Faust, Knowledge, Indian politics and why I will not vote
At first glance it almost seems like a typo. What has the good doctor F got to do with our dear politicians.
The politicians have all sold their souls, you may snigger, but then, say I, that does not mean they have got unlimited knowledge in return. And this is not a rant on money making politicians.
From time immemorial, knowledge has always been kept under wraps, mostly within the confines imposed by religion. The internet threatens that by making it accessible to all. And that is why, most countries which are under a non democratic setup (and even others, which are not) try and block access at the first sign of tension.
Hold this thought while I get back to the issue of politics.
I have grown up with a certain disdain for politics. I guess, I am putting that lightly, disgust would be a more appropriate word and I still have that taste in my mouth when the word comes up in discussion. But as Steven Speilberg made Lincoln say in the eponymous movie, "You can do more good in politics than in any other sphere. You can end slavery, open opportunity and fight poverty. But you can achieve these things only if you are willing to stain your own character in order to serve others - if you are willing to bamboozle, trim, compromise, be slippery and hypocritical."
Women and men have worked hard to achieve democracy and no less in our country too. Democracy is no utopia but it is the best option there is. We watched in wonder as Barrack Obama came through a wave of "we want change" and became President of the most powerful democracy in the world. And suddenly we want the same today too.
But, what we do not understand is that democracy should not be confused with majoritarian views. A democracy is not about 51% wanting something and 49% wanting something else and the 51% winning. A democracy is about being part of the 0.01% crowd and still being able to have your say. Democracy is about what what the American President says in another movie, "America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, ‘cause it’s gonna put up a fight. It’s gonna say ‘You want free speech? Let’s see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil... You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can’t just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the ‘land of the free’.”
As an aside, I wonder why there are no cool quotes from Indian movies, maybe I have not seen many.
Unfortunately, not many in our land seem to think so. I have not seen our 2 biggest (in terms of appeal, popularity and not girth) wannabe PMs (more on them towards the end) shout themselves hoarse saying they would never ban a book or film again or ever have an author persecuted. Had any of them done so, I would have run to the voter registration centre, enrolled myself and come bathed, scrubbed and combed to the polling booth on the day of the vote at 8 a.m. Considering the lack of such appeal for me, I still sit in my chair, read articles in papers, rants on social media and occasionally, just occasionally (and not by choice) watch Arnab Goswami. (Please note it is still watch in fascination and not listen or hear).
Aside 2 - I am fascinated by the man and his love for his own voice. That is the kind of existence my dreams would be made of. Narcissistic confession - check.
Back to the problem the country faces today and that is the quantum of people who are ready to get offended, often for no reason at all. You would think, people have grown up and are no longer running to the teacher and cribbing, "Teacher, teacher, he called me an ass" but no, we are often breaking the line to run and say we have been offended. Isn't debate the very backbone of a democracy? When did a clash of opinions become heresy? This is what I would think the political parties would be rallying against - but no, they lead from the front in terms of getting offended. And unfortunately, the courts have not stepped in to stop the nonsense. The politicians have gone as far as to say free speech cannot be pushed to an extreme. This reminds me of what John Stuart Mill had said, “Strange it is that men should admit the validity of the arguments for free discussion, but object to their being ‘pushed to an extreme’, not seeing that unless the reasons are good for an extreme case, they are not good for any case. Strange that they should imagine that they are not assuming infallibility when they acknowledge that there should be free discussion on all subjects which can possibly be doubtful, but think that some particular principle or doctrine should be forbidden to be questioned because it is so certain, that is, because they are certain that it is certain.”
Today, in India, there seems to be an over encompassing need to be seen as fitting in to a bigger group. The plurality of the country is being destroyed as we move towards becoming bowls of porridge, where individually nothing sticks out - its just a mass of gooey stuff. (Don't like porridge confession - check). Nowhere is this more obvious than in the majoritarian religion of this country. Someone called it the Rama-fication of Hinduism. And to think, for large parts of the country, Rama is not even the primary God. Of course, there is a school of thought which says the war between Rama and Ravana was a caste/race based one with skin colour at its core. But no one would want to hear ill of the Good God today, would they?
Connect these to blocking access to knowledge, the foundation on which any religion thrives (only we priests and the holy seers can lead you to God, you ordinary mortals will not understand the details) and you will understand why the reference to Faust earlier.
That brings us to the political parties. Who are these people who will 'deliver us from evil' post the next General Elections? In no particular order, they could be -
Having surveyed the political landscape, would you blame me if I do not bother to vote and instead straddle the fence and watch the fun on both sides, occassionally lobbing balls of kerosene to fan the flames that would burn them all down?
The politicians have all sold their souls, you may snigger, but then, say I, that does not mean they have got unlimited knowledge in return. And this is not a rant on money making politicians.
From time immemorial, knowledge has always been kept under wraps, mostly within the confines imposed by religion. The internet threatens that by making it accessible to all. And that is why, most countries which are under a non democratic setup (and even others, which are not) try and block access at the first sign of tension.
Hold this thought while I get back to the issue of politics.
