What is it that we expect from Doctors? Simplistically put, that they should treat
suffering with compassion and they should cure malaise. What is it that we
expect from an actor? That he should act well – he should entertain, he should
select his movies in such a way that the movie, at the end, giveth something to
the viewer and not taketh away. What is it that we expect from the policeman –
that he should protect. What is it that
we expect from the Judge – that he should dispense justice fairly, quickly and
as per the laid down law. What is that we expect from journalists? That they
should report the news in as fair and unbiased manner as possible. What do we
expect from an army man – that he should defend the country from threats – mostly
external. What do we expect from politicians? I will come to that in a moment.
Now to the question that is troubling me. Picture
this. I am a 42 year old Hindu male and I have recently been diagnosed with a
rare malignant brain tumour. What do I do? I go to the best possible neurosurgeon
to get this operated upon. The surgeon agrees to do the operation. The surgeon
has an excellent track record of successfully operating these types of tumour.
Now, just before the surgery, I come to know that this neurosurgeon has an
extra marital affair. His family life is troubled. Also, this neurosurgeon is a
practising Muslim. His favourite meal is a well done beef steak. Now what
should I, a devout traditional Hindu do? Does it pose a moral or ethical
dilemma for me? Do I consider these factors and refuse to get operated on. Nah. Not a chance. And rightfully so. What concerns
and should concern all patients in similar situations is one and only one
question. And that is, how good is a surgeon is this guy? Everything else is beside
the point. None of my business. As far as I am concerned, this guy can have a
dozen extra marital affairs and be a Jew or a Christian or for that matter an
atheist. I simply don’t give a damn. This same example can be used for actors.
If I admire or hate Salman Khan on the screen it’s only and only because of his
acting prowess or lack of it. If I spend money on a ticket and watch a Salman
Khan movie, I expect to see some fine acting. Ii expect to be entertained for
those two and half hours. I really don’t give a damn about the religion,
political beliefs, eating habits, toilet practices and personal hygiene of Salman
Khan. I have the right only to admire or criticise his acting qualities.
Because he is an actor and I have paid money to see his acting.
My point is – everyone in this society has a specific
function, a prime role if you will. It may have been decided by that person
himself or it may have been decided for him by circumstances. But he has to
discharge that particular role to the best of his abilities. That is
non-negotiable. Everything else is or at least should be the concern of the people
affected. People may say that no person can be defined on only one role that
person plays. I agree. There are some matters where we can voice our opinion if
we choose to. For e.g. I may say that if instead of Salman Khan any other
person had to face the trial of running over innocent poor people sleeping on
the footpath when driving a SUV in an inebriated condition, that person would
have been long back locked up and the keys forgotten. But here again, it was
Salman Khan. He had the clout, the influence and the money to get away with a supposedly
bad judgement. He did. I may grumble, I may whine but that is that. Those are
the privileges that come with money and influence. He had those and he used
those to get away scot free (well almost). No amount of cribbing is going to
change that. What could have been done instead was that the investigating
agencies should have a done a better job, got irrefutable evidence, resisted
being threatened or bribed and presented the judiciary with appropriate
evidence and the judiciary would then have done its role for which its there.
So again, my discussion boils down to the fact that if every person or agency
carries out its role diligently and to the best of its abilities, it won’t take
long for our nation, any nation for that matter, to be transformed in to working
as a well-oiled piece of machinery.
