A CALL TO LEADERSHIP

The second open letter has been addressed to India’s political leadership by a group of eminent citizens, namely, Deepak Parekh, N Vaghul, Ashok Ganguly, Jamshyd Godrej, justice Sam Variava, M Narasimham, Yezdi Malegam, Anu Aga, A Vaidyanathan, Bimal Jalan, Keshub Mahindra, Azim Premji, Nachiket Mor and Justice B.N.Srikrishna

On January 17, 2011, a group of like minded citizens deeply concerned with the state of affairs of the nation, addressed an open letter to our leaders. This letter focused on four issues: one - growing governance deficit; two - galloping corruption; third - the need to distinguish between ‘dissent’ and ‘disruption’; four - environmental challenges. The open letter received wide exposure in the public domain and was generally perceived as being timely.

The group now wishes to put forward some issues which call for urgent attention and action to make reforms effective and have a positive and perceptible impact on citizens’ day-to-day life.

First the common man is a silent spectator and sufferer due to his inaccessibility to the constitutional remedies. Several antiquated laws need to be overhauled soon to reflect contemporary realities and land, judicial, electoral and police reforms are to be put in place.

Second, the strong nexus between corporate, politicians, bureaucrats and power brokers is to be thwarted at any cost inasmuch as this is one of the greatest threats to Indian economy.

Third, even the best crafted legislation will remain on paper unless effective redressal mechanisms are devised and implemented.

Fourth, while we appreciate and support the need for environmental protection, it should be recognized that there is an impasse on environmental clearances which continue to delay several investment proposals and hamper economic growth. This dichotomy needs to be addressed in the light of the efficiency and commitment by the government agencies.