Imagine a normal morning. A person wakes up, drinks tea, and eats biscuits. Then they toss the empty packet into the drain outside. After that, they leave for work. Outside, rain is falling heavily. The roads are waterlogged up to the knees. Waste-filled drain water is overflowing onto the streets. Annoyed, the person mutters, “Inefficient government! It cannot even clean a drain.” On the way to office, they break a traffic rule. Then, to dodge a police fine, they quietly slip a hundred-rupee note. Once at the office, they lecture their colleagues loudly. “The country is going to ruin,” they say. “There is only corruption and government incompetence everywhere!”
This scene is a living reflection of our present society. Nowadays, one ideology has taken root everywhere. Whatever happens in the country, the government alone gets blamed. Even if a sweet is too sweet, we blame the government. We are alert and impatient about our rights. Yet we stay equally indifferent toward our own duties. As the saying goes, do not thatch your roof with royal straw. In a democracy, the government must certainly be held accountable. However, without citizens’ cooperation and morality, no society stays healthy through laws alone. We have forgotten to ask ourselves a simple question. What exactly are we doing? Through the mindset of “someone else will do it,” we keep running from our own responsibilities.
The Great Crutch of Modern Citizenship
For decades, governance debates in India have centered on state accountability. Demanding efficiency from public institutions is vital for democracy. However, this demand has become a psychological crutch for citizens. Consequently, individual agency has surrendered almost entirely to state machinery. As a result, active stakeholders have turned into passive, disgruntled consumers.
Furthermore, when dissatisfaction becomes reflexive rather than thoughtful, civic duty starts fraying. Originally, communities shared both pride and the burden of maintenance together. Now, that collective identity has shifted toward hyper-individualism. Today, the state is treated like an external vendor. We demand world-class infrastructure, yet resist small personal adjustments. Similarly, we expect transparency, yet exploit tiny loopholes for convenience. This cognitive dissonance quietly drives our public crises.
Ultimately, democracy is a balance of governance and civic virtue. When systems operate alone, without an ethical public, laws fail. Indeed, laws are only as strong as our willingness to respect them. Meanwhile, depending on the state to fix individual behavior is unrealistic. For a nation of 1.4 billion, it is simply impossible.
Nature’s Wrath or Our Negligence?
Today, artificial flooding plagues almost every major Indian city. Assam is no exception to this trend. Even light rain submerges roads in cities like Guwahati. Immediately, we criticize the municipal corporation and government. Certainly, the government must build proper drains and scientific drainage systems. But what are we doing as citizens? We dump household waste, plastic bottles, and polythene bags into nearby drains. Consequently, these drains get blocked easily. How much can the government realistically clean? Can it truly station a watchman outside every house?
For answers, we can learn from other countries. Japan offers one such example. There, citizen awareness drives cleanliness more than any government department. In Japanese schools, students clean their own classrooms and toilets. Therefore, the mindset “my waste is my responsibility” grows from childhood. Public dustbins are rare there for a specific reason. Citizens carry their waste home and dispose of it properly.
Similarly, consider Indore city in Madhya Pradesh, India. Indore has repeatedly been ranked India’s cleanest city. This success comes not from machines or municipal staff alone. Rather, it stems from spontaneous citizen participation. Residents segregate waste at home into dry, wet, and hazardous categories. Until we take similar responsibility ourselves, floods will persist regardless of government change.
The Anatomy of Civic Indifference
The urban flood crisis reveals how civic neglect defeats structural investment. Municipal corporations spend heavily on desilting drains every year. They also build stormwater networks and deploy high-capacity pumps. Yet these solutions get choked constantly by single-use plastics and debris. Ironically, the same people discard this waste and then complain about waterlogging.
This behavior stems from a deep psychological disconnect. Once an item leaves someone’s hand, it becomes the “government’s problem.” Personal responsibility seems to end at one’s own doorstep. Public squares, street corners, and drains become lawless dumping zones. However, physics does not respect this civic apathy. A blocked drain, ignored through the dry winter, returns as a monsoon torrent. It floods homes and paralyzes entire business districts.
True urban resilience needs behavioral change alongside structural transformation. Global models like Tokyo, and national ones like Indore, prove this. Community discipline matters more than municipal budget size. When waste segregation becomes daily ritual, infrastructure finally works as intended. Likewise, littering must be treated as a serious social offense.
Who is the Customer?
Corruption remains another terrible malady of Indian society. Frequently, we raise voices against corruption in government offices and police systems. However, bribery is never truly a one-sided act. The bribe-taker is certainly a criminal, but so is the bribe-giver. Laws and vigilance departments exist to prevent corruption. Yet, until we stop taking shortcuts through bribery, it will persist.
Corruption from the Perspective of Statistics
According to Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer for Asia, roughly 32% of Indian bribe-givers act independently. They offer bribes without anyone even asking, purely for convenience. This statistic proves corruption is rooted in mindset, not just systems.
