Unitedly Diverse

Congrats David Cameron!! And Nick Clegg for making it happen. Time for some changes in good ol' Britain. I didn’t really follow the elections much, but thanks to twitter and a few political maniacs I follow, I pretty much got the gist. But this post isn’t about the British elections. No, it’s about a muddled up country which is known as the largest democracy in the world.
The recent elections in the UK and the US elections last year got me thinking on the system in India. Most countries have a two party system with third parties coming in to tip the balance. India used to have two major parties, right now new parties keep forming every day. With no clear majority, most govts in recent years are coalitions and even after forming the govt, allegiances keep shifting due to differing opinions. The adage “too many cooks spoil the broth” truly applies to India. The “cooks” have only succeeded in creating a hotchpotch, nothing else. No wonder we’re in such a mess.
Kids in school have always been taught that India is living proof of “unity in diversity”. But reality speaks otherwise. Look closely and you’ll see that the truth is the opposite; we are actually “diverse in our unity”. The very diversity that we flout is what makes it impossible for us to be united. The average Indian is a very confused soul. He is told that his first loyalty is to his country, but the poor guy lives in a community, which is in a state which is in the country. Add to that his religion and caste, and he’s stuck. He interacts more with the people of his community than with those who run the country. If he tries to stay out of it saying he’s an Indian first, people around will call him a coward (and trust me, nothing riles an Indian more than when someone calls him gutless, we’re a highly emotional & violent lot). Consequently, he gets dragged into narrow confines of caste, religion or state. Is this the unity we crave?
India united is, for me at least, an unrealistic vision. Why? Because we aren’t ready to let go of those notions that have been drilled into our psyche. Which leads to an even more interesting question, can India exist as a single country? We’ve been steadily disintegrating into states. It began with India and Pakistan, thanks to religion. Then we had Uttaranchal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, courtesy of a difference in class. In the past few years we have the demands for Gorkhaland and Telangana. India, like the USA aimed to be a single entity comprising of a confederation of states. In case of the US, they’re at least “united”. Can’t really say that for India now can we?
In a lighter vein,here's something special about us Indians, Indians hate Indians. The people from the south find north Indians too loud and brash, the "northies" think every south Indian is from madras and loves eating idlis,northies are always picking a fight, southies think they are way too smart just because their brains work faster than a calculator. we call the indians from the north west "chinkis" and then we say we're not racial!! And thanks to fairness creams (for both men and women) the southerners want to be as fair as those up north, just to balance the equation and prove we aren't Africans.
I’m sure there’s a bunch of us out there who really wish Indians would rise above those narrow walls confining us, but then let’s face it, I don't see it happening. It’s not impossible, but it requires a lot of patience and that none of us have. We’ll just have to while away time lamenting.

Religion-a must?????

