We are
living in a world where people are more desperate than ever in making their
identity felt. When the competition becomes fierce it definitely leads to a
crisis & that is what an identity crisis. Quite contrasting to it was the
first & the final letter of Rohith where he says their identity has been
reduced to a vote, a mere number. I therefore think it makes sense to write on
the reasons of this identity crisis.
1. CASTE SYSTEM:
The
most resounding background for an identity crisis is the separation of some
people on the basis of caste. It is very well known that all persons are born
with a heart, 2 hands, 2 kidneys, a brain etc. Both internally &
externally, the composition remains same. God never made a discrimination, did
he? No, a big No. When will we as humans with highest education understand this
simple truth? We stand no right to reserve ourselves a place in heaven if we
continue to ignore this simple fact that all are equal irrespective of their
caste, creed & gender. How can one be a proud Indian when one discriminates
one’s own countrymen. Reservation therefore is an act of separating people as
reserved contrary to the very purpose of equality. Although reservation may
provide with job opportunities & representation but who will ensure the
respect & participation of the so called backward classes in the
mainstream?
Today people still disregard the backward castes & harijans in spite
of their representation at every walk of life. So overall the situation remains
more or less the same with only a fraction of them managing to live with better
standard of living & therefore continuing to take advantage of the
reservation policy, the larger part still distant from the mainstream. The
social harmony therefore hasn’t improved much since independence. The harijans
continue to face the perils of the caste system & upper caste has refused
to give away their casteist ideology. The devil being an orthodox thinking. To
change this we need to work from the school level only, inculcating love ,
brotherhood, unbiased outlook & more importantly participatory enthusiasm.
To remove casteism out of the society we need to overlap it with much aspects
of love, fraternity & respect to all. Probably doing way with surnames will do some good & the better way of is
to put your father or mother’s name as surname so that one may be remembered by
one’s parents’ name. The much larger vision would be to make India the biggest
religion of all adopting all good things of all religions & boycotting the
social enigmas prevalent in our society much like sati, dowry. Let us make
India the sea where all caste, religion come & become one. Let it be the first religion for all Indians doing
away with caste bigotry.
2. ECONOMIC DISPARITY:
This when coupled with
caste discrimination attracts heavy identity crisis. While we see some
economically & politically strong families from Harijans & backward
classes finding acceptability in
society, most oppressed people come of from the economically weaker sections
& that too from the backward & harijan sections. These are people who
find it difficult to make both their ends meet. Their identity is in danger. So
basically after freedom, the Haves have continued to oppress the have-nots. Why
is this disparity so high? It is because we Indians have never seriously wanted
to uplift them & often pretended to be their godfathers in turn filling our
pockets. Their identity is no more than a vote. Isn’t the government equally
responsible for it as the haves are? The haves have mostly taken all the
benefits meant for the economically weaker sections of the society illegally.
Be it scholarships, merit schemes, ration cards, subsidies, land allotment etc.
Fake affidavits & income certificates have often defied the rightful their
place. We Indians love loopholes. We can built a palace out of it. Shame on all
of those who have contributed to the poor’ identity crisis. The recent Panama
papers revealed 612 Indians having their illegal firms based at tax havens,
thereby denying the poor the tax money which would have helped the govt to
improve the standard of living of the poor.
Why does it happen that we bargain heavily with the local vegetable
vendor but not at malls & other outlets. The poor vegetable vendor has no
other options to sell it otherwise he will be at loss, therefore he reduces his
profit so that his children may not sleep without food. On the other hand,
people pay whatever being charged by the outlet owners without bargaining because
it can dent their social identity. This is how we are wrong at the right place.
It leads to economic disparity leading to another identity crisis.
3 WESTERN MINDSET:
This one is
the latest in creating an identity crisis. The younger generation with the advent
of internet & social networking, are more influenced by the west &
western culture. Their dressing sense, hair style, outlook etc are heavily
attracted by the west, on the bargain leaving our cultural values wanting. This
has often led to a friction between the older generation & the younger
generation. Although there is nothing much alarming about this identity clash
but at the backdrop of it is our commitment towards the country. Like for
example many Indians find it disrespecting to talk in Hindi. Some find it very embarrassing
touching feet of the elders. Some consider Hindi speaking, ethnic dress wearing
as inferior Indians. To everybody’s surprise the young educated Indians also
have inherited the racial discrimination from the west, especially towards the
North East Indians. What use is this education if it cannot open one’s eyes
about the reality of life. So the question is, are we becoming blinder to the
realities of life while inheriting the western traditions. Why do we compromise our sense of being
Indians when dealing with the west.
4.GENDER DISCRIMINATION:
Men
& women are created equal. Like every action has a reaction so with every man
there is a woman thereby balancing the system. So every women & men have equal
rights. Any system with unequal weights
would lead to an unbalanced system & we all know that unequal system
results in collapse. Therefore it is imperative for us to consider women &
men as equals. It is time when we overcome our patriarchal ideology to make way
for much liberal thinking based on reasoning & logic rather than on social
dogmas. The rising no of cases against women is the resultant of this gender
identity crisis where in spite of knowing the science of equality, men continue
to ignore it by suppressing the women. Our patriarchal society is not able to
digest the emergence of women as an equal force & therefore leads to a
crisis. The recent cases of Sabrimala, Shani Mahadev temple, Hazi Ali Dargah,
triple talaq etc are the live example of a bitter crisis in the name of gender
which our constitution has out righty discarded. It is time we open our eyes
& accept the identity of women as an equal force.
5. SELF PROCLAIMED NATIONALISM:
Recently there has been a trend of becoming self proclaimed nationalists.
The only test to pass to become a self proclaimed nationalist is to hold up the
Indian flag chanting the slogan of Bharat Mata ki Jai. Any hypocrite may find
this way easier of proclaiming nationalism. After all is just an act &
hypocrites are masters in acting. Rest
who may not act so well may be called anti-nationals & arrangement for
their way to other countries are made by them. A big joke, very insane. This is
an identity crisis.
Those who call themselves
Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian etc first before being an Indian are the biggest
bigots & hypocrite. Questioning somebody’s integrity towards the nation is
unwarranted, because as a friend in need is a friend indeed similarly the
Indian in crisis is Indian indeed.
During crisis the hypocrites will be the first to run away. Therefore do not
become self proclaimed nationalists & do not question anybody’s integrity as a crisis only will better tell.
Do not create an IDENTITY CRISIS.
( Opinions are personal & not directed at any individual).
