History Of Achche Din (better Days)

History of Achche Din (Better Days)

Search for Achche Din started much before Plato authored his Republic around 375 BC. As per Indian mythology ' Achche Din' the only time the subject saw Achche Din was in Satyuga. Thereafter Lord Vishnu had to come on earth as Rama in Tretayuga and Krishna in Dwapar Yuga to establish Achche Din again. Since then thousands of years have passed but Achche Din is still beyond reach.

What is Achche Din? Achche Din means better days. That means it is related to the past. Today has to be better than yesterday, then only one can say today is better than yesterday.

Achche Din can mean different things to different people. It can be anything that can be related to happiness, peace, justice, equality, to name a few.

Here we would limit it to the basic needs of humans, for the simple reason that the basic needs of all humans are the same, food, clothing, and shelter. There may be arguments about other needs like comforts, position, power, spiritual enlightenment, and so on, but there can be no argument about basic needs. There may be arguments about the quality of resources to meet those basic needs but that is all.

As said above the search started thousands of years ago but it is still not within reach. In the beginning, humans lived for themselves, then for their families. With time, it became clear that someone has to control and regulate the resources for the basic needs of all in a coordinated and just way. The Government of the day is the outcome of the same search. There were different forms of Governments but it was felt that Government that administers the best is the best. Communism, Autocracy, Democracy, or all other systems were tried and to a large extent, Democracy was considered the best.

Democracy is of the people, for the people, and by the people. That means we choose a government of our choice depending on our assessment who can deliver the promises made. All of them promised Achche Din. At the end of the term, they came back with excuses and request to give them another chance. Sometimes they were given, sometimes not.

This assessment is not country-specific. This is universal and includes Governments who were not elected but were imposed in one form or the other. Sometimes even democracies are imposed because the election or selection is marred by reasons other than the need for Achche Din. It can be religion, it can be color, or simply be who the hell are you?

In the Indian context, the efforts were made after Independence. The middle path of socialism was adopted

by the first Government by taking the lead in developing infrastructure needs under Government ownership. It did help a little bit at least named and claimed it a journey to Achche Din.

Subsequent Governments followed the trend by abolishing privy purses, bank nationalization. The then PM even embarked on the “Gareebi Hatao” campaign. Thankfully she also did not name and claim it as a journey to AchcheDin.

No Government until 2014 thought of making a promise of Achche Din as an election campaign because they knew people are so much demanding and will start comparing and complaining from day one once the Government is in place.

But it was made an election vote catcher. It is another thing that latter it was dismissed as “jumla’. They knew water is deep but they will be in a position to cross riding on other equally promising ‘jumlas’.

Governments will come and go. We have to find ways to turn our days in Achche Din, which unfortunately is a continuous process and keeps changing boundaries. Government is only a facilitator. Sometimes they will do succeed, sometimes not.

As humans, help each other without grudging who is better. All humans are not destined the same way. All humans are not with the same capability, capacity, and continuity.

We have to remember that ‘Achche Din’ is a mirage. If you do not know what mirage is, walk on the miles and miles hot sands in Rajasthan during summer heat looking for drinking water and at a far distance you will see some sparkling rays reflecting in water but when you reach there it would have moved far away.

 

Syamalaji,
Thank you, I thought this snippet will go under 'unanswered thread'.
As I said Government has to work as a good facilitator, the rest depends on us. The very fact the many poor families have come up to lower-middle-class to upper-middle-class and so on is proof enough that we ourselves have to work hard and bring Achche din for us.