Icons in India are falling like nine pins. It could be the prime minister, who had been certified as having impeccable integrity by those whose own integrity is, to say the least, doubtful, the otherwise sanctimonious Supreme Court which was silenced by an unusually belligerent attorney general claiming that had integrity been a selection criterion many judicial appointments could have been questioned, the chief vigilance commissioner who reportedly could not exercise vigil against his own rapacity, the holier-than-thou and all-knowing journalists who could be playing minister-maker one day and be acting as corporate fixers' messenger the next, or the leader of a century old industrial house celebrated for doing business most ethically but caught on an audio tape planning for reappointment of a Central minister widely known to be corrupt.
What should an ordinary Indian do in such circumstances, who should one believe, in whom to have faith? It is not easy to answer these questions with finality but one can venture forth and suggest that in times like the present it is best to rely on yourself, to have faith in yourself. Loss of innocence is painful but we should be grateful to all these fallen heroes that in their fall they have given us a chance to grow, a chance to act as an adult who can look at anyone without stars in his or her eyes.
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