Out of control

Ira Pande

FORGET climate change. What we should be really concerned about is the wave of madness that seems to have engulfed the world. The senseless war forced upon Ukraine by a despot, who is bent upon becoming the next Peter the Great of Russia, has shaken the very foundations of Europe. No one is able to prevail upon Putin to roll back his troops and stop flattening city after historic city in a once-beautiful country. Terrified refugees, holed up in dark, dank bomb shelters, await their fate as many neighbouring countries (many of them merely the size of a large Indian city) throw up their hands declaring they can’t accommodate more people. In any case, the long-term consequences of this immigration will forever shatter the complacent prosperity and social bonhomie Europe has thus far preened about.

England is nervously waiting for their PM to step down in the face of serious charges of political misdemeanour. Their Queen, an eternal symbol of continuity and British rectitude, is becoming frailer, and, for the first time in more than 60 years, she excused herself from the pomp and pageantry of the opening of the parliament this year. Prince Charles, her elderly heir, looked acutely embarrassed and ill at ease when he sat upon the designated royal chair to read out her message to the people. Heaven knows what the future of the House of Windsor will be like, with one prince accused of sexual profligacy and another who has chosen to migrate to America with his new wife and family.

America? The less said about them the better. Biden is increasingly coming across as a doddering old man, unable to handle the fast-paced events that he has to deal with: the Middle East, Ukraine, the rise of the redneck Americans of the Bible belt, inflation and rising oil prices, the prospect of an election that may be more keenly fought by the Republicans now that they sense a vulnerable President. In any case, Biden will always be compared to Obama, the last Democrat President, and guess who wins each time on the polls?

Come closer home: Sri Lanka and Pakistan, our immediate neighbours, are in a place that even we did not wish them to be. Who knows what the consequences of another civil war in Sri Lanka, or even Pakistan, may mean for us? Myanmar with a junta that has incarcerated Aung San Suu Kyi is in a similar place. Further afield, in the Philippines, the infamous Marcos family is being joyously greeted by the very people who threw them out, lock, stock and barrel, just a few years ago. As for China, under Putin’s twin, no one knows or even dares to speculate what it may decide to do next.

Our own country is a case study in itself. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, it seems as if the lunatic fringe is now in full rampage mode. And what is the state of our ruling party and the Opposition? In these circumstances, who can we wish to take control? The rule of law, of civil decency and accord, of respect and restraint in political and social behaviour, is now a distant memory. One can only pray that we do not descend the slippery slope to a long spell of fragmentation along linguistic and religious lines. Our own politicians, armed with the weapons of social media and fake news, with a compliant and domesticated press, have no interest in the real problems of this country. All they want is to win elections and since one party has perfected this art, every other wannabe leader follows that path. Stepping among the people, speaking to them about their hopes and fears, listening patiently and in humility — lessons Mahatma Gandhi taught us a century ago, have been forgotten and put aside. Power flows from money and information, so who cares for anything or anyone else?

Mark my words, we are in for a long, punishing summer. Punjab is teetering on the verge of a serious economic crisis and added to that is now the emergence of a ghost state that one thought had been finally put to rest. The state threw out the known parties convinced they had reached the end of their political lines, and placed their trust in a new party that promised them all they wanted to hear. A few months down, they seem unsure that they can fulfil even one of the many promises they had made, even as fresh problems arise every month. It breaks my heart to see a proud and prosperous state reduced to such a pass. The new actors should be given a chance for sure but I find it difficult to believe that they have it in them to bring the state out of the mess it has become. Mind you, their intentions may be good, it is just the lack of experience and a new way of governance that give me the feeling that Punjab Police and the bureaucracy cannot be controlled and made to work. Years of easy living and no accountability have extracted a very heavy price. Like the depleting water table, the machinery of the government appears unable to sustain the needs of the land.

I hope I am proved wrong and sincerely wish the state well. After all, it was sadda Punjab, too, once upon a time!

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