Shun the Desire to be King, Believe in Democracy

During the Emergency, Indira Gandhi had once confessed to her closest confidants, Pupul Jayakar, “How hard it is to keep from being king, when it is in me and the situation.” Very honest, indeed! Now I know that she only surfaced a universal desire when I see streets flooded with hoardings of “enthroned” politicians and headlines such as “Rahul Gandhi—Our future King”. As for the latter, he has already taken up this prospect rather seriously by impressing all and sundry with his ‘commoner’ ways. I have doubts whether his ‘subjects’ will let him be one of them he so desperately wants to be. The fact is, going by the pulse of the ‘aam aadmi’ thinking, it is difficult to accept Rahul Gandhi as one of us and that what he does (hopping on to local trains, having tea with slumdogs, etc.) is not a gimmick but is genuinely intended because we have already accepted him as our ruler, the king. Most importantly, we have already defined his class as one above us. It doesn’t matter if we blame him for the class divide once he is in power and advocates a policy or two which may not comply with our premises of comfort. Strangely, power, publicity, and a celebrity status have a similar escalatory route in our country—the top of the pyramid is always occupied by a king. Let us start with the most famous king, King Khan or the Badshaah of Bollywood. Never mind the “Khan” part as it may change with time but note the entitlement. Then, we have the underworld kingpin. Finally, there is an endless list of elected kings and queens, the Thackerays and the Mayawatis, who consider the semantics of being on the throne rather literally. They simply love to adorn golden and silver thrones, wear outlandish and garish clothes and make sure one hand is always in a kingly posture, that of a monarch blessing his subjects. A certain queen has taken this sentiment even more seriously by installing statues of her in this mudra all over the state. And this after a long independent struggle advocating equal rights and democracy, over 60 years of celebrating independence and reveling in the freedom we have, and taking pride in the fact that we are one of the world’s most progressive democracies. Why are we then not able to break free from the psyche of being the ruler, being ruled, or for that matter being over-ruled? Why are we unable to forget our feudal lords? Why don’t we behave as citizens of a mature democracy? Why do we go berserk trying to garland our ‘kings,’ touch their hands and feet, climb walls to catch one glimpse of them? Why are we still unable to understand that the leaders are one among us in whom we have entrusted our votes to serve the country because they volunteered to and we deemed them fit to do so?


The reason why this psyche needs to be acknowledged and addressed today is because it has bearings to the Maoist uprising which is on its way to become one of the biggest problems India is going to be facing in the times to come. Naxalites and Maoists originated to fight the class divide, to ensure equal rights, and to fight against the oppression of farmers and the ill effects of feudalism in India and China, respectively. Mao Tse Tung had a vision for China which was very relevant to his times. He accomplished it by bringing about a movement which changed the face of China and made him a legendary leader. He advocated guerilla tactics because they seemed to be the only solution to many of his problems as he saw it then. Well! That was half a century ago. So, how is it that an adapted version is still relevant in a democratic republic like ours? How is it that the Maoist faction is still not outcast as a group involved in unwanted terrorist activities even though they do nothing more than spreading terror and taking precious lives. Else, if they were genuinely fighting for the common man, they would have thought many times over before taking the lives of EFR jawans in Silda because every Indian knows to which rung of society a jawan belongs to going by their economic standing. They certainly do not belong to the exploitive class as much as how the pseudo-Maoists would like to think so. Simply holding guns do not qualify the poor jawans as bourgeois—the machine, unfortunately, is the only source of entitlement to their meagre salaries barely sufficient to sustain their families. If they had some heart, they could have undertaken this as one of their issues instead of catching them unawares and shooting them down like cattle. Any thinking individual can decide that if there is want of justice, who the exploiters are and which is the oppressed faction. And, yes! It is not exploitation only in terms of terrorizing and killing. It also includes misleading the youth of our country, driving their precious energy towards wrong causes. In other words, we are losing precious talent to an ‘indigenous Taliban’ which is bringing about absolute wastage of young blood. The ‘divides’ we create may simply be a topic for tea-time conversations for some of us, but sometimes they impact young minds to the extent that they remain immersed in resentment. Don’t forget that eagle-eyed separatists are always on the prowl looking out for brooding young minds and making them believe that it is through their means they will find justice. So it is all about never letting the resentment die down, never letting the causticity dampen and guiding fragile young minds to take up the path of violence to realize ulterior motives. I would love to believe that a certain Kishanji’s struggle has roots in some cynical resentment he may have been bearing with regard to his father’s involvement in the freedom struggle of India. As for his belief in the Maoist ideology, it could be nothing more a fascination for the “Red Book”. No matter how cynical and uncouth I sound, I refuse to accept an ideology which does not respect lives, which talks of violence, which brings about hatred and strife. I refuse to accept any ideology which threatens the very thread of humanity. I have lived by the belief that we are a free nation today because of the Mahatma’s tireless struggle based on non-violence and that democracy is the only route to universal justice, and I know I am not alone in this camp.

