Soul and Structure of Governance in india

Diplomatic testimony Punyapriya Dasgupta Although the author is annoyed at the state of governance in India, the book points in the direction of hope. Soul and Structure of Governance in india; Jagmohan, Alliance publishers, 2005, Deccan Herald » Book Reviews Sunday, July 17, 2005

Fifteen years as a Member of Parliament, five of them as a Cabinet Minister, after the publication of his My Frozen Turbulence in Kashmir, Jagmohan has come out with his frozen tears — over a “national infirmity” that has infected governance in India. He is anguished and angered by the all-pervading and all-powerful three M’s and three C’s: money, muscle, mafia and crime, corruption, caste. Yet the book is not a pessimist’s testament. It is designed to radiate hope and point towards the realisation of that hope. Jagmohan unfolds a “blueprint” for a rekindling of India’s mind, re-awakening of her soul, redesigning her institutions and creating a leadership with a vision and a will. Those who have led India since 1947 are to him gods that failed. In his famous midnight oration Jawaharlal Nehru roused hopes for the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finding utterance in a new age. But nothing like that happened. Independent India failed to develop an inspired ideology of work. The governance started deteriorating sharply from the mid-sixties when populism made a deep intrusion in Indian politics.

“For winning elections and gaining or retaining power, reliance came to be placed not on honest performance but on deceptive slogans, not on principles but on personalities, not on long-term perspective of nation-building but on short-term personal or party gains.” It is time, Jagmohan fervidly argues, India took up in earnest the long overdue task of rebuilding its civilisational base with inspiration from the Vedas, Vedanta, Gita, Kautilya, Vivekananda, Aurobindo. The idea is reinforced with quotes from Voltaire, Max Mueller, Schopenhauer, Will Durant, Toynbee. In more concrete terms the goal is a culture of contemplation, contentment, compassion, balance and harmony. In his scheme of sociopolitical engineering Jagmohan assigns great importance to a properly empowered Lok Pal and a transparent law for freedom of information.

He is aware of the scope for scepticism and poses a question himself: Where is the guarantee that effective action will follow up information about any wrongdoing? And he answers: “India is poisoned at the heart and this contamination must be removed.” He believes that whatever should be done can be done. Jagmohan has a right to his optimism. He has achievements to his credit. He cleaned up Vaishno Devi in Jammu from the foot of the 13-kilometre climb to the exploitative management of the shrine. He stopped an incredibly materialistic Mayawati from commercialising the environs of the Taj Mahal. But he did not succeed in giving Delhi an aesthetic river-front. The Election Commission did not help him and the High Court did, but not as much as required. Jagmohan even lost his Lok Sabha seat in the 2004 election. A sadness was inescapable and yet he retained a surprisingly stubborn optimism which inspired this passionate pleading for reforms.