Good governance is

the courage to protect the sanctity of the Constitution
not doing or permitting anything towards its destruction.

Good governance is

about the rights and freedom of every citizen
not treating some particular people as alien

Good governance is

the honesty to mainstream ‘satyameva jayate’
not indulging in lies and myths extremely petty

Good governance is

about authenticity and transparency
not about hype and false vibrancy

Good governance is

preserving our environment and fragile bio-diversity
not to be destroyed by the likes of Ambani and Adani

Good governance is

about development with a genuine human face
not terror, plunder and loot which is often the case

Good governance is

owning responsibility for those killed in the Gujarat Carnage
with exemplary punishment for those who went on rampage

Good governance is

always taking a stand for what is non-violent, just and right,
not crushing human rights defenders with all your might

Good governance is

reaching out to the country’s marginalised and poor
rather than making the powerful and rich your core

Good governance is

ensuring that all freely practise and propagate their faith
not subscribing to a fundamentalist and fascist bait

Good governance is

about meaningful and participative democracy
not about dictatorship and controlling authority

Good governance is

celebrating the birth of Jesus on Christmas day
and his message of peace, love, hope and joy

Good governance is

to be observed on December 25th for sure
but what happens to the other days of the year?

– Fr Cedric Prakash SJ
Director of PRASHANT,
Ahmedabad-based Jesuit Centre for
Human Rights, Justice and Peace