The recent
arrest of activists on grounds of anti-India activities does portend a
disturbing signal. The signal is about the activists engaging in anti-India
acts and perhaps treating them as anti-establishment or anti-government acts. There
is a difference between anti-government and anti-country. Yet there is a very
little distinction in the minds of these activists as they seek to move past
that line however thick it might be into a realm of anti-national. In quite a
number of cases, it is evident, there is a political thought that is behind the
line of thinking. There are egged on political ideologies to combat the
existing government and the establishment on a number of grounds and seek to
foster disunity into the country. An instance of the same was the JNU protests
and the chants of Tukde Tukde Bharat. This was overtly political and the activists
knew of their intentions. But what is surprising in recent times, is activists
from overtly non-political areas like environmentalism etc. are migrating into
political anti-India platforms. It is well known that many environmental
movements are essentially front organizations for some sinister groups. They are
low hanging fruits to attract recruits who can then be moulded into
anti-establishment groups. There is of course the dimension of counter-culture
that becomes predominant in their line of thinking to go against the country. It
seems fashionable and cool. The ingraining of hatred for self whether on
grounds of religion, family history, caste legacy coupled with fashionable
trend of woke manifestation through seemingly innocuous activities like
environment protection etc. are breeding grounds for the next generation of
what are termed as urban naxals.
The young across
ages and societies have been attracted by counter-cultures. The counter-culture
is something that is defined as going against the orthodox. It is about
non-conformism. The young especially in the late teens and the early twenties are
enthusiastic and bubbling with energy. They are discovering the world on their
own terms. Yet they are not experienced enough to understand the intricacies of
life. Neither would they be in a position wherein they would listen to others. They
are at a stage of life wherein they feel they are the masters. They would be
rebellious and hot-headed. Their impatience coupled with eagerness to change
the world makes them fertile candidates for revolutions. They would more be
inspired by the revolutions that would promise equality though in practical
terms hardly any revolution would come even a mile of the same. Yet the
youngsters at that age would be more attracted to voices of rebelliousness than
voices of sanity, patience and moving forward with life. There are many who
pass that age and with raising of family, job etc. would come back to
conformism in many ways. Yet there would be few who would move in directions of
politicking and anti-establishment. This is the critical time wherein these
youngsters have to be moulded into cultures that would foster them towards
innovation etc.
The young,
rebellious, impatient, anti-establishment, finding fault with every other
thing, an eagerness to demolish the existing system and rebuild on their own
fashionable terms, eager to create an independent path for themselves, all
point the young towards being fertile candidates for recruitment by woke,
anti-establishment, intersectionist rebel movements. Once they get attracted to
the movements, they find it difficult to shake the same off. The movements need
not just be cultural but also economic, social, political etc. The rise of
piracy for instance in the digital domain is linked to an economic rebellion
against the denial of opportunity by the established industry. Environmental
activists perhaps represent a counter-culture of intersection of social and
economic wherein the social like might be disrupted through environmental
change often negative but engaged in pursuit of economic goals.
The counter-culture
movements given their very nature would be anti-establishment. Anything that
serves conformism is something to be resisted with. There is eagerness to set
up and create new order perhaps many a time to provoke the established into
acting against them. The status of being a matyr would perhaps be appealing. In
this context, given the historical trends, the left liberal circuit has had an
advantage. There is a danger of the youth getting lost to this counter-cultural
stream rooted perhaps in left ideology. Yet the counter-cultures need not be
rooted to the Marxian ethos. There were cults that built up in the late 1960s
or 1970s basically from the US and Western countries who travelled to India in
quest for spirituality. There were many from hippie movement too who moved into
Rishikesh etc. for search of peace or spiritual fulfilment. It was an
anti-establishment to the US conformist ethos.
There is nothing
that prevents today’s Indic thought streams of recreating Hindu spiritual ethos
or even yoga or Ayurveda or Buddhism etc. as manifestations of counter-cultures.
The environmental movement for instance is rooted in Indian spiritual and historical
traditions. If Buddhism manifested as counter culture decades back, it can be
reinvented and link to India’s soft power. If Yoga or Ayurveda could offer the
alternative ethos of health and well-being, there could be expansion of Indian
soft power. Soft power does not come merely with economic gains but through
many other mechanisms and models. the repositioning of the soft power
manifestations could be the key to harnessing the talent towards an Indic
stream. The manifestation of counter-culture might lie in sartorial
preferences, culinary habits, steps for health and wellbeing, interaction with
people, work cultures, economic allocation of resources, nature worship, and
religion, among many others.
A society would
be responsible for the actions of the individuals which in turn would shape upmo
the future trajectory. The current trend of youngsters finding certain
activities cool is not disconcerting per se. what would be disconcerting is the
fact, the activities while seeming innocuous and perhaps desirable are turning
into bridges for a migration onto a platform that is seemingly anti-country. The
youngsters perhaps drawn on to the thought stream of these activities are led
to believe that further progress would be linked to the ability to change the establishment.
If the establishment remains status-quoist at least in their frames of
reference, they would not be able to achieve the goals they have set in their
domain. Therefore, any movement that would unsettle the government would pave
way for changes in establishment thus a new push for their endeavours in their
chosen field. To the handlers, it is merely a mean to the end but youngsters more
often than not end up being useful idiots. Thus all the more reason for
counter-cultures emerging from the wombs of the traditional Indic thought
processes.
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