Serenaded by the pied piper, people are divorcing from their self-interest
I have friends who supports the current majoritarian dispensation in India - the cow-protecting (killing muslims and scaring poor farmers in the process or as the real motive?), day dreaming (of imagined glories), women berating (length of skirts and access to phones has again become a topic to deliberate), surveillance instituting (aadhar is a support to the police state, not to conscientious people), economy breaking (demonetisation, finance bill, GST mess, deaf to farmer's pleas) establishment.
These friends are film-makers, science educators, bankers etc. And I wonder how these people are supporting a majoritarianism that is killing their own trades, their own careers -
Film makers - look what has happened at FTII and with the censor board. Film education is curbed, so is artistic freedom. Censorship is growing to ridiculous levels. It is a direct assault on the very practice of film-making and yet the bhakt film-maker remains blind.
The science educator - So the govt is publishing textbooks with unproved benefits of cows, judges say that peacocks don't have sex and cows exhale oxygen, PM indicates that the story of a elephant god is proof of existence of sophisticated cosmetic surgery expertise in ancient India, science congresses get hijacked by idiots who claim hindu airplanes of ancient technologies based on myths and stories.Alternate and erroneous history is being pushed through textbooks. If a child is being taught make-believe and his critical thinking skills are under arrest, is it not harmful to the objectives of a science educator?
The banker - Have Indian banks ever been under as much stress as they are now? While loans for billionaires get written away, farmers continue to die with hunger and shame because of loan defaults. The NPA issue is skyrocketing, threatening existence of some banks. RBI, a once tall and independent organisation has become a pawn in the hands of establishment. Demonetisation severely broke the back of so many ground level bankers dealing with frustrated public and incompetent government. Bankers have seen the horrors of this dispensation most acutely, and yet they remain blind to their own self-interest.
Imagined glories are potent hallucinogens. They are being serenaded by the pied piper, directed towards their doom, which they embrace unwittingly with open arms and enthusiasm.
This is not just about India. The right-wing euphoria is just this. the brexit, trump, wall - all of it. people are unwittingly voting against their self-interest.
These friends are film-makers, science educators, bankers etc. And I wonder how these people are supporting a majoritarianism that is killing their own trades, their own careers -
Film makers - look what has happened at FTII and with the censor board. Film education is curbed, so is artistic freedom. Censorship is growing to ridiculous levels. It is a direct assault on the very practice of film-making and yet the bhakt film-maker remains blind.
The science educator - So the govt is publishing textbooks with unproved benefits of cows, judges say that peacocks don't have sex and cows exhale oxygen, PM indicates that the story of a elephant god is proof of existence of sophisticated cosmetic surgery expertise in ancient India, science congresses get hijacked by idiots who claim hindu airplanes of ancient technologies based on myths and stories.Alternate and erroneous history is being pushed through textbooks. If a child is being taught make-believe and his critical thinking skills are under arrest, is it not harmful to the objectives of a science educator?
The banker - Have Indian banks ever been under as much stress as they are now? While loans for billionaires get written away, farmers continue to die with hunger and shame because of loan defaults. The NPA issue is skyrocketing, threatening existence of some banks. RBI, a once tall and independent organisation has become a pawn in the hands of establishment. Demonetisation severely broke the back of so many ground level bankers dealing with frustrated public and incompetent government. Bankers have seen the horrors of this dispensation most acutely, and yet they remain blind to their own self-interest.
Imagined glories are potent hallucinogens. They are being serenaded by the pied piper, directed towards their doom, which they embrace unwittingly with open arms and enthusiasm.
This is not just about India. The right-wing euphoria is just this. the brexit, trump, wall - all of it. people are unwittingly voting against their self-interest.
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