Post Script: Why Criticism has become Necessary?

I had taken the liberty of simultaneously putting the last post on cg-net, a Yahoo-based group that focuses on Chhattisgarh. In response to that posting, a member, Ajai Kumar Singh, posed the following question (in a separate thread):

"A question to all? Are we use this group to campaigning party politics. One should put the solutions or Ideas, not only criticising each other."

As it turns out, Mr. Singh's query has evoked a rather fascinating discussion- with a flurry of (I am happy to note, mostly) for & against responses. For instance, I am in total agreement with what Mr. OP Goel said:

"We must allow everyone to express themselves in whatever manner they want[other than being nasty and personal]. A tolerant society is the hallmark of a vibrant democracy.

We started with the objective of development of CG. Can we take a step forward to this goal? As they say in China, a journey of 1000 miles has to begin with the first step."

Ms. Rajshree Jyoti was even more precise: "Dear Friends," she wrote,

"I don't see any objection in this. We all know Amit Jogi is a son of Ajit Jogi ji and his political association. This is good for us to know his thought about policies and what they think in this regard. One more thing I want to share that earlier I have a negative image in my mind about Amit but after reading his thoughts on various issues I have changed my mind about him and this (has) happen(ed) through cg net. What's wrong in it?"

What do I think about all this? Well, apart from the fact that this Blog- and cg net- give me a space for voicing my side of the story that the mainstream does- and can- not, it may be little more than a coincidence but the first actual responses to the Vikas Yatra came shortly after the publication of that post. A group of tribals in Korba reminded Dr. Raman Singh of his long-forgotten ‘sankalp’ to give them jersey cows; they did so by waving Gervas, or jute-ropes that they might otherwise have used to harness Dr. Singh’s non-existent cows, and copies of the BJP’s Sankalp Patr as he rode past in his 'Vikas Rath'. In response, they were mercilessly lathi-charged.

In Pusaur, the rural hinterland of Raigarh city that I toured yesterday, over 5000 tribals are threatening to tie the HCM in one and take him home instead of the absentee-cows they haven't got even if they can’t really milk him (!). They also pointed out that neither Dr. Singh nor his supposedly 'Hindu' party have the slightest respect for the precepts of that religion: first, they defiled the name of Lord Ram by reneging on a sacred vow taken in his name (kasam ram ki khaate hain, mandir wahin banayenge); and now, they have done the same to the holy-of-holies, the Gau Mata (Mother Cow).

On the 14th of this month, a massive rally of mostly unemployed youth in Bilaspur chipped in Rs. 500 in coins and small change to remind Dr. Singh of his promise to give them that amount as monthly stipend. Many of them have since begun to be threatened with dire consequences by a local minister.

In Raigarh, a mock Chhal Rath (Betrayal Chariot) Yatra was taken out- in which a Dr. Raman Singh lookalike spoke about the promises he cunningly made to dupe the simple people of Chhattisgarh, and other issues of corruption and total breakdown of law & order.

A lot of this has already been covered by the local media, and people everywhere are finally begin to ask a question not many cared to ask before: can we trust this man- and his party?

It seems to me that once you begin to criticize (which to me is no different an act from speaking the truth), then people are quite capable of coming up with their own suggestions- and even more significantly, reactions. The two acts- criticizing and suggesting- aren’t all that different.

Perhaps, this is what Hegel- and Marx after him- had in mind when they coined the triple-phrase ‘thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis’. And more often than not, synthesis is coda for action.

AJ