Are We Selling Away Our Own Rights?

Across our hills and valleys, a quiet crisis is unfolding – one that doesn’t always make headlines but defines the daily lives of ordinary people. Public development projects meant to build our future are crumbling before our eyes, and the disturbing part is this: we seem to be selling away our own rights in the process.

Take a look around. Roads that were sanctioned years ago remain half-built. School buildings stand with cracked walls and missing roofs. Wages are claimed by people who never worked, while genuine labourers wait endlessly for payment. Contractors complete barely a fraction of the work – sometimes just ten percent – yet manage to claim ninety percent of the funds. The rest of the money vanishes into private pockets, leaving behind nothing but dust and disappointment.

Meanwhile, our so-called representatives – the very people entrusted with protecting our interests — turn silent once government funds are released. Questions from the public go unanswered. Inspections are rarely conducted. And when confronted, there is always a convenient excuse: “the funds haven’t arrived,” or “the department is still verifying.” In reality, the money has come and gone. The only thing missing is honesty.

This is not merely corruption in administration – it is a breakdown of moral responsibility, both within the system and among us as citizens. When we accept poor-quality work, when we ignore inflated bills, when we allow powerful people to act without accountability, we become silent partners in our own exploitation. In doing so, we trade away the very rights our forebears struggled to secure.

The consequences are visible everywhere. Children walk on broken roads to reach unfinished schools. Farmers struggle to transport produce on damaged routes. Villages remain cut off during rains because the roads wash away year after year. Public money flows freely, yet development stands still. Each failed project represents not just corruption, but a betrayal of the next generation.

The question now is urgent: where are we leading our children? Are we teaching them that silence and survival are more important than truth and responsibility? If this continues, we risk raising a generation that no longer believes in fairness, transparency, or hope.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Ordinary citizens can reclaim accountability. The Right to Information (RTI) Act allows anyone to access details of sanctioned projects – work orders, funds released, completion reports. Communities can organize social audits, verify work on the ground, and expose discrepancies. Vigilance committees can be formed in every village to ensure that no project escapes public scrutiny.

Our future cannot be built on silence. The roads we travel, the schools we send our children to, and the water that flows through our pipes – all depend on our willingness to speak up. Development will not come through speeches or slogans; it will come when citizens refuse to be deceived.

If we continue to look away, we are not only losing our rights but selling away the future of our children. The choice is ours – to remain silent spectators or to stand up and reclaim what is rightfully ours.