The first step to freedom and growth is taking responsibility for your own actions. Because until you take the blame, you can never truly take control of your life and help yourself and others, says OSWALD PEREIRA
In India’s political theatre, the blame game is the longest-running soap opera. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blames Jawaharlal Nehru, dead for over sixty years, for every pothole, power outage and policy paralysis.
The Congress counters by holding Prime Minister Narendra Modi responsible for everything from joblessness to inflation to the weather gods’ mood swings. Both sides are locked in a perpetual war of finger-pointing, with little room for accountability.
But let’s be honest—politicians aren’t the only culprits. The rot of shirking responsibility runs deep into our personal lives, our homes, our relationships. It’s a national habit.
Children cry foul, insisting their failures are because parents didn’t guide or motivate them. Parents shift the blame onto society, schools, television, or social media’s “toxic influence.” In marriages, husbands and wives spend years tearing each other apart, weaponising blame until love curdles into resentment.
No one, it seems, has the guts to look into the mirror and say, I messed up.
This culture of blame corrodes not only politics but also personal and social life. We are quick to assign fault, but allergic to accountability. And until we change that, neither our democracy nor our relationships will heal.
The Convenience of Scapegoats
Why is it so easy to blame others? Because it’s a drug. Blame offers instant relief. It allows us to dodge guilt, preserve ego, and carry on as if nothing’s wrong. You don’t need to course-correct if someone else is always the villain. Nehru becomes the punching bag for every policy failure, Modi for every crisis. Parents become the alibi for an adult child’s lack of ambition. The spouse becomes the excuse for a broken marriage.
Scapegoating is seductive because it’s convenient. But it is also cowardly. It shields us from uncomfortable truths—that maybe our failures stem from laziness, poor decisions, lack of foresight, or sheer arrogance. By outsourcing blame, we outsource growth.
The Courage of Responsibility
Taking responsibility is not easy. It requires courage to admit: Yes, I failed. Yes, I hurt someone. Yes, I could have done better. But in that admission lies transformation.
When a leader admits mistakes, democracy deepens. When a child owns up to failure, growth begins. When spouses stop blaming and start reflecting, love has a chance to be rebuilt. Responsibility is not punishment—it is power. It is the power to change one’s path rather than remain chained to excuses.
Imagine if politicians said, “We failed the people. We’ll do better.” Imagine if parents told children, “Yes, we faltered. But you too must shape your destiny.” Imagine if couples said, “We both went wrong—let’s repair together.” That’s when real change begins.
Responsibility as Revolution
Owning responsibility is more than a moral choice. It’s a revolution. In a country where politics thrives on blame and families drown in excuses, self-accountability is radical. It breaks down the feeling of being a victim and builds a sense of control and responsibility in its place.
A nation that breeds responsible citizens will elect responsible leaders. A society that values ownership will not tolerate scapegoats. A marriage where each partner admits mistakes will outlast the storms of life. Responsibility is not just about self—it ripples outward, shaping healthier families, stronger societies, and a more accountable democracy.
Take Control
Stop pointing fingers. Stop digging up Nehru’s ghost or demonising Modi. Stop blaming your parents, your children, your spouse, or the world. Own your life. Own your failures. Own your choices.
The day we stop outsourcing blame is the day India will mature—not just politically, but personally and socially. Responsibility is not a burden; it’s the first step to freedom.
Because until you take the blame, you can never truly take control.
Oswald Pereira, a senior journalist, has written ten books, including Beyond Autobiography of a Yogi, The Newsroom Mafia, Chaddi Buddies, The Krishna-Christ Connexion, How to Create Miracles in Our Daily Life and Crime Patrol: The Most Thrilling Stories. Oswald is a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, and practises Kriya Yoga.
More Stories by Oswald Pereira
Some images are AI generated
Thankyou for this excellent article that put the truth forward in absolutely straight forward terms.
“Self-accountability is radical” It is true Oswald ji, and being so only we can honestly audit ourselves and be courageous enough to course correct ourselves.
This reminds me of a powerful quote of Albert Camus which sums up the theme of his book: The Rebel in just one sentence.
He says, “I rebel, therefore we exist.”
It is true that we are used to shrug of our responsibility by assuming that the onus lies upon someone else and this as such has been our pretext to write off every problem beginning from our home to the heaven.
We have become so used to react that we have failed the acumen to pause a while to constructively respond.
And hence, as you have so succinctly said, “Owning responsibility is more than a moral choice. It is a revolution.” No individual, no organisation and for that matter no society can ever make a radical turnaround till they dare to bring forth in themselves this radical transformation.