Gandhi, as modern-day CEO!

Founding father of world’s largest democracy was tried for treason in the modern-day capital city of the very state he was born in, nearly two and a half-decade before his life long efforts bore fruits - yes, such is the veracity of time, what is a known truth today, may in the days to come, fade into a mere build-up to the greater reality. Before we go any further, I’m duty-bound to inform you that I’m a fan of Bapu ( can’t say the greatest but yes one of significance ), every line, every word that you’ll read here on will drip my admiration for the greatest Indian ever, the Mahatma, so if you happen to be someone who doesn’t like him as much, you may leave this article right here, enjoy the holiday that his birthday grantees to every Indian! Coming back to the historic trial, our beloved barrister did not particularly win cases, in fact if we judge him, on the ratio of victories in the courtroom, he might well come out as the most unaccomplished lawyers of all times, but this man was not meant to be just an advocate, he carried in this heart and soul letters that bore meaning which far exceeded usefulness of any rule book. In his argument, Bapu said and I quote.

“Affection cannot be manufactured or regulated by law. If one has no affection for a person or system, one should be free to give the fullest expression to his disaffection, so long as he does not contemplate, promote, or incite to violence.”  

Justice Broomfield, who was in awe of the short, skinny & funnily dressed Indian man went on to sentence him but how he pronounced the judgment celebrated Gandhi, the man in no uncertain terms. Historians write that he frequently visited Bapu in the jail with the stated intention of forging friendship with the jewel of India. He even titled Mohandas as his spiritual friend in the book that he wrote after his retirement. Think of the audacity of the situation here, a British judge that finds a man guilty of treason against the British empire, goes out of the way, denouncing tradition to celebrate him in every way possible. Our Bapu was such a man!! He was less of a man and more of a living miracle, it is a pity that most Indians (87% according to a survey done by Sriram publication house) have not read even one full book on father of the nation. if you happen to be one such person, go grab ‘my experiment with truth’ today, you would not regret it. Before I get to the title of this article, let me underscore the degree to which circumstances now have changed. How the societal fabric that held values dear and regarded it above all else has found greater love in material manifestations; therefore, natural love for such powerful principles may not be as evident in the present times as it used to be then. We’re a society that values sensationalism over sense, chaos over clarity, histrionics over history; great moments do not get created over ‘viral’ semantics, history is created slowly, one moment at a time and it almost always is without frills. 

In keeping with crazy times, I want to imagine Bapu as a modern-day figure, someone with responsibilities of pleasing not just principles but also materials and targets. So, I imagine him as a CEO, and in doing so, I try to explore which among the values that he demonstrated superbly in the Indian freedom struggle would he practice in the 2019 avatar. Here is my pick. 

Truth: Gandhi can’t be imagined without truth, in an organizational setup, therefore, I presume that he would have created a culture of candor, one in which people spoke their minds freely and fearlessly. Political correctness, sugar coating & diplomatic recitals must have been things that he would have disliked the most and should situation demanded even acted against. He would have professed Satyagraha, (Sanskrit and Hindi: “holding onto truth”) and that would have meant pure ethical business conduct. Shortsighted, penny wise pound foolish practices like mindless misreporting, treacherous misrepresenting, wilful misguiding; putting things under the rug, creating a smokescreen, stealing information would not have existed under his watch uncontested. He was a compassionate man but not in situations that demanded action, the way he called off non-cooperation movement when it turned violent teaches us that he would have been extremely heartless and curt in curbing things which he did not find righteous. In his world, it was not about taking the most profitable however unethical but the right decision, always. He knew to march ahead and lead just as well as he knew to stop and retreat.

