The dangerous mindset of being superior!

(This article was published in the PIONEER of 8/11/2013)

While exhibiting a total lack of concern for the task of nation-building, society has brought in a system of distinction and discrimination. That of the master and the servant, the rich and the poor, the powerful and the common man. The privileged consider heaping atrocities on others their right

The case of the death of a maid servant at the hands of the wife of a Member of Parliament, is shocking. That this incident comes close on the heels of a number of similar atrocities — a doctor couple torturing and locking a 13-year-old maid, a corporate executive inflicting extreme torture on her maid, and a retired Army doctor torturing his domestic helps in Bhubaneshwar — does not come as a surprise.

It is reflective of the perverted mindsets that have taken root in this nation which boasts of a proud history and rich culture. These incidents, that made national headlines, are a small part of what is happening in the confines of homes across the country.

Mahatma Gandhi once said a man should be judged by how he treats people from the lower strata of society. Only few who roll in wealth and power in India will pass this test. The total disregard for human values while treating not just domestic servants but also other blue-collared workers such as rickshaw drivers and coolies, is conspicuous by its universal presence in our societal system. Indeed, the Mahatma must be turning in his grave at the sorry state of affairs in the nation.

The varna system that divided Hindu society into four broad categories — Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras — was aimed at efficient management with all day-to-day activities being taken care of. Unfortunately, with the passage of time, varna emerged as the major criterion to determine status within the social hierarchy. It has now evolved into a ground on which political battles are fought and favours dispensed. This was not how it was meant to be.

While exhibiting a total lack of concern for nation-building, society has brought in a system of distinction and discrimination. The master and the servant, the rich and the poor, the powerful and the common man — these are the major categories with various levels of gradation.

Ultimately, the measure of a person in our society is assessed on the informal system of these gradations and the more formal varna system. In the process, value systems have been given a convenient go-by.

The recent cases of abuse of domestic workers at the hands of those we regard as the cream of society are exceptional ones that got highlighted. They had sufficiently out-of-the-ordinary stuff to qualify for prominent space in national dailies and television. But the malaise runs much deeper if we look below the surface. The fact remains that in the total absence of dignity of labour, a man whose physical labour earns him a living, is regarded inferior to those who have other callings in life.

This is a far cry from the developed world where every human being is treated with basic respect and given the dignity due to him. The false feeling of superiority that is enshrined in the masters makes them regard torturing their inferiors as something that is normal.

It is a problem of mindset. Almost every person who, in his own opinion, has ‘arrived’ in society, treats those whom he considers inferior to him with utter contempt. The same high-profile woman who killed her maid may just be treating her own family with love and affection.

Perhaps the solution lies in issues relating to governance. The absence of role models in society is only catalysing the rot. A complete lack of effort to create a value-based society is leading us to this dangerous situation. It is time that those who are in Government and, therefore, have the potential to emerge as role models, show us the way.

Mahabharat

The battle for the throne of Delhi is indeed getting exciting by the day. With the ongoing affairs reminding us of the reign of “Bahadur Shah Zafar” it is apparent that a takeover is on the cards and rightly so, the kingdom of sycophants, robbers and people clueless about what character and value systems are all about needs a shakeup and an overhaul.

Arvind Kejriwal of the RTI and Anna brigade fame is eyeing the premier state of the sultanat and it appears that he may scrape through to victory. His strategy is simple yet may prove to be effective as the two main groups have more than disenchanted the aam aadmi with the result that the aam aadmi party that lacks money and muscle power may yet make the finishing line. Even if it does not, it appears absolutely certain that the party would have made its presence felt sufficiently enough to cause discomfort to both the national level dispensations. 

That the forthcoming hustings due in the spring of 2014 would turn out to be the battle royale of the century is beyond doubt. Never before in the history of independent India has its populace felt so helpless, so cheated and so angry at the bunch of nincompoops who constitute the ruling clan. The Durga Shakti incident of Uttar Pradesh, the wave of rapes and indignities heaped on the fairer sex and the repeated and blatant cases of loot with absolutely no concern for the aam aadmi have led to the ongoing wave of disenchantment with almost everything connected with the state. The fine line that distinguished the robbers from the rulers has become blurred. 

Closer home, the ongoing affairs in the lifeline of the nation have also deprived its constituents of any sense of pride and dignity that they possessed. We have shed both our wealth as well as dignity.  

At birthday parties of tiny tots, one often witnesses amusing fights for the cake. It is sad that in real life, in the political arena of modern India we are forced witnesses to fights over pieces of the cake with members of the ruling clan as well as prospective rulers leaving no stone unturned in ensuring a disgusting display of concern only for the cake with the sole intent of self gratification. The nation can and is indeed rapidly going to hell.

Yet being a hindu I believe in destiny and the almighty. With Modi around, perhaps the next hustings may provide us with the faint ray of hope that can lead to sunshine and brightness all around. 

