India – A Case Study of Contradictions

by Meera Sundararajan

[box]Talk of India and one bizarrely apparent truth that makes itself heard is that India is a bundle of contradictions – contradictions in terms of beliefs, actions and attitudes. In these times, when we are supposed to be making progress, the big question that looms ahead of us is ‘Is this development wholesome?’. The unfortunate answer would be ‘No.’ Meera Sundararajan feels that unless we acknowledge our hyprocrisy, which makes India a case study of contradictions, our development is going to be all but shallow.[/box]

There was a song that used to be very popular in the late 1990s – it had Shah Rukh Khan singing “ Hum logon ko Samajh sako to Samjho Dilbar Jaani, Jitna bhi samjhoge tum utni hogi hairani” . The song challenges people to try and understand Indians, saying “The more you try to understand us the more surprised you would be”. I couldn’t agree more.

A country where wealth and education are personified as female deities and worshipped, is also one where many girls are denied education and women any claim over wealth! A country where there are four female chief ministers and which had a very charismatic female Prime Minister is also the place where there are violent crimes against women.

I have been trying to unravel this mystery that goes by the name of India! And I must say – I am still trying!

I remember a friend from Australia who once told me about how we Indians take “history for granted”! I was taking her around the Chidambaram Temple in Tamil Nadu and she was very surprised by my “very casual” attitude towards all the wonderful architecture around. When we came out, she was shocked to find posters of political parties stuck on to the outer temple walls and as we turned the corner we actually found a man urinating against the temple wall in the dark! We saw the same man subsequently wash his feet (and hopefully his hands) at a tap just inside the main gopuram and head for his darshan of the dancing God!

I have never understood the way we behave in public with least consideration for others – jumping queues, pushing our way into a bus or train uncaring of whether we are giving way to elders and children. Yet, our hospitality can really be “over the top” to the point of embarrassment. So what is it that transforms this brash inconsiderate fellow commuter into a very considerate host when someone visits him?

I remember travelling from Montreal to Chennai via London. The Montreal-London sector was very uneventful; we got our food served quietly, the crew was most helpful in opening and closing the luggage compartments above for short people like me and everyone actually waited for their turn outside the toilets! The London-Chennai sector was a different experience altogether, even though it was the same airline that I travelled in. People rushed into the aircraft without any heed to the seating announcements, started yelling for food and tried to push each other while trying to use the toilet (which was stinking within an hour of take off). The crew on their part tried to maintain order, shouting at unruly passengers and ignoring the quiet ones. It was one occasion when I realized that we Indians as a group probably bring out the worst in anyone!

India as a country today is really confusing. We have discovered consumerism with a bang! Go to any mall in any of the metro cities and you will know why I feel this way! A mall is a Mecca for the lonely souls in these cities. You can window shop or watch a movie and get a meal! There was a time when it was considered very bad to buy things that one does not need. Today we find excuses to get things we do not need. During our childhood, we never stepped out of the house without a bottle of boiled water in our bags. Today water, a natural resource, has become a packaged readymade commodity that we can buy across the counter! But our concern for hygiene stops with that. We throw out these empty water bottles carelessly around!

We pray to various plants like the Tulsi, Pipal and yet have no concern about conserving our natural biodiversity. Why, natural biodiversity, we do not seem to be worried about food production either, as acres and acres of paddy fields are getting converted into housing plots across the outskirts of all small towns!

In fact, even role models today seem to be different. One can see that in the movies that are being released. The hero at one time took on the “bad guys” but today the hero himself is the “bad guy” . The “vamp” has been put out of job by the heroines. This is very interesting because it points to our reality orientation – we see and accept shades of grey and women’s sexuality is being openly expressed.

It is believed that these are the indicators of a society in transition when it moves from being “under developed” to developed. Somehow, one can view such development as only a shallow one because unless we acknowledge our hypocrisy, which makes India a bundle of contradictions, and try to deal with issues in a straight forward manner, India will not develop in the truest sense. It is not enough to join the crusades against “corruption” – what really will make a difference is deeply understanding what it is as a society and as a country that we need to change, and then acting upon the issues.

Pic : mathewgriff – http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewgriff/

Meera Sundararajan works for what she calls the “change marketing”  sector, otherwise known as the NGO sector. She has been “selling change” for nearly two decades now. Like most Indian women, she enjoys multiple identities – wife, mother, daughter, daughter- in- law, aunt; but unfortunately, none of these roles run true to type! She speaks five Indian languages fluently and also exhibits the sub-regional eccentricities that go with these languages. she loves reading and inflicting on others what she writes. Meera blogs at http://meerareflections.blogspot.com

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