Democratic dissent: Mahatma neither lacked confidence nor will, he was, in fact, the very opposite of weak; so he would not have surrounded himself with spineless ‘yes men’. He in his role as a CEO would have encouraged diversity of views, he would have welcomed intellectual challenges, even the most difficult & daunting ones. Bapu believed in merit and originality; he was dead against lifting information from open sources without quoting creator. Historian Ramchandra Guha writes that he fired his temporary assistant (not naming him because he was a timid man and has earned nothing more than anonymity for the character that he showed) on a visit to England, when he found that the assistant  cleverly stole Franklin’s line from one of his journals and produced it to Bapu as his own, on the matter of civil liberty. Bapu was a well-read man, he found out in an instance and showed the man the door. He knew to dissent like nobody I have read about or know did. Bapu knew that to encourage people to come with their original ideas he would need to create a culture of acceptance and respect and I sense that he would have done exactly that, even a CEO.

Love and Compassion: Hate the crime and not the criminal, he exuded love and compassion even for his opponents in measures equal to what he bestowed upon his supporters and followers. He would have made sure that ills of favoritism, nepotism, red-tapism, did not exist in the org that he led. He believed in reformative actions which essentially is about understanding the depth of the problem, from that we can conclude that he would have disallowed superficiality and hollow problem-solving. He was an ardent egalitarian, therefore, he would not have rendered deferential treatment to people basis tenure, caste, affluence, color, regionality, etc. As a CEO, he would have respected his competition and not bad-mouthed them. He would have shown no malice for those who chose a path different from his, he would have done everything possible to create a framework that encouraged people to understand before they concluded matters. He would have built an organization with bricks of empathy and care. 

Sardar Patel, Deputy PM and Home Minister of Independent India, reached Bapu in the week that Godse took him away from us forever to pursue him to allow security personal guard him and to let for thorough frisking of all who got near him or the premise that housed him, as he started building his argument on the threat that the agencies had picked up. Bapu told Sardar, could you come to the point quickly Patel, I’m getting late for the evening prayers. 

So, I’m concluding it here in the shortest possible way that for Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, CEO, India incorporation; ends would have never justified the means!

On that note, Happy Birthday Bapu and thank you for all that you did, spoke and wrote about. You continue to be my superhero!

Raw Wisdom

I admire, Narendra Modi, the politician, a lot more than Modi the PM or Modi the wannabe statesman. You can like him for who he is, the ideas he represents or hate him for the very reasons but you certainly can’t ignore his strong presence. With his bag of good, bad & ugly messages he has dominated the Indian mindset, discussion rooms and aspirations in ways which are not easy to achieve for any politician. Both his admirers and adversaries draw his parallels with the Iron lady, Ms Indira Gandhi, but I will go on to say that his clutches over what can be seen, read and heard is a tad bit stronger than that of the lady, who on her own, decided to break Pakistan into two. People who are elder to me and have active memories of her days may disagree with me and I’d happily concede to them as I was only born the year she was assassinated. I was nearly 4 months old on the day of her killing. So my reading of her is from books, news articles and a few youtube videos that exist today. Indira Gandhi has attracted a disproportionate amount of literature given her audacious and most brazen emergency decision. People who like reading and knowing the political history of India will have to read about her extensively and so I had to without much choice. If you happen to be a Modi supporter, do not judge me for I learned more about Congress than I did about BJP/RSS, do bear with me and note that there is actually more to read about them than your party. But do not be disappointed you have a man now who would in very many ways leave her behind when it comes to being studied, heard and talked about. That is our very own Modi!


The fate of India has already been sealed, given the fact that we’ve come close to the end of the polling, as I type this article people are making their voices heard in the 6th phase of a long election season. On the 23rd the counting will reveal, people’s desire. Who will be sworn in may require additional juggling, though, should no party win a clear majority on its own, which is very likely. At this point, we do not know, at least, I do not. In a democratic setup, politics becomes essential, everything that gets done, happens within the policy framework. Therefore it is greatly necessary for people to participate, the mood of the nation, gets built by these deliberations. India is a complex country to govern, from its maddening geographical extent to mind-boggling cultural and ethnic diversity, everything about us is unparalleled. And therefore, whether we like it or not, no one Idea can appeal to all Indians equally. We’re the fastest growing economy for over 8 years now, the top tier in the developing world. At the same time, we’re also a country that hasn’t effectively cracked bread and butter, health and sanitation, education and employment, code, at a policy framework level. A vast majority of our country does not have access to clean drinking water, a roof over their heads or unpolluted air to breathe. We’re still breeding at a dull-witted rate, 1.3 bn. already and counting. The caste system is still prevalent, the girl child is discriminated against, untouchability is still a consistent Idea in many parts of the country. The story for gender diversity is not a happy one either, women empowerment is still a fancy urban design. Male dominance and majoritarianism have costed us in purely economic terms about 38% of our net worth as a country (estimation is from an economist article); if we had succeeded in creating a society that values both the genders equally, we would have been 38% stronger and more prosperous: perhaps a developed nation too.

