Our Prime Minister recently at a college gathering where he had been invited to speak, compared those who constantly question his government to naraaz fufas, the permanently upset uncles at a family gathering.
I immediately imagined one such Indian gathering where an uncle sat in a corner wearing the expression of a man who had discovered that the samosas were funded by his brother with whom he had had a fight during his childhood.
“Why are you sulking, Fufaji?” asks a youngster.
“I am not sulking,” he replies. “I am asking why the new sofa cost so much.”
The room falls silent.
Grandfather switches off the fan. Auntie drops the chutney spoon. A cousin whispers, “Careful. First you question the sofa. Then you become a dimagi Naxal.”
Poor Fufaji stares at his samosa. Until that moment, he had imagined that asking where the family money went was called responsibility. He now discovers it is negativity.
Is this the lesson being served to our youth?
In our so called democracy, if somebody asks why a project was needed, why it cost what it did, why promises were not kept, or whether another priority deserved attention, do not answer. Give the questioner a funny family label and invite everyone to laugh.
The Statue of Unity was questioned. UPI was questioned. High speed trains were questioned. The new Parliament building was questioned.
And why not?
Public projects are paid for with public money, which is the money you and I pay as taxes. Questions do not automatically make a project bad. They may make it better, cheaper, safer and more accountable.
A democracy without questions is not a democracy. It is a family WhatsApp group where only the administrator may post.
Our political vocabulary is becoming wonderfully efficient. A critic may first be called a naraaz fufa. If he persists, he becomes anti national. If he reads, researches and produces figures, he may be promoted to dimagi Naxal. Apparently, thinking itself is suspicious, especially when the thought does not arrive wearing the correct party scarf.
What then should our universities teach?
Students, memorise everything, repeat everything and applaud everything. Do not ask why jobs are scarce. Do not question examination leaks. Do not wonder why institutions weaken. Thinking can be dangerous. Independent thinking can be positively seditious.
The irony is delicious. A political leader enters a celebrated college, a place built to sharpen minds, and there he mocks troublesome minds.
It is like addressing a culinary school and warning pupils against cooking.
That upset uncle may be irritating. But occasionally he may notice that the roof is leaking while everyone else is praising the chandelier.
So let the uncle ask. Let the student challenge. Let the citizen question.
Because the most dangerous relative in India is not the angry uncle.
It is the smiling nephew who has been taught never to think…!
The Author conducts an online, eight session Writers and Speakers Course. If you’d like to join, do send a thumbs-up to WhatsApp number 9892572883 or send a message to bobsbanter@gmail.com
