DailyPost 1951
THE INDIAN BEHAVIOURAL ECOSYSTEM
How many people’s behaviour has a distinct predictability, whatever might be the situation? About how many people around you, are you convinced that their behaviour is transparent? Do people believe in what they speak? Have we lost distinction between truth and falsehood and work only in grey areas? As long as our interests are served, do we become malleable to any extent? Is there something called being politically correct? Does it extend to every area of life? How many people around you have the capability to take criticism in a positive manner and improve upon it? Is finding a shortcut to success, money, fame, power and glory is our national obsession? If the answer to these questions are mostly on the negative side, how far can the country go. The behavioural ecosystem of the country is in crisis.
When the behavioural ecosystem breaks down, there is hardly anything which can come to it’s rescue, at least in the short run. National behaviour is the sum total of all questions asked above and the sum total is always much more than the simple addition of it all, it creates an impact way beyond that. It props up in unconnected areas and dwindles faith to a level where it becomes difficult to perform our day to day functions. The creaks and crevices in the behavioural ecosystem gets immensely magnified, leading to disastrous results. We have been facing this any number of times and umpteen times in the current ongoing pandemic. Had the behavioural ecosystem been fine, the changing of goal post could not have happened on a daily basis.
Getting stressed when being asked to deliver and that too what has been promised by the same person, even without asking for it. This is the story of the Indian political class, not denying the existence of notable exceptions. Escapism with an agenda is something that has been perfected by the political class and the political executive. It has permeated into the permanent executive. The behavioural patterns become the organizational culture. False promises have become the done thing. Can the sanctity of our democracy run on outright, blatant and audacious falsehood? The acceptance of this as the established behaviour and so to say even a legal behaviour is a challenge, which we would not be able to grapple with.
Some elected representatives not going to their constituencies for five years, speaks of serious aberration in basic human behaviour, first, work does not count and that one can get away with it. The behavioural pattern of learning or rather studying only for a hanging carrot is self defeating, where later one wants to manage without even basic reading. The great symbiotic behaviour of you scratching my back and I scratching your back is the running trend in this great behavioural success. Vested interest and hidden agenda have permeated deep in our psyche and the whole game is that nobody should know of it. Finding stress out of nothing and creating stress out of nowhere is another great characteristic in this vast behavioural reservoir. If the behavioural pattern of any civilization becomes non-productive, how long can it productively exist?
DO WE POSSESS A BEHAVIORAL ECOSYSTEM COMMENSURATE TO BEING A CIVILIZED, PROGRESSIVE, TECHNICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY SOUND NATION?
Sanjay Sahay