Daily Post 1531
MAINSTREAM IRRELEVANCE
Seven decades is not a long time in the history of a nation. Might be its sufficient enough time to put systems in place and make it robust. It can be good enough time to be clear about, as to where we are heading. Certainly, it is enough time to have faith in the powers that be, and for them to have faith in people, whose destinies to decide. It is also good enough period of time to understand the interplay of systems / organisations / processes / lobbying groups and find a functional equilibrium. That is what democracy is all about. Have we reached there? How relevant is the mainstream?
The relevance of mainstream is when you feel its existence by way of making positive contributions to your life. You develop faith, trust and dependence and you keep getting back to the same systems for help, support and guidance. There is a feeling in last couple of years that the mainstream is becoming more and more irrelevant. The current farmers agitation is a case in point. The opposition parties are abhorred by the farmers. What is the opposition for? Farmers don’t need any political leadership or guidance. The general feeling emanating based on the public domain expression of the farmer leaders is that they have lost faith in political genuineness.
Finding democratic systems of leadership not worthwhile is not a pleasant situation. Adding insult to injury they have proactively not allowed the entry of the mainstream electronic media to the agitation side. They have even put up posters proclaiming that. They have put to shame the ones who dared to venture. But those TV studios run their tirades unruffled. While each one is happy with his existence for reasons best known to them, what has happened to democratic mainstream is really saddening to say the least. The democratic mainstream is moving in the direction of irrelevance.
Earlier this year the Sushant Singh Rajput suicide case saga turned out to be a diminutive exercise for numerous mainstream organisations. When their role played is in doubt, how long can such organisations hold on to the mainstream with trust and respect. Trust, respect and loyalty are guiding principles of relevance. The intriguing part of this existence is that the discredited mainstream players go out of the way to discredit others. In the long run nobody’s interest is served. If the mainstream becomes irrelevant, there is nobody who can gain. Time to fight back to make the democratic core relevant.
IRRELEVANT MAINSTREAM CANNOT CREATE A RELEVANT SYSTEM.
Sanjay Sahay