Are these issues getting discussed in the political addresses? The clear and honest answer is a no! Yes, there have been sporadic talks and half-hearted efforts have also been made to address some of the issues that I have listed above, but every well-intentioned man/women, when faced with the challenge of the election, forgets, everything and starts playing to the gallery. And then idealism and reforms take a back seat. Elected sitting PM of world's largest democracy says “ Main ati pichri jati ka hu”, “main pathan hu, etc : What does it say about the prime minister and more than him what does it say about we the people? If we did not care about caste would he flaunt it? That is the question that Indian people should ask themselves. In most elections, the agenda gets set by the shortcomings of the incumbent, mainly; economic failures and other social events that can drag those in office in poor light, more or less. This election has been different though, the agenda was not set by the opposition, they did try but couldn’t simply match the surround sound that Modi & Shah led BJP built around things that do not matter in our everyday life. The election campaign of 2019 is not so much about the content or the character but reach and proliferation. On the one side, you have the mighty Modi who seems to have the wealth of the world to spray on every medium of communication available, from Radio to 24*7 television, to internet powered content on social media, mobile apps, the print publication and even movies. In fact for the first time, we saw, how movies of a certain popular Canadian actor with a famous Hindi name in the last five years delivered several beautiful Bollywood hits to further the communication objective of the ruling party. It did not stop there, the same prince of the Tinseltown also interviewed the PM in an apolitical exchange, which soon was trending on youtube. Video ads and television commercials existed for a long time and they continued in this election as well. It is anyone’s guess that the money spent on publicity crossed the permissible limit within minutes of the campaign.

What has therefore been the theme of the campaign of  2019 elections? Opposition lingered in setting the narrative, they too have tried, but nothing even close to the spectacle that Narendra managed. Opposition leaders were also airborne for a lot of their election travel, gave interviews and had articles written on their areas of interest but they simply did not get the airtime that they should have in the mainstream media. I can’t with certainty say that they would still manage to create a decent electoral fortune for themselves or will they suffer, even more! Realities of this election do match with a few things that have been tried in the past with a varying degree of success, let’s look at some the key items to understand how political event management has been done in this election.

Election Theme setting: India shinning from the past made its grand entry in the form of “Main Bhi Chowkidar”: Quite an event, very well managed, people flocked in high numbers to express their solidarity with the idea. Social Media name edits, numerous quotes, +ve memes and what not. The event did cross the line, in some sense, because it had a little portion towards the end trying to emulate a war scene to underscore the surgical strike bravado. Nevertheless, for the supporters, it deserved Oscars. Adversaries of BJP and Modi did use it to base, ‘Chowkidar chor hain’ slogan, that too seems to resonate with people. It upset the Apex court though.

Untruth the new mainstream: Not too long ago, when Indian prime minister spoke, people apprehended with respect, sincerity and attention. There has not been a history of incidents in the past, in which the PM in his official capacity has said things which were found incorrect. This rule, however, had started growing weak and brittle with UPA2’s excessive strains, there is no way it could have lifted the heavy weight of the strong man Modi, it shattered after 2014. As a result of which all kinds of bizarre politically motivated lies were spoken with incredible confidence and poise. Here a few:

#1  At a campaign rally in Bangalore on April 13, 2019, Modi deployed his favourite oratorical tool, the rhetorical question. “Was there even a single terrorist attack on the country when your chowkidar was on duty?” ( The wire)

& Then he talks about Pulwama and asks for votes, the contradiction wasn’t spaced even a few lines apart.

