Harnessing the Power of "I"
When things get as bad as they possibly ever can, there arises a need for a complete overhaul. Anything short of that would address the symptoms, leaving the disease intact. That brings into focus, a phenomenon called ‘Revolution’
The last time one gave some serious thought about ‘Revolution’ must have been during India’s struggle for freedom from the imperialist regime. It was a phenomenal uprising that resounded in the one call for the British to leave. There was force, there was focus, and there was momentum. And the upsurge was strong enough to dethrone an empire.
However, that force took years to grow strong enough to rock the foundations of a well-heeled system. Brown skins had been conditioned to submit to authority; for some, it was a question of survival, for the rest, it was the key for social status among the natives. Religion and caste were obsessions for the Indians; they were in their blood right from their birth and they could not see themselves compromise on their positions in the caste hierarchies. With the cultural differences came rituals and practices; and they saw no reason to merge. Indians announced their linguistic origins with pride, making the divisions thicker and more visible. People identified themselves with the regions they belonged to, a norm that could be attributed to the numerous provinces and their rulers who wanted to safeguard their own territories and see them expand. The ground was just fertile for the British to exploit. Atrocities were committed in large scale, the poor suppressed and the weak eliminated. “Divide and Rule” might have been their explicit policy; but all that they had to do was to rule – the Nation was already divided on numerous counts!
To overcome all these factors and lead the Nation to Independence was Mission Impossible! But our leaders were capable and they made it happen. They had a vision in their minds, conviction in their cause and the enemy was out there, all over the vast country. They had to mobilise people, target him and blow him away. How they went about doing it is history.
In the 58 years since the British left, the country is still divided on the very lines that let the foreigners rule over it. Only the oppressors have mutated into a whole new genre of malice. This new syndrome is multi-faceted, has adapted itself to the nuances of the new world and is emerging a lot stronger than what most would suspect of it.
The wound of partition is still fresh, bleeding every time it is ruptured; prospects of a long term solution are out of sight in the near term. Inter state disputes on basic issues such as dams and rivers are still the order of the day. Income disparity keeps widening, with the wealthy getting wealthier, the middle class getting richer, and the poor spending nights under the sky. Globalisation has led to new opportunities that promise to make life a breeze for the millions stepping into the work force, with western life styles reaching out to the aspiring youth who are in frenzy about making the most of their lives that are ‘too short to waste’. Corruption is increasingly being looked upon as a way of life, as long as it doesn’t come under media glare. The powerful assume no limits to themselves and are gleefully oblivious of the purpose that they are where they are for. Infrastructural issues continue to haunt the nation and hamper the way business is done. Well meaning people who try to make some difference to the state of affairs are targeted in the name of 'representatives of the masses'. Politics is being branded a dirty game; people no longer look upon politics as a means to bring about change. Coalition politics is the norm that comes packaged with its own constraints.
Complacency is all about relaxing a bit too long after an achievement; it’s just been carried too far in India - way too far. People seem to have got used to the patterns associated with it. And the cumulative effect of the trends is far more dangerous than the threats posed by the occupying forces from the United Kingdom were, half a century ago. At least, then, we had a power at the Centre that had its fundamentals right so that it could work on governance rather than bother about infighting. Now, the enemies lie within and are very much intangible!
Revolution starts with the Individual. Living life to one’s satisfaction is all okay; but relinquishing one’s responsibility towards the society that one belongs to is crime – more so, when the very society is in dire need of all the support one can muster. When the task ahead is Mission Impossible-2, it takes a lot more super heroes. We’ve read a lot about revolutions – it’s high time we chose to be part of it!
The last time one gave some serious thought about ‘Revolution’ must have been during India’s struggle for freedom from the imperialist regime. It was a phenomenal uprising that resounded in the one call for the British to leave. There was force, there was focus, and there was momentum. And the upsurge was strong enough to dethrone an empire.
However, that force took years to grow strong enough to rock the foundations of a well-heeled system. Brown skins had been conditioned to submit to authority; for some, it was a question of survival, for the rest, it was the key for social status among the natives. Religion and caste were obsessions for the Indians; they were in their blood right from their birth and they could not see themselves compromise on their positions in the caste hierarchies. With the cultural differences came rituals and practices; and they saw no reason to merge. Indians announced their linguistic origins with pride, making the divisions thicker and more visible. People identified themselves with the regions they belonged to, a norm that could be attributed to the numerous provinces and their rulers who wanted to safeguard their own territories and see them expand. The ground was just fertile for the British to exploit. Atrocities were committed in large scale, the poor suppressed and the weak eliminated. “Divide and Rule” might have been their explicit policy; but all that they had to do was to rule – the Nation was already divided on numerous counts!
To overcome all these factors and lead the Nation to Independence was Mission Impossible! But our leaders were capable and they made it happen. They had a vision in their minds, conviction in their cause and the enemy was out there, all over the vast country. They had to mobilise people, target him and blow him away. How they went about doing it is history.
In the 58 years since the British left, the country is still divided on the very lines that let the foreigners rule over it. Only the oppressors have mutated into a whole new genre of malice. This new syndrome is multi-faceted, has adapted itself to the nuances of the new world and is emerging a lot stronger than what most would suspect of it.
The wound of partition is still fresh, bleeding every time it is ruptured; prospects of a long term solution are out of sight in the near term. Inter state disputes on basic issues such as dams and rivers are still the order of the day. Income disparity keeps widening, with the wealthy getting wealthier, the middle class getting richer, and the poor spending nights under the sky. Globalisation has led to new opportunities that promise to make life a breeze for the millions stepping into the work force, with western life styles reaching out to the aspiring youth who are in frenzy about making the most of their lives that are ‘too short to waste’. Corruption is increasingly being looked upon as a way of life, as long as it doesn’t come under media glare. The powerful assume no limits to themselves and are gleefully oblivious of the purpose that they are where they are for. Infrastructural issues continue to haunt the nation and hamper the way business is done. Well meaning people who try to make some difference to the state of affairs are targeted in the name of 'representatives of the masses'. Politics is being branded a dirty game; people no longer look upon politics as a means to bring about change. Coalition politics is the norm that comes packaged with its own constraints.
Complacency is all about relaxing a bit too long after an achievement; it’s just been carried too far in India - way too far. People seem to have got used to the patterns associated with it. And the cumulative effect of the trends is far more dangerous than the threats posed by the occupying forces from the United Kingdom were, half a century ago. At least, then, we had a power at the Centre that had its fundamentals right so that it could work on governance rather than bother about infighting. Now, the enemies lie within and are very much intangible!
Revolution starts with the Individual. Living life to one’s satisfaction is all okay; but relinquishing one’s responsibility towards the society that one belongs to is crime – more so, when the very society is in dire need of all the support one can muster. When the task ahead is Mission Impossible-2, it takes a lot more super heroes. We’ve read a lot about revolutions – it’s high time we chose to be part of it!
posted by Krish at 8:48 AM
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