The fact that we still allow divisive organizations to have their way out is because, we love to remain divided--on the basis of wealth, caste, religion, regionalism, gender, sect, etc., etc., and take it to a level that this ‘divide’ is well represented by the most revered weapon of democracy, the vote. The fact that obsolete ideologies are still valid today in our country and that we are still allowing criminal mayhem-creating factions like the Maoists to thrive is because, we are continuously offering them some divisive issue to which they can attach their evil intentions of violence and replenish it as a valid ideology. The fact that some of our leaders are still not answerable for their unbecoming ways and that they are re-elected in spite of not delivering is much because, we still like to worship, indulge in adulations, and treat our leaders like Gods. So what’s wrong if they behave like one? Sadly, we may have embraced democracy to earn our rights suited to our comforts but we have yet to understand the spirit of it and accept the responsibility of being a uniform shareholder in the progress of our country. Therefore, we are very much responsible for not allowing certain ‘divides’ to die down and not letting genuine issues breathe. It is time we revisited democracy. It is time we recreated it and made it more relevant to today’s requirements. It is time we endorsed issue-based politics and competent leadership. It is time we addressed genuine needs rather than burdening ourselves with carrying forward obscure and outdated political ideologies. It is time to overcome the past, to live in the present, and to build a better tomorrow. It is time to realize that in order to bring about justice, we will have to strengthen our judiciary. It is time that in order to make our leaders deliver, we have to take them to task. It is time to empower issue-based politics to solve the problems of our country. If this is not realized, we may have to ready ourselves to commit our entire lives to fighting terror and to losing precious talent to the wrong causes. Think again, it is not that a Jagari Baskey is born everyday, but it hurts to think that the goons are taking pride in her abilities instead of the Indian Army.

An Unfortunate Union

Although reports of rape are routine stuff on most channels, one such report shocked me no end. Unfortunate as it is, our country capital, Delhi also holds the distinction of being the rape capital based on statistics, even though that can be accounted for because rapes are actually registered here unlike other rural or semi-urban areas where victims would rather keep quiet to avoid ostracization. Holding on to its reputation, however, Delhi came up with another of its bizarre cases which reported that a newly wed man ‘organized’ a gang-rape of his wife by his “oh-so loyal” friends because she did not bring enough dowry. Dumbfounded?? I am not surprised because even I remain perplexed for quite a few days. Unable to purge this episode, I dwelt on a few questions which could not stop playing the Brownian motion in my head. Do provide me the answers if you have them. First, why do grooms of the latter category bother to embark onto the journey of marriage at all when they are better off without it? Commitment, loyalty, fidelity, relationship, family—it is more than obvious that none of these are on their cards. If not, do they get their objectives (in all likelihood, a source of income and at-your-will-sex) muddled up somewhere down the line in the process of achieving them? If I had a chance, I would love to counsel such creatures free of cost—maybe it would save some women from becoming victims of such atrocities. I would never go into lengths explaining how horrendous the dowry system is and pleading that women be respected because such characters are more knowledgeable than me in theory, only that they prefer to act otherwise—it has something to do with immediate gains. Some may have learnt this from posh business schools, you never know. As for sins, what are they? They vanish with one dip in the Ganges and a few rituals, "samadhan", performed by deity controlling priests. Well, what I would like to convey is that prospective grooms with big plans based on marriage-derived income should garner some courage and play their cards honestly. I assure one and all, this process will be less awkward than going behind bars after committing rape or murder (or both). After all, since money is the basis of such negotiations, there is no harm being realistic. It is any day better than allegations of rape and murder. Most probably, grooms and their families of this category become unrealistic because the poor creatures get embroiled in greed issues after being indulged in all the pomp and show put up by the bride’s family during the ceremony. Therefore, I intend to ‘help’ such cases from being misguided, not lose sight of their objectives and most importantly, not let them forget the dire consequences of the crimes they may have to ruthlessly commit if their targets are not met. I am convinced, more than a quarter of this category would reconsider marriage as an option at all and the rest would at least have the haze of evil intentions removed from their eyes. After all, what does money mean if you have to bargain it with your life? This is what needs to be reminded day in and day out—that apart from money, there is also the jail, a life sentence or a death sentence you may have to consider post marriage. If I were to unleash my sadistic desires, I would love to do up a marriage venue with a prison theme so that the thought never escapes the ‘prospective’ guilty.

