Ramesh..Mushtaq...Satnam...Albert etc. etc. Am I the poorest of the poor or I may be the rich? The only thing which unites us, is our aam status and our inability to confront the sick system. I (the author) have gathered the guts to write this because I have almost seen it all and have experienced the pain full grind, maybe from so close that I can safely comment on certain issues with confidence and authority. I am going to highlight some of my (common man's) teething vulnerabilities and at the same time suggest some measures to assist you to address my pains, if so desired.
I live in hope. I keep voting every time, standing in a long queue, always wondering whether anything will change this time. Leaders and politicians give me hope every time before election and I remain lost in obscurity, waiting for tomorrow which never seems to come. When you became Chief Minister three years back, I thought, the time has finally come when the things are going to change for better. But, has anything really changed???
Now, Mr CM , I will come to the actual issues. The issues which concern me the most are; dignified and fearless life, basic amnesties, and opportunities for me and my children to grow as per the capabilities on a level playing field. Apart from the increasing prices I have to encounter the following miseries almost on a daily basis:
8Electric power supply is very erratic. I am told that I do not have a legal connection. But when I apply for one, I am stopped and discouraged by your lineman, who feels that his underhand income will be affected. I have to pay bribe to fix any faults in my electric line otherwise I remain without it.
8I have to put my children in a private school despite the heavy cost because the condition of the government schools is pathetic and it is considered below dignity even by the poor to put their children in these schools.
8If I am the one who earns his bread by owning a public transport, then who doesn't know about the monthly bribe one has to pay to all the traffic nakas while on the plying route. Since I cannot afford good attire, I am taken as a non entity and beaten by cops if I don't fill their pockets. Also by fining my vehicle for petty reasons, my life is made miserable. But I have to move on so that my children don't starve. Cops take money shamelessly in full public glare.
8If I ever get to put straight my land records or want to have a copy of my owned land record from revenue department or want to make my permanent resident certificate or get a caste certificate, then I have it at a big price in terms of money/wastage of time or both. If I stand against it, I lose more money, make countless visits to government departments and keep losing sleep as also wondering why I took a stand.
8God only shall save me if I or my dependant is seriously sick. I have no option but to seek treatment in government hospital. In the name of government hospital I do find a shelter and some reluctant doctors trying to provide a pseudo solace by prescribing cost prohibitive medicines from local medical store from where they receive hefty commissions. If surgery is necessitated for the ailment, then the doctor will intentionally give a long date so that I am forced to have the same done at his private clinic, where I literally get robbed of all I have.
8If I am a small time (or even Big) contractor who earns my living by executing govt contracts, then I have to pay more than 35% of the contract value as bribe to the govt officials for getting my payment. Imagine the quality of finished work. The govt officials mercilessly extract money out of me as if it was their birth right.
8I do not get full quota of rations from PDS store, especially so, if I am poor and really need it, I might not even have a BPL card. BPL card is also issued to the families who are actually not BPL, for the simple reason that such families would never/seldom draw rations and their ration along with denied ration is sold off in the open market at higher rates. Ration is denied on the pretext that full quota has not been released. Since this irregularity happens with full connivance of higher officials, no one is generally booked for the lapse. Illiterate person will not know what has been entered on his ration card and what has been issued to him. There will even be a variation in the weighing scale. Despite my protests at times, nothing seems to change. Everyone has a reason to stay quiet and suffer/prosper.
After going through the above, you may not be completely surprised to know that all this is actually going on in the system since ages. But Mr CM , since you have been luckiest of the lucky, you may not have suffered the miseries of making endless visits on foot to your Patwari or stood in line for LPG cylinder/PDS ration for hours(and on your turn it is told that stocks have exhausted) or ran after your local lineman to have your electric line fixed or have been beaten by fowl mouthed policeman for failing to pay him bribe etc. etc. For you the system would have been friendly throughout. The traffic cops would have saluted you in attention and emptied the road for your vehicle to zip past on the busiest of road, even while you were not a CM or a minister. All govt officials including the police would have been so polite and at best of their behaviour, whenever you interacted with them. Therefore, you would surely have some apprehensions as to what I am talking about. Some of your close aides may discard me as an agent of the opposition party. Because it is better to remain in a goody-goody bliss rather than working extra hard to fix the defective ship, not realising that it will sink one day. And the best part is that almost everybody knows about it but almost nobody seems to do anything about it. While our state continues to top the charts in corruption index, we don't feel even a bit ashamed. Every one closes his eyes to this harsh reality. Do you remember Mr CM , how Baadshah Akbar and numerous other successful rulers used to move in public with aam aadmi with disguised identities, so that they could feel their actual pulse and accordingly make laws and change systems for better governance. These days, even that is not required in democracy as you have all the first hand access to the difficulties of the common man through the various channels available to you. What pains me most is that despite well knowing my miseries, you don't seem to be doing enough and continue to act like your various predecessors. I also know and understand that nothing will change overnight but slowly the change can be brought in if there is a strong and sincere will.
But the fact of the matter is that, without you, Mr CM, making some genuine landmark changes in the system, I will continue to suffer till eternity and you will miss the golden opportunity to pioneer the change.
Though you know it much better than anyone else as to how to go about bringing some solace to our lives but still I (the author) with my limited knowledge would attempt to suggest some measures. You have full and final control over all the mighty resources of the state apart from the finest brains of our civil servants. Don't you think that your genuine desire to improve the system can be easily converted into reality by the best brains and resources you have? Do you think it impossible to have e-governance in our state on the lines of Andhra Pradesh? Having e-governance alone will mitigate the problems of common man by about 50%. It is time tested and working successfully. This can be achieved in a time bound manner with highest priority. Imagine the laurels you will achieve by its implementation??
It is matter of fact that corruption in govt deptts is institutionalised and is being practiced as a matter of precedence and right. I am sure that you don't have a dearth of honest officers in every department. Why not give them a chance to take on? You have all the means to find out such officers with impeccable honesty as also such type who loot and plunder. Make the survival difficult for the dishonest and incapable whereas reward and glorify the honest ones by making it a win-win situation for them.
All my hopes in any case will remain pinned on you Mr CM, as I continue to thrive on hope. I know that my miseries may not end all together but they are surely going to fade some day.
This open letter, though addressed to our honourable CM, is actually a call to all our political leaders across the parties, to understand my pain, which was/will be at one point, theirs too, but have conveniently forgotten it. This letter is in a no way meant to highlight the failures of the incumbent govt or to criticize its functioning. All the political parties are equally responsible for the present mess as 'Rome was not built in a day'. The time has now come to stand against misrule and corruption so that the pain of aam aadmi can be treated.
I, at the same time Mr CM, understand your constraints and limitations. But there cannot be a better person than you, who with a contemporary knowledge and mindset, belonging to a political party with deepest roots in the state, can really usher in a new era of change. And if this happens, I can safely promise you that you will continue to lead us till you desire. Believe you me; this is actually the awaaz of aam aadmi. Please don't lose this great opportunity. I am waiting with hope.
Yours hapless,
Aam Aadmi |
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