The Three Wise Monkeys

                                                            The Three Wise Monkeys

The Three Wise Monkeys, sometimes known as the three Mystic Apes embody the proverbial maxim-‘See no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil’. The Congress steered by Sonia Gandhi and her backseat driver,  Rahul Gandhi feels impelled to live up to the hallowed surname Gandhi by following the Mahatma’s ideal of the three wise monkeys. Hence there is not a squeak from the Congress government, from the two Gandhis and from their PM appointee, Manmohan Singh or for that matter any of his cabinet ministers and colleagues on any issue the nation is agitated about. It is left to the Congress spokespersons to cobble up arguments in defence of their silence that signifies nothing.

The government’s silence is often mistaken for apathy whereas it is nothing but sheer ignorance of the power of the social media in the hands of the aspirational youth and the consequent incompetence to meet it. The antediluvian mind set of our political class has failed to recognize that the power of the people is today stronger than the people in power.  It has failed to understand the digital connectivity that brings people together to protest against what they perceive as a denial of justice and denial of their citizenship right to honest and good governance.  The unprecedented growth of new forms of insta -communication has given rise to new forms of solidarity that is not driven by any exceptional leader or by any ideology.   

It started with Anna Hazares anti-corruption movement last year, when the Government failed to read the pent up frustration of the ordinary Indian against bureaucratic corruption that forced him to bribe his way to lead a life of modest standards. The late response by the government was like closing the stable door after the horse had bolted. The government buckled under pressure and the PM’s reverential plea to Anna Hazare to break his fast with a promise to get the parliament enact the Lokpal Bill was seen as a victory for the Delhi spring.  The government’s subsequent clumsy handling of Ramdev’s arrest only catapulted him to the national stage till then occupied by Anna Hazare. The government has now scored a hat -trick with its inept handling of the youth protests in the wake of the most heinous and dastardly crime against a young woman in the capital. Even though the government cannot be held responsible for the savagery and brutality of the gang rape it underestimated the anger and despair of India’s youth who called for a strong and swift response from the government. Congress failed to gauge the angry cry of the youth demanding more security and safety for women while mourning the death of the brave young woman who had shown exemplary courage and determination to bring the assaulters to justice. This youth movement did not have anyone like Anna Hazare or Ramdev to give it direction; it was spontaneous and fuelled by twitter messages. Amidst all this chaos, for a week the cow and the calf duo kept an enigmatic silence as though it was government’s inept handling that had nothing to do with their leadership. The late night meeting of Mrs. Gandhi with some protestors after a week was like offering a rattle to a crying baby. 

But it is naive to nail the Gandhis as feelingless as both mother and son had experienced terrible tragedies in their lives. One should remember that the wisdom arising out of tragedy is that it offers no comfort or rational understanding to its victims.  The Gandhis are no exceptions. They have endured terrible tragedies  with stoicism and thereafter seem to have become immune to the voices that raise against unjust and irrational killings..

The challenge today is very different from that of 2009 when the Congress under UPA coalition was voted back to power-and that too in the shadow of 26/11 tragedy. In the last few years,a new generation of young voters who have been aptly described as “consumers of democracy’ has risen up demanding efficiency in governance and speedy results. These young men and women who are gathered in Jantar Mantar for the last fortnight are impatient and they have demonstrated that they have a voice to drown the silence of the rulers.

The nation needs rulers who function like dynamic CEOs and run the government. There is

certainly no lack of educated, efficient and honest people in our midst. We do not need ageing, pontificating political leaders who are often aggressive, assertive and belligerent, wearing their morals on their sleeves. Congress can boast of educated and brilliant ministers among the younger lot that includes Ashwini Kumar, Shashi Tharoor, Jairam Ramesh, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot, Milind Deoras, R.K.Singh, Naveen Jindal, Manish Tiwari  etcin addition to older ministers like Chidambaram, Khurshid,Kapil Sibal and the like. They are suave, polite and can relate to the youth of the country. It is time for the Congress to turn to its young brigade to speak up. The dynastic compulsion has kept these young people under leash and though they are well educated and articulate they are neither visible nor are they heard. The Congress party seems to close its eyes, shut its ears and tie its tongue like the three  ‘wise’ monkeys.

Irresponsible political parties are queering the pitch for a revolution on the lines of the Arab spring which had to a large extent failed in Egypt. Let us not enter a world of anarchy as the middle class revolution has no specific ideology except that it demands good and honest governance. It has today demonstrated its power giving vent to unfiltered emotions of anger and despair but fortunately for India, it has not till now let loose anarchy. The youth is justifiably angry, desperate and impatient. Their distraught feelings are raw but they can be channelized. If not, this will lead to lawlessness and disorder in our society. Lumpen elements will take advantage of the lawful and directionless anger of the youth and let loose violence and riot. In today’s spontaneous protests and candle lighting, it would have been great if the young men had also taken a pledge either in Rajghat or in Jantar Mantar that they will respect women, will not seek dowry and will ensure womens’ right to equal status that they enjoy. Protests cannot remain forever empty sloganeering. They have to be followed by commitment to a cause. It is the duty of the State to protect its citizens but it is the duty of the citizens to assist the State in its discharge of duty.  

It is time for the Congress to do soul searching. It is time for the Congress to look to dynamic young leaders who can relate to and communicate with their own generation. The Finance Minister spoke the truth that the government had not been fully prepared to deal with the youth uprising. It is time for the ruling party to blood the younger educated parliamentarians to engage with the youth of this country. This obsession with dynastic rule has to be given up. If Congress prides itself on inner democracy –that Rahul has been striving to enforce- the first step is to discover the leader who can speak to our youth, inspire them, motivate them and convert their spontaneous anger  to something positive. They are desperately looking for inspired leadership to channel their raw and untempered emotions. We do not need passive cows and calves; we need active, strong, intelligent, compassionate and articulate leaders of deep integrity and commitment who understand the change in government-people equation and who knows the art of getting our youth to transform their unfiltered passion into constructive action.  Let us hope Congress throws up a new generation of leaders who can showcase our demographic dividend as the window of opportunity to develop our nation in the coming decades. 

Rahul may be a well meaning individual but he lacks charisma to lead a disillusioned and cynical generation from the educated middle class.  ‘Garibi hatao’ struck a chord with the poor in the ‘70s and ‘80s, but four decades later holding on to the same slogan before a rising generation labelled YOLO generation ( you live only once) is not just being short sighted, but blind to its aspirations and dreams for better and secure living. If many of the younger parliamentarians have given up their khadi dress and Nehruvian cap and are sporting western clothes like the CEOs, their mindset has also to change to go for a development model that guarantees quality education, ample employable opportunities, good healthcare, safe and secure living. This goes beyond the staid slogan of providing sub-standard ‘roti,kapda and makan’.

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Can India rise once more just as it did after the liberalization of economy in the ‘90s? Can Congress deliver as it did then? Can it wean itself off the apron strings of the Gandhi and venture boldly to meet the aspirations of the youth? Can it convert the demographic dividend to advantage by providing opportunities to the new generation to achieve its capability potential? The answer can be ‘Yes’ if Gandhis themselves gracefully pave the way for the younger leaders to take the reins. A hallowed surname is not enough today; it has to speak and live the ideals  that surname exemplifies. The ideal of the three wise monkeys is to be blind. deaf and mute to evil. The modern version of three wise monkeys is to recognize that the youth of this nation is no evil and hence the need of the hour is to see, hear and speak to them and integrate them  in the task of rebuilding a shattered nation.