How to bring about a revolution?

One wonders what is common between all those who brought about 'big change' in the society. Something that escalated their status from ordinary humans to revolutionaries. There lived a Gandhi who transcended all boundaries and joined mankind with a thread as fragile and invisible as 'ideology'. How does one bring in himself the conviction to stand up for something he believes in and the tact of convincing others about his ideology.

Is it an art or is it something more basal? Are we born with a 'revolutionary' gene or is it a matter of destiny? How does history choose its heroes? Why is it that some achieve a mass appeal while others with the same conviction wander off in unknown territories? There are some like Rajiv Gandhi who have greatness thrust upon them and slowly learn to live with it. And then there is Vallabh Bhai Patel who rises from the soil and takes his place in history just like a king rises to power.

I do think that there is a strong component of timing at work in these situations. There are times when times demand for a certain leader. The person chosen by the universe to be the center of this demand, the representative if you will, becomes the revolutionary of those times. But then, it is not as simple as that. I cannot claim to understand what really makes someone great because I haven't (yet) achieved greatness of any kind. No one looks up to me and wants to be like me. No one feels inspired by my thoughts. There are no thoughts even if one was insane enough to do so. I haven't yet formed a value system that is resistant to change and adversity. I don't think it is an easy thing to form. This fact itself gives a bit of a clue to solving the problem I have at hand.

A definite value system does make a big difference. It requires continuity of thought. It also requires the individual to sacrifice a little on the "flexibility" grounds but then, it's a small price to pay for the greatness that awaits him. This is a state of oneness with your ideology. You cannot envision Rajiv Gandhi shunning technology, Mahatma Gandhi talking about war or Nehru turning into a sage. You become one with your ideology and that's when you cease to be a person and turn into an idea.

I for one, am opposed to such an idea. I'd rather stay a human and yet bring about whatever small change I can bring to the society. When we give any person a larger-than-life, holier-than-thou image, we snatch away his right to be wrong, his right to question himself and his right to turn back. It all scares me a bit. For example, if I were Gandhi, I'd always wonder how it would feel to just wear a three-piece suit for one day instead of khadi. I'd be tempted to try non-vegetarian food. Not because I want or like those things but because I am too flexible to stick to my own ideology of the world.

I do think that a great thinker would know that there is no conclusion in the social sciences. Every great man is respected not because of his ideas, most of the ideas grow outdated and are replaced by newer, smarter ideas; but for his conviction, the way he dedicates his life to them. I wonder if I can change the world around me without changing myself...

What it means to speak up in India

Image Courtesy- http://solar.envirohub.net/

 We as a group, as Indians are a very anti- speaking up kind of nation. We do not raise our voice on anything be it- corruption, animal cruelty, lack of amenities. We are taught as kids to shut up and listen to our elders. Elders are the wise ones, they know better. As we grow up, the elders are replaced by the powerful ones. From the school principal, college principal, boss, local MLA, all the way up to the prime sinister oops! I mean minister of the country form a hierarchy of power. You're not supposed to speak up against power. And if you do, you are a bad boy and you deserve some spanking!

As a kid, a child develops doubts in his quest to attain knowledge. He turns to his mentor only to be turned down. Asking questions is not really encouraged here. Questioning somethings mean developing doubt over its authority. You do not ask the "why"! You ask only "what" and you're supposed to memorize the answer.

Source: Google Image Search

A rule is created to keep the herd in line, keep the unruly crowd in check; time passes and the rule attains redundancy but it needn't be scrapped! Because to scrap the rule, you have to question it and questioning is, remember? forbidden!

In schools, a routine is created, a protocol is given. It's termed "discipline" and it frequently includes abhorring one's mother-tongue, cramming lines from a poem that you wouldn't understand even till your death. Here is where the fear of being wrong is instilled in young minds. There is a minority of teachers who believe in the far-fetched idea of individuality but, they are few and far apart.

