Barring the pandemic, the huge number of fatalities in the second wave and the repercussions of work & study from home, it might have been life as usual for many in 2021. Or was it really? Has the world been as usual?
Some politicians in a few states in India continued to engage in name calling and condescending one another in public talks. Words which mean "Rogue", "Stupid", "Completely incompetent", "Hopeless", "Useless", "Runt" became a common place. In a state assembly, during a live session, one person even went to the extent of accusing an opposition leader, who was once a CM, that this leader was the one who got an erstwhile leader murdered because, as per him, the son of the former was born to the latter; And hence asking for that case to be re-opened.
And this statement in a live session that was being broadcasted. That day ought to be the black day in the political history of India, on which day the human spirit stooped to its lowest in the name of politics and power-wrangling. The speaker of the assembly, who ought to act unbiasedly, did not say a word despite such insanely irrelevant stuff to the proceedings of the house being uttered there. Neither did he condemn the act nor did he suspend the person who outraged the modesty of a couple openly when the whole state was watching it. All because, the speaker belonged to the same party which was in power and the person who made the accusations belonged to the same party. The current CM was grinning in a mocking way while this was happening, being a passive yet happy party to the crime. The opposition leader, on whom the accusation was made, broke down to tears and gathered himself quickly.
A sane person would not know where to bang their head being a spectator to this ignorant political drama. Many people came out and condemned it later. Eventually, the discussion fizzled out. Anyway, this was such a gruesome act that even merely discussing it further in public, would do more harm than good. This was not an instance where the people who were impacted or their relatives would file a defamation case and get justice. I myself was so disturbed that I impulsively considered filing a PIL and later realized the futility of it. Shouldn't the Supreme Court or the High Court take up this case suo motu and warn/jail both the person who made such derogatory remarks and the speaker who did not fulfill his responsibilities? Do we need people to go complain to the courts about such stuff which is out in the open?
This is a violation of fundamental human rights, damn it, a blot on human spirit. So, courts would punish people only for gruesome physical crimes like murder and rape or tangible crimes like theft etc? This may seem like a one-off, but no, it isn’t. This is just a blatant instance of emotional and intellectual rape, corruption of human spirit, a phenomenon that is silently going on in the society where people do not take others' emotions and feelings seriously, where people disregard others' existence completely let alone their work and contribution; where people are so self-centric that their acts are driven only and ONLY by their self-interests. And many are getting away with such acts. There's no moral or societal policing let alone a formal intervention by courts. What is at the core of this problem is - there is no respect for the other human and no fear for the society in case of a wrong-doing that’s not easily tangible.
When it comes to ethics and morals, there is no small or big mistake. It is moral or it isn’t. It is when we think it is ok to make small mistakes, that we make space for the bigger ones like Corruption, Complacency (Chalta hain, Kuch bhi chalta hain) and other systemic problems that encompass the society. And these days, many see punishment as a wrong thing; that speaking up against wrong, is wrong in itself because it humiliates the person who committed it. So, we remain silent and indifferent to the wrongs in the society and let the evil proliferate itself in the name of forgiving? Society is a complex organism and conflict is an integral part of it. The evolution of societal codes, norms and laws has a long-drawn history and the interpretation of punishment by the modern society seems to be a very rudimentary one to me. Even God doesn’t say we should remain silent to adharma (if one believes in the existence of the One) because God in essence is love and truth. That is really the essence of the shloka - yadha yadha hi dharmasya – in Bhagawad Gita.
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Coming back to 2021, the discussions and debates (let's call them brawls) continued unabated on the TV channels in which no person listens to the other. The organized format of debate and discussion lost its meaning. I doubt if any of those discussions solved a thing for the society, except bring the channels TRPs and contribute to the background noise in our daily lives, we are all so used to by now, while carrying out our routines.
On the other hand, in colleges and universities, where students are expected to engage in organized and meaningful discussions on subject and societal matters, to provoke and nurture inquisitive thought and reform, there is some sense of complacency and indifference.
The clickbait and twisted news reporting continued in newspapers. Very funny how D&I has been used in multiple instances to showcase how some organizations stand out, as if they were doing a favor to women and society, when in reality they were mere tantrums to enhance their brand and share values. And when D&I had to be used, it seems people completely forgot to apply it, lol! Here's an instance - an annual banking conclave where 30 men were invited as speakers. All men, not a single woman! That too in banking sector where there are many women wizards and there's no dearth of speakers. One would understand if it's just a panel of 5 or 6 and it was all men. But no, it was 30 of them.