#2

These are just a few samples you can look up this website https://www.modilies.in/ it does an excellent job of fact-checking the PM.

Fact-checking the PM wasn't an idea that existed before Modi in the prominence that it does now. With his kind of resources, if he is making such blunders one can only imagine how hollow must be the academic grasp of the PM. There is another theory that suggests that these willful slip-ups were engaged in to mislead generally uninformed crowd. Modi made the lack of education among ordinary Indian a tool to swing emotions.

Discrediting dissent and bunking questions: The PM did not take one question from the press in a free unscripted conference, in fact, in his entire tenure, there was no press conference, none at all. This in itself is proof of the fact that in his world he doesn’t see himself accountable to anyone. He is his own man. He has however managed to effectively tame a vast majority of Indian media, who blush and blossom when they ask him questions like the below.


App thakte khyun nahiApke paas batua hain kyaKon sa tonic lete hainEk fakiri hain app me60 mahine me itna kuch kiya hain, itna hua hain
He agrees to answer if questions have the potential of adding to his propaganda of establishing himself as larger than life, the perfect man to lead image. His party workers and ministers have for long been suggesting those who have committed the sin of being critical of the PM to leave for Pakistan. Disagreeing with his idea is being anti-national. In the minds of his supporters, Modi is the nation, much like Indira use to be to her patrons. Urban Naxal, Lutyen, Tukre Tukre Gang, Award Wapsi gang: are the phrases that PM and his close confidants use for those who have expressed serious concern over the macho, majoritarian, divided and polarised India that he wants to create to keep his electability intact. Rejecting dissent and rebuking questions have now graduated to discrediting institution :about 4 yrs ago when Time Magazine published Modi’s interview lauding his plans; BJP supporters jumped in excitement, for them it was a national pride, today when the same prestigious publication is calling Modi’s bluff out in the open, they find the magazine frivolous! There is an army defending his unscientific and even plain stupid comments; like the one that he has made on how he thought clouds would help the air strike move undetected from the radars etc. People latch on and give all kinds of arguments to save the face of the supreme leader.

The great Indian political circus will end on the 23rd hopefully with a mandate that gives Mr Modi some solitary time and much-needed rest but I’m afraid the trend that he has set in will continue and get worse in days to come. The country that has been terribly polarised will have to make a lot of effort, burn a lot of steam, to come together again. Healing is going to be effort-intensive. In times like these, I miss the sanity that Bapu has professed in his writings.

Argumentative and enthusiastic Indians will move from elections to cricket, patiently and in hope, reel under the adventure of whichever side that wins 2019 because they know that they will get to choose again in another 5 yrs.

With that let me end this, if you haven’t voted still, do so!

 

Independence in "New India"!

When I came into being, our beloved country was 38 yrs old, & in its infancy .. 34 yrs fast forward when I’ve already lived half of my life ( according to current life expectancy limits, though my mother thinks I’ll live for centuries), it is still a toddler. Yes, 72 yrs in the life of a nation is not too long, and in the prism of history for a country that has recorded chronicles of over 4000 yrs, it is on a relative scale, shorter than 15 minutes if all of it were to be squeezed in 24 hours. Given that, what we’ve achieved as a nation is nothing short of admirable .. we must stand in respect for all of us because each one of us has contributed in our own unique ways in making it, what it is today! (applause .. applause)

Much like our own life .. our country is also in every way imaginable our own making, completely!

For all that is right .. we can pat ourselves on the back and for everything that doesn’t feel quite the same .. we need to look ourselves in the eye and question why? Irrespective of our political affiliation, religious identity, regional recognition or personal belief systems .. we are just as much responsible. 