Lets be frank, many of you will be wondering what prompted ME to write on such a topic. O don't worry, I’m not going through a crisis of faith or anything of that sort. Nor am i looking for divine intervention to show me the way. This piece is purely out of scholarly interest as i had to speak on this topic at a debate. Psst, don't tell the nuns, for all i know they might make me sit for cathechism remedials after class ;-)
It is often claimed by many people, that man cannot do without some kind of religion, because he is too weak to survive on his own. This, perhaps, is the reason that many religious theists find it incredulous that a person can not only live, but actually enjoy his life without religion. Lets call these guys Orthodox Religious or OR for short. So if you are an indian who’s decided to become an atheist or an agnostic, you need to watch out for the ORs.
First things first. Religion, for a majority of us starts at birth. You are taught the scriptures and rules of the religion your parents follow. And then you spend the rest of your life following it.
WHY??
Is it because you actually believe what is taught or are you just cozy in your comfort zone? Hmm, its usually the latter isn’t it? Let sleeping lions lie. But why stop those who wish to take a different path?
Some of the arguments put forward by the ORs are:
1. Religion is necessary for life to have meaning: Not true. For life to have meaning, you need to have something worth valuing. How much you value a person or a relationship depends on the choices you make. Nothing can teach you the value of a person.
2. Morals can only be taught by religion: Really?? In that case, Hitler, Bin Laden and Khomeni should be saints don't you think? As kids we’re all taught to differentiate right from wrong. Its our decision after that. For all you know, religion can give quite a warped sense of right and wrong.
The list of arguements is endless. But no one can deny the fact that religion is a bone of contention the world over. More so in a ‘secular’ country like India. How can you justify religion when it drives people to draw blood? And yet the truth is that most people are unaware of the basic essence of the faith they follow. All religions condemn killing, so holy wars and crusades don't get you to heaven. Every religion seems convinced that it is the original word of god and all other religions are only fit to be exterminated. i’m surprised this hasn’t caused a full scale war yet.
So, finally, do we need Religion? If you ask me, i’d say its a matter of personal choice. Just because a person decides s/he doesn’t need religion, it doesn’t mean that the person is evil and his/her soul is condemned to eternal damnation. Whats more important? That a person has a religion to fill into a government form? Or is it more important that he/she is a decent human being?
For me, thats what matters most, that you are a good human being. Everything else is secondary. I dont care if you're a christian, a hindu or a muslim. As long as you know how to treat a fellow human, i'd be proud to call you my friend. And a line from Tagore rings loud in my ears, maybe because its been drilled in over the ears as a daily prayer. Most people just recite the words without meaning it, but just take a minute and it'll make sense.
'where the world has not been broken up;
into fragmenby narrow domestic walls;
into that heaven of freedom my father,
let my country awake.'

Have a Heart?

The recent spate of violence all over the country has upset a vast majority of us, even those who weren't directly involved. The most recent of course is the terrorist attack in Mumbai. The fact that the terrorists gained such easy access to such prominent hotels is enough to scare the living daylights out of anyone. The loss of so many innocent lives is very disheartening, and yet another thing that gnaws at my mind is the statement that we Indians are a resilient lot, we manage to bounce back to normal routine soon.
Granted the fact that none of us likes to dwell on such issues for long, we try getting into our normal routine to get over our grief. But is this becoming a habit? Have we started accepting such brutal violence as a part of our lives?
I've lost count of the number of bombings and attacks both communal and terrorist that have taken place in India in the last two years itself. It seems to be the same story everytime. Sure the day the bombings take place, all the local people are united, they help each other out. That's good, but what after that? The government announces a paltry sum to the victims as compensation and most of the time even that rarely reaches the right hands. After that starts the blame game by the netas, all their empty promises, the speeches of 'if we were in power we would have done so and so'. Who's concerned about the grieving families? And in a couple of weeks its all forgotten about, the news channels get something new.
We've grown so used to all the violence that we seem to be practically immune to it now. I recall an incident that took place a few years ago that clearly drove that point home. On my way back home i'd come across an accident between a truck and a car. The car was a mangled wreck and quite obviously, the driver didn't survive. And yes there was a lot of blood over the place.The traffic was moving pretty slowly as they had to manoeuvre around the crash. A school bus was passing by and i doubt those kids were any more than about 12 years of age. I expected them to be upset by the sight, i knew i was, yet the only exclamation i heard from them when they saw the wreck was 'cool!!' That was not a reaction i ever thought i'd hear for an accident. But i guess that's the kind of world we live in now. We see so much of fighting, bloodshed all around us that we just kind of switch off the emotions that come up. Its just that initial; reaction, after that, time to get on with it.
I not sure if what i've just said is true. I sincerely hope its not, because if it was, if we didn't have a heart, we'd cease to be human right? But even with all this, we still come across people who are willing to reach out, who feel the pain that others do. Sure we all feel it, it's just that it takes that extra ounce of courage to reach out. So inspite of it all, there's always hope....... And lets not forget all those bravehearts who gave their lives, they deserve to be remembered.
ciao ;-)