Thread by @OmairTAhmad

1. As our corrupted institutions continue to fail us, we must have a strategy of recovery.

We do have journalists, lawyers, police, administrators who want to do their jobs honestly.

Justice Muralidhar is a case in point.

Some may leave, to raise the alarm, well and good.

2. But what of those that stay, either because they have limited choices, or because they assess that they can still do more good than harm?

A society needs both its (few) heroes, and its many who keep the ship afloat.

The most marginalised will be most affected by dysfunction.

3. If we are serious about a peaceful outcome, we need to come out with strategies to support honest people in these institutions.

Outrage alone will not lead to change, certainly not with a regime that has a monopoly on its weaponised resentment.

4. This requires strengthening (and often building) these institutions of accountability from ground up.

That's partially what the RTI movement enabled, and it provides a strong base still - the electoral bond and EVM stories are coming from there.

5. Can we support, and build up, journalism at the regional and national level?

Can we support, and build up, legal networks at such levels?

Can we look at panchayats and their workings?

Can we look at local administration and policing, and its challenges?

6. I know that people are already working on these issues, and just want to reiterate that rebuilding India will have to be bottom up, in a long, tiring, brutal, and unglamorous process.

And it won't happen on social media, even if that may help in some stray instances.

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