My view on Rajdeep Sardesai's article "I am anti-national".
Rajdeep your article expresses your palpable frustration.
May I, with humility offer you certain important facts -
(1) We in India, are brought up with a gross - confirmation bias, resultantly, few value dissent. We appreciate children, who do what parents ask to be done. Now you, as in the article, are India's spoilt child. So I see many thrashing you here under. We often find it easier to confirm a majority bias rather than think on our own (thinking consumes too much energy bro!). This is apparent because those e-thrashing you are not even probably understanding the 'literature' in your article (gentlemen, 'I am antinational' is an expression of disgust of RS, to draw your attention to freedoms that are no so for-granted, as we think they are).
(2) Indians have an exceptionally high 'survival bias' which means that we will do anything & everything to survive - this is apparent as we are the only civilization besides chinese which existed uninterrupted for few thousand years. We have lived through invaders & repressions. Higher the survival bias, higher the selfish gene. So culturally, we are not team players - we are taught individualism through our scriptures from day one. Hence, we are, kind of, okay with floods, till our terrace is high enough not to drown. We are more materialistic than Amercians, who we constantly criticize for the same - "we are more catholic than pope"
(3) We are actually very intelligent & clever. Yes, having lived and interacted in few nations and cultures, I am clear - we are very clever and intelligent. Intellect in itself is the quality of gathering knowledge with the subterranean but omni-present purpose of survival. Our 'intellect' historically has arisen not from exploration (as in case of western nations) but from survival. Philosophically, this automatically induces some dishonesty. "Ashwasthama mar gaya haathi" - is a great instance of such survival-originating intellect. Unfortunately so, but being 'worldy-wise' or 'Duniyadari' in India is interpreted as "accept little lies or dishonesty or repression till it favours one or at least does not impact one." While this works excellent for purposes of survival, it really becomes a bottleneck for progress. As progress requires multi-dimensional view of environs sometimes competing, sometimes rebellious.
(4) We in India are not so well read nation, therefore often, we fail to grasp what is the underlying statement in a piece of literature. Here's the living proof of it - I prophesy, "because my current comment is going to be very lengthy, few will read or comment on it and hence I will be saved of a barrage of abusive messages." (5) We are culturally stagnant. Can you quote me any major cultural rebellion we have had? The stagnancy has lead to all of us becoming status quoists. (6) Now regarding your anti-nationalism. Assuming anti-nationalism is opposite of nationalism, you seem to be on the wrong side of us all. We 'nationalistic' people are the ones one who are perfectly fine with half-clad hungry children on road crossings, with the maid sitting on floor while we sit on the sofa, with throwing the 'lays' ka lifafa on road, defecating in open, getting people to clean our shit, paying little here and little there for a favour, over-charging and under-treating innocent patients, taxes underpaid or avoided, parking in the middle of the road, blocking traffic for a VIP, taking dowry, repressing classes, queuing for foreign work permits, happy to quote "mera munda taan kannede da citizen hai", hitting & running when not busy trampling people under SUVs; talking in whispers that "yahan dande ke jor pe kaam hota hai", commenting on ramayana or mahabharta without having read Koran or Das Kapital, or works of Vivekananda or Immanuel Kant or Schopenhauer or Espinoza; and RS, you dare be an opposite of us! Hum aapko aapne mein milaynge, peate nahin ho toh pilaynge (we will make you like us, if you do not drink you are no my friend, so drink). Mere bhai main gehari neend mein hun. Mujhe sone do, jo hansta hai use hansne do, jo rota hai use rone do, bas sone do mujhe sone do (I am in deep sleep don't be the irritating alarm in my ear).
Rajdeep your article expresses your palpable frustration.
May I, with humility offer you certain important facts -
(1) We in India, are brought up with a gross - confirmation bias, resultantly, few value dissent. We appreciate children, who do what parents ask to be done. Now you, as in the article, are India's spoilt child. So I see many thrashing you here under. We often find it easier to confirm a majority bias rather than think on our own (thinking consumes too much energy bro!). This is apparent because those e-thrashing you are not even probably understanding the 'literature' in your article (gentlemen, 'I am antinational' is an expression of disgust of RS, to draw your attention to freedoms that are no so for-granted, as we think they are).
(2) Indians have an exceptionally high 'survival bias' which means that we will do anything & everything to survive - this is apparent as we are the only civilization besides chinese which existed uninterrupted for few thousand years. We have lived through invaders & repressions. Higher the survival bias, higher the selfish gene. So culturally, we are not team players - we are taught individualism through our scriptures from day one. Hence, we are, kind of, okay with floods, till our terrace is high enough not to drown. We are more materialistic than Amercians, who we constantly criticize for the same - "we are more catholic than pope"
(3) We are actually very intelligent & clever. Yes, having lived and interacted in few nations and cultures, I am clear - we are very clever and intelligent. Intellect in itself is the quality of gathering knowledge with the subterranean but omni-present purpose of survival. Our 'intellect' historically has arisen not from exploration (as in case of western nations) but from survival. Philosophically, this automatically induces some dishonesty. "Ashwasthama mar gaya haathi" - is a great instance of such survival-originating intellect. Unfortunately so, but being 'worldy-wise' or 'Duniyadari' in India is interpreted as "accept little lies or dishonesty or repression till it favours one or at least does not impact one." While this works excellent for purposes of survival, it really becomes a bottleneck for progress. As progress requires multi-dimensional view of environs sometimes competing, sometimes rebellious.
(4) We in India are not so well read nation, therefore often, we fail to grasp what is the underlying statement in a piece of literature. Here's the living proof of it - I prophesy, "because my current comment is going to be very lengthy, few will read or comment on it and hence I will be saved of a barrage of abusive messages." (5) We are culturally stagnant. Can you quote me any major cultural rebellion we have had? The stagnancy has lead to all of us becoming status quoists. (6) Now regarding your anti-nationalism. Assuming anti-nationalism is opposite of nationalism, you seem to be on the wrong side of us all. We 'nationalistic' people are the ones one who are perfectly fine with half-clad hungry children on road crossings, with the maid sitting on floor while we sit on the sofa, with throwing the 'lays' ka lifafa on road, defecating in open, getting people to clean our shit, paying little here and little there for a favour, over-charging and under-treating innocent patients, taxes underpaid or avoided, parking in the middle of the road, blocking traffic for a VIP, taking dowry, repressing classes, queuing for foreign work permits, happy to quote "mera munda taan kannede da citizen hai", hitting & running when not busy trampling people under SUVs; talking in whispers that "yahan dande ke jor pe kaam hota hai", commenting on ramayana or mahabharta without having read Koran or Das Kapital, or works of Vivekananda or Immanuel Kant or Schopenhauer or Espinoza; and RS, you dare be an opposite of us! Hum aapko aapne mein milaynge, peate nahin ho toh pilaynge (we will make you like us, if you do not drink you are no my friend, so drink). Mere bhai main gehari neend mein hun. Mujhe sone do, jo hansta hai use hansne do, jo rota hai use rone do, bas sone do mujhe sone do (I am in deep sleep don't be the irritating alarm in my ear).
Very well written! Kudos!
ReplyDelete