Love him or hate him, but you just cannot ignore the man of the moment – just as you can’t deny the role of tech in transparency.
Before you jump to any conclusion from the headline and dismiss this article as one of those snarky pieces, let me clarify.
That Arvind Kejriwal is the man of the moment is doubtless. Love him or hate him but you just cannot ignore him, what with honest intentions wrapped around the guy as snugly as his muffler.
The & Co. element is what needs elaboration. For one, the company of politicians has been mired in greed, abuse of power and opaqueness for so long in this country that people are simply incredulous when a Kejriwal comes out of nowhere and quickly launches several pro-poor measures. “There must be some grand design behind it,” say some. “How can he take the support of a party he has been calling corrupt?” aver others.
Whether the Delhi government lasts or leaves good stuff that lasts will soon become clear. But there is overwhelming evidence that the proverbial common man is indeed getting disillusioned and disgruntled after being taken for a ride by the political establishment.
Two things will be critical in Kejriwal’s experiments with the political truth (besides proving his own honesty again and again, the clamor for which is not going to let up). One, whether the company he chooses to keep (not Congress but the AAP folks) will continue to be in sync with his ideas of governance (the & Co. element, again). Two, whether more government actions will be brought into the public domain, making transparency the hallmark of a new era in the world’s largest democracy.
In the second thing, transparency, information technology will play a key role. In the past couple of years, India has seen a surge in online opinions shaping the political discourse. Alongside, various e-governance measures—which, by their very nature, must make things more transparent, besides easing the pain out of the system—have been in different stages of implementation.
To cite but one instance of the power of such measures, just think of the impact that putting FIRs online and making them accessible to citizens as well as judiciary can have on the creaky, harrowing justice system of the country.
Once information is unleashed by technology tools and once the rule of law puts the fear of wrongdoing in the hearts of what-I’m-afraid is an alarmingly growing crop of rapscallions in this part of the globe, it would be quite possible for more honest-minded folks to join forces with the Kejriwals of the world. Or start similar movements, political or otherwise.
As we have seen, this is already happening. Let’s hope it keeps happening to take the idea of an equitable, progressing nation to a welcome conclusion.
Happening New Year 2014!
– Sanjay Gupta
Editor, Express Computer
