Need to Restore Calm 

At the outset, we need to assure and reassure ourselves that this is not the end of Indian society. We must understand that in India all religions majority to miniscule minority, are safe, secure and thriving. There is no threat or danger to any of them. See the figures, population is growing, colleges and universities proliferate, food production increases, albeit slowly, trade and economic activity goes on poverty reduces even if slowly and unevenly. India as a nation has confronted and survived vastly bigger and more dangerous challenges. It has always bounced back even if somewhat bruised and weakened. Let us not forget that most of those calamities were brought upon due to our own faults, weaknesses and internal divisions. Every time India’s leadership was perceived as weak and vacillating there was an attempt made to invade us, disrupt and subvert our internal, societal peace and stability.

What with the kind of negative inputs with which we are bombarded throughout the day we tend to lose our peace of mind and get excited, angry and annoyed. Depending on which side of the debate we are we begin thinking of ourselves as  WE and the other side, often the unknown as THEY. Most of it though is self inflicted. Let me explain. We watch TV, read others’ comments on Facebook, Twitter, newspapers because we so wish to. Nobody forces us to do it. When you talk to someone in a village (I visit one regularly) or when we ask someone working or selling her wares on the roadside we discover that she has developed a sense of inner poise. Being too busy to eke out a living she simply does not enjoy the luxury to involve herself in a sterile debate on whether there is enough freedom of expression or whether her privacy is encroached upon by this or that law or whether the economy is doing well. She sees the effect of all these things in real time. All she is hoping for is that there be no sudden heavy rain or a social disturbance or a riot that will adversely affect her day’s earnings. And, most of the time her instincts accurately guide her to take the right and correct path or option.

Public debates then are exclusively for those who have the time, money and assurance that their next meal will come whether or not they do any manual labour to earn it. This is what our self-appointed leaders of the underprivileged must always keep in mind. Don’t vitiate the atmosphere to such a degree that you unwittingly harm the very people you pretend to represent or protect. That is why a certain degree of stability, certainty and peace are absolutely essential if you want the country to progress in a way that the maximum good of the maximum number is ensured.  What would the elements inimical to India want? They would want to ensure that India survives and has enough purchasing power so that they can sell their goods (oil, computers, steel, coal etc) and make money. They do not want to destroy or raze the country to the ground. That way they will be the ultimate losers. All they want is to disrupt and subvert your pace of progress so that you are forever dependent on them and they can control you and your country, make sure that you live, behave and develop along a path that they have charted for you. Even your worst enemy does not want war if there is little to gain from it.

By continuously bickering or fighting among ourselves to somehow grab a bigger share of the national pie (that would shrink or at least grow at a glacial pace if we allow our bickering to affect national growth) or worse to score a few brownie points or improve TRPs we are willy-nilly helping the enemy. Everyday some extraneous or completely un-connected issue is raised in the media and we are invited to watch the daily dose of an ‘Evening Nautanki’ or Farce. All that is very similar to the way village people used to gather at the Chaupal to watch the song and dance by the itinerant troupe of performers that used to go from one to the other village. It was pure and simple (mostly free) entertainment for the worker, farmer or trader after the day’s hard work. Today, the only difference is that we get to watch the Nautanki in our drawing rooms or better still on our smart phones even at work. Little wonder then that the quality of our work output suffers and our relationships adversely affected.

It is a shame that the great social scientists, political analysts, security specialists or party ideologues who daily/nightly take part in these sterile debates and present  decidedly crass performances do not pause to think  and assess the damage they cause to the national morale. If we denigrate ourselves 24/7, find fault with everything that happens, curse the present or past leadership/regime or dispensation the result will be that a new Ravan, Kans, Shakuni, Robert Clive, Gazni or Ghori will appear on the scene most probably from among us and damage the existing system in a way that it would be very difficult if not impossible to rise out of the resulting morass. We will slowly but surely retreat into history, lose our freedom, and dance to the tune of a new oppressor and collectively regress.

It is vital that we learn when to call it a halt. To most of us it is clear that the current atmosphere of the so-called intolerance, mistrust, vengefulness and cynicism is a direct result of those in opposition, mainly those out of power who invent a cause to bait and provoke the ruling party/government some of whom unfortunately fall for the bait and react or worse retaliate; sometimes with disproportionate force/enthusiasm and the apparently never-ending cycle repeats itself with sickening regularity.

When the communication revolution happened some three decades ago many of us thought that it would surely speed up progress and to some extent it did. With the advent of 24/7 news channels in English and other languages one had hoped that whole society would benefit. Alas, the effect has largely been the opposite. Smart phones and social media have become a huge distraction and many if not most Apps do little more than the most mundane things like finding an eating joint in the vicinity. I am probably ignorant but I would have liked to see many more truly useful innovations and ideas that help substantially enhance our collective efficiency, comprehensive national power and help resolve our differences.

We must create a congenial atmosphere for our collective good.