Many wondered if they were in 2021 or some 18th century! Later the organizers corrected their mistake and issued an apology saying that this was an instance of oversight and that they did not try hard enough to get women speakers. They also went on to add a few women speakers.
And I'm still wondering if one needs a "D&I clause" to remember and include women - women who are such an integral part of life, society and business today. Would one need a checklist hanging on the wall to remind them that they need to include their mother too along with their father, in case they are seeking out opinions on a matter? Forgetting a vital part is an act of indifference, damn it. As bad as intentionally discriminating and suppressing. One may not be able to place both the acts equally, but both the acts have their weights, and neither is small.
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And coming to technology and the changing trends in the society as a result, 2021 has laid strong foundations for 5G and Metaverse; And also, for a lot of other technologies (Cloud, IoT, AI, ML, Massive Man-machine or machine-machine communication) that aid them and need to act in cohesion for both 5G and Metaverse to work. 5G and Metaverse are supposed to bring paradigm shifts in the way we live. But strangely there’s no feasibility study ever done to understand their impact on the planet, its resources and on the (physical, mental and emotional) health of humans. Yet, we venture to buy in to these technologies and start adapting ourselves and our lives to them.
Big corporations are saying (rather announcing proudly and subtly pushing mankind to believe that) Metaverse is an antidote to the lack of human connection, when in reality it is just quite the opposite. It is nothing but inviting our own doom upon us – it shall be the biggest trap ever to dehumanize interpersonal connections. Because this can be such a comfortable hack to circumvent the pleasures and pains a real life can offer. And it’s so easy to be trapped into it…all for a small list of benefits it might offer - education, entertainment and the democracy of participation from anywhere in the world. But seriously, do we not get these things outside the Metaverse? And what a heavy price to pay for the so-called benefits!
Do we even need to discuss and conclude that this virtual environment heavily focused on hedonism will blur the lines between virtual and real environments and draw people into obsession of living in virtual avatars and domes? Do we want to sell our souls to some powers of society in return of some hedonism and little information (and not wisdom!) Is our common-sense in deep slumber really, that what needs to be known inherently by each one of us, needs deliberation and discussion? And people don’t even seem to intend to discuss it, they might just go and adopt it, because we make-believe ourselves that this is the coolest thing to do because some powers in the society are offering them to us and because everybody else is doing it. And who is this 'everybody' really? Does it also not include you and me?
This is the biggest flaw of humanity staring at us – Scientism – That what (ever crap) arises out of Science (& Technology) is right and we very funnily want to use that very Science itself to prove it wrong. What is wrong inherently can never prove itself wrong, for your kind information, people! Unless it is an entity with a mind and soul, that has the grace to accept its mistakes. We need humans to understand that currently there are some flaws in some byproducts of Science, and that needs to be understood through means other than Science (as it exists today) and subsequently enhance Science. Science by itself is a noble field of study, but we should not forget that it is we humans who with our corrupted souls are capable of using and applying science in wicked ways against nature and our own selves.
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I’m not saying there is no good in the society or that we did not make any progress. We did make some progress, but most of it is materialistic and technological. Maybe, we have been successful in decreasing the proportions of poverty in the world. May be more people are able to put five fingers into their mouths at least twice a day. May be a lot more people are able to access cheap internet today and have access to information. That is “some” good, sure! And sure, there are always individuals who maintain integrity at their end and do the best they can to lead a virtuous life. But what I’m saying is, we as a society, we as a collective are going backwards ethically, morally and spiritually! We are dying a slow death inward while on the outside we may have all the material comforts.
Wind the clock back to 50 years and imagine where we stood. No mobile phones, no internet and a lot of manpower was needed to get things accomplished. And come back to NOW – all we need is mind power. No body power and soul power (spiritual strength). Think of the accelerated journey we have been in these 50 years against the backdrop of the whole journey of mankind so far. And think, just try to assess, how fatal such an acceleration can be.
Do we really want to march ahead to a future where we sell our minds and souls to a few powers in the society? Is our common sense sleeping? Is our wisdom sleeping? Is our soul sleeping?
Wake up! Hell yeah!! It IS time!!! A very good morning to all for a new year.
