It takes an Oscar winning movie, which delineates India's poverty, to make us sit up and take notice. The poignant scenes depicted are quite heart-rending. The point is not whether you liked or did not like the movie , the point is given an option we like to be in a self denial mode all the time. When I say self denial, I mean indifference, having a laid back attitude to life in general. It takes a jolt to stir us up. The motive behind the 1991 reforms was not so much a great vision ,as a last ditch effort to save our country from plunging into a financial crisis - we had a burgeoning fiscal deficit and were on the brink of defaulting on our international debt. Thankfully, that never came to pass, thanks to the then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh. Just goes to show that we are capable, but only when our backs are against the wall. On a lighter note, our cricket team over the years too seems to get its act together after a sluggish start. But why play catch up in the first place?
It must be an inherent trait we all share. I can certainly relate to it and can think of many others too. One reason lies in our upbringing. As kids we do we as we are told(to avoid being spanked), not often are we encouraged to take decisions. At best we come of age by 17-18, when I say of age, I mean in taking decisions. Compare this with an American kid. From about five or six onwards, the kid can take care of himself/herself(another kid too as a news report goes to show :D).
It can be argued that with India opening up to liberalisation, the younger generation of today is more independent with exposure to better standards of living. True, parents enrolling their kids in swimming or guitar lessons is not uncommon anymore. But this phenomenon applies only to the upper echelons of our society. We are still not a liberalised society. How else can we explain the several bandhs that hold the nation to ransom or the histrionics of the Ram Sena and Raj Thackeray! No, far from being a liberalised society,we have become a polarised society, with each side feeding off the other and thereby growing farther apart. Raj Thackeray , by swearing to weed out the competition emanating from north Indian states, has brought out anti-Maharastra sentiments in the youth from the North. The shooting case involving the youth from Bihar is testimony to this fact. Such incidents have political undertones and in no time the situation gets exacerbated, inflaming passions in our society and further fragmenting it.
With all this hoo-haa, does it mean we have finally woken up from our deep slumber? Yes and No. Yes because tolerance as a forte has been replaced with a sheer contempt for differing views. No because when it comes to real issues be it from fighting terrorism to development agendas, we are still dormant.
Here is a great chance with looming global financial crisis and deteriorating political system, to push for reforms - labour reforms, police reforms, judicial reforms, health, education - you name it, for the country needs it badly.
Its 1991 revisited again!
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