The capricious character of a state in transition

There is little doubt that the ayodhya issue has lost much of its relevance in 2010, or
has it? The verdict saw nothing quite like the jingoistic reactions that the nation was
witness to in 1992. This sure is a manifestation of the maturity attained by the largest
democracy in the world. The present youth are in no dilemma whatsoever in choosing
between religious chauvinism spawned by political masters and the path of economic
prosperity and peace of the recent ‘India growth story’.
The verdict however is founded on the wrong lines. There is no place for
‘belief and faith’ in law. It was ‘belief and faith’ that was exploited in 1992. The so
called protectors of the Hindu faith made ample use of ‘belief and faith’ to take law
into their own hands back then. When faith surpasses law and the constitution, you
know that the fundamental scaffolding upon which a nation is built is bound to fail.
The verdict raises many questions which the apex court will need to address and
redress to protect and instil a feeling of belongingness among the nations minority.
The verdict aside, our nation finds itself in a transition phase. It’s
stuck between accepting the 21st century values of equality, globalization, reason and
its medieval values of division on the basis of religion, caste, blind faith etc etc. Every
instance a kid questions a blind faith on the basis of reason he or she is termed
blasphemous. Forsaking religious and societal prejudices is termed lack of maturity.
How ironic can it get? Lack of reason on the part of elders is translated into lack of
maturity among youngsters.
Kids are discouraged to ask questions thereby limiting their reasoning
and the consequential acceptance of the prejudices. Even fundamental questions are
avoided. For instance if a child wonders why the moon is round, a parent generally
brings to rest the toddlers imagination by a joke, what shape did you expect it to be,
square? And the discouragement continues with growth. When they attain puberty,
any talk regarding sex is considered shameless on his or her part. We are reaping the
rewards of this discouragement in being one of the highest AIDS affected nations in
the world. I’m sure the story would have been vastly different had we made sex
education binding at the appropriate age.
It’s high time the older generation stops perpetuating division of our
society on the basis of religion, caste etc. They are doing no good to anybody apart
from the malicious politicians. This is precisely why the impending caste census will
help nobody but the politicians in their calculations of caste politics. Nobody is more
eager for the caste numbers than the political community. Switching over to a more
holistic and righteous reservation system is an indispensable need of the hour.
Economic prosperity should be the sole basis for reservation. It is way more relevant
to the present age than the obsolete caste reservation.
The other community which is hindering the progress of our nation
are the bureaucrats. Now is the time to bid farewell to the grand Indian bureaucracy.
The more we privatize our institutions the better it is. It’s a transition we must make
to realize the dream of double digit growth rate that has eluded us. The rewards will
slowly but surely trickle down the ladder to reach the poor. However we must
continue the state agencies as far as the basic needs are concerned.
Ayodhya may not be an issue now. But if the thought process of the
‘pre-reason age’ (when even Galileo wasn’t allowed to express himself by the church)
is allowed to dominate, other issues are sure to crop up. Kashmir is one of them. The
govt. at delhi is in a transition phase as far as its policy towards Kashmir goes. It’s
dubious as to whether it should follow its 90s policy of military subversion or modern
democratic values. Democratic means is the only edifice around which a solution
should be built. The will of the Kashmiri people must prevail. Self- determination (by
the way the favourite word of the Pakistan foreign minister when it comes to
Kashmir) should indeed be the way forward. Having said that the political masters at
delhi cannot forsake the strategic interest of the region. A political solution within the
contours of the constitution is the best bet.
The economy is in a state of transition. The society is in a state of
transition. The hastier the transitions the better it is for realizing the dream of a just
and prosperous nation.