An army of ignited minds, born in 1991 or thereabouts, brought up in post liberalization affluence are now adults. They did not learn, like we did, that India is a developing country, faced with resource crunches. Rationing, mixed economy, 5 year plans, non-aligned movement, license, permits, quotas and words that were the staple of our generation where largely alien to them. They were not subjected to the spectacle of a lone Gavaskar digging in, carrying a Nation’s aspiration on his willow – a lone crusader in a desperate attempt to ward off defeat and ignominy. On the contrary, they were witness to the defiant out stepped volleys of the master blaster, playing to win in every part of the globe, all the time.
Goaded by our parents and grandparents we craved to be a part of the all powerful system. Choices were scarce, being humble an appreciated quality, and to “belong” a virtue. We dared not, even to dream beyond a certain size. Life followed Doordarshan. Mile Sur Mera Tumhara…
Today we live in a world of plenty. India is one of the few growth drivers of the world economy. Choices, like rabbits have multiplied manifold and the young are not scared to look the system in the eye and challenge when they find anomalies. This self confident, educated defiance will be the key factor that will shape the things to come, in 2013 and the years ahead.
This sea, which has not been divided by caste, creed or colour like we were, has identified corruption as the number one enemy between them and the achievement of their dreams. While the politician is the face that is drawing their ire, the unholy nexus between politics and industry and the bureaucracy gnawing at the pillars of progress too will soon face their flack. Their collective anger has already manifested itself in numerous occasions – post Mumbai attack, in Anna Hazare’s movement, in Guwahati and in Delhi following the beastly attack on the little girl.
Spontaneous outbursts, following clarion calls in the social media with a complete disdain for the established political parties and with total disregard of established political norms of protest. While this (the lack of political leadership) may have made the protests much more acceptable to a wider range of the population, they have also ensured that rudderless, the movements fizzle out as the seekers of instant gratification move on for their next high. A case in point is the fact that when the verdict was finally given in the Guwahati case, there were hardly any ripples – either in the social or the mainline media; leave alone the burning of candles which has become the symbol of angst.
I foresee three emerging trends in the years to come:
- The social media integrated, youth movements will become more mature with the dropping of sensationalist demands for instantaneous (to a great extent impossible) justice. Demands like “If you can send the victim to Singapore for treatment, send the accused to Saudi Arabia for punishment” will be replaced when these youngsters realise that first the “accused” have to be proven “guilty” and that you cannot have a twenty first century social order meeting out medieval punishment. Just the way “hot pursuit” was not an option following the terror strike in Mumbai.
- The second emerging trend that I foresee is a mad scramble by the rainbow coalition of political parties to high jack this anger for their vested interests. Rahul Gandhi will seek to become the young face backed by the establishment. Narendra Modi will try to entice with the development agenda hoping that those who were born after Godhra will not know about the gore. Gadfly’s like Aravind Kejriwal and everyone from retired soldiers to men in khaki knickers will throw in their hats. However, I personally feel that the movement will throw up a leadership from within its ranks and the sooner that happen the better – for the nation and the world at large.
- The third thing that is clear from where I stand is the increasing marginalization of mainline media especially as the catalyst molding public opinion. Television in search of TRP has become so trivial in matters reporting that there are a few takers, while the print media is increasingly becoming irrelevant in the wired age. Today everybody is armed with a device that can beam news as it is happening and being independent watchers have far more credibility than the established media houses which are widely seen as a part of the establishment itself, compromised on the high alter of ad-sales. Unless the media reinvents itself and embraces the dictates of the times, a fate worse than that which befell the dinosaurs await them.
The world may not have ended in 2012 the way the Mayans prophesied, but hang on; we may still witness the end of the world order as we know it. And it is not India alone that is witnessing this facebook bombardment – Wall Street, Slut March, Arab Spring : may a thousand flowers bloom!