We were outraged at the inclusion of India, amongst the general definition of 'soft states' a good 50 years back. The 'soft state' was
a term used by Gunnar Myrdal in his
Asian Drama
to describe a general societal “indiscipline” prevalent in South Asia
and by extension much of the developing world - in comparison to kind of
modern state that had emerged in Europe.
Myrdal used the term to describe:
... all the various types of social indiscipline which manifest
themselves by deficiencies in legislation and, in particular, law
observance and enforcement, a widespread disobedience by public
officials and, often, their collusion with powerful persons and groups
... whose conduct they should regulate. Within the concept of the soft
states belongs also corruption (Myrdal, (1970), p 208).
With this background let us take a look at the advertisement put up in the newspapers by the Northern Railways this week:
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- The ad implores, as any civilized nation must do, its citizens to desist from stopping the trains as it causes avoidable inconvenience to all travellers. In the same polite vein, it goes on to remind the dafulters of the penal provisions of the law. It explains:
"Conducting agitation on railway track that results in the obstruction of rail traffic or leads to damage of railway track is punishable under various sections of the railways Act with up to 5 years of imprisonment and fine (emphasis supplied). Persons found guilty of the above mentioned offence and sentenced thereto shall become ineligible for employment in government organisation /bodies and also become barred from contesting elections to all public bodies."
There are similar provisons of law that punish destruction of public property/transpost buses etc.
After all these public services are financed by money paid by the common citizens as taxes.
And now the inconvenient question. How many defaulters have been punished under these provisons of law during the last 50 years?
Come on, enforce the laws strictly- without fear or favour.
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