The second question which kept banging against the walls of my head is that how is it possible for a man devoid of a conscience or any moral to make friends who are epitomes of loyalty? What bonhomie, I am impressed. Even dogs are not as obedient. I am sure half the world would simply vie for such characters to replace thinking servants. I wonder if such friends would extend support in the same faith in a different situation, say a less gratifying one or rather a demanding one. Simply put, is it that even the integrity of level-headed individuals melts away on being served certain pleasures on a golden platter as in this case? If not, there was also the possibility that the gang could have ganged up against the mongrel and taught him a lesson or two instead of ganging up against the poor bride?

The third question is more of an irony as I see it and wonder if you have noticed, too. Any person acquainted with the Delhi belt will tell you of one of the most common sights seen as you pass by any colony. It is called “Mata ki Chowki” or “Jagran”—a ritual performed in reverence to Durga, the Goddess of strength (good over evil is a common linkage to all deities so is obvious and forgettable). In fact, the entire belt boasts of a proliferation of female Goddesses (Devis), the most popular being Vaishno Devi where, in all possibility, even the ‘man of the moment’ must have paid a visit at least once in his lifetime, such is the popularity. So, is there a bifurcation of the female gender, namely that of the Goddesses fit to be worshipped and the earthlings fit to be raped, that we are not aware of? If not, how is it possible for these Goddess worshippers to be so differentiating in their reverence? At least some should be able to visualize even a minuscule part of the Goddess in the women on earth. Unfortunately, the atrocities against women in this belt tell a different story.

God in the Inbox

India, India, India…it amazes me no end. I just received a message from my friend minutes ago which reads, “Hare Krishna. He has seen you struggling (with something). He says its over. “A blessing is coming your way. If you believe in Sri Krishna send to 10 people, please don’t ignore you are tested. For it says-deny me in front of everyone, I will deny you of my father! 97% wont pass this. Are you part of the 3% that will?” A blessing is coming to u.”

The first time I read this message, I was in splits. Please don’t get me wrong but I just could not get over the text, especially the “struggling (with something)” part. On returning to my sane self, I did not feel the fear this message intended to invoke in me but felt deeply hurt. This is not the first time I had received such a message. Most Hindu deities are put through this rigor of invoking fear and playing with the psyche of religious innocents through the exhaustive use of the sms. Sai baba, Ganesha, Maa Durga…you name them and you will recall that you have received at least one message credited in their name. I personally am a devout Hindu and have immense faith in the spiritual path I identify with. Therefore, it enrages me all the more that these days even Gods are not spared from being sold.


