My Delhi Manifesto: Fix the Broken Windows

Chandigarh is the city beautiful of India, and rightly so. This city never ceases to amaze us because of its near-perfect planning, thanks to the genius of Le Corbusier. As a child I used to wonder what makes the city of Chandigarh different from its close neighbours like Mohali, Ambala, or Ludhiana, and Jullundhar.

No doubt planning of the city is one big factor but there is something more than planning to the calm and beauty of Chandigarh. But you look around, no traffic hassles, no encroachments, no black-marketing, and Chandigarh looks like a no-nonsense city. 

Is this just planning? For a country like India, just planning wouldn't suffice. It is implementation of the laws that makes Chandigarh a good and love-able city.

For instance, take the case of the Police Traffic Management. The Mohali, or Ambala, or Chandigarh Police recruit the same fellows. They have the same grade-pay yet we can see the difference between the traffic management of these cities.

Same people, different modus-operandi. 

While in Chandigarh you can't even think about driving a two-wheeler without a helmet. At the same time, driving a two-wheeler with helmet in other cities is considered old-fashioned, cops included. 

Same goes true for seat belts, over-speeding, and every other nuisance which looks like a Cancer grown beyond cure in other cities adjacent to Chandigarh.  So it can't be just planning. It is more about implementation. 

It's more about nipping the evil in the bud. 

It's more about fixing the Broken Windows to avoid theft. Fixing the Broken Windows will require us to challenge our comfort zone but that would save our time and energy.

That's what Delhi Manifesto must look like. Fix the Broken Windows first. Nip the Evil in the bud. If a young lad is driving without helmet or indulges in drunken driving, call his parents. Get him involved in traffic management. Set the record straight.

If an auto-guy is overcharging his passengers or misbehaving with them, make it mandatory for him to take the passenger for free.

If a chemist is selling fake drugs, cancel his license. This will end the problem of fake suppliers as well as fake sellers.

This will certainly mean employing manpower and resource allocation but that is far better than fighting your own people in the Ramlila Maidan. And certainly much better than getting your daughter raped and kids killed in mid-day meal programmes.  

And there has got to be stricter rules for public as well. With freedom come responsibilities and if someone is shying away from his/her responsibility, he is actually committing a sin.

Sadly and truly, we the Indians understand the language of constant monitoring and fear. Install CCTV’s, send challans to home and we will start behaving responsibly instantaneously.

If I were to add value to the Delhi Manifesto, I would include the following policy to be implemented strictly.

Education Awareness: There is a difference between education and being literate. What we need today is education. The entire country, Delhi included. Educate the young ones, the teenagers; make them responsible for what they do. Bring accountability into the picture. If a young kid is educated, he will understand that nationality doesn't mean Pakistan bashing only but it also means no honking on the streets, keeping the cities and streets cleaning, and a lot more.

This is My Delhi Manifesto in association with BlogAdda.com