Ok, what next?

Ok, What next?

 

Dear Friends,

 

It is around 3 weeks since the terror attacks on Mumbai happened and I can already sense a lull around me. I must admit that the protest rally that took place at the Gateway a week after the attacks surprised me for the sheer magnitude of the event. To be frank, when 2 of my friends told me they were going to attend it, I had thought they might be amongst the 20 odd people who would gather. Of course, my estimations were grossly inaccurate. Thankfully.

 

But yes, even the day after the event, I was wary of one thing - what next? You see, the purpose of a rally is to make a lot of noise and gain attention. It is a little like you banging your desk during a debate or GD to grab the attention of the other members. The moment you get them looking at you, you MUST put forth your point. If you are incapable of using that split second effectively, your bang is no better than a whimper. Just the same way, now that we have the attention of our government, what do we do? Some reshuffling in the Centre and State Cabinets is not what we want to settle for right? 

 

We should have chartered some concrete and 'practically feasible' things to do. 'Practically feasible' becomes really important here. I have heard things like 'stop paying taxes'! Now how is that going to make things easy? We are up against a systemic problem, and a systemic problem needs systemic solutions. We cannot fight/change the system by staying out of it. But, aah, easier said than done!

 

People say don't vote for the current idiots. But then, we aren't really spoilt for choice in this aspect. At the end of the day, we have to elect someone. And lets face it, do we think the next leader we will elect is going to be some sort of a miracle messiah of values? In our hearts, we all know, the name will change, but the (mis)deeds are going to be not very different. 

 

Moreover, people like you and me who have access to this article through any means have the luxury of time to think of these issues and cast a 'more educated' vote. But again, how much difference will that make? The votebanks for these politicians rest not in the corridoors of the Taj and Oberoi, but in the slums and poor villages of the country. We are talking about people for whom every second is a fight for survival. Every thought is on how to obtain the next piece of bread. You buy these people their food for a month running up to the elections and you have bought their votes. You can close down the BSE and NSE and you and me will make a hue and cry, but life will go on as usual for most people. But you raise the price of onions, and believe me, the government will lose the elections.

 

You might be thinking I am just being very cynical towards the thing. I would rather say I am accepting reality with a pinch of salt. I do not have the intelligence to say what we, as a society, can do. But yes, as individuals, there definitely are a couple of things that we can do.

 

First, lets say a complete NO (in capital!) to corruption. It would be fantastic if you would fight corruption in every form, but that is a little idealistic and impractical. But surely, you could stop indulging in paying a bribe at your level? You could argue as to how this is related to terrorism. Yes, it is! You see, corruption is just throwing black money into the system. That is money that is not accounted for! You don't know where and how it is going to be used. Some simple math - imagine 2 lakh people at the gateway. We pay that measly 50 rupees to buy out the traffic policeman who caught us for breaking the signal. If each of us did that, we have introduced 1 crore of unaccounted money. And boy, that money might have gone to dance bars, from their to the extortionists, from there to the underworld kings, from there to the terrorist organisations. Maybe that was the money that bought a few AK-47s. And sold off some priceless lives... Also, every time we pay a bribe, we are fostering a sense of greed in those people. Ultimately, it is this greed that has overpowered the individuals to such an extent that all they are interested in is making money, neglecting their basic responsibilities and duties in this pursuit.

Surely this won't be very easy. The generation above you would say my ramblings just indicate my javani ka josh. But I call it the positive energy and optimism that we the youth possess. Let us use this to weed out this mentality. Accept a little hardship, sacrifice a little convenience. It can be done.

Second, it is important that there is much more broadened social upliftment. And I believe, the social gap is best filled by knowledge. Let us all do whatever we can in spreading education amongst people. This is going to be a lot tougher, but let us just be aware that it needs to be done. Sooner or later, we will get a chance to do something. And it would be great if we do it.

These are couple of musings I had, just wanted to put it across. Even if this article makes you ponder for a moment, I will be happy. Would be glad if you could post a comment and say if you agree or disagree with my point of view. Also, if you have any other resolutions that you have taken as an individual, please list them as a comment. Let us all actually do something.

 

Looking forward to your co-operation.