Fear and Loathing in Hyderabad

My day yesterday was spent racing through some of the newly expanded riot-hit areas of Hyderabad. All very exhilarating but also extremely annoying at the same time. Communal rioting has returned as the current flavor of the city and all the regionalists of yore seem to have missed the latest bus of political hooliganism. Politics just as fashion, is fickle.

The social engineering required to generate and sustain mobs is an art that cannot be taught. In these scenarios the street coordinators and leaders show great creativity, adaptability and fortitude. But for such mob-making, a cause is necessary. In India there exists a sometime latent, sometime blatant communal antipathy where the biggest reason for the existence of peace is not common understanding but pathetically, plain survival. In such a context, the instigators are squarely labeled as the villains of the piece every time there is a break down in this delicate peace.

Here I propose an alternative. I say that the villains of the story are in fact each and every person who holds dear thoughts that allow that person to be instigated. Therefore if you hold views that are derisive, condescending, hateful/fearful, discriminatory or bigotry then you are part of the problem. This holds even in the case of such privately held opinions - despite the fact that you may be a fair individual, yet you set yourself up to be a candidate with that 'potential'.

The conspiracy regarding who benefited and who instigated are matters that pale in comparison to the kind of long-term antipathy that these incidents create. People's experiences shape their outlook. So when someone goes through a full blown riot, a glimpse of the barbaric and animal nature of man is observed. This generally brings about a de-evolution of behavior on part of the victim too, who waits then for his turn to play his hand. Thus the language of violence is what perpetuates the relation.

In all this, being secular is no help either - candle light vigils cannot extinguish hatred. Instead, providing for a designated field of battle might actually get better results than wishing the issue away from the confines of a sterilized quarantine that is secularism. The cold nature of secularism, where the religious identity held by the people is brushed under the carpet, is in fact a major cause for conflict. The Indian version of secularism is on the one hand embarrassed by its religious subjects but is proud of the diversity of this embarrassment.

Links:
http://www.thehindu.com/2010/03/31/stories/2010033161350100.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_%282004_film%29
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/us/25mobs.html?scp=1&sq=flash%20mob&st=cse

Essential Delusions

Imagining forward and projecting into the future is a difficult thing to do. Only the very brave or the very reckless venture to spell out what is not yet there. Having a vision therefore is a motivational strategy to coax others into acting, sometimes even against their better judgment or will. Selling these delusional visions hence becomes very important. There are various methods of selling these delusions, indeed there are many different delusions to be sold:

The Personal Variety:
A more confident, rich, popular or better looking future-you. This is the generic illusion through which the individual should end up buying the products and services advertised. Thus a brighter future for you is what the manufacturers predict (only if their production-line goods are bought). Hence even the most disturbing insurance products try to tempt you into cheerfully betting on your untimely death in order to experience a windfall gain - here your future is great even without your presence in it!

The People Variety:
The populace is made to believe that they will collectively be transported to the "promised land". This is the domain of the government, politicians and leaders. In this future everything surrounding the individual is better. There will be freedom from want and there will be nothing to fear. The developments of science & technology are shown as signs of things to come. We are left to extrapolate the progress graph of civilization to see what the future holds. Glories of the past are reaffirmed and emulation is seen as possible.

The Other Worldly Variety:
The future here is seen from some transcendent place. This is the bastion of non-rationality. The concern for the future is replaced by a concern for something beyond (or beneath) normal explanations. The delusion sold here is that the destination to be arrived at in the future is already known. The organized religions are the main peddlers of this fantasy and their tools vary from inspiration to fear mongering.

A combination of these and other delusions are the essential fuels to the keep the engine of human endeavor running. Ultimately though it has to be recognized that the buyers and the sellers in these transactions are inevitably the same.

Mythical Precedence

Today the Supreme Court of India has cited the mythical Krishna-Radha non-conjugal live-in arrangement as a precedent in cases of such understanding between consenting adults. Thereby a more liberal definition of what constitutes a household is now upon us in India. But it is of peculiar interest to note the use of mythology in this case as a tool of understanding a moral dilemma.

On the other extreme, this also reminds us of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's statement from 2007 on the Ram Setu issue where he brazenly noted the absurdity in the use of mythological elements in making a point. But in today's pronouncement it is understandable that the Chief Justice would use myths to counter moral muddles - they do speak in the same language and tone.

A judge's life must be interesting - to sit in judgment on matters that may constantly questions his character, beliefs and convictions. Such a line of work must allow for little or no self-doubt. I am not sure therefore if any judge would concede that a particular judgment is beyond his moral capabilities.

