Ok… This country is probably at the crossroads of its governance. And the government is creating examples of how not to govern repeatedly. Every news that hits the stands greets aggression from all platforms that humankind has ever rendered us with. I don’t think any other citizen’s civil life is as exciting & as happening as that of an Indian. Seriously!! Where do you get scams of that magnitude at a rapid rate? Too much to dope about!!
Everyone’s talking about them & some people (who call themselves social representatives/leaders) have gone to the extent of finding some sort of solution to the so called gaming-scheming the corporate & political bigwigs of India Inc have put us into.
How do we find a solution to this is the biggest question the nation is facing at this moment. It has to stop somewhere & how?
Everybody is exploring all the angles their brain cells could allow & different people in power from various places have come up with suggestions to alleviate the consequences of potential malfunctioning in the system. Not even one stone has been left unturned in criticizing the government’s actions to deal with the situation & don’t even get me started on our lousy PMjee's lame duck attitude.
There are some who have emerged from nowhere to represent the new face of political leadership & have made an attempt to experiment revolt methods to succumb the government to their demands. These movements have somehow gathered momentum with people from different strata’s joining their cause. Slowly with the growing aggression the news has travelled to the news stands & electronic channels who know how to make the most of this kind of dope – ultimately leading to gaining the stature of being called a MOVEMENT. And bang.. The guy leading the movement suddenly gets some 1million searches on the Google page, which means you know he's famous.
A few such movements lately. Like the Candle lighting after the 26/11 Mumbai attack, The Hazare fast movement & the Ramdev's bullshit at Ramlila Maidan (it’s a movement, nevertheless) & the likes are some of the most recent ones.
Also with this kind of a political environment there is an increasing necessity to belong to one of these movements according to my observation (which could well be wrong). The need to be classified into something that everyone else is into. Its about more than herd behavior, Like more of taking stands but It is definitely of vital importance to ‘Belong’ & have an opinion of that belonging; same as everyone else in that particular belonging. For e.g.: Like the houses in school where pupils are divided into a number of houses which are named after maybe Saints, colors etc. Every kid admitted into a certain house conducts all activities within the jurisdiction or for that house. The individual accolades win points for the house & there is competition between houses. See the political parties behaving in a somewhat similar manner?
So how did all of this occur to me?
The other day while in a general discussion I asked a colleague supporting the newly formed deliberate eating disorders in our country, as to what does one gain after the atrophied party breaks the adamancy of its opponent? Have we had instances of any good done by it till now?
Well, there have been future talks of how things might take place & that one such movement did manage to break the adamancy of the beaurocracy to some extent but is still struggling to get its cause corrected. So, ultimately they are still at Square 1. So my question... You break their will in your favor & then what?
And he remains speechless. But he is also adamant. It will do good he knew. Or he believes!! (A part of the belonging) How?? No clue. Whatsoever!! Also there were a few other such instances which made me believe that there is an increasing tendency to be classified in to the house system laid by the British Raj. Yes it was bought to us by them. By and large I could think for four broad classifications.
The cursory supporters:
If you find yourself supporting a particular cause just because you feel like supporting a cause or because your neighbor supports it, welcome to being a cursory supporter. In this you have no fucking clue why you support this cause. You just support it because so that you are not left out of discussions & you also have a view of that group. (Just a borrowed one) You are with a belonging & you feel safe. You are neither interested nor likely to develop interest in the wrong-doings of the movement or the society or what others think or whether anyone cares a fuck. You got yourself classified & u r happy.
The Fervent disciples:
If you are one of those who feels deeply for this country & are extremely saddened by the fact that the on-goings are spoiling its reputation, welcome to being the ‘Fervent Disciple’. Your situation is just a little better than the Cursory ones because you know the exact purpose of the movement & support it with full reason. What you don’t know is whether it will lead to the desired outcome & you haven’t even thought it that way. Basically you are totally missing the cause for which you are fighting. For you participating is of utmost importance. You will find yourself contributing to status updates posted on social networking websites, making opinions or initiating open-ended discussions, participating in rallies/candle lights held across your city, forwarding smses, encouraging others to support the cause & then rejoicing after the adamancy has been broken. You then slowly return to your work & lifestyle thinking you have done your bit whereas the matter which you supported is still somehow n the bin. You have just wasted your time & energy, satisfied your patriotic desire & been a part of fueling the trending topics on twitter with a #tag. (Get the connection?)
The imperturbable Mortals:
These ones though they get classified together as a natural process & just make more sense they do no good to no one. They try to reason out everything & dont support anything. They are the first ones who'll question the meaning of the Lokpal Bill in campaigns like that. They'll reason out the supporters movement & may counter question one of the supporters to judge whether the movements existing purpose & tweak his head to make sense. Everything verified they may still decide not to support the movement because they are unsure of the ultimate outcome of the movement even after its success. They’ll also be the first ones to criticize with a ‘I told you so attitude” & will quietly enjoy the results if things succeed. They can make a good point while arguing against something & can criticize to No hell as to what disaster or what non-senses is being caused around.
The bootless Mentor
These are our new age gurus, the columnists, the bloggers, the opinion-makers & the likes. They have a lot to talk about. They often raise the most valid points, criticize the right things & point out the right mistakes. You’ll see a series of comments made by the Fervent Disciples & Imperturbable Mortals on their blogs & websites. They give a lot of valid dope, come on talk shows, get featured in newspapers & make the above 3 categories think. But then? What’s the point?
Whatever one may support/not support everybody just seems to be so confused to me. The youth, the government, the politicians, the civilians. Supporting a cause is a good thing but this country does not give you reason to think straight & its becoming more of a concern rather than just a misunderstanding. It somehow shows that people seem to need to vent out the sudden wave of discomforting events. They are ready to support any Tom, Dick & Harry movement in the rage to do so. They just want justice & they want their money back. (Well, at least some think they'll get their money back. Ask them how & they'll have no fucking clue)
Adding fuel to this fire are the social media platforms multiplying into our blood like a new virus. All the mediums of communications seem to be connected & somehow it seems to pick the best of every sentiment from all the movement & place it on their platform to get the best out of it.
Eventually what we have is a Mixed Vegetable handi of the communication platforms where the social media activists (thought leaders, columnists) struggle to get to print through their Twitter updates, the print media writes of how FB & twitter have revolutionized everything (describing how the news of the movement has become big) & how information transcends at an electric rate.
So with whom lies the solution? I am as confused as you are. But I believe the Lokpal if formed was a good measure to start with. Secondly, just because one thing succeeded by conducting a fast that cant be se as a measure for something else by someone else. Remember that theory just because a thing A worked for some cause it may not work for other cause. The Ramdev’s insane rally should not have received this wide a magnitude. His entire stuff was bizarre. This guy teaches yoga, & should be trusted only for that. The government has definitely made a fool of themselves by doing a 360 degree aasan trying to turn the whole thing around. Firstly they took Hazare for granted & in order to avoid that kind of mistake again… took Ramdev too seriously? What bullshit!!
It’s been a monster drive for us till now & we don’t know for how long it will stay this way. But I believe the cleanup has begun. The chaos will bring in order in some form. The Cursory, Fervent & the Bootless will make sense & may be able to think clearly & we may actually end up having a stable government.
With an induced feeling to ‘belong’ to a lesser scammed country - AMEN. SUM AMEN.
Cheers,
Sne!!
