By the time this issue of EducationWorld is in your hands, the Union budget for fiscal 2006-07 will have been presented to Parliament and politicians, academics and pundits will be earnestly arguing its implications and merits. The indications are that it will be essentially a status quo budget, bereft of any significant additional revenue mobilisation effort. Which is as it should be because with the economy growing at 8 percent per year, a huge windfall in terms of greater tax revenues will accrue naturally to the Union and state governments. Although much media attention is focused upon the issue of massive tax evasion which is a defining characteristic of the Indian economy, the reality is that all said and done and despite widespread poverty and want, the people of India do contribute a huge swell of income, excise, customs and sundry other taxes and cesses to the national exchequer every year. In fiscal 2005-06 the inflow into the central treasury by way of taxes was budgeted at a massive Rs.368,425 crore. This year it will be substantially greater. The implicit social contract between citizens and the state is that in exchange for the payment of legislated taxes, government will provide numerous administrative and social services to enable the public to peacefully go about their business and tend and rear their families. In particular the primary obligation of government under the social contract is maintenance of law and order and providing justice to citizens. Unfortunately there is a growing volume of evidence indicating this implicit social contract between citizen and the state is on the verge of breakdown. The acquittal on February 20 of all nine accused in Delhi‚s Jessica Lall murder case is flagrant evidence of the breaking down of the vitally important law, order and justice machinery of the Indian state. That the state was unable to successfully prosecute the main (politically well-connected) accused in the case, who shot the victim at point blank range in full view of dozens of witnesses despite seven years of investigative effort, is conclusive proof of the rot which has seeped into its police, crime detection and justice delivery system. Now it is clear beyond reasonable doubt that within contemporary India‚s justice system, the rich and powerful can get away with murder, while the poor and defenceless ‚ as indicated by the recently unearthed case of an Assamese under-trial who was confined in jail for 56 years without being charged ‚ crowd India‚s courts and penal institutions. The critically important law, order and justice system apart, there is other evidence suggesting that the social contract between citizens and state is on the verge of breakdown ‚ the logical outcome of which is anarchy. Despite almost the entire tax receipts of government being consumed by way of official establishment expenses (‚Ëœrevenue deficit‚), all citizens suffer double taxation because of unchecked corruption within government. Moreover public education and medical services are grudging and grossly substandard. In short minimal, malfunctioning infrastructure and services apart, there is…
