Sacrifice is a very romantic notion that most people believe in and aspire to do for their community and nation. Every young man and woman have at one time idolized Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Rani Laxmi Bai in their youth.
How come, then, when the time comes, nation needs you- this very idealistic and inspired youth refuses to leave the comfort of their homes and parents hide behind the walls of responsibility and obligation.
When we are talking about revolutionaries, it’s not about picking up a gun and going on to the battlefield or creating a movement that is violent in nature. What we are talking about is standing up for something that you feel is correct, something that you feel is going to support and improve society or the life of people around you.
The basic difference between doing good, standing for what is right and making sure that you keep your culture alive is very much unlike from advocating and amplifying ideas of disruption.
The problem in Indian subcontinent and especially the Indian society is that we have created a narrative around us which we are not ready to question and that is to be comfortable with the fact that somebody else would raise a voice for us!
But then the question arises- why would somebody raise his or her voice for us? What is the need for him or her to do so, when we are not ready to do it for our good?
Let’s take the example of Shahid-e-Azam Bhagat Singh Ji. He from a very young age started understanding the power of activism. The understanding of the truth and urgency of the cause, towards which he was drawn, were life defining moments for him. He was merely a child when he understood the importance of fighting against the evils of the British Raj. The atrocities done on humanity by them… but then had his parents stopped him from thinking, feeling and understanding the issue we would not have had a Bhagat Singh in our history.
This brings us to the first point which needs to be understood… we must not forget that kids today know, understand what’s going on especially if we consider the exposure to the cause, in the life of Bhagat Singh at a tender age. So how do we address this issue?
The second most important question which comes to mind is- why are we afraid of having an activist from within our family?
It is well understood that activism would definitely bring along principles to be adhered with, morals to be set and hardships to be faced! If you want change in society, ask yourself this right now- Are you ready to sacrifice your comfort and face hardship? It could be as simple as standing in the sun for two hours- Are you willing to do that? If not, then why complain!
It is well-known fact that in a democratic Nation politics is the most important factor which guides and makes the path for the future of a country. But then politics is Taboo.
How many people have you met or interacted with had a discussion with on the topic of making politics a profession or getting into politics for the bigger good of society?
We have generally witnessed and participated in various conversations sitting in drawing rooms talking about how politicians are bad, how much damage the politicians have done and also not to forget how corrupt they are!
But have we ever sat down to debate and discuss the damage done by people? I would not hesitate to say that more than 50% of people are into politics are only for selfish motives. Some happen to be in it just by chance. A miniscule percentage is in politics- to do things in the morally correct, ethically high standard. Where are they? What happens to them? How can we increase the number of such people? When will this philosophy start coming into politics!
It is so very convenient to describe, talk, chit chat, or idolize from the comfort of your drawing rooms, sitting in your house or your workplace, and typing it on social media. But has there been a debate on how to improve these standards in the scope of activism and political personalities for the well-being and upliftment of a nation?
In India, we saw a big movement which happened and that was India against corruption. People from all walks of life went ahead to support it leaving behind their political affinity or their political mind! But what came out was even more dreadful in the name of clean politics! We witnessed the destructive, anarchist, and most morally degraded political presentation of activism.
Nations’ moral characters are built on the activist mindset of the society. Whether it is the causes of child labour, feminism, pollution, and other such things look very cliche, but what are the other important issues that need the attention of the combined mind of a nation its civil society, that has to be deliberated.
Few such issues which come to my mind are:
politics should be about bringing in positive change not for yourself but for all citizens and to do so you require to change the kind of people that are coming in because like it or not you vote for them!
Why is it that we are generally afraid to affiliate ourselves with a political ideology that we believe in and put in efforts to clean it from Inside Out?
Why can we not walk out from our drawing-room debate to more meaningful efforts to condemn what is wrong?
Hearing this point of view, a lot of people ask me- what would be a possible answer and I think that the most relevant answer to the situation is to understand how the evolution of social media and its penetration has transformed the reliability of media houses.
There was a point in time whatever was printed in the newspaper or what came out in a magazine was taken to be a gospel truth. But then the same place was taken over by the audio-video media that is the news channel but then came in the activism of people on social media where they started questioning research and contradicting, with facts on what various newspapers, News-channels, media houses, or journalists were trying to set as a Gospel truth. Suddenly a correction and morality pressure started coming into the practices followed by these identities.
I write this today, not for any other reason but to try and awaken some people, so as to rather than just commenting from the comfort of their home they start coming out, taking an active part and changing the direction and deliverance of the entire scope of politics and activism in any society.
The last thing that I would like to place for you to consider is to please read your constitution. It will give you a lot to think about what you should be doing, what you should be opposing and what you should not be doing.