Social Catharsis III

Change is inevitable and an existence hard to imagine without that change. The importance of societal reforms is well known and innumerable instances from history echo this truth. Reform is a weapon to prove that People make Society and NOT vice versa; to prove that nothing is impossible; to prove that whatever is difficult to attain, hard to conquer, tough to implement is easy to live in. A change would continue the societal churning - in the hope that Society as a system would be less imperfect. Reform starts from within an individual. Changing one's line of thinking, hard as it is to do, points in the direction of societal reform. The biggest hurdle in a reform is changing oneself since each person has an individuality that he finds hard to do away with. Each Individual learns from his experiences and in doing so takes them as a benchmark to evaluate others’ experiences. This might cause more harm than do good since it stems from the concept of generalization.

To bring about a change in the thought process of another individual is equally difficult. The individual might not even possess certain lines of thought which one hopes to imbibe in him. He might not want to entertain any such “advice” from anybody at all. He might not be equipped enough to understand the rights and wrongs, legal or otherwise. To an extent, this is very subjective and varies from person to person but the laws, which define rights and wrongs in legal terms, are meant to be followed by one and all. It’s fundamental in the functioning of a democracy. But this has been flouted on all grounds and justified too.

There is a popular restaurant located in a very popular residential area in Bangalore. The fact that it is a commercial establishment located in the midst of a residential area gives rise to innumerable questions in one’s mind - Questions on the legality of the same. That apart, the restaurant has been doing good business and even provides car-service. This service has been the cause of intolerable pain for the residents in the vicinity. In the evenings, on an average, the service starts at maybe 6.00 and goes on till late night. That this is exasperating for the residents is an understatement. But thanks to some socially conscious individual, the authorities have erected two “No Parking” boards which disallow parking in that stretch for a length of around 25 feet. This seemed like a relief to the residents who thought the menace will finally come to an end. But it was not to be. Customers who make use of the car-service still continue to park their cars, some right under the board!!! Well, most of them are well-versed in English, I am sure. But when it comes to obeying certain guidelines, some people make their own, in reply to those guidelines. Such is the state of affairs in the country. When I approached the owner and tried to sensitize him on the happenings and that they are not appropriate, he came up with an atrocious reply. He said that since everyone is paying road tax, it’s up to that person to use the road in any which way. Lovely! Needless to say, the authorities were informed and action duly taken.

This speaks volumes about the uphill task we have ahead of us when we talk about reform or change. It also warns us of the myriad shades of the people around us. Most importantly, it also proves that unless we voice, nothing will ever change – however small that change might be. Change is never impossible. The biggest hindrance to any change is the tendency of people to not change. It is also the biggest challenge involved. This tendency to not change should in no way deter one from the battle for reforms. Once such obstacles are overcome, society would be reckoned as a better binding entity than it was before that transformation. Only when the person is confident and firmly believes in the change can he communicate it to others. Only when he is reformed can he reform. Hence, in my opinion, it’s very important to be firm in your beliefs towards a change and be firm in your attitude towards change. It’s when beliefs are weak or deterred owing to external pressure that the integrity of a person is questioned and brought to light. Moreover, the change that he wanted to bring about would also be eyed with suspicion and buried for good by the thick clouds of doubt and distrust.

Recently, a politician’s comment about a private entrepreneur’s inability to deliver has brought to light the so-called government-private divide. The politician alleged that the entrepreneur, known for his value-based administration, has done very little on certain infrastructure. The politician has occupied powerful positions in the past. He is known to come out in public with slanderous and derogatory remarks aimed at a person/organization quite often. The entrepreneur submitted his resignation. Aspersion is the last thing that is required in a country that’s developing at a tremendous pace. It acts like a deterrent, a non-achiever and should be nipped in the bud so that it stops for good. In my opinion, there are two sides to this particular tale. A person will come up with allegations, but does that mean the alleged sits quietly? Does it mean that those allegations need not be refuted? Does it imply that if the alleged is silent and is thriving on the people-base he has, he need not justify himself? I think not. On the other hand if someone does not refute, suspicion clearly eyes him. The entrepreneur could have come out and talk with all his belief, talk with all his honesty, talk with all his hard-work, fight for truth and NOT resign and give into the politician. A resignation would actually mean he is evading responsibilities and lacks determination to fight to bring truth to justice. This seems to be a case of beliefs being weak or deterred owing to external pressure. It’s disheartening to see such an achiever buckle under pressure. I think he has been pampered to a large extent by the society, deified if I may. Hence, any acerbic remark directed at him would meet with immediate submission. This would, in turn, lead people to believe that he has, indeed, done very little. Also, it would seem like the slander shot by the politician might be right and that he is indeed focused on reforms. It’s easy to point a finger at someone else and wash one’s hands off the problems. But it’s terrible to wash one’s hands off the problems when he has done nothing wrong but has been accused of doing so.

