An Open Letter from a Nation to its Prime Minister

Dear Prime Minister Modi,

I am Indian by birth, nationality, and in my heart.

My name is India, and I represent the voice of nearly 1.5 billion people.

I want to propose a few drastic suggestions to dramatically improve the way our great nation has functioned in the past and continues to do so as we celebrate our 79 years of independence from colonial rule.

I will keep these recommendations simple and straightforward.

My recommendations are not founded on research, empirical data, or scientific deductions, rather on the struggles and tribulations of the average woman and man, so my apologies in advance if these do not resonate with the upper class of our nation, who quite often lead insulated lives.

Some of these suggestions may come across as harsh and insensitive, but I think the time has come for Indians to start demanding high-quality performance and accountability from those who serve us, the operative word being ‘serve’ here.

Finally, I would also like to insist that I have no allegiance to any political party or group, nor is my political leaning left, right, center, or in any other direction, if there is any left. I am a mere voice of Indians who struggle every day to make their ends meet – as you did for much of your life as an ordinary citizen.

Recommendation Number One

CHAMPION TEACHERS, TRANSFORM INDIA

Make all government teachers Class One Gazette Officers. This will attract the best talent in the market towards a profession which is the foundation of any nation, yet is powered by a high number of underqualified or unqualified staff.

If we invest in our children, we invest in our nation. Today the brightest of minds gravitate towards the private sector that feeds them with financial incentives far more lucrative than a teacher’s salary. By assigning the position of a teacher respect, authority, and the stature of the highest government cadre at par with Class One civil servants, India will invest in its young population. An investment in our foundation will reap high returns, and we all know, when the foundation is solid, the structure can only rise.

Let us give incentives to the brightest minds to become teachers. Let qualified and well-compensated teachers produce cohorts of highly qualified and educated Indians.

  •  Upgrade the position of a government teacher to Class One Gazette Officer

  • Give them the same incentives accorded to Class One bureaucrats

  • Create mechanisms to monitor their performance and quality of teaching

  • Hire consultants as teachers at the same salary scales to cover the gap of teachers

  • Give teachers in remote areas significant financial incentives, including allowances, housing, and security, to encourage them to live in far-flung areas, at par with military incentives

  • Invest in teachers and equip them with modern pedagogy skills like play-based learning, foundational literacy, and numeracy

  • Hold them accountable for their performance; if students in a school are not performing well, the staff should be held accountable and responsible

  • Maintain little or no tolerance for poor performance by teachers; if they fail to improve results after warnings, they should be dismissed from service – we cannot afford highly paid incompetent professionals living like parasites on taxpayers’ hard-earned money for decades before retiring on pensions, like the existing bureaucracy that bleeds the system

Recommendation Number Two

MAKE THE POLICE FORCE INDEPENDENT

I speak from the experience of millions of Indians when I say that the police are but a mere stooge of the political class. These are good men and women who want to serve with integrity and dedication; however the system does not allow them to do so.

Corrupt politicians and bureaucrats control the police force by the jugular for petty benefits, to the extent that when interference becomes institutional, police officers accept it as the norm and forget why they joined the force in the first place.

Set them free. Let them do their job with honesty and passion. Let them maintain law and order and protect the people they serve, not persecute them at the behest of a few.

  • Significantly increase the salary of the lowest cadres of policemen; if they are paid well and face no political interference, they are less likely to fall into corruption that results in public harassment

  • Make the entire police force completely independent of influence from politicians or bureaucrats

  • Create state-wise police structures independent of political and bureaucratic interference; remove reporting lines to district collectors and shift law and order to an independent entity

  • Empower the police to make and stand by their decisions, similar to the army structure

  • Invest in the police by increasing their numbers and equipping them with state-of-the-art policing tools

  • Improve their working conditions; most policemen are overstretched and underpaid

  • Create a Police Commission at every level, headed by civilians of high stature, with oversight authority to keep the police accountable to the people

  • Most importantly, change the mindset of the police force – they are not there to hit, beat, and abuse, rather to listen, serve, and act. Replace ‘With You, For You, Always’ with ‘To Protect, To Serve, To Respect’



Recommendation Number Three

MAKE THE JUDICIARY ACCOUNTABLE

When people are victims of crime or treated unjustly, they seek recourse in the judiciary; however, instead of helping these desperate and often traumatised people, the courts prolong their suffering with impunity, inefficiency, apathy, and zero accountability. It is time the judiciary is found guilty of failing to provide timely justice and is held to account.

  •  All court cases should be time-bound and strictly adhered to

  • Judges should be required to pass final judgement within six months for civil cases and one year for criminal cases

  • Limit hearings to no more than 3 for civil cases and 6 for criminal cases

  • Allow exceptions for highly complicated cases, but ensure delays do not become the norm

  • If hearings extend beyond the stipulated number, clients should be exempt from paying additional legal fees – ending the collusion between judges and lawyers to delay cases

  • Hold judges responsible for delays; promotions and salaries should reflect their performance

  • Consistently underperforming judges should be warned, and if they fail to improve, dismissed from service

  • Hire more judges to clear the backlog of cases; around 5 crore cases are pending, including over 169,000 for more than 30 years

  • Stop annual summer leave for judges – a colonial luxury India cannot afford

  • Create quasi-courts to encourage out-of-court settlements for civil cases

  • Make courts operate in three 8-hour shifts daily, 24/7, until backlog is cleared and no person remains under trial for decades

  • Enforce a law barring judges from taking other government or auxiliary posts after retirement

Dear Prime Minister Modi, I acknowledge these are not easy changes to make. There will be resistance from the old guard, and numerous arguments will be made on why these recommendations are “not possible” in a country like ours. But if, for once, we place the Aam Aadmi at the centre of governance, not as an incidental beneficiary at the periphery where they are currently staged, you will realise these changes are both logical and achievable.

I also acknowledge there are many other challenges faced by Indians every day that deserve equal priority. However, if the country can address these three chronic illnesses that plague our society and government, I am certain we will be inspired to make swift reforms in other areas as well and propel India towards achieving the highest levels of human rights and human values.

I hope you will consider these priorities as an urgent call from us to you – our elected leader.

 I hope and pray.

Jai Hind

 Yours Sincerely,

INDIA