Hooligan at Home

(Published in Banking Services Chronicle August 2002)

We are a democracy and we love its tragi-comic implications. Here, as Rabindranath Tagore said, “the mind is without fear” and “the head is held high.” This feeling of independence unleashes our creativity to voice opinions and devise strategies that often border on the bizarre.

The standoff with Pakistan has given birth to many a strategic analyst among us. A reader’s letter to the editor of The Week went as follows: “It is time for action. War must be taken to its logical conclusion; India should occupy the coastal areas of Pakistan. Then, during peace talks, this could be swapped for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).” Who says war is not as simple a game as chess?

The way our politicians shift loyalties is an open secret. Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalithaa have the potential to make high-voltage drama even out of the most boring phase of politics. They have candidly illustrated that there are no permanent bedfellows in politics.

And then we have the intra-state coups where the MLAs are hotel-arrested to prevent their being lured. In 1995 when Shankarsinh Vaghela staged a coup in Gujarat, the BJP MLAs were kept in a five-star hotel at Khajuraho. The 2002 edition of the games has been hosted by Maharashtra. When the Tatkare episode threatened divisions within the parties and imperilled the Vilasrao Deshmukh govt, both the NCP and the Congress sprang to action to guard their flocks. While the former herded its MLAs to an Indore hotel, the latter chose the luxury of a Bangalore resort.

We have no dearth of non-political mavericks either. An art graduate of Karnataka Chitrakala Parishad was aghast to spot animal-shaped ‘Use Me’ dustbins all over Bangalore city. The environmentalist within him firmly concluded that this showed disrespect for animals. So he sculpted his protest by holding a ‘Why Use Me’ exhibition.

In a country where every individual has the capability to play Dennis the Menace, it is natural that Mr Wilson takes a back seat. Serious development will take place at its own pace. And there are doubts whether even the next-generation Indians will be able to make it to the World Cup. Till then we must philosophise and pride ourselves on how we can take an unbiased view of Beckham and Ronaldo alike.

And why talk of the luxury of playing football when basic necessities like power and drinking water are yet to reach millions? Tribals in Maharashtra (as also in other states) walk several kilometres to collect water. And that too not from a tap, well or pond. But from a small leak in the pipeline of the Khardi Regional Water Supply Scheme.

There are instances galore of how progress has been impeded in India because of democracy. Pro-dam, anti-dam. Pro-disinvestment, anti-disinvestment. But we are ready to pay any price so long as the democratic spirit is maintained. The Emergency had introduced measures for speedy growth but it was felt it curbed the engine of growth—an independent will. The voters made their dissatisfaction known to Mrs Gandhi in no uncertain terms.

The love for democracy is an inherent human trait. It is perhaps this love which has influenced the response of the Kashmiris. According to the findings of an independent market research company MORI International, 61 per cent of the Kashmiris surveyed felt that they could be better off as Indian citizens. Only 6 per cent said they would rather be Pakistanis.

There is a feeling, especially among Indians, that it is better to ride even a second-hand car of one’s own than a deluxe taxi. It is important for us to do things at will. And this feeling can perhaps be summed up best by an Arundhati Roy quote. When asked why she was staying put in Delhi despite looming threats of war, she replied: “Which society will welcome me and allow me to be the hooligan I am here at home?”