Philosophically speaking, yes, these difficult times of which most of us are simultaneously victims and perpetrators, shall also pass. But by then, so will a generation or two
To say that there is a general sense of gloom in the environment, is to state the obvious. What is amazing is how life continues to be as usual for the high and mighty of the land. The high-end restaurants continue to run packed, the airlines are full of business-class passengers, the roads are clogged with expensive cars and the political elite with, some notable exceptions, continues to be inaccessible, aloof as if to say that such things keep happening.
The public domain is full of tokenism. There is an air of nonchalance. Official and classified files tend to disappear and when an occasional catch is made, alibis are available more easily than ever before. If there is a police encounter, it is fake; if there is a grisly act at the border, there are strenuous efforts to underplay it. Matters of rape and murder do not any longer make shrieking headlines. The response is a shrug or reconciliatory stoicism.
The attraction for Western degrees remains unabated. Even for an academic to be recognised in the country, he must have foreign publications and foreign jaunts to his credit. How a nation as talented as Bharat and as populous as it is, has come to such straits is inexplicable!
There was a time when the country had a moral reference point — be it in Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave or Jayaprakash Narayan. But that list has almost disappeared. Once in a while, one hears a name like Anna Hazare. His description by the serving Minister for Information and Broadcasting over a year ago, as the spokesperson of the ruling elite, would be in many memories. Statements like that are not made off the cuff or as an emotional outburst. They are carefully rehearsed and deliberately mouthed. The Anna Hazare movement finally split, not without some help from quarters who did not wish for it to be around.
Baba Ramdev’s movement, apart from the episode wherein state forces descended with full might on unsuspecting protesters in the dark of the night, is an unprecedented event in the annals of history. Yet, there was applause in some quarters for the ‘firm action’ taken.
The citations can be large, the examples numerous, and they can be found in all parts of the country. The reason is simple: There are elites in all parts of the country, they are entrenched, they are powerful and there is nothing random about their behaviour. The battle is no longer for the minds but for the ability to get away with anything.
If the Comptroller and Auditor-General raises questions, he is accused of crossing his constitutional mandate. If those without a voice take to the street, it is desecration of parliamentary democracy. If there is a hue and cry about poisoned mid-day meals, it is suggested that the resultant deaths were part of a political conspiracy. If somebody is caught in the act of corruption, it is a frame-up. The skill to spread confusion has become a fine art. Corruption has been so professionalised, that the corrupt may as well run degree and certificate courses.
It is possible philosophically to argue that this too shall pass but then so will generations. In an era where ineptness raises no hackles and efficiency seems to be the choice of a miniscule minority, it is not surprising that the lack of capability and concern is an enduring reality. Electrocution from naked wires in public places or accidents by untrained drivers is merely the more dramatic expressions of the lack of concern for capability and competency.
In an era where jobs and skills stand disconnected, and new wrongs are being institutionalised to right the old ones, optimism can only be a compulsion. One can only hope that these testing times, of which most of us are simultaneously victims and perpetrators, will come to pass as a generational tragedy.