I have grown up with a certain disdain for politics. I guess, I am putting that lightly, disgust would be a more appropriate word and I still have that taste in my mouth when the word comes up in discussion. But as Steven Speilberg made Lincoln say in the eponymous movie, "You can do more good in politics than in any other sphere. You can end slavery, open opportunity and fight poverty. But you can achieve these things only if you are willing to stain your own character in order to serve others - if you are willing to bamboozle, trim, compromise, be slippery and hypocritical."
Women and men have worked hard to achieve democracy and no less in our country too. Democracy is no utopia but it is the best option there is. We watched in wonder as Barrack Obama came through a wave of "we want change" and became President of the most powerful democracy in the world. And suddenly we want the same today too.
But, what we do not understand is that democracy should not be confused with majoritarian views. A democracy is not about 51% wanting something and 49% wanting something else and the 51% winning. A democracy is about being part of the 0.01% crowd and still being able to have your say. Democracy is about what what the American President says in another movie, "America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, ‘cause it’s gonna put up a fight. It’s gonna say ‘You want free speech? Let’s see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil... You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can’t just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the ‘land of the free’.”
As an aside, I wonder why there are no cool quotes from Indian movies, maybe I have not seen many.
Unfortunately, not many in our land seem to think so. I have not seen our 2 biggest (in terms of appeal, popularity and not girth) wannabe PMs (more on them towards the end) shout themselves hoarse saying they would never ban a book or film again or ever have an author persecuted. Had any of them done so, I would have run to the voter registration centre, enrolled myself and come bathed, scrubbed and combed to the polling booth on the day of the vote at 8 a.m. Considering the lack of such appeal for me, I still sit in my chair, read articles in papers, rants on social media and occasionally, just occasionally (and not by choice) watch Arnab Goswami. (Please note it is still watch in fascination and not listen or hear).
Aside 2 - I am fascinated by the man and his love for his own voice. That is the kind of existence my dreams would be made of. Narcissistic confession - check.
Back to the problem the country faces today and that is the quantum of people who are ready to get offended, often for no reason at all. You would think, people have grown up and are no longer running to the teacher and cribbing, "Teacher, teacher, he called me an ass" but no, we are often breaking the line to run and say we have been offended. Isn't debate the very backbone of a democracy? When did a clash of opinions become heresy? This is what I would think the political parties would be rallying against - but no, they lead from the front in terms of getting offended. And unfortunately, the courts have not stepped in to stop the nonsense. The politicians have gone as far as to say free speech cannot be pushed to an extreme. This reminds me of what John Stuart Mill had said, “Strange it is that men should admit the validity of the arguments for free discussion, but object to their being ‘pushed to an extreme’, not seeing that unless the reasons are good for an extreme case, they are not good for any case. Strange that they should imagine that they are not assuming infallibility when they acknowledge that there should be free discussion on all subjects which can possibly be doubtful, but think that some particular principle or doctrine should be forbidden to be questioned because it is so certain, that is, because they are certain that it is certain.”
Today, in India, there seems to be an over encompassing need to be seen as fitting in to a bigger group. The plurality of the country is being destroyed as we move towards becoming bowls of porridge, where individually nothing sticks out - its just a mass of gooey stuff. (Don't like porridge confession - check). Nowhere is this more obvious than in the majoritarian religion of this country. Someone called it the Rama-fication of Hinduism. And to think, for large parts of the country, Rama is not even the primary God. Of course, there is a school of thought which says the war between Rama and Ravana was a caste/race based one with skin colour at its core. But no one would want to hear ill of the Good God today, would they?
Connect these to blocking access to knowledge, the foundation on which any religion thrives (only we priests and the holy seers can lead you to God, you ordinary mortals will not understand the details) and you will understand why the reference to Faust earlier.
That brings us to the political parties. Who are these people who will 'deliver us from evil' post the next General Elections? In no particular order, they could be -
- The Third Front - a motley group with people like Mulayam Singh dreaming to be PM. The Communist Party would also be part of the same - it is a wonder they still survive with their dated ideology but then again this is India. For the most part, they would be relegated as background noise. Sometimes, one of them becomes PM (Deve Gowda) for a year. This, once in a lifetime, occurrence explains and justifies their existence.
- The UPA - The Congress forms the core of this group and while I must say I may be partial to this group for lack of better options the spate of corruption scandals during their current term is surely going to hurt them. Their messiah being Rahul Gandhi. While, his recent shenanigans and his political incorrectness appeals to me, I cannot say I have heard enough from him to believe he could make some far reaching changes.
- The NDA - The BJP forms the core of this group and any group which has the backing of a religion based organization like the RSS cannot be said to be unbiased, now can it? A life without beef steaks comes before my eyes as I imagine them forming the government at the centre. Not to mention their PM candidate a certain Narendra Modi, a man who, for many, cannot do any wrong (can he do any right, though?). This bunch is also supported by Ramdev (the one of can 'cure' homosexuality fame) and Subramaniam Swamy (the one of "Declare India a Hindu Rashtra in which non-Hindus can vote only if they proudly acknowledge that their ancestors were Hindus" fame).
Having surveyed the political landscape, would you blame me if I do not bother to vote and instead straddle the fence and watch the fun on both sides, occassionally lobbing balls of kerosene to fan the flames that would burn them all down?
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