Image Courtesy- http://abhyudayatoons.blogspot.com/ (my own cartoon)

As we enter real-life, we find unanswered questions, customs based on sheer lunacy, rules made by the powerful all around us. You enter a railway platform, see a board outside cafeteria which says "Please do not pay more than printed price for the bottled water" but when the owner charges you Rs 12/- for a Rs 10/- bottle, you do not pick up the phone and complain to the authorities, you pick up your wallet and pay up! We are the country where a long waiting queue keeps getting longer even if the nearby counter has a smaller queue. We like to stay with the herd.

Source: Flickr Image Search (Pavan Gupta)

It's not like nobody ever speaks up against things here. Oh! We are an enthusiastic lot. It is just that we are too preoccupied ourselves to carry on with the task of "speaking up". That's why we invite tenders and sell the right to the ones who are the most jobless. It's only that these speakers do not necessarily represent us when they speak, they represent lunacy in a different form, they represent power in a different form. They are the untamed, lunatic monsters that we had created to hunt down the tamed powerful monsters. Sadly, they have sided with each other and are now conspiring against us.

The monsters we had created, the wild ones of the society- are involving in eve-teasing, smashing things, boycotting Valentine's day, looting ballet boxes, murdering honest police officers. They are the rebels we have created. They work against the system, only to empower it. The right kind of rebellion is a mockery of itself. Take Anna Hazare movement for instance, he has rebels, his cause is good but, when it came to the litmus test, it couldn't hold its own. The fabric that builds today's rebel in India is tainted.

If we really wish to create a rebel with a soul for today's India, we need to water its plants with the water of yesteryear. A Bhagat Singh, a Chandrashekhar Azad are easy to find, but people who would believe in them? Not so easy. I think we've been betrayed enough in the last 50 years to trust again in a rebellion. That is why, as a custom, we don't speak up, neither do we let anyone.

Jai Hind!

Time to change- The shackles of the stereotype

This is about the "Time to change" contest by Stayfree India. You can see the Facebook page here

Well, if I could change anything around me, I'd change the way people judge each other on the basis of caste, religion and language. I do not like it when people form rigid, biased opinions about other people who they don't even know in person. 

In a country as diverse as ours, we need as much tolerance as that can be summoned up to live in harmony and happily. We already have a population of happy-go-lucky people who care a hoot about a person's cultural, linguistic and religious background and realise that what matters most is the human to human connection.

There are certain situations which leave a bitter taste in the memory when they happen to someone, they are like fuel to fire. As a country, why can't we be more tolerant of each other and let others live? With my cartoons, here I have tried to explain what ticks me off about the judgemental nature of the Indian populace-

1. Regionalism. I don't like how every south-Indian is a "madrasi" for some north- Indians. The great Indian North- South divide is due to the apathy shown by these fistfuls. Bullying them over "idli dosa" and generalizing everyone is not doing anyone any good.

Same is true for the generalizations regarding Biharis, Gujaratis and Bengalis etc. Generalizations serve no purpose than to create communication barriers.

2. Caste- based discrimination is much more deep-rooted and much more difficult to eliminate. There are people who place humanity above all but, still you'll find people who'll ask which caste you belong to you and then act accordingly. If you're from a lower caste, suddenly all your educational qualifications boil down to a null and you become one of the downtrodden, either worthy of pity or someone to be looked down upon.

We need more people like these

Sadly this is something so common that we consider it "normal"

3. The divide created by language is pretty deep at places. Try asking your way around Chennai- if you're not from Tamil Nadu. Hindi is something untouchable here. I'd like to change this too!

4. Another scum on India's face is the false sense of regional pride which causes generalizations to occur and divides people on small matters. True; one should be proud of one's heritage but not to the point that it disregards the present and basks in the glory of the past. 

I would like to change all these notions, break these stereotypes and see all of us, hand in hand working toward a better future. A future with endless possibilities. A future where our differences only make us stronger, a future where no one is afraid of change.

Yes, that's what I'd like to change! I hope I am not asking for too much.