pondering on Rang De Basanti ...

Still unable to take the movie out of my mind – D and I keep discussing on how we as individuals can really help the cause in India which is nothing short of a freedom struggle. An excellent post by RonitaDutta on Rang De Basanti resonated with our thoughts. Like Ron says, the generation Y effort should not become another Naxal Bari movement which more or less failed due to the inability of translating ideals to practical goals.
I myself do not know too much about the Naxal Bari movement but the point resonates … and very loudly – we need to convert ideals to practical goals – tangible goals which can be achieved and/or measured.
With that perspective, D and I seem to be on opposite corners of essentially the same bench, admittedly a confused one! There doesn’t seem to be much clarity on the issue – do you become radical and put *everything* at stake or do you play tactically – do your bit in your community, in your organization and your immediate circle of influence?
Tough answer – very very tough. Which side do you take? You do love your family – your job, your wants, your desires – face it – we *are* human! The classic dilemma of "I want to help but I don’t want to be a Bhagat Singh or a DJ and I don’t know what to do!"
My two cents say that we need all the help we can find – but only difference is that this can not be a uncoordinated effort – it has to be a multi-pronged attack and there has to be a tangible solution – solutions could be as simple as – the police station in my locality will be responsible enough to provide the proverbial “bang-for-the-buck”!, or that the school in my backyard will treat all students equally – race or creed! ... ... ...
This is a situation where everythingness is one – small pieces will have to be tied on to form larger pieces!
Yes there would have to be a radical wing – the Bhagat Singh’s and DJ’s which will provide the wake-up call when needed – but running shoulder to shoulder with them would be the tactical wing – the young entrepreneurs, the money-makers who shall strive to gain access within the trenches of political powers – the power-makers who would strive to provide stability to the youth by means of education (education and not literacy!), jobs and direction – the thinkers who would try and mould the minds of future on what lies ahead and what needs to be done – on the benefits of being honest! Maybe Karan and Aslam could have stayed away from the radio-station … to stay alive and harness the rage of the population into a revolution – maybe using Karan’s dad’s wealth as a useful tool – who knows … like I said there is no single solution …

And the one powerful tool that we yield today is the power of information – and we have to leverage this as much as possible - we have be like an army of ants with the difference that each of us ants will be able to communicate to any other ant instantaneously – with the power of broadcast of course! If there is one thing that will shape the future of the world, it will be the ease of sharing and broadcasting information – revolutions are going to get smaller and more ferocious! Of course that also means that there has be a sense of urgency and a lot of co-ordination … nobody said that this is going to be easier!