Let us get to the root of the problem. Why do you think people are successfully making money by instilling fear of the unforeseen or playing with the religious sentiments of millions of worshippers? Do you think you receive such messages from people who are as God-fearing as you? Think twice. They are happily minting money by demeaning God. In exact words, in my opinion, this is actually a kind of desecration which has not been identified yet because of its digitally subtle nature, a derogatory attitude toward Gods of a certain religion which is gradually deracinating devotees from its basic religious ideals. You will not deny that no matter how educated you are, you do tend to get influenced by such messages and more often than not, end up doing as directed, even if it means doing it secretly to avoid being jeered at by people who may appear (because their outbox may reveal something else) to not get moved by the same. Why? One probable reason is that Hinduism is basically a tolerant faith and therefore subject to maximum misuse. It does not stress the concept of punishment as a consequence of wrongdoing enough. Else, why would followers of this faith be so unclear on this matter? Would they not realize that the wrongdoing here is the circulation of a message which disrespects God? Are we are so insecure about losing the comforts of life that we feel threatened that a God may snatch it away if the “sent to all” option is not ok-ed soon? If this is what we think, we are downright selfish. We have not understood faith and devotion but see it merely as a means to fulfill our worldly desires. We pray, but only to beg and do it on a daily basis because we fear if we don’t, we may lose what we have. For heaven's sake, please close your eyes for a second and think. All our Gods combined will not forgive us for reducing them to a status of a threatening and punishing ringmaster or a boo-ing ghost in our messages, even if we remain immersed in the Ganges for hours. On the contrary, our Gods may bless us for saving their divinity from being tarnished in this manner if we refuse to bow to such lowly actions. So the next time you receive such a message, please become a messenger of faith, not fear. You have but only one question to answer, that is, "delete msg?" In the name of God-OK.

We Need Help

Sometimes it’s difficult to justify my own behavior—especially the surreptitious visits to the entrance of my house. No, it’s not the fear of any monstrous apparition at the door but the wait for the daily newspaper. Just the sight of it gives me the impetus to hurry up with my morning chores---I can’t wait to lay my hands on it but I have to wait because once it’s mine, I’m carried away to another world. The feeling is almost transcendental…but who’s going to do the breakfast then? So, wait.

Ah, I have the house to myself now…and the newspaper after the daily morning chaos of school, work, crying babies, useless spouses, etc. The first thing I am confronted with is choice. With the number of supplements mounting every day, each of equal importance to a reader like me, newspaper reading is no mean feat. Which one…which one…? Finally, I remind myself of the main objective behind reading the newspaper—the news. But where’s it? A frantic search…eighteen pages here, eight in the next, six thereafter…so on and so forth. There is a bit about some silly political activity (more often than not as a tribute to the ruling party), a wee bit about the city we live in and the rest—a feature fete. Every educated individual in a democracy is a political, financial, or social analyst of sorts and everyone’s opinion counts…at least in the newspaper. Gone are the days when this privilege was confined to a select group featuring on the “editorial page” only---they are facing some tough competition now. As for my state, I am literally pleading—“God, please help me read this feature, analysis…whatever…till the last line…please.” I really cannot help it, you know. I have to know it all since it’s there in the newspaper—if Sachin should continue or not, why Rani can never win the Oscars, why is Amar Singh angry, why is there a painting in so and so’s house, why so and so’s clothes do not fit her any more…Ugh! You can say it’s a moral obligation…I don’t want to disregard a writer’s effort. Moreover, what if I miss something? I pay for it, after all. Anyway, I am dead tired now. Try and understand, I have been reading thirty-six to forty large size pages with fine print everyday in these stress-prone, time-pressed times.

When my reading obsession, bordering on an addiction, is quenched by ogling at the plastic faces flashed all over the pages, I am in no position to keep myself straight. I am in dire need of sleep to get over the mind-boggling experience of trying to register everything of ‘inconsequence’ into my little head. Sleep…it does come but not alone. It takes me to a space again infested with newspaper objects-politicians, criminals, page 3 starlets, painted faces floating in the air clamoring for publicity, pushing and shoving one another for headline space until the scene slowly transforms into a crow-fight…and I sit up, perspiring and gasping for breath. I need help.

Much later, when I am back to where I belong—my house, my family, I have only one thing to dread. I just hope my husband does not ask me, even casually to show that he cares for my interests or even just to initiate a conversation, what I read in the newspaper today. In all understanding, he will still not be able to figure out why my jaws drop or why I look so dumb on being asked such a simple question, absolutely no reason and rightly so according to him, why I should evade this question when I spend the maximum time reading the papers. It is difficult to explain the blackout I experience when asked to share what I read. All I see is endless print and color and not with even the utmost effort can I recall the headlines on the first page. My frustration has got to fizz out and what other way than to make your family feel as miserable as you do with awful mood swings and snappy monosyllables. I tell you, this reading ambiguity is affecting my marriage. I need help.

