There are a number of issues on boil right now, which are simply too large in magnitude to ignore or dismiss. While India is suffering from rampant corruption and lack of governance, the world is reeling under economic turmoil and IIT Bombay seems to have a case of 'morality' at its hands. One common link to our society and civilization at large is the presence of a guardian, a watchman (not being sexist at all!), who can assimilate the events as they happen and offer the middle path later on. Why the middle path, because radicalism, either positive or negative, is almost always incendiary.
It can be said that Chanakya was the right watchman to Chandragupt, for he helped him consolidate an empire too unimaginable to exist. Antony was there just at the right time to help Octavius in his pursuit, and Al-zajeera was more than an efficient media body when it helped in channeling the rage of the people of the middle east, craving for a beacon of hope when all they had seen was a prolonged spell of darkness. These are just a few basic examples; I invite you to enlighten me on more such incidents. The essence remains: Every system needs an observer.
Now, it can be said that if the media does its job efficiently, it can be the most desirable watchdog ever. This is where I have a problem: The media is human by nature, and by that very simple fact, there are sure to be situations where one side or the other is aggrieved through its observations. It is a huge responsibility if you consider the sheer weight of expectations of the masses. The Indian media can be commended for their persistent dedication in uncovering more and more of irregularities in the country. They can also be faulted for being sensational in times like the Godhra riots and 26/11, when the situation demanded sensitive and balanced response. Leave that, if India were to some how perform badly in one of the upcoming matches, all praise for Dhoni's team would be replaced by widespread contempt. At the micro level (i.e. IITB), the media bodies have and will remain an important cog in the wheel. You might go out and negate their influence, or their reach, but the sheer amount of polarisation brought out by an error on their part shows that people do care. And therefore, it is also our duty to not hurt the morale of such organisations, and be alert citizens when it comes to IIT or the nation, or the world.
As Mr. Manhattan's dilemma towards the end of Watchmen illustrated, the role of a guardian is not the easiest in the world. It is far from it, and is rightfully a bed of thorns.
On a more positive note, this song is just so addictive!
4 comments:
Finally, I read something that I have a comment on. This is a bit off topic but I have a story to share too. The Jagriti Yatra application form has three simple questions - The first one is What do you think is the most important problem of India. For years, I have believe that we in this society don't have the right kind of watchmen protecting us. The watchmen as you have referred the media to, have started misusing their power and their reach. Infact misuse is an understatement - The media houses - at both the international level, national level, or the local level continue to present a biased views for years now.
We very well saw that yesterday too. What we read might be an error-by-someone or might be a personal opinion - Neither of which we have a control over. However what we do have a control over is to demand a holistic view of the situation and then take our personal stand. The big question still remains - Is their a solution to it ?
Charity begins at home.
There is no clear solution as I see it. The concept of a single watchman will only work if the person in contention has the highest ethics and integrity, something which is hard to measure in today's exacting world.
PS: Glad to hear about the Jagriti yatra anecdote.
Corruption/prejudice/bias for a particular person/thing/event is prevalent and inevitable if a human mind is involved. You would have a flavor of bias in every case if someone is not objective and is putting his personal opinion - Period.
Not sure though what the ongoing issue in IIT is but still..Just wanted to scribble something.
http://www.insightiitb.org/2011/general-body-meeting-phase-ii-gs-cult/
This is a more watered doen version of it Varun, aap chat pe milo, fir aaram se bataunga. And I agree with what you wrote. Is there a solution to it?
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