77 Years of the Republic: Why Accountability Still Elude India

As India celebrates Republic Day with global applause and military pageantry, Delhi’s pollution crisis, shrinking accountability, and rising vigilantism expose the gap between constitutional ideals and lived reality

By MANISH ANAND

New Delhi, January 26, 2026 — Seventy-seven years are enough time span for theory to translate into visible actions. India marked the 77^th Republic Day celebrations at a grand scale. Citizens swore by the Constitution. They sang the national anthem in their respective habitations. A strong delegation of the European Commission witnessed India’s resilience in all spheres.

States showcased achievements in socio-economic space. India’s military might made the citizens proud. The power of youth was showered with well-deserved praise.

The delegation of the European Commission breathed better air on the Kartavya Path. They may have been wary of the foul air in Delhi. The national capital region of Delhi battled thick grey air laced with heavy particulate matters and chemicals for at least four months.

At last, the rain god took mercy at the fate of millions of the people. A full day long rains washed away the mass of gases hanging low over the Delhi NCR. The weather god further took pity at the fate of the people by blowing winds hard. Now the air is clean, relatively.

For all those four months, the government failed to come visibly to the aid of the suffering citizens. A section of critics even accused the administration of a cover up of the scale of foul air crisis in Delhi NCR.

India’s air pollution crisis resonated at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Gita Gopinath, former IMF official, flagged the air crisis in India, questioning the development model pursued by the government.

Vigilantism is rampaging through cities and states. Their reign of terror suggests that they have no fear of the rule of law. Mobs harass and assault young men and women. Moral policing by mobs is making to viral trends too often.

Transparency and accountability are key enablers to ensure that the Constitution works in true letter and spirit. Tools to ensure transparency and accountability are shrinking in their efficacies. Pitfall is in the form of bureaucracy that feels emboldened to look the other way when citizens suffer.

Selective judicial intervention is no solution. Mumbai High Court ordered salary cuts for officials in Navi Mumbai municipal corporation for their failure to take actions to mitigate air pollution. If this template is replicated nationally, the babus will have to forgo their remuneration permanently.

As India celebrates the 77^th Republic Day, the time seems ripe for the people to assert their ownerships in governance. The beginning must be made from the grassroots.

(This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are author’s own.)

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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