Grassroots Uprooted!!!

 Henryk Skolimowski, a Polish philosopher observed that it is the illogical man that advertising is after. It is anti-rational and aims specifically at uprooting not only the rationality of a man, but also his common sense.  And this is true not just of advertising, but also the social media (the forum within which advertising operates) and dangerously so with its apparent bed-fellow and significant other - ‘Politics’! Politics is for the illogical mind. It is for those who are perfectly ok to hand over their one deep-seated skill –their common sense. It is for those who are ready to forfeit its rewards for the devalued benefits threaded by political silence and theatrical pro-tem ignorance.  

The nation for the past 10 days has witnessed and perhaps even silently applauded the death of commonsense. The assault and murder of two young girls in Badaun, the insensitive comments made by the father and son duo, the inexplicable death of Minister Gopinath Munde and last but not the least the bifurcation of the state of Andhra Pradesh.

There is very little that can be done with regard to the bifurcation. One would have hoped that our politicians will learn from the kernels of history and make any division a painless moment. True, one can hope and that is all there is to it. This brings us to the horrific death of the young girls and that of Gopinath Munde. Both very diverse issues and are being looked at so very differently.  The rape and murder of the Badaun girls is being investigated by all and sundry who have nothing to do with it, commented upon by the irrelevant, irrational observations by those in power and all this is happening when the center holds steadfast.  Discussions on women issues continue on prime time, debates galore on the reasons for the insensitivity in our society (yet again) and incessant deliberations and speculations on lack of effective governance. Is there any specific reason why no one has intervened to speed up the investigation? What could possibly be the reason for this sudden shift of debate from the nature of the crime and its impact to the so called lack of eminence in the state of UP . How different is UP from Delhi? Guess, if Dec 2012 had repeated itself, the focus would be on…..? Check that … That’s NO ONE. We don’t have anyone in Delhi to blame!

The blame game endures!  It is criminal to steal a wallet, daring to steal a fortune, and a mark of greatness to steal a crown.  The blame diminishes as the guilt increases.  So let’s blame the poor people for being poor, the backward for being regressive, and the desperate for being timid.

And then befalls the rearward, over your shoulder event marking the tragic death of Mr Gopinath Munde. With this, the nation trails yet another social issue that is essentially a matter of discipline – road sense, civic sense and the use of seat belts. Guess that makes the subject simple enough!  It really doesn’t matter if a 1000kg Indica rams into a 1300kg SX4 at a speed (assuming) at a minimum of 80kms per hour in the wee hours of the day. It is not a matter of importance that there is hardly a dent observed on either of the vehicles due to the impact.  It is definitely not of consequence that a person who has suffered blunt force trauma is rendered unconscious immediately after and cannot therefore ask for a drink of water.  It is paltry to suggest that the impact which has resulted in the death of an individual (who suffered heart attack, lost 1.5 lts of blood, suffered a liver rupture, and suffered a C1/C2 rupture) should have been experienced by the rest in the car. There is no talk of airbag deflation (The SX4 was recalled due to faulty airbag). There is no deliberation on whether there will be a formal investigation; the driver of the Indica gets bail; Arnab Goswami talks about traffic rules and our disinclination of wearing seat belts; the media focuses on the astronomical role of '#3' in the life of the Mahajan and Munde family; we all observe a moment of silence, thank the lord (silently) for giving us another day of nothing to do … and life goes on.

The lame game continues. It is criminal to steal a wallet, daring to steal a fortune, and a mark of greatness to steal a crown.  The blame diminishes as the guilt increases.  So let’s blame the common man for the death of greatness and censure the grassroots for the demise of the establishment.

The issues that we have been talking about are those that hit us at the grassroots level – and by grassroots we are referring to issues that by their very nature are resistant to any central control. The issues taken up by the grassroots have the potential to alter an entire culture. Approached incorrectly, it will turn on those who try to exploit it.  This is not theory; but plain simple commonsense. The issues we face today distress those at the bottom of the social and political pyramid. The opposite is the ‘establishment’.

The commonsense questions (IF and when asked) are a reflection of the attitude of the people who believe in a kind of activism that reflects an attitude – an attitude of freedom, creativity, unrestrained political enthusiasm, of willingness to come together for a common purpose by asking the most fundamental,  uncomplicated, vital and central of all questions – How can we be in a better place? These commonsense questions should typically be the essence of politics. It is the dumping of tea in a harbor, it is making salt characterized by the dandi march, it is setting in motion the charkha that helps us weave our own clothes, it is the Mandela resilience in his diligence, it is participating in a nation-wide movement to say no to corruption, it is the silent coming together on the night of Dec 13 to protest  violence against women. These questions that emanate from a well sewed attitude cannot be managed. Any intent to manage or monitor is intrinsically antithetical and even offensive to grassroots activism – which typically is second nature to the common man / woman; the first one being fight or freeze.

Gopinath Munde, the OBC leader from Maharashtra took on Sharad Pawar with that one question that no one had asked him before - on his links to the underworld a.k.a Dawood Ibrahim. The father of the daughters at Badaun has asked that one fundamental question which hasn’t been responded to yet – ‘Am I not a citizen of India?’. These common sense comments, statements, questions, call it what we may are fundamental and indicate grassroots activism. It is what brought Munde to the forefront of Maharashtra politics and is what makes the murder of the Badaun girls that much more horrific. Our leaders and the establishment have found a way to respond to common sense. Find someone and Blame it on them.

To err is human….and to blame it on someone else is politics!

Mr PM and Mr Home Minister: we shall wait for you to come out and take credit for the rain. Meanwhile, please go ahead and blame someone else for the drought!  You have our vote!