"Government's work is God's work"!
Hinduism part 2..
To understand India it is very important to understand that equality is not part of the game and Indians are incapable of thinking in terms of equality!.. Hinduism is based on the idea that nature is not equalitarian: some trees are bigger, some are smaller, and some are crooked.. and the small crooked ones that grow in the shadow of the bigger ones don't complain!.. If God created nature unequal, why should we think better?
Even corruption finds its roots in this well-thought religion.. One shall pay money to priests and temples for God to reward with good health and good harvest...
Now on the House of Parliement of the state of Karnataka, you find these words carved in the stone in big letters: "Government's work is God's work"!!.... you make the link!
The latest achievement of "God's work" that is all over the newspapers these days is the new "Garib Rath" or "Chariot for the Poor": a new type of 3rd class air conditionned train coach aimed at "making A/C travelling available to the poor"...
Although the idea of making cheaper travels is fine, it all sounds like the government has no idea what "poor" means in this country.. I don't see a rickshaw man, a farmer or a vegetable reseller affording this.. not to mention the countless who don't even have a job..
So for the government of India, "poor" starts with the middle class!
The rest and majority of the population can continue paying for their previous life sins... until the government notices them!
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1 comment:
Arjun, it is interesting to read your insights and experiences of life, religion and philosophy in India. You sure are encouraging heated debate on some of the issues you raise, but I think that is good because it should make us sit back and think what our government is really doing and whether placards reading "government's work is god's work" is sending the right message to the masses. Basically, in my view, a lot of what goes on within government cirlces is propaganda to garner votes with very little consideration for thinking seriously about the welfare of the masses. For instance, this whole idea of "garib rath" or "chariot for the poor" makes me sick. It is laced in hyprocrisy; a method to make a fool of the poor people! I also agree that having different rates for foreigners in tourist places is just wrong especially since the rules are not implemented at all and making money from "foreigners" is no excuse for this. However, given all this, I think Hinduism is not to be blamed for the reason why there are so many beggars in India and why no one cares about them. Religion in our country, like in many others, has been distorted by people in power. Hinduism as a philospophy does say that good actions will reap good "karma" which essentially is a good thing. But what would be more interesting to ask is whether the "hindutva" spouting religious fundamentalists take this theory into account. Obviously they don;t and therein lies the problem. I do wish for once, that our governments would stop using religion as a means to pull a veil over people. Hinduism does not say that people should be treated like shit. It is people who do it to other people in the name of religion. And this is happening all around us today, not just in India. As regards, equality and freedom, I think, no country can really achieve that ideal. The only difference is that in India, inequality is more visible but so is freedom. And correct me if I am wrong. India may not be equal in every sense of the term, but it is a country where a common man enjoys more freedom than most people do elsewhere. For a long time, it seemed like a contradicition to me but living in the West, I realize how much more free we are in India as individuals to do things. Just some food for thought.
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