The three “simplifications” that Sanjeev Sanyal suggests are too simplistic (“Tell me the rules!”, October 12). His postulations are based on two dubious assumptions. One, even if the government publishes the dally-use rules on the website or the department’s notice board, how many citizens will have access to them or read and understand them? Even when we define literacy as mere “ability to write one’s name”, the national percentages is 65 per cent and web users constitute a minuscule number.
Two, there is no certainty that knowledge of rules and procedures will empower the citizen to enforce their implementation by the authority concerned. Whether it is getting a ration card or a driving licence, a knowledgeable person meets a stubborn bureaucratic mindset that interprets rules to suit its convenience. Complaints to higher-ups or recourse to judiciary test one’s patience.
Disregard for rules is our cultural weakness, and a cultural malaise cannot be cured by plain simplifications.
Y G Chouksey, Pune
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