It has been well over a month since my last pow-wow with "Reflections", and that is not good enough! Of course, there is no dearth of excuses to be proffered, but on this one occasion, I forgive myself because a good deal of the time was spent with those two little devils, Kabir and Raghav. And I would be hard pressed to find a better way of passing time!
So, what do I pen down to rejuvenate my diary? I think I shall go back to the 24th of April when I had made a comment or two on Facebook which, very interestingly, evoked some varied comments. I had mused that to be successful one should not be smart, well informed, confident, etc....or words to that effect. I had not gone into any specifics as the thoughts were general, open to queries and clarifications. While someone was justly baffled one other said "eyik" and a third one called for a delete button!
The point is that, whether we like it or not, whether we suffer from illusions of grandeur about ourselves or not, the "crab mentality" is over active in our collective psyche. As a result of this we are always tempted to catch hold of the perceived achievers in our society and bring them down a peg or two. And what better catch than those who evoke jealousy and inferiority complexes in us; whom we secretly envy; and who we label "elitists" in order to put ourselves on pedestals of "aam aadmi" - where we do not belong!
At the time of my comment on the Faceook, my mind was filled with what the media, the people and the rulers were doing to two persons by the name of Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar. I felt that we were being, as usual, too hasty and precipitate in pulling down the two for their indiscretions regarding the IPL Kochi bid. Today, I stand somewhat vindicated as Jairam Ramesh too has fallen prey to this great malady. Shashi Tharoor has been shown the door from the ministry and Jairam Ramesh has been proclaimed a pariah in the government.
It is true that both have indeed been guilty of extremely immature and indiscreet behaviour. But that is all they have done. Tharoor and Ramesh are two of the brighest men in Indian politics. They are not just bright; they are brilliant. Do we or don't we want people of such intellectual stature to lead the nation to the future? The point I am trying to make is that, had the two gentlemen been from say a vernacular academic background, it is doubtful whether they would have made such good "copy" to be hounded beyond compare by the media.
Are we to believe that ministers from more "indigenous" backgrounds have never shot off their mouths or made any unsavoury statements or behaved in unbecoming manner for public figures? Is there nobody in the government who has made blunders galore? Is there noone who has been tainted by scams, crimes, corruption, incompetence and who are deserving of severe punishment? Or are these offences so very minimal that they become eminently acceptable, much in contrast to the indiscretions of M/S Tharoor and Ramesh?
This phenomenon goes back a long way in my memeory. In the second half of 1964 I took admission to M.A. Economics class in the Post graduate College of Arts & Science, Calcutta University. Having been an alumni of St. Xavier's School and College, I was somewhat prepared to face initial hostility from fellow students from vernacular colleges. However, that did not happen. What happened was totally unexpected as it originated from the professors and not the students.
On the very first day, one professor stated that he wished to assess the quality of the class right at the beginning as it would help him to pitch his lectures at the appropriate level. This need seemed a bit odd at that point, but since it was not a major issue for us Xaverians, the matter did not weigh on our minds. However his method of ascertaining this so-called level of academic intelligence was rather tell-tale and bewildering! It certainly drew our attention! It also introduced us to the reality of people's perceptions and how warped they can be, at the best of times.
Prof. Sadhan Bhattacharya, for so was his name, mentioned half a dozen or so colleges one by one and wanted to know who all came from them. He scrupulously omitted the name of St. Xavier's College which has always been the top college in Calcutta in respect of all-round accomplishments of the students. Academically too it was second only to Presidency College, which certainly found a mention in his list! For corporate recruiters the students of St. Xavier's were always the prime catch. St. Xavier's boys (there were no girls in SXC in those days. Alas!) were generally, among other things, smart, proficient in English, intelligent,excellent in sports, followed western pop music, watched English movies, were trendily dressed and usually very articulate and well-mannered. All this proved to be the bane. In the mind of Prof. Bhattacharya and those of countless others of his ilk, this was the stereotype......the elitist, no-good, "phiringi" wasters, interested only in games and girls and far removed from the ideal.....the bookwormish "bhaalo chhele". Hence, in his mind, there was no place for us in the pursuit of academics. I must add that Loreto College for Girls had also not made it to the professor's list. It is, of course a different matter that there was no girl from Loreto in our class!
So, this kind of mental stereotyping is very much prevalent in our society. In later years, I have found this in my working life as well. After repeated experiences of this bias I have come to the conclusion that it springs from sheer jealousy of the smart, articulate and sophisticated people. This is where the "crab mentality" comes in. You cannot emulate the smart trend-setter? Don't worry, just pull him down till he hits dust! Only then will you be able to strut around and flaunt your stuff! Amen!
As for now, I am seriously concerned about the public-life longevity of Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid, P Chidambaram and others of their "elitist" breed.
