MERE BACHCHON SAMBHALKE!

In 50s, a Hindi film had released starring Abhi Bhattacharya as a school teacher. The movie was “Jagriti”. A brilliant and a must watch film (I can vouch for it having seen it twice), the movie revolved around a school teacher who sets a group of errant children on the right track.

In fact, I have often pleased my desi  patriotic pride with a child’s marvel that both the iconic book  “To Sir With Love” (by E R Braithwaite) and the iconic Hollywood movie of the same name, were inspired by “Jagriti”. As I said, a child’s imagination! 

Jagriti had a great song  - “Hum Layen Hain Tufaan Se Kashti Nikalke, Is desh Ko Rakhna Mere Bachchon Sambhalke”. Brilliant song by Rafi Saab.

On late night of December 20^th 2019, as I sat watching the snippets of our “democracy” on Twitter, I was reminded of this song and immediately, after ages,  set myself to write my thoughts.

I asked myself a Question that had the lyricist of this song (The great Kavi Pradeep in this case, who has adorned us with similar great songs replete with patriotic fervour) were alive then would he like to reconsider the lyrics of this song!

Toh kya bachchon ne desh sambhala?

From 1954 (When film was released) to 2019, the country has had journey of its own proportions. I will not go into the era without sufficing it to say that overall, it was “bachchas” of one family who called the shots on behalf of billions of other “bachchas” of the country.  However, politics aside, the socio cultural currents, or call it multi lateral dimensions, were similar. The value based foundation, of our country, was similar. Let’s say till the end of the last century!

However, today on 21^st December 2019, can we ask ourselves the same question? Is the foundation of the nation still same

Answer is a big emphatic NO.  

We learnt the art of questioning everything. While asking questions is a very healthy sign of a strong democracy, but when the questions are based on anything but logic and information, often these questions can also be the answers to how to destroy a civilization.

Since Sunday , the 15^th December 2019, India has been gripped by a fever! A fever which has brought millions on the street for what seems to be a never receding outpouring or protest. We have become a Protest country.  

The background to the protest was the passing and enactment of CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) by the current BJP led NDA Government under Prime minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

In contemporary times, I can think of two such massive people”s movement

           1) Lokpal Agitation by Anna Hazare later taken over by current CM of Delhi

2    2) Anti Mandal 

I was part of both! Very aggressively in case 2 above. I feel proud to say that I had received police lathi twice during the protest .

Now the question – Why did we protest and why do we still protest?

Is our protest empowered enough by proper information, facts, data.

During Lokpal, I could clearly see that many and more of the protestors did not a zilch about the proposed bill.  Even I did not, as much as I should have. So why protest? Because it was a ground for venting out our frustration on the govt.  (Considering the government of the time, it was well placed). Second reason was to have a talking point. Third reason was to satisfy our ego that see, I too was there!

But in Mandal Agitation, I feel there were two clear groups. Pro and Anti Mandal.  And in that case, at least the overall contours of the act were, more or less, known.

 Can we say the same for the current “Protest”.

The answer is staring on our face! It is NO. Again a Big NO!

The protestors can be divided into two distinct groups 

1) Lead protestors – Muslims

2) Support protestors  - Students, Intellectuals, Liberals, Jhola gang, Mombatti gang, badi bindi gang, goggles on the head and a frown on the forehead gang AND of course, the Lights, Camera Action gang (our Bollywood celebs)

And both the groups are ill Informed. Despite the Home Minster clarifying in the Parliament and following it up in a series of media organised events, the protestors still do not know and even worse, do not want to know. 

Add to this the tacit support by some in media and the opposition political parties. Both of them were not interested in helping with the proper information. Rather it became an outlet for all to direct their angst at two men. Men they hate and Men we love. Country was divided.

For the Support protestors, the reason was– I too was there. I  have a story to tell my friends family and future generation. I hate this Government.

 But the desire, to know about what they are protesting, was missing.

For the lead protestors , it is even worse. They are fighting on a self created fabricated malignant piece of malafide perception. Fanned by their community leaders, politicians and media. Their protest assumed the proportion of a religious war. A clarion call of Azaadi, amongst other things, from Hindus too! (This we will discuss in a different blog).

One aspect of this Protest has been the presence of Millennials (and I here I do not include life long students of JNU, Jamia and AMU). I mean millennials. The Bachchas!

They love their placards and how! They love to clap and sing impromptu protest songs and they love to carry a serious face. And they love their big ear rings and goggles.

But what they don’t love is to know about either the CAB or the reasons for its enactment into CAA.

Upon asked by independent groups , it was clear that their knowledge was zero. Of course, when led by “Thought Leaders” like Bollywood personality Farhan Akhtar and his team, it is a foregone conclusion.

How does this protest by millennials impact our country?

In a big way! Today’s millennials are just a few years away from becoming tax paying mainstream citizens. Citizens with opinion and thoughts!

We are living in an age (and considering today’s times of exposure through multi platforms) where blaming lack of data/facts, for having become uninformed, is the last acceptable thing.  And yet, there is no information. They have the desire to protest but do not have the desire r yearning to know!

Who is to be blamed?

I feel collectively all of us!  Parents, teachers, media, politics and societal changes…

None of the stake holders have made an attempt to have a meaningful dialogue with the kids. To inform them about the act, its provisions. And then let them decide!

Larger question is whether the stakeholders themselves are informed. I doubt it seeing so many professors, teachers, parents participating (with most of them again knowing nothing about the bill)

This is not healthy for a unique country like ours having more blends and trends and traditions than rest of the world combined. It needs to be addressed and now.

We can not let our future, become our influencers, mature a platform of lack of information.

So in retrospect, i am not very sure that were Kavi Pradeep were alive today and asked the question, he would have liked to continue with the same lyrics....