Have we moved to a point where much-needed social movements are altogether absent? Those present no longer catch peoples fancy. India is besotted with problems that cannot be solved through party politics: Sectarianism rising out of the widespread feeling in every religious, caste and regional community that they have got a raw deal from the state. Yes, they have. But a big part of the problem is that none of these communities has done enough to deserve a better position in the nations demographics: Hindu or Muslim, Brahmin or Shudra, big State or small State, dominating language or receding language… Lifestyle and attitudinal changes are required for each to have a say in societys scheme of things. Hindus are too casual; Muslims forever complaining; Brahmins hardly Brahminical; Dalits not looking beyond reservations; big States an administrative nightmare; small States politically unstable; dominating languages falling in grammatical standards; receding languages failing to hold ground due to rigidity; farmers paranoia about technology; consumers lack of political platform… None of these issues except that of States has a holistic solution that can be offered by a political party. An aspect that constrains the popularity of a social movement is the compulsion to be led by an NGO. It is not a law, but an NGO is made to create an instrument of fund collection. On the flip side, an NGO being a limited structure behaves like a small club with a motley group enjoying privileges. Such an undemocratic set-up cannot endear to the people unless its leaders hit the streets with a pop agenda and turn the internal structure of the NGO irrelevant in the matter of membership. Arvind Kejriwals Parivartan and PCRF did it, but they can no longer be treated as bipartisan entities after the formation of the AAP. After her poll debacle, Medha Patkar is trying to make the Narmada Bachao Andolan stand once again on its own, meeting with little success. Her Facebook posts elicit less responses than womens updated profile pictures do. PV Rajagopal was not sure whether to continue as an NGO head or plunge into party politics for the cause of the homeless when last heard. There is no group urging Hindus to appreciate their religion as much as their way of life. There is no Muslim outfit stressing the communitys need for modern, mainstream education. No caste mahasabha explains why castes must continue in modern India, leaving its members confused about the relevance of their membership in the caste. There are no literary greats that can usher in a new epoch in indigenous linguistics; आधुनिक काल is no काल at all; it has no characteristic feature unlike the भक्ति काल or रीति काल… We are listless people living in an aimless era, who know the road is wrong, but have no idea what the destination is. So all that we can do day in and day out is complain.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 04:24:13 +0000
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