The question that we need to really ask ourselves is what is India to us, today if being independent means anything .. what is it and what is that we’re willing to do to make it work; to our taste and liking. We will need to take a break from living between reportages and phases of festivities to create time and atmosphere needed to confront ourselves with this important question.

Our septuagenarian nation has come of age; in words of our Prime Minister, from fragile five we have undertaken the journey of becoming the 6th largest economy in the world. Such a progress couldn’t have been possible without hard work and selfless service of many unsung heroes. The tale of India is an unending series of untold stories of struggle, glory, pride, and devotion .. details that will never come to the fore but its cumulative impact is seen and felt by all. Both successes and failures are relative, and so is freedom!

Our great nation is free .. a lot more than many Arab and South African countries and a little less than the western world ; we aren’t any less sovereign than any recognised country of the world, the comparison that I bring here has got more to do with utility of day to day freedom and openness that we get to exercise. It is not always a bad thing to be wherever we are. Our transformation has been every bit so as much dramatic as it has been wholesome, from being an agrarian economy, we had our little affair with industrialization for a few decades and lately we have been making great strides in information technology and services with a very solid backing of start ups, mostly internet based and into consumer market. India in the last decade has created more billionaires than it has ever done in the past. However, what Dr. Tharoor once said in his famous speech in the UN is also true. He had said India is such a diverse country that for anything that you say about it .. opposite of it is also true.

As a country, we are also among nations with the highest concerns on infant mortality, malnutrition, poverty, lack of healthcare and sanitation, social inequality, economic disparity and gender bias. Latest world hunger index houses india’s name at a position that is nothing to be proud of; but then for an infant to have achieved what it has is not all that bad. When you have a landmass that is 7th and a population which is only 2nd to the most populous with a ton of diversities, to lead - it is not easy to bring uniformity and make sure that everything keeps progressing at the same rate. Some indicators will move ahead at a greater pace than the others and we have be to accepting of that. As long as nothing is being ignored willfully or mistakenly forgotten.

India is what Indians will make of it .. it is a choice that you and I make everyday .. when we think and also when we take actions.

Vast majority of leaders: political, bussiness and even spiritual (yes, Baba’s have a view too and why not?) since last general election have given the idea of “New India” a lot of time and mention in their public speeches. Because I’m a student of history it is my cardinal responsibility to bring facts to the fore. The term “idea of India” was coined by freedom fighter, writer, poet, statesman par excellence and India’s first prime Minister: Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru. In fact, the term “New India” is also his. He has written extensively about it in his correspondence with the great Mahatma, Sardar Patel and Rabindra Nath Tagore. Pandit Ji also wrote many letters to Englands’s contemporary leaders, on one occasion even to the queen, elucidating the Idea of India and also the new India! Little mention is given to him for having acted upon on his ideas ( IIT, IIM, ISRO etc) .. but we all understand why is that so, don’t we.

The architect(s) of modern India beyond doubt was Pt. Nehru’s himself, his cabinet, the constituent assembly and everyone else who took Bapu as their moral guardian and worked on his ideals and principles - to give our glorious past a way into the future and most of what we see today is an extension of that, actually a hell lot of it, 95%! 

"The Idea of new India" is a valid, vital and also a powerful concept, anything and everything that is alive needs reproduction to remain in life ..it is true for a nation too. We do need to renew our commitment towards our motherland, every now and then to see which way are we going to steer this nation into. I’m not someone qualified or even capable of giving the idea of new India .. its complete contours, but because I’m as much an Indian and therefore, must have a view.

In the new India .. we must have these from the old India continue, is what I'd like to argue!

Regard: For our glorious past, we must make concerted & continuous effort to protect our history .. the generation ahead of us deserves to know the truth, whole of it. They need to know about Gandhi, Chandra Sekhar Azad as much as they should know about Mughals, & the Ashokas. History must not be allowed to be retold to make a political argument or emboss someone’s contribution beyond his deed or to silent the others. You may choose to not follow or like Nehru but you can’t take him out of the textbooks, that will be an injustice to the Idea of new India. Because we became a nation on the principles of truth and non violence. So we gotta tell the truth! 

