An average Indian’s life is determined not by politics, but by economy and matters affecting his life on day-to-day basis
There is something about the national discourse on polity, economy and society which needs attention. The story goes that when Alexander the Great invaded Punjab, while the hordes of Greece and India were fighting to death in the battlefield, the scene in the adjoining plot was different.
Agriculturists were tilling the soil, supremely disdainful of what was happening in the neighbourhood. Obviously, the interpretation of this phenomenon will be a factor of the vantage point of perception of the person’s interpretation. The purpose of this writer is to highlight the limitations of the impact of the political goings-on in the life of an average Indian.
An Indian citizen in the valley of Kashmir or in the dales of Kasaragod is not necessarily affected by who is going up in the affections and has access to power in New Delhi and who is being transferred and who is being promoted.
An average Indian has his life determined by the economy of the context, the infrastructure of the region and matters which affect his life on a day-to-day basis.
He is more interested in knowing how to make his ends meet and that he is not affected by traffic jams of the National Capital Region, important as this may be for the citizens who live in the national capital.
Today, the foremost concern for an Indian, besides his meals and his habitat, is: Where does he get his child educatedIJ At every level of the society, there is a social mobility process, which is the driving force of many adult Indians.
They are looking for jobs and livelihood for themselves and their children. They want the quality of life to improve, not necessarily with air-conditioners and micro-ovens, but with access to pure clean drinking water, unadulterated cereals and vegetables. The list can be long, but this writer believes that the point has been made.
Specifically, the so-called national dailies and national channels seem to have more time for what sensationalises and titillates. There is nothing wrong with the sensationalisation and titillation. It does bring to those, who provide economic gains and advantages.
The point that is being made here is that nation-building is not the same thing as the financial gains of a few.
The fourth estate and content provider of the fourth estate, not to forget the self-proclaimed intellectuals, have a right and an obligation to set the pitch and to lead the social discourse upfront.
The above plea may be read as an attempt to push the cart of social consciousness to a higher level of speed and more fulsomeness.
Occasional description of human stories and some recitation of poetry, not to forget the other poems of creative writers, do help but they go only so far and no further.
A healthy society will be put in its place by a robust social discourse.
After all is said and done, intellectual leadership is at the vanguard of the search for directions and, indeed, is the basis to funneling the resources at the Government.
To put it simply: If the understanding of the full social reality and an all-India landscape of the economy at the micro level is incomplete or faulted, then the channelisation of the resources and the allocation of the support systems is going to be to that extent eschewed. This, to that extent, is a national loss.
There is a clear difference between the range and the potency of the national English Press and the local Indian languages print media. Similarly, so far as the power elite is concerned, it is far more comfortable with the national English channels than the regional electronic media.
It is a fact of life that the viewership of Hindi channels is huge and the readership of the Indian language Press is very large.
However, numbers do not always matter. The important thing is to be able to be heard where it matters to be heard.
Being able to deliver the right content at the key point of decision-making is important and will critically determine the nature of development. For this, home-grown leaders, with a sense of earthiness and bureaucrats, with familiarity with the local ethos are essential.