Dear Anna,
Hope you're well! As well as someone who's not eaten for 10 days can be !! I write to you with a purpose so let me get straight to it.
Granted that the current government and the prior governments have been infested with the fungus of corruption. Granted that their moral fabric is steeped in malfeasance. And granted that their profiteering ways and complete disdain for the law is an utter abomination. And I know that people, myself included, are fed up of this mess. It's high time we act. But we should be cautious lest we commit a blunder. As they say, 'Haste is of the Devil'.
Now I don't know how big a fan are you of our constitution. But I'm sure you'd know that the Indian constitution was chalked out over a period of close to 3 years by a Constituent Assembly that comprised of people from a multitude of backgrounds, regions, religions and communities. The idea was to have a constitution that would consider the aspirations of each and every Indian, no matter their community, no matter their religion and no matter their gender. I wrote about it a little more here if you wish to read.
Now during this period there were many points of contention amongst the members of the Constituent Assembly. Disagreements about the Gandhian idea of village panchayats, affirmative actions and the status of Indian languages especially the idea of an 'official' language. The CA spent days and weeks and months deliberating these points. Spent a lot of time understanding every one's point of view and their concerns. Only then they came to a decision.
Now even though these are very important facets of our constitution they are still not as important and as far-reaching as the one that you are proposing. If these were debated and deliberated for months on end, don't you think the law that you're proposing needs a little more discussion? More and more people should read and discuss it. In my occupation we have a dictum that says 'the more the number of eyes that look at a piece of code, the more robust and less buggy it is'.
You've mobilized the entire populace of the nation. To spur into action so many people, people across age groups and people across social stratas, is no mean feat . And to do so in this age is just stupendous. The bumbling government is definitely on the back foot. They are now cognizant of the power of democracy. I'm sure they wouldn't dare go back to their state of lumber and lethargy. Negotiate with them. To get the bill passed in such a short duration and without due deliberation would be unwise. The repercussions of a bill jammed through like this could be severe.
Even if you feel that your version of the bill is 'the perfect one' I implore you to not let the 'perfect' be the enemy of the 'good'. Negotiate with the government.
And before that please have some juice !!!
Regards,
Vk Singh
