" Small minds: discuss people,
Average minds: discuss events
Big minds: discuss ideas
Great minds: work in silence"
I certainly hope that this euphemism holds true in the case of our dear PM. Since I got my new phone, I am now hooked to Twitter. One of the best tweets I came across went like this- "Even Anna and Baba Ramdev have entered politics, it is now high time that even Manmohan Singh enters politics". Coming to think of it, it is indeed miraculous that this massive democracy is actually functioning with two of the strongest pillars virtually defunct. The PM and the President. Not that we expect much from the President, it is actually unfair when the Prime Minister of the country does not even think it is appropriate to utter a few words of assurance in the midst of all this drama.
Speaking of the drama, there are a certain things which I would like to write about. Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare have received the load of media attention and the attention of the Government. Does this mean that they are the only people who have been protesting against the system ?
Irom Charu Sharmila has been on a hunger strike for over 10yrs demanding that the Govt. repeal the Arms Act (Special Powers Act) in Manipur. She is termed as the 'world's longest hunger striker'. Even people from the European Parliament have written to the Indian Government seeking to roll back the law. The Government can send cabinet ministers to meet Baba Ramdev, but cannot care to look at this woman who is now in a derelict state for the past decade.
Swami Nigamananda died while protesting against the quarrying in the Ganga. He was on a fast unto death. The real fast unto death. The Govt. did not even bother to listen to this poor soul, but they can spend weeks negotiating with Baba Ramdev.
Ever wondered why the faces of Irom Charu Sharmila and Swami Nigamananda are not plastered across the media like that of Ramdev and Anna ? The equation is simple, their death is not as damaging to the government as that of ramdev or anna. I know Indian politics is not that simple, but the bottom line remains the same. Their death is of no political importance.
The government will be allowed to get away with this because we have just stopped caring. I have always though that we were an ungrateful nation. We were never grateful to all the sacrifices that were made by our founding fathers. We take things for granted, we have no idea about the efforts put in by our forefathers to build this nation. Acknowledging their efforts and appreciating them will automatically translate into love, i suppose. But when one billion people who owe their existence to this country can be so indifferent towards it, I think there is some serious issue that needs to be looked at. If you ask me, it is our Primary Education system.
Just go back in time. When you were in high school/higher primary, you studied history. They say history is one of the most important subjects because your history defines your present and shapes your future. We studied the subject history alright. Or did we just learn facts ? We learnt the list of rulers, the temples/mosques/churches they built, the rulers who defeated them and the endless dates of all the wars. We then studied the advent of the Europeans, the chronology of the viceroys and the laws they passed. Then came the account of the freedom movement. I remember my text having a total of 6 chapters which covered the entire Indian Freedom movement. 120 pages encompassing lifetimes of sacrifice and 120 pages expressing the heartbreaking story of the Indian Freedom movement. If you ask me, the entire education on our history was nothing but reading eulogies on all the characters involved in this beautiful epic called 'India'.
You have had to face questions like "What are the achievements of Gandhi? ?"; "What were the achievements of Akbar ?"; "What made Chandragupta Mourya a great man ?".
Did you have questions like- "Mention Gandhi's greatest flaws as a human being"; "What were the personal sacrifices made by Nehru for the sake of India?"; "Explain how Indira Gandhy became Indira Gandhi".
Well, all we studied was the greatness of all these characters. These great people were always projected as demi-gods who descended straight from heaven. The Indian Independence is one of the most beautiful stories you will ever come across. Love, hatred, bloodshed, victory. The book 'Indian Summer' by Alex von Tunzelmann explores the real people behind these smokescreens of greatness and then you will realize that they were ordinary human beings who rose to positions of extraordinary power by making unbelievable sacrifices. We need our people to know this. We need our people to believe that Gandhi and Nehru were ordinary people who did extraordinary things and not that they were heavenly creatures whose birth dates and places of birth are the only details of importance. People need to know the struggle that was involved in freeing India from her shackles, people need to know the lives lost and the sacrifices made. Like the great Russian leader said, "One death is a tragedy, a hundred is just a statistic". Knowing 1000 lives were lost in Jallianwalla Bagh is not important, it is important to know that every drop of blood shed was for the betterment of this country. For the betterment of our lives. Once the people understand this and begin to see that we have been selfishly reaping the rewards of their efforts, we can make an effort of repaying them. The only way we can do that, my friends, is by protecting what they died for. India.
I dont know what needs to be done. Patriotism is not standing with a puffed chest on August 15th nor celebrating a World Cup win. Patriotism can be as small as not jumping a traffic signal or as big as dedicating your life to protect the Indian forests. Our children need to realize this. Our people need to realize this. We need to realize this.
Anna and Ramdev make juicy prime time television subjects, but they can never hope to make even an iota of a difference if the people do not realize what they are fighting for. That the idea of India is something worth fighting for. You may call me a pessimist, but I wold rather assess reality than be a fantasist. I love my lady, and I know what I am fighting to save. You just need to find your reason to fight. I have found mine.
My Lady. My Love.
Very well said. However, I still believe the root cause is our dense population. The clamour for personal space brings the worst out of man and extreme selfishness kicks patriotism out of the window.
ReplyDeleteInvasion & enslaving of a country, like in the past is a very unlikely possibility in the present & ensuing centuries.Thereby, the need for sacrificing ones life for his country in an exhibition of patriotism arises less often than in the past. Yes, it can be shown in such simple acts as respecting the traffic rules, not jumping the queue, paying the tax, not accepting or offering bribe, respecting the space of the fellow citizen, respecting the flag & forest, not shunning the elections, buying the entry ticket and doing our professional duty to the best of our ability & being democratic in thoughts & actions at home & outside. No need to cut our head & offer to mother India. We can live & enjoy, & let others too. But the reality is so contrary to this "Utopia"! Are we less patriotic than the affluent westerner??!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats again Abhi, on your endeavor.
It is important to note that Gandhiji and Nehru did not die for the country, everyone dies eventually. But they gave up their entire life for the country. This is the sacrifice that needs to be spoken about. For example Arvind Kejriwal, the face of 'India Against Corruption' and founder of 'Parivartan'. He is from IIT Kharagpur, then entered civil services where he became Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, Delhi. He gave up all this to fight corruption and was instrumental in the passing of the National RTI act.Now this man has sacrificed his life for the country. This kind of patriotism is needed now and not necessarily a bodily sacrifice to express patriotism. But it is sad that neither forms are present today.
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