October 8, 2008

Indians know no fear now

Every Indian should be and is proud that Abhinav Bindra has won an Individual Gold in shooting in the recently concluded Beijing 2008 Olympics. Two more Indians, Vijendra Kumar and Sushil Kumar, have done their country proud by winning Bronze medals in boxing and wrestling.The achievements in Cricket are already well known viz. Winning of T20 World Cup, Beating England in England and Australia in Australia etc. etc. etc. .These are no mean achievements by any standards. To my mind, these wins are indicative of the cataclysmic change that is waiting to happen (or is it already happening?). I find that Indians are shedding their inhibitions and are over-powering the fear psychosis they have suffered for centuries.
They know no fear now.
They know no fear now.
They know no fear now.
We do not have to go very far for verifying the assertion made above. Just one look at how the bikers and scooterists drive on any road, in any kind of traffic, in any city or town across the length and breadth ( and depth) in India, will be proof enough. Gone are the days when overtaking from the left was deemed an offence. Today no body could care less; any body drives any which way. No holds barred. The only motive is to upstage the other blokes on the road and to zoom past imaginary winning posts. Slogans like " Better to be Mr. late than to be Late Mr." and " Slow and Steady Wins the Race", " Speed Can Kill" are passé.

In the foregoing, the assertion about bikers is meant to set the bottom line. It is common knowledge that two wheelers would rank the lowest in terms of stability as per the inherent design characteristics. Cars fare no better; especially when they are driven by the haughty owners or hired drivers who exhibit a marked disdain for rules and regulations or official authority which is considered a tradable commodity. The irony is that every body seems to be in a tearing hurry to be rushing to reach somewhere; not knowing what to do or expect after reaching the destination. Every body irrespective of caste, creed and religion, suddenly seems to be following what Geeta preaches:-
कर्मण्येवाधिकार असते माँ फलेषु कदाचनम
कर्मण्येवाधिकार असते माँ फलेषु कदाचनम
कर्मण्येवाधिकार असते माँ फलेषु कदाचनम
No body is waiting at home. The awaiter himself / herself is likely to be on the road rushing somewhere ( where and why?).
There is a paradigm shift.
There is a paradigm shift.
There is a paradigm shift.
No fear. No obligation. No morals. No conscience
.
No fear. No obligation. No morals. No conscience.
Only whims and fancies. I, me, myself and two hoots for every one else. Perfect prescription for self aggrandizement (and disaster). Bronze will turn into silver, gold, platinum and whatever can come next above.
It is true that since time immemorial, every society however civilized, has had its share of perverts, psychopaths, criminals and anti social elements. But the number of such elements was always small. Though some of these were able to circumvent or defeat the rule of law and some others were plainly defiant in spite of the knowledge that they would face punishment if caught, yet it is also a fact that they still feared the law. But in today's India things have changed. Even ordinary citizens are inclined not to follow any rules and regulations. Law is really an ass and is kicked with impunity; law keepers are ass-holes and law breakers are heroes in their own and others’ eyes.
The fear has gone. Indians know no fear now.
The fear has gone. Indians know no fear now.
The fear has gone. Indians know no fear now.
There is also another facet to this phenomenon. We have stopped living in the past. We are no longer afraid of the future. Present, today, now and this instant is only what matters. This mantra is getting translated into large numbers of Indians traveling, working and residing abroad. It is the vehicle for excellence of Indians in various fields internationally. The banishment of fear from the minds has resulted in a host of Indians being anointed CEOs in all kinds of multinationals including Pepsico, CitiGroup, Vodafone etc.

And there is a clutch of Indians ranked among the topmost businessmen in the world and amongst the richest in the world.

It is no wonder then that Indian businessmen are the most optimistic in world.

And they are out to conquer the world. Every other day, there is news of a take-over, acquisition or buy-out of a multinational by an Indian business group. The fact that Indians are now on the prowl is beautifully recorded in an advertisement. This ad shows an Indian businessman being driven past a building which has on its façade the name “East India Company”. The man points at the building and says to his mate “I want to buy this company” and upon being asked “why”, states with an air of studied arrogance “They ruled over us for 200 years, now it is our turn”
Yet again, savour this
Yet again, savour this
The late Aditya Vikram Birla was once asked whether he was afraid of multinationals. "No" he replied, "they should be afraid of me".