But in life some questions are simply beyond answering. To sustain themselves in their profession, this fact has to be denied or suppressed by the adjudicating authority. As an aid in such cover-ups is where folklore and anecdotes find their place in judgments. By citing such precedents one can deflect to the past (both mythical and factual) answers sought for the present.


Links:
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_no-offence-in-pre-marital-sex-live-in-relationship-says-supreme-court_1362499
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/where-is-proof-ram-built-bridge-asks-karuna/217566/

Neither and Both

From Mr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President of the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi - here is a view on how developments such as the recent Women's Reservation Bill in the Parliament of India are taking the nation in a new and uncharted direction:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/our-wonderful-quotocracy/590788/0

He may or may not be off-target on his 'quotocracy' thesis but the trend is here with us and needs to be understood. As he points out, the question is one of identity but not as one sees oneself, instead how others (read - governments) identify citizens.

We could adopt a hardcore view of individual equality under all circumstances and blindfold ourselves to the disparities. Or we could open our eyes only to see through the tinted glasses of discrimination and subliminality. Either positions are heavily fortified and come with irrefutable arguments. In attempting to solve such a Dharmasankat (moral quandary): India has chosen neither and both.

No Favor

The state of Assam in India is about to assign healthcare as a basic right for its residents. The matter is not voted on yet but the papers seem to hint that this bill will soon be law. This is a first for India and it will open the floodgates which will force the rest of the states to follow suit. The skepticism regarding feasibility and the more sinister search for the benefactors kept aside, this is a brave piece of legislation which will lead to some good.

The government in the state in pursuit of whatever political mileage points has taken up the burden of affording its citizens access to some form of public healthcare. Mind you, they are doing no one any favors. Under Article 47 of the Constitution of India's Directive Principles of State Policy the state is required to do exactly this:

Article 47:
"The State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties... "

There are other such Directive Principles in that document which are equally revealing about the state's responsibilities, a pity that none of them are binding on the state. No court can force them to do the right thing, for that they have to grow a conscience and by 'they' I also mean we.

All the legislators everywhere are really our mouthpieces, its called upward delegation in a democracy. They play a game where they try to guess what would please us and go about doing it - like a child would in trying to impress a parent. When the game gets too hard and it becomes difficult to ascertain public taste or mood some get distracted and go and do what politicians are cursed for doing.

But once in a while they get their act together and either by accident or plan actually do their job of lawmaking diligently. And when they do, it is important to note that these lawmakers are only an instrument of enforcing public will, nothing more. So acknowledge their contributions but there is no need to feel grateful.


Link:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/In-a-first-Assam-to-guarantee-right-to-health/articleshow/5673849.cms

Someone Has To Do It

Yesterday we had a get together on account of a friend's belated birthday party - had lunch, saw a movie and drove around. One of the guys was here from Bangalore for the weekend so we drove to the Kachiguda Station to put him on the train. As we made our way onto the platform, at the station's entrance there was a police jeep with a pale skinned labrador panting away in the back with two safari-suit clad policemen sitting in the front. These men were scoping out the place and probably waiting on orders. We didn't make much of the scene.

While the guys waited for the train, I had to take a leak and made my way to the nearest lavatory. On rejoining the platform's bustle I noticed that one section of the crowd just past the lavatory were moved away and formed a rough semi-circle opposite the wall with a 20 foot radius. The three characters from the jeep were in the middle, all staring at an old blue suitcase placed on a window ledge. Everyone around who understood the scenario was getting into a pre-panic mode - trying not to act stupid by smiling or laughing while quickly calculating the odds but also in order to satiate their curiosity weren't moving away either.

By the time I got there and realized the parameters of the situation, the dog had already done its sniffing around and its handler had moved it and himself back by 6 feet from the window. All the while the other man remained right next to the window with an airport security-type frisking device that he hovered over the suitcase for a couple of times. Then he took a step forward, put his hand on the suitcase's latch and in one move yanked the lid up. Like always, it was empty.

The situation quickly defused and the crowd dispersed, only now allowing themselves a smile. I started walking back towards the coffee shop where my friends were waiting, thinking I had a story to tell. But I stopped after a while and looked back to see what they did with the suitcase, it remained where it was found and the safari-suit squad was moving towards me. I waited for a while and when the man who opened the suitcase was nearing, I held out my hand. In bemusement he shook my hand and I told him the first thing that came to my mind:

"Itlanti pani cheyali ante chala dhayryam kavali sir!"
("To do this sort of work, a lot of courage must be necessary sir!")

He smiled and went on his way.


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