NATION FIRST: Citizens too have a responsibility
A nation is not built in government offices alone. It is built on every road, in every home, every school, every workplace and in the everyday conduct of its citizens.
Anil Kumar Sharma
I have often felt a sense of disquiet when I look around and see how casually we, as citizens, treat our social responsibilities. We are quick to point fingers at governments, question the administration and demand better facilities and rightly so. But I sometimes wonder whether we pause long enough to ask ourselves a more fundamental question: are we, as citizens, doing our part to make this country a disciplined, responsible and civilised society?
This thought became particularly strong in me during my recent travels in the United States. I did not return impressed merely by the roads, buildings or infrastructure. What stayed with me was something much more ordinary, yet much more profound the everyday behaviour of ordinary people.
I noticed it first on the roads. Even during peak traffic hours, people seemed to follow signals patiently and remain within their lanes. There was little tendency to squeeze into another lane simply to get a few metres ahead. Drivers appeared to understand that the road was a shared space and that their personal convenience could not come at the cost of someone else’s safety. It made me think: how much of a country’s progress is actually visible in its infrastructure, and how much is reflected in the behaviour of its people?
The same thought returned to me in public parks. They were neat and clean, but what struck me most was the absence of litter. I could walk through these public spaces without seeing the small pieces of paper, plastic wrappers and bottles that we have unfortunately become accustomed to seeing around us. I saw the same respect for public facilities in libraries, where people quietly used the reading spaces and the extensive collection of books and literature. School buses and school-going children were given priority, with people accepting it not as an inconvenience but as a natural social responsibility.
None of these things were extraordinary. And perhaps that is precisely what made them extraordinary to me.
They were simply habits—habits of discipline, consideration, respect and responsibility that had become part of everyday life.
And that experience made me look back at my own country with a mixture of affection, concern and introspection.
These may look like ordinary observations. But to me, they raised a much larger question: what makes a society civilised?
Is it only the infrastructure created by the government? Or is it also the discipline, courtesy, responsibility and self-restraint of the people who use that infrastructure?
Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in both.
A government can construct a beautiful public park, but it cannot personally ensure that every visitor puts his waste in a bin. A government can make traffic rules, but it cannot stand beside every driver. It can establish libraries, schools and public facilities, but it cannot teach every citizen to respect and preserve them. Laws can prescribe behaviour, but ultimately a civilised society develops when people begin to follow the right thing even when nobody is watching.
This is where I sometimes feel disheartened about our own society. We are quick to demand better roads, better public facilities, better administration and better services. And rightly so. These are legitimate expectations from any government. But while demanding our rights, we sometimes forget our responsibilities.
We jump signals when we think there is no policeman around. We change lanes without concern for others. We throw waste on roads and then complain about the cleanliness of our cities. We damage public property and forget that repairing it is ultimately paid for by the public. We search for influence when a simple rule does not suit us and sometimes proudly describe our ability to bypass a system as a sign of cleverness.
Somehow, we have made indiscipline a part of our daily habits.
Perhaps our problem is not the absence of rules. We have plenty of them. The greater problem is our willingness to follow them.
There was a time when Indian society placed enormous emphasis on conduct and responsibility. Our traditions, scriptures, literature and teachings spoke about dharma, which was not merely a matter of religious belief but also a sense of duty and righteous conduct. Respect for elders, compassion, truthfulness, self-restraint, hospitality, cleanliness and responsibility towards society were woven into everyday life.
We often speak of India as the land of the golden sparrow. Whatever historical meaning we attach to that expression, there is no doubt that our civilisation had a rich tradition of knowledge, values and social conduct. Over the centuries, societies changed and cultures interacted with one another. Many of those influences enriched us, and some changed our ways of living. But in our journey towards modernity, perhaps we have also allowed some of our own social discipline and community values to weaken.
Modernisation should not mean abandoning our values. Freedom should not mean freedom from responsibility. Progress should not mean becoming indifferent to the people around us.
We need to understand that a civilised society cannot be created only through government orders or punitive measures. Fear of punishment can make a person obey a rule, but a sense of responsibility makes him follow it even when there is no punishment.
That is the difference between enforcement and civic culture.
Of course, the government has a major responsibility. Laws must be clear, institutions must be strong and enforcement must be fair and consistent. Political or social influence should not determine who follows the law and who gets away with breaking it. If citizens begin to believe that rules are only for the ordinary person while the influential can bypass them, respect for the system inevitably suffers.
But we must also look within.
Before asking what the government is doing for us, perhaps we should ask what we are doing for our nation. Before demanding cleaner cities, can we promise not to litter? Before demanding safer roads, can we promise to follow traffic rules? Before complaining about public property being poorly maintained, can we promise to treat it as our own? Before demanding accountability from institutions, can we accept responsibility for our own conduct?
These are not political questions. They are questions of citizenship.
A nation is ultimately built through millions of ordinary actions repeated every day. A driver who respects a traffic signal contributes to nation-building. A person who puts waste in the right place contributes to nation-building. A citizen who refuses to offer a bribe contributes to nation-building. A parent who teaches a child respect, discipline and compassion contributes to nation-building.
We often think that patriotism requires extraordinary acts. Perhaps it begins with ordinary acts performed sincerely.
We should certainly ask governments for better governance. We should demand good infrastructure, efficient institutions, transparent administration and equal enforcement of law. But the relationship cannot be one-sided. A democracy is not simply a government serving citizens. It is also citizens accepting their responsibilities towards the society in which they live.
Perhaps the time has come to change the question.
Instead of asking only, “What has the government done for me?”, let us also ask, “What have I done for my country today?”
If each one of us begins with this simple question, the transformation may be greater than any government order can achieve.
We do not need to copy another country or abandon our own traditions. We need to rediscover the best in our own civilisational values and combine them with the discipline required in a modern society. We can be technologically advanced without becoming socially careless, economically prosperous without becoming insensitive, and individually free without forgetting our collective responsibilities.
The government can build the roads, parks, libraries, schools and institutions.
But only citizens can decide how a nation behaves.
Let us therefore not wait for a government diktat to teach us what should already be a part of our civic conscience. Let us follow the rules not because someone is watching, but because we understand why the rules exist.
Rights give us freedom. Duties give that freedom meaning.
And perhaps the nation we want to build will begin to change the day we stop saying, “Someone should do something,” and start saying:
“I will do my part.”
A nation is not built in government offices alone. It is built on every road, in every home, every school, every workplace and in the everyday conduct of its citizens.
Nation first. Duty first. We first.
(STRAIGHT TALK COMMUNICATIONS EXCLUSIVE. The author is a Columnist | Former Banker I Social Commentator. Email: anil.kumar.sharma9419@gmail.com)
