Indians stuck in India are used to too many things going to hell on a daily or hourly basis. Mostly these are related to the nightmarish Indian bureaucracy, infrastructure, and crime rates. But it can also be just Indian things that range from the merely irritating to bizarre happenings that can actually kill you like people pooping in full view of the public or a flyaway cutout of a shady politician that lands on incoming traffic leading to fatal collisions. Some Indians have perfected the fine art of remaining ignorant of the full-blown catastrophes playing out around them in real time, which allows them to feel bliss adjacent if they can manage to avoid getting mowed down by a truck careening down the wrong side of the road or a rabid dog ripping out their jugular. Most though tend to favour the blame game when forced to open their eyes and witness all the awful stuff happening around them—rape, murder, corruption, farmer/student suicides, poverty, starvation, stampedes, communal violence etc.
In the aftermath of this relentless parade of horror, there is seldom any kind of sensible action taken. Killers and rapists are set free when not celebrated outright, while someone could be wrongfully arrested and killed in custody for liking a post, releasing evidence of an injustice on social media, making a reel or joining a protest. This has led to a pervasive climate of simmering fury, and the collective response has been to point a finger at individuals or institutions to be at the receiving end of the never-ending rage and frustration. To soak up the blame and absorb the vicious backlash, deserved or otherwise. Needless to say, this vindictive mindset has done us a fat lot of good.
Blind blaming and shaming is pointless and seldom productive. It merely leads to further conflict, leaving the citizens stuck in a state of perpetual victimhood and incapable of actually fixing anything. The focus is on randomly selecting ‘wrongdoers’ without a proper trial and justifying the hatred and punishment meted out to them. This way folks can believe themselves to be on the ‘right side’ creating moral opportunists who value giving the impression of doing the right thing a lot more than actually doing the right thing which calls for a deeper comprehension of complex situations and choosing clarity over conflict. Worse, it takes proper accountability out of the equation, prevents people from taking stock of reality, sorting facts from falsehoods and seeking out solutions that can lead to real results.
Choosing accountability entails acknowledging personal responsibility for being a part of the problem which in turn promotes an increased likelihood of finding a fix to the issue rather than merely acknowledging that a problematic situation exists. Those who are mature and smart enough to do this can inspire others to do the same. This is the admittedly longer and more challenging path to finding a productive place where the citizenry can be united by mutual respect, shared responsibility, and common purpose. It means we could actually refrain from turning on each other like maddened chimps to better serve the nation and work together to realise the dream of a better India. Instead, we have chosen short-term non-solutions and the savage satisfaction of apportioning blame rather than bringing about lasting change.