(10 Jul 09)
I’m in favour of the
Court’s ruling: homosexuality is not a crime. There’ve been many activists
who’ve fought and won this battle, to prove that those with different sexual
preferences aren’t criminals. As there are activists who have and still are
fighting for the rights of stray dogs (am an animal lover and support most
causes that save living things…uh, ok, with ‘roaches I make an exception),
murderers, foetuses, even dilapidated buildings. Thanks to them, governments
have learnt to toe the line, helpless prostitutes have been rehabilitated,
dying arts have been revived.
“Media persons” (no longer
reporters, cameramen, or subs) love to present their points of view and ask
them lots of questions on prime time. We have activists to agitate against the
establishment, no matter if the latter is actually doing a good job in some
cases. We have activists who will agitate without agenda. Some who will argue
about gender and other forms of discrimination endlessly, in their privileged
homes. All said and done, without such change-makers, we wouldn’t, couldn’t
have remained like our poor neighbours, but hey, even in Pakistan, now,
dissenting voices are getting louder against the gagging rule of the Taliban.
Activists have certain genes, I think, that prod them to oppose the Big and
Mighty in favour of the small and meek. We’ve seen in Goa how teamwork has
helped activists save the State from ruthless politicians.
So, I wonder, what
stops activists from actively disciplining the aam aadmi? Why doesn’t a single
activists show his/her clout in teaching our citizens their responsibility? How
come there isn’t a single NGO that works to educate the average paan-chewer
from spitting/urinating/throwing garbage wherever they please? How come no NGO
protests against temples/chapels/shrines blocking roads? How come no NGO
monitors queues at counters and bus-stops? Or helps the cops catch offenders of
traffic rules? Why can’t we have people who protest the tweaking of
flowers/twigs/leaves from carefully tended plants (here, the Majority
community, or Hindus, are the major culprits, grabbing anything floral, free,
for pujas)?
Every activist believes in anti-government. How about
pro-everything-that’s-civilized?
At a hospital in Mumbai
(and this could well be Goa or any other part of India) two days ago, evening
time, pouring like hell, there was a crowd of people, mostly women, who took
shelter under the porch. Fair enough. Then, because their legs tired, they
squatted: right in the drive, right in the middle of the ambulance-drive-way.
The staff tried to reason with them. No luck. Surely there must be a law that
gives patients/medical facilities right of way. But who’ll enforce it? The
cops? Would they risk chasing away ‘helpless ghungtaaed women? The tv channels
would appear in a trice.
At the
laser-and-fireworks show celebrating the inauguration of the Worli-Bandra sea
link, college-goers trod all over the cordoned area, stamping to death sapling
tufts of grass that were meant to catch root in the monsoons. The solitary,
illiterate watchman-cum-gardener did tell them and pointed out to the damage
they were causing. So? He was ignored. I couldn’t think of a single
activist/NGO that was involved in crowd control.
I’ve said this often,
but will repeat: NGOs and activists need to rethink what’s right and wrong. No
volunteers get knee-deep in garbage to help clean out the muck after a flood or
an earthquake. Clearing out the decaying and putrifying matter is left to the
government. Oh, there are those who rush
to trouble-spots to teach ‘victims’ breathing exercises and or have special
prayer-sessions to help them overcome their trauma. But come bullets/molesters,
and back they run to the same government that they curse, for protection. Take
mass inoculations, sewage treatment plants, or agriculture… if any of these are
to be successful, it’s a good idea to support the government (and yes, fight
corruption to make sure the plans succeed), for our own benefit.
Two friends popped in a
few days ago. Nitin runs an NGO of his own to help industries run with modern
technology that helps rather than kills the environment. He isn’t against
anything, just pro-earth. Dr. Chacko works in poverty-stricken, backward areas
of Orissa, Bihar, and other parts of India. They aren’t labelled activists.
They don’t appear on tv. They don’t wear khadi or flaunt jholas. They don’t
visit courts or newspaper offices. They see the seedy part of the government;
they don’t spew curses. We need them. And more like them.
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