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Indians, it is well known, have a lot of faith – in the power of prayer, in divine generosity and especially in its more powerful twin: divine vengeance. What we can’t take care of, karma one day surely will. It is the same logic that drives those who subvert the system – what the system won’t give us as rightfully ours, someone, somewhere will help us take care of, with a little added incentive – be it power, money, connections or even blackmail.  

It is this question that has been troubling me a lot these last few months. For a country of staunch believers, how much faith do we Indians really have in the system that we look to for answers, and abuse, in equal measure?

I know my faith, both in God and "the system", is tested every time I am stuck in a downpour on the flooded, potholed roads of Delhi. It is called into question every time there is a terror attack or a natural disaster that destroys lives, uproots livelihoods and shatters entire families or communities.  It is shaken every time I am edged out rudely from a queue by a “VIP”, or when I have to plead and justify requests for a service or information that I should rightfully have access to as a law-abiding, bonafide citizen of India.

Despite these cracks in my faith, when people ask me “So, what is your take on this whole Anna Hazare thing?” I feel highly conflicted about how to answer. An interesting trend I have noted while being asked this is a lot of indignation at not getting the ‘expected answer’ – that yes, India is going to hell, thanks to a rotten system being manipulated by a bunch of lazy, criminally corrupt politicians and bureaucrats who deserve the ridicule being heaped on them by Anna Hazare & Co. And that all of them need to be down on their knees before India can rise up again.

But is this really the only takeaway from the sudden outburst of public anger against corruption? Is it okay for us to get all angry and demand immediate results like a different version of the Lok Pal Bill, jail terms for the guilty (even death!), a suitably reprimanded Parliament or apologetic Prime Minister/ UPA so that we can declare Anna Hazare’s resolute starvation as being “successful”? Should we not evaluate how much faith do we really have in a system that we have been constantly abusing (both literally and figuratively!) for years, before demanding answers from that very same system? Beacuse if we don't, any question of change is moot anyway. Whatever be the answer, are we going to continue turning a blind eye to everything that does not affect us until it crosses the threshold of our tolerance all over again?

Most importantly, is it ok for us, in our righteous annoyance, to ignore that for every person who does not uphold the system, there are many who are trying to strengthen it in some small way. For every corrupt official who we would like to see punished, there are many more that need to be rewarded – not for simply doing their duty, but for doing it in a way that restores our faith in a system that works. When my faith is at the lowest, I try my best to remember that for every devious mind looking to subvert the law, there are many who are working within its confines to produce results. And that for every evil rip-off scheme, there is an ingenious idea that may not see the light of day, simply because it is swallowed whole by this very lack of faith. 
 
All this may sound idealistic in the extreme, but boils down to my initial confusion: how much faith do we really have in the power of change in this country? Who or what are we trying to change once we take off our Anna caps, tone down the adrenaline and wash off the Indian flag from our painted faces? I’ll be honest and say that my answer often changes with the kind of week I’m having and, with the rains giving us a break, this has been a good one. But I’d love to hear your views before I change it back again.

Do comment/ write to us, about experiences that have given you reason for hope that all may not be lost. At iGovernment, we will seek to discover and highlight not just positive blips on the radar, which we do in our daily newsletter, but also ideas and the people behind them who help restore our faith in a system that sometimes does not deserve it.  

preeti.singh@9dot9.in