They say we live in an enlightened age. In an era where thought and expression is not answerable to censure. Where the white knight of liberalism has triumphed over the black magic of rigid orthodoxy and fundamentalism. They say we are free to think, feel, speak and believe as we wish. They say that I am free to live ‘My Life’ ‘My Way’. They are wrong. The freedoms mentioned above are the luxury of a handful at the most, or perhaps not even theirs. If such people exist, then they constitute the absolute social, financial and most importantly of all, political elite of the world. The others can only dream or befool themselves that they too enjoy such privileges.
For the truth is that even today the majority is shackled with the fetters of orthodoxy, fundamentalism and politics. So when I say I want to do something ‘my way’, what I actually mean is that I can do it, provided the Big Brothers of Society, Politics and Religion are gracious enough to allow me to do so. Mr. Salman Rushdie thought he could be different. A few fatwas[/i] later he thought [/i]different! And when the organizers of the Jaipur Literary Festival attempted to showcase India’s liberalism to the world, they were ‘gently’ reminded of the reality and made to do otherwise. Shri M.F. Hussain did not believe in the pettiness of religion and the politics associated with it. Sadly for him, his ignorance cost him dearly. The malaise does not just exist within India. Every tribe which has been severely victimized by the world because their oppressors did not believe in ‘their way,’ knows this. Most of us vote. Because we wish to live our lives our way. Only a few can actually do so. Irom Sharmila Chanu, Binayak Sen, Aung San Suu Kyi, Liu Xiaobo, Wikileaks, Google, Facebook, Wikipedia – all champions for the cause of freedom of thought and expression, all believers in the philosophy of ‘My Way’, all victims of a system that thought otherwise.
It really is very logical when one thinks about it. When I want to live my life ‘my way’, I am taking a particular direction and perhaps giving direction to the lives of others around me as well. Now this may seriously inconvenience others, who wish to do the same, who also wish to live their lives their way. And it is not[/i] easy to decide whose way is right. Or even if it is, then who decides? Government appointed bodies? Judiciaries? No one and nothing is beyond the reach of corruption and politics. So the ‘winner’ in such a situation can only be decided by the sheer weight of numbers – the more powerful one prevails.
So if the concept of ‘my way’ is faulty, then what becomes of ‘my life?’ Our lives remain governed by unseen shadowy forces. We are allowed small freedoms but as soon as our dreams and aspirations get too big for comfort, we are brutally shown our place in this world. But such a comic book scenario may not necessarily exist. It may just be us, with a crab-like mentality, who pull down each other in our scramble to get to the top. In my desperation to assert ‘my way’ I may not allow you to assert yours and vice-versa. A classic case of the Prisoners’ Dilemma Nash Equilibrium in Game Theory. If that is indeed the case then ‘my way’ may actually be coming in the way of allowing me to lead ‘my life’!
The answer then, does not lie in the destruction of third party forces – always easy to blame but difficult to fight – but in the destruction of our [/i]regressive mentality. The ‘champions of freedom of thought and expression’ were chained, restrained and victimized by none other than us! For it is we [/i]who decide who rules us and who we listen to. We [/i]elect our governments, we[/i] make up our society, we [/i]make up our religion – not some green alien from Triton, the seventh moon of Neptune! Therefore it is we[/i] who need to change. A revolution with Anna and Che in our hearts is not what this hour calls for. It is evolution instead that is required and it is we, the youth, with the biggest stake in our future, who have to evolve. Thus our ‘Yuvalution’ would not refer to some mindless youth led revolutionary movement – stirring to think about but totally pointless in objective – but instead refer to the evolution of today’s youth into tomorrow’s leaders in the true sense of the word – something far more mature, but also far more difficult to achieve.
So this begs the question, how do we bring about this ‘Yuvalution’ within ourselves, and through us, in the world at large? Its quite simple really. We listen, we reason and we evolve. We listen to others around us, we reason with them and then we decide, and in doing so, we evolve into something better. Let’s simply take our lives for example. Why is my life my own? No, it is not God or some other supreme entity that is being talked about here! Instead, why don’t we just consider all those people who invested their time, love and resources in us? We fritter away our lives without a care in the world, we say it is ours to do with as we please, but we conveniently forget our responsibility to those who have raised us, made sacrifices for us and have cared for us. It was not[/i] their duty to do so! They could have easily done otherwise and invested in themselves. So the fact that they did should, according to the tenets of simple logic, imply that we invest some of the same love, care and resources in them as well. The question is not just about repayment. It is much beyond that. It is about being human. That is how one should lead one’s life. And that sadly, is exactly what most of us do not do.
We talk about our fundamental rights, but how many are aware of our fundamental duties? In India there is a hoopla over the right to information, right to food and right to education. All very justified. But what of our duty to elect the right representatives who can actually guarantee these rights to our people? How many of us actually vote? And if we do so, then how many look beyond the divides of religion, race, caste and gender? A Lokpal does not just wish away the deeply ingrained culture of corruption and indiscipline from within us and our nation. Our leaders are corrupt because we are, riots occur because we participate in them, our nation fails to progress because we are either too lazy to do something about it or too busy passing the buck to someone else. It is very easy to bemoan the sad state of Indian politics and bureaucracy but highly difficult to join politics or the civil services to clean the Augean stables. It is not necessary to be righteous. One can achieve great things for oneself and for society if one simply cares[/i] about the world around oneself. And to do so, we must change from what we now are. If I desire to live ‘my life’ ‘my way’, it is none other than I who has to bring about ‘my Yuvalution’ and find our[/i] salvation.
