Politics & Me

I never thought and still am not completely convinced that I am one of those people who have a keen interest in politics, India or the World. I just get my dose of the news that keeps me in the know. And this is actually a graduation from the levels at which I was a decade ago may be. I think this had to primarily to do with the fact that I was spending those years trying to understand myself first, trying to resolve my own conflicts, before I thought about the country and the world at large. Not that, that journey is over now and I claim to be in a self-actualized state. I just seem to have come to a point where I’ve had enough of thinking about myself and loathing my mistakes and shortcomings. I am more in a space (I think) where I can fathom my emotions and adjust my reactions and then make peace and learn the lessons I need to and move on; more of giving myself a fair shot at life.

Anyway, why I’m writing about this now is that my interest in politics or the political scene in India seem to be going from, should say “love to 15 (0-15; tennis jargon!)”. I talk a bit more with my husband (of course, who else did you think? I’m surely not ready for a debate in the ‘Youth Congress’!) about what’s with the different parties and ideologies. He is more well informed about the world at large than me. We discuss about what kind of people are running our country and what do we want out of them and things like that. Of late, Rahul Gandhi, touted by most to be the next Prime Minister of India, is catching my attention. He has been steering the Congress (especially the next generation of politicians, the younger crop so to speak) in a refreshing direction. I followed with some interest the way he handled the campaigning for the last Lok Sabha elections. He travelled the length and breadth of some states and met the masses, mingled with them on the one hand. On the other, he inspired the youth to put performance ahead of political tamasha to win the confidence of people. He has made quite a few statements until now, about the Congress having more young people in the forefront driving some real change rather than seniority leading to a berth in the ministry. The formula seemed to have worked, with Congress sweeping the polls in Uttar Pradesh which seemed to have become the BSP/SP bastiopn. In fact, BJP was a a close third while Congress had no hold over the state.

Recently, Rahul was in Tamil Nadu and travelled the entire state meeting the masses and members of the Youth Congress in a bid to enrol more people and give the Youth Congress a fresh lease of life. It was also an attempt (I think; I’m still not very well versed with this so I may be wrong) to establish the base for Congress to contest independently in Tamil Nadu in the next elections without the support of the regional parties. This is probably also in lieu of the bigger picture of again making Congress the single party majority at the centre. And in some ways, I think it is better than a coalition set up, which I pretty much equate to the joint family system. It has its own benefits but sometimes, the downsides far outweigh the benefits. Especially, when all in a joint family do not have the same maturity levels and are all trying to further their own agenda, which by no means is the wrong thing, but just the best way of survival. Anyway, coming to Rahul’s visit, I read something very interesting about a meet he had with the Youth Congress members, where senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar was made to wait outside the venue where the meeting was happening, as the meeting was for people between the age group of 35-45 years(I think). This of course is not a big deal but at least it shows some semblance of using one’s intellect in politics rather than treading the beaten track of pouring forth the same good old bashan (lecture). I may be wrong, because I didn’t get into the details of what was really discussed in these meetings. But what strikes me the most is that with these tactical moves, Rahul seems to have caught the attention of people like me. The people who show no interest in politics because we are too busy brooding about the ills of the system but aren’t ready to get our hands dirty or waste our precious time haggling with people who see no sense in a renewed way of life. Typically, the people who like to call ourselves educated, and not the ones who our politicians are bothered about because we are in the minority. However, Rahul seems to have sparked a feeling in me (and Ganesh feels the same) that this may be the beginning of a different kind of political thinking, a thinking driven by intellect, professionalism, adaptability to the new times. It may not be akin to the blackberry sporting Barack Obama’s sophistication but sure feels to be a little bit better than the politics driven by Hindutva or casteism and fooling the masses with basic amenities (with a little bit of entertainment thrown in with the idiot box!) for the sake of a vote.

Pictures courtesy: http://www.gala.de/stars/aufgeschnappt; www.topnews.in/regions/orissa

Global Citizen – Who & Where?

A month ago, a group of Dutch Senior Managers doing a management development programme visited Chennai as part of the program to understand how a different culture can teach them lessons for life and thereby management. After all, management at work is a part of managing life!

The group used what is called an Open Space Meeting where a group of people from our office along with the Dutch group discussed various topics related to how we can learn from different cultures. Very interesting and varied ideas came out from this discussion and it was in a way an eye opener to many of us. For me though, it got me thinking about something that I haven’t given much thought to before.
Being part of a global company, I get to work and mingle socially with people from all over the world. I share stories about my country and hear stories of theirs and we exchange notes about dos and donts of our respective cultures. But somewhere, these lines do blur and we are all just conversing as friends and I have made some really good friends from other parts of the world. And when I think a little about what makes this happen; how do people from completely different backgrounds (cultural, social, familial and more) feel more at home with each other, sometimes even more than with their own ilk, one answer keeps coming back to me. People at the end of the day have basic character sets driven by values and experiences and this is what helps us connect with each other. And this, personality as we often call it, is influenced by a lot of different things, like education, social background, childhood experiences, parents, friends and culture (and many more!). However, the culture thing seems to get a lot of focus. People feel there are lot of differences based on culture. Agreed there are, but aren’t all cultures trying to espouse similar things, like leading a happy life, finding peace and harmony, being nice to each other, making the world a better place, etc.? The differences to me are in ways of doing things, depending on the circumstances in which we are, rather than what we stand for.

You may be wondering why and how I ended up thinking so much about (and even writing about) such a thing. Let me try (note, I’m only trying!) to explain. During this open space meeting, the Dutch group was trying to understand how things are different in the Indian culture. And there I was, sometimes completely in tangent with what some of my Indian colleagues were saying. Sometimes so much so that I was wondering if I’ve become this person who doesn’t belong here anymore. I’ve heard people say many times that I’m just very different. I have never been able to fathom who am I different from or what exactly is different about me. Over the years, I’ve started to understand my country and culture more than I cared to do when I was younger. So, when I hear some people say I have a different perspective from my fellow countrymen, I worry if I am being cast aside from where I belong. And though I feel more like someone in the opposite end of the world, I am not part of that country either and may never be, even if (let’s say) I move there. Unless, of course, I become like Barack Obama may be! So, where do I really belong then? Or is this what we mean by a Global citizen? Someone who feels completely lost no matter which part of the world one is in?

Oh yeah, I know I have, as always, completely confused myself and the rest of you. But hey, don’t blame me. I’m just trying to navigate through my mazed mind!