A government that genuinely cares

Transparency is sometimes overrated and should be treated as such. Pic/AFP

It is the memes on social media platforms that rile me up more than a virus ever can. They are relentless, put up and shared by people who obviously hate India and should be escorted to the nearest airport for a trip to some neighbouring country. I would happily pay more taxes to support this endeavour, because I think we already spend more than enough on infrastructure and healthcare.

Memes that question the government go against everything that has made India shine over the past couple of years. So many journalists have spent hours transferring press releases from various ministries to our front pages, and all that effort has been in vain because we have people still questioning the government's commitment to our well-being.

Yes, India has slipped many points in the Human Development Index. Yes, the river of economic growth we once swam in has slowed to a dismal trickle. Yes, a few million of us were pushed into poverty because of policies like demonetisation. Yes, a few thousand more were left abandoned and helpless by lockdown decisions that were probably devoid of common sense. And yet, I ask you, how is any of this the fault of our representatives in Parliament?

The problem with the government of India is not that it doesn't care about its citizens, but that it cares too much. Look at the sheer amount of time, energy, and resources it spends on trying to get us all to accept that it cares about us. Would a government that didn't care about its people issue as many advertisements about its accomplishments? Would a government that was idle take the trouble of renaming and reissuing so many schemes? Would a government that didn't care about our spiritual health welcome thousands of people to religious gatherings despite a pandemic?

Cynics need to be countered, because allowing them to ask questions forces governments to provide answers. A government that doesn't provide answers is a fascist government, and everyone living in India knows that we are given answers at every turn. Every rupee we hand over as taxes, directly or indirectly, is accounted for with honesty and transparency. This is why we have the world's largest stadium and the world's tallest statue, and a government that proudly tells us why it has taken our money to build these things.

Those who despise India will insist that we ask for more hospitals instead of statues. They will tell us that 100 hospitals can be built at the cost of a statue, and this is where a government that cares will explain why statues matter more in the long run. Yes, 100 hospitals may save innumerable lives over the course of a decade. No, they don't do more for the glory of a nation than a tall statue appearing in the backdrop of a thousand selfies.

Transparency is sometimes overrated and should be treated as such. We have been blessed with a government that does everything in its power to be as open about its policies and decisions than any other time in our nation's history. Every rupee that has been collected from us, for the benefit of soldiers, religious structures, or even COVID-19, has been accounted for. Those who say we have been lied to, and that our public property has been auctioned off to private bidders, don't recognise that withholding information is a form of honesty too. It is only because our government wants to protect us from foreign forces trying to destabilise us that it protects us from information about where our money, land and collective resources are going.

We should all take it upon ourselves to stand up and fight against global organisations that insist we are failing as a nation. We may be failing on many fronts, but it is our failure, and must be treated as such. To blame our government is easy, but we shouldn't fall for that old tactic recommended by healthy democracies since time immemorial. Democracy is probably overrated too anyway.

This is why I intend to spend the next couple of months countering naysayers with memes of my own. Yes, I may lie blatantly and create statistics out of thin air to prove my point, but I believe it is important for us all to lie if we care about India and the government we have been blessed with. This shouldn't be as difficult as it sounds. After all, we have been lying to ourselves for over half a decade now.

When he isn't ranting about all things Mumbai, Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet. He tweets @lindsaypereira

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