I always wonder what would happen to societies if there were no governments. Do we know how to respect each other or are we just artificially restrained? If given a chance would we miss out on an opportunity to grab someone else’s share of the pie, as long as no one minds?
Where did the system of enacting laws initiate? How did the societies accept the laws? Laws which were initiated by rulers who were only as legitimate as the strengths of their armies(as long as the armies were loyal)
I follow the articles by SA Aiyar in Sunday Times. The article this weekend gave me some food for thought. It mentioned that early rulers were mostly plunderers or robbers to start with (Thoughts of Changez Khan, Taimur Lane, Mohammed Ghauri, and Ahmed Shah Abdali flashed through my mind). They enacted laws and collected taxes as protection money (I was reminded of the “hafta” which my neighborhood tea stall owner pays to the uniformed protectors). Police and the other law enforcement agencies came into their present shape as the governments became more and more legitimate with increased societal acceptance.
When I look at the palatial residences of some of our royal heritage and the gold and silver encrusted on their cutlery I am not sure how many people had to starve to earn that. If I am not mistaken the royals were really upset when Indira Gandhi took the Privy Purse away.
Looking at the pictures and hearing the stories emanating from New Orleans there is another reminder that without a government (in control) the best of societies turn to anarchy. We have enough dictatorial democracies in the world to tell us that participation of people is still limited to the grassroots. People should actively engage themselves in the societies they live in as their is no way out of politics and governance. In this context, India has traveled a long way from its colonial past and we still have miles to go (especially after looking at the images of Haryana police venting their anger on unarmed people).
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