The mayhem continues!

Two recent news items disturbed me. The first was regarding the apathy of the passers by towards road accident victims in Noida and the second was Nirbhaya Part II, the brutal rape of a 5 year old in Delhi. Perhaps Kalyug has now fully descended on this great land of Rama, Krishna, Rahim and Gandhi?

Value systems have apparently gone for a six. Perhaps they were never there in our hindu society and we merely maintained a pretense of the same for centuries togethor. Else how can one justify the series of brutal rapes in a society the scriptures of which harp on maintaining the dignity of the fair sex. How else can one justify a total lack of concern towards fellow humans as displayed by the passers by on the highway in which an injured girl and his father along with their dead son and mother were merely shrugged of as an unpleasent scenery by others.

The father of the nation lived his life for others, yet his sone and daughters, we the people of India live only for self with absolutely no concern even for fellow citizens in extreme distress. 

And the leaders of this nation will continue to parrot their old line of defending the juvenile. As someone recently and rightly said that a guy fit enough to molest and rape is also fit enough to undergo punishment. Will the pseudo leaders of this nation ever understand? Perhaps they will, the day the daughter of one of the high and mighty ones goes through an ordeal Nirbhaya or the five year old went through. Till then they shall continue to parrot what in their opinion will get them votes. Yet they are wrong, any politician who comes forward and sets things right even by taking harsh and unpopular measures like hanging or castrating rapist juveniles is bound to emerge as the ladla of the nation at the next hustings. 

Expecting the bureaucracy to pilot measures for a value based society will however continue to remain a mirage. Yesterday's display of a rabid conduct by a senior police officer while handling aggrieved protestors at the hospital where the five year old lay is perhaps in tune with what the bureaucracy has on offer for the masses they are recruited to serve. 

I never found reasons to be proud of being a hindu, but today I am ashamed to be one. Even the much maligned islamic countries are far superior in so far as comprehensive handling of the masses by the rulers is concerned. They dont brutalize women like in our country nor do they allow one who brutalizes to get away without facing the same level of brutality that he inflicted on others. Our record at handling terror is also dismal. An american would indeed be proud of the bold manner in which his government has handled the boston incident. Our actions and reactions stand out in stark contrast with even responsible leaders clamouring to save the lives of those who butchered their own countrymen or defiled sacred institutions. Sadly our judicial machinery with all its inherent merits also never believed in the dictum that justice delayed is justice denied. 

Yet the common man on the street and the high and mighty in the comfort of their luxurious homes know what is wrong. Each and every one of us knows what is wrong with the nation and uniformly expects and also waits for someone else to set it right. This has forever remained the biggest tragedy of this great land known as Bharatvarsh.    

An inequal society!

Fresh from the 122^nd birth anniversary celebrations of the founder of the constitution of the nation, I wonder whether all that was said in the honor of the great man indeed came from the heart. If it had, perhaps the society would not be where it is and the nation would have been much ahead of its present ranking in the international human development index.

Baba Saheb Ambedkar lived and died for a singular cause, that of equality amongst human beings. For him this cause was bigger than any other including the freedom of the nation and rightly so, citizens of a nation that practised inequality perhaps had no right to be free when the freedom that they desired was not meant to be shared equally. For Gandhi, the cause of freedom was supreme followed very closely by the cause of emancipation of dalits. He also believed in the equality of mankind, a concept as alien for his followers as the liberation of our nation was then for the ruling britishers.

If it was not for the conviction and humanity of Gandhi and Ambedkar, perhaps the lives of dalits would not have improved to the extent it has, if only in the literate pockets of urban areas. Yes, the emancipation of the lower classes is still a mirage in our nation of over a billion souls.  

Social inequalities will exist wherever societies exist. Yet the extent of inequalities and differences that we witness in the hindu society of ours is indeed unacceptable.  Inequality in rank, hierarchy and social status often overshadow the age old caste based differences, especially amongst the educated classes and that leads us to the fundamental question of whether our educational system indeed meets the requirements of the twenty first century. And the answer apparently is a big NO.

Mere parroting of good intentions will not take the nation forward, nor will routine remembrance of personalities who showed us the true path in the past. Yet it is sad that mere rhetoric is what one witnesses on all such occasions that should indeed instil in all of us an enhanced feeling of national pride. Almost a decade and a half ago I had been actively and intensely involved in organizing an annual river based festival that was appropriately christened as the festival of national pride, and now I wonder whether mere festivals can indeed rejuvenate national pride in a populace devoid of the same. Pride follows accomplishment and accomplishment alone, and not mere noises that one makes about accomplishments of the future.

A true homage to Baba Saheb and also to the father of the nation would be to ceaselessly strive for establishing a just and equitable society in a reasonable time frame. The past almost seven decades of nothingness if merely wished away would lead to many more decades of a stationary existence and our impeccable constitution would continue to fail to have a sobering effect on the nincompoop governance machinery that we inherited and are continuing with.

