What happened to my Country ??

Lawlessness and Outrage - words that you have come to embrace and commonly associate with things happening in the World's largest Democracy i.e India...
The recent incident at Chennai Law College - Clash of two student groups led to violence in the college campus where one group beat up 4 students to near death (still admitted in critical condition).. all the while Police were standing right outside the gates watching the whole incident without lifting a finger.. and mediamen taping the whole violence and showing it explicity on prime time news...

I dunno what else to call outrage... the fact that 2 student groups clashed, or fact that police actually arrived and stand neatly in front of the gates even before it escalated and yet didnt no anything about it, media taping the whole incident and flashing it all over the news w/o any restriction of footage what so ever, the college officials not acting quickly to intervene, common bystander just watching the whole incident unfolding...

One begins to feel... Does anyone beleive in Police these days?? Does one really bother to go to Police to give a complaint?? It has ccome to stage where you could see a murder in broad daylight and yet not intervene or even to go police, because common man does not want to even associate himself with the police or the harassment thereafter...

My own experience in Bangalore sugguests that if you lose your mobile phone and want to file a lost report, you will be harassed and asked bribe for losing your phone and and to file a complaint form for lost mobile.. this is reality.. welcome to India..

Makes you question the meaning of Democracy, when common man on street is even afraid to discuss the political situation , law and order situation or the lack of it, simply because he might harassed or attacked by a political fanatic "rowdies"...

Is this the end of meaningful Democracy ?? Is it Gunda'cracy' or Rowdy'cracy' ?? Just like how Chennai has a Ganesha temple in every street corner, political parties have sprung up in every street corner and each one has a big band of rowdy members and each one wants a pie of Common man's tax money... Nobody cares about the issues to common people or even think about service to people... Its like Democracy has lost its meaning.... How will the common man still beleive in Democracy or the Law and Order system, if this state of affairs prevail and continue to prevail??

Maybe this is the decline of Democracy in India?? Maybe we need another Indira Gandhi to bring about an Emergency in India and weed out all the corrupt politicians to officials of lower order and throw out the gazillion parties that have sprung up and build a 2 party system like the US or a few party system (not more than 5 or so) and set strict rules for contesting elections so Convicts and Murderers like Shibu Soren does not even walk anywhere near the Parliament.. Or worst yet.. bring about a Military rule.. until things get better... Only Force seems to work in India.. Too much divide, too many factions, too many religious clashes, lack of internal affairs, scores of recent bomb blasts, outrageous prices, high inflation rates... and the list goes on...

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MY COUNTRY ?? We learnt "Mera Bharat Mahan", "Vande Mataram" in school?? Seems like it was only a dream of likes of Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, and the million freedom fighters who died for her ... I sincerely wonder if the common man even bothers to go to the polling booth and vote ... and even if u do.. your vote has probably been cast already and you are being questioned and challenged for the proof of Identity...

I weep for my country.. Hope I don't live to see the eventual demise of the dysfunctional democracy and hope it does not come to that...

Still weeping for her... helplessly... :(