Anti Reservation, Rang De Basanti, and Gandhi*, The Tipping Point, and the whole hoopla………

How come all these words go into a single sentence? Well let’s see.

Many News Channels are drawing parallel the scenes of the Anti Reservation (live and Media) which we see daily and from the block buster movie Rang De Basanti. We read it everywhere that Rang De Basanti has motivated the students. What influence movies have on kids these days (and we were thinking not to ban smoking in cinema, ;)).

My point is that, it is not RDB that created this mass hysteria all of a sudden, like Mahatma Gandhi did once.

All that Gandhi and RDB did is, become a catalyst. These protests are not against Reservation. They are against the Indian Government, their State government and even the local governance (Be it any political party) or any democratic organization. The so called democratic organizations do nothing or very little for the countries development and sometimes things which will hamper our growth.

Slowly it’s a builds up. How much will we tolerate this non-governance? How long will we keep quite?

Ultimately until when will the average middle class, who is concerned more about his family tolerate the nonsensical attitude of the government. ?

There has to be a limit, a Tipping Point (A good book by Malcom Gladwell, read it). Beyond this tipping point things are totally different as opposed to what was before it. Before the Tipping Point we tolerated to Government, did not bother about anything (or at least so it seemed). Once the Tipping Point is reached, we change completely .We come out on the streets, start protesting.

The Tipping Point was the tyrannical British Rule in 1920.

The Increase in the Reservation Quota was that Tipping Point in 2006.

That’s why the protests started in Delhi first and much later in Chennai. Obviously people are more dissatisfied in the Capital.

Now obviously when the Tipping Point was reached, we need to given direction. We are not like some of the parties, where we pickup stones, bricks etc and start breaking anything and everything in our way.

This is where RDB or Gandhi came into the picture and fix the jigsaw puzzle. They gave us the direction. They have given us the right path, where we can vent our dissatisfaction and the agitation within us. Both showed us the ill consequences of violence.

What is the path?

Peaceful protests!! .

This is quite Anti of what we expect. But come on we are students, regular people coming from regular families. What can we do? We are not some kind of superheroes.

So spreading the message, motivating people to get involved, organizing peaceful protests makes us none other than superheroes.

We needed another Gandhi for the Gen Next. What better medium than the cinema to give us one. We all know that Average Indian’s G K about Hindi Cinemas is more than about the country. Hats off to those guys who came up with RDB and also to the guy with the original idea, none other than Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

RDB and Gandhi have brought out this heroism in us, which we never knew existed. And these heroic acts are going to make India a great Nation some day.