Saw your ‘all hearts’ interview with Sujit Nair (https://www.youtube.com/
Our generation, including Narendra Bhai which is in its 70’s has had a tumultuous roller coaster ride, rising from the ashes so to speak along with India. And most of us who left IIMA, half a century ago have lived an exciting and satisfying life. Your tears of helplessness that flowed unabashedly are unexpected from the Mallika of 74-76; an impossibly attractive and entitled woman who was from another ‘galaxy’. These tears reflect a few expected disappointments in an otherwise fulfilling life.
Your disappointments are magnified by the callous attitude and aggressive behaviour of “People’ Representatives’ post 2002. It is unfortunate that our PRs, once elected promptly mortgage their rights and responsibilities to the Political Parties for a few bucks (in Crores): Party bosses while professing to be Sewak of “We the People” never hesitate to orchestrate events like 1975 (emergency), 1984 (Sikh riots), 1990 (Mandal) 1992-93 (Babri Masjid), 2002 (Godhra), 2012 (Anti-Corruption), 2015 (Akhlaq), 2016 (DeMo), 2019 (Pulwama), 2023 (Nuh). These are part of the continuous ‘wars’ that our ‘democratic monarchs’ are engaged in. They may not use guns and bombs against each other; the cannon fodder remains the same, i.e. We the People.
All governance rules, codes and constitutions, in all cultures and under various ‘isms’ have been developed and operated by wo/men in Power, driven by the underlying concern to ‘control’ the ‘pagans. And ‘we the people’ have allowed these worthies to even staddle our social, religious and cultural lives, way beyond the legitimate role in providing security- internal and external, and making policy choices for the economy.
Having ensured economic security after a lifetime of managing Commercial enterprises, one had time to look up: And mind space to deeply study the issues in our social and public spaces. Could the basic management tools of “Structures Systems and Processes” and ‘incentives’ be used to devise Good Governance Practices- the political GMP?
It must be noted that the economy is a hard place and its political and commercial management require ‘nerves of steel’: Ethics and morality may operate at the margin.
Being mindful of the constitutional principles of ‘checks and balance’ and separation of powers, “Factory Resets’ have been crafted to, i) create equal opportunities for Capacity Building – of living and being, ii) equality of opportunity to be ‘elected’ and ‘selected’, and iii) be able to work with adequate degrees of freedom’ in institutions that are in turn committed to work on their intended/ constitutional purpose using “GGP’, iv) be handsomely paid and above all v) be recognised and applauded for ‘good’ outcomes, as envisioned in the Preamble.
Probably it is a first attempt by a member of “We the People '', the sovereign in a democracy, at writing the “Governance Rules’. The tapasya of eight long years by this Vaanprasthi ‘baniya’ was published in November 2023 – “Factory Reset of Governance Rules' ' – Democracy FOR the People.
This Business Plan for democratic governance also saves substantial sums for the 'Bhartiya Lok Nidhi’, while ensuring ‘good bang for the buck’ for “we the people".
I propose to devote my resources and the next eight years, most of the rest of life, to push the “Resets”, the “implementation prescriptions’, to the center stage.
May I request (shamelessly) that you and Sujit pick up a copy online, review it for a way larger audience that you command. Gee, the thought of honoring your tears has turned out to be a lengthy diatribe that took three days to ‘sculpt’!