This sad episode suffers from the anathema of pre-conceived notions in the minds of the people. We tend to rate a person on his personality, appearance, achievements and fail to see each of these achievements in isolation. We have a thought in our mind that the politician in question is pathetic in communicating and hence he is just killing time making allegations. On the other hand, the entrepreneur has gifted people with a new lease of life ensuring an exponential raise in the standard of living of those involved with the industry. Therefore, in the minds of people, he is an achiever. But, if this incident is taken in isolation, it seems the entrepreneur has given in to the allegation with his resignation. This act seems to display one’s incapacity to deal with pressure. Pre-conceived notions stem from the inability of a person to align himself with change – change in his thoughts. We, the people, should weigh facts against our perceptions, voice our opinion, and more importantly work towards the common goal - transformation. Judgment through perception is detrimental to reforms but analysis of perceptions helps in achieving it.

On another note, Bangalore witnessed floods some time back. Never has it happened before. The low-lying areas were almost submerged in water. The city had come to a halt for one or two days. The effects still remain. How can a plateau region have floods? This was a question asked by countless inhabitants of the city. Bangalore, at least in the 60s, had around 400 lakes. Now, it has just 64. It is a staggering statistic and a proof of industrialization encroaching upon nature. Owing to this, the catchments and their respective capacities have been drastically reduced. This eventually led to the flood situation that prevailed in the city. Why and when were lakes converted to residential layouts/industries? Who gave the permission to do so without consulting the natural reserves department or the environment ministry? These questions need to be answered and answered quickly. There has been a needless and a mindless encroachment by builders across the city. They have ignored storm-water drains, drainage system, have failed to connect roads and other basic amenities to the residents. The only objective on their mind seems to be more and more encroachment and expansion of their hold in the city. We should (as lots of active citizens are doing) voice our concerns over this terrible act of negligence. This has to be brought to an end. Thanks to a lot of active citizens and media coverage, I think we will see light at the end of the tunnel in this respect.

Of late, a lot of change has been witnessed in the media. They are more concerned about the basic amenities provided to people. They report on the bad roads in your city and actually follow up on the same till it is fixed. This is really great to see. Mobilization of people-strength and its channelization in the right direction. There are news agencies trying to unearth truth like there is no tomorrow. We have seen a lot of crime being unraveled on TV thanks to investigative journalism. One such incident was the imposition of a dress code by a reputed University in India. The dress code included “light shirt and dark trousers” for guys and salwar, sarees (NO Jeans) for the ladies. Jeans was considered to be a source of “distraction”. A new student went on the first day in dark red shirt. He was subjected to severe beating by the authorities in a college affiliated to the university in question. Media rushed to the spot and got the principal talking. He stood by the “dress code” system. The student was shell-shocked. He was in a state of trauma. The Dress code still persists.

In a country which is proud of the fact that its culture is a confluence of all the world-cultures, is there a need to impose such a draconian law? Does this point towards reforms? An Individual’s dressing is not a mirror into his mind. An individual can not be assessed based on his attire. All these are borne out of the concept of generalization talked about, earlier. The real reform would be to counsel and guide those individuals who find jeans to be “distracting”. A reform would be to change one’s perceptions and not take those perceptions as a standard and change everything around, to suit that perception. A reform would enable a person to change his view of himself and people around him. Any kind of imposition would be met with dissent, active or passive. More importantly, an imposition is not a reform whatsoever. It does not inculcate the feeling of change in a person. It does not give him the reason to believe in that change. On the contrary, it will give rise to an aversion in the individual’s mind. He would be unable to appreciate the “rule” too. None of these factors point in the direction of progress. They are as much a hindrance to an individual’s development as they are to a nation’s development. It is high time we stop taking these so-called rules for granted and stand up against them. An attack on one’s freedom (defined as one’s independence without infringing on other’s independence and space) is against the basic foundation of our freedom struggle, its philosophy and its ideals. Such acts of dictatorship must be dealt with in the harshest possible way.