BLIND FAITH

On this Diwali, I woke up late in the morning. My routine for that particular day was disturbed actually. Normally, on the morning of this particular festival, I wake up early. That’s not because I go to temple, or seek blessings from parents on this auspicious occasion. Temple is all the same for most of the days of the year. But what makes it special on this day is flock of beautiful girls. Adoring themselves with vibrant clothes and glittering jewelry, they metamorphose the shrine into something tempting for oglers like me.

Well, on the eve of Diwali, I was informed that I was posted at hospital for the duty next day. As an intern doctor, I was the least expected person to obey the orders. Now, what made me respect my duty, my consensus may be, I don’t know, but I was at hospital that morning. Patients were scarce. Festivals had provided them with much needed joy, which was treating their ailments. So, I was just killing my time in outdoor department, toying with my cell and examining few patients. Then an old, frail looking lady turned up to me, barely able to stand herself up. She was in her 70s, living alone and presented with severe diarrhea and vomiting since 2 days. She was most likely suffering from acute gastroenteritis and was in dire need for parental fluids. So, I suggested her to admit in the hospital, so that we can start her on the pints. But she refused. Citing the reason, she told me that she had not finished with her daily morning pooja still, and she had not eaten anything since morning. And she would not eat or drink anything until her pooja is finished, not even in this threatening condition. She asked me to provide herself with oral medication. I did my best to explain her condition, but that was in vain. Her religious faith was stronger than my scientific logic.

***

The incident kept hovering in my mind the whole day, even for the next few days. I was completely dumbstruck by the overpowering victory of her faith over my rationale. Under the towering strength of blind faith, an ordinary person exemplifies such extraordinary determination. And that leads me to delve into the nature of religion. Examine any society or culture of the world, religion is the opium of masses. Of course, religion was not meant to be like this. At least I believe so. Religion should be the most personal thing within you. Instead, we have made it most socialized. A set of commandments or a bunch of hymns, followed unquestioningly by millions, make us a herd, not human. For most of the people, religion is the strongest identity, by which they identify themselves. Moreover, we have juxtaposed, most confusingly, culture with religion. This socialization of religion has made it so stiff, that to modify it, even slightly, is out of bounds for an ordinary soul. For a common man, his strongest identity is the thing, which sometimes seems alien to him. During our evolution, with domestication of animals and crops, we have unnecessarily domesticated a phenomenon, religion! And this domestication has made religion more virulent.

That is perhaps the reason, why, in spite of expansion of our intellectual horizon in almost every other field, we have constricted it in the field of religion. At the same time, when world is becoming a global village, religious extremism is scaling its peaks. Even the best minds of our time are not able to defy it. Ayman al-zawahiri and Praveen Togadia, both are medical doctors.  Be it fanaticism or self-mortification as in the incident above, the founthead for them is the same, that unquestioning submission. The best way to restrain this growing fanaticism is, perhaps, to unrestraint the religion itself…!!! 

THE NOSTALGIC INDIAN

Last year, when we moved to our new home after 20 years at our old home, my dad was a little reluctant to leave the place. Even after we settled at our new place, papa was not able to shed his nostalgia. We hadn’t moved to a different country. In fact, we hadn’t left the city. Our new home is barely 5 mins away from old home. It’s just changing your street. Still it’s potent enough to stir your emotions. The case is more or less same with every Indian. My dad is nostalgic about his neighborhood; we may be nostalgic about our city or our state or our culture.

***

This feeling is perhaps greatest in Indian psychology. And by Indian, I don’t mean just political India but the whole Indian subcontinent. We are not comfortable or even confident enough to lose our familiar settings and step into a different and perhaps a little tough one. Trying new things are alien to us. Underneath this fear is our so called cultural reins, that strangulate us when we try to break them.

Due to this fear of unknown, we never set out of subcontinent historically. Darius the great was able to break the boundaries of Persian homeland. Alexander and Genghis Khan stormed half of the world. But no Indian ruler was ever able to register his presence beyond Hindukush. Even at the peak of its glory, when Patliputra, today’s Patna, was the largest city of the world, Indian presence was limited to its homeland. When Rome became the largest metropolis in the world in 1^st century BCE, it started to expand its boundaries, eventually creating the byzantine and roman empires. When in 16^th century CE, London became the first city to attain 2 million mark, it had already started flexing its muscle. The point here is, with power comes the desire to conquer the unknown, which is constantly absent from Indian subconscious.

Put aside the geographical ambition, this trait is notable even in mental realms. That is the reason that Indians are best theoreticians and academics, but they are not vibrant patent holders. We invented zero, but not the binary system. We are the creators of Kamasutras, but not its practitioners. And this is also the reason for our unreasonable chauvinism. Because we are not ready to leave our comfort zone, we reject better opportunities, a better world, and stick to our beloved old world, however flawed it may be. Instead of accepting something better whole heartedly, we soothe ourselves with the fake solace of our nostalgic past.

Many examples can be cited, like why the adventure sports are not popular in India, why Indian companies, making multinational giants pant in the home market, fails to do the same when it comes to take on the International market. Despite the heartland of spices, Indians were never the controllers of that lucrative trade. They contended themselves with penny profits, while first Arabs and then English made staggering fortunes controlling the trade routes. No wonder that the peninsular India, traditionally less haunted with the demons of the past, with IT hubs of Bengaluru and Hyderabad, is the powerhouse of emerging India. Once again delve into the history and you will find the conformation. Cholas were the only Indian power extending their presence out of the subcontinent. That was perhaps the break point for peninsular India. And no wonder why India became the cultural melt pot of all the major faiths of the world, but the rainbow civilization thus created failed to travel beyond the boundaries. India even tamed the bloodthirsty lineage of Temur lane.

