NOTE: Views expressed here are Personal
Finally the much expected festival is
over and as expected one of the so-called-Dravidian-Party came to power (whom
didn’t even what exactly Dravidian thoughts are).
Trend:
Now, we could see all these FB posts of many
youths posting like ‘Worst Election Results’, ‘Again Sticker Ruling’ and much
more. These posts are full of pessimism and some idiots have even gone to the
extent of saying ‘Tamil people will even vote to Rajapaksa if given an amount
of Rs.500’. Seriously people? I know we are losing our identity and voting for
money (mostly). But have we gone bad to that extent? No.
Reason for No
Change:
First of all, the reason why we didn’t create
a change is because we didn’t really have a Leader who is up for that
challenge. PMK or NTK? Yeah maybe. I am not supporting them here. They are the
ones who spoke of change. But, PMK is based on caste and NTK is still a small
party. And the activism oriented Communists are sitting ducks here forging alliances with whomever they can.
Some Optimism:
So, we don’t have to be pessimistic
here. From analyzing the % of votes, we can sense that we are up for the CHAlleNGE. We have given a quite % of votes for NTK hoping for a Change. Even PMK which is basically a caste party had some % of votes other
than their obvious vote bank areas. And NOTA (whether good or bad) have a
significant % increase. So, we don’t have to lose our hopes.
Is Change a
Simple One to Achieve?
Try analyzing any Change that has been
made around the world. It was not made in a day or a month or a year. It took
many years and even centuries to make
that Change. How many years are we youths speaking about Change? Maybe one year
I suppose after the Chennai floods and stickers. So, let’s have to keep
optimistic and work towards the Change. It's like Sivaji says in Thevar Magan 'If I sow a seed, I may not live to see it grow and eat it's fruits. But, My Son! You can eat it and your next generation can eat it. But, the seed is sown by me. And I am not proud of it. It's my Duty.''
So??
So, what could be that work? There are
many. But from whatever I saw, I read and I heard, I consider the following as high
priority:
1) Don’t vote
or support Caste based parties.
I can hear the youth saying that we are out of it long before. That means you
are not analyzing the current scenarios. Remember the Dalit murder some months
back in Tirupur in broad daylight. During then, the Social media was flooded
with posts and comments. The ironic part is most of those were in favor of it, hailing
the killers. We may be educated and act like intellectuals but we still have
that Caste in us. We all know our parents won’t allow a Dalit inside our house
even now. But do we have the guts to speak against it and get them inside?
Even the well educated are supporting it. Let me say this with an
example. A relative of mine says he will cast his vote for the party which was
formed based on our caste. The reason is he believes that only with party
support they can fight inter-caste marriages. So, this is how a well educated intellectual
thinks. And there are many more.
2) Activism: I am sure
most of us in Tamilnadu including me don’t know the exact meaning of it. We don’t
have that much of a history of activism here. The last activism we can remember
was the support of 2013 Anti-Sri Lanka protests. That too it was done mostly by
Students. Actors, Doctors and IT company employees did a token protest and went
back to normal (?) life. That too was brought done in sometime. Dating before
that was Anti-Hindi agitation which had a principle behind it but it was used
by Karunanidhi for his political purposes. But, those protests were the real
examples of activism. Thousands and thousands of students and party workers
started doing protests and train blockings. The whole state functionary was
stunned. They had no other go than to heed to the protests. Recently, we had
one example of it. Anti-TASMAC agitations. But it was immediately brought down
with the help of Sedition charges (a charge used by state machinery every time
to put down the activists).
So, what is the activism that we can do? Vetting out in the FB
(that too with careful usage of words so that you won’t get booked for
sedition) and chit chats in tea shops, offices and colleges? Where are the
trade unions and college unions which form the basics of Politics in a State (College Unions played a big part in mobilizing people and students
for Anti-Hindi Agitations. How many of us had Unions in our colleges?) Where are those angry speeches and angry
protests against the state atrocities? Where are those intellectuals who
educated us with their Cinema, Literature and Songs?
To be frank, we don’t have much of these. So, without these there
is no point in asking for a Change. We have to recreate them and that too with a strong fell in it.
3) To Vote Right: It’s okay
if you don’t think anyone is a right candidate and you voted for NOTA. You
could be a right candidate but you couldn’t get into Politics since you have
your own personal concerns. But, the least you can do is vote right? Saying that I
have my own personal work to mend to other than these shitty politics maybe
your argument. I am okay with it. But, don’t you dare talk about Politics
again. It’s because as Bertolt Brecht says, ‘The worst Illiterate is the
Politically Illiterate”. We can speak with real Illiterates and reason with
them. But, there is no use in speaking with people who act as Illiterates. And
there are many youths who spoke of Change and went back to vote for Dravidian
parties. What’s the use in it?
4) Educating Self: To be
politically literate, one needs more learning. You don’t have to read about
Communism to learn about Activism. Dravidian parties have a long proof of
Activism in their initial stages. It’s up to you to choose your Ideology. But,
once it is chosen keep reading about it till you know nook and corner of it. Keep
reading books about it. Keep watching Cinemas about it. I would suggest
documentaries for this over Feature Cinema. (because most Feature Cinemas are
work of Fiction, have their own clichés and most of them are afraid of the
State but Documentaries document the real happenings of Real People) After all
those learning, if you find everything as fake, create your own Ideology.
Socialism, Communism, Dravidism, Marxism, Leninism and even Capitalism are all founded by us. So, you too can invent one.
But make sure it’s not a child of Capitalism.
So, let's not lose our hopes with the results. Let's educate ourselves and get back up again :)
Some documentaries to start with:
Red Ant Dream
A look into the fight of Maoists. This one doesn't
justify their terrorism. It tries to explore the reasons behind its formation.
The Revolutionary Optimists
The film follows Ganguly and 4 children from Kolkata’s
poorest slums on an intimate journey through their adolescence. Together
they fight seemingly insurmountable odds to build a better future for
themselves and their community, challenging the notion that
marginalization is written into their destiny.
Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXy-8FRw1So
India Untouched
A look into Casteism and reasons for you to believe that
Casteism still exists in India
Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai
A inside look into the politics played by almost every
single party of UP that led to the Muzaffarnagar riots (This Documentary was
tried to screen in Chennai but stopped due to protests)
Placebo
– Insight into the pressures of academic success in colleges in India
Placebo is all about providing insight into a remarkable
place where the pressures of academic success, on some of the best minds of
India, are unprecedented. Garnering support from all quarters, this documentary
was a story that needed to be told to the world.
Watch the trailer here
Bhopali – The
fight of the Bhopal gas tragedy victims.
A feature documentary focussing on the shattered lives of
the survivors of the world’s worst industrial disaster, Bhopali shows their
unending suffering and their fight for justice against Union Carbide, set
against the backdrop of high stakes activism, global politics and human rights
advocacy. A tough, gripping documentary, Bhopali shines a glaring light on the
wreckage of that calm December night’s events.
Watch the trailer here
Jashn-e-azadi
- How we celebrate freedom
Directed by
Sanjay Kak, an independent filmmaker, this film depicts the never-ending
violence in Kashmir. The movie changed the way people perceived Kashmir, by
telling one about life in Kashmir, under the constant eye of the military, and
the never-ending struggle of survival and death in the valley.
Thanks for some
great compilation of documentaries from India
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