Our style of Response
Instantaneous response is not sufficient to address deep rooted problems
I was just thinking of some political situations around the world and in my country India. I will mention of two events as pointers.
- There was a rape and murder of a young medical doctor in one of the prestigious medical colleges of Kolkata. After that, there was a big uproar in the media and on the streets; the strike by the young doctors went much more than the normal strikes/protests after such an incident. The case is going on in courts; the culprits may be punished. Yes, the issue might have lost much of its political mileage and media mileage after such a long time; it stayed for quite a long time in our memories, that itself is a big thing. It’s good to ask, whether the systemic issue, raised by doctors and others through so many articles (even by some politicians) will be addressed post that horrific incident.
- Kerala (like many other states) are facing natural calamities in the last couple of years. Yes, they are different kinds of calamities and each can’t be categorised as one and the same thing. The world appreciates a Kerala model of rescue-work. The fraternity and helping nature of the people are very visible. Political parties compete along with many associations to be part of this rescue-work. Yes, it gives them a certain visibility, but these activities are extremely significant for the suffering people. The question I like to ask is, how many political parties are interested in continuing this discussion and in finding feasible solutions to the problems, so that the future loss and damage will be reduced, if not eliminated.
By pointing my fingers at two examples, I am not saying that nothing good or no good policy decisions happen in my country. But why there is a huge response at the moment of that particular incident, which is forgotten in the long run, and why it is not leading to any systemic responses. After a certain time, the events may not evoke feelings/ emotions as it did during the time of the event? But it is not that these moments have been entirely lost from our memory (it rests at the back of our head). So they continue to occupy a space in our memories.
And the general public is sad, angry, upset about these things; it may not be always at the boiling point, but the feelings are stored up there. And we occasionally satisfy ourselves with the oft repeated comment, “All politicians are corrupt, they don’t do anything for us, but only for them. And we can’t do anything.” Is this the best response, a good question to ask.
And occasionally, this is the best time for a populist leader to come. S/he will project oneself as an outsider (not like other politicians); s/he will speak a language that vibes with our suppressed anger and sadness. And they appear as the Messiah. The experiences around the word have shown that these leaders are difficult to deal with once they got into power.
Rather than politicians continuing in the same way, or a populist leader coming with great promises to power, a grassroot revolution, which is decentralised, is the need of the hour. I am sure many of you may have watched this video of Dhruv Rathee; he draws a map for something like this. We don’t have make him a messiah too. But he draws a beautiful pathway which needs further addition from many others, which needs collaboration, co-operation and vision
