The Horse and The Syag Story

Dear friends,
Namaskaram.
The Horse and the Stag Story.
I have just returned from four months of stay in India. Partly for reason of busy travel schedule and partly for laziness could not log in for long into SSS mails. I am sure I have a lot to catch up.

Meantime, though I have had the opportunity of closely watching the elections in the country for a good number of years in the past the recently concluded election was different in many ways. I can say that it was the most fiercely fought election with no hold bars. It was also the most brazenly personal.
I am reminded of a fable which goes as under:

"A quarrel had arisen between the Horse and the Stag, so the Horse came to a Hunter to ask his help to take revenge on the stag. The hunter agreed but said "If you desire to conquer the stag, you must permit me to place this piece of iron between your jaws, so that I may guide you with these reins, and allow this saddle to be placed upon your back so that I may keep steady upon you as we follow the enemy". The horse agreed to the conditions, and the hunter soon saddled and bridled him. Then, with the aid of the hunter, the horse soon overcame the stag and said to the hunter: "Now get off, and remove those things from my mouth and back." "Not so fast, friend, " said the hunter. "I have now got you under bit and spur and prefer to keep you as you are as present". "

I guess the Electorate is the Horse, the maligned Opponent, which they do not want to come in power, is the Stag and the one promising the utopia is the Hunter. The Electorate, the Horse, tired of the tested Opponent, the Stag, wants to get rid of it and seeks help from the Hunter who uses the utopian promises to saddle and bridle the Horse. The Horse agrees but remains saddled and bridled even after the Hunter helps him overcome the Stag for years to come but those promises are never fulfilled. This keeps on happening every five or ten years. The Stag and the Hunter keep on replacing each other like in a game of musical chairs. The Horse remains saddled and bridled and finally gets used to it for life.

First it was 'Gareebi Hatao' (Eradicate poverty) but the poor became poorer. Then came 'Shining India' but the shine was seen on the rich only. Then came 'Achche Din' (Better days) but no sign of that too. Now it is 'Sabka Viswas' (Trust of all) but it too seems to be starting with renaming Khan Market in Delhi, Ahmedabad in Gujarat and Taj Mahal in Agra and many more. How erasing history will bring in the trust of all is any body's guess.

I am hopeful and positive because people, in general, are Democrats and do all to preserve it and thus the country.

Wounded Civilisations

Wounded Civilizations

I live now in the United States for the last two years. Prior to that, I used to visit and return. The question has always haunted me: Why Indians are still in awe of the white race? Is it because we still have the wounds of the ‘wounded civilization’? 

'Wounded Civilizations’ as a term was used by VS Naipaul in his book India: Wounded Civilization.

When the British came to India, Imperial Modernity, a product of Western military power enabled by economic growth and technological progress created a deep sense of emotional insignificance and backwardness of the 19th century in India and China. While China has largely overcome it, it is still alive in India with hurt feelings in spite of recent economic growth.

While we should have been proud of our traditions and culture, we could not stand the constant onslaught by the westerners. They made us feel stupid, made fun of our traditions and looked down upon us as primitive. If that was not enough, they became our rulers. They had weapons power and material success in their favor.

Our caste system divided us. Our then rulers, mostly dynastic, Hindus or Muslims, divided on the basis of religion or cast gave the fodder. Indians were not materialistic as a way of life.

But that is past, 70 years behind us but the master-servant relationship is yet to break. The moment we meet a white guy we squeeze in our seats. While the change is visible in the workplace particularly after the grand stride Indians have taken in the IT field, the fact remains that we are yet to assert our equality if not superiority in many fields. Indians are here because they earn more than what they could in their country but the fact remains that they are also here because they are prepared to work at lesser remuneration as compared to the locals, particularly whites. But that is beside the point.

The main point is that we have not been in a position to reconcile to the truth that whites are no more our rulers. We are still in awe, an unpleasant gift of the wounded civilization.