Singapore offers a noteworthy example here. In the 1970s, Singapore adopted strict anti-corruption policies. Alongside tighter laws, the public also grew genuinely aware. Today, bribery there is considered a deep social shame. Similarly, we could refuse bribes and act against corruption ourselves. Reporting corruption to the anti-corruption wing is our duty. Instead, we prefer paying bribes for convenience and blaming the government later.
Breaking the Transactional Cycle
Transparency International’s statistic challenges a comfortable narrative. It suggests citizens are always victims of extortion. But when a third of bribes come from citizens themselves, this narrative collapses. People bypass lines, skip verifications, or fast-track applications willingly. Consequently, corruption becomes a marketplace where efficiency is bought and integrity sold.
Public discourse often blames high-ranking officials or corrupt politicians. Yet millions of small daily transactions sustain this ecosystem. Someone who bribes to avoid a speeding ticket funds this breakdown. Similarly, a business owner paying undeclared fees builds tomorrow’s bureaucratic walls. By treating integrity as optional, we keep transparency an elusive ideal.
To dismantle this marketplace, we must eliminate the shortcut’s psychological reward. Digitization and faceless assessments have reduced extortion opportunities significantly. However, resisting the urge to bribe rests entirely with individuals. Ultimately, real change needs compliance viewed as duty, not obstacle.
Question Paper Leak and the Moral Degradation of Society
Recently, exam question paper leaks sparked sharp reactions across society. No government or minister leaks papers directly. Instead, greedy miscreants within society commit this crime. But a bigger question remains unanswered here. Who actually buys these leaked papers? Parents and students spending lakhs are also part of society. After all, a market survives only through customers. As long as marks matter more than real knowledge, miscreants stay active.
Certainly, the government can pass strict laws like anti-cheating bills. Police can also arrest the criminals involved. Yet parents must teach children to accept honest failure. Succeeding through dishonest means should never be encouraged. If offered a leaked paper, reporting it is every citizen’s duty. Instead, we buy papers ourselves and blame the government later. This behavior can never signal a healthy society.
The Valuation of Worth Over Wisdom
Academic malpractice reveals deep moral rot within our domestic and educational spheres. When credentials matter more than real competence, cheating becomes a logical investment. Families spend staggering sums securing leaked question papers for their children. This reveals an unsettling truth about many parents’ priorities. They value social status over their child’s actual education.
Consequently, this dynamic creates a dangerous cycle of incompetence. A student who buys their way through exams becomes an unqualified professional later. They might design unsafe bridges or misdiagnose critical illnesses. Others become compromised bureaucrats managing public resources poorly. By enabling fraud, parents teach children that ethics are transactional. Merit, in this view, becomes reserved only for those who cannot cheat.
No legislative oversight or biometric tracking can secure an exam hall alone. Real defense requires an uncompromising commitment to merit within families. When households reject unearned success, they cultivate honest, rigorous effort instead. Eventually, the underground network supplying leaked materials will collapse from lost demand.
Rights vs. Duties: An Overview of the Constitution
The Indian Constitution grants us many fundamental rights we constantly demand. But we forget Article 51A of Chapter IV(A) equally. This article prescribes 11 Fundamental Duties for every citizen. We focus only on government responsibilities, ignoring our own habits. Meanwhile, we waste water by leaving taps open at home. Among these duties, protecting public property stands out clearly. Abjuring violence and protecting the environment matter equally. Developing scientific temper is another notable duty. In a healthy democracy, rights and duties form two sides of one coin. Neither side holds value without the other.
The Rebalancing of the Democratic Ledger
The Indian Republic’s foundation balances individual empowerment against collective obligation. Part III of the Constitution safeguards our personal freedoms from state encroachment. Meanwhile, Part IV(A), added via the 42nd Amendment, reminds us of self-regulation. Fundamental Duties remain non-justiciable, unenforceable by any court of law. This reflects a deliberate trust in our maturity as citizens. Duties are meant to be driven by conscience, never coercion.
Looking at our cities daily, this constitutional balance seems heavily skewed. We assert free speech aggressively, yet ignore duties toward public property. Historical monuments and infrastructure get defaced without hesitation. Similarly, we demand life and liberty, yet disregard others’ safety recklessly. Traffic violations and aggressive driving reflect this same pattern. Essentially, democracy becomes extractive—citizens only take, never give back.
A sustainable democracy needs a conscious return to these principles. Civic duties must enter our daily routines with real urgency. Conserving water, reducing waste, and opposing corruption all matter. These small actions truly form a progressive nation’s foundation.
Change Begins From One’s Own Home
“Do not ask what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” — John F. Kennedy (Former President of America)
Criticizing politics or government is every citizen’s right in a democracy. It is also necessary for a healthy society. However, using criticism as an excuse to dodge duties shows false citizenship. Society is like a mirror reflecting how we use it. Government does not arrive from another planet outside society. Rather, it mirrors society itself.
Therefore, let us examine ourselves before blaming others. Change always begins from one’s own home first. Resolving not to litter drains matters immensely. Similarly, pledging never to bribe builds real change. Boycotting dishonest success will move society forward genuinely. When citizens perform duties correctly, only then can we demand the same from government. Otherwise, complaining about “too much sweetness” only deceives ourselves further.