Today, our society is a society in flux. The gen next today tries to overthrow the cloak of the past. And during this attempt they confront with their parents, their family and their society. Some succeed to break the chains; others find themselves tangled between them. And there are extreme chances that these entrapped souls find themselves rotting into the same unreasonable chauvinists their predecessors were. Generation gap in India is, I think, nothing but the confrontation between these two groups. Those who wants to move on and those who wants to hang on.

In this new century, when we are aspiring to be a superpower, we have to uncover this strong veil. In the cutthroat competition with China to be a global superpower, this may be our greatest setback. The best example is that of Japan, who overthrew its nostalgia some 150 years ago, after the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Japan resuscitated itself from the feudal bloodshed of Samurai warriors and went on to be the only Asian power to join the race of colonization, while both Asian giants, India and China remained drowned into their golden slumber. It’s time to revitalize ourselves from that slumber. If this can be achieved, India would really shine on faces of 1.2 billion Indians, not on the government billboards!!!

A LETTER TO ANNA

Respected Sir,

                                For the past few days, I was musing upon the fate of Jan Lokpal Bill and it’s supposedly path breaking nature that has been hailed as never before in the history of world’s largest democracy. And then breaks the news of cabinet passing the draft of Bill, and civil society led by you confronting it in unison. That leads me to think that is the Bill really an all out solution for corruption in India.

                                Sir, I personally have highest regards for you as well as your persona, and I have no reason and least qualification to doubt your integrity, but can’t you see something manipulative going on under the hood in this whole issue. Sir, do you find this Bill, even if passed as per recommendations of Civil Society, so powerful that it can be an ultimate answer to corruption? Is it so effective that you find it justifiable to use rather unconstitutional ways for its passage?

                                Yes, Sir. I used the word “unconstitutional”, because it is not constitutional to deadlock government in framing laws even without being elected to Parliament. It contradicts the basic notion of democracy, and I don’t want to live in a democracy which shows even a scintilla of autocracy. Because, we have paid in past, and are still paying the huge price for the upkeep of this valuable system, ranging from (pseudo)secularism to sectarianism, and I don’t want it to be polluted with such a behavior. Rather I would support full fledged autocracy, so that at least we would be made to throw our false prejudices. But this is the most lethal combo, autocracy under the hood of democracy.

                                Sir, we don’t want new laws to be made. What do we want is just implementation of existing laws:  a strict implementation, a swift judgment and a solid punishment. Coming to some specific points of disagreement, the first point is about the purview of the Bill. Your view to extend the jurisdiction of Lokpal up to the Prime Minister seems over enthusiastic. You should have faith in your Prime Minister at least. Otherwise it is the mockery of democracy. Though we have the most corrupt government till date right now, we can’t say the same about our PM. Even in general conscience, Manmohan Singh is a clean PM, although a hugely impotent one. We can never question about integrity of Vajpayijee, as well. So for at least past a decade India has been ruled by two clean PMs. And with good faith, we can hope for the same in future. Real sharks are the ministers, MPs, secretariat babus and every another step of this foul bureaucracy. So, its time to go for a round table conference and extend the net to catch all this sharks under the ambit of bill rather than sticking to a single post. It’s time for some sensible trade.

                                Another tough turf is about the nature of Lokpal. Should its powers be only advisory or executive as well? Now, this is something that must be debated thoroughly by our parliamentarians and members of Civil Society. Lokpal with only advisory powers means a weak body without any real effect. But on the other way, If Lokpal is vested with executive powers as well, than there are highest chances of misuse of the office, as is been very common in our country. We have posts of Lokayukts in various states for some years now, but they are also vested with advisory powers only. Even the office of ombudsman in Scandinavian countries is also vested with advisory powers only. So, it can really be a point to prove your mettle if you can come up with an ingenious solution to this, sir.

                                Sir, you are proposing to set up Lokpal committees at district levels. In general conscience it is really palatable. Even an illiterate can understand that a committee made up of 8 members can’t keep check over corruption in the whole country. But then to form district level committees is never a sensible proposal. We already have anti corruption bureau, and if made to work with real vigor, it can be harnessed to produce same results as are expected with Lokpal. You are proposing to add another tier to the already sluggish and cumbersome bureaucracy. If the problem lies with in the anti corruption bureau then let’s make it more efficient, more transparent and more pro-public. But to mend the system for this is a real absurdity. Even if formed, who will keep check on such committees, a super Lokpal??? Misuse of power is inseparable from Indian psyche.

                                Yes sir, I agree with you that there is need for an effective Lokpal at center level with executive powers if possible. So, at least CBI can do its real work rather than running for the asses of these white collar criminals. But this can be achieved only by tactful diplomacy, not by creating useless gridlocks. And from this government, we can’t even expect that. Annajee, after this long struggle, you are on the verge of getting something, although not everything. Please grab this before it culminates into nothing. And then try for getting the remaining in a constitutional way so that you can give a formidable contest to a despotic government like this. We would support you wholeheartedly at that time. And still I think, Lokpal can be an answer for time being, but it is not the ultimate one. We need some core changes like an educated electorate, high levels of political awareness, a majority government etc.

                                At last, Annajee, please don’t go on fast. Blackmailing is a weapon to be used against outsiders and not against insiders. And fasting is a kind of emotional blackmailing. Moreover, I am quite sure about stubbornness of this government. And about igniting the rage of populace by going on fast, I am skeptical about that also. The nation which can tolerate absurd comments of its leaders after a terrorist attack, I don’t think, can burn with fire by a fast. Terrorism is still a more inflammable issue. Your sacrifice will go in vain, sir. And we still need you…


Note: I am not affiliated with any political organization.