For the truth is that even today the majority is shackled with the fetters of orthodoxy, fundamentalism and politics. So when I say I want to do something ‘my way’, what I actually mean is that I can do it, provided the Big Brothers of Society, Politics and Religion are gracious enough to allow me to do so. Mr. Salman Rushdie thought he could be different. A few fatwas[/i] later he thought [/i]different! And when the organizers of the Jaipur Literary Festival attempted to showcase India’s liberalism to the world, they were ‘gently’ reminded of the reality and made to do otherwise. Shri M.F. Hussain did not believe in the pettiness of religion and the politics associated with it. Sadly for him, his ignorance cost him dearly. The malaise does not just exist within India. Every tribe which has been severely victimized by the world because their oppressors did not believe in ‘their way,’ knows this. Most of us vote. Because we wish to live our lives our way. Only a few can actually do so. Irom Sharmila Chanu, Binayak Sen, Aung San Suu Kyi, Liu Xiaobo, Wikileaks, Google, Facebook, Wikipedia – all champions for the cause of freedom of thought and expression, all believers in the philosophy of ‘My Way’, all victims of a system that thought otherwise.
It really is very logical when one thinks about it. When I want to live my life ‘my way’, I am taking a particular direction and perhaps giving direction to the lives of others around me as well. Now this may seriously inconvenience others, who wish to do the same, who also wish to live their lives their way. And it is not[/i] easy to decide whose way is right. Or even if it is, then who decides? Government appointed bodies? Judiciaries? No one and nothing is beyond the reach of corruption and politics. So the ‘winner’ in such a situation can only be decided by the sheer weight of numbers – the more powerful one prevails.
So if the concept of ‘my way’ is faulty, then what becomes of ‘my life?’ Our lives remain governed by unseen shadowy forces. We are allowed small freedoms but as soon as our dreams and aspirations get too big for comfort, we are brutally shown our place in this world. But such a comic book scenario may not necessarily exist. It may just be us, with a crab-like mentality, who pull down each other in our scramble to get to the top. In my desperation to assert ‘my way’ I may not allow you to assert yours and vice-versa. A classic case of the Prisoners’ Dilemma Nash Equilibrium in Game Theory. If that is indeed the case then ‘my way’ may actually be coming in the way of allowing me to lead ‘my life’!
The answer then, does not lie in the destruction of third party forces – always easy to blame but difficult to fight – but in the destruction of our [/i]regressive mentality. The ‘champions of freedom of thought and expression’ were chained, restrained and victimized by none other than us! For it is we [/i]who decide who rules us and who we listen to. We [/i]elect our governments, we[/i] make up our society, we [/i]make up our religion – not some green alien from Triton, the seventh moon of Neptune! Therefore it is we[/i] who need to change. A revolution with Anna and Che in our hearts is not what this hour calls for. It is evolution instead that is required and it is we, the youth, with the biggest stake in our future, who have to evolve. Thus our ‘Yuvalution’ would not refer to some mindless youth led revolutionary movement – stirring to think about but totally pointless in objective – but instead refer to the evolution of today’s youth into tomorrow’s leaders in the true sense of the word – something far more mature, but also far more difficult to achieve.
So this begs the question, how do we bring about this ‘Yuvalution’ within ourselves, and through us, in the world at large? Its quite simple really. We listen, we reason and we evolve. We listen to others around us, we reason with them and then we decide, and in doing so, we evolve into something better. Let’s simply take our lives for example. Why is my life my own? No, it is not God or some other supreme entity that is being talked about here! Instead, why don’t we just consider all those people who invested their time, love and resources in us? We fritter away our lives without a care in the world, we say it is ours to do with as we please, but we conveniently forget our responsibility to those who have raised us, made sacrifices for us and have cared for us. It was not[/i] their duty to do so! They could have easily done otherwise and invested in themselves. So the fact that they did should, according to the tenets of simple logic, imply that we invest some of the same love, care and resources in them as well. The question is not just about repayment. It is much beyond that. It is about being human. That is how one should lead one’s life. And that sadly, is exactly what most of us do not do.
We talk about our fundamental rights, but how many are aware of our fundamental duties? In India there is a hoopla over the right to information, right to food and right to education. All very justified. But what of our duty to elect the right representatives who can actually guarantee these rights to our people? How many of us actually vote? And if we do so, then how many look beyond the divides of religion, race, caste and gender? A Lokpal does not just wish away the deeply ingrained culture of corruption and indiscipline from within us and our nation. Our leaders are corrupt because we are, riots occur because we participate in them, our nation fails to progress because we are either too lazy to do something about it or too busy passing the buck to someone else. It is very easy to bemoan the sad state of Indian politics and bureaucracy but highly difficult to join politics or the civil services to clean the Augean stables. It is not necessary to be righteous. One can achieve great things for oneself and for society if one simply cares[/i] about the world around oneself. And to do so, we must change from what we now are. If I desire to live ‘my life’ ‘my way’, it is none other than I who has to bring about ‘my Yuvalution’ and find our[/i] salvation.