Amen!

The unforgettables - Corruption!

It is about corruption all over the newspapers, every day. After Anna Hazare, it is Baba Ramdeo who has jumped on the bandwagon. The Prime Minister also everyday displays his steely resolve to stamp out corruption. The march to the abode of the thieves, the Tihar jail, has also started in right earnest, though it is yet to pick up speed. The concern is whether one Tihar shall be adequate for the fleet of corrupt men(and women) in high places that this nation can flaunt? All good intentions no doubt but shall these measures really help?

Not much really! All these measures including the oft repeated expressions of a steely resolve against corruption definitely make a good headline, but that is about all. Like all good intentions that are not backed up by action, a sight so often witnessed by bureaucrats like me, the present euphoria against corruption shall also fade away with time. Forgotten shall be the Kalmadi's, Kanimozhi's, Raja's and Behura's and their place shall be usurped by a young and dynamic team of plotters who shall not disappoint the citizens by leaving no stone unturned in milching the nation.

When shall the nation, including its well intentioned bigwigs realize that corruption is not a disease, but a symptom. When shall we appreciate that it is not only the CWG and the 2G that we have to fight against, but the entire sarkari tantra, each and every single kalpurja of it, that has gone absolutely rotten. And if corruption was a disease, the nation is so highly infected by it that there is no chance of survival. And if it is a symptom, we only have to look for the disease and cure it.

The archaic decision making and the over complex contractual processes that throng the entire sarkari system, cutting across sectors and state boundaries are the culprits. These processes lead to diffused accountability and no responsibility whatsoever. The oft touted symbol of dynamic delivery in the nation, the Indian Railways is no different. Despite being a small player in the gigantic railway network, I am amazed at the rot and the sloth that these two archaic processes have led to. Deep rooted corruption, down to the grassroots, and yet the management, the top management chooses to be oblivious of the same and finds solace in mundane chores that are rapidly pushing the organization downhill.

We from the hindu religion believe in destiny and I am therefore convinced that it is the destiny of this nation to forever continue to occupy the prime spot in the list of the most corrupt societies of the world. Amen!

Why government offices have to be sloppy?

Is being sloppy, a mandatory requirement for offices classified as government offices? I think yes, for one rarely comes across a government offices that is efficient and smart. Dirty files, sloppy furniture and absence of decent basic amenities define a sarkari office in India. And on top of that there is an official who is unconcerned, generally corrupt to the core, totally uncommitted, and who treats vistors and the general public with utter disdain and contempt.
Why can't something be done about them? Why the same guy who keeps his house in a state of absolute polish and shine adopts a different attitude when it comes to his office? Is it apathy, ignorance or immaturity? Why cant we keep a place where we spend a very substantial portion of our lives in an efficient and smart state? Why cant it be mandatory for sarkari offices to be as efficient and smart as corporate offices and then perform and deliver functions that they are intended for?
But I have learnt my lessons. An efficient and smart offices helps me to perform besides keeping me in a good state of mind. And so the first thing I do on joining anew assignment is to improve first my chamber and then the whole office that directly reports to me. This has generally also resulted in much improved attendance, both in terms of number of days as well as number of hours. The sarkari people than start liking spending time in their offices with consequent improvemnt in the delivery systems.
Perhaps our hindu mindset is responsible. The way we keep our public places of worship is disgraceful to say the least. Each of us who visits our temples ads to the filth and squalor of our temples. Yes there are exceptions like the Vaishno Devi and the Tirumala shrines, but exceptions they shall remain as we shell never learn to keep our offices and places of worship in a smart state.

Clean up hindu religious places

Is it really necessary for hindu religious places to be generally filthy, unkempt and disorganized? With the rare exception of perhaps the shrines at Tirupati and Vaishno Devi, all hindu religious places have filthiness as their hallmark. Whether it is the Kamakhya temple at Guwahati, the Kashi Vishwanath temple at Varanasi or the temple at other religious sites in the country, generally they are unkempt, filthy, disorganized and do not by any stretch of imagination appear to believe in the philosophy of “Cleanliness is Godliness”. The presence of a group of touts disguised as the agents of God trying to fleece the devout of his hard earned money, adds to the disgust. I therefore find it almost impossible to visualize the presence of the almighty at such places. It is therefore strange that thousands and millions of people from all over the country regularly visit these shrines, get fleeced, physically engage with the densely packed and often unruly crowd in their attempt to enter the sanctorum and yet go back home satisfied that they have done their duty to the almighty who will now bestow his favors on them, their family and near ones. It defies conventional as well as scientific logic, yet it happens day in and day out. This untiring belief in the almighty and the calm acceptance of the dismal situation as his gift is what is keeping the wheels of the hindu religion and the nation moving.