Respect : We have to respect everyone, even our opponents. Gandhi ji once said, the kind of freedom that disallows or disincentivizes my opponents from airing their difference with me when I’m in power .. such freedom is undesirable and I wouldn’t want it. ( these weren't his exact words, I’m telling the story with my own expression but the meaning has been kept intact). So, we gotta respect difference of opinion even in the new shiny India. We do not have to agree with whatever we do not like or find not right .. but we must not gag others.

Responsibility: All of us have the responsibility to live up to the ideals on which India was formed. We became one on the guiding principles of plurality. "Progress can be peaceful" should be pursued as a core belief, it doesn’t have to be strenuous and fierce at all times. And to make it happen, we only have to accept that the dignity of humans is sacrosanct. Civility has been relevant in the old India and will be useful in the new India too, must be continued with. It is upon us to be welcoming of change, accepting of diversity that surrounds us in all directions. No nation can exist without conforming to a set of laws, therefore we must remain lawful, in all that we do, big and small.

Democracy is an entrant from the Modern India and it is an amazing thing ; we must take it forward to all shapes and corners of new India too.

With these thoughts .. I’d like to wish each one of you a very happy Independence Day.

I leave you with a video message from Indians who have to say what freedom means to them 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lT16PIhAak) 

See you in the next one!

Free Speech - Status check!

Absolutism is the virtue that applies to Freedom, if freedom is not absolute, It is anything but free! When it comes to free speech, I’m a not only a big supporter but also a fan of the concepts. Given the realities of our times it is all the more important that we have nothing less than free speech. Look at it, we live in a world that is watched over by cameras, run on web, every tiny detail is in the public domain. And here don’t you make the mistake of thinking if you are not a Facebook check in addict you’re discreet  When you pay digitally you leave an impression which is not only recorded but is also traceable- this is one of the many ways in which what you’re eating, what you plan to buy are all floating in thin air! I do not mean to discourage you from going digital. Because anything which is offline is making little or no sense in today’s world where between confidentiality & convenience- the obvious choice for many in most matters is the later. So, by all means you must & you should be digital. Mr. Modi has been spearheading this change initiative and it is only fair that we Indians support our PM when he is trying to bring about a positive change.

Traditionally, those in power have not openly denounced absolutism in free speech - everyone from Pundit Nehru to Narendra Modi have on occasions more than one made public speeches, even written articles supporting it. And as a nation we are making progress, one can’t deny that! Regulations such as RTI bought in Dr. Singh’s regime, to an extent does extend the power to the common man to know things which they do not have direct access to (well, the debate on validity of items exempted from this act is for another day – right to privacy is also what is dear to us). But is knowing enough? At a personal level perhaps it is all that is needed but when we talk of a society essentially thriving on exchange of all kinds - from goods to money to Ideas to even identities in some cases ..only knowing is not good enough! Let’s me give you an example if Mahatma Gandhi kept the knowledge of power of truth and non-violence to himself would we have managed to get out of the clutches of British oppressors? The answer to that question is simple- NO, we wouldn’t have. It was needed that he communicated the goodness to other people, he used the twitter of then – Radio, Newspaper, magazines apart from every effective deployment of public meetings, prayer gathering to reach masses to ‘network’ to gather support for his ideas - and we have today a whole nation to ourselves.

 

So, knowing alone is never enough. Communication of what is known is knowledge when kept relevant. Then we come to that aspect of free speech that is often debated and discussed in societies which are progressive and consultative. How much should be allowed? Well, if you are wanting to regulate you’re not a supporter of free speech, very clearly! For two reasons, when we allow people to speak their minds freely without fear or pressure, we not only let ideas out but also get to know how good or bad our knowledge or morals are.

