This post is about the idea of India and how people just keep fighting about stuff doesn’t even matter. Or more about the insignificant perspective. Lets take the recent JanLokpal Movement as an example. The whole movement and its support base was rational in the start but become more around the symbolism associated with it rather than the bill itself.
For now, whatever questions you may have about the Jan Lokpal Bill, here are the answers you’re likely to get: tick the box — (a) Vande Mataram (b) Bharat Mata ki Jai (c) India is Anna, Anna is India (d) Jai Hind.
That is a quote from Arundhati Roy’s Editorial on the issue. I am not really fan of the author but I have to agree with her on this.
Well, let’s admit it most of us supported it coz it was pitied as India vs Corrupt politicians kind of movement and if you were not with Anna you were not with India. And symbolism like the use of Tricolor everywhere, chanting Vande Mataram and equating Anna to Gandhi helped. But midst all this, did anyone pause to focus on the real debate? I wrote a post on the issue Why should you oppose Lokpal. Also, here is another great article from the Wall Street Journal extending the point. Getting a grip on Indian Corruption. But there was no debate happening on the Bill itself. The whole time people were busy choosing sides; either you are pro-corruption or anti. I mean really? What happened to diverse perspectives?
Atleast now, some debate is happening but did anyone think before when it could have actually made a difference? No, Everyone behaved like a herd and ended up getting all of us screwed.
And no it wasn’t just a one time thing, looks like focusing on the wrong debate is in our blood. Let me give you another instance, Caste based reservations. People have been fighting and killing each other ever since politicians started using reservations a caste vote tool. The result is that people keep voting for their own caste candidates irresective of their capabilities election after election. Whether the so called lower castes should get special concessions or not and whether the cause of equality is being served by this is still unanswered. But has anyone ever stopped to wonder, What has Caste got to with lack of Opportunity? Isn’t it poverty that denies people a Chance? Or for that matter Does being an SC/ST mean that you are poor and need easier access to opportunity? Think.
In a capitalist society, it is the poor who need a chance irrespective of their caste. So instead of SC/ST fighting with everyone else and the stupid concept of creamy layer we should be debating whether income based reservations should exist or not. That is a more holistic approach coz if SC/ST are poor like some people say, they will still end up getting a decent shot at life.
Similarly, there was a debate on ‘whether women should be allowed in the armed forces’ and almost everyone kept saying that women are not fit enough and the other side kept demanding some relaxed rules. But we never looked it this way, What if a woman was fit enough to join the army even with the current physical standards which are used to judge men. Shouldn’t she be allowed in?
What I am trying to say is that we keep fighting over things that don’t matter and we usually end up fighting for someone else’s motive (in this case the neta’s vote bank).
Why can’t our people make independent choices? It is coz people don’t think and just keep following the so called intellectuals and opinion makers and thus end up serving someone else’s interst. So, next time think before taking a stand. You may not be right but atleast you will not be a sheep in the herd. Think. It is time.
It is time to cut out all the Bulshit. It is time to focus on the real debates. It is time to break away from the herd. It is time.
PS: If you did not understand the post, it is either coz I wasn’t able to express myself properly or you are just better of being a part off the herd.
Also, there is an interesting TED video about the 3rd side to everything which is basically the perspective we never get to understand but it does exist.