Who owns the Government property ?

I always wondered as a youngster why there are no glass windows  for the state transport buses in the state of Kerala in India  – a departure from the general design of passenger buses elswhere in India . I should have known better when I see the number of buses damaged every year due to stone throwing by unruly mobs who protest for something or other every day. The government department which runs the service  at least cared for the safety of the traveling public by not providing glass windows. Public property becomes ” punch bags ” for all whether it is a passenger train , bus or a building housing citizen services.  Buses are also set  fire to wend the  anger against the establishment  when the general public is not satisfied  with wages , political decisions affecting any segment of the public or for any real or imaginary issues in focus . But who owns the government property? .

In a functioning democracy, the government represents  the public who pays taxes [the sole revenue to the government] to meet any government expenditure. Any losses due to mob violence and arson is therefore borne by the public through more taxes and levies  or shortfalls in government services due to resource crunch. This is a vicious circle  and most state governments and their material assets fall easy prey to the protesting public – the real owners of the assets .

The true meaning of democracy lies in public awareness of their rights, privileges and above all their responsibilities and obligations . For this to happen,there should be justice and fairplay coupled with a sense of service displayed  by all elected representatives much beyond any parochial interests or political considerations . True civic sense  should prevail when people protest against any issue and it should be done peacefully with decorum without affecting normal life and without damage to any public property . These are the signs of development  and foundation for nation building.