Mid-Day Opinion: Why should our ministers resign?

What many of us appear to have forgotten is the fact that exams in India have never been managed smoothly. Representation pic/iStock

I used to think of Indians as a forgiving people. This belief stemmed from decades spent in Bombay, watching the city get more unliveable under the careless eye of successive politicians, none of whom were held accountable. It's why this recent clamour for the resignation of one minister after another has left me a little rattled.

It began a year or so ago, after more people died on the Indian Railways than usual, prompting a lot of people to demand the resignation of the minister in charge of that department. Nothing happened, of course, and the accidents were soon forgiven and forgotten, allowing that poor elected representative to get back to his day job of making reels for Instagram.

This time, there appears to be a target on the back of the minister in charge of education. I don't see what the fuss is all about, to be honest. From what I understand, one of the country's most important exams has been mismanaged, there have been errors in marksheets, a digital evaluation system has failed, and no one responsible has been identified. Given that this has affected just two million students or so, I couldn't understand the anger. Then again, I realised this could be about timing, because of how the incident occurred shortly after another big exam was cancelled on account of a security breach.

I empathise with students, of course, because I understand that their concerns are valid. At the same time, I think it's important for parents to remind their children that there are bigger issues for ministers to be concerned about. If ministers start to worry about the future of just 4 or 5 million students, every other group, from farmers and teachers to domestic workers and minorities will start to demand attention. If that happens, how will the country race towards economic supremacy? It's why I believe we should all calm down when something bad happens and stop trying to get politicians to resign.

What many of us appear to have forgotten is the fact that exams have never been managed smoothly. I remember sitting for my tenth Board exams decades ago, in another school that had been designated as a test centre. The classroom I found myself in had no ceiling fans, and this was in the country's financial capital. There were rumours of leaked exam papers back then too, and questions about transparency surrounding the evaluation process. This has been the case for every major exam across the country, and nothing much has changed in decades, so why attack ministers now? If today's students are upset, their parents should sit them down and teach them to lower their expectations, the way we all did and continue to do. If they start expecting fairness and competence at such a young age, aren't they inadvertently setting themselves up for a lifetime of disappointment?

It's also a slippery slope because we may start with asking the Minister of Railways to resign for train accidents, and the Minister of Education to resign for paper leaks, but acquiescence on the government's part may then prompt further calls for action. What next? Calls for the Minister of Finance to resign just because of rampant unemployment and rising inflation? The Minister of External Affairs to resign just because the country is no longer respected by former allies? The Minister of Defence to resign just because of alleged encroachment by foreign powers? If we continue down that path, who is to say we won't hold the honourable Prime Minister responsible for everything that is falling apart across the country? The thought is too ridiculous to consider.

I think we should all tone down the criticism and start being more supportive of our politicians instead of attacking them on Twitter and Instagram. Yes, everything around us may be crumbling, but that doesn't mean we lose sight of the big picture and start to lose respect for those we have elected to represent us. The front pages of newspapers show how hard our ministers work as they travel from one election rally to another, inaugurate bridges and roads, go on fact-finding missions abroad every month, or send their children to be educated at foreign universities so they can return to help make India better.

Calls for resignation will do nothing but slow down India's transformation into a global superpower. It is only when ministers are allowed to do whatever they like without fear of consequences that this can become a truly great nation.

When he isn't ranting about all things Mumbai, Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet. He can be contacted at www.lindsaypereira.com

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The views expressed in this column are the individual's and don't represent those of the paper