vagyakartha

War of all against all - this is what Thomas Hobbes considered to be the human condition within the state of nature. Had he visited Chennai this month, he would have received final proof, if proof were needed. Incidentally, this Hobbes was a philosopher. The livery stable owner who offered the Hobbesian take-it-or-leave-it choice was Thomas Hobson. I am not that stingy, you may have this trivia, that which follows, or both.

First, we had the people’s leader Vijayakant’s call for a grand kickoff of his political campaign. Hundreds of thousands of supporters were summoned, clothed in bright yellow tee-shirts, paid and transported to the city to demonstrate their entirely voluntary support of his movement, the payment was merely to cover their expenses. surely. They arrived by the bus-load, lorry-load, van-load, SUV-load and taxi-load – spilling out of the sides and overflowing to the top of each vehicle. They expressed their enthusiasm by dancing on the tops of buses. When these caravans stopped, stopping just about every other vehicle in the city, they climbed down from their lofty perches and danced on the street. Inured and impotent police watched silently. The people fumed in vain.

But, he is for the people and an honorable man. How can we blame him for the actions of his avid supporters? So what if all pertinent laws were waived for the duration, isn’t that the norm?

A few days later, all our political leaders concluded that the only way to stop the “massacre of innocent Tamils” in Sri Lanka was to form a sixty kilometer long human chain. It poured cats and dogs that day, more like rhinos and hippos actually. That wasn’t much of a surprise, the monsoon has set in after all. So, our leaders – for they are all, all wise men – roped in (should that be chained in?) children. These children were pulled out of their schools and colleges and made – oh, sorry, they volunteered out of concern for their fellow Tamils – to stand in the rain for hours. As expected, traffic in the city came to a grinding halt. Little children took four hours to get home from school, returning at 8 PM. Half hour drives and commutes turned into three-hour long endurance tests. Exhaust fumes from all the stalled vehicles enveloped the city. The senior most leaders weren’t affected – for they are all, all clever men. They had been driven to their ceremonial spots in the chain in cars adorned with swirling red lights and brought back to their dry homes minutes later.

It didn’t seem to bother anyone that these deeply concerned and wise leaders had been essentially silent when those Tamil brethren were killing innocent Sinhalese, when women and children were being forced into terrorism and when a country with great promise was stopped dead on its tracks. They had wisely concluded then that it was not for them to interfere in the internal affairs of a tiny neighbour. We will not interfere now either, but that was never the intent. A meaningless, but nevertheless grand display of solidarity was. If that made the lives of millions of local Tamils miserable for a day, well, that’s a small price to pay. Particularly when the senior most leaders paid none at all.

We the people follow our wise leaders, as all obedient people should. For they are all, all wise men.

Deepavali was once a festival of lights, until the Chinese invented firecrackers. Even with firecrackers, Deepavali used to be healthy fun. But, when the country’s population triples over all and quadruples in major cities, when disposable income has grown steadily in real terms and when imports bring in firecrackers far more explosive than any seen or heard earlier, healthy fun turns into a horrifying mix of intolerable noise and suffocating smoke. The very young are terrified, the very old distressed. Animals cower in fear and those that have to fend for themselves go hungry. Public roads become private fire-grounds and overflowing drains are clogged by millions of bits of paper.

But, how can we deny Mahabali the wish that Lord Vishnu Himself had granted him? So we do it, year after deafening year – with all the consideration for our fellow citizens and beings that our wise leaders display.

Considering religion, gender, age and income levels, odds are that a minority of Indians are inflicting this pain annually on the majority, overwhelming majority counting Indian animals. Is this how we should celebrate the triumph of good over evil? Or, is it merely a case of omnium contra omnes?

Labels: India, Indian heritage, Indian politics

# posted by Vagyakartha : 3:44 AM