As a responsible citizen, I try to keep up with the
affairs that concern governance in this vast nation of a billion plus. For that
I rely on television or printed news. But this is what worries me. Since the
last almost two years, invariably (except on occasional days), the entire media
(both print as well as television) are obsessed with presenting news that focus
on issues related to religion. Every bit of news that is presented boils down
to Hindu Muslim issues. And as if that were not enough, there is not a single channel
which is trying to present just the facts and let the viewers (readers) form an
opinion. Opinions are being made and these are being thrust down the gullet of
a gullible population. Opinions were supposed to be restricted to the
editorials or guest columns. But now, there is simply no news reporting. It’s
all about my view and theirs. I object to this. I consider myself capable
enough to form my own opinions. Spare me yours. Just give me the facts in as
unbiased a manner that you can. Leave the opinion making to me. Give me news on
what’s happening in the agriculture sector, in health, on the state of the
economy, on the impact of the falling crude prices, on inflation, on bank
rates, on market performance. Give me news on sports, on entertainment, on
science and technology. I can go on and on. Let me choose what to watch. Let me
decide. Let me form my own opinion. Is that too much to ask? But turn on any
news channel, especially at prime time and you will get a host of rabid panelists, screaming murder at the top of their voices, rudely interrupting each
other with the anchor trying to out do the panelists – in short mayhem reigns
supreme. And the issues of debate (debate mind you – not news) mostly revolve
around or end up in religion. Hindu Muslim. The more vitriolic the program, the
more venom spewing ‘foaming at the mouths’ panelists, higher the TRPs. It has all
boiled down to a TRP game. I mean come on. Enough is enough. This is downright
scary. Where are we headed?
Coming to the JNU issue. From what I understand –
and please understand that my comprehension of the matter is severely
compromised due to the absence of rational fact presenting news - a group of
students raised their voice against the country at the JNU. They raised
objectionable slogans like we will break the country, we want independence from
India and Afzal Guru was wrongfully hanged. Lets understand one thing. This happened at
the JNU. Now, the JNU has a tradition, a history of this. This is not the first
time it happened and certainly won’t be the last. This is probably the only
college where students are actually encouraged to voice their opinion. They are
taught to state their opinion irrespective of what the conventional wisdom
says. If a group feels that Afzal Guru was hanged wrongfully, they are
encouraged to say this and debate on this. I have had the opportunity of
spending a few evenings at their canteens on the campus and frankly speaking I have
been impressed. The debates that take place are truly remarkable for the depth
of content and insight. If a group says that Kashmiris have been treated
wrongfully and that they have been refused a right to vote for their
independence from India, the group is allowed, in fact encouraged to say this,
to debate this. Remember that these are students. Many are PhD scholars with
multiple master’s degrees. Having a Govt sponsored institution that actually
encourages debates, encourages voicing of opinions, to my mind, is a truly noble
thing. PDP, the ruling political party at Kashmir shares the exact same
opinions on Afzal Guru, Kashmir Militancy and the Kashmir independence
movement. Also remember that this is the very same Govt that the BJP supports
in Kashmir. The same Govt. with which the BJP rules over Kashmir. And it’s the same
BJP that cracks down on students for voicing the very same opinions. Many parts
of the country for that matter want independence. The Nagas want it, most north
eastern states want it, half of the country under Left Wing Extremists want it.
Wanting something, voicing an opinion, raising their demands is not wrong.
Using violence to do so is. Taking innocent lives in the process is wrong. Taking
the law in to the hands is wrong. And equally wrong is cracking down on
students sharing their opinion. Using police brutality on these students
protesting peacefully is wrong. Allowing lawyers and policemen to thrash them,
that too on the premises of our august courts is wrong. And the worst is when
the leadership remains mum on this. Our ex PM, the learned Manmohan Singh, has
been brutally targeted for remaining mum on many important issues. He did not
have any kind of majority. He was a victim of dynasty politics as well as
coalition pressure. And by nature he was a reticent man. But the current PM is voluble
to say the least. His party rode in to power on his ability to speak. He has
the gift of the gab and he displays that at every given opportunity. He has the
backing of an overwhelming majority. And he decides to keep quite on all the
issues that are the staple of prime time. On the Pune Film Institute fiasco, on the beef killing, on the Malda
issue. A true statesman, a PM is a PM first and Hindu second. He is an indian
first and a Hindu second. He is the PM of the entire country and not just
Hindus. And yet he chooses to remain quite while the media anchors and their
political and religious panellists continue to spew venom gleefully.
