“Nothing is worse, or more of a breach of the social contract between citizen and state, than for government officials, bureaucrats and agencies to waste the money entrusted to them by the people they serve”—Bob Riley
The word ‘breach’ is both a noun and a verb, but in either case it relates to violation of a promise, trust or law that can either be forgiven or punished. Where it occurs on a smaller scale by identifiable persons, accountability becomes easier and so is the process of prosecution.
In a recent incident, a court in Nagpur convicted ex-Brahmos engineer, Nishant Agarwal, arrested in 2018 for spying for Pakistan’s intelligence agency, awarding him life imprisonment with rigorous imprisonment of fourteen years and a fine of Indian Rs. 3,000 under different sections of the Indian Criminal Procedure Code of 1973, Information Technology Act of 2000, and the Official Secrets Act of 1923.
Agarwal, a senior engineer at Brahmos Aerospace and recipient of the Young Scientist Award was enticed to share sensitive information to Pakistan-based handlers of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) about supersonic missile technology through the social media platform Facebook. Communication was made with fake profile names, wherein Agarwal, with his casual approach and reckless attitude led himself to divulge sensitive information about the Brahmos missile. The matter here has nothing to do with who is spying for whom, but the manner in which the culprit was nabbed and eventually prosecuted is truly remarkable—one of the best examples of unearthing a cybercrime.
What happens when the social system of the country becomes irreversibly corrupt and damaged on account of the irrational policies of governments? What happens when successive governments keep on flouting promises on the bases of which they get elected?
At this juncture it would be interesting to know, if our own government has ever uncovered a spying cyber network involving a Pakistani divulging state secrets to an enemy country. If so, then why has it not been made public? The case of Kulbhushan Jadhav is different in the sense that he was arrested for knowingly infiltrating in Pakistan, impersonating as a Muslim and acting as a real spy or even that of the three convicted military personnel. On the other hand, Agarwal was lured into divulging state secrets without actually intending to do so, at least knowingly to someone who was not an Indian. Yet he has been incarcerated for behaving irresponsibly.
Again, this is not the moot point here but is meant to just highlight the importance of breach as an act that is subject to cognizance by law enforcement authorities for the purpose of maintaining law, order and security. Considering the many incidents of terrorism in the country, there is a high probability that many spies are in action, but apparently there appear a few cases of identifying and prosecuting with solid evidence. However, many people are just randomly picked up and taken away, who end up in the category of missing persons like the missing headlines mentioning not virtual spies but those who have actually breached state security.
Anyhow, it is far easier to single out individuals who have breached the law but what happens when the state itself commits breach of the social contract with its own people? What happens when the social system of the country becomes irreversibly corrupt and damaged on account of the irrational policies of governments? What happens when successive governments keep on flouting promises on the bases of which they get elected? What happens when the nation en bloc is suffering from the pains of breach of trust? How then can the government be punished? No one but the recorded history holds the answer where there have been more than a thousand instances of rebellion around the world since before Christ and till date.
Interestingly, factors related to the French Revolution (1789-1799) have a few similarities with the present situation in Pakistan, which is likewise suffering from structural weaknesses, financial problems, lopsided tax exemptions, preferential treatment of certain segments of society because of which, tax burden has fallen disproportionately on those least able to bear it, also targeting landed property, the least dynamic sector of the economy.
If only those who matter in this land of pure can hear history knocking on their front doors. If only they study the past well enough to realize where their follies are leading them towards.
Just like the 18th century France, any proposition to reform the tax system and economy are met with resistance by the elite and parliament. Again, one cannot ignore the role of customs, tariffs and illogical regulations hindering economic development. A high rate of inflation leading to increased food prices has caused immense hardship for an overwhelming majority of the population. Landless peasantry have no present or future, but powerful and wealthy landowners control the nation. With no clue as to real income, rising unemployment adds to people’s misery.
If only those who matter in this land of pure can hear history knocking on their front doors. If only they study the past well enough to realize where their follies are leading them towards. If only they were focused more on directing their efforts to building the nation rather than piling up their hidden accounts with money which in any case, would be left behind after their deaths. If only they can see through the hypocrisy of self-centred and self-serving colonial-minded local gentry that seek to buy homes in foreign countries—such a list of wishes is short but highly compelling to awaken them before it is too late to repent or before the light raps transform into crashing sledge hammer attacks.
Louis XVI (1754-1793), the king of France and Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918) Russia’s last emperor and their families, could never have imagined that they would ever meet the end that was in store for them and that too at the hands of their own subjects. Time has a very unique way of turning the tide of destiny and the tighter one holds its sands in one’s fists, the faster it slips away.
Suppressing commoners under the false impression of exerting indefeasible control is a sure shot invitation to disaster. Before the concept of breach materializes into realization giving rise to rebellion, a sincere piece of advice from Sigmund Freud: “A civilization which leaves so large a number of its participants unsatisfied and drives them into revolt neither has nor deserves the prospect of a lasting existence.”