The Need To Disturb Ourselves
By Shiba Desor
10 March, 2011
Countercurrents.org
It has been only very recently that all my fixed conceptions are blurring. And now that it has happened everything seems to have been a hoax. The 18 years of education are a hoax. Nationalism is a hoax. Optimism for liberalisation/ globalisation/ “India being a super power in 2020” being a good thing- a hoax. Religion- a complete hoax. Possibility of poverty alleviation being even the objective of any of our government and (often now) non government programmes even a bigger hoax. Equity as a desirable object- the greatest hoax. And the question that comes out of it is- why did it take so long to realise this? The realisation is far from pleasant. It disturbs and wreaks havoc. It makes it impossible to have any discussion or conversation which does not end in pessimism and despondency. But still this realisation seems crucial and leads us to question- do other people realise it? Do other people see it?
The answer is a yes-no. Yes they see it. Of course they see it. When they drive to a glittering building of their office they have to pass by the slum area where people live in tents made of sacks and shit out in the open. They cover their noses and turn on their music systems in their cars to divert their attention. Or they take pictures and write about how this part of city is a blotch on the face of development and needs to be renovated. They notice also, even when they wear a t-shirt called “save the planet” that the plastic they have to consume every day is piling up and barely getting segregated but what can one do? What is the alternative for now? They will stop when someone invents an alternative. They realise that as our cities are expanding- Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai- they are invading over areas that were villages- areas where people still don’t get water in their small homes and have to walk to get water and firewood for cooking. But the new chain of apartments called “green city” in that area provides the promise of “being away from the noisy crowded centre” while tapping into the little water the area has left.
Yes we see that something is wrong. But no- we don’t question why. We don’t want to admit that it may be our own way of living that is contributing to the demise and decay of the planet we so eagerly vouch to want to save. We would nod and agree that something is wrong. We would agree that our development is not sustainable. But we would not question the whole idea itself that sustainable development is possible. It is not. It is a vague ambiguous term used as a shield for a million different reasons. It is not possible. Not if we try to look at the whole picture. If we try to look at the connections between the rich and the poor, the rural and urban, the tribal and “civilised”. It is an idea that is not achievable but it sells. Sells. Like programmes for equity and poverty alleviation, like programmes for participation and empowerment.
It has been very easy to lapse into a numbness where we stop to question the central idea that is driving our lives. Easy to watch movies for “relaxation” and have parties for entertainment. Easy to lapse into a passivity and to satisfy self with the short term- getting a good job, a car, an impressive social network, and a few promotions. With so many people lying in this stupor when and how would it be possible for us to come out alright and unscathed? It wouldn’t. Because it is so easy not to care.
Shiba Desor is currently working on Masters' Thesis on "Evaluation of a forest dweller's wellbeing" with ATREE, Bangalore
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