Nation needs people’s movement to end corruption, says Dua
Rajmeet Singh
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 23
“The nation needs a people’s movement to weed out corrupt and criminal elements of society that have infiltrated important institutions like Parliament. Unless the people shut the door on such elements, the nation cannot move forward”.
This was stated by Mr. H.K. Dua, Editor-in-Chief of the Tribune Group of Newspapers, delivering a special lecture on the “State of the Nation” under Distinguished Lecture Series at Panjab University here today.
Mr. Dua said the lawbreakers and corrupt politicians were a hurdle in creating a healthy political system and a stable nation. He cited the case of the Indian Parliament where about a 100 members had criminal records. Similarly some state assemblies too had a large number of people with criminal backgrounds.
“How do you expect these people to make law for the common man. They will obviously make laws that are in their own vested interests rather than those that help the nation progress”, he said.
” For creating a new India, we should be ready to pay the price and just not talk about the issue”, said the Editor-in-Chief who listed unemployment, casteism and political instability as the major hurdles in the progress of the nation.
The strife witnessed in different parts of the country, be it Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh or the North-East, the unemployment was the reason. The educational institutions, universities and other professional colleges were churning out job producers but there were no jobs. It is a serious problem that poses a real danger to the nation.
Tracing the strengths and weaknesses which he had witnessed during the past 57 years of India’s Independence, Mr Dua expressed his concern at the growing aberrations which came in the way of India emerging as a super power.
Notwithstanding the reality that India was emerging as one of the fastest economic powers with the third largest army in the world, nuclear power potential and one of the biggest educated man-power base which were the real assets for any nation, the major worry which the country was facing was corruption, criminalisation of politics and casteism. These few aberrations were causing despair and not much was being done to tackle these, said Mr Dua .
“We achieved freedom but at a price” and the country had problems of resettlement of refugees, communal strife but the leaders wanted the nation to be a model democratic state capable of playing a bigger role but that was not to be. Opportunism, struggle for retaining power, imposition of emergency, destruction of Babri Masjid, culture of Aya Rams and Gaya Rams led to degeneration of public morality.
As a consequence corruption had started cutting across all boundaries, caste factor has become more important than merit in all spheres, and benefits of economic development were going to only a few.
He said that the nation had 33 million illiterates living below the poverty line who were denied two meals a day, had no roof, toilets or even drinking water. On the state of education, he said the universities were ideal places for creative thinking and should prepare the students for facing challenges in life besides preparing them for degrees and careers.
On the occasion, the honorary membership of Panjab University Alumni Association was conferred upon Mr Dua.
Earlier Professor K.N. Pathak, Vice-Chancellor, Panjab University, introduced the speaker and informed the audience that he had recently been nominated to the Senate and that the university was looking forward to his guidance and advice.