DailyPost 2213
FAKE BATTLES – A REAL COUNTRY!
Fake battles in a real country can take us nowhere. There are so many real battles on our heads, that any disorientation, may pull us back in the proposed trajectory of growth; economic, social and otherwise. Even worse, it might wean us away from the growth path totally. If the people who are mandated to fight the real battles of our behalf and with us, decide that fake battles are more beneficial for them, and they get into that mode full throttle, then where does the country go from here. There are various parameters of studies / research readily available and lots of it quite objective, which give a fair and clear idea, as to where the battle of the country is positioned. If we fail to recognise them, then where from does the journey even begin.
The story of real vs the fake battles is the true story of independent India and its progress. The proportion of fake vs the real has kept on increasing with every passing year. The battle for independence was a saga of sacrifice, relentless hard work, of courage, of continuous planning, of mobilisation against all odds, and selfless passion to breath the free air of a free country. It was as real as it could get. It was more real than life. Iconic men and women and an iconic battle, this was folklores are made of. Why have we had very few real battles in independent India. Issues were aplenty and they remain so even today, with freedom on our side and democratically elected governments calling the shots, we should have done wonders.
The harsh reality is that it has not happened. As it would be clear, by battle here we don’t mean an act of war, it means consistent relentless hard work to solve intractable problems. It means delivering dreams and better life. It was what Singapore made of itself in just two decades. Here doable things have been deliberately left unattended. This is the exact opposite of fake it till you make it. Keep faking it till the time the fake becomes real in public imagination. The real fades into the background if not oblivion. This morning we heard the name of Bhagat Singh being used in street type political battles in the national capital, and in the Indian Silicon Valley another pothole enabled accident.
If potholes cannot be set right by our engineers / local self-governments, they should cease to exist. In the first place, any city or country would find it to be demeaning. With courts monitoring and politicians to officials to contractors juggling, is it not a fake battle being played out for us to consume? One day we might be forced to think that roads can be made only this way. In retrospect, India Against Corruption was also like a fake battle and what a shame it is, we are more messed today than what were then. Strange how the prima donnas of the battle are so happily ensconced in the fake battle mode. Mostly any area you get into, the real tangible results are difficult to find, which means the battle has been fake. Social and electronic media are the biggest vehicles to give an uncanny rationality / acceptability to fake battles. A nation should not be taken on a roller coaster ride, to subserve vested interests.
DOABILITY INDEX IS INVERSELY PROPORTIONAL TO FAKE BATTLES.
Sanjay Sahay