REVOLUTION- WHAT INDIA NEEDS TODAY
For YOU and ME - 15 April 2009
A recent discussion/debate at a seminar organised by a youth organization, set off a train of thought which was sent into overdrive while watching one of my favourite movies- V for Vendetta.
“People should not fear their governments; it is the government who should fear them.”
For some a cocky statement at best...for a few a seed of thought that will one day I hope spring out into a mighty tree that yields the fruit of wisdom and emancipation for our country.
The discussion I mentioned above was a common one- “Can India be a superpower by 2020?”
The answers and opinions vary. While some are sure It is the dawn of the Indian era, and they aggressively shout the same. Their loud voices trying to blank out the doubts and questions raised by the sceptics. Others however choose to be more “realistic” and are sure this is not to be and they support their views by pointing out the dire state of affairs: poverty, illiteracy, corruption, disease and under development. Some think we will achieve the goals we’ve set out in the coming 11 years, while some think it to be an impossible task. There are also some optimistic kinds who believe that since the current superpowers like USA, UK, etc are on their way down- self destruction mode through their wars, nuclear arsenals, corporations and economic meltdowns, India and China WILL emerge as tomorrows superpowers by mere passivity alone.
To me however this discussion planted a more important and relevant question “Does India DESERVE to be a superpower by 2020?” This question is trickier than it seems on first sight. Do a billion “passive followers” deserve to be the Leaders in tomorrow’s world-stage? If you’re offended by my reference to you as a “passive follower”; GOOD it is handful like you that I write this piece for. Ask yourself “There is something terribly wrong with this country, is it not”? If you’re NOT one of the over-verbose, over-patriotic, over-zealous and over-the-top kinds i mentioned before then you’re not screaming and cursing at the life-less computer, rather you are actually thinking about the question I asked. You know who you are.
A phrase that is generously sprinkled like seasoning in such topics of discussion about India is “World’s largest democracy”. What does that phrase mean? Is it an achievement or talent we should be proud of? Does it indicate that our country is proudly walking down the path our freedom fighters envisioned for her? Or is merely a fancy way of saying “We are the most populated country following a democratic form of governance”? What is the real measure of democracy? Is it the number of people who live there or does it have to do with the level and quality of governance? If you think it is the second, then are we truly the world’s largest democracy? But sadly most use this phrase in reference to our 1 billion plus population. In that case what is it that we should be proud of? Is it our ability to fornicate and procreate? Well if that be the case then rabbits, mice and even insects or fish should be prouder than us!
Another thing that I have seen common to all such discussions is blaming the politicians for everything that is wrong with us, and our powerlessness to fight them as it is almost always a choice between the lesser of 2 evils, so it’s regularly concluded that our leaders have screwed it up for us. So who are these “all powerful monsters” who have plunged our beloved country of 1 billion people into the depths of darkness, scarcity and decay? Are these mighty warriors from far off lands? Supernatural beings with evil superpowers? Or are they the henchmen of the devil who thrive on pain and suffering?
The answer is NONE OF THE ABOVE. The people we hold solely responsible for the plight of our motherland and her children are merely mortals, they are one of us brought forward by us to lead us into a new tomorrow but all they have done is frozen us into yesterday. They are not a mighty army of a cruel dictator, but a mere 550 odd of which around 400-450 are well above the age of retirement or effective work-potential. Most are weak and incapable of even protecting themselves from your average street mugger, but responsible for the safety, security and progress of an entire nation- “The world’s largest democracy”. A far cry from the armed warrior-oppressors of yesteryears, most of them aren’t even armed with education beyond an elementary level. Yet we have entrusted the duty of uplifting us from the deep dungeons of the third-world into our utopia. So how is it that 1 billion people blame all our failings, defects and miseries on these handful of uneducated octogenarians? It is not even the “specific” people that we hold responsible, for these people are changed or changeable every 5 years. In short we unanimously blame the 500 odd chairs in a circular building in New-Delhi for ALL OF OUR PROBLEMS! It does not matter who sits on them, it is those chairs who are to blame. It amazes me how “The world’s largest democracy” with over 1 Billion people is suppressed and held down by a few hundred life-less chairs, it is a problem we haven’t found an answer to in over 60 years now.