 Let’s take an example -  when an MLA is allowed to freely say - “Cow is the only animal that exhales oxygen and that cow dung can neutralise radioactive substances". We know it for sure the level of education and general awareness is so pathetic in our county, so we know that there is work to do! Had our man not been allowed to say what he believed in we wouldn’t have possibly understood that gap that exists - therefore it is important to let people say what they have to, even if what they are saying is stupid or plain dumb.

 

The other aspect is shouldn’t we draw lines as people have often misused the right to free speech by spreading misinformation, abusing people, hurting and insulting sense and sensibility of others on purpose. These are valid concerns. Some may not like to have jokes about Jains eating potatoes, or Sardars having common sense or Biharis being well groomed etc . But if we take everything out, what are we going to joke about? Or in other words express our discontent/observations, freely? A good way of looking at a situation like this is comparing it with food options available at a 5-star restaurant - it offers all kinds of food, veg and non-veg, Indian, Chinese and Mongolian and other kinds but do we choose all? No, we don’t, we eat whatever suits our taste. Same should be the case with free speech and insult, take only what suits your taste ignore the rest and like you do not ask to ban an eatery that also sells food that you don’t like, you shouldn't go crazy after those who say things which doesn’t sound nice or appropriate to you. People must and should have the right to say whatever they wish to.

 

Those who want to gag free voices, more often than not – take refuge in hate speeches to say that regulation is a societal need.

Free speech on ‘hate speeches’? As a county we have seen enough instances of violence and public disorder which were cause by motor mouth hate mongers. They on purpose have said and done things which have hurt sensibilities of people who in turn have raged causing severe damage to the state and society. Goes without saying, we shouldn’t let a hate monger walk free inciting uncalled for disturbance but to say that you can’t hate anything is as logical as is the statement that peacocks breed on sweat. 

 

Nothing can justify putting those who say things you do not like to permanent silence of death, in any society . In past 2 weeks, we have seen noted thinkers and writers being tortured & then murdered. If we were to believe the report, since 2013 in UP alone more than 200 journalists have been killed? What does it say about the state of free speech in our country? We must never forget that we live in a great country, it provides for, all of our needs. But that does not mean that we as citizens shouldn’t question the very well-being of the very nation we call home. One and all should be allowed to say whatever they have to. Killing a writer or silencing a contrarian view will never do this country any good!

 

Let us not forget, death is not the end! Mahatma was killed but his values continue to live and guide people around the world, even today!

Protest & Humour, YES!

From a fan of Protests

The very idea of protest is very romantic for someone like me who has been a student of History and is particularly proud of the Indian freedom movement - the whole exercise of driving oppressive British out of Indian soil was indeed one mammoth display of what results can be achieved, if this awesome tool is applied in great sense and spirit. Today, with you, I’m going to explore, briefly, how is 'protest' seen today, what should be its objectives and if at all it is makes sense to support a protest. 

Yeah .. I know, this is not a cool topic, it doesn’t have anything even remotely funny associated with it but don’t be surprised when you find out, how humorously we sometimes start calling an agitated mob a “protest” - both terms to many minds are synonyms - those are cute people and I love them :) 

Let’s spend a minute finding out how is a protest born - what causes it? Let’s first agree that protest is a weapon of the poor and the week when they’ve to take on the mighty for a “cause” which is worthy of the effort! Key term here is “cause”! It is nobility of the cause that validates your act of protest .. lesser noble you are .. least meaningful your protest will be, it could still be strong though, take Jallikattu agitation for instance. Every protest in its infancy is a disagreement that with time grows into dissent powerful enough to engage people outside those in direct influence of the mind(s) in which this idea first takes shape, it spreads faster than wild fire when articulated well to people with similar background, history, tradition & of course, challenges!

Let me state a fact here only about 5% of protests are for forward looking objectives, rest are always an attempt of restoration (sometime for tradition and others for legal rights). People come on board with the idea and then decide to air it collectively so that it becomes so powerful and loud that no one no matter how far and wide & however up in the ladder is can not choose to ignore it - it’s initially about delivering that message & mood of the people supporting the cause.

