Back in the 70s, when I was a kid, Amitabh Bachchan typified the Angry Young Man. 40 years later, for a generation which has seen many such avatars on screen, the society of an Angry Young Society is played out.
Just about everybody is angry. Starting from Anna Hazare to the kid next door, there is a scowl on our faces and anger in our collective conscience. We are angry with everything and everybody - our neighbours, rulers, doctors, terrorists, milkman, bus conductors... ad infinitum. Most of the time, it is impotent rage - a realisation that we are unable to 'do' anything about the state of affairs. Sometime, it is at ourselves, most of the time, it is at others.
The favorite punching bag is the politician. We are angry with 'them' because they have destroyed the country. Aided and abetted by Anna's team, our justified rage has an easy outlet - hundreds of breathless TV anchors, who purportedly represent the face of India, young twentysomethings who thrust a microphone under the nose of an ordinary citizen and ask him profound questions - 'so what do you think is responsible for the corruption in our country today?'. Then we have the ponderous Arnab Sen asking very seriously a panel of reasonably experienced administrators and politicians 'the nation demands an answer!' followed by thunderous clapping from the audience.
Ina ll this, we stubbornly refuse to face the fact that WE are the problem and that 'they' are nothing but faces of 'WE'. They gave come from our society, our apathy, our indifference and our callous disregard to the concept of a social goal. They are not people from some heavenly body. They are the result of our behavior. Today, thanks to some irrational din, they will go and will be replaced by another set of 'they' who will also degenerate into exactly the same set of blokes that we deride so much.
They are unapologetic because WE are unapologetic. They know that we are essentially pandering to the flavor of the day, and all will be forgiven, and forgotten (except, of course, Arnab's hairstyle). They know that since we dont want to take responsibility for our actions of the past, we dont really have the courage of our convictions.
I was watching one of the team members of Anna Hazare proudly saying 'we will not fight elections' and we will remain outside the system and raise these issues. What he was actually saying was "we will take up issues which fancy us and whip your passions, because you dont know what you want". I am not sure how many of us WANT the changes we are asking for. I think most of us believe that as long as our leaders are free of corruption, things will be hunky dory.
THEY WILL NOT BE.
There is rot at the bottom. There is petty corruption at all levels of our society. From the scam in platform tickets at the station to the largest telecom deal in the world. If we want to stem the rot, attack the root and not the top. The branches and leaves will grow again, and again and again.
The Anger will remain.
Just about everybody is angry. Starting from Anna Hazare to the kid next door, there is a scowl on our faces and anger in our collective conscience. We are angry with everything and everybody - our neighbours, rulers, doctors, terrorists, milkman, bus conductors... ad infinitum. Most of the time, it is impotent rage - a realisation that we are unable to 'do' anything about the state of affairs. Sometime, it is at ourselves, most of the time, it is at others.
The favorite punching bag is the politician. We are angry with 'them' because they have destroyed the country. Aided and abetted by Anna's team, our justified rage has an easy outlet - hundreds of breathless TV anchors, who purportedly represent the face of India, young twentysomethings who thrust a microphone under the nose of an ordinary citizen and ask him profound questions - 'so what do you think is responsible for the corruption in our country today?'. Then we have the ponderous Arnab Sen asking very seriously a panel of reasonably experienced administrators and politicians 'the nation demands an answer!' followed by thunderous clapping from the audience.
Ina ll this, we stubbornly refuse to face the fact that WE are the problem and that 'they' are nothing but faces of 'WE'. They gave come from our society, our apathy, our indifference and our callous disregard to the concept of a social goal. They are not people from some heavenly body. They are the result of our behavior. Today, thanks to some irrational din, they will go and will be replaced by another set of 'they' who will also degenerate into exactly the same set of blokes that we deride so much.
They are unapologetic because WE are unapologetic. They know that we are essentially pandering to the flavor of the day, and all will be forgiven, and forgotten (except, of course, Arnab's hairstyle). They know that since we dont want to take responsibility for our actions of the past, we dont really have the courage of our convictions.
I was watching one of the team members of Anna Hazare proudly saying 'we will not fight elections' and we will remain outside the system and raise these issues. What he was actually saying was "we will take up issues which fancy us and whip your passions, because you dont know what you want". I am not sure how many of us WANT the changes we are asking for. I think most of us believe that as long as our leaders are free of corruption, things will be hunky dory.
THEY WILL NOT BE.
There is rot at the bottom. There is petty corruption at all levels of our society. From the scam in platform tickets at the station to the largest telecom deal in the world. If we want to stem the rot, attack the root and not the top. The branches and leaves will grow again, and again and again.
The Anger will remain.
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