(Bihar Times)The country faces a crisis of governance, and this is the root of several problems India faces today, former external affairs minister Jaswant Singh told a section of Patna’s intelligentsia at a private function recently. Mr Singh, while delivering a talk on “The State of our Nation: Our Challenges, our Response” to an apolitical gathering at the Golf Club reminded his listeners that India still lives in her villages, and when the people in the villages lose confidence in governance, the administration ‘loses control’. The rise of the Maoists in parts of the country is the consequence of this loss of faith in governance, he said. 

The challenges before us are economic, diplomatic, and political. Our legislators treat Parliament and the state legislatures as perennial election platforms, the veteran parliamentarian pointed out. Several statutes in the law books are out-dated, he remarked. 

Touching on the November terrorist attacks and the aftermath, Singh, who briefly held the portfolio of Minister for Defence in 2002-03, spoke of the changing nature of security and national defence requirements. He also pointed out that legislation alone – the creation of more ‘anti-terror laws’ – is not a solution, and may prove problematic in the long run. He expressed his anguish over what he clearly perceives as India’s tame diplomatic strategy following the Mumbai terrorist attacks.  

Reflecting on his tenure as Finance Minister of India, he dwelt on the initial challenges he faced at a time when the country was in the throes of an economic downturn. He realized that the key to economic resurgence was to enable the ordinary housewife to feel that she has some money in her hands – “it’s a tactile thing,” he affirmed, looking towards the ladies in the audience,” the lady of the house should be able to feel the money in her hands, money that can be spent for school fees, or food, or groceries.” 

Dr. Shanker Dutt, Dr. Muniba Sami, Mr and Mrs. Tapan Ghosh, Mr Manik Vedsen, Secretary Golf Club, friends of Mr Raghvendra Singh IAS Principal Secretary to Jaswant Singh organised the talk. In the distinguished audience were Mr Justice Shiv Kirti Singh, Mr Justice Sudhir Katriar, Mr Justice Samarendra P.N. Singh, former LNMU Vice Chancellor Dr J.P. Singh, and Industrialist Mr S.P. Sinha.

Mr Jaswant Singh was his affable self, and despite his discomfort from a previous lumbar injury, aggravated by ‘Patna road conditions’ chose to speak from the podium. 

Speaking in an informal manner, he gently drew attention to the deterioration in public life, and the ills affecting even the judicial system, especially among the lower judiciary. The ordinary citizen has begun to perceive the legal and administrative system as onerous and frightening, he stated, and indicated that the challenge for all would be to make the system citizen friendly. 

Earlier, Dr Shanker Dutt while introducing Mr Singh, spoke of his various accomplishments: author, academician, army officer, polo player, parliamentarian, traveller, and golf enthusiast. The President of the Patna Golf Club Mr Justice Ajay Tripathi proposed the vote of thanks. 

It was a pleasurable experience to listen to this distinguished speaker and Parliamentarian. The question session that followed was lively, and though the audience steered away from colouring the evening with ‘politics’, it was evident that the alumnus of Mayo College and the National Defence Academy didn’t think much of the current central leadership, though he was gracious enough to admit that the present problems were the result of low quality governance over the years and the rot spans across the political divide, bringing within its ambit parties of all hues and men of all persuasions.