The here is the worst part, the one that should
sadden all Indian hearts. We have not even spared our Jawans and officers of
the military. The military in our country is the one agency which does what it
is supposed to do. That is, defend our country from threats, both external and
internal. And they have been doing a magnificent job - sometimes paying for it
with their lives. And unfortunately they have been dragged in to cesspool. They
are quoted as examples by people who do not have a modicum of integrity, who do
not have even a basic understanding of patriotism or sacrifice. The best
tribute, in fact the only tribute we can pay these martyrs is by doing what
they do on a daily basis – that is doing our respective jobs to the best of our abilities – like they do.
If a group shouts anti India slogans, most citizens
should, and rightfully so, feel offended. Fair enough. Feeling offended is
right. But then there is a laid down system to deal with it. There are laws.
There are courts. The concerned authorities should take action as per this laid
down law. The media should report the fact. And move on. The surest
way to cause further damage is to keep harping on it for weeks, to keep this
highlighted till everybody gets involved. In the process, the truth gets lost,
the laws are forgotten and everyone with half a brain turns judge jury and prosecutor.
This will only spread the movement further get all colleges involved, lead to rallies,
dharnas and violence and normal life goes for a toss. The focus shifts from
governance and its related issues to this bullshit. A non-issue becomes an
issue. The hard earned image of the country is destroyed and none of the
promised investments come. India gains a reputation of a rigid right wing
communal country where the lawyers drag and thrash students on court house premises
while the police and the politicians watch on and the media vultures thrive on
this carcass of democracy. Everything goes, everything is lost in this. And who
suffers? Who bears the brunt? The media? The politicians? Nah – its you and me.
The solution is simple. Do your portion to the best
of your abilities. Engage with people who have an opinion that differs from
yours. Debate with them. Adhere to the law of the land. Understand that there
are no right and wrong in most cases. Understand that a person is never right
or wrong in totality. Everyone is an intriguing and eclectic mix of ideas and
opinions shaped by multiple factors ranging from genetics, education,
circumstances and upbringing. Encourage good and rational journalism. Channels
only show what people want. They are only and only concerned with TRPs and the
ensuing profits. Hear the dissenting voice with respect. If I do not agree with
your opinion I have all rights to say so. However, I do not have a right to
abuse your mother or your sister or to try and kill you just because I do not
agree with you and don’t have the moral courage or intellect to debate with you.
That is insane. Killing people over age old eating habits is insane. Killing
people because someone worships a different god is insane. The guy who coined
the term ‘Hindutva’ himself was an atheist and never condoned eating beef. Read the Manu Smriti upon which many practices
of Hinduism are based on. There are sections which will disgust you. Read the
Rig Veda. There are sections which encourage eating of cow meat. I can kill a
goat and eat it, I can kill a chicken and eat it, I can kill any living being
and eat it and it’s all right but I can’t kill a cow and eat it. I can murder
hapless animals and eat meat on Wednesdays but I can’t touch meat on Tuesdays. True
Hinduism, is based on two simple principles – Satya and Ahimsa. Ahimsa by
definition means not eating flesh. Period. True Hinduism is based on the
concepts of Dharma and Karma. Before claiming to be even remotely Hindu, let me
find out what my Dharma is – what my karma is and whether I am true to those.
Let me give up eating flesh. Let me stop telling lies. Let me read a bit of
unbiased history and find out that when all political parties (except the
Muslim League) unanimously boycotted British Rule and elections under it, which
organization actively joined hand and partnered with the Muslim League and
strongly advocated prolonging British Rule in India. And then I can try and
preach Hinduism. Till then let me keep my damn trap firmly shut and not advise others.
I sometimes really miss the previous ‘corrupt to
the core’ government. At least then we had something to be outraged about. The
current scenario just makes me cringe with disgust.
