THESE
LINES are from a song I learnt in a primary school civil
rights project. We didn't need to be told it was in an ironic
vein. There was more, but this much has remained with me all
these years. I can't remember who the author was, yet I don't
feel any hesitation on the grounds of copyright violation,
because the message of the song is so important for us today,
that I feel sure the author would not have minded.
Over
five decades since India's independence, we in Delhi and
around have seen that some things changed rapidly and some
remained the same. What has remained the same, it
seems, is the availability of a huge lumpen
population that can be manipulated with vile
results by unscrupulous politicians. Another thing
that has not changed is the existence of the great
silent majority, which in its way is just as vile
as a violent mob. It is a silent majority that has
had its dear little ears drummed with a
stereotyped view of security and become a
population of automatons.
It
is easy to be armchair analysts and deride the selfishness of
politicians, who seem to have no idea they are supposed to be
serving the nation. It is also easy to discern that sweeping,
illiteracy, unemployment and shocking social inequalities are
among the causes that nurture lurnpenism. But easiest of all,
is to decide that we can do nothing to change a situation that
has only intensified over the past 55 years.
Certainly,
some things can be done at an individual level, which when
multiplied, have a domino effect on the population. It is the
people that make up a nation. The power of social reformers
stems from the millions of individuals who listen carefully
and decide to follow in their footsteps.
What
can ordinary people do, who do not have the will power, wisdom
or tenacity of Mahatmas and Gurus? We can stop passing on our
prejudices. Perhaps one practical step could be to drop our
caste names. We can also name our children so that their caste
and religion are not discernable. When filling in official
forms, we could write Indian" in the caste column and
humanity" in the space for religion.
Schools
could ensure that children learn about different religions and
communities by interacting with their schoolmates from those
communities or jointly conducting research. We
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need to provide
access to books other than those that form part of the school
curriculum, if only because textbooks, with their load of
syllabi to cover, cannot always be sensitive and detailed. We
could thus avoid the seeds of division that are laid when tiny
tots memorise lessons like Sikhs worship in a gurdwara.
Christians worship in a church," etc.
We
should also emulate some good examples of countries or
organisations handling turbulent Issues. In the U.K., for
instance, school children learn about different religions. The
history and special features associated with each are
discussed and described at a level comprehensible to 10-year-
olds.
In American cities like New York and Boston, where race
relationsin the 1960s were at a low ebb and the population
resided in different pockets -- like the ghettoism for which
Ahmedabad suffered in the recent riots -- the Government
introduced compulsory bussing of students from their
neighbourhood to schools in far-off areas. The entireGovernment school system was revamped so that the
neighbourhood schools could no longer solely cater to the
educational needs of the children in the vicinity. This scheme
ensured that students of different races studied together and
shed their inhibitions. The move was fiercely opposed by
ordinary citizens at first, but later became an established
feature. Some
schools in Europe conduct an annual Students' United Nations,
a popular project for secondary classes, in which groups of
students select countries to read up on and represent. Issues
are discussed and resolutions passed just as at the actual UN
General Assembly. The entire exercise is extremely enjoyable
and educational for the students. As for the United Nations,
an organisation that was born out of the devastation of World
War-11, it has -- for all its faults, and sometimes ' annoying
lack of teeth when it comes to avoiding conflict -- some
traditions worth emulating too. One of these is for
representatives of member nations to eschew the use of the
word my" when mentioning their own country, or even its
proper name. Instead, they use the phrase h country that 1
know well."
In
themselves, such steps may not solve the world's race
relations, but they are surely doing their bit to place
tolerance on a higher level than bigotry and to fight the
common enemy, ignorance. These examples are not intended as
direct recommendations, but as inspiring ideas. We have enough
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school buses without going in for a
whole new compulsory bussing policy, but surely in our school
system there are many educationists who care about the quality
of education being imparted to students, and who have the
imagination to think up suitable ways in which the virtues of
tolerance and patriotism can be inculcated in the children of
India today in an entertaining and unobtrusive manner? Creative
events with a special focus on the Indian situation would help
in spreading awareness and, if allowed to play a major role,
we might not so frequently hear remarks such as I don't
understand Madras!," or Aren't all North Indians
Punjabi?" Of course, Parliament quizzes and Students'
Parliaments do take place, and plenty of policies exist on
paper, but the real potential of young people to do some
freethinking, unencumbered by prejudices of various kinds, has
not been exploited.
Prejudice,
admittedly, seems to be a key emotion in the Indian psyche.
India may have staunchly supported Nelson Mandela, and be the
land of Mahatma Gandhi, but we are conditioned to think in
terms of us" and them." This syndrome does not
merely pop up between any two or more religious groups,
castes, languages or regions. It is there when, as a society,
we are complacent that our children go to school, but our
domestic help's do not; when we accept that the best kind of
child-centred education can only be provided by the most
expensive schools; when we admit that standing in the endless
queues for medical services at Government hospitals is a
nightmare, and manage to get private treatment, but let the
fact that many may die while on the queue lie easy on our
conscience; when -we are too busy or too tired to stand up
against the corruption talking place every day around us,
because the route that corruption takes to actually harm us
individually, is too circuitous to figure out. The syndrome
tells us, we" are just doing our best in a tough world.
The responsibility is theirs." Or, when some third party,
they" are the sufferers, then we" are just too far away
or too powerless to help out.
None
of these examples is unconnected to that of underlying
prejudice and violence in our society. It is time we, as
individuals, shook ourselves free from our stupor and began to
look for concrete ways in which we can make a difference. To
be a catalyst for change, one need not be in a position of
official power. As members of the web of society, we wield
plenty of influence. We only need the will to observe others,
to be able to turn all our collective energies towards
positive development.
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