Well! In order to overcome my recently acquired anxiety problems associated with my daily newspaper reading, I assume I have to wait till technology provides me a means to scan, read, and register the newspaper in record time because as per existing trends, the pages are bound to increase. Else, on the basis of what may become of my mental state, I can say it will not be long that I will be visiting a shrink who will be treating me for the new disorder on the anvil known as, with due respect to the namesake, the “daily news and analysis disorder.” We need help. If not for nothings like me, at least for a bigger cause--the environment, I plead unto all, “please do away with this compulsive waste of paper”. Don’t you realize how many trees are being felled to bring about this disorder? Bear with me but I am already imagining a sick me reading this heap of a newspaper without any water because I am sitting in a desert. I am sorry for being an extremist but some things are heard more when said in an unlikely fashion.

Language or lineage? Where lies the problem?

Is a non-Marathi language precisely the problem in Maharashtra? Let’s come clean on that. Slowly and steadily, the political visions of our great elected leaders are materializing. The undercurrents of resentment are palpable, both among a certain section of Marathis as well as non-Marathi immigrants. The former, especially those loyal to the “Marathi Manoos” well-wisher brigade, cry foul at the batting of an eyelid to project that their bread has been snatched away and make every effort to extend negative vibes to North Indian communities, whereas the latter are an insecure lot, what with having to face ridiculous deadlines (the latest one being to be able to read, write, and speak the Marathi language within 40 days flat) every second day. The seed of hostility has been planted and our dear leaders are all set to establish their political career on the basis of this glorious ideology of divide and rule imbibed from our colonial predecessors.

Let’s come back to where I started-the language. Personally, I agree to the fact that one should definitely know the local language of the place where one plans to reside in. In fact, learning the local language makes communication easier and helps the ‘outsider’ the most. Moreover, it is an addition to one’s skills and enhances one’s personality in many ways-- but only if it is done willingly and pleasantly. An encouraging approach in this direction would have fetched not only accolades but also votes—are the concerned listening? If I were to believe in promoting the local language in order to preserve the culture of my state and community and had the means, as a leader, to propagate my views, I would have set up 24x7 free learning centres across the state by now. In this way, I would have also created employment opportunities for the “Marathi Manoos” as trainers. But intentions are not all that simple, I suppose. Such actions don’t create furors, and therefore defer from the basic political ideology. Deadlines and resentment provoking statements do the needful and that too without having to make much effort.

Keeping with the trend, many more similar issues will be worked upon to maintain hostility. But if this keeps growing, I shudder to think of what will become of this beautiful state in the times to come. Here, I cannot help but compare Maharashtra to West Bengal. Once upon a time, Calcutta was the capital of India and the most happening place. It boasted of all things good—an imperial status, scholastic minds, enormous wealth, etc. etc.—“Amar Shonar Bangla” indeed as they said it. The East India Company read it all and established itself there. Great visionaries from Bengal led our country to freedom in 1947. Ironically, the downfall of Bengal began post-independence. Pioneer Marxist leaders came to the forefront with the noble thought to lessen the wealth divide, to fight against poverty, to fight for the downtrodden. But smart as they were, they realized along the way that they now had to thrive on this ideology in a democratic India; their survival was at stake without the BPL votes. So, the Marxist government made every effort to retain the BPL population because they had to survive on giving this select population hope. Today, West Bengal is a sad case of poverty-ridden population hounded by unions and strikes and a pathetic growth rate. Let me not forget to mention here that this West Bengal does not include progress-seeking Bengalis who have moved out and made a mark in every field. Ask them if they contemplate returning to “Amar Shonar Bangla” today. The answer is obvious—they are out to seek progress, not poverty.

Now, do you not see the similarity? If some leaders were to have their way here in Maharashtra, they would make sure the “Marathi Manoos” does not think beyond Maharashtra and the Marathi language--because if they do so, they might become skilled and at par with the rest of the world. In such a situation, who will the leaders fight for? Their survival depends on a population labeled as victims of wrongdoing—after all there is no hope for their political career to take off if they cannot give hope to a select vote-bank. So they have to keep the resentment alive—it pays more than some betterment policy. And yes, progress-seeking Marathis are not a worried lot. They have the world at their feet bowing to their talent—ask Lata Mangeshkar, ask Sachin Tendulkar, ask Dr. Narlikar…the list is endless and they have a different story to tell—worth listening and far more inspiring.