The Gulf War has once again reminded the world of how fragile global supply chains and energy security can be. For a country like India, the impact is immediate and severe. Rising oil prices, economic slowdown, and disruptions in trade are not abstract concerns; they touch the lives of ordinary citizens every day. What makes this more painful is the realization that India, with its vast youth population, had the right manpower to build resilience through manufacturing hubs, much like China did decades ago.
Sensitive governance could have designed ways and means to channel youthful energy into productive industries, creating jobs, stabilizing the economy, and shielding the nation from external shocks. Instead, we drifted, and the disconnect between governance and citizens has only widened. Elections in our democracy are fought with vigour, passion, and immense resources and those with organization and wealth often prevail. Yet victory at the ballot is only the beginning of governance. True leadership lies not in celebration, but in returning to the people who placed their trust in the vote. Governance must be more than statistics or slogans; it must deliver the basics -roads without potholes, clean drinking water, affordable healthcare, and schools with competent teachers.
These are not privileges but rightful expectations, and they must be met through systems that respond consistently and automatically, without waiting for extraordinary orders from above. Winning elections is not the priority; serving after winning is. Leaders must remain close to the people, not distant figures glimpsed only in rallies or posters. Governance should be judged by the everyday experience of citizens, not by stock market indices or political spectacle. The call is simple: return to those who voted you into power, create infrastructure that responds on its own, lead by example, and restore credibility in the bureaucracy.
Respect is earned not through slogans or photographs, but through service that citizens can see and feel. The essence of democracy is service, not spectacle. Yet too often governance has been reduced to rallies, hoardings, and slogans. Crores of rupees are spent on personal images that shine on highways, while drains overflow in neighbourhoods and children study in schools without teachers. Credibility is not built through billboards or convoys; it is earned when citizens see their roads repaired, their water clean, their hospitals functional, and their safety assured. Credibility flows not from the seat of power but from the grassroots, where the voter lives and struggles.
The biggest disappointment of governance has been the inability to create systems that respond on their own. Too often, the machinery of administration lies dormant until extraordinary orders are issued from the top. Citizens deserve infrastructure that works without external intervention, roads repaired routinely, electricity supplied reliably, water managed efficiently, and health services available promptly. Examples from other nations show what is possible.
In New Jersey, snowstorms bury roads under five to six feet of snow, yet within hours the roads are cleared, electricity continues uninterrupted, and medical services remain assured. The system responds automatically, without waiting for presidential orders or political intervention. Travelling across highways in the United States, one can drive thousands of kilometers without encountering potholes, cattle, or unsafe crossings. The system ensures safety, hygiene, and decongestion as a matter of routine. Drinking water is supplied without the need for household reverse osmosis machines, because the public system itself guarantees quality. Workers perform their duties without constant supervision, because accountability is embedded in the system.
These examples are not meant to glorify another country, but to remind us of what governance can achieve when systems are designed to respond on their own. Citizens there do not face daily glitches; they live with confidence that the basics will be taken care of. That is the true measure of governance. The comparison with nations that have embedded accountability in their systems is instructive. There, the common man does not worry about safe drinking water, collapsing roads, or hospitals turning him away. He does not wait for a minister’s order to see a pothole repaired or a street cleaned.
Bureaucrats and politicians responsible for failures in electricity, water, communication, roads, health, and education must be held to account. Resignations are not enough; exemplary punishment and permanent disqualification from public life are necessary to restore trust. When incumbents see their predecessors punished for dereliction of duty, they will think ten times before betraying the public interest. The system itself responds, because it has been designed to serve. That is the aspiration India must embrace ~ not to mimic others blindly, but to ensure governance here too becomes automatic, reliable, and credible. What troubles many observers today is the growing disconnect between governance and those for whom it is intended.
Citizens rarely see their leaders except in orchestrated appearances. Officials move in convoys surrounded by layers of security, insulated from the very people they are meant to serve. Why should a public servant require such distance from the public? Why have we drifted back to eras where rulers were kings and citizens were subjects? This culture of separation is not only symbolic, it is corrosive. It signals to ordinary citizens that their leaders are inaccessible, unapproachable, and perhaps even fearful of the people they govern.
The irony is stark: those elected to serve appear shielded from the realities of everyday life, while citizens navigate broken roads, erratic electricity, unsafe streets, and polluted air. Judicial activism has played a role in pushing governance forward, but the judiciary cannot replace the executive. Cases against politicians must be expedited, fast-tracked, and resolved within strict timeframes. Only then will governance regain credibility. Seventy-eight years after independence, India has grown beyond the abysmal poverty of 1947, yet the disconnect between governance and citizens remains stark. Population has multiplied, budgets have expanded, but systems have not matured to respond automatically.
The call today is not for new slogans or spectacles, but for a return to reality. Governance must shed the aura of kingship and embrace the humility of service. Officials must walk among citizens, not hide behind convoys. Infrastructure must respond without orders. Credibility must be restored through accountability. Democracy is not about rulers and subjects; it is about representatives and voters. The sooner governance returns to this truth, the stronger the nation will be. India’s youth are its greatest asset, but only if their energy is directed toward constructive nation-building.
The rich youth population, which has gone berserk in many ways, must face the reality that driving SUVs at reckless speeds, speaking in intemperate language, or drinking alcohol in cars on public roads will not solve the issues of malnutrition that still plague millions. Extravagance and indulgence cannot substitute for responsibility. The energy and resources squandered on such displays could have been channelled into creating more hospitals, more skill-oriented affordable institutions, and more reliable infrastructure. If governance had taken the lead, this restless energy could have been transformed into innovation, entrepreneurship, and service. India’s youth are its greatest asset, but only if their energy is directed toward constructive nation-building.
The appeal is simple and neutral: those who occupy the highest pedestal of governance must remember that elections are only the gateway. Once seated in power, the duty is to return to the people who sent them there, to serve without spectacle, without distance, and without delay. To govern is to be present, to be responsive, and to be accountable. Elections may be won with power, but governance is only won with credibility and the courage to return to the people. As Nelson Mandela famously stated “a nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones”.
(The writer is a retired Air Commodore, VSM, of the Indian Air Force)