IF WINTER COMES, CAN SPRING BE FAR BEHIND?

 

The pandemic exposed the fault lines of our society like never before. All the story of the forthcoming ‘Acche Din’ (good days) appeared as remote as the farthest planet Pluto as we grappled the mass distress inflicted upon us by the pandemic and the resultant lockdown. We had to make the Hobson’s choice between life and livelihood, and choosing life got too uncomfortable for a vast majority of our suffering countrymen. Seeing some of them walk hundreds of kilometers along our national highways in order to reach their homes was both heart wrenching and shameful. As if this was not enough, dark and ominous clouds of war are still hovering over Northern border, with the cunning red dragon hissing from across the border trying to singe the tranquility in the Himalayan mountains. And to top it all, a total lack of consensus among the political class, constant bickering, nitpicking, scoring brownie points, daily round of invective being hurled at political rivals is sapping any efforts at ameliorating the lot of a suffering populace. Pathetic efforts are underway at cheap competitive populism and credit hunting for cosmetic favours done to a hapless populace with an eye on future electoral gains.

Our country can perhaps face external threats, but the internal dissent and strife across cast and religious fault lines remain a far more potent and sinister threat. The fact that these festering sores are kept raw and bleeding for petty political gains is not unknown to us but we still invariably keep falling prey to these nefarious designs and further weaken our resolve of overcoming them one day. The condition of women and children in our feudal and patriarchal society remains vulnerable and even in these testing times incidence of rapes, domestic violence and child abuse continue to plague our society. But are we talking about these issues with intent to ascertain their aetiology, so that we can address them meaningfully? Surprisingly not; we instead choose to discuss threadbare non issues like some actor’s suicide and some actress’s drug habits!

Our media may choose to ignore the real issues but the society is not.  The situation is surely not normal but that is not always bad. Normal times and status quo situations are good to live in but only lead to stagnation and subsequent decline of morals and standards. This is one rare occasion in our lifetime when the whole world has been stirred out of complacency in the garb of normalcy. 

There is an enormous social churning going on, a samudra manthan which is bound to bring out both amrit/nectar and vish/poison. There are sections of our society who have always deserved a better deal but are clueless because of lack of leadership and options. Political masters have promised them 'seva' or service, but if they were lucky then on rare occasions they were offered 'daya' or pity. Quite justifiably their patience is running out. On the other end of the spectrum are industrialists and entrepreneurs who were promised reforms and encouraging business friendly environment but were burdened with whimsical laws and entangled in administrative confusion. Profit was considered a sin and yet they were expected to generate employment and improve exports. And right in the middle was the ambitious middle class, religiously paying taxes, educating their children and optimistically hoping that their life will get better. Honestly this was our normal, all the sections of our society were surviving at the brink of an illusion of success and the social and economic jolt which this virus has provided has pushed us off that brink and thankfully shattered the illusion. Now why is that so bad?

It is time for a reality check for all of us and the change has started to take shape. By walking back home the unorganised working class has announced their true value and both the government and their previous employers are responding favourably. The industry is forcing the government to make unprecedented land and labour reforms and states after states are responding. It is now up to the middle class to force the government to make the much needed educational reforms in the New Education Policy so that primary, middle and higher education and teacher's training are all modernized and made job oriented.

I am not one of those who lament that the government is doing nothing. The making of toilets to eradicate open defecation, rural roads, rural electrification, rural cooking gas coinnection, housing for the urban and rural poor, insurance for labourers of the unorganized sector and for farmers and the recent agricultural reforms to liberate the farmers from the vice grip of the middlemen are all positive steps and are results of this social churning. The society is forcing the government to deliver, and those who fail to do so are being voted out. Here again there are cunning political turncoats who have patented the art of running with the hare and hunting with the hound, but the electorate today is very wise and unforgiving. When this manthan is eventually over let us expect that the amrit comes to the rescue of the sincere and hard working and the vish goes to their greedy exploiters. After all 'Blessed are the Meek, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven'.

Tomorrow has to be a better day because we have hit the rock bottom. Hope they say dwells Eternal in the Human Heart and as the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley said 'If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind'!