Another question to ask yourself- “If over 90% of our population does not trust its government, is unhappy with the way things run and doubts its ability to lead us; Is it then still fair to call ourselves the world’s LARGEST democracy”?
Another “usual suspect” or target for blame is our history. The innumerable civilizations that attacked us, captured us, ruled us and stripped us of our natural heritage. Those who bullied the “golden sparrow into becoming a diseased-scavenging vulture”- But once again I as the same question- “How is it that a handful of soldiers can dominate and domesticate such a huge nation and subjugate such a vast population? Are we historically a nation of sheep, who are kept in check with a bunch of dogs? Sadly circumstantial evidence indicates- YES
The answer my friend if you dare to hear is this:
“It was not the British who enslaved us, nor the Mughals, Turkish, or even the Politicians; we are and have always been the slaves to our passivity, fear, silent accordance and lack of self-worth”
The fear of being responsible for our own welfare and progress is soaked into our genes- for if it were so then who would or could we blame for our pitiful condition? The lack of aggression and desire to be the masters of our own destiny has plagued us since the first time we allowed a bunch of foreigners to maul and rape our motherland. If you are not convinced of my opinion just look around for people who still applaud the British for infrastructural development and civilizing as well as uniting our country. Who cares if they were forest hunting barbarians, when we were reading the Vedas, calculating the distance between the sun and the earth and writing the doctrines of modern medicine and surgery? “We needed them to civilize us” they say and now silently wait for someone to come and emancipate us. Who will it be this time? The USA? J
This brings me to the main point of this piece- Our biggest problem is not our politicians, it is not our history or our economic standing. Our biggest problem is the face we see in the mirror. The one who constantly waits for some hero to come and rescue us, the one that never sees that hero within itself, the one who is waiting and waiting for a “Gandhi” to lead us and whom it can follow in a faceless crowd of followers. The one who thrives on self-pity and the one who is always looking for someone to blame- He is our problem, our coloniser, our dictator and our enslaver.
If you read Mr. Gandhi’s autobiography, you will clearly see him to be a normal, regular man- brought up in the same conditions and culture as most of us. He was a human with his flaws and failings but he was a human so he learnt from his mistakes and constantly searched for self growth and self realization, something that every human SHOULD do. He did not do or think up anything out of the ordinary for an Indian- books about “ahimsa”, “shanty” and universal brotherhood and love had been written long before he was born and he did what any man in his place SHOULD have done- stand up for his rights, and fight for a dignified existence. No man however, did what he SHOULD have done before him, and so he became a demi-god for doing what he SHOULD have done. Pretty low as a scale of eligibility don’t you think?
This brings us to another vital flaw in our “system”. How did we become a democracy? If you explore the history of most successful democracies you will clearly see a pattern. Most of them started of as monarchies or eventually dictatorships with the rulers oppressing and exploiting the ruled, misusing power and robbing the people to fill the royal coffers. This is similar to our own history, but there is something that made them different, there came a point when the PEOPLE decided “This is ENOUGH”. Democracy in these countries was not achieved by a group of men appointed by the tyrant to design a “new” way of governance. The people collected, united, put their foot down and brought down their almighty rulers and their armies and took the reins in their own hands. History has chosen to call these moments of “national awakening” as CIVIL WARS. These were not wars against foreign enemies, but a war against our inner demons and taking the responsibility to chart their own future. India sadly with all its oppressive history has never had a civil war, Her people have NEVER thought of their pitiful condition to be bad enough to fight and die for, we merely drifted from one political trend to the next. So when our “leaders” were given the task of “designing a governance model”, before the tyrant could leave. They by nature followed the then current fashion of political governance model- THE DEMOCRACY.
The closest thing to civil war we have witnessed was the revolt of 1857 or “Mutiny” as the history books call it, but here too it wasn’t the PEOPLE who fought it but a united force of kings and state-rulers.
