The post mortem of Indian Inertia

One of the most unexplainable enigmas associated with the Indian society is that while every Indian may be argumentative and professing ill informed “facts” about any evil that may be plaguing our society, very few of these actually act as change agents. While the quantum of opinions and ideas that Indians generate truly is mind boggling but the inaction with regards to the implementation of these ideas is far more bewildering. It seems a Newtonian inertia has gripped the Indian society where most progressive steps are eroded by a mysterious frictional force. While the need to explore this force is but obvious but this task is to be undertaken in the backdrop of a plethora of fault lines along caste, religion and class that are so pervasive in our society. The three major classes and their respective inertia are discussed below.

Poor People

These constitute a majority of the population and hence are the obvious subject of various ills that infest the modern Indian society. Since these bear the major cost of various ills, it may be natural for this segment to act as the torch bearer for the societal transformation. But, ironically this segment is responsible for the continued rotting of the society since this segment is so fragmented along multiple lines such as caste, religion, village that there vision is just limited to outdoing each other in the rat race which is inherently designed to ensure that poverty thrives. Due to these intra-class cold wars and the existing fissures, poor people remain divided and incapable of providing any impetus to significant change as advocated by Marx also.

Middle class people

The class boasted as the cover page of the rise of India on the global stage and intellectual circles is perhaps rather petite with regards to acting as change agents. While these people are at times impassioned by the wrongs of the society, they are rarely able to channelize these to bring about tangible change. This is attributed to a plethora of reasons ranging from despotism with the system to the lack of a pre-existing channel for discharging their energies productively. Even though the Gen-Z is armed with a potent tool such as social media but it is currently used to achieve materialistic success or soulless entertainment. Further, there are classes within this segment also and there is constant tussle to acquire wealth to gain social mobility. As a result, the cause of social change is diluted to a large extent, thus becoming incompetent to bring significant gains.

Rich people

Well, for these poverty exists in our heads only as diversity for these is a flaunting display of progressive India while turning a blind eye to the stench and evils so pervasive in Bharat. It is highly unexpected for these people to act as the change agent since the current situation favours them and also because they are mostly unaware of the evils that exist in Bharat as they are busy showcasing India on the global map.

The Way Forward

The onus on change rests on the shoulder of the young middle class who have the requisite zeal to bring about a tangible change. However, this energy needs to be channelized in close association with both civic society and government so as to bring about tangible changes into the society primarily in an incremental manner so as to ensure the requisite continuity. However, gradually even the poor people can join these to bring about more accelerated change in the society. 

Man Proposes God Disposes - Review

Situated in the middle of the posh Lodhi Estate, Alliance Francaise has been one of my favourite avenues for watching plays especially due to the riveting performance by one and only Saleem Shah.

From my previous experiences, I can assure you that this artist is one of the most talented performers we have on the theatre stage. Anyways, I had the immense pleasure to be audience to one of his latest plays on January 31, 2016 i.e. Man Proposes, God Disposes. The name itself was so captivating that I became victim of my own temptation and went for the play.

Cast

Saleem Shah as the frustrated defence lawyer

Vijay Singh as the convict in jail charged with her wife’s murder

Plot

Vijay Singh a.k.a. Mr. Qureshi who by profession is a butcher and works in a slaughter house has been charged with the murder of his wife. Saleem Shah a.k.a. Mr. Tripathi is a lawyer by profession but at the age of 45+, he is still waiting for his first case until one day this esteemed opportunity is provided by Mr. Qureshi unknowingly when he random chose Tripathi as his defence laywer. The play begins with the elated lawyer entering the jail premises to meet his maiden prospective client and is expectedly enthusiastic about the encounter. The convict i.e. Qureshi on the other hand is more subdued since he does not see much ray of hope being cognizant of the fact that he only has murdered his wife. Tripathi greets Qureshi with warmth and child-like grin and literally coerces his client to narrate the circumstances which led him to commit such a heinous crime. What unfolds is a comic tale whereby it becomes apparent that the crime has been committed because Qureshi could not stand the sick humour of his beloved wife.  

However, the highlight of the play is Tripathi who is bubbling with enthusiasm and the prospect of carving a name for himself through this God sent opportunity. Throughout the narration by Qureshi, Tripathi impatiently keeps on inventing clues which actually do not exist. However, failure was not a choice for Tripathi and hence he starts fabricating clues through witty humour. The role play between Tripathi and Qureshi as the lawyer and judge respectively is rib tickling and hooks the audience to the play. Qureshi does his best to find flaws with Tripathi’s arguments and hence an interesting love and hate relationship is showcased between the two. Finally, the case goes for hearing and on expected lines, Tripathi loses the case. With shattered hopes of a career, he approaches Qureshi the next day for providing some consolation in the form of appeal to higher courts. However, Qureshi turns down the offer and reveals the unexpected that he has been granted pardon by the Lieutenant Governor. Tripathi is heart-broken on hearing this “estatic” news but is inquisitive about the grounds on which pardon has been granted. Initially hesitant to reveal the details, Qureshi finally gives in and confesses that LG provided him pardon on grounds of injustice as he was represented by the most incompetent lawyer ever possible. A visibly depressed Tripathi finds himself short of words when witty Qureshi congratulated Tripathi for securing his release. Tripathi is confused at this gesture but then Qureshi dawns the idea on Tripathi that due to deliberate conduct of Tripathi in the court room, his client has been released. This revelation provides Triapthi with the much needed appreciation that he has been longing for since the past 20 years. 

