Between light and shadow lies our reality, a land where triumph and fragility walk side by side. Gleaming towers of achievement rise proudly, airports rival the best in Asia, metro systems move millions with precision, digital payment platforms astonish the world, and space missions place the tricolour among the stars. These moments of brilliance prove that when discipline, planning, and accountability converge, perfection is not only possible but enduring.

Yet, in the same breath, bridges collapse without warning, residential colonies burn in preventable fires ~ the Malviya Nagar inferno on 4 June killed 21 and left many critically injured ~ expressways crack within days of inauguration, and sewage flows unchecked into rivers. The contradictions are vivid and unsettling: excellence where accountability is enforced, fragility where excuses are allowed to thrive. Every wrong in India finds a readymade excuse. A collapsed bridge is blamed on rain, a fire on faulty wiring, a flood on excessive monsoon, a road cave-in on heavy traffic.

Rarely is governance blamed, rarely is accountability fixed. The safety valve theory operates relentlessly: when pressure builds, the valve is opened to release public anger, committees are formed, promises made, and responsibility deflected. The valve protects not citizens but those responsible to deliver. Counterfeit currency rumours and whispers of another demonetisation illustrate this fragility. Why should such stories gain credibility? They gain credibility because governance leaves loose ends. In developed economies, currency management is transparent and stable; in India, secrecy and sudden shocks create panic.

Citizens remember standing in queues during demonetisation, livelihoods disrupted, trust eroded. Rumours thrive because accountability is absent, and communication is opaque. Centralisation of power deepens the paralysis. Nothing major moves without explicit orders from a Chief Minister. Bureaucracy waits inert, police hesitate, and local officers fear initiative. Contrast this with decentralised systems abroad, where local councils act independently, empowered to solve problems without waiting for higher-ups. In India, centralisation becomes another safety valve ~ protecting leaders while citizens suffer delay. The reliance on the army for civilian failures is another symptom.

Floods, riots, civic breakdowns ~ the army is summoned when bureaucracy, police, and paramilitary forces fail. This reliance erodes civilian credibility. In developed countries, civilian institutions handle crises; in India, the army becomes the last resort. The safety valve operates again: responsibility is shifted, accountability avoided, and citizens told to be grateful for rescue rather than demand reform. Infrastructure collapse is the most visible........

© The Statesman