The question to ask yourself here is this- “Is democracy a doggy-treat or clothing trend that can be imitated by following others or MUST it be achieved with a fight, with passion, with revolution and with our own blood”?
I have been called “unsympathetic” for having these opinions and maybe you might feel the same. I have an answer to this- “You are right”. I have NO SYMPATHY for those who react to tyranny, exploitation and oppression by “self-pity”. I think when you feel that things aren’t running the way they should, or those who took the responsibility of governing you are not doing their jobs- your natural reaction should be ANGER not SELF-PITY. You can blame the whole world for your problems but the only one who can rescue you is YOU. If you aren’t happy with the government, WHY is it still the government? And what can a building with 500-600 chairs do if 1 billion people decide to stand together and demolish it? You want me to sad for you when you possess the ability to change the status-quo but choose not to? That my friend is too much to ask!
So you’ve read at length what I think. Many have heard it, and eventually asked “So what do you propose we can do to change things? All political parties are incompetent and corrupt. Even if we have the power to vote, the choice is often between two evils. What can one do?”
To that I answer this. There is NO limit to what we can do! You say all political parties are the same, and we don’t need an exit poll to know that MOST Indians think the same. Why is it then that we cannot form new parties, new leaders, and a new school of thought? By this I do not refer to the so called “Youth leaders” of today, who are nothing more than “diseased seeds of diseased trees”, those who have nothing to show for their leadership skills or governing competencies except that they are the pretty kids of past politicians (Whom we have concluded by now were unworthy themselves). I am talking about those innumerable young stars that have jumped into the muck to facilitate change and social development. Look around you, you will find thousands of stars who have dedicated their lives to improve yours. Is it so impossible to dream and plan to mobilise all these “unknown yet dedicated faces” and bring them together to fight together for a common aim- A BETTER INDIA FOR YOU AND ME?
These are not a rare, endangered or nearly extinct species I’m talking about, but a rapidly growing force that is being born in every village, town, city and state of our country. These are not people who come to our houses and sit in our poverty for a few minutes to beg us to let them rule us. These are those who quietly yet effectively rage a war against the evils that haunt us and ask for nothing in return except a smile on our face. Does that remind you of anyone you know? I can think of hundreds!
I’m sure that in my life alone if I counted the number of such people I have had the honour of meeting, watching and interacting through my journalistic career and participation in projects for positive action for social development the number would be far more than the 550 chairs that sit in that circular building. Why is it then so hard to even conceive of a government that is truly “OF THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE and BY THE PEOPLE”?
In the end I’ll leave you with some “from the top of my head” 101 tips for revolution:
· Voting is not a duty but the greatest MOST IMPORTANT right that democracy gives us.
· Exercise this power and choose “how your future will be”
· Don’t feel sorry for the state of affairs do something about it. If you don’t, WHO WILL?
· What can a handful of ”half-in-grave” oldies do if 1 billion or at least the 0.7 billion youth decide their “party-time” is OVER?
· If you do not have faith in ANY political party or even our election system- Why can’t we boycott it?
· Non-cooperation and boycotting the system won us our independence from the British, would it not emancipate us from our self-made exploiters?
· Imagine an election where NO ONE votes, coz we don’t think any of the candidates or party is capable enough. Would that not force a change in “the system”?
· You DO NOT have to choose the lesser of 2 evils. Make your own NEW leaders, approach those who have selflessly worked to make our lives better and raise them to lead us.
· Why is it that when I ask a young graduate/student what they see themselves doing in 5-10 yrs the answer is almost always- “leading a company, being a CEO, starting a successful NGO, or the like” BUT NEVER “LEADING INDIA TO A UTOPIAN FUTURE”? Or “Being the Prime Minister of my country”? oh yaaaaa- that is a hereditary job right???!!!!!
Well these are but a few ideas...I hope they have at least planted hope, responsibility and sprung a new fountain of countless such ideas to chart a better future, learn from past mistakes and THE WILL AND DESIRE TO BE THE ARCHITECT OF YOUR OWN DESTINY AND COUNTRY.
Optimistically Yours,
Garima Bhatt.
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