The establishment always sees any uprising, not matter how just the cause may be, as germination of an anarchic Idea .. status quo is affable for those in power. Change scares them, as they know some changes are so powerful that they blow even those in power with them, so the initial reaction is always to ignore it publicly but they keep observing it from distance. People in power wish to see if protestors are committed enough to stay in it for as long as it requires them to. Most protests die here! Those who survive the first hurdle call upon themselves action of suppression from the powerful, which is generally their second reaction, tools differ - power, wealth, law to every other kind of trick that you can think of is applied, more than half of those who sustain the first period of ignorance, cripple at this stage and dismantle themselves, happily.

The ones that remain alive and breathing past this stage .. thrive as swiftly as mushrooms do post first monsoon shower and it then becomes a powerful force! They become the talking point, not only for them who they are protesting against, but also for those who aren’t really participating in the protests, columns are written on them, social media swells with their mentions - some even make it to prime time television (ultimate victory, we’ve seen people become Chief Ministers (Mr. Kejriwal) too from it). 

Then comes the stage of compromise where both parties sit and decide on the common ground, objectives are achieved and the protest is called off - society gains from these, mostly! There are also those who are so adamant that they just do not wish to move an inch from their demand .. they slowly loose popularity and then die .. here the powerful starts talking about all that are offering generously but is being refused arrogantly etc. Remember what Babu said, “Compromise is beautiful”

Many movements also become violent at this stage and then die a death of foolishness ( Jallikatu serves as a good example, even here). You’ve to keep it peaceful at all times, when in the land of Mahatma Gandhi!

From civil disobedience movement to Anna’s Lokpal movement to Nirbhaya to jallikatu to all other uprising that we may see in the future, will all follow the same chronology of growth and decay.

Let’s explore the other important aspect of protest, let’s call it nobility test where the purity or usability of the cause is ascertained. Let me give you an example, if 50 billion Hindus come together demanding that all Jains be made to leave the country - will it make the cause noble? The answer is NO! Numbers, therefore is not the sole measure, here. You can look at making ‘ethics’ the barometers, but ethics are generally biased towards traditions and therefore could be immoral, take Jallikattu for instance. Religion should never be made the base of anything to do with larger good, it is best kept private … locked safe! Traditions too can’t be trusted .. for even that suffers from bias - Sati, Dev Dasi etc are glaring examples. Then how do we look at the cause of the protests and what is to be considered valid is the question?

Fundamentals of natural justice should be our only trusted yardstick .. because it is not only fair but also just, unbiased and equal not only towards humans but also animals and environment and everything else thinkable that exists. - there you could bring inferences from law etc to take guidance.

Let us understand, it is extremely important to remain lawful because without discipline the idea of a nation is impossible and therefore always base your reasons on creating a more lawful and above all a just & kind society, one that treats all alike.. one that believes in empowering people with the ability to take right and courageous decisions. 

That brings me to the final aspect of this dialogue - what should be an ideal medium of protest, or let’s say how best can we channelise our protest? Well, a simple answer to that is not possible so I thought why not have a funny one, instead. Yes, you heard me right answer to this question may well be found in humour! Don’t believe me think of this - When our PM says “Mitrrrrrrroo” in his iconic style, most of us ‘cool’ people yawn but when a comic mimics him with “Mitrrrrrro” he gets all our attention - and that is my point .. But before I rest my case I would like to make a few more points in support of humour, not that it needs any.

When we laugh as a reaction to something funny .. there are three things that happen, we accept the message completely, we are honest in our reaction to the message and we expect more -preciously what every protestor would want to do with his audience or target audience. Understand this, there is a need to engage and what can do that better than laughter .. your guards are down when you laugh irrespective of you doing it in admiration, awe , shock or surprise .. you do it fully engaged and that’s the objective really to engage everyone - to the cause!

There is one group in India called AIB… they’re doing it for us .. it’s time we do it for ourselves too and make our lovely la la la ( added an extra la, because the this is not Oscars) land into a happy happy country!

See you on the other side!