2025-QUARTER OF 21ST CENTURY: BE CALM AND COMPOSED, NEVER BE PERTURBED

DR. JOHN MOHAN RAZU

We have entered into the 25th year of the 21st century. It is indeed a great blessing to have passed through 24-years and entered into a quarter of this century. Years pass-by and every year has its mix—ups and downs, falls and rises. So, it is natural that life is a smooth well-laid track but is like a roller-coaster. We hardly know what is going to happen the very next moment. This is why some say ‘let us live by a moment’ or ‘let us by this day’—which is real and lived with.

A few days ago, a year turned and we are into it. The day began with special programs in Tamil channels a conversation between the astrologers and futurologist and the commoners who wanted to know what does the zodiac sign say. The astrologers started off by giving a general picture about the year 2025 and then responded to those who belonged to diverse zodiac sings. Some signs were so positive and promising, while others showed distressing trends.

Those who believe in zodiac and astrology let them believe and follow to which I have no qualm. But I believe that the next moment is not in my hands. We need to live and lead our lives as the ferocity of waves hit and the speed of the winds blows. Life is such a swing that rocks in extremities, and to an extend we have control over it, but certainly not absolute control over our lives. As 2025-turned into reality we are pitched into chaos and unpredictability and gripped with fear and hopelessness. Certainty is clear terms does not appear or come to us.

The real fact that makes us not be certain is we have been surrounded and engulfed by wars and conflicts and so-called great powers seem to be foundering and do not know when would conflict and wars erupt in other parts of the world, no one knows. Whether it is white collar workers worry about their jobs or H-1B visas or students facing bleak prospects or those struggling with generational change, or those who are for justice, equality, freedom and peace and many increasingly worried about abstractions like democracy and governance and populism taking over many countries and spreading wildly, there is a sense of hopelessness.    

‘Even heavens fall pursue justice’ is gradually waning as we fell as if the sky is always falling on our heads Whether it is 2025 or 1925 or whatever, we are increasingly caught up with war-conflict syndrome. When we zoom out and span-out 2025 is no different at all. However, in what way and how the year 2025 will go is a question that is looming in the minds of most of us.We live in a century shows all the capability and promises to galvanizing and generating more wealth and progress than the earlier centuries This century has taken us to digital frontiers enjoined by AI and biotech innovations and in the process providing cascading effect going beyond the steamships, electrification and telecommunications. 

With all the progress and development of new innovations, we had Covid pandemic in 2020 that shook the entire world and thus questioned our so-called innovative capacity and responsive capability. In this case, I’m reminded of the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1920, but even after a few years we do not know from where the virus originated. It is still a mystery and even now we groping in the dark. Take for example India which was once prosperous depleted by the empire, but the West showed all kinds of progress and development. West’s development and progress are from the loot and plunder of its colonies.

With all the wealth and loot the West cannot say that it has totally wiped-out poverty, hunger and deprivation. The Global South is also following the same path of the West. Development is partial and progress is skewed. Both in the rich and developed West and poverty-stricken and underdeveloped Global South we increasingly see the widening of inequality where the rich are growing at alarming speed, the poor living at alarming levels. Even after 500 years of capitalism and centuries of colonization the progress and prosperity of the global wealth have not trickled down evenly within and between countries.

With all kinds of revolutions, colonial plunders, monopolies that keeps extracting the resources and exploiting human labour, industrial and technological innovations and fascinating development in the infrastructures, replacing humans with machines and other modes, and by not following rule of law and trade the humanity at large has gone from bad to worse. If everything is human-centric, then centuries of human activities should have elevated everyone to other levels.Global systems be it political, economic, social, educational or religious have changed drastically at rapid levels.

If we re-look at these we are caught in the web of events that occurs that makes us to engage and respond. One thing that flashes before us we managed to survive from all these highs and lows, dooms and destructions. Humanity has survived all kinds and forms of upheavals and catastrophes. Revolutions or authoritarianism or tumultuous happenings human beings have never deterred, but faced boldly and daringly. Destruction and re-construction, war and peace are real and so should be faced without escaping from it. This is the world of the humans and so be filled with avariciousness, arrogance, egos, vested interests and craze for power. 

Human nature is subject to change and so is susceptible. In such conditions we cannot expect the world to be perfect place to live for everyone. We come across ego-clashes and super-egos showing its supremacy and above all, the political leaders wanting to increase their power going for wars and conflicts keep pushing their subjects to suffer the most. The ongoing cycle of human activity a polish poet Wislawa Szymborska wrote about mundane life-sustaining work even in the middle of war, someone pushing the rubble off the road so the corpse-filled wagons can pass. 

A generation that lived in conflict gives way to another that remembers little, and another that remembers nothing. This is all about our life—sometimes beautiful(exciting),while in other times mundane(boring). As Tolkien rightly pointed out that “The world changes, and all that once was strong now proves unsure.” And so it is, in good times or bad, and be prepared to face and live on.



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