Duration

87 minutes with no breaks

Language

English

What to watch for

Splendid performance by actors, witty dialogues, strong narration

Overall rating

4/5

Perils of the tolerant Indian society

In the recent times, there is an immense hullabaloo about the rising intolerance in the Indian society. This intolerance is apparent from the recent incidents of violence against Africans supposedly driven by racial discrimination along with the perpetual tension along with religious fault lines ranging from location of the clichéd Ram Mandir along with the food preferences particularly in context of beef. The saffron government and its undefined relationship with the RSS doesn’t provide a comforting ambience and thus aggravates the background noises regarding growing intolerance. A group of intellectuals led by prominent artists have pioneered a fervour effort against rising intolerance in a typical Gandhian manner. The mainstream media has cashed in big time and has become extremely opinionated especially with regards to the role of the government. In this backdrop, certain facts need to be highlighted.

1) As per official estimates, nearly 45% of the girls in India are married before the age of 18 while more realistic estimates peg the figure in excess of 50%.

2   2) As per WHO, 626 million people continue to defecate in the open and this population constitutes nearly 60% of all people who practice open defecation worldwide.
    3) Since 2001, the incidence of rapes amongst Dalit women has increased by nearly 500% with an estimated 60% of the population subjected to sexual abuse.

    4) Nearly 15% of all metropolitan population continues to live in slums due to lack of affordable housing and a plethora of schemes pioneered in this regards.

     5) As per a World Bank study, out of 35 cities with million plus population, only 2 cities have water availability in double digits.

6   6) As per the latest available government’s data, almost 20,000 villages are not electrified even after 67 years of independence.

    7) There are regular incidents of human trafficking with women selling their daughters for negligible amounts such as INR 500.

And the list goes on. Infact, I have not even touched the tip of the iceberg for the above are only a handful of the blessed issues that are covered by the mainstream media. With absolute certainty, I can assure you that there are regional issues that would never even see the daylight of the mainstream intellectual debates. In a society, with pressing problems revolving around “Roti, Kapda, Makaan” i.e. food, clothing, shelter coupled with dignity, the lack of dissent is harrowing and heart breaking. Ours is a “Democratic” society but the voice of the poor or the invisible people is a mere squeal which is pacified by the fake promises at the faithful rituals executed by the unscrupulous politicians with merciless proficiency. With a society as plagued as ours, this tolerance is deafening and one is left wondering at the continued existence and celebration of a democracy devoid of soul and substance. We tend to flaunt the human rights that we have as compared to China but it is mere symbolism which does not amount of any noticeable progressive change due to the inherent tolerant nature of the Indian society. The majority of the population practice Hinduism and ironically while the religion propagates tolerance towards religion, Indians have tolerance in all others spheres except religion. The “chalta hai” attitude has laid for a solid foundation for a society where even an incremental change is celebrated. Further, any positive change has to pass the test of the majority which is flawed with the presence of a fractured society divided by multiple fault lines. In such a society, change happens only at a snail’s pace while the politicians and vested groups tend to spend their energies on more productive ventures which invoke passion and so called “nationalism” amongst people. This diverts the attention of the people from the real issues of the day and hence the stalemate continues. Hence, I appeal to all my brothers and sisters to flaunt our much famed intolerance that has captivated the attention of the elite in a form of a progressive wave. Lets remember that great nations are not born but are nurtured.

“The pompous and intuitive display of tolerance by our society is a retrograde gesture. We need to grow more intolerant regarding the critical issues of the day and channelize our anger into providing an impetus in the forward direction instead of acting as puppets in the hands of shrewd politicians whose actions are driven by political gains”

Random Thought - V

At times, it feels that most of us live in two worlds simultaneously. The mythical so called perfect world that we aspire to live in i.e. woven around our relatives and so called ruthless worlds with its pervasive and idiosyncratic injustice and immorality that is portrayed in news on a daily basis. We are so efficient in convincing ourselves that the world portrayed in news, debates is not our world unless the same permeates through our inner circle..If we just see the good, who will improve the bad.. I wonder..

Random Thought - IV

Invariably we have happy memories about the first woman in our life which is our mother . However, gradually the experiences start becoming grimmer and eventually we end up at times having the worst memories of the last woman in our life.. Ironical isn't it..

Random Thought - III

“Ah.. Women!!  The topic always attracts a plethora of comments but almost all of them are not applicable to the individual’s mother. Just wondering what’s the real issue.. Women or the relations we build with them” - Me

Random Thought - II

“The most beautiful relation is that which has no labels attached and hence is simultaneously non-existent but all pervasive. It is free from all compulsions on behalf of either of the parties and mutual reciprocity is not bound by the definition and contours of the underlying tag. This is pure, sacrosanct, timeless and hence worth seeking” - Me