Examples Of "Natural Order"

If you read the newspapers today, you will get the impression that our country is on the boil: 27 central government police personnel have been murdered in Chattisgarh; and in Kashmir there is war on the streets yet again. What hope is there for "natural order" in such a dismal scenario? What we need is a military dictator, you might think.

So let me tell you about the oasis of peace where I have been living for 6 years now: Canacona, South Goa. Canacona is about 350 square kilometres in size, with a population of about 100,000. Yet for this entire area, there is just ONE police station. And for those who staff this police station, there is little or no work, because of the "natural order."

Chaudi is the only "town" in Canacona, 3 km from where I live. I drive there for most of my needs. The police station is not in Chaudi; rather, it is a few kilometres further south, closer to the Karnataka border. It is an imposing building on an elevation abutting the highway, NH 17. A friend went to this police station the other day to file a report about a lost share certificate. Here is what she had to say after that.

First, that nothing much was going on in the police station. The guy at the desk was busy reading the newspapers. There were lots of other policemen just sitting around. She got her work done pretty fast and then asked the policemen some questions on the law and order situation in Canacona. Here is what she was told.

According to the policemen, there in no crime in Canacona. When the tourists come in the season, there are petty thefts of laptops and mobile phones. Apart from that - nothing. Even drunken and disorderly behaviour is rare - although the bars open early every morning.

Actually, even Srinagar and our forested tribal heartlands were like this some decades back. Everyone holidayed in Srinagar. Indeed, Srinagar received more tourists than Goa. I remember driving into the "core area" of the Palamau National Park in 1982 - unarmed and unescorted. There were four of us, including two girls. On our way we were accosted by a herd of wild elephants, with their calves, and I had to "off-road" the jeep to reach the forest guest house where we were to stay. There, we found fresh pug marks of a tiger on the riverbank.

That night, after a simple dinner of dal and rice, we heard the jungle drums. The sound was mesmerizing. The drums sounded pretty close so we ventured out on foot to look for the party. We were scared of wild animals - but what we found were peaceful, hospitable tribal people, having a big party. We drank and danced with them.

Why have things turned so bad in these areas today? The answer to that must lie in the injustices committed on the peaceful people by our The State. In Srinagar, the men of the central police have shot dead another little boy. In Chattisgarh and Jharkhand the tribals HATE the police.

Socialism is a philosophy of Injustice, Corruption and Chaos. It is this philosophy that has to be unceremoniously junked in favour of Free Markets and Private Property. And Liberty Under Law. Only then will the "natural order" be revived.