The most glaring symptom of a society of mediocres is in the manner they treat their icons. While the icons are revered till the going is good, they start getting reviled at the slightest hint of reversal of fortunes. And this is precisely what is happening with our greatest national icon, Sardar Manmohan Singh. From the high pedestal on which the nation placed him in the early nineties for his economic reforms and even in the early period of the UPA-1 for his integrity and commitment, he has already come many notches down with many more to follow. Yet even his high pedestal built over a lifetime of integrity and sincerity has proved to be inadequate against the rising tide of scams, scamsters and mediocrity in this forever developing nation.
It is indeed sad that the mediocrity has not spared even Sreedharan, the man who single handedly built the Konkan railway and the Delhi Metro, both of which changed the faces of the territories they covered. Yes, it is with a tinge of sadness that I sense malicious satisfaction even on the IRSME site when rank mediocres having no claim to fame, pick up straws to unsuccessfully pull down this greatest of the greats.
Yes, most of us relish attempts to pull down icons and regale at the fall for that is symptomatic of the vincibility of all those whom we placed a notch higher than mere humans. The thought that the icon is also like us with human follies or we are also almost like him is what most of us of the mediocre variety then merrily relish.
The media invariably has a heyday, almost every day in our nation. There is almost always someone fairly high up in the hierarchy whose neck is on the chopping block for his acts of omission or commission. And so keen is the public to lap up the ugly that all negatives that are written or said about the high guy are accepted at face value. Pronounced guilty without a trial is generally the scenario.
When will all this change for the better? Will we ever move on from the society of crabs that we have become? Indian crabs who will never appreciate one of them moving up and out of the dirty basket that they all have been occupying for long. Till then we shall remain in the “developing” league, perhaps till eternity.
Amen!
Dear Turnaround (TA),
ReplyDeleteI don't know how to react to this article. Upto an extent, you are right that we are all full of vices and shortcomings and media creates hype and people are of crab mentality. And i won't comment on Sreedharan, but Manmohan Singh, he has really proved to be the worst PM, a chicken, who doesn't have balls to even give a condolence message to the victims of Mumbai terrorist attack. Honesty is useless without courage, rather it is crime. If a person cannot stand for the right, s/he will fall for anything. And the same has happened with the sardar. Another chicken is LK Advani, who led the Kar (death) rally of kar sevaks at Ayodhya Massacre and went in hiding when police blindly fired on the rally.
Public do not enjoy the fall of icons, infact it comes as a shock to them, but yes they are happy that rascals are exposed and punished which they rightfully deserve.